Beader Girl Jewels

Spiderman Halloween Preview

2011-10-19T11:25:00.000-04:00

Our recent trip to Victoria meant taking a few pictures. Here are the highlights. This lovely red bush bordered the walking trail we took every day to pick up the Times-Colonist for Ron. Don't think we have these orange-red-flowered bushes in Ontario.

Chelsea was excited to see the fields of pumpkins growing so we stopped the car and I caught Beth. Was she thinking of stealing one? Later we bought Chelsea's choices: a 7-inch diameter, a 4-inch diameter and a small gourd. What can I say? She loves small things.

Beautiful fall flowers adorned this fence line across the road from the pumpkins.

I've saved the best for the last--Spiderman! Well, maybe Spidergirl. Chelsea's dad came home with this awesome Halloween costume one day. Since we wouldn't see her on the actual day, Chelsea modeled for us. Here she is climbing up the wall. I think Grandpa would have liked if she had used her web-throwing capabilities and climbed up that way. Too cute!

What is your favorite Halloween costume? When did you wear it?

Down By The Bay in Huntsville

2011-09-27T11:09:00.003-04:00

Well, actually it's not a bay but there were boats going up and down the channel as we sat outside having our dinner. Aside from the yellow jackets we were battling a couple of times, the ambiance was perfect. I took a couple of iPhone pictures. My unfamiliarity with my phone is hardly noticeable at all. Lovely shot of Ron, though.

We're here for his conference and I'm tagging along, using the time to write, revise, blog, tweet, FB, link in, go for walks and watch the leaves turn these lovely fall days. Here is the lovely writing spot I have here. Hard not to be inspired.

And the leaves are turning early this year, the lady who just cleaned my room told me. Lucky for us!

From here we're off to visit our daughter's family and that means our granddaughter, too. Life is sweet, isn't it?

Great Lakes Helicopter and Me!

2011-09-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

Okay so we finally used our coupons to go to Great Lakes Helicopter near Breslau last Friday evening. I insisted on sitting beside the pilot and couldn't get the smile off my face the whole trip. That's about 15 minutes of non-stop flying and smiling. Ron and Donna liked it, too, but I think I get the prize for being over-the-top excited. Here are some of the pictures.

Our pilot, Alain Blais, looks like he is wondering if he should actually take this crazy trio up.
Luckily, he did. Here I am waiting to go.

Ron was in the rear seat with Donna.

She wasn't sure about this but did just fine and said she really enjoyed it. Of course that was after we were safely back on terra firma!

Who knew there was a new road and bridge going in not far from the Kitchener airport? Now I know why the police can spot those nasty crops by doing their flyovers.

If I knew what these dials all meant I might write about it. I was just glad Alain was so proficient.

The golf clubs were awesome from above. Maybe this is Whistlebear?

And we got many beautiful views of the Grand River, aptly named. I was also surprised by how many beautiful trees we have. You just don't see them from the ground.

After the ride we did dinner at Wildcraft, an excellent but pricey restaurant on King St. N. in Waterloo. Great outing!

Five Favorite Pictures from Last Week

2011-08-22T14:19:00.000-04:00

Okay, this first picture is shameless and gratuitous--I took it because it was lovely but can't remember where I was. Description? I have none. Pretty, though, isn't it?

Now this one is under the big tent at Singing Brook Farm on the final day of a week long camp. The children present to their parents and other hangers-on, like me. It is always a lot of fun.

This is an alpaca having a holiday at Singing Brook Farm during the summer camp season. She is pretty and pretty friendly. My grandson, Ben, loved feeding her fresh grass which he ripped out of the ground around her pen.

The alpaca's hair is very soft. No wonder yarn is made from cuttings.

This little lady stands about three feet tall and keeps moving constantly. I had quite a time getting any good photos!

Next summer the camp at Singing Brook Farm will be moving as Linda and Steve have sold their farm. I look forward to the new venue although I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this lovely 50 acres. Bonne chance, Tempo!

Ontario is Cool Again

2011-08-10T10:04:00.002-04:00

I know, I know. Talking about the weather is boring. But Ontario's July was just too hot and August started out the same. Here is a trio of pictures I'm delighted to display today as my windows are OPEN and the temperature is 22.5 deg. Celsius. Yay!
First, my shoes in front of the OPEN door with the screen letting in lovely cool bits of breeze. I walked at the soccer club track today but also walked home without passing out from heat exposure.

And the deck door is OPEN, too, for a cross breeze.

You can see the flowers and shrubs outside but the amazing thing is the twisted OPEN window.

Having air conditioning is absolutely necessary sometimes when the summer is hot. And this one has been the hottest in some time. The downside of central air is you start to feel like a caterpillar locked up in the pupa stage, longing to burst forth. And today we can!

Strawberry Season's Bounty

2011-07-25T14:52:00.000-04:00

To be absolutely spot on the mark, I should have a picture of my fresh strawberry shortcake or my strawberry/spinach salad here under this title. As it is, I have pretty jars of strawberry jam before it went into the freezer, and strawberry sauce, my own recipe. It gets frozen as well.

This year in my part of Ontario, strawberries were amazing; in fact, as Sue at Red Barn Berries said, it's the best year ever. And even though I don't usually freeze berries anymore, my husband and I did hull a few for these goodies. Couldn't resist. The jar we put in the frig to use is almost gone but the others are waiting safely in the freezer for that cold day this winter when we'll feel like a taste of summer.

I'm not sure when the best feeling of accomplishment strikes, when I see the freshly jarred berries glowing red on my counter or when I go to my freezer and pull out the fruits of my labours to enjoy while winter's winds whistle at the keyholes.

My daughter carries on the tradition. She made strawberry-fig jam with a friend, teaching yet another convert the benefits to both tummy and personal well-being of preserving summer's succulent treats. And that's a good thing. Martha Stewart would be proud.

Wild Beauties of Ontario--Weeds

2011-07-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

Near my home is a bit of land waiting to be developed, but while it's waiting colourful flowers fill up the space. Here is a self-seeded poplar tree, flanked by that wonderful shade of blue cornflowers.

I saw these a few days ago but didn't have my camera. The next time I went by there was no blue in sight. I thought I had missed them. Then I realized that the early bird gets, not the worm, the flowers!

This weed is so pretty there is even a crystal pattern, very popular when I was getting married, called cornflower. Of course the crystal misses the heavenly colour.

Vibrant tiger lilies always greet us beside every country road but this year they are more plentiful and a deeper colour. I think our wet spring really served them well. Now, we could stand some rain! (Notice the rising corn behind the lilies.)

And further along my picture-taking route I found these beauties: tiger lilies, something purple and something taller that is violet. I could look up the names but to me they don't matter. The beauty does.

Highway 401 has been planted with great stretches of crown vetch. Here I found some along a country road. It is so luxuriant I just want to lie down and let it cradle me. As long as there are no bees, that is.

Little compact patches of this vibrant yellow clumping flower grow sparingly along the roads. Of course this one was on a busy highway so I had to fight traffic to get these shots. Worth it, though.

And here I've pulled back to show the distance shot. Like a shot in the arm these bits of sunshine are.

After I got my pictures I headed for the garage to book another appointment to fix the thing we paid $500 to fix two weeks ago. A sad way to end my beauty tour.

The Forty-Five!

2011-06-26T15:21:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-17T09:05:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-16T08:19:00.003-04:00

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

2011-06-11T15:26:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-10T17:52:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-09T18:19:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-08T18:53:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-04T08:49:00.002-04:00

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.

Self-Portrait?

2011-05-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

Thursday I spent a lovely few hours delivering flyers with my son. No, he's not ten, but a long-time adult. We took the time together in the car to drive around our county, visiting all the schools but 5. He is president of the badminton club here and they are offering a logo contest.

Well, we had a grand time. Most of the schools I could find but some we needed to use his iPhone GPS to look up. No problem. We had a lunch at a place in Tillsonburg which I remembered from my teaching days there--Ambrosia, it's called--and managed to circle about 90 % of the county where I grew up.

That night, I did my regular getting-ready-for-bed routine, taking off my jewelry and leaving it on my dresser till the morning. And then I slept. Not too newsworthy, eh?

The next morning I took a look at the jewelry on my dresser and noticed, for the first time, that I had worn two completely mismatched earrings the day before. And I had gone all those places, done all those things, seen dozens of people. And never noticed. Obviously I don't look in the mirror too often. I could never do a self portrait like Picasso and Van Gogh did. I just don't look at myself.

Catching Up On My IPad

2011-05-24T20:49:00.002-04:00

So here is a first. Tonight I am writing my blog post from my new iPad2 and I'm pumped. This is multiple-tasking at my best. (Of course I'm watching Dancing With the Stars so might miss a comma or two.)

What have I learned since I bought this entry into the Mac world? Scrabble is a team sport! Who knew?

Seriously, though, I have learned a lot of keyboard stuff which is different in this format. To correct a mistake I have to hold my finger over the screen until a circle appears. I place it to the right of the error and backspace it out. This is the only way I've found, unlike the PC format which gives delete or backspace. There are many little things like that which are gradually becoming easier for me.

My first test for the iPad as a word processor was at a writing conference at the end of April. Being a touch typist who needs a standard keyboard, I went right out and bought the add-on keyboard. It is excellent. As long as I had a table I used the keyboard but when I didn't I used the pop-up screen one. It is fine but slow. I had to watch the keyboard and not the speaker. Nevertheless, I managed quite well.

In the airport I had a lot of time to kill so tried out the Internet with mixed results. None of the problems were the fault of the iPad, just the airport connectivity.

Aps are the way to go, I've found, and kids' aps for the grand babies are fun. They don't cost much and are pretty creative. I found a drawing one that 2-year-old Ben loves. I like that it challenges him intellectually and is colorful and artistic. His favorite is the animals and the loaders he can paste into the pages. This kid can sit and create for 25 minutes at a time. Pretty good for a two-year-old.

All in all, I'm happy with the iPad and the aps I've got so far, as well as the how-to book I had to have. I like to hold that old-fashioned paper thing in my hand sometimes just to remember how we used to learn.

Time Just Fritters Away

2011-05-18T11:11:00.000-04:00

So, this morning I had lots of things on my list: remove nail polish (it's a mess.), tidy kitchen (ditto), make salad for dinner, read Ruth's thingey for my critique group in London tonight, edit 25 more pages of my manuscript (getting close to the end!!!!), Twitter a bit, Facebook some, and write a personal blog about social networking. I did the first two and then got caught up on Facebook.

People really do respond when you ask them to be friends. I was totally enthralled with everyone's story and engaged in some twitter-type banter with friends and relatives. Fun.

And now there is only one more hour to be called morning; I have so much to do in that hour. First, I'll stop responding to Facebook notices. Then I'll get this post done. Finally, I'll finish my reading for tonight. That should take me up to lunch and all of those things are a pleasure.

Another task that took me away from my list was making picture CDs for Chelsea and Ben, my two grandchildren. I had to fawn over each picture, of course. They are the sweetest kids in the world, don't you know?

And the phone keeps ringing. Ron is not here today so I get to answer all the calls. Not that I mind. Being at home all day necessitates connections with the world and even though the phone is one of the older ways of being social, it's still my favorite. Nothing like hearing the voice.

Videoconferencing via one of the many methods is great, too, especially when it all works. This makes distances just shrink right up. My granddaughter and I have even developed a way to hug when signing off. It's not nearly so good as feeling her in my arms, but it's a great substitute. Would that she were living here. When is that time travel thing coming anyway? Beam me up, Scottie!

BTW, what better way to fritter time than watching this beautiful sunset on Vancouver's harbour when I was out there for my conference.

Spring Signs in My World

2011-04-26T13:55:00.005-04:00

I always look for the crocuses. These adorned our walking path along the Avon River in Stratford a couple of weeks ago. Out of all that blah comes LIFE!

This lovely black swan is housecleaning, totally oblivious to my camera.

A goose? Whatever, it's nesting and wouldn't let us get too close. Good job.

All the river birds were in pairs. That green head is just so striking.

And the runners, too, were trying out their spring shoes all along the lovely shore.

Here my friends and I were attending another Spring ritual--the annual spring luncheon of the Women's Canadian Club of London. We were delighted to hear Margaret Trudeau speak about her new book and her life.

Here she is signing my sister's copy of Changing My Mind. Love the title.

And, finally, the pride of the Avon sailing along in pristine glory.

Spring is here. At last.

Bits of My Life

2011-04-05T09:18:00.003-04:00

The last ten days has been interesting. Of course my new iPad has been taking up my time. I've still got a lot of learning to do. Here it is with my tv adapter. Haven't got that little beauty out of the package yet. So much to learn.

And then there's the impending visit of our granddaughter and our preparations for said visit. Here we have another new purchase--a stool for Chelsea (and Ben) to use. We already had the potty seat.

Ron is happy to have a new vacuum cleaner. With this one he doesn't have to crawl around on the bedroom carpet with the hand tool in order to clean. This model actually works the way it is supposed to. And it didn't cost a mint! All good.

Oh, and one other bit. This morning I finished yet another version of my novel in preparation for the final final really final copy. Just have to do a final read through of the printed copy to check yet again. This writing is a lot of work, but I love it.

Webster's and Tew's Falls

2011-03-21T15:55:00.009-04:00

Sunday we had planned to stay home all day but by 10:00 a.m. Ron was ready to follow the sun. We went along Highway 5 to Webster's Falls. Here Ron is posing before a stripped tree limb which overhangs the lookout at Tew's Falls.

I tried the same pose but he's a little taller.

I looked down in the gorge and saw lots of tired winter snow which had not melted yet.

Ah, the waterfall. Flowing fast and ferocious, it made a lovely insistent roaring noise which we don't hear on our summer visits.

I liked this shot of the water slicing out its own design in the gorge below.

Here is Ron posing on the newly renovated stone bridge upstream from Webster's Falls. I am glad this wonderful old site is being maintained so well.

The water slices down the stream and hurtles over the falls, a thrilling sight in spring.

Below, the water boils and stews before rushing further downstream.

On warmer days we have sat on the grass nibbling picnic foods with family. Today we settled for a picture of Ron in front of the explanatory sign.

What a lovely way to spend an hour on a sunny spring day. Just look at this one last shot of the waters running for the drop.

Webster's Falls and Tew's Falls

Opening Doors at the Soccer Pitch

2011-03-19T12:58:00.004-04:00

On February first of this year I started walking regularly at our new soccer facility. While I was in Mexico experiencing Montezuma's Revenge, my husband signed up for a four-month walking pass at the soccer club near us. Well, it seemed funny to me to pay for somewhere to walk--what's wrong with outside?--but I figured I'd try it out.

Since then we have walked every day but three, even mall walking in Victoria when the streets were thick with ice. We have spurred each other through those 'don't feel like it' times and the results are surprising.

We have more energy. We are excited to start our day and accomplish much more than normal.

My writing is flourishing, my husband's various projects are getting done. I am making lists and actually crossing things off. And all due to regular, stress regular, exercise.

Here is a picture of the excellent track where we walk.

And there is almost always something interesting going on below. Soccer games using the full space, soccer-by-age using smaller fields, regular football where people have rented out the space and even rugby games.

The track is always clean, well-marked and airy as huge machines seem to exchange the air constantly. No problem of lack of ventilation chasing us walkers out.

Finally, designers put windows upstairs so that when we are walking we can see the bright sunny day, the lovely homes nearby, the purple and green playground equipment edging the outdoor soccer fields. I really look forward to my walk every day; in fact, I think it's time right now. Care to join?

Beaching in Victoria in February

2011-03-16T13:32:00.003-04:00

Last week we got back from a two-week stay with our daughter and her family. Here are some of the pics from a cloudy, cool day when we were pushing the beach season. Grandpa has had many sand-castle building years to prepare for his role with his granddaughter. Here they are just getting started. Before long we had trenches winding over twenty feet. Chelsea loved them.

While they were building I turned my attention to the many others sharing the beach space that day. This couple were mixing dog-walking and coffee drinking. Looked good.

