Month: October 2019

We are geared up for Halloween here in Barrie despite the wet weather.

And down in Toronto, the young folk are ready too, including our grandson, Max. It’s his first one and we can hardly wait to see his photo!

Oh, here he is! Sheriff Woody, getting a helping hand from his buddy Buzz, good ol’ Buzz Lightyear!! And cousin Jessie is on the scene, very brave and very athletic!

Chris carved Max’s name right into their pumpkin and Uncle Steve carved two of them, in celebration of his first Hallowe’en in their new house.

While our across the street neighbours, Jenny and Allan, are away in Mexico for the next month, MY Jane and I will cat-sit Puss, aka Miss Toffee.

This morning, I will take on that duty.

We have a reciprocal arrangement so that when we go away somewhere, they will check in on Minnie.

Minnie likes the arrangement too.

This Thursday the US House of Representatives will take a full vote on the impeachment inquiry into the actions of the President.

Since his inauguration very little government legislation has passed. It has been chaos since day one. He continues to lie daily and line his own pockets at the expense of the American taxpayer.

Republicans, including the creature, have been describing the Democrat led impeachment inquiry as illegitimate.

Well now it will be legit. They will regret they got what he wished for.

Today MY Jane and I began raking leaves in both the front yard and back.

In the back yard we put most of the leaves in the flower beds to act as an insulator for the flowers over the winter months. It also gives small creatures a place to live in the cooler weather and to lay eggs for the spring, hence encouraging our local fauna to survive and reproduce.

There are still a few more leaves on the trees but most are down now.

Today was a lazy day, a rarity for sure. I tried repairing a couple of margarita glasses with some stuff called Gorilla Glue.

At first I thought it was not going to work but after letting it set for a time, it seemed to do the job.

In the evening we resumed our binge watching of a Netflix series called Queen of the South.

Like I say, a lazy day.

Today MY Jane and I are going to deliver the buffet that we re-finished to Steven and Sara’s home in Toronto.

Steve may not be home as he is heading off to a bachelor party for Cameron Pearce sometime today.

If that’s the case, I’ll just put it in the garage and he and Nico can take it inside on Monday.

Today we spent the day just chillin’ around the house. The only thing we did was take some things to the Salvation Army drop off centre.

We took down the Mexican Fiesta decorations and that was about it.

But we thought a lot. About a lot of things.

Today we hosted our across the street neighbours, Jenny and Allan, with a Mexican themed dinner.

They are heading off to Mexico for a month long vacation on Saturday.

MY Jane and I dressed up a little and played some Mexican music during their arrival.

Then we played some crokinole and had a few laughs.

A good time.

Our trees tell the story.

The top picture is of our backyard maple. What is remarkable is that it has both yellow and red leaves.

The bottom left is our Japanese maple in full splendid colour.

And bottom right is our burning bush and red maple.

MY Jane and I went to see the Roy Orbison tribute last night at Georgian Theatre.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The only glitch was having to line up,to pay for parking. Being our first time there, we were unaware of this and, though we allowed plenty of time as did others, the start time of the tribute was delayed, so we could all have the chance to pay up.

A note about this requirement when purchasing the tickets would have helped.

Tonight, MY Jane and I are going to see a Roy Orbison tribute band at the Georgian Theatre on the campus of Georgian College.

We are looking forward to it!

This morning, after a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese prepared by Steve, he and Sara left to return to Toronto.

We had a great visit and last night Steve put up a live feed of a practice exercise involving the Metro Police, Ambulance and Fire at Billy Bishop Airport. The whole thing was being recorded by one of Stolport’s surveillance planes circling overhead.

Just as the exercise finished and the Emergency Task Force returned to their marine base, a real gun incident arose at the mainland ferry dock and the ETF had to respond.

Turns out it was a homeless person who hangs around that area.

One of the Stolport security personnel phoned Steve and used a predetermined code word to indicate it was not an exercise, but the real thing. No injuries and one arrest.

Pretty exciting.

This morning Sara and Steve arrived for a weekend visit to celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday.

The barbecued turkey turned out to be delicious! Steve is going t enjoy two of his favourites, halibut and scallops.

Sara and Steven are coming up tomorrow for the weekend. I will be doing a BBQ turkey on the rotisserie. I’ve done chicken with great success so I’m optimistic that the turkey will be just as tasty.

In the meantime, I finished repainting the buffet that we are giving them.

Steve still thinks that he has to paint it, so I’ll cover it up and when he goes out to do it, I’ll uncover it and surprise him. Ta da!

Today MY Jane and I took a spin up to Georgian Mall to pick up a few things to give to Sara and Steven in light of the happy news about their baby, due in April.

We purchased a nice frame for the anniversary poem I wrote and another Christmas tree ornament, a tiny rocking horse to go with the larger one from our River Cruise.

We customized a congratulatory card as well.

Now all we have to do is await their arrival on Saturday.

The buffet has had two coats of primer applied and, after a light sanding, will be ready for the satin enamel.

Sara and Steve will have only to buy the cabinet hardware of their liking and then we can deliver to their place in Toronto.

This morning. I finished sanding the buffet and removing hardware. MY Jane picked up some primer and white enamel paint and I got the drawers and doors primed.

Tomorrow I will prime the main buffet cabinet and then we’ll be ready to apply the finishing touches.

