The Wife

Howdy Kidlings - it's yer ol pal Scrubbie here. How are ya?

It's April 4th. Special day.

See, today is The Wife's Birthday!

It was !! years ago that The Wife came into this world. Scrub, for one, is glad is around. I'd have been talkin to myself these past 20 some years if she wasn't here.



Ain't she gorgeous?

So, here... on the interweb... I just wanna tell the world... how much I love this woman.

And, to wish her a very happy birthday.

I love ya darlin'.

And speakin' of Hurricane...

Speakin of Hurricane... here's an update: After grounding and bankrupting an entire airline just by booking a seat and travellin' to some sun-shiney island somewheres last week, our dear pal Hurricane has managed to fanagle herself and her two offspring a ride home. US Airways. Yes - if you have a ticket, you might wanna check your cancellation insurance. Anyways... the ol gal is jettin' home tomorrow.

But... on that note of our deal pal Hurricane and her bein' the "eye of the storm" and all....

ya'll might recall an entry some time back called Vroom-Vroom. Go ahead - take a peek if ya like. This interweb thingy is really the bees knees, aint it?

Ok, back? Kewl. Anyway - in that entry, ya'll read about good 'ol Hurricane securing herself a new set'a wheels for toddlin' around town with.

Just realized....

The new set'a wheels.....

A horseless buggy made by Saturn.

Saturn.

And....

Yes.....

Work with me here kids....

They aint in business no more.

Are ya seein' the pattern?

Thought I was exaggerating. Didn't ya?

WARNING! WARNING!

Howdy kids! It's yer old pal Scrubbie here! How the frack are ya?

I know, eh.... like... seriously. I haven't had nuthin' to say.

Today.... I do.

Alrighty - got yer coffee in hand? Right then. Here we go.

So - ya'll recall the wife and me have a dear friend named Hurricane, right? Remember her? Dynamite under the driveway. Unknowingly gives theives who just cleared out a neighbours house clear directions back to the highway. Walks into someone's house thinking it was her pals... announces she's gotta pee.... only to find out all the people in the house are actually there for a wake for their dear pappy who just passed from this earth. Yep - her.

So - our dear pal Hurricane is a tireless worker. She slugs it out pretty hard every day. Trading skins and furs to keep herself in cookies and bling. But, in a moment of weakness, decided she needed a vacation. Take a little trip to where there ain't snow fer a change. And, takes her offspring with her too. Scrub - I takes them to the local airplane take-off facility and see them off.

Scrub gets back home to the igloo and with every conversation he has with pals - they all say "what's that? Hurricane? On a plane? On vacation? Geez - wonder what disaster's gonna happen now?!" Then - we all giggle.

C'mon - what are the chances, eh?

THIS IS HURRICANE! THIS IS HURRICANE, PEOPLE! The chances are 100%

While our dear pal Hurricane is basking in the sunshine in warmer locales with her two brats.... Scrub hears on the portable audio box that "Skyservice today has announced it has ceased operations and is now in receivership."

Yep - Skyservice. That's Hurricane's airline. Well - let me qualify that.... it WAS Hurricane's airline.

In one fleeting moment in time, in this... the year of our Lord, two-thousand ten... our dear pal Hurricane has managed to bankrupt and ground an entire airline.

So - on behalf of our dear pal Hurricane - I'd like to apologize to the 800+ employees of Skyservice Airlines as well as to the thousands of passengers who were either scheduled to fly to vacation destinations around the world or who are there already and are now swapping seashells and sand sculptures for space in the cargo compartments of flights to get back home.

I must point out - just as with the dynamite under the driveway... just as with the house being struck by lightening (twice)... just as with the plane that crash landed in the front yard of her igloo... somehow... SOMEHOW... "it's not 'my' fault".

No, No Hurricane. It's not your fault. But, somehow... SOMEHOW... you are the eye of the storm.

As a public service, I shall, from this day forth, post Hurricanes travel plans, whereabouts and schedules right here on this blog.

Don't say I didn't warn ya kids.

I will stop writing now and continue my last few days of guaranteed peace and serenity whilst Hurricane is outa the country. I suggest all those of you north of the border... do the same.

Regrets

Huh? 2010? Whaaaaat?!?!?!

Howdy kids - tiz your old pal Scrubbie here. Happy New Year.

Havent blogged in a while. I know. I really havent had much to say. Oh sure - I could spin a yarn about the nasty dogsled accident that left me in a coma. And how through it all, I could hear the Wife talkin to me while I lay in sterile hospital room - sayin things like "where the hell did you put the scissors?" Then, just a few days ago - popped my eyes open thinking it had only been a couple of hours while to my shock and horror - finding out the year had turned, the kid got married, the lunatic dog had pups (even though she had her u-hoo taped shut) and I had grown a third eye.

Sure - that'd be fun. Interesting, even. Funny, in a dark and tragic sorta way.

But it aint true. And ya'll already know that if it goes up on the blog - there's gotta be truth to it.

No... Scrub just hasn't had much to say.

Today, however... I do.

Ahem.... (clearing throat)

Trek.

Star Trek.

Love Trek.

All kindsa Trek. New and Old.

Know lots about it.

Lots.

But....

This, my friends, is simply wrong.

I don't know who these people are.

Don't really need to.

All I know is... they need help.

And, one day, they'll regret this photo.

And that boys and girls - is all I gotta say.

It Ends Up Balanced

Give a little. Take a little. Win some. Lose some. Sometimes you get it. Sometimes it gets you.

Howdy boys & girls. Yer ol pal Scrubbie here on a wintery, snowy and really frackin' cold afternoon. How are ya?

Balance. Everything seems to end up balanced.

