Like many, I'm shaking my head at the US Government shutdown. Here in under four minutes is the lowdown on the shutdown. Sad but true...
Thursday, October 03, 2013
The Lowdown on the Shutdown
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Boarding the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry
Boarding the Chi-Cheemaun
August 7, 2013
It was still raining when we boarded the Chi-Cheemaun that would take us from South Baymouth to Tobermory. Boarding is quite impressive! The vehicles are lined into rows on the dock then each row proceeds into the ferry as directed. Once inside and parked, passengers are instructed to lock their vehicles and proceed to the upper deck, cafeteria or lounge for the hour and forty-five minute journey.
Boarding completed without a problem. We were one of the first loaded so made our way to the second floor lounge. The lower level cafeteria was open so many enjoyed a snack en route. The upper lounge is enclosed with ample seating, rest rooms and tourist information. Towards the front of the lounge gives the best view of the journey as it is over the bow of the vessel. There is a open deck around the lounge for viewing as well as an outdoor seating area. We went out for pictures but it was too cold and rainy to stay out.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Chi-Cheemaun Ferry
Chi-Cheemaun Arrival
August 7. 2013
We were scheduled for departure at 9:10 AM from South Baymouth to Tobermory by car. Our vehicle had to be on the dock an hour before departure otherwise we would lose our reservation. My husband took the car over to the dock at 7 AM then came back to the motel room. We didn't have any coffee as neither coffee shop opened until 8 AM so we lounged in the room doing a bit of last minute online tasks. I looked out the window and quickly started powering down the laptop telling my husband we had to make a dash for the car. It was less than a 5 minute quick run across the road just in time to be greeted with a heavy downpour. The skies were dull, heavy with rain and more on the way. Along with the bone chilling cold, it wasn't looking very promising as we started the camping portion of our adventure.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Chi-Cheemaun Dock
Chi-Cheemaun Dock
South Baymouth, Ontario
August 6, 2013
It was a chilly, blustery evening more reminiscent of late fall weather yet we still took a walk-about. Our motel, the Huron Motor Lodge (just out of camera range to the left of the Wigwam Motel, was directly across from the Chi-Cheemaun dock. There wasn't much to see other than the two motels, their gift shops and each had small coffee shops as well. Our motel was a quaint series of cabins, quite cute really! It had a nice outdoor pool but the weather was too cold to enjoy it.
Our departure time was 9:10 AM the following morning. It is mandatory to be on the loading dock an hour early otherwise you will lose your reservation. We were advised to be parked there by at 7 AM as soon as the dock opened then go for breakfast or back to our room to wait until closer to departure time. We made a few purchases in our motel gift shop then settled into our room for the night. Our room faced the dock so we had a lovely view!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Green Stairs
Green Stairs
August 6, 2013
Part of the enjoyment of a road trip is discovering little gems like these wonderful green stairs. I'm not sure how the colour will affect resale value but it sure got my attention! I just love the creativity!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Lucky Moose
Lucky Moose
OLG Sault Ste. Marie Casino
August 6, 2013
I always get a chuckle out of character statues often painted up to bring a smile or chuckle. It's nice to see the OLG Sault Ste. Marie Casino offer a good luck token to their patrons in the form of this cheery lucky moose. Unfortunately he only brought luck to the casino this trip...
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Canada, eh!
Canada Straight Thru
August 6, 2013
We crossed into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. around lunch time. We knew we would have a bit of extra time after we crossed. After clearing customs, we stopped at the OGL Casino in Sault Ste. Marie then did a bit of shopping for a few things we would need camping like dark chocolate before getting back on the road. We followed the Trans Canada highway to Espanola, Ontario then turned down towards our final destination for the day. We stopped for a lovely fish dinner at a quaint little diner in South Baymouth. Once at the motel we unloaded what we would need for the night, took a walk to the gift shop and the ferry landing then settled into the motel.
