Jack and Mel's Adventures: September 2012

Dear All

News 26 - August 2012 - Hello from us

End of July brought us some visitors from England. In fact they have immigrated from UK. Trevor and Kathleen and little Ben of 2 years. In return they invited us to spend the long weekend 3rd Aug to 6th Aug at their home in Ottawa. I took that opportunity of inviting my niece Denise's children Ethan - 8 years and Sophie who is 5 years and their grandma Rajesh and left on Friday. Trevor and Kathleen welcomed them and we all felt at home. We had a lovely time showing all a little bit of Ottawa as we had been there last year. Ottawa is a beautiful place and I won't repeat what we saw as I have written about that last year but one thing that we had missed is this:- The Canadian Museum of Civilisation the roof of which is built in the shape of an upturned canoe.

This is one of the best museums in Canada and shows the development of the country and its peoples. There is also a children's museum which little Ben, Ethan and Sophie loved. The Great Hall had totem poles and the Inuit displays. We visited most of the Galleries and enjoyed but I still prefer the UK ones which are much better and are free too. On the way back on Monday we took the scenic Highway 7. The children enjoyed fairground rides and stops at Scugog Island's Palmer Park in Port Perry. I only mention this as there is a park of the same name in Reading UK with climbing frames like those here. Had our picnic in Havelock a peaceful town with a little lake and drove on to Mississauga to drop the family. It took 7 hours. The children were so excited to tell their parents all about Ottawa. It pleased us that they were happy.

I followed the Olympics every day and I had a mixed feeling about whether I should be there or in the comfort of my home watching the game in front of my TV. I think I did right. I am really immobile without Jack and have to rely on others. On Wednesday the 8th August our new Spanish Student Carol arrived and she is only 17 years but a very beautiful and loving young lady. Carol and I used to keep each other company watching the Olympics and enjoyed quite a bit of it. Marzena from my Friday Prayer Group has two grown up boys - 18 and 16. Good company for Carol and we all visited the Playdium in Mississauga. It is a place where you play games on machines and I think it reminded me of London's Trocadero. They had a wonderful evening. Wish I was young again. We helped Carol with the school project which was based on the Canadian Prime Minister and she presented so well, Jack & I were proud to watch her doing it plus for her to win the first prize of $25. She immediately took us for an ice cream at the Dairy Queen.

August 10th was the start of the 3 day Oakville Jazz Festival. So we took Carol and Marzena her boys - a fun filled evening of Jazz. The High Street was rocking and rolling, jiving and boogying, singing and dancing as bands played their versions jazz, country and rock. Among the beer, hamburger and general stalls there was even a dance school doing dancing demos in Jazz, salsa, jive. Marzena's youngest boy Daniel took the opportunity and bought himself some lessons. Good for him. We all loved the stroll and enjoyed the evening filled with music and impromptu dancing. It was good. I cannot complain about August in Canada as there are always Festivals of some sort going on every weekend. You just have to take control of yourself or one can get festival overload. Glad we went on Friday as Saturday was a washout but we watched the last day of the Olympics and feasted on a dinner of Shrimp. We kept Sunday free for the TV closing ceremony of the Olympics. The Brits did well and I am so proud to be part of Britain. I enjoyed every bit of the show. Well done Britain. You will see from the photos how proud I was. Jack treated us to Pizza and yummy Italian cakes.

We have had some improvements to the front and side of the house so we now have a storm porch to protect the entrance from snow and cold and some additional storage for garden furniture etc or a BBQ garage. I think Jack was recently in a confused state when he gave me permission to take the car on my own on Sunday the 19th August and go to the local shops. Carol came with me and I drove the opposite direction to where Jack thought I should be going. I had more on my mind like wow I got the car, I got company so let me drive. It was like I was driving in UK. I miss that sort of freedom. Hooray I can do it on my own!

I started doing a Bible Reading course with a good Italian friend called Joe. We started from Genesis and I am on chapter 50. We write as to what God is telling us and we share. It is a real joy to do that.

