He's not got Scruffy hanging out!

Grandad went out last night with his friend Quiche. He had a few too many (to put it mildly). When Huffle brought him home (Grandma and I were playing a game in the kitchen) he had a silly boozey look on his face. He attempted to go up the stairs and bumped into the wall. We sent Huffle up after him to guide him. Huffle put him in the bathroom after being told he didn't need the light. After a while Huffle knocked on the bathroom door and said "are you okay?" Grandads reply was "it's me" in a silly high voice and came out of the bathroom with his trousers all askew and a silly grin on his face. When he then attempted to get up the loft stairs, Huffle had to push his bottom up the stairs where Grandad narrowly missed a few steps plus his trousers fell down around his ankles whilst giggling. He ended up in bed with a washing up bowl on standby much to Grandmas disgust. (She wanted him to sleep in the sun room with the wandering raccoons and chipmunks). We did inform him before he went to bed that we were going to the aquarium tomorrow. He said "yes the ruuur"!!!!!! Oh dear Grandad! Much later whilst Huffle and I were in bed, we heard a flump flump down the stairs and knew it was the drunkard. Huffle went to assist as he went back up the stairs, he missed a few steps and Grandma was standing at the top of the stairs saying 'it's disgusting'. Apparently she also told him in a very stern voice to "get up these stairs at once" and he did. There was a later incident where he didn't quite reach the sick bowl and this morning he sheepishly asked if I could set the washing machine going. Grandad let the family down, England down, himself down and his trousers down.

Off we all went this morning to the Go Station in Lincolville to get on the bus to Toronto. We made the boys sit with Grandad and keep him awake and hopefully talk at him all the way. They didn't though, they sat quietly looking out of the window until the bus got busy and Grandad sat with Grandma.

We arrived at lunchtime and walked straight for some food in Jack Astors. It was busy, noisy and the food was 'meh' (well mine was and I told them and they gave us 15% off the bill). We got to draw on the table cloths and we all depicted "MrPuke's adventure" in our own way.

This was in the men's toilets (Huffle took this one).

On we walked to the Aquarium. We had booked tickets for 3pm so had an easy meander past the Buildings and CN Tower. Lots of photo opportunities.

The aquarium didn't look too busy at first. Something to do with the lovely weather (though at home the weather was very wet). The displays were big and bright and colourful. We had plenty of room to see and were not jostled too much. Smallest wanted to see a squid so was delighted when one of the first things was an octopus tank and he got to get underneath and see them suckering their way along the tube - fascinating. Grandma and I decided we wanted fish tanks in the bedroom and bathroom respectively as they were very calming.

I wanted to see all the fish from "Finding Nemo" and I think I saw the majority of them, if not all. Small was anxious to see the shark and we all enjoyed going through the underwater tube on the very slow moving travelator that you could hop on and off from. We had sharks going over our heads, a very large swordfish sitting above us, divers feeding the stingrays and lots and lots of colourful fish.

There were lots of interactive things for the kids to do. Sitting in submarines that were placed under the water so that it looked like they were in there, computer screens and quizzes that kept them all occupied. Smallest got to put his hand down a tube in a sharks mouth to feel what he might have eaten and he felt a chain. The stingrays swam past us and smiled for the camera.

Everyone was able to touch the stingrays and small sharks. The freakiest fish of the day was the Weedy Dragon which was a kind of giant seaweed covered seahorse.

The jelly fish were mesmerising. Beautiful colours that changed constantly but were not good to catch on camera unfortunately but we saw a whole wall of them floating lazily up and down.

Of course the whole tour ended in the rubbish overpriced gift shop so we tried some hats on Grandad.

And took photos of our heads in the turtle Shell

Then we walked to the Gelato shop and all (except Grandma) had a lovely ice cream. Grandad - Pink Grapefruit and Key Lime Pie. Huffle - Key Lime Pie and Straciatella. Me and Small - Straciatella and Honey Yoghurt. Smallest - Straciatella and Lemon. Yum yum.

