GEL-Oh

USC Arboretum

2012-01-30T07:56:00.000-05:00

When Mick & I were in Columbia, SC attending a memorial service, for a co-worker of Mick's, we stayed with Jim & Debbie. On Sunday we went hiking at a University of South Carolina Arboretum. Don't confuse USC with the "real" USC.

The weather was like a spring day at home.

The trail was marked with rocks taken from the property.

The sky was a beautiful blue.

I thought this was a very interesting tree stump.

This is the bridge from the photo in last weeks Wordless Wednesday.

Was great to see flowers in the middle of winter. Pansies were also blooming.

A terrible self-portrait.

It was wonderful Sunday hike especially when it was January and didn't involve boots and snow pants.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T06:49:00.002-05:00

So 21st Century

2012-01-20T07:31:00.003-05:00

I went through security using my iPhone and license.

I then boarded the plane showing my iPhone.

It was so nice not having to keep track of the paper boarding pass.

Amie was so proud of me, actually more surprised!! Hey, I think I'm the first in my family to go high tech when flying. : )

Deicing

2012-01-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

If you look really close you can barely see the wing of a plane and the pink deicing foam being sprayed.

This is a photo of my window being sprayed with deicing foam.

It took 50 minutes to deice the entire plane, the first time. Something I've never had to experience before. I always avoid flying in the winter, except the one time I flew out of JFK on Christmas Day. Figured I'd be safe from ice at JFK.

We headed to the runway and after an examination by the co-pilot we went back for a second deicing of green deicing foam on the wings. That took around 30 minutes.

We left two hours late & I could not believe the complaints by a lot of the passengers. They were mad since many were going to miss connections. I just sat there praying I would get there safe no matter how long it took and happy for once I had a direct flight.

All photos taken with my cell phone.

Craft Project

2012-01-13T07:09:00.032-05:00

The project started out what I thought to be quick and easy, was not. Well, it was easy but not quick. I bought the chalkboard paint a long time ago with no project in mind. I thought the price looked good. According to the paint directions, the surface had to be primed, borrowed that from Mick. One coat of chalkboard paint, let it dry eight hours, a second coat and let that dry for 24 hours. Finally, cover the entire surface with chalk and wipe off

I was only going to make one candle holder until I read the directions. I need to buy more candles now.

I never like burning candles unless they are in a container. Safety issue.

Tip Thursday

2012-01-12T07:07:00.019-05:00

A tip I learned at the New Year's Eve party I was at.

Leave a spoon in the neck of a bottle of Champagne, Spumante or spakling wine and the bubbles will last.

According to my friends they've had bubbles last a week. I guess I'm bringing back "Tip Thursday."

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T07:04:00.001-05:00

Chesse Free

2012-01-10T07:25:00.001-05:00

In support of our team, which has a very important game on Sunday, we have to be cheese free this week.

Anyone with me besides Mick and Little Uncle David?

Looking at the photo I'm actually a bit embarrassed with all the cheese I had in the refrigerator.

Bathroom Remodel

2012-01-09T06:16:00.002-05:00

The bathroom remodel is winding down. ThANK GoOdNeSs.

All that is left is waiting for the call to say the vanity is in, in about two weeks, and the delivery of the counter top.

After quotes of $1,700 and $2,200, not including tax, for solid surface I decided to go with an African Mahogany wood counter top. Mick knows a cabinet maker and he will be custom making the counter top for $300 to $400. The counter top will be about the same color as the door which is original to the house. In an attempt to add more wood I moved to the bathroom a box I had in the kitchen.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T05:25:00.003-05:00

Brunch

2012-01-03T07:24:00.008-05:00

The day after Christmas we were invited to a brunch at a beautiful home just north of NYC. The family are long time friends of Kristen's family, they were once neighbors in the same development.

The hostess explaining all the food choices and there were many delicious dishes. In fact, the best quiche I have ever had.

Usually no one wants to be first but Eric stepped up right away.

John, to Mick's left was our host.

The women in attendance over 30 years of age.

Then the under 30.

John owns a horse and rides in shows. I loved his ribbons hanging on a lamp shade.

Thought of Mom and her Santa collection. She would have enjoyed seeing this display.

Door Wreaths of Philadelphia

2012-01-02T07:35:00.002-05:00

Christmas Eve I spent about an hour walking the streets of the Rittenhouse area of Philadelphia taking photographs of doors decorated with wreaths.

I used an app called Pic Collage to make the collages. It was so easy!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T00:02:00.008-05:00

Here's to a perfect 2012 for all.
It's going to be a GREAT year!

