One month later.

Well, it has been a very busy month. Our very good friend Jim Geekie passed a way from cancer.  We went home for his funeral which was so sad.  He ws such a great guy, and we loved him very much.  The family was all there with him when he went, so that was good.  It's hard to accept his passing and our sympathies go out to Peggy and the family.
While we were in Toronto we found out that Joe's sister Chris is battling cancer again.  It has spread from her bones into the brain and liver.  She had radiation for the brain tumor and will be facing chemo for the liver cancer.  She has been very strong and still has her sense of humor.  We admire her greatly.  Tony, her brother has been a great help for her and she has a lot of friends to support her.  We wish her all the best.
Down here in Texas the month of December has been pretty hectic. We went to Mexico to have our teeth cleaned at the dentist over there.  Marcella, Wayne and I went to  Mustre's and they have you in and out in half an hour and do a great job and it didn't hurt.  They spray some numbing stuff on you gums first and that seemed to work well. Cost - $20.  You can't go wrong at that price.  Joe went to our regular dentist a week later.  They do a very thorough job, but I found they hurt me so I don't go there any more.  Norm went with him for that.
We decorated our golf cart with our friends Marcella and Wayne and went into the Christmas golf cart parade and had a lot of fun.  We had a decorated Christmas tree on the top, with presents all around and we all dressed up.  Joe was Santa, Wayne was Rudolph and Marcella and I were Santa's elves.  We had a blast and won first prize, which was --- get this---a Christmas mug, a bag of candy and a candle that the four of us shared.  Wow, well at least we came in 1st. yeahhhhhh.

Here we are having a toast before we set out for the parade










Here is the side view of the cart.  We had a lot of
fun.


We had a gift exchange with our friends in the White House next door.  It is a stand alone building with two rooms.  One has tables and chairs and the other had a fridge, stove, sink and some tables and chairs as well where we put out food and drinks.   There was a lot of stealing from one person to the other.  How it worked was you could open a new gift or steal from someone who has already opened their gift.  There was quite a lot of stealing going on, and we had a lot of laughs.  I ended up with a beautiful serving tray and Joe with a big bottle of Tequila and a big straw hat.  Joe couldn't find his hat and bottle next day and we called all the usual suspects looking for it.  Turns out someone hid it behind our shed.  We are looking for some great  margaritas to come.
On Christmas Eve Norm, Guy, Fern and a couple of other fellows played Christmas songs and we had great singalong in the Bingo hall.  Then Christmas day we were all (24 of us) back in the White House for Christmas dinner. It was pot luck and we had turkey, ham and all the trimming.  What a delicious meal with pie, brownies and bread pudding for dessert.  Right now we are still relaxing after all the hulabaloo and looking forward to New Years Eve in the ball room.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and all the best in the new year.

Back in Texas

Time sure flies when you're having fun. eh!
We arrived safe and sound at our Texas home.  Our great friends Marcella and Wayne and Mercedes and Norm had come over and totally cleaned our house inside and out.  The outside can get really gray over the summer and they power washed it, including our golf cart.  The inside was spotless, everything washed including the dreaded blinds.  What a fabulous group of friend, we don't know how to thank them, but are working on something, dinner out maybe.
Joe is keeping up his walking two times a day for an hour or more no matter what the weather.  We have had some very hot days so far although it is cool and very, very windy today.  Yesterday was gorgeous and we decided to go to the pool in the afternoon.  Well Joe had left a bathing suit down here and it is now two sizes too big for him.  The string at the waist does not go all the way around, so he had to hold it up most of the time.  Today we went out and bought him two new ones.  He is looking pretty spiffy these days with all that weight loss.
I have been going to the exercise class twice a week (7:30 in the morning, yuk) and plan to also go to clogging (if I can keep up) and line dancing two days a week.  The clogging and line dancing start at the more reasonable time of 9 and 10 am.  The exercise is making a difference in my breathing and I am doing better.  I also ride my 3 wheel bike around the park when it is not too windy.
We were getting together with our friends to celebrate the U.S. Thanksgiving and it ended up being at our house as ours is the largest.  We had booked the Bingo room but decided we didn't have enough people (13) to take that big space and other people wanted it.  So we gave it up, had dinner here with everyone contributing to the meal, and played Catch Phrase afterwards.  It was a good night.
The park is having a free Fiesta Night for all residents on Wednesday evening, so we look forward to that.

