My Sony DSC W370 – Cyber-Shot Camera – Problems

Misty Hollow Carving
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Today’s Blog Post

My Sony DSC W370 – Cyber-Shot Camera – Problems
I am writing this today about my Cyber-Shot Camera by Sony. Just because no one else has shared their problems.

I searched the Internet when I had problems and all I could get was all the wonderful stuff about it. When it breaks down and doesn’t work – it aint so wonderful anymore. Worse yet when you speak with the store that you get it from and the initial warrantee(store) or 90 days has run out – you are out of luck.

In fact when the one store clerk just rolled her eye balls when I used the word “Sony” in the same sentence with the word “problem” and then said, “Well sir that is what lot of people are finding. You need to look at a Samsung camera. Their service is very good!”

I knew when I heard that I had a problem.

Looking on the Internet again I found the Sony repair folk. They are not too far away – just down the road in Whitby, Ontario on Cannon Court. Sony on Cannon – seemed comical if you wanted service. Now I know it is not spelled the same – but it was funny… at the moment… and when you are uptight about the stupid camera that may never get fixed… you need funny!

Packed it up… shipped it away and waited. Then it came back… REPAIRED!

The packing slip work order stated
DATE OPENED 21-FEB-11,
DATE RECEIVED 25-FEB-11
DATE DIAGNOSED 01-MAR-11
DATE REPAIRED 01-MAR-11
DATE COMPLETED

The mother board had to be replaced.

REPAIRED BY OSMOND – INSPECTED BY SANDRA

Woooieee!

Thanks folks! It works now!!!!

But the CYBER-SHOT W370 is not what the old, or my first, CYBER-SHOT was. It was a Cyber-Shot DSC T1 – solid little metal body, Carl Zeiss Lens and it performed very well for about 5 years. That is about 20,000 photos later and in many parts of the world as we traveled.

The DSC T1 was so good that I was not hesitant about buying the new Cyber-Shot W370.

But they are not the same.

The video feature on the W370, set at 720, is a pain in the Butt! The sound quality is so bad – I could get better out of two Tin Cans with a piece of string between them. The VGA setting is a little better… but the video is of lower quality.

The focus on the 720 is ridiculously slow. Move the camera or have the subject move even a little bit and it is out of focus for a good two seconds. And an out of focus video done in 720 – is like maybe a 150 or less camera! Useless!

Now after having dealt with and had to cope with the lousy video quality… I could still take photos… but then the camera died with these examples of the screen shot and the camera’s photo shot… both were the same.

Nope… I doubt that I will go Cyber-Shot again… not unless it is lot like the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC T1!

But then what do you buy and how do you know what to get?

Who do you trust as an ordinary, non professional photographer? I don’t know…

I write this today to let other Cyber-Shot folk know that all the good stuff written needs some of the other side.

The camera is working good today (all except the crappy 720 video). And it will work good for longer with Sony’s offer of an extended Sony Care Program – at
1 year for $49.99
2 year for $69.99
3 year for $89.99
4 year for $139.99

Now remember that I bought it for about $175 (on special introductory price).

Why would I want to spend nearly $500 on something that doesn’t work well?

Nope… I may have to get one the Care Programs – just so I am not stuck without any help at all.

I love Technology but what a pain at times… what a pain!

I would love to hear back from you about your Cyber-Shot issues too. The email is “ murrya.lincoln@gmail.com  ”

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival – George and Alice Potter and the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush – WOW!

Misty Hollow Carving
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Today’s Blog Post

"There is nothing as sweet and satisfying as

Maple Syrup Taffy on a stick!"

Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival – George and Alice Potter and the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush – WOW!

Yesterday we celebrated with hundreds of other people from all over Ontario (and maybe even the world). We took part in the 25th Anniversary of the Maple Syrup Festival in Warkworth, Ontario. So much fun!

The Maple Syrup Festival involves the whole community in and around Warkworth… and then specifically it involves the George and Alice Potter family – and/or the farm. Actually George and Alice run the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush business. And each year they invite everyone in the world to their Sugar Bush.

Now it will make very little sense to my readers in Asia or Africa or other parts of the world… when I write about a Sugar Bush. They may know about Canadian Maple Syrup… but may never have been to a Sugar Bush.

