SUDDSY VISITS

My old friend Jim Suddard (Suddsy) spent an evening with us last night. He played his guitar and sang for 4 hours straight as we got the 6-pack group together for a sing-a-long of mostly Beatles songs. Suddsy is a friend of mine from the 60's. In fact he was best man at my wedding as I was for his wedding 40 years ago. He moved to Hawkesbury and we lost contact until just last summer. It was nice to get together again and sing along with those old golden tunes. Click here for more pics.

FLYING SAUCERS

There was only a couple inches of snow on the ground and the temp was +2 C but that was enough for the boys to get out the saucers. I must admit it did get out of hand from there as the boys went on to have a snowball fight and crawl through the muddy ravine out front. They came in the house covered in dirt from top to bottom - what happens when Papa is babysitting.  Click here for more flying saucer pics.
Allan

It Has Been 40 Years. . . .

It has been that long since my father-in-law used a metal lathe as a tool and die maker at GM. Today at age 90 he's showing my friend Leigh Parker how its done. It just goes to show he's still got it.

Christmas Morning

We make a point of being there before the kids come down the stairs to see the presents under the tree. Certainly it is a magical moment and you can only see the magic in the eyes of a child on Christmas morning. Santa had come, ate the cookies and gone and now it was time to see what Santa had left for them.
First the stockings, then breakfast, and try to have the kids take turns opening their presents. After that we had a lovely turkey dinner, complete with homemade pies ... mmmm it was good. To work that off, I took the boys out on the new skating rink for some skating and hockey practice. Forty five minutes later two rosy cheaked boys were ready to come in and warm up.
Another Christmas has come and gone, and I am so happy for the kids. Click here to see more pics of the Christmas morning.

LEXY PLAYS THE BLUES

It amazing what they put in a 'toy piano' these days. It appears to have the guts of a full electronic keyboard.  I look at this stuff and just shake my head.
Allan

What Santa Saw

The stockings were hung. ... this is what the wee ones will see when they come down at 8 am. Stockings first, then breakfast, then the main body of gifts.  That will take until about 2 pm. Dinner about 3:30.  It is a joyous nice long day. Peace to you all.
Allan

Amber Visits Xmas Eve

Amber spent Christmas Eve with us and of course we celebrated Christmas and her birthday all at the same time .... bummer to have a birthday so close to Christmas. So after an afternoon at our place we go over to Frank's parents to celebrate Christmas Eve with all the dinner trimmings of a traditional Italian Christmas feast. The kids will get to open some presents after dinner. Of course Santa comes during the night when they are asleep so we will be celebrating tomorrow morning as well. Click here to see more pictures of Amber at our place.

Coffee So Rich That ...

Coffee So Rich

My good friend Mark took Philip and myself out for lunch today at a new restaurant in Bowmanville. The food was delicious. I must bring Wenda there. 

This was after I put on my newly acquired skates and tested the waters (hard water) at the local arena. It has been 35 years since I have skated and these skates are a lot different from the "tube skates" that I bought in 1969. While, I am proud that my pride is somewhat in tack, I did look like a fish outa water flailing my arms for balance. I guess I will try it a few more times so I can skate with the grandkids at Tracy's house. Frank has put in a 100 foot by 40 foot rink beside the house. One tanker load of water (8000 gallons) later and it is looking pretty good with over 2 inches of ice formed. Tomorrow, he is putting another tanker load of water on it. The hardest thing now is keeping the kids off it until it is thick enough to skate on.

Craft Time

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Quinten's Holiday Season Craft

Quinten was upset that his family might not be there for his Christmas Concert. Well today was the concert and his dad, aunt, and 4 grandparents were there to see him sing in the concert. Afterwards, daddy helped him to make his craft.

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Old Scugog Road

Each year the residents of a well healed neighborhood in Clarington, put on a fantastic light show. Here is just one of the homes. Word has it that some of them hire pro designers to draft up a display.  They are all certainly well done and with good taste.

Quinten Skating

Quinten. Skating

Just as Aiden is giving it all with his hockey, Quinten is giving his best effort in his skating program. Today, Santa was on skates and played a bit of hockey with the kids too. Quinten chugged along and mixed it up in the crowd as he got his stick going on the puck several times.  He had a great time of it.

Its Hockey Season !

We love to watch Aiden play hockey. He is such a dynamo on the ice. He seems to like playing defence where he gets a good look at the play. When he gets a chance though, he will charge right through the pack and take a shot on net. He has the speed of a sprinter and the agility of a tiger. But what I like best is his 'smart play'. Click here to see him charging on the net.

Shopping in New York state

While cruising through the mall in Buffalo, NY, Wenda was liking this picture in a store entrance. I liked the lighting effect so I pulled out my trusty droid and shot her practically in the arms of the young man of the picture.
We had a great time away for 3 days.

Hallelujah

We took a wrong turn while lookong for a gas station in Niagara Falls NY.  Many boarded up old houses, and then we saw this one. I guess it tends to put the fear of the Lord in the local vandals.

NIAGARA FALLS GETAWAY

Rooms in Niagara Falls are usually quite dear ... that is certainly the case in the summer. We are staying in a hotel just 200 meters away from the falls and the savings are truly remarkable. For two nights accomodation we get a $40 dollar voucher for the restaurant, a large room with sofa desk with office chair and the usual amenities all for $129.
Judging by the empty parking lot, I'd say that not many from Canada have discovered this deal, and one could have the run of the place. To qualify for a decent amount of duty free goods to bring back, we Canadians need to be out of country for 48 hours, so taking a getaway package like this in December is the best time of year to do it. Not only is the hotel heavily discounted, but the shopping deals are the best this time of year.
Gas for the car is equivalent to $.82 a litre.

FISHING WITH SANTA

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Big Fish Tank

Ever been to a Bass Pro shop? It is a different kind of world let me tell you.  Oodles and oodles of stuff for fishing and hunting. I took a picture of the fish in a huge tank 8 foot high of solid glass with real live interesting fish inside.  If you are a fishing person, this is Nervana.

Somebody Has a New Hat

Lexy got a new hat today and you would think she had received a new outfit from Dior. She said, "My new hat has a pretty bow on it. I like pretty bows."  Lexy is a girly girl all right - loves to go shopping and get all dressed up.  On the way home from the North end of Toronto it was all too much and within one minute of the car starting, she was fast asleep ...  and Wenda followed about 5 minutes later.

THE CHURCH DINNER

Its like having a Christmas with friends. With 10 of our friends at our table, and a home cooked turkey dinner it was quite the night out. I had donated a portrait to the fundraiser auction to raise funds for the local church. Good food, good friends and a good time was had by all.

The Doghouse

Bearly Alive

After the money is gone, and the Ten Tenors have finished singing, its time to hang-out with the wild things until the bus can take us home.

Talking Tree

We were at a large casino North of Toronto today. In one area they have a very high-tech presentation about the native culture. Seven large tree trunks surround the room and a part of each of them is carved out with a video projection (from inside) made onto a transparent mask. The tree appears to be alive and telling the story. The tree should have told me to quit after the first $20.

We watched the "Ten Tenors" sing. They were fantastic and well worth the trip to the casino.

Invasion of The Giant Snowman

After school the grandkids made a snowman in the front yard.

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