Wordless Wednesday July 19 2017

Picture taken at Friends house in Toronto, Ontario

Lake Couchiching on Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday it was such a beautiful sunny day that I decided to go down to the lake to see if any of the ice had melted. Sadly it hasn't but surely it will soon.

Lake Couchiching March 24, 2015
Orillia, Ontario, Canada

Lake Couchiching March 24, 2015
Orillia, Ontario, Canada

This post is for Wordless Wednesday. Linking up to +Ruchira Khanna over at ABRACABADRA.

Oh My Pie! Ten Things of Thankful

Oh my apple pie

Delightfully tart and sweet 

Pass me the ice cream

My son's girlfriend Meghan surprised us this week with a freshly baked apple pie. How could I not be thankful for this. She purchased several pies for an Apple Fundraiser. "Proceeds to Maintenance of Banquet Hall & Roller Skating Place", Orillia & District Agricultural Society.

Brussels Sprouts 

I never gave much thought as to how Brussels grew. This summer I was at my local farmers market and found a stock of brussels. Intrigued I had to buy them. The picture here are some that I found in my local market, and I had to cut the stalk in half to be able to fit it into my fridge. Always thankful for fresh vegetables.

No my entire post is not going to be about food, at least not this week :)

My son Matthew was driving to a job the other day and the tire on his truck popped off the rim. Not sure if you can see it in this picture but ...... Thankful he was able to control the truck (he was on the hwy and probably going slightly over the speed limit) and pull it safely onto the shoulder. Why is it in my hallway? No idea, my guys bring in the strangest things at times.

Sadly most of the leaves have fallen from my tree but I'm thankful that I could see the beauty of them for part of the fall season. 

We've been getting a few dustings here and there but this is the first of the heavier snowfalls this season. Not at all thankful that the snow has arrived but I'm thankful that I have sons that may shovel for us.  Right guys?

AC/DC is coming out with a new album called "Rock or Bust" on December 2nd. Here is one of the songs off the new album called "Play Ball"

Al is starting to feel a bit better after his fall and is looking forward to going to have the leg and ankle x-rayed on November 26th. 

Not sure what it is this week with tires and cars but my son Garth broke down last night and I thought I was going to have to go and get him at 10 pm. Thankfully he was able to leave his car parked at an arena and stay at his girlfriends sisters house.

I don't watch a lot of TV but I do look forward to "The Walking Dead". For some odd reason I've not made it through one episode this year without falling asleep five minutes into the show. It isn't like it's on that late, unless you think 9 is late. Thankful that we have a PVR box and hubby records all of the shows for me.

The following video was taken a couple of years ago but thought I'd share it here with all you dog and or snow lovers. Always thankful for my furry family members.

Just a note this was in January of 2013 and the temperature was -23C or  -9.4F.

If you'd like to join in on TToT, please click on any of the following hosts to join in on the fun. You'll meet some wonderful people along the way, and find that you too can easily find at least 10 things to be thankful for each week.

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

Happy Autumn

Fall or Autumn is my most favorite time of the year. All the beautiful colors and leaves that surround everything is such a sight to see. 

Today while I was out shopping at my favorite store "Country Produce" I stopped to take a couple of pictures of their fall display that is outside. This picture represents Autumn to me. 

On the Road and Ten Things of Thankful

This week we are on the road travelling around the east coast or down east as us Canadians would say. We started our trip last Saturday and I've taken a ton of pictures. The ones I'm including here are off my iPhone and when I get back home on Tuesday I'll start sharing the ones that are on my Olympus camera.

I've just sent 10 or 12 pictures to myself via my email address and they're taking their time getting to my mail so please bear  bare bear with me. Hopefully they'll arrive before I finish my post.

We started out in Orillia on Saturday night and stayed in Bracebridge the first night. Why Bracebridge some of you may be asking ...... I ask myself the same thing now after staying there. Hubby got home late from work Saturday and I was all packed and ready to go. I wanted to hit the road. He too wanted to get going. Hence we left and stayed an hour away from home.

Algonquin Park, Ontario

Sunday we drove through Montreal (my home ,town,city) and made it to Quebec, Quebec. This is very close to old Quebec City. 

On our way to Montreal 

Monday it was onto Saint John, New Brunswick where we had a great time exploring the area a little before we headed out to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where we stayed for two nights. 

Moose signs everywhere in New Brunswick 

Have my pictures arrived in my email box yet? Nope . I may have to use all the same pictures here that I've been posting on my Facebook wall. I'm not sure why but Facebook and my email is not working all that well here in Prince Edward Island. 

Saint John, New Brunswick 

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

We spent two nights in Halifax and the next day we headed off to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  

Hitting the beach in P.E.I.

We've been in P.E.I. for two nights now and are starting to head back home today. We should arrive home on Tuesday. 

It has been the trip of a lifetime for us and we've had so much fun along the way. We've hit more pubs and listened to so many great musicians along the way. But it's time to go home as we are both getting home sick. We miss our boys and our two dogs.

This post was going to be more pictures than words but it looks like it is now more words than pictures. Darn internet service in PEI! 

