New Year's Eve

 On our day between trips, I did some errands (like buying a new charging cable for the computer - I would have had to tear my desk apart to extract the one connected there).  Then I headed to the greenhouse to say hi to the family and crew.  They invited me to join them for lunch - David had brought in Thai food because they had a Thai crew working on the Lilies to make sure they were growing straight and not sideways.  A good boss!

The green shoots are 3 or 4 inches high now.  Growth will be fast and will need to be controlled for Easter timing.  Don't want them too tall, or too short, or blooming at the wrong time.  David and Sean will work their magic with light and heat control.

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Day one on the trip south, we reached just beyond Louisville, Kentucky.  Despite pretty constant drizzle or flurries and a high of 5C, we managed 991 kilometres, with no traffic issues.

Today, we only did 916 km, arriving in Laurel at 4 p.m.  This time we enjoyed a sunny day with a high reaching 17C, and still no traffic issues.  Along the way, Mardi found a big, stupid thing............

She really likes big, stupid things.  That's how I manage to stay in the picture 😔.

BUT!  The annual New Year's Eve Pine Cone Drop in Laurel has been discontinued!  RATS!  So we'll go out for dinner and then settle in early.

We did get to see Ben's Scotsman building on the way in, but it was closed.

As were most of the restaurants.  But fortunately, we found the Buzzard's Roost open, and the food was good.

This sign was featured in an episode where Ben was renovating the upstairs.

Happy New Year to all!

I wished daughter Barbara a Happy Birthday today and requested, and received, pictures of Great Granddaughter Rowan.  I liked this one best.

A real sweetie!

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Sleep in and stay well.

We're Home

We arrived home late last night, after a 12 plus hour travel day.  Left the resort at 7 a.m. by bus to the airport, shuttle bus from the main terminal to the plane (Sunwing doesn't get much respect at either airport apparently), shuttle bus from the remote terminal at Pearson, shuttle from Pearson to the remote parking.  It always frustrates me that you have to totally waste a day at either end of such a holiday.  I'll probably rant on that at a later date.

But we did have a wonderful time as you can see.

And the old guy too (even though I forgot to smile in this picture).

The resort was huge, beautiful and friendly.  The staff was exceptional.  All you could ask for.  Our room was lovely.

But every so often you got a dose of reality on the beach.

In total, it was everything that Mardi dreamed of with her family.  A special event - good job Grandma!

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Our next reporting will likely be from Laurel, Mississippi, the Home Town location on HGTV, where we expect to see the Pine Cone Drop on New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year everyone!

My Brother, My Father, My Friend

 Attended Mardi's Christmas Concert, at S.C. United, Sunday night.  That was about our only real excitement over the weekend.  

Yesterday we took Mardi's plants to the greenhouse - Sean has agreed to look after them while we're away.  And we put her car into storage at the office.  Hope the trickle charger keeps the battery alive for three months.  If the battery dies the engine has to be lifted out in order to replace the battery - did that once, pretty expensive!

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Today we headed for the Argyle Restaurant in Caledonia to join Bonnie, Steve, Diane and Greg for a pre-Christmas dinner together.

Good food, good friends.  A nice night out.

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Now, let's just deal with birthdays for a minute.  Today grandson Malcolm is 27 (and he's the fourth oldest grandchild - we must be getting old!).

Tomorrow is the actual birthday of the lovely Rachelle - we celebrated her 40th at the surprise party last week.  And the day after is her sister Rebecca's birthday.  And on the 22nd it's brother Roger's turn.

We leave for Mexico very early on December 21 (leave the house about 2 a.m. to pick up A.J., Michelle and Reggie to catch a 6 a.m. flight) and I'm not sure what the internet situation will be down there, so that's why I'm sending December 22 birthday greetings to my brother today.  

I was 12 when Roger was born.  Two years later, our dad died in an industrial accident and I, apparently, became a father figure to Roger.