There was a sailing class in the bay, each boat doing its turns, heedless of the cloudy skies.

Yet another dog person had a thrower for tossing the balls to his two dogs. The dogs got lots of exercise. He was pretty laid back, ambling along in front of my lens.

I turned back to the builders and got this long shot.

We all went home happy that we had done the first rite of summer even though the actual season is far off in Australia or some place. Certainly not in Victoria this year.

I See Green!

2011-02-18T09:58:00.002-05:00

Oh, how I wish that meant money, but no, it's grass. Look at the way the snow has receded.

And here you can see the rest of the complex today whereas two weeks ago

you couldn't. Also the snow is dirty above and clean below--fresh versus stale snow. I hate the look of old snow but am glad to see it melting. Today the temp is going to be around 8 above (Celsius). By tonight a lot more of this pile will be gone.

Time for spring housecleaning.

Cancun's Dreams Riviera Hotel

2011-02-02T11:09:00.006-05:00

Some of you may know that I won a trip to Mexico through East Side Mario's contest almost a year ago now. Well last week I finally got to take it, along with my sister. Here is a shot of hotel employees setting up near the beach for one of the many weddings which are held here each week. The wind was a bit of a problem this week but the beauty held.

Our room was gorgeous and comfortable with its marble bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi tub and walk-in shower, double sinks and lots of counter/cupboard space for the two of us.

At night the beds were turned down, side curtains hung and a bottle of cold water plus chocolates put out for us. Nobody does that at home!

Standing on our porch we could see the plunge pools which units on the first floor had. Nice idea but I never saw anyone use them the whole week. Not warm enough, I guess.

Looking the other way from our balcony the ocean was in the distance as was the hot tub. Sadly the hot tub was at best lukewarm. Not much point in going in.

Huts on the beach were plentiful and we claimed a spot every day for at least a few hours. Such a lovely place to read and dream.

The food was dispensed at this all-inclusive resort via many small restaurants. Our favorite was this one which overlooked the swim up infinity pool and the ocean. The seafood was excellent in this restaurant.

Beside the pools there were many cabanas with large mattresses, filmy white curtains and thatched roofs to keep the sun off. We claimed one on our last afternoon there and found the Internet connection better than in the room. Joyce got her family on the screen and then walked around to show them the whole area. Pretty neat use of a computer.

From the huge main hall we walked toward the beach along a stunning boardwalk with shops and lovely shady sitting areas lining it.

The view of the outside entrance is not ostentatious at all, a surprise although I never left the compound the whole week we were there so it didn't really matter.

Here is Joyce inside the huge welcome building posing for me. There is a bar on the left--free drinks whenever, whatever.

This was a six-star hotel and we loved it. I only wished that our husbands could have been there with us. Maybe another time.

What to do in Winter

2011-01-17T14:06:00.004-05:00

On Saturday last a number of horse people (their major hobby is horses) and a lot of horse lovers got together for the annual sleigh ride afternoon at my brother's farm. A biting wind this year kept the numbers down a bit but the effort was well worth while for those who made it.

Here Steve waits while my grandson (two years old) and his entourage climb on for the next ride:

A number of the nannies that look after my son's boy and other children in his neighborhood went along for the ride. And they loved it. Most are from the Phillipines so are not used to this cold but we gave them a taste of Ontario's winter and a wonderful thing to do out in the cold.

Back at the drive barn after the ride people ate and drank hot drinks, all provided on a bring-your-own-and-share basis. Warmth was more important than fashion that day as my sister showed with this hat which was my father's many long years ago.

Other favorite pastimes during our Canadian winter are fixing up the house, the basement or the garage or working on hobbies. Here Ron has just completed building a kit in which to store his tools and bits and pieces of fix-it things. He is a happy camper.

Of course the question is, will he keep it all neat and tidy once he is finished the new storage place? Oh, well. That brings to mind another winter job for him.

Four Girls

2011-01-14T10:38:00.002-05:00

I have three sisters about whom I've written before in this blog. Today I was skimming pictures on my computer and came across this one taken last October at a wedding. We try to get our picture taken together at every event we can.

With the youngest, Donna, being an actor/musician, getting together is less often than we'd all like. She was in Regina for almost three months on her last gig and I missed her.

Linda--she's not sleeping, honest!--is also a musician and performs when she can take time out from her private teaching. She is also in love with their sons, their farm and their horses.

Joyce is closest to my age but still much younger although I always introduce her as my older sister. She is a nurse and the mother of four, with the youngest now in Grade Ten.

And that leaves me, the oldest and best, I tell them. My greatest success in my life is my two children but I am also happy to have been a teacher of French, English and Computers over my high school teaching career. And equally happy to be finished with that, retired and writing my historical novel.

We are all happily married and in love with life. I celebrate my times with my sisters, each of whom I can always count on. How lucky am I!

Post Christmas Blues?

2011-01-03T14:22:00.006-05:00

No way! I have post Christmas reds and yellows and oranges. Reds because red is such a vibrant meaningful colour. It never takes a back seat. All the other colours have to go with red. It just doesn't give an inch, does it?

And yellow because every day the sun streaks into my window and I have to tone it down with my blinds or I can't see my computer screen. Yet on grey days I really miss my yellow friend. I struggle to keep my spirits up.

Orange in January? Well, this is the season of Florida oranges and we buy a box every few weeks for my husband to make fresh-squeezed orange juice in the mornings. The succulent drip of juice floating by my taste buds on its way to my stomach is a winter delight I love every year at this time.

I don't write out resolutions, because I've lived long enough to know how disappointing their non-accomplishment is. Better to just set little goals, happy goals, goals which are joyful to complete. Then, if there are some less interesting or exciting things I have to do, they just get done without a lot of fanfare. Of course today I am really proud of getting back to my writing after a Christmas away celebrating (and slacking off.)

And I am glad I took these pictures of the tiny toy bench we gave Ben for Christmas because the decals lasted about one day. Now they are all gone, his parents tell us. Oh, well. Here is what it looked like when we gave it to him.

I made tiny mittens for both my grandchildren but think I got more out of it than they did. The story book I wrote for them was better received and Grandpa and I had such fun taking the pictures and puttting them into the software. I should have ordered a copy for myself as I ordered two and gave one to Ben and one to Chelsea. Nevertheless, here is the cover.

The story is about our big bear which both of our grandchildren love and our search to find it. I think that was my most favorite gift to give this year, although I surprised Ron with a couple of neat things.

So the final word is, I have no post Christmas Blues. The new year is looking bright and sunny.

Images of Christmas at Our House

2010-12-22T13:50:00.004-05:00

It's Christmas. That hap-happiest time of the year. And I thought I'd show some shots of our house. Enjoy the glitz and glimmer, the shine and shimmer, the best of the season from our house to yours.

And, yes, although many will have a 'holiday' over this time, I'm still wishing one and all a Merry Christmas.

ROM Terracotta

2010-12-14T15:46:00.006-05:00

ROM Terracotta. Oh, doesn't that just sound like a recipe? No salivating here; this title is about my train trip to Toronto yesterday with my friend, and our day-long visit to the Royal Ontario Museum's exhibits. The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army is the title of the ROM's starring attraction just now and we entered at 11:00, the first showing of the day.
Right off the bat I was disconcerted as the din of numerous school groups filled the exhibit hall. We tried to keep away but sometimes that was just not possible. I do like to be able to quietly find my own way through museums but had to make allowance for the kids. Okay I could do that, and, actually, it wasn't too bad. The tour guides must have been good as the kids listened attentively and only made noise when moving to their next stopping point.

Well, the warriors were the main attraction and were pretty interesting but not as great as I had hoped. I pictured many terracotta figures lined up in rows like soldiers at roll call and in the web picture above. Actually there were not many, maybe 10 or so around the main room. There were, however, excellent short videos and many other related artifacts.
Confusion rained about whether the warriors were real live people buried with the first emperor, Qin, but no, they were figures made out of terracotta. When I was in China there was no time to fly to the actual site where the terracotta warriors were found, a loss I really felt yesterday as I was standing in the museum. I had been so close to the real thing!
The rest of the day we visited other museum exhibits, got a feel for the integration of the two additions to the ROM, and just soaked it all in. Close to closing we whipped into the gem exhibit and were entranced by the stunning colours and formations filling many rows of cabinets. I saw names that I never heard of in Rocks 21 (Geology) at Western in the sixties. I guess I don't know as much as I thought about this earth of ours. This exhibit was a fitting and beautiful end to our day at the ROM.
Two other highlights were the Italian meals we had, yes, lunch and dinner, and the train ride home again. Our feet were worn out but not our voices. We talked contentedly all the way home.

Accentuate the Positive

2010-12-08T10:49:00.006-05:00

This is the view outside our home today and while I like snow I don't like the way it sometimes makes us cocoon for days. While this picture is pretty white, we don't have much snow, not compared with London, Ontario, which reportedly has about a meter. Yes, I said a meter. That's just over three feet for non-metric types.

So I take you back to fall in the Rockies and this picture of a kayaker. It's about as close as I've come to kayaking but it is gorgeous.

Or how about this picture of my wonderful sisters and I laughing it up at a wedding reception in October? Sure is positive.

Finally, here is Grandpa making Ben giggle in Florida this past October. Just warms me up thinking about it.

I will search for positives a little more than usual today as I zip up my hoodie, and contemplate putting on my new silk longjohns for a walk in the white. Or maybe catch up on my blogging. Now, that's positively exciting. Have a good one, folks.

Bits and Pieces

2010-11-12T09:52:00.005-05:00

Today's blog is about a number of things on my mind. The nastiness of flying is first. We just came back from a week's trip to Orlando (not my favorite place in the world but I'll go anywhere with my grandkids) so are fresh from the flying experience. This was almost the worst. We went with Spirit as they are cheap and we thought we'd give them a try. Never again. Row 9 we had, both going and coming back. Well, the seats in row 9 don't recline at all and have about 4" less leg room. My short legs almost hit the seat in front so you can guess how uncomfortable my long-legged spouse was. When the man ahead started to put his seat back my quiet, unassuming husband told him there was no room for that. Luckily the man was nice and acquiesced. I'm not sure why we ended up with this extra short space but we had it coming back, too.

And they didn't serve water even! What a cheap flight. Flying makes you dry. I can hardly believe that it's not mandated to serve a beverage of some kind. Of course the flight attendants were up and down the aisles trying to sell earphones and mixed drinks. Going down my carry-on bag was just fine but coming back we had to pay an extra $30 for it. Make sense? No, but the passenger has no recourse.

Our son told of his friend's parents who flew out of Toronto a few weeks ago. When the elderly man who rarely flies got to security, they immediately took him to an open cubicle where everyone could see what was happening and did a strip search. Now I don't know if they did a cavity search or not but still he must have been mortified. I am appalled that our flying world has become so crass.

In fact, crossing the "longest undefended border in the world" is a pain. A couple of weeks ago my friend and I went to Port Huron for a couple of days shopping. When we got to the border we were excited that there was no lineup. I waited till the car in front was done and pulled ahead. One of the attendants went from his booth over to my person's booth, frantically waving for me to stop. I did. Half way between the original stop and the booth. He left my person's booth, glared at me again and went back to his booth. I sat for a couple of minutes, unsure what to do. Finally I could see the person sitting there waiting for me so I pulled up the remaining ten feet. She jumped up from her chair and screamed at me that I was to wait till I got the signal to approach. Then she went back into her booth and sat on her chair for another two minutes before coming out again. She didn't appear to be doing anything, not even looking at her monitor. Finally she came out and gave me the third degree, yelling that I was not supposed to move ahead till given the signal. Well there is no signal but the stop sign and the green light, both of which I had obeyed. Long story short she was on a power trip. They weren't busy so she could try to frighten me. I answered her questions in monosyllables and gradually she softened up. When I pulled away I was seething. She had no reason to treat me so poorly. Power trip. That's all it was.

Well now that I've got myself reliving the anger I think it's time to get back to being positive and upbeat. Here is a picture of Grandpa teasing Ben in Florida. We had a wonderful time swimming with the little guy and playing lots of games. We babysat three different afternoons so that his parents could go off on their own and we loved it.

Everywhere we went Ben found interesting things. Here he loved using the sandwich board as a little house.

Florida is not our favorite place because of the chance of high humidity. We had five days of it this trip so came to worship the air conditioning. The last two days were cooler with fresh dry air. I was ecstatic. Nevertheless playing with our family in the pools was a highlight we'll always remember. These are the great bits of life.

Must Be Fall

2010-10-26T11:17:00.004-04:00

It truly must be fall. Leaves have turned red, yellow, orange and have started falling by the truckload. Piles at the side of the streets of Woodstock await the snuffleupagus thingey. And Ron and I have turned to home improvements, yet again. Last Saturday we took five hours to hang about one double roll of wallpaper as a back splash in our kitchen. We love it.

The colours are not quite as you see here as there is a blue tinge and a cranberry tinge to some of the 'bricks' but the lighting for my camera didn't work perfectly. This shot of our desk cubby hole is a bit closer to the actual colour. We discovered that the fluorescent tube under cupboard lighting here is more white than the others. Now we have to go looking for new bulbs that are more white.

We really like that the cords don't show up nearly as much from across the room as they did against a cream wall. And now we're on a mission to decorate the space above the cupboards. Here is our latest acquisition from a trip to London on Sunday afternoon. I loved the red! And, no, the wallpaper is NOT yellow as it appears in this picture.

My next piece will have blue in it, I hope, as that is one of our colours. Yes, it's fall and we're cocooning once again. Mmm. Almost time to make Christmas cake.

I Adora Elora Gorge

2010-10-17T10:28:00.008-04:00

Many years ago my husband and I were introduced to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area on a hiking day with close friends. Last weekend the two of us were there again. We paid our $10 to get into the park, left our car in the designated area right at the trail head, put on our walking shoes and struck out through the trees. Multitudes of people were there that sunny, warm day in fall making a solitary walk impossible. Nevertheless the gorge beckoned and we all shared it.

There is a huge drop down to a small meandering river and sometime many years ago this sturdy fence was built for safety. It also adds to the view. Along the trail we found a ravine and climbed down to see the gorge from the bottom. I loved the towering walls lining the serene river as hikers and adventurers dipped into the scene.

I couldn't get enough pictures.

This was really a lovely place to reconnoiter.

Of course hiking down the ravine meant hiking back up but we did it with not too much effort. Guess we're in better shape than we think. Near the village of Elora, this stone shell of an old mill (I expect) is a powdery grey-white and quite beautiful.

Another shot of the same place focuses on the gnarled old tree by the path.

My husband took this shot of me but couldn't get one without others in it as well, so busy was the trail that day. Note the bridge in the background. We were almost in the village.

Another old mill across the river has found a new life with a restaurant on the bottom floor. As we got closer we saw all the veranda tables filled. What a lovely spot to get refreshed!

And here is the river with its water rushing over worn rock towards the rapid fall a few feet away.

Some Canada geese were washing their webby feet as the sun soothed and cameras clicked. Ideal.

Heading back towards the trail we explored the abandoned mill from a different angle. I had to take a picture of Ron, framed by this solid and secure stone wall.

Fall is so exceptional because out of the cool days and nippy nights suddenly comes a sun-filled warm day framed by sparkling waters and rioting trees of red, orange and yellow. This was one such glorious day.

Mountain Grandeur

2010-10-11T12:22:00.005-04:00

Today's pictures are of our hikes with good friends and the breath taking scenery they are fortunate enough to experience year round. They live in Canmore AB except for the winter months when they snowbird off to Florida.

My traveling buddy, Ron, sits before the Bow River in Banff.

Two different days we went hiking with John and Heather. This is one of the views.

Here are John and I hamming it up, as usual, while Ron relaxes.

We thought this would be a great place to golf. Ron has his eye on the Kananaskis country for a golf trip with Kevin and Ben when Ben is 13. We have a while to wait!

This is fall in the Rockies. The yellow larch high up near the treeline are the equivalent to our fall colours here in Ontario. Very pretty.

I hiked up this seemingly endless set of steps in the hillside and turned around to take the picture.

