#1 We have Arrived!!!

 

Wednesday, Nov. 15th saw us loading the car and heading off to the south. Yes, the first thing to pack that morning was the anxious dog. Then I packed around him. Max had known for days that something was going on and that morning he needed no encouragement to get in the car!!!

I can't remember ever leaving with the driveway looking like this. Well I guess that is because we usually leave at the beginning of January not the middle of November. As we age, we find that we like the cold less and less......

Our trip lasted 7 hours. It could have been shorter if we had of wanted to spend time on the 401 vying for position amongst the tractor trailers but we decided heading south to hwy. 3 would prove to be a more relaxing sojourn. At this point on our journey we had to deal with the two detours that were there two years ago. Bit of a surprise. The green houses on the left were there two years ago and the ones on the right are all new. Acres and acres of greenhouses. I hear we maybe able to tour a green house for peppers and one for tomatoes this year. So nice to know a guy with an "in"!!!

We are on the migratory path and have lots of birds at our feeders and in the water. This is a flock of Canada Geese. They will be here all winter. It is so amazing being right on the lake. If you wanted, not sure why you would, you could sit here all day in the sunroom looking out of the water watching it constantly changing. I love it!!!

On Saturday we were out looking for the post office. It was relocated after the explosion downtown and will be back in town shortly. It took us forever to find it. The only reason we eventually found it was because of the postal trucks sitting outside. It seems that the road it is on is a dividing line between counties and the numbers on the right were in the hundreds and the numbers on the left were in the tens of thousands. I then got it why this post office got a 3.3 on Google.

Any way, on the way back to the house we found this wee craft show and sale. It has some great treasures and I made a contribution to the local economy. Lovely people.

There was a lovely white angel sitting beside the blue and red things which I purchased and put in front of the screen of our fire place when we got home. Ray suddenly said he knew how it had been made and when I looked again realized it was made from a ceiling fan blade. Brilliant!!!

I think this is hilarious. When we got to the resource centre, we entered through the first door to see all of these shelves of food and fresh vegetables. All of the staff are super friendly. Surely they must have looked at us and decided there was no way we ever went hungry. Oh, we were in the food bank!!!!

I had to find out how this worked. Naturally. Susan said first that it wasn't known in the community as a food bank, it was called the Wheatley Pantry. The general public is encouraged to use it. Each food bank client is given a weekly allowance. A single person gets $60. a week. They come in, get a basket and spend their money selecting the items they want. Each item has a bar code and when they are finished, they come up and check themselves out using a hand held scanner. There are no interviews etc. for eligibility. It was refreshing to see how it worked and the attitude of the volunteers. It certainly gave the clients dignity. I was so impressed, gave my name and hope to be volunteering there soon.

Yesterday in church I met a woman from Leamington who drops into the Pantry to pick up fresh vegetables occasionally. Many of the fresh items are donated or sold to the Pantry at cost. Anyone from the community can come in and buy. It is open 6 days a week from 9-5. This is the way to do a food bank!!!

This is our view to the north. The beach is our property and has lots of sea glass that the grandbaby is looking forward to collecting in December on her visit. I'm tempted to go down and start looking but I know I'll start collecting too.... I already have loads at home in my workshop waiting....

Stairs going down to the beach and you can actually fish from the lowest deck.

View to the south. The land at the far right that looks dark blue is actually Pelee Point Provincial Park. Just like being on the ocean. I love it. Did I say that before???

This is the back of the house. The sun room on the left is my room. I have moved a comfy chair in there for reading. I have my computer there. We eat breakfast and lunch here every day. 

Max and his handler. The first morning Max woke us up at 5:30 and Ray took him outside. Good man. Thank goodness he is now waking us later. 6:30 this morning. He comes into the bedroom and nudges me. Then goes and licks Ray. Ray finally gets up and gets dressed and by then Max is laying down not at the door at all. It is like he just wants company.... Grrrr....

Max was 10 in August. We have never had a shepherd go past 12. This is the nasty side of pet ownership. He is absolutely the best dog we have ever had!!!

Today we are off to a second hand store in Leamington. Leamington is 10 minutes away. We have a sauce pan that whistles when it is boiling that has to be replaced and I'm looking for a card table for a jigsaw puzzle. I also want a butter dish and a covered casserole. It is interesting the little things that can just make life so much better!!!

Thank you so much for everyone who has been asking me to blog. I love doing it. I never think there is going to be anything to say but then there always is. It may not always be exciting but generally it is often funny.

God/Goddess bless you and I'll see you back here next Monday.