Hey, hey, it’s Saturday morning (very early) and my knees are all scuffed up, but, the coffee is hot. By judicious pulling and pushing I can move from being on all fours to standing upright. Once there I just practice wincing.

This past week I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for the pyramid building those ancient Egyptians performed day upon day and year after year.

In my case it was merely a single day where an old refrigerator had to be pulled and a new one installed. Good so far. Then a few more cabin-opening exercises and I’m swallowing Ibuprofen and Advil. Now I’m providing a whole new level of entertainment for Marcia as I imitate moving about as someone in their late nineties.

Oh for the joy of Soccer;”Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they have eleven Dicks on the field” ~ A commentator on Metro Radio

News, News, FC Cincinnati – Soccer has finally broken into mainstream. Years ago I played in an adult indoor league; great fun, but still a bit of a novelty. Then I coached kids soccer and believe that we had more turnout than the local kids baseball leagues. The tide had begun to turn.

The other day I heard that Atlanta’s Major League Soccer team has a greater attendance than the New York Yankees. The tide has turned.

Now the news just broke that FC Cincinnati (Futbol Club Cincinnati) will be the 24th expansion club of Major League Soccer in the USA. It will be announced this Tuesday. Cincinnati beat out both Detroit and Sacramento for this round of the expansion. Kinda nice!

200 interviews – A mere handful of years ago we had to wind our way down miles of country road to town to find a spot (later on it was the little library) to connect via the internet. This was summer life in Northern Comfort near the Boreal forest areas of Northern Ontario.

A breakthrough came when Paul managed to have installed a dedicated IP connection and was gracious to allow us to tap into the system. But, phone connection was a whole different beast. I actually found a small lakeside hollow between a few Birch trees and there (most of the time) I could reach the outside world.

Over the years connectivity kept improving.

Now, May 2018, and last evening I sat in our little living room listening to my brother Pieter and my favorite sister in law in Davis, Neaners – STREAMING LIVE !

They have co-hosted a weekly radio show (KDRT 95.7 FM in Davis, CA) called Listening Lyrics and yesterday it was their 200th show. So, here was my little smart phone sitting on a bookcase and plugged through the audio setup of my XM radio system while their 200th was being live streamed.

Thanks for recognizing me on air (I was trying to be sneaky about it). Lakeside at our camp in the woods Marcia and I listened while looking at a bright yellow American Goldfinch at the feeder and watched the darting about of hummingbirds. Listening to some really good music and poetry gave us a fun evening. PS. Tell organic farmer Didars (sp?) and Eson I especially loved their stuff.

Dead Still – Bob the Forester has a theory. He’s told me on occasion that in these parts it seems that trees only topple on still days, never during a storm.

Yesterday afternoon it was blue skies and no wind when we heard the start of some seriously loud cracking. Finally a massive crack and then branches breaking before the trunk hit the ground. In the woods immediately behind our neighbor’s place a massive dead tree had broken in two.

Bob the Forester, Marcia, and I convened at the site (me very, very, slowly). First thing I heard Bob say was; “didn’t I tell you?”

Finis – Well, well, 3:00 am and Marcia and I are sitting in our living room listening to the rain pound on the roof while the lightening gives us peeks of the lake and the far shore. We’re experiencing a gully washer.

Our electric supplier, Hydro-1, does not enjoy a reputation for reliability and so Marcia is all prepared to light candles, but the power stayed on. Since we have power might as well put on the coffee, or so goes our thinking; morning coffee at 3:30 am. Now might as well start writing my weekly post, here goes…….

Here’s wishing a secure and fabulous trip to Tonga for Adrianne, Tevita, Vai, and Vili beginning at the end of this week. Grandma Lupe will be over-the-top thrilled to see them. Vavau and Okoa will not be the same once Vai and Vili start letting people know they’re on the islands.

“Despite the rain, it’s still raining here at Old Trafford”, Jimmy Hill (soccer professional and personality)

Make it a great week everybody.

Cheers.
Dirk