Wednesday 31 December 2014

Tom's Man Cave

Part of the package we signed up for at our park was an extended concrete pad and a 10x12 shed. Tom and John got to work turning the hollow shell into a new space for Tom to work and play. They have turned this---

 

With some awesome manpower...

 

 

Into this....

 

 

Pretty cool. All the comforts of home. If he is bad I will be ordering a futon. Great job guys.

 

Saturday 27 December 2014

Turkey Time

John and Judy joined us for dinner on Christmas Day. The turkey was carved.

And we all ate far too much.

Gifts got opened.

On Boxing Day we headed into Walmart in Lake Wales to replace our 8 year old dumb TV with a new Vizio 42" smart tv. Then to Chili's for dinner. Two can eat for $20.00. Includes an appetizer to share and a wide choice of entré. Great deal.

Today I made a big pot of turkey soup. I took some over to our neighbors and the rest we shared with the Hollinger's tonight for dinner. Turkey left overs are done which will make Tom real happy. He is not a big turkey fan.

Just have to share this picture of my beautiful granddaughter Taylor and her beau Cam. They were skiing at Jasper on Boxing Day. If you remember last year she went sking at Jasper on Boxing Day and broke her ankle. She is proud to report she is intact this time around. Good job Pookeroo.

 

Tomorrow is another day. Time to get the diet back in gear!!

Love to all. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas also. Take care and until next time. Safe travels.

 

Thursday 25 December 2014

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. We hope you have a fabulous day. We are missing our kids and grandkids today for sure but know they are all happy and healthy. Twyla, Joe, Jake and Karmen are in Lloydminster spending Christmas with Joe's family. Taylor and Cam had an early Christmas with her family and will spend Christmas with Cam's parents. Jennifer is off today to Thailand for some fun in the sun with a girlfriend. Stuart and Heajin are going to spend time with friends.

Us? We are in Florida enjoying the beautiful weather. We joined John and Judy at their church for the Christmas Eve service again this year. They have a very nice service there. Some beautiful singing voices performing solos.

John and Judy are coming for turkey dinner to our place tonight. The smallest turkey we could find was 15.5 pounds so we will be eating leftovers for awhile. I invited one of our American neighbors to join us. They are lovely people that we got to know last winter and we did not want them to be alone. But they have plans so they will have to help us with left overs...lol

Merry Christmas to everyone. Hope you feel all the love that comes with this special day. If you are traveling. - travel safe.

 

 

Sunday 21 December 2014

Homeless

The sale of our house closed on Thursday and we hit the road at 3:00 pm to start our journey south. It was hard to say goodbye to Stuart and Heajin. We stayed with them for the past several days since we moved the furniture out of the house.

We crossed the border at Windsor/Detroit. A quick crossing without much hassle. We drove through some rain, mist and a skiff of snow through Michigan and Ohio. We got as far as Lexington, Kentucky by 1:00 am Friday and pulled into a Walmart parking lot. It was only 27' F. So damn cold. We climbed into the trailer and got a few hours sleep. On the road again in the morning by 7:00 am. Our first night of being homeless and we had to sleep in a Walmart parking lot!!! Lol

The drive through the mountains of Kentucky is always pretty. A bit foggy this morning but still nice.

 

Moving down into Tennessee the sun starting to shine for the first time and the temperature rose above freezing making for a much nicer drive. The mountains of Tennessee are much higher than in Kentucky and the rock face is a different color.

 

 

Traffic was heavy in spots. We hit this in Georgia. Backed up for miles!!

 

 

We spent Friday night in a rest stop south of Lake City, Florida. It was about 60' that night so the sleep was much better. We arrived in our resort at 10:30 am on Saturday. A fast trip for sure. We made great time. John and Judy were here to welcome us to our winter home. We got set up and they were so kind as to provide lunch, dinner and drinks to the tired travelers. So wonderful to have our good friends waiting for us.

Today was getting organized and cleaned up after our trip. Get groceries and visit with all our neighbors that dropped by to say hi. Nice to see so many familiar faces again. Looking forward to another fun winter.

Until next time. - safe travels.

 

 

Sunday 14 December 2014

On The Move

This morning we headed to Orillia to pick up Tara. Time to move her farther south to make our departure easier later this week. Of course we had a problem. Seems like a normal situation for us. We took up a bunch of stuff, put out the bedroom slide and got it all put away. Went to hook up the truck and the batteries were completely dead. I guess there was only enough juice to put our the bedroom slide to let me unpack clothes and put the slide back in. Our friend who has looked after her all summer boosted the batteries and we got hooked up and on our way. Thank you Tom and Christine again for keeping our baby on your acreage all summer.