This is a kayaking course where the brave test their skill and endurance going through various twists and turns. I was happy to be on dry land.

This fellow had a kind of a surf board, tied to his ankle so that it wouldn't get away down the rapids, and he was surfing in the fast flow of water coming through these rocks. Until he fell off, but each time he did he made his difficult way back to the notch and surfed again.

The red kayak below centred my picture nicely, don't you think?

Another of the same kayaker.

The Bow River is the centre of many a mountain shot here in Banff. I was disappointed that the famous Bow River view from the veranda of the Banff Springs Hotel has been obscured by trees which have been allowed to grow up.

On our second hiking day we took an easy trail up, up and up. I thought it was pretty hard until I saw what these fellows were doing--mountain climbing!

When we reached the top this panorama was our reward. I could have sat there all day.

And I got another shot of the same view, this time with John surveying the mountains.

John, Heather and I paused a moment for Ron to get our picture. This was my first foray with walking sticks and I found them quite helpful going up. Coming down I just carried them.

Well we're not about to move west any time soon but, my oh my, this is a beautiful part of Canada. Our friends have taken wholeheartedly to the hiking and climbing that is so spectacular around Canmore and Banff and I am a little envious. Meanwhile my husband and I have new hiking shoes and yesterday we hiked the Elora Gorge. Pretty cool there, too.

Quick Brown Fox: "My Sister’s Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, reviewed by Elaine Cougler

2010-10-07T09:58:00.001-04:00

Please visit Quick Brown Fox for my review of a fabulous book, My Sister's Keeper.

Quick Brown Fox: "My Sister’s Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, reviewed by Elaine Cougler

Canmore Collection

2010-10-04T13:26:00.004-04:00

Partway along the trail beside Lake Louise I took this shot as we walked towards the cut in the distance. Still the lake was glassy. Later as we returned kayaks cut into the water with very slight ripples which spread across the lake.

Here Ron posed for me before the more visible glacier which we were nearing. Taking a bad picture would be pretty difficult here.

After our lunch in the restaurant at Chateau Lake Louise where we were seated by a window looking out over the lovely lake, we made our way a few miles up to Moraine Lake. A kind passerby took our picture in front of this grizzly (I think!) and I made copies for our two grandchildren. Of course we know this is a statue but the wee ones will be wondering, I'm sure.

Moraine Lake was worth the drive even though the sun had disappeared for our visit. These mountains have so many secrets to give up that I think we could travel forever and not see everything.

I knew about Japanese internments in British Columbia during the second world war but this monument told of Alberta's camps for suspect peoples. This one was along the secondary route, not the Trans Canada, the 1A, I think. We made the stop and remembered a not so wonderful part of our Canadian history.

Back on the Trans Canada highway I made Ron stop so I could get a good picture of the crossings which have been built for wildlife to get over the highway. I had read about these before so knew what we were seeing. There are many in different stages of development along the route to Banff and beyond. Such a good idea. Notice the vegetation planted all over the trail. I would have loved to see moose, bear, mountain goats, sheep or anything using the crossover but was not so lucky.

As we drove the Trans Canada we needed our movie camera as there was never a moment when stunning sights and beautiful mountain vistas were not before our eyes. I love this country!

Horseback riding is big in the Rockies and even in Banff you can rent horses and go on a trek along the Bow River.

Elk saunter nonchalantly over the green spaces along the Bow but also on the actual golf course and wherever they want, it seems. Of the many pictures I took, this one captures the idyllic life of a Bow River elk.

I think I'll get that picture blown up and framed.

Banff Blowout

2010-10-04T12:54:00.005-04:00

My last two weeks have been nothing short of fabulous. My husband and I were in Banff, Alberta for four days, Canmore for three days and then home before heading to Leamington, Ontario for two more days. And it was all good. Then this morning, I walked from our home in the northernmost part of this city all the way to the Quality Hotel on the south near the 401. It took me one hour and fifteen minutes. All of that time was energizing so that I'm now pumped enough to carry on for the rest of the day. To start with here are some pictures from Alberta:

Monday morning we got up to a few inches of snow on the ground at the Banff Centre and a lot more on the surrounding mountains. The building to the left held my husband's conference sessions.

This is the reception area of the building where we stayed. I loved the trees all around, the mountains keeping watch, and the lovely baskets whose flowers were valiantly hanging on even through the overnight snow.

A parking lot with cars is not so special but these yellows are the look of fall in the Rockies. Later in the week we saw many more all through the mountains.

And here I couldn't help but think about juxtaposing this view with the sign 'Inspiring Creativity'.

Come Thursday morning the conference was over and we packed up to head for Lake Louise. I mean, you can't go to Banff without going to Lake Louise and although we had been there a few times before we welcomed the chance to see the lake at the end of September. She did not disappoint. Blue-green glass topped with wisps of cloud met us. I couldn't resist this shot of a Japanese tourist searching her bag for something--probably a camera.

We hiked off to the right of this picture on our quest for the glacier in the distance which feeds this pristine jewel.

Our Weekend Trek

2010-09-01T10:56:00.002-04:00

For this post please click the link to my other blog. I've described a visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

http://elainecougler.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/walking-where-my-characters-have-walked/

New Credit Pow Wow

2010-08-23T09:31:00.008-04:00

Sunday afternoon we went with friends to the 24th annual Mississaugas of the New Credit Pow Wow. After a few tense moments in the rain when we wondered why we had come as there was little shelter, I began to relax and look around me. We were standing just under the edge of a big tent and everyone seemed to be looking at us. Were we the only non-native peoples there? Maybe we weren't welcome. Then I realized that the tall, lean man in front of me with the long grey hair was speaking into a microphone. His was the voice leading the proceedings. Of course everyone was looking at him.

We stood for an hour or more watching the dancers and the drummers. I heard a sameness in the drumming and the chanting after a while--as the song was ending the drums became loud--the men and boys were really pounding--and then suddenly all would cease except the leader who drummed a few more notes and abruptly stopped. I wish I had known what it all meant but I really enjoyed seeing these people put their hearts into their performances. One little girl sat on her father's lap as he drummed and at the loud ending part she squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears. So cute.

Another little girl found her fun in the rain puddles left in the grass. Her mother just let her play and soon the wee one's dress was completely wet.

Circled around the main performance tent were many booths with traditional and not so traditional wares for sale. I bought a wee native doll in a beaded deerskin dress for my own wee granddaughter.

A number of the dancers had feathers on their heads but also this lovely array down their backs. In the centre of one of them I saw a wolf and thought it probably signified the wolf clan but I don't know.

The natives wore a wide mixture of costumes, some completely native dress and others with bits and pieces over their normal wear.

Here is one of the groups drumming on a central drum while some of their women seemed to stand behind and keep time. Notice the huge feather headdress hung up behind.

The central young man here was very impressive. He was totally engaged in the performance, his costume making me think of his forefathers a few hundred years ago.

Here is the same young man after the drumming. He and this woman were posing for a photographer. I loved the contrast between his outfit and hers.

More costumes inside the tent as people danced around the circle, keeping their heritage alive.

This face-painted fellow was engaging but I found it hard to get a good picture of him.

Finally the dancing stopped and I zoomed in.

Visiting this powwow was a revelation for my husband and me. We picked up their literature on the way out and read it last night. The Mississaugas of the New Credit have land claims all around Ontario, notably in the city of Toronto. Their literature suggests those who signed the treaties for them did not understand they were giving away the land as that was a concept alien to them. To the natives land is just there and no one really owns it; hence, you can't sell it or give it away. An interesting viewpoint and I sympathize but don't know what could fairly be done now. Anyhow, the Mississaugas were very welcoming and we enjoyed visiting their powwow to learn more about them.

2010-08-16T08:43:00.003-04:00

For today, at least, we've waved good-bye to the oppressive heat and humidity which has ground us all to a halt here in sunny southern Ontario. My husband was off to a morning breakfast before work so I got up and walked before 8 o'clock by myself . It was actually cool! I hoofed along for 35 minutes at a good pace without needing to slow down and get my breath. Guess the air quality is better, too.

Here are Beth and Chelsea discovering the kids' water playground on Vansittart Ave. We enjoyed watching Chelsea and Ben inch into the spray for the first time.

This has been such a hot summer that places like this are always busy but not too busy.

Good Times and Great Kids

2010-08-08T12:12:00.003-04:00

While Beth and Chelsea were here we had great firsts with our lovely granddaughter. Here is a shot Beth took of Chelsea feeding the ducks corn for her first time. She loved it and I loved that she did what I told her and threw the corn as far as she could towards the ducks in Southside Park.

Here is our trooper, Ben, shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow to help his dad. Pretty good for a 21-month-old!

And here he is just before he ran into the spraying water to our great delight. Ben is a happy boy, ready to try almost anything if his Dad is around. (He was.)

On a picnic lunch trip to Stratford, Beth and Chelsea watch the ducks and swans in the Avon River, a favorite place of ours.

There really is nothing like the joy in my heart watching my kids parent their children. It's the best and most important job in the world, so I'm happy they and their spouses are such good parents.

Buddy Holly in Charlottetown in July

2010-07-13T13:43:00.007-04:00

Wow! We just came back from the East coast and the trip was all good. From Oshawa's Parkview, the home of Sam McLaughlin of General Motors fame, to walking along the water in downtown Kingston, the trip was great. We spent a glorious three hours in Quebec City reliving past trips there as we walked the old town section and watched the horse and carriage drivers ply their trade. This time we enjoyed the boardwalk along the St. Lawrence where we stood and looked down to the dug-out sections of history opened up for all to see.

My husband and I love a car trip. We make homemade bits 'n' bites and pack our Koolatron with pop, water bottles, a veggie tray, La Vache Qui Rit cheese, a paring knife and some fruit, which we replenish as we go along. Two kinds of crackers, some healthy bars, a couple of packages of dark chocolate covered blueberries and we're set to go for hours. Along the way we visit grocery stores and replenish as needed. And we eat at least one meal out every day. It's all good.

When we reached Prince Edward Island we found our hotel near Cavendish and the relaxed part of the trip started. It was nestled in the beautifully green countryside, a large acreage with the main hotel and individual cottages and lawns which crept down to the shore of a large lake.

After settling in we made the half hour trek to Charlottetown, picked up our tickets at the box office and settled into our great seats. The Buddy Holly Story started with a ranting preacher decrying rock and roll music from his elevated perch almost in the rafters. He was great and we chuckled, all the more so as he was played by my brother-in-law, Rick Hughes.

Soon after, my sister, Donna Garner, waltzed across the stage, immediately grabbing laughs as Vi Petty. Both Rick and Donna play several parts in the show as do other characters.
Well we loved the whole thing. Jeff Giles as Buddy was a powerhouse and really brought Buddy to life. On stage so much of the time this might not have been difficult but all the other characters did the same thing. The audience totally related to this cast.

When the show was over we got to see Donna and Rick and relive the event with them. Awesome. Really. No, really, the whole night was amazing. We talked about it all the way back to our hotel. Theatre isn't always so rewarding. I remember a certain production of Othello at Stratford whose second act we didn't go back to see as the first was so bad. But this show was a lot of fun created by extremely talented actors.

The next day we lounged on the deck at our country inn with Donna and Rick, barbecued at their place that evening with John and Susan added to the group and then went to Cirque du Soleil. We sat on the grass out in the park on a lovely summer's night and watched the huge screen and stage in the dark. Very cool. I mean neat, not cold. Except for sitting on the ground for two hours. That was painful and my joints complained for one hour and fifty minutes of the time.

So the next day we took the ferry over to Nova Scotia and drove to Cape Breton. Rita McNeil's tea room was a hit--we met her son--and the food was scrumptious. The day following we toured the fortress at Louisburg, finally, after missing it on our previous trips to Nova Scotia. The little restaurant in Louisburg served up some fine clam chowder and a delicious lobster-on-a-bun which satisfied my need for Atlantic seafood. Ron had fish and chips and said it was superb. He is ever ready to let me have my crab legs or lobster tails as long as he can just have fish and chips. A keeper, that one.

At Glace Bay Marconi's four towers were intriguing to us, enough that we detoured and walked where he had walked as we learned more about his stunning achievement.

We visited my nephew and his wife, expecting their first child, at Oromocto where they live, another wonderful mix of family catch-up and tourist tripping down east. A long day's drive through Quebec and we stayed at a favorite hotel in Cornwall before heading home to Ontario. We managed to mix stops and goes pretty well, with only one day which was mostly driving. This is a marvelous country we live in and the five thousand kilometers we added to our car's odometer allowed us to see it again. O Canada! My home and native land.

Diamond Ruby

2010-06-13T08:51:00.005-04:00

Sometimes a reader just finds a great book. When this happens to me, I handle it with care, savour the words, the pages, the chapters. I don't read too quickly, even though I want to know what happens. I hold off that final page as long as I can. Joseph Wallace's Diamond Ruby is such a book. It is the story of a young girl in early 1900's New York City whose life ends as she knows it. No, she doesn't die, but her family is torn to bits with the flu epidemic and a subway disaster.

She is the only one to care for her very young nieces and she is just thirteen. Wallace weaves Ruby's personal coming of age into the growth of the city through the twenties. Organized crime, gangsters, and weak-willed adults are juxtaposed to the better side of Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, as well as a blind girl who lost her great diving career along with her sight. Diamond Ruby can pitch like no one else. Her odd arms which have earned her the 'monkey-girl' moniker prove her salvation and that of her nieces.
Apparently Wallace has only written non-fiction before but he writes this story, based on a real person, Jackie Mitchell, like a pro. I was enthralled from the get-go, feeling my eyes stretch wider and wider from the first pages. I especially liked the amazing plot details in the first part of the book. Not for Wallace working towards crisis after crisis until, finally, the climax. He catches the reader immediately through Ruby's 7-year-old point of view of excruciating world events. I will be looking for this author's next fiction book.

Impulsive Actions

2010-06-09T09:31:00.002-04:00

Today I am thinking about following impulses and what might be the results of doing that. We are mostly programmed to follow the rules, do what we're told, and take the road most traveled. But what might be the results of listening to our inner voices?

Well I know my inner voice sometimes tells me to eat fattening things and I have no trouble listening to that! I can step out of my plan quite easily and eat a few Neilsen's rosebuds or a chocolate chip yogurt cone. That circulating e-mail about the 80-year-old woman who orders dessert every time she eats out really resonates with me. I mean, what if this was my last day and I passed on something really scrumptious, like Belgian truffles?

If I can have that attitude towards food, the question arises, why not toward exciting and interesting things to do in my life? So for today I am going to dream and dream and then go one step further--let those dreams seep into real life. I'm going to listen to my impulses and read them like a roadmap. They will be like my Tom-Tom lady's voice telling me the next turn and recalculating when I make a mistake or go down the wrong road. Oh, wait a minute. There is no wrong road. She just redirects me. For today that's what my inner voice will do. Oops, she's calling me to get up and leave my computer......

How Cute Are These?

2010-06-07T13:06:00.003-04:00

I am feeling lonely for my little granddaughter, Chelsea, so Beth is good at sending pictures and calling often. Chelsea got new sandals and loves them so much she even wanted to wear them to bed for her nap! I guess I'll be learning about Dora now, eh?

Hopefully Beth's family will get east here soon as we're missing them all. I'm sending secret messages out to the universe to hurry up the process.

Victoria Day

2010-05-25T06:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my husband and I went to see the Victoria Day Parade here in Woodstock and had a lovely time. We took our lawn chairs, set them up under a bit of dappled shade with the sun behind us and immediately down the street came the parade. No waiting, no wondering, no boredom. It was fantastic. The parade had loads of marching bands in it and almost as many Shriners' Clubs. They are fun because each each one has a different mode of transportation from motorcycles to mini cars to almost full size cars. One group had a band as well and they all wore those long pointy-toed shoes that curl up, sort of like a genie might wear.
But for me the highlight was the Singing Brook Farm Belgian Horses and wagon. In their pink camp shirts, walking and running alongside, grinning and laughing together, the counsellors made me want to go to camp. And I'm a little long in the tooth for that! Here are some of the pictures.

