Florida Adventure

Hi To All !

About 2 wks ago, Phyl, her Mom, Ella, and I flew down to Orlando to arrange to move Ella's sister, Florence, back to Canada. She was born in Saskatchewan back in 1916, but has lived in the US for over 60 yrs. She's been living in an old trailer in a mobile home park in Orlando for the past 30 odd yrs. The park has been sold, and she received an eviction notice last yr to be out by the end on March, 2007. As well as being turfed out, she's in need of a little help in living as she is 90 yrs old. As well, her old trailer is literaly falling apart. She never married, and has no relatives living in the USA, so Ella decided to have her come back to Saskatoon.

We spent about a week just going thru all her stuff, sorting, discarding, and packing up the important stuff. As well, Ella and I spent a lot of time sorting out the old gal's financial stuff. She has a few bucks invested all over the place - well diversified. But what a nightmare to sort thru 30 plus yrs of paper. She never threw anything out. We must have shredded about 500 lbs of old documents.

So, after 10 days in hot, humid Florida, we tried to get her on a flight back to Canada. She is still a Canadian citizen, but does not have either a US or Canadian passport. We thought she could fly back into Canada without a passport, but that's no longer the case. So she and I flew to Minot in North Dakota, and some of her Saskatchewan relatives came down to pick us up. You can still get into Canada by land without a passport. So we spent a night at Minot, and then a night at her cousin's home in Antler, Saskatchewan. It's a very small, almost abandoned town in the south east corner of Saskatchewan. Very nice folks there, with a huge, beautiful home. They have oil wells on their property ! The next day they drove us up to Saskatoon. We travelled in a very large Ford 4 wheel drive truck, which was a good thing as we had to go thru a bit of a blizzard. So, I got to visit Antler where Phyl's Mom Ella was also born.

Phyllis and her Mom were able to get back by air. We now have Florence situated in an assisted living facility here in town. She has a very nice suite, and they provide her meals in a very nice dining room. But, it's been quite a shock for her to come from Florida to Saskatchewan at this time of year. She really wasn't happy about leaving Florida, but she does need some help from time to time. Hopefully she will adapt to living in our climate once again.

Phyl and I are doing fine, and are looking forward to getting away to the cabin for a few days at Easter. I'm off to Portage next week to install a countertop for a friend there. I'll probably try to get into Wpg for a quick visit with Aunty Merle and Betty.

That's it from Saskabush for now. How about a few more blogs from all the kids????

February 5, 2007

Hi To All !

Phyl and I had a grand time doing the play for her church's annual dinner theatre. The play we put on was called "Aunt Abby Answers An Ad". It's about an old maid aunt who answers an add in a Lonely Hearts column of a "Love" secrets magazine in the 1930's. Phyl directed, and I acted as the producer ( read gofer for Phyl) and also had the role as the old dude that answers her ad. The play was originally set in the USA, but we changed the location - my character, one Horace Harkwell, was now from Plum Coolee, Manitoba. We put on 5 performances, and it was a resounding success, inspite of the fact that we had to replace the lead actress. the Aunt Abby role, at the last minute. The gal that we got to fill in did a sensational job, and baled our butts out !. We were sold out every night except for the first performance. We had an excellent cast, one of whom is a recent immigrant from Jordan.

Our next little adventure is to go down to Orlando and bring back Phyl's 90 yr old aunt Florence. She is a Canadian citizen who has been living the past 60 odd yrs in the US. She's Phyl's Mom's only living sibling, and was never married. Talk about an old maid aunt ! She is a great gal, in good physical health, but starting to lose it a bit between the ears. The trailer court she's been living in for the last 25 yrs has been sold, and she has to vacate sometime soon. We've arranged a suite for her at a local assisted living complex, and we will be moving her up, lock stock and barrel later this month. Phyl, her Mom, and I are flying down, but I'll be driving her old car back to Saskatoon. She has an early 80's K car, with less than 40K miles on it. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to make it back in about 5 or 6 days. Wish me luck !!

The basement family room is just about finished - just a few trim boards to put up. I'll do the washroom a little later - sometime in the late spring. I've been trying to do most of the stuff in the garage, and then bring it in - but it's been so darn cold, I can't work too long in the garage. It's attached to the house, but not heated.

