Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Back in a couple of weeks!
Tomorrow morning we will start our drive to Canberra to visit our older son, his wife and their little boy Euan The Wonder Kid......you will hear about our trip when we return!
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Slowly getting back to normal here
Or what passes for normal in this household......
Some stitching has been taking place! Nothing too exciting yet, just a block for my quilt group which is not yet finished. Right now it's coffee o'clock,and I won't take anything other than water into my sewing room lest some unwanted fabric dyeing takes place.
On Thanksgiving in Toronto we went to Rosetta McClain Gardens, a short bus ride from where we were living.
We had been past the gardens on previous visits and the weather was glorious, so we thought it was time for a visit. Many family groups were having picnics and a lot of people like us were just wandering around enjoying the lovely day. We even heard an Aussie bird voice - one local bloke had brought his pet cockatiel to the park on his shoulder! It was Canadian born and raised, though, so it didn't understand our Aussie accents. The Rose Garden had just about finished blooming but I managed to get a picture of the Julia Child rose in my blog header.
The gardens overlook Lake Ontario where some yachts were sailing, it's not far from Bluffers Park Marina.
Trees were just starting to colour. The gardens are a popular spot for weddings and would make a very pretty setting.
First time I ever attempted to photograph squirrels, and both pics turned out well! They are not easy to capture in a picture, because squirrels move really really quickly.
Canadians were surprised to find that Australia doesn't have squirrels. To Aussies they are a novelty, I know they are rodents......but they are cute!
A very Canadian maple leaf.......fallen leaves make beautiful pictures.
The uke group has finished for the year. We played our last gig at the music school Christmas party on Friday evening so now we have several weeks off until we resume our class. We haven't heard if we will be playing during the country music festival next month - we have played the last two years. Perhaps our moment of fame and glory has been and gone, never to be seen again.
The two cyclamen which our house sitter didn't quite kill are reviving nicely. One is a few years old, and to tell the truth I'm surprised it hasn't gone before this with my not-always-tender ministrations! The gardenia will be replaced but not until next month, as we will be away for a couple of weeks visiting our grandkid and his family. After we come home we'll go plant shopping and pick a couple of plants for the empty pots, one of which held the late lamented gardenia and one which had been plantless for quite some time.
Grandkid Euan turns one next weekend, it certainly doesn't seem like a year since we had that phone call to tell us we were grandparents! We will have a quiet Christmas here, just us two Olde Phartes, then go to Canberra a few days later. Euan won't know or care if we are there for his birthday.......I suspect, being just one year old, that he will be more interested in wrapping paper and boxes than in the gifts they contain. We have some Canadian picture books for him which, hopefully, he will enjoy when he's a little older.
"Remember that children are men and women in miniature, and though they should be allowed to act as children, still our dealings with them should be manly and not morose. Remember also that every word, tone and gesture, nay, even your dress, makes an impression."
Well.......I shall endeavour to deal with Euan manfully, although I suspect it will not be easy.
Enjoy your days!
Some stitching has been taking place! Nothing too exciting yet, just a block for my quilt group which is not yet finished. Right now it's coffee o'clock,and I won't take anything other than water into my sewing room lest some unwanted fabric dyeing takes place.
On Thanksgiving in Toronto we went to Rosetta McClain Gardens, a short bus ride from where we were living.
The uke group has finished for the year. We played our last gig at the music school Christmas party on Friday evening so now we have several weeks off until we resume our class. We haven't heard if we will be playing during the country music festival next month - we have played the last two years. Perhaps our moment of fame and glory has been and gone, never to be seen again.
The two cyclamen which our house sitter didn't quite kill are reviving nicely. One is a few years old, and to tell the truth I'm surprised it hasn't gone before this with my not-always-tender ministrations! The gardenia will be replaced but not until next month, as we will be away for a couple of weeks visiting our grandkid and his family. After we come home we'll go plant shopping and pick a couple of plants for the empty pots, one of which held the late lamented gardenia and one which had been plantless for quite some time.
