THE ICING ON THE CAKE

All tuckered out from all the excitement.

Cloe looking for a handout from me - it worked - she got a cheesy

Picture perfect!!

A victory cheer!!!! And we sang a round of Oh Canada for good measure.

Roger and Linda doing shots - but they did maintain

The calm before the game - Bob and Linda

It was a nail biter down to the very last second - and when the US scored at 24 seconds left - ugh. Bummer or what. I called it - 2/2 with a shoot out but I was wrong - they got it in the overtime - thank goodness. We gathered at Bob's for the game - Linda, John, Robin, Randy, Roger, Skip, Derek, Rejean and myself plus the 2 dogs Sandy and Cloe. Roger brought some tequila and we almost had to make room on the pool table for Linda - but it didn't happen. It was great when they finally scored - thank you Sydney Crosby.

WAY TO GO BOYS!!!

See Ya Bye

YOU CAN DO IT BOYS

It's finally here - the game everyone has been waiting for. The ladies already have their gold around their necks - now it is the guy's turn. We are fortunate enough to be able to watch the game with some real die-hard hockey fans. John for one. He is a hockey fanatic - one who paces when the game is on. You know the kind. I get very anxious watching something like that. I watched the curling finale last nite and that even got me going. Kevin Martin and Morris are a great pairing. I was on my feet, clapping and cheering in my own living room!! At least today's event will be enjoyed in a party garage. Complete with the big screen and pool table - Linda will be staying away from the pool table today.

GO CANADA!!!!!

See Ya Bye

OLYMPIC FEVER

I have been glued to the tv for the past 2 weeks - I wake up in the morning and turn on the Olympics with the Canada AM hosts to see what I missed from the day before. I saw our first gold medal on Canadian soil and it feels like I have seen every other gold medal also won. I have watched the Canadian men and women hockey games, I have even watched curling (it is a great game to watch - those are skilled athletes!!) I have watched the bobsleigh - 2 and 4 man - I have watched a bit of the ice skaters (not really my cup of tea) but I saw our ice dancers win gold. I cried when our lady's ice skater lost her mother a couple of days before she skated and I teared up when she won bronze. I laughed when Jon Montgomery chugged that pitcher of beer walking thru Whistler. I could care less about Lindsay Vohn, the US skier who is nothing but a spoiled baby. I looked on as Charles, the speed skater kissed his girlfriend - and patted her bum a few times - after he won gold.

All in all it has been a fabulous Olympics and I will be sorry to see them go. But one last nail biter - the men's hockey game tomorrow against the US. The ladies already have theirs and I might add I was none too proud of them watching the ladies win with their sullen looks, afraid to show any emotion? See how it is done, boys? GO CANADA!!!

See Ya Bye

ps - might I add my two cents to the big bruhaha about the women's hockey team's celebration on the ice with their beer and wine and cigars - that is the way we Canadians celebrate so leave them alone. They were just jealous.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY....

Tomorrow seems to be the day to play around here. The guys are going to another hockey game in the Sault so the girls (Linda and I and maybe Robin)will hit the road for the monthly fish fry at the Thessalon Legion. We worked 1/2 day today because John had to play hockey in Thessalon and Rejean has a cold - thanks to Randy and John - Linda has it also so I will stay far away from her. Tomorrow we get hair cuts and I get to fill the wood boxes again. But no work in the bush.
The piles of wood just keep getting bigger and bigger. The guys cut down, trimmed and cut into logs a tree in 10 minutes today. And it was a good size one. I just kept feeding the fire. That's work as well - you have to haul the branches and fling them into the fire. And the trees they take down all seem to be in the general vicinity of the fire thank goodness. But come Saturday we will be back at it again. I'll bring some hot dogs, buns, mustard and our hotdog cooking sticks.
But tonite I will be glued to the tube watching our ladies win a gold medal against the US team. GO CANADA!!!!
See Ya Bye

A VIEW OF THE ROOM - SO FAR

The door on the left is to the pantry, the middle one is the closet and the other one leads to the utility room. The bar will be on the right hand side of this picture where the bar chair is.

The door to the spare bedroom. Under the cork board is the drawers for the wood and kindling. The doors turned out better than I thought they would. And everyone uses the coat hooks. I thought 6 was too many but last nite 4 people hung up their coats there. And the cameras have a designated hook as well. It's getting there.

