Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

 

Last night my son posted this on his Facebook page:

Eating kale-stuffed chicken balls admiring the beauty of the 2016 Lancer GTS in octane blue. The tires should be shined. But I’m not mad!!! How’s your night going?! #mitsubishi #lancer #lancergts#ftw #chickenballs #mitsubishimotors — at Motorhouse Mitsubishi.

Chicken-Stuffed Kale or Kale Stuffed Whatever Balls???? I am not a fan of kale, and I certainly didn’t make him for it, but all the more power to him UNTIL this afternoon when I got a call:

“We sold your car Mum– come bring it in.”

Well, if anyone didn’t know what it looked like it was pink! It just screamed me! Which suits me more? The pink car, or the red Outlander. I will give you this thumbs up though— the Outlander has Sirius radio in there LOL.

Before

 

After

So I figure it was the kale he ate last night that got him all motivated. After all, it’s got a lot of texture, and tastes like dirt and unhappiness. (except for Jennifer Fenwick Irwin’s salad)

And for the love of murgatroyd please don’t tell me: “Homemade Kale “Chips” made with a tiny bit of olive oil, lemon and salt are so delicious”!

After all, I know what most of you are really up too, but will never dare say out loud.

Most of you probably have a bag of Kale in your freezer (yes, I am looking at you). Not because you use it a lot-BUT you buy it because you THINK you should, and then you never use it. So its always there. 🙂

One thing my son the car dealer can say truthfully is that the last owner was DEFINITELY “a little old lady from Carleton Place”. Goodbye car– see you on the other side! So please, to all those that wave at me in my former little pink car–be careful–as it’s not me LOL

Go Granny Go Granny Go Granny Go!

This was a public safety announcement to all those that wave at pink cars.

 

Motorhouse 

10446 Hwy 7

Carleton Place, Ontario

(613) 253-5550

http://www.motorhouse.com/

 

RELATED READING

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

 

Remembering Sand in the Trunk and Radial Tires

Photo from the files of The Carleton Place Canadian from the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum

Two weeks ago thanks to Russ at Motorhouse Mitshubishi I got my winter tires on my car. As I listened to the roar of the heavier tires, and watched them throw my tire sensor system out of whack, I had to laugh at some old memories.

My late husband Angelo used to argue that winter tires were “for people from Toronto who have to call in the army to shovel the sidewalks when it snows.”  That was until one day he backed down  my father’s snowy Quebec driveway and removed part of his fence. Not content with believing his Delta 88 could do such a thing he attempted to reverse again, only this time he hit the mailbox.

When I overheard Ange tell my oldest son Sky years ago to get his head out of his you-know-what and put some winter tires on his car I just smiled and kept my mouth shut.

My late father Arthur Knight always insisted that you keep bags of sand in the trunk for traction in case you got stuck in the winter. His 70s Ford Pinto was loaded to the brim with bags of salt, and when I went to visit him he insisted in tossing in more in my trunk.  It was supposed to add weight, and if I ever got stuck, the sand could be used for traction he said. I never actually got stuck, so I never had to use the sand. Somehow I doubt that a couple of sandbags add or subtract anything meaningful to the traction of a vehicle that already weighs a few tons when empty, plus a few hundred pounds with a driver and passenger.

Every year AAA (auto club) publishes advice for winter driving and putting sand or litter in the back of a rear wheel drive car is always on the list. I personally prefer cat litter because it’s relatively inexpensive (non clumping, non scented) and provides decent traction.

When I was a kid everyone had had snow tires.  It was only in the 80s that people got stupid and bought into the “all season” foolishness.

We’ve all heard someone say.

“I’ve been driving 50 years and have never needed winter tires…”

 

What are they really saying?

“I’m in total control of my ride at all times, and the rest of you morons can’t be bothered.”

 

I have yet to meet a driver who can command the elements, predict within inches where their vehicle will halt on black ice, and somehow prophesy the actions of other motorists. Like me, when I slid off Fallowfield Road years ago and sat in the ditch with a German Shepherd sitting shotgun for an hour. Now that’s another story!

 

 

Henry Code-Ah, but the sand for weight was significant in the days of rear wheel drive, because most of the weight was in the front. I can well remember in my youth,the only way I get up an icy hill (not having heeded my father’s advice about the sand) was to have a couple of my friends climb into the trunk to put some weight over the back wheels.

 

The Benefits of Having a Large Human Chassis for Traction

 

It’s What My Son Said….

