The Travels of the Agnew Family

The evergreens at the front of the house are getting too large for the spot they are in plus they were winter burned a couple of winters ago. The dead area was on the backside of the tree so we gave it some time to regenerate but it just didn't happen. Since there's been a lot of rain lately, Ed thought he'd try the easy way of removing the trees --- pull them out with the truck.


Turned out to be an easy way to do the job.


A little work with the chain saw and the tree remains were ready to be taken to the burn pile at the dump. Our neighbour was also hard at work --- some guys just can't wait for the leaves to fall off the trees.

Since we were on a roll we decided to pull two shrubs between our house and a neighbours. The shrubs make it hard to walk down that side of the house and there is no aesthetic value. The first shrub just popped out of the ground when the truck gave a pull. The second shrub was a little more obstinate --- actually a lot more obstinate. The truck was pulling, the ground was beginning to move and the tow strap broke. We had put an old moving blanket over the strap and the energy from the strap breaking shredded the blanket.


Don't let the size of the bush fool you .... there's a lot of roots under it. I think it's a relative of the lilac ---- lots of runners. At one point I had let the bush get out of control and it was about 10 feet tall and pretty much filled the space between the two houses. The bushes sentence has been put on hold and in the spring we'll decide if it is commuted or if we try again.


We had about 14 trick or treaters this year ... about the normal amount. Dustin was visiting his grandparents and made a trek around the neighbourhood.

Not sure why but Ed really wanted to get a photo of the Mildmay Dam before it is decommissioned (removed). As it is a sunny day we drove to Mildmay to take a look and photograph the dam.


It's easy to see why the dam is being removed.

Yesterday morning (Sunday) I got the pleasure of driving through Toronto --- Ed doesn't particularly like driving in Toronto and I don't particularly like Ed driving in Toronto (he gets very impatient with the other drivers), so I tend do the Toronto driving unless we are pulling a trailer. On the drive I remarked that the traffic seemed busy for a Sunday (pretty solid traffic but no real slowdowns) then I realized that in the last eight years we've only driven on the 401 sporadically so we no longer had any idea what the traffic patterns are like.

We were on the 401 traveling to Kendal to make a long over due visit my cousins Bob and Wendy (a different Bob from yesterday's Bob). My mother, my brother and my cousin's daughter Rachel were also visiting. Good dinner and a good visit.

Leaving Kendal we drove into Toronto to visit Ed's sister who lives in the St. George and Bloor area. We decided to crash at Ed's sister for the night so we would avoid Monday morning rush hour. What a pleasure to zip down Avenue Road at 10 pm.


We had planned to eat lunch at a Tibetan restaurant but the best we can figure out the restaurant closed five years ago. We opted for Chinese Dim Sum instead which was fabulous. After visiting a couple of stores we decided to act like tourists and walked down to Queens Quay. I don't think the crane is as high as the CN tower but it certainly looks it in the photo.


Queens Quay is across from the Toronto Island airport so it's not a surprise to see boats and airplanes together.


Ed's sister Sonya and Ed.


A lot of new buildings have been constructed in the five or six years since we've been to downtown Toronto. I almost didn't recognize the skyline.


Somehow wildlife manages to survive in the city. Not sure why this little guy was out for a stroll in the middle of the afternoon. When he realized that there were people around and they were watching him he scooted up a tree.


The seagulls on the other hand like people and expect hand outs.


Another photo of the CN tower with the police boat garage on the left. The photo on the right is another new building, this one has a very interesting shape.


The Ontario Legislative Building at Queens Park.


One of the University of Toronto buildings at sunset.

This afternoon we attended a 70th birthday party for Bob. There's a lot of Bobs in our life and this one is distinguished as Maggie's dad. Maggie is a golden retriever that was a friend of Zaph's, her mom Sue and I use to take the dogs for walks and years ago a swims at Kincardine beach.

Over the years I had heard about Sue and Bob's children and friends, today I got to put faces to a lot of names and help to celebrate Bob's special day.

A few years ago, Sue was helping a customer at the store where she works part time. While the husband was looking around, she chatted with the wife. During the conversation the wife mentioned that her husband was in a band and they were looking for a drummer. Sue responded with my husband is a drummer. A phone call later Bob was trying out with the band and the rest is history.


