The Door

The door has been installed in the front where the closets were before. The door is much larger than the original and had a row of bricks removed at the top to accommodate the door. Since we also installed glass blocks, they also reflect and enhance the bedrooms and the hall.

On another note; I visited a longtime friend from my early days of the gay publication: 'Out.' It seems that my friend is quite sick with cancer and is not expected to live much longer. I can only hope that he lives his life with little discomfort and that he and his partner have many happy days together.

The day is quite nice although cloudy but I managed to pick up some of the branches and spruce cones that have fallen from wind storms.

Tomorrow, Joe's brother and sister-in-law visit and we will get hair cuts as usual and play some cards.

The finished pine planks

The floor are now finished. We're just waiting for them to dry.

They turned out beautiful. They have a nice warm glow and are in good shape.

When the house was built, 140 years ago, they likely would never have finished the floors but instead put an oil cloth in the middle of the room and painted the outside perimeter. This is the reason that they are in such good shape.

The floor people took 2 days to sand and seal the floors and then today they put on 2 coats of satin finish.

They are definitely worth the time and effort and expense.

Reno 2009

Another renovation project is underway. This time it's the second story of our home in the country.

There used to be two closets in front of a door in the hall. They were ripped out and the hall has now been expanded. A closet will be built into the bedroom. The picture shows the door to a small outside open deck.

In addition to redoing the floors (wide clear pine), we will re-plaster the ceilings and the interior walls.

We decided to go ahead with this project because of low interest rates and that our favourite contractor is still in business.

I'll be posted more photos as the project progresses.

Old scans

As a winter project, I have decided to go into some of the old photo albums and scan some early pictures of family and friends. Here is the first of what I hope is a series.

Calgary 1977

Joe and I travelled together for the first time in 1977. We lived in Calgary for about 8 months. This picture was taken along the Bow River.

I'm taking on the task of scanning most of my old photographs. It's winter and should be a good time to do it.

From Wayne's Blog

The sheds

Two sheds on our property are in the middle of demolition. They served their purpose of a potting shed and greenhouse but the greenhouse was falling down and I moved everything that was in the potting room to the barn. Both buildings were used prior to my arrival as bedding for the horses and one of the sheds was a stable for one horse.

We are not sure what we will do with the added space but will likely increase the parking area.

The shed on the right was originally used as a horse stall.

Long Point

A beautiful day in Long Point. For October 10, this day was exceptional. We spent about 4 hours walking the beach and enjoying the gentle breezes of Lake Erie. Joe and I both got touch-up to our tans.

Sunday Haircuts

Today we are visited by John and Cecile, Joe's brother and sister-in-law. We generally have dips and then lunch and then we get our hair cut. After, that we have a good card game (wild card rummy) and then more treats and food and goodies.
I have had a great weekend and even thought this is a soggy one, I managed to go outside and sit on the porch and just watch the day go by. Originally they called for 200 mm of rain to fall yesterday and today, but I don't think that we will get those amounts. This would be an amount equal to about 3 months of rain. The rain we get today is the left over from Hurricane Ike.

Long Point

We were going to go to Long Point today but the weather was uncooperative. It was neither warm or sunny enough.
I wanted to show the beautiful beach at Long Point and the fact that it is so close to our home. The picture shows Joe in the lake with his sandals on the beach.

Off to the beach

We are going to Long Point for only the 2nd time this year. This is unusual. We generally go at least 10 times a year. The day is excellent, the temperature will reach 28 and lots of sunshine.

Montreal, August 2008

In July, Joe, Paul, Jim, and I went to visit Montreal. We visited with Jim's sister and she lived in an area called NDG. Next to this community is another one called Hampstead. The picture on the left is one of the houses is this upscale neighbourhood. We took in the usual treats like corned beef sandwich at Swartz's and sat in the park at Carré St-Louis. Took in Divers/Cite and hung out in the gay village.

The Adventure

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a link to them all.

http://picasaweb.google.com/wybell

We've arrived

We are now in Budapest and enjoying some very nice weather. We travel to Kisiroszi and weather promises to stay very warm.

The next adventure takes us to Prague and back to Budapest and then to Romania. I'll be posting some very good pictures when I return.

You would hardly think

You would hardly think looking at the weather here that the temperatures in Cyprus are in the mid-twenties. But it's true. Check this out.

There are signs of spring here in Canada and in our yard.

The trip begins

We are about to depart on a very adventurous journey. Within a few weeks will see places that we never saw before. Like, Cyprus, Larnaca, Famagusta, Kyrenia and Nicosia, Prague, Budapest, Sibiu, Cluj and Timisoara.

The days will be filled with sun and relaxation in Cyprus and lots of sight-seeing in Hungary, Prague and Romania.

Stay tuned as we conquer yet another adventure in Europe.

