Zooming Along The River

The weather was absolutely perfect today with the temperature in the mid seventies. Being Thursday we decided to go to our favorite spot for two-for-one chicken wings (Kelsey's) and then for a walk in the park. After all this may be the last day this year to enjoy an Indian summer walk.

Wendy spotted this bird in the middle of the river but it was too far away for her to tell whether it was  a goose or a bald eagle. I was betting it was a goose.

I brought with me  my latest zooming camera (Panasonic ZS20). I am very pleased with this little camera which has an exceptional zoom range. 

Most of the leaves have already fallen but that didn't spoil our enjoyment of the park on this beautiful Fall day. 

From the bridge I had a chance to try out the zoom.  The pictures below really show off the abilities of this compact little point and shoot camera.

Wonderland gardens was a famous venue for the big bands in the thirties and forties .  Although the original buildings have long since disappeared the city has created fairly nice reproductions.

that's Wonderland Gardens off in the distance.  

Click on the map to enlarge.

All in all we walked only about 2 miles but it took us over an hour so you know we weren't running. We stopped to explore, examine and take pictures all along the way, thoroughly enjoying this bright, warm, sunny day.

It's days like this that make us really appreciate where we live and wonder why we would need to go anywhere else.
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Go North Young Man, Go North!

I don't usually like to talk politics, especially U.S. politics because I can't really do anything about their sad situation, but more than one of my American friends have said (jokingly or not) that they would move to Canada if Obama were to be re-elected.  Well, on CBC radio yesterday there was an American who did just that a few years ago after Emperor Obama was first elected.  Apparently he's not alone since there is now a small sector of Toronto he calls "Little America".   Here's a clip from the actual radio show aired on Saturday, October 19, 2012:


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Our Unusual Friendship with the Owner/President Of Chicken-in-the-Rough

If you've been following this blog you may remember my encounter with my distant relative Jack Carroll from Chicago back in August 2009 at the Palms Krystal Bar in Port Huron Michigan.  I say 'distant relative' because we both have the same last name so somewhere there must be a connection.  We met Jack and his wife Marian at the Palms Krystal while they were there on Chicken-in-the-Rough business with bar owner/franchisee Russ Schultz and his wife Martha. We have barely kept in touch with Jack over the years by e-mail and we wondered if we'd meet again some day. 

Surprise!  As I mentioned in my August 9 post a couple of months ago, Jack called Wendy and me at the condo and said he was setting up a new Chicken-in-the-Rough at The Bungalow Neighbourhood Hub on Waterloo Street in North London. He said he and his wife Marian would be coming soon and it would be great if we could renew old aquaintances. He mailed some vouchers for free chicken dinners at The Palms Krystal in Port Huron and at Murphy's Chicken-in-the-Rough in Sarnia both of which we have yet to use.

It is an unusual friendship in that we have only met face to face for a few minutes, three years ago, and yet have maintained some email and telephone communications. Wendy and I have since had lunch several times at the Palms Krystal and have, on occasion, talked with Russ Schultz at the bar, but he sees hundreds of people in his work and I wouldn't think he would remember us.

The story continues...

The other day Jack emailed me from Chicago and said he was driving to London on the 28th of October. Russ and Martha Schultz were also coming to London to meet with the owner, Scot Crawford of the new Chicken-in-the-Rough at the Bungalow Restaurant on Waterloo Street in North London. Jack wondered if Wendy and I would join everybody for dinner.

I responded that since they were here on business, it would be inappropriate for us to crash the party but Jack insisted. Here's Jack's response:
"From the bottom of our hearts, we truly hope we will see you Sunday, if possible. We would love to have you and Wendy as our guests."

So.. It would appear that in a couple weeks, Wendy and I will be having dinner with Jack and Marian, Russ and Martha, and Scot and Rosemary Crawford.  Click this link to read about Scott Crawford and the Bungalow Neighbourhood Hub Restaurant. It's an interesting story about how Mr. Crawford used to work for Mike Smith a very well known London restauranteur.  The dinner should be very interesting. I hope they are serving Chicken in the Rough by then. It really is great tasting chicken!