Our cat, Melissa, was showing the signs of diabetes, and when I read the ingredients of her favourite dry cat food, I realized the problem - mostly grains - and almost no meat or meat products. The poor critter was being carbed to death. We changed her diet to canned wet food based on real meat, and her symptoms seemed to have gone away. We followed up with a trip to the vet, and she got a clean bill of health. The vet says that most folks are killing their pets with this dry shit. Dogs and cats are carnivores they need meat ! She said that we probably saved the cat's life by switching when we did. I should have thought of it sooner as I had no idea that nearly all dry stuff is 95% grains. Pet diabetes is the leading cause of illness in pets, and is primarily caused by the dry shit. So, if any of you are feeding your dog or cat the dry stuff - take a look at the ingredients. In nearly all dry stuff there is little or no meat or meat products. And, if your vet says that that's OK - JUST THINK about it ! They are CARNIVORES !! Unless your pet is a rat or a rabbit.

Well, that's my thoughts for now. It's still cold and snowy in Saskatoon, and we've had a couple of very blizzard like days this past few weeks. I never seem to get all the shovelling done before there is more coming down. And the wind ! Cold, and blows all the snow back from where I cleaned it up !

I hope all is well with everyone ! More blogs from the west coast would be appreciated. I hope you all had a great holiday season.

February 5, 2007

Hi To All !

Phyl and I had a grand time doing the play for her church's annual dinner theatre. The play we put on was called "Aunt Abby Answers An Ad". It's about an old maid aunt who answers an add in a Lonely Hearts column of a "Love" secrets magazine in the 1930's. Phyl directed, and I acted as the producer ( read gofer for Phyl) and also had the role as the old dude that answers her ad. The play was originally set in the USA, but we changed the location - my character, one Horace Harkwell, was now from Plum Coolee, Manitoba. We put on 5 performances, and it was a resounding success, inspite of the fact that we had to replace the lead actress. the Aunt Abby role, at the last minute. The gal that we got to fill in did a sensational job, and baled our butts out !. We were sold out every night except for the first performance. We had an excellent cast, one of whom is a recent immigrant from Jordan.

Our next little adventure is to go down to Orlando and bring back Phyl's 90 yr old aunt Florence. She is a Canadian citizen who has been living the past 60 odd yrs in the US. She's Phyl's Mom's only living sibling, and was never married. Talk about an old maid aunt ! She is a great gal, in good physical health, but starting to lose it a bit between the ears. The trailer court she's been living in for the last 25 yrs has been sold, and she has to vacate sometime soon. We've arranged a suite for her at a local assisted living complex, and we will be moving her up, lock stock and barrel later this month. Phyl, her Mom, and I are flying down, but I'll be driving her old car back to Saskatoon. She has an early 80's K car, with less than 40K miles on it. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to make it back in about 5 or 6 days. Wish me luck !!

The basement family room is just about finished - just a few trim boards to put up. I'll do the washroom a little later - sometime in the late spring. I've been trying to do most of the stuff in the garage, and then bring it in - but it's been so darn cold, I can't work too long in the garage. It's attached to the house, but not heated.

Our cat, Melissa, was showing the signs of diabetes, and when I read the ingredients of her favourite dry cat food, I realized the problem - mostly grains - and almost no meat or meat products. The poor critter was being carbed to death. We changed her diet to canned wet food based on real meat, and her symptoms seemed to have gone away. We followed up with a trip to the vet, and she got a clean bill of health. The vet says that most folks are killing their pets with this dry shit. Dogs and cats are carnivores they need meat ! She said that we probably saved the cat's life by switching when we did. I should have thought of it sooner as I had no idea that nearly all dry stuff is 95% grains. Pet diabetes is the leading cause of illness in pets, and is primarily caused by the dry shit. So, if any of you are feeding your dog or cat the dry stuff - take a look at the ingredients. In nearly all dry stuff there is little or no meat or meat products. And, if your vet says that that's OK - JUST THINK about it ! They are CARNIVORES !! Unless your pet is a rat or a rabbit.

Well, that's my thoughts for now. It's still cold and snowy in Saskatoon, and we've had a couple of very blizzard like days this past few weeks. I never seem to get all the shovelling done before there is more coming down. And the wind ! Cold, and blows all the snow back from where I cleaned it up !

I hope all is well with everyone ! More blogs from the west coast would be appreciated. I hope you all had a great holiday season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !

Hi to all!

Phyl and I hope you all had a fun Xmas, and are looking forward to a great 2007.

Phyl had a few days off over the Xmas week, so we headed up to the cabin on the 24th, after having our Xmas turkey on the 23rd with her Mom, Ella. We got to the cabin early in the evening, and spent the next couple of hours warming the place up. It was much cooler in the cabin than outside as it had been much colder there earlier in the week. But we managed to get the place nice and toasty before too long. We had no trouble getting into the lot as the road had been plowed, and the 4 wheel drive on the Sorento works just fine.

