Ah Muskoka

I am at Southwinds, Bala, our new home. It is still with all the contents of my mother's place. I have to catch myself from calling it "mom's place" or "mom's bedroom", or...

I am alone. I came up from the city with Elizabeth and Steve who were with me here for 2 days. Now I am on my own, and with no car. I can walk in to town but do not relish walking back with groceries. (I hope my sister down the road will lend me her car for groceries.)

It is truly beautiful here. It makes me realize, though, that it is more fun to share something beautiful with others. The water has warmed up. I swim, but really just get wet and out. Swimming alone just ain't that much fun. I putter through drawers and closets purging the place of things that have been collected over the years. It is hard to make decisions myself about what to keep and what to purge. Alas, I have to do it.

I imagine the changes we are going to make. This place is only 10 years old. My parents' place that was built in 1955 burned to the ground in 2002. Insurance rebuilt it to be very like the 50 year old place. It originally was designed by my grandfather and his neighbour builder on a paper napkin. So although it is new, and in very good shape, it is designed for the kind of living 60 years ago. Very cutting edge for then, a teens' back room isolated from the adults in the living room. The result is a long (dark) hall and a door to the back half. We really hope to open it up, and have one great room with two living areas. That seems to be the way we live now.

I have booked some builders to come by when Tim gets here. In talking with an architect friend in TO, he has given some great ideas to work on. Also Elizabeth's boyfriend Steve and cousin Eliot, who have come up weekends and had the conversation "Oh the Callahans should do this and that". They are full of good ideas. It is a challenge for me to see past what it is now, because it worked so well for my mother so many years. But we will put our stamp on it, and live in it differently.

I have a series of friends coming up over the next 2 weeks. I look forward to sharing this glorious place with them.

It's been a while

I am in Toronto at my daughter Elizabeth's. I was out to Regina for the weekend. My girlfriend Patty was celebrating her 60th birthday. I surprised her. She was surprised. Didn't know I was in Canada! (That tells me she doesn't read my blog! HA) When she saw me she had the classic "am I seeing a ghost" look.

Had a great weekend, superb weather, a party with the gang, a swim at the lake.

Headed then to Kelowna, and met by my friends there, Heinz and Sylvie. Had a wonderful visit with them. Saw their new condo. They made many wonderful changes to the condo I had seen last time I was there. It is beautiful, right on Lake Kelowna, walking along the beach, boardwalk, walking to everything. Wonderful.

Up to Vernon, stayed with Rae and Brian, and looked at the painting. We bought a VERY BIG painting in South Africa and had it sent to Vernon, Tim imagining a wall it might fit on. Well, it is very big. Bigger than I thought. We'll see where it will hang. Saw our place, being so well looked after by our tenants/friends Ron and Jean. We are very lucky.

Kelowna to Vancouver fine, but Vancouver to Toronto not. An equipment change, to a smaller plane,  rendered Air Canada with a long standby list. The joys of flying the way we do. My 9:00 flight became the 10:00. then the 11:00, then the 12:00. I finally made it out to TO at 1:30.

Missed a dinner (with Elizabeth, Steve, his parents, Ray and Jan , and brother Chris) but came directly to the restaurant and got dessert!

Have been loving walking everywhere. The weather is perfect September weather, crystal bright blue cloudless sky, cool in the shade, hot in the sun, and cooling down at night. It is heaven. Or taking the TTC. I am like a tourist here and having fun.

Off to a bbq tonight at a friend Val's, tomorrow to Hamilton, to a shower for the bride of the Sept 28th wedding we are here for, on Sunday afternoon.

Then off to Southwinds in Bala for a few weeks. Alex has lent me his car, I will drive it down next Thursday and get a ride back up to Southwinds Friday with my brother-in-law Friday. Then I will be at Southwinds without a car, for a few weeks. That is a first! I do like making do without a car!

Hang in with me. Do not fade away. I will be back to exotic travelling, I promise. I am now starting to look at Myanmar, and a safari to India, with a yoga retreat attached.

Stay tuned!

Oh I am happy

I am back in Toronto, and seeing my kids. I am happy.

Flight over was as painless as it could be. I had a positive space on Tiger to get to Hong Kong. Then a comfortable 4 hour layover to get bags, and go to Air Canada. I got "J" seat. We had bought a "J" pass. You don't need to know the details, but there were J seats empty and I got one.