I guess the bottom line is... Hey, I need all the friends I can get. I'll update this in a future post. Stay tuned.
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Isnor's - Weddings Are For Crying?

Back in mid-September we attended a lovely wedding in Niagara Falls. There was nothing to cry about when it came to the weather or the amazing location at a Niagara vineyard, The Ravine Vineyard in St. David's but I did notice tears of emotion in most people's eyes... But that's what weddings are all about isn't it? Aside from the legalities, formalities and ceremony, weddings provide an emotional time for us to reflect on our own pasts and anticipate the future.

The event that we were all attending was the wedding of David and Reenie's daughter Tania and her beloved Clint. The ceremony was outside near the vineyard with the dinner and reception in a huge tent. What a perfect location for the union of this picture perfect young couple 

Tania and Clint seal it with a kiss in a vineyard near Niagara Falls, the romance capital of the world. Click to enlarge

Going through the images I took that day I found a photo that caught the moment when Clint and Tania were declared man and wife. "You may kiss the bride." I was immediately transported back to when I heard those same words at my own wedding over 40 years ago. Seems like only yesterday!  I was somewhat inspired so I did a watercolour which I will mount and send to them.

You can visit Google Photos and see all the pictures I took: CLICK HERE

Below is a sound recording of the speeches:
I hope in the years to come, we will listen to these speeches and fondly remember this lovely wedding of September 15, 2012.Sorry for the poor sound quality but we were sitting too close to the loudspeakers so I got some distortion. Unfortunately I discovered my battery had failed earlier at the vows.

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Tin Can Telephone

I love making art from old post cards. So what about making an old post card from a new photo? (click to enlarge)

My 'Rockwellian' style post card shows our kitten Dash up to his usual tricks as I am trying to place a call to my friend Jack Carroll in Chicago. (very long string)  Unless you are my age you probably never heard of a telephone 'party-line'. No, it doesn't have anything to do with a real party. There used to be 'private lines' (extra cost) and 'party-lines' (basic service). Read about this 'blast from the past' here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_%28telephony%29

This YouTube video aptly explains the problem with Party-Lines.

That's a young Ron Howard on the right in the group of kids. Jay North as 'Dennis the Menace' in the middle. Click the picture to start the movie.

Detailed do-it-yourself drawing I found on the internet shows how you too can make a tin can telephone. Usually, as you can see in the diagram, tin can phones involve only a private line. Amazing! Hours of fun for you and a friend.
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We Finally Met Jake's Dad

Taken by the 'self timer'... Not my greatest picture. Jake's Dad John, his wife Barb, Me, Wendy, Erin and Jake.

It will be eight years ago come February that Erin first introduced us to Jake. Since his dad lives in BC, we never met him. That is until last night. We knew he was in the area visiting Jake and Erin in Strathroy so when Erin called and said we should meet for dinner we jumped at the chance. We all met at the Keg in London around six last night (Saturday).  We thoroughly enjoyed having dinner and getting to know John and Barb.
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When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Artist

My 'Artist' impression. The hat is part of 'the look'.

I've been working on my 'biography' to insert with my art when I sell it. It seems like the thing artists do. What do you think? My sister says I have a couple of split infinitives [since repaired; thanks Pat] whatever split infinitives are... Is that the 'part' in my teeth? Hey, wait a minute. I said an artist, not a writer.

Tim Carroll was born in London Ontario, but also lived in North Bay and Toronto

Studied industrial design at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto.

Worked as a studio crewman and in the properties department of television station CFPL London.

For several semesters hosted a third year industrial design part-time studio at Fanshawe College, London Ontario

Owned and operated a successful hospital bed manufacturing factory. Carroll Healthcare Inc.

Retired at age 47, and turned more attention to photography and art.