Xmas day was cloudy, but reasonable mild. Phyl went into her usual cleaning mode, so I took my quad out for a spin. Saw a few critters, but not the numbers that I saw on the last day of the deer season. Later in the day we went out for a spin, and I got my machine stuck in some deep snow. As Phyl did not want to ride Willy's quad, due to a wobbly front wheel ( bent rim) we were on one machine. We got stuck about 5 miles from the cabin. Sounds like fun, doesn't it ! We walked anout a mile and a half back before a couple of gents on snowmobiles came along. We hitched a ride with them back to the cabin to fetch the other quad. Back we went, pulled my machine out with the winch, and then headed back. So much for a leisurely cruise arounf Parr Hill Lake ! But we were back by about 6:30 , just in time to make our Xmas dinner. Phyl's Mom had provided us with a care package of turkey and stuff, so we had another gourmet meal at the shack. We actually eat very well at the cabin.

The next day we headed to Winnipeg leaving the cabin at about 2 in the afternoon. The weather was fabulous, mild and very sunny, so we had a great trip thru Russell, Roblin, etc. Got into Wpg at about 9 PM . Later that evening, Phyl got a craving for something sweet, so I had to head out to the nearest Seven/Eleven for snacks! Mind you, she did share them with me!

The next day we visited Betty and Aunty Merle, and spent a good deal of the day with them. This was after we took a walk around St Vital, and even wandered down Imperial Ave. Number 50 is a mess ! Oh well, at least it was in good shape when we lived there !

There were lots of relatives at Betty's - Gordon and Sharon were in from TO, along with their kids. Janet and George were in from Calgary with their kids, and grand kids. We got to see Aunty Merle's 7th GG grand child, Lachlan, 14 day old son of Gordon's oldest son, David, and his wife Michelle. Cute kid for a 14 day old ! They all look the same to me at that age ! Janet's oldest daughter, Jennifer, had her 2 kids with them. Aiden is 4, and Mackenzie is 2 - the terrible twos !! If anyone wants pictures, let me know and I'll send them via e-mail. I took quite a few, and some of them even turned out not too bad.

The next day we went to the Forks for the afternoon, and wandered a bit up Main st , and back down Henderson Hwy. Lots has changed since I left Wpg ! Have you seen that goofy Salsbury House beside the new Provencher bridge ??? Later in the afternoon we spent a couple more hours with Aunty Merle and Betty. They both were a little tired, but otherwise OK. Aunty Merle is remarkable for someone almost 98 yrs of age. She can still get around a bit, and certainly has not lost her marbles. That evening Phyl and I went to a dinner theatre over at the Canad Inn in Fort Garry. One of the Celebration Group's performances. The entertainment was great, but the meal left a bit to be desired. But, all in all, it was an enjoyable evening.

The next morning we visited some old friend's of Phyl who live in St James area. Had a lovely breakfast with them. Then we headed to Portage, where Phyl's Mom and Dad had lived for many years. They built a very nice and large home themselves when her Dad was in his early 60's. We then had a cup of tea with a friend of mine who's a vice principal at the Portage Hi school. The on to Saskatchewan, where we spent the night at the motel in Grenfell, Phyl's old home town. Not much going on in that town, but we did manage a late coffee at the ESSO, and then off to bed in the dilapidated, old motel. It is run down, but clean and warm, so no big deal. It's been a while since either of us had spent a night in a "1 star "! Next morning, we had breakfast at the main restaurant in "down town" Grenfell. Phyl recognized a lot of the patrons, evidently the same groups coffee at the same time each morning as when Phyl lived there.

Then back home to Saskatoon. While we were away, Phyl's Mom had stayed at our place, primarily to look after our cat, Melissa. Ellas had dinner waiting for us, which was really nice.

So, all in all, we had a very pleasant Xmas break. Phyl still had time off from work as she didn't have to be back until the 2nd of January. It was a nice break for her. We didn't do much for New Years, which was OK with both of us. Maybe next year we will head back to Waskesiu for New Years. We had a great time there last year.

Phyl is directing her church's annual dinner theatre production, so we are now very busy with rehearsals and the like. First performance is on the 31st of Jan, so time's a flying by ! I'm nominally the producer, and I have a small part in the play. I'll go into more detail after we wrap up on Feb 3rd.

That's it from Saskatoon for now. Stay well, be safe !

Phyl and Lew

December in Saskatoon

Hi to All !