Last week MY Jane began doing some purging around the house. As a result, we no longer need the buffet she has owned since the late 70’s. It was purchased at an unfinished furniture store in Port Credit, and had been subsequently antiqued in blue with a black ink overlay. Over the years it was updated to a cream with black overlay, which Chris had helped with. The inside was wallpapered in cream and blue. When we offered it up, Sara and Steven said they would take it, but they would paint it white. So today I started sanding it down.

They decided to keep the inside wallpaper that Jane used for the inside and the back. She had used the buffet and hutch as a room divider between the living and dining room in the first apartment on Lake Promenade, where Steven’s parents first lived. The blue would blend with their blue touches in the front room and Jane was happy to see that it was saved. A nice conversation piece down the road.

This morning, after breakfast, our precious Max left with his Mom and Dad to go back home.

It was an absolute joy to have him here, with his beloved ball. We had a great visit with his Mom and Dad too. And he’s already interested in books, especially when he gets it to his mouth for a wonderful taste testing experiment.

They were all here to help celebrate my birthday and I received really nice gifts – a new Dewalt drill and a scrollsaw.

Of course, the best gift of all was having my grandson here to celebrate too!

Yesterday evening Mighty Max and his adoring parents arrived around 7 PM; we knew their rough time of arrival so I had left to pick up Danny’s Fish and Chips for our dinner.

We enjoyed our meal and played with Max. He is such a cute and loveable baby. always happy except when he is tired. Let’s face it arene’t we all grumpy when we need sleep?

He is getting so strong too! He can now turn himself over from his tummy on to his back.

Afterward, we just chilled in the “talking” room as Chris likes to call it, enjoying each others’ company.

This morning I am having a coffee at one of my favourite spots.

The sun is shining on the azure blue water of Kempenfelt Bay and there is a cool breeze whispering along the shore.

I used to come here frequently before MY Jane retired, but today I’m here only because she had some secret stuff to do. Maybe something to do with my birthday tomorrow.

And this afternoon I have a dental appointment to deal with a recent chipped tooth.

Tomorrow afternoon Chris and Tonya will be coming for the Thanksgiving weekend with our grandson Max. He’s five months old now and yesterday tried some semi solid food for the first time. He likes it.

And coincidentally, its my birthday too. What a great birthday present – to have Max here with us!

This morning I took a spin up to Brandys Island Marina to ready Shenanigans for winter storage.

I took all the freezables off and pumped the bilge out. Both inflatable tubes were a little soft so I pumped them up a bit.

Paid Shayne for storage and confirmed that he will change the oil next Spring.

After breakfast today I took a picture of our beautiful sugar maple at the front of the house.

We then headed off to Glen Williams, a small village near Georgetown, to visit and have lunch with our good friends, Annemarie and Jim.

After a lunch of Annemarie’s delicious chili and appetizers, we went to a Farmer’s Market close by and picked up some fresh produce.

We got back home at dusk and just relaxed after a great day with our great friends.

Have you ever wondered what is the happiest a person can ever get? Is there a limit?

 I wondered this yesterday when another measure of happiness was given to us. Steve and Sara announced that they were going to have a baby due next April!! I had that same feeling of elation when Chris and Tonya told us they were expecting.  

I tell people that the happiest day of my life was the day I married Jane. Since then I  have been delivered countless measures of more happiness that will forever remain as unforgettable memories for me. They are milestones in my life.

The family gatherings for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmases past. The birthday celebrations. Weddings. Max’s birth. All have that common thread – Family. I am truly blessed.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no limit to happiness, especially in this family.

Last night Steven called to invite MY Jane and me to visit them today so we could hang out and talk about their recent trip to Europe. Steven sounded especially happy.

We went down this morning and after chatting for awhile, they presented us with some gifts they had brought back from their trip.

But the best gift came last. A framed sonogram. They were expecting their first child!

Our grandbaby is due April 17, 2020.

Jane and I are over the top with happiness and tears were shed merrily.

And when we got home, the first thing I saw was the wall talker in the spare room which was illuminated by the sunshine streaming in the front window. “Dream, Imagine & Believe”

A good sign!

Today I finished making the shelves for the top part of the bookcase and did a dry fit assembly.

Tomorrow I’ll do some fine sanding and get it ready for painting.

This morning, right after we got up, MY Jane and I took a road trip with the idea of seeing Fall colours. We were not disappointed.

We did a circular route from Barrie toward Bancroft and then up through Algonquin Park to Huntsville and back home.

There were a few stops on the way to browse for some hostess and host gifts for Annemarie and Jim when we visit with them next week and a little something for our grandson, Max.

We got back before dark, tired but happy we had a great day out of the house.

This morning I spent some time figuring out a suitable arch configuration for the Eiffel Tower bookcase.

After some discussion with MY Jane, this is what we came up with.

Tomorrow, I’ll add the two shelves and it’ll be ready for painting. .

Yesterday was spent gluing up sections of the 1 x 9 pine that I bought yesterday.

Today I completed the base section of the bookcase. I assembled it using my Kreg Jig equipment.

I still have an upper section to construct which will be modelled after the overall shape of the Eiffel Tower.

I will begin on that part tomorrow.

MY Jane has been doing some purging and, as a result, one of the three buffets we have has been emptied and Sara and Steven have a use for it at their place.

Jane asked me if I could make a bookcase to fit in the spot occupied by the buffet, so today I bought material and started on it.

She wants the shelves deep enough to easily hold photo albums and the top part to resemble the Eiffel tower shape.

We’ll see what we can do.