Times are changing!

Hello all! Now it's midway through October and the summer + visitors + leaves have gone -  but I'll be home in 7 weeks!! So there's just the problem of how to pass the time until then. We know there'll be snow sometime and the temperature will drop rapidly soon so we need to make sure we're ready. Homeowners have to perform 'winterisation' (!) chores around the house but all we have to do is get winter tyres for the car. (I'm almost forgetting how to type tyre and not tire.) Eamonn's been checking out the best deals but overall it'll cost up to $1000 and he needs to find somewhere to store the summer tyres. Some garages will store them or we might pay a friend who has spare locker space (the condo people rent large lockers for storage but there wasn't one available when we moved here).

One Sunday in September there was a canoe and 

kayaking championship down by the lake. 

It was a very hot day and we walked back to 

the music garden and enjoyed a free concert in the shade.

Down the left side are some pictures of our trip with Emer and Kevin to Ganonoque and the 1000 Islands, at the start of the St. Lawrence Seaway (near Kingston) and Ottawa:

I've joined a choir so I go out every Monday evening, it's about half an hour's journey on the subway. They're rehearsing songs for their Christmas concert but I had to explain I won't be there, having already booked my flight home. It'll be lovely - the songs are performed around the narration of A Child's Christmas in Wales. Some of the music is tricky but there are plenty of other altos who aren't great sight readers either so I'm in good company and they are very nice people. 

Our parish church doesn't have a CWL group so in September I went to a morning CWL retreat  at another church with the aim of joining their group and the leader said she'd email me the date of the next meeting - but didn't. Meanwhile, I was checking their newsletter online, but as it doesn't get put on the web until the end of each week I saw that I'd missed the first meeting. They don't seem to be as proactive as our Cockfosters group. Still trying to volunteer too. I've been ringing a school since the end of August - lost count now how many times - and was constantly told the deputy wasn't available or they weren't yet ready so could I call back. I left my number but of course no-one's rung back. A British parent told me that the teachers here do NO preparation before the start of term so they know nothing about the children before they walk in the door so it kind of explains the school's response. I've lost impetus - for now anyway, as we had Emer and Kevin here and then Michael came so I was well occupied. But last week I applied for a full police check, which I would need anyway before I could start working with vulnerable groups. Once that's come I might try one of the local schools that I can walk to but I was trying to get into one by the subway to avoid walking in the worst weather! I also applied to volunteer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, suggested by a fellow Brit, so I'm on the waiting list! If only I had a book in me, this would be a good time to get on with it.  

We went to Mel and Jack's housewarming in Oakville which was great fun and we met lots of lovely people so we've made a few connections through that but Oakville is the equivalent of Heathrow in driving distance from home so we won't be over there very often. It's so like home, it reminded me of Oakwood!

Living in a condo is nothing like 'Friends'. Our place is right at the end of the corridor and one evening Eamonn was walking behind our

neighbour who, even as she put her key in her door, right beside ours, didn't even acknowledge him! He has since met the husband who takes their dog out for walks. We didn't realise there was a dog there at all as he's so quiet but I've seen him now and he's an ugly bulldog that wheezes like an old man! It makes me smile to see how he drags them along the corridor in his desperation to get out!

So enough of the moaning, let me tell you what we've been up to since last we spoke:The Last Night of the Proms, live, in the local cinema was wonderful! I thought it'd be us and a couple of old dears but it was packed! Admittedly we were probably the youngest there but I almost felt as though I was on my sofa at home watching the tv. On the opening shot, showing a bird's-eye view inside the Royal Albert Hall, there was an admiring gasp from those around us at the splendour of it all. We came out at 6pm into the not-very-appealing area around the cinema and came down to earth with a bump! The reserved audience didn't clap Welsh singer Susan Bullock at all but went mad for Chinese Lang Lang which I thought was very unfair. We joined in the singalongs at the end and there were even a few flags waved - but I forgot to take our Union Jack tea towel that Gemma gave us! Everyone stood for the British National Anthem at the end which felt quite surreal.

A few days later we went back there to see a recording of James Corden in 'One Man, 2 Guvnors'. This was a brilliant broadcast from the South Bank which included funny interviews during the interval. The play contained a lot of slapstick humour so how no-one breaks anything we couldn't work out! It was hilarious but a lot of the humour must have been lost on this mixed audience. The East End jokes were delivered so fast it would have been meaningless to many. Anyway, we laughed our heads off, especially at one line - to take his mind off his constant craving for food, James Corden says: " ... I need to think of something boring .... I know, ...  Canada!" There was a huge laugh in the home theatre and a huge laugh from us but less so from those around us!!

We ( - me really) are being sustained by home tv. We download Spooks, Body Farm etc and I keep up to date with Strictly, Downton Abbey, Who Do You Think You Are? and Corrie. We also listen to our Radio 4 favourites and on Sunday we had a feast of Pointless - 5 programmes! We scored very well. There is a lot of sport on tv here but very little else worth watching and the adverts drive you crazy!! Michael was explaining to me how American football works (it just reminds me of Bulldog at school!) and Kevin enjoyed seeing the baseball and seems to see more strategy and intricacy in it than I ever could! Eamonn enjoyed going to see a match with Kevin but by the time Michael came it was all finished and the ice hockey hadn't started. It's wildly expensive to go to a top flight ice hockey game so we'll probably try one of the lower leagues first.

These photos show 

1. Ganonoque

2. Emer and Kevin

3. Smallest international bridge in the world!

4. Shipping on St. Lawrence Seaway

5. Boldt Castle - monstrosity built for Boldt's wife who died before it was finished. It's on US soil!

6.Statue of Henry Harper who died trying to save a woman from drowning in the Ottawa River. There are lots of beautiful statues in Ottawa. Will definitely go back for a longer trip.

7. Ottawa Parliament from the Ottawa River.

8. Autumn colour.

9. Locks on the Rideau Canal, Ottawa.

These strange seats are in the Distillery district in town.

Pictures of Michael's visit to us at Scarborough Bluffs and Kelso. 

Scarborough Bluffs is one of the first areas we visited in April so it was lovely to see it in glorious sun. The cliffs are very soft, layers of sand and clay containing fossils, which erode quickly.

We had a lovely walk and lunch. There were monarch butterflies feeding before they return south.

Michael was determined to finish his Sukudo before challenging his Dad to a stone skimming competition!

We had fantastic weather while our visitors were here but now it's getting more changeable and definitely greyer. We have a few nice outings lined up - I'm visiting Niagara-on -the-Lake with the Newcomers group on Friday - wine tasting!! 

Eamonn's hoping to fit in a few more golf games and we might go shopping in Buffalo - it's supposed to be cheaper there but some people have had delays and hassle crossing the border so we'll see.

We went to Kelso, which is a ski area in winter and took the cable car up to the top. This is part of the Niagara Escarpment, a limestone ridge which is a protected landform, stretching 725 km from Northern Ontario to the Niagara River. It forms stony outcrops in many places so creates more interesting landscape and of course is responsible for the Falls.

I've had a real fight with this blog so if you have trouble working your way through it I'm sorry!

We're thinking of you all and do let me know if you get to see the blog, it makes it all worthwhile!! And thank you again to our intrepid visitors - here's to the next ones!

Lots of love, Mary and Eamonn