Month: November 2014

Yesterday’s birthday celebration for Ted was great fun! MY Jane had decorated the dining room with yellow and blue balloons and had a feathered tiara ready for Ted. We spent the afternoon just chatting and having a lot of laughs. We always have fun together.

Later in the day we had a wonderful stuffed roast pork dinner with braised Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. It was absolutely delicious. For dessert, we had angel food cake with whipped cream frosting. That too was delicious. As usual, Jane outdid herself. 

Ted was delighted with the cards, gifts and the table decorations. It was a fantastic day!

Today, we are going to celebrate Ted’s 93rd birthday at our place. Her grandson, Chris, is going to pick her up this afternoon and bring her back. Although yesterday was the actual date, we are having a little get together today. Last weekend, her other grandson, Steven took her out. It’s great that both of them take time out of their busy lives to spend some time with her.

Over the past few years, since MY Jane and I met, I have had the privilege of getting to know this wonderful lady and every time we all get together, we have loads of fun.

She has a great sense of humour, is a great conversationalist and just enjoyable company.

So a great big Happy Birthday, Ted! 

It’s snowing this morning as I sit here writing my daily blog. The back yard looks very different with the snow covering the grass and no greenery visible at all.

Tonight, Chris will be coming for the weekend to help celebrate his Gramma’s 93rd birthday and to finish off the corner shelf unit he made for his fiancé. We are looking forward to a fun time.

My Jane and I will be going out shopping later this morning, but right now, I’m just happy to be inside where it’s warm.

This morning, Minnie is being very affectionate. As soon as she heard me stirring, she came upstairs from her cozy spot by the fireplace and jumped up on the table to greet me. Then I had to scratch her chin and pet her.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I decided to have a look at the new Lee Valley store in Vaughn. This store has been there since April. They specialize in woodworking tools, equipment and hardware as well as gardening tools. It’s one of my favourite stores, right up there with Home Depot and Home Hardware.

We spent quite a while in there and bought several Christmas items. 

On our return to Barrie in the afternoon, we dropped by Ted’s place so Jane could help her load money on to her Laundry card. While they were doing that, I popped over to the nearby Metro grocery store to pick up a few things that Ted needed.

We never did get to the upholstery cleaning place to test clean one of our sofa arm covers. We’ll do that today and start getting ready for Ted’s 93rd birthday.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I completed our Christmas card mailing including our Christmas Newsletter. We also went to Canadian Tire and purchased a couple of toys for CTV’s Toy Mountain, a Christmas initiative where the toys are given to the Children’s Aid Society who distribute them to kids who can use them. Jane’s Mom, Ted, also bought at toy for Toy Mountain. If you get a chance, think about doing something like this yourself. Makes you feel good.

After the high winds a couple of days ago, Jane noticed that the neighbour behind our place had a number of shingles blown loose. We dropped around to let them know.

Today, we will be going to a local upholstery cleaning company to do a test cleaning on one of the sofa arm covers. Jane was going to tackle the job herself, but after doing extensive research on cleaning solvents and the implications of selecting the wrong cleaning agent, she has decided against a do it yourself job. The sofa is too expensive to take a chance and it will only cost about $100 to have a professional cleaning done. Better safe than sorry.

I’m going to move Chris’ corner shelf down to the Laundry Room because he wants to stain and varathane it before he takes it home. It’s a bit too cold in the garage to do that properly. He’ll do that while he’s up here for Ted’s birthday this weekend.

LThis morning, while having my coffee and looking at Facebook postings, suddenly there was a very loud caterwauling from the back yard. I immediately opened the back door and saw this huge grey tabby looking at me from the vicinity of the window well. I quickly shooed the tabby away.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I went to Georgian Mall to do a bit of Christmas shopping and to get a hook for her oven mitts. She wanted something that was compatible with the pewter switch plate cover. We were lucky to find one at Home Hardware. It was on my to-do list, so I put it up there right away. It was a quick install using the double sided tape in the package. Jane is happy and I’m happy that she’s happy! Happy happy happy!

