The Way We Roll 3

Un Oeuf Dur

 ["Un oeuf dur - hard boiled egg - dressed up a bit"]

It's Boxing Day and the house is quiet, so I'm boiling two eggs.

I can't remember the last time I checked a recipe book in order to make a special meal. The last time was likely shortly after the first time. Same is true for most of the people I know. Brilliant cooks, keeping things simple.

["Leftover diced chicken, bit of onion, on hearty toast and PB"]

["Strips of old cheese and some fixings"]

Keepin' it simple. That's the way we roll.

Link to The Way We Roll 2

Photos GH

The Workshop: "I had to wear me mitts!"

The temperature was minus 6 C in the shop yesterday. Colder than a witch's brew. When I found what I was looking for it was frozen solid.

["And that's my favourite brush"]

However, after turning the heater on I got to work. I quickly completed work on a sturdier bird feeder pole and accompanying wooden support. But the ground outside the shop was frozen. Hard as a brick.

["I cleared an inch of tundra and gave up"]

This morning I heat water and dig a hole. News at 11.

Photos by GH

More from The Workshop

The Workshop: 'tis the season for red

A few years ago, early in December, my wife told me to use more red paint on bird houses. Especially on the ones displayed in the front window of a store near our house. I'm no dummy. I caught her drift.

["Twins, each w red roof and wee one on side shelf"]

["Red livens up a duplex. Trim day comin' up"]

However, like a true Scot (I wasn't called Gordon after Flash), my first thought was, red paint costs money! Was my wife buying?

Photos by GH

***

The red paint kinds pays for itself in December. Catch my drift?

Please click here to read more from The Workshop

From the Dylan Files: Empire Burlesque

I'm a '60s guy who likes good value for his money.

["Ten Dylan songs for ten dollars."]

So when I noticed the CD entitled 'Empire Burlesque' had a Best Value tag on it I parted with my hard-earned money fairly easily. (Actually, on Saturday, after picking out 5 used CDs from the racks at The Village Idiot in Wortley Village I was told I had a credit, based on sales of cedar LP frames I'd made for the store several years ago and then soon forgotten.) I was handed a toonie, the balance owed to me.

"Go buy yourself a cup of coffee," said Robert, the Idiot's proprietor.

Was the coffee better than the CD? Any guesses?

["Empire Burlesque... best value?"]

 I'll let you know after I listen to the CD today in the workshop. But from the looks of Bob's jacket...

Photos by GH

***

Please click here to read The Workshop: "needed -  a stiff breeze"

Things I Like: some keys are very expensive

I was told this morning how much I would have to pay to fix the innards of my remote-entry car key. (The new battery I put in last week didn't bring it back to life).

!$115!$   !$115!$

["Some keys are more than expensive"]

Several of the things I could spend $115 on ran through my mind:

lumber (I can buy enough red cedar for 2 - 3 dozen birdhouses, worth $500 at least)

hockey (I can buy 6 regular season OHL London Knights tickets or half a season's worth of old-timer hockey, pour moi)

craft beer (five lovely trips to Milos Craft Beer Emporium at Talbot and Carling, or 30 - 35 bottles at the LCBO)

valuable supplies (food, gear for the shop, t-shirts, etc.)

I said to the dealer, "I can still open and close the car door with just the key, right?"

He nodded and I promptly drove home.

All I have to do now is remember to lock the door manually when it's filled with lumber, hockey tickets, beer, or other valuable supplies.

Life is about priorities : ) Wish me luck.

Photo by GH

***

Please click here to read more about 'things I like'

My Morning Rant: “Hyping oil now will lead to harping down the line”

[“Given the state of the EU, it needs all the economic help from Alberta and Canada it can get, including decently priced petroleum that doesn’t come from a country where they chop people’s heads off every Friday afternoon.” Feb. 25, The London Free Press, in an editorial borrowed from the Edmonton Sun]

I think it’s safe to say, you know your country is in economic and environmental trouble when it has to hype its tarsands oil projects to make a buck.

