Real Talk!

Recently, I was asked to describe “my” area… and I hesitated… actually, I halted.

Fabian and I are members of both the Renfrew Real Estate Association and the Bancroft and District Real Estate Board. While we are licensed to work in Ontario, we principally cover quite a bit of central Ontario. "My" area is huge.

Known as Eastern areas 7 & 8, the territory spans from the eastern edges of Haliburton, Huntsville and Lindsay and south toward Belleville, Peterborough and near Kingston, then west to near Pembroke and Renfrew.

How does one succinctly define such a vast expanse of landscape and culture? There are so many lovely towns, villages and hamlets… including:

Arden
Aroch
Arnprior
Bancroft
Bannockburn
Bangor
Baptiste
Barry’s Bay
Beachburg
Bon Echo
Bonnechere
Boulter
Brudenell
Calabogie
Cardiff
Carlow
Cloyne
Cobden
Coe Hill
Combermere
Cormac
Dacre
Deacon
Denbigh
Eganville
Eldorado
Faraday
Foymount
Glen Alda
Griffith
Golden Lake
Gooderham
Haliburton
Harcourt
Hardwood Lake
Herman
Highland Grove
Irondale
Killaloe
L’Amable
Lake Dore
Lake St Peter
Letterkenny
Little Ireland
Madawaska
Madoc
Maple Leaf
Maynooth
Mayo
McArthurs Mills
Millbridge
Murphy’s Corners
Northbrook
Ompah
Ormsby
Packenham
Palmer Rapids
Paudash
Plevna
Purdy
Quadeville
Queensborough
Round Lake
Renfrew
Schutt
Slabtown
Snow Road
St Ola
Tory Hill
Tweed
Vennacher
Weslemkoon
Whitney
Wilberforce
Wilno
Wollaston

Whether you travel by hiking, boat, canoe, kayak, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, airplane or any other form of transport- there is a never-ending list of things “to do” and places “to see” throughout our region.

A varied and eclectic cultural and historical heritage includes our native peoples, pioneers, the voyageurs and fur-traders, timber merchants, miners, old-time gangsters and fine immigrants of many nationalities. Throughout the countryside, one can still see the imprint of these by-gone eras.

Currently, the area is home to people from throughout the world. The pristine beauty has attracted some here, others cherish the clean water and air, and still others, are drawn to the potential healing properties of the abundant minerals located in the region. There are practically as many reasons for loving the pure, Ontario wilderness as there are visitors.

Thousands of rivers and lakes teem with fish and the landscape is rich with wildlife. Towering trees stretch into evening skies where stars flood every velvet night and the horizon is often illuminated by the spectacular Northern Lights.

From the air, the view is mostly blue: testimony to the number of waterways and lakes throughout the region. The landscape- like a quilt- has sections of hills and valleys, forest, lush wetland, sand, rock and well-tended century farmlands.

Old-fashioned general stores, studios and workshops with works from local artists and artisans, serious galleries and local produce markets dot the map. Each village and hamlet has a story to tell and special sites of natural beauty. The larger towns, like Bancroft and Barry’s Bay, have all amenities, including hospitals, restaurants and good shopping.

People have senses; this must have something to do with sensibility. It just seems to me that there are a whole lot of people out there who complain that other people lack common sense.

Not to be confused with logic, which is based on inference, logic includes the analysis of reasoning, demonstration and probability… the whole concept of logic gets a little blurred around context- I guess that’s why the mid 60s brought us the term “Fuzzy Logic”.

Who’d have thunk that common sense would be such a complex subject?

I have always enjoyed puzzles. I like riddles and mysteries.

I think a lot of “stuff” gets complicated because we all have subtly unique articulation. What we say is interpreted by the listener and formulated by their personal understanding/interpretation of the words we have chosen and the intonation we have used, as well as the body language of that moment.

Not to mention the gaping differences in how and what the individual views as humour. There are times that the use of humour is wasted… and other times, when the use of humour is completely misunderstood.

Language, vocabulary, semantics… grammar… linguistics… the English language is constantly evolving. Jargon emerges. Words change… and words change lives. Words can create magic; they also cause serious misunderstandings, too. Imagine this: in days gone by, the word shrewd signified evil or wicked. Today, it signifies sharp awareness.

How about sharp? Sharp could be about having a thin edge or point that is capable of cutting… but Z Z Top sings that “every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man”. Another example is the word gauntlet, Middle English used it to describe a protective glove worn with armour… the Old Norse and Low German version described gauntlet as a trial or ordeal.

