Thanksgiving Number One

On Saturday, Jack and I headed to Petersborough with Candice to join the Donnelly Family for Thanksgiving.  Troy was at work, so he missed out.  Candice is a very close family friend of the Donnelly's and spends most holidays with them.  Mrs Donnelly is about 86years old and had 10 children.  Of those 10 children, most of them had at least four children and so on and so on.   You can imagine how big of a family gathering it was.  Candice tells me that it was a relatively small Thanksgiving this year due to some relatives being overseas.  But OH MY GOD, to me it was gigantic!  There was probably at least fifty people! 

When we arrived, we enjoyed Mrs Donnelly's famous cabbage rolls, which are made with a spicy meat filling.  Divine - Mrs Donnelly said she will be happy to share the recipe with me, so I feel very special.   I also got to try pumpkin pie for the very first time.  It is a sweet pie made from canned pumpkin!  I am not kidding - CAN PUMPKIN.  It sounds weird but gosh it's yummy.  Mrs Donnelly makes hers with a little ginger which I really enjoyed.  We then headed out to see the Lift Locks which allows the boats to go from one higher lake to another lower lake.  They are the highest lift locks in the world at 19.8 metres!  It was such a sight to see, but unfortunately we didn't get to see a boat pass through the locks while we were there.  Petersborough is a lovely town with many lovely old homes and churches. 

I was very impressed to see some men in the kitchen helping with the cooking for Thanksgiving.  I guess when you cater for that many people, it's all hands on deck!   I was amazed to see a kind of 'disorganised chaos'.  Not one person seems to be in charge of everything - people all just pitch in and seem to know what to do and when to do it.  And there was waves of people all having a turn in the kitchen at one point or another.  I was able to help out a little and even rescued the cheese sauce from near disaster - Joe forgot to do the butter and flour at the start!

We had turkey and ham with all the vege's etc.  For dessert, there were about a million pies!  Blueberry, Raspberry, Pumpkin, apple etc etc.  So much to choose from.  It was absolutely beautiful!  Jack had a great time and enjoyed playing with all the kids.

(ice) Hockey Virgin

Well, after drying his tears due to his non-eligibility to play in the Rugby League game against Jamaica and the likes (gotta have lived here for three years), Troy had his first Hockey experience.  As Big Jack's sister reminded us, you DO NOT call it Ice Hockey.  If someone hears you call it Ice Hockey, you have to leave the country.

His buddies from the Fire Hall helped deck him out with all the necessary gear.  Yvonne, you will be very pleased to know that they wear a full face caged helmet as apparently the league he is in has many different skill levels (from Troy-gumby to pretty damn good) so there has been instances where players have accidentally nearly sliced off another player's nose with a swinging stick or skate blade.  Troy was happy to take his mate's advice to wear the full face helmet (phew). 

I was not able to watch due to my cat shelter commitments, I was sorry I missed this great opportunity for me to exercise my abs and lungs from hysterical laughter.  None the less, I got all the gory details when I got home. 

I am a bit worried about Troy's abilities as firstly, he was absolutely shattered after the game.  Who knew it was so bloody strenuous?  They make it look easy at the Olympics gliding effortlessly across the ice.  Secondly, he is still unsure if he is right-handed or left-handed with the hockey stick.  Bob tells us some people who are right handed, often feel more comfortable playing left handed (Bob included).  I am still wondering how you can play a whole game of hockey and still not be sure if you are right handed or not....anyway..........Thirdly, he reckons he has absolutely zero control when he tried to pass the puck.  And forget trying to scoop it up!  Lastly, Troy said that he was so tired that by the end of the game, he kept falling over when the puck and players were no where near him!  How embarrassing.  Pick the Aussie! 

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend.  We did a little research on Thanksgiving and it's a lot like Christmas here.  In fact, some people say it is bigger than Christmas.   We are not sure what it is all about, but there seems to be a trend of people all getting together, drinking heaps, eating heaps etc etc etc.  Sounds like our cup of tea!