About the hype: It isn’t just in the news in the city and province rich in toxic tarsand, i.e., Edmonton, Alberta. It’s here in oil-depleted Ontario, and across Canada.

And thanks to the dogged determination of our Prime Minister, the hype has reached China’s and Europe’s shores and several other countries around the globe, particularly countries that still have money and economic wheels to grease.

Enough with the hype.

Surely most of us instantly recognize that “decently priced petroleum” is a gross exaggeration. A quick peek at oil prices over the last century reveal a steep upward climb in the last three decades, especially since 2005. However one wishes to paint the portrait of oil prices - in acrylic, water colour or oil - I predict it won’t end well.


[Please click to view details - History of crude prices]


That being said, however, as supplies of easy oil dwindle in more apparent fashion and the price per barrel of crude continues its steady march past $100 toward $200, the ‘Made in Canada’ hype will perhaps grow less desperate, as China and a few other major buyers ink deals for long-term, oil-based economic security (if there is such a thing, when we consider so few countries have a back-up plan). Then the PM will perhaps be able to sit down, relax a bit, unpack his suitcase and take his kids to a hockey game.

Unfortunately though, after the time of hyping, the time of harping will no doubt begin in earnest.

More to follow.

***

Please click here to read more about oil.

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It Strikes Me Funny: “Show me the money!”

What was my wife thinking?

A very expensive motorcycle was parked in front of our house yesterday (I saw it while loading my hockey equipment into the trunk of the Civic), and though I glanced at it, I didn’t feel one inclination - not even the slightest - to take a photo of it.

I left for hockey, careful not to turn sharply and scratch the Harley while backing out of the drive. When I arrived home at 6:00, it was gone. But I later found photos of the bike on my camera.


["I'll save up all my money...": photo PH]

“Gord will love this shot.”

Did that thought cross my wife’s mind as she took her first picture?

“Gord loves all bikes. I bet he’d love to ride this one.”

Was she thinking that?

“I’ll save up all my money and buy it for Gord for Fathers’ Day.”

Do you think? That last one - not a chance.

Well, whatever ran through her mind, I appreciate her thinking of me. She’s not into bikes herself, so I know she didn’t snap pictures to fill one of her own albums. Unless I’ve completely misjudged the girl for 41-plus years.

Here’s what I was thinking when I first saw the bike:

Expensive. Unique. Not your typical Harley. Low-rider. I would probably be able to handle it. $35,000?

Here’s what I was thinking when I saw my wife’s photos:

It’s not for me. Too extravagant. But, if my wife shows me the money, I could be persuaded to take a test drive!

***

Please click here for more It Strikes Me Funny.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: Experience helps when times are thin

As pretty typical Canadian 13- and 14-year olds in the early 1960s, Gary and Tom and I had the following playthings:

bicycles

ball gloves

hockey equipment

several other toys hiding under our beds or stored in wooden toy boxes.

So, it’s not like we grew up poor, or did without all the time, with no toys or shiny dimes to call our own.

We also had, as young teens growing up in Norwich, a small village in Oxford County (16 miles south of Woodstock on The King’s Highway 59), quick access to beautiful natural surroundings and endless entertaining activities.

Thanks to a 90-minute school (elementary) lunch hour, the three of us could bike to the Little Otter Creek (usually called ‘the crick’) after gulping down bologna or chicken loaf sandwiches and cold milk and have an hour or more to kill before afternoon classes began.


["Boys on bikes": photo link]

Noon hours at the crick are some of my fondest memories. We caught crayfish, skipped stones and tossed 3-inch fire crackers by the truck load into the water - at just the perfect moment - to create depth-charge-like explosions to scare the rock bass. (Norwich’s rock bass feared fire cracker holidays more than any other, even pan-fry Friday, aka Fryday).

I must have been feeling particularly confident in myself one noon hour because I willingly shared with my two tall alpha male friends (I was more of a short, wiry beta boy) that I had a favourite game at the crick, I’d invented it myself, and asked if they like to try it.

