Big Cliff

I usually just crumble them by putting them in a zip lock bag, close it, remove as much air as you can, then breaking them up with my hands (I found this was the cleanest and easiest way to do it) a lot of it will go right down to powder. Sometimes I end up with some chunks about the size of peas or a little bigger. They never really "desolve" into the soup or stew although the powder stuff blends in very well the chunks will rehydrate to some degree the texture will be that of a well cooked mushroom. In a mushroom soup I like the chunks, in a gravy I use the powder. Just remember, 1/4 cup of the dehydrated stuff is = to about two or three of those chunks you started with. Hope this helps!

The number was 1-888-273-3004 and it gets answered "Welcome to Canadian Tire Financial Services". If this is an off shore scam then CTC might want to get involved, if it is CTC then they have no business calling me!

It looks totally amazing and apparently can deliver up to 9KV for about a week at a time, that is more than enough to run an average house! As current requirements come down due to LEDs and things I can see our hydro rates going up. Less demand, less product, but those bonuses and salaries will still be there.

I just got an automated call from CTC telling me how much money I could save if I bought winter tires there (to keep it short). Ticked me right off, I was having a nap and didn't appreciate the phone call. I called the number back, gave them my phone number and told them that if I ever got another call like that from them I would cut up my card and never shop there again. She said "one moment" came back on and quoted my name. Then she wanted my birth date? I asked why? She told me that if I wanted her to help me, she needed some information so I gave it to her and she quoted my address. Then she wanted the three numbers off the back of my card, I do not give those to anyone over the phone unless I have initiated the original call; I refused and reiterated that one more call from them and the card would be cut to pieces and I wouldn't shop their again, their choice, and I hung up! Where do these people get off, I thought this sort of thing was against the law!

Could be a good start to French onion soup!

That is no bobcat!

Well your plans might have fallen through but the fish gods sure came through for you! Steller day from the look of it!

X2

Joey, I don't know if this is an option or not for Ralphie but I can understand him not wanting to get up on the bed if he can't see, could you imagine the stress of stepping off into nothing every time you took a step? When our Andy started to go blind and his hip problems stopped him from getting up on the bed with us, I build a set of stairs for him. he had to sort of feel his way around but it didn't take him long, he'd follow my voice and feel his way up (and right between Sue and I) LOL. I am not suggesting stairs for Ralphie but perhaps a ramp would work for him. A dog has a highly elevated sence of smell as previously mentioned perhaps he can be trained to follow scent trails. I'd also talk to McCanns dog training, they are wonderful and perhaps they can help you find a way that Ralphie can learn to cope.

Saddly I think we have become a KILL society, we have to be in control! When I lived in French River we frequently saw bears around the house, (we lived out in the middle of nowhere). We didn't run for a gun (well perhaps once or twice because we wanted meat for the freezer ) Why do we have to kill everything that we don't understand? I was so happy when I saw that this poor cat got another chance!

Or saturation at some point!

I have one of Brian's adaptors for the 6" auger and it is FANTASTIC! (Thank you Pikeslayer) I use a 20V DeWalt drill on it and can drill 8-9 holes through 30" of ice on one battery. Now there is a lot of potential torque but I have found that if you let the auger do the work, don't push it into the ice, and clear the chips out often it works VERY well.

I always try to obey the law but this was one that really bothered me, I had already made up my mind that if they pulled this I would not comply! I watch as Harper promisses billions of dollars to help our automotive industry and farmers because of this new free trade agreement but our government (noted provincial in this case) want to buff up their coffers by the few bucks they would collect by adding more taxes on seniors? Oh, and yes it is another tax by a different name. As a side note; MNR never did respond to my call about the guy running around in his boat shooting at ducks right in front of our house even though I gave them my name, phone number, and told them I had photographs of it. Guess they need more funding! We already pay 58.333% of our income in taxes every year now much more can we give and still survive? I am glad I can still pick up my fishing rod and sit on my dock and catch a few fish without being a criminal, it's one of the few pleasures I still have and can afford.

Personally I would stay away from the three stage and go with the tried and true two stage. I really think the three stage is a gimic and I can guarantee that they are going to cost a lot more for repairs when the time comes. Yard Machine, Yard Man, Poulin, will all give you years of flawless service if you just maintain them properly. Toro ,Ariens Husqvarna aren't the quality they use to be, they have had to cut corners just to stay compeditive. I am not saying there is anything wrong with them !!!!! Unless you maintain them they will not last either! Watch for deals at CTC, TSC, Home Depot...... Figure out what size you need for the job you have and buy one that is desigined to handle it.

Happens all the time, ladders, couches, chairs....... It's a wonder more people don't end up getting hurt with things like this. Glad you are ok, hope no one else got hurt.

Likely the spark arrestor is plugged. Drop by with it one day, takes about 2 minutes to fix, a lot of them have that problem (and/or they just start to loose power or won't come up to full RPM) Very easy fix. Lets hope that is the problem because another reason could be low compression (not such an easy fix) but my first guess would be the first one.