"With a passion for art and a background in industrial design I tend to enjoy the somewhat rigid structure of man-made objects and architecture; often in juxtaposition with nature, in the form of plants, animals or the environment.

In my finished works I invariably start from either a photograph that I have taken or a historical/vintage postcard or photograph that is in the public domain. I have a great love of local history and so the old materials give me the ability go back in time virtually and overlay my modern interpretation which often involves coloring original black and whites. Often I will combine new images with old photographs or postcards in a new composite work.

I maintain a studio and production facility in my home which allows me to produce finished pieces quickly and economically with the ability to customize the final presentation creatively.  With the advent of modern coatings applied to my reproductions, and in light of my industrial design background, I now offer glassless frames and mounts which allow viewing of the artwork without the interference of annoying glare. Mat borders can be printed on to the picture in order to set it off from the background. With no glass covering the art, the resulting colors appear much more vibrant and clear, and the work can actually be wiped clean with a damp cloth."   

For your information: Mats originally had two purposes. One purpose was to keep the picture from touching the glass which, with condensation or extremes in humidity, could ruin the print. The other was to help separate the picture from the background and draw your eye to the work. If I use a mat for the latter reason, I now print it flat, right on the picture since not having any glass, a real mat would just collect dust along the lower edge and be difficult to keep clean. The picture above shows a faux, bevel-cut mat and is actually part of the picture so I can frame it as is, without any glass. Ta da!

Come on! You knew he just HAD to 'Artify' this picture somehow - didn't you?

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A New Coke Poster For Ann

When I saw this postcard I couldn't resist doing another huge 36 x 24 Poster for my friend Ann who collects Coca Cola memorabilia.

My latest poster  Click pic to view.

 I cropped the scene down a bit, added a Coke truck for interest and of course some extra Coke signs around the drug store. I'll print it in the largest poster size and give it to her next time I see her. She is probably running out of wall space if she hung up my two other posters. I've re-posted them for you to compare.

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The Jovers

The Jovers were a husband and wife funny vaudeville-style act that is wonderfully entertaining as it’s witty and Fe Jover’s laugh is contagious. In this clip they are performing live at the MGM in Reno in 1980. Fe is now 83 and lives with her daughter as her husband passed away a short time ago.

That man was no weakling. They both must have been in great physical shape to do that act over 30 years ago. Tim

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you stuff yourself this weekend!
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A Port Stanley Project

This is an old postcard from 100 years ago. Back then Port Stanley was 'the place to be' in the summertime. As they used to say... 'The bee's knees' or 'The cat's meow'.  I remember some of the old casinos around the countryside. My buddies and I used to drive fair distances to go to dances at these amazing spots. Most of them burned down or were demolished. I thought it might be nice to embellish this card into a Photoshop 'watercolor' and present it with my Port Stanley portfolio to see if I can make a buck from it. Click on it to enlarge it. What do you think?

I added some real estate, air and water around the edges for a less crowded look. For foreground interest I also added another post in the water with my favorite gull on top. I placed the original title up in the left corner to maintain the post card feel. I'll blow it up to 18 x 12 and frame it with a mat.
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That's No Cat My Sweetie-Pie

Vintage photo of a woman with her mink. Furs were more socially acceptable back then.

A lovely, healthy-looking mink made its way through our back yard and up on our deck, not more than 15 feet away from me.

Pardon the blurry shot.

 I scared it away with my picture taking but not before it stopped to have a sip of pool water. Later he returned with a big goldfish in his mouth from our neighbour's decorative lily pond. Wendy called Gwyn and she said she hadn't seen the culprit before but she had heard he was an escapee from an illegal subdivision mink operation. Then she said "Oh God what next!"

