Perth. 31st Oct.2006

Here I am again, home in Perth.
My journey from Toronto to Rome with Air Canada went without a hitch this time. I received an answer, via an e-mail, I had sent to Customer Service complaining about the treatment I had received on my trip to Toronto, the morning I was leaving!! The usual type of thing, many apologies and hope your trip to Rome is a much better one, drivel, drivel drivel !!They must have informed the flight stewards on my flight that I was coming, because the attention was fine and the transfer from Air Canada to Singapore Airlines went fine. If I had'nt had wheelchair assistance I think I may have still been wandering around Rome Airport!What a huge place it seemed to my already jet-lagged eyes, and no-one was talking English. I'm sure they could have, but they preferred to confuse this old girl. ( They probably did it to amuse them-selves). The flight from Rome to Singapore was 12 hours. A couple of times I dropped off to sleep, and both times, the lady sitting next to me decided to go to the toilet!! I had an aisle seat right behind the "Bathrooms", (for my Aussie friends, right behind the Loos')so I had plenty of leg- room, but the nice lady managed to knock my feet both times, needless to say it woke me up. By the time I arrived in Singapore I was shattered and just wanted a bed. I eventually hit the bed by about 10.15am and went straight to sleep. I never awoke until about 4.30pm. I then had a shower and hit the shopping Plaza! Looked at a few shops, thought everything was expensive, so decided to have a look at the old Raffles Hotel. The traffic by this time was at it's peak and I had trouble trying to cross the road because I was still to tired to walk to the traffic lights and cross with them. So I gave it a miss, went back to the Swissotel Stamford, had a meal and hit the bed again.Turned the Telly on, saw nothing 'cause I went to sleep straight away and didn't wake again until just after midnight. Stayed awake long enough to turn the Telly off and slept till 4.30am.When I was showered and dressed again and ready to go, I went and had breakfast and then waited for my transport to pick me up to take me to the Airport to board Singapore Airlines for the last leg of the flight. I arrived in Perth at 2.50pm.
I don't know if I was glad to be home again, I had missed my Family and Friends, but I had made a lot of new friends too, and now I miss them.!! There's no pleasing me, is there ?
There are no photos on this entry because my computer has decided to "Spit the dummy", so until I get it up and going again, there will be only the typed entries. As soon as I am able I will start putting some photos of Perth here. The temp. by the way, is fore-cast for 24 degs celcius. (Eat your heart out Pat and Jack!!) Oh, I nearly forgot, Bananas are still around the $10.oo Kilo mark !!

You can see from my eyes I've caught something !! Birr Oct.2006

Think I'm coming down with something!!You can see how heavy my eyes look !

Last Day of my holiday in Ontario, Canada 25th Oct.2006

Well it's here..........my last day in Birr. I'm trying not to think about it because it makes me feel so sad to be saying goodbye to these lovely people. There has been so much laughter and good times spent in their company, but nothing lasts forever and it's now time for me to go. Thank you to everyone for showing me such hospitality. Perhaps my family and I will one day be able to return the favour to you in Western Australia. You would all be most welcome.( Not all at the same time though !!)

And what am I doing on my last day ?Well I have been to the Hairdresser to have my hair washed and set so that when I step off the plane in Perth everyone will be looking at my hair, and not my eyes. They will not be a pretty sight !!
And I have to pack my suitcase yet, not an easy job !!I am allowed 32kilos in weight and hopefully that is all I will have, but I have my doubts.!!!!!
I have been asked to keep my blog going when I arrive home by some of my friends over here. I will try to keep it going as long as I can because as Jackie suggested, a few photos of Perth would be nice for us to have a look at, so beware all my Perth friends, Thelma will be stalking you with her camera !!!Perth is a lovely city though, so I'm sure I will find a lot of beautiful scenery to take pictures to send.
To my mates at Harold Hawthorne,I look forward to seeing you when my eyes will keep open, to my Family, see you all Sunday when I arrive on Flight SQ 223 at 1435 hours, to Brad, see you asap, and to all my friends, I'll be in touch.
Bye now, Thelly

At Port Stanley and Mono Mills 23rd Oct. 2006

Beautiful trees at Mono Mills
We are the Victims of the Murder Mystery!!I'm Dead, and Pat's making an ugly face while she murders me !!
Thelly at Port Stanley
The two " Beautiful Murrell Girls " at Port Stanley.