It's coming soon

Well, it's coming soon. Joe and I are going to Europe once again. We have lots planned and lots to do. First up, Cyprus. Six solid days in Cyprus with lots to see it both the Greek side and Turkish side. First, 2 nights in Larnaca.

I plan on taking my computer and I will likely post on a regular basis.

Stay tuned, lots to come.

Moonlight over the field

A few days ago I took a picture of the full moon just before the eclipse. The results are here. The film speed was set to 800 asa and the exposure is for 2 seconds.

Snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And that is just what it did.

Yesterday we got quite a dumping of snow, about 20cm. I have been taking pictures at slow shutter speeds with some interesting results. Here are two that I took last night.

Our laneway.

The carriage house.

Experimenting with low light

Anything is possible with low light, a camera and a tripod.

Recently I took a picture at 4 seconds and put myself into the picture for half of the time. Here is the results.

We're doing it again

We are off to Europe for our 6th visit. This time we plan on visiting Cyprus for a week and Hungary for a week and Prague in the Czech Republic for a weekend. We haven't finalized all of the details but we definitely are going.

If there is any time left over, which I doubt, we also have plans to go to Romania once again and likely visit Cluj.
Stay tuned!

Another from yesterday

There was one other photo that is worth posting here. It takes in most of the garden, fencing from the corral and the farmer's field.

A magical day

Yesterday was one of the days that made me think I was in a magical world. It started out as being a foggy day but when the temperature dropped and began to freeze, it turned beautiful. I was at work and in wonder but called Joe to take some pictures and boy, did he take pictures. Eighty-two in all but I only saved 61. Here are a couple that I found fascinating. They were all taken in our yard near Washington, Ontario.

My computer

I recently bought a new computer for traveling. It will allow me to download pictures from my trips abroad and store them on the computer.

Lately, I have been using the high speed wireless connection at the Plattsville library. Nice.

I have really got into using Google Earth. Something that I was unable to use using a dial-up connection. I've been able to see some of the places that I have visited in the past and some that I hope to visit in the future.

One more feature

The Canon G-7 also has the ability to switch colours. It involves assigning one colour and switching it with another chosen colour.

In this post I give you an example of one of our perennial gardens and the colour switched was: Orange replacing a variation of green.

Another colour accent

Earlier this year I told you of my new Canon G-7 Camera and it's ability to accent one colour in a scene.

I have been experimenting with this feature and have a better picture that I want to show.

It is a picture of the winter wheat late in the summer season. The colour that I highlighted was the orange glow of the field.

Our little kitty

About 5 years ago, a stray cat adopted Joe and I. She is a strange cat. She loves Joe and I to death but doesn't what to be bothered by others.

She is so at home with us that she often shows her tummy. Something that most cats do not do.

The other night, we had a fire lit in the wood stove and she just loves the heat from that. She often goes halfway up the stairs were the hot air is rising and basks in the heat.

Here is a picture in that position on the stairs.

The Boy's Weekend

Warren, Greg and Randy in front of the log cottage.

One of the fancy hotels in Bayfield.

For the first time on one of our bi-yearly trips, we decided to go to Bayfield. A pretty little town on Lake Huron.

In addition to our usual past-times we also took in the village and enjoyed the shops and the shoreline. Lake shore property is sure getting expensive.

My brother Greg, took up his movie camera and we took pictures of the band playing. The band is made up of brothers, Greg, Warren, Armand and Randy and friend of the family, John. While taking some camera shots and angles from the floor, I lost my footing and fell backward. That should make for even more artistic shots.

Joe and I go back to Montreal

Joe and I visited Montreal again this year. We took in Divers/Cité in the gay village. We saw Lila Downs (we own most of her CD's). There were 3 stages, each with a different theme. We took in the Festival Latino and the drag show called Mascara. After the shows each night, before midnight, everyone seemed to go to the gay village. Rue Ste-Catherine was closed to traffic but there were so many people that it was almost impossible to walk.

Catch up time

I have a lot to catch up on. Since June, we had many visitors and we saw lots of places.
Julia visited from Budapest, Hungary. We went to Toronto for the Pride Parade, Montreal, Stratford (Stratford Festival), Long Point and took two trips to Woodstock.

The trip to Montreal was most memorable. In addition to the regular stops the city was busting with excitement and entertainment. We visited the botanical gardens as well as the Gay Village. We went to the top of Mount Royal and visited the shops and restaurants of old Montreal.

Since a picture is worth a 1000 words here a few pictures.

Pride Parade in Toronto.

Julia with a young weasel in our back yard.

Joe, a drag queen and Julia, in front of Mado in the Village in Montreal.

Julia and me in old Montreal.

Randy and Patty's Day

Today is the wedding day for Randy and Patty. They have asked me to be their official photographer. I am always reluctant to do such things because it means so much to them and me. I am always afraid they may not like my work.

Pictured: Gale, Walter, Patty, Randy and Kylie.

