Our World Around Us

Christmas Eve and Santa is coming

2011-12-24T23:31:00.000-05:00

Well it is Dec 24,2011 and another year is close to being complete. Tonight Santa Clause is doing his worldy jaunt around the globe. He is stopping at every home with children to drop off his gifts to make millions of girls and boys happy for another year.
I hope that all of you childred have been good this past year or you just might not get that toy or whatever it is that you asked Santa for. I know that I have been trying to behave myself so that Mrs Blakey could tell Santa that I have been a good boy and it is okay to drop off the toys that I asked for this Christmas.
All of you kids had better get off to bed early so Santa can come into your places with his surprises. It will be exciting to get up in the morning to check out the tree and your stockings as well.
Well we will say good night to you all and wish you all a very
Merry , Merry Christmas

Wilf, Elizabeth Blakey and family

A new member to our family

2011-12-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

We now have a new member of our family. The ones we created many years ago have flown the nest quite awhile ago and have even started their own family.
I kid Elizabeth that her maternal instinct has kicked in and made her desire to start another family. She has been telling me that she has desired to get a pet kitten for company. Does this mean that I am not good company anymore?
My wife saw an add in one of the stores for kittens to be given away, already to leave their family and ready for battle. She phoned the people and the long and short of it all is that on Monday morining we obtained a seven week old male kitten. It has been many years since we had a pet and I, personally have been out of touch looking after any living thing much smaller than myself so this is a challlenge to both of us.
The first day was no problem as looking after him was easy because he hid most of the day and we weren't sure where he was. Eventually he showed up in the evening when we coaxed him out of hiding with some food. Food seems to be a universal tempter of most beings. By the end of the evening he was running around like he had lived here for ever.

Next morning he started to loosen up even more and started to accept the fact that he is going to live here forever and it was time to enjoy his surroundings.
We have had him almost one whole week and he is starting to grow on us. We are starting to feel like he is a part of our family for the most of our lives and not just 6 days.
It is a challenge for us to get used to him as he learns to get used to us. The cats that I have been in company with in the past have been quite used to sitting on my lap but Morris is not one of these as yet.

I told Elizabeth that one reason I was willing to have a pet is that he can come with us as a companion for us on trips with our camper. As well I have stated that I want him to be our guardian animal for our unit to stop unwanted intruders from entering our domain.

I built a scratching post for Morris and he has found this much to his amusement to be able to view the horizon from where he likes to sit.

Over the last few days that we have had Morris, we have had a few visitors in our home. He is getting a chance to meet his siblings (our daughters and grandson) but he is finding it a little trying to get used to strangers. The only people he has known in his young life have been his brother, sister, mother and his original owners. Well, his world is expanding now and will do so more in the future.

So much for our expanded family. Family is a large part of life and a very enjoyable part of life at that. However we are looking forward to many more days, weeks, months and years of enjoyment with our now offspring,
Morris, welcome to the Blakey family of Kirkland Lake,Ontario
Wilf and Elizabeth Blakey

And now for the year 2010

2011-12-07T19:59:00.001-05:00

A long time waiting for another post since last time, I am glad that I didn't hold my breath in between times.
Many things have happened since then, some are good to mention but, as usual, some are not good so we will attend to the first things first.
I believe the last post was about March 2010. What took place around that time has made a drastic change in my life, I will say that it is not a good change either. In August of the previous year, I found out that I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This is a type of diabeties where the blood sugar level drops too low for comfort and sometimes safety. I had a tough time that fall and part of the winter getting accustomed to this disease. I had no energy and sometimes very little strength either. Let us say that I did a lot of research on the Internet and stayed connected to the doctors for the most of the next year learning how to live with diabeties.

Finally, in the spring, I decided to get involved in working on our motorhome, our baby. I likely mentioned that it is a 1971 Triple E with a Ford Econoline drive train. When we used it last year we would step into the coach via the entry steps and it would feel like we were standing on a mushroom or something similar. With the help of my neighbour across the street (a welder by trade), we discovered that the floor of the entry well was rusted badly and needed replacing.

I started working on this by removing the bad stuff and replacing it with new steel plus I totally disassembled the passenger sidewall of the coach and completely rebuilt this wall. I found many of the
wooden structural pieces were rotted and had to be
changed. One piece came out of its' position and fell
on the ground in a pile of shavings.

The picture to the right shows the original floor material that I removed.

As seen on the right, the overhead bunk sidewall was rotted as well and had to be changed.This was a real challlenge as I had to remake the framework that fitted just inside the roof covering aluminum. The orignal wall above the cab was just a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and no insulation so when I replaced it I made a wall of 3/4 framing material on its' edge and made a cavity to insert styrofoam insulation.

Here is some of the installation of the foam insullation. I glued the panels to the inside panelling and left a gap around the outside of each piece so I could fill it in with spray foam.After the foam hardened, I trimmed it level so it would make each cavity solid. This should make the motorhome warmer and quieter then ever.
There is a wire crossing the cavity beside and above the space housing the furnace. This wire had to be replaced as I found a hole burned through one conductor of this AC electrical wire.

I also made and installed new aluminuum siding.This siding was made from aluminum flatstock sheeting by the roll. I bought a 50 ft roll and used all of it but about 2 ft.

After this I painted the side wall to match the paint
scheme on the cab.

This little job started about early May and I shut it down around the end of August so it was an involving job for sure. There were still some small tasks to finish off but these are items for another time and another year. Since I spent so much time on our motorhome this year, we were not able to use it for camping this year. We will see what happens next season.

I will continue on next year's activities and see what I can write about next time.
Wilf Blakey

Evan's visit

2010-03-20T11:37:00.005-04:00

On March 14th, the Pentecostal Church in Kirkland Lake had company in the way of a couple and their son. These people put on a program for the congregation that was very enlightening and enjoyable. The people were Sharon and Wilson Kindred and their son Evan. Evan is not really their son but we like to call him that as his name is Evan Hardwood Kindling and is actually a puppet. Wilson has become very adept at ventriloquism and has worked out a few skits for himself and Evan. Today's skit is about Evan and his report card from the school that he attends, "The school for dummies". It seems that he has not been handing his report card to Wilson so he can check up on Evan's progress in school. Evan has been hiding the card so Wilson will not see what Evan has or has not been doing in school. He eventually does surrender the evidence to Mr Chandler (Pastor Rob's father in law) who has been a school teacher and principal for many years and has a good knowledge of teaching and dealing with kids. There is a good conversation going on amongst Wilson, Evan and Mr Chandler as the details of Evan's progress is revealed.
As the story goes on we were rolling in the aisles with laughter with the comments that were flying from Evan to Wilson and between Mr Chandler and Evan.
Wilson also provided some good old Southern Gospel songs and a little teaching on the gospel. All was very well appreciated by all and no doubt Mr and Mrs Kindred and Evan will be invited for a return visit sometime in the future.

This is a post that was composed quite awhile ago and was not published at the time. I thought you might enjoy it even at this late date.
Wilf Blakey

A catch up report

2010-03-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not posting anything lately, I have been occupied with personal things and it seems to be rather quiet around the Ponderosa lately.
Actually the Winter Carnival has been on the go in February in Kirkland Lake, we have been hearing sounds in the sky for two weekends (Feb 26/27 and Feb 27/28) We finally found out what the noises were, there was a helicopter offering rides to people letting them see what the area looked like around our town only it was an aerial view for a change. I have always desired to take one of these rides but maybe next year.
Cabaret was playing at the LaSalle Theatre from Feb 24 to 27th and I hear that it was a very enjoyable show that they put on. Good work people.
This current weekend, the Baptist church sponsored a fund raising dinner for Teen Challenge to raise money to pay for a year's stay at the Teen Challenge ranch ( I believe it is at the Sault Ste Marie ranch) for a young man in need of rehabilitation. We like to support the work of this association as they definitely do good work with the people who go through the program.
Our church, Living Faith Assembly Pentecostal Church, hosted a group of young people from Cochrane, the Cochrane Young People. There were a total of ten young people, five making up a musical group and five younger boys and girls who made up a drama group. All, in all, the group put on an excellent program of music and skits. After the service, the visitors and our own group enjoyed a carry in lunch in the basement as well as socializing with each other afterwards.
Besides these events, I have been busy with our youngest daughter moving from one house to another and also taking care of some needed medical affairs for myself. Nothing serious, just things that needed to be done.
I will try to post more items in the near future as I find subjects to write on and pictures to take.
I just remembered an item that may be worthy of mentioning. Last summer, myself and a few friends installed a new steel roof on our shop to replace the old dilapidated shingle one that was on there before. As you know, our weather is improving with the warmer temperatures working on our snow on the ground and also on my steel roof. The snow decided to slide down the roof and onto the ground in front of my shop creating a pile about 18 inches deep from the deck stairs to the far side of the garage door. This happened while my wife and I were having our Pentecostal snooze on Sunday afternoon. I went out for a walk that evening and saw the results of my avalanche of snow but decided to work on it Monday morning. Monday morning came and when I tried to blow the snow with my blower, the snow was almost like a block of ice since the temperature had dropped since Sunday evening and had frozen the slushy snow. I had to hire a backhoe to remove the snow from the front area and that was easily done by Mr Crema.
Well I will say goodbye for now and will try to report more in the near future.
Wilf Blakey

Olympic Torch Celebration

2010-01-01T16:12:00.009-05:00

Well, we had some excitement in town today. The olympic torch arrived in town after it visited in Virginiatown and Larder Lake. It had come into these places after coming up north from the
Barrie/ Orillia area on its way from the East coast to the west coast.