Yesterday we savored the whole Eastern Canada Maple Syrup tradition personally. It was beautiful to say the least.

The links at the end of this post have great descriptions to help you understand all about Maple Syrup and how it is produced.

Simply stated, for hundreds of years folk have tapped the Maple Trees to get its sap. This happens in the still cool season that has some warmer times during the daytime. Usually it is the middle of March when the cold at night is freezing and the daytime temperature rises to above the freezing mark. That is when the sap runs best… and pours into the buckets hanging from the spigot which was tapped into a tree.

The person making syrup cooks down the sap to make it into a beautiful sweet treat that tastes wonderful. My mouth is watering.

Yesterday we had another 39 the Second Time(older folk like me that love to have fun) outing together… and the Maple Sugar Bush was our treat. And we had a ball!

I am not sure what my favorite part is at the Sugar Bush. Maybe it was the Horse drawn sleigh or was it the Maple Taffy poured on to the snow.. making that delicious treat. Mmm..MMMM!

Watching the kids and adults attempt the cross cut saw and trying to beat the time of the last person… was fun too. Or the snow shoeing or the plank race…

Listening to the huge sap cooker’s fire box snap and crackle as the syrup is cooked down was amazing. And add to that the smell of the wood burning brings back so many memories of long ago.

This was a Canadian treat that few countries can duplicate…. except maybe our American neighbors just south of the eastern Canadian border.

Now one final happening that was a great treat.…
Back in the mid 1970s George Potter began his participation with the Maple Syrup Festival. George is the operator of the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush. But if I caught all that was said about the area… folk have been making syrup in these parts since the early 1800s (maybe even longer if you consider the aboriginal folk that once lived in these parts).

At one point around noon George Potter took to the stage with his fiddle. He nodded to someone off to his right. I assumed that it was a tapped background that was on their sound system. Then he played some amazing reels and jigs, and some favorites of everyone there. Could this guy ever make that fiddle talk!!! And the background music was totally with him.

Off to his right, sitting inside at a piano and listening through the sound system was his sister, Helen King. She plays a mean piano. Beside Helen stood her sister-in-law Alice Potter, playing a big ole Base Fiddle. With her fingers taped for the action she needed to do, she played on and on… never missing a beat. You guessed it Alice is George’s wife.

The two ladies were snug as two bugs in a rug inside. When George looked off to his right and nodded, his partners inside were ready to go inside.

Two of George’s friends told me about George and his abilities.

George is now 80 years old this year. They are trying to get George to slow down… but that doesn’t seem to be registering with him.

Retire? Yah right! When you love something as much as George loves his friends and his Sandy Flat Sugar Bush… how could you retire? Retiring from a job is what you do after working at something you hated for 25 to 45 years.

The difference is that George loves what he does.

Fortunately I had my small video camera… and with some luck the video that I shot this amazing trio – will be on Youtube someday soon.

I want to thank Warkworth’s Maple Syrup Festival committee for all that you have done for us outsiders. From our hostess on our buss rides and the drivers, to the volunteers doing so much in the town and out at the Sugar Bush… it was a wonderful day. Warkworth folk – you have blown me away!

I will let the photos do the rest of the telling for you.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://www.sandyflatsugarbush.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup 

YouTube Video of George and Alice together with Helen King -performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xx2I0rPmXs

For the next few photos - you will not get the true sense of the sleigh ride unless

you can smell big sweaty horses that had jingling silver bells on their harness...

There is a silence in the Sugar Bush that is hard to describe...

and with the sound of the horses and

silver bells there are few words that can help you to be there...

Karol and Evelyn

Cross cut saw race...

Watching and listening to the huge Maple Sap evaportaor...

The hot, thick Maple Syrup(taffy) is being poured on to fresh snow...

It hardens after about 10 seconds...

With a stir stick you roll up the taffy to make a maple Syrup Sucker...

Lynette & Laura - twin sisters and MK's from my past... when I was known as "Uncle Murray"...

Tsunamis – Foreign and Personal

Misty Hollow Carving
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Today’s Blog Post


Tsunamis – Foreign and Personal

As I began to prepare my Blog yesterday I was stopped short of writing. I could say I was kind of arrested. As I began to type I stopped, then clicked on to “Google News” – oh boy.