Next week when I'm home I'll try to make my rounds to all of your TToT posts.

I'm so thankful that Hubby and I were able to take this much needed vacation. It has been 15 years since our last one, and hopefully will not take that long before we go on our next one.

What are you thankful for this week? Want to join in on this blog hop and make some new friends? Then follow any one of the following links and join us.

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies,Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

*All picture in this post are the property of the author Susan Zutautas. If you'd like to borrow or use them in any way, please do not do so until you first get written permission to do so. Thank you. 

Reds and Yellows on Wordless Wednesday

Red and Yellow flowers photographed at Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario.

Linking up to Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday.

Ten Things of Thankful Doing the Happy Dance

Celebration Flowers from my son Matthew Jan. 31/2014

I am so happy and excited to be able to share this news with you, that I'm not going to write an intro, I'm just going to get right to the point.

Last Friday I had a CAT scan done and yesterday I got the results back when I went to see my oncologist. The tumors in my neck, and chest have shrunk in half. YEAH!  Back in September, I was told that there were tumors in both lungs. Now one lung is clear and the other lung shows that the tumor has shrunk a bit. This is the news that I was hoping for. Thank you to everyone who have been saying prayers for me. As I've said before I'm out to prove these doctors wrong, and have to say I'm heading in the right direction.

When hubby and I returned home from the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre in Newmarket, Ontario yesterday, there were flowers sitting on the kitchen counter for me from my son Matthew. He along with other family members and friends were very happy to learn about my fantabulous news, and he went out and bought flowers for me. 

I am thankful to so many people but especially thankful to +Lizzi R for making this blog hop possible.

To all the people that I've met online at +Squidoo Google+ Community, and +HubPages for all of your continued friendship, concern, prayers, good wishes, messages, and more. Without all of you I don't think that I would have been able to keep up with my positive thinking and attitude about lung cancer.

To my very good friends online, I am thankful for each and every one of you everyday;  +Kelly Umphenour, +Sharon Smith, +Susan Holland, +Marisa Hammond - Olivares, +Susan Mills, +Lisa Thompson, +Charli Mills, +Dean Sault +Linda Rogers, +Sannel Larson, +Jimmythejock Paterson, +Ruth Cox, +Renaissance Woman, +Susan Kaul, +Susan Deppner, +Randi Benlulu, +Kimmie Thompson, +Nancy Carol, +Rolly A Chabot, +Carolee Samuda, +Coletta Teske, +Michele Benner, +Cindy Murdoch,   and many many more, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the days that you've helped me when I was down and out, crying my eyes out, and feeling sorry for myself. You've picked me up and made me dust myself off in order to continue to fight and win this ongoing battle of cancer.

Thank you to everyone who leaves encouraging posts and pictures on my Facebook wall. These posts not only help but touch my heart in special ways.

Well folks that is all I have for today and I think that a celebration is in order.

For all of us that are fighting cancer, that have fought cancer, have to fight cancer in the future, and for everyone of us that has been affected by cancer, I dedicate this song to us.








To join in on the fun of this blog hop, please follow the link by clicking on the picture below and link up Bloggers, or link up at any one of the following hosts: A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Meaning of Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

TToT

Have a great weekend everyone! You can find me celebrating all weekend long!

Silly on Sundays & TToT

This is my button for SOS, but have yet to set it up so that you can grab it if you like.

Last week I had said I'd wanted to start a blog hop called Silly on Sundays. I'm hoping that people will join in and have some fun with me on this blog hop. There are no rules at all. If you need some ideas you may want to:

1.  post a picture
2.  tell a joke
3.  share a recipe that went totally bad that even the dog wouldn't eat, or one that is delicious, 
4.  share something that made you laugh during the week
5.  vent about something that you think was ridiculous after you thought about
6.  share an embarrassing moment (lately I've had tons of these)

Add caption

On a walk around town one day I saw a business that I'd never noticed before. Maybe it was new.  I'm not really sure, but it struck me as funny at the time. Why would Orillia need an entire business called The Divorce Centre. There are many things that strike me as funny in Orillia. Why do we need so many Tim Hortons doughnut shops & dollar stores? Every time I go to count the number of Tim Hortons, they add a new one, so I've given up counting them. 

I'm trying to set up the Inlinkz tool so please bear  bare with me. 

I'm also still working on a "Grab My Button" for this SOS Blog Hop. Hope that this works out too for me.

I missed the TToT post for last weekend and I don't have a post for it this weekend so I thought I'd add it here. 

Ten Things of Thankful

1. Christmas baking is almost done.

2. With the help of my mother in law our tree is up and beautifully decorated. Claire actually did the entire tree herself. I'm not big on decorating for holidays. 

3. Happy that my mother in law is here to spend the holidays with us.  It has been ten years since we've had her with us for the holidays as she's a Florida Snow Bird. 

4. Thankful that the ice storm has not effected our hydro yet. Not very happy that it is causing havoc many of my relatives and friends.

