A Life, Lived

This Hit Home Today!

Travel Tuesdays - Baur B and B

11 years ago a three week trip to Italy with mom and Paul was winding down.

We spent some time at a b and B run by the most amazing people Diana and Mischa.

This photo came up on my Facebook memories. 11 years ago yesterday this was where I was hanging out.

No one wanted to join me at a wine bar in Acqui Terme. I have made my own wine bar at the b and b. I sat in the sun enjoying the sounds of farm equipment, max (the B and B dog) playing with the giant lobster we brought him from Canada, and crescendo of birds.

Magic.

Travel Tuesdays - Thanksgiving in Sonoma

In 2014 Mom, my sister Rose, Paul and I travelled to Sonoma for a week around Thanksgiving. We flew into San Franscisco and after spending a few days there we drove north to the Russian River valley area. We rented a house in Guerneville and spent the week travelling around Sonoma. We visited an art preserve, wineries, wandered historic Sonoma, checked out the historic towns of the Russian River Valley and Fort Ross the old Russian Fort on the coast. We recreated a pic we took on our last evening in the area in 2004 on our final night - dinner at the famous Rivers End restaurant.

Travels with Mom

My mother passed away last Wednesday after a thankfully short illness with cancer. The Travel Tuesday post is dedicated to her and the many adventures we had over the years.

Travel Tuesdays - Dotty Lake

A year ago we enjoyed a week at a cottage we rented on Dotty Lake in Muskoka. We spent most of our time hanging out by the lake . . . . any wonder why?

Travel Tuesdays - Norfolk County

Two weeks ago Paul's sister and family were visiting from Manitoba. Paul took a week off of work to spend time with them. While we were out for Paul's birthday dinner she casually said that they were going to be staying with their aunt in north Toronto for a good part of their vacation. This left Paul with time off of work and no one to spend it with other than me. Lucky me.

On one day we decided to visit some places in Norfolk county.

Our first stop was the Backus historical site. Located in a conservation area on the site of a historic mill and other buildings have been moved there to create a sort of pioneer village of local heritage buildings. Then we went to Long Point and hang out on the beach. Our next stop was Langton where we had lunch at a Southern BBQ and Blues joint that everyone has been talking about sine it opened mid pandemic. We took the long way home so we could stop at Hewitt's Dairy where they have been serving up delicious ice cream longer than I have been alive.

It was a wonderful day.

Even if Paul was forced to spend it with me rather than his sister.

Travel Tuesdays - Bermuda

Six years ago today we woke up in Bermuda after cruising from New York City.

Happy Birthday Paul!

 

Someone is having another birthday today - I'll give you a hint . . . there are 47 candles on his cake.

As is tradition, let's look back and see what was happening in Canada in the year Paul was born:

Canada started to introduce the metric system throughout the year (and after almost 50 years of the metric system I still don't naturally 'think' metric)

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister

Television cameras are allowed to film in Parliament (Canadians, horrified by the undignified behaviour of their elected politicians started to tune out of the political process) 

The beaver becomes an official symbol of Canada (causing Canada to become the butt of jokes worldwide)

The CN Tower was built, the largest free-standing structure in the world until 2008. After it was constructed people realized that it was rather phallic in shape. Opps

The Soviet Atlantic fishing fleet is banned from entering Canadian ports due to overfishing. Of course this did nothing to stop the overfishing and the fish stock collapsed 25 years later.

Ontario schools begin to teach exclusively using the metric system. A young student named Jerry DeQuetteville got lost in math and never caught up.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, based in Sault Ste. Marie sinks. Had it not been for Gordon Lightfoot writing a song no one would ever remember the name of the ship.

The wearing of seatbelts is made mandatory in Ontario. Dirt bags protested the government intruding on their god given right to die young and stupidly if they want to.

The famous children's story Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang  was written by Mordecai Richler.

Anne Murray and Oscar Peterson each win a Grammy Award.

Joni Mitchell - releases The Hissing of Summer Lawns. A bunch of other mediocre music that no one has heard of since was released as well.

Saturday Night Live, produced by Canadian Lorne  and also featuring Canadians Paul Shaffer and Dan Aykroyd, premieres in the United States. this proves that it is possible for Canadians to be successful in the entertainment industry - if they leave Canada.

Michael Bublé, singer was born. How embarassing. Mind you, it is immensely superior to Justin Beiber having been born.. .

A list of people no one even remembers won the Governor General award. Well, I bet their family might remember but that is it.

