Canadians in the cold, smokers, musings

She's a lot like winter out there, boys. Minus 29 C., windchill MINUS FORTY. I dont have to discern whether that is Farenheit or Celsius,  -40 is where they meet, at a point labelled 'Fuckin Cold'.
I have a great Arctic rated parka, so am fully prepared. I just got back from a trip up to the Ave. for groceries n beer, 6 blocks each way. Noticed several of my countrywimmins along the way, dressed for the weather, showing pink cheeks (on their faces) and bright eyes from the cold, and a few even smiled at me in a neighborly 'caught you lookin' kind of way.  Gotta hand it to Canadians in a cold snap like this, they just put on more layers and carry on.  And gals who can still look good in parka and mukluks.
My quit smoking date is the 15th of the month, passed 3 months tabac free this last weekend. I was behind a guy at the checkout who bought a 20 pack, reg. length for 12.75 and I scoffed inwardly. He couldnt have been more than 32, but he had a greyish tinge to his skin and extra wrinkles from his habit. No shit, smoking makes your skin look decades older. I 'm not vain about my looks, but I dont want to look 62 at 52, prefer to look like a grey-haired, not grey-skinned,  45.  My only vices are beer and low stakes poker, together costing less than it would to smoke a pack a day at current prices.
Back to work from winter layoff tomorrow. These days of poker and beer on weekdays (I did have a part-time job to supplement the pogey, EI) are numbered, sigh. So I plan to enjoy kickin some Russkis' asses on the poker tables today, and tip back a few afternoon beers, while sniffing the evolving tasty aroma of my gal making a giant pot of soup downstairs. I dont have any beef with Russians, its just that pokerstars groups Canadians, Russkis, Kiwis, Ozzies, Brazilians, etc. together on tables, and there seem to be lots of Ivans playing this time of day.  Da svedanya, boychiks!

Have a good one, folks, stay warm.

not New Year yet, but feelin grateful anyway

The sun is fractionally higher in the sky, there was an actual warm patch of sunlight the dog found to catch some rays in the backyard this morning.  Had a good Xmas with my gal, quiet but comfy. Good eats, perfect turkey, ate too much. Happy to exchange some seasonal type emails with good buds I've had for almost all my life. I like my dog, he is awesome.  My son is going through a rough period, but 18 isnt an easy age.  Life is good, feels quite satisfactory at the moment.
2012, bring it on, you Mayan bitches..

commerce and good vibes in the big shitty, the nice end

Just got back from a trip up to Beer Store Corner, as I call it, Whyte n 112.  They had a sweet deal on turkeys at the Sobeys, but there was a sign which I didnt see , a caveat that you had to buy 35 bucks worth of groceries to get the turkeys at 97 cents/lb. 
(we are supposed to be centigrade, or by the Kg, but we function in both, up here in the Great White North).
Got into a little wrangle with the Asian gal at the till, she of the culture that loves discounts and haggling, she had to call a manager.  All I bought was some frozen french fries, a 2 litre chocolate soy milk for my gal, and a 9 lb. turkey.  Less than 35 bones.  The large and previously bitch-face manager came up, had to call head office, ended up giving it to me at advertised price. Score! Had nice convo with clerk-san in the meantime.
Then around the corner to BrownGuysLiquorInc.  The guy who works Sunday is a biz major, I think, the other guys are mostly IT.  I bought my usual Sunday 12 of Brewhouse and tall Beck's. Got into a convo with buddy, he offered me a free tall can of Original 16, made by Great Western Grain, also.
 I shared a tale with him:  this brewery was created by workers who used to work for one of the big 3 Canadian breweries in Saskatoon, which wanted to close the plant. They pooled their pension funds, kicked in some dough and bought the plant. Now runs as Great Western Grain, makes Brewhouse, a few other brews, all not bad, drinkable and cheap, and apparently they are trying to tap the higher-end market with Original 16. I will tell you how it is after its chilled.

I tried to tap buddy for a free beer glass too, but he held firm. He is a good marketer, but not a sucka. Peace.

trying to get some hits.. Lindsay Lohan, Ki,m and Kourtney, Heroin, God, Christmas

what?

My girl is sad. she went walkin. she should take her dang vitamins. Its just the season.
and her stupid ass job, they should double her pay and fire the crazy douche who tires her out.

but I got some hits on my blog.

