Christmas and beyond

Thursday

Up at 5:30am some Cheerios, no coffee and we were on the road.  Time for the HamBone Express.  We picked up the girls and made our way downtown to the mission.  We knew our assignment and got set up to hand out T-Shirts to the volunteers.

This is our third year at the HamBone Express

There were several hundred volunteers, plus a lot of the Mission staff.  The meals were assembled and put into bags that local school children had decorated.  Then over 3700 meals were delivered by 134 delivery teams.  The first delivery team left shortly after 8am and the final one left around 11:30am.  Everyone worked together and I think it all went well.

Then we headed home and Elizabeth got the turkey, meatloaf, mac-n-cheese, and Rolls started.  Then we opened gifts.

Opening Gifts

We also watched the Polar Express, A Christmas Story, and talked to our family out in Alabama.  We FaceTimed and we got to see all the kids presents.  So we had a very nice afternoon.  Then it was finally time to eat.

Carved up the Turkey

Our non-traditional dinner

While our dinner was non-traditional it was what we all wanted and enjoyed.  I had to nap before writing this, boy it was good.  Alexus got a copy of Frozen for Christmas and we finished up the day by watching it.  We had a really good day and enjoyed our time together.

This is the back of the volunteer shirts.

Friday

The sun is out this morning and Bonnie has headed out on a quick trip to Hobby Lobby for the after Christmas sales.  They are just supposed to be gone a couple hours.

I cleaned up the cooking pans in the kitchen from the Christmas cooking and waited for Bonnie to get home.  Made a turkey sandwich for lunch.   I watched Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams and several episodes of Damages.

Bonnie got home after 7:00 finally.  We watched a couple of the Hallmark Christmas movies and called it a night.

Not much else happened today.

Saturday

Sunny and warm again today.  We both slept in some, the generator test woke up Bonnie.

I did not do much today.  Bonnie did the wash.  Then we watched some more movies.  Its almost like we are retired.

Sunday

Rain overnight and still wet this morning.  Getting ready to head to church.  Today in church we had a guest speaker.  A young 30 something Jewish missionary.  He was very good and spoke on what the Jewish nation and peoples role is in the world is and how it mirrors what is going on in the world and how the Bible talks about it.

We picked up some eggs on the way home and thats about all we did today.  We did eat, nap and watched the Bills win in New England.

I have decided to take a little time off from Blogging.  Its hard to write when not much is going on and we are not traveling.  I will be back when something interesting happens or we start to Wander around this Great Country of Ours.

Thanks For Checking In!  Happy New Year!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Christmas Eve

Monday

Lots to do today.  We got up ate and then headed into East Aurora.  We both drove.  Bonnie left and I got some tools together and followed.  We put up quite a few shelves and mirrors for Bonnie's Mom today.  Then they left to go for a PET scan.  My assignment was to take a flat tire to see if it could be fixed.  I took it to their trusted tire man out in Strykersville and found out it was ruined.  Mom had driven a mile or so with it flat.  So we put a new tire on the rim and I headed home.  Today was to be the best day for a while and the SUN was out.  I changed the tools I had in the car for tire tools and loaded the jack into the car.  Boy was it heavy.  I do not remember it being that heavy when I bought it 10 years ago.

After grabbing a sandwich for lunch I headed back into the apartment and took the emergency spare tire off the car and put the new one on.  All went well, but that jack was even heavier when I put it back in the car.  I headed home, put the tools away and cleaned up.

All went well with the PET scan now to wait for the results.  Bonnie got home and we watched the news.  I am really beat and I am heading to bed nice and early.

Tuesday

Up early and we headed to downtown Buffalo to the Mission.  Last night I prepared the turkey breast by rubbing it down with mustard and Pappys rub.  It is sitting outside in the cool grill and tomorrow morning it will go into the smoker.

Soaking up the flavor of the rub

Traffic was light both this morning and coming home.  We spent the day helping to get ready for the Hambone Express.  Right now it looks like about 134 teams of volunteers will deliver over 3700 ham meals on Christmas morning.  We are tired but thankful that we can help.

