Christmas Day At Doug And Daphne's Home

Guess what? Eating again! A festive setting indeed.

Sarah, Doug, Daphne and Doug pose in front of their beautiful tree

Wendy's brother Doug lives in nearby Thorndale with his wife Daphne. Their daughter Sarah and son Doug were home for Christmas. We took our son Tim and Grandma Gene out there in our car. Wendy's other brother Brad came from Richmond Hill (Toronto) with his wife Denise and the two boys, Mitchel and Colton.

Sarah gets some photo tips from Uncle Brad

Doug tries out Brad's camera.

Denise poses with Grandma Gene

Brad and Gene

Daphne and Sarah worked hard to produce wonderful snacks and a spectacular dinner. Denise brought some jumbo shrimps, and Wendy the bacon wrapped water chestnuts and Christmas pudding. All this food helps to keep me from wasting away.

Sarah and Daphne worked all day to prepare for the big dinner
Colton and Doug work to un-jam a toy gun




The 'kids' table

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve and A White Christmas A Sure Thing

The magic of Christmas is always enhanced with a fresh snowfall, so this year the house seems particularly Christmassy. I was in charge of cooking the spiral cut ham on the bbq. In testing the meat thermometer, I found it was out by 32 degrees! Christmas Eve being Monday, there was time for last minute trips to the grocery store, the hardware store for a new meat thermometer, and a drive to Waverly Mansion to pick up Wendy’s Mom. Wendy was extra busy since we were having our daughter Erin, and her boyfriend Jake, Wendy’s friend Patricia and her boyfriend Greg over for snacks and dinner. A lovely time was had by all. We opened our Santa gifts, since Christmas Day we are going over to Wendy’s brother Doug’s for ‘round two’. Losing weight is not in the cards, at least not this month!

Wasn’t That A Party!

A frosty ice sculpture greets Wendy at the front door

Archie was one of the two partners that purchased Carroll Healthcare from me twelve years ago come April. Archie’s Christmas party Friday night was a most elaborate affair. It is held at his country home which by coincidence is located two laneways away from the old stone farmhouse Wendy and I rented right after we were married over thirty years ago. Archie’s lovely wife Wendy and their three beautiful daughters Martha, Victoria, and Sarah are the most gracious of hosts. Guests are greeted outside the main entrance by valets that park your car. In our case we were driven over by our son Tim and hailed a limousine to get home. I knew from past experience, the two open bars would not be conducive to driving.

Jacques is still at Carroll Healthcare in charge of purchasing.


I noticed a large refrigerated truck parked adjacent to the palatial home and rightly surmised it was from the caterer, an upscale restaurant in Mount Pleasant, south of Brantford 60 miles away. In the huge family room, a full and complete buffet featured a chef carving a luxurious prime rib. Nearby, two bartenders dispensed refreshments. At the other end of this large room, a piano player entertained on a grand piano and guests sang carols. A smaller room adjacent held a table of finger foods and hors d’oeuvres. Next, a large theatre room bedecked with Christmas decorations, surprised guests with a young man shucking oysters and a young woman pouring the best of Champaign. Another table of snacks was located near the door. On to another large room where the most elaborate and beautiful spread of fresh seafood. Lobster, huge shrimp, and dozens of other specialties were eagerly consumed by the many guests. Adjacent to the seafood buffet another two bar tenders were busy practicing their mixology. Continuing on, a new addition to the house contains a dramatic two story room with tall glass, looking out into the park-like grounds. Finally, in a parlour off the main foyer a most elaborate dessert buffet bid the guests farewell. 

 

Kelly, Wendy, Del, and our former office manager and administrative assistant Sandy right.


We stayed for a few hours and were hoarse from talking. With so many happy guests, all talking at once the sound level was quite high. Talking continuously for several hours didn’t entirely accomplish my goal of speaking with everyone I knew, let alone meeting new ones. The guest list is a veritable 'who’s who' of London. There is also many of Archie’s neighbors from when they lived in the city, and of course relatives like his Mom and Pop, and many young friends of the three daughters. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our hosts, since I wondered at the appropriatenes of continuously snapping pictures in their home. After all, I do want to be invited back!

