Saturday, February 1, 2014

February 1, 2014

You know how they say that when you fall off a roof while holding a sheet of plywood, you can use it to float to the ground safely. It's not true. If it hadn't been for the plywood catching a few branches on the way down, I wouldn't have slowed down at all. Unfortunately it turned me upside down so I was unable to land on my feet. I had a choice of landing on my face or forehead, my face has to cradle my glasses so I chose my forehead. I was landing in snow so I was hoping for a soft landing, the bad news was it was packed as hard as ice, the good news was I didn't have to run for ice to keep the swelling down, I just left my head in the snow. Having grown up in the Antonini family the sight of the blood didn't bother me at all but after having lost about a pint I figured I better go inside and clean it up. I tried to sneak past Deanie, she had warned me about being on the roof, I didn't want to get an "I told you so", she didn't. She just said, "Get out of my kitchen, you're dripping blood on the floor".

Have a great day

Loved

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I don't know about the rest of you, but my brain drops the ball in a lot of circumstances. I usually check the weather soon after I awake so as to dress properly for the day, long sleeve?, short sleeve?, heavy coat?, light coat?, etc. The other day I wake, FREEZING RAIN, screams out from the media. My brain immediately registers and tells me, "Eddie boy, be very careful out there." It is the main focus of my thoughts for the entire time I'm getting ready to leave the house. Then I step out the door and it's like, "Hmmm, I wonder what's for lunch today?. Now I do have to admit, it does snap back into focus the moment my feet hit the driveway, although, a bit too late. Every driveway is sloped, mine is no exception. Granted, it's not a Nancy Green or Jean Claude Killy slope, but, not having the talent of Nancy or Jean Claude I'm doing all I can to stay upright as I begin my descent. I'm doing pretty good as I gain speed. Let me tell you about Regina's soil. It's gumbo, it expands and shrinks at will. That's why my driveway has lifted and is at a completely different level than the city sidewalk, so I`m coming up to a ski jump soon. Granted it's not an Eddie The Eagle jump, but not having the talent of Mr. Edwards, I need every ounce of my own talent to land safely... and I stick it. Let me tell you about Regina's maintenance crews. When they grade the street they leave mountains of snow along the edge of the sidewalks. Granted they aren't the Rocky Mountains, but, they may as well be. My feet stopped dead, however, my upper body continued it`s forward motion, I wasn`t worried about traffic, being from Regina they knew the outcome and had already stopped to watch. So, when my body hit the icy roadway I did my best imitation of a curling stone and shot right across. Let me tell you about my neighbor across the street, he has this fancy snow blower, so the mountains that should have stopped me, were cleared and I continued right up his driveway until I hit his garage door. At least I had stopped. I got to my feet, my brain was thinking...How long til lunch. Oh, oh.