About eight years later, our mother remarried and I completed the transition - brother, father, friend.  Roger wrote a song about that and the guys played it for me on my 70th birthday.

That's Roger and me on the screen.  When he was young I took him on a fishing trip to Trent River with my work buddies.  Years later, he returned the favour by inviting me to join him and his friends at Lake Weslemkoon.

Some of the guys could play musical instruments and Roger put together a campfire band, which he called "Fishguts".  We all had nicknames and mine was Dorsal, which is the main fin on the back of the fish (Roger thought it was somewhere else when he picked it for me, but that's another story😟).

We even had a race named after our group!

Due to Covid and a misunderstanding, my time with the group ended.  But lots of good memories.

Happy birthday and have a great day - my brother, my son, my friend.

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Hopefully, we'll still be able to keep in touch from Cancun over the next week.  Barry, I will try to participate in the daily Wordle scrum, but if not, just carry on without me.  It's not as if I'm a threat to win or anything!  And, if you run out of humourous sayings to start each day, how about the following?  "If a man speaks in a forest where no woman can hear, is he still wrong?"

And for another bit of humour - I don't know if there ever was a physics competition between the Americans and the Chinese, but the following picture is somewhat telling.  Thanks Wayne.

Stay well and have a great Christmas folks!

It's Christmas

Birthday greetings to Mardi's nephew, Julien Couture who is 9, and to our friend Sandro who is now 70.  All the best!

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It's Christmas time and yesterday Mardi volunteered for several hours at the Wesley Centre, handing out food cards.  She also took an armful of toques that she has knit and saw a few of them head out the door warming the recipients.  Good work sweetie!

Then last night, Mardi and I attended the Optimist Christmas dinner.

It was a good meeting.  The club is in good shape financially and membership is holding.  In fact George, the man standing, looks to be joining soon.  We can leave for Florida with warm hearts and clear consciences!

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Tonight we attended a pantomime "Jack and the Beanstalk" at the Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne, with Sue and David, Kathryn, A.J. and Michelle, and Matt, Maureen and Miles (their great grandson).  Lots of laughs and fun to watch the small kids participate.  Another good Christmas event!

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Stay well.

Christmas Has Started

 Today was a great day for both of us.  Mardi had lunch with her golf  buddies and I had lunch with my brother and sister.

Now, my day started a bit sketchy.  I stopped to pick up Judy and she wasn't quite ready - misread the time on the invitation.  Well, that's OK.  She will be to blame if we're late.

But when we got to the restaurant area I drove into the wrong mall.  And I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant.  So we lost another five minutes.  Now I'm to blame if we're late.

But, we still beat Roger.  He found the right mall, but tried to go into the wrong restaurant.  You don't suppose it has anything to do with age do you?  And they're just kids!

It was really nice to get caught up again with each other and talk about our various operations.  And, I forgot to get a picture of our gathering.  That age thing again!

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Tonight we joined Maureen and Matt who picked us up for a trip to Burlington to see Lunch At Allen's.

Murray McLaughlin on the left, then Ian Thomas, Cindy Church and Mark Jordan.  And a guy on the bass.  Wonderful song writers and musicians.

The show featured Christmas songs, most of which they wrote, with personal anecdotes mixed in between.  And it was just great.  

This is the third time that Mardi and I have seen Lunch At Allen's.  A different show each time - always fantastic entertainment.

Can't wait for next time!

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I presumably won't be posting tomorrow so an early birthday wish to Mardi's cousin Sylvia.

Stay well my friends.

Surprise Party

 Today's excitement was a surprise 40th birthday party for Mardi's niece, Rachelle, at Adamo Estate Winery in Mono, east of Cooksville.

And she was definitely surprised!

Mardi and I sat with Rachelle's mom and dad, Bonnie and Steve.

A wonderful night for all involved, especially the immediate family.

Joel did a great job of honouring his wife on her special day.