Wednesday

I was up by 8 this morning had my breakfast and then put the turkey in the smoker.

The smoke is just starting

The turkey was done in just over 4.5 hours.  Sorry I did not take a picture of the finished product.   We were just about ready to load up to head to the family party.  Bonnie also made a big pan of chicken enchiladas to take along.

Must be 10lbs or more

We loaded up the car with food, presents for tonight and tomorrow and headed to the apartments.  Mom had reserved the activity room for the get together.

Bonnie's Dad Otis

I got to talk to all the brothers and sisters either in person, on the phone or by text.  We had a nice turn out.  Bonnie had gone through a lot of her Mom's pictures and sorted them and they were passed out to the families.

Checking out the old pictures

More picture gazing

We had a good time and were home around 9pm.  My son had facetimed us in the car and we called him once we got back in the house.  We had a nice long FaceTime chat with his family before deciding to call it a night.  Just as a hung up the wind picked up and we got a NWS warning for severe thunderstorms.

This Gum ball Tree makes it to a lot of family Christmases

The tree is a family tradition and I seem to remember it always being at the Christmas Eve get togethers.

Well I will post this as we are getting up early to head into the Mission for the HamBone Express.

Merry Christmas!  Enjoy the time you get to spend with your families.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

It's Winter

Thursday

About 1.5 inches of new snow out there this morning.  Just enough to have to clean it up.  Bonnie has left for East Aurora to spend the day with her mother and take her to her Dr. appointment.  My assignment for the day is to mail a Christmas package at the Post Office.

I did clear off the deck and the apron in front of the garage.  It was raining when I finished that so I went down to the Post Office and mailed the package.  Then back home and worked on the computer and watched TV the rest of the afternoon while the towels washed and dried.

Bonnie called around 6, they were just leaving the Drs.  Lots of blood tests today for her Mom and a series of tests and scans that need to be completed in the next few weeks.  The good news is that they like the Dr.

Bonnie must be feeling good because she just called and said she was going to grocery shop on the way home.  I threw in another load of clothes so they will be done when she gets home.

Bonnie made it home and put the groceries away,  now time for a Hallmark Christmas Movie.

Friday

An icy morning today.  Looks like the drizzle should stop late this morning, be careful out there.  I don't think we have to go out anywhere today so thats good.  I did go out and scraped the top ice and snow mix off the driveway.  There is just a thin layer of ice left and its 22 out so it will stay another day.  We are to get up into the low 30s tomorrow possibly with some sun so maybe it will melt some.  The long range forecast shows 50 later in the week.  The weathermen are also saying Christmas Eve and Christmas day may be some nasty weather, time will tell.

Bonnie baked some more and I worked on the computer.  Some financial stuff and also worked on setting up a FB Group for the family.  Then we watched some Christmas movies and just relaxed.

Saturday

Still below freezing today.  We did not hear the generator run for its weekly test.  It was still warm when I went out to check it, thats good.  While I was out I went out and got the Penny Saver papers and mail.  A couple more Christmas Cards with Friends news, we always enjoy the letters.

Bonnie is doing wash today and we are taking it easy and watching some more Christmas movies and TV.  No sun today so no melting of the ice and snow.

Alexus had her Christmas Party at Church last night and guess what.

Her team won the Gingerbread Creation Competition

This is Doug with a Make-A-Wish boy.  Doug works at the Mission and we usually have lunch with him when we are there.  He also opens the Buffalo Sabre's Home Game by singing the Anthems

Doug in the middle

Sunday

First Day of Winter!  Also the shortest day (sunrise to sunset) of the year.
We were off a few minutes early for Church as Elizabeth was working in the baby nursery.  We had another good Worship service and the Pastor's sermon was over before I knew it, very interesting.

We headed to Tops to pick up a turkey breast to smoke for Christmas and then a quick stop at CVS to pick up a RX.  We dropped off the girls and headed home.