This morning I read something my son, the Mitsubishi dealer, wrote on Facebook and all I heard in my mind was:

 

My son Schuyleur began..

“One of the reasons I bought a Mitsubishi franchise last year was to increase my service business. I figured the warranty work alone would be enough to keep us busy in the back”

What the heck is that all about my boy? You need more adjectives– be more expressive!  Where the heck are the photos?  To me, all this is like saying:

“If Apple made a car would it have Windows?” 

“In our first month we performed four warranty jobs ??????. (Bad for us. Good news for the consumer)”.

I agree, but people should know about your compassion in hiring staff. There are not many places your 16-month-old niece Sophia could get a mechanics job.

What most people would be more interested in is that you began your journey in the car business at an early age– and you kept on no matter who you accidentally ran over. 

“Mitsubishi wasn’t a brand I paid much attention to in the last 9 years being in the car business and being a huge car buff”.

Car buff indeed. There is one thing you can’t fool the Seccaspina brothers with- and that is cars. They know what’s going on LOL. Please see the grey hairs on top of my head as an example.

Check your engine? Yup, it’s still there. Trust us!

Schuyleur changed his horn on his new ride to gun shot sounds- people move out of the way much faster now.

Perry picks a $1,000 Mitsubishi Eclipse and mods the sh*t out of it and wins Race the Runway 2015. When a bird has the audacity to poop on his Mitsubishi – he just eats a huge plate of scrambled eggs in front of them to show them what he is capable of.

 

 

“Having dealt with Mitsubishi now for almost eight months, I see why they have such a loyal customer base. The value is there, the reliability is there and seeing what these things command at auctions (resale value) is wild”.

Here is a photo of Schuyleur and his pals at a car auction many years ago. I believe it was held at the Caldwell Elementary School right here in Carleton Place.  There was obviously a fierce bidding war going on by the looks of it. Bet there was a Mitsubishi  involved. These guys don’t look like they drive fast- they probably just fly low.

“I obviously am now biased, but I wish I knew a few years ago what I know now. I would have had less ‘come backs’ when I was an independent used car dealer carrying a few more Mitsu’s.”

Sky, tell people how honest you are in what you do or sell. A perfect example is the picture above and what he is telling friends outside the sand dunes:

“Heh guys-it’s not a Mitsubishi, but this colour is so hot right now- and I’ll even throw in free 30 day free towing! It’s guaranteed to drive the Lanark County ladies wild!”

 

“The marketing may not be where it should be, but having owned different brands over the last number of years (exotic cars included) I can say Mitsubishi is a VERY strong product.”

 

As your mother knows with writing, marketing is like those offensive cigarette labels. Is anyone really listening or understanding what you say?

Tell people how you go the extra mile, and when your old pal Michelangelo from Ninja Turtles was not available for marketing — you finally dragged out the Storyland Bunny you had kept in hiding for three years. That has got to bring them in! Bet you those Mitsubishi  head honchos are impressed with that bunny! LOL

 

“They don’t throw a 10 year warranty on the cars so the dealer can fix them. Trust me!”

The above pictures says it all to me.

 

“Those that know me know that I call a spade a spade. Take my obviously-now biased review as you will”.

So I guess I can put everything Sky said about Mitsubishi in one image. That’s it – that’s all- no fancy words needed as the point will come across instantly. This is how your Mother would sell a Mitsubishi. Hell yeah!

 

I Love you both forever until I die- and if there is life after that, I’ll still love you both then.

Merry Christmas Perry and Sky. Your Dad is watching over you both.

 

We miss you Ange

Motorhouse Mitsubishi

10446 Hwy 7

Carleton Place, Ontario

(613) 253-5550

http://www.motorhouse.com/

 

Related reading:

RELATED READING

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

 

 

There are Places I Remember—-Photo Essay

There are places I remember all my life though some have changed, Some forever, not for better- some have gone and some remain.”

The Beatles

Please play while viewing photo

ALL PHOTOS BY LINDA SECCASPINA

I remember the joys of playing with friends and somehow gaining or losing a few as the summer breeze edged through the days.

This chair remembers the stories my Grandmother used to tell as we sat  and rocked the hours away on a hot summer night.

Each week held a different imaginary friend,  when you couldn’t find your own. Sometimes they lived in the sky or under the bed.

We went to the park once a week and listened to evening bands playing John Philip Sousa while my father sat inches away, drumming his fingers on a paint peeled bench.

