HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

I am just waiting for my hard boiled eggs to cool so I have time to send you this blog. First off, it has been an excellent year - I think every year just gets better and better - how can you top this past year. I am only talking about personally, not what is happening in the world.

I have my friends, my family, I live in paradise and I am in good health. I am blessed. It is my reward for everything I have done good in my life.

I wish only the best for you and your family and friends.

This afternoon we are heading out to Axe Lake for our annual New Year's Eve Bash. It is a tradition that a friend on the lake brings up ribs and chicken which he cooks over an open fire outside. He is to start cooking at 2pm so I guess that is when the party starts - it is fun to stand around a fire pit and watch what is going on, having a beverage (I don't have to drive anywhere tonite except to Joanne and Mitch's so I can partake in the festivities) and talking with friends. The fire is going to keep burning until well after midnight. I bought those glow stick necklaces that I have ready to hand out to the ladies (any left over goes to the guys) That way we can find you if you fall into a snowbank or something. Everyone is outside for the evening - he has a party garage that we can go into if we get too cold. He has a big screen TV, poker table, card tables and a bar and wood stove. And it is pot luck so there is hash brown potatoes, potato salad devilled eggs, munchies, appetizers, etc.

We have taken supplies over to Joanne and Mitch's place - coffee, water, cream etc. We don't have to drive on the highway tonite, just walk down to their place to spend the nite. Thanks Joanne and Mitch. Rejean is over there now getting the place nice and warm for this afternoon and evening.

And I even have a New Year's resolution that I do intend to keep!!

Here's To You clink

See Ya Bye

MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIENDS

Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas. Hope Santa was good to you!!!

See Ya By

CHRISTMAS EVE SECRETS

Every Christmas Eve the family gathers at Lise's house to celebrate the holiday. Everyone brings something and each year I bring meatballs. They are a hit and go very quickly. Well I am going to give my secret away right here and now in my blog. Yes, I visit M & Ms and buy their meatballs and the Diana Honey Garlic Sauce. There, now my conscience is clear. I don't have to fake it anymore. But how easy is that? All you do is take a pair of scissors and cut the bag open and dump them in the slow cooker - I usually buy two boxes - and then pour the sauce over them and let the slow cooker do the hard work. I transport the slow cooker to Lise's and provide the toothpicks (oops forgot those this year) then I bring the empty container home to wash. No fuss no muss - easy peasy.

Now I have to go iron the clothes we will be wearing tonite. Let the festivities begin!!!

See ya By

LUNCH WITH FRIENDS - PRICELESS

It was lunch with the retirees yesterday - how nice to see friends and just sit and enjoy ourselves over a nice hot bowl of soup and a beer - just 1 beer tho because of the new drinking and driving regulations. Louise, Evelyn, Anne Marie, Janis and her sister Pat showed up. I was soooo envious of Janis when she showed up in a nice turtle neck sweater - my turtleneck sweater days are sooo over because of my tendency to produce hot flashes - yes, be careful what you wish for. Back in the old days I was always cold no matter where I was or what season it was. I could wear a sweater on a summer day and be comfortable. Not any more. My usual indoor garb consists now of a short sleeve t shirt and a light hoodie thing that I can whip off at a moments notice. I used to say that I couldn't wait for my hot flashes to get here so I could be warm - WAS I CRAZY!!! Now what I would give for those olden days of being cold. But enough about me. All the girls looked great and we talked about how nice it was to be retired and out of the Banking world. Old stories were rehashed and we remembered our friend Debi who had passed away recently. Debi had cancer and had beat it for 17 years!! But it finally caught up with her - I always said that it was her Indian medicine that kept her alive all these years. She will be missed.

After the lunch I sped over to my mother-in-law's place for a dinner of homemade soup, salad and her world famous meat pies - yum yum. Then on to Chris and Egon's to visit and exchange gifts. Mine was a beautiful print of Cecile Youngfox's The Drum Singer. I have one of his in the new bathroom called Drumming Instruction so this picture will compliment it. Beautiful.

Then it was back home to the mansion.

Christmas Eve is here - how quickly time flies. Tonite we go to Lise's for our traditional Christmas Eve event. Food, drinks, meat pies, gifts - a wonderful tradition to keep.

What a great day it was today to spend time with people who mean a lot to you. Friends are one of life's rewards for everything good you have done in your life. I must have been very good in my life.

