Snow, Finally!

Hey, summer is over. Time to put away the lawn furniture maybe.

Our second real accumulation this season has finally arrived this morning, three days late for Christmas. A large, low pressure system has moved up from Kentucky depositing some snow here and a significant snowstorm further east to Quebec and the maritimes. It looks kinda nice though, don't you think?

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KISS - Keep It Simple Silly!

Christmas debris

On Christmas Eve, we had an informal get-together of family and friends at our home in London. This year we broke with tradition and plan to have the turkey dinner later in the week. Wendy's close friend Patricia brought Greg and "Circle" friend Pat. Daughter Erin brought Jake. Arriving later was Erin's friend Cathy from B.C. and Jake's friend Andrew. 

Wendy; in spite of her resolution to keep things simpler this year, as usual, prepared a spread of snacks that would impress a commercial caterer. Crackers and biscuits, dips and sauces... shrimp and cheese and cakes and cookies. There was even pulled-pork on a bun and baked beans. Dessert was a "Death By Chocolate" dish that Wendy whipped up from a recipe by condo friend Fern in Point Edward.  For beverage we had imported beer and wines, liqueur, liquor of various types with mix, and eggnog with rum. 

Erin and Jake stayed over and we exchanged gifts this morning, toasting with mimosas and snacking again until their departure after the Queen's address at noon. 

 I don't know about you but I'm snacked out... for now.

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Gone!

"It appears Tuesday’s massive, day-long fire at a marine storage facility in Port Lambton was caused by an electrical fault.  The Ontario Fire Marshall’s investigation is ongoing.  St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst says investigators have finished digging through the rubble at St. Clair Boating and Marine." http://foxfm.com/marina-fire-close-to-cause/

75 boats and antique cars were destroyed.  Losses are estimated at 40-million dollars.

Investigators search boat fire rubble for clues

By BOB BOUGHNER QMI Agency

PORT LAMBTON – A newly-married Michigan couple find it hard to fathom that the pleasure boat they used for their honeymoon in September is now history.

In fact, the 41-foot "La Dolce Vita'' is among an estimated 70 pleasure craft destroyed in Tuesday's  multi-million dollar blaze at St. Clair Boathouse on Old River Road, south of Port Lambton.

"I guess I don't have to worry about polishing the boat next spring,'' said owner Nat Pulizzi of Troy, Mich. "Instead, I'll likely be sweeping up what's left over in a dust pan.''

Seventy firefighters responded to the scene at of the burning storage shed, which witnesses said exploded before going up in smoke that could be seen for miles around on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

"We are very fortunate that not a single firefighter was injured,'' said St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst.

Local firefighters were augmented by five volunteers from Algonac, Mich., directly across the St. Clair River. A fire boat and a ladder truck were also dispatched by the Clay Township Fire Department in Algonac.

Dewhirst described the blaze as a "once in a career fire.''

The fire chief said his volunteer staff wore breathing apparatus to protect themselves from the thick, billowing smoke and fumes from the burning fiberglass and wooden boats.

A handful of firefighters were back at the scene Wednesday morning dousing hot spots in the former 300-by -100 metal storage building.

Paul Dow, lead investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office, said it will likely take a few days to determine the cause of the fire.

"I'm here to conduct an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the fire,'' he said. "The plan is to dismantle the ruins in an attempt to determine a cause.''

A shelter in place order, issued for residents in the areas as well as across the St. Clair River in Michigan because of environmental concerns, was lifted at 9 p.m.

Residents were asked to stay indoors and turn off any air intake or ventilation systems they might be using.

No injuries were reported and although a damage estimate is not yet available officials said property damage will be in the millions.

The huge storage facility destroyed was one of two built side by side. A fire wall and efforts of dozens of firefighters saved the adjacent building, which also contained dozens of boats.

Veteran boater Harvey Schilke of London said his 41-foot boat was reduced to rubble in the fire.

"I will likely try and replace it but it took me more than a year to find this one,'' he said.

Schilke and his wife, Mary, along with a number of other boat owners at the scene, voiced their concern for marina owner Steve Coopman.

Michael Dale, of London, who lost his 35-foot boat in the fire, said there is nothing worse than a fire involving gasoline, diesel fuel and fiberglass.

Ron Wade, owner of Done Rite Restoration, which is housed in a large  building across the street from the fire scene, spotted the smoke on the way to work early Tuesday morning.

