Lunch with Bill and Judy

 Well, Sunday came too quickly, time to head back home. But first, I had contacted my old friends Bill (a buddy since grade school) and his wife Judy earlier this week to see if we could meet up in Bracebridge for a brunch before hitting the highway. It all worked out since they were up visiting Megan and Frank and the grandkids who live there.

We went to Nick's on the main street, had a nice breakfast on the outdoor veranda and got somewhat caught up on three years  news. We haven't seen them since a similar meeting in September 2019.

It was so good to see them both again!

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A Fabulous Weekend With Amazing Friends...

We arrived a little late on Thursday due to a traffic jam on Highway 400, north of the Holland Marsh. A pickup truck burned up. No one was injured but the resulting jam up must have reached back to Toronto. The trip, in spite of my 'shortcuts' lasted a total of seven hours. This is twice as long as Google Maps would suggest.

Of course it was well worth the extra driving time. The weather was perfect and nothing could dampen our enthusiasm on being out of the house with friends for the very first time in nearly three years!

They surprised us with festive decorations referring to or 50th wedding anniversary. Wendy and I were married in 1972 on July 15th.

Our wonderful friends went to great lengths to make it an amazing celebration.

Pete describes ?something? obviously quite formidable to Mark. No B.S. here!

Cheryl' and John's daughter Jessica stopped by with her daughter Pennelope.

Pete, Mark, and John.

I brought some treats for the guys.

Eating the roast.

Donna had photo cake made. Where did they get that picture? Found out later it came from Wendy's brother Doug.

The smoked prime rib was cooked to perfection

Wendy couldn't bring herself to cut the beautiful cake.

The cake didn't last too long once Donna did the honours. Hahaha!

 A fifty fifty draw yielded prizes for all.

Some pics from the weekend I just had to post...

This mother duck spent a lot of time with us.

You can see the weather was perfect.

A toast to Tim and Wendy.

Saturday morning Wendy was in her glory. A nearby cottage had a yard sale. 2022 Bird Lake Crescent. Wow!

There was all kinds of great things we didn't need.

Mark hams it up with the cottage owner's son.

They bought a garbage pail and some kid's toys before heading back to MullBain.

Just sitting on the dock of the bay...

At MullBain Lodge, there's views from every window.

COMING SOON: Watch for an all-new website at MullBain.com

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To Mull Bain Lodge at Wood Lake - Nearly A Five Hour Trip

 Getting away around 8:30 am will put us into Mull Bain Lodge after 1:00 pm allowing for a few stops along the way. It's 375 km (233 miles) Of course more essentials are needed - like ice, soda, wine etc. and we can get them in the small towns off the main highway.

As you can see by my planned route, I will diverge from the 401 at Hwy 6 and travel 'cross country' to around King City and 400, to miss the Toronto racetrack.  It adds over half an hour but there is nothing to see on the freeways and I hate getting into traffic jams, so it's worth the extra time to us. Sometimes my 'shortcut' ends up being the quicker route if there's an accident on the 401 in Toronto and traffic backs up for hours.

I'll turn on the Google Tracker before we leave and let Cheryl know we have left. 

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Heading to Mull Bain Lodge...

 I snapped on a brand new set of tires yesterday in preparation for our journey to Wood Lake, up near Bracebridge. I will be great to see all our friends after nearly three years.

The car is nearly loaded with a few essentials and ready to leave tomorrow, returning late Sunday afternoon.

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It's Been A Little Warm Here Lately...

 

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A New Sink At 590 UQ

 This one's been on my list for quite awhile:

A chip out of the glaze and an old gasket made this old, dated-looking sink a bit of an eye-sore and I wanted to replace it months ago but Wendy wasn't sure of the counter top colour so I waited. We decided we could easily change the countertop at a later date now that I have shut-off valves installed.

I don't know who would have put this sink in here without the shut-offs but now they are ready just in case.

So here's the new sink, which matches the one downstairs in the main level 2-piece bathroom that I did a couple months ago.

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Tina's Back... The Red-Tailed Squirrel!

 This amazing squirrel with the red tail is back. 

It's fairly timid and doesn't come by every day.

The coat is impeccable and he/she seems to know how special it's tail is.

Tina Turner

I think I'll call the squirrel "Tina". 

You can see my June 5th post of this unique animal CLICK HERE.

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Just For Fun...

 I colourized an old postcard from Wasaga Beach around 1910:

All dressed up for the beach! Fun?

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50 Years And Still Counting...

 Friday, July 15 marks our Golden, Fiftieth, Wedding Anniversary. 

Chains Do Not Hold A Marriage Together. It is thread. Hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.

Simone Signoret

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Love The Setting Sun

 

Love the shots near sundown.

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A Party At Erin's New House

Here I am getting ready to head over to Erin's new house across the street. First a picture to capture the mood.

After many months of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was certainly a treat to enjoy a multifunction party at Erin's new house. Everyone seemed to enjoy getting together again and since it was an outdoor affair, we all felt that there was a minimal threat to our safety. It turned out to be a multi purpose party. (Erin's  Housewarming, Sarah visit, Wen and Tim's 50th Anniversary) Sarah was visiting from South Africa so the family got together for a party.  Since it was close to July 15 and Tim/Wendy's 50th Anniversary and the location was Erin's place, the party ended up covering three events at once.

Little Aria enjoyed the day too...

Sarah and her brother Doug Jr. with Aria

Nice hot weather means a dip in the pool for anybody that wanted to cool off. (although the pool was up to 86F and the hot tub was 101F)

Sarah ((left), Jake, Erin, Doug Sr and Daphne.

Lindsay (left) and Wendy.

Home-made chip dip, meatballs, guacamole, and tacos as well as ordered-in pizza and chicken wings with rhubarb pie and ice cream pie meant no-one went hungry.

Left to right: Doug, Jake, Erin and Lindsay. 

There was even presents and Champagne toasts and LOTS of wonderful food. A great time was had by all!

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