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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 21, 2013 | 10 T his week, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our epic uprooting, our momentous migration, our monumental metamorphosis from savvy city slickers to naïve country folk (rubes in reverse, if you will). Ah, one decade of self-imposed exile from city life -- and civilization. Wow, where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday my wife Detailing a decade spent in exile just north of nowhere began her shameless campaign of coercion to make me leave the home and city I loved and move to the country. Because, you see, we owned two horses and she had visions of procuring a pastoral property upon which we could provide those horses with a stable home. I was not onboard with this plan. In fact, I was utterly, vehemently, and in all That's Life Andy Juniper Guest Contributor Start a career with hands-on training. APPLY NOW FOR 2014 START DATES! February 24, 2014 Electrical Training Program (22 weeks) March 10, 2014 Industrial Millwright/Machinist (22 weeks) April 14, 2014 Home Renovation Program (26 weeks) For more information, call 905.333.3499 x121 or visit wannatrade.ca Chris, Home Renovation Program Weekend Closure November 30 - December 1, 2013 Lakeshore West GO Train Line The City of Toronto is removing the Dufferin Street bridge and in order to do it quickly and safely, GO needs to shut down train service on the Lakeshore West line. There will be no GO Train service on the Lakeshore West line from: Saturday, November 30, 2:00 a.m. -- Monday, December 2, 2:00 a.m. Regular service will resume as of 5:00 a.m. on Monday, December 2. The GO Buses that normally connect to trains in Hamilton will also be cancelled during this time. Bus service between Niagara and Burlington will run between Niagara and Hamilton instead. other ways opposed. I believe my exact words were: "Move to the country? Over my dead body." So, we moved to the country. Mind you, not before we found a property that we both fell in love with, and a home over which we were `gaga'. We sold our city house, crated our stuff and moved to what our kids were sure was 10 minutes north of nowhere. We were of cially sh out of water. City slickers in over our heads. The rst thing I did when I became a `country dude' was buy a truck. I mean, what self-respecting country dude doesn't own a truck? I can't recall my exact rationale -- I believe I told my wife at some point I might need to haul hay, transport manure, or something. Regardless, I bought the biggest, baddest, blackest truck imaginable. It was a purchase that ultimately caused me untold humiliation. There was the time in Toronto when I spent an hour in a crowded parking lot attempting to dock that oversized boat. Oh, and then there was the time I was driving my daughter's friends to a birthday party and one of the little nose miners asked me if my truck had a "hemi." My awkward silence assured her this wanna-be country dude didn't even know what the heck a "hemi" is. My second purchase was a John Deere riding mower. Best. Purchase. Ever. I came to spend untold quality, contemplative hours atop that `hog'. Heck, I'm now on hog No. 2, having run the original into the ground in frequent tries to tame the acreage. Ten years. Gone in the blink of an eye. While I never actually got around to hauling hay, or transporting manure, I did come around to looking after horses. As my wife's pubic relations company grew, her spare time shrank and I took over the daily care of the horses. And, I've fallen madly in love four times, which just happens to be the number of horses we've provided with stable homes. Horses aside, when we moved here we wondered if we'd encounter wild life. Well, deer wander across our property. Wild turkeys come calling -- literally pecking at our front door. Oh, and countless creatures have taken up residence between the walls of our house. Infernal infestations are indeed a part of country living. Still, I have no regrets. I love it up here. It's been a great adventure. Granted, of late, my wife has been making noises about one day selling the property, buying a condo, and transforming ourselves back into savvy city slickers. Yeah right. Over my dead body. -- Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@ gmail.com, found on Facebook and Twitter . What You Need to Know Shades of Joy $ 200* Manufacturer's Rebate when you purchase Silhouette®, Duette® or Vignette® shades with LiteRise® The Alternatives To help get you to where you need to go, we will be running trains on our Milton line all weekend. Most Milton line GO stations are not too far from Lakeshore West stations. We're also increasing bus service on our Hamilton-Toronto Express route. We understand the inconvenience this may cause our customers and thank you for your patience while we work with the City of Toronto to complete this important project. For schedule information please visit gotransit.com. 416 869 3200 1 888 GET ON GO (438 6646) TTY 1 800 387 3652 Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez visiter le site gotransit.com ou composer un des numéros ci-dessus. Thank You Every qualifying purchase helps children in need get closer to their wish. In the spirit of the holiday season, we at Hunter Douglas have partnered with The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada to turn wishes into reality. WINTEX WINDOW COVERING INC. Showroom: 3065 Ridgeway Dr. Unit 41, Mississauga Tel: 905-607-9988 · 416-305-1828 · Open 7 days: 10:30am-7pm BURNHAMTHORPE LAIRD RD . 41 WINSTON CHIURCHILL DRAPERIES · SHUTTERS · BLINDS · SHADES · ACCESSORIES RIDGEWAY DR VEGA 403 DUNDAS STREET W. Purchase any combination of 4 Silhouette,® Duette® or Vignette® shades with LiteRise® between September 1 and December 15, 2013 and receive a $200 manufacturer's rebate. Also, when you purchase any number of these additional shades you'll receive an extra $40 for each.To learn more about LiteRise,® please visit hunterdouglas.ca. Valid at participating dealers only. *Shades of Joy manufacturer's rebate will be issued in the form of a Hunter Douglas Prepaid American Express® Gift Card. THE PROMOTION CARD is a trademark of Hunt Diversified Marketing Inc. All Rights Reserved. THE PROMOTION CARD is a Prepaid American Express® Card issued by Amex Bank of Canada. ® Used by Amex Bank of Canada under license from American Express.