One said, “Sure, you short, wiry beta boy. Have at it.” (Perhaps not Gary or Tom’s exact words, but close enough for now).

I led them to a short, narrow, newly-constructed wooden bridge a ways from our parked bikes and near a bend in the crick. I picked up a 6-foot long branch and two or three short sticks I’d stashed nearby and walked them to the center of the bridge.

“Watch this,” I said.

I threw the sticks upstream and as they returned to me - one, two, three - I used the branch to flip them upstream again. I got all three airborne and back up the crick before they passed under the bridge. The sticks returned to me. I flicked them upstream again.

“Try it,” I said. “It’s tricky.”

Soon Tom and Gary had their own sticks and branches and were trying to knock me off the throne as World Champion Stick Flicker. They realized it was harder than it looked (90% of the time the sticks ended up along the banks of the crick and we had to run fetch them) and didn’t take to the game with as much youthful enthusiasm as I did. But we did return to the bridge at another time to see who could win the battle for the throne. (I believe I am still reigning champ).


["How about a bicycle holiday in Port Bruce, Ontario?": photo GH]

When thin times roll our way in the future (e.g., due to higher fuel prices) and our million and one entertainments, recreations and car-trip holidays get pared back a bit, or a heck of a lot, many will not know what to do with their time. Some will say it’s the government's fault, of course, push the default button and call for lower taxes. (How imaginative is that?)

My recommendation: Practice living under your means as soon as possible.

Me? I’ll be down by the river.

***

Please click here to read more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Made in Canada: I want a rain jacket made in Ontario

An email arrived today from Prince Edward Island.

It contained very good news from one of my three sisters.

LD, the reigning matriarch of the family, is moving to PEI when she and her hubby retire, and she is in the process of renovating an old farmhouse with much help from her island friends.

Here’s a snippet from her email:

“Since it's been raining here so much and I didn't bring a rain jacket I found a nice light red one at Value Village..the bonus was that it had a tag sewn on it near the side seam..Prince Edward Island..how great is that.”

I am happy for her. If I lived on PEI I’d want a red rain jacket too, and one made in PEI, not in some far off land for a cheaper price. (The cheaper price comes with a heavy price, i.e., the loss of Canadian jobs).

However, I don’t live in PEI. I live in Ontario.

So as not to be outdone by the matriarch of my family, where can I find a red rain jacket made in Ontario?

Does such a thing exist?

***

Related post right about here.

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Live Small: Corporations may be an enemy to thrift and prosperity

I believe there is a strong link between thrift and prosperity.

Architect Louis Sullivan illustrated the link when he “carved the word THRIFT over the door of his ‘jewel box’ nearly a century ago, for it was private virtue that made public prosperity possible.” (Oct. 2008, Time magazine)

Also, the Concise Oxford dictionary lists the following key words beside ‘thrift’ and ‘thrifty’:

frugality

economical management

thriving

prosperous

As well, from personal experience; when I wanted a new transistor radio in the mid-1960s my mother told me to save twice as much as the purchase price of $44.

So I did, and learned a valuable lesson, i.e., saving money is hard work but it pays off when you want to listen to your own tunes when you’re sitting on the beach in Long Point, Ontario during summer break.

(At present, I’m saving $4,000 for a trip to Esquimalt and Comox, B.C.; not a penny will go on plastic or line of credit and I’ll listen to tunes on a pristine 10 transistor radio all the way out and back).


But, thrift is dead it seems, and the list of ‘usual suspects’ is long and includes individual consumers, economists, government and business leaders and corporations.

I started saying something (it wasn’t good) about corporations yesterday and believe they must be the worst of the bunch. Thrift and prosperity takes on a whole new meaning behind board room doors and not one thought concerning the individual or family is involved.


["THRIFT - RIP, old buddy": photos GH]

For example:

“The private sector’s industrialized vision of agriculture - which is all about mass production, large machines, and a great deal of artificial additives - is in the same optimistic tradition (...as other big industrialized programs imposed on the developing world by the World Bank, which destabilized rural areas and created vast slums).”