The weather has gotten warmer and most of the recently fallen snow has melted. Minnie is taking full advantage and as soon as I got up this morning, she led me to the back door to be let out. But it was only a matter of a few minutes and she wanted back in again. 

You can see that virtually all of the snow is gone from our back yard. 

MY Jane has another appointment at the spa this morning to get another therapeutic shoulder massage. Apparently she has some muscles in her neck area that have tensed up big time over the years and it will take several visits to get them loosened up. 

I don’t have any pressing things to do today. Jane has started a book of “to do” items for both of us. So far there’s only one thing on my list….no, wait…..she’s added to it. Now there’s two things – both minor jobs. Wash bathroom vents and hang up oven mitts beside the stove. 

I’ve noticed that there are some people on our street who have begun lighting up their outside Christmas lights already. We plan to wait until this weekend to begin doing that. It’ll coincide with Ted’s birthday weekend.

We have most of our Christmas shopping done already. There are just a few things to get. Our Christmas Newsletter is finalized and we are ready to to the Christmas cards.

Yesterday, Steven went over to Ted’s place to pick her up and bring her back to our place before taking her to dinner later that evening. It’s Ted’s 93rd birthday next weekend, but Steven can’t make it then, because of work commitments. Instead, he came up this weekend. On his way over there, he picked up a beautiful bouquet of flowers for her. Needless to say, she was very touched.

After getting back to our place, we all sat around just chatting and having a drink or two. It was a great afternoon. 

Steven then took his GrandMammy to dinner at her favourite place in Barrie – Shirley’s Bayside Grill. After already having had appetizers at our place, they were pretty full, but Steven still managed to have a steak, which he said was delicious. Ted was just beaming. She was so happy that her grandson had taken time out of his busy life to make her feel special. Nice!

Next weekend, Teds other grandson, Chris will be coming up for her birthday. It’s all good!

MY Jane and I were happy to see that the birds have returned. I guess the windy and cold conditions made them hunker down somewhere. The snow on the eaves of our house are evidence of the recent wind and snow we have had here in Barrie.

I love these blue jays.

In the last few days, there haven’t been any birds at our feeder at all. It seems that, with all the snow, they must be hunkered down somewhere. The only bird I saw recently, was a downy woodpecker and that was for a very brief time. Maybe, once they get hungry, they’ll be back. I hope so. I especially like the blue jays.

Yesterday afternoon, around 4PM, MY Jane and I headed over to Ted’s apartment for a visit. We had suggested to her that maybe we could order Swiss Chalet. That way nobody would have to cook. She was all for it. We had a great visit and, while we were there, her grandson, Steven called and said he wanted to take his “GrandMammy”, as he calls her, to dinner this Saturday. He suggested her favourite place, Shirley’s Bayside Grill, a small, charming restaurant in downtown Barrie. She was delighted and just beaming after she got off the phone.

It’s Ted’s birthday on the 28th of this month…she’ll be 93…but Steven can’t come up from Toronto that weekend because of work commitments, so he’s making a point of coming up a week before her birthday. It makes her feel special (which she is) and Jane and I will get to see him too. As I’ve said before, when Chris has come up, it’s always great when either of them visit us in Barrie.

Before we went over to Ted’s, I was out grocery shopping for a few things and decided to pop into the Pet Valu store to get Minnie some catnip. They had given us a small sample on a previous visit and she really liked it. Lately Minnie has been a little down in the dumps because she doesn’t like cold and snow much and so she won’t go outside – even though she’s an outside type cat. I even shovelled the snow off the patio just for her, but she won’t go.

She eats a little of it, then rolls in it and has quite a good time. 

I have been getting a lot of enjoyment watching the two kids next door, Coulter and his younger brother, Carson, construct what they call a Luge. Carson tells me that Coulter is planning on having a “Winter Olympics” for all the neighbourhood kids.  You have to admire their initiative. 