Grandkid Euan turns one next weekend, it certainly doesn't seem like a year since we had that phone call to tell us we were grandparents! We will have a quiet Christmas here, just us two Olde Phartes, then go to Canberra a few days later. Euan won't know or care if we are there for his birthday.......I suspect, being just one year old, that he will be more interested in wrapping paper and boxes than in the gifts they contain. We have some Canadian picture books for him which, hopefully, he will enjoy when he's a little older.
"Remember that children are men and women in miniature, and though they should be allowed to act as children, still our dealings with them should be manly and not morose. Remember also that every word, tone and gesture, nay, even your dress, makes an impression."
Well.......I shall endeavour to deal with Euan manfully, although I suspect it will not be easy.
Enjoy your days!
Sunday, December 6, 2015
A first time for everything
While in Canada we chalked up many 'firsts', which just goes to show that, even at our advanced ages, we can still enjoy new experiences!
We visited the CN Tower for lunch, and very nice it was too. While not the cheapest meal we ate in Canada it was very good.......I suppose the Tower restaurant is a showcase for local produce. While up there my camera had a good workout.
You can see a very long way from that far up in the sky even on a cloudy day, but the cloud cover meant that photos didn't suffer from too much glare. My fairly new camera seems to have done as I asked, the zoom certainly works.
The same day we saw our first live raccoon strolling round downtown Toronto as though he/she owned the place (which it probably does), but missed the photo op due to traffic congestion......it's very busy downtown!
We saw our first real chipmunk while visiting with Rose Marie and Gilles, they are such cute little fellers! We even helped feed it a few peanuts to help it through the winter.
We saw our first real live bison on a farm in eastern Ontario, like many people we had only seen them in western movies. They are big fellers. Quite large. I can imagine that there would be many steaks on one bison.
On the food side, we tried poutine for the first time......it looks disgusting, but was really really nice because the gravy was very good. We also tried deep fried brownie......interesting......done it now, probably don't need to do it again......and tourtiere, which is quite different to Aussie meat pies. Kevin also tried a bison burger which he said was good.
And of course we really really enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and meeting new people and making new friends. While in North Bay I sat in with the local ukulele group - that was such a fun night! They meet in a local music store which was filled with tempting things, several of which came home with me.....no new instruments, though, just books and a couple of CDs of local performers, and a nifty light with two arms for my music stand.
Actually, quite a lot of 'loot' came home with me......loot for eating, for sewing, for wearing, and just for enjoying!
Most of the time the weather was amazing. We had an occasional cold day and even a few really really cold days, but saw only a few snow pellets and not much rain. We do have pics of the autumn colour, but fall colours weren't as glorious as three years ago. We were told that summer had been mild and wet which affected the autumn colours, but even so they are much better than we have here.
Even those long plane trips weren't as nightmarish as the last trip. On both legs we were lucky enough to have a row of three seats to ourselves, and I can definitely recommend valium as a sleep aid on the return trip. There were only a few babies and small children on both trips and, fortunately for their fellow travellers, they settled easily.
Sadly our house sitter didn't work out as well as we had hoped - the house was still here when we arrived home, Bianca was well and happy, but we came home to several weeks' worth of tall weeds in the garden (obviously nothing had been touched while we were away) and some dead plants, including a treasured potted gardenia just outside the back door which should have been easy to care for. Fortunately we had previously arranged for the lawn to be mowed every couple of weeks. We have since had reports from our neighbours that, despite being asked not to do so, she brought her two dogs here. She also ignored our neighbours and wouldn't even open the door to them; we have always had a good relationship with the other folk in our street and we want that to continue so, because of these and other things that have also come to light, we have decided to report her as unsuitable to the house sitting website, something we have never even thought of doing to previous house sitters. As we had been let down with such short notice by our booked sitter we felt obliged to accept the first offer to our ad in case no one else offered and we did check references, but will be even more thorough in future.
If you write to the owners of the home where you are staying to ask can you bring your dog and the answer is "no, definitely no animals" then you don't go over their heads and bring in not one, but two of your own. Perhaps the thought was "they're on the other side of the world, they will never know". Rubbish......we talk to our neighbours, and we find things out. I don't think we can be blamed for being a little snippy about this.
