And how IS everyone?
 

Hello All,

And how are all of you MLU addicts and what have you been up to? (other than playing with CMP's and the like, and collecting and such :D )

Life here in this most Westerly Province is bopping along into winter and I watch the mountain tops get their snowcaps, slow but sure. And for many of us MLU-ers, it's time to put the clocks back Sunday and kiss summertime and Autumn bye-byes for another year. The end of Daylight Savings Time is also nigh. Oh Sigh ... where fore art wondrous Summer? Oh, that's right, it's in AUSTRALIA now!!! :bang: Impatience is NOT a virtue, it just breeds the ill content of fantasies of "In the summertime, when all the leaves are green ..." ... can someone book me a flight to Australia? I don't mind having to avoid the snakes and sheep :D

Another Remembrance Day is coming up as well. I'll be finding out about parades and ceremonies in this town and hopefully will have my camera available for that. So many new fallen soldiers to "Remember" this year. So many of their loved ones will feel the freshness of loss still. :salute: I really feel for them all ...

Karmen.

All right in Texas
 

We're all good here in Texas Karmen, thanks for asking. it's been a busy month for me...my wife and I spent four days in 'Vegas celebrating our wedding anniversary, then a week later I was off to Louisiana for a D-Day event at Camp Claiborne. Next week I'm off to Vancouver for a week (Sean, take note!) and then it's back to Waxahachie, Tx. for the Remembrance Day weekend parade, living history encampment, and show battle, all followed by the U.S.O. dance at the famous Rogers Hotel. I'll be proudly wearing my poppy all weekend! I'm also requesting an opportunity to recite "In Flander's Fields" at the ceremony.
I'll bet its starting to get cool in the East Kootenays. The latest I've ever dared hunt in the Flathead Valley is the last week of October. You never know if an early snowfall is going to close the pass over the MacDonald Range to the Flathead Valley. It's still a long ways to winter in Texas. The temp here is still in the high 70's and low 80's, with the odd cold front blowing through. Take care Karmen and don't forget to bundle up!

:cheers: CHIMO! :cheers:

Very glad to hear that you're all fine in Texas, Derek, and Congrats to you and your Lady Love for your anniversary. I hope you got lucky if you tried the slots :)

Thanks for the update on what you've been up to, and such a travelling man you sound! Sounds totally enjoyable all round.

I hope you get to recite In Flanders Fields at that ceremony.

I wear a poppy on my jacket and now another on my hat at all times, so I always have them showing when I'm out and about for people to notice. And yes, I'm not forgetting to bundle up already, even though some days are still quite nice, there is usually a cold wind blows through clothing. I was looking at a nice pea jacket aka long coat the other day and am seriously considering investing in it. Jackets aren't enough coverage for the cold and I remember how bitter cold it was in Feb when I arrived here.

Maybe I should look at snow suits like the kind I used to get bundled up in as a kid. Remember snowsuits and scarves and mittens and boots and felts and and and ... ah yes, WINTER wear!

Enjoy that 70-80 degrees.

Karmen

Clocks
 

We've just put our clocks forward an hour and it should be a lot warmer but due to a strong Southerly from Antarctica for the past couple of days it's been quite cool here in Melbourne. There was even some snow on what we laughingly call our mountains and also in Tasmania.
Not much green on the ground here though due to the drought - the grass looks like it's already been through a long hot summer.

at Yass
 

we are all doing allright, just a bit dry. Michael our son has headed to WA to work in the west at the moment he is crossing the nullarbor.
Max

looks like that up here in Queensland too Max. Been into the early 30'sC here as well but we are heading into our storm season as well.

Cheers
Cliff :)

Re: at Yass
 

Looks like you've moved Yass to Central Australia! :eek:

Yessss???
 

... or it looks more like Southern Manitoba or all of Saskatchewan ... dry, flat, a few trees here and there, mostly "there" :D

Ma Yappy

Re: Clocks
 

You go forward, we go back. If we both go far enough will we meet each other halfway between time, which sounds loony like void of course? :D Something is bass-ackwards in our world :D

MY

Us queenslanders are so smart we don't bother with shifting clocks forward or backwards we stay as we are... :D

cheers
Cliff :)

Steady forward momentum while everyone else swings this way and that, one hour forward, one hour back, two hours etc and if I were to move perhaps an hour (???) to the NW of my current location I think I'd be in a little pocket of BC where time stays steady forward and I could leave my clocks be.

Has the world ever considered peoples schedules and ways accommodating time rather than making time accommodate us?

A little history about daylight savings time:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html

Karmen.

Queensland is the only Australian State that does not have daylight saving which in a way is not saving daylight at all because there is still the same amount of daylight from sunrise to sunset whichever way you go.

The main problem for us in the tropics & subtropics is it is daylight at 4am standard time now and not dark until 9pm at night. It automaticly means we will lose an hour of darkness to sleep in rather then add more (sic) daylight to our day.

