One of my many guilty pleasures is watching home improvement shows. i tell myself I am not wasting my time, I am doing research. Anyone who lives in a house more than thirty years old needs to do research. How else can you make needed repairs without knowing how to go about it?

I have been amazed at how many times I have been told that “they no longer make that” or “it’s not to code”, when talking to repair men.

My most recent project was replacing my “deckett” (8 ft x 6ft) with a larger, actual deck. It is finished, properly stained and furnished (picture below) and I  enjoy  breakfast there most mornings, along with the usual backyard visitors.

I do have other, more ambitious projects planned for the backyard. What do you think, will it work? (See below).

I’ve been traveling a bit. Not to any exotic place, unless you count Canada as exotic, but traveling none the less. I did participate in two National Holidays in two countries; July 1st Canada Day (150 year celebration), and July 4th, our country’s 239th birthday.

I was very disappointed to discover that although a passport is required for a visit to Canada by a U.S. Citizen (and required to return to the US), the Canadians do not stamp your passport. It would have been nice to have more than one stamp on my passport.

I will save most of the travelog for my family, but I did have some memorable experiences. First, there was the exploding sandwich in the Phoenix airport. The airport was crowded and my connecting flight to Detroit was delayed, so I decided to get some lunch. No space in the restaurants, so I bought a “to go” sandwich and found the last available seat at one of the gates. I had to balance my purse on my lap while I tried to open the very tightly wrapped mini-sub sandwich. It was very tightly wrapped. The final tug loosened the wrapping and shot the sandwich out the end of wrapper. It ended up face down on the floor at my feet. The bun opened and all of the contents fell on the floor. From this I have learned to carry trail mix and dried fruit in my purse when traveling.

While in Toronto, an actual Canadian approached me and asked directions to one of the local banks. I was pleased that I looked the part of a Canadian.

Toronto was wonderful. It is a city of skyscrapers and high-rise condominiums as well as small store fronts and historic buildings. The countryside outside the city is lush and green. The subway system is clean, efficient and almost everyone uses it. Best of all, I got to spend time with my wonderful son and beautiful daughter in law.

A view of Toronto from the CN Tower

Historic City Hall, Toronto