It was then that I saw the first images rolling in from Japan. The first two videos were coming to my Laptop from the Helicopters flying over the coast of Japan. I was shocked as the whole countryside and then whole towns simply vanished under the huge wall of water that swept ashore from the Tsunami.

My world suddenly changed. Their problem became my problem. Thousands of miles away people were dying right in front of my eyes. Their entire livelihood was vanishing before my eyes and nothing could be done. Families were wiped out in a heart beat.

The suddenness of the Earthquake and then the Tsunami hitting Japan is almost impossible to fathom.

Then as the day progressed, I was at the gym working out. While doing this the large banks of TV were broadcasting even more information and videos. It was at that moment that Hawaii was being hit with the first waves… a few hours later the west coast of the USA and Canada we next.

Thinking this through and the devastation that followed… this was only one Earthquake with its after shocks. It lasted for a mere 5 minutes and then continued for shock after – aftershock.

But the devastating Tsunami was traveling at 800 Km per hour – or 500 miles per hour – non stop until it hit a land mass… all the way across the Pacific Ocean.

As I continued to follow the horror of the day… it struck me how my life had been changed in a few heart beats.

Instead of writing a new piece for this Blog I looked at my email.

Another Tsunami of sorts hit me squarely where I sat. Opening one email and then the link to more information, I discovered that a Minister I know has had his world rocked with some terrible news.

His name is Barry Boucher. He lives in Ottawa and in the course of his career as a Pastor he has been greatly used to encourage other people, at home in Canada as well as around the world.

Barry Boucher’s blog post stated – quote…
“On February 22, 2011 Joyce and I sat in a doctor’s office reviewing the results of a recent biopsy I had undertaken. While we approached the meeting in faith believing for a good report, the results shocked the both of us.

The biopsy covered all sections of my prostate and the result - Dr. G said, "You have aggressive prostate cancer!"

I have begun intensive tests to determine exactly what is happening in my body and what treatment I will need.

All of this is new information for both of us and our family. There is no history of prostate cancer and I have been given regular check-ups for years. Heart - OK. Blood pressure - OK. Colon - OK. Vascular system - OK.

During my yearly physical, my family doctor noticed a spike in my PSA and irregularity in my prostate. He sent me to a specialist for more tests - thus the biopsy.”
End quote..

In a very short time his life has shifted from a need to look after many to suddenly a need to look after himself and his family.

Cancer is like a Personal Tsunami. I can see that so clearly now.

Friday, March 11, 2011 was a huge day for me. But it wasn’t over with that morning and the later the afternoon.

We went about our routine until the evening meal… enjoyed that together and then settled to the evening work and enjoyment.

I headed to the garage to work on some more carvings that should be delivered soon.

The garage door opened and my wife told me the next bit of bad news for the day.

No not a Tsunami or more reports of cancer… but rather the basement was suddenly leaking and about 25% of the carpet and underlay were soaked.

By 11 PM I had removed most of the wet carpet. The dehumidifier was working steadily and the place was starting to dry out.

The problem…? Outside the ground is still frozen solid. Some of the ground near the house is starting to thaw. For days we have had rain storm after rain storm… and now the saturation and escape of the water has found an easy way into our basement.

God knew that I had hoped to start some renovations on our basement for the last while… so he rearranged the schedule slightly for my life… and we began last evening.

Tsunamis… and sudden change… shock after shock… unsure of the future and how any of it will work out… that was March 11, 2011.

The Ides of March are not supposed to be until the 15th… sheesh!

But reflecting back this morning… a little wet carpet compared to the other things that came into my life yesterday are not much.

I am praying for Barry Boucher today and his wife Joyce.

I am praying for millions of Japanese folk that had their world radically altered yesterday.

I am blessed today in that I can support some one else as I deal with these issues at hand. God has a plan for me.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://barryboucher.typepad.com/ministers_matter/2011/03/i-have-prostate-cancer-barry-boucher.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ides_of_March

The Small Chinese Boy and the Stupid Eraser – the power of words

Misty Hollow Carving
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Today’s Blog Post


The Small Chinese Boy and the Stupid Eraser – the power of words

The small Chinese boy sat his desk with his head resting on his hands. He was listening to his teacher talking about taking care of their things.

Remember this is China when the cameras are rolling. It was a film being featured on our local TV… a million miles from where this scene is taking place. That million miles is not just the distance but rather the cultural distance from where most of us are located in our lives.