We miss everyone heaps and hope you are all happy and healthy!  XXXXX

Little Bits and Pieces

It was five degrees yesterday at 8.30am, which concerns me becuase it is only fall and not even winter yet.  The days have been pretty cool - getting up to about 12 degrees.  We have not had the heating on in the house yet though (just tested it once) because inside is pretty warm.  Every now and then I need to put the fireplace on for a bit to warm up but that's about it.   It was raining today on and off but luckily it held off at the right times, so we were able to ride to school.  Riding every day has been a lot of fun - Jack's confidence has been growing and now he is doing all sorts of little tricks on his bike like riding with one hand and also riding standing up. 

Troy went to help out a new friend with some home repairs today.  What a shame for him because today Jack and I came across a fox on our way to school!  It was pretty cool to see one and man they can dash!  They seem really interested in everything going on around them as it stopped and stared at us for a while.  I was madly trying to rack my brain about what the Lonely Planet Guide said about foxes....do they attack?  Do they have rabies?  Are you supposed to make fierce fox noises to scare it away?  What if it sounds like a mating call??  What IS a mating call?  Are you supposed to run away from them or stand your ground?  Are you means to run straight or zigzag?  Are you supposed to stop, drop & roll?????  My mind was in a panic and I couldn't think straight, obviously.   Anyhow, all that went through my mind in the 2.3 seconds the fox stared at us.  Then it took off.  Phew.  So I have officially battled and defeated an encounter with a fox.  Seems I did the right thing and just stared with a panic-stricken face!!!!

We are waiting to hear back from Jack's school whether he can be put up into Grade One.  The request has to go to the Superintendent or something so we feel really important.   We have been doing extra work at home with Jack with his reading and writing.  All I can say is... Teachers need to be paid more AND people who home school their children need their head read! 

I went to a Book Club last week.  Lovenia invited me to go along as it is a very informal and relaxed book club which has been going for a few years with some of the local ladies.  I was a bit apprehensive at first because I have heard some horror-stories about some book clubs, but Lovenia assured me that all the ladies were lovely and easy-going.  It is called 'Chapters and Cheers' and you have to take a bottle of wine and a book or two that you have read and enjoyed.  We arrived and I was immediately put at ease.  There were about 20 ladies who are obviously all great friends.  We all sat around drinking wine and having nibblies for about an hour - you can imagine the noise!  There were about 15 conversations going at once and there was screeching and laughter and cackling.  I LOVED IT.    Anyhow, after the hour of mayhem I was beginning to wonder if we actually did anything with the books.  Shortly after that, we all assembled at the dining room table where one by one, you say what type of wine you bought (there is a $20 limit) and a little about the book/s you have brought along.   Then, everyone gets to swap books and you take home somebody elses bottle of wine!  How wonderful.  I am hooked and can't wait for the next meeting.  I am definitely going to start a similar style book club when I get home!!!!

Troy has work tomorrow.  The Firey's at the hall each take turn cooking dinner for the crew and because Troy cannot really cook all that well (I think it's just a put on so he doesn't have to cook EVER), I have been sending sweets and treats to work.   I enjoy it because as you all know, I love to cook and bake.  The Cranberry and White Chocolate Biscuits (cookies) went down a treat.  Tomorrow, he's taking Chocolate Cake.  I made scones for Troy to take to Bob's house last week when he went to do some paving and they were like rock cakes!!  I think it has to do with the consistency of the Canadian Cream.  Over here, the consistency of it is like milk......so when I made my scones with the lemonade and cream....well it seems there was not enough air in the mixture.  Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  

Because the weather is bloody freezing, I have cracked out the porridge!  Yay.  The only nice thing about the cool weather is enjoying porridge in the morning.

Pretty sure it is about to snow!!!!

Today I did the most UN-AUSTRALIAN thing.......Or at least Un-Queenslander.....I mowed the lawn in Jeans, shoes, shirt, and a thick jumper!!!! Thats right, I didn't even work up a sweat!!! In fact I wanted to have GLOVES on as well but I knew Erin would give me shit about it!.....GOD!!! the pain I go through just so people don't point and laugh at me.  Anyway I rolled the sleeves over my fingers so they didn't have to touch the freezing cold bars.  After I had finished the lawn I went back inside to find Erin has put the fireplace on!!!!! Inside the house was a balmy 21degrees without the fire, I just mowed the lawn at about 0 degrees.....plus OR minus 13 or so degrees!!! I don't know what I am going to do about her Propane guzzling habits!!