Here - take this for example:

Scrub was giddy. Scrub was jumpin' with excitement. Scrub's tastebuds were tickled pink. Let me explain.

Just t'other day, Scrub dragged out the flour and sugar, eggs and vanilla and a bowl or two. A measure of this. A dash of that. Scrub stoked up the fire and before ya knew it... there, in front of me - biscotti. Ya know - those crunchy, delish cookie thingies that just are swell with a cuppa coffee. Timmies coffee. (whoops - there's that Timmies reference again. HI Kristine!)

Anyway - biscotti. Glorious to behold. Even more-so to taste. Cranberry Pistachio biscotti to be exact. Flavoured with vanilla and almond extract. With just a hint of the olive oil used in the preparation. Oh kids... magnificent!

Then, Scrub went ahead with a second batch. Just cause I had more dried cranberries and nuts left over. This time however - DRIZZLED IN WHITE CHOCOLATE they were! The ONLY thing better than this culinary treat is cuddles with the wife or dreams involving pudding.

Heaven. Simply heaven.

So - inspired, Scrub, last night, drugged out more flour and sugar and other baking goodies. The igloo was positively filled with the smells of Christmas! Chocolate-Orange Biscotti! Banana-Walnut mini loaves! Coconut Macaroons! Lord... Take me now! My mouth was positively dripping with anticipation!

The Biscotti - dutch cocoa and the zest of the quintessential Christmas treat 'round here... Clementines. Oh... they were all chocolately-dark with that signature crackly crust on the top of the cookies!

The smell of the banana loaves were enough to attract the attention of the Kid's punk pals from miles around. They all came wanderin' over through the cold night air just to have a sniff and ask "Scrubbie - what is that wonderful smell?"

And the macaroons. Let me ask you - is there anything more perfect... is there anything that speaks to the soul more than little golden mounds of sugary goodness that just nukes your tastebuds with the taste of coconut than a macaroon? 48 of the little buggers came outa the hot box last night!

Now - here is where the whole Yin-Yang of it all comes in.

The Cranberry-Nut Biscotti - a gift from the gods. The chocolate-orange Biscotti - bitter horrid little shards that could be perfectly good tent-peg substitutes. My delectable banana-walnut mini loaves - gawddamnd bricks. And the macaroons - i don't even know how to describe the disaster.

So, you see... over the course of 24 hours, Scrubbie went from bein' all high and mighty over his screamin' success in the kitchen of the igloo, to being completely and utterly put back in my place by it.

Ah well.

It's off to the trading post where I'll simply swap a few skins and furs for a collection of sweeties that I will simply pass off as my own. Huh? Oh, ya, right... like you've never done that before.

A Rare Moment of Niceness.

Howdy kids. Yer ol pal Scrubbie here.

I'm stuffed. Full. Well sated.

Tonight, the Wife and me went for dinner. Out for dinner. At a restaurant! Seriously.

Went to this place called Oliver and Bonacelli. It was dee-lightful! Dee Lish! Nice staff. Great service. All around - it was a grand occasion.

So many times, at restaurants, food tends to be all bland and nasty. Ya know - gotta appeal to the masses. So, flavours are just not there that POP and shout.

But, not at this place.

Again, I say, it was delicious.

BUT....

Tonight wasn't about the food.

Tonight wasn't about the exceptionally kewl decor.

Tonight wasn't about the Aussie accented waiter.

Nope.

We could'a been eatin' cat food outa tin cans in the back of an alley in the winter cold and it would have been just as fantastic.

It's the company we had.

See - tonight, me and the Wife went out to celebrate, for just a moment, with our good pals - the Joodster and her ear suckling hubby.

Now, I'm not one to go blathering on - gettin' all gushy 'round the gills. Well, not often anyway. But, I don't mind tellin' ya - the Joodster and her ear suckling hubby - there just damnd decent people. Both have hearts the size of a house. Both have love in their voices. And, the Wife and me - are, frankly, privileged to have them in our lives.

Everyone should have folks like them around.

Enough said.

Run baby, Run!

Whallop!

Morning boys & girls. Yer ol pal Scrub here. How are ya?

Lord love a duck - we got snow. Yep - the fluffy white came down last night and this morning, it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Now... all you visiting from afar - I know you're out there... Scrub's gotta remind you of something. That is... that we Canucks talk about only a few things. Tim Hortons coffee. Hockey. And, the weather. Dull? No, No. Not really. Think about it more as an opportunity to visit us here in the Great White without the worry about n

ot fitting in. Just come on by. Throw a smile on your face and talk about coffee. You'll find nothin' but Canuck pals if you do.

In fact, here's a little public service for ya'll. How to say coffee in many languages:

Arabic Countries- Qahwa / Kahwa

Armenian- Sourj

China- (Mandarin)- Kafei

Czechlovakia- Kava

Denmark -Kaffe

Egypt- Masbout

Ethopia...(where it may have started) -Buna

Finland- Kahvi

France -Cafe

Germany -Kaffee

Greek- Kafes

Hawaii-Kope

Holland- Koffie

Hungary- Kave

Indonesia/Malaysia -Kopi

Iran- Gehve

Iraq- Qahwa

Israel- Kave

Italy -Coffea

Japan-Koohii

Kenya -Kalawa

Laos- Kafe

Lebanon- Qahwa

Norway- Kaffee

Philippines -Kape

Poland- Kawa

Spain- Kafe

Thailand -Gafae

Back to the Weather. Yes - it's one of our topics. As Scrubbie strolls through the village or visits the local trading post... I often hear people complaining about the weather. Too hot. Too cold. Too much. Not enough. Whatever.

But - there is one little fart here at the igloo that is quite ok with it all.