“Curiously enough, this vision has always included large public subsidies. What those who live in the West have seen is that this industrialized approach to agriculture can produce food surpluses, but drives the farming population off the land, bankrupts smaller communities and, at the end of day, leaves even the largest producers struggling to break even.

“The real profits of the last quarter-century have gone to the managerial organizations - the middlemen - wholesalers and large retail distributors of machinery, additives and bulk food.

“The implications for the developing world are enormous. In low-income countries, 70 per cent of employment is agricultural, in middle-income 30 per cent. In the West it is 4 per cent, and, even at that, the sector has been in permanent financial and human crisis since the ‘70s.

“The application of industrial agricultural methods to low- and middle-income countries is a recipe for social catastrophe. Yet that is the dream of open markets.

“The most efficient will win out.” (The Collapse of Globalism, pg. 86 - 87)

Youch.

Let’s recap the corporate method:

fewer jobs

dependence on fossil fuel

unnatural products

subsidies funded by taxpayers

community bankruptcies

vast sums for middlemen

catastrophe for low- and middle-income countries

Nothin’ but good news, eh?

When I began writing about THRIFT, I didn’t realize the virtue had so many enemies, i.e., from the individual (and oft-times insignificant) consumer to the largest of corporations.

In spite of that, all is not lost. In pockets here and there, thrift remains a virtue. And shortly after the next recession it will likely make a healthy comeback.

In my humble opinion, when the meek inherit the earth, the thrifty will be right behind them.

Until then, let’s live under our means and strive for happiness apart from things and material goods.

***

Is this a good time to repeat my mantra?

“Reduce spending, pay down debts and save money for tough times ahead.”

Yeah, it fits right in.

THRIFT PT 1

THRIFT PT 2

THRIFT PT 3

THRIFT PT 4

THRIFT PT 5

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Memory Lane: Friday’s adventure took me back to 1955. Scary.

Scary is right. I remember a great deal about my first childhood home and first school. I recall my first teacher, several friends, certain antics and even a spot of trouble I got myself into at the age of 5 or 6 years old.

I liked school so much I once stayed to play at noon hour rather than head home for lunch. My mother arrived 10 minutes later, with a very worried and angry look on her face, and dragged me home by the ear.

My teacher, Miss Brooks (not of Hollywood or TV fame), called on me to escort Rhonda Wettlaufer home early in my first school year because she wouldn’t stop crying during our lessons. Rhonda and I were after-school playmates (her folks owned and operated the general store at the main corners of the village of Burgessville), I knew the way to her house and I was more than happy to get out of school.

Rhonda and I re-connected in high school and later attended the same teachers’ college. Small world.


["The broom sticks out from the back of the bike": photos GH]

Some readers have likely been holding their breath in suspense, wanting to know why I was delivering an old corn curling broom by motorcycle to Rick Lees last Friday.


["One broom, signed and sealed"]

(I like keeping people in suspenders, eh.)

My family moved to Norwich, just 5 miles down the road from Burgessville, and I became good friends with Rick during our early school years together in the 1950s.

While at Teachers’ College in London in 1969 I joined a curling team and remembered that Rick’s dad made corn curling brooms, so I bought two of them at my next opportunity.


["Three members of our Olympic Gold Curling Team"]

I had one of them, still wrapped in its original plastic sleeve, signed by Canada’s Gold Medal Olympic Curling team last spring and thought Rick might like to have it. He wasn’t home on Friday but I gave it to his oldest daughter.


["Now, this is a real curling broom, boys."]

She recognized it as her grandfather’s broom even before I made it to the front door of the house and was quite excited to see the signatures of our gold medal winners.

Hopefully, Rick will get a kick out of it too.

And this concludes my stories about my Friday motorcycle adventure.

