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.


Thanks For Checking In!

"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!

Thanks For Checking In!

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

SNOVEMBER More of the Same

Thursday

Apparently it snowed all night and now the lake effect engine is wide open.  We have at least and probably more than 12 inches on the back deck.  Boy is it snowing and they say it may snow all day.  I woke Bonnie at 10:30 and told her I was going out to work on the driveway.

Headed for the garage

I started the tractor and got to work.  The snow was like glue again and stuck and iced up in the blower chute about every 100 feet.  On and off the the tractor to clean it out.

Constantly plugging up

The snow is also getting deep on the roofs.

Early this morning

I gave up on blowing for a while and pushed as much as I could with the blower off.  That worked pretty good but is really starting to pile up and I can not push it back any further.  Once the snow is moved the driveway turns to ice and then I have no traction.

It snowed 6 inches while I was out working

After two hours I was soaked as the snow melted on me and soaked everything I had on.  Still lots to do outside but I am headed in to get warm.  Bonnie made me some hot soup and we watched some recorded TV.

Bonnie had made apple sauce and we got ready and canned it this afternoon.

Six more quarts for this winter's enjoyment

The snow is still coming down hard and continues to pile up.  Hopefully it will end tonight and then start to melt.

Our next project will be to clear this.

Was hoping to work on the deck but its snowing too hard, so it will have to wait.  I could not get warm so I took a nice hot shower, nice and toasty now.

Elizabeth sent over a picture of Alexus clearing out the snow from in front of the windows, they also get some wind in where they are.

Keeping the windows clear

I am on a snow break until tomorrow I hope.  The lake effect should be gone and we can clean up then, tonight we will rest.  Finally stopped snowing around 10pm.  Lots more snow to move tomorrow.

Friday

So a quick measurement showed that there was 33 inches of snow on the deck this morning.  After breakfast I got ready and went out to clear snow.  Bonnie got dressed and went out to shovel the deck.  She did the hard part and got the deck opened up so that we could work on it later.

Bonnie got the deck opened up

It took me a couple hours but I got the driveway cleared again.  I did have to dig out the blower chute a lot again but also managed to go long stretches without it plugging.  Lots of snow out by the road and the mail box is about buried.  I talked to the Post Office and they have not received any mail in 4 days.  UPS also has a package of mine that was to be delivered on Wednesday.

Our mailbox is almost buried

This pile is about 7 feet tall

Tried to clean out the mailbox

Finally finished the driveway

 You can see here that the snow was much higher than the blower, the drift cutters did a really good job.

Actually kind of Pretty

Finally got to head into the house and get warm again.  I did learn that the finger id does not work on the iPhone when you hands are cold and wet.  The girls called and wanted pizza and wings.  Bonnie had thawed chili and I was having a bowl of that for lunch, so I declined.  But they said they would come and help me finish clearing the back deck.

The girls came and went right to work.  I showed them where to start and got dressed to go out and help with the snow blowing.

Getting Started 12:57

 Once we got enough room we were able to chop down the high sides of the snow and use the blower to do the heavy work of moving the snow off the deck.

OJT on snowblower operation

We worked well together and in no time at all we were done.  34 minutes later we were done.

The Dream Team-Snow Moving Experts

Well 4PM and its snowing again, but they say it will not last long.  The Thruway opened again so thats good news.  Still lots of travel bands West of here.  We plan to leave for Canada around noon so hopefully we will be able to make it.

I need a nap.

Saturday

So we only got 2 more inches of snow last night.  I plan to let mother nature take care of it.  With the threat of Lake Effect snow over we packed up and headed for Collingwood, Canada.  Yep not enough snow and cold here so we are headed further North.

The highways were open and after a quick stop to pick up a Rx we headed for the Peace Bridge.  No backups today in fact we were the only ones at customs when we pulled up.  A few quick questions and we were on our way.  No lake effect here in fact very little snow at all.  We had an uneventful drive just lots of traffic.  Once we got North of Toronto we stopped for lunch.

Bonnie had fish and chips and I had the roast beef sandwich.
The sandwich was good but for some reason one of my crowns fell off.  I thought it was a bone at first but did not swallow it.  So a trip to the dentist is planned when we get home.

Good Sandwich

 We had a week of time share that was about to expire so are using it.  Our thoughts are with our friends back home and pray that the snow will melt but not too fast so the flooding does not occur.

This is ski county in Ontario but Blue Mountain is not open yet.  There is some snow here but just not enough.  Shopping is interesting here since all the measurements are metric and milk comes in plastic bags.  I had to google it to see how to use it.

The condo is almost new and is very nice.  Elizabeth and Alexus are coming up to join us for Thanksgiving.  So we should have a great time.

Nice big TV 

The view out the door is of the distant ski slopes.  Well time for some shut eye.

Sunday

We slept like rocks and did not get up very early.  So far we have not left the Condo today.  Neither of us is feeling all that great.  We tried to keep up with what is going on at home.  The Buffalo TV stations are on the cable here so we can watch whats going on.

I did get a picture of the ski slopes in the distance, they do not have enough snow to open yet.

Blue Mountain

Well we have continued to just chill out today.  I did watch a live webinar, and we both took naps.  Maybe we will go out for dinner.

Meanwhile back home.

Clearing the stadium

They are trying to clear the stadium for next weeks game.

Keep the Buffalo area in your Prayers.

Thanks For Checking In!

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