Vote!

 Not much news today.  I spent a couple of hours gardening before my body complained about the heat.

But Mardi and I did a good thing today.  Voted in the advance poll for the Ontario election.  Cast our ballots for Jeff Beattie because he's done a good job as councillor plus he's running for the right party.

I consider us lucky right now because we have Progressive Conservatives running Ontario, and as long as Carney stays in power we effectively have a Progressive Conservative party federally.  The disastrous left wing Trudeaus are history thankfully.

In any event, make sure that you vote.  Pick a person that you think is right for the times we are facing - we need strong representation in the current environment.

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Jays won today.  It's not over yet.

Elbows up.  Stay well.

LakeAmerica

 Lake America.  Sounds like something a ten year would suggest.  Although I suppose a petulant octogenarian might fit the mould too (I should know, from experience).

If he does make the change we'll ignore it, but we could get even.  Ontario has a Trump Lake which we could rename Lake Kiss My Ass (I told you I was experienced).

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The Blue Jays lost again tonight.  Makes their chances of hitting the playoffs pretty slim.  Too bad - it would have been fun knowing that Trump had to watch a Canadian team win the World Series!

Elbows up.  Stay well.

Canada United - Elbows Up

 Special birthday wishes to Al as he achieves 80 years.  Birthday wishes to Grant Maclean as well, but he's much younger.

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I got back in the saddle today, cutting grass.  And the swallows have not yet returned to Capistrano so I got to play the Pied Piper as they swooped around me while the mower stirred up insects for them.  What an enjoyable time!

Tomorrow I start my weeding duties.  It's amazing how big the weeds can get in just two weeks!

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Former U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence was interviewed from the Ukraine yesterday morning by CNN.  He praised the Ukrainians for their resolve and determination to succeed in their war with Russia.

Seems to me that resolve and determination can be attributed to Canadians as well as we fight our economic war with the U.S.  They are trying to break us so they can eventually take us over.  

In the meantime, their 40 trillion dollar debt is climbing dramatically and will eventually bring them down.  They need global financial support to buy their debt and with the way that Trump is treating the world that may not be possible long term.

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There is lots that could be said about the trade war going on at the moment, but my first observation is that Trump may have done Canada a favour by challenging our language protections.  That has definitely brought Quebec onside - their support was a bit in question.  A nice unity moment - the first of many I expect.

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Stay well.

Home Sweet Home

 Thursday was a challenge.  We (I) had set an aggressive eight hour target of Kingston and roadwork delays in Quebec turned that into ten hours, much of which was in heavy traffic.

Yesterday was a much easier drive and we were home by noon.  But unwinding took a couple of drinks 😊.  Unloaded the van, put stuff away, read the mail, and watched the Blue Jays go down to defeat.

The big news yesterday was that Jim and Monica have survived 55 years of marriage.  Pretty awesome!  Congrats and best wishes as you cruise to the 65 year milestone.

Today I headed to the greenhouse to say hi to Sean.  David had the grass cut and it was lightly raining so I didn't stay.  Of course as I headed home the sun came out.  Go figure!

And it stayed out!  So I missed a chance to get back in the saddle.  But it did give me the opportunity to watch the Blue Jays beat the Yankees so my day was not lost.

A big shoutout to Mark Carney.  We could be in for a rough ride, but he's the right guy for the job, i.e. dismissing old slimy Trump while moving Canada in a new direction.

Stay well.

The Vacation Is Over

 As forecast, it rained all day yesterday, contributing to a less than positive visit to Lunenburg.  The town is very different from our last visit.  Not as pretty, and where once it was a lovely town welcoming visitors, it now has a more theme park commercial aspect.  Every parking spot has a meter, and try to find a spot!  More tourists than the Halifax waterfront, jammed in elbow to elbow despite the rain.  Very disappointing!

But we had a nice halal lunch (best Eggs Benedict ever!) and then headed out of town.  Stayed in Bridgewater overnight and watched the Blue Jays win while having dinner at the River Pub.

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Today we drove to Grand Falls, New Brunswick for a view of the St. John River as it traced steps that have been ongoing for thousands of years. 

The falls are impressive............

......but the rocks are incredible!

Well worth the visit!

Dinner at Le Grand Saut was good.

Then back to our motel to watch the Blue Jays game.  They put up a good fight, but lost due to a defensively inadequate fielder.

The fun is over.  Tomorrow night we'll be back in Ontario.  Friday home.

Stay well.

The Stars Aligned

 We left Sydney yesterday and headed for Halifax.  What we didn't know when we started the trip was that Greg was in Halifax for a few days training for Drum Major.  Canada is finally going to have a pipe and Drum core in the military.  Greg and his buddies are creating the training program for future aspirants.

So, after we checked in to our hotel we headed to the Brown Hound Bar next door and enjoyed our Cape Breton beers while we waited for Greg.

He picked us up and took us to the Halifax waterfront.   It's a going concern, with lots of bars, restaurants and shops.

We joined his buddies at a Kitchen Party with 3 musicians and 2 Scottish dancers.

We also stopped at this memorial site for the tribute to the men and women sailors who were serving on the 70 Canadian warships that went down in the second world war and who took their last steps in Canada at this wharf.  A sobering moment!

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This morning we got moving early because Greg had gotten us envited to his welcoming ceremony from Nova Scotia's Lieutenant-Governor at Government House.  

That's the Lieutenant-Governor in the middle and Greg in Blue to the right.

A very proud mama!

And I got into the act as well, on the grand staircase of Government House.

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After we left Greg we headed to Peggy's Cove. where this guy was performing on the alphorn.

And we spent some time in the village checking out the shops.  It's a very pretty place.

Next up, we headed to the SwissAir Memorial for the plane that went down just offshore in 1998.   Always a moving experience to be there.

And then, on to Mahone By, a most beautiful view as the four church spires (United, Anglican, Lutheran and Baptist) come into view.

A glass of wine on a bar balcony and then it was back to Peggy's Cove and our home for the night.  Took time for a relaxing drink as we enjoyed the moment.

What an incredible vacation this has been!  Not only enjoying the places we planned to see, but the special moments with Greg that came totally unexpected.

Our visit to Lunenburg tomorrow may be diminished by rain, but I'm sure that we'll make the most of it.

Life is good.  Very good!

Stay well.

Trees, Rocks And Water

 Yesterday we planned to golf nine holes with friends of Kathy and Lorrie, but thunderstorms and a long afternoon period of rain changed our plans.  So we played cards instead.

I won at Skip-Bo, but Lorrie and I got our butts kicked at Jokers and Marbles (a good political move - happy wives, etc.).

Then we headed to Tracadie for dinner at Fin Folks Food.

This was our view.

This morning we said goodbye to our dear friends.  Our visit was more than we could have expected.  We saw things, and enjoyed meals that we would not have been able to do without the direction of Kathy and Lorrie.

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Tonight, after lots of trees, rocks and water, we're in Sydney, Nova Scotia in Cape Breton.  And enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant.  This is our harbour view from both the restaurant and from our room.

Since we arrived in P.E.I. my main meals have been either Lobster or Haddock.  And all have been delicious.  Tonight's Haddock and Herbed Potatoes included the best tasting cooked carrots I've ever eaten!  I'm totally spoiled!

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And the Blue Jays won again!  Yahoo!

Tomorrow we head to Halifax.

Stay well.