I look forward to doing some beading skills with the kids for one of the weeks in July.

Note: I had to redo this entry as some spammer put crap on my pretty site. I hate that!

My Mother's Day Gift

2010-05-12T15:24:00.003-04:00

I have to say my kids really know me when it comes to gift-giving. My son spent the better part of last Saturday with us having lunch, gambling for half an hour or so, visiting Alexander Graham Bell's homestead in Brantford and visiting Her Majesty's Royal Mohawk Chapel, also located in Brantford. Then we had an early supper and got him home to his family by 6:00 p.m. A great day with lots of talking, laughing, and planning.

When I logged into my email that night I got my Mother's Day gift from my Victoria-living daughter--a subscription to the upcoming Mondo Beyondo class. What's that, you say? Well, click on the link and you'll see that it is set up to help people find their best life, to dream big and beautiful and let the universe help in achieving those dreams.

I like the name. Mondo Beyondo. To me it means the world beyond, outside this one, way off in the distance where dreams are dreamed and started and made good. So here's to Mondo Beyondo and my course next week!

Tumblebums

2010-04-24T10:29:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I talked to a wee little girl for a taste of sweetness. She was just going back to her nap after a diaper change when I called. Chelsea's wee voice warmed my day as much as the sun. Now that she is talking and has grasped the concept of the telephone we have a 'conversation' about once or twice a week. Usually she answers my questions with a yes or no but often I hear nothing and Beth tells me Chelsea was nodding or shaking her head. And she has enough words to actually tell me that they are going to Tumblebums after her snack.

Now Tumblebums is a place in Langford, outside Victoria, set up for little ones to play and, well, tumble. Chelsea's grandpa and I took her there one day by ourselves. Imagine a place where the whole purpose is to gratify a kid's need to explore, build, watch others and have a healthy snack. Well, that is what we found. And Chelsea goes there often enough to know where it is. My husband and I used the TomTom to get to the plaza but then couldn't see our destination. As we talked about where it might be and Ron turned this way and that, suddenly a little voice from the car seat piped up. "There it is!" And her finger pointed to a unit with no large sign. As we drove closer we saw the small posters in the window. Chelsea had showed us exactly where to go.

Now this child was not quite two at the time. Amazing how much knowledge is packed into her little brain. When I think that my earliest memories are of about five years old, I find it hard to accept that she will probably forget all of these things that are so real for us adults. In Arizona in January when we exited the super highway at our exit, every time we heard, "There it is!" as we approached the stoplight and turn to our place. Unbelievable. And she did it after only one earlier trip.

And now I must run as we're going to have our wee grandson for the afternoon. So much bliss!

Elaine Cougler's Writing Blog

2010-04-16T08:45:00.004-04:00

Today I have an exciting announcement! My new blog, On Becoming a Wordsmith, is up and running. It is a blog about writing and all its joys and jilts, tips and tilts. Below is what it looks like for now but lots of improvements are coming as I ramp up my WordPress blogging skills.

I hope you will take a trip over to On Becoming a Wordsmith and join me. I will still be posting pictures and writing other pieces on this page as well.

Being in the Right Place

2010-04-08T15:30:00.003-04:00

Today's piece is a bit of a contest. Really. Look at the picture below and try to figure out just what it is. No, really, I'm serious. Sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time.

Do you see that all the faces are hidden? Who are these people? Why are they face-down on the floor of The Bay in north London?

Possible answers:
1. They are tired.
2. The floor smells so good they all just had to get down there.
3. This is a new way of modeling coats.
4. Well, you get the idea....

One evening a few days before Christmas 2009, my husband and I had just entered The Bay when he realized he had broken the zipper on his winter coat. I looked, couldn't fix it, and suggested we use his gift certificate to partially pay for a new one. Off to the coats we went and were just sourcing out where might be the ones we might actually buy when we heard a cascading crash behind us. We turned, we looked and took a few seconds to realize what had happened. A whole section of coats had dominoed over into the aisles.

We went closer to look. There were no salespeople around. I dug into my purse for my digital camera and voila!--a strange picture and a big laugh.

Flora, Fauna and People

2010-04-06T11:07:00.008-04:00

This photo commemorates our trip to Victoria, specifically Sidney's Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre. This is an octopus and marks the first time I have ever seen this creature at all, let alone up close and personal.

The octopus filled the tube over our walkway at times or maneuvred its way from tank to beautiful tank, all for our amazement. Ron, Beth, Chelsea and I loved it. Below are more colourful examples of the aquarium's sea life.

And you have to realize that the colours are not plastic reproductions floating among the fish, but real sea creatures themselves. I could have sat there on a chair and watched all day. So calming.

In Arizona I accompanied Beth's family to the zoo one fine morning. The sea turtles were busy lumbering from place to place in their enclosure. I liked how close all of the animals were in this Phoenix zoo.

These lovebirds showed their tails for us, a jubilant splash of colour among the green leaves.

It seemed to be a day of butt pictures. Chelsea liked these camels and I did, too, although none of us were inclined to climb on. They were very smelly, a state I've been told is their natural one.

These sea otters caught my attention as they dashed in and out of the hollow logs in their enclosure. I love the soft green water accenting their wet, dark fur.

A highlight of our trip was feeding the giraffes, with the help of a knowledgeable volunteer. What a great thing for seniors to do. We all fed the hungry fellow, except Chelsea, who was more content to watch closely.

These are some kind of cows or cow relatives but I liked the red plant in the foreground. Thought it added some kick to the pic.

Javelinas! Up close and wide awake for us. Reminded me of my encounter with them on one of our walks in Tucson when visiting Aunt Nancy. These were less scary as they were penned up.

Arizona sunsets are spectacular and we saw quite a few during our three weeks there. This overlooks our timeshare from our balcony.

You'll probably notice there was no picture of shopping, which fact tells you we much prefer nature although some of the shopping areas are pretty beautiful. The best scenario is lots of nature to enjoy with my best people.

Time For More To Be More

2010-04-05T08:56:00.006-04:00

I have a subscription to More Magazine, billed as Canada's magazine celebrating women over 40. Hey, great, I thought when sitting at a hairdresser's shop in Victoria. I liked the mag so well, in fact, that I tore out the mail-away card for a subscription. And promptly forgot about it.

Issues of More started coming and I wondered why until the bill came. Then I was angry as I had no memory of ordering this publication. After some reflection I did remember, pay the bill and read a few more issues, finding again what had attracted me about that copy in Victoria: it's about women's things, and unabashedly so, providing a new perspective for me.

So what am I writing about today? The April issue features a cover with a 50-year-old "super model". And she looks thirty. Well, that's nice. And she is beautiful so I know why she is on the cover. When I read the article, however, I discovered that the five finalists in More's 40+ model search are all drop-dead gorgeous, thin, svelte, muscular, with not a grey hair in sight. While I don't want to take away from these women--they sound totally comfortable in their shoes, which is way more important than their stunning looks--I can't help thinking how little they represent the bulk of us over 40.

And that leads me to wonder if More is really less in its respect for women and if it is just perpetuating that old myth that women have to be stunningly beautiful and look YOUNG to be worthwhile. Margaret Lawrence, one of my most favorite authors, was certainly not beautiful, but she stroked my thoughts for years with her real female characters. I could relate. Rita McNeil will not win any beauty contests but her soft, sincere voice singing her own music speaks to my heart as she explores real situations through that music. And Lena, my neighbour for many years in Shelburne where once we lived, holds a prime place in my heart. She was over seventy when we moved next to her and had lived a lot of sadness in her life but it didn't consume her. Her eyes twinkled as she tucked a stray white curl into her invisible hairnet and hobbled from stove to table with wonderful food for my husband and me. She had lived through rheumatic fever, lost several toes along the way, was told not to get married or have kids, did both, and had a loving, boisterous family who doted on her and her Elmer. She was a winner, and beautiful, too.

Why does being beautiful have to mean not looking our age? Isn't it time we struck a chord for what's inside no matter what is outside? Of course we all like to look good but I have learned that people see the outside first and then dwell on the inside the rest of their lives. I am more than a pretty face, I used to say, and today when I am well past forty, I am really thankful for my brain and my talents. Time for More to think of more than beauty. After all it is only skin deep.

February in Victoria

2010-03-28T13:19:00.008-04:00

This year, 2010, we were lucky enough to escape some of the Ontario cold winter, first with three weeks in Arizona in January and then three weeks in Victoria, BC, in February. During that time we spent 5 weeks with our granddaughter, loving every minute of it.

One day we took Chelsea to Butchart Gardens for yet another peak at picture perfect. Here Chelsea snapped this picture on my camera and it is just as good as the one I took. She is two and I am considerably older!

I managed to get Beth and Chelsea in a tender moment below: A picture is most definitely worth a thousand words.

In the Japanese Gardens this characteristic red bridge jumped out of the winter landscape and made up for the lack of flowers in this season.

Here Grandpa is helping his little sweetie down the steps. Not sure who was having more fun.

A little before her birthday we had to fly home so Chelsea got to open her gifts from us a little early. Predictably, the wrapping was quite a hit.

One day we took the car down to look over the Strait. As we sat in the car and relaxed, Ron had a wee nap while I watched for photo-worthy subjects. I found a few:

This is Mount Baker a sight we have rarely seen as often the mists obscure it. Such a treat.

These are some of the many kites we saw flying over the cliffs along the Strait. Aren't they joyous?

Someone here found a spot to think and to be the focus of my scenic shot.

So many of us look into the distance, hoping to see what we cannot see or find what is out there. Obviously the dog and its owner found different points of interest.

Often Victoria's splendor is dampened in February but not so this year. In three weeks we had only about 4 days that saw rain or clouds all day. The rest of the time was either sunny in the morning and right through or became sunny as the day aged. By the way, I took Chelsea to the park several times while there and one day saw a Chinese man unabashedly stepping through his tai chi exercises. Gotta love multiculturalism--another part of Victoria's beauty.

Budda Boom Budda Ching

2010-03-25T12:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went for lunch with my sister. We were a half hour late leaving (my fault) so decided to hit East Side Mario's in Woodstock instead of driving to a spot near London. As usual we had lots of laughs both together and with Michael, our favorite server. My sister had her lunch ticket completed with five initials so her lunch was free. Because the free lunch was only the smaller size, Michael brought Joyce a free salad of her choice. And he brought the loaf fresh from the oven so I munched while anticipating my own meal. Joyce finished her salad before Mike came by the table to tell us that our meals would be late as the order got lost. No problem, we were having a good time catching up together. Oh, and by the way, we would get our choice of dessert free because of the wait.
Our meals came, we ate and talked some more, our dessert came--funnel cake with cinnamon, ice cream and sauces (so yummy)--and finally our lunch wound down to getting the bill. "Keep the change," I told Michael as did Joyce with her bill. A few minutes later our server reappeared at our table accompanied by three more employees. Michael put a cash register receipt in front of me and told me I had won a trip.
"Sure, sure. You're just having fun with me," and laughed so loud the few patrons left at this late lunch time all looked over.
"No, you've won!" "It's true!" "It's no joke." The four employees chorused.
Finally I believed them. I had won a trip for two to either Mexico or Dominican Republic! My choice and so far I haven't made it.
When I got home Ron didn't believe me until I forced him to really read the bill I held in front of him. So that was my lucky day. We went right out and bought a lottery ticket.

For the list of winners check out this link: ESM contest

I'm Back...and I've Got Stuff!

2010-03-23T10:51:00.006-04:00

Today is such a wonderful day that I just have to write about it. While making a pie shell for lemon pie this morning--my guy's favorite--I put on my new CD. Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream grabbed me with the first song--"Wild horses couldn't drag me away." Exactly what I was feeling. Then came "I Dreamed a Dream" which was Boyle's leap into YouTube stardom as she competed in front of Simon Cowell and the world. The words fit her exactly.

I heard "Cry Me a River", an oldie but goodie, "How Great Thou Art" (chorus only arrangement), before something I didn't know began to play. I had to look. Stopped the pie crust, washed my hands and opened the case folder to find "You'll See." After the words for each song Susan's handwritten notes give her connection with each song. Such a personal yet stunning idea for the CD. I wonder whose it was.

Susan sings on with "Daydream Believer," "Up to the Mountain," "Amazing Grace", "Who I Was Born to Be," and "Proud." All are songs for the soul and spoke to me. I barely got the pie shell out of the oven, I was so entranced. I turned the volume to loud and raced for my computer to write about Susan. The final song is "Silent Night," a unique addition to a non-holiday CD but her voice soared to perfection with this carol. I hope Susan makes many more CD's. I'll buy every one. Right now, I'm going to add this CD to my iTunes list on my desktop. Oh, and I'll be visiting MusicNotes.com to get some of the sheet music if they have it.

By the way, my own stuff is that I finally finished the novel and am now into the agent process. Susan is with me on that journey, as well.

Moments in AZ

2010-01-21T14:14:00.005-05:00

Being in Arizona one sees many photo spots, some of which turn out well and others not so well. Here is a distance shot of mountains around Sedona where we toured last weekend.

And yesterday my husband took a holiday for our trip to Apache Junction and the run up the Apache Trail to Tortilla Flat for lunch. We were packed into the rental car--five of us and a car seat--but managed to have a wonderful time. Here is a lovely vista with different coloured mountains. The overhead clouds cause the black mountains down below so that the scene is continually changing as the clouds scud across the blue. Canyon Lake beckons in the foreground.

At Goldfield we stopped and enjoyed the western town, complete with train ride, saloon and lots of vintage buildings. The engineer sported a grey foot-long beard and a ponytail of the same length. He had lots of information but his droning voice meant my attention drifted away and I played with Chelsea, took pictures and made up my own story of the view. I like this finger-pointing saguaro dominating the street here.

With the sun behind me the saguaros look completely different. It takes about 70 years for a second branch to start to form on one of these giants. Some of those which have many arms are about 350 years old.

My husband posed for me pointing up to the 'lady in red' beckoning from the second floor window. Now what was she meaning exactly????

This is the same picture, backed up a bit, and grandpa has Chelsea with him.

On the way to Sedona we stopped and toured the lovely but cold site of Montezuma's Castle. Here Ron and Chelsea are caught in front of a huge tree. I'll bet this site is especially pretty when it's not so cold and there is greenery all around.

On the way to Goldfield I snapped this:

A couple of nights ago we took Chelsea to the Rainforest Cafe which was a real treat for all of us. Entering the restaurant we met trees and branches overhead which were covered with birds and fishes. As we waited to be shown to our table we stood underneath a fish tank which formed an arch. The fish were of all colours and quite large. It was exciting. When we sat down at our table we were right beside these elephants which periodically would roar and move. The first time they did this, the lights went dim, flickered, rain sounds rose and the elephants roared. I quick laughed and encouraged Chelsea to laugh, telling her these were not real. She made the jump and by the time the same thing happened a few more times was hardly paying much attention. Quite a lot of fun, though.

This is Montezuma's Castle, mentioned above. Can you believe people lived here?

Arizona is famous for its sunrises and sunsets. Here is one I caught, looking out over our patio.

We went to a marvelous zoo with the family and here a zoo volunteer is helping Chelsea feed the giraffe.

I loved this majestic tiger on the move. Often you only see them lying in the sun but this boy was charging about his enclosure. Wonderful.

And here is an Arizona sunset.

We love this state for its arid beauty, its cool shade, its mountain grandness and its lack of humidity. And this time we had lots of company: sister, daughter's family, sister-in-law and her husband. The last week we're here we'll be connecting with other friends and I'll be checking out some bead stores. Yummy! Beadergirl rises again in Phoenix.

Bits and Pieces

2010-01-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

Today I'm staring at this blank page and wondering what to write. It's time to write, I want to write but I'm caught in that loop of everything I think about seeming too dull. Does everyone feel that their life is just a little north of boring sometimes? Well, I'll try anyhow.

