Settling In

Today is our third day in the new digs. We managed to make a "real" dinner tonight, and Phyllis baked cookies this afternoon. Not easy finding the ingredients, bowls, etc., but eventually we'll get used to where things are.

We tranquilized the cat the evening we brought her over, and she has reluctantly come to accept her new home. As long as she has her food bowl and her grooming brush she stays pretty content. Yesterday we brought over her TV--the aquarium with three gold fish.

We were all happy to see our new recliner chair and love seat arrive today. The first two evenings we had to sit on our computer chairs to watch the late news--not a great way to enjoy watching TV.

There are still a few things to sew up over at the house, along with a lot of vacuuming, dusting, cleaning and polishing. The carpets will get cleaned next Friday, and that will be the final act before turning things over to Amy.

Now to settle in, get the income tax forms done, and prepare for our summer adventure.

"And that's the kind of a day it's been...."

Phyllis and Lew

Good Lord, a Whole Year has Passed!

After reading Gary's recent blog, I thought I'd have a look at ours. It's almost a year since we last posted. Lots has happened since then!

Our summer was spent, as usual, doing a lot of gardening. We did manage to hit the golf course a few times, and we were out in the fishing boat once or twice. The main event, though, was the reunion of Phyllis' maternal side of the family. This was basically held in our back yard on the long weekend at the end of July. There were 30 of us, and everyone had a wonderful time. We tried to keep the three days very laid back so that there could be lots of visiting. There were a few assigned 'trips' around our gorgeous city, and we think our cousins now have a much greater appreciation for Saskatoon and the province in which their roots are grounded.

Phyllis' daughter, Lindsay was home from Finland early in July, and it was wonderful to have her and her husband Jukka for a week before they headed to Toronto, Montreal, and back home. Daughter Leslie and her husband Trevor were here for the family reunion. So we had our annual visit with all the kids.

In October we began earnestly shopping for a condo. As much as we love the big yard and all the gardening, Phyl's hands and shoulders have developed enough arthritis to indicate we need to start a more laid back life. As well, we have begun an addiction for travel, and it is so much easier to lock the door on a condo than to organize people to look after a house and all that goes with it.

On November 15 we took possession of our new home. This was a month before we left for our 10-day Caribbean/Panama Canal cruise. We simply took the keys, but left the water turned off and nothing done--with the idea that we would do all that after Christmas and plan a move around February or March.

Our Christmas cruise was lovely. Although our Saskatchewan weather was very nice, it was still great to get some real sun and heat. We spent most of our time on the ship, but stopped in Aruba, Cartegena (Columbia) , Limon (Costa Rica), and Ocho Rios (Jamaica). We didn't get off the ship in the Panama Canal, as we really wanted to experience the traverse of the locks, and the best place to see it was from the bow of the ship. The shore experiences certainly showed us how fortunate we are to live in a country of wealth. Many of our tours took us through the ghetto-like conditions of many of the residential areas in the Caribbean countries.

On our way home, we stopped in Toronto where Phyl's brother Eric picked us up and drove us out to his family cottage on Bass Lake, just out of Orillia. His wife Jane and he were great hosts, and we had a wonderful New Year with them. Leslie and Trevor drove down from Montreal, so it was quite the family gathering. We brought in 2012 by having a wiener roast on the shoreline. some champagne and fireworks!

Arriving home, we found everything was intact. Once again Phyl's Mom had done a fine job of babysitting the cat and fish and keeping the house from being vandalized. We felt a little guilty having left her alone over Christmas, but she spent the day over at Aunt Flo's and had a lovely turkey dinner at the Chateau. She also had lunch with auntie on December 29 to celebrate Flo's 95th birthday!

Since being home, we listed our house and managed to sell it privately within 30 days! Everyone is happy with the possession date being April 1. This has given us time to do some renovations in the condo. Phyllis is never satisfied with how things are, so the laundry room has seen a complete makeover, the kitchen cabinets have gained a whole lot of roll-out shelves, and the den has had some conversions so that it can handle having two computers and all the peripherals.

Meanwhile at the house, we have pulled and scrapped and packed and recycled trying to get things down to a reasonable amount of movables. Each time we go to the condo we take a few more boxes of stuff. The purchase of a couple of lockable metal cabinets has made a home for all the canned veggies and fruit in one, and all the car antifreeze, oil, wax, etc. in the other. Lew has built a large set of shelves for our storage "cage", and already there is a fair amount of stuff packed in there.

The moving truck is coming on the 22nd to take over the bedroom furniture, the living room furniture and some other big stuff. Otherwise we are doing the moving ourselves. With three months to do it, we've found it quite easy to manage it all.

