Saturday, November 20, 2010

Family Visit to Canada



Hi, winter has arrived. As we write our blog today you will see the first of the fair dinkum snow for this season.  The fall is expected to be around 5 cms.


Over the period 27 October to 17 November we were thrilled to have some of our lovely family visit with us.  Bronson, Beverley's 3rd cousin who is 19 years of age arrived in Bangor, Maine after tripping around the USA for a couple of months.  Bronson is a real character whose passion is fashion and design and here you can see him in the "don't shoot me, I'm not a moose" outfit courtesy of Bev's ski suit with his new hunter orange cap given to him by Doug, our friend from across the road.
 
It is important to note that Bronson does not normally dress this way but after hearing the various stories of hunters being shot because they were mistaken for game Bronson became very passionate about the colour orange.   


As you can see Bronson was supported during his orange phase by Joy and Adam, Ross, Debbie and George.   


During our family's stay we celebrated Remembrance Day and the outfit Bronson is wearing is more his style.  We were fortunate to have a sunny day for the event however, it was a cold day so you will see Joy and Adam who live in Darwin and arrived on 3 November rugged up and the only time Ross ever wears his overcoat is on this day.  Later in the day we joined by Debbie and George and we enjoyed mushroom risotto for lunch.  


During the family visit we took the opportunity to have an Australian night where we served foods from OZ such as roast lamb and vegetables, curried prawns and rice, individual meat pies with tomato sauce, pavola and trifle.  All together there were 18 of us at the dinner and below is a photo Debbie, George, Kathy, Doug and Diane who are our neighbours along with Bronson.


Ross dressed in his Mambo shirt for the occasion and a good night was enjoyed by all.  Please note the hunting orange cap.


While our family was here we also took the opportunity to return to Quebec City and you will see from the photo below it was a cold day so we rugged up and walked around the old city, finally stopping for great lunch before returning to our accommodation.  The waitress who served us had spent 1 year in New Zealand and when Ross asked about fish and chips on the menu she said they were not as good as in New Zealand so Ross had the seafood crepe instead, which was superb.


All too soon it was time for us to say goodbye to Bronson who found it a difficult task to pack for his return home.  He spent a great deal of time sorting out his bits and pieces and he would have been more than happy to stay in North America and we feel very sure that this is the first of many visits over this way.  


Bronson's flight departed 6 am so at 4.30 am Ross cooked him blueberry pancakes with the maple syrup which had been a gift from Debbie and George.  Bronson looked remarkably bright and cheerful at this early hour.


Throughout his stay Bronson had been there to support us as we said our final farewell to our much loved Murphy. It was a delight to have him visit and he has made a lasting impression on all who meet him. We look forward to seeing his name in lights when he makes it big in his chosen field of fashion and design.

Joy and Adam stayed on until 17 November so we took the opportunity to spend a few days on Prince Edward Island. Fortunately the weather remained sunny so after some sightseeing we enjoyed lunch at an Irish Pub and spent the afternoon enjoying Irish music. Joy and Adam depart today from New York where they have been sightseeing for the last three days.

We really enjoyed spending time with our lovely family and thank them for making the trip to visit with us.

Until next time stay safe and well.

Ross and Bev

Thursday, November 18, 2010

End of an Era

Hi again, now the upsetting news.

Over the last decade and a half we have been blessed to share our lives with our much loved dogs who were truly part of our family.  As many of you will know, Lester our oldest Maltese became part of our family in February 1995 just after Beverley returned from Rwanda.  Some 18 months later Murphy joined the family and following the death of Ross's mother, Herbie joined us.  Lester died 5 years ago and Murphy and Herb became world travellers when, like their parents they travelled to Canada.  Sadly Herbie passed away one year ago on 7 November following a heroic effort but succumbed to an overwhelming infection.

Murphy who at 14 1/2 years of age had outlived her brothers.  Sadly however, on 2 November we said our final goodbyes to our much loved Murphy who was suffering from worsening congestive cardiac failure.  It was a difficult decision to make but it was the right one.  Hopefully she is at peace and back in touch with Lester and Herbie.


Murphy aged 14 years

Herbie aged 10 years


Lester aged 11 years


Murphy  and Herbie in Canada 2009


We were so fortunate to have had them in our lives and we are better people because of them.

Love Bev and Ross

   

Halloween

Hi again, sorry it has been so long since our last post but we have had a lot going on.

We celebrated our second Halloween in Canada with our lovely friends and we added another Australian to the mix.  Bronson is the 3 rd cousin of Beverley who joined us on this occasion.  Bronson had been travelling around the USA and came to stay with us for a couple of weeks before returning to OZ.  Bronson was a delight and provided great humor to us all.  He is sitting on the right hand side of Ross and Murphy.  As you can see the kitchen is the favourite place in the house and our friends made a special effort to get into the swing of things.   Kathy is Princess Leah.  