See Ya Bye

THEY CAME, THEY ATE, THEY LEFT

Well it wasn't quite that fast. We all enjoyed ourselves. The food was good. It was one of my No Stress meals. I have a few dishes that I can make that are very easy and always turn out good. this was one of them. Salad - no problem. The chicken was done up ahead of time so all I had to do was throw it in the oven and the penne - easy peasy. Linda brought the desert. A delicious chocolate loaf from Valu Mart and berries from this past summer - blue berries and raspberries. yum Yum. We started out with Cesars and later switched to either wine or beer - beer for me. We all had a good time and everyone was gone by 8:30pm - perfect for watching more Olympics. Actually I saw a gold medal performance while I was cooking my penne.

Now if the Canadians can win against the Russians tonite....I will be glued to the screen for that one - GO CANADA!!!

See Ya Bye

I AM READY!!!!

A dinner party of sorts is taking place this afternoon and early evening. Ron, Mary, Linda and Daniel are coming over for dinner. Finally. The last time we tried to get all 4 of them over Linda and Daniel left for home so we were lucky to get them tonite. I prepared my famous Chicken Parmesan, garlic bread and garlic shrimp. I have all the fixin's for Caesars that I know we all like so bring them on. The salad is cooling, the ice cubes are made, my table is set and all the glasses are clean downstairs. They get dusty because of the wood stove. I like getting everything ready in advance because then you can relax and enjoy yourself. I hear a Cesar calling my name as I type. They will bring the desert so I have no idea what that will be but I am prepared with desert plates at my ready.
My camera is ready to record this entertaining event. Let's get this party started....
See Ya Bye

I EVEN WORKED ON SATURDAY

Yes the slave driver made me go out to work today - I was looking forward to it - I got to burn brush all day - I never even lifted a log. But pulling the branches out to put in the fire was a bit strenuous. They were packed in there pretty good. I had to use the loppers to cut the smaller branches off the bigger branches. But once I got that fire going it was great. It was so nice out there today I was working in just my turtleneck. I took off my coat and my sweater and just had one layer on. It was that nice plus I was working close to a blazing fire. But we put a dent in it. Rejean and I will be working there tomorrow to just burn the rest of the brush. He gave John and Randy the day off ;0) They will be back on Monday and then Tuesday off. Rejean has a meeting and I am having Ron, Mary Linda and Daniel over for dinner so I have to clean my house. Yes there is nothing like company to get me to clean my house especially when we have been so busy. With the wood stoves, it gets dusty.

The top picture is on the way in to the work site. Water must come down over the rocks and freeze in those formations. The picture does not do it justice. There are about 3 more of them on different rocks and even out on the highway. There's lots on the way to Thessalon. Just something else to look at on the highway on my roadtrips.

Well more Olympics are on so I must go.

See Ya Bye

See Ya Bye

MY WORK PLACE

I took my camera with me today over to the work site. We took down some big ones today. I started out my day by using Randy's metal detector to try and find Rejean's keys that he "misplaced" in the snow somewhere. But the metal detector is picking up the metal in the rocks so every time the thing goes off, it is rock. I still have to use my axe to chop thru the snow to see if it is the keys. It was hard on my back so I went back to lifting those heavy logs (does that make sense to you?) But some where so big that we just left them where they fell - we cut them up tho. I was in charge of the branches and I got a fire started this afternoon to start burning some. It also gave me a chance to play with a fire. I like playing with fire. I am usually the one tending a camp fire or burning my burnables.It also satisfies my pyromania tendencies. I use an old golf club with the head cut off and a small tip on the end. It works great and it is also good for a flipping stick on the trails in the spring and summer and fall. It just flips all the little branches that fall along your trail. You don't have to bend over and pick them up - you just use your flipping stick to fling them off to the side. Neat. I got a bit of brush burned today. More tomorrow. After I go to the dump - I missed last Saturday because we went fishing.

Bob and Ron dropped - Ron stayed to cut a few trees down for us. these guys are good - they can drop a tree exactly where they want it to. I can "read" most of them but some fool you. Everyone has to be aware of the trees. When someone is cutting one down, we all stop and watch just in case you have to make a run for it. And you have to have a clear path to run. All part of working in the bush.

See Ya Bye

HI JIMMY

I came across the picture below in travels thru my archives. You boys look like you've had a good time doing whatever you did up here. I figure fishing.

Good memories.

ps - nice sox

LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE - HI JIMMY!!!!

