Nov 29, 2012

Dog Gone Adorable!

Our friend Meghan Mcewen really loves her dog Charlie and after you check out the video clip below, we're betting you will too.

Meghan told Scribbles "Charlie is a Louisiana rescue...adopted 2 years ago....who enjoys yoga weekly. She does yoga at retirement homes in Niagara and is a certified therapy dog with St. John's ambulance. That's her story...LOL"

And what a story it is Meghan. After seeing the clip of her lounging on the sofa, I can just imagine what a hit she must be when she visits retirement homes and gets all zen with her yoga moves. In fact, I'm now questioning whether Charlie is indeed a dog or actually a little person wrapped in fur.

Thanks for letting me share your shaggy pride and joy with our Scribbles friends, Meghan.


Conehead Kitty Better Than Cable

Our friend Joan Wiley joked that she had better TV reception, when she posted these pictures of her new cat Luna wearing a cone over her head. Luna was recently spade and needed the cone to keep her from nibbling at her incision. 

Joan reports that Luna is feeling much better and no longer requires the cone around her neck. Guess it's back to rabbit ears at the Wiley house once again,...LOL!

Thanks for letting me use your cute pix Joan and a HUGE THANK YOU for your recent words of encouragement. I have already decided what my New Year's resolution is going to be..."Be kinder to Kenny".

Santa's Little Helpers?

My dog Timmi, Rob's sister Patty's orange cat Hunter and Rob's mom Merry's fluffy white cat Cotton are all decked out in their Santa suits in the three photos seen here. And their bright red outfits aren't the only thing our precious pets seem to have in common.... the unimpressed look on their faces are all quite similiar too....LOL. The things we do to amuse ourselves, eh?
A dog catches a wave during the Surf City Surf Dog contest in Huntington Beach September 30, 2012.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Lady and the Scamp

Our pal Sally Vince has a very cool cat. While some kittys might like to play with toy mice, trendy Scamp would rather spend time at the family's iPad. Don't believe us, check out this mini video clip.

(And Sally, I am sorry it took me sooooooooooooo long to post this. I'm sure Scamp has probably moved on to the latest iPad and mini iPad by now.)


Congratulations to our friends Pat and Joe Fenerty, whose home is once again filled with the pitter patter of little feet....well actually make that "paws" and there's 8 of them doing the pittering and pattering. Pat and Joe recently adopted kitty brothers Devon and Mason, who we're sure are adding hours of entertainment to the Fenerty household.

Let us know how many times the Christmas tree gets attacked Pat, with two young cats around, the tree is sure to be an object of real affection....Ho, Ho, Ho!

Hello Kitty....
Graham Storie-Clark enjoys some time with two of his family's three cats. Top photo, Graham with Toonces, Bottom photo, a while back when Graham was sick, his buddy Pussyfoot stayed by his side while he recuperated. 

Nov 27, 2012

MEN OF FILM

This is truly an amzing piece of video. Watch as male stars from the 1920's to current day morph into each other. Even with all today's computer generated effects, putting this video together must have taken a great deal of time. ENJOY

Nov 26, 2012

Nov 24, 2012


TV Legend Larry Hagman Dead at Age 81

Known around the world as J.R. Ewing from CBS TV's Dallas, actor Larry Hagman passed away on November 23, 2012, after a brave battle with cancer. Hagman's longtime friend and TV wife Linda Gray was by his side when he died.

Hagman first came into our living rooms on I Dream of Jeannie, but it was his role as evil J.R.Ewing that most will remember him from. The prime time soap was once TV's highest rated program, especially the season someone aimed a gun at Hagman's character, leaving fans pondering "Who Shot J.R.?" for several months, in one of the best cliffhangers of all time.

Dallas made a spectacular return early last Summer on TNT, with Larry Hagman reuniting with former castmates Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy. The veteran stars were joined by a new generation of Ewings and became a ratings hit, prompting TNT to order a second season, slated to return in January.

With several episodes already completed, the announcement of Hagman's death has producers scrambling to make major storyline changes.

In a bizarre twist, it was one month ago (October 24) that my beloved cat J.R. also passed away. I named him after the Dallas star...his full name was J.R. Ewing-Leavoy.


THE BEST OF J.R. EWING

Nov 22, 2012

Nov 19, 2012


   WE HAVE A WINNER...    
...IN SCRIBBLES BEST COSTUME CONTEST 2012

I must admit, our annual Halloween Costume contest is one of my favourites. It's so cool to see your costumes and then watch as our readers votes come flying in and a winner is selected.  One moment it looks like a certain costume is going to take the prize and then another one suddenly scores big with our voters.

So just WHO was it out of our 10 Costumed Contestants that won the title of Best Costume 2012?  To find out the answer, watch this brief video clip...


FULL STEAM AHEAD...
 Scribbles Reviews The Dunnville Community Theatre's Production of "Curtain Up!"

There's something about watching a live production at the Dunnville Community Theatre that always brings to mind the story of the Little Engine That Could. You know the one...the small train engine who bravely does what the big engines couldn't, carrying a heavy load to the top of the mountain, all the while repeating to itself  "I think I can, I think I can".