5. Thankful that I've not gotten sick from any of my chemo treatments, and have not lost my hair. 

6. Happy that I have such a great family.

7. Thankful for all the wonderful people that I've met online.

8. My husband just made me a huge pancake breakfast that I'm about to mow down on; thankful he can cook.

9. Thankful that I'm almost ready for the festivities to begin on Christmas Eve. 

10. Thankful to be alive.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Anniversary Morning

If you'd like to join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday and would like to link up, here is where you can do that. Abracabadra. 

Wordless Wednesday - Beautiful Architecture

Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church 

Built in 1910 and Restored in 1995

Built from limestone from the large quarries on the other side of Lake Couchiching near Longford Mills  

  

Designed by John Wilson Siddall Architect 



All photos on this page are the property of the author Susan Zutautas. Please do not borrow or use them without first getting written permission.

This has been another Wordless Wednesday. If you'd like to join in on the fun please link up at Abracabadra.

If you'd like to read about the history of this church please follow my link. 

Wordless Wednesday

               Please join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday

                           You can link up at Abracabadra.

Unique Advertising - Wordless Wednesday

Last Sunday we were on our way to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto. I'm sure this GMC dealership has been there for many years but I've never noticed it before. If you look up on the bridge, which is an old railroad bridge you can see cars displayed. I thought wow what a great way to advertise.

Checking Out the Boats-Orillia Waterfront

I've been feeling guilty lately as I have not had the time to visit many of my blogger friends blogs, and I have to apologize.

I've been busy working on my book that I hope to have published in the next week. It's a very exciting time for me as this will be my very first book.

We've also had out of town company which is always fun. The other day we walked down to Lake Couchiching and I stopped to take a few shots of the boats in the water.

Hope everyone has a "Wonderful Wednesday", and I hope to visit everyone soon, I know I have a lot of catching up to do.

The Island Princess

One of the Boat Docks

How old was this tree?

This tree stump has been sitting here on the home owner's front lawn, where it was cut down for at least three years, now on display. I have no idea how old the tree would have been when it was taken down, but from the size of it I'd say fairly old.

How old do you think it is?

Streets Alive Street-Art Letters in Orillia Ontario

Streets Alive is in its fifth year of showcasing local artists creative works. This years theme is letters of the alphabet. Throughout the downtown core there are 32 six foot tall letters that have been painted and decorated. 

In front of the new Orillia library you can see the letters R.E.A.D., which will stay there permanently. 

The letter "O" was done by artist Kathryn Kaiser-Hiron, and sponsored by Mayor Angelo Orsi. This letter sculpture can be seen in front of the Orillia Opera House. 

When I first saw this sculpture I immediately thought of the song by Neil Diamond, "Sweet Caroline".

"Hands, touchin hands, Reachin out, touchin me, touchin you".

Now the more I look at it I interpret it as people coming together, helping each other, making new friends, and working as a community.

Last years theme was Everything Stephen Leacock; a Canadian writer, humorist, and economist. To read more about all of the Streets Alive Street-Art from previous years, which include Sixty Sails, Guitars on Parade, and Festival of Banners,  please visit my article on HubPages.

One of several chairs made to look like Stephen Leacock himself. This one he is reading
 from perhaps one of his own books.

I will be adding more letters to this post over the next two weeks in case you'd like to come back and see more.

Every year for the past five years I look forward to seeing not only what the theme will be, but most of all the beautiful artwork that is on display every summer. 

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Each letter has a number on the cement platform. This is so the public can vote on their favorite letter.

Wordless Wednesday - Orillia Community Centre

Orillia Firefighters May 7, 2013 at Orillia Community Centre

Come join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday over at over at Pictimilitude hosted by +Cyndi Calhoun .

Happy Wordless Wednesday Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

 If you'd like to join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday please visit +Cyndi Calhoun over at Pictimilitude


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Wordless Wednesday #9 Victorian Gothic Mansion

Mundell Funeral Home, Orillia, Ontario, Canada

This is one of my favorite buildings in Orillia. Yes it’s a funeral home and that may seem strange to some, but the reason I love this old Victorian mansion is because of the architectural beauty.

The property was first registered to William Teskey in 1871. Construction of the Victorian mansion was started in 1887 when the title was dealt to the town’s mayor John McCosh.

The mansion was sold to in 1907 to Thomas and Sarah Shepherd, lumber business owners.

In 1919, Thomas B Jebb bought the home for 7,000 dollars. Can you imagine! That’s the selling price that was registered. Seems like quite the steal to me considering the home had 16 rooms, hand carved oak and cherry hardwood throughout, seven fireplaces and stained glass windows.

John A. Mundell, embalmer and funeral director, bought the home in 1925, and moved his business to the mansion, while residing on the second floor. John retired in 1955, and his son Jack took over. Jack and his family lived and ran the business out of the mansion until 1966. Jack’s oldest son John who currently has and runs the business restored and renovated the funeral home to its present usage of 14,000 square feet.

The picture above does not do justice to this magnificent Victorian mansion. 

References Mundell Funeral Home




 If you'd like to join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday visit Pictimilitude

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Wordless Wednesday 7 - Victoria Park

Victoria Park, Orillia, Ontario
Photos by Susan Zutautas

 If you'd like to join in on the fun of Wordless Wednesday visit Pictimilitude.