Bob, on drums, with his fellow band mates. We passed an enjoyable afternoon listening to music.


Bob and his cake.

This evening we attended a show, Rock Around the Clock, at the Victoria Jubilee Hall in Walkerton. It was a fun evening listening to "the Everly Brothers", "Richie Valens", "Elvis Presley", "Connie Francis", "Buddy Holly" and "Jerry Lee Lewis". The tribute artists did an amazing job.

It's been awhile since Rob, Ed and I have been ATVing. The weather was good today so we drove up to Sauble Beach and went for a ride. The first stop always seems to be the sand dunes. The boys have more fun there than I do so I shot a few photos.


Ed zooming around.


Rob showing off his stopping ability.

On the swap trail we came across a downed tree, the handiwork of a local beaver.


The tree was right across the trail, so we spent a few minutes discussing what we should do --- try to remove the tree (very big, very heavy tree so not easy), turn around or drive over it. Not sure why we spent any time thinking about the options as ATVs easily drove over the log.

Did I mention that Ed and I joined the Probus Club in Hanover? Probus Clubs can be found around the world, with each Probus Club being sponsored by a Rotary Club. The objective of the Probus Club is to provide fellowship and guest speakers for retired and semi-retired people. The Hanover club has a monthly meeting plus and a number of activity groups. Anyway, today was a busy day for me. In the morning I went to aquafit, in the afternoon I played bridge with a Probus group and in the evening I attended Tai-chi (sort of through Probus). On my way to bridge I noticed how lovely the weather was and phoned Ed suggesting he take our garden compost to the dump. Ed snapped this picture while he was at the dump


this fellow was hanging out by the "burn pile" --- think he's either the guardian or the watcher.

The MS Chi-Cheemaun provides ferry service from Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. The MS Chi-Cheemaun winters in Owen Sound necessitating a spring and fall cruise between Owen Sound and Tobermory. Today is the fall cruise and Rob, Ellen, Ed and myself will be on the ship.

We were up early as we wanted to be on the road around 7:30. First there was the drive to Owen Sound where we boarded school buses for the drive to Tobermory. At Tobermory we embarked on the ship for the cruise back to Owen Sound. The ship was left Tobermory at 11:10 am and arrive in Owen Sound at 4:10 pm only 10 minutes behind the posted schedule.


Waiting for the bus. 600 tickets were sold so there were about 8 buses.


On the bus.


Embarking on the ship.


Even though it was sunny it was chilly due to the wind. The photo on the right is Big Tub Lighthouse in Tobermory.


Flowerpot Island is part of Fathom Five National Marine Park. The name of the island comes from two rock pillars on its eastern shore, which look like flower pots.


Cliffs on the edge of the escarpment. This section of the ride was a little rough and a number of people succumbed to sea sickness. The four of us found that sitting on the deck looking at the horizon kept us healthy.


The Cabot Head Lighthouse sits 80 feet above the water line of Georgian Bay. The lighthouse was originally built in 1896.


Cobble Beach Golf Resort is a relatively new golf resort with a spectacular view of Georgian Bay. Our neighbour's daughter held her wedding reception here.


Ed caught this rainbow on the water. Approaching Owen Sound.


The tub boat saluted the MS Chi-Cheemaun as it entered the harbour with a water cannon.


Disembarking the ship involved walking down to the car deck then exiting on a short ramp.


Ed, of course, had his GPS with him and tracked our course. The pink line shows are trip on the bus and the purple line is the ship. It took just over and hour to drive from Owen Sound to Tobermory and four hours to sail from Tobermory to Owen Sound. The bus was definitely faster but the ship was more fun.

It's been a busy but not exciting few days. I think I managed to go to aquafit a couple of times, attended a PROBUS meeting where a speaker talked about insurance (not as dull and dry as one would think), drove to Burlington and took my mother on a successful shopping trip, cleaned the house, cooked dinner for Anne and Victor, went for breakfast at the airport and spent money at the grand opening of Giant Tiger in Hanover.

On Saturday, I had the radio on and heard about the 10cm of snow that had fallen in Thornbury and was quite happy that it had missed us. That was until I looked out the window just before I headed to bed.


The first snowfall of the season.


In the morning it didn't look any better.


At least it wasn't too much and happily it melted quickly.