Here I am sitting at my laptop across from my husband who is on a company update call while sitting at his laptop. We are definitely in the tech world. We are lucky enough to have most of the month here in Arizona where the temperature hovers around 70 during the day. Pretty nice. Back home the temp is way below freezing and boots and mitts are required. I sit here in shirt sleeves and capri pants.

We went to the Phoenix zoo on Wednesday and saw lots of things but the most fun was watching granddaughter, Chelsea, almost two, as she discovered this new world. She lasted quite a while but towards the end of the 2 1/2 hours she got a bit cranky. We rushed the monkeys, the rhinos and the elephants and headed home for lunch. I enjoyed the walking, the absolutely perfect cool weather, and snapping my camera trying for that perfect shot.

Saturday we took the two-hour drive to Sedona, one of the most thrilling places to see in the world. It is stunning. Pictures will be coming when I can get them uploaded. Some technical difficulties here, unfortunately.

We've had lots of company here, Ron's sister and brother-in-law, my sister, and of course our daughter's family is here, too. It makes sitting by the fire pit at night, or going to the laid on events (name that tune, marshmallow things by the fire, and others) a lot more fun than when it's just the two of us. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Hilton Head SC again

2009-12-17T17:50:00.006-05:00

On our recent trip to Hilton Head (we've been many times before) we met up with teaching friends who were there as well. Here they are below:

Oops, no! This is an alligator ( and its baby--look hard) reflected in the stream on our walk through Sea Pines Forest Preserve WITH our friends. Here Dace is trying to fit into a hollow tree for my camera.

Notice the turtles in this boggy swamp. They are some of my favorite things on this nature walk.

I got ahead of the group and made them pose for this shot. It was early December but still some greenery in South Carolina.

So special to have friends to share this relaxing and enjoyable vacation island with. Also for me it was terrific to share it with two seafood lovers as we all went to the Crazy Crab at Harbour Point and I had clam soup--delicious--and crab cakes--pretty good.

We'll go back to Barony Beach again, for sure!

Trekking With My Guy

2009-12-03T09:29:00.005-05:00

This morning I'm sitting here in Hilton Head, across from my working husband, two laptops whirring, keys clicking, and wondering what to write. Sounds familiar--that blank page/screen syndrome. Funny that, as I'm never wondering what to say. Words just jump into my head and out of my mouth at the least provocation. I love people and I love to talk with them. Guess I'll just pretend I'm talking, then, instead of writing.
I visited a bead store here yesterday and bought nothing. I'm spoiled by my Fire Mountain supplier, that's for sure, and I spent 2 hours a couple of days ago looking up stuff on their website. I feel an order coming on! Anyhow the shop here was small but cute, had lovely beads but very high prices--about 5 times what I pay usually. I might as well be buying them in Canada where the stores are beginning to pop up but their selection is not nearly so good and their prices high as well.
Yesterday when I was at aquafit I learned about a neat store here called Home Goods. Later in the day I took a tour. I bought Christmas stockings for the grandchildren to use at our house and some great Christmas towels for me! With all the shopping I've done so far precious few things have been for me so this was a treat. The store is a little like HomeSense at home but the quality was awesome and the store just packed with goodies. Yum.
We've had some great meals here and Tuesday tried out the Crazy Crab (one of my parents' favs years ago) with some teacher friends who are here as well. I had a yummy clam chowder and crab cakes, good but not as great as the ones I had in Cape May last summer. The search goes on. My husband who is not so much into seafood had fish and chips which he loved. We were all happy.
Yesterday was overcast and rainy so no beach walk but every other day we've been out enjoying the lowtide expanse of beach here at our resort, Marriott's Barony Beach Club. We keep talking about biking but the days seem to fly by with lots to do and we haven't made it yet. Today we're invited to friends' for a walk on the beach and supper at their unit in Sea Pines. Should be fun.
It is amazing to me how many things we find to do here on this island where we've been coming for over 17 years. The available things change all the time but the point is there are always new things to try and some of the old things to revisit. And the ocean is always there.
What a great break this has been for both of us after our busy fall with the Anne of Green Gables show and our usual busy lives. Even though we are both working--well me trying to, Ron actually doing his work--our free time is so relaxing that the week has been a bright spot in our fall. Way to work November blahs out!
And yet.
When we leave for home on Saturday I'll be happy to go and happy to get back to our palace in Ontario. Life IS good.

Keeping up in Hilton Head

2009-11-30T12:46:00.003-05:00

We're tripping this week and I thought I'd tell about it, giving both highlights and lowlights:
1. We spent 8 hours in Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for a connecting flight.
2. We're still speaking to each other.
3. We had an Italian dinner which was lovely but served by the waiter Nazi, as in the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. We left stuffed and laughing so all is well.
4. I went to aquafit this morning and had a good time, felt very self-satisfied getting exercise with all the good eating we're doing. Met a nice woman--we were the youngest two, I think--and look forward to Wednesday morning.
5. Shopping on Saturday and Sunday--good deals the day after Black Friday.
6. Koret of California is closing at the end of December so now there are none of my favorite stores left here in Hilton Head. :-(
7. Internet access is awesome here--I even got online with my laptop and don't have to use my husband's. :-)
8. Meeting some teacher friends tomorrow for lunch. :-)
9. Christmas shopping for our family here is great and great fun.
10. Went to a margarita/salsa meet and greet and talked to some nice folks from Texas. He worked at a bank and told an amusing story of having to get the safety deposit vault open one day.
11. My husband gets up very early and does much of his office work before I'm even awake--I need a lot more sleep than he does. By mid afternoon he is ready to roam and we do, wherever, whenever and however. Fun.

Anne of Green Gables, Never Change

2009-11-20T09:56:00.003-05:00

Last night our director, my sister, handed each of us a lovely note thanking us for our participation in Anne of Green Gables, our show which will have its final performance on Saturday night. She used prints of the lovely wall mural in our theatre hall, done by Elly LeGallais, reprinted above.

We now have three shows left and my feelings are ambivalent: on the one hand I long to get my life back, but on the other, I don't want to leave the people and the camaraderie of the show. Guess that means this has been a good experience.

The last show I was in was in 1991 when my family performed Pirates of Penzance, donating the considerable proceeds to various charities, the Ronald McDonald House in London, one of them. My amazing mother produced that show, managing to keep all of her many offspring on task, and working with director, Joy Lowrie from Toronto. We had a great time, produced a memorable show, and bonded yet again as a family. My eleven-year-old niece and I danced together in one routine and managed to turn that closeness into a lifelong meeting of hearts and minds.

Oh, there were bumps in the weeks leading up to performance. There always are, but the end product was well worth it. And the same can be said of AGG (as we now call Anne of Green Gables). That rush of adrenalin on stage and the smiles of the audience make it all worthwhile.

A great bonus to both my husband and me is reconnecting with a 'bright light' student from our teaching days. Here is a picture of us together in costume. Thanks, Vicky!

Boys and Balls

2009-11-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here is Grandpa playing with his grandson and the first ball we bought him.

Gotta love it!

Mrs. Pye's Diary

2009-10-21T10:53:00.007-04:00

Ok, the Yarn Harlot just made me feel a lot better. After a frustrating night of memory lapses at rehearsal I have been pretty low this morning. After all these years I still suffer from two things: a desire,wish, yen, NEED for perfection, and the aftereffects of health issues 16 years ago which make memory work mostly impossible for me. (A tough go for a singer!)
I realized as I sat and mentally kicked myself for ever taking this role--What was I thinking???--that if everyone else just did their lines perfectly I would most likely be fine. Not too comforting. In houses across the county they are probably thinking the same thing! Oh, to have that photographic memory thing going on. But it is dead.
So, rather than sit and cry, I tried yet again to come up with a strategy. Here it is: Drink a lot and avoid the problem. Ha ha. Not really. I tried the writing it out thing. Good. Then my wonderful partner ran scenes with me over and over, just the two of us till I was comfortable. Better, because I got to sit with no book and just my fidgety brain to figure it all out. Going with no book is so scary, make that SOOOO SCARY. So I think from here on in I just have to do it a million times with no book, no slips of paper, no nuthin. (Oops, slipped into the play vernacular. Maybe that's good?)
After we got that first major scene nailed, I came in here, sat down to my blog and looked for one to cheer me up. Ah, the yarn harlot. She is hysterical, actually in both senses of the word for the blog I read: funny and losing it. Her house problems made my day. Have you ever noticed that whenever you have a problem, discovering someone else with a worse one makes you feel so much better? Not sure what that says about my character but there it is.
After this harangue, you, too, probably need a chuckle. Click here for the yarn harlot's take on life. And BTW, if you are so inclined, say a prayer for Mrs. Pye. (me)

The Silver Lining

2009-10-18T20:07:00.002-04:00

Today I am beginning to surface again after two horrible days with the flu. I still didn't want to chance giving my germs to my fellow Anne of Green Gables cast members so I sent my husband along without me and settled down to watch some tv via our new PVR box from our cable company. Yet again we have investigated and figured out another piece of new technology.
With the PVR I have learned to record single tv shows I want to watch, all shows of a certain title on whatever channels and movies.
Ah, yes, the movies. Today I watched Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning, and felt quite happy slowly letting the movie sink into my consciousness to feed me its message. The movie is about three people who were in a little-known Nazi concentration camp in France which was used as a collection point for people who were being sent to the more famous camps whose names we all know today. Two of the people were children and the third a kindly man who strove to make their lives a little happier in light of the grand tragedy they all were suffering.
I particularly liked the take in that movie that it was from maybe forty years later when they all meet at the farm of the girl, played by Susan Sarandon.
A poignant part in the film occurs when the older man tells the girl's husband why he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. The man is awestruck and cannot speak. His attitude changes immediately.
Finding a way to have this movie turn out well must have been quite a trial for the playwright but he/she did it. My suggestion is to settle in for a relaxing hour and a half and prepare to be awestruck yourself.
Oh! Another reason I really enjoyed this movie is the fact that it flies in the face of those naysayers who deny that the holocaust ever really happened. And, by the way, there is a silver lining at the end of the movie.

Bits and Pieces

2009-10-12T18:36:00.006-04:00

Who knew that watching a wee boy play rolling ball with his grandpa would be so spell binding?

Of course we're not sure who is teaching whom but not to worry. Lots of fun for all involved.

People keep telling me they read my blog and are wanting me to post more often. Today I would like to ask for some comments and/or feedback from those people so that I know I'm not just writing in a vacuum. Even disagree with me. It's okay. Then I'll know someone is listening.

This has been a great Thanksgiving weekend for Canucks in Southern Ontario. Yesterday was sunny and sweet, just perfect for entertaining our grandson for his first Thanksgiving. Today has been relaxed and laid back. I spent some time getting familiar with our Rogers HD package, specifically in recording movies/shows for future playback. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow I'm ready to get back into eating carefully again although I didn't do too badly with the holiday. We even threw out the remains of a purchased pumpkin pie. If it's not great I'm not willing to waste the calories on it.

We talked to Beth and Chelsea and got quite a lot of information from Beth but not so much from Chelsea, although Beth says she now has about thirty words. I can hardly wait till she starts to answer me when I talk to her on the phone. Have you ever tried to talk non-stop to a toddler who is not replying? Oh, occasionally she grunts and then I grunt back to her, hoping that means something to the sweet little thing. Sure am glad they have a trip planned here in December.

Speaking of trips, we cancelled our holiday in Paris, France as we are just too busy and would have missed 4, yes four, rehearsals for Anne of Green Gables. Neither of us wanted to do that so we rescheduled our flights and hotel for stuff on this side of the ocean. Whew! Now I just have to get all my stuff memorized for our practice this Tuesday when we start the run-throughs. I'm anxious to see if I can actually do this as I haven't for years. Fun, fun.

Time to play with our Rogers thingey again. Maybe we'll get some other wonderful thing to download (upload?) and refresh our technical memory once more. Gotta love it!

I Can Turn on a Dime

2009-10-07T08:09:00.002-04:00

My friend and I had planned to walk this morning at 7:30 until I remembered my hair appointment. We thought we'd go afterwards. I checked and my appointment was at 9:00 a.m. so our 7:30 walk was back on. I got up at 6:30 to pouring rain. My friend called and we changed to 11:00 a.m. if the rain stopped.
My sister called and asked if I could taxi her son to school at 11:40. Yes, I could as I would be back by then.
Next I was supposed to drop off my husband at our son's house on my way out of town but my hairdresser called and rescheduled for 2:00 p.m. this afternoon as the power is off there and has been since 5:00 a.m. this morning. The hydro people have no idea when it will be back on. So my husband has taken the car to our son's for his meeting and I have the morning to write and a hair appointment this afternoon. Crazy!

I am an organized person and love structure in my life. Amazingly, though, I can toss all my plans away in an instant if I see the need. Last weekend my husband and I threw out our plans to go to France next week and used the airmiles and hotel accommodations on this side of the pond in the next three or four months. We are happy to do this as we needed to be at all the rehearsals for Anne of Green Gables and would have missed four run-throughs. The thought totally freaked me, with my difficulty memorizing anything. So. We talked it over and changed our minds.

If my son calls and wants me to take a trip to London with him during the day almost always I change my day and grab the opportunity. If my husband wants to take a tour downtown for something and asks me to go, I work it out. I love to go places and talk to people, especially to those I love.

So, yes, I can turn on a dime. Carpe diem!

Home Suite Home

2009-10-01T15:23:00.002-04:00

Yesterday my spouse and I trekked around our condo area to get some pictures for his new newsletter. Since I had the pics I thought I'd post them on my blog. Below is our place (the first unit with the two pink hydrangeas blooming. I finally learned if I wanted fertilizer on the plants I had to put it on. Since then my flowers have pleased me.

Here is a shot of our 'common area' but it is much more than common; in fact, it is pretty picturesque in all seasons.

Even on this cloudy day the gazebo's attractive design demands notice.

Some of the gardens are very nicely done. We even were finalists in our city's "City Beautiful" contest this year.

I love the path through the centre of the common area, so cute and beguiling you just have to follow it. We always finish our walk up this path to our home.

In December we'll mark our second anniversary since we moved here. The time has flown and so have the stray uncomfortable feelings of not being 'home'. We are totally ensconced in our condo, body and mind.

Mani, Pedi, they both cure!

2009-09-04T17:51:00.004-04:00

Today I was feeling a little tired and a lot worn down. Too much Toronto trekking yesterday and then up at the crack to sit for Ben, the latest love of his grandfather's and my life. Ben's mother came home early freeing us for the rest of our day. My husband had errands to run. I added one thing to his list. Drop me at the Model Nails spa.

I must admit the place is plain with no real ambiance. But the people are pleasant and eager to please and I have visited them 3 or 4 times this summer. Mary does a great job of my toes but the massage chair I sit in was just calling to me today. They took me immediately and I picked my polish colour and settled in for a treatment.

Forty-five minutes later I floated out with my toes beautifully painted and my whole being a lot less stressed.

This was the first time I went for the flower and I quite liked it!

Tried a couple of different shots but none were that great. Oh well, the toes were fun.

Last time I went I got a French manicure for the first time, also a lot of fun. In true Beader Girl fashion I was wearing one of my watches for this shot.

Time for dessert--homemade elderberry pie (real from-scratch pie crust)--and our guests arriving very soon.

Evita Rocks With Dena and Stephen

2009-09-02T13:32:00.003-04:00

My husband and I took the hour and a bit trip to Huron Country Playhouse last Saturday expecting a pleasant afternoon and a revival of the spectacular movie, Evita, we had seen years ago. For me that movie was so amazing because of the introduction of the everyman character with all his singing comments on the political tapestry against which Eva Peron rose. Her story is incredible enough--a poor girl who claws her way to becoming the wife of the ruler of Argentina--but the movie meshed past and present, love of Eva, hate of her and all she represented, as well as incredible music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Of course we expected excellence of these giants and were not disappointed.

