fall is falling

in the form of rain, wind or leaves...at least here in Ontario. It has been rather blustery and chilly here as of late. We turned the heat on today and Bill and I had to put our electric blanket on our airbed last night. Yay for no more ice pack bedding:) It was a beautiful sleep last night.

The weather has brought the end to much of the crops around us. Tobacco appears to be done. The only real crop growing is what the locals refer to it as "cow corn". (Corn grown for livestock etc). There are fields of beautiful purple wild asters and yellow goldenrod. Truly a sight to see. Not too many trees are changing color yet but I'm sure after this cold snap that will change. Oh yeah.. Timmins, Ont received snow last night.. wow hey? Glad I don't live up there! Snow in September...no thanks!

What's new what's new... well we have been attending a new church in a city called Caledonia. It's called Gateway Alliance church and so far we are really enjoying it. The people are very friendly, the worship is modern, well led and usually upbeat and the sermons have been VERY good. We have started attending the Alpha course there every monday night. For those of you who don't know Alpha is a worldwide course that is presented by a large variety of churches, denominations, universities and organizations that is pretty much Christianity 101. Bill has been wanting to attend but our previous church hadn't offered the course. This one did so we jumped on the bandwagon. I am going for a refresher and to meet new people. So far our small group seems really friendly. I think we'll have lots of fun at this course. (plus did I mention dinner is included every week...score!)

Other than that there hasn't been too much new. We have ventured into Hamilton a few times for "big city" shopping(new pants, a new computer, shoes, gelato..etc).

Mona is still busy working on the house. Bill helps out where he can but her work is on the exterior trim and brickwork. She's redoing some mortar around the brick and painting the trim and fixing eaves-troughs. We have a large scaffolding out around the house that Bill is called to help move when she's done a section. We are praying for nicer weather so she can actually get some work done. It has been so cold, windy and wet it's not safe or very much fun to be outside at all let alone on a scaffolding.

In other news we are awaiting news on Nicole's Opa. He had a heart attack a couple days ago and is awaiting a bed opening in Victoria for an angioplasty. We are praying everything goes quickly and smoothly so he can rest up and get better. It is hard being so far away from that side of the family. If you're a praying person please add him to your list :)

Well that's the latest update. We are both healthy and welcoming in the cooler weather that is conducive to sweaters, socks, warm soups and a good book.

Talk to you all soon!

N

cotton candy and potato chip swirls

Well hello there! It's been awhile. It's been awhile mainly because there hasn't been too much new to report. We've been keeping busy with projects and everyday tasks. Bill can now add patio demolition to his list of accomplishments here at Mona's. I can add incredible spare rib maker to mine.
We have gone to the Paris Fair and rode the rides, sampled the hot dogs, hamburgers, taffy, potato chip swirls and cotton candy. Watched the Demo Derby (my first one....what a hoot) and checked out the biggest and best flower arrangements and cheerio creations at the exhibitions. We even managed to catch the high dive clowns which was highly amusing. All in all it was fun.

Since then we have managed to finally arrange our stuff in boxes so that the things we need to get to (winter clothes, shoes, bathroom supplies etc) are in reaching distance and so the extra furniture clutt... er decorating Mona's upstairs foyer is in the room also. We now all have lots more space!

Today we went to a new church called Gateway Alliance Church in Caledonia (about 20 min away). It was pretty good. We're going to go back next week and check out an actual service as this week was their Kickoff. There was a talent show and before we got there lots of games, pie eating contests and a dunk tank. The people seem younger and peppy and we really enjoyed both the message and the talents today.

Other than that things are good. I got my first EI check this week so money is finally coming back in. I also got news that there will be a VW dealership opening up in the town Simcoe near us. I might see if they have any work for me on monday.

Well that's all folks. Have a great week! Feel free to email us anytime with news about you :D

Signing off,

N

Lazy Summer Days

Well the last 10 days or so have been rather uneventful. We have been sleeping in, eating whenever we are hungry and going to bed late. Bill has been looking for jobs and doing a variety of projects around Mona's house. They include fixing a leaking toilet in the bathroom upstairs(it was actually leaking into the downstairs bathroom), fixing the tonneau cover on our car (it broke right when we arrived in Jarvis), hanging some solar lights for Mona, and whatever else he can do to keep busy.

The toilet job was a big one. It involved ripping the ceiling off in the downstairs bathroom, (a beautiful copper ceiling with crown moulding), then ripping the floor up around the toilet in the upstairs bathroom, Then fixing the leak, pulling off and replacing some flange, then buying a new toilet, replacing the flooring with new flooring and the tiles, then putting on the new toilet. They decided after all this they were going to get rid of the toilet downstairs as well and put the one that was upstairs downstairs. So they installed a 2nd toilet. Now we have two working toilets and all that still needs to be done is the ceiling.