Ever have one of those moments like on the Road Runner cartoon where everything moves in slow motion and you know it's going to be bad and there's nothing you can do about it? Well, I hadn't that is until today.

Chris was back at the cottage and the four of us decided to go for one last boat ride. Only one problem, the boat needed gas. Chris drove to the gas dock at the marina. I thought I'd be helpful and jump off the boat to secure the boat to the dock. My right foot landed on the dock but my left foot got caught on the lip of the side of the boat and of course at the same time the boat started drifting away from the dock --- see Coyote starting to do the splits. Ed grabbed my left foot and freed it but it was too late. Now my hands were holding onto the boat, right foot on the dock and left foot in the air and the boat continued to drift further from the dock. Ed and Tina each grabbed an arm and pulled me against the boat as my feet left the dock. Then I heard Ed say "I'm grabbing your belt and hauling you in". Now I'm lying like a beached whale on the side of the boat. Once the boat was against the dock and secured I put my feet on terra firma (the dock) and stood up.


Don't think my life jacket got wet but everything below it did. Luckily I always pack too many clothes so I had clean clothes to change into.

Ever try a potato Quesadilla? We sampled one at Wal-mart and decided to make some for brunch today. You take some mashed potatoes and stir in some chopped onion and chopped cooked bacon. Spread it on one tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese and top with another tortilla. Fry one side and when brown flip and fry the other side. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Great way to get rid of mashed potatoes.

Tina needed to run a couple of errands in Midland (about 20 minutes from the cottage) so Ed and I tagged along. Chris, unfortunately, drove home to be "on call" on Sunday (Chris is a veterinarian and he's a member of a new emergency coverage group and there was a mix up in the schedule).


One of the murals that can be found on buildings in downtown Midland


The harbour.


Chrome goose sculpture.

One of Chris and Tina's neighbours (Harold and Marilyn) invited all of us along with five other friends for Thanksgiving dinner. Harold and Marilyn's have been building their cottage for several years and are almost finished (hopefully by the end of next summer). This is actually the 2nd cottage they've been building. After ten years of working on their first cottage it was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. Luckily the cottage was insured so they were able to build the current cottage.

Our friends Chris and Tina invited us to their cottage on 6 Mile Lake for Thanksgiving weekend. The cottage is on an island along with four other cottages.

After lunch we went for a boat ride to enjoy the lovely weather and look at the fall colours.


The fall colours were beautiful on the drive north but for some reason, maybe the lake, the trees on the lake were not as colourful.

Each year near my mother's birthday we get together with my cousin Yvonne and her husband Bob, my mother and my brother to celebrate my mother's birthday. As usual we met in St. Jacobs at D H Food and Lodging (it use to be called Benjamin's). Once again the food and service were very good.


Me, my mother and Yvonne.

After lunch, Miles (Yvonne and Bob's dog) was retrieved from the camper van (only luxury accommodations for Miles) and we went for a walk along the river.


My mother and my cousin's dog Miles.

Last winter several of the windows in our home were frosting up on a regular basis and were letting in a lot more cold than we wanted. We think the windows were telling us they were old and needed replacing. As we are planning on spending most of the winter at home we thought it would be a good idea to replace them.

It's a lot of work than I released involved in replacing a window. It took two full days to replace four windows. Probably didn't help that the two of the old windows were 2 windows cobbled together to make a single window and the other two were 3 windows cobbled together.


The window installers hard at work.


One of the new three section windows.

I'm looking forward to a warmer winter.

It's that time of year again Port Elgin's Pumpkinfest and the Cinderella Car Show.

The weather is a little chilly --- toques and winter coats abounded (not just me!!!), so we were happy to see lots of cars when we arrived at the car show.

A lot of our old favourites were there but also a number of cars we haven't seen before.


A Ford Ranger sitting low to the ground.


Nice paint job on this bike.


The guy who brought this Ferrari to the show got a speeding ticket on the way.


1957 Chevy Cameo


1940 Ford 3Window Coupe


Think this is a 1958

If my dad was alive he'd be 100 years young today. He's been gone over 20 years and I still miss him. We don't have very many digit photos of my dad but here are two.


In Swansea Wales, 1945. My dad is the fellow in the middle.


My dad is on the right side of the photo. The photo of my dad, his sister, two brothers and mother in the 1970s.