Month: November 2020

Last night MY Jane and I, along with the rest of the adult family, watched a movie together – all from our own homes and conversing via Zoom! Today’s technology!

All of us had made snacks while the movie was on and we even had an intermission.

It was an innovative way to have a family visit suggested by Steve and Tonya and we both appreciated it so much.

All of us thought it was a success and agreed to do it again. Jane said that it was “almost” as good as having them all here with us.

Seeing as we cannot have family gatherings right now, we are planning on watching a Christmas movie together, from three different homes! Tonya and Steve suggested it and he provided a list of movies for us to vote on.

We will also boot up a Zoom meeting so we can comment as the movie plays. Jane wants to try making nachos for the first time to celebrate being together!

Tomorrow morning we are going to have a video call with Max and if that goes well, we’ll do more of them!

Today I used my Canada Post Business Acct to ship out the first Souvenirs de Temiscaming book to my brother, Jerry.

I had ordered some advance copies to use as complimentary copies for team members who have helped with this project.

The neat thing about this account is that it notifies the recipient of the date mailed and provides a tracking number to allow for tracking.

Today I spent some time reviewing my blog for the last year to identify highlights and photos to include in our Christmas newsletter.

Without my blog it would be difficult to do this because it’s so easy to forget something.

I should have it done and printed by tomorrow. It’s going to be very short, unfortunately.

Today we did some grocery shopping at Zehrs and all went well. Everyone was wearing a mask and social distancing.

Still, it was not the most pleasant experience with glasses fogging up and unable to lick your thumb and finger to be able to get a produce bag open.

But we got it done and are well stocked up now.

And later this afternoon I began working on putting our annual Christmas newsletter together.

Today we had nothing scheduled so it was a do nothing day.

I just passed the time checking out things on the internet and reviewing progress on the Temiscaming Anniversary book.

Here’s a shot of the backyard lights tonight.

Today I added some coloured globes along the front walkway today. They are the kind that will light up and glow after dusk.

Yesterday I made three wooden stakes and painted them black from which to hang those globes.

It will be interesting to see the result after dark. I think it will look quite welcoming.

On another note, Jane had talked with me about putting up the artificial tree which I just bought; she is finding it very hard to think about decorating a tree, when there are so many sentimental moments in those bins. We agree that it’s best that they stay in the garage this year.

Tonight we decided to treat ourselves to fish and chips at our favourite place, Danny’s.

We like the halibut the best and we always get what is called the “Trio” which includes a small Caesar salad.

They always give enough fries for two people.

Well, we had some snow for a few days but it has disappeared for now.

Our back yard is green again and with the leaves gone, a squirrel’s nest in our maple is clearly visible. Whether it is occupied or not is another story.

And once again, the houses behind us mar the view of our otherwise lush oasis.

The state of Georgia has completed a hand recount of ballots and confirmed that Joe Biden won.

But the creature continues to deny the facts and is using idiots like Rudy Guilliani to argue that the election was a fraud.

Rudy held a news conference complete with hair dye running down the side of his face.

Yeah, we believe you Rudy. Nothing phony about you at all!

We took our time but are continuing, bit by bit, to finish any decorating for Christmas. We have a lot. This jolly Santa was one of Ted’s prized possessions and Jane loves to unwrap him and carry him to a focal point in the house.

We are going to hold off on putting up the new artificial tree until it’s closer to Christmas. We don’t expect to be having anybody this year, although Sara, Steve and Roxy may come up for New Year’s, it’s still a maybe for now.

Overnight we received our first snowfall of the year. And as I write, the snow continues to fall. It always looks so clean and festive when it first arrives.

MY Jane is down in Toronto, having a little visit with the family; she is staying at Steve’s, Sara’s and Roxana Mae’s home, but making two visits, actually three!

Yesterday she dropped by to visit with Tonya and Max outside; she is always so happy to watch his reaction when he recognizes her. It was chilly, so she didn’t stay too long as eh didn’t want him to be cold. She then stopped by Chris’ work to chat with him outside.

If the snow keeps falling up here, she may have to stay another night at Steve’s until the roads are safe.

Orders are beginning to flow for the anniversary book.

People are very willing to order ahead of time to ensure they get a copy.

I have set up a separate bank account for the project to make the accounting process easier and I have set up a revenue/expense summary in Excel.

A lot of people are paying extra so more money goes to charity.

This afternoon there was a sudden burst of very strong wind and not too long after, the power went off in most of the city.

We have a roast in the oven, so hopefully it will come back on soon.

It was strong enough to blow over “Frosty”, our new Christmas snowman that I just put up a few days ago. Time to reinforce!!

Jane and I decided to continuing to decorate for Christmas, but she wants to cut back on the interior. It’s a lot of work and her enthusiasm is gone. I support whatever she chooses to do; it will look just fine.

The hardest part for me is getting all the bins down from the garage loft. And this year, we only plan on having one tree, because it’s just going to be us.