Not much else to report for today.  Except the Bills tried hard but fell short and have been eliminated from the Playoffs!

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Community Meal

Monday

Cloudy again today and foggy.  The dampness cuts right through you.  I went out to do some errands. Went down to fill the gas can and CRV up, then to the post office to mail Christmas Cards.  Then picked up the mail on the way back into the house.  Bonnie worked on getting a Dr appointment for her Mom and I did a little computer work.  My RX refills came and so I needed to work on them.  Bonnie baked some today and made fudge.  Then I got a call that Alexus needed a ride from an after school program that she is trying to get a job at.  Elizabeth was collecting donations at the Sabre's game for the mission.

So I picked up Alexus and got her back home.  It was complicated because there was an accident just up the road from us and the road has been close for over 5 hours.  So I had to detour around that both ways.  Elizabeth lucked out as they had front row seats for them to use and enjoy the hockey game after they collected the donations, very nice.

Body Checks

Often leads to fights

Tuesday

We had a clear drive into Buffalo City Mission today.  Shortly after we got there the rain started.  Not sure how long it rained there but our rain gauge shows about 1/4 inch.  We had a busy and productive day.  The highlight of the day was the Community Christmas Dinner.  The Community is made up of the homeless in Buffalo.  They came in for a turkey or ham meal and were seated and served by the staff and volunteers at the mission.  There were lots of people willing to serve and we were able to sit down and share a meal with several woman.  It was nice and each of the men and woman were given a warm hat and gloves.

We were really tired at the end of the day and dropped off Elizabeth and came straight home.

Wednesday

Not much to add to the blog today.  I was really tired when I went to bed last night and slept really late 10am this morning.  It was dark out and it was snowing when I got up.  It snowed off and on all day but stayed just above freezing.  Now it is real nasty out and we have lots of wind.

Bonnie baked all day.  She cut her finger this morning.  It bled a lot but she got it stopped and kept on going.  Not wanting to get it wet she left the dishes for me to do.

Cleaned up in 20 minutes

I washed and Bonnie dried and put them away.

My highlight of the day was a trip to Praller's to get milk and a sub for lunch.

Fresh Tuna sub

Well thats about it for tonight so I will get this posted.  Stay warm and dry.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Snow removal and melting

Thursday

We had another 6 inches of snow last night to add to the 3 that we got yesterday.  I had cleared the deck last night so I thats 3 inches I do not need to worry about.  Bonnie got up and made it out the driveway to go to her mothers to sort out pictures.

I went out abut 11 to blow snow.  It was not snowing so I thought it was a good time to start.

Ready Set Go

The new paint job on the chute helped a lot.  I only plugged up once.  After that I found the right speed and was able to keep going the rest of the day without another problem.  The driveway turned to ice and got very slippery.  Took me two hours to finish the driveway and the pavers between the house and the garage.  Time to warm up.

Bonnie got home after I finished lunch and then I went out and cleaned the deck again just as it started snowing again.  Then we finished and printed the Christmas letter.

We have our annual dinner with our financial advisor at Salvatore's tonight so off into the snow we go.

Made home safe and sound.  The roads were slick and we got behind a couple semi's on the way having to go down the hills at 10mph to keep control.  So we decided he head on the back roads to get there.  They were in pretty good shape and we made it with plenty of time to spare.  The food was good and the program was interesting.

A few minutes to relax now and then off to bed.  We had another inch of snow since this afternoon

Friday

Slept in a little this morning after our night out yesterday.  We had about an inch of snow on the driveway so I figured I would go out and clean it up.  We are to get above freezing the next few days so I am hopeful that it will all melt off.  Bonnie headed down to get a haircut and I finished up just as she left.  I made a bite to eat and finished looking at my email.

We were about to get ready to leave for the Christmas dinner for the logging company that I help with computer issues.  Then the phone rang.  Bonnies mom is having some issues and needs to go to the hospital.  Change of plans.  Bonnie will go with her to the hospital, I will go to the dinner and then stay home and keep the family apprised of whats going on.  Another sister will stay with her Dad.

