Back home, and back to reality!

We have been home for several days now, and still both keep talking about the great time we had in Canada.  Interesting places - some new to us, some we had visited before - and wonderful friends, even strangers we met were friendly and helpful.  Somehow, though, I think we picked the right time to leave Ontario as the weather there has become much colder in the past week or so.  While we don't mind the cold weather we have here in winter, and the cold fall weather we had in Ontario, neither of us have the right clothing for minus 35 deg C.

Meanwhile here at home, the temperature is plus 35 deg C, which is quite warm - summer has hit with a vengeance.  This summer's forecast is for hot, hot, hot, and probably dry.

This is the Sydenham River on a cool showery misty day in Harrison Park, Owen Sound.

Makes you feel cooler just looking at it, doesn't it?

For years now Kevin and I have been joking about taking "the award winning shot" - the picture that would win first prize in a photographic exhibition - this is mine.

Now that we are home we are falling back into the usual routine.  Since coming home on Monday I have been to two Christmas/end of year functions, with more to come.  Yesterday's quilt group Christmas meeting/party was fun as our challenge quilts were revealed to much ooh-ing and aah-ing; even my Plastered Pinwheel quilt was muchly admired, to my surprise.  Some of us tend to be a little diffident about our own efforts, don't we? The worst part was the insistence of the group president that we each be photographed with our own quilts, a real challenge when one hates having one's likeness taken.  When we packed up to move here I managed to lose most of the pictures of me taken over the years I worked in school libraries.  When one doesn't take a good picture one avoids having it done.  I don't want to hear "it's such a good picture of you".....all I can think is "my gawd, do I really look like that?"

Ah well.  Not much can be done about it........

On the flight from Toronto to Vancouver I watched a Canadian movie, "Marion Bridge", which I enjoyed so much I watched it again a week later on the flight from Vancouver to Sydney.  At the end the actors portraying the three sisters sang "Song for the Mira" which I hadn't heard before and absolutely loved.  Found the words and chords on the interwebz, now to find a little guitar time.  Even brought a present home for one of my guitars, a set of strings I can't get here, and of course they travelled in the hold in my checked bag.  Can't you just imagine a set of guitar strings setting up alarms in security?

Speaking of checked and carry-on bags, have you seen the size of many of the bags people take into plane cabins these days?  We each travelled with a backpack (which went under our seats) and a small un-wheeled bag, our big bags were checked.  But some people arrive jauntily down the plane aisle with bags they can barely lift into the overhead lockers, and there is much pushing and shoving as they try to make their bag fit in with everyone else's.  It's that sense of entitlement and importance at work again, isn't it?  On our flight from Vancouver to Sydney our row was shared by a Canadian man who works in the airline industry, and he told us he always checks his bag using the logic that, if people only travel with carry-on bags, eventually airlines will decide that checked bags can not just be charged for but be done away with completely.  Imagine trying to have a six-week holiday with only a small carry-on bag for clothing and souvenirs........

"No lady will retain possession of more than her rightful seat n a crowded tram-car or railway carriage.  When others are looking for accommodations she should at once and with all cheerfulness so dispose of her baggage that the seat beside her may be occupied by anyone who desires it, no matter how agreeable it may be to retain possession of it."

When I become queen I shall spread out over as many seats as I like, to make up for being squashed all these years.

Enjoy your days!

Au Revoir, Canada!

Our last day in Canada and we are sorry to be leaving.  We've had a great time, met wonderful people and enjoyed many "firsts", but we are ready to head home.

Sunset in North Bay, Ontario

There's nothing quite like sleeping in one's own bed with one's own pillow, is there?

We are hoping that we don't have to pay a hefty excess baggage fee, we seem to be taking home more than we came with - even allowing for the fact that some of what we brought was handed over to family and friends.  The gaps that were then made in our bags seem to have been more than filled up........ah well, if we do, then we do.  It has been worth every penny.

Tonight at stupid o'clock we will be heading up into the sky while sane people are sleeping, and next time we meet this blog will be back on its home computer.

Enjoy your days!

Coming to you from the west coast of Canada

Victoria, B.C., has a totally different feel to Ontario!  The weather here has been rainy and a little cool, but no snow.  Yesterday morning's Remembrance Day commemoration took place under cloudy skies, the rain held off until later in the day.

We have been having a great time meeting up with our friends, and with friends of our house sitters.  Yesterday afternoon we visited Goldstream Provincial Park to see the salmon run, something we don't have in Australia - it was amazing, and so interesting!  Thank you, Cathy and John, for an experience we would not have had otherwise.  Our visit to the park ended up with all four of us slightly dripping, but not quite as wet as the fish.