Have a great New Year`s day

Loved

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Dec 1 2013

Every once in a while, in the housing industry, people are in a position where they have to move furniture into their new home before it has been completed. That is the case in this particular incident.
It was like a psychic moment. I saw it before it happened. The two massive human beings were carrying an upright piano down a flight of stairs. You've seen the type, their necks start at their ears instead of their jaws, theirs arms stick out sideways because their biceps are too big to hang downward. In this case there were two  of them and they seemed to be having very little problem with the piano. Then I saw it, the bottom behemoth missed a step, I saw myself slip in behind him, brace myself, place my hands on his back, I saw him taking the split second I gave him to drop his foot to the floor, and, I might add, I even saw the placement of my own feet so he would not land upon either of them. Once he was steadied I saw his appreciation of this small man who lent a hand in time of need. I saw it all. Too bad it didn't turn out that way.
You know, I'm not a zoologist or biologist, I don't claim to know a lot about organisms and their functions or evolution. What I would like to know is, is there a species on the planet, when falling, will not try to lower their paws, or legs, or whatever type of equipment they have to move on, so as to land upon that equipment so as not to injure themselves? None come to my mind.
So, when I saw this guy shoot his leg upward in an effort to regain his footing on the tread he missed 4 risers ago. My first thought, after, oh, this isn't good, was, when they coined the phrase, "All brawn and no brains", this was the guy they  were talking about. What happened next wasn't pretty, when that monolith hit my little 5 foot 9 inch frame he sent me through the drywall and studs like toothpaste through a tube. He and his piano came through as well, along with dumber, who decided to ride the piano down. Lucky for me we didn't make it to the cement wall, our momentum was halted by a furnace, it was a high efficient Lennox Elite Series EL296V Model number UH070XV36B, you're probably wondering how I know so much about it. Easy, my left eye was only a quarter inch from the label.
Sometimes doctors will ask you to rate your pain on "a scale of 1 to 10" 10 being the high end. I can remember a few painful events in my life, my first broken nose I'll give a 2, the second and third time, maybe 3s. Fish hook in the leg an easy 1. Freezing my right ear 0, thawing of same 6. Catching the end of my nose on a stuccoed column, a 5. So as you can see I haven't had a lot of experience with pain, and I would think that a 10 would come just south of the tunnel with the light at the other end, so I'm going to rate the piano resting on the big toe of my right foot an 8 and one half.
I really misread my first psychic experience.

Have a great day

Loved

Saturday, November 2, 2013

November 2013

Ok. So, we've installed hardwood or some other type of flooring in somewhere between 50 and 75 houses in the last 12 months. I have to tell you, if you're not visiting someone you know in the house, they are "all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same". Another thing, we had just finished the identical house a block over when it happened. So it's not unimaginable that a person might walk out the front door, carrying a table saw, and step off the porch where a set of stairs would have been if not for having been removed so a newly poured concrete walk could cure. I grant that Google is fast, but I gotta tell ya, it's no match for a brain measuring it's options before disaster. Now, I'm not claiming to understand Albert's theory of relativity, but, the energy equals mass times velocity, velocity squared yet, eliminated my first option. Set the saw down as I hit and tuck and roll was my second, until my brain registered the hole recently excavated for a basement next door. Mind you, it wasn't much of a hole, perhaps 7 or 8 feet deep. I've stood on the precipice of the Grand Canyon, now that's a hole. Even so, option two was out, and, I was running out of time. My last option. Land on my feet and set the saw down as my legs buckle, throw my head violently to the side to avoid either knee driving my chin to my forehead and use my ass for padding to bring myself to a halt. Would have worked to, if I hadn't caught my nose on a stuccoed column. Stupid brain didn't manage to notify me of that one. I've heard of people paying thousands of dollars to have their nose shortened, I did mine myself, for free. I'm playing Rudolph in my grandkids play this Christmas.

Have a great November

Loved 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

October 1, 2013

Good morning on October 1. I have to post pretty early to be able to say that to Louise, but I think I've made it. We were given a bit of a scare in Sept. when doctors found a small brain tumor in one of our nephews on Deanie's side of the family. Events went very smoothly and they are satisfied they have it completely removed,  the little guy is back at home. He is Shirley's oldest grandchild at 7 years...Joshua Stinson. The news from my own little family is great, the kids are enjoying their new year in school and Beata continues to progress through the stages of growing up. Jamie and Holly are happily busy with their little family and Heather, Deanie and I continue our daily morning walks.

Have a great day

Loved

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Sept 1, 2013

It almost slipped by. I actually wasn't thinking about posting until I logged on and had to scroll for a bit to get to the final entry. Then I remembered I have to keep this thing fairly current. So happy September everybody.

Loved

Monday, August 5, 2013

August 5 2013

I just arrived back home from the north where I go every year to walk a lake. The real name is Wakaw Lake but I like the joke, if I could walk a lake I'd feel kinda special. Anyway, here is a new thread for the blog for August, and I will try to update it each month so we can keep a bit of a time line toward the reunion. It's going to be fun starting the reunion on the blog a year early. Welcome back.

Loved