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 ---Ask GammiHello Everyone, My family and friends come to me constantly looking for solutions to their everyday problems. I give them good solid doses of common sense advice that some may or may not like. There is a lot of whining and crying going on over things that can be fixed so easily. One hundred years I have been on this earth and I feel I have pretty much heard it all. So if you think you can handle what I may have to say I'd love to hear from you. Be warned that some answers will not be easy to swallow. It may feel like taking medicine, it may taste bad at first but you'll be better off in the end. Send your questions to Gary at Capreolonline and I'm sure I will get them. I'm going to put on a nice pot of tea and sit in my comfortable chair and enjoy the view from my window as I wait to hear from you. |
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Love Gammi,'s column. Good advice. We could use her words of wisdom here in Mich. GVC velcrodoge@sbcglobal.net February 5, 2012Dear Gammi, Now we have those new smart meters on our homes I am a bit concerned as to when they are supposed to turn them on? Have you heard anything about this? My brother in southern Ontario down near London had his turned on without proper clear notice and his first hydro bill was very high. In fact the bill was hundreds of dollars higher than normal. When his wife phoned they just told her that her meter was now in operation and had been for some time. I would hate to have that happen to us here. I know you do talk and know a lot of people in town Gammi. Have you heard in your conversations with others about when our meters are going to be in operation? Ralph Dear Ralph, Oddly enough I have heard something about this. I can’t confirm it but I guess a phone call to hydro could get to the bottom of this. My friend’s son-in-law went to pay his hydro bill here at the library and he was told that they were turned on for Capreol on January first. If this is true and people weren’t told we had better all get busy using the cheap hours or we will have a bigger bill. I hope that helps and maybe we should all be inquiring and paying a bit more attention to this. No one needs any surprises when the bills do come in. Everything is getting so expensive. Gammi Dear Gammi,
October 17, 2011 Dear Gammi, I hear the political pundants still discussing the low voter turnout for Ontario and it was bad again in our area. Well perhaps part of the reason could be what happened to us is happening to a lot more people and no one is saying anything about it. This year I discovered a few days before the election that we hadn’t received our voter’s card in the mail. My husband thought I put it somewhere and I thought he did ‘til we figured it out. This is the first time in over thirty years that we felt like we weren’t a part of the process. In the end we didn’t vote for the first time in over forty years. We already knew how the vote was going to go in Nickel Belt anyhow. The same as it always does. I might add that is so unlike either one of us. I think we could have voted by presenting ID but in the end the exercise seemed futile anyhow. I wonder how many others felt the same way as we did. Anne Dear Anne, Well I know of one other couple who didn’t receive their voting card this time round as well, another couple got two each. When they inquired they were told that there were a lot of mistakes made in our riding this time. You were just one of them. Of course the person who told them that said she wasn’t supposed to say anything about this to them or anyone. The Elections Ontario office for our riding was moved to Chelmsford for this election. Maybe there were a lot of new people at the helm this time. I think maybe there were fewer mistakes when they came door-to-door to put you on the voter’s list and posted it so you could see if you were really on the list. It would be another headache if someone decides to remove people who didn’t vote from the future list completely. Let’s not go there. Gammi August 13, 2011 Dear Gammi, I just had to write you back to tell you how happy I am to see that the powers-that-be have actually paved the Radar Road. It is such a smooth relaxing ride down it now. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is super pleased about this improvement. I’m sure it had nothing to do with me complaining but at this point I am just relieved to be able to use that road again to get into New Sudbury without worrying about damaging my car. Now let’s cross our fingers and our eyes, wish on a star and do whatever we can in the hopes that the road into town will the next one they will repair properly. No more filling in the holes, pave it. I moved to Capreol over thirty years ago and they had just finished paving the road that we now have. It is time to do this again, isn’t it? Happy Beth Dear Happy Beth, Gammi June 12, 2011 Dear Gammi, Recently we had to put two thousand dollars of repairs on our relatively new car. The front end bushings and the struts were finished. I know this was caused by our lousy roads. The Radar Road at this end is just a constant bang, bang of ruts as you drive it. I see people drive in the center of it to save their cars when there is no oncoming traffic. Beth Dear Beth, I have to agree with you, I am starting to notice the road into Capreol getting worse every time my son takes me for a drive or to an appointment. I do believe that road was newly paved over thirty years ago now. I heard the pot repair patrol have worked on it recently. Still that doesn’t stop the damage from the cuts they have made to supposedly repair the road. It is like driving on the ties of a railway line rather than pavement. This is so hard over time on our expensive vehicles. No compensation for those costs! I guess as long as we are quiet and don’t complain loudly nothing