It would seem that this year all the bad weather is not settled in on Saskatoon . Although we have had record snowfall, and cold, BC seems to have gotten the lousier weather. Nice to see the suffering being more widely distributed. Now if they only got a hurricane in Quebec ! And an earthquake in T.O. !

Phyl and I celebrated our 1 yr anniversary on Oct 22nd, and we will celebrate our one year of co-habitation in early January. I've finally given up my apartment - it was just an expensive place to store all my junk this past year. We've just about finished the renovations in her basement, and have created a reasonably nice family room in that area. I still have to finish the bathroom, but that can wait til the new year.

We are going to have Xmas dinner a few days early at her Mom's place, and then head to the cabin on the 24th for a couple of days. Then off to Wpg to visit my Aunt Merle and all the cousins. Evidently nearly all of her descendants will be coming to Wpg this Xmas.

Hunting was not too successful this year. We did not get any moose or elk, just deer. There were lots of moose and elk around, but they did their vanishing act, as usual, during the time that it was legal to hunt them. On one afternoon of the last week of deer season, I saw 9 moose, 5 of which were small bulls - just prime moose for eating ! But the season was not open for moose, so I just had to wave at them. And the buggers waved back ! Should have had my camera with me !!

I've been playing bridge about 2 times a week lately. I seem to have stalled at a certain plateau , so I need to find some new partners to elevate my game.

Phyl is directing the annual dinner theatre production at her church. It's a farce about an old maid that answers an ad in the lonely hearts colunm. I've been assigned the part of the respondent to that response. And the part requires me to have a long, white beard. So I have not trimmed my beard for the last 6 weeks. Getting to look a bit shaggy ! The play goes on for 5 performances in early February. Fortunately my part is a relatively small one, and I just have to be in the last act. I'm nominally the producer as well, so I have some other things to do for the play in addition to my small role.

That's about it for now. YOu all ahve a Merry Xmas, and a great New Year. Have fun, but be SAFE !

Lew

Sept Maritimes Trip

Hi to All !

Phyl and I had a great trip down East. We flew to Montreal on Sept 8th, and spent a couple of days there with her daughter, Leslie, and boyfriend Trevor, before heading east to Quebec City. Spent a couple of days wandering around the old town. Weather was great. Did the Mount Morency Falls thing, and then headed out on the South Shore. Stopped for the night in Fredricton, NB at a nice B & B. Wandered around that town for a day, then headed down to Moncton for a day. Then up to Antigonish. Stayed at the best B & B of the trip just outside of that town. Then on to PEI over the Confed Bridge. Not too much to see on the bridge except water. Again we had fab weather. Spent a couple of days on PEI wandering around, doing some beach combing. More warm, sunny weather. Visited some of her friends that have a summer home on PEI. Next day took the ferry to Pictou area, then across the Canso to Cape Breton. Did the Cabot trail thing, staying at B & B 's . We got a bit of fog and rain on Cape Breton, but only at night. Got to Baddeck, visited the Bell museum, then down into Nova Scotia. Travelled along the west shore of the Bay of Fundy to Cape DÓre. More beach combing, looking for beach agates. Found some, but not the highest quality. We did not find out about the best locations til it was too late. Then back around and over to Halifax area and Peggy's Cove. Again, hot, sunny weather - was 82 F at Peggy's Cove. Then back to Digby area, the onto the ferry to St Johns, NB . Next day thru Maine and back to Montreal on the 23rd., then back to Saskatoon on the 24th.

We rented a car in Montreal, and put on over 6000 KM on this trip. In retrospect, we tried to cover too much ground, and spent too much time driving. Next time we will fly direct to Halifax, and do just Nova Scotia and PEI in about a 10 day trip.

I took over 900 photos, and we put them on disc at her daughter's place. But there appears to be a problem with the discs as I can only access about 232 of these photos. They still have them in their hard drive, so they are going to make new discs and send to us. We will then edit, and send out some of the good photos to all the relatives.

Bill and I had no luck in the annual Elk hunt. It would seem that they all move out of our territory just before the season opens. They were there in the summer, but where are they now - we could not find them, or much in the way of tracks. Moose hunting starts in a couple of weeks, so we might have better luck. I sold my 1999 Quad to my friend Arden, and bought a slightly used 2005 model. Got a great deal on it on a private sale. It is very similar to the old quad, except it has a 700 cc engine instead of 500 cc, and has electronic fuel injection instead of a regular carb. Much easier to start in cold weather. And it goes like stink !!

