The backstory and penguins

Thanks, first, to my regular readers who have put up with my irregular posting. Things have been frantic, as my story will tell. But the kitchen looks good, with a trip to Ikea to help get it organized.

Joe in his new office!

Here's the backstory: in the old days it took 10 years for us to convince my grandmother to get a hearing aid. Then, when both my parents lost a lot of their hearing, Mom learned to read lips and pretend that she could hear, resulting in awkward and LOUD conversations. Dad simply avoided the phone. It was as if losing their hearing was a sign of weakness. It was frustrating and tiring as they were in denial. They both had hearing aids, but it didn't go well. Humans have made fabulous gains in technology, and this is one. They were tough years for me!

My hubby, whose name is Joseph Brian, has a slight hearing impairment. He has a 30% hearing loss, unmitigated by hearing aids due to the nature of his issue. This results in missed words in conversations, although he hears the full sentences, and he misses some of the words.

It is difficult in public places to hold a conversation, especially with ambient noises and the ubiquitous musak music. We have learned to live with it. We make sure we sit in corners, away from
large crowds. In fun, Joe will tell me what he THOUGHT I said, and we often have a good laugh about it.

Quiet breakfast

This brings me, finally, to my story! We were obliged to drive back to Bala, Muskoka to pick up boxes the movers left in our closet. With 3 cats caged for hours, we had to leave the movers to do their work in the heavy rain as we faced the 5-hour drive to Perth.

Sure. Accidents happen. You deal with it.

But not only did they have to make two trips (the truck wasn't big enough the first time) but these things from the hall closet were left behind. (Yes, I took photos. I am snap happy, with digital excess. I am a digitalholic and I admit it!)

I was reluctant to go back, but it had to be done.

Lakeview motel - hot tubs!

Now, hubby does not like driving. I love it. We rented a cube van, paid for by the moving company, to go back and look for our missing sign and the things in the closet. (My shoes, as well as other things!) I drove the 5-hour drive there, and hubby, unfamiliar with my camera, was in charge of that.


It was a glorious drive, with vibrant fall colours, aside from hydroplaning with the heavy rains.

We stayed overnight
at the Lakeview motel!

We got there and made it back to Haliburton's Lakeview motel before we decided to stop overnight. Too bad we didn't bring our swimsuits. A hot tub would have eased sore muscles.

A cop stopped us in Huntsville. We looked dubious. When he saw us, and our ages, he apologized! We weren't hauling stolen goods!


We were stuck behind a logging truck, he couldn't quite make it up the hills at the 80 km speed limit.

This slowed us down, but, again, with real-life paintings all along the way, it was the perfect time of year to drive. I would ask him to take a photo, but with a colour deficiency, he doesn't see colours as vibrantly as others.

What a job! 

I yelled at him, "Quick! Take a picture!" at one point. He simply sat there. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. He sat in contemplation.

Scenery mitigates the slow truck in front!

As is his way, he was trying to process what he had heard.

He thought he heard me say, "Look. A huge penguin!"

From then on, all I had to say was, 'penguin' and he'd lift the camera. It was a great cue and I laughed so hard I was crying.

 We spotted the brilliant reds of the sumac, the golds and yellows and red of the maples.

The Precambrian shield, with its pink granite, bracketed the view.

Cottage country is a beautiful place to be!

The Haliburton Highlands are a glorious drive, with the hills beautiful dressed for fall viewing.

The deep green of the pines punctuate all the more the maple and poplar colours. The water reflects the colours our the scene.

The farms featured interesting critters, fattening themselves up for fall, too. Nearer to home, with flatter terrain, there were many farms. The grass is a deep green, with the cooler temperatures and heavy rains.