Life in Muskoka

I am settling into a much less busy life now that Julie is safely back in Manly Vale. Mind you there is a lot less fun but it's lucky that Gravenhurst is a friendly town and I have been able to establish a good network of friends.

Each Thursday I head to the Gravenhurst Seniors Centre 
http://www.gravenhurst.ca/residents/residential-services/seniors-centre for Senior Men's Exercises & then Yoga. I'm the youngest at both of the classes and if you think I would shine - THINK AGAIN!!!! I think that both classes are certainly helping me with at least one thing - BALANCE. I'm not ready to go out and buy an early season ski lift ticket but I can now ride a bike.

Was invited to a BBQ dinner at a friend we had made through the local network of teachers. Dianne is someone who does almost as much as Julie and at the same pace and instead of the BBQ for 4 or 5 people she had invited 8 people to her own "surprise" birthday party. Well the birthday was a surprise to me. A good night with lots of varied conversation. Lucky I took a good bottle of Australian wine!!! Thank you Sir Jim...

Starting most days with a bike ride is something that I am really enjoying. It is not only good for my fitness and balance but riding a bike is a great way to look around the town. Thankfully Gravenhurst is relatively flat and the bike has gears.


One thing that I had to have a lesson in before Julie left was how to use THE ATM!!! And as I was needing some cash, today was the day!  It was either get the cash from the ATM or I was going to be looking for work with the local beekeepers or I would have to sell some things of value or even myself to the highest bidder. As I didn't have a lot to sell and the largest local beekeeper had 21 hives IT HAD TO WORK. Luckily it did!!!!!

Another task that I was going to have to master or at least manage was the regular shopping. We found in BC in 2007 that there was far more choice for shopping and that it was significently cheaper to buy food. It is similar here! We have 2 major grocery outlets and 2 other minor sources of well priced food when there specials. And there is the Bulk Barn http://www.bulkbarn.ca/en-ca/index.html why we don't have it home I'll never know!!! The good news is that there is no sign of malnutrition and that I haven't resorted to setting squirrel traps, yet!!!!

As well as being a good place to ride a bike it is also pretty good for walking and to help  to increase the time I can walk and therefore the distance I travel I went to Muskoka Outfitters http://www.muskokaoutfitters.com/ I bought both new "Nordic" walking sticks and new shoes. Very nice and in all seriousness they have increased the time that I can walk by 5 or 10 minutes which to me is amazing. Makes me look like a bit of a dork but plenty would say what's the difference.

The extra distance I can cover is not huge but it means that I can see far more of the town at a pace that enables me to look at it properly. Although I can cover more distance on the "supercycle" there is the complication that with my "dodgy" balance I need to concentrate on staying vertical for most of the time. The nordic sticks also enable me to walk with much better posture which will help me over the long term . 

The big disappointment is that I am walking and riding by myself!




Oh well the reason that I am alone is a very good one. It's also good that Julie seeems to have recovered from her flight traumas and with the help of family she seems to be handling the difficulties at home well. She is a wonderful person and as a carer she is the best. I have personal experience of that care!

Gravenhurst is a welcoming town and we have made lots of good friends in the short time we've been here. I was invited to attend Gravenhurst Probus http://gravenhurst-probus.ca/index.php?pr=Home_Page by John and Barbara who are near neighbours. The guest speaker was excellent, Tom Masdin spoke of his service in World War 2 which included being shot down over over Holland and his time as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. Whilst his story was fascinating the most amazing thing, to me, was that as a 90 year old he was able to speak without notes for 30 minutes and then answer a variety of questions without any break at all. Remarkable!!!

Our next stop was to Red Leaves http://www.redleavesmuskoka.com/engine.cfm?i=12 but this time with me as the driver as Barbara had things she needed to do at home. Me in a new Suburu. Scary!!. The reason we were heading in that direction was to watch a First Nations celebration. for Canadian National Aboriginal day http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/national-aboriginal-day Unfortunately we had our times wrong so missed most of the event.

One thing we didn't miss was the view from the Hotel. Nice place to have lunch.