The torch first came to Burnside Rd, on the east side of town and came up Government Rd and finished up at the Hockey Heritage North, near the Museum. There were a few motorhomes, some buses and a few pickup trucks operated by the sponsors of the Torch Run. These sponsors
were Coca-Cola and the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada).

The weather today is rather frigid and dull so it
was not an enticing day for outdoor activity, here
in Kirkland Lake,Ontario. It is obvious the
participants were expecting cold weather as they
were very well dressed to stand the cold weather.
This is a good way to start out the New Year with
a little public participation in some activities.

As you can see, there was a big crowd at the Hockey Heritage North site, it could be that half of the town was here to see what was going on today

There were local singers and groups entertaining on the temporary stage built for the occassion. Some of those on stage were Jamie Taylor, Cory Taylor,Stephan Barrette,Pascal Boucher,Lori-Carter Kasner, Bailer Kasner, Graham Ghent with the children's choir and the KLDCS choir with Paul Benenndyk. Also were some First Nations with their ceremonial service.
Coca-Cola and RBC were giving away samples of their product to the public.

Over all it was a very good way to start the year 2010 and it
is looking good for the upcoming year.

A Happy New Year to one and all from us here at Kirkland
Lake.

Wilf Blakey

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-25T18:18:00.003-05:00

We want to wish you and your family a very, merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year for 2010.
This past year has been different for us with finances and health getting involved in the plan of things but we have survived and will in the future but we have to trust our God to look after us. We have done some things this year that we haven't done before, some which were really rewarding and some not so. I am sounding a little mysterious but I don't see any need to elaborate on these things. It has been a busy year, so busy that we have not even had the time to use our camper for camping even once this summer, besides the poor, wet weather slowing things down. We did get a new roof on our shop and that was a task I was not looking forward to either financially or work wise but it is done. We installed new tires on our camper as we have had it for seven years and we don't know how old the tires were before we bought it. We also have installed some insulation on the basement walls in our home and some other minor jobs are done as well. If we carry on this way, we actually might have all of the repair and update jobs done before we get too old to work.
We helped with the Salvation Army kettle drive at the local mall a few times like we have done a few years before and totally enjoy this. We attended the Celebration of life ceremony at the Post Office when the local churches get together and light the tree lights on the tree in front of the Post Office. There was a carolling night at the Museum, and, of course, the Christmas Parade down Government Rd. This night was a rather pleasant evening with reasonable temperatures and no snow or freezing rain to spoil the night.
I don't know if your family gets together on the actual day of Christmas or Boxing Day or what ever day you decide. Our two daughters, one grandson and one of our daughter's boyfriend are having our celebration on Saturday, Boxing Day at our home. It is always a fun time around here with the present opening, the turkey supper with sweet potatoes, and turnips. This may seem to be a little different for a menu but my family had always requested this since I started courting my wife 26 years ago and I am not about to rock the boat now.
Again, we wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year.

Yours truly
Wilf and Elizabeth Blakey

Coming Events

2009-12-08T10:05:00.003-05:00

Coming Events in the Near Future

Wesleyan Church is sponsoring a carol sing at the Community Centre in King Kirkland at 7 pm on Dec 9, All are welcome.
Sunday services at 11 AM every week.
There is a Christmas Eve service plus communion at 7 PM on Dec 24.

Tower St Baptist Church is having a Christmas Eve Service at 7 PM.

Living Faith Assembly is having a Christmas Eve Service at 6:30 PM on Dec 24.

There is an evening of carolling at the museum on Wednesday evening at 7 pm so come and join us.

This is all that I know of for events at present but I will add more as I become aware of them.

Wilf Blakey

The Santa Clause Parade

2009-11-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

November 27, starting at 7 pm. Kirkland
Lake is being host to Santa Clause for a kids favorite, "The Santa Clause Parade". The weather was good, very little snow and not too cold.

For a change, the Katimavit group helped the Salvation Army to collect food for their food bank. The people at the Army collect and distribute food to the needy all year round but this year
the demand has been considerably
higher than in other years. Katimavit walked along the sides of the street with baskets gathering donations for the Salvation Army. Katimavit is a group of young people from across the country who go to different communities volunteering in different ways to help out around the communities.

There were many floats, well decorated for the occasion and colorful costumes to
fit the season. Many local businesses and
organizations were represented by floats.

Of course, last but not least, came Santa Clause and his elves on the antique fire engine. This is the topping on the cake, especially for the young and young-at- heart!!

This has not too much to do with the parade, but I noticed that there was a light display on top of the group of buildings at the TD Canada Trust building. I tried to take a picture of it but this is what the camera produced as the light from the flash hit the flakes of snow gently falling. This reminds me of the peace that was over the world on the night that Jesus was born, many,many years ago.
And to one and all a good night.
Wilf Blakey

Celebration of Life

2009-11-26T21:22:00.010-05:00

The date is November 25,2009 and the locations are the Post Office and the Legion in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. I believe the purpose of the event is to celebrate or commenorate the life and passing of citizens who have lived and died in and around our town. The whole event has been organized by Mrs Betty Smallwood of the Kirkland Lake District Hospital. Mrs Smallwood is with the Palliative Care department of our hospital so she gets very close to people who are suffering with illnesses and other problems which cause death.
There was a service at the Legion at 6 pm and everyone was asked to come to the Post Office to see the lighting of the Christmas lights on the big evergreen tree on the front lawn of the PO. There were candles handed out, which everyone lit as a commenoration, and the crowd held them up high while Pastor Naylor said a prayer and led the countdown until all of the colorful strings of Christmas lights came to life.
After the countdown , the people were invited to go to the Legion for hot chocolate and refreshments as well as a Christmas Carol singtime.

Mrs Dave Naylor was the pianist for the carol sing time held at the Legion after the tree lighting ceremony at the Post Office.

Of course Mrs Naylor's husband, Dave, was the leader during the singtime with requests being asked for favourite Christmas carols.Dave is the pastor of the Wesleyan Northern Lights church in Larder Lake.

Mr Harvey Delport, lay minister of the Presbyterian Church, helped with suggestions of carols and encouraging people to request their carols that they desired.

Mr Naylor, Betty Smallwood and Sharon Hocevar, led the people in carol singing for an enjoyable time.
After the singing was over, everyone gathered up and went home to carry on with their lives and whatever they still had to do.
This is only one of the seasonal events which the people of Kirkland Lake participate in around the Christmas season.
Wilf Blakey

Follower

2009-11-04T10:53:00.004-05:00

I have decided to make a little short article on my blog. There are a few parts of it that maybe a lot of readers are not aware of. Some of them are what I would call an active part of the blog but others are just there for entertainment.
On the left side I have a section labelled FOLLOWERS, this lists and sometimes shows some of the people who read my blog and must enjoy it enough that they might come back again to check on future developments.
Below that I have a section on blogs that I like to read and find most interesting. You will notice that most of them pertain to RV'ing as I enjoy this activity greatly and would like to do it on a full time basis if it were possible.
The next item is the Quotation of the day, I have found that on other people's blog that have an item like this, that I seem to be drawn to see what the "thought for the day" or the "Groaner corner" has to say today. This quotation is in a list of gadgets available in the Blogger program that I use to blog.
The next is a series of pictures of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). I hope some people like to see the display of colorful lights that we have in Northern Canada. Since we live at the 48th parallel we do get a nice display of this lighting display.
The last item on this side bar is a description of myself so my readers will get a chance to know a little about the author.
There are a few other parts that I have attempted to install but due to the fact that I am not a computer programmer or anything close to that, then I am not completely successfull in these attempts but in the future that could be different.
I believe that this is all that I have to add to my little description and will go back to work for a change.
Wilf Blakey

A new blog on the block

2009-11-03T22:43:00.003-05:00

I just got word today that Wilson Kindred, of "A Liviing Way Ministries" of Kirkland Lake, has just started a new blog for his ministry. It is about himself, Evan (his sidekick) and his wife, Sharon. This couple travels around the country preaching and entertaining in churches and many other areas. The URL of his blog is http://fun4allofus.blogspot.com/ This blog is an introduction to his people and what his ministry does as they travel around the country to all of the different places.
I do hope that you will visit their website and see what they are doing.
Wilf Blakey

Rodgers Backyard Jam

2009-10-12T10:23:00.000-04:00

The date is September 19,2009. The place is King Kirkland, Ontario, the event is the Rodgers Backyard Jam. This is a yearly event that is sponsored by Dave and Joanne Rodgers of King Kirkland, a small community just a mile or two east of Kirkland Lake in Northeastern Ontario.

The Rodgers family is a very talented musical family with two daughters and one son as well as a number of grandchildren in the growing stage for awhile.
Their son, Daryl is a musician, not to be ignored, as he and four other musicians make up a bluegrass band called Canucky Bluegrass Boys,

out of Sudbury, Ontario. These boys have just recorded their first CD called "Standin' Up". I bought a copy of their cd and must say that I enjoy it very much, of course one of my favourite
styles of music is bluegrass or gospel bluegrass.

