Laura’s plane leaves today for her class trip to Spain and Portugal. We awaken to the devastating news that Madrid has been rocked with up to 10 terrorist explosions at their commuter train stations. At this point 190 reported dead with more than 1200 injured. We are waiting for information from Explorica (tour organizers) to see what is going to be done… cancellation, tour reshuffling, etc?? The first 2 days of their tour is in Madrid.
[EDIT 11:13am] They all left this morning on the shuttle to Toronto airport. We’ll hear if they got to land in Madrid by morning. You can follow along with Laura’s group by using this page link [deleted]

Laura leaves for Spain and Portugal in a week tomorrow. She is very excited and is starting to pack her suitcase that she got from the Bako’s for Christmas. The weather is much like Chathams, in the low digits to low teens. She will take rain gear and sweaters.
Any travel tips for her would be appreciated.

Brian was in Ottawa for 4 days participating in the all Ontario High school Nordic Skiing (Cross Country) Championships. He had a blast in the capital city and felt very grown up traveling on the coach bus. He raced in the Jr boys category, witha a field of 140 participants. He crossed the finish line with amazing speed and agility. He placed 61st well above his goal of breaking 100. He is a keener and loves the sport. You can’t imagine the energy and endurance that you need to do this sport. Way to go Bri we are all very proud of you!

Willy Wonka had his never-ending gobstopper and Harry Potter is partial to Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans – but the maker of KitKats has proved that truth is stranger than fiction.

As well as the cumin and masala flavour, Nestle is considering offering lemon cheesecake, liquorice, saffron and passion fruit. Why would they do this? Nestle sales are down because people aren’t eating as much chocolate… and not because they crave a Curried KitKat!

Lemon cheesecake KitKat is already sold in Germany and Japan, and the group confirmed it may be brought to Britain.

Just wanted to pop in and say how wonderful it is to have such kind and loving family and friends. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day

Martha left for school this morning with a spring in her step and confidence that she would tower over her competition in today’s basketball game. She is part of the staff team at her school and they are scheduled to play against… not the students, but the Canadian Half-Pints.
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As you can see from the photo’s, construction of the cottage in Fernie has begun. The foundation is now complete, material for framing is being delivered tomorrow and the windows and doors are on order. No turning back now!

For the past two days we have been snowed in. The boys are home for the week as it is exam time at their high school. They are helping me with the snow clearing. The roads in our neighbourhood are terrible and there are cars and big trucks in the ditches. I am staying put until the plough comes along. Nick’s Volvo loves these conditions but my van slides all over the place, even with new all-weather tires on. Martha you keep an eye on the weather forecasts for the weekend. You may want to think about not venturing out on the highway if the winter snow continues. Good News… our house is toasty warm through all this deep freeze.

We got a ton of snow today. This is a picture taken out of our upstairs bathroom window and the snow is over the eves. Click thumbnail to enlarge.

Over 100 police officers converged on a former Molson brewery site today, exposing what they say is the largest marijuana grow operation in Ontario history. Ten people were arrested and officers hunted for others possibly hiding in the massive three-storey building.

Thousands and thousands of marijuana plants, being cultivated with sophisticated watering and chemical grow devices, are believed to be on the site — an 11,250-square-metre building located in an industrial area. The police have never seen a grow operation of this magnitude.
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