In cooler climates, like NZ where I grew up or Victoria & New South Wales I can understand it but really it is only done to get most of the lazy beggars out of bed an hour earlier so they can enjoy the best time of the day. :D

A lot of Queenslanders in the South East corner (Brisbane & the Gold Coast) want to bring the daylight saving in but the rest of Queensland, especially the bush, don't want it now or ever.

cheers
Cliff :)

Clocks
 

Of course the real reason they don't move the clocks in Queensland is that the bloke up there who could tell the time moved to Adelaide.

:D :D Bob

Daylight Savings
 

Dunno about the rest of you blokes but I really dislike Daylight "Savings". I can understand the southern states (Vistoria, Tasmania) (and the eastern coast of New South to a lesser extent) wanting such, but tonight I am battling to get the Kids to sleep. Just gone dark 8.30pm & they are still full of energy. Middle summer dark does not set in until after 9.00pm and temperature is typically still above 30'c.
Daylight savings would be rediculous in Qld Cliff & I notice our politicians are always pressuring yours to fall into line. Shows you how out of touch with the real world our Sydney based pollies are. They only care about N.S.W. (Newcastle. Sydney. Woolongong)
Cheers
HH

Daylight saving.
 

Well thats done it Bob you will never be allowed to cross the creek at the Tweed now, We were trying to keep it a secret that the sand man has left for Adelaide and taken our hour glass with him, we are buggered now,
Ron,

Daylight Saving
 

I understand why Northern and Western Queensland don't want daylight saving. Because places like Winton and Longreach are so far west they don't get the sunrise until an hour after the capital of Brisbane and asking to drop another hour is beyond their capacity to endure 100 degree temperatures into the night. The S.E. corner wants it, but the rest of the state says no. When Queensland is nearly the size of Europe you can understand the differing opinions.
Grant

Re: Clocks
 

LOL Bob that's a good one :D

Cheers
Cliff :)

Here in Quebec it has being wet and cold. It rained non-stop all day yesterday, today the rain has eased up a little, but now the wind is just howling. We lost power for about a half hour this morning.

My son is suppose to get a week off from his training and is expected back home on Monday.

My youngest daughter had her official graduation from high school on Friday, the 13th of October. She was the class valedictorian. She also won a Governor General’s Academic Bronze Metal which was presented to her by the local MP.

So I guest that all is well in this part of the world.

PS We just changed over to Standard time last night.

Re: Daylight Savings
 

I remember that part with the difficulty of my kids having to adjust to the time disruptions, especially when schoolage. It just throws everyones daily schedules and routines off. What a pain to shift everything and everyone :bang:

I like that my computer automatically adjusts the times and dates.
What will happen for 2007 though when doesn't the news say the dates will be changed for the time changes? We will all have to manually correct our computers?

:cheers:

Karmen.

Hi John,

Congratulations to your daughter on her Grad :)

Karmen.

Yikes!
 

Oh my goodness. The sun was shining beautifully this morning and now it's total grey skies. I just looked up and out the window as i could hear the tree branches and dried leaves rustling, and I'll be darned ... it's SNOWING small frozen rounded flakes kinda like hail, and a wind is blowing it almost straight sideways, rather than straight downwards! I remember driving straight into this kind of snowing. Sure made for hard seeing and driving :eek: especially through the mountains with extreme and sheer drops!

It looks absolutely miserable out there :(

Karmen.

First Snow.
 

I took a picture of this first snow, looking from my doorstep :D There's is a lot more now since I first took the photo, and still coming.

Karmen

2nd view
 

Another view straight out ... winter has begun :(

Re: 2nd view
 

Well, not here anyway; a splendid day near 20ºC. Confuser and video clock done an auto update and so has the kitchen clock being locked to MSF Rugby.

So today, we are mostly thrashing, as you do.

In the old fashioned way.

R.

I see about 2 inches or so of snow on the neighbors roof now. The snow has gotten heavier, wetter, and fluffier, and hasn't stopped yet. It's currently minus -3 celcius and 100% humidity, expecting -8 later this evening. I'll trade you your 20 celcius any old day. I hurt lots today and breathing is a struggle. Yuk.

That's quite the threshing machine that looks nothing like the ones we had on the farm, the old tractor didn't look as old and antique-good either :D

Karmen

Another photo
 

this is one of our dams it should be full and over flowing this time of year.

Re: Another photo
 

Ouch. Not a drop to be seen there!!! And you folks in Australia are just starting your summer and it's that dry already??? Yikes and Scarey.

Karmen.

ant
 

this poor ant was struggling with a pice of paper in the wind the other day until they both blew away
Max

Todays view after yesterdays first snow. Some has already melted, and note the lovely sunshine :)

cold
 

Karmen that sure looks cold, this week we expect daytime temperatures to be between 26 and 30 c. It's sure nice on the bones sitting in the morning sun soaking it all up. You'll have to win the lottery and come on down for the summer.

Max