The Class Monitors walk around the room inspecting the eraser of each student. The boy’s easer is taken by a monitor and brought to the front of the class with four others.

The Monitor has discovered that his eraser was full of holes and kind of chewed up looking. It appears to be well used and in the boredom(or frustration) that he might have felt he has poked holes with his pencil lead… stabbing it many times.

As the class votes on which eraser is the worst of the four, the camera catches the little boy’s face as he listens to the reporting and the reaction of his class mates.

His eraser was the worst.

The teacher calls him to the front of the class and explains why it is happening. Two of his fellow classmates stand near by and then join into the cacophony of addressing the poor little guy down. They berate him, scold him and ask him if he has anything to say… to which he hangs his head down and asks for forgiveness… saying that he has been very bad and apologizes to the class for having made his eraser such a mess.

The discipline is not over. The teacher pulls out an old sweater that is very old, probably dirty and has many holes in it. It is a disgraceful piece of clothing compared to the sharp uniforms that he and his classmates have on. She makes him put it on in front of the class.

The little boy is 7 years old. His head is hanging down as he looks at the floor. He returns to his desk and takes the foul sweater off… lays it on top of the desk and begins to cry openly… tears spilling on to his desk.

As I watched the TV screen and listened to the commentary about the Chinese Class, picking up many new things about the culture and the way that teachers operate in China… I am now sick at heart for what I have seen.

I am that little boy. I am the one that destroyed the erasers as I poked holes in them with the lead of the pencil. I was listening but I destroyed the eraser – just like he did. That was 62 years ago and I want to vomit now.

How could any system of education be so cruel and so ridiculous?

When we lived in Hong Kong and helped at the schools, it was not uncommon to have the discouraged students jump from the school roof to their death seven stories below. I hated the exam times and the pressure times to be better than was humanly possible... with parent’s and teacher’s demands that could never be met.

I complained at times as I went through school. I found homework interfering with my private life. I found the rules hard to take. I hated it when a bully showed up to hurt others. It was school and I was like any other student.

But as I watched the face of this young Chinese boy I was deeply moved.

Then I remember my dad’s story after one of my teaching sessions to a group of Children’s leaders/teachers. I was traveling for the head office of our church as their featured speaker across Canada.

Dad choked up when we were alone after the session.

He told me of time long ago in a small rural school. It was southern Saskatchewan. He was instructed to read a poem in front of the class. He stumbled on the words and became red in the face – sputtering nothingness. The teacher looked at him in scorn… and said… “Ah sit down… you will never be any good at this kind of thing anyways!”

He looked at me and said, “From that minute on I could never read in front of anyone.. I could never speak in front of anyone… I believed what the teacher said…”

It was at that moment that my dad told me how proud he was of me, his son… the minister… that could speak easily to so many people… without stumbling over my words.

It wasn’t always that way. At first in Walkerton – at my first church responsibility… I nearly died some Sundays when I spoke. My mouth was dry and I was frightened to death of the audience.

I told my wife about it. She said that she believed I could do it.

I went on and kept trying… and after a wonderful miracle… I was set free to speak… forever.

I watched the little Chinese boy and on wondered if he would pass his year at school or be returned home many hundreds of miles away… without schooling. I cannot stop seeing his face when I close my eyes.

Oh I didn’t tell you that it was a Boarding School as well… no mommy and daddy to tuck him, or listening to his faint crying that night of his destroyed eraser.

Today is raining outside. The clouds are heavy – like my heart and thoughts for that little boy in China.

Would you think of just that one… with the eraser problem?

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Charlie Sheen and the Local Bipolar People of Peterborough’s Culture

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Today’s Blog Post


Charlie Sheen and the Local Bipolar People of Peterborough’s Culture
The words read… quote…
"After careful consideration," the statement read, "Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on Two and a Half Men effective immediately." End quote

The article appears in the Vancouver Sun this AM... but also in many other papers around the world. And for weeks now Charlie has been the centre of ridicule and wonder as he has gone completely nuts!

What a tragedy. Sheen has ruined his chances to make big money. He is a Gonzo!

Most have watched this with mild interest and many have looked on puzzled by a ranting, raving man who has done some really stupid things for the whole world to see.

