Linda's Home In Grand Bend 2018 - Memories.

 A few years ago Linda moved back to London to a beautiful condo. Before that we used to enjoy driving up to see her at her home in Southcott Pines in Grand Bend. Very few people know it but Linda is very close to HRH Queen Elizabeth II or 'Lizzy' as Linda affectionately calls her.

We especially enjoyed visiting Grand Bend when the Queen was there. As you can see Lizzy sometimes enjoyed puttering in Linda's expansive garden. Linda often offered her more suitable clothes for roughing it, but Lizzy preferred to wear her best. Old habits...???

Strangely, the Queen never seemed to try to disguise herself when we went out. I guess people just never thought royalty would just amble in with friends to an Ipperwash Beach restaurant for 'sweet potato fries'. Maybe, if they noticed at all, they thought she only just resembled the Queen.

The above pictures are from the last time (2018) Lizzy sneaked away to visit Linda. Now that Linda has downsized to her condo, there isn't as much room to put her up for a week or two and Her Highness really doesn't feel at ease spending time in the city for fear of being recognized and besides at 95 she's getting up there. Travel becomes almost impossible now. Maybe it's Lizzy's turn to show Linda around over 'ome.

Of course, you will recall, the queen also likes to get together with our friend Pat whenever she's in town:

CLICK HERE to go to the past posting of this picture last year.

Happy April Fool's Day.

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Weird New Product...

Glade has come out with a new 'Earthly' fragrance. I'm not sure this is what I would want to spray around in the bathroom.

Happy April Fool's Day. (Sloof Lirpa)

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Beware of a Recent Door-To-Door Lawn Care Scam

 

Beware of this door-to-door lawn service scammer.

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My Artoon For Today... Australia

 

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Wasaga Beach Memories 1965-67

 I found and enhanced these old postcards. They show how I remember Wasaga Beach and the main drag as seen from either end in the 60's:

The main intersection looking towards Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.

The main drag looking from the beach showing the Ferris Wheel and 'Canada's Largest Arcade'.

It cost about $2 in gas (39 cents a gallon) to get up here from Long Branch (Toronto). We didn't want to eat into our spending money so if there was four of us going north, we would sometimes stop for a hitch-hiker if we could find one that wanted to pay two bucks. Otherwise, it was goodbye Charlie! We'd leave him where he was and look for another. Hahaha! Those were the days. Click on a pic to enlarge it.

The End...

Sadly, some forty years later in 2007 around midnight an arsonist, Andrew Paulino from Barrie and a younger accomplice, dowsed gasoline in the Arcade and with strong winds off the lake, the the fire raged through the aged structures. The whole main drag was quickly obliterated. CLICK HERE to read more.

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Memories - Exactly Ten Years Ago Today...

Dinner in the lower main dining room of the ms Maasdam, somewhere in the Caribbean Sea southeast of the Bahamas with John and Jeannie from UK, March 23, 2012.

Although both have recently passed away, we will remember them always.

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An 'Artsy' Pic At An Artist's Studio From 2011

 I found an old picture I took almost 12 years ago in an open house when Wendy and I visited the artist studio of Peter Robson at his home in Sparta Ontario. Leave it to me to take a picture of the floor.

I was intrigued by the colours and dramatic, outer space patterns of these unintentional paint splashes. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

It was actually the same visit that captured my attention to his paint tubes in this older piece "Past Expressions" I did several years ago.

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The Whole World Turns Green On March 17...

 

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Goodbye Doris...

Well, we were shocked and saddened to find out another old friend passed away last Saturday. We met Doris through our long time friend Gary Stephenson at the condos. Doris used to send me jokes almost every day and Yahoo shows no less than 1331 messages in the last four years alone! As the obit says, she used to love boating and fishing, Gary had his boat the "Indigo" in our marina for all the years we lived in the condos. Goodbye Doris. We love you and will dearly miss you.

