BACK TO THE OLD GRIND

Yesterday and today were the days we took care of the trailers.  The snow had accumulated since early November and it was time.  We were lucky the top 2 feet or so was light fluffy snow and the heavy icy sections were underneath.  With the two of us working it didn't take too long.  You have to have the right kind of shovels for the job.
We took care of Rick's trailer yesterday in about an hour.  Today, we snowshoed down the trail to our trailer - good thing we had snowshoes on.  It was pretty deep.  When Rejean took his snowshoes off and took a step, he went in to his waist!!  We got ours done in a little over an hour and then took care of Andrew's trailer.
We took the road back...

ps - Rejean loved the Bon Aire and the beach.  He gave it a 9 out of 10 - which is pretty good!  I am sure there is another trip to St Pete Beach in his future.

BONUS VACATION

Headed down to St Pete Beach Florida for a little rest and relaxation and to get away from all the snow.  Our friends Roger and Ute were already down there staying at the Bon Aire and instead of telling them where to go and what to do, we decided to join them and show them first hand!  In other words, we kind of invited ourselves to join them on the first week of their vacation.  I had been telling them how great the Bon Aire and St Pete Beach was, they decided to give it a try.  It turned out to be a special place for Roger to ask Ute to marry him.  She said yes!!

We went out fishing on a five hour cruise out of Johns Pass.  What a perfect day it was!  The fishing wasn't that great but I did manage to catch a few including a beautiful orange fish (don't know the name of it) but I did go in for a kiss but noticed the TEETH at the last minute so I didn't quite make contact.  We were at the very front of the boat on a little platform away from the crowds at the side - there were 61 people on our cruise.  We had the best spot on the boat in my opinion.  On our way back to shore we were lucky to spot some dolphins in front of the boat and they quickly started swimming along  beside and just under the front of the boat.  It was thrilling!!!  It just made my whole trip to see them like that.  They swam with us for about 2 minutes but it seemed like forever.

We had amazing weather during our week - record temperatures - almost as hot as in November.  I took them to all my favourite restaurants and tiki bars and they just loved the Drunkin' Clam!!  We did miss the Bloody Mary Bar on Sunday at the Clam because we went fishing, but we did manage a dinner on our last nite for their delicious wings.

We enjoyed the amazing sunsets each evening with our glasses of wine or bottles of beer.  I never get tired of this view.

Until November...

HARD WORK ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

Today was the day we tackled the roof.  The snow from the top roof fell onto the lower roof and created a real mess and then with the snow and ice we got the other day, it was basically ice.  We got our shovels and climbed out on the roof and started chipping and shovelling.  I like to keep a little mound of snow between me and the edge and just push out from there but today we got some rope and tied Rejean off on the railings so he could reach a little closer to the edge.  I stood on top of the snow and chipped and he shovelled.  It was slow going but we got a lot done.  Rejean cleaned it up with the tractor when we finished.  Because of the pitch on the lower roof, there is really no danger of the ice and snow falling off and hurting someone but if it fell from the higher roof onto the lower one and then the force caused pieces to land on the ground, well it wouldn't be pretty.  We will finish it tomorrow.

WASN'T THAT A PARTY

What a way to bring in the New Year.  A bon fire, a party garage, plenty of delicious food and drink, fireworks and karaoke and girls with sparkles plus a couple of labs walking around and voila!!!  A great New Year's Eve party on Axe Lake.
It was a bit tricky getting into the lake with all the snow and ice we have had lately.  The road was in pretty good condition but the day before, a few people were stuck.  It was the branches hanging down over the road in that were the issue.  Poor Ron's truck was getting a good scraping on the roof.  I was a passenger which made me not the designated driver so I could indulge in more than one small drink.  I actually had a couple of cocktails and a beer at the party plus a couple of shots of Fireball - my favourite!!  Nice to not have to worry about the drive home.  Davey always brings ribs from Windsor on New Years and cooks them outside over a nice hot fire.  They were delicious.  there was chicken fried rice, ribs and sausages, lasagna, chili and meatballs.  Plenty of salads and of course my devised eggs which went very fast.   added bacon bits to one tray and they were a hit.  Poor Nat never got any.  She hasn't had one of my eggs in years so I will make her a personal plate next time there is a party.  The deserts were pretty good too.  There were fireworks later in the evening over the lake and then time for karaoke!!  Joy did an amazing rendition of Tina Turner's Private Dancer.  I really enjoyed that.  I never got the memo that a lot of the girls dressed up in sparkles and high heels.  I was in my usual jeans and a turtleneck.  Brent in his sequined silver tie got the dancing going.  It was a wild evening for sure.

ps - we left at about 10:30 and I was home in bed by 11pm.  But I did wake up and glance at the clock at 12:07 and wished myself Happy New Year!!