They have been out in the backyard every day before school for the last week.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I went out in the back yard to shovel snow from the back patio after the blizzard of the night before. We also wanted to removed the ice from the windows and clean off the BBQ  so I could put the cover back on.

There she is, the little kid spirit in her still alive and well, and a joy to see.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I dropped over to Ted’s to bring her some of the delicious lemon squares that Jane had made the day before. After that, we went to Chapters Bookstore to browse and look for gift ideas. We did well. Jane got a few things for Christmas and I picked up a couple of hockey books for a couple of neighbour kids.

By the time 5:30 pm rolled around, a full scale blizzard had developed. Not to be deterred, I brushed the snow off the BBQ and fired it up. It took a little bit to get the temperature up, but finally it was hot enough. The hamburgers, though not the best I’ve had, satisfied my craving. 

This morning, looking out the kitchen window, the sun is shining brightly and snow is sparkling. The front driveway has been ploughed and we are ready for another day!

Well, winter has definitely arrived Barrie. It is minus 9 with a snow squall alert on the Weather Network.

The back kitchen door is full of frost on the inside. There must be a gap somewhere that is letting the cold air inside. It looks nice, but I will have to try to figure out what to do about it.

Although yesterday was shaping up to be a lazy day, it actually turned out to be quite productive. After MY Jane finished her visit to the spa for a shoulder massage, we went out to do a little bit of Christmas Shopping. We are in pretty good shape now…..both her shoulder and our Christmas shopping.

After we got home, I started to work on our Christmas Newsletter. Having a blog is a great help in remembering highlights of the past year and getting the chronology straight. Jane and I have been looking at past highlight pictures that we can put into the newsletter and, of course, we can’t help doing a little reminiscing as well.

Jane was commenting that, recently, our life together has settled down somewhat. So many things have happened to us and so quickly. All good things, mind you, but, I have to agree, it’s nice to have this more measured pace, especially since Jane retired. It’s heartwarming to hear Jane say, “I love retirement!” while flashing that beautiful smile of hers. 

It’s snowing again this morning, although it is coming down lightly. Later this morning, MY Jane is going out for a therapeutic massage, part of a spa package that I gave her for Christmas last year. I’ll be staying home with Minnie, who by the way, has taken a liking to my chair at the kitchen table.

Yesterday, I had to get a dining room chair to sit on because she wouldn’t move off my seat.

Today will be a lazy day for me….I don’t think I have anything pressing to do. I’ll talk it over with Minnie. She’s here now. LOL

Yesterday, MY Jane and I went to a musical concert in Milton Ontario with our good friends, Annemarie and Jim. It was held at the Milton Centre for Arts and the headliner was a Canadian singer/songwriter, Royal Wood. The venue was perfect. It was a small theatre so every seat in the house was a good one. In fact, at one point, Royal came up the aisle and was singing within a scant five feet of us.

This performer is so talented! His music is a hard-to-describe style, but certainly his own. He plays piano, guitar, sings, composes, and produces. It was a very enjoyable evening well worth the $25 price for each ticket.

The opening act was another Canadian singer/songwriter by the name of Peter Katz. He was Juno nominee and, he too, is a gifted performer.

Before attending the show, we went to a nearby Boston Pizza for a bite to eat and that was enjoyable too. All in all, a great time with Annemarie and Jim, both of whom were still were still excited about their recent trip to London England and for Jim (a huge Beatles fan) finally getting to see where the Beatles actually got their start.

If you ever get a chance to attend a concert by either of these guys, do it. I would gladly attend another of their performances.

Today, MY Jane and I are meeting our friends, Annemarie and Jim, at their home near Georgetown, after which we will go to a nearby restraunt for dinner and then to a musical venue to listen to some music by Royal Wood.

