next 2024/10 ― Ray signed up for a Portrait and Figure Drawing class at the Ottawa School of Art. Even though paint and color are not in the course curriculum, sketching models and drawing hands and feet are still quite challenging.
Une partie de pétanque
next 2024/09 ― J’ai joué à pétanque pour la première fois. Je le raconte dans ce blogue en français parce que je ne sais pas comment ce jeu s’appelle en anglais. Je pensais écrire « lawn bowling » mais on m’a dit que celui-là était un autre jeu et on m’a demandé c’est où que […]
Home-made Pasta
next 2024/04 ― I went to Italy where I took a class on making pasta. My favorite part was when we would eat what we had made.
Straight Flush
next 2024/03 ― I tried to maintain a poker face to hang on to my dwindling stack of chips, but there was no way that I was going to bluff my way out of this one. This is the second time that my brother Ron gets a straight flush. There is not much you can […]
Skating on the Canal
next 2024/02 ― Raymond spends a lot of time around the Rideau Canal. In the summer, he walks or rides his bicycle on the trails by the canal. In the winter, the canal freezes over and becomes the world’s longest skating rink. That is when it is time for him to put on his skates.
Power Walk
next 2024/01 ― Raymond is doing his power walk in a Community Center. The cushy artificial turf is gentler on the old knees than the hard floors of Shopping Centers. In the summer, the walk will more likely be along the Rideau Canal or the Experimental Farm. Let’s hope this New Year’s resolution sticks.
Big Gun
next 2023/08 ― Raymond shot a Ruger 10/22 Tactical Rifle loaded with 10-round rotary magazines. When he asked if it was an assault weapon, the owner scoffed, “Do you have a racing car just because you put a racing stripe on a Mitsubishi?” Later, Raymond found out that this gun has been prohibited in Canada.
Star Gazing
next 2023/06 ― Venus and Mars came very close to each other in the moonless night sky. Being an inner planet, when visible at night, Venus is always at the horizon, never wandering too far from the hidden Sun. Through the telescope, Venus’ crescent shape glowed brightly, betraying the Sun by revealing its location. On […]
Pinned Knight
next 2022/10 ― Ray dusted off his vintage Sensory Chess Challenger 9 which he bought way back in the ’70s when he used to play a lot. Well, the machine still worked perfectly and it certainly was challenging. It pinned my knight and it even attacked my queen. I just wouldn’t have any of that!
Vroom! Vroom!
next 2022/07 ― Vroom is the sound that this 74 Plymouth ‘Cuda made when I stepped on the gas. This model is super cool and I must say, it really blew my hair back. My brother Yvon, the owner, insisted that it had a 360 V8, bored and stroked to a 410 with an aggressive […]