A GOOD HARD DAY

We were in the bush today, cutting our firewood. John and Randy came to help. We had 3 chainsaws going, I was hauling the branches to a pile and the guys were cutting the logs to size or trimming the branches. I kept reminding them to cut the smaller trees because I can handle the weight of those logs but when they get the bigger ones, I say I can lift those for 1/2 a day or the smaller ones for all day. But there were ones that had to be taken down to clear the area. We are clearing a small valley for deer hunting. The clearing will attract the deer and we will plant some feed. At least that is the plan. It is hard work - you have to haul larger branches sometimes a bit of a way and then fling them onto the pile. My right arm really got a workout. And then you have to lift the logs to stack them. All this while walking in about 4 inches of nice popcorn snow. I keep thinking this stuff would be great to ski on in the sun. Nice. We stopped working at 2:30 when everything and everyone ran out of gas. But it is a good start. And I don't have to do my exercises tonite - I can just relax and watch "the Games". I love watching the Olympics. Every sport is interesting - even the curling - those guys are good - just like Tiger Woods is good. The shots they make - amazing. And we have some GOLD!!!
GO CANADA
Tomorrow we head to the Sault with John and Linda - we'll also get in a visit with Ute who is recuperating from a hip replacement last week. She is staying in an retirement home before she comes home. It's always fun to go to the big city. I can dress up ;o)
See Ya Bye

SKUNKED AGAIN

Again, I harmed no fish at the derby. Bob and John both caught the only fish of the day. You can see Bob is getting a little intimate with his. I kiss my fish as well - it is for luck. It was a good day on the Lake. There was about 12 of us plus 2 dogs. Bob even drove his truck out onto the lake and then up on the island. He had the tunes going for us. 104.5 Country. Even Linda was out on the ice for half of the afternoon. She kept going back and forth to the house for stuff - even putting Sandy the dog in the basket to get her a blanket because it was a little cold for her (the dog). After the fishing was all done, we headed back to John's garage for some hotdogs, hamburgers, hashbrowns (they were good, if I do say so myself), beans and some great deserts. It was a good day on the ice.

Today, Monday, it was back to business. Rejean put the final stain on the doors and I will finish them up tomorrow. We also got on the snowmachine and scoped out the trees we will be taking down this spring for fire wood. The work never ends up here but I don't mind one bit.

See Ya Bye

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

It is a beautiful day up here - the sun is out, not a cloud in the sky - a rotten day for ice fishing but I'm gonna do it anyway. I am sitting here waiting for my hash browns to finish cooking before I head on over to Axe Lake for the big tourney. John is going to have a fire going and Linda is preparing hotdogs and hamburgers. Perfect eats for this type of function. There is lake trout, bass and smelt that I know of in Axe Lake so, like Forest Gump says, you never know what your going to get. It will be a surprise. I hope I get at least a bite. But it should be a blast.

And beside that, it is Valentine's Day. I have a red sparkly heart I got at the Dollar Store a couple of years ago so I will be displaying that on the snow mobile. Just to set the mood you know.

But today is the day for everyone to appreciate the ones you love. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing that another person in the world loves you, cares about you and makes you feel special. I am fortunate to have people like that in my world. And I treasure them all.

See Ya Bye

WHAT A GREAT DAY FISHING

I got to drive Linda and Daniel's snow machine today. Nice ride. I tipped it on the way out and, it seemed like slow motion, I ended up hugging a tree with my arms while the rest of me was still on the machine. No harm done to me or the machine. It took about a hour to get there. We travelled over the lakes and into the bush on some nice trails. On some lakes there was very little snow so you were on ice. And we saw some real bad pressure cracks. Ron led the way and we were like a convoy with Ron and Linda hauling their sleds behind them carrying all our stuff. When we first got on the lake there were some people already there and as we were going by, a man was pulling up a beauty of a brook trout. A 2 pounder. He already had one on the ice. Later he had 6 beauties on the ice. All about the same size 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. That is his picture after the 6 fish in the snow. You can't see our group but we are on the far shore behind him. He was just relaxing and having a great day fishing. By the way there were 4 of them fishing in that group - the personal limit for brook trout is 5.

We quickly got our holes drilled and started fishing. Ron went over to see what the others were using and came back and reported he now had 6!!! I quickly went over and got some pictures. He was just using a spoon and no minnows. I returned to our spot and resumed fishing. Mary got her venison stew going and we had a good lunch. We also had a fire going on the ice to keep us warm. But it wasn't too cold. Overcast and no wind. Perfect.

We had no luck at all at our spot so when the other people left, we all scooted over to their holes. It was a good move because soon after Ron got a nice 2 pounder. It hit once then came back and hit again and he got it. Then about 5 minutes later Linda got another beauty. But that was all we were to catch today. If you are wondering what Linda is doing laying on the snow, she is looking down the hole. The water was only about 4 feet deep with a very clean gravel bottom so she could see the fish.

