Month: April 2018

MY Jane is on her way to buy a hat and a few other things for our upcoming trip. On the way, she plans to stop at the Library to pick up a DVD of the Sound of Music.

Both of us want to refresh our memories of this classic because the film site for this movie is one of the stops on our impending adventure.

So that’s what we’ll be watching tonight.

In the meantime, Steven & Sara, Chris & Tonya and Nico & Raha have been posting pictures of their week long trip to Germany for Steve’s bachelor party.

We have exactly a week until we leave on our much anticipated River cruise and packing is underway. MY Jane has been busy selecting outfits and jewellery combos.

My stuff has already been chosen and is just waiting to be placed in the suitcases. 

We have read and re-read the rules regarding what amounts of liquids and items etc that can be taken. Photocopies of important documents have been taken, foreign currency has been purchased and lengthy discussions have been had.

Emergency contacts and numbers have been arranged.

Jane has done extensive Internet research on points of interest along our route and I have reviewed you tube videos of the amenities on our ship the Scenic Ruby or as Scenic refers to it, the Spaceship Ruby.

Transportation has been arranged to the airport and I have been looking at a jet lag avoidance app so we will have energy to take advantage of our first day in Amsterdam.

We’re ready!

I got a little more yard work done today including some edging and a little raking. This is a continuation of yesterday’s efforts during which MY Jane was startled by a huge toad.

I had put the back yard solar garden lights out to charge up yesterday and last night noticed that only 5 of the 9 lit up. I checked the remaining four today and found that the positive terminals in the battery pack had corroded beyond repair. I’m a little ticked because they were not cheap and we bought them at Bradford Greenhouses only last year.

So I have sent an email off to them to see how they will respond to my inquiry regarding their return policy. Stay tuned.

This morning, after breakfast, MY Jane and I went up to Georgian Mall to do some more clothes shopping. Jane needed a couple more tops, some slacks, a dress and some socks. I needed socks.

It’s been raining all day. Not a heavy rainfall, but steady. So it’s been a good day to stay inside. MY Jane has kept busy doing more River cruise research and I have done much the same. It’s beginning to sink in that we’re actually going on this trip of a lifetime.

Our stateroom is on the second level midship and on the starboard side. 

This afternoon we stepped across the street to visit with our neighbours, Jenny and Allan, for an afternoon libation and great conversation.

Tonight, we are looking forward to watching game seven of the NHL playoffs between the Toronto Maple Leafs (our team) and the Boston Bruins. The series is currently tied 3 games each so the winner tonight will move on to the next level.

Go Leafs…Go Marner.

Our day began with taking Minnie to the vet for her annual vaccination. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy.

After we got her back home, we headed out to the Expedia Cruise Centre to pick up our upcoming River Cruise documents and were pleased to learn that each of us wAS given a €200 gift card FROM scenic which is  about $320 CDN. 

On the way back, we picked up a few travel necessities. The excitement is building.

Later in the the afternoon, because the weather was so nice, I did some raking in the back yard, uncovered the waterfall and retrieved a couple of wicker rocker chairs from the garden shed.

French Toast for breakfast, n’est-ce pas? That’s what Jane asked me this morning.

Our pet, Minnie, and the neighbourhood birds keep us busy. Every morning, while having my coffee, a Robin has been showing up regularly looking for craisins. They have to be cut into smaller pieces so it can swallow them. That’s the start of it.

Then there’s the Blue Jays looking for peanuts in the shell and squirrels who compete with the Jays for them.

A good cause, so I bought one.

This morning our Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee maker failed. It got partially through a grind cycle and then stopped. I emptied it of water and beans and tried it again. Still not working properly, so Jane tried it with pre ground coffee and it worked OK.

I was a little puzzled this morning when I put our garbage bins out for regular pick up. When I looked up and down our street, I noticed that about half the houses didn’t have anything out in front if their places.

Today, I did some more shovelling of the driveway and front entrance walk. Using my round mouthed shovel worked very well for breaking up the layers of ice. I am now hoping that, with milder temperatures today (+9 C), most of it will melt and that will be the end of it.

Today, I had lunch with my cousin, Ed Bolton, who I have not seen since both of us can’t remember when. We met at a cafe in Barrie along with other members of his family including his wife Jo, daughter Melynda, Ron and granddaughter Lacey.