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T00:01:00.001-05:00

Can't believe the last weekend of the year is upon us.

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve.

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T15:06:00.002-05:00

Christmas Day was spent just north a NYC. We spent just over two hours driving from Philadelphia. Thankfully it was a breeze crossing the George Washington bridge with the light holiday traffic.
Not on purpose, no really, Mick and I are shirt matching. : )

Spent two days with Eric, Kristen and her family.

Hopefully Eric put his deer door bell on his apartment door. He could leave this up all year long considering he has two mounted deer heads hanging on his walls.

His gifts were all wrapped with a craft paper theme.

Christmas day dinner was turkey. Served on a beautiful decorated table.

Gone are all Christmas's with everyone at home. We are so blessed to be able to see both Amie and Eric even thou we couldn't all be together.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-30T14:41:00.001-05:00

Prior to our Christmas Eve dinner of prime rib we walked the streets of Philadelphia. It was in the mid 50's, not my typical Christmas Eve weather.

The mosaic wall was really neat. It's actually an entrance to a pub.

Amie had the apartment looking so nice. She painted the canvases herself and the feather wreath is one of my thrift store finds, minus the bow. She made the garland by stringing pom poms from a craft store onto string.

A silver tree decorated with gold balls.

My favorite photo from Christmas Eve. I love the photo opportunites the streets of a ctiy have to offer.

Pennsylvania Ballet

2011-12-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

My first ever ballet and it was The Nutcracker. This was Mick's second ballet. He saw a performance when he was at Columbia. The theatre, in Philadelphia, is beautiful. I wish I could have taken a photo of the ballet but it was not allowed.

Amie suggested we attend and made all the arrangements.

I didn't want to blink during the performance for fear I would miss something.

Amie is making plans for me to come back in the spring and attend another ballet. Leigh Anna, meet us there!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T08:20:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:16:00.016-05:00

Have the merriest day. May this day bring peace to all.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T05:15:00.000-05:00

Holiday Mantel

2011-12-20T05:52:00.024-05:00

My ode to Eric and Amie holiday mantel.

The deer antler from Eric and Amie has a current obsession with mercury glass.

I realize this is not to everyone's taste but I love it.

I'm going to leave this vignette up all though January.

Wrapping Mess

2011-12-19T05:48:00.014-05:00

Is it me or does everyone have a huge mess when they wrap gifts?

I wrap in the kitchen so I can occasionally glace up at the television.

Some of the finished gifts separated out and ready for delivery.

Such a busy time of year.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T07:19:00.001-05:00

Yankee Candle

2011-12-09T07:33:00.010-05:00

If you have an artificial tree and even if you have a real tree, there is nothing better than the smell of Yankee Candle's Christmas Wreath.

I've been burning the Christmas Wreath scent for years and it smells exactly like pine. I have noticed that it's getting harder to find. I hope Yankee is not thinking about discontinuing.

Christmas Greens

2011-12-08T07:16:00.025-05:00

I like to decorate with fresh greens at Christmas. I trespass at an "undisclosed location" to cut my greens. Mick has name recognition with the company that owns the property so I cut hoping that if I get caught I can name drop.

Not quite sure if I'm liking this arrangement. Maybe when I light the candle.

This is the first year I've put greens on the kitchen counter & I'm liking how this looks.

Even with all the greens I don't have much of a pine smell. Although, I have a way to fix that.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T05:09:00.002-05:00

Christmas Tree Craft

2011-12-06T06:30:00.043-05:00

A Styrofoam cone.

Sprayed with adhesive and then wrapped with yarn.

The Scotch super 77 is amazing. I used it on a couple other projects around the house and it worked better than any other spray glue I've used in the past, bought at Michael's using a 40% off coupon.

I now have a forest on the sofa table.

I'm not quite sure about the old barn board running down the middle of the sofa table. Mick bought it for $5.00. It was cut to fit the kitchen table but I didn't like how it looked.

Bleached Bottle Brush Trees

2011-12-05T06:41:00.001-05:00

At the end of the Christmas season last year I bought a package of 21 bottle brush trees.

Over the weekend I bleached the trees using a mixture of one gallon of hot water and a 1/4 cup of bleach. I then soaked the trees for about 20 minutes. One tree took a bit longer.

I've seen bleached trees that are then decorated with glass balls and glitter snow. I preferred to leave mine plain.

I wasn't sure if I would try the bleaching the trees. In fact ,Amie had to talk me into the bleaching.

