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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] September 5, 2015 Prompt for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge - Official September Challenge Creation Saturday!I'm gonna make this easy on you today...write whatever you'd like! But...each sentence must contain at least one emoticon (and after this week you've got so many more to choose from). I won't put a minimum line count on this...it's harder than it looks.  Hi ThereWe're spending the day in Sunset Bay, best place in the whole wide  .We have a couple of guests with us, which makes it difficult for me to find time to   We went into town, and saw a  , then another but they were both  . Joel ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] September 3, 2015 Prompt for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge - Official September Challenge The Wildcard Round! In honor of WDC's 15th birthday, today's winner gets a Birthday MB...best entry (in my opinion) wins! What do you remember about being 15? Share with us the awkward, hilarious moments. Well, this takes me back. 1976 was a crazy time, KISS was the hottest band in the land, I was a crazy kid, and I had even crazier friends. The school I attended housed grades seven through twelve, which accounted for nearly 1000 students, it was the largest inner city school in the city. Well known for it's academic programs, and sports teams, when you told anyone (from other parts of the city) you were a student there, you gained an instant respect. When I entered the school in grade seven, I was able to exist at an elevated level, in comparison to my peers due to having older siblings in grades 9,10,11,and 12. My oldest brother was the school president - I didn't quite follow that brother's lead. By grade nine I had amassed a fairly large group of friends, we were a tight knit bunch - a bunch of misfits. We were bad - We did bad things. Some of the things we did were outright criminal. Some things were only considered mischievous. Most of the things we did drew the attention of school authorities, and the police. A few us were arrested, a few of us should have been arrested. I can't talk about all the things I was involved in, some I'm not very proud of, but I'll tell you of a few of the crazy antics that we cooked up. I'd say there was around fifteen of us in the inner circle of friends, boys and girls, ranging in age from thirteen to sixteen. We had a clubhouse located in a garage, we actually held weekend long parties, those of us who could - slept there. We named our group 'The North End Flyers' The North End was our turf, and 'Flyers' was the manufacturer's name of the city buses which we rode. We didn't ride inside the bus with the other passengers - We rode outside the bus, hanging onto or standing on the back bumper. We called it bumper shining, it was our winter sport. During the summer our favorite hangout was the Synagogue grounds. Oddly enough the good folks who attend the Synagogue never seemed to mind us being there, they never asked us to leave, and never called the police to have us removed from the property. We used the entire property, during the day we played football in the field out back, and a game called, British Bulldog on the lawn in front. At night we held drinking parties in a beautiful center courtyard surrounded by hedges and trees. We would pool our money, then go to the local pub and find an adult willing to go in and buy us a box of beer. We called it 'fishing' Another favorite spot was the roof, from the roof we could see everything around us. When ever the cops showed up, we would scramble to the rooftop where we could safely watch them circle the property until it was all-clear. It was a good place to go and smoke pot. We ran this crazy scam called ' Old Man Mason' How it worked... We made up a story, about how a few us experimented by holding a seance - attempting to conjure the spirit of Mason. The story goes... that Mason was a murderer, who was executed by the guillotine, and when you conjure his spirit a body-less spirit-head appears. In our story a ghostly old man appeared, and scared us half to death. A couple of us were assigned to tell this story in school to a couple of people, and then let the story travel through the student body. Before long everyone was talking about 'Old Man Mason" haunting the synagogue grounds. Kids were eager to come see for themselves if the story was true. Exactly what we wanted. Groups of kids would seek us out and ask to participate in a conjuring. We would pick one of our group to put on the Mason suit and mask and hide in the nearby bushes. When the time was right, 'Old Man Mason' would make his appearance. One of us (in on the scam) would shout in terror, "There he is!" and we would run for our lives. It scared the crap out of the kids who were not in the loop. What made it even scarier, Old Man Mason would carry a cane, and if he caught a kid... well let's just say a few kids came away with some bumps and bruises. We did this several times, each time more kids showed up than the last. People still talk about this today - nearly forty years later. On another occasion we made a human like dummy, then took the dummy up onto the roof-top of the local movie theater. Back in the day, people lined up on the sidewalk outside, waiting for the doors to open prior to movie showings. This line-up of movie goers was our target audience. I was on the ground crew for this one - my job was to