"I was hoping it wasn't coming from my building,'' said the Wallaceburg resident, who restores antique boats.

Wade praised firefighters at the scene.

"They did a great job,'' he said.

The fire was reminiscent of a $1-million blaze that destroyed the world-renowned Abbott Boat Works in Sarnia in the summer of 2006. It too sent huge volumes of smoke billowing into the air, some of which may have been laced with toxic chemicals from burnt plastic.

The Phoenix Is Burning

My Phoenix  Falls Into The Ashes

Today the heated storage barn where we kept the Phoenix burned to the ground in a spectacular fire that destroyed as many as 75 yachts and some antique cars.

Marina fire engulfs 75 boats, antique cars

Blaze near Sarnia, Ont., causes damage 'in the millions of dollars'

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CBC NEWS "A large storage facility that houses as many as 75 boats and several antique and collectible cars has burned at a marina near Sarnia, Ont.

"The damage will be in the millions of dollars," Lambton OPP Const. Chrystal Jones said.

The fire began around 7 a.m. ET in Port Lambton. At least three fire detachments responded to the call on Old River Road, just south of St. Clair Parkway.

Residents living near the property reported hearing explosions from inside or near the building.

"I heard a couple of pops but a friend of mine lives pretty well across the street there and he said that's what woke him up [Tuesday] morning was an explosion," said Mike Walton, who lives near the scene. "So, he looked out the window and he said the one door on the far end of the building was already gone."

By 10 a.m. flames had engulfed the entire structure and efforts to battle the blaze involved every available firefighter in St. Clair Township.

Residents told to stay clear of the area

Thick black smoke is still billowing from the building on the shores of the St. Clair River and blowing across the water toward Michigan, but a number of homes in Port Lambton are directly in its path.

Emergency officials have told Port Lambton residents to stay inside with their windows and doors shut to avoid exposure to smoke.

"Apparently, the fibreglass that's burning is causing some toxic fumes. We're asking people to stay clear of the area and to keep an eye on the smoke, to stay indoors and to stay out of the path of that because it could cause you respiratory or lung problems," Jones said.

Police at the scene told CBC News they are not yet evacuating people from the area. However, officers have gone door to door to notify them they could be asked to leave at a moment's notice.

The Ministry of the Environment is monitoring the situation."

The Phoenix is just a memory now.  I'll miss her.  I'm just so thankful no one was injured.

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Stay White? It Might!

One week to Christmas and it's snowing lightly this morning with 4 cm on the ground. Will we have a white Christmas? Maybe, says the weather man.

This Year

Last Year

This is Accuweather's Probability Map and it looks like we are right on the border of "probable" and "doubtful". Hmmmm!

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FIVE Years Blogging!

Some things don't change much.

On December 6th 2006, five years ago, I started this blog. Back then I wrote:

"I figured this would be a great way for Wendy and I to share some of our events, news, pictures and travels with our closest friends. Rather than email that clogs up your mailbox, this blog allows you to visit, post replies, or do nothing. I still plan to use email to send specific notes or more private communications where applicable. I have elected not to make this blog public, but available to those who have the address. I hope this mild exclusivity will encourage more personally interesting interaction since the content and your responses are not broadcast to a worldwide audience. Stay tuned for updates."

Well, 635 blog entries later and the foregoing is still correct. Some things don't change much. I think I weigh more though. I hope I can keep everything going for another five years. If you want, you can go back to the beginning by using the "Time Machine" at the left or CLICK HERE.
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I wish every politician would read this:

There's Hope! At Least One American Sees It Right:

