Thinking of sunny days...on New Years Eve

An abstract painting of a day at the beach.

It once again is feeling like winter outside. Really Cold! We have had some really nice and warm days this December....at least warm for this time of year. I thought I would share some warm wishes and thoughts with you all.....Have a Happy New Year.....George

A holiday star made from antique buttons.

Christmas Concert

This was the young ones singing one of two songs. Grace is barely visible, back row middle.

Our oldest grandchild participated in her first Christmas Concert this past week. I think she spent most of the first song trying to find us in the crowd. Boy does this bring back memories to when our own children participated in these great traditions....George

Grace found us as she points our way.

Pasadena, California

Having been to California a few times now, from time to time I look up locations throughout the state I would like to visit. One such is Pasadena which many of you relate to as the City of Roses with the upcoming parade. Here are some interesting things I found out about this city.

A city of 139,700 is known for its birds, a large wild parrot's population which is traced back to a 60's pet store fire. A year round happy hour is found city-wide with more than 35 bars participating. You might have heard of the Rose Bowl Flea Market but the city is home to two great markets. The other is held the first Sunday of the month, called the Pasadena City College flea market and is known as a pickers dream.....see you there....George

VIA Rail to Toronto

The menu. We had the Boston bluefish.

Yesterday I celebrated my 60th birthday with a trip to Toronto with Susanne. As I have a long service pass for VIA Rail it was on them. The main reason we go to down town Toronto these days is to visit the St. Lawrence Market not far from Union Station. We also love to have lunch at one of the many booths. This trip it was fish and lots of it. It is hard to believe in downtown Toronto one can get a great fish meal that one can not eat all of for $10. Well at the market one can.

We spent part of the afternoon walking Yonge St. and can back through the Eatons Center (not sure if it is still call that since Eatons is now gone) and the underground walkway to Union Station

On another note Susanne sure seemed to be on a shopping spree in Toronto...hey I thought it was my birthday?  With the 60th mark one gets their Canada Pension early and yesterday Susanne was sure working hard at making sure it goes to good use....George

My order had 4 pieces of fish, onion rings and a good helping of home made coleslaw hidden underneath.

Buster's fish at St. Lawrence Market. Great place to get a fish dinner.

For some reason Susanne felt like she should spend my first Canada Pension check in Toronto.

Last Weeks Wind Storm

Although the wind has settled down the water it still high. Note a portion of the pier has washed away and the fence is gone. It must have been quite a storm.

Last Tuesday Susanne and I were up in Goderich visiting with our friends Brad and Jill. On the way up we stopped by to check on the boat cover as there was quite a blow a couple of days earlier. All was OK. We also took a ride down to the lakefront basin. I noted as we drove over to the pier the water was way up in the basin....about a foot below the all time high mark. We got a surprise when we got out at the pier. A lot of the gravel walkway was gone which leads to the pier. The fence that keep people off it had also been washed away. The beach is all underwater with a good portion of the berm and dunes gone. It will be interesting to see what the spring brings. I talked to the crew still working raising docks once again this fall. On our way home we stopped in at Grand Bend and noted the north pier light had been changed out....George

As one can see the beach is well underwater with a lot of the bank gone.

Vermont Cheese

I took this photo to record the cheese we purchased in Vermont this fall. Good to have a reference post of what we liked to look back at when up that way again. Blogs posts can be good to refer back to.

I took this photo of all the Vermont cheese and butter we brought home during mid October. Well we have been really busy eating our way through it all and I think we need to take another trip pretty soon...George