I have never hidden my love of language. I subscribe to wordsmith and I own a zillion dictionaries, thesauruses and books of synonyms, antonyms- as well as books on words, word origins, grammar… one can never have enough books.

Just today, I was talking to Donna (our office administrator) about how strange it is to assimilate into a small town. I’ve been here 17 years and still, I feel like a displaced person… no longer at home in the city (Toronto) and not quite a local in Bancroft.

Then, I stumbled on a site: Word Spy (a site devoted to lexpionage: the sleuthing of new words and phrases) and discovered the perfect word to describe my circumstance… apparently it’s a new word. The word is ruralpolitan n. An urban dweller who moves to a rural area. Also: rural-politan. [Blend of rural and metropolitan.] —adj.
—ruralpolitanism n.

I almost like it.

I heard a new one recently: The Sandwich Generation
& I started thinking.

Hillel the Elder, born in Babylon during the 1st century BCE has been credited with making the first sandwich. Renowned as a scholar and sage, Hillel played a pivotal role in the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud.

Hillel’s sandwich recipe:

Enwrap meat from the Paschal lam (a lamb sacraficed at Passover)with matzo and bitter herbs and eat them as one.

Sounds a little like a burrito.

Mrs. Randolph brought us the Oyster loaf sandwich in 1838, New Orleans- it was a variation of the Peace Maker sandwich which was made with a loaf of French bread, split and buttered and filled with fried oysters

The Italians from Philadelphia are credited with bringing us the “Hoagie” in the late teens or early twenties. These are thick sandwich rolls or buns- filled with meats, cheese, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, oil and vinegar- the works!

The New York State Italians lay claim to the first “submarine sandwiches”. This is a king-sized sandwich on an Italian loaf of bread approximately 12 inches long an 3 inches wide, filled with boiled ham, hard salami, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and sometimes flavored with garlic and oregano

The recipe, apparently created in the early 1800s calls for a long crusty roll or loaf of Italian bread, filled with cold cuts, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, oil, vinegar, Italian spices, salt, and pepper. The key to this sandwich (to keep the bread from getting soggy) was that a full layer of cheese would be placed on top of the bottom slice of bread and the last layer was another full layer of cheese-before the top piece of bread.

The “Dagwood” sandwich (a variety of fillings, in multiple layers) arrived shortly after Chic Young’s 1930’s cartoon character, Dagwood Bumstead made them chic. The character was known for his late night foraging through the refrigerator for leftovers which he would precariously stack between bread.

I grew up watching Yogi Bear. He made his debut the same year that I did- 1958- as an extra on the Huckleberry Hound show. Yogi (and his little buddy Boo-Boo) had a particular taste for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. By 1961, Yogi had his own show and had graduated to chasing after pic-a-nic baskets, while maintaining his love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The US Military are said to be responsible for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as they were easily made by the troops from the supplies sent in their military rations.

Sandwich cookies have icing in the middle. I love the commercial where the little girl and her grandmother take the top cookie off and race; to see who can lick the icing off faster!

Then, who could forget Jared Fogel? He’s the guy who became a celebrity after 20 commercials for Subway brand sandwiches. Jared claims that Subway assisted him in losing more than half his body weight.

By reducing his intake to two subs a day (one small turkey submarine sandwich and a large veggie sub, along with some baked potato chips, and diet soft drinks) Jared shaved considerable bulk from his 425 lb frame. In fact, he attributes a 245 lb weight loss to the sandwiches.

The famous double-decker, clubhouse sandwich is said to have originated in the late 1800s at a posh, gentlemen only country club cum gambling house in Upstate New York. Apparently it was the favourite of King Edward the VIII of England and his wife, Wallis Simpson.

The Reuben, a grilled sandwich made with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye bread was first made about 1914 by Arnold Reuben (1883-1970), the founder of Reuben’s Restaurant and Delicatessen. He claimed to have created it for an actress/friend of Charlie Chaplin who had come to the restaurant being hungry enough to “eat a brick”.

I don’t think Monte Carlo sandwiches started in Monte Carlo. Apparently, they are more connected to their pan-bagnats (a round sort of tuna salad with black olives and oil).

When I was a kid, parties often included trays of colourful pinwheel and finger sandwiches. They often had olive or cherry centers and they usually looked a lot better than they tasted. The modern twist of this old standby uses coloured tortilla wraps and a lot less gooey stuff.

In high school, a lot of my friends existed on “ice cream sandwiches”.

I understand that the grilled cheese sandwich is a modern variation of the open-faced melted cheese sandwich that began in 1920’s France. Ooh La La!

