Happy New Year!

I keep forgetting to add things to this blog. The time has flown by recently!

In the middle of December, Wendy and I headed to New York City to check off a bucket list item (Wendy's list). We went specifically to see Andrea Bocelli in concert at Madison Square Garden. Spectacular concert!

On the GO train heading to the Island Airport

Times Square, a block from our hotel

At the concert - we had bar stool seats

Bocelli did mostly classical and opera for the first half, then Christmas for the rest.
He sang with his son Matteo and 10-year old daughter Virginia.

Rockefeller Center

Random spot near Rockefeller Centre (next to a glass waterfall)

At the top of the Summit One Vanderbilt Tower

In the ballroom at Summit One Vanderbilt

In the ballroom at Summit One Vanderbilt

After New York and all the rain, we travelled to Orlando to meet Parker and his girlfriend Jaclyn, plus Wendy's best friend Mel and her husband Murray, and their friend Ivan.  They did Animal Kingdom before Wendy and I arrived, but we all headed to EPCOT the next morning.

At EPCOT

Lots of 4D rides and goofy glasses

Dinner inside an Aztec temple

We also went to the Disney Hollywood Studios park. Lots of great Star Wars rides.

Intergalactic Coca Cola stand

At Oga's Cantina

The Magic Kingdom was our final park. Remind us not to go to Disney the week before Christmas... it was very crowded!

Shopping at Disney Springs for our day off. I had a frozen Kirin beer. I also came down with a cough and chest congestion. Not unexpected.

Universal Studios was our next destination. The weather was cool, but the crowds kept us warm. It was even busier here, compared to Disney. 

Ready to get on the Hogwarts Express train to the other Universal Park.

The Dr. Seuss area was a hit. 

The big storm of 2022 started to hit the continent, so 3 of our companions had to cut and run to make it home before the flights all got cancelled. We stayed and waited for our flight to be cancelled (it was). I was feeling so rough and we were all exhausted that we decided not to go for the second day of Universal.  We were able to rebook on another airline for the 24th of December and got a hotel near the airport - expecting to be cancelled again. We were not!

While we were at the hotel, Adam informed us that the storm pushed down our neighbour's tree onto our house. Here is a clip ( https://photos.app.goo.gl/f9zuogUb6cVfqkNG8 ) of it coming down.

It damaged our gutters, so insurance is looking at repairing it. 

Maddy received a beautiful hand made Christmas gift from Tanya - a new bed. She loves it. 

Our family picture on Christmas Day 2022.

This is our extended family photo with Anton and Tanya. They moved to their own apartment on January 1st after staying with us after their arrival from Ukraine on Easter Sunday. 

We had a late Christmas Dinner on Boxing Day and it turned out perfectly!

Puzzles happened many times over the holidays!

Other happenings since August

Other than our front yard renovation, we have done quite a few things since the beginning of August.

Wendy, Eric, Anton, Tanya, and Maddy went to the final summer free concert in the Dundas Driving Park. 

Maddy seems to not like loud music any more - she shivered and hid for much of the concert

Wendy went with our niece and her two children to a "Barbie Experience" event. 

Wendy and Eric got their 4th COVID shots at the clinic in Lime Ridge mall. Very efficient and we could also go shoppping.

Wendy and Eric celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary. Wendy said not to get anything for each other, but Eric has learned that flowers are not covered by that agreement.

Parker and Tanya had their birthdays. Wendy made an angel food cake and decorated both halves differently.

Wendy and Eric took Parker and his girlfriend Jaclyn to the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" live show at the Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. Great show!

Eric and Wendy took a long weekend away to relax before the September rush. We went to Barrie and stayed in an AirBnB on top of a nice restaurant facing the lake. 

Almost too hot in Barrie on the Labour Day long weekend

Very nice looking beach

We even took a drive up to Orillia to go to Casino Rama. 

Lost our $20 in 10 minutes flat

Eric, Adam, Anton, and Tanya went to the evening version of the London drive in airshow.

First time going to an evening air show

The September rush has started and everyone is back to their usual schedules. Eric and Wendy are mostly working on site at work. Anton is working his remote job (from Toronto), Tanya is winding down her Ukrainian job and looking for work in Canada. Both received their G1 driver's licence cards and are actively learning their driving skills. Adam is busy with work at the helicopter shop and cadets, while Parker is still working full time with his real estate job.

Our front yard renovation!

In the beginning of August we hired the same contractor who did our back yard to essentially slash and burn our front yard. It has needed a refresh since the late 1960s (honestly!), so starting over was the best approach.  Our plan was to remove the tired shrubbery and terribly narrow walkway, to pull out the small and decrepit trees, and to scrape away the horrible lawn.

The old walkway and shrubs

Precarious stairs

The worst lawn on the block

Work began and moved very quickly.

Trees going away

Walkway gone

Roots being dealt with

Lots of progress - rocks being prepared for installation

Since we previously had a very narrow and treacherous path to get to the front door, and that most people climbed over our old 'rock garden' instead, we decided to put in real stairs where the rock garden was, and to put a wide and gradually sloping walkway as well. Options!

We wanted the walkway to curve to the driveway rather than to have a sharp turn

Large pieces of granite separated the driveway from the front yard

Concrete was poured and pebbles (plus an addition) were pressed in to allow it to become exposed aggregate later

Walkway needed to cure for a day

The top surface was washed away to create the exposed aggregate to match our back yard

The addition to the top of the walkway was a glow in the dark chip. Essentially, the walkway is studded with glowing green/blue spots. Not particularly functional to highlight the path (unless the lighting is right), but kind of fun either way.  The following two images show what it looks like in the dark.

The new walkway with some extra soil added to the garden areas.

We got a new post lamp installed and new electrical - including an external electrical outlet on the side of the house for us to plug in Christmas lights without running extensions from the garage.

New sod was installed and some mulch to cover the garden areas.

Mulch added

The new entrance

The "after" shot

All that remains is watering the new sod and planting in the gardens. We have a gardener who helps with our back yard and she is going to provide lots of suggestions for making the new front yard look spectacular! This project took approximately one month to complete, and it will hopefully last another 50+ years.