This and that

• Post-Carp Fair wrap-up: The fair was great. The weather was beautiful and the girls had a blast eating fair food, running from ride to ride, and petting the animals. And I was pleasantly surprised that everyone who parked along the street actually parked on the street. I only had to ask one person to move his car, which he did without complaint. But I was less impressed with the amount of litter I had to pick up off my lawn: 6 empty Smirnoff Ice vodka cooler bottles (Dude, I know when you're 16 it's cool to stand around on the street at night next to your buddy's pickup and drink, but take the empties with you, don't throw them on my lawn, or tuck them carefully inside the culvert in my ditch), a couple of blister packs of gum, two styrofoam poutine containers, a gatorade bottle, an Old Port package, and a Maaco damage appraisal form for a 2000 Honda Civic ($2400, ouch!). No underwear or vomit though, which was good.
  

• It's weird to live in the country and work in the city. Today, on the way to work I saw the following:

• Three wild turkeys walking along the side of the road (Run, little buddies -- Thanksgiving's in two weeks!!!)
• Cows mating. It really is as uncomfortable-looking and lumbering as you'd think. And since I was whizzing by at 60 kph, I'm not sure that the one participant was actually a bull. It didn't look like one. It might have been a cow all gender-confused from watching Barnyard. Or maybe she just swings that way.
• Some Hasidic Jews walking along the sidewalk in front of a Tim Hortons.
• A lady in jogging gear pushing a jogging stroller wearing a cell phone headset and carrying a Starbucks cup

• I probably could write a thought-provoking post about the dichotomy of mind inherent in living and working in two such differing environments, but screw it, it's Monday. All you're getting is bullets.
  

• I watched Zodiac on Saturday night, and now I think I'm a little bit in love with Robert Downey Junior. And Jake Gyllenhaal. Ok, and maybe just a tiny bit with Mark Ruffalo too. My friend Ev says this means I'm scarily not picky. I think it was just inspired casting. Or too much merlot.

• I fixed the cobblestone walkway. Finally. About a month ago, really hard rains washed out the sand and gravel underneath 7 or 8 cobblestones, and there was a dangerous sinkhole. Rae was drawing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and watching me carry all the tools and sand over to the pathway. "What's that thing called, Mom?", she asked. "A crowbar", I answered. "Oh." [beat] "You better be careful with that, I don't want to be driving you to emergency." See, they really do listen. Not to absorb the info, just to memorize it to throw it back at you later.