I really like how they look. Although, I would not bleach any of the old bottle brush trees that I have.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-12-01T06:43:00.044-05:00

Our 22 pound turkey looked and tasted wonderful. I need to roast turkey more often.

I used the same tablecloth, napkins, plates and place cards, etc. as last year. Although, I did have to make six extra place cards.

I bought a Groupon from a company to print photo books. Going to make a six inch by eight inch book of our Thanksgiving. Will include recipes on a few of the photographs. Amie got me started with Photoshop instructions. I keep a cheat sheet & hopefully I can figure it out.

We had pumpkin pie, apple crisp and raspberry pie squares for dessert. I eat pumpkin pie once a year. Like turkey, I should make pumpkin pie more often.

We had a wonderful meal and day, except for the part about the Dallas Cowboy's winning.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T06:45:00.002-05:00

Blog Anniversary

2011-11-29T06:00:00.069-05:00

Today is the start of my fifth year of blogging.
I.Can.Not.Believe.It.
This will be my 910th post.
I.Can.Not.Believe.It.
How or why I keep going, I can't even explain.
I've had the blog entries printed into three hard cover books. When 2011 is over I'll have that printed into a book also. (I used the company blog2print.)
Since I can't have a post without a photo, a Salt Shaker Snow Globe.

A large salt shaker, from an antique store, filled with white glitter and a bottle brush tree, also from a antique store.

Next I want to make Mason Jar Snow Globes.

Above image from Antropologie.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T06:43:00.000-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for, today and everyday.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T06:05:00.003-05:00

Antiquing/Thrifting

2011-11-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

Our local thrift store had several boxes of old glass ornaments. Since I have ~~lots~~ several already being

stored in the basement, decided to only buy this one box, mainly because of the red ornament with the gold crown.

This shoe gadget, used by cobblers, was bought at the local antique shop.

My "O'de to Michelle Obama."

I wore the pin to work today and received a complement. All the pins Michelle wears costs in the hundreds of dollars. Mine was $3.00.

I thought I remembered a project using a whisk broom that I saw on Pinterest. I was wrong, the project was using a whisk scrub brush. If anyone has ideas on what I can do with this. No, sweeping involved thou.

A white feather wreath, it's beautiful and all the rage now. We bought it for 50 cents. I'm letting Amie have the wreath.

Please believe me, this is the first I've purchsed anything while antiquing & thrifting in several months. I've been concentrating on cleaning out. We showed up at the thrift store with a donation bag. Thankfully, more left the house than what was brought back in.

Butternut Squash

2011-11-21T06:36:00.002-05:00

Mick bought at a grocery store butternut squash, grown at a local farm, for 29 cents a pound.

I wish I would have had him buy more than five.

I've already cooked the squash and sealed in bags for the freezer.

Have you figured out that our Thanksgiving menu includes Butternut Squash?

Goin' to the Dogs

2011-11-18T06:52:00.026-05:00

Tipper is 14 weeks old and belongs to Sean. Per Sean, "Mom does all the puppy work." Sean is very proud of that fact. Tipper did not want to hold still for any photo.

Sydney is 11 years old and gets her name from the Sydney Olympics. Sydney would only stay still if she had a bone to chew on.

Poppins is spending two weeks in the North Country during hunting season. Believe me, Amie would never allow Poppins to go into the woods.

No, I have no intentions of getting my own dog.

Volleyball

2011-11-17T07:08:00.020-05:00

Mickey's varsity volleyball team has made it to the NYSPHSAA final four. They will be playing this weekend in Glens Falls.

I attempted lots of action photos, I need to figure that out one day.

The parents carry a banner to all the payoff games. Mau had a part in its making.

The family cheering section, minus Joe.

GOOD LUCK this weekend Mickey!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

11-11-11

2011-11-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

My lame photo taken at 11:11 am on 11-11-11.

It was 40 degrees outside, had another 190 miles to drive before I ran out of gas (before my car ran out of gas) and I was somewhere on Interstate Route 81 heading north. I was getting great gas mileage since my foot was off the gas petal but I eyes were diffidently on the road.
I've driven 6261 miles in the 77 days since I've had my new car so I'ts quite fitting that I was driving on 11:11 am on 11-11-11.

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T05:24:00.023-05:00

Thinking of Dad on Veterans Day.

He served proudly and with honor in the Army of the United States.

God Bless you Dad and God bless all that are now serving.

11-11-11

2011-11-10T05:09:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is November 11, 2011 or 11-11-11.

There is a neat idea going around the blogging world to take a photo at 11:11:11 am.