We wandered along the harbour and then back to the bus where we didn't have to wait for long before our bus arrived. A nice journey back and then home for tea and toast and sleeping little bears.

 

 

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The fire that starts itself!

The blog title for today was going to be Chicken Dinner Back, Mower Legs, Rakey Pits and him who 'ain't got note wrong with him but that was far too long and when Grandad told us about the fire, that became a much better title.

Huffle worked from home today (today he received news from his boss of what his future job would entail and he is happy with this), Grandad spent the morning chopping down our vine that covers the pool trellis (the cuttings of which he placed on the fire pit. *Bearing in mind we hadn't lit that fire for two whole days, he says that it spontaneously combusted all by itself. Ummmm porky pies?) and Grandma and I went off knitting. Today, with the help of Grandma, I managed to sew my cardi (only took me 2 years). After knitting we met Grandad and Huffle and we all went for dinner at the Tin Mill. It was a lovely meal and we walked it off by going to the Charity Shop where I bought some wine glasses, Grandma bought some pyjamas, Huffle bought a top, Grandad bought some jeans and we all had a new jigsaw - this time of Paris.

It's the Fonz, quick get his autograph

A quick stop at the ice cream shop where Grandad had a three scooper (piggy) and we all sat outside eating them. Next stop was John's Garden where we had a lovely walk around and then bought a few interesting plants in the sale. We also bought some bulbs for Spring.

Grandma and Huffle drove home and Grandad and I drove home via Pallet search (he needed two more for his project). Everywhere we have been recently, where we have asked for pallets we have been told that the pallets have to be sent back or paid for and they cost about $20. We didn't believe them but after today and a few more people saying the same thing, we think they must be right. However, after we got home, we then drove to the big shops and found a pile behind a well known supermarket. Once Grandad had made sure the cameras weren't pointing at us, we got out, assessed the situation and he decided which ones he wanted. We loaded them and drove home via a 'Road Closed'. Silly Grandad didn't even see the sign (me neither).

I'm happy Grandma

 

Back home, pallets unloaded, football played with the kids and Huffle drove Grandad to the pub to see his old friend 'Quiche'. Grandma and I fed the kids and settled down with a glass of red wine.

 

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Rambling, (Mowing), Raking & Roasting,

What a beautiful day. It's difficult to know what to dress the boys in these days. Small has taken to wearing jogging bottoms (much to my disgust) and Smallest is still in shorts but wearing a hoodie round his waist. This morning I was told "I will tie, you don't know wear my waist is!" After they went to school, I drove to the forest and met NoCustard. We had a lovely walk and chatted all the way. The forest is looking very beautiful and although the leaves aren't properly changing, the sky was a gorgeous blue with fluffy white clouds and everything was very green. We walked for an hour and a quarter.

When I got home, Grandad had already started cutting the grass. No, the mower isn't fixed and back, we borrowed MrRoyals mower last night. He had filled it with petrol (when he eventually found the hole) and had cut most of the back garden. He came in and we all had a cup of tea and did a bit of jigsaw.

He carried on with the cutting and I went out and started raking. Considering how much my arms ached from aerobics yesterday, it killed! There was an awful lot of grass - it was sooooo long.

At lunchtime we watched The Village (this was the worst thing we could have watched while eating).

The rest of the grass was cut after lunch and then the raking aarrrggghhhhh. Grandad had trouble with the strimmer! We took the mower back, had an interesting conversation about beans with Prince and then had a funny conversation with next door lady who gave me a butternut squash.

When the boys came home I drove Small to the foot place which took ages (normally 30 mins but turned into at least 40 mins there and slightly less back). His feet are doing well and the foot woman is happy with him. We need to get him better shoes which will help in the meantime.

Grandma spent all afternoon making a roast dinner which was lovely. After dinner we played football, Small did his homework and Smallest practised his piano. Small chose which instruments he wanted to play today. He chose 1.Tuba (though I have pointed out it will be heavy to carry back and forth and up steps of the school bus etc). 2. Tenor Saxophone (my favourite) and 3. Trumpet (he says this is the hardest to play. We will see if he gets to play any of them.