Today we had another good day out with friends including a visit to Sidney, B.C. which, if you haven't been there, is a very pretty town; then we headed to Butchart Gardens for a visit.  Our one-and-only visit to the gardens was six years ago in mid-summer when the roses were in full bloom; now the trees are dropping their leaves and the colours are very pretty.  The gardens has fun decorations for Christmas, some are already in place - we saw swans a-swimming, geese a-laying, maids a-milking, pipers piping.........no prizes for guessing the theme!

When we left Toronto to fly to Vancouver it was very foggy, just as well the plane and the pilot knew where they were going.  Here's hoping for an uneventful flight from Vancouver.....if only it weren't so long......the flight leaves at 11.45pm which is not a good time to start a 15-hour flight.......

Next time we all meet in blogland will probably be after our arrival back in the Small Smoke (there are a couple of Big Smokes to pass through beforehand), and you will hear about the rest of our adventures then.

Enjoy your days!

We are having such a busy time........

..........that my poor blog has been neglected!  We have been to many interesting places, and met wonderful people.  A highlight of our trip was a visit to our friends in North Bay, Ontario - and you can read all about it here on Rose Marie's blog.  You can even see pictures too.  Thank you Rose Marie and Gilles, for being fabulous hosts and for being such great friends.....we appreciate your kindness more than words can say.

One night we played TV bingo (something we don't have in Australia, although I can remember bingo on the local radio station when I was a child) and I won $75, how cool is that!  We agreed beforehand that any winnings would be split and I was more than happy to fulfill my part of that bargain.

One place we visited was Sainte-Marie among the Hurons.  I knew a little about the French presence in Canadian history but didn't know about this settlement, which only existed for ten years.  While the settlement today is a re-creation, it is as close as can be ascertained to the original.  One thing we noticed inside the buildings is the lack of light, something we take for granted these days with big windows and light coloured interiors, but these were unpainted dark wood buildings which would have been illuminated by firelight and by rush lights.  It would have been good to spend more time at the museum but unfortunately was just on closing time when we had finished walking round the buildings.

The autumn colours in some areas were spectacular, while further north were nearly all gone - but bare trees have a stark beauty of their own too, with evergreens contrasting among the grey.

And we saw snow!  Not much by Canadian standards, but exciting for us.  Even driving along the highway in a light snowfall (very light) was a novelty.  Yesterday morning I stood in the snow and let the flakes fall on me, it was nice.....and cold. Quite cold.  Really really cold.

Right now we are back in the big city of Toronto until next Friday when we flap our wings once more and fly to British Columbia for a week in Victoria, on Vancouver Island.

On our last visit to Canada I fell and broke my arm, haven't done that this visit.....but I did kick my foot on a chair base a few nights ago.  It's still bruised, swollen and sore, but don't worry, I shall be back dancing the rumba in no time at all once I can get into my dancing shoes again.  That will teach me to be careful.  Small injuries can be rather painful, can't they?

Enjoy your days!

Today.........

........I dabbled my fingers in Lake Huron, at Lion's Head on the Bruce Peninsula.  Can't help it, when there's a lake or a river I just have to try it out.  It was fairly cool but not cold, and certainly didn't freeze my fingers.  A cafe in Lion's Head sells delicious butter tarts and date squares, you will be pleased to know that should you ever visit.

All the Canadians we have met have been delightful and very helpful.  We have stayed in a couple of lovely B & Bs with very helpful hosts but tonight are slumming it, we're in a motel.

Have taken several photos but so far they haven't been uploaded to the computer.  The fall colours here have been spectacular and that's what most of my pics are!  Something to remember when we get back to Australia, because going into summer there won't be any autumn colours.......we will have to wait several months for them, and they won't have the rich colour that is found in Ontario.

Last Saturday I attended a quilt show and really enjoyed it, as seeing what others are doing is very inspirational.  Have also found a few quilt shops and bought some souvenir fabrics, isn't that a surprise?

Yesterday in Owen Sound we were entertained, if that is the right word, by two local male persons (one hesitates to use the word 'gentlemen') who were fighting in the main street.  Many naughty words were spoken, many punches and kicks were exchanged, and it all seemed to be caused by one man using the word 'plagiarist' to the other.  To look at them one would not have thought that either of them even knew the word, but perhaps one should not judge by first impressions.  Just as well there was no road traffic when they carried their fight to the middle of the street.

Tomorrow our journey continues.

Enjoy your days!

We're having a great time in Canada!

So far no pics, but they will be taken.....the trees in the streets near where we are staying are changing, the huge oak trees across the road are gorgeous.  Spending time with our son and his girlfriend has been wonderful, and once again we have been impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of people we have met.