The Amish couple with children
Falls at St Marys
Snow Plow train

Pat telling Jack, "Your a Fool Jack" !!

Jacks view from the back seat. And Jack's self portrait!!

Port Stanley and Hansel and Gretal house Ontario 2006

Hansel and Gretel house in center
Thelly in the cold at Lake Erie

21st and 22nd Ontario.2006

Beautiful Bushes
Birthday cake
For Sale sign on property Jack suggested I buy !

Birr 21st 22nd & 23rd 24th Oct,2006

A nice surprise today, 24th. I awoke to a white world, There was about an inch of snow covering everything. How lovely it looked ! I didn't venture out in it though, I only had my nightie on and it was very cold. I have been on the computer answering e-mails most of the morning, and looking out the window I have seen the snow melting as the sun came out every now and then.It is still pretty cold out there Pat said it was about 3 degs at 1pm. That's cold for me !!
Well we headed off to the Party on Saturday at Newmarket which is North/West of Toronto,stopping at Tim Hortons for lunch. We travelled through towns with names like Orangeville, Mitchell and Arthur, all pretty little places and we took many pictures along the way. We arrived at Dave and Barb's where the party was being held about 1.30pm.I was able to meet more of my Murrell relations. Dave's children and their children. We enjoyed the party, stayed the night, and after sitting with Dave the next morning drinking coffee,eating toast and laughing a lot, we set off for home. (Barb had to go to a Ten Pin Bowling game and was then having another party there with her Bowling friends.)This time we went a slightly different way home, we went across country and I was able to see a bit more of Ontario.When we arrived at Orangeville we decided it was time for lunch,so we stopped and ate at a place called "Angels". It was a good meal but bad service. There are so many places to eat over here it's a wonder they all keep going. I wonder if we will ever get a Tim Hortons in Aust. ? They are very popular over here. When we had filled our stomachs we decided to go stalking the Buggy People again. Sunday is their visiting day when they go to Grandmama's for dinner, so even though it was a wet cold day we still expected to see them and we weren't dis-appointed !! In fact we were very surprised to see two Mennonite girls on Roller Skates !! I only wish we could have taken a snap of them. We took pics of more Amish people. One was of a young husnand and wife walking along the road in the rain with their 2 children in a pull-along cart with a covered top. It looked quite foreign to anything I have ever seen. Pat tried to get a quick picture, but it didn't come out very clearly.
We arrived home about 7pm, tired but happy. We had a lot of laughs discussing where we'd been. We saw a beautiful home for sale at a town called Mono Mill. I said "I could live in that very easily ", so Jack suggested that I send an e-mail and tell everyone that I would see them in another 12 years time, as I had bought a house here and was not coming home !!???
Monday was "Trace the Ancestors Day"!!
We started our search at Woodlands Cemetery where the Brother and his Wife of my Grandfather are buried.They were the original Murrells who came to Canada when my Grandfather went to Australia.We also went to the grave of Pat's parents. Her father was one of my relations.. We also went to Pond Mills Cemetery where Uncle Sydney was buried. From there we headed to Port Stanley on Lake Erie. I have now seen 3 of the Great Lakes of Canada.We took quite a few piccies here, but it was bitterley cold, as you will be able to see by my face. After that we travelled to a town called Melbourne where there is a lot of history concerning a Bank Robbery. We travelled through part of an Indian(Feather) Reservation, the Chippawa Tribe. I think they keep their homes marginally better than our Natives, although they seem to like to surround their homes with old car wrecks. Not much Landscaping, that's for sure.
We had a "treat" in Melbourne. I had an Ice-cream and Pat and Jack had what looked like a Lemon Meringue and a coffee. If Jack doesn't get his "Treat" he becomes like a broken record stuck in the same groove. "I want a treat, I want a treat ".After that we headed back through Kilworth and drove along the Thames River. By this time there were snow flurries, but the 3 Muskateers continued on. We drove through the Campus of the University of Western Ontario which I must say is big and beautiful, and then toured around the old homes of Northern London looking for a "Hansel and Gretal " style home.I will include a photo of the style I mean. We ended our day with Jack shouting us dinner at a place called Kelseys.Another happy day full of laughs was over.
I had a pleasent surprise last night when Jackie rang from Vancouver to say "Goodbye". She wanted to know if I had let everyone in Aust. know I was heading back to Vancouver for a few weeks !! I wish I was, I had a wonderful time there. I've had a wonderful time where-ever I've been over here and wish I was starting out all over again !!
Will try and get back to the blog before I leave here on Thursday, but if I don't,I'll catch up when I arrive home. Bye now, and thanks for comments recieved. Thelly