The Rodgers Homestead is located at the end of a back street in King Kirkland and is somewhat isolated from the main flow of traffic and the highway going through the village. Dave has a saw mill on his property beside the house and some acres of bush just past the saw mill. All of this area has been developed so that people can bring in their campers to stay overnight while they
enjoy the entertainment of the backyard jam

The Rodgers have a nice entrance that reminds me of a schene from an English carnival with the little footbridge and striped tents for the people to sit under for shelter from the sun and rain.

This is a neat little alley taking us from the entrance footbridge to the arena( the area where the music comes from) in front of the music stage.

The whole area is a little rustic in theme
with the priveys off to the side of the back yard
as well as a fire ring for a large warm bonfire to keep the people warm on the cool nights that are common at this time of year. The fire ring also supplies a place for the guys from the "Hot Stove League" to gather and share their tall tales.

Here is the start of the Rodgers' camping area with lots of privacy for each camper but the campers can still stay around their unit and enjoy the music coming from the house so if they are body tired, they can relax and still hear the music at the same time.

One very important item is the sign posting the name of the program as you can see, this is in case one is so tired or out of shape that they can't figure out that they are at the Rodgers Backyard Jam. This structure is part of the main stage, just off to the right in this picture.

Here is a very important part of any event, it is the food stand, with hamburgers,octoberfest sausages, coffee, pop, hot dogs and water. Their prices are quite reasonable as well, plus the food is good.

This is a stand that was set up to display items for sale from the musicians who are playing here today.

The following pictures are of the entertainers, I will try to identify those that I can but there were some, whom I do not know so I apologize for this.

The Canucky Bluegrass Boys

Reverend David Naylor,Dave Rodgers, and their musicians getting ready to play.

The Midway is in Town

2009-09-12T01:42:00.000-04:00

Surprise, surprise, the midway is in town this week. I was going to do a service call in the Federal district and had to go past the Legion on Duncan Ave There were a whole fleet of transport trucks and trailers parked around the property at the Legion. The midway is made up of a company called Canuck Amusements from Selkirk, Manitoba.

There are extra trailers besides the ones that carry
the amusement rides. These are used for living
quarters for the workers and are the same as lots of people use for RV'ing. So you see one could say that these people are sort of on a holiday every day they are away from home working, but I am sure that they don't consider this work a play time.

A normal site at a midway is the concession stands with such items for sale, as pizza, cotton candy, hot dogs, pop, etc. This midway is no exception to that rule. The smells are so good that my wife had to order a slice of pizza and a drink to help fill the empty void in her stomach.

Talking about food, here is a ride made up of
strawberries. These strawberries are hollow with
seats inside for passengers to ride and they go
around and around.

This one is an arrangement with two cars which look like long subway cars for people to ride in and I don't doubt that they will hold around ten people each. The two cars oscillate back and forth in opposite directions to each other while they go
around in almost a complete circle starting at the
bottom, going forward and upward then when they reach the top, they change direction and go the opposite way until they reach the top going backwards. This carries on for awhile until the ride is over.

Here is another ride with some small groups of
cars with seating for about four people each. Each group of people go around in a circle, then the whole ride goes around in a circle, I am afraid that if I were to ride on this one, my lunch would be history!

Anyone like a sleigh ride? Here is one with sleigh
frames for people to lay on and go spinning around in circles. I saw many folks, young and old spinning around enjoying themselves until the cycle was over.

Here are two rides for the little kiddies, this helicopter appears to be interesting and I can
imagine the thoughts going through the minds of
the little ones. If you like boats, then the second ride should be okay for you as well, after all they are powered by twin outboard motors!!!!!

We are getting close to the end of the carnival
atmosphere as we approach the games trailers. You can try your hand at bowling as you toss balls
up the ramps and try to land on the centre circle
so you can win a prize of some sort.
There are also many other games of chance to try to win prizes at other skill testing games.

The last attraction is this long slide out in the back fourty, where the participants climb the ramp on the right side of the ride and sit on carpets while they ride the bumpy ride down the ramp to the bottom. If you ever wanted to settle down a meal then this would be the guaranteed way to do it.

Well, it is the end of another day of midway rides at Kirkland Lake. We will look forward to another day of thrills and spills at the midway for another year. The companies are coming up with very interesting ways to create a thrill for the people and more ways to extract dollars from the public as well but I guess that is what business is all about.
I hope you have enjoyed the rides and the tour today, look forward to seeing you come for a visit again soon.
Wilf Blakey

Dominion Day Holiday

2009-09-10T20:49:00.010-04:00

I have had the pictures of this event on my computer since the first of July but with the activities of the summer I did not get around to making a blog entry on this.
The town of Kirkland Lake has a grand celebration for this day of the year to help celebrate the birthday of our great country.
The weather has not been that great so far and the rain is plentiful and cool a lot of days. There are many events planned, especially at the Federal Park on Tweedsmuir Rd with live music, concession stands and rides for the kids. The planners should have supplied canoes for the people as there were almost lakes of water on the grounds so it was not really an enjoyable year for outdoor activities.
At night there are fireworks, and what is a celebration without fireworks? There were many varieties of fireworks with rockets shooting high into the sky, sparklers going up a short distance and breaking apart so they can create a small waterfall effect. I like the ones that go what seems like a mile high and then a big boom with sparks spreading out in all directions.
We like going to these events sponsered by the town, it gives you a chance to meet and socialize with lots of folks we haven't seen for many years
Events like this help to build up the spirits of the town's people as well as raising funds for various
needs. I find that I will go out on the town on events like these where I wouldn't even think of venturing away from our home normally.
Parades are another happening that create interest and public closeness, you can tell this especially when the Christmas parade is on and you see the line up of folks standing on the side of the street waiting for the floats and , particularly, Santa Clause to come by throwing out candies to all of the kids, big and small.
I apologize for the delay on writing this story but as I mentioned in another post called " Summer time activities" our time just flies by when the warm weather shows up and presents us with so many possibilities of things to do around here.
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and story as well as the events if you were in the area at the time.
I will join you again a little later with another story from the story teller.
Wilf Blakey

This Summer

2009-09-01T21:45:00.017-04:00

I discovered a comment on one of my posts on the blog today and it amused me very much. Mr Bossence (from the Bayfield Bunch) asked me how come I have not had any updates on here since June (actually he didn't put in the month June but I did ). For some time now, I have been reading and following along with some blogs written by some people who live in their RVs or at least travel in them, especially in the winter and travel down through the southern USA. Mr. Al. Bossence and his wife live and work in the community of Bayfield,Ontario near Goderich. I commented to Al that I felt he did very well keeping up on his blog all through the summer even though they are sitting still and not moving around with their RV

I keep thinking about what a person does to fill in space on the blog when there really isn't too much to chatter about, in this case I mean the summertime. I guess if you really want, you could invent things to talk about but in my case, I didn't care to make a whole bunch of idle chatter and I had been busy with a great lot of jobs and activities around the house and country to keep me busy.

My wife and I bought our home in August of 2006 and we, of course, bought it with the realization that it had imperfections and repairs were needed in the future to keep it in liveable condition. Well this year is the year that our shop needed a new roof, or else. We had a certain amount of cash to deal with and everyone knows that money does not grow on trees so a person has to make the money stretch as far as possible and that is what we do all of the time. I had a contractor approach me with an offer to do the rooof for a sum of money and I simply told him that I didn't have that amount of money. I had replaced rooves on previous buildings that we had lived at or owned and I knew that I could possibly do it again here but after my accident 14 years ago, my back does not want to co-operate with me to do this type of labour, including loading and unloading shingles to and from a trailer.

I had talked to different people about roofing and heard the comment that steel was the way to go. I checked out prices on steel roof material and found that a lumber yard near Earlton had excellent prices so this is what I did. I figured that there would be work involved as in strapping the old roof over top of the old shingles and laying the steel on top of that without the back breaking work of handling the old shingles. I also expected that I could get some ocassional help from friends to get the hard parts done and I was correct. Over the period of about three weeks of part time work , the job is done and I expect to have a dry shop and garage area for many years to come.

I also have been busy selling and installing Free to Air Satellite systems this year and it has kept me occupied doing that. I am not an expert in this field but in the past, 1983-1988, I used to sell and install the big 10ft dish systems when we lived in Southern Ontario operating our own tv sales and service business. It has been a real learning experience figuring out how to set up a motorized system but I must say that overall I don't mind doing it.I have installed most of them in the Kirkland Lake area but I did do one below Englehart recently. When I first started doing them this year, I would install them on a tripod mounted on our deck on the south side of the house. I had already had our own there for two winters with no apparent trouble but when I got to the point that I had two systems on the same deck, the frost decided to play havoc with the level of the deck and threw the aim of both of them off so I lost most of my stations. I had to come up with a better solution and I decided to use my cargo trailer to set up the dishes and level them on it, then things started to work out and no doubt people would wonder if I was growing satellite systems instead of a garden.

We also have been working on our basement insulating the walls to keep out the cold and keep in the heat. We had to tear apart the walls of the fruit cellar to be able to apply a proper layer of sheet insulation and also applying a layer of hydraulic cement to the floor to wall join to help keep the moisture out. There is also a small area on the entrance of the house where there are stairs to take you to the second floor and the basement and the basement area had to be insulated as well so this is where we spent many hours.

So as you can see, this is where all of the "spare" hours went this summer instead of writing blog articles. I have included pictures of the new roof, the dish farm on the trailer (most of the dishes are gone now) and the outside of our home. I hope that this has explained our coming and going for the summer.

