This morning got off to a bit of a slower start as I actually slept in until 9 AM - likely catching up on lots of lost sleep. After he had his breakfast, Alexander and I went to Pioneer Pools to get him some fun pool toys and so I could get some sort of weights to keep our pool ladder (hollow plastic) from floating away.
When we got back we received a panicked phone call from Fran's mom - an animal was stuck in her basement, in one of the vents - it was scratching like mad. So we abandoned our planned grocery store trip to head over there. After half an hour of searching, I finally found (by hearing - the darned thing was quiet for a long time) the manic scratching on the vent leading from the furnace to the chimeny. I got the pipe apart, preping the area with lots of towels and boxes to "trap" the squirrel that I thought was inside, so I could easily catch it and release it. (I may be a horror writer, but I tend to only harm animals and humans in my stories - I'm a people and animal lover and thus try my best not to do harm to the big and small creatures I share this planet with). When I peered inside, these little beady eyes blinked back at me -- it was a bird -- either a sparrow or a finch. It was hard to tell because it was dark and the thing was covered with soot (it's an oil burning furnace). After a bit of prodding, I was able to get the poor little guy out (not without a minor chase through the basement once it got out of the furnace vent) and free again.
Then I enjoyed a nice Lakeport Pilsner, thinking back to how the other day, in an attempt to crash in on Lakeport's market share (Lakeport is a wonderful Hamilton-based brewery that has finally gotten a brand into the top ten sellers at Ontario's The Beer Store), Labatt's had a bunch of scantily clad women walking around downtown Hamilton dressed as the Honey-bees or something like that to promote Labatt's new Genuine Honey beer. It's a blatant attempt to hone in on the market Lakeport secured with their wonderful Lakeport Honey Lager, but Lakeport's beer is still $1.00 cheaper, and they have my loyalty, for providing a smooth tasting beer at fair, fair prices. Teresa Cascioli, the President of Lakeport, has done a marvellous job of introducing great tasting brands like Lakeport Honey and Brava (a home-brewed mexican-style beer much better priced than Corona) , among others, and giving this local bewery a fighting chance against the big boys like Labatt's and Molson. Yeah, I still have a soft spot in my heart for Molson, but it has started to wane ever since they sold out to that non-Canadian Adolf Coors company. (Coors, I was never all that fond of, although their commercials are funny, and as for Adolf, there's something about that name that makes me not want to like it) Three cheers for Lakeport!
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