We then headed back to Ron and Mary's for a celebratory Caesar. Tomorrow we hit Axe lake for their Fishing Derby. No brook trout in that Lake - Lake Trout. Film at 11.

See Ya Bye

A FISHING WE WILL GO

Tomorrow we will be going ice fishing with the Demer's gang. We are going to a brook trout lake to test our fishing prowess. I love fishing for brook trout, whether in a stream, lake or under the ice. When you go with the Demer's gang, you are assured of a good time. They pack a picnic and tomorrow venison stew is on the menu. I have made carrot muffins and have some venison pepperoni that I have been saving for myself but decided to share on this special occasion - and for those who know my love of venison pepperoni, this is indeed a sacrifice. We are heading out at 9am. There will be Rejean and I, Ron and Mary and Linda and Daniel. And for sure my camera is going along for the ride.

THEN on Sunday there is the big Axe Lake Fishing Derby. Unlike the Cheney lake Fishing Derby, fish will be caught. John has caught some smelt that he is keeping for bait. Linda is preparing hot dogs and hamburgers and I will make my hash browns again - they were pretty good the last time I made them. And they are easy.

It appears that it is a weekend of fun after all the work we have been doing - it is always like that. When you get involved in a project, you just want to finish to see the results. And what results they are. Just one more door to finish and then they are done - and all trimmed up.

Tonite I am watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. But what a terrible tragedy the accident on the Luge course. I couldn't watch the tape of the accident but I heard the sound of the pillar being hit. Horrible. I hope the rest of the games is without another incident.

GO CANADA!!!!

See Ya Bye

PICTURES - AS PROMISED

A little late but as promised a picture of the finished wall and a view of the other wall in progress. We just have to hang the doors which we did this afternoon. The pantry door and the furnace room door. They turned out great!!! Better than I anticipated. Rejean still has to stain the flip side of the bedroom door and now we have to take down the closet door to redo it as it is considerably darker than the rest. Oh well, we have the time to do it. I'll be painting it tomorrow and then Rejean will apply the stain. To match the rest.

Today I was at Joanne's taking a picture of her Smart meter that Hydro One said she didn't have. They now know she has one. That's what it is like up here - you have to have patience for just about everything. Life is at a slower pace up here and people don't seem to mind it. It does take some getting used to.

See Ya Bye

FYI

This is just a door update - since this subject garnered a few comments. We have a stain that I think matches the wood perfectly. Rejean applied it today to the doors and it looks great. I have to wait for them to dry before I apply my varathane to them. We have to do both sides of the bedroom door and only one side each on the pantry and furnace room. The other sides can just remain white as no one will really see them.
There is a Windsor Spitfire hockey game in the Sault Friday and a bunch of guys will be going. John, Randy, Rejean and Bob will be heading down the highway to take it in. A sort of guys nite out. Me? I am staying in to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. Or I might tape it and then skip thru the commercials. Decisions, decisions.
See Ya Bye

SNOW ENVY

Hard to believe but I think Windsor has more snow than here. I was watching the morning news and it looks like you guys are getting hammered. We just got a "skiff" of snow. We could use some. There is only about 1 foot in the bush and it is bare in some spots. The deer are sticking around - no need to go to the Iron Bridge area to escape the deep stuff.
Be careful driving. You aren't used to driving in real snow.
See ya Bye

JUST A WORKING FOOL

I painted the other sides of three doors today. We couldn't decide what color to do the doors downstairs - I didn't want white, and black is too dark. We can't afford to buy solid pine doors and we haven't perfected the stain on the closet door. So they are going to be the reddish stain to match the red in the red pine walls and floor. I can live with that.
I got a visit from Cathy and friend collecting for the Heart and Stroke so we had a visit. Cathy has never been here so she got the tour. She liked it. I also had to dash into town today for some supplies - we were out of salad stuff (and I like my daily salad) and I had to stop at the Home Hardware for some stain. I stopped at the marina as usual and watched the clouds rolling in from the south - I hear you guys in Windsor got some snow today. We MAY get some tonite. We haven't had any snow to speak of this winter. There is some on the ground but it has been there since December - we need some fresh stuff please.
I stopped in to Forestland - a small store in Thessalon - and the woman asked if I was the girl with the blog. Her daughter had called her and told her about it and said I was from Thessalon. She was quite impressed. There are bloggers everywhere.
I realize I haven't posted a picture of the finished wall with the Wall of Shame/Fame frame up. I will get a picture tomorrow and post it for you to see. It tuned out nice. I am happy with it. It really brightens up the room. Even in the winter.
See ya Bye

WHO DAT WON

Great Game. I saw all of it and was quite happy that my team - Who Dat - the Saints - won!! There was a "party" at Bob's. You can see Bob, Linda and Skip enjoying the party garage. We had about 14 of us cheering on either the game or a game of pool. Everyone should have a party garage. By the way, I didn't win the pool.