Just before the lights went down and the show began I commented to my husband that the actor playing Che, the narrator, would have an impossible job because Antonio Banderas owned that role in the movie. Indeed, it was my first notice of him. Well, the show started with Stephen Patteron stepping out as Che. I totally forgot Banderas, not because Patterson is so good-looking but because he lunged into the role, khakis and all, his powerful voice stunning in its take charge, I'm-a-person-to-be-reckoned-with sound. I turned to my husband and smiled. We were in for a treat.

The dancing was alive, pulsating with emotion, precise in movements and altogether enthralling. And the choreography on a relatively small stage, with a limited set, compared to movie takes, was inspired. I never saw a dance or dancer whose movement bored me. Rather my eyes just wouldn't open wide enough.

And now I must tell you of Dena Chiarcossi, whose debut in this starring role was without a doubt amazing. I know, we use that word all the time, but she amazed all who saw the show. Her athleticism added a dash of strength to the character and her profile was reminiscent of the famous Barbra Streisand. Her voice. A strong sound in the lower registers and then a tinkling winking glory as she went higher and higher. I loved her as Evita. Of course Madonna did the role in the movie but Madonna never sang like this girl, and never could, with any amount of coaching. Madonna was believable and strong as Evita. Dena was Evita. I predict we will hear much more of this young lady.

I cannot urge you to get tickets as we saw the second-to-last performance and there are no more. Pity.

Four and One at the Zoo

2009-09-02T12:33:00.007-04:00

On Sunday last my husband and I accompanied our son's family to the Twin Valley Zoo east of Brantford. Of course I didn't write about it immediately so have forgotten just what these sleepy animals are, although I do remember they reminded me of the javelinas we saw in Arizona.

This bobcat was calm and beautiful. The tail is very short; hence, the name, I figured out.

Lots of deer ambled behind their fence. Of course there are many deer running free in Ontario, so this is not such a rare sight.

Daddy black bear sat patiently under the scrutiny of Ben, his parents and his grandparents.

The reindeer were quite interesting. This one has a lovely rack of antlers.

And this baby's antlers have just started to grow. I think his glare is because we had no food for him and he had run right over when he saw us.

At first I thought these were llamas, but of course they are alpacas. They have such a pert, perfect pose.

Alice the camel had only one hump here and, may I say, she was pretty ugly.

You might think this is just a kitty but beware as bobcats can be ferocious.

These two mountain lions drowsed in the afternoon sun.

The sound of the zebra was a revelation for all of us and I can't even describe it. Donkeys have their distinct heehaw and the zebra's sound is every bit as weird.

This mountain goat gave us his best side!

The last thing we did was enter the goat enclosure, at our peril. Immediately one of them untied my shoelace, and this one is pretty interested in Benjamin's clothing. We all had quite a time getting out of there with all we had taken in.
Wee Ben didn't know what to make of the goats!

There is no greater time than spending an afternoon with our kids and grandkids. Four and One? Four adults and one little boy out for his first trip to the zoo.

Open My Eyes

2009-08-29T18:40:00.004-04:00

Last night my husband and I decided to take in the Open House of Oxford County VON's almost open Sakura House, a hospice for terminally ill people. Below is the sketch from the Sakura House website but it is a pale imitation of the real thing.We had to park on the highway, there were so many visitors coming to take a peek but we are quite able to hike a few hundred feet. For those who are not, parking onsite was available. From the moment I stepped through the massive front door into the front hall, I knew this home had been stellar. A wealthy business owner whose property was part of the huge Toyota buyout for their new plant a few years ago called this his family home. The website says it is something like ten thousand square feet. Not many homes measure that!
To the left of the main hall is a stunning library with carved wooden ceiling and rich mahogany coloured shelves. I've no doubt they are mahogany or some other real wood. No MDF here! The tour continued with the main house built on the open concept and left like that for the hospice. A new two-pronged wing with about 8 suites sits to the left of the main building and is joined to it as though it were always there.
The rooms are not like hospital rooms. Each has its entrance off the hall but also a private entrance to the yard beyond. At the back of the house the view is of the stunning sunken garden with sitting space and lots of green space for idle contemplation. We were entranced. The single hospital bed in each room has a grained wood headboard and footboard and is made up with a colourful bedspread. A comfortable chair, television, lovely wooden wardrobe complete the room. The bathroom is modern, subtly coloured with an easy access shower which ambulatory or wheelchair patients could easily use.
Everywhere I looked I saw a gorgeous view, both inside and out, reminding me of the Sun Yat Sen garden in Vancouver which we visited many years ago. Some have the front sweeping circular drive and surrounding plantings. Others have the north where a very healthy field of corn looked like it had been groomed to best advantage just for the Open House. Still others have the lovely back gardens. Everyone has peace just outside the window.
I have friends who have been way more involved in the project than I and now their selfless giving has more meaning for me. What a wonderful place for terminally ill people to spend their last days.
For those who wonder as I did about the name Sakura House it comes from the Japanese word for cherry blossom which symbolizes "an annual spring celebration of the shifting seasons. [It] evokes the bittersweet undercurrent of past seasons and the fleeting nature of human existence." Pretty fitting for a hospice, I think, and also because it has come about because of the generosity of the Toyota company--a Japanese word and a Japanese company.

I am totally in awe of the achievement that so many people have worked so hard to bring about. Thinking about it I've decided that the word sakura should mean selfless love.

Our Summer Sojourn

2009-08-26T14:54:00.006-04:00

What is a trip to New Jersey without Atlantic City and the beaches? Walking the famed boardwalk we found this cool scene. Bikers, walkers, riders-in-bike cabs--all have a place here.

The Atlantic Ocean beckons way beyond this lovely beach. Some communities charged $5 a day to take in the beach so we just looked from afar. (We're not really beach people.)

Another carney-type attraction on Atlantic City's Boardwalk was this building, but we were too early in the day to actually get inside.

Ron is a lover of Stewart's Orange, buys it wherever he can find it here in Canada or the States. We had a great long chat with one of the weekend workers in this diner. Turns out he is a stockbroker in New York and spends his weekends waiting tables on the Boardwalk. Amazingly he knew that Canada has a very safe and secure banking system. Interesting guy.

Near our home-for-the-week, about 10 minutes out of Atlantic City there was a wonderful little historical village--Smithville, where we spent a couple of hours traipsing around and shopping. Ron bought a neat little football-themed light cover for Ben and Kevin in one of the shops. Here is the old mill but looking closer we found the mill wheel is almost totally rotted out.

I loved this little path to the pond and a quiet bench.

I'm not sure how this carousel fits into the historical theme but it was kind of cute.

Two different days we traveled to Cape May, a delightful resort town on the south part of the state. The houses wore their best dresses to welcome many visitors. All were vintage but in fine condition. We loved Cape May.

Look at the hydrangeas! Just lovely.

We probably won't be back to New Jersey but loved our week there this summer. Not sure there is anything else we need to see although this would be a great place for a family vacation with our kids and grandkids sometime. Hmm. If we do go we'll have to make sure to take lots of coin for the tolls. Every time we went anywhere we paid at the booth. In the beginning, a couple of times we had to go through without paying as we didn't have change or the machines didn't accept what we put in. Grrr!
We met this mother and daughter at a mixology course sponsored by the Marriott resort. At first the 9 of us were kind of reserved--as though we were all Canadians! As the sample sipping progressed, however, we became great friends.

We got along famously with these teachers and though we really didn't learn to make any drinks we had a ball. Needless to say we took the shuttle to the restaurant for dinner that night! The next morning we were off to see relatives and drove through New York for the first time. Took us over an hour but kind of interesting to see.

The 19th Wife

2009-08-25T09:00:00.003-04:00

Usually my reading notes do not make it to my blog but The 19th Wife by David Evershoff has to be an exception.
Having visited Salt Lake City and the famed Mormon Tabernacle I was excited by this book. I wanted to learn more about the Latter Day Saints and Brigham Young. Well! With every page I struggled more and more with the cruelty to women and children inherent in the history of the Latter Day Saints' custom of "plural marriage." This is a convenient term for a man having as many wives as he wants. The first wife gets to accept or reject the subsequent ones but, in reality, she has no power. She owns nothing, least of all her own body, and certainly not her children. Inevitably she, in her deep belief in God's will that she do this, accepts. Brigham Young seems to be able to convince all of them that this is their role.
The book is well researched and written with present-day LDS as well as historical fact. We can only guess whether the present-day material is factual. (Certainly when I visited there last fall I found a loving, caring, nurturing and kind environment.) This book will not simply slide out of your mind as you put it aside each night. When I think of my marriage and what my husband and I have together, I know it would die if my husband were forced or wanted to take another wife. Call me selfish, Brigham, but God told Noah to take pairs of animals in the ark. He didn't say take one male and 50, 60, 125 females.
This is a great thought-provoking read. It puts a new slant on our visit to Salt Lake City last fall, for sure. And the 'saints' in that once favorite anthem of mine, Come, Come Ye Saints, are referring to each member of the LDS church. I thought saints were exceptionally good people in the Bible like Saint Peter and Saint James, but, no. Members of the LDS are called saints. I try to be a good person and I think I succeed most of the time. But I am no saint. Interesting that Brigham Young used the term for himself and all of his parishioners.
Pick up this book and give it a read for its scholarship, its organization, its historical information, but most of all because it will make you think.

Self-Cleaning Oven

2009-08-19T11:28:00.006-04:00

Okay. It's a hot summer day and I've got to do something to take my mind off the heat. Go swimming? NO! Clean the oven. Unfortunately, the self that is going to clean it is me!

Here is the sludgy mess that has been waiting for this day. I can put this job off for years at a time, if I can evade that Mom-image over my shoulder shaming me. On the counter rests the new silicon oven liner thing that I bought in a lovely kitchen store in Victoria but I have to have a clean oven to put it into. After that it slides out and into soapy water for a slick cleanup, so I'm told.

I take the racks out and soak them in the bathtub while the oven cleaner seeps into the grease and baked brown spots. I wonder where all that comes from as I rarely have an oven spill. Just what is that crap? I've found that soaking and then scrubbing with SOS erases most of the crud.

Here is one rack done and dripping off in the sink. My pretty bathroom was never made for this job!

Two hours, many scrubbings/soakings/swishings later, I finally have the finished product and eggs on the stove for--YIKES!!!--I run to rescue the eggs for lunch. Anyhow the oven looks great, the silicone mat fits perfectly and I can only dream that my oven will stay clean longer.

Now I need to take a shower!

Mrs. Simcoe's Diary Day

2009-07-28T12:49:00.006-04:00

For the last week of my holiday and up till today, I have been reading very early Canadian history. During that time I met Mrs. Simcoe. She was the wife of Governor Simcoe of Upper Canada whose time in this province (present-day Ontario) has left so many marks. (I grew up a mile north of the Governor's Road, built by and named for Governor John Graves Simcoe.
Amazingly his wife came with him to this untamed country and kept a journal of her time here. Below is the present-day version available on the web. The picture here is not how she looked. It is one she donned Welsh ancestral garb for; she did not dress like this all the time.

The copy I got from the library is pictured below, with all its fadings and tears, its yellowed pages and its vintage binding from 1965 when Mary Quayle Innis edited and published it. The original diary covers the time the Simcoes were in Canada, September 17, 1791 until October 16, 1796.I was excited about doing this research for another book but not prepared for the pleasure I would get from meeting Mrs. Simcoe. I would have loved this book even if I weren't doing research. I even kept it five days past the library due date so that I could finish it.
The chapters are headed as follows:
1. Journey to Canada
2. A Winter in Quebec
3. Journey to Niagara
4. A Year at Niagara
5. Life at York (later renamed Toronto)
6. Life at Niagara
7. Visit to Quebec
8. Niagara
9. York and Niagara
10. Departure

I learned many things about life in my country at that time and much more about Mrs. Simcoe. We tend to think of women from that time as frail creatures but she was anything but. She was artistic and many of her drawings provide excellent views into life of her day. An astute observer of her surroundings, both nature and human, she provides insight into the lives, foods, medicines and geography of this new world.
I'm taking it back to the library in a few minutes so you, too, will be able to take it out and voyage back to 1791.

My Grandbabies

2009-07-13T10:53:00.003-04:00

My husband and I have breathed air from Mexico to China, from Cape Canaveral to Gibraltar. We've rafted the Colorado River and climbed all 235 steps of Brock's Monument at Queenston. We've seen the old growth forest of Cathedral Grove, and walked on Hadrian's Wall. And we've taken the helicopter ride over Niagara's Falls. None of it compares to holding our precious grandchildren. We have two (so far!) I have reservations about putting their pictures on the web so have undertaken today to give you word pictures about each of them.

Chelsea was born almost a year and a half ago and we flew out to see her three weeks later. What utter joy to press her cuddly body to me, her head turned toward my neck as she slept. I had forgotten that contentment, that peace of holding a trusting baby so close. Her little nose turned up slightly as she snuffled in her sleep, happy to be held, unaware of how cherished she is.

Last week I talked to her yet again on the phone and for the first time she tried to talk back. Of course she doesn't really talk yet but she got the idea and voiced her own language to me. So simple but so sweet. Yesterday when Beth put her on, she didn't make any sounds but stood motionless, totally listening as I talked to her. For once she didn't try to take the phone away and look at the earpiece. She seemed to get that the voice she was hearing was the interesting part and didn't try to 'see' me.

So what does Chelsea look like? She still has that tiny turn-up nose and her eyes are beautifully blue (like both her parents'). Her smile can be small and sweet as though she's not sure she should commit just yet, or fully fashioned across her face, pushing her pink cheeks into soft mounds of joy. And she has her grandfather's dimple. Only one, in her left cheek, and only visible when her smile erupts. Chelsea was chunky until she learned to walk and then run, so fast that she wore off her baby bits. She still has a wee tummy but is long in the waist and shorter in the legs. She has a great pose when she has something to laugh about or someone to laugh with. Her little legs spread apart she tips forward slightly at the waist and her wee bottom juts out. Her hands are moving always, punctuating her happy mood, and her grin with wide-spaced snow-white teeth melts my heart in a second. When teething her cheeks glow red but she still smiles and keeps moving, busy all the time. Lucky I can remember her falling asleep in my arms, as these days she is too interested in her total world to sleep except when in bed. Then she is a great sleeper. In case you haven't guessed, she's also a keeper.

Our Benjamin started his life with some difficulties. With my left hand I held him facing me, on my lap, while with my right I held a tiny medicine cup holding one ounce of breast milk for him. My son told me to keep waking him up as he needed to eat. I talked to him, jiggled him on my lap, saw his eyes flutter open and tipped the cup into his mouth. Softly he sucked away on the dribble then closed his eyes again. I did this over and over until, half an hour later, the cup was empty and Benjamin was fed. Such a joy for me, even though he was so small I was almost afraid to hold him.

He, too, has come a long way since that time seven months ago. Today he stands strong in my lap for as long as I want to hold him there. He sits up straight and true, and watches the world around him with bonny blue eyes wide. He is beautifully proportioned although I think he might end up with extra long arms like his grandfather. Too soon to tell, though. His hair is blond and soft and his gummy smile when he sees either of his doting parents makes me laugh out loud. He is mostly happy although he can have some 'off' days now and again. He took a while to catch on to sleeping as much as he should but now seems to have it figured out. When his father takes him and swings him up in the air or his mother comes through the door and snuggles him, Ben giggles a lot. He seems to be trying to get out the biggest laugh ever. I think he will be a happy boy, too.

Both of these children are totally enfolded in love by their parents and their grandparents. When we saw Chelsea for the first time I took her, held her awhile and then offered her to my husband. He was content to watch me hold her but took the bundle in his arms and lost his heart to his first grandchild. And when we held Ben for the first time the same gut level ache caught each of us by surprise. We were happy, we thought, without grandchildren. Now we know a greater visceral joy. Maybe we see our 'line' will carry on, I don't know.

Oh, we'll continue to travel and see the world and its secrets, but now we have so much more to come home to. Our blessed grandchildren.

Victoria Day in Woodstock

2009-05-20T13:20:00.004-04:00

Preston Scout House Alumni Band

Monday, May 18 was a sunny but somewhat cool day weather-wise in Woodstock Ontario but it was anything but cool as far as Victoria Day entertainment. With my husband/partner in crime I took in the parade for the first time in years. How changed it is. We stood with our backs to the warming sun, in our jackets, hands in our pockets, for the entire parade and loved it.

