Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural

November 2023 - Collingwood ON

Taken last week when we were up north.

It's bad enough when it is a parking lot and cars are blocking our mural photos.

I was silently cursing the driver out as he walked away from parking his car. Then it dawned on me that this wasn't a parking lot! It was a fenced out pedestrian walkway!

The concept that has been used is commonly referred to as a “Postcard Mural” which is successfully used throughout the world to create photo opportunities for both visitors and locals alike.

In the large letters, COLLINGWOOD, are images of our beautiful heritage downtown, leading to the harbourfront on its doorstep and the iconic Collingwood Terminals.

 

Jamie's Main and Local

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

November 2023 - Collingwood ON

October 2023 - Stayner ON

Saturday was a chilly 10 C when we got up but lots of sunshine. John cooked bacon and eggs and we chilled. Decision made, we would lunch downstairs and spend the day vegging. The unit is lovely with huge windows and comfortable seating. See last week for condo photos.

The bed is incredibly comfortable. The service is also amazing, simply leave your garbage in the hallway and it will be picked up. Fresh towels have been provided several times.

Lunch at Gustav's, 10% discount for guests. Ahi tuna for me and steak for John.

We turned the fireplace on.

Sunday was 5 C as we whiled away the morning, heading out for some groceries after lunch. We went to Metro and took a drive. Click here for more on Penny's and our stay in Collingwood  May 2022. That link will also take you to Thornbury, Creemore, Tobermory and Owen Sound!

It is Halloween this week.

Monday we declared a pajama day as it was a dull day and it even hailed for a bit. We just did what we felt like!

I had the scare of my life, I clicked on something in Facebook, saw FACEBOOK ACCOUNT BLOCKED (quickly and disappeared) and got this screen, not quite this one, but the same idea, to call a number for support, it was an 1-888 number.

It's a fake so-called Tech Support scam alert/warning which you are seeing in your browser. "Remember that real error messages from Microsoft, or other big tech companies, never include phone numbers for you to call them.

Tuesday we slept in (again) and lolled the morning away. Then we drove to the town of Stayner and took a crisp walk. Like many small towns, the downtown area is fading away.

Back in Collingwood we went by some of the sights.

Sunset Point

Millennium Park

The Collingwood Grain Terminals is an iconic landmark in the community. It can be seen for miles around Collingwood and symbolizes the twin engines of commerce in the early 1900s, agriculture and shipping.

It was constructed in 1929 by Collingwood Terminals Limited and features 52-grain silos. The two million-bushel grain elevator has bins 100 feet high and 22 feet in diameter. The steamer MUNISING arrived in September 1929 with 228,000 bushels of American grain.
Grain service stopped in 1993.

One of our purchases.

Wednesday was another lazy day with snow.

We decided to have the other steak we had brought with us for dinner. I went down to the restaurant and got a take out order of fries and mushrooms. Perfect!

Thursday we wanted to visit the Sheffield Park Black History Museum as Google said it was open on Thursday - nope -.

Car when we went out.

So we drove around instead.

Then a stop for Monday's Mural in Collingwood.

I spent time backing up my weekly recaps to Google Docs.

Up early on Friday and John cooked bacon and eggs and we finished packing up.

I mapped our trip home with some stops on the way.

Well, we found the gluten free brewery location as per the address, however it was an outlet in an industrial park that didn't appear open.

Then we decided to skip the factory outlets.

But we did stop at Picard's and stocked up on peanuts!

COOKING

Saturday lunch out  dinner - popcorn

Sunday rotisserie chicken and potato salad

Monday lunch chicken  dinner cheese with fresh sourdough.

Tuesday we finished the chicken and potato salad

Wednesday steak (brought from home) fries and mushrooms

Thursday cheeses

Friday beef stroganoff John requested steak with buttered sauteed potatoes and mushrooms

WATCHING

Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris 2023 documentary, in his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.

Thicker Than Water is a French 2023 TV series. A journalist’s life devolves into chaos when she shields her brother from the law, inadvertently entangling her family in a drug lord's merciless scheme.

Gray Cornelia Gray a CIA spy, is coming in from the cold after 20 years in hiding, dodging the government agents who suspected her of being a traitor.

Billions finale.

OMG The Gold sooooo good! I want a season 2!!!

The British 2023 series covers the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, and the widespread events that followed over the following decade. At the time it was the biggest robbery in history, and led to a number of international criminal investigations.

Good review in The Guardian.

All the Light We Cannot See The four-part series follows the stories of a blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a German soldier named Werner, whose paths cross in occupied France during World War II.

Till Murder Do Us Part - 2023 docu-series new insights from various parties come to light that raise questions about Jens Söring's conviction of the 1985 murders of his then-girlfriend's parents.