My days have consisted of walking to get the mail or going to the library for books, and watching tv, napping and playing the sims 3. It's been good so far but it has been a bit uneventful so far.
Last night we went out for delicious wings in Simcoe and we'll see what today holds.


Talk to you all soon! Miss you all in Kelowna!



Nicole

Cornfest and Tonsillitis...yummy!

So this is the Cornfest weekend in Jarvis. A pretty big shindig that happens around here. I think most of the small towns have a "fest" of sorts throughout the summer and/or fall. This one centers around corn. They have a small fair company come and put up some rides mainly for the smaller kids. They have food, (cotton candy, old fashioned root beer, freshly squeezed lemonade, hotdogs, pulled pork or roast beef on a bun and a beer garden) Most evenings and throughout the day they even have live music. Last night was a band who did a tribute to the Eagles. This afternoon is a band doing a tribute to U2 and tonight is David Wilcox. ( I had never heard of him but people here are pretty excited). There is corn on the cob they submerge in butter that you can buy for $1.00. And there are events all weekend and booths people can stop in and see what's happening. This afternoon Bill and I are helping Mona supervise a portion of a silent auction for a couple of hours.

So a couple nights ago Bill started complaining about a sore throat. We looked down his throat to see what was up. (cause that's what you do of course!). His tonsils were very swollen and speckled with white dots. Yup... tonsillitis. He is very susceptible to it and he usually gets these scary high fevers with it too. So yup that's what followed. A very high fever. Finally the night before last we convinced him to go to the doctor to get antibiotics for it. The closest "clinic" here is the emergency room at the Hagarsville Hospital. So that's where we went. 3 hrs later he was out of there prescription in hand. We had to drive to Caledonia to fill it but we got home just after 10:30 that night. He is now starting to feel better and no more scary fevers.

Aside from that sort of thing we are getting our affairs in order (getting Ontario medical, transferring bank info etc etc). Tomorrow is a big BBQ here at Mona's. We'll see Neil, Wendy and Sam & Maggie, John and probably Michael (bill's cousin) plus a bunch of others. Mona has added a unique twist to the bbq saying that there will be a talent show and that everyone needs to display their talent. I think we will be having everything from applying makeup really quickly while standing on one leg to juggling.

Well that's all!

Signing off,

Nicole

A Day in Dover

So the last couple of days have given me a better sense of what the weather can be like here in Ontario.
We have had humidity, tornado like winds, torrential rain, loud thunder, lightening all around you, heat and sunshine....yup that about covers it. All in 2 or 3 days.

There have been some awesome storm systems moving through the area. Two days ago around 1pm there was a BIG storm that came through. It blew the rain all over. The thunder boomed and the lightening cracked above. The power flickered and we got soaked as we ran to rescue a couple things that shouldn't have been getting wet (our big floor fan and Mona's vacuum). It was awesome to watch. That was the night that Melody & Marvin arrived in Southern Ontario on their way through to Cape Breton. We went later to pick them up and bring them to Mona's (the threat of wind and rain was still pretty high and a motorbike is just not so much fun that way). As we went through Selkirk there were roads closed because of power lines out, VERY large trees knocked out by their roots and even part of a barn roof that was missing. Almost a tornado was what the weather people said after it was all over. I thought it was pretty neat actually. The lightening lasted all night although most of it stayed up in the clouds. It lit up the sky as bright as day all around us. Since that afternoon we have had rising humidity then a small storm on and off for a few days now. I must say I really don't mind the humidity. It bothers Bill a bit but I myself don't really dislike it at all.



Yesterday we hung around with Melody & Marvin in Port Dover. It is a little town (about 5,000 pple) on the coast of Lake Erie. It is a very popular tourist spot and a great place for swimming and trinkets. I must say my mom would love all the lighthouses and beachy stuff you could find everywhere! We spent the day there starting it off with a famous Port Dover foot long hotdog. It was really really good.

We then finished lunch off with some ice cream. We wandered up and down the streets looking in the stores. Bill and I refrained from buying anything mainly cause we have nowhere to put anything right now. There was lots to see. We ended the day eating dinner right on the lake on the restaurants patio and dipping our feet in Lake Erie (really warm actually). The weather was perfect and so was the day.

Today was spent sleeping in and running some errands. I say sleeping in because at about quarter to 6 this morning Bill woke up and found that our bed had a mind of its own. We've been sleeping on the queen inflatable bed we had that we had used for camping etc. It was quite comfortable and it would easily fit in the room we're staying. Well sometime in the middle of the night it started coming apart inside. The corridors that separate the air and give the mattress support and keep it flat started coming apart. So Bill woke up with a huge "mountain" of bulberous mattress under him. It was very uncomfortable and pretty much useless.