In many ways, the Dunnville Community Theatre (DCT) reminds me a lot of that little engine. The close-knit community group may be small and may not have massive resources, but that never seems to stand in the way when it comes to bringing big production values to its slightly weathered stage.

Proof that DCT's vocabulary doesn't include the word "can't" was evident in its latest live show Curtain Up! The British comedy by Peter Quilter tells the story of Michael, a recently deceased theatre owner, who leaves the dilapidated building to the five women in his life, his wife, daughter, mother, ex-wife and secretary. Hilarity follows as the 5 women quarrel over ways of bringing revenue back to the theatre. When Liza Minelli agrees to a one night performance, the ladies are elated at the prospects - that is until the night of the event when Minelli cancels, leaving them scrambling for a way to keep the show from going bust.

Breathing life and believability into the characters were Kathryn Stengel as Michael's wife Pam, Carolyn Jones as his daughter Theresa, Maureen Jones at his mother Betty, Shayna Maloney as secretary Sharon and Julie Turner as ex-wife Jackie.

It didn't take long for the audience to become captivated with the characters as they laughed, cried, danced and aerobicized their way through the clever storyline.

And while each performer held her own, Maureen Jones often stole the scene with impromptu antics which included a birds eye view of what lay beneath her wardrobe. LOL!

In the Curtain Up programme, director (and Scribbles enthusiast) Nancy Erskine [left] referred to the play as a love letter to the theatre.

"It is a communal experience that we share - as artists and audience", says Nancy, "And Curtain Up! exemplifies the joy and spirit the theatre has to offer everyone".

"We can come here and simply be...entertained" she later concluded.

That's something the Dunnville Community Theatre have continued to do for 40 years now. This little engine truly knows it can.....and thankfully for us, shows no sign of running out of steam anytime soon.


DUNNVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE'S NEXT PRODUCTION IS:
"IT CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH" - by Eric Chappell
April 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 2013
(Dinner Theatre April 20th)

AUDITIONS TO BE HELD
January 8th and 10th 2013 from 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Visit DUNNVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE'S WEBSITE -CLICK HERE

Nov 18, 2012


Farewell Fozzie

He was not only Shelley Stewart's pet, he was her partner. Retired guide dog Fozzie passed away on Fri. Nov. 16th at the age of 12 1/2.  Shelley and Fozzie were known as "Wigs and Wags" across Niagara, back in the days when Shelley gave motivational speeches, with a smiling Fozzie by her side.

My most memorable times with Fozzie were when I would gather with Shelley and other friends on Christmas Eve. As became tradition, I would take Fozzie out to attend to business and he loved our brisk walks (although he seemed stumped that unlike his "mom" I could see when he was heading towards something on the ground that he wanted to chomp down on. He'd always give me a puzzled look when I would pull him away from his find, as if to say to me "How did you know?")

No tribute to Fozzie would be complete without reference to the disappearing cheese ball. One year on Christmas Eve, unbenownst to Shelley, Fozzie put an entire spiced cheese ball in his mouth. It was supposed to be for guests to spread on crackers but instead ended up in Fozzie's mouth. I grabbed it out and none of us let on to Shelley (after all it was Christmas time). Shelley would have been none the wiser until a bit later she asked for some of the cheese ball. It was then we told her what had happened. We laughed about that for years to follow.

Although Fozzie had been retired the past few years and Shelley has a new guide companion named Reese, she still remained close to Foz.

On her facebook page Shelley posted this heartfelt message:

"A final wigs and wags for my beloved retired guide, Fozzie who passed away yesterday after spreading his magic for 12.5 yrs. For those who knew him you know what I mean about magic. He will be so missed. MJ, Joel and Cory, I can never thank you enough for giving him love and the best retirement possible...In his honour today should be belly rub day so find a friend,  loved one or stranger and give them a belly rub."

Below is a video clip produced about 4 years ago featuring Shelley and Fozzie.

Shelley, I am indeed sorry for your loss. I really loved Fozzie and will never forget him, our walks and that slimy ball of cheese I retrieved from his mouth. What a great being he was.

 READERS COMMENTS

"Have I told you how amazing Scribbles is today Ken? You are the truly, One of a kind man behind the publication. Your creativity is a gift to all of us friends....keep up the great work buddy!"

-Amy Ballett



KEN REPLIES: It really means a lot to me to hear this Amy. I am going through some very rough stuff right now both physically and emotionally (as I have been for most of this year in fact.) Scribbles is very therapeutic and it sometimes seems like the more depressed and sore I get, the more vibrant and informative what I come up with is. Knowing that you and others are enjoying what you see is like a huge hug and vote of confidence.
TO OUR FRIEND BECKY LEE
Sorry I wasn't feeling well enough to join you at the Stag n' Doe "Grace"
I hope you had a lot of fun (and skipped the diet for the night)

Love "Jack"
XOXO
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in, I am lost...I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again. I can't believe I am in this same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I SEE it is there. I still fall... it's habit, but my eyes are open I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter Five
I walk down another Street.