Small also got picked for the football team (though everyone did because there were only 17 tried out and this accounts for subs), oh well, he is still very pleased and we are too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Pallets, 6 Squashed Tarts and an untethered Grandad

A beautiful sunny day. After the boys had gone off to school, I cycled to aerobics, leaving Grandma and Grandad jigsawing. It was a tough workout and as I cycled back I felt full of cold and extremely tired. Grandma was showering and Grandad was missing. Grandma and I did some more jigsawing and then I saw smoke rising from the bottom of the garden. That's when we realised Grandad had lit another fire (his excuse was that he was clearing space on the grass in case the mower reappeared - it didn't!).

We decided to go out for lunch and headed off to the little Portuguese Cafe I know (mainly they are famous for their amazing cakes and pastries). The funny thing was I had to translate Grandmas English to the Portuguese lady. Grandad asked for toast and he got a ham and cheese toastie and when Grandma asked for English Breakfast tea, she thought she meant a breakfast bun. Still we had a nice sandwich and then chose our cakes. Grandma had an apple slice, Grandad had a fruit tart and I had the most enormous vanilla cream filled donut. Ummmmmmmm amazing. I had to take some custard tarts home too for later watching the Bake Off.

We then drove towards the shops and stopped in Canadian Tire to enquire whether we could take some of the pallets. Again we got lost in translation and the check out chick said no as they were sent back to the manufacturer. We didn't believe her as there were broken ones too. As we were driving away we noticed four in the middle of the car park and attempted to put them in the car. The car was too small and there were three of us in it. The only way we could get the pallets in (bearing in mind that they were JUST what Grandad needed) was to put the back seats all the way down flat, the four pallets in the boot and Grandad sitting on top of the folded down seat with pallets stuck in his back, of course we couldn't get his seatbelt on either so he held it (well I'm sure the Police would have totally understood!)

We stopped at a couple of shops before going home, without any incident thank goodness. We had time for a quick drink before Grandad and I moved the pallets from the car to the drive and then on to a wheelbarrow and down to the bottom of the garden (though we had to wait for Huffle for the last two as I had to take Smallest to the dentist).

We left Grandad doing the jigsaw, Grandma making dinner and Small playing gadgets. Smallest had his back four teeth painted a his enamel was 'chalky' and then we came home. We all had dinner and then he boys played basketball.

Another productive day.

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Ooyer aayyer ooyyah

Huffle went to work and had a busy day catching up from yesterday. The boys went off to school (thanks to Grandad remembering that it was time for the school bus). I went off to work leaving Grandma doing some cleaning and carrying on with the jigsaw and Grandad doing his jobs.

I worked with Jeff clearing out the bamboo that had crawled across the path unsuspectingly. I got to bring some bamboo home, plus some flox, aster and calendula and asiatic lily seeds. I also bought a few plants for the porch planters. I made flapjack first thing to take with me and we ate that with mid morning coffee whilst talking about the Scottish Independence news.

When I got home Grandad had cemented and levelled the few slabs near the back door where the chipmunks had burrowed, put up the new piece of wood to hold the swing and monkey bars using a Spanish Winlass (this bit is to make it sound like it was complicated and there was an issue because I had the tape measure and he had trouble centreing the holes) and was in the process of squirrel proofing (mark III) the bird feeder.

We had lunch, watched the other bit of In The Club and then Grandad and I planted the plants and started to cut down odd branches, which turned into the cutting down of whole trees, me getting stuck in said trees, Grandad being bitten by mosquitoes heavily and me being scratched by trees. Basically we cut down loads of trees and then piled them all up in the fire pit. We used the generator that had to be picked up by both of us and put in the wheelbarrow that Grandad pretended to push by himself while I pretended to steer and steady it. The fire pit was full and very high (and I had to ban Grandad from piling it up any higher).