Most have looked at Charlie Sheen as the character “Charlie Harper” in the sitcom Two and a Half Men. The sharp witted guy that seems to exude enthusiasm and an unending run of wise cracks is something else!

At least we all looked on as the antics of Charlie Sheen ramped up higher and higher… until the public started to realize that this is not one bit normal. Even the media started backing away as Charlie’s actions and reactions to questions became more bizarre.

The fact is that Charlie Sheen exhibits some of the classic signs and symptoms of someone that is Biploar.

If you haven’t already learned from what has been said and printed about someone that is Bipolar, Charlie has done the world a great service with his everyday exposure of the complete, severe Mood Disorder.

Most of the public out there has never really paid that much attention to the weird reactions of a community member near them that takes off on their family for no apparent reason. Most just assume that the marriage was likely in jeopardy and an affair was likely in that they were having problems for a long time.

Most people look to a Charlie Sheen and see just another Movie and TV Star and their antics.

Most people do not see the great difficulty that all those around Charlie Sheen and or the local community member that has gone off side… messed up a whole lot of lives and destroyed their own career.

Charlie is now the brunt of cruel jokes. But his mood disorder is anything but a joke. Charlie is a very sick man.

Now what does it matter if another TV Star has gone overboard? Maybe it doesn’t. But what happens locally does matter to me… the part that involves whole families with one person that has this mood disorder in a severe way. The local situation is destroying everyone around them… and I mean everyone.

Yet, as Charlie Sheen has demonstrated so well, he is convinced he is not sick, he does not have any disorder or mood problems. In his manic stage of the Bipolar disorder he is invincible. He has done nothing wrong at all. In fact if God himself called for advice today, Charlie might just consider giving God some advice… Charlie is that tuned in and that smart.

The saddest part is that Charlie is missing the most important part of his life. He fathered at least three little kids from what I have picked up… and now they will never see what they will do with their lives.

Without help Charlie will run from one thing to the next until he destroys himself. He is so wrapped up being right in everything he does – he will never get help – EVER! That is the Bipolar Person in the manic mode… they excel in everything and need no one to help them. They are so far above the need for any intervention it is sick! In fact that is the greatest part of the sickness.

But the other part of the Mood Disorder is that of depression… serve and deep depression. It is in this stage that the local person will take their own life. After refusing help and denying that they had a problem in the manic mode… they will crash and then be admitted to the hospital completely finished with deep depression. In fact the depression may have been or will be so great that the person will arrive at the hospital because of personally trying to take their own life.

Locally I can say that I have witnessed up close the terrible tragedy of this mood disorder. In fact I have witnessed three people in our local community that have all looked for help with their terrible spouses. The terrible spouse was normal. The person looking for help was deeply mired in the Mood Disorder of being Bipolar.

At the first I assumed that it was or could have been something deeply spiritual. That part of deeply spiritual was in the spouse that was being reported about by the Bipolar person.

Was I ever wrong in every way! The Bipolar person had convinced me that they were completely okay and the other person was completely wrong. I missed the terrible tragedy at the beginning. I was so wrong!

And that happened in three cases in the last 5 years of my life. Now Charlie helped me greatly to see that some of the best have been duped by his antics.

Locally, all three cases that I have dealt with are missing their entire life.

One person has two amazing children who are excelling in everything they do. This parent knows nothing of what is happening. They are oblivious of everything because of the mood disorder and all that matters is their own amazing abilities and mood!

The next one is so wrapped up in what they want and desire they cannot see their only child struggling with their life at school. He has not seen that their daughter is likely going to have the same problem that he has. All that matters is the mood and his happiness.

The third is too far gone. The marriage is broken. The kids are gone completely. High school is not even completed and they are headed for personal destruction. This one is the final stages of a terrible life of the Bipolar mood disorder.

That is only three in the last 5 years. There is another 30 years before that are now starting to surface in my mind. There are hundreds of Charlie Sheen type people that are the same… or were the same… and their families have died an emotional death.

Bipolar people are the only kind that can spread their moods like a virus. They are not like cancer victims that illicit support and encouragement… they produce havoc and terror and families react with their own mood problems.

Today I grieve with one friend. He has lost his wife… and his marriage. No she didn’t die. But it is like she is dead to the family. She is now living with another man far away, believing that it is God’s will for her to do so. In fact if God called her today – she might give him some advice about marriage and children and finding your way in a horrible world that every one puts you down in. This woman has so much potential but is so terribly sick that she cannot tell the difference.