Wilf Blakey

The Glad Game

2009-08-28T09:13:00.002-04:00

I came across a lesson in life recently, as the title says "Rejoice in all things!". It takes time to examine a title or statement and make total sense of it and I am sure I am not the only one who has this trouble. This summer I have had the desire to read some classic novels that normally people read when they are young but in my case it didn't happen. When I was reading "Our Daily Bread", it made mention about the book Robinson Crusoe and I thought " I have never read that book" so I searched the Internet and found a copy there, then I saved it to my hardrive and read it later. As time went on I found copies of more novels and read them. One of the latest ones is "Polyanna", a story about an orphan girl taken in by her spinster aunt, who by the way is a grouch. Polyanna is the daughter of a missionary minister. Her father taught her the art of appreciation and thankfulness by way of what he called the glad game. They used to receive barrels full of things needed and one time Polyanna wanted a doll but got a pair of crutches. Her father told her to be glad that she did not need the crutches and life goes on from there.

When she came to her aunt's home, she got to know many people in the surrounding village and taught them the "glad" game with the purpose of teaching them to be thankfull for things that most people take for granted. She got to know an older gentleman who had hardly talked to anyone for years and always walked on the streets looking down at the ground with no interest in the world around him. On the second or third meeting with the man (Mr Pendleton), Polyanna was able to break the ice with him but not fully. Some time later as she was walking up the road to his house, she came across him laying on the ground with a broken leg, not able to get up so he asked her go to his house and phone the doctor to come and rescue him. This she did and further broke the ice with Mr. Pendleton, especially when she had the opportunity to visit with him in his sick bed at his home. Mr. Pendleton came to realize that Polyanna's cheerfull attitude was infectious as she showed interest in the colourful designs reflected on the walls from some prisms he had that were sitting in the sunlight. Things exploded from there and a close friendship developed between them to the point that this recluse changed so much he asked Polyanna if she would move into his house to be the "child presence" he needed to make his house a home. He had in the past had a relationship with a woman but it did not work out and the lady went elsewhere to join another man as husband and wife so that is why Mr Pendleton became the town hermit.

Polyanna had similar friendships with most of the people in the village and the atmosphere changed dramatically around town. Towards the end of the story, Polyanna had an accident when a car hit her causing her to lose the use of her legs. It was quite awhile after the accident that Polyanna learned the hard fact that she was supposed to be crippled for life. As you can guess, the cheerful attitude of the young lady began to change for the worse as she couldn't find anything to be glad about but there is a silver lining in every cloud as the townspeople whom Polyanna had cheered up came back to try to cheer her up with the reports of the good things that she had done for them after she taught them the glad game and Polyanna's attitude started lifting up again.

The end of the story is good as she was taken to a specialist in a far off town for treatment from which Polyanna was able to gain the use of her legs again and she now had something extremely good to be happy or glad about. As you can see there really is no need to go around in life with a great long lower lip almost dragging the ground just because things are not quite what you want them to be.

Now that the story is over, I can get to where the story fits in with my life. I have read in the Bible many times where it says to rejoice but it is not always easy to rejoice if things seem to be going against you. Since I got injured in a bad fall 14 years ago, I have had things go wrong and I didn't always have a good attitude about them. These things are financial, health, possibly relationship problems, problems with work related tasks not co-operating with me and many other things. This week I have had a bad last few days because something is not right in my physical body and my wife and I spent most of the afternoon at the emergency department of the local hospital with the doctor checking me over, doing tests and asking many question. After all of this time and frustration, we headed home around 5 PM, feeling somewhat better because the doctor has given us a better grasp of what is going on and how to deal with it. We also realize that there may not be an immediate cure to the problem but if we approach the task and have faith that God will help me to overcome the difficulty then life will be much more enjoyable but it can be enjoyable even in the meantime if I keep rejoicing in God's hand in our lives.

I hope I have not been too boring with this story but I felt that it was time to put down some words about my Revelation.God bless everyone here and everywhere who trusts in our Precious Father.

Wilf Blakey

'Tis Fathers' Day

2009-06-21T12:50:00.002-04:00

The date is June 21,2009 and it is two events today, first of all it is the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. If you had ever desired to burn the midnight oil then this day is the hardest day(or night) to try this as it has the least amount of darkness of the year and it is hard to burn what doesn't exist (the nighttime darkness). The second event of the day is a celebration that many families take part in when they honor the man of the house or the father. Fathers are responsible for many things in the family, they work to bring home money to pay the bills for the household, they look after the workings of the house and property as well as, all or most. of the mechanical devices. The statement is true as long as the man is mechanically inclined to do so but I have talked to many men about this subject and hear a long string of excuses and pitiful depressing statements because these men feel they are a disappointment to the world as they cannot even change a tire on their vehicles. God made man and woman and He gave them gifts of traits and abilities to do different things and not all men have the same gifts. Imagine what it would be like if all men were able to repair trucks, cars, etc but none could build houses. What if all women could create children and raise them but couldn't cook meals for people. This leaves a great void in society with many jobs that would be left undone and to put it even farther, we would have many vehicles on the road but no place to live and no food to eat. That would be a disaster for sure so I see that it is necessary for men to have differing abilities as well as women the same but there is no set of rules in society that says men "HAVE" to be expert mechanics or women have to be homemakers only because I am sure that we need doctors, plumbers, and experts in many different fields in the world.
Let us put aside the work abilities, the fathers have another very important task and position in the family, they are there to be a guide and a person of respect for their children. If the young people were allowed to grow up without a mentor (or a coach) they would have no example of good and bad to go by and to pattern their life after, even as it is, there are so many families where the father or mother has deserted their family unit for whatever reason and gone to do their own thing. The boys usually look up to the man for a pattern of what a man is supposed to do and be like but if the man is not there, the pattern is badly mucked up with something that is like the blind leading the blind. The same goes for girls with a mother or a father missing. When the child runs into a problem, they normally don't have any idea as to what they can or should do to solve the problem, if there is a parent around, then the child can ask that adult what they would do if they were in their shoes. Most of the time this adult will give good guidance and the problem is looked after quite well, if there is not adult, then there is usually trouble brewing and more trouble over the horizon as well.
You see, I am getting to the point that the father is a statue of liberty and justice to a lot of young people in their early years of life, I remember my own father who helped me out many times when I needed it, even when I was grown up, I still had times with questions that needed answers and Dad was there to help me. He has been gone for over 27 years now and I still miss him. Many times I wish he was here so I could show him what I have been doing and wait for a comment of appreciation by saying "well done, son". I am a father of my own family with a wife and two step daughters and a handicapped son (who is living in a good Christian home a distance from here) who is severely handicapped to the point that my wife and I realized we could not properly raise and look after him for the rest of his life. He has been well looked after for many years now and will still be taken care of for quite awhile as well. We do thank the foster parents, and I do appreciate my wife and daughters who treat me as though I am their own true biological father showing love towards me and respect for all of the years that I have known them. I love you family.
I want to wish all of you men out there a very happy and enjoyable Fathers' Day. I pray that you will get many phone calls and wishes from your family on this day.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to one and all!!!!!

Wilf Blakey

Appreciation Dinner

2009-05-26T19:24:00.001-04:00

The date is April 27,2009 and the time is 6:00 PM. The wife and I are invited to attend an appreciation dinner sponsored by the local Salvation Army Church and held at the Legion. This dinner is to show the thanks that the Salvation Army wants to show for all of the volunteer helpers who spent time and effort over the winter doing fund raising for the Army so they would have resources to buy food and other supplies for the needy families in our area.
The meal consisted of delicious roast beef. potatoes, and another vegetable to go with this. As well it was finished off with a nice big cake.

After the meal, Captain Tim Jenkins awarded certificates of appreciation to all of the people attending. Certificates and mugs with "Salvation Army" printed on them were given to all of the people but awards were given out to others who participated in the competition which applied to those who took a kettle for a whole day and looked after making sure that they had someone of

their group to attend to that kettle without having to call the Captain to provide an attendee.
This is a very great burden lifted off of the shoulders of our Captain so he can go to other duties instead. When all of the awards were announced, the winner of the No Bell Award was named. The winning group was the Anglican Church of Kirkland Lake. This award was given to the group, who brought in the most money in one day and I was impressed at the numbers that Captain Tim read from the top competitors. From this information, it seems obvious that there should be some happy people at Christmas instead of sad, sorrowful faces and empty stomachs. God is no doubt very pleased with the efforts of all of these volunteers.
The evening was a very enjoyable one, with the good meal, the certificates and mugs plus the No Bell Award but there was one sad part at the end. Captains Tim and Laura Jenkins announced that they are being transferred from Kirkland Lake corps to Labrador City, Labrador starting the end of June 2009. We will miss you people very much and we hope and pray for a good transition to your new charge. God Bless you and your
family.
Wilf Blakey

STOP PLEASE

2009-05-25T20:25:00.001-04:00

This issue is dedicated to one of our people that most folks don't even think about and literally take for granted. I am featuring our school crossing guards. These people look like some of our ordinary people who seem to have nothing better to do but that is not the real truth behind the story. These men and women have jobs to do, jobs that are important to us and our families. These jobs are to look after the safety of our young children as they go back and forth to school and cross the streets, which at times can be quite loaded with traffic. To me this is extremely important as it is an unfair competition and match set up as you consider the opponents involved. One opponent is a child, age 4 to possibly 20 years weighing maybe 40 lbs to about 170 lbs and the other opponent is a vehicle starting at about 2000 lbs moving down the street at a possible 30 miles per hour. As you can see the smaller person or child hasn't a slight chance of surviving an impact with one of these monsters even though it might be only 2000 lbs so society has decided to give these youngsters a fighting chance by hiring crossing guards to look after our young people when they are in the enemie's territory ( alias school crossing zones).
As well as crossing school children, crossing guards cross adults, not necessarily older retired ones who can hardly get around. The guards look after the safety of these people who decide to go on foot instead of motoring around all of the time.
The guard I interviewed is named Sue Lavictoire. We have known her for a long period of time and know her to be a very dedicated guard with a sincere attitude toward protecting her charge. She has a very kind heart and a loving disposition towards her people. I wouldn't doubt it if some of the kids call her Mom. I know that most of her little people respect and care for her as she fights wind,rain, hot,cold and stormy weather doing her duties.
Besides doing the crossing guard job, Sue can be
found helping at Central Public School serving hot
dogs on Fridays so the proceeds from this can
go to help pay for trips and outings for the
students.