shout on cue, "Look, there's a fight on the roof." When people looked up they saw two of my buds punching and kicking a life-like dummy, then throwing it to the sidewalk below. Adults actually ran, screaming, from the scene. We laughed until tears rolled down our faces, for many many years after these times. It was a crazy time. There's so much more, but I have to go. I hope my kids don't see this. ta ta Joel ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] September 2, 2015 Prompt for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge - Official September Challenge Wednesday is usually "War Chest Wednesday". But I'm really tired of war. Shoot some flowers out of your cannon. What does "peace" mean to you? Peace be with you, my brothers and sisters in blogging. I was taught at an early age that I pretty much won the lottery in the randomness of a place and time on earth where a body may be born. In my early school days I learned that I missed two world wars and wars in Vietnam and Korea were ended while I was in my infancy. I (I was told) would grow up during times of peace. This proved to be true, for the most part. I was never required to fight in any war. My freedom was guaranteed by soldiers who fought and died long before I was even born. One of my school teachers even encouraged us young boys to consider military careers, because we lived in times of peace and wouldn't be required to go to war. Our country's military were known world wide as 'peace keepers' Don't think that I am not ever thankful for the the opportunity I was given to live my life during this time and in this country, where I have never experienced the horrors of war first hand. I am very mindful and thankful for that, always. Peace, however, means more to me than simply the absence of war. Peace to me means much more. It means the absence of greed, pain, addiction, crime, pollution, suffering, hunger, violence, jealousy, noise, development, need-fullness, negativity, and the list goes on. True peace can't be found on earth. True peace can only be imagined. Even in my sleep there is no peace, but in my death (I believe) I will find true peace. I hope so anyhow! Otherwise I'd just be dead. Fortunately I have been able to experience small pockets of fleeting peace both in a physical, and spiritual sense. I'm saddened that not everyone sharing our earth can say that. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Peace out. Joel ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] September 1, 2015 Prompt for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge - Official September Challenge Today's prompt is simple...Take a look at everyone who is taking part in this month's challenge. Pick one member, go into their portfolio, and review one of their items in your entry. Then, suggest an item of your own you'd like to see reviewed. Hello and welcome to yet another attempt of mine to complete the 30 Day Blog Challenge. I'm very optimistic that I will successfully achieve the goal I've set out for myself, which is to write a blog entry each and every day of the month containing at least one complete and rational thought, then delivering it (on time) to the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Forum. In support of the effort I'll also be reading and commenting on as many blog entries as I possibly can. My blog monkey, Andre, used to make this challenge easier by helping out in some strange and unsettling way, but Andre won't be hanging out with me this time around - He's decided to move into the storage closet at The Banana Bar, because he doesn't like my new location in Regina Saskatchewan. He says Regina is the place where dreams go to die - I can't argue his point. So, here we go... I paid a visit to Apondia   's port.Judith, as it turns out, is a young eccentric lady, fresh out of college, and is a professional journalist. I enjoyed reading two of her articles; One is "Being a Purple Martin Landlord" and the other one being the item I wrote a review for - "Canada Geese." I'm looking forward to reading future blog entries from Judith, more so then I am looking forward to writing some of my own. As for my port, and the items I would like to have reviewed, I really don't have a preference. I do enjoy reading well thought out reviews, which provide advice on how I can improve my writing, as opposed to fluffy complimentary reviews which encourage me to continue turning out illegible crud blab just for shits giggles. ebba da beeba da da beebit da beeba da, dats all folks Joel ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| I camp, that's what Brother Nature does. 1.Let’s talk about safety first… why is it important to sleep a minimum of 100 yards (91 meters) from where you hang your food, cook, and eat your food. Should you keep your sleeping gear clean and free of food odor. What about sleeping in the same clothes worn while cooking and eating, is there a risk? Wanna talk about safety? I can do that. That last bit; the part about sleeping in the same clothes you wore while cooking; reminds of the time I was camping with Big Bro #3 and Timmy Pre-Shake, who brought his dad, Earl. Earl was celebrating his 65th birthday, and being away from his wife Shirl for an entire weekend. We all spent the day drinking beer and fishing. Earl fell on a rocky beach and hit his head pretty hard on a rock. It looked for a minute there like we would be taking Earl out in a body bag, but he popped back up like a 'jack in the box' clown and proudly held up