And the weather cooperated for our drive home.  Precipitation all the way, but plus 10C temperature kept it as rain and not snow!

Stay well my friends.

Job Done

 We finished the Lilies at lunch time today.  The following picture shows about half of the crop after the first watering.

Sean was in charge of the crew - regular staff (including his dad occasionally), 2 or 3 volunteers at times, and 3 or 4 temps.  And we knocked about a full day off the previous best.  Felt really good.  Great job boss!

That pretty well completes my work at the greenhouse until next April.  Back into retirement for a while.

Stay well.

Happy Easter

 The annual Easter Lily planting started today.

You can see Mardi and Maureen in the background.  They were inserting tags into the pots.

Eight houses away, the Lilies were put on the ground.

I was stationed at the corner where the above picture was taken.  My job was to make sure that the trays entered the corner properly to avoid train wrecks.

Our friends Barry and Elaine Faughnan (some of the Dofasco folks will recognize those names) stopped in the garden centre (which is behind where the above picture was taken) to purchase a Christmas urn.  I spent a couple of minutes talking to them and while my back was turned, you guessed it, a train wreck!  Two dumped trays.  My bad!  

At one point in the morning the pot filling machine needed a repair.  Three generations of Craigs worked on it.  Sean, on his hands and knees, and two supervisors.

While the machine was down, Santa's helpers stopped for a picture with Rudolph and friend.

All in all, it was a good starting day.  Two houses filled.

We're back at it tomorrow.

Stay well.

Good Friends

 Yesterday, Mardi and I joined some of our golf friends at the Aberfoyle Mill for a pre Christmas get-together.

Good food, great fellowship, certainly a nice way to spend time with special friends!  We're all looking forward to repeating next year.

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As we were heading home I received confirmation from our travel insurance agent that we will be covered for our trip to Florida at the end of December.

It's been a nailbiter!  Years ago we started with CAA Insurance, changing to Medipac (the one endorsed by Canadian Snowbirds) when costs increased.

Last year, at the advice of our friend Don Nicks, we used agent Kipp Pattison of St. David's to obtain our insurance from TourMed, once again saving money.

This year I was very concerned about the coverage since I had my heart stents in mid July.  Most carriers require six months of stability before coverage can be acquired.  Failing that, who knows?

So, I decided to check out our old suppliers as a comparison to what Kipp might be able to provide.  MediPac refused to give me any coverage at all.  That was a scary start.

CAA said that they would cover me.  And for the 62 days all they would want was $260 per day (over $16,000)!  Visions of staying home this winter danced through my head!

So I then called Kipp.  He found an insurance supplier, Allianz, that only required 5 months of stability (150 days).  And for just over $3,000 ($50 per day) I'm covered, and Florida is back in the picture.

Thanks once again to Don Nicks for giving us the original heads-up on this topic!  We are lucky to have so many good friends.

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Stay well.

A Hairy Situation

 Back when Covid started and my barber shop closed, Mardi began cutting my hair.  No complaints, but we decided that it might be time to try a barber again, so I did.

I call it my David Ben-Gurion cut.

You have to be REALLY old to understand where that came from!  And you have to have my very strange memory in order to dredge up the image from over 60 years ago that drew me to that connection as I stared at the  mirror.

Ben-Gurion was the leader of the Jews before the creation of Israel, was the architect of its creation, and served as its first prime minister.

His hair, like mine currently, defied gravity.

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In other news, I blew out my left knee last night.  It's been tired and sore for a few days, probably too much kneeling in the garden.  So I took a couple of days off.  Didn't help apparently.  Last night I heard a loud pop, followed by intense pain.  The leg now has absolutely no strength and I've brought out the yard sale cane to help me get around.

The doctor says it's a torn tendon and will take several weeks to mend.  Of course, this is the same doctor who diagnosed the nerve damage in my right leg as a torn muscle, so we'll see.

A great excuse for next year's golf at least.  And it will get me a seated job next week for the Lily planting!