Heads up to our crossing guards and when you approach a school crossing zone with a guard on duty, do our people a favour and wait while the guard holds her/his sign up telling you to stop while our next generation proceeds across the street on their way to and from school.
See you next time.
Wilf Blakey

TIMISKAMING FURNITURE

2009-05-11T21:50:00.023-04:00

As I mentioned in my story on the Home Show, one of the first people I met was a friend of mine, John Gagnon of Timiskaming Furniture. He invited me to come over to his store for a visit after the show was over. I told him that today was not a good day but I did make it on the following Monday and here is an account of my visit to Timiskaming Furniture of Kirkland Lake.

Here we are at the front of the furniture store on a nice sunny warm afternoon in May. John has a nice large sign above his store so people won't miss his place. He also has a large window in the front setup with a beautiful display of sofas. The next thing to do is to enter the store and see what we shall see.

Here we are inside the store at Timiskaming
Furniture onGovernment Rd W in Kirkland
Lake, John has a nice arrangement of
comfortable sofas all set up ready for a party.
The only things missing are the people, music and the refreshments.

As we look down towards the office, we see a nice
selection of chesterfields, coffee tables,side tables
and lamps. There are many different fabrics, colors and patterns to choose from.

Upstairs we go to see what is on the second floor. Oh, just what we need. That old bed we have been sleeping on for many years has been getting rather hard and lumpy, time for a new one. These look comfortable and look like a good size to fit our room.

Hmmm, I see more behind me here. These are
very fancy, just like the ones we see in some of the old time movies from years ago, especially those seen in the mansions in the Old South of "Gone with the Wind". Now I have to make up my mind as to which one I would really want. Oh, well, I have to remember that our bedroom is not really big enough for a poster bed so I had better be satisfied for one of the first group, after all they do give a good comfortable night's sleep!

Last but not least, John has a nice selection of dining room sets with table, chairs and china cabinets. Here is a nice brightly coloured set of wooden chairs, etc. I think they look excellent in almost any dining room setup. I even saw a set of table and chairs that must have been made for a very tall family as the table height seemed to be almost 8 to 10 inches higher than what I believe to be the normal height.

As we come down the stairs again we see more chesterfields, tables and lamps on display. We did stop to chat with John and his men for a few minutes but decided that time was going fast and we had better finish our tour and not be late for our supper at home.We are heading towards the back door to see what is hiding at the back.

Now I see! The white goods are sitting in a huddle, waiting for people to come and ask to take them home. There are washer, dryers, stoves, refrigerators and even a microwave oven. I believe that it has been worthwhile to come and explore around John's store and I do thank you for the invitation to come and visit. Why don't you come into Timiskaming Furniture and try out an appliance or piece of furniture for your home. I'm sure you won't be sorry!
Wilf Blakey

CJKL Merchant Mania Home Show

2009-05-09T22:10:00.035-04:00

It's that time of the year again when people look forward to hearing of the upcoming Home Show at the Complex. The time seems to sneek up on us when we least expect it but regardless it is an enjoyable event. The sale starts about 4 PM Friday until 10 PM that evening and again on Saturday from 10 AM until 6 PM that afternoon. The admission is free and the displays are many.
This event is actually a large sale sponsored by the radio station and having many merchants displaying their wares.

The International Plowing Match is represented with a booth telling all about the event coming to our area in September. This is a gigantic happening for our area and I must say that I am looking forward to it as I have never been to one before.

There are booths showing sporting machines such as ATV, boats, and many other items in the same line. I saw at least three businesses advertising their machines- Georges Garage from Matheson, Northern Freedom from Chaput Hughes, and Team Rosko from Chaput Hughes also.

On my first tour of the place I saw a friend with his furniture display and some electronics showing a well known movie as well as a washer dryer set This friend is Mr John Gagnon from Timiskaming Furniture.

Just around the corner from John is a booth advertising the local Rod & Custom Club along with a nice older Plymouth Road Runner car set up for racing. This car is owned by Mr Derrick Pierce from Kirkland Lake.

Further up the centre aisle there is another booth with items from The Jewel Box store on Government Rd West in Kirkland Lake, these people specialize in jewelry, wallets, and many other things of adornment for the ladies and gentlemen.

Last but not least, I stopped by the booth run by Kevin Breault. His business is called Last Chance Liquidation on Government Rd West He sells end of line items. He sells hardware items that are odds and ends at reduced prices . He also sells windows and doors, fireworks for the first of July. I can see where there can be many kids as well as grown up kids enjoying the fantastic display made by the enormous varieties of fireworks that he sells from his store.

These are by no means all of the displays at the Home Show but just a smattering of the many displays and booths present. I will in the future try to cover more businesses and clubs but for this year, I will say good bye and a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of the mothers in the area.

Wilf Blakey

Northern Thunder Dragway

2009-05-09T12:45:00.002-04:00

That time is coming again. The Team Northern Thunder racing society is getting ready to open the gates for fans to come in and enjoy the local dragraces at the Kirkland Lake Airport on Father's day weekend, June 19 to 21.
Advance tickets are available for $25 or $30 at the gate, which will let you in for the whole weekend or $20 per day. Children 6 to 12 are admitted for $10 and childred under 5 are free.
There are feature attractions at the Airport as well as food vendors.
Many participants and fans stay at the airport with their campers, which can be obtained for $20 for the whole weekend.
Come and see the cars as they go roaring off of the starting line, popping wheelies and smoking tires. Now you can get the chance to participate in these activities without the fear of the folks giving you a scolding for doing such dumb things. Hope to see you there!
Wilf Blakey

A LaCarte Glass

2009-04-20T17:57:00.000-04:00

It is time to go for a drive to do some business, the weather is fine, the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant. When I jumped into my van, I am shocked as I settle into the driver's seat and look out the windshield, I notice a large crack in my windshield which wasn't there yesterday. Oh, well, I guess I shall have to see about getting it fixed, and soon.
I thought about this situation and tried to see who would be available to fix my glass, I had heard that a person could get a repair job done which would save the price of a new glass so that was the way I was going to try. I knew that there was a place in Chaput Hughes that did auto glass repairs and replacements but I didn't think it was still in operation any more. This one was called Apple Auto Glass and was a chain of branches across the country, but I was sure that they were no longer in business so I had to put the brain in action again. This whole deal about getting rid of a crack in my glass is getting to be a bit of a pain, now what was I to do? Oh, by the way, I believe that the operator of Apple Auto Glass had started up an auto glass business on his own in a different name. If your employer takes your job away by closing down the chain of businesses, then why can't a person start up their own business in their own name, after all I have heard and seen this done many times over. I believe that this is good business practise and good economics for the area he is in (in this case Kirkland Lake,Ontario).
I drove up to A La Carte Glass, behind the Canadian Tire Store on the north side of Government

Rd W and entered his business. A young man met me at the counter and was very polite and pleasant as he told me that the boss was out for a few minutes and would be back shortly. He took down my name and phone number and promised that his boss would phone me when he got back. As it happened, I was away for awhile from home and just thinking about going home at the pre-appointed time of the return phone call so I decided to call around to the glass shop again, after all it was almost on my way home and I wanted to meet this gentleman. I went into the shop and Mr. John LaCarte met me at the entrance to his office and recognized me. We started to chat about my problem, first of all asking about the incident, how it happened, if I had noticed any evidence of glass problems such as a stone chip, etc. Then he gave me a quotation for the work, which I felt was quite reasonable and fair. We made arrangements to follow up with the actual removal and replacement the following Wednesday, giving me enough time to get other jobs done and time for them to order and receive the proper glass for my van. I went home a very happy man.
I followed up on the arranged day for the work to be done and was told that because of the snow storms, the delivery would be late in the day on Wednesday. John suggested that he would do the job on the Thursday seeing it would be a little late for that day, I felt Thursday was not good for me as I needed the van for a good portion of the day and the next day was a holiday,
Good Friday. We both settled on the following Monday morning late and that is when I headed to A LaCarte Glass for a new windshield. I arrived at 10:30 Am, a little early, but it doesn't hurt to get there early so they can have a little extra time if needed and I didn't need the van that much on Monday. John's father, Terry, drove home with me and took the van back to the shop for me. At about 2:45 PM Terry came back with the van, sporting a new windshield and looking nice and clean. Now I have a new windshield, a clean van and a happy camper. I can only say that I will strongly recommend anyone to go to them for auto work.
By the way, glass repairs are not the only thing that this shop does, they do cleaning interiors, auto trim and various other jobs that vehicles need throughout their lifetime. I even asked John about the rubber weatherstripping for older vehicles to see if he could source these for a person. I have a personal reason for asking him this as my wife and I own a 1971 Ford camper, which I am restoring and enjoying at the same time. Our camper could take some new weatherstripping for the windows in the front doors are shrunk and create a lot of noise when you drive down the road in summer. John told me that there is no trouble getting this material even though it is for a van that is 38 years old. Hurray for us, we can expect to drive in a little more peace in the future and maybe a little warmer in the cool weather as well.
Well, so much for our saga of the cracked windshield, it is replaced and looks shiny new. By the way, John told me that if I had caught it at the time that it was just a chip, then he could have done a process to stop it from spreading and requiring a whole glass. Darn, I didn't even see the chip until the crack was there. Next time I had better pay more attention if I think I might have been hit with a flying stone on the road.
Carry on guys!!!
Wilf Blakey

