Made in Canada: new chair style

Leave it to a Canadian to design a chair that is perfect for a hot, humid, sticky, dreary day.

Need a cold drink? You are sitting on the ice!

I just need to connect with somebody who owns a big deep freeze.

Photo by GH

the maple leafs, last chance to shine?

I will rake tomorrow. I'll take a few Artsy Fartsy photos today while the leaves are easy pickin's.

AF Photo 1: RED LEAVES BACKLIT

AF Photo 2: SHINY ORANGY-GOLD ONE

AF Photo 3: BRIGHT RED-ORANGY ONE

AF Photos by GH

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Please click here to view the maple leafs, falling

Gord finds another gold mine

I already have the rights to one gold mine. A lot of people will think that one is enough for an old guy my age. I say, think again.

["Take a good look at that long board"]

On Wednesday Big Steve (a defenceman on my hockey team) comes over to me during warmup and says, "Gordie, I have to tell you about some lumber I found."

So halfway into my slap shot drill I stop and listen, because I like stories about wood and Big Steve has never sent me down the wrong path. He tells me about a job he's doing and how he ran out of cedar in his truck so he went to the nearest lumber store in __________. (Location is now Top Secret!)

"Gordie!" he says, and he was getting excited and red in the face. "They've got 16-footers, BC cedar, clear as a bell. I thought of you right away. Gordie will love this stuff, I says to myself. And the price. Wait 'til I tell you the price."

Big Steve leans down and whispers in my ear, "$$$______!!" (More Top Secret stuff.)

And then we both fell over.

["There are two birdhouses on the board but a dozen in it!"]

Long story short. I went for a short drive yesterday (or was it long? I can't recall), picked up six 16-footers (total price $______!! Oh, man!), cut them in half so they could slide as easy as you please into my Civic, and laughed all the way home because the smell of beautiful cedar was so rich I got full after two deep breaths and realized I wouldn't have to buy any lunch.

As well, my head spinning - full of ideas - I looked forward to working with each new board.

Oh, I do like gold mines.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read Gord finds a gold mine

caught by surprise

For several years after I retired from teaching I would have dreams at night about being in a classroom with no supplies, no plans for the day and wall-to-wall students intent on paying me not much attention. Sounds like ingredients for a nightmare in any language, doesn't it?

Now, in my eleventh year of retirement (and looking more youthful than ever), I awake many mornings thinking about my next shop project. My thoughts or remnants of a pleasant dream could be about an ordinary birdhouse, tall triplex or custom chair. I awoke this morning to thoughts about building classy, aromatic frames for three pieces of rustic metal, two of which hang under a clock in my small workshop. The third is still attached to the shop door (formerly my dad's barn door).

Two days ago I prepared some wood, also from my dad's in-town barn (which was demolished several years ago in Norwich, Ontario) for the art-like project. When I 'booked the lumber' on the saw, i.e., cut it open to reveal two symmetrical pieces, like facing pages in a book, part of the experience caught me by surprise.

Fresh aromas and colours from the century-old board leapt from the page, so to speak, and I savoured the rare treat. Simple photographs do not do justice except to preserve the moment in their own way.

Soon the frames will be complete and the hinges will adorn my shop walls, preserving the hard, muscular industry of men long gone for a future generation.

Photos by GH

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Please click here for related matters forging an idea

Money Matters: Less stressful times for many

Financial analysts spot small problems while the majority of average Canadians face really big ones.

[From 'Alison on Money', Jan. 29, METRO]

Alison says "setting up an automatic contribution plan will help you deal with this stressful time (i.e., RRSP season)." Meanwhile the average Canadian family is up to their eyeballs in debt and has no money for an RRSP contribution plan.

Someone other than a financial analyst has to soon deliver a series of new messages to help average Canadians avoid financial stress.

Try these on for size while we wait for government and business officials to prepare their notes:

Downsize the North American Dream

Buy or build a much smaller house 

Buy a much small car

Buy 50% fewer furnishings for your house

["I'm still waiting for a store like this in Old South, London"]

Buy Canadian and keep more jobs at home

Learn to cook more of your own meals

Include nature walks on your entertainment schedule

What other messages does the average Canadian need to hear in order to avoid financial stress or ruin?

Photos by GH

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Please click here for more Money Matters

Live Small and Prosper: “Soup du jour moderne”

Modern technology has its place. And new efficiencies must be pursued at every turn. 