In the photos below you will see all the gang including Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf,  the glamorous Witch dressed in Black who is accompanied by Daniel Boon and the fabulous lady in Red.




A great day was had by all.

Look after yourselves and treasure all around you and each and every day.

Love Bev and Ross

Friday, October 22, 2010

Hunting Season

Hi again,

In keeping with the seasonal changes here in New Brunswick, Ross has finally given in to the temptation of the great Canadian tradition of hunting ("when it gets too cold to go fishing you go hunting"). Having gone to the obligatory firearms safety course and been cleared by the RCMP he is now the proud holder of a Canadian firearms possession and acquisition licence and a new rifle.

On the way to the quaint village of McAdam to purchase said new rifle (Stevens model 200 in .223 cal for those who are interested) we passed a beaver hutch and thought you may be interested to see how large they can be.


The trip also gave us some great fall scenery.


Having joined a local gun club we made our first visit to their range to shoot and sight in the rifle and the scenery even at the range entrance was spectacular.


The range trip was partially successful in that we managed to set up a zeroing target and get some rounds down range but it got so cold that it was impossible with frozen fingers to make the adjustments or eventually even to load the weapon.


 Even Murphy the ever faithfull "gun dog" decided that it was much warmer in the car.

So until our next update stay happy, safe and well.
Love to all,
Bev, Ross and Murphy

Friday, October 15, 2010

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated over the weekend 9-11 October and it is a time to share with family and friends.  So in the spirit of the day we were joined by Jacqueline and John our lovely friends who live closer to the city than we do.  It was also an opportunity to have an early birthday cake for Jacqueline who will celerbrate her birthday on 23 October but as she will be in the United Kingdom at this time it was a good way to see her and John before departing on 14 October.    


The cake was a walnut cake and Jacqueline still had enough buff to blow the candles out.  We all had a great evening and we are looking forward to hearing of Jacqueline's travels on her return.


Huff, buff and the candles are out - Good effort Jacqueline.


On Monday of the Thanksgiving weekend we spent the day with Debbie and George having a pleasant drive around different parts of New Brunswick.  We had intended to have a picnic however, it was so windy we returned home and had a late lunch of curried prawns and rice.




As you can see from the smiles on the faces at the table we had a happy time.

On 31 October Halloween will be celebrated and we are having a get together here at home.  So next update will be about Halloween.

On 27 October, Bronson, Bev's 3rd cousin will be arriving for a visit and on 3 November, Joy and Adam will be joing us for a couple of weeks.  One has to ask the question - is Beaver Dam ready for 5 Australian's at once?

Best wishes to all.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy      

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Cornhill Nursery

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to spend a lovely day out with our friends Debbie and George at the Cornhill Nursery which is located  near Sussex N.B. and is known for its organic produce.  For more information on this very attractive property have a look at http://www.cornhillnursery.com/

There were lots of activities provided on the day we visited such as apple juice pressing which can be seen in the photo below to horse drawn carriage rides, a live band as well as presentations on how to grow grapes. 



The nursery covers many acres and as the weather was just perfect on the day you can see just how beautiful the surrounding flora.


As Thanksgiving was to be celebrated the following weekend a trip to the Big Pumpkin was in order and as can be seen from the two photos below they really know how to grow pumpkins in this area. The fact that halloween is not far away is also a factor.



On our return home it was time for Murphy to stretch her legs so she was delighted to walk in some of the sod we had planted during the summer.


It will not be too many more weeks until the ride-on mower will hybernate for the winter but at present the grass is still green and the fall leaves are a picture.


So best wishes to all.

Love Bev, Ross and Murphy

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Apple picking

With the onset of harvest season here in New Brunswick we had the opportunity to have a day out with Debbie and George our great friends who suggested we go apple picking following which we would have a picnic.


Throughout the summer months over this side of the country, fruit picking for personal consumption is a very popular past time as it is an opportunity to enjoy the sunny weather and to choose the produce for onself. While Ross as a young boy had experienced fruit picking Beverley as a city girl never had. So the White/Wright household really enjoyed the time spent wandering around this very well kept orchard. As can be seen in the couple of photos below the property sports a nice homestead with a beautiful vista to a lake.







The farm also produces blueberries,


and rasberries.

The farm also had a great collection of vintage machinery and the John Deere ride on mower must be one of the originals.


Following the less than strenuous apple picking and a good walk around the property we drove to a local provincial park on the St John river for a picnic lunch.



It is a lovely area and even boasts the New Brunswick version of Bondi Beach.



We celebrate our second Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and have our friends Jacqueline and John coming over for dinner.


Stay safe,


Ross, Bev & Murphy