will be done about it. I would suggest that we voice our complaints loud and clear to the powers that be consistently. After all we pay taxes too. I’m an old timer and I remember when the road out of town was a dirt road. There was no Radar Road and we had to take a farm road through the valley. A trip to Sudbury then was an all day affair. You had to pack a lunch. It was terrible if you had to drive that road after a good rainfall. It was muddy and the chances of you getting stuck along the way were pretty good. However, that was a long time ago. To think that in this day and age we are still experiencing a bad road out of town when other parts of our area are getting new pavement and have better roads doesn’t seem fair to me. It seems like a step backward. Gammi March 19, 2011 Dear Gammi, February 19, 2011 Gammi January 15, 2011 Dear Gammi, Bill As a matter of fact I have heard about getting coffee in paper cups in the coffee shop. I believe the only thing that can be put in a recycle bin from that is the lid. I don't think they accept the paper cups. Lord knows why not. I hope I'm wrong about that. My guess is sometimes they empty the old pots a lot in the drive-through. They know you will be home or far enough away that you won't likely bring it back. It is like most things today, it's the luck of the draw. Anyhow, everyone in business is cutting corners. I have heard that the price of coffee is going to go up quite a bit so brace for another increase in cost. Probably the owners want to cut down waste in spite of the old promise of a new pot every fifteen minutes. We don't hear that advertised anymore do we? In my day there was no such thing as meeting your friends by dropping into a coffee shop. We met with our neighbours and friends for coffee or tea in our homes and had great visits and lots of laughs. If we thought that we needed coffee when away from home we brought a thermos of it with us. Now that just shows you how out of the loop I am when it comes to coffee shops. I just don't get it. Gammi October 24, 2010 Dear Gammi, of us walking their dog on the roadway. I couldn't understand why until we took a good look at the sidewalk we were walking on. There were pieces of broken glass all over the place. I wouldn't walk any pet of mine on that sidewalk either. I don't know who is doing this but even as we crossed over to the adjoining sidewalk the broken glass continued. What if a child was running and tripped and landed on some of the larger pieces? Gammi is there anyone responsible for cleaning up these awful messes? Sandy Dear Sandy, A friend of mine told me about seeing the glass the other day as she walked to church. I wish whoever is doing this would stop it, as you say someone is going to get hurt. When we were the Town of Capreol and on our own our town work crew used to get out there and clean up things like this. I don't know how much luck one would have phoning to Sudbury about it. I suppose that is who you would have to complain to. If those who live along this street know the glass is there in front of their homes and wouldn't mind taking a broom and cleaning it up, that would be a great help. However, we pay enough taxes here that we shouldn't have to be doing this on our own. Good luck with this problem. Gammi September 27, 2010 I wonder if any of your readers have ever said anything about how badly the road to our town is falling apart. I was driving home the other night and I could hardly tell which side of the road belonged to me. It was especially evident on that awful curve by the railway tracks. The paint alongside the road and in the middle is so badly faded you can?t even see it. This problem is hardly the worst thing, it also becomes rougher every spring. However, meeting those awful big trucks on that curve makes me cringe. I just want to get home safely, not become a dare devil driver dodging trucks on curves. Any ideas how we could get some action on making repairs and getting the lines repainted. Tom Dear Tom, I am so old that I can remember taking that road into Sudbury when it was a dirt farm road. There was hardly any room for passing and you could get stuck in mud and puddles after a good rain. A trip into Sudbury back then took us half the day one way. However, now I have heard complaints from drivers about the invisibility of the road markings on it. Most of the complaints however are about the sad shape it is quickly falling into. I believe the last time it was freshly paved was well over thirty years ago. I haven?t met one person who is happy about the big mining trucks that are constantly on our road or others in this area either. I did hear a complaint on an early morning talk show about our road. The given solution was to put our road on the list of the worst roads and maybe we would get some action. I don?t think so. We pay more in taxes than we ever have and we need our road to be safe just like anywhere else in this area. I can only offer that we should start voicing our discontent to our politicians. It?s been my experience that the one?s who make the most noise get results. Good Luck with this. Gammi September 4, 2010 Dear Gammi, something I have done since childhood. In the past few years I have run into many berry pickers in my favourite patches. These people are using hand rakes on the plants. They strip the bushes clean. After talking to them they let me know they didn't care if they were destroying the wild crops. They were brought in by people from down south and all they wanted was the money and fast. Do you know if there are any laws that could stop this practice from happening in our area? Dave Dear Dave, Oh that is terrible. I have heard others talk about this happening. In fact a friend of mine was up in the New Liskard area and was talking to a woman who was selling her berries and she said it is happening in her area as well. I don?t know of any laws