Secret Present for Linda

Usually, at my age, I'm not really into gift giving any more, and I honestly expect nothing (Santa has never let me down - ever!) but when I saw something that would seem perfect, I had to go for it. I was over at the HomeSense store with Wendy when I spotted the ideal gift for our friend Linda. Her hobby is painting beautiful flowers and things on to rustic objects. I remembered her saying one time at the Hobby Lobby, that she was always looking for 'tinware' items and how it was difficult to find plain, un-laquered items. Linda's beautifully adorned 'Muskoka chairs' are well known in the Grand Bend community where she lives. I don't want to spoil the surprise so I've shown them wrapped up. I will say, by way of a hint, that they are tinware items.





Mystery gifts under 'the perfect tree'.

A Blog Anniversary

December marks a year since we’ve had ‘the Blog’ running. We hope you have enjoyed seeing the world through our eyes. We started it so Wendy and I could share some of our experiences with relatives and friends. (also saves a lot of redundant typing and emails.)

It turns out ‘the Blog’ serves as a sort of forced ‘diary of events’ in our little family. Since we feel an obligation to continue on for our 20 or so, loyal readers, the entries keep coming where they probably wouldn’t if we were faced with a conventional paper diary.

I know I tend to take more pictures ‘for the blog’ than I would ordinarily save. The process also inspires me to bookmark and document more than I would if I was only tending a fading collection of images that I thought were destined to be sitting in a digital file on a computer that I knew would inevitably be dispatched to a garage sale or the curb, waiting for the garbage collector.

Wendy found this old picture of me from the early 70's in Gene and Howards collection. I remember the tie, nothing else! Would you buy a used car from this guy? Not many did!

I think the past year, while helping clean out Gene’s house of 62 years has taught me this:

If you don’t somehow categorize and attempt to place your recollections in some sort of order, they will inevitably float down a river of forgotten memories heading off to the sea! They probably will anyway, but you should do everything you can to help make them cling to the shore, where somebody might be able to salvage and appreciate them!

Pardon the dramatic analogy. Hopefully you all have a better grasp on ‘the order of things’ than I do, but this blog is my way of documenting otherwise mundane and; in the big picture, pretty trivial events that would otherwise fade into nothingness like the old black and white photos from Gene and Howard’s (Wendy's parents) basement. I plan to post some of these old photos here next year.

Upon tracking the ‘hits’ on the web page it looks like there is an average of about a dozen or so per day. That’s pretty good for a page that ‘has nothing’ except for trivia. And as my aging brain needs neuron conditioning to help maintain itself, I shall continue forth into 2008.

In some small way I hope some images in this blog 'cling to the shore' as they flow down the river.

So - Get a Blog and start saving your LIFE! Contact me and I'll show you how.

Tim

Christmas Party #03 - Waverley Mansion

Gene and Wendy's brother Doug

A toast is proposed by Gene. Jake left and Wendy right.

Doug jr.

We were glad Erin and Jake could come.

The 'low cal' dessert? Not!

Sarah enjoys an hors d'oeuvre

The spectacular architectural details in the room where we dined. Click pic to zoom.

Gene was happy we could all get together.

Wendy took down hors d'oeuvres to Gene's suite where everyone met around 4pm prior to dinner. In spite of the bad weather, Doug and Daphne drove in from Thorndale (12 miles northeast) They picked up their son Doug jr and their daughter Sarah. Sarah came by train from Toronto. Our daughter Erin and her boyfriend Jake brought our total to 9. (we were supposed to limit it to 8) We dined in Victorian style starting with a leafy salad, followed with a scrumtious turkey dinner with red and white wine and capped off with a delightful dessert. A piano player tinkled out Christmas carols in the central parlour. We had the early (4:45) seating, which was originally to accommodate Brad and Denise, all the way from Richmond Hill (120 miles) but they couldn't attend due to the storm. Sorry Daphne, I didn't get a usable pic of you.

Keith Urban - What a Concert!

Present for Wendy for her birthday on November 23

A highlight of this busy weekend was on stage at the John Labatt Centre. For Wendy's birthday I got her two tickets to the Keith Urban 'Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy World Tour' . Wendy and Patricia attended.

"That was without a doubt one of the best concerts I've ever been to." Wendy said. London was the last stop on the tour.