After enjoying a meal from the Bistro of the Hotel we headed home via first of all an artist's studio at the hotel....

If I was forced to live the life of a struggling artist this would be a nice hovel to have!!!

Home was via the Iroquois Artisans Studio http://www.iroquoisartisans.com/index.html 

This studio is amazing. This isn't the last I will visit but we'll probably need our money!!

Without the Probus meeting, the lunch at Red Leaves and the visits to the galleries it still would have been a great day. The drive with John was both entertaining and enlightening, his history in the area started when he moved to Gravenhurst to start practicing as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1956. His knowledge of the area comes from an involvement that has continued until today.

As my friend Jimmy would say "nice meetin nice people".

Cars, Katrine, and Canucks

Saturday started ominously with cold winds, heavy cloud and with the forecast of rain, but as we have been lucky with the weather I headed with confidence towards the Gravenhurst Car Show http://www.muskokatodaily.com/?p=6460 . There was added interest for me as one of the guys from my exercise class had his ute (not what he'd call it) in the show. Now that's a Ute, Jeff!!! 

There were about 250 cars in the show which was a apparently a little down on previous years but it sure looked impressive to my untrained eye.

And since the event was at Gull Lake they even had cars that used the lake.........

Although the Car Show was good I had other things to do today so where was the next stop and was the 100km (60 mile) drive in pouring rain worth it? Well the destination was Katrine and the reason for going there was another Community Country Jamboree. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katrine-Community-Centre/179697905403475 .Julie and I had attended the May jamboree and were overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people we met. And the music was pretty good as well.

That reception and the quality of the music had not changed. It was nice to be around friendly folk. We had sat near and spoken at length with Richard and Darlene who live in the area and I was pleased that the friendliness had not altered. They were disappointed not to see Julie and were keen to pass on their best wishes to Julie and her Mum and Dad. They gave me an invitation to their Bonyun Bash in August, something to look forward to.

Whilst all the music was entertaining I was very impressed with Honeygrass http://www.honeygrass.com/ Good voices, songs and musicians and was great to hear the banjo played so well. I was still buzzing as the CuRVy made it back to 460 Sarah St Nth.....

A long day and a successful solo drive in trying conditions. Slept very well indeed!!!

Sunday was pretty slow as the day wasn't exacly brilliant but I guess to have all the green grass you need a little rain. The incliment weather did give an opportunity for such exciting things as tidying and updating blogs and reading and replying to emails. An unfortunate part of the world we live in.

Monday saw me start with calls on SKYPE to kids. This newish addition has made living a long way from loved ones just that little bit easier. The news from Australia is that both Julie's Mum and Dad will be out of action for some time and this in turn will mean that Julie will be in Australia until the end of August. I'll need to keep improving my driving! Exercises were good and I am always amazed at how enthusiastic the group are.

Went to the local MS and Parkinsons support group which is informative as well as entertaining. A nice group of people who are on the whole fairly positive of where they are in their life. Most of the talk from the people with MS was about Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_cerebrospinal_venous_insufficiency . Whilst I have not had the treatment I have heard mixed reports ranging from wonderful to no effect. Maybe in the future, but currently my diet (thanks Roy and George), exercise, Copaxone and with my family and friends all helping things are OK.

On the way home I called into look at and then buy a set of hiking sticks. I had borrowed a set and used them with success on Manitoulin Island and found that I was able to not only walk about 50% further, i.e 30 minutes instead of 20, but I was able to walk with much more safety. All good!!!

Home to watch the Canucks v Bruins. Not good for the Canadian team although Julie did consolidate 2nd spot in the school hockey competition thanks to the efforts of the 43year old Mark Recchi  http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=4478 . Hopefully the Vancouver ice will be more friendly for game 7.

Tuesday morning saw weights and stretches at home before a ride to Julie's school and back. It has been amazing that my balance is good enough to ride a bike. I think it is due to the balance work started by Jaimie at Bay Street and followed up by Kirsten's exercises at the Senior's Centre. Gravenhurst does have fairly flat roads as well and that helps!!! I can't help noticing is how leafy the town is now that spring is truly here and that includes Sarah St. Unfortunately it isn't only the trees that are green and growing it's the grass too!

