A Waterfall of Icicles

More from this Past Weekend

Weekend Out

Piles of Snow!

This weekend we went to a chalet up near Flesherton and Beaver Valley (SW of Collingwood) to relax and to go hiking on the Bruce Trail. As we crossed the Escarpment we drove into a winter wonderland!

We had to dig our way from the parking spot by the road, to the chalet. Good thing we had brought a shovel with us. We were told that the snow was wet when it first came down so it stuck to the trees and fence posts and mail boxes, etc. Then the dry snow piled on top of the wet stuff, so there were very interesting formations and piles of snow everywhere.

We didn't actually end up hiking on the Bruce Trail because the snow was too deep. So we walked along some roads, some of which were plowed and other which were not. It was absolutely beautiful!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

On our way to the pool this morning it was so beautiful outside!

Happy 27th Birthday, Alida!

Even though it is still November 17th here, it is already the 18th in Australia, which means Alida is already celebrating her birthday. In fact when we called her about an hour ago, she was already on her way to the beach with Christine. So...

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y, A L I D A!!!

Enjoy your day at the beach! and BBQ-ing and celebrating with your friends! Love you!

Saturday Morning in the Kitchen

Another productive Saturday morning in the kitchen! I baked granola and apple crisp, cooked up a pumpkin, and prepared a pan of chili. All good comfort food for a rainy November day. For some reason this picture kept flipping in the wrong direction as I uploaded it, even when I changed the size. O well, you can still see the results of my morning's work.

The Lights Are Up

It's 14 degrees on the 14th of November! so we decided to take advantage of this warm weather by putting up our Christmas lights this morning. It seems so early because we haven't had any wintery weather yet, but actually, we usually do it on Remembrance Day. We won't be turning the lights on for a few weeks yet, but at least they're up now so we don't have to freeze our fingers doing this when it does get colder.

I Love This House!

(Bart & Bonnie's back neighbours')

Some Updates

Well, day 11 of my time off has come and gone and I'm about halfway through the list of goals I had set for myself. I guess my list was a bit overly ambitious. What else is new? Oh well, at least I didn't "fritter" the time away, and I had a wonderful week. It helped that we had gorgeous weather all week. We even got to enjoy an icecream cone in the sun on the front porch. Doesn't icecream always taste better in a cone?!

I also found out that my new benefits package will cover visits to the naturopathic clinic so I went for my first visit last week. One of our main goals is to try to find out what I'm all allergic/sensitive to and try to find a way to manage that. So now I'm filling out all kinds of questionnaires: 1) about the homes I've lived in and the places I've worked at - do they have lead piping? what kind of heating? new furniture? near heavy traffic? near heavy industry? is there asbestos? do the windows open? etc. etc. 2) about everything I eat and drink for a week and 3) a survey of my and my family's health history. They sure do a thorough job of assessing everything! It'll be interesting to see where this all leads.

One last update - about the idea of not buying anything new for a year. Last weekend Phyllis asked me, "Are you actually going to do that?" I've been thinking about it and it seems a bit extreme to decide not to buy anything new for a whole year. I don't really think it has to be an "all or nothing" kind of approach. However, I was trying not to buy anything for a couple of weeks. It was amazing that now I notice that everyone seems to be trying to sell you stuff - commercials, advertisements, sales flyers, and stores everywhere! And all of a sudden I felt like I had to get stuff. I suddenly have this obsession about wanting a royal blue sweater. Do I need a royal blue sweater? No!! I have 2 green sweaters, 2 black ones, a purple one, 2 navy ones, 2 denim blue ones, a red one. So how many sweaters do I need? Maybe one heavy one and one light one. But I just think it would be nice to have a royal blue one. So I'm questionning my values. Anyways, I had not bought anything for over a week, when I had to go to the mall for something (can't tell you what right now 'cause it's a surprise for someone). I was so frustrated and stressed out because it took a while to find exactly what I was looking for. Made me think that I'd be better off not buying anything new at all... for a whole year! But then last Saturday night we attended a fundraising dinner for The Lighthouse and I totally fell in love with this gorgeous little oak rocking chair that was in the silent auction. I debated. Then I bid on it. Then I felt bad because I had broken my resolve. And Gerard is telling me that we really don't need any more stuff in our house. Then two people overbid me and I was relieved. Then the highest bidder told me she didn't actually want the little rocker and encouraged me to bid again... so I did. And... I got it! Now I'm rationalizing my purchase with the thought that buying it wasn't totally getting sucked into materialism... because I was supporting a very worthwhile cause! Whatever....!!

