How would you like this kind of view from your retirement home? 

You are looking out over Lake Simcoe, part of the Trent-Servern Waterway of Ontario. It is mainly used in the summer by boaters who wish to explore many of the natural beauties of this province. 
Visible to the left is land known as Georgina Island, home of the Chippewas, part of the First Nation group of he Ojibaway. Ferry service connects it in the summer. In winter there is usually a time of solid ice. That's when cars may move about on the lake. But not yet this winter! 

Tree Squirrels

   See those huge nests?
   For years I thought they belonged to some big birds. Now at the age of 65 I learn that they are created by squirrels! I marvel at the fact that it's possible to learn such a common thing so let in life.

   Has this happened to you too?

Departures

  In June my youngest daughter got Ellie, a rescue cat (born January 19, '06) from a pet centre. We have all grow very fond of her and her funny ways. She is most social with our two daughters but tolerates us. However, in three weeks she will be leaving our home. She's moving out with my eldest daughter who has rented a place closer to her tattoo shop in the city. 

   Ellie's made a FEDEX box her latest place to occupy and we tease her about shipping her elsewhere in it. 

    I think she'll be missed most of all by our the one who adopted her before she was engaged in July and then married at the end of October. It all happened so fast. In a few weeks she'll be heading to the UK to be with her hubby because her  immigration papers have been approved. 
   Ellie and our daughters will be missed, though with modern technology we can easily stay in touch. Even Ellie can be visited 'in camera'.
   Now by the end of January only Buddy, hubby and me remain in our 4 bedroom rental, our home since the house fire. It's time for our departure too. We've talked about moving and hubby has asked me to seriously look to find us a new home. Living separated from his 'little' girls soon brings him to a sadness that he displays openly. We must change that. 
   Departing can be so hard.

Year End Celebration

A very happy New Year is our wish to all of you. Buddy has had his eye on Irish Cream for years and this year we thought it was time to give in and bought him a bottle. What a smile he had when he saw the gift!! May the bells toll at midnight and the stars shine too.

 

We also bought a new plant to ring in the new year. It's a tradition passed down from my family. Can you guess it's type? It's a cupressus goldcrest lemon cyprus tropical plant.

CHEERS!

Christmas Cactus

This beauty I found sitting on the floor of an entrance way. The lovely plant sits there greeting those who come and go. I wonder if many even noticed? Well I sure did and I took a snap.

May you all enjoy a Merry Christmas and have happy holidays. For us this year we are very blessed with all your good wishes. Thank you !

Kind of One

 On Saturday we drove downtown past the CN Tower to Exhibition Place. Our city is exploding with new buildings. It is currently the fastest growing metropolis in the world! Hope these structures are built soundly during this frenzy. The tower is almost lost is this snap!

 We parked and entered the Direct Energy Centre, a magnificent building designed for a variety of venues. Below is the interior of the hallway to display areas. The architecture and design is so fitting for this.

 Inside Hall B we were greeted by 800 artisans all displaying their talents and hoping for some sales. It is one of their most important annual shows and it allows us to purchase truly unique and beautifully handcrafted works. Included is just about anything you can imagine. Below is a peek of one of the aisles.

 Having attended this show in past years, this year's swept us away! It is so professionally organized, well laid out. All the items are very much one of a kind and of great quality too! There's even an app for this now. Below is  part of the cover from the pamphlet that lists all the participants and how they may be contacted.

 Speaking directly to some of the artists gave us a new insight into how some of their items were created. And of course we found a few 'must haves' for this year's seasonal gift giving. What an outstanding time we had!

Radiant

     Glamour and spectacular outfits appeared at our daughters wedding.

     First is the outfit she wore to the reception on Saturday , October 29.

     It was a bit like a Bollywood gala but there was a blend of many cultures.

The eve before the wedding we had a mendhi celebration, lots of dances and fun.

My German sister who is married to a Dutchman and my Italian sister in law  who remarried with a Dane after my brother was killed in an accident sit with her.

And here you have the proud parents with a very proud Buddy.

We all had an amazing time and wish the couple well. Buddy has gained some more sisters and a brother with whom he danced to Michael Jackson and brought the house down cheering!!

REMEMBER 2011

Ottawa is where our nation has it's annual event and we commemorate bilingually.Both English and French are official languages. And all religions are represented. That is what we do in Canada.

And we are proud of our daughter who took time to serve in Air Cadets. She marched in the band to honour those who gave their lives during past wars. This Remembrance was held right here in our local community.
We should all give back to our country what ever we can. It is our duty and we should be proud of the rights and freedoms we are blessed with.

Our American friends are also remembering their veterans on their Veterans Day today. They share the same blessing and honour their fallen for the same reasons.

Still Dancing

   Forty two years ago we took our marriage vows and today we are still dancing. Our anniversary falls just three days after our youngest daughter's wedding and we have danced a lot this past weekend. We shall likely just have a quiet little dinner to celebrate this one.