Or take it at 11:11:11 pm if that is more convenient for you.

Better yet, take one in the am and pm.

Would make a nice keepsake.
If I was working tomorrow, my photo may look like this. Lucky me, I have the day off.

With so many having cameras on their cell phones this should be easy.
Also, use your cell phone to set a reminder.

We can do this again on December 12, 2012 or 12-12-12.

Join me!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T06:49:00.002-05:00

Bed & Breakfast

2011-11-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

A few of the photos I took in the yard of the B&B in Tucson. Everything was done by the owner. She collected from thrift stores the plates, cups & saucers.

I love tea so I loved the tea cup in the wall.

Random plates attached to a retaining wall.

She called this the "bottle wall."

When the sun was setting and shinning on the bottles it was beautiful.

The yellow wall is the side of the house where we stayed. I wish I would have asked if she painted Mary.

All the bottles were collected over the years through family and friends.

A very eclectic yard. Wonder if all these walls would get through one of my winters?

Bed & Breakfast

2011-11-07T07:53:00.000-05:00

Mick and I stayed in a bed and breakfast during our trip to Tucson. I always try to find a B&B for our trips. The owners are retired and only have two rooms available.

I loved the look of the South West in the breakfast room. Such a difference than my New England country look. The breakfast was healthy food. I loved it. Mick not so much. He wanted sausage, hash & fried eggs.

The view looking out of the breakfast room.

Her gardens were beautiful and she did all the landscaping herself.

In addition to atmosphere, you can't beat the price of B&B's. We paid $90 per night, including breakfast and all taxes & room fees. I felt guilty staying there so cheaply.

Hike

2011-11-04T08:00:00.055-04:00

While in Tucson I went on a hike. Early in the morning to avoid the heat. The avoidance somewhat worked.

Told Bonnie, "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Name that movie.

I'd never hiked in the desert. The scenery was very beautiful and interesting.

We went completely around a mountain.

We had a guide. The three of us walked single file on the trail with the guide leading the way. She had a walking stick and watched for rattle snakes. I really didn't sleep well the night prior. I thought about snakes all night.

See the stick on the rock? I thought for a second I saw one.

Tucson Botanical Garden

2011-11-03T07:32:00.000-04:00

Our first morning in Tuscon we went to the botanical gardens. As much as I dislike having my photograph taken I have to pass my camera off every once in awhile. Can't expect others to allow me to photograph just them all the time.

They had a lot of very interesting displays.

My first ever on the tree pomegranate.

Interesting fact, 2000 species of cacti.

One of the 2000.

Monarch butterflies follow me wherever I go.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T08:08:00.000-04:00

Pima Air & Space Museum

2011-11-01T03:06:00.018-04:00

Mick told me which planes to take photos of. The museum had a large outside area filled with planes. It was 94 degrees that day, we were there a noon.

Mick was in his glory at the Air & Space museum. To bad Eric wasn't with us. This double propeller is a favorite of Eric's.

This was the largest plane at the museum.

Eric would have enjoyed the museum, me not so much. We went to the botanical gardens in the morning so I call it even. : )

Halloween

2011-10-31T06:28:00.009-04:00

Happy Halloween!

If you are like me the only thing you hope for today are very few trick-or-treaters.

Hope my photo scared you!

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Donna.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T07:38:00.004-04:00

Monarch Butterflies

2011-10-21T06:34:00.010-04:00

When on a walk last month I saw fields upon fields with Monarch Butterflies.

I thought Monarchs were only out in the spring. After reading this article. I figured these are fourth generation Monarchs.

I agree with the article, "the most beautiful of all butterflies."

Dog Bed

2011-10-20T07:08:00.030-04:00

Just like me, Mick made something for Poppins, a dog bed. Amie sent him an email with a photograph of the style she wanted. He purchased the legs, cut out of plywood the base and head board. He stained everything and preset the screw holes so Amie could easily put it together.

There are two metal braces that hold the head board.

The bed was custom made to fit the dog bed. As you can see Poppins loves the bed.

Have you figured out that Poppins is very spoiled? Poppins has come a long way from the streets of LA.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T06:59:00.002-04:00

Apple

2011-10-18T07:42:00.001-04:00

Two days after the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, died I went by the Apple store in Philadelphia. Really like that in my photo I can see the photo another bystander is taking with his iPhone and the comparison to the first Apple computer juxtaposed with the iPhone.

I got an iPad in July and became so hooked I had an iPhone by the end of the month.