***

I’ll save other stories (e.g., I saw a dead cow once behind our home in Burgessville, I tasted a cow’s salt lick, made a great sword out of real tin and won an award for perfect attendance at the local Baptist church - how exciting) for another time.

See, I do like keeping people in suspenders.

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A bank wants us to save money for tough times? What next? Pt 1

I’m rubbing my eyes but not to get the sleep out.

I just read last Thursday’s paper and spotted the headline ‘Scotiabank launches nationwide savings drive.’

What? Something sensible in Canada, home to more debt on a personal, provincial and federal level than a common Joe could hit with an old wooden hockey stick?

What next? A developer will build and promote a 900 sq. ft. home along with a live small philosophy all in the same breath?

Jeepers. Why not? Anything is possible, it seems.

And what did the article actually say?

First: “A new survey suggests one third of Canadians do not have a savings plan in place to achieve their financial goals.”

In other words, 33% of us have some idea that we should have ‘financial goals’ (e.g., to maintain a certain lifestyle for a few years or into retirement) but we have no plan or are taking no action now to prepare for the future.


["Ann says: Reduce your spending, wise guy"]

Second: “Nearly one in five said they have no money at all set aside, according to the survey.”

In other words, it’s worse than I thought.

Third: “The Scotiabank poll found that 94% of Canadians say they feel better when they have a financial safety net in place, though almost one quarter admitted to living day-to-day and not saving money.”

Let’s break that down, shall we?

For most of us, a financial safety net is a ‘feel good’ thingy, like the positive feeling we get when we see a good movie.

However, most of us would rather drop money at the movies than into a piggy bank.

Fourth: "Scotiabank's 'Let the savings begin' initiative comes amid a government drive to improve financial literacy on concern people are not saving enough to finance their retirement."

So, look for our government to pat Scotiabank on the head because the federal debt is growing and, in the future, no one will be bailing out retirees.

If we don’t take care of ourselves, nobody else will.

***

Reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for tough times ahead.

Where have you heard that before?

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Letter to the Editor: So, how do I get Canadian-made mittens?

I’m not sure if the following letter to The London Free Press (Mar. 18) is ironic, satirical or loudly mocking:

“Foreign-made products symbol of capitalism”

Regarding the letter, Made in Canada matters!

I am astounded at the amount of people who are surprised that our Olympic merchandise is manufactured in places like Vietnam and China.


["Can I knit them myself?": photo link]

When things like that need to be mass-produced and turn a huge profit, people here should acknowledge that poor people in developing countries will be making it.

They work hard so we can have nice possessions.

That’s called capitalism.

Ryan N., St. Thomas

The letter also makes me wonder how I can get my hands on a pair of red, Canadian-made mittens.

Will I have to knit them myself?

Can a guy my age learn to knit?

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Port Bruce Birdhouses Pt 3: More than I can shake a stick at

I’ve said before, my bike takes me to Port Bruce and the north shore of Lake Erie about 20 times per year.

Therefore, last week was a typical week, and I ended up there twice - but on a mission, not just for coffee and hot dog lightly topped with fresh condiments and sand.

The mission - to take pictures of more birdhouses than I could shake a stick at.


["Room w a View": photos GAH]

After snapping a few that were perched no more than 50 meters from the waves I headed west toward fields that edged the lake and were home to a half dozen rectangular boxes visible from a distance.

I parked my bike at the side of the road a mile out of town and plodded across a sandy, grassy field.


["Good, sturdy homes for cliff swallows"]


I discovered the birdhouses were plain and simple, but very practical, and have the best view imaginable for any cliff swallows that choose to make them home.


["Remove one nail only for spring cleaning: Very easy"]

I like the fact a person can swing open the right side of each box (for spring cleaning) by pulling out one protruding nail - a feature my Dad used years ago and I now use on many of my own boxes.

Easy schmeasy!

***

I saw a half dozen other birdhouse locations, at which I’ll have to stop someday soon, on my way home to London that afternoon.