Phyl and I seem to have hit it off very well, I'm giving up my apt at the end of Dec. I've been living at her place since last January, so no point having the apt as well. Just an expensive place to store all my junk. So, today I'm starting to get rid of lots of un-essential stuff... I'll have to sort out my e-mail connection as we will be moving my computer and stuff over very soon.
So, you might be getting e-mails from her address for a bit. And, I will start using G-Mail more often.

That's it for now. I hope all is well with everyone.

Love, Lew & Phyl

I Blog Again !

Hi to All!

I would have blogged a couple of weeks ago, but I was having a little trouble with my computer. I could not access the net thru any of the browsers. With a bit of help from Gary, I've been able to rid my machine of whatever was causing the problem.

Phyl and I are still growing strong. Looks like the real thing. I've basically moved in with her ( well, I've been there since early January) , and we seem to be able to stand each other.

I had my hernia surgery on July 24th. It was day surgery, but my recovery has not been as swift as we had hoped. I had a lot of swelling and pain, and had to go back into hospital for another day to get checked out. They did some tests, and it seems that all is well. I still have some discomfort at night, and certain parts of my anatomy remain more swollen than they should be. But it's now getting better.

Phyl and I just got back from a long weekend at a B & B run by some of her old friends in the Qu'Applelle valley near to hear old home town of Grenfell, Sask. Beautiful valley with a series of lovely small lakes. The B & B is right on Crooked Lake, and the amenities were fabulous. I'll be e-mailing some photos to Gary in the near future. We had a great time. Too bad Phyl had to be back to work today.

As mentioned in my last blog, I bought a new Sorento SUV in April. Great car, but closer to a truck than a car. Ride is a little stiff, but not too uncomfortable. We put on about 1200 Km this last weekend, and we both survived. I'm fixing up the old Merc, and will be putting it on the market in a week or so.

The work on Phyl's basement is on hold right now until I'm recoved enough to finish the work in the family room. She has a water problem in the basement, and we put in a third sump pump to try to solve this problem. I also roughed in a 2 pc bathroom in the family room area when I had the floor open to put in the sump. She is very handy, and was able to be a big help when cutting the concrete, and excavating the sump pit. I'm hoping to be able to finsh the floor in that room before we head down east in September.

We are heading east on Sept 8th, and back on the 24th. We fly to Montreal, spend a couple of days with her daughter, Leslie, and then we rent a car and off to Quebec City for a day or two, and then on to the Maritimes. Then back to Montreal for another day on the 23rd, then flying back to town on the 24th. Should be a fun trip. She has never been east of Montreal, and I've never been further east than the western part of New Brunswick. We've booked a couple of nights in Quebec City, and a few B & B's along they way in the Maritimes.

And then, when we get back, it will be time to go hunting again. Phyl loves Elk meat, but not deer. So I have to get an Elk this fall !

Our garden has produced lots of peas and beans, and we will have tons of tomatoes. The sweet bell peppers are not doing to well, but the hot ones are flourishing. I'll be making some spicy salsa in a couple of weeks. The cuks and zuccini are not doing the best, but we are hopeful for a decent crop in the later part of this month. Our spuds have done well, and are very tasty. Phyl's 80 yr old Mom, Ella, will be looking after the garden and the cat when we are away. She is still quite active, and loves to get into the garden.

I'm flying to Wpg Wed AM early to pick up a new car that Ella just bought. Couldn't get the color she wanted in Saskatoon, so Phyl found her one in Wpg. I'll be dropping in to see Aunty Merle and Betty at that time. I'll probably spend a day or so in Wpg, then on to Portage to visit an old friend, then back home on Friday or Saturday.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to blog a bit more often. I hope all is well with everybody!

Bye for now,

Just an Update

Hi to All,

Just a short update. Phyl and I are getting along well, and I'm spending almost all of my time at her place. Still playing lots of bridge, and have been to the cabin ( with Phyl) a couple of times this spring. We had a great time there at Easter. Phyl like quads better than snowmobiles !

I bought a new SUV in April, a 2006 Kia Sorrento 4 WD. Bill has a 2004 model, and I liked it, so I bought one for myself. Still have the 98 Grand Marquis, and I'll try to sell it this summer. Only 123,000 km on it, so if any family member is interested I'll make the price cheap. Great car, but I need a 4 wd to get to the cabin and to tow my toy trailer. The Merc is a great highway cruiser, but only gets 25 mpg on that highway.

I'll try to post some photos, but if I can't, I'll send some to Gary for him to post.

The stock market has been kind to me so far this year. I'm up over 50 grand for the first 3 months of the year. The trick now will be to hold onto or increase those gains. I expect some serious volitility in the market this year.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to blog a little more often this year.

Have a good one!