A mink stole may be stylish, but a live American mink can be an ecological nightmare. The carnivores have invaded habitats around the world, wiping out everything from native seabirds to fish. Since our Point Edward condo is located in a marina, we have noticed a number of these slinky animals while boating around the area. Here is a good read about how they have dealt with the problem in Scotland:
http://www.conservationmagazine.org/2010/11/mink-vs-vole/

If you are curious, here is the auction price of Mink pelts recently:
http://trappingtoday.com/index.php/category/fur-prices/
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'Dash' Is Growing Up

Here's Dash's passport picture. (No teeth showing as per gov't requirements)

The kitten; who we finally named Dash, is looking more like a cat than a kitten now. I figure he's almost four and a half months old. Is that nearly a teenager in cat/human years? He was at the vet's yesterday for his rabies shot. He has a heart murmur that they want to monitor before they schedule a time to 'get him fixed'. My allergies are somewhat under control as I think I am building a resistance. (or is it that I'm feeling better being home after spending three days with two big dogs in a cottage?) Still, I try not to handle him and if I do I immediately wash my hands.
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A Fall Drive To A Great Cottage In Haliburton

Our Haliburton trip started around 8 AM on Friday and we came back today (Monday). As usual for us we chose to travel the back roads instead of the big 4-lane highways. The extra half hour or so on a 5 1/2 hour trip was well worth it. When we passed an imaginary line about 40 miles north of Newmarket the splendor of the changing leaves in combination with a bright, sunny day provided us with a spectacular and ever-changing panorama of fall scenes. Even ordinary little towns and roads became alive with the contrasting kaleidoscope of vibrant colour.

The last few miles to the cottage was on a gravel road. We were definitely off the beaten path. As we drove on past million dollar cottages our curiosity and anticipation grew with every turn in the road.

When we got to the end of the road there was a somewhat confusing array of signs. Since we were the first to arrive and since we had never been here before, we were not sure of which cottage was ours. I knew the number was 1706 and that the owners name was Curt but I did not know his last name. The cottage I assumed to be right (later confirmed) had the name Smith on the front door. This aligned with the somewhat cryptic hand-painted sign on the tree on the roadside. We remembered Cheryl telling us that the owner had a challenged son so this made sense. I concluded that Curt had lovingly allowed the boy to paint the sign.

A wheel chair ramp confirmed that we were likely at the right place.

The cottage was a work-in-progress and obviously had been well used in the summer as there was a scattering of all sorts of toys for young and old. The property contained every type of game and summer sport spread randomly about. As you might imagine, this first impression left us wondering about what the inside of the cabin would be like. Rustic might be a polite description.

When our friends arrived and we made our way inside, we were greeted by a pleasant and dramatic cottage that was obviously designed with 'having fun' in mind.

Temporary railings and missing trim indicated that there were some 'loose ends' but nothing really interfered with our enjoyment of this hidden treasure in the wilderness.

The cottage is on beautiful Moose Lake. Pete hams it up as usual.

Chris, (Deb in background) Jessie, and Cheryl watch the big screen behind me

Cable TV, Internet and every other game imaginable kept everybody busy when it rained.

A dispute?

Good thing there is no movie of the game. I look better in a still picture.

It was John's birthday earlier this week so... any excuse for cake and a party. Mmmm thanks Cheryl.

John likes his CC present. Looks like Pete does too.

Wendy and John play a game on an excellent Shuffleboard table,

In the village of Haliburton there was a street festival. The place was abuzz. Wendy holds a live Fox Snake at a wildlife exhibit in the park.

Wow! Feeding a wild Timber Wolf. Pretty brave Pete... that is until I tell you the wolf is stuffed.

Pete and Donna buy some jam from a vendor.

This is John's former boss and good friend Curtis. He owns the place. I think he drove all the way up from Pickering, near Toronto, to make sure we were doing OK. John has known him for years and even helped with the construction of this cottage several years ago. Thanks Curt!

Cheryl and John's daughter Jessica and her boyfriend Ty walk by the lake with Magic, Cheryl's dog.

Walking the dogs

John and Pete ahead of us with Dallas and Magic. Dallas belongs to Chris and Deb and of course Magic belongs to John and Cheryl.  You can only imagine my allergies.
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