Seems the hospital is very busy and as of midnight they were still waiting to be seen.  1am now and I am going to lay down.  Bonnie got home at 3am.  They also let her mom come home also.  Monday they will be making an appointment with an Oncology Dr.

Saturday

We did not get much sleep last night and so got up late this morning.  Bonnie wants to do some baking today and I think the girls are coming out to bake, sew, and help this afternoon it will be nice to have them here.

Lots of baking and cooking going on here this afternoon.  Elizabeth is sewing and it seems everyone is busy.  We had a nice pork roast for supper and then topped of the evening by watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  And we had some fresh bread and jam to nibble on.

Alexus made a Snow Man

Sunday

Sunday morning.  We have not seen the sun for quite a few days now but it has not snowed either so thats good.  The temperature has hovered right around freezing so the fallen snow is gradually melting.  Time to get ready to head for church.

Church was very good again and it was good to be there.  On the way home we filled up the car for $2.99 a gallon.

Lowest its been in NY for a long time.

It is almost 40 degrees and when we got home I got some tools together and went out to work on the generator.  We had lost power yesterday and the generator did not start.  It had an OverCrank Alarm again, the choke was stuck again.  So I attempted to adjust the coke rod again.

Had to bend this so it was a bit longer

One it was longer I put it back in and we will see how it works.  I have had this problem before and there are lots of complaints on the internet doing exactly like mine is.  So I will keep an eye on it.

Ready to go again

Lots of snow melting today so maybe it will all be gone before it turns cold again.  We have a Celebrate Christmas program at church tonight and we will soon be heading for that and meeting some of Bonnie's Family there.

The program was great we all really enjoyed it and it was nice to have lots of family there with us.

Ready for the program to start.

Great news from our family in Alabama also.  We are so proud of our DIL who graduated today as a Nurse Practitioner, and even better she passed the state exams on Tuesday.

Congratulations Ashley

Plus this weekend Navy won and the Bills won.  Thats it for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Cloudy / Snow

Monday

Well the Sun is hiding behind the clouds.  Looking at the forecast we have either cloudy or snow for the next 6 days.  The good news is that my back is feeling much better this morning.

Bonnie was busy all day in the kitchen and cleaning some plus she did the wash.  I still took it easy and kept heat on my back all day.  I only made two trips out of the house.  First to go out and get the mail after lunch.  Then after dark I went out to take the trash out for tomorrow night.

Well the NWS has issued a Winter Storm Watch starting tomorrow afternoon.  6-12 inches possible  over a couple days.  So it should be nothing like the other one.  We have enjoyed watching a few of the Christmas specials and this afternoon had time for a movie.  We Legends of the Fall, I thought it was pretty good.  Tonight I was enjoying a few Jelly Beans, when I was young I did not like the black ones but my mother always said save them for her, she enjoyed them.  As an adult I really enjoy the black jelly beans.  Tonight I saved them for last and am enjoying them one at a time as my Mom did.

Tuesday

We are up at zero dark thirty, that means very early in Navy talk.  Getting ready to head in for a day at the Mission.

Elizabeth had running around to do during the day so we took the CRV all the way downtown.  The new GPS worked perfectly so looks like all my concerns are taken care of.  I finally got caught up on the statistics and Bonnie spent the day taking reservations for the HamBone Express.  The storm watch has been upgraded to a weather advisory but no rain or snow here yet.  We had a big lunch at the mission today so just had sandwiches for supper.

Bonnie went out to get dessert and I dozed off.  I had my Pumpkin Dump Cake a little later.  Then we watched a little TV before bed.  Wonder how much snow we will have in the morning.

Wednesday

The snow overnight amounted to about 1/2 inch, good news.  So far this morning it has stayed to the east.  FedEx and UPS were both here by 10:30 this morning and brought some things for Christmas.