JLC, London, Ontario - December 15, 2007
Urban cranks up heat at JLC
By JAMES REANEY -- Sun Media

LONDON, Ontario - There was a true Urban legend at the John Labatt Centre -- Keith Urban. The Nashville-based, Australia-raised country star was at his hottest right from the start before a sold-out crowd of 8,500 up-and-shouting fans.
"Baby, it's cold outside," Urban warbled jokingly after a blazing Once in a Lifetime opened to a standing ovation.
"Thank you guys for coming out tonight."
Urban and the fans made sure it was hot for about two hours last night on an evening when the downtown London arena was darn cool -- temperature-wise -- before the star took charge.
"It's about to get funky y'all. Are you with me?" Urban shouted in his totally charming Aussie-inflected Nashville-speak about 75 minutes into the show. It happened to be the perfect introduction for Days Go By, which had a huge singalong from the London fans and fan videos from Urbanites around the world on the big screen behind the singer.
That screen -- it must have high, high definition. Visually, there were huge closeups of the star -- cool, sweaty blondish hair; hunky good looks plus earring; and a stubbly start of a beard to look funky. That's no Urban myth.
Did we mention Urban can also play a little -- make that a lot -- of guitar. When he told The Free Press the tour had been a chance for him to rediscover how much he loves playing guitar, Urban wasn't kidding. All those Fenders and Gibsons were being treated royally.
The stage setup included a long walkway leading to a small second stage, giving the star and fans a chance to get close. Visually, Urban's show was one of the most sophisticated at the arena, with that huge screen and cameras getting the famous face and songs in focus for everybody.
Urban and all that gear are back at the John Labatt Centre again tonight when concert time is 7:30 p.m.

Hard-rocking California country singer Gary Allan opened last night and asked the crowd who was coming back for the tour finale tonight to cheers. Urban had something to say about it, too.
"We're going to finish our whole tour here (tonight)," Urban announced early in last night's set. Based on the energy, visuals and sound, there is no sign of the tour slowing down at all.
Urban's tour plays on the title of his recent hit album -- Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing. It was good for Once in a Lifetime, the terrific opener, and Faster Car -- which had Urban on bass -- in the early going. He went back to the album for a rousing I Told You So. That took the concert back to the main stage after a lovely unplugged interlude of You're My Better Half, Making Memories of Us and You'll Think of Me. They're all from Urban's newest CD, Greatest Hits: 18 Kids (Capitol/EMI).
The unplugged set took Urban and his band to a small, second stage. There was plenty of time for handslapping and greeting along the walkway with ecstatic looking fans.
Earlier, there was time for Urban six-string wizardry on Where the Blacktop Ends. It mixed in sweetly with the banjo and mandolin from his band, five musicians who must have fun keeping up and trading riffs with their boss.
Sonically, the mix for Urban and band was impressive -- and the fans just kept getting stronger in a most unLondon display of lung power on the way to the main set finishing combination of Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me and Somebody Like You.
Urban married Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman last year. The first concert he played after the marriage was at Sarnia's Bayfest. Kidman was just off-stage for that show.

I Have Never Seen A Warning Like This Before!!!

Our son Tim on the snowblower. Looks a little frosty eh?


Although bad, it didn't 'cripple' or ''paralyze' us. Good thing it hit on a Sunday when traffic was at a minimum.

Warnings
London - Parkhill - Eastern Middlesex County7:03 PM EST Saturday 15 December 2007

Winter storm warning continued

A near-crippling snow storm with heavy snow and blowing snow as well as some ice pellets tonight and Sunday.This is a warning that dangerous winter weather conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.

A massive winter storm is about to strike much of southern and eastern Ontario with near record snowfall amounts.

Copious amounts of snow as well as strong winds causing blowing snow are expected. Freezing rain is also possible near Lake Erie.Widespread snowfall accumulations of 20 to 30 cm are expected in most areas tonight and Sunday. Some local amounts of 40 cm or more are quite likely in a few areas by Sunday night..Especially from the west end of Lake Ontario and eastwards into far eastern Ontario.

Significant blowing snow is expected to accompany the heavy snow due to strong northeast winds gusting to 60 km/h whipping up the freshly fallen snow and causing whiteout conditions. In addition freezing rain is possible especially near Lake Erie for a few hours overnight and Sunday morning as milder air pays a brief visit aloft. Ice pellets are also quite possible generally along and south of a line from Grand Bend to near Toronto and east to Cornwall.

The public should be prepared to change plans accordingly to avoid unnecessary travel during this storm. This massive snow storm has the potential to cause near-paralyzing conditions as road travel on any unplowed streets may become next to impossible on Sunday. All motorists who must travel are urgently advised to use extreme caution and plan for much extra time to reach their destination.There is a high degree of certainty with this storm as the concensus of weather model data is virtually unanimously forecasting this event.