The boys came home and played basketball and then went in and did their homework. The cooker engineer arrived and we talked through the problems. Luckily it was the same one as before so he knew the history. I gave him the document Huffle had created with all the error messages and dates of phone conversations etc. He is on holiday until next Wednesday but will then sit down with his boss and send a report to Samsung plus our notes recommending that the cooker be removed. He also gave me his office number (which is not Samsung or Sears but the engineering company and his mobile number so that if we don't get any joy he can help us contact someone).

Grandad and I finished clearing, Smallest helped move the branches to the fire pit and then the boys went on the Ipads while Grandma and I made dinner. Today was BBQ burgers, marinated chicken drumsticks, cous cous salad and corn on the cob. We made up some S'mors and took them down the fire where All the boys were lighting, piling, chopping and being boys around the fire. We stayed there until past 8' O'clock. The boys went to bed and we had showers (we were very smelly what with the fire and the mosquito spray).

What a busy productive day.

 

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Wait fer me then yer pig!

Huffle had a day off work today and once the boys went off to school, the rest of us went off for a day of getting things on our list. We started in Ajax where I dropped off Grandad and Huffle at Home Depot and Canadian Tire and Grandma and I went to Homesense, Winners and Marshalls (which are all, in fact, the same shop). However we did manage to get me some walking boots for my birthday and some socks and tea towels. As we entered our third shop, we got the message from Huffle asking us to pick them up. Grandad sat in the car park (hobo stylee) with a trolley and wood and Huffle was just walking back fom Canadian Tire. They had got lots of things off their list.

We liked this sofa (and Grandma said it was very comfy).

Next we drove to Uxbridge where our intention was to have a nice lunch at the Tin Mill (where Grandma was dreaming of Sweet Potato Fries), a shop in Huffle's Deadman shop, a Gelato in the Gelataria, plants from Johns Garden and maybe some pastries to take home from the bakery. However, it was soon apparent that Uxbridge is not a place to go in on a Monday. Everywhere was closed. We ended up with no plants, we had lunch at a pub which turned out to be really nice, no shirts for Huffle and no pants for Grandad. We did have a cup of tea and a slice of cake (ice creams for the big boys) in our usual cafe though.

Raspberry Lemon and Lime Sherbert

At the end of the afternoon we had a mad supermarket dash where Grandad and Huffle went off armed with a list and Grandma and I got the veg, fruit and bits in between. We were a very good team. Back home we all unpacked the car, the big boys packed their stuff away in the barn and the girls put the food away.

Within minutes the boys arrived home, homework was done, they told us about their day, a quick chore and then on the IPads until dinner. They both went off to Beavers and Scouts tonight. They should have been doing a Forest hike but it rained.

The rest of us started on the jigsaw of Times Square and stopped for our tea until the boys came home.

The evenings entertainment was difficult to predict at the time of writing but it could have been a game of cards that I won (like last night). In fact, my armpits still ache from the celebratory gesturing to the rest of the players.

The mower part is still missing with no idea of where it is or when it will be added to our mower. Huffle didn't even bother asking when they thought it might be back as he has lost all sense of hope. However, the cooker engineer did call today to say he would be here between 3pm and 6pm - that means no dinner tomorrow night!

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Grandads Bogie

Everyone was feeling less than well last night and so a nice long lie-in was much appreciated. We were still all a bit snuffy this morning too. After Grandad made a late morning pancake breakfast (ahem ahem) and a Skype with HB - HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY - interrupting the middle of her party, Huffle, Grandad and I went off to the Local Country Market to get Grandad a top and shoes. We also bought a few out of date chocolates to try and had a warm drink watching the interesting locals.

We left Grandma, Small and Smallest playing Disney Monopoly (Grandma was very happy and didn't ask us to rescue her as soon as we got back!!).

A free for all lunch was had and a few games of UNO. I skyped Moo and Aunty A and had a really good catch up. The boys played basketball and fought and argued and played football and fought and argued and trampolined and fought and argued.

Huffle and Grandad sorted out the jobs to do and measured and made lists for tomorrow. We had dinner and cleared away and then we watched TV.

The cooker has had several new error messages today.

No photos today despite the fact the trees are starting to change colour and the leaves are beginning to fall HURRAH.

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