A TRIP TO THE 'WILD HOG' TODAY

After a few last-minute phone calls from Kelly's daughter in Cambridge this morning our travel destination changed from a Tim Horton's parking lot in New Hamburg Ontario to a place called The Wild Hog Country Market a few miles east of Stratford, Ontario.  It's roughly halfway between Bayfield and Cambridge so it was all three of us in the Subaru heading for the Hog.

 A CLOUDY BUT CLEAR DAY FOR A DRIVE OVER TO STRATFORD AND BACK

Kelly's daughter Sabra and husband Derek reached the Wild Hog minutes before we did.  There were several reasons for this meet-up today, one of which was that Kelly had won a gift basket.  Derek, a successful Re-Max Broker has his own team and every year at Christmas they select an area charity with the idea of giving back to the community.  They choose a person who has supported Derek's Facebook and Instagram on social media for the year and present them with a gift basket and a $250 cheque for a charity of their choice.  This year that person just happened to be Kelly.  Dereck wanted to present the gift basket to Kelly in person and that is what he did this morning.  Our meet-up was also a chance to see Sabra and Dereck before they and their two boys fly out to Whistler in British Columbia for a snow-boarding Christmas holiday.  

 THE WILD HOG'S MAIN ENTRANCE

 I HOPE DEREK'S PORSHE DIDN'T MIND A HUMBLE LITTLE SUBARU PARKING BESIDE IT

 DEREK PRESENTS KELLY WITH THE GIFT BASKET

 I LIKED THE LOOKS OF THIS STORE AS SOON AS WALKED IN THE DOOR

 KELLY, DEREK, AND SABRA CHECK OUT SOME FRESHLY BAKED BREAD

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DOING SOME BROWSING

 THE HOG HAS TWO EATING AREAS WITH ONE BEING ON THE UPPER MEZZANINE SEEN HERE WITH THE OTHER AREA BELOW IT 

 A COZY FIREPLACE SETTING

Neither Kelly nor I or Sabra and Derek had ever been to the Wild Hog and I didn't even know it existed.   Kelly stumbled across their website early this morning while trying to think of a better place to meet Sabra and Derek than a Tim Hortons parking lot.  We all liked the ambience of the store but to buy anything there you had better bring an extra wad of money along.  But, you know me....anything in my world over $5 is rudely expensice!!  Kelly and Sabra did a lot of browsing, I took a bunch of pictures, and Derek was busy on his cell phone with incoming real-estate calls.  We were there maybe half an hour and Sabra and Derek had to get back to Cambridge.  Kelly picked up a couple Hog sandwiches and we grabbed a couple McDonalds coffees to go on our way out of Stratord.  Just as it was a real nice drive down, it was a real nice drive all the way home again too on quiet paved country roads with no traffic.  We were home ??

 THERE IS ALSO A GROCERY DELI HERE

Kelly's wrist is feeling better today but she is leaving the large bandage on it for another day.  Luckily so far there has not been any bleeding problem from the artery used for the wire catheter that was inserted.  She said the worst part of the procedure was the very tight clamp placed on her wrist.  She also said that on a black and white screen monitor she was able to watch the wire going up through her arm making its way to her heart area.  She said she could also feel the wire moving along in her arm and shoulder but felt nothing when it was in the heart area.  She also said that it was a procedure she would rather not have to do again.     

 THE FRONT ENTRANCEWAY REMINDED ME A LITTLE BIT OF CRACKLE BARREL IN THE STATES

And here's some more good and gooder news for the day.  First the good news.  Today is the shortest day of the year followed by the next gooder news which is that tomorrow the days begin getting longer.  So, don't forget to stand at your windows tomorrow night and gaze happily out at those extra few seconds of daylight.  Remember, we need all the good and gooder days we can get.  Who says I don't almost always think positively eh:))  

 PICKING UP A COUPLE OF COFFEES TO GO AT MCDONALDS

I FIGURE THIS MUST BE A LOCAL FARNER'S IDEA OF RVING

 EATING OUR HOG SANDWICHES ON THE WAY HOME I  OF COURSE MADE MY USUAL BIG MESS

 AFTER RIDING AROUND IN DEREK'S PORSHE AND OUR SUBARU THE GIFT BASKET KIND OF CAME APART BEFORE WE GOT IT HOME SO I HAD TO REARRANGE ITS CONTENTS FOR A PHOTO 

Al's Music Box:)) White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards. Bing Crosby's record topped the Billboard chart for 11 weeks in 1942 and returned to the number one position again in December 1943 and 1944. His version would return to the top 40 a dozen times in subsequent years.   The version sung by Bing Crosby is the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media),  Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song.  One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there.  He often stayed up all night writing. One day he told his secretary, "I want you to take down a song I wrote over the weekend. Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it's the best song anybody ever wrote."

 AND THE WINNER IS.......:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A terrifying explosion occurs in a gunpowder factory, and once all the mess has been cleared up, and inquiry begins.  One of the few survivors is pulled up to make a statement. "Okay Simpson," says the investigator, "you were near the scene, what happened?"  "Well, it's like this. Old Charley Higgins was in the mixing room, and I saw him take a cigarette out of his pocket and light up."  "He was smoking in the mixing room?" the investigator said in stunned horror, "How long had he been with the company?" "About twenty years, sir."  "Twenty years in the company, then he goes and strikes a match in the mixing room, I'd have thought it would have been the last thing he'd have done."  "It was, sir."    

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- I’m aware that the voices in my head aren’t real. But their ideas are just awesome sometimes!

- My Parents said:  You'll understand when you are older.  Well, I'm older now and I understand absolutely nothing!!"

Hearing voices in your head is normal. Listening to them is quite common. Arguing with them – acceptable. It is only when you lose that argument that you get yourself in real trouble.

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