Montreal - Florida - Montreal, 21 April - 2 May 2018 (Pt 1)

We said goodbye to the cold and snow on the morning of 21st of April and were pleasantly surprised to arrive in Montreal to green grass and flowers already in bloom. As usual the grandchildren were happy to see us and it wasn't hard to convince me to take them to the park shortly after we arrived. Phil later showed me his latest gadget, a 3D printer built in the Czech Republic, the very popular and reliable Prusa i3. We made a sugar skull keychain for my sister Lyn which I would give to her on her birthday, explaining how it works and the materiel used. I was quite impressed and could understand their growing popularity for the average hobbyist. And no I don't need one.

Phils new 3D printer, a Czech i3 Prusa

fun at the big kids park

Our flight was leaving the next morning from Plattsburgh, NY so we were up early for the hour drive to the airport. It was a three hour cramped and basically no frills flight which went by pretty quickly as I listened to my music and tried not to hog the armrest. Don met us in St Pete on our arrival and we were in Brooksville by suppertime, the temperature in the low 80s and quite pleasant thank you. We visited with Dad the next day, having last seen him in November, spending a few hours chatting, trying to get him again to talk about his past and found one of his favourite songs on YouTube to listen to - Sarie Marais, a traditional South African folk song he used to sing to us as children. ' Oh, take me back to the old Transvaal, where my Sarie lives, down among the maize fields near the green thorn tree, there lives my Sarie Marais.'  We promised to return again before we left to take him out to lunch and he seemed, for a man nearing his 95th birthday, quite happy and in good health. Marie and I were up early every morning while we were at Lyn and Dons, either walking down Angel to Dempsey and back or down Benshoff to Malvern and back, before anyone else was up. Don took us out to the little town of  Ozello the next day, highly recommended by Lyn who said there were so many good photo ops there that I really needed to take my camera. Located between Crystal River and Homosassa we found it down a winding road (the Ozella Trail), twisting and turning through an aquatic preserve past endless salt marsh flats. I expected to see and feel more of 'old Florida' but there wasn't much there except a very popular seafood restaurant, Pecks, where we had lunch and where we took the lone photo. Marie and I had salads while Don had the house specialty - a half dozen blue shelled crabs. We drove into Crystal River afterwards and strolled about Hunter Springs Park, along Kings Bay, a haven for manatees, before heading home.

Plattsburgh, our Allegiant jet arriving from St Pete, ready to turn around

Gandy Bridge, Old Tampa Bay, Florida

admiring the flowering plant Cannabis, within the family Cannabaceae

Dad listening to Sarie Marais

getting ready for our early morning power walk

Peck's Seafood Restaurant, Ozella, Florida

Crystal River, Florida

It was Lyn's 69th birthday the next day and, as we had promised to take her out to a restaurant of her choice, we found ourselves after a bit of a drive at a small European eatery called Nouvelle Cuisine in Springhill which featured classic Belgian and French dishes. With excellent reviews and great expectations we had to wait awhile for the food once we ordered, but the French wine and Belgian beer selection was very good and comforting. I had the rack of lamb - a little rare but still tender and delicious,  that brought much raised eyebrows from all as I ate the whole thing - and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Lyn had a good time and it was good to see her smiling most of the evening. She is going into surgery for her shoulder after we leave and the stress of thinking about it has been on her mind constantly.

birthday girl

Don's 1972 Love Bug

enjoying the sun

Nouvelle Cuisine, Springhill, Florida

Next day, as promised, we took Dad out to a new Cheddar's restaurant just down the road from where he was living. He said he wasn't hungry but still ate a bit of his salad, a croissant, and a chicken pot pie that he seemed to love. We took him afterwards to Walmart where we picked him up some wine, snacks, ice cream and some of his favourite mints. His caretaker Barb put them away for him as she told us he would eat the lot in one sitting if he could! I think Dad enjoyed our visit and hopefully he will still remember us when next we see him. Before leaving for St Pete where we would be for the remaining days until flying home we celebrated Brenna's seventh birthday. She is such a sweet little girl, full of energy and life and I always look forward to seeing her and her parents Shawn and Lauren. She got a guitar from Grandma Lyn and I will be keeping my fingers crossed the next Adele is living in Brooksville. Lyn and Don drove us to the Alamo rent a car in St Petes the next morning - Lyn had a pre-surgery doctors visit nearby - where we said our goodbyes and headed to our AirBnB only a few miles away. It was our first real visit to the city of St Petersburg and I was looking forward to some beach time!  gws