Anyway, I do love this little chair (the doll did not come with it) and I'm glad that this whole "no shopping" idea is making me stop to think and evaluate every purchase I consider. So that in itself is a good start.

Martin's Musings

This summer my dad's book came out in print, after many years of working on it. My dad's full name is Martinus Dominicus and as you can see, his book has a prominent place in the home of his grandson who is also named Martinus Dominicus.

Family Reunion in Hamilton

Today Gerard, David and I went to Hamilton to visit Karen, Martinus, Carel (who was visiting from BC) and as a bonus Ryan showed up too.

Karen lives in the most beautiful surroundings at McMaster. Here are Karen and David at the entrance of Karen's residence.

We all went to church with Matinus and then hung around at his place, a beautiful loft! Lots of light! Lots of wood! Great company!

After coffee, tea, pastries and muffins at Martinus' we headed over to McMaster for a tour of Karen's place.

Martinus, David & Carel (l - r) in the fireplace alcove of the "tea room" in Karen's residence.

Karen's side of her residence room. It was great to see where she lives and hangs out...

and who she hangs out with!! This is Karen with her buddy in their study room.

The Old and the New

As the very last leaf remaining on our new little maple tree is about to fall off, the new buds are already setting for next year's leaves.

Our Visit with Mom Duiker

Today we visited with Mom Duiker. I washed, cut and set her hair. She looked great! Mom is always so cheerful and appreciative of our visits. It's very rewarding to visit her! Ninety-six and a half years old! She can't believe it herself.

Another Gorgeous Day in November!

18 degrees! Perfect day for an ice cream cone out on the front porch!

Visit with The Folks

These pictures were actually taken at our house in July, but today we went to visit Father & Mother at their house and saw Jeff too, but I don't have a recent picture of him.

Happy Birthday, Brother Bart!

Weekend Out in Eastern Ontario

Right now I'm on a stretch of 11 days off work. Actually 3 days off, but that gives me a stretch of 11 days in total that I don't go to work. So, following the example of my teacher friend Jeannette, who sets goals for each summer so that she doesn't "fritter" the whole summer away, I set goals for my 11-day stretch. They include lots of visits - to my brother Bart for his birthday, my parents, my niece - Karen, and some senior ladies from church. I also plan to pot some impatients cuttings from the garden that have rooted by now, and to bring in the geraniums. I'm going to sort through the contents of my desk and through a foot-high stack of paper that has accumulated out of sight (and so usually out of mind) in a little shelf beside our computer desk. I'm going to learn how to make crepes. The first attempt was kind of disastrous, so I guess we'll be eating crepes again this week. Oh, yes, and I also plan to mend some clothes. That's right - not buying new, but mending! Also on the list (it's a long list!) is checking out whether my benefits cover visits to the naturopathic clinic, preparing an agenda for next week's diaconal team meeting, and setting up some visits to Operation Manna ministries. Phew! I hope the eleven days last a long time! I'd better kick into high gear, because it's 9:30 am of day 5 and I'm still sitting here in my pyjamas...

Actually that's because I'm looking at pictures and reflecting on a wonderful two days in Eastern Ontario.

On Friday we decided to see if we could visit my brother Bart for his birthday, but since he doesn't like celebrating his birthday, we were invited to Rachel's 30th birthday party instead since she loves celebrating her birthday (na, na, Bart!).

So on our way out east, we swung off the 401 for a bit and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the 1000 Island Parkway

We were warmly welcomed at Bart and Bonnie's in their cozy new home, which we had not seen since they moved in there 10 months ago.

Did lots of visiting and catching up. Went for a "country" walk on sunny Sunday afternoon... (local sod farm where Bonnie's keeshonds love to run)

Coming home from the walk. This is Bart & Bonnie's house on a big corner lot with lots of mature trees.

Took a little sightseeing drive to Manotick and along the Rideau Canal and locks

And then headed over the Bart & Rachel's where the house was full of relatives from both sides of the family and lots of kids. Didn't get a picture of the birthday girl, but here are some of the girls enjoying fancy cupcakes prepared by Aunt Shannon

And Gabriel running around in his Hallowe'en costume. He was a moving target so it was hard to catch a clear picture of the "Little Stinker" (see red tag).

Looking back on all the things we saw and the people we met, it seems we were there a lot longer than 27 hours. You can sure pack a lot into two short days. Wonderful weekend out!

Stop to Admire the Dandelions