See ya By

COSTCO

We hit Costco this morning and it was busy - our cart was F U L L. But we only purchased what we had on our list (plus a couple of extras) - at the check-out I like to hazard a guess as to the total of the bill - well I was off by about $80 but in the right hundred - I won't mention how many but they always try and get me to sign up for the Executive Membership - I wonder why????
Then we hit Canadian Tire - the snowmobile helmets were on sale so we tried them on - good thing no one was around to see us. There was a box on the top shelf that we needed so I held the cart and Rejean climbed into the cart to reach it - not once but twice as we also needed another one on the top shelf. I thought they had security cameras in these stores - I am surprised no one came running to tell us to stop. We ended up with two helmets that fit and the price was right. Every time we come to Windsor we spend $$$$. At the Dollar Store my toothpaste is $2 per tube - a bargain I can't beat even in the states so I bought 8. We stock up on everything when the price is right. You have to when you live in the bush.
Tomorrow is my luncheon with the retirees. It will be good to see everyone again - I will take my camera and document the event. Then it is an evening with Chris and Egon - Egon just had arthroscopic (?) surgery on his knee so I know he won't be up and about just yet.
Then it is Christmas Eve and an evening with the family. Traditions like that are hard to miss. We exchange gifts with a $15 limit - it takes the pressure off trying to find the "right" gift. We also do that with the immediate family - we all chip in and give the $$ to a charity then we also have a $15 limit for the gifts to each other. This year I got to pick out the charity up north - there are a lot of families "in need" in our area. We have everything we need and instead of buying each other gifts we may not need, we help others who aren't as fortunate.
Christmas dinner at Rejean's mom's place - she wants to cook this year - I will make the cranberries - boxing day a day of rest and leftovers and then we take off on Sunday to my sister's place in Gorrie. Spend the nite there and then off for home on Monday. A hectic holiday, as usual. Just enough time to rest up for New Year's Eve on Axe Lake - an event I don't want to miss.
See ya By

WONDERFUL WINDSOR

Here we are in Wonderful Windsor - not that I don't like the place because some of my most favourite people are here - it is just that I am away from my home and, really, there is no place like home is there? We arrived yesterday after a few stops on the way down and the weather was ok - it started snowing in Gaylord, the snow capital of Michigan. Just like London, Ontario - if it is going to snow anywhere, it will snow there. AND the tunnel was backed up right to where you make your U turn to join the long line of cars to get to the entrance. They even had a police car blocking a route to the entrance. And then you have to just inch your way into one lane from six lanes after you pay - I told Rejean just to keep inching along and don't make eye contact. He thought there were 2 lanes in the tunnel (old person issues) so he was a bit off in the que. We finally made it and didn't get pulled over for our $107 worth of stuff. We made it to the mansion and no one was here to greet us - Stacey and Andrew were at a Christmas party and Sadie was spending a few nights at Grandma MariLou's. And, of course, this is the first Christmas without Satch, the killer cat who always used to welcome us with a hissssssss. Oh to feel welcome. But we made ourselves at home with a cold beer (that is always available in the bar fridge downstairs - thank you Andrew) and left overs from their Christmas open house yesterday - the chili was made with ground turkey - and it was delicious!! And kept in the Christmas tradition of using turkey. Tons of fruit left over as well - I didn't even look at the deserts.
Today we are heading out to do some shopping at Costco and various other places - I told Rejean to take a Valium because he is going to need a lot of patience out there today. I have about 98% of my shopping done but I found out I have to buy some wrapping paper - you can't transport wrapped gifts over the border (we were yelled at one year for doing so) so I was going to borrow some of Stacey's paper but she decided to put her gifts in bags this year so I have to buy some paper today.
More adventures later - gotta go
See Ya By

THE SHOWER FROM HELL

It is done - we just have some trim to put up around the edges to blend in with the walls. It was touch and go but we got it done. It took about 3 full days to finally complete it. The door kept sagging after we put the hinges on - Rejean McGyvered something to get it to hold the door in place. We also had trouble getting the magnetic strips on the door to meet up well enough to hold the door closed. Once we put the strip along the bottom of the door to keep the water from leaking out, it fixed the problem. All in all, it was worth it. But there was one point when we thought we would have to take the whole thing apart and return it to Costco. The thing weighs a ton. I think the whole package weighed almost 300 pounds - it came in three boxes!! Tomorrow I have to Windex the whole thing - there are tons of finger prints all over it. Then we can finally start to use it. Oh Joy!!!