The Creativ Festival visit was fun, and yesterday's visit to the Textile Museum very short because of work being done to prepare a new exhibit, but as entry was subsequently free we didn't complain.  Perhaps another visit in a few weeks may be possible; it's such an interesting place with a fabulous collection and a wonderful shop, including the best selection of books on anything to do with fibres and textiles that you could imagine.

So far no bones have been broken, no one has taken a tumble - although sometimes it is difficult to keep one's balance in the subway carriage when the driver slams on the brakes, I swear some of the carriages must have square wheels - we both want to leave Canada as intact as when we arrived.  Kevin hurt his shoulder heaving a suitcase into the back of our car just before leaving home but after treatment by a local massage therapist it is feeling much better, and he now thinks it won't fall off after all. Which is probably a good thing, as there is more heaving of suitcases to come.

By gosh it's a long flight.......the 90-minute stopover in Vancouver wasn't enough for my ears to return to normal after the descent, so landing in Toronto was even more painful that normal.  We have seen an advertisement for a gadget which is supposed to help with the ear pain so shall check it out soon, and see if it is as wonderful as it claims to be.  Because landing can be so agonisingly painful I really dread flying, but the alternative was a long swim and a long overland hike.

The etiquette book has been left behind so I can't leave you with the usual words of gentle wisdom and courtesy, but that will be made up on our return.

Enjoy your days!

Finished.......just before we go away!

Yay for me - this year's challenge quilt is finished, several weeks early!  The final stitches were taken on the binding yesterday evening.  Here it is, "Plastered Pinwheels" in all its glory.

 There were three pinwheels left so, not being one to waste fabric (hah!) they were used on the back, which is a soft yellow check.

 A corner of the quilt so you can admire those pretty fabrics and the quilting.

 The back, so you can gasp at the skilful use of those leftovers.  As the backing had to be pieced, it was easier to make a feature of the join than to pretend it wasn't there.

The label, which tells how the quilt came to have this name.  A word of advice from one who has learned the hard way.....do not use white-on-white fabric for a label.  It is not easy to write on and doesn't look great when it's done.  But it is done, and that's the main thing.

Just to recap:  on our last visit to Canada in October 2009, while strolling along Kingston Road, Scarborough, looking for a coffee (unusually there wasn't a Tim's in sight) I rolled my ankle on the uneven surface and went down.  Broke my left arm - both bones at the wrist end - and sprained my right wrist.  Not fun, and rather painful.  Once we came home and the pain had receded it was just a matter of waiting for my wrists to heal and for the plaster to be removed.  Having a plastered arm is rather boring, you know.......couldn't knit or crochet (believe me, I tried), couldn't hand sew, I could read but couldn't hold a book so reading had to be done at a table.  But those little squares left from another project were in my sewing room, and although it was quite slow and painstaking they could be fed through the machine.  So 128 little pinwheel blocks were made, and some are more beautiful than others because the centres don't quite line up on every block - but it was about the achievement rather than the accuracy, and it was an achievement at the time.  Those little blocks (2-1/4in each when finished) have made a quilt measuring over 60in square, and it was designed on EQ7.

Only two more sleeps until we fly to Canada!  It's Thanksgiving weekend over there, so best wishes to my Canadian family and friends and we will see you on Tuesday arvo.  It will be so good to see our son and his lovely girlfriend again, we miss them.  We're glad he's happy, but a little sad that he had to go all the way to the far side of the known universe to find happiness.

So today is being given over to packing, and cuddles with Binky (The World's Friendliest Cat) and Bianca (The Beautiful but Slightly Brainless White Cat), and cooking something nice for dinner tonight to share with our house-sitters who will arrive sometime this afternoon.

Today's quote seems apt in view of events in the Australia media recently.  Aussies will know what I mean, and if you don't - just enjoy the quote.

"Dogmatic style of speaking.
Never speak dogmatically or with an assumption of knowledge or information beyond that of those with whom you are conversing.  Even if you are conscious of this superiority, a proper and becoming modesty will lead you to conceal it as far as possible, that you may not put to shame or humiliation those less fortunate than yourself.  If they discover your superiority of their own accord, they will have much more admiration for you than though you forced the recognition upon them.  If they do not discover it, you cannot force it upon their perceptions, and they will only hold you in contempt for trying to do so.  Besides, there is the possibility that you over-estimate yourself, and instead of being a wise man you are only a self-sufficient fool."

Have you ever met someone who is so 'special' that they are not on the same planet as the rest of us?  They don't have to wait to be served but can go straight to the head of the queue, and they don't need to join a line of traffic because they can push in further ahead.

For the next six weeks I may not have much of a chance to keep up with blog reading and updating, because we will be having a wonderful time with our family and friends in the land of the maple trees.

Enjoy your days!