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The following excerpt is from our latest Optimist bulletin.

"November was very busy, starting with our club hosting the other six Zone 2 clubs for the 1st Qtr Zone meeting. Our guest speaker Korey Rorison of Ronald McDonald House impressed the group with the positive role that RMH plays in the lives of parents and their children who are hospitalized with various afflictions. With the 50/50 draw, a very lucrative fine session, club, and personal donations, RMH benefited to close to $1000 for the day! Well done Optimists for a very worthwhile operation!!

Our November 8 guest speaker Amy Leeming Cote explained the role of the Hamilton Foundation for Student Success. This Foundation is a registered non-profit charity that raises funds in the private and business communities to help students in need and support schools with funding opportunities to enhance current programming or create new and innovative opportunities for student learning. Our connection? We annually provide graduation awards to students at Orchard Park and Saltfleet. The HFSS receives our donations and forwards them to the schools.

Then it was a very successful Turkey Roll. A record 37 cards were sold and the attendance was better than expected. The generosity of our members and their friends is very much appreciated.  And a Turkey Roll pat on the back to Optimists Bud and Mardi who sold circles on 7 cards!!!

Don’t have the final numbers yet, but we did make some well earned money for the community."  

I'm guessing that we made over $1,500.  Thanks again to those who supported our efforts!  It helps us to make the kind of donations noted above.

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Mardi and I headed upstairs to Carol Kemp's apartment tonight to play cards with her and Pat.  

Carol and I trounced them!  Sorry Pat and Mardi 😉.

Stay well folks.

Winter's On The Way

 Based on the weather forecast, today was likely my last gardening day for 2023.  But, over the past few days I've made some progress.

The plantings along the crest of the hill have been weeded and mulched.

Except for the Oak tree at the end.........

........where I need to remove three or four lower branches so that I can crawl under to dig out the grasses and weeds.  That's a project for early spring.

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Mardi is so impressed with what I've accomplished that she let me win the current Skip-Bo game.  So my record this year is 11 wins versus her 14.  Oh well!

Stay healthy.

 What great weather these last few days!  Managed to get another couple of gardens under control.

Before............the annuals are finished, except for the lavender...........

..........four wagon loads to the compost pile later........

..................... add eight bags of mulch - we're now ready for winter.

This garden has always been an issue for me.  It was built on top of a pile of rubble and never grew things well.  So this spring I dug it out and refilled it with unsaleable bags of top soil.  The annuals were happy this time!  

Then I worked on the pumpkin patch.  I removed the pumpkins and the corn and restored the Trillium logo garden.

Next will be that Day Lily garden in the background.  Time is running out and there's still lots to do.

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But, let's get on to the really big news.  Tonight was the Optimist Club's Turkey Roll.  Thanks to support from many of you and a few of our neighbours in the building, Mardi and I filled 7 cards.  That provides about $350 in net proceeds to go towards our charitable work!  Many thanks!

During the evening a cheque was presented to Hamilton Challenger Baseball (they provide activity for physically and mentally challenged kids).  Your help made this possible.

We always enjoy the turkey races during the evening.

It gets a bit rowdy!

In between races the turkey draws were held.

And congratulations to the winners:

David Craig, Ron King, Pat Tistechok, Therese Maclean, Sandro Cervoni, Roger Craig, Matt and Maureen.

I'll get the $40 gift cards to you in a few days.

Stay well.

Flanders Fields

 This morning we headed to the Stoney Creek cenotaph to honour our fallen heroes.

The main part of the cenotaph honours those who fell in the first world war.  The stone in front, those from the second world war.  The Mums came from Trillium Hill - felt good!

Mardi laid a wreath on behalf of her church.

It's interesting what thoughts go through your head at times like this.

While Mardi did this, I'm sure that she was thinking about son Greg, who served with the army in the killing fields of Cambodia and with the air force in Afghanistan.  He's also been buzzed by enemy Russian planes while patrolling our Arctic north.  Mardi's hero for sure!

