There was a TV commercial that, if we recall correctly, had an awesome trick to tying shoelaces. But, it all happened so fast, we were never sure if it was really a good method, or just an illusion.
No fear. A mom in Sylvan Lake, right here in Alberta, has a real way of tying shoes. Her young son was having trouble so she taught him this method. The online address is way too long, but if you go to cbc.ca and search for “Sylvan Lake mom shoelaces” you should get it.
And you might help out a child someplace.

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Big Lakes County isn’t the only government struggling with trailers and campers. A lot owner at Pigeon Lake south of Edmonton is warned he has too many recreational units on his family property.
The owner says the units, four of them, are all owned by his brothers and sisters and they are all “good citizens” as far as not being trouble makers or noisy.
But, this fellow went further in a TV interview. He says the local government, with their short-sighted policies, are actually driving business away from local stores. The camper says businesses are already closing because of lack of business.
Plus, “the water in Pigeon is so bad, you can’t swim in it for most of the year because of the algae problems.”
Not to mention fishing isn’t very good. The fellow also says taxes are too high for the services they get.
“You would think they would be trying to encourage people to camp here. Instead, they are driving them away,” he says.
Which is OK with us! We say come to northern Alberta! Great fishing on Lesser Slave Lake! Actually quite clean water considering the warm weather we had. Definitely way better than most Alberta lakes these days. Plus, there are lots of camping spots. Yup, it’s all just a little bit of heaven around here!

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We happened to be checking out the Town of High Prairie official website at highprairie.ca, and noticed a warning to drivers in town.
The warning says that 53 Avenue [also known as Highway 2 through town] is officially a two-lane road, not a four-lane. People driving around on the left of vehicles that are stopped and making a left turn but waiting for traffic, is not allowed. Neither is making right turns at either set of traffic lights, as in, when a vehicle ahead is waiting for the light, and a driver pulls alongside and then turns right and heads on his or her merry way.
The fine for this is supposed to be $233.
Just for the record, we think there should be better notice of this if someone is actually going to start passing out tickets. Or maybe, it’s best to just keep ignoring all the drivers doing it. After all, it is a wide road, and it helps keep traffic moving along.
Of course, it might be a problem if some driver has an accident.
On top of that, is this even a Town of High Prairie problem? This is a provincial highway and might not come under local law.

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Another idea that came up on CBC was to start putting advertising on our paper money. You know, ads for car companies or airlines on our $5 and $10 and $20 bills.
Well, OK. It was actually a fake news story on one of the comedy shows. But seriously, does the idea have merit? Would a fiver start being called a “Jimmy” if it had General Motors on it? Or a tenspot a “Toughie” if it had a Dodge or Ford?
That’s what happened to our loonie, when it came out with a bird on it. On the other hand, nobody calls a $2 coin anything but a toonie no matter what is on it.
Nah, we probably won’t be seeing this idea soon.

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In between spells of rain, we are enjoying the sight of geese flying south and leaves changing colour and falling. Actually, all the indications fall is upon us.