Before the Internet, we built playhouses and weird things in trees from odd lumber and other things people did not want.

On Friday nights  we all went to the Drive-In on a hot summer night in Richford, Vermont. My sister and I spied on teenagers kissing in cars and cried during Bambi and Old Yeller.

When I was 9 I began to  ask a lot of questions and create ghost stories. I typed them up on my Grandfather’s old typewriter and made copies with carbon paper that left black fingerprints everywhere.

We used to go to the corner store to buy a cold bottles of Orange Crush, and when we walked by the local haunted house we dared friends to go look inside the windows.

Some days we walked down railroad tracks and listened to our echos in the tunnel and felt the vibrations of a train coming down the tracks and then ran as fast as we could.

On very hot humid days our neighbour would come out with a huge enamel white bowl trimmed in  red  filled with cut cold oranges for us to eat.

After dinner we would drive down the country roads with the car windows wide open.  Our ears would be glued to WABC in New York City on the radio as we could only listen to “Cousin Brucie” when the radio waves were stronger at night.

We played cowboys and indians and bought red caps for our guns to “shoot” our friends with. We never once thought anything was politically incorrect.

Some days we used to go to the river and search for polliwogs and minnows  to put in empty jam or jelly jars. After we caught them we made holes in the lid so they could breathe;  but they always ended up dying.

Some afternoons we would sit on the sidewalk eating Popsicles or ice cream and then save the sticks to build houses for  the small toys we got in the Crackerjack box.

The dark clouds of a summer storm used to roar in after a hot summer day and heat lightening would light up the sky for hours.

We played toss games and met friends at the small carnivals that came through town and wished we could join the carnies and tour the land.

We loved to pick apples from someone else’s tree, and how sweet they tasted.

My friends and I climbed trees and got fresh air instead of sitting inside and playing video games. Years ago my son asked me what we did before Nintendo and I remembered life before an “app”.

I used to hate that my birthday was in the summer and remember a picnic table with a huge cake under the old apple tree that is now gone.  As Helen Hayes once said, “Childhood is a short season”,  but still now in my life I remember it all.”

Storyland Bunny 1989 with my sons Sky and Perry

Storyland Bunny 2015 on Highway 7 in Carleton Place at Motorhouse Mitsubishi

All photos by Linda Seccaspina

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Today I went into our local Starbucks in Carleton Place and ordered a hot chocolate. I wanted to see if anyone would leave me a funny message on my cup. What did I get? A smile, good service, and answers to my question. No, they do not write anything on the cup except a name, or if asked, a birthday greeting.

A Starbucks barista in the UK attempted to woo a 19-year-old customer with a message on her coffee cup only for his efforts to be branded ‘creepy’ by her unimpressed mother. The amorous coffee company employee had scribbled out part of a warning message on the cup he gave to Laura Roberts, leaving behind the text: ‘Careful you’re extremely hot.’

But his flirtatious message did not win over Miss Roberts’s mother, Alex Blaine, who jokingly shared a picture of the cup online with the caption: ‘Creepy barista writing inappropriate messages on my daughter’s coffee cup. Looks like son-in-law material.  Sadly Miss Roberts, age 19 was taken.

People immediately became outraged on social media…

What?

Oh for God’s sakes! Does no one have a sense of humour any more?’ If coffee baristas wrote friendly messages on cups every day I think it would cheer a lot of us up and make us smile.

This isn’t the first time a Starbucks barista has divulged his feelings about a customer via the coffee cup. It seems to be an international flirting tactic as employees as far away as Philippines are using it to convey their feelings.

Is this is a storm in a coffee cup? I took that question to the folks across the road at Motorhouse Mitsubishi and Carleton Place residents Jess irvine and parts manager Rob Cassell had this to say:

Rob and Anthony on the way to Starbucks across the street

Jess loved it when she went to McMaster University, and the barista wrote many kind and amusing notes on her coffee cup. She said it made her day. When I asked Rob what he would like someone to write on his coffee cup his answer was simple.

“Nice Jeep!”

Should baristas write friendly comments or is  it just a catalyst” for a larger conversation?  I have no problem with anyone writing a happy greeting on my cup– in fact it would make my day. Make mine a Grande!