Advanced System Care

2009-04-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

I was looking around on my computer this morning and found that it was acting rather slow and difficult, not wanting to do what it was designed to do. The other day, I wanted to download some pictures from my camera and even though I went through the proper channels to do the job, it would not behave itself. The computer didn't even admit that it has a USB port to hook up to some outboard accessories, such as cameras, memory sticks, etc. I tried all of the things that I normally use to make my slave answer the call to duty, including putting it to sleep for a minute or so but no such luck. Finally, I started up my new cleaning program called Advanced System Care, a recommendation from my dear brother. As it went through its procedure of checking (Diagnosing) the system optimization, Security Defense (to prevent and remove spy ware), Disk De fragment (sorting and organizing the hard drive files into neat configurations) and Security Analyzing ( checking and sorting out hijacked settings). After this is tested and repaired it goes on to MAINTENANCE where it tests for Spy ware (spy ware and ad aware- a form of virus), Registry Fix (corruption in the Registry files- the part where the computer looks for its operating instructions), Privacy Sweep ( erasing all records of activity history) and Junk Files Clean up( getting rid of excessive baggage.
All of the above sounds like a lot of gobbledy gook to any one not knowing much about computer technology but they do have a very important position in computer workings. If you really stop to think about it, the computer operation and non operation is very similar to the workings of the human body and mind. When we don't feel well we usually go to see the doctor and let him DIAGNOSE our body or mind for problems and possible viruses or germs. After finding the results of these tests, the medical team perform whatever is needed to get rid of these malefactors to clear up the infections. As I mentioned in a previous paragraph, my computer wouldn't recognize the USB port because of a bad thing that entered into my computer and lodged in the memory somewhere and blocked the path way that leads to the USB port so there was no signal going through there or maybe redirecting it somewhere else instead. After I did the care thing, this path was straightened up and worked okay afterwards. The program even checked the disk defragment to improve the speed and efficiency of the computer by organizing the files on the hardrive so that all of the parts of the programs were lined up and organized in an orderly fashion so the computer doesn't have to look all over the hard drive to find a program. We know what it is like to want a tool and look all over the house, garage and shop only to find that we left it in the car on the last trip of the summer last year. Another thing that is checked is Hy jacked settings done by some bad gremlins from the Internet coming into screw up the nice organized confusion of our units so the keyboard asks for one thing and the computer does something else or doesn't do anything at all.
This can also be applied to our normal or not so normal lives as we carry on day in and day out doing our things, working to make money, paying the bills, trying to make a living. Some times we get tired of doing the everyday hum drum so we go adventuring, maybe to the casino for a few quick bucks made by playing craps. As we start to play the game, it lets us win a little but later, the tables turn and we start losing but we are determined to get out money back. This determination starts eating at our soul as we throw more money on the table to try to win back our losses but it never does happen so what is the end result? Addiction to gambling and bankruptcy. Oh, well it was fun while it lasted, but was it really fun after all when you drag yourself home with empty pockets and the nagging knowledge that you still have a big stack of bills to pay and no money to do it, maybe not even enough money to buy food for the table next week. Now what have I got myself into? This is a prime example of diseases and obsessions that mankind has been prone to but he will not admit it because he is his own man and able to live his own life according to his own plan. Or is HE??????? If God were allowed to entered the events of his life then these mistakes would not have happened. Just think about it.

The last thing or topic is called MAINTENANCE which is not fixing things but keeping things fixed after all of the cost and work of repairing whatever is wrong. Again this thing called Spy ware is checked and removed ( I believe that it is a gremlin that invades the computer and takes information from your stored files as well as planting nasty programs to do tasks that their inventors are planning to do damaging our programs to their benefit). The Registry file is a file of instructions telling the computer what and how to do things but when you try to throw a wrench into a gear box, pieces fly all over and their is a lot of grinding heard. The Registry is like the gear box and the pests from the Internet are the wrenches thrown inside.
Isn't it nice when we can go here or go there and come back home without our neighbours asking us what we were doing at such and such a place over the last few days because they know where we went and what we were doing? This is called Privacy and is a privilege given to all people but when hackers get into our computers and find our private stuff it is not so nice. This program will erase all traces of old activity so there is very little left to be exposed to outsiders.
The last but not the least is the Junk Files Cleaner. As you all know, we tend to be pack rats whether we like to admit it or not as we store junk as we go along and first thing you know we have 10 tons of junk in our store room in the back of the house so what does one do about this? Get rid of it, and all things are lighter and quicker to react or work so that is what this program does also. The whole end result is that our machines act like they were almost brand new with the speed they had when new.
We can also put this aspect in line with God's maintenance plan as He guides us in our paths so we won't stray very far off course before you get the wake up call to turn one way or the other and straighten up.

This has been a long discourse on computers and bugs, not really the whole meaning of this posting but an observation I have realized lately. As we go through life, we tend to go our own merry way doing things and getting involved in activities, relationships and involvements in life that are not really desirable, especially to our God. He has designed us to come onto the Earth to be born, grow up, mature, to learn and become proficient at something or other. We get sidetracked by all sorts of things like smoking, drinking, and the list goes on. As we do these things, our resources such as money, health, mental capacities and capabilities suffer as we go down hill from our original path and so does our enjoyment of life. When we are in school, we see some special lady that takes our eye and figure she would make an excellent wife but if you get involved in drugs and spend all of your money and health on this addictive thing, then I can guarantee that the marriage and life that you really desired with the apple of your eye is not going to happen or if it does then it will not survive. Even if you stay clear of these addictions and grow up lusting for the biggest and fastest car ( like a Maserati) it will create an obsession to make enough money to buy this or that and the trend continues. The same happens with careers and many more things.
If we were to get acquainted with our creator God early in life, then I can pretty well guarantee that our lives will be better, more worthwhile and profitable ( maybe not in the normal sense but in ways that will show themselves as better than money). The pleasures given us in a healthy, non addictive lifestyle will more than make up for what we are giving up. I have never seen us going short because we decided to go to church and give our 10% to God instead of going to the Bingo on Saturday or hoarding it to ourselves in the bank which gives us such little interest anyway. The pleasure is much better I can guarantee.
I hope that I have given you a little enlightenment on our lives compared to a similar situation we see everyday and no doubt if you are like myself, are aggravated by the garbage that infests our computers each and every day of our lives.
These are my thoughts.
Wilf Blakey

Jesus final days on earth

2009-04-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

When the men found the disciples, They told them of all the happenings and then Jesus appeared to all of them again to tell them of all of the prophesies that were fullfilled and also to show them His wounds in His hands and feet.
To prove that He was alive again, He asked them for some food to eat, they gave Him a piece of fish and He ate it. Jesus reminded the eleven that He had warned them about the things that were about to happen so they would be forewarned. After Jesus had risen again and gone up to Heaven then the job of preaching to the masses about repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus was left with the disciples to carry on after His departure.
Jesus went out with the men to Bethany where He lifted up His hands to the sky and started to rise into the air above them as He departed on His return to the Father in Heaven. The disciples would see Jesus no more but they later received the Holy Spirit whom was strength and guidance to them all to carry on the work of the Father then and always.
Since then not only Jesus disciples, but millions of people on this Earth have been used to tell of Jesus coming here, teaching the Word and bringing many to repentance of sin so they could be guaranteed an afterlife in Heaven.
This is how I interpreted the Easter Story.
Wilf Blakey