Even better, there was one seat open on take off, so Tim could look at the load and know I was on. Whether I slept or not, I never really know, but much shut-eye, and felt pretty good upon arrival. Alex and Heidi were there to greet me. Oh it was so wonderful. We never meet the flight, we arrange to drive past outside and pick up. It was wonderful to see them as I came out the door.

A visit with them, dinner with them (Elizabeth was in Muskoka and expected back Monday afternoon).
I am staying at Elizabeth's and went to bed early, not bad sleep, and was up early. I left the house, Elizabeth's apartment,  just before eight. Apparently she had come down late the night before and was going to surprise me by showing up at 8 a.m.! Best laid plans. She saw I was out and thought I must have gone for a walk. By ten she was wondering where I was. I had slowly made my way to Yorkdale to get my phone set up. As soon as it was hooked up there was a message from her- where are you? I had spoiled her surprise.

But also a message came in from my friend Dianne asking if I could come to Collingwood the next day. Ski buddies were doing a golf/pot luck BBQ and could I see the gang. Alex lent me his car, and I was not too sleepy, so I drove up for supper Tuesday. What fun. To see about 20 of my BC skiing buddies. Wonderful happenstance that I could make it on such short notice.

Am heading up to Southwinds this afternoon for the weekend. Elizabeth and Steve are coming. Also my dear niece Cindy and her two boys (3 and 5?). Can't wait.

I realize some things I miss and don't miss. How wonderful to get COLD water out of the taps. Singapore taps never give cold water. I can have a shower that is "cold". It is cool only. I find the lack of variety in the weather in Sg means getting dressed is a no brainer. Tank top, pants, sandals. That's it. Here, should I wear a sweater? wear closed in shoes? socks?OMG!, umbrella. In Singapore a no brainer, rain doesn't matter because if you get wet you dry so quickly. And I can walk outside. I don't do a lot of walking outside in Sg because it is so damn hot. It is wonderful to stretch my legs outside. And the parks in downtown TO are wonderful. Everything is so lush, because of all the rain.

I won't be posting as often in the next 2 months. No exotic trip, just hanging with my chillens and sisters and friends. Yum. I will back to Singapore and "exotic life" HA early October. with my sister Marne!!!

My tel # here is 416 420 6112. If any Toronto types want to text or call. I would love to get together. I have time!

Heading home soon - for a visit

I am getting very excited. I head home Sunday. 4 more sleeps. And then no sleep! On Sunday August 4,  I will try Singapore/Hong Kong Tiger Air. No, Tim is not flying it. Then Air Canada Hong Kong/Toronto I hope. If I don't get on Toronto, I will try to Vancouver. And then add another 5 hour flight to TO! Ugh All day flying, 24 hours later, get in August 4 at 6 p.m. Ugh.

But the price is right.

The laugh is that if I do make my flights I will get to TO and the kids are out of town. I believe they are going to Muskoka for the long weekend! HA.

Well, no excuse for not getting caught up on sleep.  I will be staying at Elizabeth's at Harbord and Bathurst.

I will go to a phone store, get a sim card, and a new phone number, which I will post here. No I am not all booked up. In fact my dance card is pretty empty. So I would love to hear from you (Who ever reads this) and get together.

It has been quiet the last few weeks. My days are yoga, massage and osteopath. Sometimes I do three things a day. Like yoga in the a.m., gym afternoon, and yoga in the evening. It seems the next day I am exhausted, and need tylenol. Damn. I feel so good when I do it, but the next day it does not seem like it was the best idea. Today I had a massage after yoga and personal trainer.

I am so keen to stay in shape, and continue to work on the stiffness I have. My osteopath is not sold on the fibromyalgia diagnosis and said I could really think that it will not return. All along I have felt it was what we used to call a physical breakdown. Too much stress, good stress, but too much. Time to stop. And boy did it stop me.

But I so appreciate a good night's sleep, and getting out of bed in the a.m. with out having to stretch in bed first. And getting out of a chair like other than a 90 year old. I am in some ways in better shape than I have ever been, in spite of the lousy range of motion. And I am the weight I was pre babies.

Hope to see lots of you SOON

I think I am overusing superlatives

Well, we went and swam with the sharks. Whale sharks. Vegetarians. They eat plankton. So far! It was wonderful!

We flew to Cebu, one of the southernmost islands of the Philippines. A three hour drive (long- very windy poor roads, through very poor villages) to our first hotel. Tim was to do a wall dive. That is where the bottom drops away and you go down the side of the wall. All sorts of fish and coral, and turtles nestle in the crevasses of the wall.