I hope she watches Charlie Sheen and sees the way that this guy is acting. But knowing her and what she has done so far… she will call Charlie and offer to counsel him.

If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny. A desperate husband and father doesn’t see it as funny at all. His kids are going through the heaviest times of emotional changes as teens… and he has no support at all! His wife is Bipolar to the max. I cannot tell you how terrible it really is!

But his daughter this past week found out she earned 104% in her math exams. WOW! But mom wasn’t there tell when she came home from school. Her sister has done some pretty amazing things as well… and there is no mom here. Mom is ‘counseling’ another man in a far away city… kind of happy with the new man… who is as old as her own father…

Holy Crap… how sick can someone be? They could be Charlie Sheen sick – I guess.

Thank you Charlie Sheen for helping everyone to see what it is really like for the Bipolar world and family.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Charlie+Sheen+left+building/4407861/story.html#ixzz1G6HWKlVm

The Lowly Chiffonier

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The Lowly Chiffonier

So here it is – finally… a word that has puzzled me for almost as long as I can remember. I didn’t know how to spell it – let alone know what it was and where it came from. Sheesh!

Chiffonier… or Cheffonier… both are correct if you use it in scrabble.

Wikipedia states…
“A chiffonier (or cheffonier) is a piece of furniture differentiated from the sideboard by its smaller size and by the enclosure of the whole of the front by doors. Its name (which comes from the French for a "rag-gatherer") suggests that it was originally intended as a receptacle for odds and ends which had no place elsewhere, but it now usually serves the purpose of a sideboard.

It was one of the many curious developments of the mixed taste, at once cumbrous and bizarre, which prevailed in furniture during the Empire period in England. The earliest cheffoniers date from that time; they are usually of rosewood - the favorite timber of that moment; their furniture (the technical name for knobs, handles, and escutcheons) was most commonly of brass, and there was very often a raised shelf with a pierced brass gallery at the back. The doors were well panelled and often edged with brass-beading, while the feet were pads or claws, or, in the choicer examples, sphinxes in gilded bronze.”

The free dictionary states…
chiffonier, chiffonnier [ˌʃɪfəˈnɪə]
n
1. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture) a tall, elegant chest of drawers, originally intended for holding needlework
2. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture) a wide low open-fronted cabinet, sometimes fitted with two grille doors and shelves

And it could also be known as a chest of drawers, dresser, bureau, chest - furniture with drawers for keeping clothes

Another definition or description was…
–noun
1.
a high chest of drawers or bureau, often having a mirror on top.
2.
a low bookcase of the English Regency, with grille doors or doorless.
3.
a shallow, tall, open piece of furniture, of the 18th century, having shelves for the display of china.

No wonder I couldn’t figure it all out. Some people used the word to describe the piece of furniture in the dinning room that held plates and was a smaller edition of a sideboard – which were very large – others used it to describe a bedroom piece.

Now coming from Saskatchewan and the southern part – with solid connections to Illinois and Iowa… the word didn’t make must sense? The American roots pretty much cut to chase on most words and descriptions of items used.

But there it was the chiffonier, that special dresser for clothes that my mom kept in her bedroom… on 1422 Elliott Street in Regina, Saskatchewan. That is when I first remember hearing the word… about 60 years ago.

1422 Elliott Street was not the higher end of the city… in fact it was so far from the upper crust folk of Regina that you would not be able to imagine. 1422 Elliott had an outdoor toilet with a honey pail in it. The honey pail was a bucket that was removed once a week by the “honey wagon” man as he drove down the back lane to empty the human waste from each toilet.

Years before the city had forced the folk in that small community to not dig anymore toilet holes, as was the common practice of the day. Instead to encourage a higher form of cleanliness they provided the “honey wagon”.

Now two things come to mind… first, the real name was not “honey wagon” and the second, if I complain about any job that I have ever had or done – the “honey wagon” man’s work was a stand out to encourage higher education!

Now think for a minute… how far the 1422 Elliott St. experience was from people that often had use of a Chiffonier in their dinning rooms or as a place to keep your fine clothing in your bedroom.

But I did catch the fact that part of the definition that stated… “which comes from the French for a "rag-gatherer") suggests that it was originally intended as a receptacle for odds and ends which had no place elsewhere, but it now usually serves the purpose of a sideboard.”