See Ya Bye

THANKYOU VERY MUCH SCOTIABANK

I am a Scotiabank retiree and Scotiabank offers a donation for volunteering in your neighbour hood. I put in a lot of hours at the Wharncliffe Hall - as my followers know - so I applied for some funds. I had to fill out a couple of forms, send it away and then wait. I must say I had forgotten about it but last Friday in the mail was an envelop from Scotiabank Donation Division. And there it was. A cheque for $1000 made out to the Hall. AND I can re-apply once per calendar year - so I have to wait until 2011. But the Hall can sure use the funds and I thoroughly enjoyed earning every single qualifying hour. I think the minimum was 20 hours a year - well I had about tons more than that. Cheryle was very happy to accept the cheque on behalf of the Wharncliffe Citizen's Committee.

See Ya Bye

ps - this was my 800th posting since my very first blog entry. I hope you continue to enjoy my life as much as I enjoy living it.

WHO DAT

I guess that is a dead giveaway to who I am for at the SuperBowl. Yes I am for the Saints because I like that saying Who Dat. I hear that one of those Manning boys is the quarterback for the other team - he is like a God of some sort for those who follow football. But I don't so I hope that the Saints win - I am in on a football pool and I had to put my name on a board with lots of squares. I just picked my lucky number 3 and there I am. Keith tried to explain how I could win but I was lost at the first sentence. I said just to call me if I win.
We will be viewing the game at Bob's this afternoon. He has a good tv and lots of chairs and a wood stove to keep warm. It is all done in knotty pine and it looks great. I'll take some pics tonite just for you.
I am making a hash brown dish and bringing the hotdogs - I have some Brenner ones from Windsor and they are like gold around here so I am very welcome to come with my dogs. As some of you may remember this was the scene of the crime 2 years ago when I accidentally got intoxicated. Really. I had brought a margarita mix containing tequila and some regular tequila and mix. Someone mixed the mix into the real drink so I was getting 2x the booze without knowing it. Well I had to go home at half time and I never saw one commercial. That will not happen tonite. I am debating whether to drink beer or water. Maybe just 1 0r 2 there but that's it.
Hope you all enjoy the game and may your team win. (go saints)
See Ya Bye

THEY CAME FOR THE PARTY

Birthday Boy Bob

Brrrrrrrrrrr

Rejean's spot

John's shelter from the wind.

My spot

Our portable fire pit

No fish were harmed yesterday. For the third year straight, no one caught any fish. They are there but we can't seem to catch any during the winter. But we had a blast none the less. People started arriving at about 11am. They arrived on their snow machines and quickly got their lines in the water. Skip just used a branch with line and a bell on it. Who needs a rod? We started out at the far end of the lake across from the island. No luck so we moved to in front of the island. Then we made the final move in front of the house. Still no fish. But it was a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the sky - there was a bit of a breeze but it wasn't bad.

I got the food going at about 4:30 - everyone had a good time and left at a reasonable hour.

It was decided that every year on the 3rd of February we would have our fishing derby. Maybe one year someone will catch a fish. Our next adventure will be on a lake where we know we can catch fish.

I want to thank everyone for all the calls and birthday wishes on Facebook. Jim-Bob gave me a call. How nice to think of me with the battles going on in his life. It was a special call. Thank you.

Bob was also celebrating his birthday and I got him a box of bandaids and a first-aid kit for his snowmobile. He knows why. Linda "baked" a cake and I got to blow out all the candles - I hope my wish comes true...

See Ya Bye

3RD ANNUAL CHENEY LAKE FISHING DERBY

We spent the day getting ready for tomorrow for the 3rd annual fishing derby - maybe someone will catch a fish. For the past two years no one has caught anything. We mark plenty of fish but they don't bite. I got my supplies in town for my chili, Coney Island Sauce and cole slaw. I also got a case of beer. We were out on the ice cutting down some cedars for the fire pit. We also drilled some holes and checked for fish. We marked some. I have a hole all staked out for me. It is about 8 feet deep and we marked fish. It is set to go tomorrow from 10am til whenever. It is supposed to be a beautiful day so keep your fingers crossed. It is also Bob's birthday so it will be a party too. I have a bottle of wine for the prize. But if no fish are caught I will have to draw a name out of a hat.
So if you are in the neighbourhood, drop by and try your luck. Should be a good time.
See Ya Bye.