MY Jane and I had Ted over for dinner last night. Ted likes fish, so she bought some fresh halibut at the supermarket and we made halibut and fries at home. Delicious.

I’m glad I got all the backyard winterizing done when I did. I’m happy that I lowered the roof on the bird feeder yesterday, too. Hopefully that will minimize the snow cover on the bird seed.

Jane has a luncheon date in Newmarket today to meet up with a long time school mate and while she’s away, I will putter around the house and straighten up the garage so we can park the car in there.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I attended the Remembrance Day ceremony here in Barrie on a bright sunny day. It was our first in Barrie and both of us were impressed with the large numbers of people in attendance. Also impressive was the attendance of many school children who had been taken to the Cenotaph by their teachers. It is encouraging that the school system is instilling in our youth a sense of pride and remembrance for our armed forces.

The visible pride in our vets as they marched by was inspiring. In the photo above you can see one man at the front of the formation marching with the help of a walker. I think that exemplifies the spirit and determination of these fine men, whether in war or in peacetime. 

Both Jane and I are very proud of our Dad’s war time service to the country and yesterday, both of us reflected on just how tough it had to be for them to be in a far away land while their loved ones were back in Canada. As it must have been for all our soldiers.

I suggested to Jane, after the ceremony, that we drive out to Base Borden and tour the Military Museum there. She was all for it, so we headed out there. Both of us were surprised that entrance to the base was wide open. There was no Guardhouse or gate – we just drove in.

We quickly found the museum and went inside to look. It was amazing. There was all kinds of military equipment on display from Sherman tanks to Dispatch Riders Harley’s. Below I stand beside one of these huge tanks to give you an idea of just how big they are. This one weighs 15 tons.

Jane’s Dad was a dispatch rider at some point during his service in Europe and likely rode a motorcycle like this one:

We spent about three hours looking at stuff there. 

It is so well displayed.

It was a very worthwhile tour. We hope to take Steven and Chris out there one day.

A few days ago, when putting up the Christmas lights, I found that a few lengths of lights were not lighting up. To check each and every bulb would take forever, so I did a little research on YouTube and found the perfect solution. It’s called Light Keeper Pro and it can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes for $20. Here’s the YouTube link:

http://youtu.be/xrXRxOIjVm0

This thing works for the incandescent bulbs common on Christmas trees these days. You simply plug the offending string of lights into a wall outlet, remove ANY bulb, whether lit or not, and put the empty bulb socket into  the receptacle in front of the “gun” and pull the trigger a few times. Voila. The unlit lights come on.

Apparently the light keeper pro (battery powered-batteries included) somehow instantly repairs a shunt in the faulty bulb and all the lights then come on. Very impressive.

I got three sets of lights that weren’t working going in minutes. 

It also has a bulb tester and a secondary method for checking which bulb is faulty simply by pressing the top of the “gun” and running it along the wire. Works even after you have strung all the lights. Great invention!

Over the past couple of days, I have been helping Chris on his woodworking project which we were doing outside in the garage. His fiancé, Tonya, had asked him to make something on which she could display some Disney Christmas Village miniatures. 

Initially, we had tried making the shelves with a curved front, but that proved to be unworkable so, instead we made a simple triangular shaped corner shelving unit. Chris says he has the perfect corner in which to hang it.

The decorative filigree at the top still has to be fastened and, of course, the whole thing has to be stained. I think he wants to use a dark stain.  He will do that the next time he’s up to visit, probably for his Grandma’s birthday (she’ll be 93). Chris also wants to put small openings at the bottom rear of each shelf space to allow for electrical plugs to light up the village pieces.

What do you think?

I have learned, from the Temiscaming Quebec Facebook page (Temiscaming is my hometown) that, in recent days, the Town of Temiscaming has been removing the Canadian flag from atop a nearby cliff. My understanding is that this has happened twice. It sounds as if some patriotic Canadian has twice placed a flag up there only to have it taken down by Town staff. If that isn’t bad enough, someone, now living in Quebec City and a self proclaimed atheist and member of a Communist organization (according to his Facebook page) has posted, in French, some very disparaging remarks about the Canadian flag and those that choose to fly it.

