Halloween at one-oh-eight-one-TWO

Hi everyone, it’s Josh:
I just had my first good ol’ fashioned Gillier country Halloween. I gotta say it was pretty swell. I got to carve some pumpkins and scare Duncan with my ancient Japanese karate master mask. We had just enough kids to take all of the grab-bags that Jackie made up before work, so no one went home empty-handed. Everyone who came wondered where Jackie was. It’s really too bad she had to work.

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And now it’s Jackie’s turn:
Halloween is the best time of year. Although this year I didn’t plan a costume ahead of time, I still managed to grab some stuff around the house and make something. I showed up at work as a Poké-Master. No one knew what that was ???

dumpkin.jpgThis year was special because it was Duncan’s first Halloween and he was intrigued by the pumpkins. He gave me lots of help this morning when I was gutting and carving. By help, I mean he was eating seeds and getting in the way. Even though he was a bit of a pest, we decided to make a pumpkin just for him. First we tried to get him to claw or bite a pumpkin so that it could be “his.” He didn’t really like that idea, and chose to lick it instead. So Josh found a nice Great Dane stencil online and I carved it into one of our pumpkins. We call it: The Dumpkin.

Lots of love to everyone,
Jackie and Josh

Markdale pics

PICT0820.jpgSo after a week we have heating, hrv system, hot water heater, big propane tank, electrical roughed in and barn ready for metal cladding. As all of us can concur, our weather sucks. A neat electrical device installed though… by sending its signal through the main panel wires through the switch box, there is a switch installed that will control four assigned circuits. It means I can look outside from the house and turn on or off the barn lights, tractor block heater etc. No separate wire/circuit required.
Take care and stay indoors.

Give Thanks

enlarge thanksgiving prime rib roastHappy Thanksgiving Day everyone. Today we celebrated by bbqing this honking big Prime rib roast. The weather was magnificent so we cooked and sat down to eat in the late afternoon. It was so nice out that we could have actually eaten outside but I chose to set up at the dining room table. We surrounded ourselves with harvest vegetables and enjoyed the picture perfect roast. The mandatory pumpkin pie followed and now it is off to hockey practise for the boys. Have a wonderful day tomorrow and best wishes from the Bako’s. Continue reading

That Colgate Smile

nicoleYou can’t miss that girl with the Colgate smile , wearing Maroon #3, playing D for the Colgate Raiders. She plays strong and powerful and looked great out there. We drove down to Niagara University this afternoon to watch Nicole play. We were so excited and were thrilled at the opportunity. We even got the chance to see her in the penalty box, twice. You go girl. The game ended up a tie (1-1) and we had a nice visit after the game. I slipped my niece some candy and chocolate for the bus ride home and got a GIANT hug that wouldn’t let go. Thankyou. Continue reading

NIFTY FIFTY

karen_hot-50.jpgHappy 50th Birthday Karen. You may have thought that you could hide from the famous Blog, but you can’t. We all wish you the very best and are thinking of you today. It was fun yesterday imagining that you were 49 and doing the count down to the Big One. I hope that you had a wonderful day today and that it is the prelude to the next half century.

Cottage Retreat

canninglakeNick and I were invited up to Canning Lake near Minden in the Haliburton Lake district. Our Friends Keith and Cathy have just completed the construction of a beautiful dream cottage. They tore down their old trappers styled cottage to build this modern two story, post and beam cottage on the same lot footprint plus some. The weather was typical for fall, the colours were magnificent and the food, wine and company grand. Nice getaway for us. [Weekend Pictures] Continue reading