All the press talks about is what will happen with the Apple products. Why can't the media simply talk about what his loss will be to his wife and four children? Isn't that what's it all about, FAMILY.

Occupy Philadelphia

2011-10-17T03:56:00.002-04:00

All the "Occupies" cost the cites a lot of money. This is just a small sampling of the police officers involved.

Let the protest march begin. They were marching around and around and around City Hall.

Mostly young people & college students.

Amie, David and I were at Philadelphia City Hall on the first day of Philly's "Take Back Wall Street" protest. We went as site seer's only.

The make shift "Medical Center."

The "Sign Making" center. Amie and I really wanted to take part in a bit of sign crafting.

Today marks the one month anniversary of the protests. I agree with several of their issues. Hey, you never know, maybe some good will come out of this.

Poppins

2011-10-14T06:26:00.070-04:00

Poppins Pawprints is a mix of Jack Russell and Carin Terrier. Poppins belongs to Amie and was rescued off the downtown streets of LA by a women who works there. She watched him for several weeks getting thinner and thinner. She had to hire a vet to nurse him back to health, at a cost of $1,500. As a owner of four other dogs she put him up for adoption, listing him on Craig's List. Poppins was the first dog Amie saw online and decided right away that he was "the one."
Poppins, just under one year old, pictured on a sidewalk in Philly.

Can you figure out who is pictured on the below canvas?

I made the below out of colored paper. Colored paper that I ran through a copy machine printing old book pages onto the paper.

Once it was pieced together I sealed it with varnish. The canvas now sits on the mantel in Amie's apartment.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:30:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T07:30:00.000-04:00

Autumn Decorating

2011-10-03T05:30:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I started to put out my autumn decorations. I love fall and all the symbols involved with fall. Plus, you can have the decorations out for all of October & November. Unlike Christmas, you should only have out for the month of December.

Last year I bought a real white pumpkin at a local farm for the top of the scale. This year by the time I went they were already sold out. Must be white pumpkins have become very popular. This light brown pumpkin is carved out of plastic made to look like wood.

I will remove the crow after Halloween and in its place put a pumpkin.

As everyone knows putting out holiday decorations is a lot of work & turns your home into a mess. Right Kay? Kay was was in the area on Saturday & came by to visit me. She just happened to catch me in the middle of my autumn decorating. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Turtle Nest

2011-09-29T07:11:00.000-04:00

I'm so happy with myself that I didn't make the photo guess from Monday easy. It's a turtle nest found along side of a railroad track. The eggs were soft shelled and so very neat to see. We looked for turtles but none where in site. There was a small stream running along the track. The nest was about nine inches deep and there were several eggs outside of the nest in addition to the two found inside.

Some facts found on the Internet: Turtles lay their eggs on land. The females of most species lay eggs several times a year. The number of eggs deposited at a laying varies from one to more than 200, depending on the species and the individual. Eggs are round or oval and either soft- or hard-shelled. After laying the eggs, the female covers them with earth and leaves them.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T07:13:00.000-04:00

Guess again

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

No one figured out what yesterday's photo was. Although, someone was close. OK, I'll give two more nature photos today.

This looks like a bunny stamp to me.

This has to be the easiest of the three. It's a giveaway really.

Hopefully someone will be able to figure out yesterday's nature photo.

What is this?

2011-09-26T07:47:00.000-04:00

Hello, hello, is anyone out there still checking on their GEL-Oh?

Second question, anyone know what the above is?

Post your guess or your answer. I'll pledge to post everyday this week if you can figure it out.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T11:25:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T08:27:00.003-04:00

NFL History

2011-09-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

We attended the first game of the NFL season. The first game is always at the home of the previous season Super Bowl champion. This year, for the first time in NFL history, the past two Super Bowl champions played in the opening game. Another NFL tid-bit, Green Bay is the smallest city that has a NFL team. Anyone that ~~loves~~ likes football has to go to a game at Lambeau Field..

We saw the Packers, along with 70,555 fans, beat the Saints. The game went down to the final play. Thankfully, the Packers stopped the Saints on a goal line stand preventing the game going into overtime.

We didn't have any "official" Packer clothing but I was able to find some green!

North East Wisconsin

2011-09-09T07:30:00.000-04:00

Photos from our Labor / Birthday Day Weekend hikes.

Just a few photos.

The scenery was beautiful

Next week I'll show my favorite.

First Game of 2011-2012 NFL Season

2011-09-08T06:19:00.000-04:00

There were signs inside and outside of the stadium welcoming the fans "BACK TO FOOTBALL."

If I remember correctly, there were 70,555 in attendance.