In the middle of the oil crisis oil jumped to $ 13 a barrel and gas prices rose to 44 cents per gallon. People protested and gas panics ensued. hmmmmm

Believe it or not, "streaking" is the latest fad to seize North America. It involves running through a crowded room stark naked and at full speed. The object is to get in and get out as soon as possible, hence the name "streaking." mind you, once your inadequacies have been exposed to the world it doesn't really matter how quickly you run away, people have memories. Thank goodness we didn't have social media back then - can you imagine?

It is such a popular fad that Ray Stevens turns The Streak into a number one hit. A streaker even dashes across the stage at the Academy Awards.

The golden age of 60s music is over, and disco is still several years away. This is known as the music the world forget - deservedly so.

Something called the Arpanet has been set up by the American military to maintain communications in the event of a Soviet nuclear strike. Eventually, it will be opened to the public and re-named the Internet.

Someone is having another birthday today - I'll give you a hint . . . there are 47 candles on his cake.

As is tradition, let's look back and see what was happening in Canada in the year Paul was born:

Canada started to introduce the metric system throughout the year (and after almost 50 years of the metric system I still don't naturally 'think' metric)

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister

Television cameras are allowed to film in Parliament (Canadians, horrified by the undignified behaviour of their elected politicians started to tune out of the political process) 

The beaver becomes an official symbol of Canada (causing Canada to become the butt of jokes worldwide)

The CN Tower was built, the largest free-standing structure in the world until 2008. After it was constructed people realized that it was rather phallic in shape. Opps

The Soviet Atlantic fishing fleet is banned from entering Canadian ports due to overfishing. Of course this did nothing to stop the overfishing and the fish stock collapsed 25 years later.

Ontario schools begin to teach exclusively using the metric system. A young student named Jerry DeQuetteville got lost in math and never caught up.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, based in Sault Ste. Marie sinks. Had it not been for Gordon Lightfoot writing a song no one would ever remember the name of the ship.

The wearing of seatbelts is made mandatory in Ontario. Dirt bags protested the government intruding on their god given right to die young and stupidly if they want to.

The famous children's story Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang  was written by Mordecai Richler.

Anne Murray and Oscar Peterson each win a Grammy Award.

Joni Mitchell - releases The Hissing of Summer Lawns. A bunch of other mediocre music that no one has heard of since was released as well.

Saturday Night Live, produced by Canadian Lorne  and also featuring Canadians Paul Shaffer and Dan Aykroyd, premieres in the United States. this proves that it is possible for Canadians to be successful in the entertainment industry - if they leave Canada.

Michael Bublé, singer was born. How embarassing. Mind you, it is immensely superior to Justin Beiber having been born.. .

A list of people no one even remembers won the Governor General award. Well, I bet their family might remember but that is it.

In the middle of the oil crisis oil jumped to $ 13 a barrel and gas prices rose to 44 cents per gallon. People protested and gas panics ensued. hmmmmm

Believe it or not, "streaking" is the latest fad to seize North America. It involves running through a crowded room stark naked and at full speed. The object is to get in and get out as soon as possible, hence the name "streaking." mind you, once your inadequacies have been exposed to the world it doesn't really matter how quickly you run away, people have memories. Thank goodness we didn't have social media back then - can you imagine?

It is such a popular fad that Ray Stevens turns The Streak into a number one hit. A streaker even dashes across the stage at the Academy Awards.

The golden age of 60s music is over, and disco is still several years away. This is known as the music the world forget - deservedly so.

Something called the Arpanet has been set up by the American military to maintain communications in the event of a Soviet nuclear strike. Eventually, it will be opened to the public and re-named the Internet.

Travel Tuesday - Burano

When it was time to leave Verona we gathered our luggage (which was getting rather heavy) and took the train to Venice.

Venice was crowded so we tended to stay clear of the popular spots and spent time wandering areas that generally weren't on the radar of cruise ship passengers.

One day we hopped on a Vaperetto to Burano.With fewer crowds and a more genuine feel, this historical fishing village offers another side of life on the Venetian Lagoon.

Today, Burano is still a quiet village with about 2,000 full-time residents and its main industry is tourism, with day trippers from Venice coming to buy lace and photograph the colorful and picturesque canals. It's much quieter and more laid-back than the big city, and while the small town can definitely feel crowded on a busy summer day, it's nowhere near as popular as Venice.

Travel Tuesdays - Verona

My facebook memories remind me that 8 years ago we loaded up our rental car in Montisi and drove to Verona. Verona was a new spot to explore. Even thought it was super hot we still managed to get out and see the sites.