speeder, Walmart

Croom Road

Brenna, 7 years old

Our Retirement Home Part Fifty (Basement Tile)

dry run over the cement floor

After the grandkids had gone (and was it ever quiet in the house!) I began a few dry runs of the Italian Mono Serra (Denver Grigio) tiles we purchased at Rona's for the basement floor, deciding on a staggered look that Marie had suggested. This looked good and I had to only cut one tile in every four rows on the straight wall using the two pieces as shown above. The angles of the other side where the room came to a peak necessitated cutting every tile along the wall but with my little wet saw this was a breeze. Rather than disconnect the propane line to the Napoleon stove and create a headache resealing the connection I moved it around as I layed the tiles. I had left enough space under the stone so the tile and mortar would fit underneath to give the wall a finished look. It took a month working a quarter of the room at a time - cutting outside and mixing the mortar, laying tile, grouting (Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA UC02 - colour: pewter), then moving furniture onto the finished area. In the centre of the room I had to cut a 6 inch hole in one of the tiles to accommodate the Hubbell poke-through which will feed the ethernet, television and electrical wires and eliminate running wires along the floor. I used a $5 diamond blade on my hand grinder and working slowly in a circle and successfully cut the hole - without breaking the tile. Do it outside as it creates clouds of dust. This method had many negative reviews on YouTube but it worked fine for me! 

the heavy cast iron Napoleon propane stove

almost half way

cutting hole in tile - patience is the key

installing Hubbell poke through

mixing mortar and watching the snow come down

 

past the half way point!

last bit under the stairs, with grout

 I finally finished under the stairs, cutting another hole for the drain there and finished the grouting. What a relief. I then waited a few days before painting the door and window trim and installing it, then put up the blinds. This unofficially ended the house construction begun in 2012 although we still had a few other tasks to do - putting in the stair lights, installing the railing and finishing the electrical work in the basement. Marie in the meantime suggested a trip to Florida for a break. I could hardly refuse, ready for a reprise from laying tile as well as the depressing winter that just wouldn't end. When we left for Montreal and the airport in Plattsburgh on the 21st of April there was still two feet of snow on the ground. May was just around the corner and I certainly hoped the sun would start melting the white stuff before we returned on the 2nd.  gws

Good job master!

trim and blinds up!

April 20th

 

heading for Montreal, view of Mt Megantic from Notre-Dame-des-Bois

Thérèse Bourgoin 1929 - 2018 - Pt 1

It was bound to happen, sooner or later, but my Aunt's passing on January 20th afternoon was still a shock.  I had come to know her well, since I became her Mandataire, as they say here in Quebec.  I knew what made her happy, like taking her out shopping or going to the restaurant, and even just spending some time with her at the two residences she lived in since her health started failing in April 2016.  I already miss our telephone conversations and our outings.  

 Aunt Thérèse was a very well organized individual and very professional.  She had been proud of her accomplishments in life, and did appreciate the value of an education.  The only major disappointment in her life had been the passing of her sister, my other Aunt, Fernande, in the early nineties.  My Aunt had pre-arranged her funerals and had taken care to write down her wishes.  I just had to follow up.  As a result we had a quiet, yet respectful, service, on February 13th at Paroisse Notre-Dame du Perpétuel-Secours in Sherbrooke, accompanied by a violinist and a cellist who played beautifully the pieces my Aunt had chosen.  It turns out the violinist had met my Aunt many years ago and she had asked her to play at her funerals; the violinist retained very nice memories of their meeting and had been delighted to have been contacted.  I did speak a few words in my Aunt's memory at the service.  Aside from Gary and me there was in attendance my cousin Denyse and her husband, Yves, Louise Cloutier, a good friend of my aunt's in the past and the person appointed responsible to handle the Estate, and another very good friend and past co-worker, Carole Cloutier and her husband.  To my very pleasant surprise, Phil and Fer also showed up from Montreal.  The next and final trip for my Aunt will be to have her ashes interned at the family plot in Mont-Joli.  My cousin, Denyse, is responsible for that event and it will be taking place in early June.

MEB