There was a good mix of marching bands and floats with lots of different Shriners' clubs entertaining with their scooters, motorcycles, toy cars and larger hobby cars. It seemed that each new group that came along was in or on a larger, more expensive vehicle. And they all were having fun, darting in and out, waving to the crowd. Lots of boys with their toys.

The bands were in town for the Band Tattoo which got under way at 2 pm at the Community Centre Arena. I have never sat through a band tattoo--who knows how it got its name?--but this one was well worth the sit. For over three hours bands of all kinds (listed below with info on each one) entertained the good-sized crowd. I loved the Preston Scout House Alumni Band with its huge numbers, precision marching and excellent playing. I did wonder why they don't lose the tiny shorts on the conductor and the flag carriers, though. The Burlington Teen Tour Band was excellent as well, as a large, uniform group. The Salvation Army Band made me think of Friday nights on Woodstock's main street with the band playing hymns on corners as I went with one of my parents to one shop or another.

So Victoria Day in Woodstock was great for us. Especially as it didn't rain!

Shoes At Our Door

2009-05-07T18:43:00.003-04:00

My full and varied life sometimes keeps me away from my blog but I keep my camera going when I can to brighten up my snatches for my readers. Below I've captured two pair of shoes in a picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words composition.

Obviously a little one was here. That little one was our precious 14-month-old granddaughter who brought her mommy here for a week's wonder at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Beth is known to many of you but if you want to refresh your memory, link to her blog.

Starting to feel sentimental and sappy, I took the picture the day before they left us, but it didn't stop me tearing up a couple of times the next day after leaving them at the airport in Toronto. Having them half a continent away is hard for all of us, but rather than boring everyone with that obvious glitch, I'll tell you of our time together.

We took Chelsea walking to the new park a couple of blocks from our condo and she did not disappoint. I'm not sure whether the teeter totter, the baby swing, the small slide or the older kids playing there could compete with her joy at just walking and running on the fledgling grass, but it was all fun for us. At only 14 months she kept us running after her for most of the time. I so loved watching her delight in absolutely everything. We adults get jaded but to Chelsea the world is a miracle unfolding just for her.

Her grandfather bought a large beach ball and we all took turns bouncing it for her and to her and even right into her. She squealed and waved her hands, knocking the ball about the room. Not sure I should be teaching her that but no damage this time. Now she better not do it with a baseball!

Riding in the car is the only time Chelsea slows down. Restraints don't seem to bother her as long as the ride isn't too long. She is happy to sit and stare as the world passes her by out the back window of the car. Soon her seat will be turned and she'll be able to see the front seat. Won't that be fun?

The parade of visitors all got the same show. First Chelsea stuck pretty close to her mother or to me. Even Grandpa was acceptable (she's going through a mommy-only phase just now) until she got comfortable with the visitors. Waiting her out was really worthwhile for them as she soon was laughing and running with them. Oh, to be that happy!

So, this is our Chelsea. High-spirited, funny, bright-eyed and full of life. And oh, did I mention completely beautiful? Thank goodness we have loads of new pictures to fawn over until we hold her in our arms again.

Waiting and Hoping

2009-05-04T10:27:00.005-04:00

Three hundred and seventy-six pages, about 102,000 words, and a lot of loving work--here is my first novel: Loyal to the Crown.

I have the final revised novel out to eight previewers and am somewhat on pins and needles. My work over two years is out there, not for the world to see yet, but certainly for a wider circle than just me. I have talked about this writing project with my family but have not really given them much to read, except for the first chapter to my daughter for her opinion on a problem I was having.

So here I am. Waiting. Waiting to hear from the helpful and ambitious previewers. Hopeful. Hopeful that they will have good suggestions and give the work close scrutiny. Of course, I want them to love it but I also want them to be truthful with their comments. This is a tightrope for them to walk, I know, but necessary.

I gave my work to my husband a few days ago with instructions just to read and enjoy it. I didn't really want to put him in a critical position because that would be difficult for both of us. Well, he read it in a couple of days, rushing back to it whenever he had a free moment, and now we talk about specifics and he can see what I've been doing for two years. Last night he made a special point of coming to me and telling me he was proud of my accomplishment. Pretty nice. Think I'll keep that guy!

Over the two years of researching, writing, revising, taking courses, forming a writing group, and bringing this book to its current place in my world, I have changed. My whole life I have been outwardly confident, full of strength and vitality but inwardly too shy to talk of my composing or writing forays. Well, that has all changed. Not long ago I even filled out a form and listed my occupation as 'writer'.

While waiting my typing fingers are not idle. I have an idea for a sequel to "Loyal to the Crown" and am starting to put my thoughts into rough notes. Also I have a memoir in mind, some parts of which I have already thought out as well. Now I am going to get back to the business (and fun!) of writing. Wish me luck, please.

A parting shot--the new 23" monitor my husband bought me on the weekend!

Susan Boyle Sings Into History

2009-04-16T08:29:00.006-04:00

This morning my husband told me he had sent me a you tube video that was amazing. Since he mentioned it a couple of times, as soon as I sat with my breakfast at my computer I opened the link. Incredible! Susan Boyle, an unknown 47-year-old from Scotland absolutely stunned the studio crowd watching Britain's Got Talent, and the cynical, smart-mouthed Simon Cowell broke into a broad smile which only left his face when his chin dropped in utter amazement. Way to go, Susan.
I've now listened to Susan enough times that her solid throaty voice rings in my ears and her down home smile, frumpy hair, kind smiling eyes and yellow taffeta dress have become iconic. This unemployed woman now has a career.
The studio audience was unkind in its laughter at Susan when she appeared and as she answered Simon's questions. Play the link above and you'll see. But as soon as the music rang out and Susan started to sing, mouths gaped and hands began to applaud all over the hall. How quickly the crowd can change its mind. I thought of the inate ability humans have to recognize quality in others. For all our cynicism, our worldliness, our snappy, jaded comments, when something really good comes along, we SEE it. We drop our put-on personalities and we give a genuine response.
Susan, you seem like a lovely, ordinary, wonderful lady who has lived life simply. You've never even been kissed! How fantastic that this miracle should occur for you. And good for you for having the guts to face down that negative vibe in the studio and sing for your life. Oh, yes. That's what you did, because your life will never be the same again. That voice will be heard all over the world. Yay, Susan!

Swan River

2009-04-15T15:48:00.009-04:00

A week or so ago, on a sunny Sunday, Ron and I decided to take a drive to Stratford and do our usual circle walking around the beautiful Avon river. It has so many wonderful memories for us that whether the day is cold or hot, sunny or 'seasonal', we love to get out and hoof it.
Imagine how happy we were to arrive by chance about a half hour before the annual trooping of the swans, a regular spring thing for Stratforders. We tried to join in last year last year but on the appointed day the river was still covered with ice, leaving no place for the swans to, well, troop.
We started our walk on the far bridge heading for the less-traveled path on the far side of the river.

Can you see that spring is just itching to get out and green up here?

And this big old tree elicited some discussion between us as to what its age might be. Do you have a guess? Oops, sorry. I don't know the answer.

We made our way over to the more popular side and found ourselves in huge crowds. This kid up in the tree reminded me of Zacheus, short fellow that he was, scrambling up in a tree to have a better view of Jesus.

We stood in the three-deep crowd for a few minutes and waited but I didn't like the tight standing room. There would be no place for me to get an unobstructed picture of the swans when they finally waddled their way down the street to the river. We moved away from the crowds and stood looking back for the swans.

Here they come! Oh, it's only one. Is that all there is? People around us were disappointed.

Then the black pair set sail and the show started in earnest.

That got things going and a whole, well, troop of swans tumbled into the river. Yay!

It was like the waltz of the sugar plum fairies, only on the water. Now I understand the term Swan Lake!

Amazingly a few of the swans paired up. Someone near said there are only three or four pairs allowed on the river. As the others pair off apparently they are moved to other water places to prevent fighting among them all for supremacy. Ah, the swans are just like people. Too many cooks in the kitchen, etc.

We moved to the little bridge access to the island and the swans just kept swimming, heading for who knows where.

A number of them couldn't keep from swishing their wings and trying to fly, but of course their wings would be clipped to keep them from leaving the Avon. They are a big tourist attraction.

I tried to get this centre pair doing the heart swan picture thing, with their two heads together, but wasn't successful.

Are they not magnificent? So stately and serene. Just makes me relax to watch them.

And here the whole gang got in a flurry to fly in their joy to be out on the river again.

Come swim with me, they seemed to be saying.

Oh, I want to take right off! Watch me, guys!

The larger view.

And we continued on our walk, accompanied this time and for the rest of the summer by the swimming swans under the beauteous blue sky.

If you haven't yet found Statford, Ontario, put it on your bucket list. Oh, and you might love the fabled Stratford Festival Theatre located adjacent to this natural joy.

Support Our Troops

2009-04-05T09:05:00.006-04:00

No, I don't have a yellow sticker on my car and I'm not actively haranguing people in support of our troops. But I do have a stake in it. Last night we had a wonderful surprise when the phone rang and we were invited to my sister's for an impromptu party. Andrew had surprised them by popping in suddenly--along with his wife, Tamsin--for a couple of days here in Ontario before they return to New Brunswick and he ships out for his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Of course we jumped at the chance to have this goodbye with them all.
Andrew is a wonderful young man in the first fresh bloom of life, with a laughing and vibrant wife--a nurse--and thousands of plans for the future. He is happy to be doing his tour in Afghanistan helping the Afghani people achieve their freedom. Quite candidly he discussed his part in the mission. He is part of a special unit to find explosives and detonate them and feels he has been well trained to do that. I pray that is so.
He stands tall and blonde, strong and vital but readily stoops to enfold me in one of many hugs that evening. He has never been shy about sharing his feelings, one of his many endearing qualities. His blue eyes smile, too, as he talks and listens. I watch him across the table, drinking in his confidence and his love of life and joy at being with his family. Oh, how we all care for him!
At the end of the evening for my husband and I, we try to think of something appropriate to say, something really meaningful to leave with him, but for once my words fail me and I have to be content with holding and hugging him for the last time before he goes. Eight months, he says, until his tour is over. My sisters and I have planned a girls' drive to New Brunswick to see his wife, Tamsin, in June and that helps a bit. I cannot imagine how she is facing this, newly wed in February, but the strength in both her and Andrew helps us all.
And so now I have a really personal stake in supporting our troops. A day will not go by that we do not think of our nephew so far away walking with death every day, believing that he is one of the lucky ones and will come back safe to us. Support Our Troops. With your tax dollars, your good wishes and your prayers.

Three Best Things Again

2009-04-02T08:31:00.003-04:00

At night when I put aside my book, turn out my bedside light and lie on my back for just a few moments, I let the day wash over me. I think of all the good things that happened, that made me smile. Of course the day usually had some bad things, too, but I try to let them go and concentrate on the good. And it works.

Last night I thought of how much I enjoy the Cantabile Ladies Choir and my membership in it. I am the oldest by far but that is part of the fun. I can listen to all those younger--some, MUCH younger--voices and match my sound to them. During breaks, the chatter is of jobs and kids, hit songs and movies, babysitting and babysitters, with nary a word about aches and pains, groans and grouches. They keep me young. And at last night's practice, when I didn't sing because of my cold, I got a chance to just listen. It was lovely. A marvel to me, though, was how much I missed hearing my own voice with the rest.

Before I went to sleep I also thought back to our short visit with our son yesterday when he took time from working on computers, video conference units and networking to just sit and chat for about 20 minutes. Like so many he is struggling in this economic climate and his health has been rotten the last few months. I don't think there is a cold or flu bug that he hasn't harbored this winter. Nevertheless, he keeps going working out the way of his life--with his wife and son--for the next few months. He is always thinking, always planning, always doing what's best. We are so blessed.

And the third thought that came to me was my novel and the way it has opened my life, changed my life for the better, and is nearing completion. Oh, I finished the first draft a year ago but now I am honing in on the final copy. This long, hard process has changed me. I thought last night about the fact that now I talk openly about my writing, about my hopes for it, about the process, about the hard work, about the dedication needed to get where I am going with it. And I have found many others who understand. So many, in fact, that when I talk to those who don't answer or can't relate I realize that has nothing to do with me and I shouldn't worry about it. Here I am, 62, and I finally don't worry about what other people think. My Eureka! is a little late coming but it's brightening my life anyhow.

I wonder what today's three, four, five, twenty zillion best things will be?

Spencer Gorge/Webster's Falls Visit

2009-03-30T08:35:00.009-04:00

On Saturday last my husband and I were looking for some manifestation of spring and found ourselves near Webster's Falls with our hiking shoes. This lovely area encompasses Spencer Gorge, Webster's Falls and Tews Falls and connects to the Bruce Trail. On our trek we found that connection and plan to explore it some other day.
We started up a trail new to us--the Tews Falls trail--and this was the first lovely view that rewarded all our climbing.

There is a handy viewing platform overlooking Tews Falls with this irresistible crook-armed tree.

Well, Ron couldn't resist, anyhow.

Back along the gorge trail someone had set up a camera on a rocky outcropping.

And this is the lovely Tews Falls, a controlled torrent of water dropping off the stone cliffs spraying everything so far below. Notice there was still lots of icy snow on the sunless side of the gorge.

We hiked back down the trail, through the parking lot, and over to Webster's Falls, about a 15 minute walk. First we viewed from above. There are people on the viewing platform in the distance.

On the path down to the falls a little girl ran past us to the frantic calls of her mother but she was chasing her hot pink balloon which rolled just out of her reach all the way down the curved gravelly trail. We crossed the bridge below and I sneaked in a picture before heading for the falls.

This time I took no pictures of the falls as we've done that so many times before. Instead we went right for the lower trail. Here is the steep stairway down. Not too bad, eh?

The second half looks like this! Yikes! (It reminded me of part of the Great Wall of China that we walked at Simatai with Beth about ten years ago.) But we made it to the bottom although I had a few misgivings along the way.

I put Ron in this picture to get some colour into this winter-killed scenery.

And he took me for the same reason. See the gorgeous Webster's Falls behind? And the last winter snow piles?

I noticed a little girl standing under this small waterfall delighting in the spray. I imagine it was pretty cold, but we Canadians are really ready for spring.

Part of the trail was washed out and I tested out this weathered plank someone had put across before I moved onto it.

We discovered that the river was so full just now that the trail ended not far beyond as the water covered it fully.
Back up top I caught this pair of elderly hikers in their bright jackets at the spot just before the waters pour over the falls.

This one is taken from the bridge above. I love the steps of water approaching the falls.

I zoomed in and caught this couple right near the falls.

We finally walked back up the trail toward the parking lot but not before I caught a few more pictures of the wonderful water and the people enjoying it. Nature just fills up my sorrowing soul sometimes.

You can find this lovely Ontario conservation area on the web via several links but I have given you one here. Enjoy!

Just Where Were We?

2009-03-29T08:40:00.010-04:00

On our cruise trip we flew to San Juan, stayed a couple of days, and then boarded Serenade of the Seas. we set sail about 10 pm that Saturday night and each day woke up in a differnet place. Pretty cool! Here is a map where you can see the islands: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados and back to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The shallower water of the Caribbean was about the colour of this map but as it got deeper a little darker. Very beautiful in all shades. I have done a collection of my favorite shots for this blog. Enjoy!

This was the trip of a lifetime in many ways and there were a few teary eyes as the crew did their final farewell on the final night.

St. Thomas, The Virgin Islands

2009-03-28T17:29:00.006-04:00

We woke up Sunday morning to a steady ship and knew that we had docked at St. Thomas. All those shops were out there just waiting for us, with their free enticements to get us in the door. Ron and I left the ship midmorning and taxied to the delightful shopping district. Shops were brightly painted and looked well-to-do, a tribute to all those shoppers who had come before us.

We found this delightful alley and headed in.