Well Steve I hope my heart is always in the right place, I don't go to church but I do try to live my life like god is always watching. As far as my mind; well at almost 70 I do tend to sometimes forget things and I don't always understand what is happening in the world around me. I try to look at a situation like this and understand it from my perspective which is old school. When I THINK I have a hypothesis then I try to come up with theorem that works for me. If I am missing something here please help me to learn and understand, I am more than willing to stand corrected if I am wrong.

I wonder how many lives would have been saved if Chris Mintz had been armed instead of only having his body to try to stop the shooter? You can take away all the guns you want but if these nut cases have their mind set on killing people they will do it with or without a gun. Anyone with minimal knowledge or access to the internet can build a bomb in no time at all from simple easy to get house hold ingredients. It is almost a daily news item just here in Toronto where someone has been stabbed, what's next, do we ban knives? These things aren't being done by the baby boomers, it's being done by the "me now" generation. These kids have been brought up in a world where they don't have to work for anything, it just gets handed to them. When the handouts stop coming they just start taking because that's all they know. They have no idea what "accountability or socially acceptable" mean, everytime they have done anything wrong they get coddled. In my day if you acted up in school you got the strap, if your mother sent you to your room and you gave her any lip you came too in your room with a headache. Today if a teacher looks at a student the wrong way they get jumped on, if a parrent even threatens to smack their kids butt they can be charged. You want this stuff to stop? It's easy just get back to the old values where you worked for what you got and you got what you deserved. When is the last time you heard of any of these things happening in Mennoite or Amish communities?

Did the hub come off or was it just the tire and rim?

You might still want to get it looked at Lew, it sounds like your charging system is working fine but there is still something drawing power when the engine is shut off which means it is probably drawing power when the engine is running too. If it is a wire shorting out somewhere it "could" cause bigger problems down the road. Perhaps next spring if you like I'll bring Sue for a drive and drop by. It would probably take me 15 minutes or less to figure out what is going on.

Even a TORO with bad gas won't run well Lew (but you knew that already LOL). BTW I might have missed it but did you ever get the electrical problem with your lawn tractor sorted out?

Very proud of you ! Now just remember HIGH TEST GAS ONLY NO ETHANOL !!!!!!! Costs just pennies more a liter but it will save you a lot of money in the long run. BTW, did you ever have any more trouble with that lawnmower? If you are done with it for this season, clean it well, (grass left on the deck will hold moisture and cause the deck to rust out), change the oil, and fill the tank with HIGH TEST Next spring it will start right up again. I Checked with CTC the other day just to be sure and they claim their high test gas does not contain any ethanol

Well, first of all I am really sorry to hear about Ralphie, it is so hard to watch the circle of life unfold sometimes! I loved your story about cottage life; it brought back many good memories. We didn't have a cottage but we lived in a small town on The Lake of Two Mountains so all my summers were spent swimming and fishing, riding our bikes or just hanging out at one of the local gathering places. Life was so much simpler then. Thanks for the wonderful read Joey.

Well, first of all, don't rule anything out and I am the king of career changes because I always wanted to try new things: I won't even bother going back to the first 40 years but in the last 30 i've: For the first 20 of those I ran and then sold a very successful sales/service technology based company. It's the last 10 that have been the most fun. I was a sales manager for a seed company and started a branch of the company involved with food plots for wild life. Went back to school, served an apprenticeship and got my license as a small engine mechanic. Was a key account manager for a company that supplied office coffee products, and finally at 68 saw an opening for a truck driver at a company here in Lindsay (just driving a pickup truck part time and on call) so I applied for it. Well this is the best job I think I have ever had, the pay isn't anything near what I could make in many other jobs but it's a lot better than minimum wage. I have gone from driving a pickup truck to driving a straight truck (with limitations because I only have my G license) but I can now work pretty much when I want to. Sometimes I get more hours than I'd really like but they didn't hire me because of my good looks! The company and the people I work for are fantastic. I work hard and they APPRECIATE it, an average day on the road for me is 12 hours and when I get home at the end of the day I am tired but it's a good tired. So here I am at almost 70 I just passed my written and medical for my D license and hope to get my road test in shortly which I don't see as a problem as I already drive the same size truck throughout the GTA on an almost daily basis and have done for a year now. I am happier now than I have ever been, when I go into work in the morning I get in my truck (yes, MY TRUCK, Marbert Transport # 209 affectionatly dubbed White Lightning by our dispatcher, I won't go into why ) they bought a straight truck for me to drive and the only time that truck moves out of the yard without me is if they are stuck and I am not available). I usually start out with a run sheet for the day but because I usually do LTL stuff that is subject to change and often does. Every day is exciting and new and I am always meeting new people and seeing new and interesting places and things. Who'd have ever thought that a guy that spent most of his life in senior or middle management positions would be happiest behind the wheel of a truck? With your skill set and experience I would think that a position (or business) as a "Property Manager" might be a good fit and a viable business in Elliot Lake. Whatever you do just remember; money can't buy you family so family first and everything else will follow!

Don't know if it is confirmed or not but apparently the gunman was asking people their religon prior to shooting them. I am not sure what that really means and won't speculate but if it is true it might explain a motive.