Welcome to our travels and adventures


Welcome to our travels and adventures

End of Summer Projects….

1609029 Sep 04 We Caught Our House SkunkNow that we have survived another birthday, it is still unbelievable that we are this old, we don’t feel it and we just keep on keep’n on! So, last posting, I hinted that we had an experience with a smelly black & white kitty. And yes, we did! Dave our neighbour came over with his live trap, baited and set it and we waited till morning to see what we caught and it was a young skunk. Dave has been catching several throughout the summer so I knew I called the right man for the job. Dave built a kind of shelter over the trap to keep the critters calm while we load and transport them to a1609049 Sep 12 Adding The Leg Supportsnother space down the lake a few miles from here! I joke that we are sharing with the rich New Yorkers that have their big homes down on the lake.

1609051 Sep 13 Barb Starting The Deck BoardsNot knowing if it was just one skunk or a family, we set the trap again but only caught a possum after a couple of nights so making the leap that we are done with other critters under the house so time to fix this issue. I know that it is late now to put chicken wire around the front of the house but better late than never and having to do this again. Barb & I pulled the skirting 1609065 Sep 16 Our New Porch From West Sideoff the front and sides so we could fit the wire under so the critters can’t dig their way in again. Once we finished that, we started to finish the front deck. We placed chicken wire around it to discourage them from digging there too. We didn’t work hard, just steady and before too long, we were done. Facias on and gravel laid, now for the rocking chair and a beverage and watch the world go by. We also started the edging finish of river rock up the side to match the other side.

 

1609044 Sep 10 Barb Putting Holding Up EavesThe south side of the garage needed an eaves trough so we put that up too. The garden at the back corner of the garage gets flooded after a steady rain so we connected the down spout into the sump tile that we have around the house to get rid of the rain water.

We had a busy couple of weeks socially. Randy & Norma came by for some much needed fast track, lunch and more fun times. John & Di came in for the weekend, some fast track, rummy stix and lots of laughs and fun times. 1609075 Sep 16 Barb Hits A Great Shot

 

But all this was not without some play time, a couple of shows, some golf and just being together keeps us happy. Barb’s painting is getting better each time she puts the brush to the canvas and my wood turning is improving too every time I go to the shop to make wood chips! The upcoming months will keep us focused on our family Christmas at the end of November and then our drive down to the Plantation for our winter excitement.

 

 

 

1609077 Sep 18 Terrys First Cedar Bowl OutsideMountain sceneMountain scene Sept 19 2016

Come back again and hope all is good out there with you…..

Back Home from Our Summer Trip to the Plantation….

1608069 Aug 15 New Look On CannonAfter we got back from LA, we thought we would 1608070 Aug 15 Terry Checking Out Installation Of New Hot Tubtake a few days of down time to recharge after the l-o-n-g drive home but not! Terri & Mark were taking off to cycle the Cabot Trail and they had picked up some logs so I could turn them into bowls so we decided even after being in the truck for 19+ hours yesterday, we would go into their place to pick up the logs and say farewell. They have been busy working on the front of the house and at the side to clear a spot for a hot tub they acquired. A coat of paint, remove the wrought iron and the house looks much better.

1608072 Aug 16 Showing My AgeWe had planned to golf and then sit back on the patio at 1608094 Aug 23 Barb On A Par 3He’s Not Here to celebrate Barbie’s birthday but the weather was not very cooperative so we did a show and dined at home. After a couple of Chocolate Cherry cocktails, I prepared my must have Cherries Jubilee for dessert. Her celebration was not what we planned but it was a nice day none the less – we had good company. We finally were able to complete her birthday celebration plans a week later. We played ICC here in Fort Erie, took in a show and then had dinner on the patio at He’s not Here. It was another great day.1608097 Aug 23 Dinner At Hes Not Here

1609001 Sep 01 Our Caster Bean PlantIt’s quiet around here most of the time, Barb ‘plays’ in her studio, quilting or painting while I ‘play’ out in the garage converted work shop, learning the wood lathe. In the srping, we planted 30+ Castor Bean seeds but only 4 ger1608100 Aug 28 Dorothy And Jamie Over For Happy Hourminated. We planted the seedlings along the big white fence to break up the glare.