Dump day tomorrow.

See Ya By

OWWW

Got my two flu shots today in the Sault. I got a nice nurse who explained that my arm would hurt after the shots - the H1N1 more so than the regular flu shot. I got the H1N1 in my left arm and the regular one in my right arm. I have two band aids on my arms. And I must say that right now, at 7:30pm, my left arm hurts more than my right arm. They both hurt. I guess I will have to sleep on my back. I usually sleep on my side, right or left, it doesn't matter - I usually end up equally on each side - but not tonite. I didn't even do my exercises tonite. Oh well, I should wait until they no longer are sore. I commented that when you see a segment on TV of the shots being given, sometimes they just jab the needle into the arm - usually of a poor little kid who is crying. My nurse was very gentle and explained what she was going to do before she did it. I am protected now - from what I don't know. How do you know if you even have the H1N1? They don't want to see you in any clinic if you are sick and they don't test you for it even if you exhibit all the symptoms. Up here it is rare that I get sick - I have to be exposed to germs and I don't think they can survive in this cold. But we will be heading down to Windsor shortly for the holidays so I am good to go.

See Ya By

WARNING - DEXTER SPOILER

For those of you who follow Dexter, last night's episode (we tape the Sunday nite episode and blip thru the commercials) you know that they killed Rita, Dexter's wife. I was stunned!!! The Trinity Killer did it and left Dexter's baby sitting in a pool of blood (dejavu for Dexter). I can't believe it!! I am still depressed over it. Talk about a surprise. But it is one of the best shows on TV this season. And for those of you who don't watch it, I highly recommend it. It is the story of a serial killer who only kills the bad guys (and 1 woman if I remember correctly). You have to love him. But I don't know what is going to happen now. Is Dexter going to adopt Rita's two children (their father is dead - a few episodes ago in a prison fight) who is going to take care of the kids when Dexter is at work as a blood smear expert with the Miami Police Department, is Deb (Dexter's sister) going to make any connection to Dexter's secret life because now she knows who his mother was (she was killed in a boxcar and Dexter was left in the boxcar with her in all that blood) You can read a synopsis of all the episodes at the Dexter website.
As for me, I will anxiously be awaiting the next Dexter episode to see how he is going to explain why the Trinity Killer picked his family for his final killing - Dexter did away with him in his usual special way - way to go Dexter!!!
See Ya By

YUM YUM

Last evening we dined at Bob's and we had a buffalo roast, spicy carrots, scalloped potatoes, bread and cheese covered asparagus. The buffalo roast was different - but good. He did it in the oven covered in bacon. It was a bit chewy but the flavour was good. First time he had cooked buffalo. I will get some ground buffalo and try some burgers.

Today we worked on the shower. We got the walls up and anchored in place. Rejean had to replace their plastic anchors with heavy duty ones. It took a bit of work but it's done. Tomorrow I have to head into town for a doctor's appointment, make a donation, pick up a parcel at the Creative Basket, pick up a screw for Rejean at the Home Hardware and hit the bank. Then be home to finish the shower. Wednesday we go to the Sault for some stuff and to get our H1N1 and regular flu shot. Hope I don't get sick.

See Ya By

HELLO DEXTER MORGAN

Is it just me or does everyone else love Dexter???? I can't wait to see the next episode - it is the only show I watch that leaves me on the edge of my seat. I just can't comprehend how he is going to get himself out of this mess. The Trinity murderer is standing in his police precinct office - they are standing face to face!!! I can't wait. I love Dexter.

See Ya By

JUST PLAYING CATCH UP

Just some catch up news - yesterday we had breakfast at Ron and Mary's place - it was delicious - peameal bacon, eggs, toast, homemade peach marmalade, kiwi and orange fruits, coffee with Bailey's, orange juice. Yum Yum. The previous evening we had delivered their pies from the hall and we had smoked white fish and - get this - white fish jerky. Was it ever good - and for those who don't know - I could exist on smoked fish. But the whitefish jerky was VERY good. They get it in Bayfield and when they go again they have my order. They have two foxes hanging around their place and I managed to get a good picture of one just laying on the snow bank. They follow Ron around like puppies - but of course he has cookies in his pocket for them. I wish they would come over to my place to visit - I have cookies too.