[“Harrison homemade turkey soup. Five Star”]

But let’s also find a place for simple, hands-on work in the kitchen. Let’s not forget that leftovers can be fit for a King.

[Photos by G.Harrison. Soup by P.Harrison]

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Did something homemade fill your bowl or plate recently?

Please click here for more Live Small

2012 in Review PT 6: “Harsh attitudes in the present will crush the less-fortunate”

The following letter to the editor appeared in a local newspaper recently:

Not so fast, EMD workers

As much as I understand how such a wage change could affect the lives of employees used to making a higher wage for so long, Electro-Motive employees need to realize they are (a) lucky to have a job and (b) still going to be making $6 more an hour than a lot of people.

Samantha M.

January 16, London Free Press


As well as asking “Where will good jobs come from in London, jobs well-paying and secure enough to support committed workers and their families well into the future?” in this series of posts, I also must ask, “Where do people get the idea that salaries, just a few dollars more than Ontario’s paltry minimum wage, will pay for groceries and a mortgage for a couple, let alone a small family of three?”

No wonder there was a rally in Victoria Park on Saturday in support of locked-out Electro-Motive Diesel workers.

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to read 2012 in Review PT 5: “Harsh attitudes in the past crushed the less-fortunate”

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It Strikes Me Funny: Canada is out of potatoes?

Must be.

Canada must be out of potatoes. Maybe we fished them into extinction like the once mighty cod. Maybe we hunted them down and blasted them into oblivion like the once thundering herds of wild buffalo that covered the western prairies. Maybe we ate so many French fries in July our once plentiful supplies have dried up, disappeared, died.

Whatever the case, Costco is now selling giant tubs of red potato salad distributed by Reser’s Fine Foods, Beaverton. But not as in ‘Beaverton, Ontario, Canada’ but as in ‘Beaverton, Oregon, US of A.’


Good grief.

As if the fact my wife buys potato salad in tubs the size of a small nation isn’t disturbing enough.

How can I even look into the fridge for something to snack on before lunch without feeling the overwhelming pressure to eat a bit more potato salad - it will last forever, otherwise - even though we had it for supper last night, supper the night before that and lunch a few hours before that?

Sure, Canadians love a deal. Potato salad in 20 pound drums for $1.99, who wouldn’t love it? Who wouldn’t buy extra and ask to store it in the neighbour’s freezer for the next family reunion or when a football team - for some unknown reason - comes for dinner?

But the pressure!


["I've got to get to the bottom of this.": photos GH]

And now... Canada is out of potatoes and we have to ship in salad from Oregon, US of A. Now I have to struggle to look past or around a giant tank of potato salad - from some far off state - when trying to find a smidgen of mustard for my gourmet hotdog that’s sitting on the kitchen counter getting colder by the second.

When we finally reach the bottom of this container, I’m going to ask my wife to forget the next deal on potato salad ($1.99 for 50 pounds is surely just around the corner) so I don’t have to face the daily pressure of eating more than I need for one lifetime and so the US of A doesn’t run out of potatoes as well.

It’s bad enough that Canada is out of potatoes.

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Please click here for more It Strikes Me Funny.

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Made in Canada: Not just bird seed is made down the road

The following comment from callmemit caught my interest recently:

“There is a website called www.buycanadianfirst.ca - co-founded by Isabelle Remy of Montreal. I have no commercial interest in her business but I do support her when I can.”

I thought, I should take a visit to the buycanadianfirst website. I did.


I read the following:

“Why buy Canadian first?”

“It used to be that as consumers we didn’t think twice about the long term effects of our shopping habits on the communities we live in. We became addicted to low-cost products made abroad and got hooked on accumulating quantity over quality. Products that used to be built to last are now built to be disposed of, making them seem “cheaper” at first glance. This is known as planned obsolescence (you can learn about it on The Story of Stuff).”

If you haven’t heard the story of stuff, go now. I’ll wait.

Now, back to buycanadianfirst. I also read the following:

“Then, something worrisome started to happen: Canadian manufacturing jobs were disappearing at an alarming rate. Between 2003 and the Spring of 2008 for example, Canada lost 350,000 manufacturing jobs. And sadly, things have not improved since then. But the silver lining is that in the couple of years, our country has seen the emergence of a grassroots movement towards buying more locally-made products. It seems the pendulum has gone as far as it can in the outsourcing direction, and companies are striving for more balance and better quality control all over again.”

The site listed a lot of other info as well, and it made for an interesting read.