November 13, 2011

We had a busy summer/fall which I will not go into now.  I'll just start by saying that we are headed to our house in Texas.  Our friends Marcella and Wayne and Mercedes and Norm have been cleaning it up so that we just have to take residence - no work.  Have you ever heard of better friends than that!  They are certainly the greatest.

We left Hamilton at 2am on the 12th and drove (Joe did the driving) for 15 hours.  It was really torture for me because I was so tired I wanted to fall asleep, but kept waking up and trying to stay awake while my eyelids were trying to make me sleep.  Joe is a gem, driving all those hours and no complaints.  So I guess you know who the complainer is in our relationship.

So, we had a good nights sleep and you will be happy to know that I felt much better in the morning.  Joe is having trouble with his right shoulder but says it doesn't hurt when he is driving, and of course he has to do ALL the driving.  We wanted to get south of Houston today and it was getting to be late afternoon. I dutifully looked up the Holiday Inn Express hotels and was overjoyed to find one just 20 miles south of Houston.  So off we went to find the SUPER 8, yes SUPER 8 where the Holiday Inn Express was supposed to be.  Stupid Jack - that's the name in our GPS, which we used to love.  So onward and southwards to find another hotel.  It is getting near sunset, Joe is annoyed at Jack, and I am trying desperately to find another Holiday Inn Express within a reasonable distance.  The GPS showed a number of hotels in the wrong direction and we we both feeling a little panicky.  When lo and behold it showed a Holiday Inn Express in 18 miles.  Tentatively we drove to the spot, ready to throw stupid Jack out the window if it led us astray again. Thankfully the hotel was right there off Hwy 59, so on our route and we are in a lovely, clean room and looking forward to the breakfast they supply in the morning. Good Night and GOOD NIGHT!

Last day of our vacation and home

 Joey and Kate made us a great barbecue dinner on Friday.  Chicken shish-ka-bob with peppers, onions and mushrooms, salad, naan bread with spicy hummus.  Really very good.  I would have to say that Kate is the brains of the operation and Joey is the helper.

 We took the cable car up Mont Ste. Anne on Saturday morning.  I had never done that before and it was good.  So now I know I can do that again if I want/need to.  There was a biking competition going on and there were hundreds of bikes and bikers. Also the dirt bikers would take the cable car up to the top and ride back down and get filthy.  Then hook their bikes to the back and/or front of the cable car and go up and do it again.

Here are Joey and Kate at the top.

The views from the top of the mountain were magnificent!  The sun was out and it was nice and warm, but unfortunately the was a haze. From here you can see the St. Lawrence river and the island out there is Isle D'Orleans.  Joe and I drove all around that island earlier in the week.

We took the return route through the woods.  Which was the trail less trodden.  We were on the lookout for bears and wolves but didn't see any.  Darn!

Yeah, like I personally would have had a heart attack if we did.

We drove back to J & K's place and walked to the Jazz festival in the evening.  Kim Churchill was playing at the Heineken tent.  There was a line up and we patiently waited until we were next in line and then almost gave up on getting a seat.  There was lots of standing room but I was tired from all the walking and Joe's leg was hurting.  (You know, where he got hit by the car).  The waitress was kind enough to put four chairs out for us in a really good spot.  Kim Churchill is very talented and play the guitar, drum and harmonica simultaneously some of the time and has a great voice.  It was a little modern but very enjoyable.  We all went back to their condo and Joey and Kate got changed and headed back out for more music and fun.  We had a drink and went to bed.

We headed out around 7am, said goodbye to Joey and Kate with hugs (I'm sure they headed back to bed when we left) and arrived home around 2pm tired but happy.  

So that is the end of our trip down east.  We enjoyed everything and everybody and will settle in for a summer at home.

Canada Day

Hi Folks, I haven't written anything for the last couple of days.  June 29th was mostly a wash day and relaxing at the condo.  Then on June 30th we left around 11 am to go and pick up Joey and Kate in Montreal.  We thought we had plenty of time but the traffic getting into Montreal was so bad, we barely made it to their place for 4:30. Drove back, had dinner at St. Hubert and that was pretty much it for the day.

Today we started out at around 10:30.  The day was cloudy and you couldn't even see the mountain so that curtailed some of the events we had planned.  We decided to go to the St. Anne Canyon where you walk across the trestle bridge over the gorge.  It was fabulous.  The water was raging down the canyon and you are walking right above it.  Amazing.  I did get a little drizzly but not a problem.  We actually walked across two trestle bridges.  The stairs and grades were a bit of a challenge but worth it.