What was weird was we were the only guests. About 12 staff watching our every move, having nothing else to do. Tim had a good dive, with the dive master who was also the manager of the hotel. I had a massage. The people were sweet and happy and eager to please.

The next day we then drove 3 hours, along very windy roads and past much poverty, to where the whale sharks are. They come in to this one bay. The other side of the island has sharks that are dangerous. And meat eaters. But apparently only whale sharks are in this one bay. There is a national park there, and the visiting is very regulated. You go to an orientation talk, just a few minutes. But we are told to stay at least 4-5 meters away from the sharks. As you will see from the photos, that did not happen. If you had put on sun cream, there is a shower to wash it off. Do not touch them. And you have half an hour in the water with them.

Then in to a wooden dugout that had big out riggers on the sides, would seat about 6 and two fellows, park people, paddle you out. Then over the side and in the ocean with the gentle giants. I was the first off, and I think you will read the hesitation, for a wee moment. I stayed within the outrigger and the sharks came right up and visited.

Men in outrigger boats have vast amounts of krill to feed the sharks. They throw handfulls in the water where they want the giants to go. It is unnatural for them to feed swimming perpendicular in the water. But they do. And they stay there as long as there is food. The guys were great at getting the sharks to be just feet away. In fact one brushed up against me! The sharks open their mouths and suck in water and food. They sift out the food and water comes gushing out their gills. I hope you can see the water rushing in in some of the pics.

These gentle giants are 40' long, weigh 20 tons and live to their 70's. They all have a beautiful pattern of polka dots on their skin, but on one side at the back of the gill there is a little area that is different to any other, and their "signature". The government had biologists there, we talked at leangth with them. They have chipped some to track their movements. It was like the safari, an honour to visit them in their environment.

We ate dinner in a local's home one night. That was a treat. We went to the market, bought the food, and went back to her place to cook. It was really wonderful to see a home, small, a kitchen, sparse, and meet her daughter. They used a squatter outhouse, with no tp or sink. She was very enterprising and had some tv's and cable, and young teens would come after school to play video games. For a small charge. She had a huge sow in the back and sold piglets. She had chickens and sold eggs. She grows corn on the cob to sell. She has a little store. Many different ways to realize an income.The kids learn english at school. A precocious little Cheska wanted to practice her english. "You are beautiful."" You have a long nose". "You are very sexy." She wanted to know if she could come work for us in Canada when she finished school!

We visited a waterfall. It was truly a hide away magic place.  Way up a hill, then walk down the steepest road I have ever been on. It really was beautiful but the photos did not do it justice. They had guys come down to give you a ride up the steep walk. I took it because I wanted to get a motorcycle ride!

Our tuk tuk ride there was fun. I was in the back of a little side car in. I felt like a giant. The seat was so shallow (for short people) that I had to sit sideways and sit with my head down, bent over because I was too tall. Tim sat behind the driver "like a girl". Horns are used to say "here I come".

Really photos do not do these wonderful creatures justice.

I didn't take too much time to think about it, I just got in!

Holding on to the outriggers, communing with the gentle giants.

Aren't they beautiful, all 20 tonnes and 40 feet of them!

Here you can see the water being sucked in, with a fair force.

The waterfront at our hotel, lovely.

Here are two young girls, Cheska in the middle with Sexy Long Nose on the right.

These chairs are made of old tires. Weigh a ton, but can't speak to the comfort. Didn't try.

wow another great week

I have decided that my photos of the animals in the safari are better than Tim's. I plan to get them enlarged for the dining room wall. We had 4 pics of sunsets, at Bala, at Lake of Bays, at Vernon, and in Thailand. But the sun faded all the photos, bled the red out and they now are all yellow sunsets! So I will replace them with lion, cheetah, elephant and buffalo or giraffe, not sure which.

So I move on.

This week, another fantastic week.

Wednesday I had tickets for Wings, a film of Paul McCartney's band in 1976. Talk about down memory lane. There is a bit of culture shock, because I am living this life here that seems to have nothing to do with my real life, and then I walk down 1976! It was their concert in Seattle. 100,000 people there. Great songs. Such amazing talent. But I was alone. At the last minute I realized that Tim was working. I don't have a large coterie of friend to ask and those I do are all back home in Canada.

The next night was Mahler's Third Symphony performed by Paris Ballet Orchestra, and the ballet company danced a performance by John Neumeier. It was breathtaking. I was actually moved to tears. Sitting there all by myself, with tears. Tim was working and I have no friends.