I've always enjoyed watching the fans in college stadiums use the colored paper to write out messages. It was new to me that this is done for NFL games.

"GO PACK GO"

Birthday Hike

2011-09-07T08:00:00.002-04:00

Mick got a surprise when he asked what I wanted for my birthday & I requested he take me on a hike. Mick doesn't like "roughing it" outdoors.

He went above & beyond and found a cabin to rent for Labor Day weekend and we spent two days hiking. We were in Northern Wisconsin & it was beautiful.

Another couple came by at the end of the trail & volunteered to take our photo. I was in the process of setting up the timer and finding a place to set the camera so I was thrilled to take them up on their offer.

Mick took the below photo along the waterfall at the top of the trail.

I was told by one of his co-workers that Mick said he enjoyed our hikes. Maybe a tent is in our future.

Good Bye My Mazda Sport Wagon

2011-08-29T07:30:00.000-04:00

I'll never to able to understand or explain the attachment I had for my 2007 Mazda wagon. I purchsed the car in December 2004 and drove just about all of it's 123,000 miles. I had no idea on the morning of August 26 that the next day I would have to replace my wagon. I drove into the dealership at 10:30am on Saturday and drove away with a new CX7 at 3:30pm.

It was very sad for me to say good-bye to my wagon. I asked my salesman to take a photo of me with the car but decided against it since I didn't want to cry in front of a stanger.

I was spending a lot of money on repairs every couple months and the final straw came when the engine light came on after a week of $400 costs. I hope the CX7 will be as good as my beloved wagon.

Chittenango

2011-08-05T09:03:00.002-04:00

I'm visiting Santa's Village for the weekend.

Golf

2011-08-04T07:55:00.003-04:00

Our hospital held a benefit golf tournament last weekend. It was the 15 annual and I don't think Mick has missed a year.

Mick's partner was George. George via Scotland, Toronto, currently Boston and soon to be Calgary. I'm going to visit him once he gets settled in. I'm also taking a side trip to Vancouver. I've always wanted to visit that part of Canada.

The entire team.

I kind of liked the looks of the carts all lined up at the end of the tournament.

Bonnie, has organized all 15 years of the tournament. On the right is Renee, the daughter of one of my faithful blog readers. Good Morning Kay!! In the middle is one of the doctors from the hospital. He didn't golf but came to the course to show his support.

Nat and Mike spent some father & son bonding time on the course.

It was a beautiful blue sky, sunny and hot day. It was also the last day Mick will golf. He has decided to give up the sport. I told him just golf once a year at the hosptial tournament.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T06:49:00.000-04:00

Bathroom Remodel

2011-08-01T08:16:00.000-04:00

Finally it feels like the remodel is shaping up. Mick spent a long time cutting all the molding for above the wainscoting. I'll have to count how many pieces there are.

Just like the family and kitchen models he built window frames to match the original molding in the rest of the house.

The modeling makes the biggest difference in the look of the rooms.

Yesterday the drywall primer went on and the ceiling was painted. Today the color is going on the walls.

Hope I made a good choice on color. Choosing wall color is always the hardest part.

Homegrown Tomatoes

2011-07-29T07:24:00.001-04:00

A few of my just about ripe tomatoes.

Photo taken on my iPad with one of my apps.

Palm Springs

2011-07-28T08:23:00.000-04:00

Our hotel room was very nice and pool side. I loved being able to open our sliding glass door and be right by the pool. Out of safety concerns I've never done this before.

This was the view out of our room. You can just see the hotel roof in the photo.

The sun beat down all day long.

There were very few guests and as the day went on we figured out why.

I stayed under our patio, in the shade.

Even birds try to stay in the shade.

Amie and Mick did spend a bit of time under the sun.

Mick got the idea to lay in the grass since it was cooler and wet from overnight watering.

It was 114 degrees our first day and 118 degrees our second. Basically it was so hot you couldn't even sit outside in the shade. Amie and I went out at 10pm for a walk, thinking it had cooled down, it was 92. Still to hot for us to go very far. Palm Springs in the summer is not a good thing.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T07:38:00.001-04:00

Poppins

2011-07-26T08:04:00.010-04:00

Amie has a dog, his name is Poppins Pawprints. He was rescued by a woman who watched him for several weeks run the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The woman already had three dogs and couldn't take another so she listed him on Craigslist. Poppins was the first dog Amie saw listed and knew right away he was the one.

Poppins is well behaved and never barks. I guess when you spend several weeks as a puppy running the streets of downtown Los Angeles you behave for fear you may be sent back.