As you can see I was very happy that I did this as the canyon was extremely deep and the spray from the water fall was flying up far into the air.























Unfortunately the pictures cannot portray the true experience.  Joe, of course had shorts on, although the day was cool and cloudy.  He's tough though.









After that we were really ready for lunch and a drink!  The activities director suggested  we might like to go to Auberge Baker for lunch so we decided to check it out.  The building was a big old house and we had a private room to eat in.  I orded the "draft" wine as I thought that was quite original.  Actually it probably just came out of a box of wine like we get in Texas.  Kate and I had the chef special that was fish from Vietnam!  What's with that.  It came with soup, so I had the traditional French pea soup.  Very good.  There was milk in the sauce apparently and I had already told the waiter that I have a milk allergy, so he kindly replaced mine with one without milk.  It was quite a wait, but we were content to relax in this nice restaurant and when it came it was excellent.  The guys' meal came with dessert which they shared (lucky for them I say) and it was delicious.  It came with a bit of fruit and a nice sauce.

After lunch we went to a Domaine L'Ange Gardien winery.  It was hard to find and we almost gave up but then we spotted it and went in for some wine tasting.  The wine tasting was free because we were staying at the Club Vacances Toutes Saisons.  Interesting wine.  One that was really different was made with only strawberries.  Not grapes.

Home in the late afternoon and Kate and Joey are making a barbeque dinner for us.  Looking forward to that.

Checking things out

What a lovely day we had.  The weather was warm to hot and mostly sunny.  We wanted to check out some of the spots we may take Joey and Kate when they are here.  One thing is walking across a very high trestle bridge that goes over a deep canyon.  Another is take a cable ride up Mount Ste. Anne. The view at the top should be spectacular.  And one more thing is going to see the Seven Waterfalls.  Apparently you can view five of them from one spot.  Great place for pictures.  Can't wait til Joey and Kate get here to do all that stuff.

This is Ste. Anne de Beaupre Basilica which is in the town of St. Anne de Beaupre.  Very beautiful.  We walked around for a while and looked for some quality souvenirs in the shops, but they only had the same old stuff you find everywhere but with the appropriate name on them.







Believe it or not we had lunch in this chapel/restaurant in the town of L'Ange-Gardien.  The name of the restaurantis is Pub de la Chappelle and it is an actual beautiful chapel turned into really nice restaurant.  If you look closely I am sitting under the umbrella on the right past the railing.  Good picture taking Joe!

By the way I did not walk up three hundred and some steps in Quebec.  More like 60.


When we came back to the resort we went for a swim.  There are two pools and first of all we went to the small one and the water was very cold and there were a lot of kids.  We left there and went to the bigger pool which was much warmer.  Then we came back to our condo and sat outside and read in the sunshine.  What a great day!

Beautiful sunny day

We went to the meeting at 9:15 where they told us all the things available to do in and around Quebec City.
Well, we're getting older you know, and we didn't remember most of it.
Spent the day in Old Quebec City

 This is a fabulous mural that was painted on the side of a hotel.  It looked very realistic in person.
We got lost a number of times in the old town, drove up and down various one way streets with Bonnie navigating. All I heard was "turn right or turn left"
I kept saying "but it's a one way street".

 We decided to relax and have a drink in this pretty outside cafe.  (that's Joe sitting behind the flowers). We enjoyed watching all the goings on around us.  One lady was making balloon animals and another was painting the kids' faces.
We were parked right there on the street.  We got to the area around 3:30 and the parking meters could not be used until 4pm. so we hung around until we could park there.  On the left is the street with all the artists displaying their works.

Believe it or not I walked up all those &^%*  stairs. (384 actually)
And it wasn't easy.  Of course Old Quebec is full on hills and stairs.  Tonight we are exhausted but happy.

A much better day

Joe is feeling much better today.  His leg seems to be okay.  It is cloudy and drizzly, so we drove all around Isle d'Orleans this morning.  There is not a lot to see there.  A lot of camping and many auberges and bed and breakfast.  We had nachos and Joe had a beer paddle (that is a selection of four of the beers made there) at a microbrewery called Matin.

