Farewell 2019

We headed out on December 19th for the annual holiday fun run across Ontario. We left green grass behind and hit the 401 with fingers crossed, not knowing year to year where winter might begin. This year, it began around Milton. We opted for the 407 as thing started to get dicey, and took a much-needed lunch break along the 400 north of Vaughan after finding out that our lunch date in Barrie with Kevin was cancelled due to illness.

As we left Vaughan, they closed the 400 between Bradford and Innisfil due to what turned out to be a 50-car pileup amidst sketchy winter weather. We detoured up Highway 11 and passed through one of my old haunts - literally - in Churchill, before regaining the 400 at Barrie and carrying on northward.

We spent a few days in the Barrie/Orillia area and visited with a number of friends and family, staying two nights at my dad's place and a third at a nice Airbnb in Orillia. In spite of plenty of snow on the ground, a few days of sunshine meant we set out on dry roads for eastern Ontario, taking advantage of the favourable weather and the the more scenic route along Highway 7.

We spent several more days in eastern Ontario visiting more family and friends, including a great turkey dinner at my mother's and a delicious ham dinner at my sister's. The nieces have grown into young ladies with a great sense of humour. I even got to visit with two of my cousins and their families, whom I had not seen in a long while.

But for a brief fog as we departed, the good weather held out as we returned westward, following the 401 back to the London area for Coxmas. Toronto traffic was intermittently frustrating, but not so bad that we felt like paying for the 407. Coxmas itself was great as always, involving another yummy turkey dinner and much laughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and thanks to all who housed and fed us over the holidays. It is more appreciated than you know.

We made it home by December 29th, to eight angry cats and a lot of unpacking. Luckily, mild weather persisted and out they went while we opened windows and rounded up cat litter.

By the 31st, we were into this year's chosen TV marathon, "Random Passage" - CBC's epic story of settling a Newfoundland outport in the 1800's, accompanied by a smorgasbord of appetizers and some mulled wine. Once finished the mini-series, we decided to start re-watching Supernatural!

2019 was a challenging year for us, with Jane's knee issues, surgery and recovery all intermingled with art shows galore. With one more surgery to go early into the New Year, 2020 is shaping up to be a much better year for mobility and quality of life!

See you next year!!!

Christmas north of Barrie

Orillia already has some impressive snowpiles!

Score Pizza in Kingston!

Coxmas by the outdoor fire

Naughty or Nice?

This year's choice for New Year's

Random Passage marathon

Preparing the mulled wine

Mulling over the New Year

Pennywise Breaks the Internet!

That time Pennywise became an international sensation.....


Pennywise Breaks the Internet!

Festive Time

December came quickly, book-ended by holiday craft shows. We bid farewell to November with a 4-day show in London at the Western Fair, our biggest show yet. We even took both vehicles to ensure we had enough art to keep up in sales! It also allowed us to leave the van in a choice parking spot and use it as a mini warehouse for the weekend....while the Juke was far more fun to zip around town in!

The show was quite busy, and luckily we had a place to stay nearby rather than "commuting" - the days were long enough without adding three or four hours of driving!

I was able to duck out and make the short walk to nearby Powerhouse Brewing, for a quick beer and a few more to go. We also enjoyed some delicious food from neighbouring restaurants, though the freezing rain made even that short walk a bit dicey at times!

After helping a friend pack up on the last day, we headed for home....with no signal lights on the van! Jane followed behind in the Juke and signaled our few turns, and we trundled along in the slow lane of the 401.

Our next show was three days at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, home of the OHL Windsor Spitfires. We also got the van's lights fixed first by our very accommodating local garage.

On the Saturday, I ran a quick few errands in Tecumseh, and made a jaunt over to historic Sandwich Towne to visit Sandwich Brewing. I may have seemed a bit eager (I was in a hurry!), but after respectfully waiting until 11:05am, I tried the door and it was still locked.....apparently they just forgot! I grabbed a growler and two cans to go, before making a stop along the riverfront for the scenery.

The choice venue meant that I could at least catch most of a hockey game on the last day of the show, before heading back to pack up. As it turned out, the show was rather quiet anyway with underwhelming attendance....so I could be spared!

The Spits were on fire and jumped out to a commanding lead, so that I even when I had to leave early, I was confident that they were in full control.....and they held on for a 6-3 victory over the rival London Knights.

With the last show of the year out of the way and the van put to bed for the winter.....we're heading back out on the road for the usual milk run of holiday visits!

Powerhouse Brewing in east London

A nice Red to break up a long day!

A Powerhouse trio!

Freezing rain made things interesting!

Back home for a beautiful sunset

December comes calling at the Ambassador Bridge

Offerings from Sandwich Brewing

Detroit skyline on a blustery morning

Almost game time

The Spitfires emerge!

Action in the London Knights' end

Early Spits goal followed immediately by the Teddy Bear Toss.....and cleanup!

The view from Section 120