Amie has a basket with clothes for Poppins. I watched her dress him & he actually seemed to like it. Amie bought his outfit thinking Eric would really like it.

I took about 100 photos of Poppins this one is my favorite.

Poppins enjoys going to the dog park and loves being able to run free.

You can friend Poppins Pawprints on facebook. Yes, he has his own facebook page. I'm sure he Amie would love to hear from you.

Eh

2011-07-25T08:18:00.001-04:00

Can you tell where we were on Friday just by reading this sign?

We were in Canada visiting a parent of one of Eric's Junior A teammates. I have not seen Tony since Eric & his son Vince played against each other in college, over five years ago. Mick has stopped in to see Tony twice since our last hockey game. Tony owns a restaurant, Capone's, for 28 years. If you are in Ottawa the food at Capones is wonderful. Make sure you tell Tony we sent you there.

Our Canadian friends are the best part of all our connections to Canada.

iPad Training

2011-07-22T08:05:00.000-04:00

I bought my iPad in Palm Desert and three days later I took a basic training class in Los Angeles. It was a bit to basic for me and for the others in the class, expect maybe three people out of twenty. Although, we stayed after the hour class & asked a couple questions.

Me taking a self portrait while taking my class.

Amie watching over me.

I guess I need to get used to looking into the camera and not the iPad screen.

I made this photo collage with a free app that I found, PicCollage.

As of today I have 20 apps.

Oh, now I ~~need~~ have to get an iPhone.

4th of July

2011-07-21T08:08:00.000-04:00

We spent the 4th of July at a house party in Los Angeles. There were lots of fireworks, $3,000 worth to be exact. Several trips were made to the state of Nevada to purchase the fireworks. They were fantastic!!

I think I figured out when this one went off and I really liked it.

The American flag on the front of the house.

We were told to wear red, white & blue.

Amie's $1.00 patriotic sun glasses from Michaels Crafts. I'm working on going to a Michaels in every state. I'm also working on Anthropologie. At least Anthropolgie aren't in that many states, in fact I may have already done this.

David & Amie.

I've been uploading photos from my iPad and the quality has been terrible. I'm going to have to figure out why. It may to the ap that I use.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T06:34:00.002-04:00

Hair Cut

2011-07-19T08:06:00.000-04:00

My first day in Los Angeles.

I got a haircut on my third day. Amie took the photo of my shadow on the side of her car.

My fourth day in California, we where in Palm Springs. Although, this photo was taken in Palm Dessert. On a 118 degree day.

Working for a Living

2011-07-18T07:08:00.000-04:00

I was able to spend a day at Amie's office watching her work.

Her work day starts at eight a.m., after an hour of driving through city traffic.

She has a beautiful office. I really liked the wallpaper on the back wall.

A few of the pillows available for sale in the nursery section.

A crib all decked out with the fabrics designed by Amie.

It was wonderful to see where she spends her Mondays through Fridays, meet her co-workers and boss.

Professional Photographer

2011-07-15T07:44:00.003-04:00

We spent our visit in Toronto touring the city on foot. During our walk on our second day, we turned a corner and I spotted a wall of a building painted a beautiful yellow. Apparently I'm not the only one liking the wall, when we got closer there was a photographer there talking a photograph of a sports car.

I asked the photographer if he would use my camera and take a picture of Mick & I, with instruction to not take our entire bodies but a close up of our heads. The above photo is my cropped version. Below is straight out of the camera. What the heck???

He told me he also had a Canon camera just like mine. Oh boy, I wonder how the car photos turned out?

Hockey Hall of Fame

2011-07-14T06:44:00.003-04:00

During our June visit to Toronto we saw the outside only of the Hockey Hall of Fame. We toured the hall in the 1980's and once was enough.

Mick thought the player with his leg over the board ready to go into a game looked like Eric. I bet every parent of a hockey player thinks the same thing.

We were in Toronto the night Boston won the Stanley Cup. I went into the gift shop the next morning & asked if they had any Boston Championship tees in. I wanted to do it just because it was a Canada vs US series. I was so hoping I wouldn't have to buy a shirt. They didn't have any and didn't know when they would.

The building is quite nice and was within walking distance of our hotel.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T06:42:00.000-04:00

Wineries

2011-07-07T05:01:00.003-04:00

Last month Marie, Kristen and I toured two wineries. We arrived at the first winery right at opening, drinking at 10:00AM seems strange.The father of the owner was our guide and he told lots of interesting stories concerning the wine business.