This is the resort that we are staying at for the week.
We actually got to sit out on our deck this afternoon and then went to have our dinner "on the house".  Paid for with Joe's pain! The restaurant is very nice and we had Fried cheese - delicious, steak with fries and veggies and chocolate cake drizzled with chocolate and strawberry coulis.  Nice.

This is me sitting out on the deck.  That is our unit behind me.

Below is Montmorency Falls.  We had to take the picture from the highway and it was quite foggy, so this is the best we could get.

Heading for Old Quebec City tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the mid twenties.  Hope so.

Good and Bad

Yesterday we drove to Bangor, Maine and went to Bangor Mall.  The mall was not as big as we hoped.  I shopped for a while and we booked into the Holiday Inn (we had quite a problem finding the hotel and Bangor is not that big) for the night. We went into "downtown" Bangor a little later. One store, a couple of pubs and that's it for downtown Bangor.  The good news is - we found the Timmies right up the street from the hotel.  Life is good.

Today was a boring drive up through Maine to the US/Canada border.  There were a hundred signs warning about moose, some with flashing lights.  I was so worried we would run into one, I had my eyes glued to the road the whole way, which interfered with my knitting plans.
We got to Club Vacances Toutes Saisons near St Anne de Beaupre with no trouble.  Then the bad part started!!!!

When we got to our condo, there was one of the workers' golf cart parked in our spot.  She tried to pull out but her battery died and she couldn't.  We just parked beside it until she could clear out  We brought some stuff into our room.  Joe went outside for more while I was having a pee.  I came out and put some stuff away and saw that he had taken out one of our pillows.  I'm thinking "why would he take a pillow?"
Then I heard a weak, "Bonnie".  I went outside to see Joe lying in the ground beside our car with a pillow under his head!!!  There were a couple of men standing by, and I said "Oh, my God, what happened?"  What had happened was, one of the employee's was backing a van up behind the car and didn't see Joe getting some stuff out of the trunk and he hit him.  Joe was pinned between the 2 cars and was yelling "Go forward, go forward!!!" He was hit in the legs, mostly one leg.  The driver was very upset and so sorry, he didn't know what to say.  They had already called and ambulance and the manager was there.  They wouldn't let Joe move, although he said he thought he was alright..  The ambulance came and they checked his leg, and his blood pressure and he was able to stand.  The men brought all our stuff in for us and we came inside for a drink.  A few minutes later the manager came to the door with a voucher for a free dinner for us "on the house".  We will take advantage of it tomorrow, although I don't think it was necessary for Joe to go to that extreme just to get a free meal.  Tonight we will just try to relax and see how Joe's leg is.

On top of all that it has been cloudy and a bit drizzly and cool.  Better times ahead.  Joe's okay but I am still shaking.

Off to Bar Harbor

 Our drive from St. John to Bar Harbor was pretty although rather long.  We had a 25 minute wait to get through some construction.  It was long and boring for both of us, but worse for me as Joe kept complaining and telling me how they should be handling the delay better, which would get us through it much quicker. (Joe was correct of course)

As you can see (I hope) from the picture, we did eventually arrive.  That is not us in the picture, just in case you're wondering.



We went for lunch at this place called Stewmans.
Can you spot Bonnie in the picture?
I'm in the lobster if you can't find me.  We had a good lunch, Joe had a lobster salad which he really enjoyed.  We didn't sit outside however because it was quite cool with a wind.

 The bay is really pretty, but it would have been nicer with some sun.  Plenty of people still went out whale watching though.  And apparently they see puffins when they are out there.  You know the puffins are the cute black and white birds with the big fat beaks.








There is this street in the middle of town that leads to
50's restaurant with rock and roll music playing.
We went into a lot of stores and Bonnie bought a yellow sweat shirt with a whale on the front and "Bar Harbor" on the sleeve.
Our hotel room is really roomy and looks out over the bay.  We have a balcony but it is too cold to use it.  Off to Bangor, Maine tomorrow.

St. John, New Brunswick

We arrived at St. John at about 1pm and checked into our hotel, the Chateau St. John.  Our room is really fabulous.  Then we went down to the harbour, walked around then stopped where the blue umbrellas are here and had a wine (Bonnie) and a couple of beers (Joe).
We actually got lost trying to get back to the hotel, which was only about a kilometre from our drinking spot, but then we got Richard (the GPS) out of the glove box and he directed us.