Yesterday, Frank from Reno, visited and we are having some good times together. We watched a movie that is a bit of cult film from 1969 called Easy Rider. It was actually my first time to view it. I liked it. Great backgrounds of the south and mid-west America.

Busy Week

I have very busy this week while on holidays. The grounds had to be manicured and the gardens prepared and mulched. There is a chance of rain today and my outdoor activities may have to be suspended. However, there are another set of tasks in the house to do.

Spring is such a nice time of year and here is a picture to prove it.


The picture is of one of many lilacs on the property with a flowering almond that has gone wild in the background.

Julia Visits

In about 5 weeks, a very special visitor will be here. Julia from Hungary will spend at least 3 weeks with us.

We are spending at least 3 days in Montreal and a couple in Toronto during her stay.

Initially we thought we would spend a week up on the lake in a rented cottage but on second thought we are already live in the quite countryside and decided against it. We will likely go to the beach on Lake Erie at Long Point, weather permitting.

I am sure that when she arrives we will think of all kinds of things to see and do.

Hair Day

Last Sunday John, Cecile, Rich and Eve came to visit. Just like other times when we get together with John, we get hair cuts. Today was no exception. The pictures are of John and Rich and John and Joe. Next time we get together will be at the end of next month in Hamilton, the home of John and Cecile.

Another Dodge disappointment

Sheesh! This is getting ridiculous. I just found out that the tires on the Dakota are not available through Canadian Tire. It seems that the tire is a rare one and wasn't used on many makes of vehicles. I did find a tire store that had it in stock but for how long is anyone's guess. I ordered two but I need four but can't afford all four. I'm going to take a chance that the tire will still be around next year when I replace the other two. Wish me luck!

Now, to make matters worse, I had to take it in this week for a drive clean test. It failed. One of the routes to go is to have it analyzed to see what the problem is. Then, it can be passed temporarily for one year. This is what I did. But eventually it will need a catalytic converter at around $900 a shot. I'm not impressed.

Our visit to Alma

We visited our dear friends in Alma this weekend. They have the most beautiful home on many acres just outside Alma not far from Elmira. Their house is energy efficient and very unique in design. They have designed their house around a central plenum, which most heat releasing appliance use and then that heat is recovered and again used to heat the house. There is also large south windows and and dark ceramic tile floors.

Our friends are very involved in their businesses. They are constantly on the go and have very little time for socializing. So, we don't get together that often.

I attach a photo of the west side of their house and Paul is looking out the window.

Spring has arrived

Spring is in the air in Southwestern Ontario. With my new camera I can take as many pictures as like without wasting film. Great way to experiment. Here are a couple that I took a couple of days ago.

The new camera

I bought the Canon G-7 and am in love with it. It has a lot of point and shoot features as well as being able to use manual settings. It's everything I wanted in a camera and it is easy to use. One of the pictures that I took recently is of the western sky at sunset. The camera has a feature called Colour Accent which allows for highlighting on a particular colour in a scene and then using only those colours. Here is that picture:

Some improvement, finally

My cold/flu is finally breaking. It's been a very uncomfortable four days. Little sleep and lots of couphing and pain.

With any luck, I'll be back to work soon.

Change of plans

Unfortunately, I came down with a very severe chest cold/flu so I didn't go to Toronto with Joe. Instead I stayed at home and in bed most of the weekend. Sigh.

Sick

I was a bit under the weather today.

Yesterday, I felt a tickle in my throat. Last night and today it blossomed into a chest cold. I have been getting pletty of rest and am already feeling better.

The changing weather has a lot do with this. It has been very cold of late and then just recently it warmed up to a balmy 6 degrees celcius. Now, we are going back to the minus teens celcius. Maybe I should just go to bed for the winter. The bears do.

Conference in TO

We're off to Toronto.

This is a conference for COUSA members and non-members. I will like just be an observer. I am going as Joe's guest or spouse. The workshops are interesting if I have the chance to attend. I am interested in the workshop dealing with stress, depression and anxiety.

This is the first of a couple of conferences we will be attending. Another one that is coming up is with the OSSTF also in Toronto. This one is their biggies for the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly. It will be held at the Toronto Sheraton Centre, WOW!

For an update as to what happened at these conferences, check back here.

A scare

Last night while dining at one our favourite restaurants, I began choking. At first, I thought that I could clear the food by just coughing. Usually works and besides it seems natural. This time however, it didn't succeed and the particle of food covered my windpipe. I then had shortness of breath and panicked. I wanted to make my way to the washroom in case I had to stick my finger down my throat. On the way over someone came up behind me and gave me the Heimlick maneuver. It worked.

I have never had an experience like that one before and hope it never happens again.

I went back to my table and continued to eat my food. Then the fire department arrived because one of the staff called 911. I explained what had happened and gave them my name.

I think I just used up one of my nine lives.

Photos with Picasa

Istanbul