He is Risen

2009-04-12T09:00:00.003-04:00

It is now Sunday, the third day after Jesus was crucified on the cross. All of His disciples were discouraged by His death, He seemed to be such a good, powerful person to let the priests, scribes, etc put Him to death. Such an awfull ending to a wonderful life that we knew about Jesus.
Early in the morning Mary Magdelene and the other Mary came to Jesus grave, no doubt to start preparing Jesus for His proper burial with spices and wrappings for the body. When they were on their way, they were discussing how they would get the big stone moved away from the door. As they approached the cave, they felt an earthquake which had been caused by an Angel from Heaven coming down to earth to move the stone from the door of the tomb. The two Marys saw that the stone was rolled away already and an Angel dressed in shiny white clothes was sitting on top of the stone. The Angel spoke to the women and told them not to worry for their Lord and Saviour, Jesus had indeed risen from the dead and was heading into Galilea ahead of them.
The two ladies were heading into Jerusalem to tell the disciples that Jesus had come back to life again but Jesus met them on the way and commanded them to go the disciples and tell them that Jesus had risen and will meet with them later.
Meanwhile the guards raced into Jerusalem to meet with the priest to tell them what had happened at the tomb. When the priests heard their story they gave a lot of money to the soldiers and told them the story they were to give to anyone asking about the lack of a body in the tomb. They were to say that the disciples had come and stolen the body of Jesus in the night and that is what has been told since that day.
Two of the disciples were walking to Emmaus (a town near Jerusalem) when Jesus came along to walk with them, the disciples didn't realize that it was Jesus. These men were talking about the events of the previous days and Jesus was asking them questions about these events as though He knew nothing about the events. When they finished with the story, Jesus started to reprove the men for their lack of knowledge of the scriptures which told of His coming to earth, growing up as an ordinary man, ministering to the masses,healing the sick, raising the dead and then in the end,dying on the cross, a criminal's death at the hands of the religious leaders of the day. Shortly after the men approached the village they were destined to go to, and started to enter it. Jesus appeared as though He was going on but the men encouraged Him to go in with them and stay overnight. All of the men sat down at the table to eat, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it. After He finished this, the men's eyes were opened and they realized that this man was indeed Jesus, risen from the dead. Just as that happened, Jesus disappeared.
As they pondered over these events, they felt that they should return to Jerusalem to tell the eleven disciples about their sighting of their Saviour and returned to Jerusalem.
We will see what happens in the Life and Times of our Risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Continued tomorrow.
Wilf Blakey

The Day After, The Sabbath

2009-04-11T10:12:00.001-04:00

On the next day after Jesus' crucifixion, the chief priest, pharisees and the temple guards were all gathered together as they figured it was very important to look after and protect their reputation, after all Jesus Christ was just a trouble maker and He still could make trouble for them. When Jesus was still alive, He stated that He would die and three days later He would rise from the dead to life again. and the religious leaders did not need that to happen so they planned to keep the tomb under lock, key and guards for the next while. Soldiers were posted outside the tomb with a large stone placed in front of the opening of the grave and a seal installed to make sure no one could get into the tomb to disturb anything or steel the body, especially those pesky disciples of Jesus.
Not much went on this day but the guarding of the grave so we will let the people carry on until tomorrow.
Wilf Blakey

Easter Friday

2009-04-10T11:40:00.000-04:00

It is now Friday, Jesus is still in the posession of the soldiers, priests and the government heads of the town. Things are not looking good so far. The priests had taken Jesus to Pilate, the head of the Roman government for that area and tried to prove to Pilate that Jesus was a real bad dude. However their accusations were just that, accusations, and didn't hold any weight so Pilate decided that "The King of the Jews" was not guilty of anything as far as he was concerned so go take Him elsewhere. Next stop on the merry go round was with Herod, he was the local person of authority for Jerusalem. Herod was anxious to see Jesus as he had heard rumours about Jesus and His miracles that He had done. I believe that Herod actually wanted Jesus to perform for him and entertain him. This was not to be as Jesus was not in the mood to entertain any head of government whether that person was a local head or a bigger district head. He was there for a purpose and that purpose was not doing miracles to make politicians laugh.
Seeing that Jesus was not co-operating with these people, they started to taunt Him by wrapping Him in a royal robe and then sent Him back to Pilate. Maybe Herod figured that if he couldn't make Jesus dance then maybe Pilate could. Because of this happening, Pilate and Herod became buddies, which is something that had never seemed possible before that date.
Pilate gathered the mob of priests, scribes and the people to address them and said "You have accused this man with many riotous actions before me but I can't find anything wrong to entitle me to have Him killed. Even Herod couldn't find anything wrong either because he sent Jesus back to me to deal with. I will give Him forty lashes and send Him on His way! We do have a tradition here that allows me to release a prisoner to you, the one in mind is Barabus so make up your mind whether it be Barabus or Jesus?"
The crowd was going wild and yelled for "Jesus" to be crucified with no other recourse in mind. Pilate finally gave in and announced that Jesus would be crucified to keep the mob satisfied.
Jesus was taken to the Praetorium where they stripped off most of His clothes, tied him to a post and struck Him with a whip that had pieces of steel and glass fastened to the ends of the thongs. When the thongs hit his flesh, it tore the flesh and muscles underneath so it was causing much distress to Jesus. I can guarantee that if that was done in modern day time there would be a serious uproar and a jailterm to the people doing the whipping but that was the common punishment in those days.
After this was done, the guards took Jesus and placed a crown of thorns on his head and shoved it down into his scalp. Then Jesus was made to pick up the cross beam and carry it to the hill outside the town where he and two thieves were to be crucified before a large crowd of onlookers. As Jesus was moving along the street, He collapsed from the weight of the beam and the loss of blood from the whipping. The guards picked a bystander from the crowd, Simon from Cyrene, and forced him to carry the beam for Jesus.
When the procession reached the top of the hill at Golgotha (the place where the crucifixions took place) the guards took Jesus and threw Him down onto the beam so His arms were spread across it. There Jesus was nailed with three big spikes to hold Him to the cross, one nail in each wrist and one nail through both legs above the feet. Then the cross was raised and the bottom was dropped into the hole prepared for it.
There were three crosses in three holes with two criminals and Jesus standing on the hill at Golgotha on display in front of the crowd, waiting for the three men to die of suffication because of their crimes, but Jesus had done no crime and was suffering for Mankind's sin.
At the sixth hour of the day, the sky turned pitch black and stayed that way until the ninth hour. Jesus cried out in another language "My God, My God, why have you forgotten Me?" Shortly he cried out again "It is finished" and He died.
Many strange things were occuring at that moment as the earth was shaking as in an earthquake, the veil in the Temple tore in two, the ground opened up and many dead souls came to life again and walked into the city. Boy that was weird.
The next day was the sabbath and no bodies were allowed to stay on a cross at this time so they had to be removed from the crosses. A rich man named Joseph from Arimethea, asked to take down Jesus body and the soldiers agreed so it was done. Joseph took Jesus, wrapped Him in clean linens and placed His body in Joseph's own new tomb that he had carved out of the rock. After this he placed a rock across the opening to the tomb and left. Mary (Jesus' mother), and Mary Magdelene were there watching Joseph as he placed Jesus in his tomb.
Well that is all for this dark and gloomy day so we will close on this scene and wait to see what happens tomorrow.
Wilf Blakey

The Salvation Army

2009-04-09T17:10:00.016-04:00

I went to visit the local Salvation Army Church in Kirkland Lake, lately and had a guided tour of their premises. They have moved there recently over the last five or so years, from a crowed church property on a back street in town as well as having their Thrift Shop in a rented store near the downtown section of town. The new location is a definite improvement from the last one as they now have property at the front and one end for parking and they don't have to worry about blocking neighbours driveways on either street at the corner where they used to be. The building is much larger and considerably more modern with a more comfortable environment as well. The building houses their church sanctuary, the Thrift Store, the food bank, as well as the Captains' office. The setting is very pleasant as you walk through the front doors into the entrance area at the front. The Army has also installed a ramp at the front adjoining the entrance so it is wheel chair accesible and that is a good thing. As you can see from the pictures that the building is very modern looking and very inviting for a person to enter into. The location is just a short town block north of the main street on the East end of Kirkland Lake. The inside of the building is very well laid out and efficient in its use of space. The sanctuary is on the left of the main entrance door so it is quite accessible for people going to worship services and any other activities going on. The Thrift Store is on the right end of the building and also very close to the front entrance. There are at least two people on duty when it is open for business on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Army carries a good supply of clothing as well as other household goods such as kitchen appliances at prices that are well affordable to anyone of any income level. Their sale goods are in good condition so the buyer doesn't need to worry about getting it fixed shortly after purchasing it. There is also a food bank run in this building to help the needy people in our community, with the economy the way it is today, there are many souls with hardly enough to fill their stomachs three times a day so that is part of the mandate of the Salvation Army to help look after the needs of the underprivileged.

I have included a brochure from the Corps explaining their purpose and goals.

_____________________________________________________

THE SALVATION ARMY Kirkland Lake Corps

Mission Statement

The Salvation Army as an international movement is an evangelical branch of the Christian church.
Its message is based on the Bible.
Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, supply basic human needs, provide personal couseling, and undertake the spiritual and moral regeneration and physical rehabilitation of all persons in need who come within our sphere of influence regardless of race, colour, creed, sex, or age.

How to reach us:

Mail: P.O. Box 424
Kirkland Lake,On. P2N3J1

Phone:
Church/Office (705) 567-5877
Food Bank 567-5877
Thrift Store 567-3534

Fax: (705) 567-3534

Location:
6 Sylvanite Ave.
Kirkland Lake,On. P2N2C7

_________________________________________________________

The Salvation Army
Kirkland Lake Corps
____________________________________________________________________

Church
The Salvation Army welcomes you
to join with us for Christian worship. Services are Sunday at 10:30 AM
6 Sylvanite Ave
(705)567-5877
____________________________________________________________________

Emergency Food Bank and
Community & Family Services

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
6 Sylvanite Ave
(705) 567-5877

Closed first week of each month.

____________________________________________________________________
Thrift Store
Tuesday & Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
6 Sylvanite Ave
(705) 567-3534

Donations accepted during store hours
____________________________________________________________________

Want to Help?