My thoughts were of my uncle who served in the liberation of Holland, and of my childhood friends, Ruth and Dick Napper.  They were just toddlers when their father was killed in WW11.  His name is half way down the right column.

Their mother had to try to support her family on Mother's Allowance, a virtually impossible task as our own mother discovered a few years later.

Kay couldn't afford a phone so our dad rigged up an intercom between her house and ours so she would be able to call for assistance if needed.  She remarried, but her second husband was pretty cruel with the kids.  That's probably when I began to realize how lucky I have been in life!

And because of our fallen heroes, how lucky we all have been here in Canada.

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Be thankful and be well.

Good Times

 Today's birthday girl is Barb Gallina.  Best wishes and keep up the  good progress!

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Our excitement today was a game of cards with Pat and Carol.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words 😜.   We'll have to do this again!

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Tomorrow, lest we forget.

Stay well.

Remember

Missed a couple of events over the past two days.  First was Rose Strecker's birthday on Tuesday.  Hope that Ed was good to you Rose!  All the best!

Second, I hope that you were wearing your poppy three days early, because November 8 was Indigenous Veterans' Day, honouring our native partners who served in the great wars.  Barbara's and Jo-Ann's grandfather served this country.   Their uncle and cousin served in the U.S. military.

We remember.

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Did two hours at the greenhouse today.  Cleaned up another garden and dug two wagon loads of sod from around the trees.  Time is running out on the gardening front, but David advises that we'll be planting Easter Lilies starting on December 4.  Can't wait 😟😰.

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Stay well.

NEGATIVE!!!

 Free at last!  Today's test came out negative.  What a relief!

I only had one really bad day.  My throat became a volcano from the Covid, I had a stye in my right eye, and my carpal tunnel was causing pain and numbness.  Quite a combination!

Then it just became a waiting game, which is finally over.

So, today I headed back to the greenhouse to do an hour of moving sod.  Turns out it's also time for the rental farmer next door to harvest his sunflowers.

I'll miss those cheery little devils!

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Stay well.

Hope

 Hamilton's Road2Hope Marathon took place today.  The route goes by our front door and the road was closed (much to the anguish of people trying to get out of our underground parking).

I would have normally been caught up in the chaos, but not today.  I've been quarantined for a few days due to Covid 😠.  Had one really nasty day but things then settled down.  Now just tired and frustrated and still testing positive.  Mardi says that I should get out in the fresh air but I don't want to inflict on someone else what was inflicted on me so I'm going to be careful about next steps.

Mardi has escaped so far.  Whether that's because she had Covid back in the first wave or that her six vaccine shots are still protecting her, or she's been avoiding contact with me, I don't know, but I'm glad for her.  It is an ugly disease.

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Today is Diane Lougheed's birthday, a round number milestone.  I intended to be there to congratulate her, but the above noted situation cancelled that.  Sorry Diane - hope you have had a wonderful day!

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Why do people hate the Jews?  They were chased from their homeland centuries ago by Mohammad and his followers.  They suffered the Holocaust last century at the hands of so-called Christians.  Why?  Simply because they have different religious beliefs?  Or are smarter and more successful?

Why do so many people give the Muslims a free ride?  Why don't they protest against Hamas, whose murder, rape, mutilation and humiliation of innocent Jews started this current war and who hide behind innocent women and children in Gaza.

And Israel has no choice but to do what they are doing in Gaza.  Hamas hide under churches, hospitals and schools, behind those innocent people.  If Israel doesn't do what it is doing, Hamas will continue their quest to eliminate the country altogether.

If the protesters want a pause in the bloodshed, they should be calling on Hamas to release the hostages.  Why don't they?  What is in their heads?  Why are our Canadian unions on the wrong side?

(Sitting at home has obviously given me too much time to think!)

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Try to find hope in all of this.  And stay well.