Been snowing lightly for a few houses, does not seem to be piling up much.  Maybe I won't have to clean the driveway until tomorrow.  Bonnie decided to go shopping so has made a trip into East Aurora and returned safely.  The roads were clear but a bit slippery here and there.  So now she is all set to do some baking.  But not today.

The pace of the snowfall has picked up so I may go out later and do a rough clean up.  Bonnie made pizza for supper.  Time to get this posted, stay safe and take your time shoveling the snow.


Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

More seasonal weather

Thursday

The sky cleared last night and the moon lit up the yard.  This morning it is still pretty clear and it is nice to see the sun.  Its right below freezing so not much melting yet, but it is to get into the upper 30s today and the next few days.  Bonnie is heading over to see her parents and I am still nursing a sore lower back.

Bonnie had put some new sheets in the wash before she left.  Once they were done I put them in the dryer and started to watch a movie.  When I checked on them they were dry but all the lint had plugged up the lint screen.  Wow lots of lint.  We clean the lint out after every load.  I got out the vacuum cleaner and took part of the dryer apart and cleaned out as much as I could.  I have done this before but never saw it this bad.

This is where the lint screen fits

 Dryer fires are a real thing so clean out your dryer a couple times a year.
This is what I got out of the front part of the dryer.

Quite a big ball of lint

Bonnie made a great supper when she got home meatloaf, green beans, and baked potato.  New refurbished GPS came today so I ran the updates on it and copied my waypoints to it.  Then I realized the traffic receiver was missing from it.  So guess I will have to give them a call tomorrow.  We watched Peter Pan Live for 3 hours tonight but I could not really get into it.  Off to bed now its a clear night and already down to 21.

Friday

Well we were a few degrees warmer today but not much.  Bonnie and I headed over to Elma today to meet with our financial advisor.  We had a good visit and count him as a friend as well as an advisor.  All seems well and no changes needed.  Elma is one of the areas that got lots of snow and the piles are still quite big and melting slowly

Bonnie put the turkey in the oven soon after we got home.  I am still nursing the sore back.  She tried a new thing today.  The turkey went in the oven breast side down for an hour and then I helped her flip it over.  It smelled so good cooking all day.

I chatted off and on all afternoon with GPSCITY support.  I am not sure the traffic function in working on my new GPS.  It looks like I will have to wait until we drive downtown and get in range of some of the digital radio stations.

No traffic yet

Well the turkey tasted great.  The girls came for supper and we watched Still Mine a nice movie on Netflix.

We got a good start on it

The girls headed home after the movie.  I think they enjoyed the turkey as one of them had two plates.  Looks like the freezing rain will actually stay south of us tonight so that will be nice.

Saturday

We have different weather again today.  When a got up during the night and looked out I thought it might be snowing.  No snow when I got up we have heavy fog, we are living in the clouds.  Its rights at freezing and some of the moisture in the fog is freezing on trees and decks.

It warmed up and the fog lifted around 1:00.  My back is still very sore so I took it easy.  I did google my GPS problem and found the answer to my issues.  I ventured outside to go out and get the Penny Savers and mail.  While I was out I hooked up the GPS in the car and verified that my traffic receiver is built in.  It does look like we do not nave the HD radio coverage out here near the house so will have to wait until we go into Buffalo to see if it actually works.

Thats about all for today.  Off to bed

Sunday

Brilliant Sunshine this morning, looking forward to a Great Day!

We picked up Alexus for Church, Elizabeth was not feeling well.  When we got there we had a nice surprise, Bonnie's sister was there with Jackson her grandson, our grand nephew.  They sat in the row in front of us so he had a better view.

All eyes on the kids up front

The program was a new telling of the Christmas story, based on a pageant at a church where the wrong costumes are delivered for the play.  Imagine the shepherds dressed as pirates, the wisemen as cowboys, and the angels as cheer leaders.  Well it was really good and the message was the same.