Thank you to Kim Papple for forewarding this to us.
PHOTO COURTESY: TEIGHLOR DAVIS
  READERS COMMENTS 

"I am really enjoying Scribbles. I'm so glad to have it in my life. It keeps me connected to the world. I was really impressed with the report on Hurricane Sandy by your friend Joanne and of course all the updates on friends and family help me feel connected to everyone. So keep up the good work."

-Kim Papple



Ken Replies: I'm glad that you are glad...LOL. I promise to keep the fun and info coming for you and all my Scribbles friends out there!

BLOWN AWAY
Carrie Underwood

(I totally LOVE this song for a couple of reasons...can you figure out why?)


REMIND ME
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood
  HUMOUR 





"MY FOLK'S YARD"
Painting by Amy Ballett

"MY FOLKS"
Painting by Amy Ballett


Nov 14, 2012

Ja' Make Us Jealous

Welcome back Carrie and Sandi McPaddy, the closerthanthis couple recently enjoyed a much deserved vaca in Jamaica and as we see above, they sure seemed to have enjoyed their stay. 
  READERS COMMENTS 

Hi Kenny

Just checking my e-mail as I do every few days or so. I just love reading my Scribbles. You take me back to yesterdays and bring me up to the present with pictures that touch my heart. Some of them make me smile, some bring tears and some make me laugh out loud.

I can't believe how true you are to all of your readers. Even when you are going through such difficult times as you have over the past several months, you still take the time to bring happiness and hope to all of us.
You truly are an amazing guy. Seriously, you are something else.

Miss and love you very much,  Cousin Jeanne xoxoxox


Ken Replies: Jeanne, your message brightened my day, so much so I have been plugging away at updating Scribbles all morning, thanks to your kind words and inspiration.  I admit it is often difficult these days for me to do as much on Scribbles (or life in general) due to my health issues and I have sometimes wondered why I even bother. Then you send this message and remind me why!  Thank you so much for all your support and just for being you....I love you very much!

Nov 12, 2012


SURVIVING SANDY!
 Scribbles New Jersey Pal Joanne Kildow Describes Life Amidst the Perfect Storm

We've all seen the pictures of the horrendous damage Hurricane Sandy left in her path a few weeks ago, especially in New York and New Jersey.

Our dear friend Joanne Kildow lives in New Jersey and shared her story of what it was like when Sandy made a direct hit, destroying everything in its path.

 EXCLUSIVE TO SCRIBBLES

"It has been quite a week! I worked from home on Monday [Oct. 29] as the weather progressively got worse and finally at about 4pm I sent my last email fearing I might lose power. My son Mark - who has always marched by his own drummer- told me that he found a very cheap generator on Craigslist just by his dads house. Of course I told him not to go as the storm was coming but he decides he's going anyway. 

Meanwhile minutes later I lose power at the house. I am all alone because [my husband] Kent works for Verizon's disaster recovery group and he has to go to work and will be there over night. So it is just me and [my cats] Rocky and Dean....with the 3 flashlights I had the foresight to have prepared. I called Mark's dad again and Mark actually bought the broken generator with the thought that he could fix it, but hearing that I had lost power decided to come home...again even though I told him not to.

The next 40 minutes were the longest of my life as the winds picked up outside and I had the secondary fear that one of the many trees that surround us would come crashing through the house. Mark did make it home although he admits it was scary especially when driving he came upon a downed tree and had to make the snap decision to just drove over it.

Luckily it was small enough for his Ford Explorer to handle. I broke into tears when I saw him. We then spent the night downstairs just listening at the loud sounds of branches fall all around us outside.

For hours we could see some sizable branches fall but nothing too bad ...then all of a sudden we heard the sound of a deep crackling then a loud thump. We could see a huge tree that miraculously fell between and not on any of the houses that were so close all around.

That night was followed by another 3 nights without power until Thursday night as we drove back from my parents where we had a warm meal and I could shower and dry my hair....as we approached the house we could finally see...lights!!

The nights had been chilly but bearable, but the forecast was for increasing cold so getting our heat back was such a relief! I tell you the driving around the streets the sight of these huge trees totally uprooted is surreal. And driving at night with so many traffic lights not working is very dangerous!

When I see the pictures of the damage on the Jersey Shore it is even more catastrophic.

And now we are dealing with the gas shortage ....people are on line for hours to fill up. Mark took my car to a gas station at 2am two nights ago and got right in...but tried again last night with his car at 1am, and again at 3 am and there were huge lines both times. Tonight we found out that Gov. Christie has ordered gas rationing. It is like nothing I could have ever dreamed of!

All in all, I feel very blessed that Mark got home safely, that the big ass tree In my backyard I had trimmed just 2 months ago held up and didn't fall on my house, that Kent has made it back and forth safely to work working crazy hours, that I got my lights back in a reasonable time frame as I look out my back window and see that those neighbors have yet to get their power back."


WOW Joanne, that sends shivers up my spine just thinking about it. So glad you and your loved ones are all ok. I hope life returns to normal soon.  Thanks for sharing your story with Scribbles.