Everybody knows someone that likes some sort of strange sandwich. Donna, my office administrator, keeps suggesting that I try peanut butter and school bus yellow mustard. As a child, I liked peanut butter and bologna (so I’m told). I do like peanut butter and apple or peanut butter and lettuce, still.

One of my ex-husbands was a fan of the “chip butty”, steaming hot French fries, between slices of fresh white bread, slathered in butter. He would throw up if he so much as heard the word mustard.

Weird sandwiches seem to be easier to digest if you make them yourself. Other people’s weird sandwich ideas somehow always sound a little creepy and heaven forbid that anyone hand you a sandwich without detailing the contents!

& Nobody told me that there was a whole other part of being in the sandwich generation.

The part that applies to those of us who are demographically challenged. - You know, the ones who are fighting the aches and pains of middle age while still raising children & also trying to be of help to our aging parents.

I get it. It’s that part where my daughter still needs rides everywhere for now… as does my mother, for the nonce, who is dealing with macular degeneration.

Whatever will I do when Katie completes her G1 requirements and Mom is ready to drive again?

Maybe I’ll invent some wacky new sandwich craze!

Entymologists are warning us that this year, mosquitoes and black flies are particularly aggressive. Weather conditions were absolutely perfect for the breeding the bugs.

A Quebec Entymologist, recently interviewed by CBC, suggested the populations were three times the number. He advised people not to wear dark colours (which attract mosquitoes and black flies) and urged the use of repellent on all exposed skin.

Remember, a mosquito can bite through clothing, a black fly can't. Black flies are day time feeders and generally won't come inside. Mosquitoes, however, seem to love to follow us anywhere, any time.

I've heard everything (such as: dryer sheets, mouthwash, chrysanthemum flowers and garlic) can be used to deter the pests. The best thing, in my experience is a strong electric fan which does the same as a strong breeze and keeps the little monsters from being able to fly!

Local lore says that black flies and mosquitoes can bring down cattle and moose... not having witnessed this, I hesitate to mention it, but they do swarm and one can well imagine that enough bites would cause serious damage. Funny, once you live with them a few yaers, you curtail most outdoor activities for a couple of weeks and mostly ignore them.

I have that other pest... my last post about the stubborn limb on my family tree... I stumbled on something earlier today...

This is the baptismal certificate for Pierre Didier and Mathilde Goudreau's son, Pierre Stanislas Didier. I believe it says that his godfather is Stanislas Galliot. I'm wondering if this Galliot has anything to do with the Gaillard mentioned on the document that I shared in my last post.

I must say, both spelling and handwriting on many of these documents makes the search become quite an adventure.

Again, I would love to have any insight that might help me with this branch of my family tree.

Incidentally, pines and cedars seem to be among the favourites for mosquitoes and black flies.

May stats are out… & the people that I know, in the business, still say that their markets are down about 30%… and our local stats continue to support that theory.

Gas rose last month, a couple of cents and came back down to around $1.27 a litre. The black flies came to visit... but just yesterday, I encountered some dragonflies, a good sign (unless you are a black fly).

Bancroft Board statistics tell us: the total number of listings are up 32% for the month May compared to last years and 7% for the year-to-date. The number of sales are down, 26% for the month compared to last year and 19% for the year. Dollar-wise, sales for the month of May were down 21% from last year and down 28% year-to-date, compared to last year.

I got some mortgage rates in an email today:

NATIONAL MORTGAGE RATES
Term Posted
Rates* Best
Rates*
6 Month 6.80% 6.20%
1 Year 6.95% 4.65%
2 Year 7.00% 5.40%
3 Year 7.00% 5.15%
4 Year 6.85% 5.49%
5 Year 6.99% 5.45%
7 Year 7.40% 5.90%
10 Year 7.75% 6.10%
Variable Rate 4.15%
Prime Rate 4.75%
* last updated: June 02, 2008...

I also thought I'd throw some of my family tree stuff at you... it's my brick wall (as they say). Hopefully the jpg will be readable... it is part of an almost decipherable copy of the registers from Notre Dame in Montreal. It is from 1883, the marriage of Pierre Didier (my gr-gr-grandfather) and Mathilde Gaudreau (my gr-gr-grandmother) on my father's paternal side. I have successfully traced Mathilde's family... Pierre is proving more difficult. From this, it would appear that his parents were Marc Didier & Lucrece? Gaillard de Caiguin? It might say something about Marc being from Jarville... and something about Chambery... both being places in the Lorraine area of France. Family lore says the Didier family was from Savoie.

Anyway: have a look... and if you have any insight that might help me track Marc and his wife, what's her name... I'd be ever so thankful! (I had to do it in halves, I'm afraid, to fit the margins).
Genealogy is so much fun!