Titles are so hard

Sometimes I know what I want to say, well most of the time I know. But titles are tough. They are supposed to grab you and make you want to sit and read this, cause you know by the title that this is going to be good. Well, hope you don't feel to ripped off. Nothing here but the ramblings of a grandfather. BUT, A VERY PROUD GRANDPA. Becky and Glenn were here on the weekend and her and Angie decided that since Noah was way out in Winnipeg on his birthday, they would throw him one this weekend. What a great time. I think I got him eating his cake, and if I can ever figure out how to get my video to my computer, I'll show it to you. We had a bar-b-que, presents and cake and icecream, what a treat.
While Ben was here I tried to teach him to hold up his hand and say "talk to the hand". He'd repeat it but didn't hold up his hand. Today Becky called and said while she was talking to Glenn about talking to the doctor, Ben all of sudden said " talkin inna hand". My mission is starting to bear fruit. He is starting to repeat everything you say so I will have to start being a little careful.
Noah has a few more teeth, still nothing in front on top, but I'm sure they will come. He was here yesterday and had a nap on me. There is almost nothing as good as holding a sleeping baby. And Sam is just a spitting image of Ben.
Last November I bought a big bottle of shampoo. I'll bet your wondering where this is going. Well here it is. I was wondering if I only used just enough shampoo to clean my hair. Not that much that there would be suds running down my head, but just enough to clean it. Just enough is about the size of a nickel in your hand and about the thickness of two nickels. If you keep your hair short and wait to try something like this until your hair is falling out like a shedding golden retriever, and wash your hair only every second day, this litre bottle just may make the fall. Not sure about Nov, but we are going to give it our best shot. I am not normally this frugal, but the challenge just grabbed hold of me like a really good title to a blog and here I am, on a quest.
Becky, why didn't you pull down all the birthday decorations in my basement before you left, huh? You and your little sister.

The new canoe

I did it. Well, we did it. Chris and I bought a canoe. It was on sale at C.T. and after parting with my little horde of C.T. money, it cost me only $333.00 taxes in.
So the first trip was planned for the May long weekend, Jonny and I were going to try to make PA. I booked Friday off, so that was going to give us about 3.5 days. It should be enough. Well the week before I got sick, so we didn't leave till Sat morning and we had decided to stop at Gabriels Bridge just east of Rosthern. We were in high spirits as we loaded the canoe and shoved off. It was short lived. When we turned the corner just past the chemical plant we faced a long straight stretch about 1.5 miles long that goes past Wanuskewin, right into the teeth of what soon felt like the winds of Katrina. We had to paddle hard all the way or the wind would blow us back up river. I had pictured a nice leisurely paddle, my fishing rod propped up by some gear, a cold drink stuffed in there somewhere, chatting with my son about what we should look for in a camping site and maybe asking him to pass the sunblock. It was instead a hard paddle, not even thinking of my fishing rod, thoughts of a big mug of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire in my head, and asking Jonathan to pass me my toque and telling him to "for goodness sake son paddle or we are going to get blown all the way back to the weir in Saskatoon and drown."
We finally camped just down river from the Clarkboro ferry around 5 pm in the shelter of some big willow bushes and it was actually pretty nice. We made camp, built a nice fire, cooked some supper and we were starting to think that it was not going to be a bad rest of the weekend. We woke up at 3 am and it was raining, I had old mans disease and had to get out of the tent for a minute. When I got back Jonathan had tried to put more air in the mattress and had mistakenly unscrewed the cap and was now sitting on the ground trying to attach the air pump. We finally got back to sleep and woke up at 6, in the rain and with the wind about twice as strong as it was the day before. Jonathan had picked this weekend to quit smoking so he was just a "tad" grumpy. We decided to make for the Hague ferry and phone for our ride. We decided to stick to the east bank of the river so we wouldn't get swamped, but this means you paddle a lot farther than if you go from point to point. After a while we didn't care anymore, even death in the cold South Saskatchewan was satisfactory to paddling any more than we had to. We made the ferry by about noon, phoned for my truck and by the time he got there the clouds were gone. We left anyway. Sunday evening was nice out and Monday was just beautiful, but I now had my wish. I was off the river with both feet firmly on the ground. Right behind my lawn mower. It was hot but I did have a cold drink. We are going to do it again, just not sure when. When we do go I am going to bring a couple of packs of smokes, just in case Jonny decides to quit. I know, I shouldn't support such an awful habit, but you haven't been alone with him at a time like this. Aww he wasn't that bad. I would go with him again in a heartbeat.
That was my long weekend. Next trip though, I think will be with my brother Peter. I met him at the Co-op the other day and we decided we should do a trip together. Looking forward to it.

Drugs rule

I heard today that the Toronto Argonauts are trying to sign Ricky Williams, of the Miami Dolphins. Some of you who read this may be asking, who's that. Mel knows, right Mel? I will tell those of you who may not follow sports. Ricky Williams was the Heisman trophy winner in 1998, played 6 years in the NFL, and played well I might add, and out of those 6 years was tested positive four times for substance abuse. Last month the NFL suspended him for one year and he is now subject to up to 10 random tests a month and must remain under the supervision of a medical adviser. I don't have a problem with giving someone another chance, but the NFL saw fit to suspend him for a year and now the Argos want to bring him here and showcase his running abilities. Trust me, Ricky would never come here if he was allowed to play in the NFL, and if he does play up here it will only be for the year he is under suspension. This action by the Argos really bothers me. We are telling our young people who are in sports that the only way to win is if you are on the juice. I don't know what he was taking, it might have been pot, or cocaine, or whatever, but most likely steroids. I am first of all shocked that the CFL would allow this, but mostly upset that the Argos are trying this.
Did you know that there were about 12 cases of substance abuse in the minors of baseball in 05, and out of those most were pitchers. Everybody pretty much knows that Barry Bonds was or is using steroids, it just needs to be proven yet. But as tests get better so do the methods of blocking those tests. I have heard media people justify his drug use by saying that he may have taken drugs but that was before baseball made it illegal. What a load of crap. Here we are, waiting with baited breath for the day that Bonds hits the home run that will surpass the Babe's record, and he did it by cheating. Bonds would have been a dominant player in baseball without the drugs, but he would not have passed Babe Ruth for home runs. And that is the sad part of this. I must prove that I am better than the next guy, I will be the best at all costs, even if it costs me my health.
Toronto president Keith Pelley said, and I quote, "It is absolutely crucial that before we would proceed with Ricky Williams that he is prepared to be absolutely clean and more importantly, educate the youth of Toronto to say no to drugs." Mr Pelley, I say this to you, if you proceed with this, you have already educated the youth of Toronto and all those who would like to play major sports. We must win the Grey Cup, we must be the best at all cost, regardless of what we have to do to get there. Shame on you and your organization.
Now I must go do my mother-in-laws taxes before they through her in jail.