The weather had already turned cold enough to turn the heater on in our motel room. We had hit rain on and off, with more on the way. I have to admit the tiny bathroom with its vintage pink fixtures looked rather enticing knowing we would have no shower facilities until we arrived home. Oh sure, if we were desperate we could drive in from the campsite to Tobermory to use the paid showers. I fretted about the cold and wet forecast because I know that combination is a bad trigger for me. Other than that we chatted about the day, celebrating our anniversary on the road and what the camping trip held in store for us.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Straits of Mackinac
Crossing the Straits of Mackinac
August 6, 2013
We spent the first night of our road/camping trip adventure at Gaylord, Michigan. It had been a wonderfully, relaxing day filled with good food and beautiful eye candy. We had made a brief stop at Turtle Creek Casino before calling it a night. It wasn't a really early start to the day but we managed to cross the Straits of Mackinac before lunch. Our destination for the night was South Baymouth, Michigan where we would catch the Chi-Cheechmaun ferry the following morning to take us across Lake Huron to Tobermory, Ontario.
Monday, August 19, 2013
The Start of Our Six Day Adventure
Northbound I-75 in Michigan
August 5, 2013
On the morning of August 5, 2013 we left the comforts of our home on a six day adventure, four of those days were to be spent rustic camping. By rustic camping I mean in bear territory, in tents, no hydro, pump water to cart, outhouses or composting toilets for comfort stations, and no shower facilities. The weather forecast was rain, cold temperatures and more rain. It didn't matter! We were spending two days in the thumb of Michigan then meeting up with our kids and grandkids to camp just south of Tobermory, Ontario. And so the adventure began...
Monday, July 22, 2013
Happy Birthday Little One
'Tis a special day, the birthday of an heir to the throne of England...
Congratulations to Prince William, Duke of
Cambridge and Catherine Elizabeth Kate, nee Middleton, Dutchess of
Cambridge on the birth of their first child, a son!
Happy Birthday Little One! May your life be filled with love, peace, hope and faith...
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Thursday, July 04, 2013
The Cottonmouth
The Cottonmouth Snake
May 12, 2013
We spent most of May at our vacation home in sunny Florida. As is customary, I go for a golf cart ride around our resort after dinner. There are many interconnecting small lakes and ponds so there is an abundance of wildlife. One evening, my husband and I decided to take the ride together. A few roads from our house we spotted a snake. I'm not fond of snakes by any stretch of the imagination especially any larger than about six inches long. I immediately knew this was a poisonous snake but wanted a picture anyway. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to get a picture because I was shaking, hoping we would not spook it enough that it would strike. The picture was taken from inside the golf cart about twelve feet away from the almost four foot long cottonmouth snake. Needless to say we gave this snake the respect it deserved, took our pictures then scurried off looking for more photo opportunities!
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Bringing Back Wordless Wednesday
I have been in a blogging funk since the end of 2012. As a result, I have not been blogging as much as I once was. It's time to change that! I am going to bring back Wordless Wednesday posting. As per my previous style for these posts, they generally consist of a photo that has some meaning to me along with a short caption and date the photo was taken. Sometimes I use a cartoon but not very often. So, look for those posts starting tomorrow...
Monday, July 01, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Blue
I was changing out the facial tissue box in the bathroom and noticed the writing. Blue is the colour of tranquility and dreams. It is interesting how we attribute feelings to colour and how colour affects our mood. We have favourite colours and colours we detest. We surround ourselves with colour both indoors and outdoors. Today is a blue day!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Turtles!
Turtles Sunning Themselves
May 12, 2013
My camera is always close by. Since moving into town almost two years ago, I have had less photo opportunities for wildlife. It's not that I don't have photo opportunities, just not as many involving wildlife. However, there are endless photo opportunities for wildlife at our vacation home. During our spring visit to our vacation home, The water levels were the lowest we have ever seen them drawing wildlife out from their hiding spots. We spotted several turtles sunning themselves on the banks of the many ponds in our community. Normally, we only spot one or two so this was a rather nice surprise!
Friday, April 19, 2013
The Boston Marathon Bombing
Like many around the world, I was shocked! It was one more act meant to inflict fear throughout the world. While bombings are a sad but normal occurrence in some parts of the world, thankfully they are not in North America. When they do happen in North America, it is a huge wake-up call.