Bonnie was waiting for a bus to go back to the hotel for quite a while (I think she had a premonition of our return trip) but we ended up driving back.  The people waiting at the bus stop were not too friendly though.

Joe made friends with some of the local people.

We are not sure which of the people to the left is Bonnie, but the real trick is to find Joe.
That's him in disguise at the front with the tie.
He looks quite good.

Last day in Windsor

Well, we went for a walk again this morning.  Me to Tim Hortons and Joe on around the bay and back.
We went to a mall in Bedford and shopped for a while and then had lunch.  Back to Lorna and Chris's and when we got there Lorna's two sisters,  Muriel and Betty had come over for a visit.  They were both looking great and we had a chat.  Off to Cocoa Pesto Bistro for dinner.  A really pretty restaurant with an outdoor garden and nice deocor just a short walk up the street from their house.  We all had the "all you can eat" Fish and Chips.  It was good, but we all ate too much of course.

Halifax

Yes, I did get up early this morning and go for a walk with Joe.  I just went to the Tim Hortons, about 3/4 of a kilometer and Joe walked another 3 k and came and met me.  Then we went with Lorna to Halifax.  She had a doctors appointment there and dropped us of at Timmies and the Harbour front and after that, came back and met us.  The building in the middle of this picture with the black flat top is the courthouse where Lorna works. She was able to park there close to the boardwalk and close to everything.
Joe and I  went for a long walk along the boardwalk which is really interesting and we all had lunch around 2:30 at Stayners Restaurant. Chris stayed home. He has been taking codeine for some medical problems and was very tired.  So he took the day to rest and felt much better by the time we got back.

Theodore Too took passengers for a boat ride around the harbour.  The kids really seemed to love it.  He used to have his own television show, but does not any more.

Father's Day

Last evening, we had a fun game of Euchre.  More fun because the girls won 3 games to the guy's two.

We had a relaxing day today.  Lorna and I played a couple of games of Scrabble.  Then we left just after 3pm to go to Christina's new house.  She has a lovely house and is doing a great job of decorating.  So far the living room is done and looks great.  We all went out to The Vines restaurant to celebrate Father's Day for the guys.
It was a Carvery with all you can eat delicious food.  Of course we overate but enjoyed every minute.
Here are Chris, Christina and Lorna at the restaurant.
Should be an early night tonight.  I promised Joe I would go for a walk with him in the morning.  He has been out walking every morning since we have been here.  I am sure I will slow him down, but it will be good for me. :(

Shopping, shopping, shopping

Lorna knows how to shop! I love it.  First, leave the guys at home, then spend ALL day shopping at  Micmac Mall.  We had a lot of fun, bought a few things (of course) met her daughter Christina at the Wok Box and she came to shop with us for a while.  She is a lovely girl and we all had a good time. When we got home from shopping at 6pm, Chris had started to barbeque and we had a great dinner and then played euchre.

I have been in touch with Laurie and she got home today from the hospital.  She is still in some pain, but that is to be expected after an operation.  At least her temperature is back to normal and the family is probably waiting on her hand and foot as I write this, so that is good.

Stressful

Well, we are here at Chris and Lorna's home in Windsor Nova Scotia.
Drive down from Moncton was good.
We just got into Nova Scotia, driving down the highway when we got a text call from Laurie.  She was in the hospital.  Had another gall bladder attack on Wednesday and went by ambulance to the Credit Valley Hospital. Waiting for surgery. Had to turn her phone off in the hospital so we had to call Rob.  Easier said than done.  First of all we had no signal for a while in the north of N.S.  Then I called the number we had in the cell phone for Rob which was an old one and it was busy.  Then I sent a text to Matthew for Rob's new number.  Then I sent a text Laurie just in case it got through to get Rob's cell no.  She sent it back and I called Rob (had a signal now) and he told me she also had an infection, was on a IV and should be first priority after the regularly scheduled surgeries. Then Matthew sent me a text with Rob's number.  He was at work, so probably couldn't call right away. Finally I talked to Laurie who had been in pain and on morphine but the pain was ebbing.  She was getting a shot in the stomach for (I think) blood thinners which burned when the medicine went in, but was otherwise okay.   So we waited to get a call the she was having surgery which came at 9:30 Atlantic time. Then I took the phone to bed and waited to hear everything was okay.  Rob sent a message saying the surgery went well and all was okay.  I will call her this morning.
So, as I was saying, we are at Lorna's. They have a lovely old house and it is beautifully decorated.  Lorna is an artist so you can imagine how nice it is.  We went for a barbeque to their daughter-in-law's grandfather's house for Cameron's (that's their grandson)  6th birthday.  Cameron is six and was so excited as there were quite a few gifts for him.
June 16, 2011
Talked to Laurie and she was feeling pretty good.  She is still getting antibiotics and they may let her go home tomorrow.