Had my first day as a volunteer guide at Grace and Speed http://segwun.com/pub/grace-and-speed-boathouse.html which was essentially a day where I gained much more information than what I gave out. Met some nice people during the afternoon and spending a day making people feel welcome is a good thing to do. Came home to the unfortunate news that our friend Pete wasn't well and was in hospital. Hope he is OK. He and Lesley are good friends!

Wednesday - longest ride yet - even up a fairly big hill! Maybe not quite the L'Alpe-d'Huez but I was puffing and panting when I got up it. My hanging of the washing was interupted by our friendly neighbour Hank with Duke who asked whether I was going down to Grace and Speed to help. As I wasn't doing a lot I headed down for what was a longish day of making a new display. Luckily there were some people who knew what they were doing..

The night was given over to Game Seven of the Stanley Cup and if I thought I was a bit disappointed with the result. My disappointment was nothing compared to some of the Canucks supporters http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/06/15/bc-stanley-cup-fans-post-game-7.html . Not very gracious!!!  

 

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frostyupoveralone week one

Well the first week of frostyupoveralone has been successful/ interesting/ busy but in the end I guess OK sums it up. All of Sunday was spent worrying/ investigating/ searching for the still missing Mrs Frost. Thinking that Julie would have slept I waited a while before I called the hotel where she stayed but was told she'd booked out. Surprise, surprise! Why waste a good nights L.A. accommodation on resting when you can get out and enjoy the place!!!


Guess it's time I let the rest of you know what I have been doing, apart from travelling, in the last 6 months. So here is a snapshot of a frosty life... Normally I get Julie's school lunch packed and do the things that I do during the hours she's away.


Yes I still do school lunches although Ian, Jeff, Melissa and Greg may be disappointed that there's no Devon'n Sauce sandwiches. There is still fruit in the form of a yogurt fruit salad and there's always a sandwich on home made bread. And lunch for Julie just wouldn't be lunch if there wasn't a cake.....


But with no lunch to make I could take a bit more time and not be late to my Monday exercises. It didn't matter I still arrived at the same time. Although I guess checking emails and SKYPE in searce of Julie and letting Melissa, Greg and Jeff know what I knew took some time.





Exercises in Canada are a little different to what I do in Australia. First big difference is the  venue, instead of the Bay Street Gym I go to the Gravenhurst Senior's Centre http://www.gravenhurst.ca/residents/residential-services/seniors-centre .The second difference is that the Monday class is a men only class and I am the youngest there by a year or two or thirty in some cases. And I am still by no means the fittest. The only female in the room is our instructor. Kirsten is fit, happy and fun, but I  guess that is similar to Narooma as Jaimie is fit, happy and fun. But Kirsten is just a little bit better looking.....

The group I train with in Gravenhurst have one big similiarity to Lizzie, Rose, Sahi, Hansa, Nigel and all the people at Bay Street in that they are lot's of fun AND there is even a joke teller to remind me of Pete!!!


I have started riding a bike in Canada and thanks to Murray (from exercises) I have a bike to call my own for the year.

  










Gravenhurst is a pretty good place to ride a bike and although I'm not ready to tackle the Tour de France or even the Tour Down Under or Sydney to the Gong I am able to ride around Gravenhurst, except where there are hills. I'm not quite ready for the Polka Dot Jersey yet!!!!!
This week saw me in action as a public speaker. This time it was the good fortune of the Gravenhurst Rotary Club. Having grown up with a Rotarian as a father and having spoken to a number of Rotary Clubs on topics ranging from Bees to Multiple Sclerosis to Surf Life Saving I was quite comfortable doing the talk

I incorporated all of those topics along with Narooma, Australia and my impressions of Gravenhurst. The talk went well AND I even used a powerpoint. Thanks to Megan from Gravenhurst Library and Federica the Argentinian Rotary exchangee for helping me work it. And I did use my Michel De Montaigne http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/390476/Michel-de-Montaigne and my Jimmy McGrath quotes!!!