Well done and the church was full

Then we stopped at the house to drop off Alexus I went in to pick up a corn bag Elizabeth had made me, pop in the micro wave and then it becomes a hot pack for my sore back.  She also gave me some essential oil to try on my back.  The Christmas tree was on the floor and I said oh you found the stand.  They said no, I said there it is in the bag with the tree.  So Alexus went and got Bonnie from the car and they sat the tree up.

Picking out some ornaments

Then we headed home.

I fired up the grill and we put some sausage on for lunch.

These will be good in about 15 minutes

We had a relaxing afternoon and now its time to get this posted.  Hope you are enjoying this time of the year.

PS:  The new GPS worked perfectly today and locked on to the traffic stations.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Tis the Season

Monday

Happy Birthday to our Granddaughter Grace way out in Alabama!!!

Such a pretty smile!

Had to set the alarm for this morning.  I was up ate and got ready.  I made to our dentist in Attica before 8:30 which I thought was my appointment.  Wrong it was 8:45, I wrote it done wrong.  No biggie it was only 15 minutes.  I was headed to my chair at 8:47.  I gave them my crown that had come off and asked if it had come off before.  Sure enough 7 years ago.  So they cleaned it up and re-cemented it into place.  I couple little adjustments and I was on my way.

I stopped at the hardware and picked up some spray paint.  Fluorescent orange for the driveway markers and yellow to paint the chute on the snowblower.  Hopefully it will make it a little smoother and the snow will not stick.  Then I headed for the Post Office to pick up the mail they have been holding for us.

It was a little cool but I painted the driveway stakes on the way in the they headed into the house.  Bonnie was still in bed but soon got up.  I did my end of the month and first of the month financial stuff on the computer.  Just as I finished that Bonnie left to go shopping and run some errands.

Did not do much the rest of the day.  Once Bonnie got home we carried up the groceries and then I grilled hamburgers on the grill.  Now its early to bed and early to rise tomorrow.

Tuesday 

Today we were at the Mission all day, busy busy busy.  A quick stop at Elizabeth's for dinner and now home.  Thats about it for today.

Wednesday

Wet and very overcast out this morning.  The clouds just keep rolling in off the lake this time of year. Makes one forget that it is sunny here most of the summer.  Bonnie slept in late and I caught up on some reading and research.  We watched a show and then went out to the kitchen and vacuum packed up a bunch of pork chops and ground meat that Bonnie got a good deal on.  Our machine has gotten really slow so we decided to order a new one.  Bonnie said it could be a Christmas present.  More research.  I found good deals on foodsaver.com but when I went to check out they were out of stock.  So I ended up getting a good deal at Amazon.

My back has been bothering me and its hard to bend over.  After supper Bonnie headed for East Aurora to take a CPR class she needs for her work at the Rural Outreach Center.  I did the dishes and cleaned up in the kitchen.  Hungry for some type of baked goods, but not up to baking anything tonight, maybe tomorrow.  We did get a quick blast of cold air today and it brought about an inch of snow with it off the lake.

So after a week using the new SSD in my MAC I am still amazed at the improvement in speed and responsiveness that it has made.  I am very satisfied.  Plus it was a big learning opportunity.  I sure know a lot more about SSDs than I did two weeks ago.

Bonnie made it home and of course she passed so is certified for 2 more years.

Hoping that the snow will melt tomorrow.

Thanks For Checking In!

"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Turkey is hard to find in Canada

I hit the wrong key Sunday morning and the blog published, I reverted back to a draft so some of you may already have seen part of this.  This is the complete blog.


Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family.  Canada celebrated theirs last month so no turkey dinner for us here.  We took it easy today read and watched some more movies.

The girls wanted KFC for our Thanksgiving Dinner and so thats what we did.  Besides we could not find anyplace with a turkey dinner near here.

Happy Thanksgiving

 We tend do have not-traditional dinners on Thanksgiving when we are away from home.

KFC

Group photo 2014

We had a nice relaxing day, watching the snow cover the ground.  Now it is clear again and thats about it for today.