Joe and I and Lorna and Chris went on a motor trip (how do you like that old fashioned expression)  down to  Mahone Bay, where we had lunch and walked around.  What a beautiful area with lots of shops and boutiques.

  Then we went to Peggy's Cove and visited the memorial site where the Swiss Air flight no. 111 crash was back in 1998.  They brought the remains into two spots and the family and friends waiting there hoping for survivors, but there were none.








We had a nice drive around the area and took some pictures of the wonderful scenery.

New Brunswick

This morning we headed down the eastern coast along the Acadia Coast Drive.  Still not much to see, we saw no wildlife driving through the park (except maybe a dead creature on the side of the road) and it was nice but not terribly interesting.  By the time we drove for a few hours I was dying for a coffee and a pee.  Well so far we had been lucky to see an outhouse, let alone a bathroom.  We got to Richibucto which is fairly big,  still no good spot to "go", however as we turned a corner, what to my wonderous eyes did appear!  You guessed it. Ten tiny reindeer!  No.  Just kidding.  A Timmies!!!  Had our pit stop and headed back to the car to drive down to Moncton with our coffees in our hands.  Life is GOOD!
This is our hotel on the Petitcodiac River (famous for it's tidal bore) in Moncton.  It's right on the river and there is a boardwalk that goes for miles.

 

Here is Joe on part of the boardwalk.  We walked along a ways but it was cold and windy, so Bonnie wimped out.
Looking forward to seeing Lorna and Chris tomorrow.
The weather is supposed to be getting warmer.  Good.

Here is the view from our balcony.  The contruction in the front is because the boardwalk and some of their property was washed away in a bad storm, and it is being repaired. We went to the bakery and for $11 and change, we got 2 croissants and 2 coffee.  Expensive here but we sat in the the sunshine and enjoyed it.
Continuing on around the Gaspe, we are really enjoying the beautiful coastal scenery, colourful houses, tall church spires and blue, blue water.
We crossed over to New Brunswick and went down to Bathurst and then took the "Acadian Coastal Route".  Badly misnamed because you only see small glimpses of the actual coast.  It was a way longer drive than the fellow at the information centre told us.  We (Joe that is technically) ended up driving until 6pm and are now staying in the HOJO in Miramichi.

Perce

The scenery on the way to Perce, which is on the eastern Gaspe Pennisula, was gorgeous.  We spent the day here at Perce. We got a fabulous room at the Hotel La Normandie with a balcony looking out to the rock.
This is the cruise boat we took.  I was real nervous that I would get seasick, but Joe thought I would be alright. Easy for him to say.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, Joe was right.  Actually it was good.  I had no seasickness, the trip was smooth, interesting, and most enjoyable.  We saw thousands of birds, dozens of seals and some whales. It was cold, that was the only thing, but we stayed up top for most of it and our tour director spoke english as well as french and made sure we heard everything. Quite an adventure!

Here is the Perce Rock.  It looks small but is in fact 300 feet high and 1500 ft. long and 250 ft wide.  It is approx. 400 million years old and was formed when two faults collided and pushed it up.  We were going to walk out to it during low tide, but are not allowed to anymore because of crumbling rocks.
While we were in Montreal, we almost tasted the poutine but they had kitchen troubles and could not make it for us. We were disappointed as we had our taste buds all ready.  So, we had some here in Perce.
It was pretty good, Joe liked it more than I did.
On our way tomorrow after we stop at the bakery across the road for pastries for breakfast.

The Gaspe Penninsula

Were very happy with the hotel in Rimouski and left to continue around the Gaspe this morning after getting a couple of coffees and bagels at Timmies. We grabbed two apples and cheddar cheese for lunch. That's all you need when you have been sitting all morning. The whole penninsula is breathtakingly beautiful. The pretty houses painted in all different colors, the water, the mountains and trees. We just enjoyed the day viewing the scenery.

Stopped for the night in Gaspe and I am going to see if Joe can get a few pictures up for you.

