Saturday, July 14, 2007

Another weekend

...and it's just now started pouring rain. Which defeats my Grand Plan to actually get around to cutting the grass this weekend. It's been so dry here that the front lawn is actually nice and short, if a little parched - but the back, which gets more shade and doesn't drain as well, is looking like a weedy, overgrown mess.

Ah well, maybe tomorrow. Or next week. In the meantime, here are some daisies from the garden:

Daisies

In good news, the tomatoes planted by the Junior Ricardipi are ripening up nicely, and the basil is growing like the proverbial house on fire, making some tasty Tomato and Basil Sandwiches a distinct possibility in the near future. Mmm.

It's good to be sitting here at home though, rather than fighting with the daily commute, which on Thursday turned into a right royal pain in the... you know. The lovely 360 Maple Express bus, which is reasonably reliable in getting me home each night, decided to have a bit of a hiccup. Distinctly lacking in torque, and alternately wheezing geriatrically and roaring like a lion with a thorn in its paw and a red-hot poker in its [deleted], it managed to haul itself onto Highway 400 before giving up the ghost entirely.


At which point, we sat for about an hour waiting for a relief bus. As we were passed by:

1. Another 360 bus, which clearly hadn't gotten the message that we were parked.

2. A horrendously ugly Scion xB, which I believe isn't even supposed to be available in this country, and which I shall continue to complain about every time I see one.

And, to add insult to injury,

3. A coach, proudly bearing the logo GOBYBUS.CA as it roared past, cheerfully advertising the many virtues of travel by non-defunct, still-mobile autobus transportation.

Sigh.

Anyway, eventually a cheerful OPP officer showed up to ensure we could safely exit the vehicle on the verge of a major highway, without even getting run over, and we piled into another bus that had appeared to pick us up. An hour and a half late, home, just in time to brush some teeth and kiss a couple of kids goodnight.

It's enough to make me wish for a gas-guzzling, comfortable car instead of the environmentally friendly, but increasingly unreliable bus. Maybe one of these here Aston Martin thingies, in a natty shade of black like the one I saw downtown a week or two ago. That'd do.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

"It's pouring down here". It's been chucking it down here for the last month and a half!! The ground is sodden, and there has been severe flooding in many parts of the country.. If we get flooded the midlands are history!

WrathofDawn said...

The sun was splitting the rocks here. Oddly.

I had a bus breakdown experience myself on the way back to town from a music festival in May. Not fun.

benegpst - a post by someone neamed beneg

#Debi said...

So the Junior Ricardipi have planted tomatoes, have they? Did they do it in the time-honored Scaryduck fashion? That should add some, er, spice to the sandwiches...

gdjheqp: what R'pus called the bus...

Richard Wintle said...

Debi - no. We don't encourage that kind of behaviour at Chateau Ricardipus... thank goodness.

Yeeeurgh.

Anonymous said...

You're right. The Scion xB is one really ugly vehicle. The fashion police need to confiscate and crush it.

gxgpoh: Retching sound made by observers of a Scion

WrathofDawn said...

Which brings us to...

Post post posty posty post post posty posty post post posty posty posty posty posty posty...

*out of breath*

Dancing the can-can is good exercise, you know.

vw - weakmuty - I kid you not.

2nd vw - cause I'm a klutz - upucepni - which I think is some sort of colour related insult - something about the wearing of puce