 

We have made friends with our neighbors across the road and invited them over for a happy hour Sunday afternoon – Jamie is young enough that he works so only can party on weekends! Anyway, lots of chatter and laughs and before we realize it, it is well past dinner time and into early evening – apparently we’re having too much fun.

 

 

1608101 Aug 30 Day With Randy And Norma

 

It was time for some Fast Track and more laughs so we headed to Randy & Norma’s in Dunneville, on the Grand River. Randy & I jusy can’t seem to get the upper hand on the ladies. It was a great day anyway, even if we couldn’t win many hands.

1609018 Sep 02 Terry Teeing Off On 15 Hole

 

 

 

It’s time for my birthday golf and dinner. I chose a new course we haven’t played – Whisky Run, name sounded like right up my alley. The course was disappointing enough that we will not return. The 18 holes are squashed into an area suitable for 14! We soon caught up to a 5-some and held us up on every shot. The marshal didn’t want to upset them so he tried to be polite but that hint didn’t work! Needless to say we left the course unhappy. We stayed there for dinner which was also a little short of our expectations. We still had a fun day with a lesson learned….

1609041 Sep 08 Entrance To Skunk House

 

To end the day off perfectly, while we were gone, a skunk moved in under the front of our house. His distinct aroma met us at the back door when we got back. I called a neighbour that I knew has fun catching these cute little black & white cats! He soon arrived with his live trap, set it up and we wait for morning. The air seems to be somewhat better so maybe he is not there after all. We’ll see in the AM.

 

 

Come back soon to hear if we had a free loading tenant….

1609024 Sep 02 A Rose Of Sharon Flower

We’ve Lost Our Minds…..

After Nate left, we had a day off to recuperate and then loaded up the truxk for a little get away – down to LA to visit our stuff and to see our winter friends. I guess it wasn’t hot enough here, we just had to go to Alabama to soak up some more.

We left bright and early – at the crack of 7AM – Sunday morning. Our plan was to avoid much of the heavy traffic and get as far south as we could on the first day. Our plan worked perfectly and we pulled into Columbia Tn for the night. I know I’ve said it before but this is when we miss pulling our rig – finding affordable and comfortable accommodation and having to eat in 1608043 Aug 08 Dinner With Friends At Big Daddysrestaurants is not always fun. Monday, we got away again at 7. On the way, we got a call from Bill, asking our ETA as the 1608042 Aug 08 Our Sago Top At The Plantationgang were planning a late lunch and if we were going to arrive and go out with them. As soon as we heard they were going to Big Daddy’s, we pressed on the flat peddle and arrived in time! Not sure what we all talked about but we carried on back to the campground to carry on. This picture shows what our Sago Palm tree sprouts during the summer! Who knew?

Our rig was in great condition this time around. We were better prepared this year from our experiences last summer. Our caretaker last year helped us to know what needs to be done to avoid the summer weather pitfalls.

1608045 Aug 09 Eating AT El PasoTuesday, we didn’t have any food in so we had to go out for breakfast & Larry & Marti joined us. After, we did some food shopping for breakfasts and lunches – our plan was to eat dinner out instead of trying to prepare anything so we didn’t have a lot in the cupboards when we left in 6 days. The gang suggested we try a different pizza place in town – Chicago Pizzeria – so all 8 of us descended upon it only to find a chain 1608046 Aug 09 Kelli Marti Singing At Tableon the door and a closed sign in the window. So, an alternative, lets go to El Paso, it isn’t Margarita Thursday’s but what the hell…. Again, good food, good company and good Margarita’s make for a great time. Marti & Kelli may have had us banned from there this winter as they serenaded the dining room with their dulcet tones. As we were checking out, the gent at the cash suggested there was a nice Mexican restaurant down the road too! I’m sure he was kidding but it was funny. As we were gathering in the parking lot, a couple of other diners came out and asked if they could get a couple of ‘selfies’ with the singers! Again, too funny….

1608051 Aug 10 Larry Chuck Kelli Marti In McGuiresWednesday was shopping day – Barb 1608052 Aug 10 Playing Rummy Sticks At Our Placewas a little bummed since she hasn’t been fabric shopping since April and needed her ‘fix’. So, the girls planned a trip to one of their fav’s – A&E and then met us guys at McGuires for lunch. Of course, the guys did a side trip to wander around Harbor Freight Tools before we made our way to meet the girls. As usual, lunch was good, the Guinness perfect and the company great. We all went back to our place to carry on and enjoy a new game called Rummy Sticks.