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Zoom w a View: From the workshop at 5.8 cents per kwh

Day- and night-time temperatures will remain below zero for another week (so I’m told by a local weather expert) so the time spent inside my partially insulated workshop will be chilly.

The window will likely be covered with frost again today.


And the old Willard thermometer will struggle to reach 60 degrees.


Yesterday I adjusted to the cold temps by wearing gloves while sanding my latest project, a white cedar box in which to store flyers on the porch.


I didn’t have to wear the gloves while carving or sanding a project on the lathe because the heater sits nearby (chugging out warmth at 5.8 cents per kwh until April 30th; thereafter, at mid-peak workshop times, i.e., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., it will cost 8.0 cents per kwh).

["The penny bowl will cost more than a nickel, for sure": photos by GAH]

***

Yes, the cost of doing business will go up in May if the sun doesn’t come out!

Is your hydro bill going up due to Mr. Smart Meter?

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It Strikes Me Funny: I am in debt but I think it’s manageable Pt 4

Getting hit with a financial triple whammy (i.e., low cash, high debt and no or low retirement savings) during tough economic times is a terrible experience.

To live with the prospects of a poor retirement while helping adult children financially survive is a tough slug to the gut as well, and more Canadian baby boomers are getting hit every year, to the tune of almost $3,700 per child.

[Click here to read Part 1,

Part 2,

and Part 3 for some context. You’ll be glad you did and I’ll still be here when you get back. Hey, I’m retired, and waiting for you means I’m not spending money - which is a good thing.]

I recently asked Herald Krimmer, a friend and financial advisor, a few questions about money matters and his answers and comments were interesting, and if I knew in my twenties what I know now about finances I might not be carrying as big a debt load as I am today.

(But, hey, I still think it’s manageable as long as sons David and Paul don’t move back home with their wives and children. Admittedly, my wife would love it but I’d be fretting everyday about who drank my ESB and ate the last slice of pie in the fridge).

While sitting with Herald at a Richmond Row coffee shop I said, “How do some people you deal with get into financial trouble?”

He said, “Some earn, for example, $50,000 per year but spend $60,000. Others earn $100,000 but spend $120,000.”

“What happens to them?” I said.

“I know someone your age (i.e., 60-years old) who will never be mortgage free. His spending went from 120 to $150,000 per year and now rents an apartment while carrying what remains of his last mortgage.”

I asked if fewer people seem to be living within their means today than 10 or 20 years ago and he nodded.

When I asked him for one possible reason he said, “Partly, it’s a sense of entitlement in people. Though many parents today had a working class start, they did relatively or very well compared to their own parents and subsequently wanted their own children to have some of the things they never had.


["My family's working class home: We learned the value of a dollar": photo GAH]

“Some members of the younger generation have been showered with gifts, so to speak, and when they go out to work they find it a bit of a struggle to maintain the lifestyle they’re used to. And instead of spending their money responsibly they run out and buy expensive goods they simply can’t afford.”

Household debt, as a result, has hit an all-time high, while at the same time we see a trend away from company pensions with defined benefits.

People can get therefore into trouble at an early age and stay that way for many years.

Any solutions to the triple whammy?

How about we expect all students to get a high school or university credit re financial basics before they receive easy credit from banks?

Mr. Krimmer liked that idea and we talked about ways of rectifying personal financial matters. I’ll say a few more things about our talk in a future column and let you know when it hits the streets.

Until then:

Reduce spending, pay down debt, and save more money for the tough times ahead.

And to David and Paul: You're always welcome at home.

***

You probably knew that was coming, didn’t you?

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Zoom w a View: No squirrel or bird traffic today

Ingenious though they may be, squirrels have not disturbed my clothesline bird feeder.


["No squirrels, no birds": photos GAH]

I keep it 6 feet above the ground and 6 - 7 feet away from any launch sites (from a squirrel’s point-of-view), i.e., clothesline support pole, pile of snow or lumber, plastic lawn chairs I forgot to put away last fall etc.


"No squirrel traffic on the fence rails either"]

As well, birds haven’t disturbed my feeder - which fills me with chagrin (a word I tend to overuse at times).