The other picture is the start of our new project - installing the new shower that we have had since last Christmas - we got it from Costco and we are just getting around to it now. It should be done before Christmas. It took us over an hour to level the thing - there are shims galore under it. I have found that whatever you buy from Costco there is always something different about it - something wrong. A blender we bought has a lid that is difficult to put in place. I am waiting to see what is wrong with this shower. We have figured out that we have to assemble the whole thing, then put it in place. THAT will be fun. I will keep you informed on this project.

This afternoon we are invited over to Bob's house for a buffalo roast. There is a buffalo farm along highway 17 and they sell meat. I have always wanted to stop and get some ground buffalo for burgers but I never have. Well, Bob stopped and got a roast - so tonite we dine on buffalo. I am bringing the bread and some mozzarella sticks for a treat. I'll get a picture for tomorrow's blog. Stay tuned.

See Ya By

'HELL HAS FROZEN OVER'

I have to congratulate Stacey - I read her blog and her twitters and she has baked (or attempted to bake) edible cookies. I don't know the outcome but I do know that the first batch didn't turn out so she had to go back out and get more ingredients. Stacey, just trying to bake is an accomplishment for you - I never thought I would see the day....CONGRATULATIONS - did Andrew sign the waver??? ;o)
See Ya By

ps Stacey's blog is ultraprincess.blogspot.com - pay her a visit - it will be worth it.

STORM UPDATE

It snowed heavily all day long! And it is expected to go all nite and into tomorrow - the weather report from the Sault predicted up to 28 cm by the end of it. It is amazing out there - you shovel and sweep one area and - bang - 1 hour later it is as tho you never did it. Rejean did our lane way then we decided to take the snowmobile over to Ute's to do hers by riding the snowmobile over her lane way. What a riot. I was on the back and we were going around her lane way over and over again to pack down the snow. We then decided to go on the trail on the mine side - we are going to make a trail up to the end so we just drove up to the meadow and back a few times. On our way out - I am driving now - you go down a small hill to the highway. I slowly proceeded down the hill and stopped at the side of the highway to look both ways to see if it was safe to proceed. I saw the snow plow coming from my left so I waited. I looked at him and saw how close to the edge of the highway he was and then where we were in relation to him. We were too close and we got sprayed with all the snow he was plowing - I mean plastered!!! I put my arms up to protect my head but I could still feel all the snow - and it was heavy!! We laughed about it - both us and the snowmobile were covered in snow. But it was fun. I won't make that mistake again. I dropped Rejean off at the garage and took the machine out for a spin by myself - not too far - just back up to the meadow and back. You don't want to go too far by yourself in case you get stuck or stranded - especially in today's weather.

Well tomorrow is another day - it will be interesting to see what we wake up to tomorrow but I know for a fact that Rejean will be blowing more snow. Maybe a sauna tomorrow nite....

See Ya By

SNOW DAY!!!

Phyllis called at 8am this morning to cancel our perogie day - I felt like a kid being told that there was no school because of the snow - yeaaa. But I still have a lot of work shovelling today - this picture was taken at 9am and it was coming down in buckets!! Right now - at noon - we have about 6-8 inches on the ground and it is still snowing. Rejean just fired up the tractor and is just getting started on the lane way. I have been shovelling off the veranda and the wood sheds. The birds are having a hard time at the feeders because the feeding holes are plugged with snow and the squirrels are upset as well. No rest for the wicked.

I changed the batteries in the camera so I am off to take some "action snow pictures".

See Ya By

BATTON DOWN THE HATCHES...

According to the weather man we are in for a major snow storm - one that will "make it a December to Remember". We got the snowmobile all set and ready to go and the tractor with the snow blower attachment is in good working condition. We have lots of wood ready and lots of food and beverages. I am supposed to go to the hall to finish up the season making 300 perogies but if the roads are in rough shape I won't be going anywhere. That's what it is like up here - you really don't know how bad or good it will be until you wake up. Sometimes when they call for no snow you wake up to a dumping and vice versa. Thank goodness I am retired and I don't have to be anywhere.
I will charge up the batteries in the camera and will be ready to record the "event". And it's only just begun....
See Ya By

I JUST GOOGLED HIM...

Rejean gets a few magazines that deal with wood stuff and remodelling and construction info. The last issue had a picture of a coffered drop ceiling. It is something he has thought about doing to the main floor ceiling for a long time. We are almost upon that time and lo and behold, the picture was in the issue. There wasn't a lot of info accompanying the picture - just a man's name and home town. We searched the magazine's web site but there was nothing about this installation. I said I would search on the computer and I found him. I got his name and address and phone number. It was right there on google. So much for privacy. But without google, I never would have found him.