Doris Marianne MacKenzie October 22nd 1938 March 13th 2022

We regrettably announce the passing of Doris MacKenzie of Mooretown on Saturday, March 12, 2022. Born in 1938 and immigrated to Canada in 1951. Best friend and partner of Gary E. Stephenson. Loving mother of Suzanne Stojan of Grand Prairie and Craig Peterson of Point Edward. Sister to John Pederson and Loureen Rowe. Loving step-mother of Greg and Vickie. Loving grandmother of Bradley and Todd Peterson of Alberta, Jennifer Stojan, Mark Stojan, and Reanne Gray of Grand Prairie. Great-grandmother to 6 beautiful children and many nieces and nephews. Loving friend of Dawneen MacKenzie and her children of Toronto, Daphne and David Byers and their son of Toronto, Douglas and Nicola MacKenzie and their children of New Zealand. Predeceased by son Michael, son-in-law John Stojan, daughter-in-law Lori Peterson, parents Ursula and Svend and sisters Sonja and Ilona. Doris lived life to the fullest and enjoyed skiing and playing bridge with her friends. She also loved fishing, boating, and travelling. Doris was also an active member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sarnia. At Doris’s request, there will be no visitation or memorial service. Sympathy may be expressed through donations to St. Joseph’s Hospice or Redeemer Lutheran Church (cheques only at the funeral home please). Arrangements entrusted to Smith Funeral Home, 1576 London Line, Sarnia.

Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Doris Marianne MacKenzie October 22nd 1938 March 13th 2022..

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Goodbye Captain Video. My Good Friend Bernie.

 I just found out yesterday that my friend Bernie Blackman, 'a nice Jewish guy from Philly', 'Captain Video' as he sometimes signed his emails, passed away in his eighty-fifth year, the day after Valentine's Day on February 15. I have no idea what happened. He never said he was ill.

Bernie was a tablemate on our very first cruise, the Aegean Sea back in 2004 on the then brand new Westerdam. We cruised together again, Alaska in 2009 and have kept in touch through hundreds of emails ever since. I knew something was wrong when I didn't hear from him since February 5th, his last email to me. I typed his name into Google and was shocked and saddened to see his obituary:

BORN

June 18, 1937

DIED

February 15, 2022

LOCATION

Bensalem, Pennsylvania

CHARITY

American Cancer Society

Bernie Blackman will be greatly missed by his brothers Morris and Solly ( Marleen) , nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews! Most of all he will be missed by his Niece Gayle Horn (Wishnefsky) who considered Bernie her second dad . Relatives and friends are invited to graveside services Friday, February 18, 2022 at 1pm, at Shalom Memorial Park, Huntingdon Valley, PA Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.

R.I.P. Captain. We will miss you forever my friend.

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A Friendly Reminder...

 Justin reminds you that it's your patriotic duty to change the clocks before you go to bed Saturday.

There are serious health consequences surrounding the decision to mess with our clocks twice a year...

A study based on Michigan hospital admissions data found a 25% increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals suffering from heart attacks on the Monday following the spring daylight saving time switch. Heart-attack risk fell 21% on the Tuesday after going back to standard time.

Another study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found a 10% increase in the risk of having a heart attack in the 48 hours following the March time change. Then, after the switch back to "regular time" in November, heart-attack risk decreased by 10%.

Back in 2016, a bigger study using more than 10 years' worth of data from Finland compared the week following a daylight-saving time shift to the two weeks before and after...

The overall rate of stroke was 8% higher during the first two days after the time change. More important... cancer patients were 25% more likely to have a stroke right after the time shift than other periods, and the risk of stroke was 20% higher for folks aged 65 years or older.

Stop messing with the clocks twice a year and simply shift permanently to daylight time.

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My Artsy Pic For Today - Port Dover

 I happened by the Port Dover Web Cam today at 5 pm during a winter snowstorm off the lake. I love the shades of grey and the contrasting white snow.

You can visit the web cam live if you CLICK HERE.

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New Product News

 What next? A Costco jigsaw puzzle:

At $12.99 it's not a bad price and it looks easy because there isn't a lot of blank space.

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When Gas Was 10 Cents A Liter...

 Through most of my adolescent life gasoline was 39.9¢ a GALLON! (nearly 4 liters)

But when I was in Art College in the sixties, I couldn't afford the good stuff so I would buy the cheaper "Turner's Old Sailor" wine for 85¢ a liter bottle. I remember in New York State you could buy a US Gallon glass jug of cheap red wine in the grocery store for 99¢. I think that's probably when I quit drinking wine!

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Wishing I Was Somewhere Else!

 

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