1608054 Aug 11 Terry In Shopping Pose At JoannsThursday, Barb could not find what she 1608055 Aug 11 Pegs Jokers With Larry Marti Bob Phyllisneeded at A&E so we went back Jo-Ann’s in Pensacola. After we picked up what she needed, we were back to Foley and just had to stop off at Foosackly’s for lunch. We think they have the best chicken fingers around – ever wonder how many chickens we consume eating their wings, fingers and toes! Sorry, I got off track there. We had our Pegs and Jokers pals – Bob & Phyllis over for a game and Larry & Marti joined us. It was a fun evening and a great game, gotta get one of them….1608061 Aug 12 Happy Hour At Larry Martis

1608058 Aug 12 The Gang Having PizzaFriday was a bit slower, no shopping today and the 8 of us went to Cousin Vinny’s for really good pizza – at least they weren’t chained closed. After, we still had lots to talk about so we went back to Larry & Marti’s for happy hour or was it hours?

 

1608065 Aug 13 Final Lunch With Stacy Madonna Dallas At McSherrys

1608062 Aug 13 Bagels And Coffee At ClubhouseSaturday was a busy day for us, packing, setting the rig back for the Alabama summers & laundry. We aren’t usually there for the bagels bunch on Saturdays so we went to this one and saw many of our winter friends that stay all year now. After was laundry and then as a farewell, the 8 plus Stacy, Madonna & Dallas (our neighbours) all went to McSharry’s for lupper (late lunch or early supper). I am starting to think this is a better deal than McGuires, shorter drive and better Shepard’s Pie. After we were all back at the campground, Larry, Marti, Bill & Ann came by to say their farewells. That was nice.

Sunday, we left the campground at the crack of 4AM. Our plan was to try to drive straight through to home. Our rational was we could sleep for 2 days if need be, who cared! Anyway, Barb & I shared the driving and we rolled in the driveway around 12:30 AM. It was a fun week away.

We hope all is good where you are…..

1608099 Aug 27 My Mountain Practice Painting

A Grandson’s Visit

1607081 July 30 Walking Around EllicottvilleAt the end of July, we found ourselves at Terri & Mark’s get away in Ellicottville NY. I have to say, we love our Nexus cards for crossing the border – we couldn’t use them1607084 July 30 Our Birthday Celebration With Terri Mark At Dinas when we pulled the rig but it sure makes it easy now. We thought they knew we were coming but they didn’t so we surprised them Saturday morning. Once we were all mobile, we ventured into town for a little shopping, some refreshments and of course, more shopping – we were with Terri afterall! Back to the cabin, change, and then back to town for dinner. Since Terri & Mark were not going to be home to celebrate our birthdays – they are going to be biking the Cabot Trail – they treated us to dinner at Dina’s. It was a nice relaxing day and evening. We left mid day on Sunday so we could be ready for their usual stop in on their way home.

1608005 Aug 01 Nate Starts Camp AdventureWe have been having our youngest grandson – Nathanial – 1608004 Aug 01 Corrie Dean Stay For Lunchfor a week visit during his summer holiday. This might be our last year as he will be 12 next year and he may not want to be with the ‘old folks’! Anyway, Corrie, Dean & Nate arrive for lunch and a visit. Lots to talk about and sit back and relax. By late afternoon, Corrie and Dean were looking at their 2 hour drive home and decided they should be on their way. Soon after, Terri & Mark stopped in for dinner and a visit – it was a busy day.

 

1608008 Aug 01 Second Bean Toss GameAs usual, Barb has a plan to Nate’s stay 1608012 Aug 01 Barb Wins Fast Trak Gameand we start off with some geocaching in the Crystal Beach area. We are a little rusty as we have not geocached for awhile and we only found 25% of the caches we chose. The good news is, we found a small difficult cache that we may not have found if Nate wasn’t there! It was low in a spruce tree and we’re not good searching on our hands and knees! The next day was game day…. we played bean bag toss and some fast 1608016 Aug 02 Terry Nate Don't Find Catchtrack. It doesn’t matter how old kids get, 1608018 Aug 02 Nates Found Cachethey loose interest fast if they don’t win.