Carol my lovely student loves Indian food and it has been a real pleasure to cook for her. On Friday the 24th August we said farewell to Deacon Allen Varlaki as he goes forward for his last year at seminary to be ordained in May 2013. We had 23 people and it was a wonderful evening. I am thankful to those who came last minute and brought a dish. Fr Oering our new Assistant Pastor too had a good time and so also Carol who got to meet more Canadians and practice her 'Canadian English' which is after all why she was here. Jack's cousin brought Tiramasu - yum which was Carol's favourite, Belle brought my favourite Carrot cake, Jack made Jelly, Marzena brought chocolate mousse that was liked by my niece Denise's children along with the Jelly. It's great with people bringing in a dish, (I had little to cook lol!) just joking)) but Jack was kept busy at the BBQ. Un-welcomed mozis were kept at bay with Citronella candles and the garden resembled a candlelit vigil but we were not bitten. The party ended just after midnight.

Turkish Festival

On Sat 25th Aug we went with some friends to see 'War Horse' at Prince of Wales theater Downtown Toronto. It was a fantastic production and hats off to the imagination of those who made the life sized mechanical horses and brought them to life with their puppetry skills. After the show we walked straight into a Turkish Festival just across the road. Wow what a fair of 'Turkish Delights' in foods, drinks, sweets, costumes, and music. We had planned to finish the evening with a Hakka Chinese (Chinese cuisine from Calcutta, India) meal. The food was great. Whilst parting company I told Jack I would like to go for a drive and show Carol where we lived last March which is Bloor/Yonge in the heart of Toronto. She was taken up with the shops, people and how lively it was at 10pm. As we left the area we heard some musical commotion so we stopped, parked the car and we had come across Busker Fest raising money for Epilepsy. Another annual Toronto festival with international buskers and street performers. It was fantastic, more food, music and entertainment.

Carol and Jack had a wonderful time whilst I sipped coffee in Starbucks and watched the show from inside due to the pain in my knee. Home pretty late again.

Then on Sunday we had a great picnic mostly Parish friends - we were 23 in all - at Spencer Gorge/Webster's Falls Park. The falls are not much to talk about when you have seen Niagara but the walks and views are great. Its another part of the famous Bruce Trail which I mentioned in an earlier blog. We can now say we have done another 3km of the 800 plus km trail to the 5 we have done before. At this rate we need another lifetime to complete. Standing at the edge of the cliffs one can see the city of Hamilton down in the bottom of the rift. We had a wonderful time together and shared our food and enjoyed ourselves.

On some of the pictures you will see some sand sculptures. These are from a recent competition on an Oakville beach on London Olympics. Aren't they fantastic? The sculptors had 3 days to do them. Great work.

My lovely Spanish Student Carol went back to Spain on 29th Aug and there is a big hole in our hearts and in the home.

Summer is coming to an end and you can see it by the change in the colours changing, leaves dropping off and display of Fall flowers in the shops, very expensive though. I think it is not worth buying anything now due to the cold that will set in. I will still look out for a bargain but I doubt it as generally I find it expensive. Never mind (I am sighing here lol!)

Today being the 1st September I thought I better clear the leaves as Monday the 3rd September is predicted to be a Rainy Day so I went to do it. In England I used to go probably from end of September or beginning of October to get it ready for Winter. Well it is a month early that I have found the plants are coming to the end of their season. I suppose it is cold in the winter, that is my thought. Oh I really miss England for the gardens, the flowers and my friends. I suppose I will get used to everything, it is just taking longer for me. You can see some of my plants here.

Fushia does not do well in Canada it is too hot

My adopted daughter Carol

The weather is very good to grow your own crops. My church friend says that she canned 89 jars of tomatoe (sauce that she made being an Italian wow!) They still have a lot and will be distributing the tomatoes this week. I am looking forward to that.

We went to Marineland. Although they have a vast ground and surrounded by tress I felt our Entertainment Parks has more to offer.
We saw the whales and dolphins. It always amazes me to see how intelligent these creatures are.