We'll have five weeks in our new home before we leave for our 12 week driving vacation to all of the Eastern provinces. We have two main goals: 1.) The Canadian Choral Convention and the Tulip Festival in Ottawa on the May long weekend 2.) The reunion of our Australia/New Zealand tour group in Little Bay Island, Nfld on the second weekend in June. Otherwise we are simply "wandering" and taking time to see the sights. This is our first holiday that doesn't have a schedule attached, and we are looking forward to that. We'll end up back in Montreal around the first of July, where we'll bunk at Leslie and Trevor's and await the arrival of Lindsay from Finland. Once she has had a good visit with her sister, she'll be our back seat passenger back to Saskatchewan.

A former Saskatoon couple, who now live in Costa Rica will be staying in our condo for May and June, so we have a built in cat and fish-sitting situation.

A few weeks at "home" to unpack and repack, and then we'll be heading West. Lindsay is to be a bridesmaid at a Vancouver wedding, so we will drive out, attend the wedding, and have a few days in Victoria with the Ousey's et al. By August, we'll just be happy to come back to Saskatoon and vegetate.

So, that's our ANNUAL blog--the last one was a QUARTERLY blog. I hope we don't get to the point of letting this slide for a whole decade!

Cheers,

Lew and Phyllis

Wonderful Holiday Came to an End

Hello there,

Five weeks away from Saskatchewan's cold and snow has made us think this should become an annual event! Two days with Carolyn and Gary in Casa Grande before leaving for L.A. and thence to New Zealand were great. Again we went to the "Organ Stop" for pizza and entertainment--something I would recommend to anyone who heads for Phoenix.

We arrived in New Zealand on February 23rd to torrential rain and cyclonic winds. This was the edge of one of many small cyclones in the area. Two days in Auckland proved to be windy, but we did lots of sightseeing and began our diary of video and photos. From Auckland by coach we went to Rotorua, seeing glow worm caves, geysers, mud pools and sheep shearing. After those two days we returned to Auckland, picked up the suitcase that I had lost at the hotel, and continued to the wharf to board our "home" for the next 12 days. This was the lovely Diamond Princess, one of the largest cruise ships owned by Princess Cruises.

The cruise was great fun in spite of very high swells, rain, and rather cool weather. Lew was able to play bridge on "sea days" while I played Trivia, went shopping, and visited with others on the ship. There were about 3000 passengers with which to visit, so I never found myself bored! Unfortunately there were only a couple of days when suntanning was on the agenda, but we certainly partook of the food and the entertainment on board.

Land tours from the ports gave us greater insight into the two islands of New Zealand, the island of Tasmania, and the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. We did indeed visit Christchurch 3 weeks before the earthquake, and we circumvented Cyclone Yasi in Australia. Our tours took us to several different zoos and animal enclosures, as well as farms, Maori camps, historic sites, museums, Aboriginal encampments, and a Cadbury chocolate factory.

We disembarked in Sydney and flew immediately to Cairns (over top of Brisbane and all its devastation). Cairns had been visited by Cyclone Yasi only two days prior to our arrival, so we were able to see the uprooted trees, toppled fences and chimneys, and massive flooding. Yet, it didn't screw up any of our itinerary, and we were able to proceed as planned. After 3 days in and around Cairns (Great Barrier Reef, Rain Forest, etc.) we flew into the Outback, landing in Alice Springs. There we very much enjoyed the bright sunshine, 36 degree weather, and 99% humidity. The "desert" was lush and green from having received more than 10 times the usual annual rainfall. Our tour group of 26 Canadians were a wonderful bunch, full of fun and silly ideas. They decided that Lew and I should not be living in sin, so they planned and carried out a "mock wedding" on February 13 at a cattle station, where we learned all about boomerangs, heard more about Aboriginal culture, and were served bush bread and barbecued steak outdoors, followed by entertainment that was provided by a balladeer. All of the gentlemen involved had bought into the 'wedding' scheme, so they fit it right into the entertainment. It was a lot of fun, and quite confusing to the other tour group who were there that night!

From Alice Springs we took a long coach ride through the Outback to Uluru, commonly known as Ayers Rock. Along the way we came upon several herds of wild camels. After touring around the Olgas (an outcropping of rocks with 38 "heads"), and the base of Ayers Rock, we were glad to get into our air conditioned hotel and enjoy a shower. It was extremely hot and muggy, and during the days the black flies were quite nasty. The evening, however, was lovely and the second night we were there, we took a small bus through kangaroo country to a "secret" place on the desert near the Rock for the "Sounds of Silence" dinner. There, tables were set with linen and silverware and candles, right out under the sky in the desert. Wine and beer were included and unlimited--not necessarily a good thing. This was our night to remember, since Lew felt that February 14th, Valentine's Day, was a good time to continue our backwards theme. Since traffic is on the wrong side of the road, the sky travels from East to West along the NORTH sky, and water swirls down the drain the "wrong" way, he decided that following a honeymoon, then a mock wedding, there should be an engagement. It was at the dinner that he presented me with a "rock" that he felt I might appreciate. (As an amateur geologist he is always dragging home rocks, and I'm not usually very appreciative.) We are now officially engaged. A wedding date has not been set, but we will keep everyone posted.

