Toronto is usually fairly snow-free; usually, but not this year. Well, they can blame it all it on me as I was the one who specifically asked for lots of the white fluffy stuff during my visit and, yup, we got it. The majority of Canada gets on with life in the winter despite the tons of snow dumped on them each winter. Not Toronto though. It goes into fright mode: the traffic comes to a total standstill, bumper to bumper accidents, the snowplows can't cope, the schools close, and we got stuck indoors when the roads hadn't been cleared but, wow, it was beautiful.
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| My Mum & I |
The prime objective of my visit was to see my dear Mum who has been in and out of hospital so much of late, so most afternoons were spent with her at her apartment with the occasional trip out to the shops or restaurants. It was so wonderful to be able to spend the time catching up with her and my sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Bill, who were the perfect hosts and chauffeurs. I just wish I were in a position to do this more often but not sure if their wine cellar could withstand too many of my visits. It was also a golden opportunity for me to see my niece and nephew, both of whom have acquired their own homes since my last visit.
We had a few days out and about in the shops where I was able to compare the prices to those I'd briefly experienced in Australia and, hands down, Canada is cheaper with regards to foodstuffs and eating out. However, it would be unfair for me to comment on taxes, medical, cars, housing, etc etc, as I have no means of comparing like with like here in Australia.
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| Stu beside his own 'winning catch' poster |
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While there, a friend of mine, Stu, drove down
from 'way up north' to pick me up to visit the Sportsman's Show in Toronto. This is primarily for the hunters
and fishermen, neither of which I have any experience with whatsoever,
however Stu is a very keen fisherman so I learned a bit of
how different things are for those fishing on the lakes of Canada
compared to trailing lines off the back of a sailboat in the middle of
an ocean in tropical waters. All in all, it was great fun. That
evening was just the start of the big 'storm' which slowed traffic to a crawl on the return trip to Oakville and snowed us in for a couple of days.
Meanwhile, back at the home (boat) front, Paul worked his knuckles to the bone. I returned to gleaming woodwork as he'd sanded and varnished all the extremely unsightly internal timber including the floor boards, all of which had become something of an embarrassment over the past year or two. Calypso looks ever so spiffy now; he's really done her proud and certainly has performed miracles.
He'd also had to endure major river flooding during the torrential rains that Brisbane experienced during my absence. Several boats broke free from their moorings and the river was filled with broken trees and branches which caught up on anchor lines. He even featured on the national news one day when he was filmed trying to free a huge log from the chain.
No sooner had I recovered from my return flight than it was time to welcome our long-time friend, John, an Aussie chap who's been living in Thailand for the past dozen years or so. A quick trip down to Warwick to see his daughter showed us a bit of the countryside and now we're just enjoying catching up and seeing the sights and sounds of Brisbane.
PHOTO GALLERY:
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| My but it's cold out here! |
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| Trying to reach the road |
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| Squirrel teasing the cats |
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| My sister & her family |
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| and my sister |
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| Me - all bundled up |
BACK IN BRISBANE
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| Art on the street and.... |
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| on the river |
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| OK, we've had breakfast, now we'll just wait here for lunch |
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| John & I |
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| Tasmanian Devil at the Museum |
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| Stuffed Wombat |
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| John & Paul out & about in Brisbane |
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| City Hall |
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| Hannah, (Goddaughter's daughter) in Warwick |