Friday 20th Oct., Birr, Ontario

Here I am again, feeling much better than I did yesterday, I'm glad to report. But I'm still playing things cagey and staying home in the warmth of the house. It is quite cold out-side today and Pat said she thinks that snow is forecast again for Monday. I hope so. It would be good to see the snow again before I hit the steamy climate in Singapore next Saturday.
I also want to feel my best for a party we are going to on Saturday night, which I will tell you about when I write my blog next week.
Thanks for e-mails received.
Judy I can imagine the noise when you were unable to turn the House Alarm off. If anyone was having a "Nanny Nap" at the time they would have known they were alive !! Had a bit of a giggle over that. Bye now.

Birr. 19th Oct.2006

Have had a quiet 3 days. Tuesday I worked on my blog and sent a few e-mails then Wednesday I went to help Pat and Jack at the Store. The long awaited Picture prints had arrived and any hands were welcome to help price and hang them. While I was there I felt a bit off-colour. I'm sure you all know the feeling...................the swollen gland in the throat, the heavy eyes and the woozy head !! Anyway when I awoke this morning I was feeling decidedly lousy,so Pat cancelled our Dinner arrangements at her daughters' and I was ordered to take it easy and stay inside. I crawled back into bed for awhile and when I arose and had a shower and something to eat ,I decided I was feeling a bit better, so here I am adding this little bit to my blog. If I have picked up a virus, I just hope that I am healthy enough to knock it on the head quickly, because I sure as hell don't want to travel next week if I'm not well. It's bad enough when I am well !!Will keep you posted.

Limestone House at St Marys 16th Oct. 2006

Limestone House at St. Marys
Letter Box on a long arm to beat the snow plough!

Covered Bridge at West Montrose 16th Oct.2006

The Amish. Oct.16th 2006

Amish worker
Amish house
Amish buggy

Stratford,.Canada 16th Oct. 2006

Jack with the Play House behind him
The Canadian Geese flying South for the winter
The Evidence on Thelly's coat
Pat and Thelma at Stratford

Monday 16th Oct.2006

Yesterday was another lovely day out for me. I think Pat and Jack enjoyed it too, we had a lot of laughs.
We travelled to Stratford, and "Yes", it's called Stratford because it has a lovely Play House there where many famous people have performed. The Play House overlooks Avon Lake where we got out and stretched our legs and had a look at all the Ducks, Swans and Canadian Geese. A large flock of Canadian Geeses flew overhead while we were there and you guessed it. One, or maybe two, pooped on me !! One of them said " Hey, there's an Aussie Rubbernecker, let's Poop on her". Pat and Jack were highly amused !!
We continued on from Stratford into Amish Country. As Pat said, " Let's go stalk the Amish".!!!We had lunch at an Amish Restaurant called " Aunty Mays ". The food was good, the service was slow.1 1/2 hours later we went stalking the Buggy People!
We thought they were hiding to begin with because they were few and far between but as the day wore on, out they came.I found their homes very interesting. They start off with the main house and as the family grow and get families of their own they build on to the main house, which means there are a lot of families living at the one address. We came across quite a few travelling along the road, so have taken photos which I will attach.
We also went to West Montrose where the last remaining covered bridge in Canada spans the Nith River.It reminded me of that movie called " Bridges of Maddison County".I loved the bridge.
We had dinner at a town called St. Marys where there is a large Lime-stone Quarry. Need I tell you that a lot of the homes are made of this material and are really lovely.A couple of the churches are made of the lime-stone too and are beautiful.
We arrived home about 6.45pm, watched a Shirley Temple movie on TV and went to bed at midnight.A good day weather-wise again. Some-one up there must like me because today has been miserably wet.

The Murrell Cousins at Chatham..