his un-spilled beer bottle shouting, I didn't even spill a drop. Anyhow... we spent the rest of the day drinking beer then settled in for an evening drinking more beer. Earl played guitar and sang songs for us as we sat around the camp fire, drinking beer and having about the best time ever,until the sun was peeking up over the horizon. I cooked a smokey dog on a stick over the coals of our camp fire; it was delicious. With that, we all stumbled off to our tents, me and my bro in one tent and Timmy and Earl in another. Big bro was asleep before his head hit the hard ground of the tent floor. I was just about asleep when I heard a rustling sound near the outside of our tent. I first heard it at the back of the tent, then at the side, then right at the front screen door. I decided to sit up and see what was causing the rustling sound. I couldn't see anything through the screen of the tent - it was too dark - black as pitch. That's odd, I thought, the sky was just beginning to lighten up earlier. I pulled myself back from the tent screen a bit so I could focus, and when my eyes were focused, I was looking in the face of a black bear with only a thin tent screen between us. I yelled right in that bears face and it didn't move. I woke up Bro#3 though, and he sat up in his sleeping bag and joined me at yelling in the bears face. Then the bear was distracting by something and backed off several feet. Then I saw Earl. Earl was walking towards the bear, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. And this is what could happen if you go to sleep in a tent wearing the same clothes you cooked food in - Earl, sixty-five years old, 140 pounds, drunk as fuck, and wearing nothing but a pair of briefs, stumbling towards a hungry black bear, gesturing with one arm trying to shoo the bear, saying, "go on now bear, get on outta here now." I thought, okay looks like we're going to see Earl get mauled by a black bear now. But, after a moment or two, the bear decided to walk off, it stopped one time to take a look back at Earl, then it sort of shook it's head, and continued to walk back into the woods. Earl turned to my bro and I and said, 'okay boys, you can go to sleep now, that bear's gone now." So we both went to sleep because Earl said it was safe, and it was. Please tell us about your previous camping experiences. Funny thing about camping - I went camping a couple of times when I was a young boy, always with a youth group of some sort. Anyway, when I was a little older, I was surprised to learn that camping wasn't only something youth groups did, but people went camping as a family. The minute I discovered that there was something beyond the city limits that was not just more city, I fell in love with the outdoors and the outdoors has become my element. When I was around fifteen years old me and my buddy George would go camping on our bicycles. George's family were the type of family that went on weekend camping trips together. I was fortunate enough to be invited along for a few of those family camping trips. George and I on one of his family camping trips. (1976) https://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/pdf/maps/2013_campground_maps/nutimik_l... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| Hey again I don't know what made me think that I would be able to complete an official blogging challenge in July.  Looking at the calendar, November seems like a good month to give'r another go. In the meanwhile - I'll pop in when I can, and set up a tent at Lyn's a sly fox   's camp out in August.I'll post prize winners for June's 5 Day Mini Challenges in the next couple days. Play nice everyone! Cheers ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| Pick three people here on WDC who inspire you, and write a couple sentences about them. Okay I can easily do that, but first I have to rabble on about my day. It has been one of the best days of this summer for me, I spent the day visiting with my daughter, son, sister, brother #4. The weather was great, almost everything went perfectly as planned, but the whole day was overshadowed by some very bad news. I can't say much more about it, except for we've suddenly lost another friend. When I finally got around to writing this entry, WDC was down and I could not load the page. I hate it that I'll be charged for a late entry, not because I don't think I deserve it - I do, but I hate it, because now I'll have to work all the harder to take the top prize for blogging this month. Bwah ha ha ha ha haaa My first pick is actually two people, but I'll count it as one. 1. Story Master and Story Mistress: (I won't tag them, as I know how busy they are) This couple inspire me with this successful e-business. I love Story Master's hands-on approach to operating his family business, and admire his dedication and commitment. I'm also inspired by this awesome community of creative, and talented people which has grown to become Writing.com. 2. Prosperous Snow celebrating  Snow inspires me with her writing. The volume of it, the quality, and and consistency of her writing is amazing and inspiring. I enjoy her sense of humor and her creativity and besides the fact she's an incredible poet, she is a very nice lady. Truly inspiring. 3. I was going to say, Fivesixer  but he said not to.4. ElaineElaine  Lyn's a sly fox Wordsmitty ✍️  Winnie Kay  sunnystarr PandaPaws Licensed VetTech  Charlie ~ Cobe Ren the Klutz!  