We had a great time reminiscing and chatting about family. 

Thanks for a great time and a great lunch, Ed.

The weather continues to affect driving conditions in and around Barrie. Side streets such as ours remain slippery even though the ploughs made one pass. That one pass was enough to fill our driveway entrance with heavy wet snow, making it impassable.

I’m glad I decided to cancel my trip to Toronto scheduled for today. The predicted ice storm has appeared and there are reports of over 500 collisions in the GTA that are weather related. It wasn’t long after I notified the organizer of the training session I was to attend that, she herself, cancelled the event because of the weather.

Even the bird feeders are completely empty today, but I can’t get out to refill them because the door is frozen shut.

Well, it seems we have unintentionally created a monster. As soon as either Jane or I pick up our I Pad, Minnie immediately begins to stare at us as if to say, “Hey….that’s for me! I want to play the Mouse for Cats game!”

One of the things that the physiotherapist told MY Jane was that she would have to sleep upright in a Lazy Boy armchair for three nights. Poor Jane! If that wasn’t bad enough, Minnie decided that she wanted to sleep on the outstretched footrest and armrest of the Lazy Boy.

Last week, MY Jane was diagnosed as having vertigo, so today we are attending a physioterapist reffered by Dr. Morin.

Yesterday, I took MY Jane to her hairdresser and while she was there, I took a spin to Georgian Mall to look for a jacket to take on our River Cruise.

I’m hoping to blend in with the crowds when we are in Europe.

We still have get some stuff for Jane and we will do that next week.

Yesterday I received my licence to conduct marriages in the Province of Ontario.

This weekend I will be attending a training session in Toronto. It’s a three hour session and I will do it this Sunday. 

On Saturday evening we will be taking MY Jane to dinner at Wayne Gretzky’s followed by attendance at Second City next door. Steven & Sara and Chris & Tonya will also be there. This is a belated birthday  present for her which we had to postpone from March 10.

It’s still pretty cool this morning – about -3C – but the sun is shining brightly and most of the snow is gone. As usual, I sit at the kitchen table sipping at my morning coffee and watching the birds and squirrels foraging for food.

And right after that, Minnie meowed loudly wanting Temptations – and right away. So it was back to the cupboard again.

And oh yeah – my coffee – it was cold, but when duty calls, one must answer.

A couple of days ago I wrote about the fickleness of Mother Nature. Well, overnight, she demonstrated that once again.

Have you ever heard a song on the radio and wondered aloud who was singing it or what the name of the tune was? It happens to me all the time and this morning I decided to check as to whether there was an app for this.

A few days ago MY Jane and I were marvelling at Mother Nature’s ability to survive Winter as seen by flower petals peeking through the ground and buds on the lilac bushes beginning to enlarge. It all changed yesterday.

Hopefully, in the next week, we’ll get back to Spring. I already have an appointment to get my summer tires put on. We’ll see.

I found a new game for Minnie. It’s an app that I installed on my I pad called Mouse For Cats.

My Jane and I had great fun watching her try to catch the little mouse that darts around on the I pad.

Unlike other things with which we have tried to amuse her, she seemed quite taken with one and played for several minutes until finally giving up.

Yesterday was a stay inside day for all of us. After a breakfast of French toast and fruit, Steve set up his VR downstairs and we tried a game where MY Jane and I were Bomb Diffusion “experts” who had to give verbal instructions to Steve, (the only one that could see the virtual reality bomb) in order to diffuse the explosive. Needless to say, we weren’t very good and blew up several times. Jane tried it and actually managed to diffuse one bomb.

Later on we enjoyed a delicious Vegan Shepherds Pie, one of Steve’s favourites, much of which Jane had prepared earlier on, but all of us pitched in to finalize preparation. It was delicious.

Jane and Steve had some fun blowing bubbles in the hallway, after which we all went down the Family Room to chill.

Yesterday, Steve & Sara arrived for the weekend just before Chris and Tonya left to go to Tonya’s family Easter. So there was a bit of overlap during which we had everyone here together. Because Jane is still recovering from pneumonia everyone pitched in to make breakfast brunch which was delicious.