Quebec

Andrea and Nancy al fresca 

Sidewalk art in Old City of Quebec

Saguenay. Canada

An old town settled by trappers and fishermen with the assistance of Jesuit priests in 1640 or thereabouts, Saguenay was a welcoming community of about 140,000 souls.  They decked out n period costumes to provide a welcome to Azamara visitors (tourists equals money to the town).

We were greeted with fresh blueberry pie, a sawing demonstration, maple syrup and smiles abound.

And I scored goat wool, spun and wound.  Beautiful!

St. John's, Newfoundlandt

Azamara travelers were greeted by a Newfie who was loving the slobbering attention he received upon arrival in St. John's as we all hounded him with our affection.

Hello from Honfleur and Rouen, France

Rouen is the town where Catherdral of Notte Dame looms over its city square.  It is also the place where Joan 'd Arc was burned at the stake so if you look below you will see a picture of a plaque stating the fact.  If it were not pointed out to you by a tour guide, you would surely miss it.

And this is moi' grinning at you from the front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen.

A picture worth a thousand words is of a carousel that gave kids rides for a few Euro.

More of France tomorrow or whenever I get internet access.

Good Byes and Hellos and a Scrabble Cruise

Hello, September and hello virtual friends.  

We have sold our house and bought another, all within ten days' time.  Good bye house and garden views. Will surely miss seeing this from my patio chair.  Good-bye to cosmos, marigolds, mint, hollyhocks, grape vines, Jupiter's Beard, columbines, and field of grasses.  

Hello to xeriscaped yard and outside plants in pots next year; hello to never needing to mow.

Below is a picture of the house we bought on Waite Avenue, just one half mile west, and where we will move the last of September.

Zillow said this about our new house:

This one is Parade of Homes nice! Upgrades everywhere you look. The Larkspur model is the most popular model home in Copper Creek Subdivision. This is the only Larkspur plan built with a 3 car garage! With nearly 1650 square feet, 3 beds, 2 baths and a 3 car garage! Hardwood floors, granite counter tops, custom cabinets, oversized stamped concrete back patio with stamped concrete sidewalk surrounding the home. Stamped concrete drive way, garage attic storage with pull down ladder and much more! Split bedroom design with luxury 5 pc master bath and walk in closet. Great room concept with vaulted ceilings. All windows have high end custom blinds and there is a security system included.

That printed, please don't feign to feel sorry for us in our new and smaller digs.  With no grass to mow.  We have given away furniture and thrown away things that no one could possible want.  I was a little sorry to have my good china exit the house, along with the Howard Miller grandfather clock, but there is absolutely no time to mourn.

On the cancer side, side effects now are loss of eyebrows, a little hair lost on the left side where I part my hair, and gut woes. The blood work shows expected neutropenia so hand washing is a must. I follow a neutropenic diet as much as possible. Yup, I have lost weight.  Maybe I will gain it back on an upcoming vacation with Scrabblers.

Those diet, fatigue and tummy issues might present a few glitches when I go off on an 18 day jaunt with Scrabble cruisers when we leave from Southampton, England and go north to France and on to Ireland before heading across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia and on to Canada.  Yea!  This WILL be a great trip, and if fatigue gets to me, there is always a place to rest on the Azamara cruise ship.  I leave on September 7 and return on the 24th from Montreal.  Again, how could you possibly feel sorry for my lot? I am Blessed!

On the Julie front: she is doing fine, with her birthday coming up the day before Labor Day.  The manor is buying her a fast food lunch, a special treat, and we are having a "do" for her at our house when she makes her weekly, now Tuesday, trip over to love on the dogs and watch tv with us.  It will be her last visit to the old homestead on September 6.  Future visits with Julie await us on Waite Avenue, thanks to front door wheel chair accessibility.

Will blog pictures of London, maybe Paris and at the least, the coast of France and Cherbourg, and perhaps more over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for Adventures on the High Seas and wish me great luck playing Scrabble with 16 other tournament entrants as we play 24 tournament games!