Good thing we had got lots of use out of it previously. Needless to say, we tossed that and headed to Walmart in Simcoe as soon as it opened. We bought ourselves a new inflatable bed that would rival any "real" mattress. It has a air coil spring top on it. Very nice. Which is good cause it will be our bed for a few more months most likely.
We went to Simcoe to run some errands in the afternoon to do with our EI and besides vegging out (without power cause we lost it in the rainstorm earlier today), today has been a bit uneventful.
We are looking forward to this weekend as we have another BBQ here at Monas and Cornfest! (it's a yearly festival here in Jarvis). I'll tell you more later.

Signing off,

N

Ontariario...

So we arrived at our destination...(do i hear applause?). We even arrived without mishap or any problems. Last night we unloaded the uhaul and used our stuff to entirely redecorate Mona's house. The boxes are a nice touch... especially in the kitchen.

The first day of being in Jarvis was a great one. (That was Thursday). We explored the area and went down to Port Dover which was about 10 min away. It was a very cute little town full of touristy shops, a beautiful sandy beach on a freshwater lake that looks a bit like something out of a tropical vacation advertisement, and lots of people enjoying the sun. We then headed to a little town north east of Jarvis and Port Dover called Paris. Seriously one of the cutest little towns ever. I loved all the old architecture and the small town feel of it. There are probably about 10,000 people that live there and so as far as small towns go it actually has quite a bit to offer. The housing prices there are pretty good too so if Bill gets a job nearby we might try and find one there. Cool fact about Paris: It is the site that received the first long distance phone call that Alexander Graham Bell sent. We saw the plaque and the building that it was sent to. Very cool. In a nearby town (probably 10 min away) called Brantford is the location of the Bell homestead and the site from which he sent that transmission. We are going to check that out soon. There is so much history here to check out. We walked through a tiny little shop on the main street of Jarvis called " Good old stuff". It was pretty much an antique shop with SO much stuff. They also carried a variety of neat older stuff, kids games, china, books and jewelery. I can see what type of places my money will be going once I have a job!

So yesterday was moving day. The uhaul had to be returned today so yesterday we had to unload it. There were only 3 of us for the first bit (Bill, Mona and myself) and then a couple hours later one of Bills' old friends from Paris, John, came to help too. We couldn't have done it without him. By the time he came we were so tired. We have to walk up a long flight of stairs to the room where we are storing stuff. Plus our furniture, especially the heavy stuff found a spot downstairs amongst Mona's stuff. Needless to say we redecorated for her :) As time went on the stairs became too much of a challenge and so we have boxes all over the place waiting to make their way upstairs to the room. After the move we said that we are going to stay at Mona's until we find a house to buy. Not only will we be able to save up money faster that way but then we only have to move things once more. I think we are all done with uhauls, moving and boxes for awhile. Now we just have to get onto jobs and such so we can start saving that money!!!

So here are a few pictures from the last leg of our trip. (actually I tried to upload pictures and it wasn't working. Check out facebook. We'll post them there today) We did end up passing through the outskirts of Barrie, Toronto, Oakville, Burlington, and Hamilton before getting to Jarvis. Jarvis is a charming little town with a pizza parlor, a couple good diners, a car wash and gas station and a bunch of antique shops. It's located in the middle of corn crops and farmland.

Well I'll be signing off. We are expecting a huge storm tonight and if the weather holds off we are going to a pig roast and maybe a festival in Hamilton. Then tomorrow we should be able to experience some of this humidity and heat we've heard so much about.

Have a great one!!!


Nicole

Counting Sheep

Well what can I say about the last few days besides I am SO tired of that truck. That cab is getting way to small and we are starting to annoy each other. I have definitely been rather grumpy lately. Yesterday went well as far as driving went. Except I keep missing the provincial signs as we enter the province. Or the camera acts up. It means Bill has been a dear and has found a way to turn around and go backwards and get me another chance. Today I caught Ontario's alright so that's good. :S


Manitoba yesterday was great. I actually really liked it (now we were traveling it in the summertime so I can imagine my opinion would change in the winter months). It smelled really good and was easy to navigate and our hotel was great. Bill even got a swim in the pool and we ended our anniversary evening with takeout dinner from Dominos and a sleep in a king sized bed.

The morning started off a bit earlier and turned out to be a long day. We crossed the border to Ontario today as well as crossed to the Eastern Time Zone. We crossed north through Kenora, Dryden, Ignace and then Thunder Bay. Beautiful wooded country. It rained a bunch of the trip but the worst part of it was we had no cell service for 8 hrs and it was single lane each way with a 90km speed limit. It was long going.

I did see a bear, deer and a moose! I've never seen a moose and this area is known for them. You have to be really careful if you travel the road by night because of the accidents with moose (or meece?).

Well I really have to go cause I am exhausted and tomorrow is supposed to be an 11h30min day (by google maps) which means more like 13 hrs our time before we have to navigate the city for a hotel.

We are thinking of extending our trip one more day just to keep the days from being so long.

Talk to you soon!

Signing off

B&N