"The little civilities which form the small change of life may appear separately of little moment, but, like the spare pennies which amount to such large fortunes in a lifetime, they owe their importance to repetition and accumulation."
Exactly. Civilities and manners, which means not ignoring a request.
Enjoy your days!
We visited the CN Tower for lunch, and very nice it was too. While not the cheapest meal we ate in Canada it was very good.......I suppose the Tower restaurant is a showcase for local produce. While up there my camera had a good workout.
The same day we saw our first live raccoon strolling round downtown Toronto as though he/she owned the place (which it probably does), but missed the photo op due to traffic congestion......it's very busy downtown!
We saw our first real chipmunk while visiting with Rose Marie and Gilles, they are such cute little fellers! We even helped feed it a few peanuts to help it through the winter.
We saw our first real live bison on a farm in eastern Ontario, like many people we had only seen them in western movies. They are big fellers. Quite large. I can imagine that there would be many steaks on one bison.
On the food side, we tried poutine for the first time......it looks disgusting, but was really really nice because the gravy was very good. We also tried deep fried brownie......interesting......done it now, probably don't need to do it again......and tourtiere, which is quite different to Aussie meat pies. Kevin also tried a bison burger which he said was good.
And of course we really really enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and meeting new people and making new friends. While in North Bay I sat in with the local ukulele group - that was such a fun night! They meet in a local music store which was filled with tempting things, several of which came home with me.....no new instruments, though, just books and a couple of CDs of local performers, and a nifty light with two arms for my music stand.
Actually, quite a lot of 'loot' came home with me......loot for eating, for sewing, for wearing, and just for enjoying!
Most of the time the weather was amazing. We had an occasional cold day and even a few really really cold days, but saw only a few snow pellets and not much rain. We do have pics of the autumn colour, but fall colours weren't as glorious as three years ago. We were told that summer had been mild and wet which affected the autumn colours, but even so they are much better than we have here.
Even those long plane trips weren't as nightmarish as the last trip. On both legs we were lucky enough to have a row of three seats to ourselves, and I can definitely recommend valium as a sleep aid on the return trip. There were only a few babies and small children on both trips and, fortunately for their fellow travellers, they settled easily.
Sadly our house sitter didn't work out as well as we had hoped - the house was still here when we arrived home, Bianca was well and happy, but we came home to several weeks' worth of tall weeds in the garden (obviously nothing had been touched while we were away) and some dead plants, including a treasured potted gardenia just outside the back door which should have been easy to care for. Fortunately we had previously arranged for the lawn to be mowed every couple of weeks. We have since had reports from our neighbours that, despite being asked not to do so, she brought her two dogs here. She also ignored our neighbours and wouldn't even open the door to them; we have always had a good relationship with the other folk in our street and we want that to continue so, because of these and other things that have also come to light, we have decided to report her as unsuitable to the house sitting website, something we have never even thought of doing to previous house sitters. As we had been let down with such short notice by our booked sitter we felt obliged to accept the first offer to our ad in case no one else offered and we did check references, but will be even more thorough in future.
If you write to the owners of the home where you are staying to ask can you bring your dog and the answer is "no, definitely no animals" then you don't go over their heads and bring in not one, but two of your own. Perhaps the thought was "they're on the other side of the world, they will never know". Rubbish......we talk to our neighbours, and we find things out. I don't think we can be blamed for being a little snippy about this.
"The little civilities which form the small change of life may appear separately of little moment, but, like the spare pennies which amount to such large fortunes in a lifetime, they owe their importance to repetition and accumulation."
Exactly. Civilities and manners, which means not ignoring a request.
Enjoy your days!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
The wanderers have returned!
We had a wonderful time in Canada and wish we could have stayed longer......but just the same it was so good to sleep in our own beds, with our own pillows, last night. Photos have yet to be downloaded from our cameras, but they will appear here in due course.
We even survived two long flights over shark-infested waters......
We even survived two long flights over shark-infested waters......