Here is my post in response to this issue:

I was born in Temiscaming, Quebec in 1948. Most of my boyhood friends were French while I was English. I treasure those friendships even today, over 50 years later. Back then, we didn’t talk about whether someone was French or English nor did we ever consider ourselves other than Canadian. My Dad,who spoke English, and many others from Temsicaming, who spoke French, went to war for us. They fought and died for all of us so that we could enjoy the freedoms of today. Yes, to even be able to publicly renounce Canada’s flag, the symbol of Canada’s unity and for which many armed forces personnel from Quebec continue to defend to this day. Although I no longer live in Temiscaming, it remains in my blood. That became abundantly clear to me when I attended a Temiscaming reunion last September in Gatineau. I am deeply saddened by this turn of events in Temiscaming and, as  Rheal LeSieur mentioned in a previous post, the timing of this could not be worse coming up to Remembrance Day, in my opinion. I invite you to look at my profile picture to see one of the proudest memories I have of my Dad, that being the medals of honour he earned for defending the right of ALL Canadians to live in peace and harmony. In conclusion, I will tell you this: I will always look at Quebecers as special and unique Canadians……but make no mistake, in my eyes they will ALWAYS be Canadian. Vive Le Canada !

The photo below, posted by Perry Davidson on the Temiscaming page says it all, I think! Thanks Perry.

Chris is coming to visit! Yesterday, he phoned me to ask what we would be doing this weekend. I checked with MY Jane and we had nothing planned, so he asked if I could help him with a project to make a Christmas display unit for his fiancé, Tonya. Of course, with woodworking involved, I was delighted to agree. So he’s coming tonight. I’ll take a picture of whatever we end up making when it’s done.

Yesterday, MY Jane and I went to Georgian Mall, specifically, to Danier Leather to pick up the jacket that I bought at the Newmarket store a couple of weeks ago. The sleeves had to be shortened a bit. I am very pleased with the look and feel of it.

This morning, I will be taking the car in to have the winter tires put on. Last year I put them on around November 3rd and the next morning, it snowed.

Yesterday, after breakfast, MY Jane and I went to Georgian Mall, here in Barrie, to do a little window shopping.

Well, actually, it was more than window shopping; we actually bought stuff. But don’t be alarmed….it was on sale. Well, not all of it was on sale, but some of it was. On the way home, Jane proclaimed, “That was a very productive day!” I had to agree. 

I can’t divulge everything that was purchased because some of the items are actually Christmas gifts. The one thing that I can mention, though, are the boots that Jane chose for herself. They are black, knee high, low heeled, without any buckles or gadgets. It has taken over two years for her to find the ones she liked. She is very happy with them. I’m happy she found them.

Last night the Leafs won against Chicago, so that was a nice way to cap off the day.

This morning there is a very light snow falling. It hasn’t begun to yet stay on the ground, but with the present outside temperature below zero, it won’t be long. MY Jane usually sits at the kitchen table with me in the mornings as we have our coffee and watch the birds at the back yard feeder.

After a time, she stops and assumes a rather regal posture and looks up as if to say, “What you lookin’ at! Never seen a cat rub her face before?” 

This is the first morning in a long long time that she has not stood at the back door first thing and meowed to go out. Although she is what we would call an outdoor cat, she’s smart enough to know when it’s too cold outside.

The birdhouse roof that I had given to me for my birthday is now beginning to have a light coating of snow on it. I’m wondering if I may have placed it a little to high over the feeder; so much so that the seeds may get covered with snow when it really starts to blow. If there are any birders out there who have had experience with feeders, maybe you could let me know what you think.

Later this morning, I’ll be getting back at the garage project.