Best wishes to you all!

Wherever you are and whatever you celebrate - or even if you don't celebrate at all - best wishes for a season of peace, love and lots of dark chocolate.

Green too!

Not all the leaves we saw were traditional autumn colours.....Vancouver Island is very green.

Mossy trees.....

 ......more mossy trees, aren't they interesting shapes?

 Moss on a fallen tree.

 Not a wonderfully fabulous shot of the sign, however it was taken to remind us where we were.

I suspect if you stayed in the forest too long you would grow mossy arms and legs too.

Sadly our trip is receding in our memories as we have been really busy since returning, but we have souvenirs, photos and memories to remind us.

We have been so busy that one decoration, not one bauble, not one strand of tinsel, has been put out to decorate for Christmas!  Oh well, there's always later today or perhaps tomorrow morning.  Probably should make the effort to glitz the place up a bit.

Now my thoughts are turning to the quilt group challenge due at the end of February, to make a quilt for donation to the local Ronald McDonald House out of fabric we were given.  My fabric is random orange spots on white, very bright and cheerful; when we first drew our wrapped fabrics out of the bag I scored a piece with pretty pink flowers and green leaves and bits of blue.  Oh so pretty, and oh so not me.  Margaret sitting next to me drew the orange spots and shuddered......I was shuddering at my draw......so we swapped.  Found this pattern which will do nicely; the diagonals will be made in yellow-gold solid so when the large pieces are sliced and diced it will have gold setting triangles.  I worked it out carefully.  I am such a freakin' genius, am I not?

Meanwhile, the tumbler quilt is coming along nicely.  To start with they are being joined in pairs, one darker (or one lighter, depending on where you stand with such things) than the other.  No colour matching, nothing, just totally random.  Then they will be joined in fours, once again randomly.  Quite a lot was sewn in Canada so that will also be a souvenir when it's finished; even the quilting thread was bought in Toronto.

It's warming up here in the Small Smoke, and I am not enjoying it.  Because we're inland we don't usually have to suffer much humidity, but it's the stormy season which has raised humidity levels.  Last night's storm was a doozy.  When one is at home one sheds layers, but there are limits to what one removes in public when one is no longer young and slender. 

Ah well.  One suffers in silence, or tries to.

All the music gigs are done for the year, the only commitment remaining is a two-hour stint at the historical museum tomorrow afternoon with my 87 year old friend Bonnie who grew up with my aunt in a town a couple of hours north of here.  We always have quite a laugh, even if we are laughing at something we laughed at last time we were on duty together.

"Deference to elderly people.
A young lady should show the same deference to an elderly lady that a gentleman does to a lady.  It may also be said that a young man should show proper deference to elderly gentlemen."

Yes, that sounds like Bonnie and me.

Enjoy your days!

Leaves, leaves and more leaves

My photos have been loaded onto the computer but they aren't yet captioned; if it's not done soon we might forget where they were taken.  After tomorrow's gig there will be more time.

Isn't this an amazing colour?  It's called Burning Bush.

 Some golden goodness across the river.  This pic and the one above were taken in Parry Sound, Ontario, on a cold slightly snowy day.

 Fallen maple leaves in the rain, in Goderich.

 More fallen leaves on a damp day in Bayfield.

So many colours - the reason why our trips to Canada have been in autumn, it's such a beautiful season.

We are settling back into our usual routine although I did hit the ground running, as two days after we arriveded home the uke group had a gig at a small church just out of town; it was a 'thank you' early Christmas lunch for church helpers, and as we have played at their monthly markets during the year we were included.  We were the entertainment, and we were also recipients of a very nice lunch.

Tomorrow's U3A Christmas lunch will be more Christmas songs which we are now getting good at playing.  By next November we will have forgotten them all again, you know.

We had a great time in Canada.  Our boy is doing well and we really enjoyed our time with him and his lovely partner; she and I had a few 'girls days out' together, to a craft festival, a quilt show and a textile museum.  I think of her as the daughter I didn't give birth to and wish we could see more of each other - but it is such a long way!

Honestly, I don't think I can do that long flight again.  Plane seats have become thinner and more uncomfortable (probably keeping the weight down) and 20 hours spent in one of those seats when one has a sore neck anyway is hard work.  We can't afford the expensive seats up the front, and in any case would rather have the money to spend at our destinations than in getting there.  Add to that humping one's bags around airports, lots of self-service stuff - checking in and going through customs and security is all about 'do it yourself' these days but of course we don't get a discount for that - it's not fun any more, if indeed it ever was.

Ah well.  Our boy said they would come and see us in a few years, his first visit back since leaving in February 2005 - that will be wonderful.

"The comfort of others.
In seeking his own comfort, no passenger has a right to overlook or disregard that of others.  If for his own comfort, he wishes to raise or lower a window, he should consult the wishes of passengers immediately around him before doing so.  The discomforts of travelling should be borne cheerfully, for what may enhance your own comfort may endanger the health of some fellow-traveller."

These days, sadly, it's everyone for his or her own self, and be darned to anyone else.

Enjoy your days!

We're back home!

We have returned from the land of maple syrup, bacon and snow.  Pictures have not yet been uploaded from my camera, but will be in due course.  Right now I'm trying to stay awake......we only arrived home yesterday afternoon.

I'm getting a bit old for this, you know.