Sunday, September 27, 2015
We'll be back in late November!
Our house sitter problem has been solved but something else has reared its head......airport security workers have been striking at international airports. Not all day, just at busy times like 7 am to 9 am......guess when we will be going through the airport.......the day we fly, Wednesday, is supposed to be the last day of the strike.
When I am finally sitting up there in the flying tin box I am going to have a glass of wine, because my nerves will be so shot from dealing with problems and dramas and getting through the airport and onto the plane that I will probably need it, even though all sage advice says not to drink wine in a plane because it's dehydrating. By then I will be so relieved to finally be airborne that I won't care.
Recently we had a visitor who sat on our back yard washing line and posed for us.
Kookaburras are quite handsome birds, aren't they? This was taken from inside our house; he/she would probably have flown off had we gone outside with camera in hand. We've been hearing them quite a lot lately - many local birds have been active, they are probably nesting.
Earlier today my two guitars and three ukes were packed in their cases and are now safely stowed until we come home. The room looks very bare without them......my music books are packed away too, and my fingers are already itching to plink a note or two.
Sadly, I have come to realise that my Flower Basket blocks won't be making the trip with me! When those six inch blocks were being assembled they were small enough to take anywhere, but now they are being joined into nine-patch blocks they are not so portable. If I were to take just six of those with me that would be 54 small blocks so, reluctantly, they will have to stay home. A mystery book will go in their place, but I shall keep an eye out in my travels for a small hand-work project. Those blocks have kept me company through many long dreary hours of waiting in airports; when that project was started early in 2006 its purpose was to keep me company while we travelled, and it has been overseas four times.
Ah well. Those blocks will still be waiting for me when we return.
"Never allow the servant, or the one who pours, to fill your glass with wine that you do not wish to drink. You can check him by touching the rim of your glass."
I won't be checking anyone who is prepared to pour me my glass of wine on the flight, I will smile sweetly and say "thank you".
Enjoy your days!
When I am finally sitting up there in the flying tin box I am going to have a glass of wine, because my nerves will be so shot from dealing with problems and dramas and getting through the airport and onto the plane that I will probably need it, even though all sage advice says not to drink wine in a plane because it's dehydrating. By then I will be so relieved to finally be airborne that I won't care.
Recently we had a visitor who sat on our back yard washing line and posed for us.
Earlier today my two guitars and three ukes were packed in their cases and are now safely stowed until we come home. The room looks very bare without them......my music books are packed away too, and my fingers are already itching to plink a note or two.
Sadly, I have come to realise that my Flower Basket blocks won't be making the trip with me! When those six inch blocks were being assembled they were small enough to take anywhere, but now they are being joined into nine-patch blocks they are not so portable. If I were to take just six of those with me that would be 54 small blocks so, reluctantly, they will have to stay home. A mystery book will go in their place, but I shall keep an eye out in my travels for a small hand-work project. Those blocks have kept me company through many long dreary hours of waiting in airports; when that project was started early in 2006 its purpose was to keep me company while we travelled, and it has been overseas four times.
Ah well. Those blocks will still be waiting for me when we return.
"Never allow the servant, or the one who pours, to fill your glass with wine that you do not wish to drink. You can check him by touching the rim of your glass."
I won't be checking anyone who is prepared to pour me my glass of wine on the flight, I will smile sweetly and say "thank you".
Enjoy your days!
Sunday, September 20, 2015
We can all breathe a sigh of relief
We have a house sitter! On Sunday a friend told me about a different web site which lists sitters and home owners, so I joined......and within half an hour had a reply from a local woman. We met up with her the following day for coffee, we all liked each other, so we brought her here to meet Bianca and it was love at first sight on both sides. Her references checked out, so next week she will be moving in to sit for us.
We are very relieved, because now we can enjoy our holiday without being so anxious that our house (and Bianca, of course!) will be looked after......which is good, because in just eight days we will be driving to the Big Smoke then, the following day, flying to Canada.
On our last trip I took what seemed to be a thousand million pics of autumn leaves.