A less classy description that could have been used by the American part of my family was “Junk Cabinet” – but Chiffonier has more class.

Hey – I wasn’t born into class but rather down to earth… ordinary folk that loved life.

A sloppy watermelon was a great dessert.

As I reflected on all this in that last few days… I realize how much our family has changed – yet remains the same.

I have been reading another great book by Kate Morton… “The House at Riverton” – and that is where the word popped up. Kate described a world where my family once came from.

In my family there was a Lord Samuel Lincoln. His sons climbed aboard the second series of boats after the Mayflower and arrived at Plymouth Rock, south of the present Boston area and not far from Hingham, Mass. In fact the Hingham village site was named after the Lincoln’s original town near their Lord Samuel Lincoln’s estate… away back when.

I am so far away from that kind of life… there are no words to describe it.

Chiffonier… chiffonier… a piece of furniture to hold odds and ends… or junk.

What a leap! But now I can spell chiffonier!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/  

Resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffonier
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chiffonier
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chiffonier

The Misty Hollow Carvers include an Ex-Offender Coming Out of Prison

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Today’s Blog Post


The Misty Hollow Carvers include an Ex-Offender Coming Out of Prison
One week ago when I met “J” he had only been in our community a short while. He arrived from one of our Federal Prisons and is now settling into a “new home”.

I had heard of “J’s” arrival from my friend.

“J” is young and has lots of life to live yet. But what will he do now?

He cannot work like other guys his age. The criminal record kind of puts a kibosh on making big plans to work alongside of others. As much as he may want to do something, there are restrictions.

An idea has been percolating for some time now. Maybe I could help “J” and guys like him with some of the things that I do. Maybe “J” could become a wood carver.

As “J” and I were speaking I asked if he had ever tried to carve. He smiled. “J” said that he used to have a set of carving tools inside of prison but had traded them for a walking staff that the other guy had carved. He said that he didn’t know if he could do it or not… but was interested.

Bingo! That was all that I needed. I offered “J” the possibility of carving alongside me to get him started. I will show him my tricks and specialities that I do. He in turn can give it a try. If he likes it I will give him all the help that I can… if he doesn’t then he can choose something else to do.

If the carving idea works, his life could catch a new possibility and hope.

After “J” and I talked he was beaming from ear to ear. He grabbed my hand three times and thanked me. I am doubtful that he has shaken hands with any of his guards in prison over these last few years. But he trusts me and I care.

Now the “What if”…
“J” has got talent that has not yet been discovered. I am convinced of that as I speak with him. The way that his eyes light up… is real. You can’t fake that… even “J” can’t fake that.

He is really interested in what I am saying to him… and wants to talk.

What if “J” becomes great at what he does? What if he is able to do well? Do you think that some one might buy what he is selling?

I think that just might happen.

And it might happen comfortably under Misty Hollow Carving’s umbrella and business.

Would you attend a carving show and maybe even buy something from the Misty Hollow Carvers? If these Carvers were doing excellent work and had proven themselves – would you buy?

If the Misty Hollow Carvers showed that they no longer want to commit crime and wanted to contribute to society… giving back – instead of taking… would you support them?

I will.

My Wood Carving business has been going along well enough. I guess it could always be bigger and better… but now it is comfortable and doing okay.

I had been dreaming how I could give the whole effort a little kick to get to the next level. I think “J” has helped me to envision something new… and it will happen.

Tonight is the first class for “J”. He will be carving with me in my “studio”… that is my dusty garage. I really don’t think that “J” will care.

When I saw him yesterday and confirmed that everything is set for Monday night… he was grinning from ear to ear! He grabbed my hand again and shook it.

I am pretty sure now that “J” has a new hope. Something great is about to happen.

Years ago when he first lay down in that first cell… I am pretty sure that he cried. As tough as he tried to be… he was a broken young man. He had committed a crime that would separate him from his old life. And from what I already know… he is pretty much alone now.

“J” told me that he is not computer-wise – at all. He has not had the opportunity to learn. But who knows… maybe that will be our next project.

So tonight… around 7 PM “J” is coming to my house. Hey.. maybe I am more excited than he is! Wish us success – the Misty Hollow Carvers are going to give it a try!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/