Mike Connell: Mr. Obama, tear down this wall

I know some Americans will find this hard to believe, but Canada is not North Korea.
It's not Afghanistan either. Or Iran. Or even Mexico. It is neither an Evil Empire nor a cog in the Axis of Evil.
It's just old Canada, a country that looks an awful lot like ours would if we pumped gas by the liter and set speed limits in kilometers per hour.
Those of us who live near the border get this. Canadians don't scare us much, except maybe when a white plate suddenly decides to swerve across three lanes of traffic to pull into a Tim Horton's.
Mostly though, we think of Canadians as good neighbors. Heck, they almost talk American, eh?
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CANADA MUST LOOK far more menacing if viewed from Kentucky or Kansas or, especially, the District of Columbia.
How else do you explain American foreign policy of the past decade? In the years since Sept. 11, 2001, we've been treating Canada as if it were the pulsating heart of darkness.
It doesn't help that so many pundits and politicians are in a competition to see who can be the most paranoid. If an elected official speaks of securing the borders, you can be sure the loyal opposition will one-up them with a call for 20-foot walls topped with concertina wire and sniper towers.
Gar Pardy, a retired Canadian diplomat, broached the topic in a commentary published last week by The Ottawa Citizen.
"Throughout the 10 years since 9/11," he wrote, "there has been a drum roll of comments by American leaders that Canada represents an existential threat -- a threat that needed to be countered by tough American measures including the arming and hardening of the border."
«« »»
OLD-TIMERS IN OUR AREA remember a time when they could cross the Blue Water Bridge on their lunch break for fish and chips at the Bridge Tavern in Point Edward or a pizza with the works at Firenze's in Sarnia.
Good luck with that today, assuming you don't get three hours for lunch.
Crossing the border falls somewhere between a hassle and an ordeal. It's serious business. Handing your passport to a customs agent and awaiting a verdict is roughly as comfortable as getting pulled over for speeding on the expressway.
Coincidentally, even as the United States was hardening its 5,525-mile border with Canada, a softening of borders was taking place in much of Europe.
Five years ago, the European Union issued a directive
on crossing borders without a passport. The policy calls on EU nations to "remove all obstacles to fluid traffic flow at road crossing-points at internal borders."
Today, motorists can navigate the 2,500 miles from Portugal to Estonia, crossing a half-dozen or so national borders, without showing a passport or visa.
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THE EUROPEAN UNION can allow this because member nations have accepted a common set of security rules.
Where a traveler from abroad enters the EU shouldn't matter. If they're arriving on a ship at Marseilles, an airliner at Geneva or an automobile at Jalowka, the regulations are the same.
This means the EU can concentrate on securing its outer perimeter without policing most of its internal borders.
Canada and the United States once shared the world's softest border. In theory, they should be able to develop a similar working arrangement. With a common set of rules, terrorists arriving on a ship at Halifax or a jetliner at Montreal would face the same scrutiny as they would at New Orleans or New York.
With a secured outer perimeter, there would be no good reason to throw money and energy at policing the internal border. To give just one example, the rationale for spending $300 million on a customs plaza at Port Huron goes away.
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COMMON SENSE, as far as I can tell, is not regarded as a particular virtue on Capitol Hill. An alliance with Canada on border security might seem logical and reasonable, but why would Congress worry itself with logic or reason?
Money, on the other hand, does matter in Washington. And when it comes to the border, we're talking big money.
America's No. 1 trading partner is Canada. Cross-border commerce generates at least $525 billion a year. As many as 10 million jobs depend on the free flow of goods between provinces and states.
Border issues, ranging from traffic snarls to paperwork thickets, cost businesses an estimated $16 billion a year. Soften the border, and most of those costs go away.
With this in mind, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and unveiled their long-anticipated Beyond the Border deal.
"Last year, more than 100 million people crossed our shared border, including lots of Canadians who, I'd note, spend more money in America than any other visitors," Obama told the White House press corps. "Well, I'll make a pitch -- we want even more Canadians visiting and spending even more money here."
«« »»
HARPER AND OBAMA embrace the concept of perimeter security, at least in theory. They're looking to unleash the movement of people and goods on the internal border even as they guard the outer perimeter with more vigilance.
Beginning next year, Canada and the U.S. will share more information on travelers.
When a Sarnia resident crosses the Blue Water Bridge and clears U.S. Customs, for example, this exit information will be shared with Canadian authorities. The same will be done for Americans crossing into Canada.
It is not a minor detail. It would help identify people who have overstayed their visas, or roughly four of every 10 illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Sounds good, and yet not everyone is pleased.
Generally speaking, Canadians hold their right to privacy much more dearly than Americans do. Canada even has a privacy czar -- Jennifer Stoddart -- and she seems wary of providing U.S. Customs and Border Protection with personal information on millions of her fellow Canadians.
"There is a vast difference when it comes to privacy oversight between our two countries," she said. "Law enforcement and national security authorities in the U.S. simply do not operate under the privacy oversight structure that exists in Canada."
Americans might be soft on privacy, but we're tough on crime. As part of the deal, Canada is agreeing to adopt our hard-nosed rules for identifying and red-flagging foreign visitors who are deemed "high risk" for crime in general and terrorism in particular.
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ON PAPER, THE DEAL between Harper and Obama has potential. Just remember, it is mostly talk at this point.
Many of its provisions will be rolled out as pilot projects. It could be years before the border truly begins to soften, if it ever does.
In an editorial, the Toronto Star described Beyond the Border as "a plan to come up with a plan."
"Down in the weeds," the editorial continued, "the deal looks ... more like a cautious work in progress that will be figured out, fought over and rolled out in pilot projects for years to come."
Given Canada's concern for individual privacy, and America's demand for unblinking vigilance, a cautious approach would seem justifiable and unavoidable.
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OUR REPRESENTATIVE in Congress -- Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township -- leads the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. It gives her a strong voice on what happens along the border.
She hailed the Obama-Harper deal, describing it as "the best news we have had for the Blue Water Bridge during my time in Congress."
Miller, who is wrapping up her ninth year on Capitol Hill, noted Port Huron is the second-busiest commercial crossing on the northern border. She described it as the "perfect artery" to run many of the pilot programs.
Obama identified agriculture and automobiles as priorities for enhanced trade, and as Miller observed, both industries rely enormously on the Port Huron border crossing.
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THE ODDS OF RESTORING a soft border might be bolstered by Obama's friendship with Harper.
At first blush, they seem unlikely pals. Harper is a buttoned-down conservative while Obama is a rolled-sleeves liberal.
L. Ian MacDonald, writing in the Sudbury Star, said the two men became fast friends while working together on the GM and Chrysler bailouts of 2009.
"Harper at 52 and Obama at 50 belong to the same cohort and grew up listening to the same music," MacDonald wrote. "And they became partners, on top of being neighbors, with the ... deal that saved the North American auto industry."
Another Canadian journalist, John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail, agreed the friendship brightens the prospects for the border deal.
"Geopolitically, such an agreement is in both countries' interest," he wrote. "But it helps that the two men call each other Stephen and Barack."
«« »»
MAYBE IT'S A PIPE DREAM, but let's hope the day comes when Port Huron residents can visit Sarnia as freely as St. Paul residents go to Minneapolis. No passports, no questions, no hassles.
Google Maps insists it's a five-minute drive from the Pine Grove Avenue entrance of the Blue Water Bridge to Firenze's Pizza on Colborne Road.
That's not true in the real world, of course, but perhaps it's prophecy.