I also learned that a thick knitted jumper worn above does not cut it when it is windy or you are riding your bike to the park, another thing Erin was quick to point out....and laugh of course!

The front Maple Tree still has all of its leaves but they have just started to wilt and change colour, so I am sure this means that it will snow in the next few days.....I will keep you posted!!

Last thing, it seams my rugby league career might be over due to some eligibility issues.....something about not being a resident or having relatives born here, even though I never played a rugby league game until I got over here!!! I havn't given up though, but just incase....I have secured some ICE HOCKEY gear, so on Thursday morning I "hit the ice" so to speak!! just for kicks though, there will be no Canadian XIII in the pipeline for gumby skaters from Aussie! Come to think of it I don't even know how many skaters are on the ice at any one time???? I think it is 5 plus the goalie, I better do some study!

Cycling & Our Cottage Experience

Our bike ride with Bob and Candice on Saturday was a wonderful day.  We really enjoyed the ride through the parkland and along the lake.  Jack had a ball on the 'tag-along' bike which attaches to Troy's bike and allows him to enjoy the ride on Troy's cycling power. 
Here are some pics of the day.

 Candice made a wonderful dinner which topped off a great day!

 Jack and Bob with a hand-carved raccoon!

This is a gorgeous little house with a beautiful maple tree turning red.  The photo doesn't do it justice.

On Sunday, we left Toronto and drove to Loon Lake, which is about 2.5hrs north eastish.  A Fire Chief named Doug and his wife Sue invited us to make use of their cottage and we are so glad they gave us this opportunity.  The drive alone was spectacular with all the trees changing colour.  We saw so many different shades of green, yellow, orange, red, brown and almost black!  The scenery is something I have only ever seen in posters etc so to see and smell it all was something I will never forget. 

The cottage itself was just gorgeous.  Aussies have a different definition of cottage to Canadians -- it was a bloody nice house!  4 bedrooms, deck, jetty and everything!  The view over the lake was so nice and relaxing.  The trees across the lake were also putting on a lovely display which seemed to change colour every day we were there.

The first night we arrived was f-f-f-f-freezing so Troy made a fire and we settled in for the night.  Doug and Sue have everything you can imagine at the cottage, so we made good use of the board games and DVD's!   Such a quiet and relaxing setting.  They also have one of those really flash u-beaut wine bottle openers like Dad has so we are guessing they like their wine!

The weather was a little drizzly at times but we made the most of our opportunity and went canoeing (I think they whole lake heard me screeching, "sit down Jack and STAY STILL!).  I knew for sure there were ice particles in the water.  We also went fishing in their boat.  We all caught little fish using worms (ewww).  The time just flew by so quickly.

 Jack took this picture of Troy and me!

 Jack was allowed to have a little turn of steering the boat - unfortunately he has his mum's boating skills....



I continue to enjoy my time at the Cat Shelter.   We have been lucky to have had a lot of adoptions recently, so I was happy to see a few of my favourites find good homes.  I am currently doing three shifts each week (a couple of hours each shift).   I have officially been 'broken in' and 'rated' by the coordinators as a "keeper" which basically means they love me (it's not hard).  I find it funny that they think I am so special when all I really do is what I am asked to do, plus a little extra of whatever I see needs doing (like redoing name tags and charts).  They think I am being helpful but everyone who knows me knows that it is an OCD illness....I met my first polydactyl cat yesterday - for those of you who didn't know what that was........it's a cat with too many toes!  FREAKY.  I was sucked in and if this cat doesn't find a home, she will definitely be coming home to Townsville with us.  Don't tell Troy though.

I also started a stability-ball pilates class on Thursdays with Barbie across the road.  Our first class was really good and the next eight weeks should definitely do wonders to banish the fat gods.   For those of you who have been concerned about my beaver tail intake, I am happy to report that I have not had a beaver tail for about 4 weeks!  har!  Take that, fat gods.  I won't mention the amount of crap we ate at the cottage though.

