The Walloping Window-Blind

An elementary school classmate posted about "The Walloping Window-Blind" on Facebook this morning.  That really took me back.  In 1962, I won second prize in Grade 5 (said elementary school classmate won first prize), and was awarded a book called "The Golden Treasury of Poetry".  At 10 years of age, a poetry book wasn't high on my list of must-haves.  In the Foreward to the book, Louis Untermeyer says,

"This is a book to grow on.

It is also a book to grow with.

In these pages are poems that will become favourites; 

you will never lose your taste for them.

They will be part of you as long as you live."

Fifty-two years and more than ten house moves later, that book still sits on my bookshelf, well thumbed, and somewhat worse for wear. And on page 219, I can still read (and sing) about that "capital ship for an ocean trip", The Walloping Window-Blind.  

Thanks for reminding me, David!

Smart?Phone

I just bought my first smart phone.  So many of the people I know these days text, and I was getting very tired of trying to text on my fliptop cell phone (not to mention the unavailability of any form of punctuation).

TgHghIpqrS ghIpqrS abc2 gHApqRD

After a week or so of operation, it has become quite clear to me that the 'smart' part refers to the equipment, not the operator.  I can check my email, set up my calendar, play games, take pictures, but am challenged by the 'phone' part of it.  The first day I accidentally phoned my mother - long distance at $0.50/minute - and couldn't figure out how to disconnect the call.  'Mobile' phone is a misnomer, as I actually have to sit down to make a call. 

Maybe that's why people started texting ...

Family Day - BC Version

Had a great Family Day dinner at Penny's last weekend.  Lots of great food and great company.  Though we missed a few family members, we remembered them in our toasts!

Tom and daughter, Sue, with grandcat, Chester (Penny)

Son Chris, Tom, grandcat Chester (Penny), son-in-law Dave (Sue)

Bill (Penny), Tom, son-in-law Dave (Sue)

Granddaughter Laura (Sue) and grandcat Chester (Penny)

Son Chris, Tom, daughter Penny, Gwyn, daughter Sue

Son Chris, step-granddaughter Sarah (Penny), Tom, grandcat Chester (Penny), granddaughter Laura (Sue), daughter Sue, daughter Penny

 

Kericia

When I was a teenager, my dad built a boat.  Not a toy boat, not a row boat, not even a small sailboat ... a 32.5 foot trimaran.  He built it in the backyard with the assistance of my young brothers, and the rest of us on occasion.  It caused quite a lot of amusement in the neighbourhood.  It was BIG!  It was also a weird shape.  Some even wondered if it was an ark. :-)  Of course, the progress was documented - on colour slides in those days.  Several years ago, my sister, Lis, put those slides together on a DVD, and just recently, uploaded it to YouTube.  Thanks, Lis!  Now the world can share in the fun!

Kericia - the Rowley Family Boat

Super Bowl Sunday

This city is going crazy over the Seattle Seahawks!  It seems we have 300+ Victoria fans who regularly trek down to Seattle to watch their home games.  Seahawks fever is at such a pitch that our mayor, wearing a Seahawks jersey, raised a flag to them across from the legislature yesterday.  While Tom isn't an NFL fan (a CFL boy!), he says we need to watch the Super Bowl this year to cheer on the 'home' team.

Go, Seahawks, Go!

Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin hoists the Seattle Seahawks’ 12th Man flag in front of the legislature on Friday.  Photograph by: ADRIAN LAM, Times Colonist

It’s clear the 12th Man knows no borders.
The familiar blue flag bearing that number, in honour of Seattle Seahawks fans from Esquimalt to Enumclaw, was raised to the top of the flagpole Friday at the corner of Belleville and Government streets by Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, who was clad in the No. 3 jersey of quarterback Russell Wilson.
A crowd of fans wearing Seattle jerseys and caps chanted “Sea-Hawks, Sea-Hawks …” as the flag made its way to the top of the pole in the prominent location across from the B.C. legislature.
The Seahawks estimate that more than 10 per cent of the fans who attend their home games are from B.C., including 300 to 500 people who make their way from the Island to Seattle for each game.
Other 12th Man flag raisings were held in Vancouver and West Vancouver in what was dubbed Blue Friday before the Seahawks, looking for their first Super Bowl title, play the Denver Broncos on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
“There is a huge relationship between Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. … We’re more than just neighbours,” said Fortin, who was presented by the team with a limited-edition Seahawks Super Bowl pin that will be on display at Victoria city hall.
“Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle are the triangle of the Pacific Northwest and it’s fun to get excited about the professional sports teams. Many fans here feel the Seahawks are Victoria’s team.”
The Victoria mayor’s prediction is a 23-17 Seahawks win over the Broncos. It was a popular sentiment among the assembled, many of whom have been lifelong Seahawks fans since the days of the old Kingdome.
Des Rogers, his son, Seth, and friend Ken Graham were among those in Seahawks jerseys watching the flag-raising.
When asked what he did for a living, Des Rogers quipped: “Full-time Seahawks fan.”
Sharon and Wayne Beach of View Royal are passionate Seahawks fans — so much so that friends Pat and Sylvia Smithson came to town from Lethbridge specifically to spend Super Sunday with them in Victoria.
“I go back to the days of the Kingdome. … We try to get to one or two games each season,” said Wayne Beach, who was decked in Seahawks gear down to his electric-green team gloves.
The 12th Man flag that was hoisted was the one signed by Island fans over the summer when receiver Doug Baldwin, the Sea Gal cheerleaders and team mascot Blitz paid a visit to Victoria. It will fly until Monday.
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/victoria-embraces-seahawks-nation-ahead-of-super-bowl-1.810149#sthash.wx2Wn8MO.dpuf