Friday

Wow bright sunshine and clear blue skies when I got up this morning.  The girls had bathing suits so they all went to the pool last night.  I walked down and took a picture of two of them in the out door hot tub which is surrounded with snow.  I bet that was cold when they got out.

Warm on the inside Cold outside

Been up an hour and a half and do not hear anyone else stirring.  This couch is a sleeper bed and is veryotball game.  The furniture down there was much more comfortable.  This is our last day here and I am thinking we will drive over to the ski area Blue Mountain Village and at least see what it looks like as the slopes are not open yet.

Bonnie decided to do the wash so its done and won't have to be done when we get home.  The machines are right here in the condo so its pretty easy.  She decided to stay here at the condo today.

Elizabeth left to take back the Redbox movies and do a little shopping.  Alexus and I headed for the ski area to see what was up there.  It was only about a 15 minute drive and not a bad drive.  The roads are kid of icy, they do not use a much salt up here as we do at home.  The ski area has a lot of runs and the base of the runs is all condos, hotels and shopping.  Here are a few pictures.

Its called the village, lots of stores and places to eat

 They turned the snow machines on while we were there, I think they hope to be open this weekend.  It was 24 degrees out and the machines seemed to be working well.

Making snow

One of several chair lifts

This was as close as we could get

We headed back to the condo as it was starting to get dark and we were getting cold.  Wash is done and Elizabeth is back.  Tomorrow we head home so hoping to get a good nights sleep,  Supper will be eating up some of the left overs.

Saturday

I woke up this morning just before the alarm went off.  We got up, finished packing and headed home.  Elizabeth and Alexus left long before us.  We finished cleaning up and taking care of the trash and left over food.

The drive home was a uneventful and I was able to capture a couple pictures as we passed through Hamilton as Bonnie drove the whole way home.

Lots of industry here

 We passed over the Welland Canal.  We were lucky to catch a ship entering the lock.  Looking the other way there were 4 ships lined up to enter the canal from Lake Ontario.  Sorry but it was very overcast all day so the pictures a not the greatest.

One of the locks

We were home by 2pm and made it easily into the garage.  We had a few inches of snow on the driveway but no problem.  Once we carried everything into the house, Bonnie made us lunch.  After lunch I cleaned the snow off the back deck and then we both relaxed.

Sunday

Bright and Sunny this morning forecast high is 51.  Must have stayed above 32 last night as the driveway is melted off.  Headed for church, the girls are not feeling well so they are staying home, we are on our own.

Our church service was super today.  As the Pastor spoke about the doctrines in the Bible I realized that these doctrines and beliefs were the ones that America was founded on.  Sadly I also realized that we as a nation seem to have turned our backs on not only the doctrines but the giver of them, God.  I hope many realize this and that America can do an about face and get back to the beliefs and actions that have made us such a great country.

After church we tried to pick up eggs for Elizabeth but they were closed.  Then we stopped at the farmers market for veggies.  Bonnie put together a really good salad for lunch and I sure enjoyed that.  We watched the Bills game off and on, so happy that they won.  We also caught up on some of the DVR recordings and of course I napped some.

We had a great week and a fun time up in Canada but its good to be HOME in the USA.


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"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"

Collingwood Canada

Monday

Woke up to wind and rain this morning.  Then awhile later sunshine.  Its been back and forth all morning.  We picked out a place for lunch and then discovered it is closed Monday's, where will we end up.  Its almost +14C here about the same as the 60 degrees back home.

We ventured out in the wind and the rain after noon to look around a little and get some lunch.  The place we planned to go to The Smoke was closed Mondays so we decided to try the Harbour Street Fish Bar.

Lunch Time

The place was empty but has very high ratings.  Mondays are slow days and many of the places are closed here on Mondays.  So we looked over the menus and decided on the fish and chips.  Bonnie choose the Haddock and I went with the local Georgian Bay White Fish.