Yay.

BUY SOCKS FoR PO' FOLKS: more nattering on about life on low dough, my dog, stuff..

Its a nice day by seasonal standards at 54 N. latitude, provided you are wearing longjohns, good boots and mitts. I like winter; tried living on Vancouver Island for a few years, I find rain is gloomy and makes my bones ache and gives me colds and flu. It's minus 8 Celsius, no wind, and less than a week from the shortest day of the year. That will be about 7 hours of daylight from sunrise to set, then it starts creeping back up.
My dog is pretty much deaf. He likes to announce his mighty presence with a few barks, but he cant really hear himself, so often they come out as feeble 'Yoop, Yerp' barks. I wonder if he ever made fun of old dogs who were too deaf to hear themselves. He's on the flipside of that now. He can see reasonably well, but I detect the sheen of cataracts forming, and his nose works as well as ever, if his ability to detect meat products, especially bacon or ham, is any indication.
I have taken on a small part time job to supplement my EI this winter layoff, but they shorted me a week today, I am sure its an accident. I was punching 2 timecards for small hours on 2 diff projects, I think payroll missed one.  Nevertheless, I was looking forward to paying more bills with the additional 100 dollar bounty.  Times are tight in the ol homestead, even though my gal's only luxuries are a daily Coke and a monthly pedi, and mine is cheap beer. Quit smoking after 40 years as a daily puffer, almost 9 weeks clean, so at least I'm not purchasing cancer of the lungs as a luxury any more.  My liver gets a bit angry with me when I exceed my beer ration, but I take lecithin from time to time, helps flush it out.

Got a big ol ham on sale last week, cooked it yesterday to perfection, and looking forward to making pea soup with the bone when the meat is all sliced off, then after the bone has simmered for a couple days, the dog gets it. Nothing wasted.

Not buying Xmas gifts directly, but will be purchasing packs of cheap socks in bundles of 5 or 6 pairs and sending them to shelters.  People often buy obligatory presents, little 10 dollar doodads, for people who dont need or want them. I will be buying for people who do need socks, and feeling less foolish and hypocritical as a result.
Many of my Feckbook friends are concerned eco-folks, and I salute their concerns, but it gets a bit silly at times.  I care more about drunk or crazy  humans freezing to death than neurotic monkeys in the Philippines committing suicide due to the stress of tourism. I suspect there are too many monkeys,  and there may be a few going nuts.

The greatest problems this ol planet faces are  still overconsumption in the First world, and overpopulation in the Third. If you have to buy anything, buy used, buy local, buy something that will last and not need replacing.  Alternate choice to socks for poor and crazy folks would be mosquito nets for the tropics.

Happy Solstice next week, stop by for pea soup.

well, sir, here's the tale...

Sometimes I feel out of time and place. I have a Texan bud on FB who I knew on Myspace, before the rats ate that place down, we both are big on Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove. I used to dream of being a cowboy when I was a nipper, and I dont mind the big open spaces at all. I also tend to be a polite feller, like callin girls 'darlin' n 'sugar', Southern gentleman airs.  Maybe was one in a previous life, but believing too much superstitious hooey leads to a strange place, not indistinguishable from folks who believe strange religious crapola,  invented by crafty humans to baffle others. I am pragmatic but open-minded.  I believe I just dont know, as my friend Lou from NYC used to say.
However. The current reality is a good place, beseiged by debts, but pretty comfy in the heart.  The ol dog's hips are goin, makes his arsehole wider as the hip dysplasia progresses, so I have to be aware his poop just pops out sometimes.  Elder care of my loved ol dog.
My gal is great, she is slogging it out in a stupid job with many rude customers, and management isnt even paying her what they promised at hire, 3 1/2 months ago, I would hate to work retail.
We get along great, overly smart hermit types, and times will be better.  Thanks for understanding, the sun will start coming back after December 22.

Sushi and a focking Brownie

My gal went out to get her feet sanded, polished and painted, and for some reason the place was closed (on a Tuesday, mid afternoon?).
But she did some creative shopping and walking, and came home with foot-sanding pads, some polish, and a 7 dolla pack of Save-On -Foods sushi, and a dessert.

 Feet not sanded and spoiled, but not coming home empty handed.  

'Sushi and a focking Brownie'