Romance is in the Air

Last week Dave and I went on a romantic horse and carriage ride through Niagara on the Lake. This was a Christmas gift from Jeff and Becky! We both had never been on a horse and buggy ride and it was quite an experience. We learned the history of N-O-T-L, and who owns all the hotels and restaurants and such. After our ride (that lasted 40 minutes) we ate at The Shaw Cafe. After that we went to the Angel Inn for a few drinks. The picture looks kinda funny. It was an extreemly sunny evening and we were facing into the sun, and the ‘buggy driver’ said he couldn’t get off to take a proper picture. So this is was you get! A squinty eyed couple with the shadow of a top hat over Dave’s face! We had a great time Thanks Jeff and Becky!

Later, on the weekend we went to Toronto for the night. We stayed at the Sheraton across from city hall, on the 39th floor. Dave’s parents gave us a free night there. We were also given access to the ‘Club Lounge’ which allowed us to eat appatizers (for dinner) and breakfast (for breakfast!) During the day Saturday we walked ot the Distillery District where a ‘Folk Festival’ was going on. We toured around the shops, listened to music and had a few beers! On Sunday we walked to Mountain Equipmant Co-op, where Dave bought a shirt with a gift certificate given to him by Kristi about 3 years ago! (we had lost it in the move to Texas but found it when we were packing up to move back north!) Dave says “Thanks Kris!”

We have also been keeping ourselves busy during the day visiting with people and reading! Yes you read correctly. I have also been reading and am on my 5th book of the summer. (and Dave has only read 2.5!) On Thursday nights we have been hanging out at the homeless shelter at Southridge Church. We have met some really great people and enjoy our time there. This weekend we will be hanging out with the World Wide Wienses, at a family gathering. During the week I will be helping in the church VBS program, watching the 2 and 3 year olds.

Happy Canada Day to All! And we hope you enjoy your weekend!

Suggestions, please

It’s been one year since we started blogging. From our perspective, we think it’s been a worthwhile venture. Also, judging by the number of `hits’ our site has received during the first year (over 4000 according to the hit counter in the sidebar), we’ve gained a good size readership who benefit from our periodic updates. But what do you think? Is it worth our while to keep posting here?

Of course, there’s always room for improvement. That’s where you come in. We’re using this post to solicit your suggestions: What should we change? How can we improve this medium? What should stay the same? Should we post more often? Less often? About different topics? This is your chance to give us some insight on how we can make this site worth your time and energy. So, please take the time to leave a comment at the end of this post. We’d appreciate your feedback.

The kiddos

Dave mentioned earlier that we would post some pictures once we got this Photobucket thing figured out, so here are some more recent pictures of our nephews–Owen, Simon, and Sam. Enjoy!

ps. You can click on any of the individual pics to get a closer view.

Items Crossed Off the Summer `To-Do’ List:

1. Create personal webpage.

I wanted to create a separate webspace to house more academically related items, since it didn’t really suit to put that stuff here. So I’ve got the basic site online here. Check it out if you’re interested. It mainly contains items related to my research and teaching. You can also find links to papers I’m working currently on, as well as a link to the final version of my MA thesis.

2. Upload photo collection to an online server.

Technically, this isn’t finished yet. But I’m probably half-way done. The main advantage to finding an online host for our photos (we’re using Photobucket) is that it frees up all kinds of disk space on our computer because our photos are now stored (securely) offsite. We will also have greater flexibility in sharing our photos with others using this service. So look for links to photo albums once we’ve got some ready.

There is one hiccup to completing the transfer: about half of our photos (including those taken during our Southeast Asia trip) are currently on a backup disk in a (non-climate-controlled) storage unit in Ann Arbor. We’re a little concerned actually. Typically, computer disks don’t do well in extreme temperatures, and it is likely that the backup disk has been and will be exposed to extreme heat over the coming weeks. We’re not certain that we’ll lose the photos, but we are preparing ourselves for the worst. Looking at the situation positively, Barb has said `If we lose the photos, we have an additional reason for going back!’ We’ll see how things turn out.

Pictures from our mini-tour of S. Ontario

Here are a few pictures of our trip with Matt, Amy, and Angela. (Photos courtesy of Angela.)

The girls in front of Niagara Falls.

On the deck of Flat Rock Winery.

Having brunch at the Distillery District in Toronto.

Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery (which used to be my Uncle Ernie and Aunt Marie’s cherry farm).

Another 2 weeks have passed…

…without us writing anything; but the last two weeks have been anything but uneventful! To begin with, we made our first trip to Ann Arbor and back. As mentioned earlier, due to my absent-mindedness, we needed to make a trip to A2 to get my birth certificate so I could apply for a new passport. The drive was uneventful; it took 4 1/2 hrs driving time. The trip gave us a chance to explore A2 a little more. The more we spend time there, the more we like it! We returned home via Wakeman, Ohio, where we stayed the night at Uncle Abe and Aunt Eleanor’s place. It was great to have a chance to visit with them again!

On June 2, Matt, Amy and Angela (whom you have met here before) flew in to Buffalo (sans Chris, unfortunately) for a 5 day tour around our neck of the woods. We had a fantastic time! (In fact, Barb and I ended up doing a few things even we had never done before!) To sum up the highlights, Saturday we spent a rainy day driving around the area to various boutique shopping areas (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Jordan), managing to fit in a tour of Peller Estates along the way. Sunday we went to Toronto for a day of walking around the downtown area. We managed to do a little shopping (ok, a lot of shopping… but Matt and I were outnumbered by 3 girls!) and some sightseeing. The highlight (for me) was definitely walking around the Distillery District–very cool! Of course, we hit Queen West and Kensington/Chinatown as well (What’s a first-time trip to Toronto without going to those places?) Monday we went on a wine tour along the Beamsville Bench, hitting 7 wineries along the way. For the evening, we met at Dad and Les’ for dinner (and some of the wine we bought during our tour). Tuesday, we wrapped up our trip with a ride up the Niagara River on the Whirlpool Jet Boat–a can’t miss for any summer trip to Niagara! Finally, Tuesday evening we met at my parents’ place for dinner and Wednesday morning, it was back to the airport. The time went too fast (but it usually does when you’re having fun)!

The last few days, Barb and I have been laying pretty low, hoping find some time to spend with each other. No big plans for the coming weeks. As far as our plans to travel in July, we’re not sure what we’ll do now. With gas prices the way they are, we have to be realistic about how much we can afford to go on extensive road trips. We still hope to work something out, but we’ll have to play it by ear as we get closer to the end of July.