Martha came home dancing on air today. She and some of her class made it on the front page of the Chatham Daily News.
“CLEANUP CREW: Georges P. Vanier students joins teacher Martha Gillier in a cleanup along Mud Creek Thursday, as part of Earth Week’s national Pitch-In campaign. The cleanup effort was coordinated by the municipality of Chatham-Kent in conjunction with Pitch-In Canada, a volunteer organization that has been working to beautify towns and cities since 1967.”
Author Archives: Tom
A New Spring Look for the Blog
OK, since spring has started, its time for a new look for our Family Blog. In my attempt to make this site easier to view at different screen resolutions, I have used all scalable fonts and formatting is now done entirely with CSS style sheets. No more fixed pixel size text. Let me know what you think of the new color scheme and layout. Please be patient with me while I fix the photo album’s style sheets… it’s a bear to setup the album CSS.
IT’S B A C K… (Spring that is)
Spring has finally returned to Chatham! The bunnies are grazing on grass just outside the open garden doors, the birds are chirping, and the temperature is a balmy but breezy 28°C! What a change from last week. 
It’s warmer here than it is in Calabash, NC. Now where did I store that Margarita mix?
Bakos Off to Calabash, NC
The Bakos are enjoying a well earned golfing vacation at Marsh Harbour in Calabash, NC. It appears they will be enjoying some great weather this week and we wish them a happy and enjoyable getaway. 
Voice recognition software is working
I can’t believe how well this program is working. I purchased a program called Dragon Naturally Speaking 7 and after a little initial training it seems to be working quite well. This is much faster than my “hunt and peck” method of typing and as an added bonus the spelling is always correct. It does take a little getting used to navigating pages by spoken commands. When I get a little more experience I will report back on my findings.
Yet Another Birthday…
Happy Birthday Mom! John and Rosemary suggested and arranged a birthday party for Mom today and it included all Mom’s favourite things. Chinese food, gifts, family, and beer! What else could you want? Well in our clan, if someone brings beer, family usually show up :-) The nursing staff didn’t seem to mind the Gillier Occupation and it was a good time. We took over the sitting and dining/card table just off the main lobby and I think Mom enjoyed all the pedestrian traffic going by offering their best wishes. Thanks for making the trip down and back today J&R and the care package was much appreciated. 
It’s always a pleasure to see you guys again. Click read more for two pictures.
Continue reading
Lordy-lordy, Look Who’s Forty(ish)
Happy Birthday Ladies! It was a pleasure to share your birthday celebrations once again. Martha, Laura, and I spent a few days in downtown Toronto this March break and we were able to join Eileen and Nick for a great dinner at the Breakwater Restaurant in Mississauga. We had a delicious meal and a few laughs then back to Bako’s for birthday cake and gift exchange. All in all it was a great way to ring in a pair of St Paddy’s Day birthdays. Click Read More for picture links.
Continue reading
Another February Birthday
We have another special family member celebrating her birthday (February 17th) this cold winter month. Anybody recognize this li’l angel in the Adirondack chair? [snicker] Click the picture to solve the thinly veiled mystery :) We all wish to extend to this person a very Happy Birthday and promises of many more. Any comments from the siblings?
Recipe of The Week – Venison Steak with Cumberland Sauce
4 Venison steaks about 1 in thick
-rub with garlic
-marinade for about 1hr. in 1 part olive oil, ½ part lemon juice, ½ part vinegar, 1 tsp. oregano
Cumberland Sauce
Combine and blend well:
– Grated rind of 1 lemon
– Juice 1 lemon
– Grated rind of 1 orange (eat the fruit :)
– 1 Tbs of icing sugar
– 1 tsp prepared mustard (I used dry)
– ¼ cup melted red current jelly
– 1 Tbs port wine (I used Grand Marnier)
– 1 Tbs slivered almonds
(I heated this mixture but you don’t have to.) Click read more…
Continue reading
Groundhog Day’s True Purpose
Yahoo! News – Groundhogs Looking for Love, not Shadow
Groundhogs that emerge from their dens in early February are looking for sweethearts, not shadows, a researcher says. And what’s more, the female groundhogs invite the males in for a visit.
The rodent ritual, whimsically marked each Feb. 2 as Groundhog Day seems to be part of the mating ritual “to see which females are available and where they are,” said Stam Zervanos, an associate professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University’s campus in Reading.
Continue reading