The winery is small and most wine is on the sweet side, just the kind of winery and wine I like.

Our second winery had a wine named after the owners wife, Marie.

Our Marie with "Marie's Selection." I bought a bottle to have with our dinner of Naan pizza. The owner tried to talk me out of buying it. Only his wife likes the wine?? (If you haven't tried Naan pizza you must.) I'll have to do a post on Naan.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T05:57:00.001-04:00

Palm Trees

2011-07-05T06:20:00.000-04:00

Same palm tree photo, four different ways. Compliments of my new IPad!

4th of July

2011-07-04T07:15:00.017-04:00

We'll be going out tonight to see some fireworks!

No camera for me thou. I've given up attempting to get firework photos that I like. I'll have to stay with my flag photos, I love looking for flags to photograph.

May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!
~Daniel Webster

Canada Day

2011-07-01T05:47:00.037-04:00

Canada Day also known as "Canada's Birthday."

The maple leaf hanging at Toronto City Hall.

Brockville City Hall.

We have many ties to Canada. We live a mere 25 miles from the Canadian border, Eric played hockey in Canada for five years and lived there for two, Mick works for a Canadian company, I can still buy my Tetley tea in Canada and best of all, we have many many Canadian friends. Happy birthday O' Canada.

Button Shops

2011-06-30T07:15:00.021-04:00

I went into two button shops during our stay in Toronto.

I really liked the orange/peach colored buttons.

Both shops had buttons from floor to ceiling.

Drawers filled with buttons.

In both shops a shopper asked for a particular button and neither store had what they wanted. Can you imagine having so many buttons & NOT have what a customer wants?

There was a button that cost $25. I wish I would have taken a photograph of that button.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T06:57:00.003-04:00

Brewery

2011-06-28T05:20:00.035-04:00

During our Toronto visit we toured a brewery.

The workers are shoveling mash out of a copper vat.

A beer in the making.

I don't drink beer and Mick doesn't drink wine. This tour is making up for all the wineries I've brought him to.

I ended up liking the darkest beer, the one I thought I would like the least. I actually think I would even drink a glass of that dark beer.

Mick was very happy we were at a brewery and not a winery.

Times Square Wannabe

2011-06-27T07:48:00.031-04:00

Although this looks like Times Square in New York City, it's actually downtown Toronto. It's very similar but on a MUCH smaller scale.

There is a fountain in the middle of the square.

Another big difference, there are very few people around compared to NYC. It was around 11am on a Tuesday when I took this photo.

I never paid attention to the name of the cab company that has orange & turquoise colored cabs but they really got my attention. I really like this color combination. Unfortunately, when Mick needed to take a cab to the airport there was not an orange & turquoise cab around.

Brockville, Ontario

2011-06-24T06:22:00.044-04:00

I guess Brockville got their name from a Mr. Brock. I actually liked this statue. There is an attitude about it.

Looking down this street I imagined what the streets of San Francisco, a city I want to visit, might look like.

The fountain in front of City Hall.

The best part of Brockville, my visit with the Perkins family. I saw Drew two years ago, first time in 12 years, this visit with his parents was the first time I've seen them in 14 years. The amazing thing was that it didn't seem strange at all.

Drew played spring hockey with Eric back when they were in 7th and 8th grades. It was fun talking about past tournaments and what other teammates are now doing. We've made a plan for Mick & I to meet the Perkins halfway between our house and Brockville for dinner one night. We won't wait another 14 years thou.

Charge Payments

2011-06-23T07:48:00.002-04:00

In Canada when it comes time to pay a restaurant bill the below machine is brought to your table for payment. You swipe your debit or credit card, enter a tip by dollar amount or percentage and finally, the receipt prints off and then another receipt to sign to leave for the restaurant.

At first I thought that only the particular restaurant I was at used this means of payment, not so. Several times during my four days in Canada I processed my own payment. I really liked this system better than giving my card to a waitress or waiting at a cash register to pay. I wonder if we have these machines anywhere in the states?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T06:22:00.003-04:00

Open House

2011-06-21T07:32:00.046-04:00

We were in Toronto last week at an open house for the company Mick works for. They were celebrating their move to a new office building.

The decoration on the wall behind us is made of copper.

As you get off the elevator the entire area has a border of zinc ingots.

Each one is stamped with the company name. This was my favorite part of the new office. I also liked the bamboo floor in the dinning/break room.

Mick's co-worker from Flin Flon was also at the open house. Steve spent a lot of time at our house when the mine was operating. So much that outside our family he helped the most with our kitchen/family room renovation.