Had to show you Joey and Kate on the new deck first. Now I have to wait for Joe to upload today's pictures.

Ok, I'm not too good at this yet. The pictures of the colorful houses are both the same and it is me in front of the waterfall. I'll try to do better next time.

Hot, hot, hot

I have never sweated so much in all my life!! No air conditioning, but thankfully a great fan.

Joe picked up the boards to put the frame in for the deck. Got the frame together with Joey's help once he got home from school.

We stopped to have lunch at Jardin Nelson where we met Kate. It is a great restaurant with a huge outside garden. Food and sangria were both very good. The boys got half the deck finished and then quit for the day. It is quite nice up there and I am sure Joey and Kate will get a lot of use out of it.

June 9th and Joe's birthday. We all wished him a happy birthday and Laurie and Rob bought us a new cell phone for our birthdays. We got a Gravity T from Bell and I am still working at figuring it out. But is is really nice with the slide out keyboard.

Now the floor of the deck is finished and the boys are working on a pergola.

June 10/11

The boys finished the deck and the pergola. I and I believe Kate am very impressed. It looks great and now it is nice and secure. We sat on two new folding chairs (the girls that is) and enjoyed a glass of wine or beer as the case may be. The boys watched sports (the hockey game) on the TV Joey hooked up outside, Kate made us appetizers and Pizza (what a girl!) and I played a word game on my Kindle reader. Life is good.

June 11/11

Joey want some more wood to add to the top of the pergola, some lattice and more wood to make a planter and storage bench. Can't wait to see how it all works out. Kate is going to plant some vines to go up the sides and top.

We left Montreal in the late morning and are now in Rimouski at the Hotel Rimouski. What a beautiful hotel. We got a suite which is gorgeous and it has a bar and restaurant. Guess you know where we are off to now.

Montreal

June 6, 2011

Well, here we are in Montreal at Joey and Kate's condo. The drive was good, but a lot of construction. Joe, Joey and I, picked Kate up from work and we all went to their baseball game which was a double header. The team is made up mostly of Kate's work buddies. They lost both games unfortunately, but the team was really great and just had a lot of fun. The other teams took it too seriously and were definitely out to win (and they did) rather than just have fun.

Joe and I walked over to Timmies this morning for our second cup of coffee and a bagel and muffin. They close off St Catharine Street during June, July and August and you can just walk along the road to stores, restaurants etc. Most of which, and also the people walking are obviously "gay" and it is quite interesting!

Joey was off to school this morning where he is learning French, and Kate had to go to work. Joe started taking apart the old deck that needs replaced and then they (Joe and Joey) both carted out all the wood to the front walk for pickup. That is numerous trips down three flights of stairs. One more reason that I'm glad to be a woman!

Joey is off to his football practice tonight and Kate is painting (with some fellow workers) her office.

Here We Go Again!

We have had a busy time since returning from Texas.

We drove to Novi, Michigan to watch our granddaughter at her dance competition. I don't know how these young people find the energy! She did marvelously well, and danced a total of eleven routines. While in Michigan, Laurie, Sarah, Joe and I visited my cousin Audrey in Sterling Heights. We visited with her and her son (my second cousin, I guess) Michael. They took us out for lunch and we had a great time.

We had a new hardwood floor put in our house throughout every room except the two bedrooms. That was a lot of work as we (the royal we here - that would be Joe) had to move a lot of furniture out of the living/dining room and kitchen. Then we (Joe) had to put it all back. It was a good chance to do our spring cleaning and the floor looks great.

We went to Creemore with our friends Jim and Peggy to see an art show by our mutual friend, Sheila. Sheila's paintings were really, really lovely and I saw a set of three that I would like to purchase. That reminds me I have to email her and let her know. We met Dan and Jane also in Creemore and had lunch there before heading home.

We went up to Severn Bridge and spent two nights at our friends, Doreen and Bob's home. The first day Wendy and Graham and Sharon and Bob were there as well and Doreen made a great dinner. The next night we saw our old (not really "old", just "previous") neighbours, Heather and Al who we miss dearly and we had another great dinner and a lot of chatting and laughing both days. Hated to leave but had to get back to beautiful Mount Hope.

Our previous neighbors Heather and Al (see above) came to visit on their way to Niagara-on-the-lake. Another wonderful time with lots of catching up.