The morning following this celebration we flew back to Sydney, where we spent three days. While there we travelled throughout the city, went up to the Blue Mountains, and went to see "The Barber of Seville" at the Sydney Opera House. On February 17th we had our final dinner with the tour group, with many promises that we will meet together again in June of 2012 for a "reunion". February 18 we flew back to LA, and thence to Phoenix to spend another two days with Carolyn and Gary. Luckily my cousin Pat and her hubby, Dennis, (from Ontario) were staying in Quartzite and were able to drive over and spend a day and evening with us.

We left Casa Grande on a beautiful 70F morning, only to arrive in Saskatoon to -25C with a windchill. No wonder we are so glad we did our "once in a lifetime" trip.

All was well here, as my Mom (at 85) stayed and looked after the house, the cat, and the fish. She even did some of the snow-shovelling, but she was severely admonished for that!

That's our quarterly blog for now. Be in touch later!

Phyllis

Fall is Summer!

Hello all,

What a weird year. It did nothing but pour rain and stay cold and miserable all summer, and now that it's FALL we're getting above average temperatures, sun and dry weather. We'll take it!

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lindsay (and her friend Anulina) from Finland today. They will be in Saskatchewan for two weeks before heading back to Finland via Montreal, where they will stop to visit Leslie and Trevor.

In spite of the weather problems, the garden took up a lot of our time this summer. Along with that, we purchased a fishing boat, motor and trailer, and have been out a couple of times:

We have managed to get in a few rounds of golf, and have done lots of work on our yard. We re-landscaped the front yard completely--it was a very good year to lay down sod and get it established! We introduced some goldfish to the backyard pond and had great success. We put four fish in the pond and will be taking at least six out!

Lew has kept up his 3-day a week schedule of playing Bridge, and is on the Club executive--sometimes a rather thankless task. Meanwhile, Phyllis has tried to keep herself fit by going to the gym regularly.

We made a very quick trip to Grand Forks, B.C. in July. We spent a couple of nights in Canmore with Janet and George, where it was very cold and we could see it snowing on the mountain tops. However, the day we left to head West, the weather changed and it was well over +30 while we were in the Interior. Cherries weren't quite ready, so we came home empty-handed.

Although our own apple tree didn't produce at all this year, we managed to raid some neighborhood trees and do our annual pie/crisp/sauce/wine fest.

Once we had all the garden produce under control, we did a bit of a reno in the kitchen. We purchased a nearly new dual-fuel range (gas cook top with electric convection oven), so that meant cutting out a portion of our cabinets and countertop (where the old cook top was) and revamping a door and drawer in order to accommodate the new range. As well, Lew built 4 lovely roll-out drawers where the old wall oven used to be. In order to make all the materials match, we decided to bite the bullet and paint over the original oak. That was a bit scary, but it has turned out quite nicely, we think.

Before After

We also worked on the landscaping at the side of the house, taking out all the crushed rock, and digging out the black earth so that we could put in sand and interlocking block. By the time we did that, our muscles certainly let us know about it! However, we now have a "third" retreat outside where we can sit and drink tea with the neighbors.

The next thing in the JOB JAR is to pack up the trailer with a cabinet and countertop and several other things and drive to Montreal to visit with Leslie and Trevor, and to help them renovate the guest bathroom. While there, I'm sure there will be some yardwork to take care of, and I hear there is to be a basement waterproofing project as well. We have no definite time of return, but hope to get back before the middle of November. We'll leave here the day after Lindsay and Anulina fly to Montreal. They will be on their way home to Finland before we invade the kids' house, since it takes us three full days' driving to reach there.

Meanwhile Grandma will come over and look after the cat and the house. We are very fortunate that both our "little old ladies" are doing very well this summer. We only hope it stays that way, as we have travel plans after Christmas.

That's an update on the Heuchert/Johnston lives. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Christmas Time 2009

Hello,

This is an experiment on my behalf. Not sure if these videos will post, but it's worth a try.

To Phoenix and Back

Thanks again to Carolyn and Gary for hosting us on our 5-day holiday in Casa Grande. The weather Gods did not hear our plea for heat and calm, but the vacation was great nevertheless. It was great to meet the Kirkwood's, and for me to meet Sue and Rob after hearing so much about all of them. The trips to the Flea Market, Savers, Saguara National Park, and even the Golf course were memorable. We managed to get all the "bargains" home safely last night. Today has been a catch up day of pulling stuff out of the suitcases, doing laundry, and reading all the papers and mail that arrived in our absence.

