Anxiously Awaiting News…

It took me a good two years to choose a new used car and when I finally took the plunge, I chose a Saab – except it’s not really a Saab – it’s actually a Subaru Impreza that was imported by Saab during 2005-2006 and rebranded. All the parts are Subaru parts, even the radio was stamped Clarion for Subaru. So it shouldn’t matter to me that Saab is being cut off by GM and that there are no takers for the company, but it does – I have 35,000 kilometers or 3 years remaining on my warranty. So I watch and wait as the deadlines for deals draw closer and closer … as of this moment, there’ve been about 4 deals that have fallen through to save the company but now Stryker has stepped up. Hopefully they will save my Saabaru.

I should add that these cars have quite the little cult following – they are not very common. In fact about a month ago I passed one on the dreadful 401 and the gentleman driving it honked and waved as I went by. That’s how we Snaabaru owners greet each other

I should also add that my heart belongs to Mustang – I just couldn’t afford one and I had to be practical – the AWD Subaru was the best choice for under 20k for my driving lifestyle. And she did indeed ferry me safely through the winter.

Christmas Party Season

This event, hosted by H&C is really I suppose, the kick-off of the Christmas party season (and from all accounts, what a season it is! We have missed much of it the past two years as we have continued our time-honoured tradition of retreating from the Christmas nuttiness to our timeshare apartment in Florida, where we have a parking lot view – which has always beat, hands-down, the 30 hours of Christmas day that we used to spend on the road visiting).  (However, next Christmas we plan to stay home for the festivities) (that is, if we are invited to any of them). Anyway, this party is absolutely terrific – not sure what makes it so terrific – I think it’s the broad range of people who attend the Fete in the House of Dentils.

Raptures

My sister-in-law sometimes goofs up with words and when I told her I was lucky enough to be invited to a Raptors game in Toronto, box seat no less, she emailed me and said, have fun at the raptures. It was a great evening but truth be told, I played on my iPhone much of the night as I didn’t have a clue what was going on.

A Mind Like A Tea-Strainer, As My Mom Would Say

So a confluence of events led to my parking in an underground parking lot. What had happened is: Wolfe Island got wind turbines; so they couldn’t send their ferry in to dry dock while they were installing them (because their replacement ferry is ours, which is smaller than theirs); so they delayed the dry dock this year; so they booked it for November, gale season in our neck of the woods. Their ferry goes in to dry dock, ours goes to Wolfe Island and we got the little puddle-jumper from Picton.

Sure enough, the gales blew, the replacement ferry couldn’t make the crossing, closed down for several days stranding people left and right (or mainland and island). I wasn’t sure that I could get home and emailed a compatriot who was also stranded in the City, and she happened to have box seats at the Raptors game in Toronto and invited me to join her.

But I have a problem remembering where I park and took this photo as a reminder.

A Sad and Lonely Sight

I was the only car leaving the Island on this particular night. Felt kinda sad and lonely. I was the only one dumb enough to leave this great place … headed to another lonely week in the city … whine whine … but the time is drawing nigh that I quit – can’t keep doing this blog forever.

The Penultimate Big (Organized) Event of the Island Year

The seniors’ Christmas dinner. I got volunteered for it. I was told to wear a white shirt and a muzzle (just kidding about the muzzle part). It was actually fun and I’ll sign up quite happily to help out next year. This year’s entertainment included humorist Deborah Kimmett and musician Steve Kennedy both of whom were fab!

Big Secret

We have a big secret … and that is, that spouse is thinking about starting up a little business on the mainland. This is one of the spots he’s looked at most recently – a stone’s throw to the lake, corner parkette – nice village. Hope it works out. Months away from knowing. But shhhh. Don’t want word to get out.

Which, considering that people know what I’ve bought at the market and have told spouse before I get home, is a pretty funny thing.

Kingston Brewing Company

Went to an old fave tonight – I get their wings with fries. Very yummy. When I say “old fave” I guess I should qualify that with, we’ve only lived in this area for 20 months, so maybe it’s a “new fave”. Other friends who’ve lived through this dual, commuting life, had told us how they used to meet up on the mainland, at a pub, to transition to going back home. We’ve started to do this and it is a nice idea. We get to sit and unwind and chat (and bitch about the commute – well, that’s my part – spouse yaks about pastoral life at home and what a great week he’s had – which isn’t bad of course, because if he’s happy, he’s a happier spouse – but anyway..). Then by the time we get back home, we’re both ready for the onslaught that is my presence there.