Fortunately, I have labelled the bins when I put them away and most of them are translucent so you can see what’s in them.

On another note, I sent an email to book contributors advising of purchase options and someone sent me an e-transfer payment within twenty minutes! It’s a very good thing that I have my project to keep me preoccupied!

We were just starting to get decorating underway when Chris called to say that they were weighing the pro’s and con’s of our upcoming visit. News isn’t good about the Covid cases and Toronto is moving to “red” zone. He was not happy to have to say, that it probably was best that we not do the visit scheduled for the weekend of Nov 28th.

He was talking with Jane and I saw her sink to a chair, her face dropping. I knew something was wrong. She needed to gather her thoughts, so I took the phone to talk with Chris. He made absolute sense. While we are very disappointed, we both understand and agree that this is the safest course for everybody. So it was a bit of a “too good to be true” moment.

This afternoon we went to Shoppers Drug Mart and got flu shots instead of decorating.

The centennial book, Souvenirs de Temiscaming, is complete.

I have been researching postage costs and have now registered with Canada Post as a small business.

Even with discounts, postage is expensive but becomes more affordable the more books that are purchased by a buyer.

Once I finalize my analysis, I will be sending an e-mail blast to all contributors advising of costs and ordering details. Probably in a week or so.

I love it when a plan comes together.

We just found out that Chris, Tonya and Max will be coming for a visit on November 28th!!! It has been forever since they have been here! Jane and I were dancing with joy!!

We will be self isolating prior to then as will they, except for Chris having to be in the workplace. We had a long talk with Chris and he sounded pretty excited at the idea of coming; they are fed up as we are.

I decided that a little celebration was in order, something for Max (and Roxy down the road) to see when they arrive; I ran out and bought an artificial tree and a little snowman and sleigh for the front lawn, smiling the whole time!! We have to do an artificial tree because we won’t be out shopping for 2 weeks prior to them coming. Jane’s mind immediately turned to food and decorations inside, with a big smile on her face, too!

Up until we found out they were coming, neither of us were feeling the Christmas spirit very much.

Onward and upward! HO-HO-HO!!

We are doing one last proofread of the Centennial Book, after which I will be making it available for publication.

Next week I will send an email blast to all contributors, advising them of next steps including ordering procedures. It is getting real!!

First I want to confirm pricing and arrangements for sales with Ross Electric Home Hardware in Temiscaming.

I’ll do that this week.

It was such a nice day today that I thought it would be a good time to put up Christmas lights.

I got the worst part done i.e. the lights over the garage which was the highest part.

After Jane returned from getting her hair done, we went for a drive up to Shanty Bay and back.

Today turned out to be an absolutely splendid day weather wise.

The sunshine was warm and the sky was totally cloudless.

It was so nice that we got the two glider deck chairs out of the shed and sat on the deck enjoying the summer-like warmth.

An unexpected treat.

Finally it was announced that Biden is President-elect.

He will have a difficult road ahead because the creature who lost will not cooperate in any way.

But at last there is Hope!

The vote counting continues in Pennsylvania and it looks more and more like Vice President Biden will be President-elect.

Trump, his supporters and spawn continue to say there was fraud and nefarious acts by the Democrats which, of course, is not supported by any evidence whatsoever.

Biden will have his work cut out for him. McConnell has already said the Senate Republicans will not cooperate just like they did with Obama.

We have gone through the Souvenirs de Temiscaming book again and I have ordered another Proof copy so I can figure out shipping costs and packaging size.

It takes about 10 days to get the Proof copy.

In the meantime I continue to work on figuring out shipping logistics.

As an aside, the US presidential election has not yet determined a winner. They are still counting votes.

Today is Election Day in the USA and it is proving to be a tough race.

It is very difficult to predict who will win.

To start with their electoral college system is ridiculous and does not democratically determine a winner.

The creature has been trying extremely hard to sow seeds of doubt in case he loses.

It’s a nail biter.

This morning, bright and early, we headed for Orillia to arrive at 6:30 am at Soldiers Memorial Hospital.

This where Dr. Leung does cataract surgery. She is my ophthalmologist that I was referred to by my optometrist. The procedure only took 30 minutes so I was out of there by 9:30. As we had decided, Jane drove back home to wait for the call. On her ways, she dropped in to Zehr’s to pick up some last minute essentials and just as she got home, the phone rang; I was ready for pickup!! She quickly tossed the groceries away and jumped back in the car!

Everything worked out ok and the operation went without a hitch; there was no pain or discomfort at all. If ever anyone reading this needs to undergo cataract surgery, do not hesitate!!

Today is the deadline I set for people to submit their memories of Temiscaming for inclusion in Souvenirs de Temiscaming, an anthology celebrating 100 years.

I was expecting a slew of last minute submissions but there has only been about 6 or 7.

That brings the total number of contributors to 143 – a lot more than I was expecting. This results in over 300 pages.