It was spectacular. Classical ballet, and modern dance. How many yoga poses they use in modern dance. I now know how hard they are, and these amazing dancers are exquisite. Mahler's symphony was actually composed by god. It is one of the lushest pieces written for a huge orchestra (how did they fit them all in the pit) and a contralto soloist, and it lasts for 3 hours! Well, the Paris Ballet did it with flying colours.

Both of these evenings were at a movie theater that runs what at home we have as "Live at the Met". I saw the opera Falstaff a few weeks ago. It is the best thing in town, and yet there are 20 maybe 30 people there! The Singapore Lyric Opera put these evenings on as part of there mandate to bring culture to Singapore. Well it is fabulous. I so look forward to every evening.

This morning I realized that Tim had 5 days off coming up, asked him if he wanted to go away. Yes, he wanted to swim with the whale sharks. A friend of ours was swimming with the whale sharks last week. This is a guy who has done lots of really interesting things, but he said swimming with these whale sharks was the best thing yet.

So we are off to Cebu Philippines, Monday, for five days, to do some diving, and then swim with the whale sharks!

I know, things were getting dull around here. Safari, then Taipei, so we thought we'd better get out of town again. We haven't done a beach holiday for a while. Should be fun. Tim bought an underwater camera case so we should get some nice pics.

Stay tuned.

a quickie

We have company and I am waiting for them to come back for the day. So I grab a few minutes for a post.

The visitors are the folks I visited last year in Chiang Mai. My cousin's son and family live in Mai Rim, teach at an International School there. They have visa issues, so Mom Mary and Daughter Maeve have come to Singapore to visit the Thai Embassy and get visas. In fact they are only in Thailand for a few more months. They are moving to Italy, the north, near Lake Como. Gorgeous country. And George is nearby. That would be George Clooney. Yum.

I wanted to talk more of safari, but how quickly memories fade. That is the real reason I keep this blog. Yes, to stay connected, but I will have a record of our adventure. 

A few things of our South Africa trip, that I wanted to mention. At Phinda we had wonderful food, beautiful meat, freshly baked everything (there is no corner bakery) and everything done very au courante. Crisp vegetables, beautifully presented. 

When we came in for coffee to start the day there would be some wonderful bread/toast/brioche, whatever. There was a wonderful crunchy bar that I raved about to the cook. The next morning she gave me her recipe! Printed out on the computer. How's that for full service!

When planning the trip I went through an agency "&beyond". When the trip was getting bigger ($$$) I said we were making it our 30th anniversary trip. In fact on our anniversary I will be in Canada and Tim will be in Singapore. So. 

Well every hotel we went to, we had the champagne on ice, glasses, and chocolates...whatever. At Phinda we came home from a night drive, and dinner, and came back to the cabin filled with maybe 50 tea lights, to a hot bubble bath and champagne! Tim poured my champers, I put it on the table by the tub, and climbed in. The table was a chunk of a tree trunk, beautiful, but not level. As I sat in the bubbles. I watched my glass slowly creep to the edge and fall to the floor. The romance of the moment was lost as Tim is down on hands and knees collecting broken glass in a towel. But it was a lovely thought.

We stopped along the east coast at Port Elizabeth. We rented a car and snooped around for 2 days. Then flew in to Cape Town. We had bumped in to a fellow pilot friend of Tim's on the flight to S.A. and he was going to be in Cape Town (he is from there and was back visiting family) and we met up with him in Cape Town. Synchronicity, you've got to love it. 

We went one evening in Cape to a restaurant celebrating African cuisine. A tasting menu of 14 dishes. Fabulous. And entertainment. Dancing and singing. This was very much a touristy thing, but bumped up to real quality food and entertainment. We went early and had a drumming (djembe) lesson. Tim was hilarious. He does not have to be musical to be a pilot and that is a good thing. (He is hopeless with music. I looked over and he was in heaven but no where near the beat!)

I had lunch today with a friend from Toronto. I used to volunteer at Wellspring and Lynda Morrison was the director. I had heard she had moved to Acadia U. and I contacted her and she emailed me back. I had not answered her email for several months. Well, at my book club Skype, Marny, a friend of mine from Wellspring days just mentioned that she thought Lynda was in Singapore. I emailed Lynda right away, she was leaving the next day, and we connected and had lunch together. The synchronicity of that is so wonderful. If Marny had not mentioned Lynda (out of context in the book club Skype) it would not have happened. 

Company's back. I will post photos in a bit.