 

 

 

 

 

Our next adventure changed due to the heat and we took in a show – Ice Age. The title and ac in the theatre kept us cool for the duration. The late afternoon was set out for some craft project that Barb 1608028 Aug 03 Nate Adds More Polishthought was neat and something useful – they made a patio table tourch. It was made with a decorated (that’s the craft part) clay pot, some small smooth river stones and a can of sterno. It needed to dry overnight and was finished the next day.

His last day was a trip to the farmers market in Port Colborne – I’m sure he was excited about that – and a trip to a woodworking tool shop – he was over the top at that adventiure - and then met up with his mom & dad. Nate had fun but if he didn’t, he had his phone & ipad to keep himself occupied if we didn’t.

 

 

 

Barb & I had our own adventure camp the following week, come back again to read about it…

Hope all is good where you are.

1607040 July 14 Flicka In Our Yard

It’s Hot

Well, what a month we’ve had – dry & hot which is news for southern Ontario. The lawns are brown, the trees are looking more like we’re in late August than July and even the weeds are struggling to survive. Barb & I managed to stay cool but mostly indoors appreciating our air conditioning.

1607001 Jul 01 Flying Our Canadian FlagOn Canada Day, we walked down to the river 1607007 Jul 01 Fireworks In Fort Erie At Niagara Riverat dark to watch the magnificent fire works display our little town hosted, ending our celebration of Canada Day. We both agree that they were even more stunning than last year. The river park was jammed with fellow onlookers, it was a great ending to the day.

On the 4th of July, we again walked down to the river to watch the Buffalo fire works display, it is usually awesome. This year, there were some problems in Buffalo with their stuff and we decided after a 45 minute delay that we had enough standing and waiting. We were about half way home when they started their display – we didn’t go back.

 

1607031 July 10 Peggys Cove On Window

 

We had 2 major errands to run so we planned a road trip. First and foremost, we had to get our passport photos taken so we could renew our travel documents. We also needed more sewing supplies to finish Barb’s terrific Peggy’s Cove project. The weather was great so off to Port Dover to stop off at Len’s Mill’s store for our supplies. It has been a few years since we have been through this little town and seems more built up than we remember. It was quite busy, even for early July but always a nice trip.

 

 

1607046 July 17 New Sewing Table From TopI started to build Barb an extension table for her sewing 1607053 July 19 Barb Busy At Workmachine. I have limited choices for supplies here but I found some maple and popular boards, glued & clamped them up. The next day, I ran them through my planer and glued and clamped again. Sanded, edged and made legs with adjustable feet and applied some varnish and now she has a nice extension table to aid with her quilting.

 

1607064 July 23 Joan Shay Eagle WallHanging Finished

1607042 July 14 Peggys Cove Roman Shade Halfway

 

Barb finished her Peggy’s Cove project and has been taking a ‘3D quilt’ course online and it also looks great but you can be the judge! =========>

She has been pecking away on a large hand sewn wool quilt project that will be seen later.

 

1607018 Jul 04 England Sue

We finally broke out the golf clubs this month and are slowly getting back into the grove so to speak. There are several ‘nine & dine’ deals here so we were invited to join a neighbor (Richard & Deene)  to try Rio Vista on 1606106 Jun 24 Terry On The Greena Friday night special. Not a bad deal, nine holes of golf with a cart and a fish & chip dinner for $25 each. The fun we had was free. On another Friday, we tried the Fort Erie Golf Club. Here you get 18 holes of golf with a cart and a steak dinner for $25! Not bad unless you care about getting the long clubs in your hands – yes, it is an executive course with only 2 short par 4’s. But hey, you still have to make the short shots and we did not bring the course to it’s knees but we enjoyed it none the less. And finally, we went to International Country Club where the deal was ‘$25 Wednesday’, 18 holes on a full course with a cart. Another good deal and it was a nice course with 27 holes. We seemed to have the course to ourselves, no waiting and no one pushing us! Good weather and good company – just Barb & I, could it get better than this!

We did have a visitor, it was a Wave Sphinx Moth. Barb held up her hand to give you an idea of the size of the critter….

1607043 July 16 A Waved Sphinx Moth

1607044 July 16 Hand Comparison Of Waved Sphinx Moth

So, for the most part, that was our month. Some sewing, some golfing and some eating… Come back again….

 

1607008 Jul 01 Catching The Smoke