On Sunday our daughter Stacey and her girlfriend Amy were due to arrive from the UK for a long-awaited two week trip. On Sunday morning we started the day with a phone call to my aunt and uncle in Spain who seem as excited as us regarding our visitors although I think they wish it was them coming here. Soon I hope!

Anyway, we set off for Toronto having looked on the web at traffic conditions to see everything was moving great and with it being a Sunday we hoped it would stay that way. Well, traffic was great up until we got right into Toronto on the 401 when it stopped. Apparently there is construction along the route and lanes were closed and everything was getting snarled up. At one point we were only a few km’s from the airport but at a total standstill and wondering if we would ever get there.

Stacey & Amy’s plane was due in at 5:10 and we eventually got to the airport just before this. We knew it would probably take them an hour to get through customs so had plenty of time in the end, especially as the plane actually landed at 5:22. As it was they didn’t come through arrivals till 7:10. We were beginning to wonder if they were even on the plane!  Lots of hugs and kisses and we were finally all reunited and ready for the long drive home. Although traffic was congested on the way home we didn’t encounter too many delays and got home late evening. After a little more chatting we all went to bed exhausted.

Monday rain was forecast all day and as the girls were still a little tired we decided to pop into Belleville, especially as Amy had never been before so Stacey wanted to show her the lay of the land. We also went grocery shopping for things the girls wanted. The rest of the day was spend just chatting and general stuff.

On Tuesday more rain was forecast which put paid to our plan of going to Toronto Zoo. So instead we went to Kingston for a little shopping and a drive round the city and a scenic route drive home.

The weather for Wednesday was again rain for Belleville and Toronto, so we decided to go east to Ottawa for the day. Stacey had loved Ottawa last time she was here and was eager to show Amy all the sights. We took the scenic route via highway 7 and encountered showers, but by the time we got to the city it was warm and dry. We all ventured over to the canal, then Parliament Hill where lots of photos were taken. This is Stacey (right) and Amy outside the Parliament buildings.

We then went across to Byward Market and at this point we decided to split up and meet later. We wandered around the mall for a couple of hours and then the market and had dinner at The Exchange which was very nice. After some more walking we decided to get a Tim’s at the food court and came across the girls. They had eaten at the Hard Rock Cafe. All of us had done what we needed to do and so decided to head home once beverages had been consumed. As we left Ottawa it started to rain, so our timing was perfect.

On Thursday we drove the girls to Toronto as we had booked them into a hotel for a few nights so they could explore the city. In order not to waste the day we all went to Toronto Zoo as the weather promised to be a bit better. As it turned out the weather was magnificent. Bright sunshine, temps in the 20′s, in fact almost too hot. I know it sounds silly but I had really forgotten what it felt like to be out in the heat.

The drive into the city after the zoo was pretty uneventful, but the DVP leaving the city was like a car park, so we decided when we returned home we would take a different route. We dropped the girls off at the hotel after checking them in at around 4:30 and after a detour though the city, hit the 401. Guess what – standstill again. After we got past the main toronto area it thinned out and we picked up speed, but then near Ajax it stopped again. In the end we didn’t get home untill 8pm, just in time for the last episode of The Big Bang Theory.

Yesterday (Friday) we didn’t do too much. I went shopping to stock up the cupboards and Chris tried to fix Stacey’s laptop for her. Alas it seemed it was a futile attempt and he decided it would be easier to give her one of our old laptops. So he spent the rest of the day transferring stuff from one to another etc.

Today Saturday, I have been spring cleaning and Chris is on his tractor mowing the lawn. Once again the weather is stunning, lets hope it stays like that for next week.

Confirmed what I knew – I wear my contacts too much! Although they did all the relevant tests and confirmed I am a candidate for surgery, I will need to repeat the tests before surgery after a sustained absence of contact lens use. I did remove them for the required period of time before todays appointment but my eyes had not regained their normal shape, so need a more extended absence.

Now for the bad news. The cost is far in excess of what I was expecting. I can have either Lasik at $2,880 or Wavefront at $3,980.

Big decisions to be made!

This is what our garden looks like at the moment.

Last night we also had the deer wander through and because it wasn’t yet dark I managed to get some photos.

I seemed to have pressed the shutter just as something spooked them…

We went to Kingston yesterday and purchased some new fish for our tank. They are very pretty and I will try to get some photos of them to blog soon. At the moment they are still a bit shy and skittish, so I will wait until they are more settled before making them pose for the camera!

Also, last week we went to Toronto for the Autoshow. We took some photos but I have not had time to look at them and get them on my blog. Maybe soon.

As you can see the snow is piled about 7 feet high in places – well most places.There is going to be huge problems in the future when (if) it thaws as it is going to create a lot of water and possible flooding.

We have snow flurries forecast for later today, although to moment (9am) it is beautiful sunshine although very cold.

The second house was brand new and on six acres of land which was great, but needed intensive landscaping (it was pretty much a field). From the outside we thought the house would be worth the trouble of the landscaping, but once again we were disappointed once we got inside. The house was much smaller than it appeared from the outside, a bit like the TARDIS in reverse! So, we are back to the thought of putting the whole house moving idea on hold.

Anyway, onto another reoccurring topic – my insides! Yesterday I had my MRI done in Kingston. I had never had an MRI done before and had only really seen them on House (TV show) so knew very little about them.

When I was called in I was asked a lot of questions such as medical history, operations, allergies etc. I was also asked if I had any metal in my body or had any piercings (all jewellery ahs to be removed). Had I ever worked with metal or did I wear coloured contact lenses? Did I have any medical or smoking patches on my skin and many other bazaar questions?

