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

The renovated bathroom.

The crystal staircase at Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul.

An old wooden house on a street scene in Sultanhamet, Istanbul.

A plaza not far from the Spice Bazar.

Pictures from Turkey

Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul.

Almost There

The bathroom renovation is almost complete. It sure is much brighter than it was. The contractor has two 100 watt bare light bulbs in the ceiling which make it stark. Once the bathroom lights go in and the counter, sink etc. it will be complete and clean.

The weather lately around here has been depressing. Lots of clouds, rain and cool temps.

I am going to booking my vacation time for next year on Monday morning. I hope that I get my first selections but I have backup weeks just in case.

That's all for now but I will post some pictures of the completed renovation soon.

Chaos

Once again the house will be in total chaos. This time the bathroom will be renovated and updated. I just cleaned out some of the stuff that has accumulated over the years. Sheesh.

In the end, it will all be worthwhile, However, since the house hasn't been painted in side for a number of years, I guess I have my work cut out for me.

This damn truck

I'll never buy another Dodge.

Three months ago I had to replace the universal joint, that wasn't bad, but it had damaged the transmission.

Now, once again, I am going to hand over $600 for a set of ball joints. Sheesh.

Ah Montreal

This trip was the best. We took in The Montreal Botanical Gardens and I was totally blown away. The feature for the next month is in the Chinese garden and it will feature the Lights Festival. And what a sight to behold. These aren't your ordinary garden Chinese lanterns, with some very large and look like a scene such as a fishing boat or row boat with a rowing crew. I'd definitely go back to the garden for other festivals. The Japanese garden is worth seeing too.

One of the areas of Montreal that I found fascinating was Outremont. Some of the streets are very pleasant for walking with a neighbourhood park on every other street. Very charming, although a bit pricey for living in.

I'm looking forward to another return to Montreal in the not too distant future.

This is a first

I have never done this before, but, what the heck, why not? Joe and I are going to Montreal for a second time this year. I have one more week vacation this year and decided to take in Montreal once more. We plan on visiting the neighborhood markets and the botanical gardens. We'll also just hang out on some of the streets of St. Denis and St. Laurent.

Again this time, we will take the Via Rail train. It is so comfortable and relaxing to let the train do all of the driving. We arrived relaxed and ready for a day on the city. We'll take the early train this time to maximize our stay. The best site for information on Montreal is Tourism Montreal.

I will not say if this is the last trip this year to Montreal. I always wanted to see Montreal in the winter.

Off to Montreal

In one week's time, we will be off to Montreal. This will make 5 years in a row that we have gone to this fun city.

This year we are taking in part of the 'Just for Laughs' festival. We have a live mike format with the 'best of the fest' performing at Comedyworks. Another venue is the 'Twins Weekend.' We haven't entered the contest yet but may once we arrive.

Some other events that we may take in are:

• International Fireworks Competition
• Sinatra sings Sinatra - Caberet du Casino de Montreal
• The Gay Body - contemporary art

We'll do things different this time though. We will nap in the daytime and then party at night.

Looking forward to it.

It's been 3 weeks

It's been three weeks since we returned for Europe. My, how time flies. I have posted many of the photos from our trip to Europe on Flickr.com. I am a bit disappointed with some of the results from the photo lab. I don't know exactly what happened. It could be bad chemical mix or the film got damaged going or coming from Europe. But they turned out a bit on the dark side and have a purple tinge.
Here is the link to my photos on Flickr.

We're Back

It's been a week since we arrived back home. I have been catching up on some my daily routines. The trip was exceptional and very adventurous. We spent a week in Istanbul and I was completely blown away by it's charm and beauty. We met some very friendly Turks in our hotel and spent some evening talking and smoking a water pipe with them. At first, I was taken back by the number of people on the streets but soon got used to the hustle and bustle of this city.

We then spent two weeks in Hungary visiting places like Gyor, Vesprem and Debrecen. Our hosts in Budapest were very helpful and accommodating.

I am anxiously awaiting the development of the 17 roles of slide film and will be posting several of my favourites here in the next week or so.

Even after this adventure, it is still nice to come home to the routine.

Countdown

It is now 3 weeks today that we arrive in Istanbul. Joe is drawing up an itinerary for our complete three week stay in Europe. We have a tourist book complete with all the sites of Istanbul. It includes a few walking tours that we are likely to do as well as several must see sites. Those sites include:
Blue Mosque
Basilica Cistern
Spice Bazaar
Topkapi Palace
Istanbul Museum (Archaeolgical)
The Bosphorus
Princes' Islands
Istiklal Caddesi and more

We hope to take them all in as well as others.