The cat was glad to see us home, even though "Grandma" had done a wonderful job of keeping her bowl full and letting her in and out in our rather balmy weather. It feels warmer here today at +5 with no wind, than it did on the golf course on Tuesday! Oh, well, that is an adventure to remember.

Starting tomorrow it's back to the treadmill and the gym to grind off the extra pounds that always come with a vacation. Then into the Bridge for Lew and the Choral work for me. I'm looking forward to the end of May when all my "responsibilities" are done and I can puddle in the garden at my own pace. Hopefully I'll have sense enough to say "no" to any volunteer positions and become entirely my own boss!

Had a taste of the Saguaro honey this morning, and it isn't a whole lot different from regular Canadian clover/alfalfa honey, but quite nice anyway.

All for now. Safe driving for all the RVer's as they head back to their respective lodgings next month.

Happy New Year

BEST WISHES FOR

2010

The first day of 2010 has passed, and so far it's been a very good year! We awoke this morning in the all-season Hawood Inn at Waskesiu, Sk. after a wonderful New Year's Eve party in the dining hall. After having breakfast, we meandered down the "Scenic route" in the minus 32 weather. However, as we reached Saskatoon, the wind changed and was coming from the Southeast--hopefully a harbinger of better weather tomorrow.

Christmas was special this year. We had Leslie and Trevor home for four days, and it was great to have "kids" here for the holidays. They arrived late on the 23rd and were ready to chow down on a dinner of ham, homemade cabbage rolls, homemade sauerkraut perogies, and homemade Saskatoon pie.

Our main Christmas dinner was on the 24th so we cooked up a major feast for ourselves, the kids, and the two "little old ladies". The day was laid back and quiet. The most exciting activity was doing a jigsaw puzzle late into the night.

Next morning we popped over to Grandma's house for a brunch of tortiere, then off we went to the cabin in the bush. Roads were good, but temperatures were cold. We arrived there about 4:00 p.m. and got the fires stoked. Lew attempted to get the quads and the snow mobile running, but didn't have a lot of success. So we spent the evening chewing on leftovers and playing cards. It was toasty and warm and we all enjoyed our rum and eggnog in the glow of the lights from our forest-cut Christmas tree.

Boxing Day was bright and sunny and not quite so cold, and the men got all the machines going. Leslie and I went for a long walk around the subdivision before packing on all our extra clothing and joining the guys on a trek by skidoo and quad into the woodlands. We hoped to see some wildlife, but there was nothing but a lot of tracks. (Tracks don't make good soup.)

That evening we ate up another round of leftovers before the men went out for a night-time ride. There was just enough moon so that they could travel without lights. It is almost surreal when you can get away from the ambient light of the city, sit on the quad in the silence of the wilderness and breath in the quietness. I think this was the hi-lite of Trevor's visit.

Next morning we packed up and headed out of the bush toward Winnipeg. Trevor's Mom and sisters were anxiously awaiting their guests, and all of us were feeling the need of a nice, warm shower. We dropped the kids with Trev's Mom, gave them our hugs and kisses and relinquished them to his family for their four days. A quick stop at the motel to shower, shave, etc. and have a bite to eat, then we were off to Betty's for a few hours visiting.

We were lucky to have time with Gord and Sharon, Erin and Brian, David and Michelle and their little ones Lachlan and Taylor. Mustn't forget the bulldog cross "Marley", and of course Betty's lab "Toby".

Next morning we popped up to Deer Lodge for some time with Auntie Merle. She was surprised to see us, and we had a great time with her. She is just in fine form, and was so excited about having been "home" for a few hours on Christmas Day. Her family it to be applauded for making her outing possible. She certainly enjoyed it.

While we were visiting, Kathy and Bruce arrived and had pictures of Bobby's wedding to show. The marriage took place on Boxing Day at the Air Force Base in Winnipeg, and the bride and groom made sure to go to Deer Lodge in full wedding attire to show Aunt Merle.

We look forward to the annual trek to Winnipeg in early February to celebrate Merle's 101st! We have several minutes of video from our recent visit with her and will try and share it if we can figure out how to compress it and get it onto the airwaves. All this technology is a bit mind-boggling. Thankfully we can always ask for help from Gary.

So that's a recap of our past couple of weeks. We are anxiously awaiting our trip to Phoenix in March to meet up with Carolyn and Gary and get some sun and warmth. Best wishes to everyone for the coming year. May your cup run over with good health and prosperity.

Phyllis and LEW