Just a few of many I took the day we visited Bayfield.
We don't get glorious reds and golds like these!
My photograph-taking finger is already itchy......
Over the next week there will be washing to be done, the house to be cleaned, packing to be organised and a thousand and one things to be remembered. If we forget something we will be able to buy it in Canada, it's not an isolated far-flung outpost of the empire, but there are a few special gifts that we don't want to forget. By this time next week I hope to be pretty much organised, but if I'm not......why then, I'm not.
However next weekend I will be taking some time out from organising to attend my quilt group meeting, some relaxing sewing may be just what the doctor ordered. There is also a quilt show on so a couple of hours on Sunday will be spent there......then back to packing. This year I have no finished quilts to be exhibited but recently went through my stash of patterns and kits, resulting in many being donated. The quilt show is an annual one run by a organisation supporting local folk who have cancer, so it's a worthy cause - my patterns and kits should bring in some money for them. While I was sorting them out I decided that it was time to let them go even though I still liked them, because if I had really wanted to make them up I would have done so ages ago. Some of the patterns have never been used, a few have been made but I don't need to keep them just in case I want to make them again. It's time to be ruthless.
"Discretion in forming acquaintances.
While an acquaintance formed in a railway carriage or on a steamboat continues only during the trip, discretion should be used in making acquaintances. Ladies may, as has been stated, accept small courtesies and favors from strangers, but must check at once any attempt at familiarity. On the other hand, no man who pretends to be a gentleman will attempt any familiarity. The practice of some young girls just entering into womanhood, of flirting with any man they may chance to meet, either in a railway carriage or on a steamboat, indicates low-breeding in the extreme. If, however, the journey is long, and especially if it be on a steamboat, a certain sociability may be allowed, and a married lady or a lady of middle age may use her privileges to make the journey an enjoyable one, for fellow passengers should always be sociable to one another."
One can't help wondering what the author of this advice, given in 1885, would have thought of plane travel.
Enjoy your days!
We are very relieved, because now we can enjoy our holiday without being so anxious that our house (and Bianca, of course!) will be looked after......which is good, because in just eight days we will be driving to the Big Smoke then, the following day, flying to Canada.
On our last trip I took what seemed to be a thousand million pics of autumn leaves.
Over the next week there will be washing to be done, the house to be cleaned, packing to be organised and a thousand and one things to be remembered. If we forget something we will be able to buy it in Canada, it's not an isolated far-flung outpost of the empire, but there are a few special gifts that we don't want to forget. By this time next week I hope to be pretty much organised, but if I'm not......why then, I'm not.
However next weekend I will be taking some time out from organising to attend my quilt group meeting, some relaxing sewing may be just what the doctor ordered. There is also a quilt show on so a couple of hours on Sunday will be spent there......then back to packing. This year I have no finished quilts to be exhibited but recently went through my stash of patterns and kits, resulting in many being donated. The quilt show is an annual one run by a organisation supporting local folk who have cancer, so it's a worthy cause - my patterns and kits should bring in some money for them. While I was sorting them out I decided that it was time to let them go even though I still liked them, because if I had really wanted to make them up I would have done so ages ago. Some of the patterns have never been used, a few have been made but I don't need to keep them just in case I want to make them again. It's time to be ruthless.
"Discretion in forming acquaintances.
While an acquaintance formed in a railway carriage or on a steamboat continues only during the trip, discretion should be used in making acquaintances. Ladies may, as has been stated, accept small courtesies and favors from strangers, but must check at once any attempt at familiarity. On the other hand, no man who pretends to be a gentleman will attempt any familiarity. The practice of some young girls just entering into womanhood, of flirting with any man they may chance to meet, either in a railway carriage or on a steamboat, indicates low-breeding in the extreme. If, however, the journey is long, and especially if it be on a steamboat, a certain sociability may be allowed, and a married lady or a lady of middle age may use her privileges to make the journey an enjoyable one, for fellow passengers should always be sociable to one another."
One can't help wondering what the author of this advice, given in 1885, would have thought of plane travel.
Enjoy your days!
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