I called him and we chatted for a bit. He has a southern accent. He said that he has done 3 ceilings like it and he could provide a few time saving tips. He gave me his email and I emailed him so that he could have mine and to be sure that we could connect. I have a feeling that he and Rejean will be good friends by the time the project is complete.

I told him where we lived and I commented that this would be our winter project or should I say our winter adventure. He said if we didn't go stir crazy from the snow, we would go crazy with the ceiling. I hope he was kidding.

See Ya By

PS - that is not a picture of our house - just an example of what we will be trying to do - the frame will be clear pine and the panel is white ceiling tile

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG

Our lake started to get a bit of ice along the edges this week as the temperatures were becoming seasonal. This morning it was completely frozen over and snow covered. Not that I would walk on it yet - I'll wait until our friend John tells me it is ok to do so. And it has been snowing for the past 2 days. We drove our vehicles on the lane way to pack down the snow for the base for the snow blower. That way you don't kick up all the gravel. It didn't take too long. We also did our neighbour's driveway that Rejean takes care of also during the winter.

And guess who is back on the bird feeder. When I see him up there I don't do anything - what is it hurting? He has to eat too and I have tons of seed. But when Rejean sees him and shoos him away, he just flies thru the air. It is a sight to see.

Tonite we're going over to visit our friends on Axe Lake - we were supposed to head into town to see a comedian at the curling club but the roads aren't very good so we'll just stick around here. Snow does that to you - changes plans but better to be safe than dead.

See Ya By

ANOTHER FULL DAY

We catered a luncheon at the credit union today so I was up and gone by 8:15am. We dropped the eats off at the credit union then headed out to our own little luncheon. After which I went to an Alpaca Farm just west of Bruce Mines. There's a ton of those little creatures standing around eating. Life is just too exciting for an alpaca I guess. But I went there to get some Christmas presents and I'm not naming names here. The wool is supposed to be the warmest on the planet and I have heard some good reviews. I purchased a pair of sox and innersoles for myself and some other stuff that I shan't go into at this time. They had a booth at the Toronto Winter Fair and Camilla stopped by their booth - yes I mean THAT Camilla - the one that is married to Chuck. There was a write up in the Sault Star about it and I talked to the owner about it. She said that Camilla was a very nice woman - very pleasant and polite. But she didn't buy the pair of mitts that she tried on. Chuck is probably too cheap. I also stopped at Forestland in town and picked up some gifts as well - believe it or not I only have to get 2 more - hard to believe. I usually have nightmares about it being Christmas Eve and I haven't bought a thing.

I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit - but I still get depressed a bit at this time of year and some of those Christmas songs can bring me to tears. But that first snow fall did get me in the mood. So bring it on!!

See Ya By

MY DAY IN PICTURES

Rejean put a squirrel deterrent device on the bird feeder yesterday but look what we woke up to. Rejean has been out witted by a squirrel!! Yes the squirrel managed to jump from the bushes to the feeder (or so we think). He's going to move the feeder today in his "spare" time.

And since it was our first official snow fall, I am posting a bunch of "snow"pictures - get used to it - it's winter up here and there is always a lot of snow. I took a few on our lake and the rest are on Appleby Lake on my way to the Hall this morning. We are catering a luncheon at the Northern Credit Union tomorrow for 40 people so we prepared today ie baked a lot of deserts, cut up the cheese and veggies and then made MORE PIE$. I have also posted Vickie's hands with radish roses - she is soooo talented.

Then we have our own luncheon - there will be 12 of us Ladies of Wharncliffe lunching in Bruce Mines tomorrow. We each have to bring a wrapped gift then we choose which one we want. Mine is wrap nice thanks to Stacey's left over Christmas wrapping paper from last year - she gives me her left overs. She always gets real nice paper from Costco and then whatever she doesn't use she gave to me. Then after lunch we are heading to a local Alpaca Farm near Bruce Mines to pick up some Christmas presents made from the Alpaca wool - it is supposed to be very warm.

On my way home from work there was a full moon staring me right in the face so, having my camera at hand, attempted to take a picture of it - "I go to work in the dark and I come home in the dark" I know how you feel.

That's it for now - I have finished my blog, done my exercises, wrapped my present and now I have to put away all the stuff I bought yesterday - my work is never done.....

See Ya By