that protect our wild blueberries so we who love them had better start writing letters to our local governments and others. This could be a hard practice to get rid of but we should voice our discontent for sure. If we do nothing soon we won?t have our lovely berries. If the crop isn?t completely destroyed by this practice it will take years and years before it becomes a good crop again. How sad. Gammi June 23 Dear Gammi, May 16, 2010 Dear Gammi,I love my Grandson dearly but ever since his parents gave him one of those new phones that do everything but make his breakfast I feel as though I have lost him. When he comes to visit and we sit down at the table to have one of our heart-to-heart conversations I am constantly put on hold should that phone beep and a text message come in. I can’t tell you how annoying this is to me. Have you any advice for me as to how I should handle this situation? Gert Dear Gert, Boy that is certainly annoying and there is nothing worse than feeling as though you are less important than a phone. You are not the only person who has this complaint. It seems that manners are seriously lacking in this age of the phone. You could ask him to turn it off while you talk and if that isn’t an option when the phone goes off just get up and get busy doing something else. See how he likes being left in the lurch especially if you were in the midst of offering him something he wanted. I talked to one Grandmother who was complaining about never being able to reach her granddaughter for their weekly phone calls. She decided that if she couldn’t reach her maybe she needed a new phone that had text messages as well. It worked for her. No matter where her granddaughter is she can always reach her with a text message. I guess that is giving into the old saying if you can’t beat them join them. Maybe you need to get a phone and text your grandson from across the table. Good luck with this problem. Gammi Dear Gammi, January 10, 2009 Dear Gammi, Dcember 12, 2009 Dear Gammi,I often entertain over the Christmas season. I was wondering if it is impolite to request that my guests not bring a gift and instead donate to one of their favourite charities. I’m just not sure if this would be a case of bad manners or not. Beth Dear Beth, You know when I was young we never had to worry about anything like this. When we got together with friends and neighbours we just brought ourselves and our best wishes. Sometime we would bring a dish or baking to contribute to the occasion. Then afterwards a nice thank you note would be appropriate. I’m thinking that maybe you should perhaps say nothing. If some of your guests bring a hostess gift just put it aside to be opened later so that those who just bring themselves won’t feel they have done something wrong. Just make sure you thank them appropriately for their thoughtfulness then and if you like follow up with a thank you note. To my mind if you ask people to make a donation instead of bringing a gift you are giving the impression that you expect something, in a way asking them to pay for the evening. It is after all their money. They may already be supporting a favourite charity during the Christmas season anyway. It was so simple in my day and wouldn’t it be nice to return there once again. I hope this helps or at least gives you something to think about. Gammi October 29, 2009 Dear Gammi, ATV’s damaging the grass and our track at the park. I wonder if you have any thoughts on what could be done to prevent this from happening? Rose Dear Rose, asked some of my fellow neighbours and friends for ideas. They came up with one idea that I think might help to keep cars off there. We think they should put some more of those beautiful large rocks around where they vehicles are getting onto the field to stop them. We know that the city truck needs to be able to get to the field house but they could put them in such a way that the truck could still get there without having everyone else get onto the field. We hope this idea helps to save our park. I’m sure others have some good ideas too. Gammi September 13, 2009 Dear Gammi, December 1, 2008 Gammi October 26, 2009 Dear Gammi,My husband and I are newlyweds. We saved our money and forfeited having a large expensive wedding on our special day. We took the money and bought all new furniture and appliances for our new home. My problem is we bought ourselves the very latest out there in washing machines and dryers. You know the ones that are front loaders and come in a selection of colours. We bought the most expensive ones on the market. The problem is now I notice that the washing machine has an awful odour to it. This mouldy smell hits me every time I open the door to do another load of washing. My question is, do you think we would be able to return this machine? We did buy extra warranty on it but we don’t know what to do about this. Gammi have you ever had to return any large purchases that you were not satisfied with? What can we do about this problem? Sara Dear Sara. Well back in my day of purchasing washing machines we never had this kind of a problem at all. Things were well build and they lasted so long that you sometimes wished they would break down so you could get something new. If you haven’t left one of your husband’s sweaty sports socks in the machine wet I think I can solve your problem. One of my grandsons works in the appliance repair business and I think I have a solution for your problem Sara. John told me that this is a common problem with those front loading washing machines. He said the seal on the door is so tight that the interior of the washing machine never completely dries out. They use less water so the machine never really gets to wash out the mould from your laundry. You need to leave that door open between washes so that you don’t have this problem, especially if you are only doing a few washes a week. He also