Thursday, October 12, 2017

ROBBLOG #660



I must have more time on my hands these days!


I sure am blogging more.
I find it calming and it gets many of the repetitive thoughts out of my head and down on paper- or at least a computer screen. Blogging fills some time as Tom and I wait to take possession of our new home here in The Cowichan. Still a few weeks to go if you have been following our journey since August 15th  on this very blog.


I have been blogging a long time before that date, however. You might wanna check back and read some of the stories I posted over the years like Bleeker Street with Baby Jane and Blanche or Blog #579 which is an interview with Sister Mary Margaret. There are a few conversations with the "Big Guy" upstairs too- or with his son at #548.
"It's Not Like That" is Blog #157.
There's of Blog about my Mum #536.
You'll just have to scroll through until you find something you might like to read. My first blog was published on February 13, 2010! It was mostly about my Rob Reid Online Website changing to the ROBBLOG here on BlogSpot.
Gee, almost 8 years since I started writing here.
Time flies.


Back to the present now and this 12th day of October in the year 2017.


We have some sun.
We have some cloud in this new community of ours- North Cowichan and the City of Duncan.
I still wake up some mornings thinking I am comfy under the covers in Orillia, Ontario. I get a small shock when I fully open my eyes and realize the bedroom's Roman shades are not the white, plantation shutters I was used to for 24 years.


We are gradually getting comfortable here. It is still going to take some time especially when we make another move into our forever house.


In the meantime, I thought I'd list a few things that I consider "odd" here in Duncan.


Don't Jig when you should Jag or this is the look you'll get!
Street signs.
Don't look for them on every street corner. You may get one but not usually one on every corner.
Be thankful if you see one. Some streets have none.


Stop signs.
Some streets- like two near this house, don't even have a yield sign let alone a stop sign. You come to a corner and you just...well....you edge forward. You look left. Then right. Then left and after it appears it's clear, you move on....cautiously.


In the open mall areas along the Island Highway it can be a bit of a nightmare. Streets are a variety of pavement markings with crosswalks, left turn only lanes, right turn only lanes, left and straight ahead only arrows and speedbumps and cement barriers and curves and more.
There are stand alone stop signs. The remainder of the signage is painted on the pavement. Huge arrows and yellow and white lines you drive within as you traverse the parking lot in front of  London Drugs, or Winners or Staples or Save-On Foods. At first all you see are lines and arrows and then more lines.
Eventually it starts to make sense.
These markings would never work in Ontario- especially Orillia. You wouldn't see then for 5 months of the year what with all the ice and snow. Orillia drivers always did what they wanted to begin with so this type of signage would only confuse all the elderly drivers and they would ignore them.
It would just never work.
Never.


The Boulevard near White Spot
One can never drive from A to B or even C here in Duncan.
One must drive A to B to C to D,E and F- sometimes G.
There are centre boulevards on the Island Highway that prevent a simple left or right hand turn.
On Coronation Avenue for instance, one can turn left or right into the Shoppers Drug Mart/Dollarama parking lot but when you leave you can only turn right- east. Even exiting from the lot onto the Island Highway, one can only turn right- or south, and travel a block or two towards the White Spot Restaurant, then circle around the Great Canadian Superstore (Like a Zehrs in Ontario) where you can turn right or left onto Trunk Road to head west through Duncan.
Tom and I have spent many a joyful time detouring, getting lost, ending up on the wrong side off the divided street and detouring again.


One day, we were on Canada Avenue heading to our new build to have a look at the progress. We were in the curb lane. Cars were in front of us. We couldn't see the pavement. The vehicles started to move forward with the light change when suddenly we realized we were in an exit only/turn right only lane.
We drove down the street.
Circled a Mobil Oil Change shop to turn around in order to head back to Canada Avenue.
Head-Ache!!


We are doing better than a few weeks ago but really Duncan-
Really?


I'll have more quirks in another blog.


Lator Gator.