Other Funny Adventures from MOM and the Motorhouse crew

RELATED READING

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

My Pink Frying Pan that Cooks Nothing but Hope For Breast Cancer

This was my pink frying pan that I bought years ago today for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Anytime that I glanced at it I thought of all those that have been ravaged by this horrible disease. No matter how hard I tried, I could not bring myself to use the pan. I did not want to scorch the sides, mimicking cancer invading the body–nor did I want to get the pan dirty. But then I asked myself if cancer was clean. If the pink colour faded from washing, would the hope of a cure fade too?

I looked at it day after day, and thought that if I did not use it, I was giving up hope for the pan, and for the people that suffer from breast cancer.

Finally I took it down and laid it on the stove. I watched the butter melt with tears in my eyes. I cooked slowly with it, and thought about how silly I had been. I use it everyday now in celebration for those I do not know, and for those I do.

I wondered about my breast cancer survivor friend Liz back in California. I haven’t heard from her in a very long time, and wondered if the pink heat has entered her body once again. This morning I sent her a package of love.  I inquired if she was okay, and told her how worried I was. I just have to have faith that she will continue to be a survivor,  just like the frying pan.

After all if you don’t have faith, then what do you have?

Absolutely nothing. No cures, no hope, and an unused pink frying pan.

We’ll find a cure for breast cancer, we just have to continue the fight. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This morning I saw that my son had  spruced up a special car for cancer. I sat in my car with proud and happy tears in my eyes. For every car Motorhouse Mitsubishi on Hwy 7 in Carleton Place sells this month they will make a donation in honour and support of those affected by this terrible disease! Schuyleur, your Dad and my late family would be so proud. I know I am.

 

 

 

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

I know I’m going to get a lot of thumbs down, but to me, it’s a bit sickening what some people do to animals for their own amusement. I could not handle owning a Munchkin cat. I can’t imagine how every morning I’d get up, make breakfast, grab my purse and keys, then I’d just see that abbreviated cat walk across the room. I’d have to stop everything and laugh for at least an hour and a half. Just imagine the little shuffling noise it would make. If I was a gnome I would defiantly ride the Munchkin cat into battle.

I sometimes ponder the majesty of nature; the innate ability of the world to create and stylize animals and plants into the most wonderful of things (and toss the failed experiments into Australia).

But you give humans 1000 years, and they’ll breed the most selectively useless crap this side of Kim Kardashian. No wonder nature always tries to kill us. Something about that Korean Mastiff makes me want to put a Hawaiian shirt on him and call him “The Dude”. Because it seriously looks like if it were a human, it would be Jeff Bridges. Actually, the Korean Mastiff looks like what you’d get if you shaved and deflated a bear.

In order to show opposition to this kind of breeding, I have always refrained from getting any of these types of animals as pets. I only get lions. Actually I want a Munchkin cat and a Dreadlock dog, and send them off on hilarious adventures. Or maybe sell it sell it to Pixar, and DROWN in money!

So what happens when two identical Mitsubishi’s from Motorhouse Mitsubishi meet on the side of the road?

Well?

Not sure, but I hear there is a lot of posing and tomfoolery going on. See what science can accomplish when we cast aside those petty notions of morality? I know you were really probably hoping for a testicle joke, right? This is a family car folks:)

Motorhouse Mitsubishi

10446 Hwy 7

Carleton Place, Ontario

(613) 253-5550

http://www.motorhouse.com/

RELATED READING

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

Parents make $1 Million from YouTube Videos of Kids Playing with Toys

Parents have turned playtime into payday, making them more than $1 million by posting YouTube videos of their children playing with toys.

So here is my son the Mitsubishi dealer playing with his Motorhouse Mitsubishi toys–

Actually it’s a Mitsubishi Mirage VS Porsche 911 Turbo

I have one question..

Where is my million dollars?

10446 Hwy 7, Carleton Place, ON K7C 3P2

Contact Sales: (613) 253-5550 Contact Service: (613) 253-5550 Contact Parts: (613) 253-5550

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

It was a normal day for Motorhouse Mitsubishi owner Schuyleur Seccaspina– He had his power breakfast- complete with sprinkles and he became charged!

                                    (Not Schuyleur- Just our regular Carleton Place folk on Bridge Street)

Then he challenged others with his regular superheroe workout.

It was a good day, and as he said on Facebook: “They’re spinning the good stuff this morning!!”#britney #1980 #orsomething

Suddenly across the street at Carleton Place Ford he saw something that disturbed him.

“What is Sael? Can I do a Sael?”

He quickly sent one of his Motorhouse best to find out what was going on.