Emily  , and a few more people have and do inspire me for different reasons, but this would put me way over the 3 member max, and I am already late.Trails off into the abyss. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| Here I go again - Making another attempt at completing an official 30 Day Blogging Challenge - Here I go. Your prompt, from the War Chest: Do you have a plan? Do you need a plan? This ... ... and then, Leslie walks in, asks me if I want to take a drive to Tall Timbers to buy propane and beer - I tell her I just started this, and now I forget what I was going to write when I wrote 'This' Here I go... again. Oh yeah, now I remember, This is going to be my secret blog - That's the plan. Nobody will know I'm writing any of this, unless of course, they happen to be reading this. I have more plans than there is time to unfold any of them. Everybody needs to have a plan, otherwise, nothing would ever go wrong. My master plan is a simple and selfish plan, more a form of mental illness than a plan, but I'll call it a plan for now. My plan is to escape civilization - Move into the remotest region of Canada, because this is where I live, and there is plenty of remoteness. I would live off the grid, with my own renewable energy source, and food supply. That's the plan, anyway. If you read this... Thank you, and keep it to yourself.  ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| I would like to start a petition, which would allow for an eight day week. Monday through Friday would remain the same, but the weekend would have a second Saturday, called Super Saturday. Super Saturday would replace the old Sunday and a new Sunday would be born. I propose that the new Sunday be kept pure in respect to it's original intention, and forever remain a day of rest. No disrespect to the creator - I'm just saying, "we could use an extra day." I haven't had a spare minute to actually write a blog entry; In the evening when I have the time to spend online, I'm either too tired or have to tend to other interests. Summer arrived here all of a sudden, and my basement project has taken another hit, which equals another setback, and addition work and cost. The basement walls need to be water proofed (from the outside) The first estimate to have a complete and proper job done is $17,000.00. I'm in the process to have estimates on having the excavating done, then I would do the wall water proofing myself. If that cost is too high, then I guess I'll start digging.  Bottom line is: I'm going to have to make some changes to my blogging effort in order to keep up. The month is ending and we’re headed back home for good. Of all the places you’ve gone, activities you’ve been involved with, people you’ve met, and souvenirs you’ve bought (and which will stay behind), what will you miss the most? I'm going for bullets - Kevlar up!  I started writing this entry three days ago. Good news on the basement situation: I can waterproof the walls for just under $3,000.00. Bad news on the basement situation: I can waterproof the walls for just under $3,000.00 if I do it myself. The voyage of the magical ship was awesome, I can't wait to go camping with Lyn's a sly fox in August. Sorry if I've missed commenting on any of your blog entries; I'm behind in reading as well as writing. I've gotta go. Joel ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Prompt for April 16, 2015 Day 16 - It’s time for art. What place do you want to see? Do you have a craft you want demo’ed? Would you like to take a class somewhere? Okay, It's picture day for today's entry. With all of our bouncing around the planet and beyond, I almost forgot to check out a couple locations that I've always wanted to visit. Because of my lifelong love for art and the creative process, I have always wanted to visit the Sistine Chapel,and see the 'paintings and painted ceiling' by Michelangelo in 1508. I love to be able to spend many hours of 'alone time' in the chapel, Maybe lay on my back a look at the ceiling like Michelangelo did when he painted on the ceiling. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Another couple places I would like to spend some alone time viewing are the hieroglyphic writing sites in Egypt, as well as sites where primitive cave paintings can be viewed. The birthplace of writing l The birthplace of graffiti ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Andre the Blog Monkey's written name - when translated to hieroglyphics ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** As for me I enjoy all forms of artistic and creative expression. There isn't one discipline that I can say I have mastered, but there are a few that I can say I excel in, but I've never been one to brag. While doing a renovation project in my basement, I began cleaning my paint brushes by swiping the remaining paint onto an unpainted wall. I decided to continue in this way, and create some sort of painting in the process of completing the renovation job. An early image of the painting ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** The most recent image of the painting ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** That's all I have time for today. It's hockey night in Canada. Speaking of hockey...Drop by the Banana Bar and check out the newly created Unofficial NHL Playoff Forum. 1/2 price at the bar until the cup is won. 1/2 price at the bar until the cup is won 1/2 price at the bar until the cup is won 1/2 price at the bar until the cup is won ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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