The two homemade bombs that detonated in the last stretch of the Boston marathon left three dead including an eight year old boy, many wounded some still in critical condition and at least ten who had to undergo amputations. Yesterday, the law officials showed pictures of the suspected bombers who were carrying backpacks. Then the identities of the suspects who were brothers, Tamerlan Tsarnaey(aged 26) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (age 19) was released. They had immigrated to the US and assimilated into the American culture close to ten years ago. Despite careful planning to execute the bombings, the brothers failed to plan their get away. So they robbed a variety store, shot and killed a young MIT police officer and hijacked a car. Apparently, the younger brother ran over the older brother while attempting to get away. The older brother died in which originally was being reported as a shoot-out with police but explosives were found on his person so now there is a question as to whether he detonated the explosives himself. The official cause of death will likely be released after an autopsy. As it stands, 5 people are dead over this senseless act of terrorism.
This morning, I turned on CNN to catch the latest update. About ten minutes later, reporters on scene of where there was a heavy police presence in Watertown, Mass. where the brothers lived, all of a sudden were very excited. Police and tactical units were moving into the area in droves, police dogs were on scene, a helicopter was circling overhead making tighter and tighter circles and according to the reporters, they could smell smoke. Police were evacuating the area and moving back people. Then they moved people back again. This is a heavily populated area so many families are affected. The whole scene is buzzing with activity in a surreal atmosphere. Reporters break in with short interviews from family and friends who knew the brothers then go back to watching the unfolding drama, waiting to hear what is happening but only able to speculate in the meantime. And the manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev continues...
Friday, March 15, 2013
Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder
I have been out of academia and the workforce for several years now and while I do make an income, I consider myself semi-retired. There days I go full tilt and get nothing done. I came across this video that really explains my condition. It sums up my days to a 'T'! Quite frankly I have always displayed signs of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) but have never been officially diagnosed even though it is quite apparent. The inability to concentrate and focus on one task combined with dyslexia really made earning my post secondary degrees a challenge and then some. The only way I got through academia was by religiously following a very rigid schedule. That made it difficult for our home life raising kids because I was not as spontaneous but it is what I had to do to survive long enough to earn my degrees.
Folks not affected by ADD have no clue how challenging and frustrating it can be. It has nothing to do with being forgetful although I may have a bit of that now that I'm getting up there in years but I take thiamin to help with any memory issues. The real problem is not being able to focus on one task. I seriously cannot sit and watch television without doing something else at the same time. I knit, crochet, blog, and the list goes on but I never just watch television. If a commercial comes on, I am up puttering, emptying the dishwasher or doing whatever pops into my mind that needs doing. If I am online and this one really drives my husband nuts, I have a multitude of tabs open on the browser bouncing between them. It could take me well over a day to write a blog post because I'm up and down puttering between thoughts or checking out tangents online. The distractions never end and it is not as simple as telling me to focus because there is just too much sensory overload for me to focus on one task.
Having ADD or even ADD symptoms does not mean you have dementia and with proper health care mixed with good genes you may never develop dementia as you age. ADD really is an issue that if you have it, you likely have had it from birth and have dealt with it for your entire live. It isn't something that just suddenly manifests itself. Many with ADD tend to be perfectionists which feeds into the ADD because you either do it perfect or you are off on tangents to find out how to do it perfectly. Many are also high end achievers - scoring in the upper tenth percentile academically, climbing that corporate ladder and basically to the outside world, everything is perfect. But it isn't. Along with ADD comes an incredible amount of frustration, a healthy dose of low self esteem, and a feeling of being somewhat disconnected or disorganized. It can lead to those with adult ADD to alienate or disassociate from people because they are tired of being judged for being a bit different. It can lead to self medication via drugs or alcohol which can complicate the problem. At the same time, those with ADD tend to develop some rather impressive coping mechanisms but then that is the same of any disorder. You do what you have to do to get by in life. ADD is not funny, it isn't fun dealing with it but I can so relate to this video!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
