The Forty-Five!

Yesterday was our forty-fifth wedding anniversary and we survived.  All the little age references, the relationship jokes, the snide chuckles all blew away in the instant when we remembered, just we two, our lovely life together.

With sister, Linda, and her hubby, whose day was the day before, we took off for a mini holiday.  And we visited yet another sister starring in 2 Across in Port Colborne's Showboat Theatre.

Check out my review of Donna's current show and find out why she is in such demand as an actor this year.  Lovely time away seeing two sisters and having fun.

It's Time to Call it a Day

We're packing up and putting in the final minutes before we head for the airport. We stayed in a lovely, beautifully appointed B & B last night in Deer Lake, Newfoundland.


Even the lampshades were decorated! And the extra blanket in the closet was a colour coordinated quilt so that when we put on an extra blanket in the dark of night, it still fit the decorating scheme.



The bathroom was exquisite with a whirlpool tub over which hung this filmy flowered curtain. And not too many flowers. Just enough to enrich the decor.


Brass coloured fixtures, often too much in other schemes, were a perfect contrast to the dark blue walls. Made me think of our living room in our previous house. And this place, too, was offset with clean white woodwork.


Notice the ledge effect over the doors. This shelf was big enough to put small decorations on, but there were none. Perhaps that would have been too much.

I took these pictures with my iPad2 so that I could put them in this post but when I get home I'll have a few hundred to draw on for more blog entries. Farewell, Newfoundland!

Elaine Cougler

Winding Down

This has been an interesting trip to Newfoundland with every day some new piece of information or a delightful scene. The mountains of Gros Morne and the highway to and from L'Anse aux Meadows have afforded thrilling sights. We even saw a couple of icebergs as we drove towards L'Anse aux Meadows.

Here is a picture taken on my iPad2 this morning as I sit in my hotel room catching up on email, my LinkedIn writing group and my blogs. Actually there are three with the tide out, each showing a different angle of the shallow bay for which the water and the hotel are named. The place is Cow Head!













I like the last one best.

Elaine Cougler

And The Beat Goes *%$# On and *&^%# On

Almost landed in St. John's. Almost, that is. We were down to 5500 ft. Figured we were good to land. But the plane's nose started to go up again and the speed numbers on my screen accelerated at a great rate. We were climbing.

The ceiling, they told us, was about a hundred feet, not enough to land. We were heading for Deer Lake on the other side of the island.

Nice, there. Almost sunny.

Sat on the ground for an hour.

Sat and sat. Stood for awhile. And sat some more. Lots of my parts were complaining.

Took off for St. John's once more. Had yet another water and cookie. Fastened seat belts for landing. And went down to 2000 feet, then climbed again. Circled at 3000 feet for more time.

Going down. Bumpy. Dark grey clouds. Land, trees---I think...we're.....YES. We're clapping. Down!

Taking Pics in NFLD

Today we did the Bonavista peninsula and I got to try out my iPad2's picture taking capabilities. So there I was in bright sunlight looking at this picture postcard scene on Bonavista's waterfront right after touring a Parks Canada National Heritage site. In the lovely seaside building all fixed up in the recent past, we got the table by the window as we're traveling before the big tourist push. Outside, lovely rich blue buildings beckoned on a promontory across the way and seagulls dipped and swirled above the near waters of the cove. It was wonderful and I took a bunch of pictures which I am sure will be very good.

Then I got an idea. Why not get my iPad2 out of the car and get a pic that would be easy to put in my blog tonight. Sounded so easy. My imaginative brain churning away. Here are the pictures:










I particularly hate the last one with the spectacular view of the car dash. And what about the large expanse of stony foreground with hardly any of the picturesque buildings in the background? Not nearly as beautiful as what I have for you after I get home. Sorry.

The problem was I could not see what I was shooting. The screen was 98% black in the sunlight. So much for that experiment. Kind of like taking your laptop outside and trying to see the screen.

Coming soon to a blog near you? Elaine's awesome holiday pictures of Newfoundland.

I'll Never Travel Again

So here I am on the plane waiting for the boarding process to finish. My seat belt is on, I've got my water bottle---paid $4 for it!---and my husband is well into his sudoku. We're heading for St. John's and screech. Not the sound, the drink. Well, I probably won't be having that. Isn't it the one with the worm in it? Or is that tequila?




Last night was a bit of an annoyance. We got to our hotel and found we weren't registered. Seems we got our online reservations for one about 10 minutes away and, no, that hotel wouldn't cancel us. We had to shlep all our stuff back into the car and decamp.

The second hotel was a disappointment. Only one bed and the bathroom smelled that distinct odor of too many drunks relieving themselves in the stairwell of a parking garage. Fun. Well we made the best of it and at 5 this morning woke to begin the airport trek. And here we are.

Best part of the day so far? It's fog and drizzle in St. John's.




Looks like somewhere there is sun. Ah, the day brightens.


And I leave you with one thought. Maybe I will travel again.



(Oh, and I love my iPad.)

Descriptive Modes: Words or Pictures

Okay, so I'm bored. And I have my iPad2. I tried to get a good shot of my window view, but this is the best.

Ah. Perfect time for description. There is a moving panorama outside the little ovoid square they call a window. A solid slice of beige, fringed with white froth lies atop a patch of blue. It gives me hope this early morning. Hope that the day will get better as we fly from rainy Toronto to St. John's ( where it's rumored to be foggy, as well.)

Back to the picture. It's changed!



What is that colour? Blue? Azure? Indigo? Lovely. And bits of cloudy fluff float effortlessly above a filtered earth.

Now we're out of the clouds. Little rectangles jigsaw below in brown, beige, and black patches. As the sun seeks its zenith, blacks turn green and forests border fields of winter wheat and early corn.




Little boxes float into view. Are they made of ticky tacky? From up here they certainly all look the same. I see our history down there with the rectangles pointing to the St. Lawrence. The seigneurial system divided the land so that every farm would have access to the lifeline of the mighty Fleuve St. Laurent. And Quebec and Ontario were then both part of la belle province. Plus ca change....




And change my window view has. White and blue. No wonder blue is my favorite colour. It just makes me stop and watch. And want to paint to make it mine forever. I might somehow forget so need to imprison this beauty. And remember that even if there is rain below as I land, this sunny wonder is up above.

Cougler Family Sings Again

My husband and I treasure family above all else so when our daughter manages to make it here for a couple of weeks we are ecstatic.  In April, though, we were even more blessed as our son suggested we resurrect our quartet of years gone by and sing in church. 
On Palm Sunday, two days after Beth arrived back in Ontario, we sang Abide With Me.  Kevin videotaped the performance and put it on YouTube.  Mom would be proud to see the Cougler Family sing again.