The next week Dan and Jane invited four couples to Niagara-on-the-Lake where they rented a "cottage". The cottage was a beautiful old home with five bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, a large dining room and kitchen and sitting room. It was just gorgeous and decorated beautiful. We felt very spoiled. They had dinner the second night catered by a chef (very cute fellow) who even set the table and served the meal and cleaned up. What fun we had. The only down side was that Jane was not well. She couldn't come and we really missed her.

Next post will be on our way to Montreal

Spring already here

Here it is April 10th, 2011.  We had a great time in Texas this year.

 WE entered the Christmas Parade and won second prize for our golf cart all decorated.  Had a great Christmas with our friends and Mercedes and Norm  hosted and prepared dinner on Christmas day.  What fun.  We ate well and played well.  Norm played his guitar and we sang, sang, sang. 

New Year's Eve was a blast as always with everyone all dressed up ready to party.  And we did!

Our sisters Chris and Jacquie came down for two weeks.  We had a lot of fun and they said they were comfortable on our new bed chesterfield. We celebrated Andy's 65th birthday while they were with us and  Betty (his wife) wanted to surprise him.   He wanted to plan his own birthday party, so we had to pretend the get together at their house was the whole thing.  Andy went and got a bunch of wings and we had to eat them to keep the surprise.  Then when we got him to the White House on false pretenses and everyone brought food.   No wonder we put on weight down here!!! 

Joe and I and Marcella and Wayne decorated our golf cart for the St. Patricks Day parade, and what a beauty it was!  We made a Leprecon out of a sandbag, some children's cloths including black shoes and put a wig on him.  Sheila and John Jack (just kidding John) were there while we were working on the cart and Sheila helped with her artistic abilities.  We thought we were a shoe-in for the first prize and were astounded that we did not win 1st place. It must have been the GIANT Irish flag the winners had on their cart or something. 

Now we are on are way home.  It is really, really hot in Texas, so it was good to get going.  We spent our first two nights in San Antonio.  Mostly we strolled the River Walk, and ate and drank and rested.  It is more work than you would think getting closed up for the summer in Victoria Palms.  San Antonio was beautiful with the leaves coming out on the trees and the warm weather.  We were disappointed with the hotel there.  It was called Holiday Inn Express River walk.  No way.  A long walk (5 or 6 blocks) (for me anyway) to the Riverwalk  from the hotel.  False advertising? 

We spent one night on the road at Little Rock, Arkansas.  The next two nights we were in Nashville, Tennesse.  During the first day we went down to the Entertainment area and had a drink and a bite to eat at Tootsies, the best and most famous bar in Nashville.  They had two bands playing, one downstairs and one upstairs.  We were there at 2pm and the place was packed. That first night we went to the new Grand Ole Oprey House.  The main hosts were John Conlee, Little Jimmy Dickens,  Bill Anderson and Trace Adkins.  What a show!  They told us that during the flooding in May last year the stage was under 4 feet of water and a lot of things were destroyed.  But they have repaired and replaced and it is back to the way it should be.  Well Little Jimmy Dickens IS really little and he was very funny and told a lot of jokes.  Trace Adkins was awesome and he had the West Point Glee Club with him.  Great show!

The next morning we had a good breakfast at the hotel and walked down to 2nd Avenue and Broadway to pick up a trolley tour at 10 am.  We were there at 10 and the trolley was full, so we had to wait to get the 11 o'clock trolley.  Very annoying and the 11 o'clock trolley was 12 minutes late but a nicer vehicle.  We had a 1 1/4 hour tour with a great commentator who you could understand all the time and it was a wonderful tour.  Well worth the wait, which I told him at the end.  Then we walked over to BB Kings to listen to the band and have lunch.  The group was "The Rev. Zac" band and it turns out that Rev. Zac is a real reverend and actually goes into the jail to counsel and encourage the residents there and does other church duties.  They were very good. We took the "green" bus, which is free in Downtown Nashville and went back to our room for a rest.  Went back out around 6pm to "do the town" and hit the clubs.  Wrong!
The clubs were all small and packed full of young people.  It must be Spring Break down here.  When we could get in, there was standing room only.  Ended up at a couple of bars, had dinner at the Brewery House Bar and Restaurant, which was also packed, but we found a seat, had nachos and a drink and took the Green Bus back to our room.

Heading home tomorrow and should be there by Monday, the 11th of April.  Looking forward to it.
What do you mean Joe? about time!!!!!