told me that there is a product out there on the market that will clean up the machine. All you need to do is run an empty load through with hot water and this product and your problem will be solved. I don’t know the name of this product but I bet a phone call to your dealer will clear that up. Back in my day the few appliances that I had didn’t sound as complicated as this on does. What you saw was what you got. Good luck and all the best in your new life together. Gammi September 21, 2008 happen. I was going down the main aisle when a young teenager stepped out in front of me. Then he stayed there to chat with someone he knew. I waited as long as I could stand to then I asked if he would excuse me as well as the number of people with their shopping carts that had piled up behind me. His mother was nearby and took offense to my loud “excuse me” I suppose. If looks could kill I would be dead. That wasn’t the end of it she made some nasty remarks to her teenage son about me as I finally got by them. I kept my mouth shut and went on my way but Gammi should I have said something or was I right to walk away? Upset Dear Upset, system as a subject. I guess others have noticed that a lot of parents lack manners too. Gammi August 16, 2008 Dear Gammi, July 19 2008 Dear Gammi, other day that I remembered my grandmother making a lot of her own cleaners. Would you happen to know something about that topic? I wish now that I had paid a lot more attention to what she was doing. Beth Dear Beth, Heavens yes! I too use a lot of things from my kitchen cupboard to clean my house. There are too many to mention but here’s a good one that I remember making. It’s a recipe for homemade window cleaner. Mix ¼ cup of white vinegar and ¼ cup of ammonia into a bucket half filled with warm water. Fill several spray bottles or plant misters and you’ll have an excellent cleaner for windows. If you want to give it that professional look just add a drop of blue food colouring or a few drops of lemon extract to each container and shake well. That should give you a good supply. This should save you money and help the environment. Good luck. Gammi June 2, 2008 Dear Gammi,Every year once the black flies arrive followed by mosquitoes I am confined to the indoors again. Unfortunately I am very allergic to the mosquito repellents that are on the market. I have to cover up and wear those mosquito nets over my face if I want to go out into my yard. Have you any suggestions of anything I can do to make my problem easier? I am desperate Gammi. Maureen Dear Maureen, Oh, that must be a miserable problem to have. I have heard that Skin So Soft that is sold by Avon works great for some people. Also I have recently heard that Listerine is another way to get rid of those pests. Don’t put it on you but spray around where you are sitting outside or around your deck or around your windows or doors. In fact spray it around anything where you are when you are outdoors. I’m going to get myself a spray bottle and fill it up and try it out myself. Last year while I was sitting out one evening I got some bites around my eyes from those tiny pests and I had shiners that closed both my eyes and lasted for days. Makes one wonder how something so small can cause so much damage. Good luck with this. Let me know if this works for you. Gammi May 10, 2008 Dear Gammi, Mother’s Day. She is in her seventies now and tells me she doesn’t need anything. There must be something that she I can give her that would make her happy. Fred Dear Fred, You know flowers are nice and so are the cards and other gifts but once a parent March 31, 2008 Dear Gammi, heard of an explanation of why April 1st is celebrated as such? Curious Dear Curious, Well yes I am old but I'm not ancient yet. I hope to be someday if I play my cards right. Well now that that is out of the way I have heard one story that seems to make sense. However, I haven't researched it and I don't think I will In the 1500's, see I didn't hear about this by word of mouth, April 1st use to be New Year's Day. Then someone decided to change that to January 1st. It is said that there were people who did not take kindly to this change and continued to celebrate New Year's Day as April 1st. Gradually acceptance was inevitable and others began to refer to the April 1st diehards as Fools. Those who accepted this change started to play jokes on those who staunchly believe in leaving April as the beginning of the year. Thus April 1st became April fool's day. I hope that helps. Gammi February 23, 2008 Dear Gammi, I have watched people get testy about where they put their shoveled snow for years now especially once it starts to accumulate. We all look around for somewhere to put it. I have noticed that people suddenly become unconcerned about others they normally treat with respect. There's one thing I see going on around town that really raises my ire more than anything. That is when I witness people getting their driveways plowed and the fellow operating the truck takes the snow and pushes it across the road onto the growing snow bank in front of the neighbour's house across the street. Gammi, do you know if this is legal? A concerned snow shoveler. Dear Concerned, To me that is a terrible thing to do to one's neighbours. Why should the fellow on the other side of the street have to contend with his own snow plus the snow from the people that live across the street. Good grief that would be aggravating. I would think if that wasn't an illegal act that it should be, if nothing else it's inconsiderate. One way to find out is to call city's help number 311 and see if they can give you that information. Lucky me I don't have to be bothered with snow removal anymore. I'm more concerned with other things now like am I going to get up in the morning. Good Luck. Gammi February 2, 2008 Dear Gammi Gammi |
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