Order in now the wait

Well the wait was not that long and we watched the rain and lots of wind outside.  Then the meals came.

This is the local White Fish

The Fish was very good I loved the coleslaw and there were lots of fries, too many to eat them all.  We finished lunch, Bonnie took a quick look at a clothing store and then we explored a little.  This is a pretty small town that swells in numbers when the ski slopes open.  Its like a large scale Ellicotville.

We headed for the lake shore which is really close.  Here are a couple pictures.

There is a faint rainbow in this picture

A nice walking, riding path

 We checked out downtown again, lots of small shops to check out later this week maybe.  Bonnie spent some time in a Bulk Food store where everything is bulk.  She came out with a few bags so we have some snacks now.  Then we headed back to the resort and checked out the resort marina out behind our building.

Nice boat slips

This seems to be a nice town about 19,000 permanent residents.  Back in the condo I got a nap.

We watched some TV, sure hope the Bills can win tonight in Detroit against the Jets.


Tuesday

The morning dawned bight and clear but that was to change.  Here is a shot of the milk in a plastic bag.  Drop it in and cut off the corner of the bag.

The pitcher came with the condo

I got a text from the girls that they were on their way.  I also got a text from my son that he has excepted a new position with the bureau.  He will still be in Huntsville but moving to a different area of work.  Also heard from our DIL and she will be taking her tests to be certified as a Nurse Practitioner on December 11th, prayer would be appreciated.

The girls made good time and were here before 1pm.  The elevator was broke and the backup one only goes to the 4th floor so they had to walk up 2 floors with all their stuff.  After they checked out the place Bonnie and them went out to shop a little and also to Wendy's to get something to eat.  While they were out I started to format and clone the Hard Drive in my computer to a SSD Solid State Drive.

Formatting the new drive

My computer was getting sluggish so it was time to put in a bigger and faster drive.  It took several hours and it was finished.  I booted the new drive through the USB port and it worked.  Then I opened up the computer and swapped the drive.

Out with the old HD and in with the new SSD

It is working much faster and great so far.  All except the one Microsoft Office program and I need to reenter my activation code for it which is at home.

Once the girls got back from shopping we watched a movie.

Watching Hercules

Alexus travels with her special pillow a Cheshire Cat, that she got at Disney World.  But he seems to like me a lot also.

He keeps ending up with me

Tonight we sat down to watch the finale of DWTS, we have been following Sadie from Duck Dynasty.  We did not realize it was a 3 hour show.  But we were glad we watched it to the end.  Congratulations as she came in second, pretty good for not being a dancer and 17 years old.

We also practiced our selfie photography, it still needs some work

Time for a late night movie and then a good nights sleep.

Wednesday

Snowing when I got up this morning and it has stopped and started several times.  I was first up after the late movie night but we are all up and dressed now.  The new SSD in my computer is working great and the speed at opening programs etc is a dramatic improvement.

We looked at going to the local zoo today but it had really bad reviews so not exactly sure what the day has in store for us.

So we took off after lunch for parts unknown.  First stop was at the Candy Factory.  They do make candy there but there was not much going on.  They do have lots of candy and we looked around some.

Candy Land

All the letters of the alphabet she chose the J

A large variety

From there we tried several stores looking for a bathing suit for Alexus since she forgot heres.  No luck so far.  Then we headed out of town to visit a pottery.  Alexus picked it.  We found it and a very nice young lady.  Seems she and her parents are the potters.

Since 1975

The old school house is their residence

 The workshop is in the basement of the old school building

Built in 1913

It was a nice place but all their inventory in in Toronto for a big Christmas Show.  So off we went back to town.

A quick stop at the Bulk Food Barn.  They have everything.

One of many aisles 

Then they checked out one more store for a bathing suit and they found one, so now she can go swimming.

Then it was over to A&W to have some a Root Beer float and hamburger for supper.

What to choose

Root Beer Floats

Back to the room and its movie time.  Having a good time in Canada!

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"The Business of Life is the acquisition of memories!"