“We have an update on the ‘SAEL’ conundrum across the street. My friend and fellow coworker Matt Trueman is now on scene. Everything is GOOD.”

“It wasn’t us!” said the folks at Carleton Ford. “It must have been some of those highway illiterate chip-stand gypsies that changed the letters!” The Ford team quickly drove off in embarrassment while the Motorhouse Mitsubishi team looked on. In the end one of the staff confessed, and blamed it on autocorrect!

Rumours flooded the Ottawa Valley that Motorhouse Mitsubishi was closing? Were they bad spellers too?

With that Motorhouse Mitsubishi replied: “We’d like to thank everyone who came out to our super sale!!! Judging by our lot, we’ll do the same sale in the near future!”

“To all the people congratulating Motorhouse on their exit from the car business they say: WE ARE STILL OPEN!!! WE NEEDED TO MOVE CARS IN ORDER TO PAINT THE BUILDING….THE COLOUR IS….DRUMROLL…… EXCITING MITSUBISHI WHITE!!!!”

Last seen in the new Motorhouse Mitsubishi Batman theme car Anthony (Business Manager)  and Rob Cassell (Parts Manager) (who look like Sully and Mike from Monsters Inc.) were busy plotting for another episode of Highway 7 Dealership Prank Wars. No idea if the Carleton Place KIA guys are getting involved.

I would be careful because as Ted Hurdis said: “Payback is a bitch!”

Is this childish unprofessional behaviour? Of course not– it’s the exact opposite!

All I can say is– it’s so nice to see businesses getting along. Good on both of you Carleton Ford and Motorhouse Mitsubishi. The adage that two brains are better than one may explain why a lot of entrepreneurs and small business create good friendship partnerships. Come on Carleton Place KIA– everyone is waiting for your input! Head on down to Highway 7 for all your automotive needs! Why? Because if dealerships can get along on a personal basis– then that says a lot about who they really are when they sell you a car!

And now a word from Carleton Ford:

Motorhouse Mitsubishi 

Address: 10446, Line Rd 7, Carleton Place, ON K7C 3P

Phone:(613) 253-5550

Carleton Ford
Address: 10441 ON-7, Carleton Place, ON K7C 0C4

Phone:(613) 257-3988

RELATED READING

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

It was 1973 and I was 22 years old.  As I stared at the 1973 Buick Electra Limited today in the parking lot of Motorhouse Mitsubishi on Highway 7 it all came back to me like it was yesterday. I remember one of my best friends buying this car and I actually got to sit in it one too many times.

I always struggled to understand Oldsmobile and Buick’s position in the GM portfolio of brands. Both seemed to be for people who wanted a bit of luxury without the ostentatiousness of a Cadillac, but Buick was slightly more upmarket – right? The hierarchical order was supposed to be Chevrolet-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac, but it began to get fuzzy after the mid-1960’s or so.

John Diefenbaker who was the ‘populist’ ‘Progressive’ Conservative Prime Minister of Canada in the late 50’s and early 60’s, although unable to drive himself was quite aware of the image surrounding Cadillac.Rather than being accused of being out of touch with the people, he insisted that he be driven in a Buick rather than a Cadillac. Yes he loved the 70’s Disco Sleds like we did! Buick Electras might have been too large, but they were handsome cars, and they took off in Canada and the States!

Anyone can have faux wood trim, but it takes a certain chutzpah to sport carved faux wood trim like this car. Bravo Buick!
Piloting a car this size around town can be a real blast, and what about those seats! I used to tease my friends that my grandma had wall paper in her house made from the same car upholstery.

Oh yeah the reason why I will remember this car for the rest of my life? I saw The Exorcist at the drive in in the back seat of this car. I rest my case- it will never be forgotten!

1973 Buick Electra Limited with only 7700 miles available was seen at  Motorhouse Mitsubishi on Highway 7

Carleton Place Car Dealers Ads in the 70’s click here

Carleton Place Cruise night! Every Wednesday night from 6 pm util dusk! Bring the family!

RELATED READING

The Most Terrifying Things Bred Into Existance — A Motorhouse Mitsubishi Story

It’s What My Son Said….

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

The Mystery of My Smelly Car — Seinfeldism

Are You Getting Creepy Messages on Your Starbucks Coffee Cup?

Touring in the Back Seat of a 1973 Buick Electra Limited

Never Let Your Kids Eat Chicken Stuffed Kale Balls