I was then told they would need to inject a dye into me, which I needed to give permission for. I was just about to say, “yeah fine” when she told me that the dye could sometimes cause an allergic reaction such as rash or anaphylactic shock and death. She stressed the changes of the two latter options was very low and they had doctors on hand if the worst happened! So, completely reassured – NOT, I agreed.

I had to change into a gown and was told to lie on a table and had a strange contraption laid across my abdomen. I was then moved into the machine which was very closed in and had little room, so I have no idea how they MRI larger people? I was given headphones and it began.

You feel absolutely nothing but the noise is quite deafening even with headphones on. It is like you are in a metal cylinder and half a dozen people are on the outside banging and scraping the sides. Through the headphones they started to play panpipes music, which I hate. I did debate asking them to turn off the music as I preferred to hear the banging, scraping and beeping etc. There is also cool air blowing all round you, which I found really annoying as I hate draughts.

After about half an hour they pulled me out again and injected the dye into my arm, then put me back in the machine for a few more minutes. I suppose in total I was in there fore about forty minutes.

When it was complete they told me to dress (fortunately the dye had no ill-effects) and told me to wait in the waiting room. After about five minutes I was given a CD with my scans on it.

I now have to wait for the gynaecologist to contact me for another appointment once he has analysed the results. Hopefully he will also have the results of my ultrasound from last week, as I haven’t heard anything about that yet.

They were so cute and fluffy with black front legs and paws and they sat there posing for us. Unfortunately we did not have a camera on us so could not take a photo. We have been back twice to see if we could see then, but no – we missed our chance!

However, I have managed to get a picture of our robin chicks who are now three days old.

I also got this rather funny pic of one of our squirrels relaxing in the sun – you have to understand that it is very hard work sitting eating all day!

On Thursday on our way back from Belleville we noticed that the truck was starting to vibrate. We guessed that maybe some ice had gotten on the wheel and was taking it out of balance, so we didn’t think too much of it.

However on Friday we went to Kingston and it was really vibrating badly. It didn’t seem to matter what speed we were doing it still shook and if you went really fast all the back seats started to jump about. You can feel it going through your whole body – and no ladies it isn’t as fun as it sounds! We managed to get back from Kingston without throwing up, but had to pop into Ford to ask them to look at it.

So, it is in tomorrow morning to see if they know what it is and can fix it – quickly hopefully. And it was performing so well up to now! Perhaps it got wind of our visit to the Toronto car show and decided to have a tantrum.

Paul Snr

After half hour there, hubby purchased a couple of t-shirts and we were on our way again. We stopped off once to get some food and got to the border crossing at around 6pm. We went through the border very quickly and easily as the girls had already been through immigration when they landed at Pearson and we are residents.

We stopped off at Kingston to have some dinner then got home, unpacked, watched some TV and went to bed.

Yesterday, Sunday, I did some housework, then we dropped the girls off at Quinte Mall (yes again). They still had some money left and wanted to spend it before they leave on Tuesday. Hubby and I went grocery shopping picked up a few other bits then went back home. The girls eventually phoned at 5pm to say they were ready to come home so I went to pick them up. On the way home we stopped at Blockbusters so they could get a DVD and then home. Had dinner and then hubby and I watched four episodes of 24, which we are desperately trying to catch up with.

We will go out for a final meal tonight and then take them back to Toronto tomorrow. We dare not look at our bank account as we have spent a fortune since they arrived.

We started out in the morning after a hearty breakfast at Denny’s, then just followed our noses. There are some simply beautiful lakes around this area and we kept stopping off to take a look and take the odd picture.

It is really nice just to take a drive as you often don’t venture too far from home and miss out on many things, which are really close by.

We did this the other week when we went down onto Prince Edward County and visited the Sandbanks area. This is a stunning bit of coastline and we are thrilled to have a great beach so close. It will be a nice place to take my aunt and uncle when they come over next year from Spain – not sure if we can compete with Spain though?

Anyone know of any other really nice locations in the area?

Yesterday we booked flights for hubby’s daughter and her friend to come over in December. They are coming over on the 4th and staying till the 19th. They want to visit Niagara Falls, Toronto, New England etc. We are happy to take them to these places depending on what the weather is like at this time. If there is six foot of snow, then maybe not!

I am sitting looking out of the window and we have a sudden influx of American Robins in the garden. We had thought that they had all left for the winter as we hadn’t seen any for a while, but there are about 20 in the garden at the moment. We have also seen loads of Dark Eyed Juncos which a lovely little birds.

It is pouring with rain today – again, so probably won’t be going too far today. Hubby also wants to get the drywall for the basement but needs to wait until the weather is better to avoid it becoming wetwall.

At around 9am, suddenly all the power went off with no warning. It was strange because there were no storms or lightening etc, just a bit of rain.

We waited for a hour or so to see if it came back on but nothing, so we went out.

When we got back from Kingston at around 3pm we had power back. No idea what happened there. Oh well, been in the house 6 weeks and have had our second outage!

Last night I was in bed reading at about 11.15 when I heard some scuffling outside. Hubby and I put the outside lights on and saw a coon on our upper deck helping himself to the bird feeder we have on there. He was completely flat out on his belly lying on the deck, he looked very funny. We have taken to bringing in the feeders overnight, but forgot this one – we won’t do that again. We shooed him away and took the feeder in. These little devils don’t miss a trick