Of course there were jewelry shops opening onto it as well.

Ron got a little tired and left me to shop while he found a sitdown place. Don't you just love his jaunty hat? Here is where I found him four hours later. No! I'm kidding! I wish I could afford to shop in all those gem stores for that long but it's not so much fun just looking.

Finally we found the back side of the shops and the bay around which we would wind back to the ship. A lovely first day!

All Aboard!

2009-03-27T12:43:00.006-04:00

As our ship steamed out of San Juan harbour, this beautiful old Spanish style church was set against the Caribbean background.

In our inside stateroom, modestly priced, we were met by this lovely king-size bed, a comfortable loveseat facing the tv, a desk, plenty of cupboard space and a pristine bathroom--small but well designed with places to put all our things and more.

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas, a beautifully appointed ship, for our first cruising adventure. We met our cruising mates--my sister's family--and headed for the 11th floor cafeteria style dining hall. This lovely array of carved watermelons met us at the entrance. Wonderful!

Of course cruises are mostly about eating so the next picture is my sister and my husband at the dinner table in the evening. We had full service there and every night's menu was an adventure with lots of choice. The fruit soups were spectacular.

Across the table Chris and Mark patiently posed for their aunt's camera. Great young men, they are!

Brian and I are the photographers so they put us together to get a picture of us. At the last moment he planted a big smooch on my surprised cheek. Fun, fun, fun.

We went to bed around 10:30 that first night and with no windows and no clock didn't wake up till 8 a.m. Amazing. Next post I'll talk about the island stops.

Waiting To Cruise

2009-03-26T07:12:00.007-04:00

Our party of six, hubby and I, my sister and her spouse, their two teenage boys, spent two nights at a resort an hour away from San Juan waiting till our Saturday sailing date. A Hyatt timeshare vacation resort got our money and when we walked into the lobby we were well satisfied with the place. First sight of our room was not so good. The decor was tired and a musty smell of an air conditioner needing repair lowered our opinions of the place. Both of our rooms were in need of work. Never mind, the view of the water was great and we made the best of it.
Ron and I went for a walk around the grounds and here I am heading along a path through the greenery to the water.

Our hotel had its own little bit of beach, a small but quite pretty cove.

At the front of the hotel, beautiful gardens shaded by tall palms were well maintained.

From our balcony I took this picture on a windy morning.

On Friday afternoon Ron decided to take us all to the Bacardi distillery in nearby San Juan. We had some interesting driving, almost had heart failure when we came to a merging corner where we came in on the left and joined with a street on the right, all of us wanting to get onto the street perpendicular to us. Ron had to work his way across two lanes of traffic to turn right. The way to do that in Puerto Rico is to just put on your signal, edge ahead, and hope that people actually let you in. They did! We made our right turn onto a narrow street in old San Juan, looking for Bacardi. I lost all hope of finding it as our directions were anything but direct and we hadn't seen a sign for many minutes as we drove along the coastal street. Suddenly, from the back seat, Brian spoke. "There it is!" And he was right. Somehow we had stumbled into the right place.

Perhaps in relief or maybe it was the two free rum drinks they gave each of us but Ron succumbed. He is the one on the table. At least he wasn't under it! (In reality he was posing for the camera.)

We loved the couple of hours we spent at Bacardi and even sent video emails to each of our kids from a station set up there at the end of the tour. A fun afternoon. And the cruise was yet to come.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

2009-03-24T09:21:00.008-04:00

We have been away cruising and stayed at the Hilton in San Juan before our flights home Sunday. I will be adding more pictures of the whole 11 days away but thought I'd start with some from our wonderful last day. These fat fish crowded near us in hopes of food. Looked to me like they had eaten enough, but they sure were pretty.

In the same pond garden, swans and geese lolled about, honking if we got too close.

Notice the white side wings lying on the sidewalk beside this beauty. Not sure I've seen that before.

Coming from our cold Canadian March I was transfixed by the vibrant flower colours.

I saw a lot of this one, really a leaf but so pretty.

Ron and I lunched near the beach and then headed for a water-side lounging spot under a bunch of palms. I sat down and felt my body fill with joy as I looked at the sight. To our far right was this old fort buffeted by frothy waves hitting the ancient rocks beneath. I could just imagine how hard it would have been to try to scale these walls.

To our left blue sky and bluer waves complimented each other. Just as I left my chair to get this picture these two men came and stood in my shot. I decided to click anyhow and like the relaxed pleasure they bring to the scene.

Here's another shot to the right, this one with more of the hotel walkways and green grass as contrast.

After spending a long time writing in my journal, trying to capture the view, I picked up my camera again and went after the coconuts in the palm tree to my left. Can you see them?

We got a little silly and Ron took this shot of me with all my splotches and warts. (Well, no warts!)

I reciprocated and got his crossed legs. Do we look white or what? And that's after ten days in the Caribbean.

I came to realize on this trip just how beautiful and to-be-desired black skin is, compared to white. My bruises always show and I never remember how I get them. We must look pretty puny to the lovely natives.

We weren't the only ones with camera in hand. Look closely at this shot of Ron lounging and you'll see a woman trying to capture the view.

And above us a little bird like a mourning dove came to visit for a bit. I took this for Mary, who always has such lovely nature shots.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw two sea-dos roar through the waves right towards the rocky shore. There must have been a sea path as they ended up on the beach over where the umbrellas are in the picture below.

I got up to try another picture of the space to my left sans people but just as I put camera to eye a young woman stepped up on the rock wall. And I am glad she did. I have several with her against the blues.

Compared to the shot below, I think she adds interest to the picture.

Later this young man sat just ahead of us and by then I was into capturing all who came near my lens. His colours were delicious against the blues.

We achieved a personal record for time relaxing in lounge chairs--three hours and fifteen minutes! Wow! Finally we got up and left the glorious space for someone else to discover and walked along the waterfront. This is another old fort on the other side of the hotel. So lovely.

In the roped-off beach play area kids of all ages tried climbing this water wall. It looked such fun I almost went in myself.

As we walked along we noticed that a movie was in process. We almost walked right into the filming before we noticed a blue-jacketed man calmly making small gestures with his hands in our direction. Oh! He means us!

Back in our room I took a few shots out our window. This plant looked silvery and strong just under our balcony.

We also did a few other things in San Juan before our cruise. Next time I'll tell about our trip to Bacardi. Oh, wait a minute. What happens at Bacardi stays at Bacardi!

Weekend Wonders

2009-03-09T09:47:00.005-04:00

We had a productive, interesting and relaxing weekend, mixing work with play and just enjoying ourselves. I took another picture of our bedroom paint job, this one with the pictures up. My husband did that while I was in Victoria a couple of weeks ago. If you look closely (at the second photo below) you'll see a bit of a theme happening in our condo.

While the man in the house worked on our income taxes--ugh!!!--I touched up the edges and woodwork of this paint job from last weekend. The colour is called 'Queen' and I thought it was fitting as I feel like a queen in our new place. We had quite a time rigging scaffolding to be able to reach everywhere above the staircase which winds at the top, making the job extremely difficult. Imagine me reaching the crown molding atop a ladder which we set up on the scaffolding and which Ron held to make sure it didn't slip while I did my magic above. Whew! Glad that's done. Next time we hire that area, I think.

After a relaxing drive for an hour or so on Sunday afternoon, we rented Australia and spent almost three hours watching it. Such a good movie. The images of Australia and the little 'creamie' have a way of staying in your mind. Next we sipped soup at Tim Horton's on the way to my concert in Embro. Ron took some pictures but they are not as good as we'd like because of the dim light.

We have a ladies' choir and a young men's choir, which we combine to do some joint numbers. We are small but pretty good, I think. Everyone has a passion for the music and a love of performing something special. Our director, my sister, is in the front row above at the right. She has a music degree from UWO and has made music her life so the quality is excellent. Almost all of the choir members have taken private lessons and are performers in their own right. The young men's choir has four members who have grown up with the choirs, moving from the children's choir (no longer active) to the young men's choir. Their voices have grown up, too, and with the addition of the other two, the sound is smooth and sure. I love to listen to their vitality.

I had e-mailed several people I thought might be interested and was delighted to see so many of them in the audience. We all had a snack downstairs afterwards, a great way to revel in the excitement of having performed well. (At least they told us so.)

This picture was taken in practice; hence, Director Linda is not in the picture as she was back a few rows listening to the acoustics. BTW can you find me in these pictures? Oh, a game!

Run For Your Wife

2009-03-02T08:22:00.003-05:00

Run For Your Wife is on at the Embro & West Zorra Community Centre until March 7th and it is a hoot. I am not ususally a fan of farce, particularly in the British style, but this one is very cleverly written and very funny. Kudos to author Ray Cooney.
And now to the real reason I'm writing this blog today--the total Embro package. This community works together. Ron and I are always struck by the way Embro and West Zorra seem to be able to just get on with it and create a vibrant, brightly coloured landscape. Oh, I don't just mean the green fields dotted with Holsteins and corn crops, beautiful though they are. I am talking about the way they embrace whatever is happening and just make it better. They have the famous July first Zorra Caledonian Games which is maybe the largest event of its kind in Canada. They have the Embro Fair, a glorious celebration of fall's bounty. They have a huge tractor pull, a relatively new event. They have numerous church and community suppers, dances, plays, ball games--the list goes on. And I'm sure someone who actually lives there could add many lesser known events to my list. In short they have a vibrant community.
And on Sunday we got to taste it once again. Speaking of taste, the brunch that preceded the afternoon play was really outstanding. We have all been to smorgasbord events and they have become pretty run-of-the-mill for me, but this one was different. Sausage, scrambled eggs, a potato casserole, really excellent salad selections, tiny tasty muffins, a wide variety of unusual but delicious breads, applesauce and much more all made the meal memorable. A pity I had to keep my helpings small and select. Next we made our way to the dessert table. It, too, held a wide selection of excellent home-cooked fare. I chose a bit of chocolate trifle, a chocolate brownie, some fruit pieces and a half piece of what I thought was mince pie. All were yummy good, except the pie which turned out to be raisin and which I passed to my husband who never met a dessert he didn't like.
We had to rush away once the play was over as we were having our own dinner party here last night, but we will be back next year for another go. If you love to laugh and eat you might try coming, too.

About the Stomachs

2009-02-25T12:25:00.004-05:00

Last night we had a lovely supper with our son and daughter-in-law and their wee baby boy. Ben was pretty tiny when he was born before Christmas but I am pleased to report his growth has been excellent. He now has flesh under his skin and his cheeks are pleasingly rosy. He is quite beautiful, in fact. His grandfather and I take turns holding him, a joy for each of us. Ben opens his blue eyes wide when he is awake and takes in all around him, especially anything bright like the window or lights.

We took a Dairy Queen ice cream cake to celebrate our daughter-in-law's birthday and she was very happy. I bought the smallest one I could as all of us are watching our weight, but having a slice was a welcome treat. Leanne loves it so I hope she is able to be strong and not eat the rest of it in one sitting as she told us she would.

Our daughter-in-law is a great cook and had made a very good tuna casserole and a healthy salad for first course. I love when someone else cooks!

Today is my writing club and I leave in a few minutes. Imagine. A whole afternoon reading, listening and sharing writing with people who feel about it the way I do. It helps to spur me on with my novel revisions. I am hoping to have the thing revised and ready for the publishing world to fight over by April 1. Oh, better make that March 31 as I don't want to tempt fate by setting April Fool's day as my deadline.

I have begun to put out feelers for an agent. Also I need to do some research into online publishing as I have a website just waiting to be mounted, gifted to me by my computer guru son. Lots of exciting things out there.

Finally here is a card from Victoria's Tea Festival which I attended last week with Beth. Lots of fun, if a little heavy on the remarkable sweets offered at many of the booths. Try to take it in if you can next year.

Super Saturday

2009-02-22T08:43:00.004-05:00

Yesterday my husband and I took the killer road (Highway 401) to Toronto for a great day of adventure. First we stopped at the International Centre off Airport Road for the Outdoor Adventure show put on by Tourism Ontario. A huge pool carried water demos of all kinds, from kayaking to bicycling on pontoons. This last I decided was more gimmicky than practical. Imagine biking up in the air over the water if the waves began to flow and the wind started to blow.
There were many vendors with kayaks and canoes and many more with outdoor clothing. One vendor had down-filled vests for $14. That was an awesome price and if I liked vests I would have bought one. I have, however, always found that my arms freeze when I wear something like that.
We got dozens of samples of fruit bars, fruit and nut bars, supplement pouches, coupons, and even one taste of fruit and cottage cheese that my doubtful husband liked. Then there were one or two things we tasted that we didn't like. Luckily there were lots of garbage pails placed strategically around the huge facility.
We spent two hours touring around the whole show and finally left when our sample bags were so packed we could hardly bear carrying them anymore. Most of that weight was because of the wide variety of tour books we got. Bicycling, rafting the heritage tour of the Ottawa river, walking/biking trails in various lake front counties all made for some great additions to our box of things to do weekends. This should be a great spring/summer/fall season coming up.
We lunched at Tony Romas and then made our way to the Exhibition grounds along Lake Ontario where we went to some kind of home decorating show that Ron had found on the web. It was good but we are not so much into that, having just bought our condo last year. Not too much renovating needed for a few years.
One good find was a picture for our front hall which piece we desperately wanted to provide a focal point in that area. Now we have ideas on how to paint and finish it off with a flourish.
We started for home about 4:30, had a wonderful Italian dinner at Il Fornello, a great restaurant in Oakville, just off the QEW, and made the final leg of the journey in snow and rain. We got to Woodstock, gassed up, and headed for the movie theatre where we saw Doubt. Leaving the theatre I said to my husband, "The movie was pretty interesting but I have some doubt about it. I think it's a renter." He chuckled and agreed.
So that was our Saturday, full of fun, food and excitement. Love those days!

Beader Girl Jewels

Spiderman Halloween Preview

Down By The Bay in Huntsville

Great Lakes Helicopter and Me!

Five Favorite Pictures from Last Week

Ontario is Cool Again

Strawberry Season's Bounty

Wild Beauties of Ontario--Weeds

The Forty-Five!

It's Time to Call it a Day

Winding Down

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

Taking Pics in NFLD

I'll Never Travel Again

Descriptive Modes: Words or Pictures

Cougler Family Sings Again

Self-Portrait?

Catching Up On My IPad

Time Just Fritters Away

Spring Signs in My World

Bits of My Life

Webster's and Tew's Falls

Opening Doors at the Soccer Pitch

Beaching in Victoria in February

I See Green!

Cancun's Dreams Riviera Hotel

What to do in Winter

Four Girls

Post Christmas Blues?

Images of Christmas at Our House

ROM Terracotta

Accentuate the Positive

Bits and Pieces

Must Be Fall

I Adora Elora Gorge

Mountain Grandeur

Quick Brown Fox: "My Sister’s Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, reviewed by Elaine Cougler

Canmore Collection

Banff Blowout

Our Weekend Trek

New Credit Pow Wow

Good Times and Great Kids

Buddy Holly in Charlottetown in July

Diamond Ruby

Impulsive Actions

How Cute Are These?

Victoria Day

My Mother's Day Gift

Tumblebums

Elaine Cougler's Writing Blog

Being in the Right Place

Flora, Fauna and People

Time For More To Be More

February in Victoria

Budda Boom Budda Ching

I'm Back...and I've Got Stuff!

Moments in AZ

Bits and Pieces

Hilton Head SC again

Trekking With My Guy

Keeping up in Hilton Head

Anne of Green Gables, Never Change

Boys and Balls

Mrs. Pye's Diary

The Silver Lining

Bits and Pieces

I Can Turn on a Dime

Home Suite Home

Mani, Pedi, they both cure!

Evita Rocks With Dena and Stephen

Four and One at the Zoo

Open My Eyes

Our Summer Sojourn

The 19th Wife

Self-Cleaning Oven

Mrs. Simcoe's Diary Day

My Grandbabies

Victoria Day in Woodstock

Shoes At Our Door

Waiting and Hoping

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