["I'm happy to report we make bird seed down the road": photo GH]

For example, you could read about the top 6 reasons why we should be buying Canadian:

E.g., 1. The economy

“When we buy Canadian, we directly impact our economy in positive ways...”

Please click here to read more.

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Read more Made in Canada here.

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Made in Canada: We know how to make birdseed... Cheep

I don’t know how much Hawaiians pay for bird seed during winter months, but here in Canada one can pay at least $31 for two hefty bags, total weight 26 kg or 57 pounds, which is enough to keep a flash of juncos happy for the entire winter season.


For those who didn’t know: The collective noun for doves is bevy.

E.g., a bevy of doves just carried off my neighbour’s cat.

For barracudas it’s battery, and for juncos it’s flash.


["Both bags carry this stamp. Well done, Canada": photos GH]

Now that you’re thoroughly educated about a few more important facts and details, allow me to happily say that here in Canada we still know how to mix a variety of seeds together suitable for birds to eat.

Also, thanks to two readers, I’ve learned that dish soap is still also Made in Canada.

(Admittedly, my wife and I use Dawn, made in the US, but that’s not my fault. Later today, or when the Dawn is nearing the sunset of its life, I’ll tell my wife to look for a Canadian made product and hope she happily agrees to look for it. I should add, if I say something to her today, after she gets back from a hectic round of Christmas shopping, this could easily be my last post - ever! Sorry, I digress.)

Dish soap made in Canada - I like it.

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Please click here to read informative comments (by callmemit) re items Made in Canada.

Also, read about a brand of Canadian dish soap here - see comment by Liz.

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Made in Canada: Dawn dish soap is not a local product

Earlier today, while washing dishes, I grew curious about where our dish soap originated.

Yes, it came from a plastic bottle and from a supermarket located in Deforest City.

But like many other curious dishwashers, I wanted to know more.


["Definitely not Made in Canada": photo GH]

Is my dish soap made in Canada? Will it make my hands smell pretty?

To answer the first question I visited www.dawn-dish.ca

I read a few FAQs.

E.g., “Which company owns Dawn?”


Answer:

“Dawn was created by Procter & Gamble® (P&G) in 1973. P&G is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and provides products and services of superior quality and value to consumers in over 80 countries worldwide.”

In other words, I’m washing dishes with liquid soap that has come from a long way away.

The US is closer than China but I’m still disappointed.

Does Canada make a dish soap?

I’d like to know.

BTW.

For those who wonder about such things, here is another FAQ.

“Will Dawn Dish Soap Lighten my Dyed Black Hair?”

Answer:

“yeah it will work. DON'T leave it on. just use it like shampoo.”

So now you know.

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Link to the earlier post re Dawn.

The list of ingredients sure contains a lot of strange chemicals.

What do the chemicals do to the fresh water in the Great Lakes after helping remove dried egg from a plate?

For something lighter, please read I Ask You here.

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Made in Canada: Can we still make dish soap?

I’m sure most people in Canada squirt some type of dish soap into a pan when washing dishes.

My wife and I use Dawn. I don’t know why. Likely because of the price.

(You want me to ask? Okay, I will.)

We usually buy Palmolive. But we’re trying Dawn because it’s a good price, it can get stains out of clothing, my daughter-in-law said so, it feels good on the hands, yada-yada-yada.


["It dawned on me to ask, where is it made?": photos GH]

“Because it’s made locally or in Canada,” is not part of the reason.

That may be because we don’t think about where anything is made anymore. When we start to run low on something we add it to a grocery list and get more. Whether a product is “Made in Canada” or not is is likely never on many minds.

Under the list of ingredients for Dawn detergent I read:


["Surely we can still find Yellow 5 in Canada"]

“Imported for Proctor and Gamble Inc., Toronto, Ont.”

What’s that mean?

Is it shipped to Toronto from somewhere outside of Canada and then to Deforest City?

Has the list of ingredients been lost?

Has Canada run out of dimethylamine oxide or methylisithiazolinone or red 33?

Can we not get more chemicals?

Are we exporting soap-producing jobs for any good reason?

Is our carbon footprint larger than necessary?

I’ll contact www.dawn-dish.ca to find out.

It will be a sad day in London - once home to a soap manufacturer - if our soap and detergents are coming from a long way off.

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I bought a great looking used belt and pair of blue jeans in London recently.

Both items were Made in Canada.

Is anything else Made in Canada?

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