We got to Milton Heights campground where we will keep her for a few days. This gets us past Toronto. Nice not to have to deal with the 400/401 when it is time to leave. They let us park right at the entrance, on concrete and headed in the right direction. Perfect spot. But guess what? The batteries are dead again and we could not raise the trailer. The park maintance man gave us another boost.

We unhooked and headed back to Stuart's for the evening. Seems strange to be homeless!!!

I guess tomorrow we go buy a couple new batteries. So the fun begins again!! Not sure rv'ing is all that is cracked up to be!

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday 13 December 2014

Almost Done

Friday was the big move day. Stuart arrived at 11:00 am with the Budget truck. It took a couple of hours to load. Then the drive to his house and a couple hours to unload. A lot of our furniture we are giving to him so the next move will not be as tough. We got all our goodies packed into the spare room in their basement and his shed. We got our spare bed set up in his spare bedroom so he now has a place for guests ... Like us!

We had to take the truck back to Newmarket and Stu had his car there. So Tom and I rode in the back of the truck. Tom stood all the way. Said it was like riding the subway in Toronto. There is a hatch that opens from the cab in to the truck. So when we got to the rental place Heajin got out of the passenger side. Tom and I climbed through the hatch and out the passenger door...lol. Like a clown car. How many people can climb out of the passenger seat of a two seater...?? Big fine if we got caught.

 

 

Stuart and Heajin took us out for a lovely dinner at The Keg to put a delicious finish to a hard day. We still have to go back to the house this week to pick up the last of our Florida things and clean the house. I refuse to leave a dirty house for the next people. I have to vacum up the tracks we made moving on Friday. Everything else has even cleaned out, washed and ready for the purchaser.

This morning it took a crane to get everyone out of bed. Lots of sore muscles and backs. Tom and Stuart worked on getting his garage organized while Haejin and I braved the Christmas shopping traffic in Barrie to pick up a few things. What a zoo!!!

Stuart and Haejin made this ladder ball game for us as a Christmas gift. Pretty cool. We will have lots of fun with this next summer. In the meantime they get to store that for us also...lol

 

 

Tonight we are off to Holland Landing for dinner with our friends Dave and Helen. It may be the last time we see them until spring unless Helen can talk Dave into heading for Florida again this winter for a while.

 

Thursday 11 December 2014

Snow snow go away!!

Tomorrow is moving day and this is what showed up this morning. Yesterday there was no snow to be seen but today was a different story.

 

Snowed all day. Thankfully Tom gave my favorite snow shovel to Stuart so I could not help move this snow. He had to do it all by himself. That will teach him to give stuff away too quickly. Anyway tomorrow is the day we move all our furniture and more boxes up to Stuart's to store in his basement for the next 18 months. The weather forecast says that this snow should all melt over the weekend. Here's hoping!!


Had a lovely surprise this evening. Helen Tsang who used to live next door And her son Nick dropped by for a visit. Nick was just a little guy when they moved in fresh from Hong Kong way back in 1991. He is a licensed pharmacist now but has decided he wants to be a doctor. So he headed back to school. He has two more years of medical school to go in Brisbane, Australia. He is home to visit his parents for Christmas. It was very nice to see them both.

 

Tomorrow should be fun!!

 

Sunday 7 December 2014

Birthday Update

Twyla messaged me some pictures from Jake's birthday. Being they are so far away it is nice that technology allows me to be part of it.

Jake and one pal are trying out the ice while waiting for the rest of his friends to arrive. Joe is in the background with the quad at the fire pit.

 

After the skating it was beef on a bun, veggies, chips and dip. They did leave room for birthday cake.

Looks like he made a pretty good haul on the gifts.

Then it was back on the ice to wear off the cake before a Bon fire. Sounds like it was a success. Can't believe he is 12!! Twyla says he is eating her out of house and home. Look out for that big growth spurt that is not far away.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 5 December 2014

Happy Birthday #1 Grandson

Wishing our grandson Jake a very happy birthday. He turned 12 yesterday. Boy the years are flying by.


He tells me that since they have no school today that they are having his party today. He and his Dad built a big ice rink in the yard. His buddies are coming over this afternoon to skate. Later they will have dinner, eat cake and have a bonfire. He spent the evening last night shoveling the rink to get ready. Happy Birthday Ace. Love you!
They have a hockey game east of Edmonton tomorrow. Both he and Karmen will have to get a good nights sleep tonight after the birthday party is over so they are ready to play tomorrow. Good luck guys.
 
13 more days to closing. The sign says it all. Then it will be on the road to Florida. Can't wait!!
Until next time - safe travels.