Though birds are clever too (as clever as squirrels?), perhaps they can’t see it from the air because of the snowy cap it wears. Perhaps I need to scatter more seed on the ground to provide a clue that more food is nearby.

I’ll shovel the deck, uncover the seed from previous scatterings and add to the mix.

Let’s see what happens. I’ll keep my camera handy.

***

Is your bird feeder getting traffic?

Any secrets?

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Sorry Horatio: About the GLAM, I just couldn’t let it go

Even though I’m sure I’m affected by it in some way (don’t ask me how), the fashion pages in papers and magazines strike me very funny.

Glam it up, they say.

Sorry, can’t do it.

Bling it on, they say.

Say what, I say.

Luxe up your life.

Are you kidding me?

In yesterday’s Free Press, the following photo (by M. Lamont) appeared amongst a collection of clothing styles meant to deliver an ‘animal attraction’ theme.


If a salesclerk tried to sell gloves to me in that fashion I’d say, get away from me with those gloves.

But, can you point me towards socks and underwear?

***

I just couldn’t let it go, Horatio.

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Zoom w a View: A wee bit of snow and two resolutions

I was up early this morning, not because I was early to bed last night - though 1 a.m. didn’t feel overly late - but because my back still hurts from an enthusiastic hug I received last Sunday.

By 6 a.m. a steady ache has me ready to roll out of bed, throw on my house coat and stumble around in the dark until I can decide what to do next.


["Four hooks keep the feeder stable on a clothesline": photos GAH]

The usual answer - make a pot of coffee or tea.

(My chiropractor will have the problem fixed soon, I’m sure, and I’ll go back to sleeping in until 8 a.m. as usual).


["Snow is tramped down on fence rails by squirrel traffic"]

This morning, coffee in hand, I saw a bit of snow coming down and realized it was time to string up my bird feeder.


["Fresh snow; squirrels must still be sleeping"]

The squirrel population has increased in the neighbourhood (you can see them running along the tops of fence rails every hour of the day it seems) so I’m going to put out a squirrel trap as well.

So, thus far into 2010, I have two resolutions.

You?

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2010: ‘Glam’ and other uncool words not to live by

(Because glam is just not sensible).

If you frequently use the words bling, glam or luxe as you’re speaking to people about your plans for 2010 I’m going to have to ask you to stop.

Oh, I can hear your reactions now:

“But I need bling in my kitchen to make me feel alive!”

“Hey, I was just about to glam up my dining room and a dark corner in my basement!”

“If I can’t luxe up my living room, entry way and my high cheek bones then I can’t be me!”

I will respond this way:

“Get ahead of the curve, Blingo. It’s time to buy yourself a pair of sensible shoes.”

Read the article in today’s London Free Press entitled ‘Consumers keep grip on wallets’ and you’ll learn the following:

- Ever since the economic downturn began in the fall of 2008, consumers have stopped spending, and despite signs the recovery is underway, people might not rush out to the shops in 2010.

- "Our recovery is going to be pretty lethargic," said Warren Jestin, chief economist for Scotiabank.

- Don Drummond, chief economist for the Toronto-Dominion Bank, says Canadian and American households are saving about 4% of their income, which should leave enough cash for some consumer spending, but not much.

Yup, sounds like the end of the road for bling, glam and luxe.


[“You didn’t say bling, did you?”: link to photo site]

Now, about those sensible shoes.

I suggest a pair of sturdy leather walking shoes that will last you ten years and never go out of style.

I also suggest you practice saying ‘why, that’s just not sensible’ when a family member or friend tells you they’re going to buy some bling or glam on credit to - supposedly - dress up their fireplace mantel or a nook in their house.


And practice your best ‘you should reduce spending, pay down debt and save money for tough times ahead’ facial expression whenever you’re told to luxe any part of your home or body.

We’ll all be the better for it in the new age of austerity.

***

Any other words we should rid from our vocabulary?

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