Here is an interesting article about the real people behind the characters.

READING

Poppet, another Mo Hayder book, started off slowly, I don't think it is as good a read as Gone was. I did not finish (DNF).

I started The Kept Woman and it is just okay for now.

Bakes by the Lake

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

October 2023 - Toronto ON

September 2023 - Orillia ON

Nothing exciting happened on the weekend, and that's okay.

I did book our covid and flu shots online.

Monday John used the golf simulator in the morning. We both went for our latest covid shots at Rexall FCP in the afternoon.

Tuesday was a gorgeous day for John to golf.

I walked up to the Eaton Centre.

The vacated Nordstrom space at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre has been transformed into a new interactive exhibit called Canadian Chroma.
Nordstrom announced its departure from the Canadian retail scene in early 2023, cutting 2,500 jobs and leaving conspicuous voids in shopping centres across the country.
Cadillac Fairview (CF) has filled the literal void with this new experience, described by organizers as a "multi-sensorial journey celebrating Canadian culture through sights, sounds and colour."

Another new display at Union.

Makadeyaa Makwa, acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 inches 2020. Black Bear surrounded by flowers and strawberries. This painting originated from a dream I had laying down strawberries on Mother Earth for the bears, referred to as heart berries. When I lived out west in a fishing village, a back bear came to stand under my studio window for a long time. I believe he may have been a spirit bear, as there were only grizzly bears in this forest. I felt protected by this back bear who came to bring me home.

Janice Toulouse is a senior Ojibwe artist, a member of Garden River First Nation, born and raised in Serpent River and Toronto. She lives in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

Haribo pop up in Union. I got some sample for a friend's daughter.

I didn't realize he was real until he waved!

Gone are the googly eyes! In the spirit of the season.

Wednesday was supposed to be a good day for golf but it rained overnight and forecasted 100% rain which never happened. John got the balcony cleaned up. I did some decluttering after reading an article about getting rid of extra throw cushions (I did 3), about how we don't need a stationery drawer (I got rid of a gazillion hotel pens, index cards, envelopes (I kept a few) address labels etc.

I also threw out all those silly plastic bags that come with sweaters, you know, with the piece of wool and an extra button!

The other suggestion, that I didn't do yet, was all those gift bags we save!

Thursday was also a foggy rained out golf game. I went downtown to pick up some stuff.

We are leaving Friday for a week in a resort in Georgian Bay, the weather gods are not smiling on us for the week but we'll find things to do. The resort does have a restaurant so that will be good too.

We are packing and gathering what we need, we will have a 1 bedroom unit. We stayed up here last May.

Friday morning we packed what we needed and did the 2 hour drive to Collingwood. 

We checked in, unpacked and relaxed.

Quite a difference in temperatures this week.

Georgian Bay Hall Trademark by Wyndham - Finally a resort that actually meets our expectations. It is in a hotel, has a restaurant, etc. The units are big and comfortable. I actually took photos.

Double living room, one with TV the other with fireplace.

Looking towards the full kitchen.

The moon!

COOKING

Saturday Spanish chicken thighs and chorizo

Sunday pork belly and cabbage  with rice - a new combination to us, but very common in Beijing. John cut the pork in thin pieces and that made them nice and crispy. I also made this stir fry sauce as we like more sauce.

Monday hamburger patties beans and mashed potatoes (and remainder of cauliflower)

Tuesday coconut shrimp and homemade coleslaw

Thursday homemade bacon burgers. We are slowly getting the freezer reduced.

Friday up north - we brought steak, baguettes and mushroom with us.

WATCHING

Finally watched Where the Crawdads Sing

Barbarian is a 2022 American horror thriller film. The plot sees a woman find out that the rental home she reserved has been accidentally double-booked by a man, not knowing of a dark secret within the dwelling. This gave us nightmares.

Alice, Darling is a 2022 psychological thriller film

I came across STILL STANDING that follows Canadian comedian Jonny Harris as he sets off across the country, to discover the hidden comedy in Canada's small towns. The 100th episode was in Dawson City Yukon.

It is on CBC Gem, it is available on YouTube pay to watch.

Running with the Devil is a 2019 American crime thriller film. The CEO of an international conglomerate sends two of his most regarded executives to investigate why shipments of cocaine are being hijacked and over cut somewhere on the supply chain.

Crisis is a 2021 crime thriller film. Set against the backdrop of the opioid epidemic, stories of an undercover cop, a professor and a grieving mother collide.

Get Gotti 2023 mini series - Told from both sides of the law this documentary series from the makers of "Fear City" follows the FBI's battle to bring down infamous mob boss John Gotti.

READING

I really enjoyed Gone by Mo Hayder.

I started From the Dead by Mark Billingham.