First Snow

This is the first time I saw snow this winter – though I’m not sure I’ve got the date correct (I’m being lazy, blogging, at the end of my blogging year, and doing catch-up). I have a feeling I took this photo on Dec 11 and not Dec 8. There was no snow in the GTA but this was the roundabout that is at the crossroads of the road to Millhaven and the road to Napanee.

Lethal Weapon

I don’t eat very healthily and get most of my nutrients via a glass. That’s why it’s so amusing to me that the health food Flax has become a deadly thing for me. Now I am seeing flax everywhere and in everything… Just shows to go, I may as well stay the course.

Baton Rouge, LA

Another photo from a friend’s iPhone – this time taken in Louisiana – and taken in December! Looks lovely. Here, it’s grey… I must say, I’m loving the quality of these pics and the fact that through this year I’ve been able to post iPhone pics from Spain, China, Taiwan, USA (OR WA CA LA NY), Canada (ON BC), France, England. Pretty cool, eh?

(after I typed ON, above, as in, Ontario Canada, I wanted to type ON and ON and ON and ON – what a commuting year! And it’s still going ON and ON)

Cannon Beach, Part Deux

Another pic from my Oregonian friend – what could anyone say about this photo? It’s just so beautiful! Thanksgiving weekend in November (vs the Canadian Thanksgiving in October).

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Is this not fab? A friend spent Thanksgiving in Cannon Beach, Oregon. She sent some amazing photos. I’d love to go there one day! And here I was, getting all lulled in to thinking that where I live is gorgeous too … but this is beautiful.

OK, It’s Not So Bad…

On the days I work from home I get to have this as my view. In my real office, there’s no window and I have a cube in a corner near the door. From home, I have a feather-stuffed chaise and a view of the back-40 (which includes the North Channel and Bay of Quinte). Not too bad, despite my whinging.

Piping in Church

In honour of St. Andrew’s Day, the Presbyterian church on our Island had a piper piping in the choir and piping out the minister (not at the same time). It was fab. I was really surreptitious about taking a photo in church and later discovered others were much more brazen and stood out in the aisle photographing him (nod to TC !!).

Nathan Rogers Performs at The Lodge

Spouse bought tickets to a musical event here on the Island the other night. I didn’t want to go. Not often that I want to stay in on a Friday night, but that Friday night I did. He said, the guy playing is Nathan Rogers – his dad is famous, and dead. I said, ok, I will go then. I assumed, of course, that his dad was Mr. Rogers who wore a cardigan on TV (who was famous and is dead and I don’t know anything about him other than that), and I was not interested at all.

Turns out, Nathan Rogers’s dad was Stan Rogers – he of Northwest Passage song fame. I’m not a big Canadian music person – my Canadian iPod music includes k.d. Lang, Neil Young and maybe some others that I’ll think of as soon as this blog post goes live.

Anyway, it was a great evening, small venue, 20 people in the audience, but 20 appreciative people. Great atmosphere and lots of fun. And wow, this guy can sing.

Part Three – Travelling with Dirty Laundry

(see first two steps, scroll down to 2 previous entries) And the final step: pull the hood over the rest of the folded clothes and tuck the laundry in to the hood. Voila, a nice and neat package for travelling home with (been here now for 3 days and still haven’t unfolded it all to actually put in the laundry though – that’s a different matter altogether).

Part Two – Travelling with Dirty Laundry

Now everything’s neatly tucked inside the arms-folded hoodie and we’re ready for the final step.

Part One – Travelling with Dirty Laundry

This will take three photos to show the type of thing you figure out when you live a nutbar life on the road as I do. First, take an over-sized shirt with a hood. Lay it on the bed. Scoop up the week’s dirty laundry and place in the middle of the shirt. Fold the arms inward, and the bottom of the shirt upward.

A Gift From My Boss

If you’ve been suffering through this year with me and reading this blog, you’ll know that when my colleagues travel they bring me back keychains from the places they’ve been. It’s always interesting to see who choses which keychain. For example, one of the more flamboyant of colleagues chose me a huge blinged-out dragon when he visited Japan; another older-school gentleman, born and raised in another culture where women sit and pamper themselves, bought me a keyring from Taiwan that doubles as a nail clipper. So it was pretty funny when my boss recently arrived back from Hong Kong bearing a key chain with a bottle opener on it. He himself noted that I would find it useful. Which has been another theme of this year…beer.