Uncle Tom's Cabin 15th Oct. 2006

All taken at Uncle Tom's Cabin

Quaker Church

Pat and I at Port Edward with Michigan in the background

Beautiful Autunm trees

Jack and I out the front of the Restaurant where we had lunch. Pat and I with one of the islands in the background
Blue Water Ferry punt at Canada/USA border crossing

Sarnia 15th Oct.2006

Had another great day out today with Pat and Jack.
We headed out South to Sarnia where we bought a cup of coffee and had a look around, then continued on to the Border of USA and Canada at Port Edward.Looking across the water one can see Michigan and a town called Port Huron. It was all very pretty. There is a fairly large bridge there where the cars and trucks were lined up waiting to go over the border. Apparently coming over to the Canadian side is much easier than crossing into the US. The Americans are much tighter with their security regulations. We didn't want to go over so it didn't worry us ! We drove along St. Clair River having a squizzy at all there was on offer. There were lovely little Islands out in the river where people live. They have to come ashore to the Mainland by boat, which everyone seems to have. For anyone who's interested, the cost of Petrol at Port Edward was 74.6 per litre. We had lunch at an interesting little Restaurant come Gift Store come Clothes Boutique.Saw a very interesting Pant suit there but on looking at the Price tag I put it down very quickly.!!$430.00 !!The little town was called Sombra. We continued down the river and then went inland to Dresden where we had a quick look at Uncle Tom's Cabin. I will try and put some photos of this on the blog later. From there we went to Chatham where we were meeting up with one of our cousins on the "Murrell "side of our family. Her name is Cathy and her husband's name is Dennis. It was great meeting more of my extended family. Once again I will try to put photos on the blog. We all then went out to dinner where Cathy's son, Brad, joined us. Brad is also a distant cousin of mine.

Friday 13th Oct.2006

Had a quiet day today catching up with some of my e-mails. If you didn't get an answer to yours, forgive me. I seemed to have a lot to write.

Friday 13th Oct. in Birr

Haven't done anything very exciting today. I took a turn at getting the evening meal for a change, Rissoles browned in a pan and cooked in a casserole in gravy ( Which Pat and Jack have never had !)Mashed potato and Sweet potato mixed together and Broccoli. Very ho hum fare, but Pat and Jack enjoyed it, so that's the important thing. While the Rissoles were cooking I went down to the store and helped a little down there. It was very cold outside, Max 6 and a Min of -1. The wind was cold and blustery. I think it's going to be warmer tomorrow with a Max of 7 !!! There was a thin blanket of snow when I crawled out of bed this morning and a few snow flurries during the day, but nothing like yesterday.I wonder what tomorrow will bring ?
Thanks for comments. I do appreciate them. And Jim, I don't know whether I'll be glad to get back to the computer room or not ! I think I've forgotten everything I learned about photography and the computer. Gee I seem to have trouble getting my pictures on to the blog. My camera won't allow me to upload straight off of the camera. A window told me I was not allowed to have the Fuji programmed into two computers unless I was prepared to pay for it.!! The Swines !!

Snow in Birr, London Ontario12th Oct.2006

Birr, London, Ontario. 12th Oct. 2006

Well today Birr and London, Ontario, have had their first taste of winter. Pat had to go into London today to pick up some picture hooks, and while we were there she took me for a drive around London to see the sights.London is like it's name, quite English in some parts of the city. There are some lovely old homes that were originally owned by the very wealthy, The University have now taken quite a few of them over as the Uni. is near-by. The main shopping precinct seems to be in The Galleria, but we gave that a miss. Shops are shops the world over as far as I'm concerned !Snow was fore-cast on the TV last night. But I thought they were going to blow it out their ear ( I'm being polite!!) it didn't feel cold enough for snow to me. But, as usual, I was wrong again and while we were in London the Temp. plummeted and there was a light fall of snow ! Do I need to tell you how thrilled I was to see my first snow ??? We called into Tim Hortons and had a bowl of Chilli Soup and a cuppa coffee and then headed back to Leggs Store. We had no sooner arrived when there was another fall of snow. And as the afternoon wore on there was more and more falling. Pat hates it, and said " It's the bloody Aussie whose wished the snow on us ". But I was highly delighted and hope I can put a few photos on this blog.

Top Left: One of the lovely houses in Niagara On The Lake

Below Left:The Nature Strip down the center of Niagara On The Lake

Top Right: On the way home !!!

Niagara On The Lake 10th Oct. 2006

Top left: Willowbank House
Top right: Prince Of Wales Hotel in Niagara On The Lake