Botanical Gardens

Again this year we visited the Botanical Gardens in Montreal. Again we were fascinated by the beautiful displays of flowers and the stunning themes. This year we took in the Chinese Lantern displays both during the day and then went back to visit in the evening. They were incredible. But there were lots of people to see the lantern display and it was a bit hard to maneuver around.

Atwater Market

The sights of the Atwater Market in Montreal.

This market is one of the best markets I have experienced. The fruits, vegetable, flowers and meats are all set out to enhance their appearance.

Art at the park

I was very amused today when I walked my daily walk in the park. I came across a very obvious crash to the earth of a, what appears as debris from space. I include a picture.

Russian Sunflower

This picture was taken last week and shows that the Russian Sunflower is about 2 feet taller than me. I stand 5'10".

The garden is a big success this year with lots of tomatoes, peppers and other veggies.

Montreal July 2009

Montreal was great during DIVERS/CITÉ . We went to the events every day during our stay.

Halfway Log Dump

Our guests loved this place. They were very impressed by the views and the cold Georgian Bay waters. They hiked the rocks and the Bruce Trail along with Joe and I.

Our guests have departed

Attila and Peter from Hungary.

For 4 weeks we had the pleasure of entertaining guests from Hungary.

It was a unique for me because of the age difference (40 years) and the cultural differences. We took in many sites while they were here including Montreal, Georgian Bay, Toronto, Stratford and Long Point.

Kingston Catch up

I would like to try and catch up for the last two months.

Kingston was a real treat for me and Joe. A pretty place with a couple of Universities.

I've got lots of pictures but a few tell many words.

The final week

I have been on holidays for the past week and am now enjoying the final 7 days.

In addition to going to Kingston last week, I have been busy with the yard work and just hanging out in the back yard, side yard and front yard.

A couple of pictures of the yard:

The sheds finally come down

The sheds should be down and to the land fill this week. After starting this project last fall, it's great to see that a completion is about to happen.

There could be one minor consideration. The power to the barn ran through one of these sheds. I hope I can bury the connection in some kind of watertight apparatus.

Kingston, Ontario

Old city hall in Kingston. The style is very much similar to that of Kitchener's old city hall. It even has a market in the back.

Road Trips

Sauble Falls Ontario

Warren stands at the rapids at Sauble Falls.

Boy's Weekend Trip

The back of the cottage and the side of the boat house (bunk house) is shown in this picture. Jeff and Greg stand around the campfire.

The weekend was great. Fairly good weather and temperatures.

Warren and I celebrated our 60th birthday with cake and some good humour fun.

This year, unlike last fall, I didn't get sick and almost die on the weekend.

The 'band' played some tunes around a campfire and then later in the cottage.

Steven, my nephew, came up this year for the first time in about 5 years.

Boy's Weekend Meeting

We had our regular meeting for the Boy's Weekend trip for the spring. We decided to go to another 'new' cottage north of Sauble Beach by Sauble Falls. The place looks interesting and spacious. Also, some nice views and it's right on the river. It includes a boat house apartment and hot tub and Jacuzzi. Warren and I will be celebrating our 60th birthdays at the cottage.

Our reno project is now complete and we have moved our bedroom back upstairs.

Pictured are during and after pictures of the reno project.

Affection

Patty kisses my favourite horse, Zelda. She is two years old today. She has an leg injury that is now healing quite nicely.

Joe and I visited with Patty, Randy and Kylee. Kylee is turning 6 on April 3rd and we had a small party for her.

We checked out the horse stalls and the paddock and there is at least two horses that may be pregnant. The farm is growing.

A Coincidence

Today I was going through the old photo albums and came across pictures from my parents 30th wedding anniversary. As it turns out, my mom died on this day 16 years ago.

The photo shows my mother, Audrey and my father, Armand.

A balmy day

Hello everyone:

I am at home today because of an illness. Without going into details, I have had some discomfort for quite a few weeks.

The day is balmy. It is about 11 degrees and expected to go to 16. There is some rain in the forecast and windy.

We will be having my brother Randy and Patty for dinner tomorrow. They will get the first family members to see the new reno project.

NDP Poster

Strike Deadline

Tomorrow at 12:01 a.m. we will either be on strike or have a tentative agreement. I am hoping for the later.

I have moved my bed and stuff back into my room. Peter finished it off but still has some other items to attend to before Joe moves back upstairs.

Joe made a wonderful vegetable and lentil soup for lunch. Yumm.

Again, we have been having trouble with our internet network server. It was working all morning and then it stopped. I thought that I would log off and then log back in but that didn't work. Sheesh. I contacted the technical staff and they must have reset it and am now back in business.

Springlike

Today was even nicer that yesterday. Lots of sunshine and fresh air.

I took on a couple more tasks today getting things ready for spring. I did some more lawn clean-up and trimmed some trees. I should say that Joe trimmed some tree. He wanted me to know that it is just as easy with a pruning saw and put my chainsaw to rest. I managed to get the chain saw started but never used it.

I'd like to show you some pictures from today:

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.