HER COLOURS

  From a sea of orchids she has selected all the colours for her wedding decor.

And these lovely plants will appear as centre pieces on the large round dinner tables at the reception. In less than two weeks we'll be celebrating her special day.

SNAPS

  The iPhone had some fun features that Buddy just loves. One of them is staring at the screen and then snapping a photo of ourselves. In this snap we are standing in front of the black walnut tree.

As we continued our stroll we saw the pretty blue chicory bloom. It was decided that it would be a nice addition to our wild flower collection. But we discovered more. 

The shadow of the iPhone made it into this snap. Buddy thinks that's ever so cool. See it?

We are going to enjoy the sunny weather and our annual Canadian Thanksgiving.

May your weekend be special for you too.

A Stormy Afternoon

   We took a chance. On the last day of September Buddy and I headed out for our stroll in our area. We were awed at the massive clouds overhead.

    In the snap above, to the left of the school, there appears to be water surrounded by distant hills but it's only a mirage.

  Though ready to burst it seems these clouds were not quite ready. The rain held off till much later that eve.

   These storm cloud images were so magnificent yet ominous at the same time. Buddy's words to describe them," WOW. Cool!" 
   Then last night as October arrived, the rain finally poured down. And with that came very strong cold winds. Our temperature had not risen above 8C(48F) by 2 pm even though the sun is shining brightly. We won't stroll in those gusty cold blasts today. We aren't ready to face the cooler weather yet but we're working on it. 

The First Sunday of this FALL

 Today as I strolled along the pond the warm sunshine poured down on me and I felt at peace. It is so humbling. The signs of autumn are all around me now creating a gorgeous colourful tapestry for my eyes to feast upon on. It is this part of the season that I enjoy the most. I love how there's such a melange of vibrant colours spread around me everywhere. 

  With the cathedral in the background there's a sort of majestic aura to this awesome scenario.
  I hope you are enjoying some quiet and peaceful time too. I know mine will be brief now so I must make the most of it. Right?

USS Constitution

  Buddy is at the wheel of the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, launched in 1797. It still has active sailors and marines on board as ambassadors to the public. To tour it required security searches and valid passport ID. 
  "Old Ironsides" as it's also known sits in water in the Charlestown Navy Yard at 1 Constitution Road, just up the road from our hotel. It's closeness made it our first stop of the many historic sites that followed, all captivating our curiosity and delight.

Boston Trip

We're off to Boston for the first time and we're flying from Buffalo. It's much cheaper but we have to drive two hours to get there. We have some family in Boston that we wish to see, a nephew who just had his first son. Buddy is so excited to be flying with us. Our one daughter will join us too. Hope to take some great snaps along the way. Have a great weekend.

History

The tree in my header sits by the church depicted in the last post. Look carefully and you can see through it's trunk! This tree is over 500 years old. That it remains standing is a mystery. What could it tell us if we knew how to communicate with it in a way that works for us? There must be a lot of history in it's past. 

Blessed

Here are some more photos from my week in the area of Hannover, Niedersachsen and the Harz area where I met up with some family I had never met. The post war period scattered many of my relatives.Luckily for me I got a chance to reunite with some. And they took me to see treasures lik these that survived.

These structures went up in the 1100 hundreds. They have been well preserved. What a marvel. I'm so happy to have had the chance to view them because my family took time to show me. Have a happy Sunday.

In the Harz

Our visit to this cultural wellness town made us wish we had booked a longer stay in Germany. One week was very rushed. It seems that my aunt loved to hang out in this area whenever she had some holiday time. This Hotel Victoria looks like a quaint place to stay in Bad Harzburg.

This fountain was added after the war and I was amused by its humour. Hard as she tried, my sister could not capture this little one in action. Each time she tried he stopped. LOL!

I wish I had a clue who this jolly fellow might have been.

As you can see the artist worked hard to create a spectacular set of characters around the fountain. Wellness is linked to humour right??

CONES

Have you ever seen cones like these? The conifer tree in my cousin's backyard grows this whitish coloured come. I have not been able to find out the specifics of this breed. The tree is growing in Braunschweig Germany.

It looks so unreal yet there it sit in all it's glory, sap oozing from it's top.
I have not found the internet  to be helpful in seeking the details of this wonder. Perhaps you can help me?

History.

While my sister and I were in Hannover we were treated to a visit to the city of Braunschweig where we toured some of it's historical sites

We were impressed. Inside the Brunswick cathedral was a crypt with coffins dating back to the early 1100's. Seems there was a lot of royalty in the area back them.

This is part of the regal courtyard, Dankwarderode Castle . See the lion? Seems he was very popular with one of the royals Heinrich in the 1100's. Of course many of these buildings were restored after WWll.