Become a Volunteer
Contribute Financially
Donate Resources (food, clothing, etc)

Contact us (705) 567-5877
____________________________________________________________________

"Giving Hope Today"

The Last Supper

2009-04-09T09:00:00.007-04:00

This is a news article as it would have been written back in the time of Jesus, if there were newspapers like those of today.
This series of events took place in a city in Israel, called Jerusalem. Jesus Christ was with his apostles talking and they were asking him about the Passover celebration and where it would be held. Now you see Jesus and his crew had no place or residence of their own so one could almost call them vagrants or whatever word you would use but the truth was that they were traveling missionaries in the land.
Jesus told his men to go to the town and look for a man carrying a pitcher of water. they were to follow him to his place and ask him to let them use his guest chamber. Here the apostles were to prepare the feast for their Master. Jesus and the remainder of his crew joined them here in a short while so they all could partake of the Passover meal that was part of the Jewish tradition.
When the men had finished eating, Jesus took off his robe and proceeded to wash the feet of his men. Next He startled them with a statement they did not expect. He said that one of them was going to betray Him and of course everyone was asking "Is it me?" and He replied it is one of you 12 men. Judas, one of Jesus' apostles and money bearer, departed from the scene and reported to the chief priests as he had already planned earlier.
Backing up a little bit earlier, we will see what Judas was up to. He had met with the chief priests , I guess because he was getting a little disgusted with Jesus, maybe because he had thought all along that Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman government and solders whom had overtaken the whole country where he lived but he was finding out that this was not Jesus' intentions. Anyways, Judas saw a way to get even with Jesus and make some quick money while he was at it. Getting back to the story, Judas visited the priests and asked them what they would do for him if he did expose and turn over Jesus to them. Their offer was to give him 30 pieces of silver, Judas thought, "not bad at all" so he accepted this offer.
Meanwhile back at the party, when the meal was over, Judas had left the party and reported to the chief priests , telling them where and when they could arrest Jesus and take Him to the High Priest. He arranged with them to lead them to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamine and when he kissed Jesus the soldiers and priests would subdue Jesus and put Him in custody.
In the meantime, Jesus had invited his apostles to follow him to Gethsamine so He could do some serious talking with His Father, God and that is what they did. While Jesus left them and walked a little distance to a private spot so He could pray, the apostles fell asleep instead of praying with Him. He prayed earnestly to God that He would not have to go through with this but if that is what the Father wanted then He was not going to be rebellious and refuse to do so. Finally, Jesus stopped praying and went back to join the others, whom He had to wake up. A crowd of soldiers and priests were marching very noisily towards them carrying swords and other weapons. Judas came forward and did his deed by giving Jesus a kiss as he had promised the priests that he would do and identify his master for them.
Well things were going downhill from that moment on as the guards were approaching Jesus to arrest Him and one of Jesus men took a sword and sliced off an ear from one of the High Priests servant. Jesus didn't think this was necessary so He put His hand on the servant and healed his ear right then and there. I bet the priests didn't think too much of that!
The soldiers arrested Jesus and took Him into town to the High Priests house for further action.
To Be Continued-------------
Sorry for the disappointment but tune in tomorrow for the continuing Saga of the Easter Story
Wilf Blakey

Service Please

2009-04-01T12:36:00.001-04:00

Today's article is about one of Kirkland Lake's automotive service centres "Kirkland Tire and Auto". Shawn Armstrong and Chris Lambert are the owners/operators of this establishment and offer , first of all, tire sales and installation/repairs. Beside this , they perform automotive diagnosis and repairs to all makes and models of vehicles including full size cars / trucks / vans and compacts. Along with the road vehicles, they repair small engines like lawn mowers, snow blowers and atv's plus many more items I can't even think about right now.
Chris and Shawn have two service technicians and an apprentice looking after the many jobs that the customers bring in to them
The boys have used car sales in their repertoire and have had some rather nice units for sale at reasonable prices.
Kirkland Tire can be found at the bottom end of Main St in Kirkland Lake and are open from 8:00 AM to 5 PM Monday to Friday every week so come on down to see the boys and they will be glad to look after you.
Wilf Blakey

It's Off To The Races

2009-03-26T18:46:00.011-04:00

I went to visit a local business in the Kirkland Lake area today and was very impressed with what I saw. I have seen the place many times as I drove by their store but had no interest in looking inside at that time but you never know what you might find if you just get curious.
The showroom is very well laid out and appealing to the eye as they have a variety of machines on display as you walk straight in the door, to the left and also to the right. There are two gentlemen at the sales counter to greet you and they are very polite and friendly. Mr Tanner Rosko is the Sales Manager of the business and he has another gentleman working with him, Mr Josh Harvey who was very helpful as he showed me around the premises. I will say a very big "THANK YOU" to him for his time and efforts. Mr Harvey showed me their coral of racing machines that they take around the country on the snowmobile racing circuit going to almost all points of the province. The boys at this business are very enthusiastic about their business not only selling machines, repairing them , but also racing them and showing the public what they are made of. Good work men!!! It is not too many times that I have gone into places that sell products and noticed that the people not only sell their products but thoroughly enjoy them after hours as well in their entertainment hours.
The most of what I saw in their showroom was snowmobiles, which I expected to see at this time of year, but they also had a good quantity of ATVs as well and one or two boats on trailers at the back of the showroom straight ahead. I asked my guide if they would be changing their display goods to go with the season shortly and he agreed that they would be bringing out some bikes and more ATVs soon as well as boats. I believe that the Rosko family have made a very wise decision when they opened up their power sports business selling and servicing small engines machines such as they have. It is a very popular sport in this part of the country as well as being very useful items to get around off road terrain in the bush and to the cottage.
I wish the best of a profitable and successful future for the people of Team Rosko Power Sports on the south side of highway 66 just west of Chaput Hughes, Ontario. Make it a point to come and see what Tanner and his men have to offer you at their store. And I do thank you for the tour and conversation this afternoon.
Wilf Blakey

Spring is around the corner

2009-03-22T08:56:00.003-04:00

As the calendar tells us, we have just started Spring. I know the weather doesn't agree with this fact but the fact is that it is now spring.
We have had a hard winter with lots and lots of snow and enough cold temperatures. In the last week or two we have had a little reprieve with some days of warmth causing melting of the snow. This action, of course, gets our hopes up that we will see some green grass and flowers in the near future, we usually forget to accept the fact that with melting comes flooding and lots and lots of mud. God has designed this earth and its yearly cycles to accomplish what he wants to happen here on Earth, like us, the land needs time to rest, thus the winter snow and ice. In the Spring, the Earth wakes up and stretches taking in lots of fresh air, and moisture from the melting snow so it can proceed to make many pretty flowers and shrubs. In the summer, it has come to full life and built up its' muscles by growing many trees, plants, fruits and vegetables, just like us when we do our excercises with muscle building.
In the fall, the Earth settles down and relaxes with its multicoloured leaves and harvest of fully grown and developed food crops. This is the same as us after a hard days' work, just letting our sore muscles rest from the exertion. And then back to winter again.
This is so much like our human lives and we need to be thankfull for what God has made and given us.
Wilf Blakey

GREEN DAY

2009-03-17T18:18:00.009-04:00

It is that time of year again when we try to make as many things as possible, green! We have not been successful in turning our whole house green but my wife was able to make a green vegetable and a green desert. I am sure they are going to be very tasty so that is all that matters around here. Happy St Patricks' Day to you all. Wilf and Elizabeth Blakey

2009-03-15T22:37:00.001-04:00

In the Beginning

2009-03-15T19:31:00.001-04:00

This is the first attempt at blogging for me, I have followed along with many other blogs and decided the time is now to do my own.
This blog is actually about the many sights, events, people, etc that I come into contact with through my lifetime. I hope you find it interesting.
The people in the picture are a group that are very interesting. The gentleman in the centre is Mr Evan Hardwood Kindling, a son to the couple surrounding him and they are Wilson and Sharon Kindred of Kirkland Lake. They travel around the country in their converted school bus to do ministering in church,schools and many other places. The Kindreds moved to Kirkland Lake in October 2007 from Listowel in Southern Ontario and attend Living Faith Assembly Pentecostal Church in Kirkland Lake.
Mr Kindred was born and raised in Kirkland Lake and left to work as a paramedic with the ambulance system, working in many centres in Ontario both North and South. He was the head of some of the paramedic services he worked at and finally left the paramedic field when he developed problems with his arms and shoulders as he found it very hard to perform his duties with this disability.
Before Wilson quit the paramedic services, he was ministering and doing the Lord's work for many years previously in the areas he was working and living, he even had a radio program, singing and preaching to the public. Part of Mr. Kindred's ministering is in song and in puppetry with a newly acquired puppet (Evan) The puppet is a real hit with the kids in the audience. Wilson has also recorded a cd using only his voice done in four levels and mixed to make a very delightful cd with some Southern Gospel selections.
Sharon has been at Wilson's side with the ministering , especially since they moved north 1 1/2 years ago. She quit her job working in Kitchener when they felt the call of God to move north and both of them go on the trips , which was not really possible before when Sharon was working.
We do pray for a blessing on this delightful couple and safety on their trips whether they go East , West, North or South. I am very glad that our paths have crossed and we have had the chance to get to know these people.
Wilf Blakey