The weather early this week was the hottest since we've been in Canada above 30C and high humidity made it difficult for me to do a lot of anything at all. I did get down to the Farmers Market where I did buy some plants for our reclaimed garden. Well there are some patches of garden that do have some herbs growing and some tomato plants. Mmmmmm hope they don't attract bears!!!!

By now Mrs Frost had resurfaced in Australia and it was very nice to speak to her at the time she was being collected at the airport by Jeff and Greg. Also good to hear that the litres of Maple Syrup and the carvings had survived the trip. Even more important was that Julie had survived the trip!!

As hot as it was early in the week a night of strong winds, thunderstorms and rain brought the temperature down. We went from 33C (91F) to 20C (68F) in one night and then 15C (59F) by Saturday. Amazing!!! Tthankfully we were spared the blackouts and damage that nearby places reported.

The change did make Thursday's exercises which are followed by a session of Yoga much easier. The training is different but I am still staying mobile and this time in Canada I am driving so that gives me a bit more freedom to explore the area.

My week finished as it normally would with cleaning and tidying but unfortunately I didn't have anyone to have a glass of wine to end the day with this time.  

Friday night also saw game 5 of the Stanley Cup in Vancouver and with the series between the hometown Canucks and the visiting Boston Bruins it was going to be a great game. Watching Mark Donnelly and the 18,000 fans sing Oh Canada certainly reminded me where I am living this year.

GO CANUCKS!!!!!!  

     

The decision is made!!!

After a number of regular SKYPE calls and emails from family and friends in Australia Julie decided that it would be good to go home and spend some time with her Mum and Dad. It wasn't certain whether we would both be travelling as it was certainly not going to be a cheap flight. And as it was not certain that I could add a lot to the trip, we decided  that I should remain in Gravenhurst. 

The decision to fly home was accelarated when it became clear that Doug (Julie's Dad) had been admitted to hospital. Calls were made, the internet checked and a decision to fly on Saturday June the 4th was made. Julie was flying with United Airlines from Toronto arrive in Sydney 24 hours later.


That was the theory......





The facts weren't quite that simple nor was it at all easy. The first part started with 3 huge days of school work for Julie so she would be able to finish 2 weeks early. Work had to be completed and, most importantly, Reports had to be done! With a great deal of hard work and wonderful assistance from the staff of Muskoka Beechgrove School http://mbs.tldsb.on.ca/  those tasks were completed. One tick for Julie!

Moving the expected flight forward was easy. IF YOU WERE A MILLIONAIRE!! But it was important, so it was done. Two ticks!!


Getting to Lester B Pearson Airport in Toronto was going to be easy. Julie would drive. Getting home might be a bit more difficult and when our neighbour Hank said he would drive down with us  and help the Senior Active Beekeeper with the drive home that was  taken care of. We have been very lucky with friends in Gravenhurst. Tick number 3

When I arrived home and checked emails as I was preparing to SKYPE Melissa, Greg and Jeff to tell them Mum was on the way I read an email from Julie saying that her Toronto flight had been delayed. Hmmmmm.

As it happened there was a delay taking off and there was a further delay for the plane landing due to a thunderstorm near the windy city. These delays meant that Julie missed her connnection to Los Angeles. I think that is a cross!

Chicago Airport is a busy one and she was able to get a flight but unfortunately it did not arrive in Los Angeles in time for the connection to Sydney!!!! This necessitated an overnight stay in the City of Angels and a 3.15 am phone call to Gravenhurst. 

Well tomorrow couldn't be any worse for Julie and when I read my next email I was happy to read that there were some positives of the day spent in LA, and that Julie was set to make the flight to Sydney. Albeit 24 hours late!

I'm looking forward to hearing that she's on the ground with her welcome committee and that the luggage including the maple syrup made it home. Julie will need sweetening up after the 48 hour flight! 

AND I DON'T THINK WE WILL EVER FLY WITH UNITED NOR WILL WE EVER VISIT CHICAGO!!!!!