Ok that's all for now!   Hope you are all well and happy.  It's apparently going to get down to about 5degrees over the next couple of days, so if I can pry myself away from the fireplace I will try to do these blogs a little more regularly.   Take care, Erin xxxxx

Off to the Cottage

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick note to say we are off to a Cottage on Loon Lake, Near Haliburton.  We will be out of contact until Wednesday at this stage.  We didn't really get up to much this week, mainly because Erin was too embarrassed to be seen around me.  We finished Bob's back patio on Tuesday, one of his neighbours said I look like a Raccoon.  When I meet people now the first thing I say is "How ya going, I broke my nose".  Yesterday Bob and his neighbour Candice took us for a bike ride down on lake shore about 45 mins to the West of his house.  There was an old Estate there that has been preserved by the City, it has a pet cemetry there with proper carved out headstones for all the pets that the family had over the years in the early 1900s.

Anyway we are supposed to be packing for the trip so I better help. Ha Ha Ha :)

The Canadian Wolverines

We visited Kingston, which is approximately 2.5hrs east of Toronto.  It was the venue of the International Rugby League match between the Canadian Wolverines and the USA Tomohawks.   Troy was recently selected as part of the run-on side for the Wolverines as a winger.   Here is a little amateur footage of the Wolverines trial match (to select the representative team):

Canadian Rugby League Trial game

The game was on Sunday lunchtime and the weather gods were very kind to us with a lovely sunny day - this brought a fairly decent crowd to watch the event.  Rugby League does not have a good following here in Canada.  Most people have never heard of it, let alone watched a game.  Some Canadian's are familiar with Rugby Union though.  USA have more experience than Canada as they have a fairly good competition with approximately 12 teams in the comp.  Canada is not so lucky, the game against USA on Sunday was the second game they had ever really played as a team (and Troy's first real game).

Troy played really well.  I was very glad he was not in the front line cause some of those USA boys were BIG BIG boys!   The Canadian crowd were groaning and gasping when the players were hitting - I don't think they are used to seeing such big body hits without the protective gear of the gridiron boys!   I was fairly amused to hear people talking in the stands about the game (they clearly have little idea of Rugby League, but nice of them to show up to support it!).  One guy was telling another guy that most games end up with a score line around 60! 

After a pretty average first half, USA had the lead with 22-4.  

I thought this was Troy making a break! but turns out it was another player on his team oops!!

After a much improved second half, the Canadian Wolverines had clawed their way back to 22-16!  With two minutes until full time, Troy got the ball and made an excellent run to gain some much needed metres.  Unfortunately, the forearm (swinging forearm, Troy tells me) from a USA tackler (third man in, the cheating pricks.., Troy tells me) smashed Troy across the bridge of his nose resulting in copious amounts of gushing blood and a broken nose!  He had to leave the field immediately in the final dying moments of the game.   Unfortunately, the Canadian Wolverines lost by six points. 

Here is a picture of Troy after he had reset his nose (himself).  He said it sounded like a really heavy crack:

The bleeding finally stopped after 2.5 hours!  This is how it looked then.

But then Troy sneezed and the blood started GUSHING again!  We had to stop the car and pull over to control the bleeding!  ewwwwww.

We got back to Toronto late Sunday night.   This is the sight I got when we woke up on Monday morning:

Needless to say, Troy is a little sore and sorry today!  Yvonne, please don't freak out - it's worse than it looks.  Ha ha ha.  Oh and he has hurt his wrist, but that doesn't look anywhere near as freaky as his face, so that's not important!

So it looks like Troy's modelling days are over.  He's not sure he has put his nose back in correctly, so we will see how it looks when the swelling goes down a little.

On a positive note, Ice Hockey starts tomorrow!  Let the fun begin!

The weather is really starting to get cool here.  It was 10 degrees until about 10am this morning.  The sun is still nice and warm though, so it's not too bad outside....it's just the chilly wind that rips through you.