Mike Connell is a freelance writer. Contact him at 

fortgratiot@gmail.com or visit

his website at www.abbeyrow.com.

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Dave's Moustache One Month Later

I promised to post Dave's moustache so here it is in a shot by the elevator with Wendy. Not bad for a month if I do say so. To review the "Before" picture CLICK HERE.
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The Tree

As usual Wendy did a great job at decorating the 'perfect tree'.  She even hid the green rope with the star and some bows I cut from the bottom. This tree isn't as wide as the one last year but it is very nicely shaped. Wendy says it's so perfect it looks artificial.  The main difference is the wonderful pine aroma. The phony ones don't have a smell - yet. From Rona $25 and all the way from Tacoma WA. How do they do it?
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We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

I installed a hook in the ceiling last Christmas after the tree toppled over as soon as we finished decorating it. I don't know why we didn't do this ages ago. This year the installation took less than 30 seconds after pre-measuring the rope out in the garage, before bringing the tree into the house. (An upside-down tree would be easy to do but difficult to water properly.) We even found some Martha Stewartesque green rope. In the traditional position a stainless steel mixing bowl is all we need to quench the tree's thirst.

With the tree hanging a centimeter off the floor, you can rotate it easily for the best view. As long as your hook is well anchored to the ceiling, the tree can never tip over. Am I brilliant or what?

The ultimate test of one's patience is the annual ritual of untangling the lights. Do you know it takes sixty times longer to untangle the lights than it took the Chinamen to make them in the first place? And this goes on EVERY YEAR!  You'll notice I'm in another room and believe me I want no part of this task.

I do get involved in the placement  of coathanger wire "S" hooks and the hanging of the lights in the higher spots where Wendy can't reach well.

Cue the snow! Timing is everything. A dusting of new snow arrives just in time.

You're right Wendy, I'm not sure about this ladder spot. I'll think about it. Maybe a long pole would be safer.

I'll post a few night shots of the results later. Hum along with me: "We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

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