How I spent my week waiting for a job/ship call
The first thing I do, well, the first thing after getting a cup of coffee to sip on while I write to you, is open my Grammarly program and write the date of a new story/letter. I am using the Grammarly program to hopefully catch more typos and grammar errors. November 24th. One month until Christmas. Christmas, for me, is always celebrated on Christmas Eve. Our parents brought that tradition with them when they immigrated from Germany in 1954. We always went to Tante Magda and Uncle Otto's house for Christmas Eve supper. After a delicious supper (Tante Magda always made great food, and even as a young child, I liked to try and appreciate new food prepared by others). We would go to church for the Christmas Eve service, and magically, while we were gone, Santa Claus came, and there would be gifts for each of us under the perfectly decorated tree. We would open our gifts on Christmas Eve and stay up late, which was rare and a gift in itself. I often work over Christmas, and I am asked if I mind. Because my special family memories are from Christmas Eve, I am always able to focus and do all that needs to be done on Christmas day to make it special for everyone, because I have already celebrated quietly on Christmas Eve. It's not just the calendar that reminds me of Christmas coming, but the other day, I was walking into the grocery store, and the scent of the Christmas trees leaning against the building, waiting for someone to take them home, was intoxicating. They were the same type of tree my mom always bought the short needles. Lorraine (my sister, best friend, and publisher) and I never try to find the closest parking spot to a store’s entrance; we opt to take a parking spot farthest away and enjoy a little walk. We often pick up any stray carts that someone has left out in the "back 40" parking area." We do this even in the rain, and on this occasion, the closest door to take cover from the rain brought us to the end of the building and the row of Christmas trees leaning against each other. The rainy weather enhanced the scent of the trees. It was wonderful!
The wonderful smell from the fresh cut Christmas trees was intoxicating and with it came childhood memories.
This past week has gone so fast. I shared with you that I was at a charity function on the 11th of this month. Lorraine's best friend of over 50 years invited us, and we had a wonderful afternoon with her and her group of friends. At the end of the charity event, she surprised Lorraine and two other friends with a last-minute invitation to go to Saint Lucia for a week. She had recently lost her mother and wanted to thank Lorraine and her other two friends for all the support and help during the last four months of her mother's life. When we left Tremblant two days before the charity event, a trip to a Caribbean island was yet to be considered, so there were no pretty summer dresses, flip-flops, or any summery items in Lorraine's old suitcase. We love road trips. However, the 1,500km (932 miles) quick turnaround trip to Tremblant and back to pick up summer clothes seemed like a lot. I had packed my sailing bags hoping to get a call and thought spending two days in the car to accompany Lorraine might be too much too. Lorraine calculated the time and the price of gas and a few other things and said, why don't we look and see if she could get a few things, and perhaps borrow a few things from her friends and avoid spending two days in the car. I love a mission and the challenge to find summer clothes when all the stores were filled with winter warm clothing did not deter us. To add to the challenge, she gave herself a budget. What Lorraine purchased for her impromptu trip to the Caribbean could not surpass what the gas would cost to go to Tremblant and back. We headed out to start the search: bathing suit, summer sleepwear (the flannel pj she packs when traveling with me because I like a cold room would not work in the warm Caribbean nights). Flip-flops, not something she could borrow from her friends. A pretty dress for going to supper, A light coverup for the pool/beach, something light for morning walks. As we set out to find the listed items, I made a suggestion. I started off with "Don't say no", I think you should get a suitcase like the one I bought last year. I reminded her about the last time I picked her up at the airport and that her old luggage that she uses had to be carried and I thought it would be so much easier if her luggage had wheels. She agreed but said it would blow her budget. I said that, the luggage is not a luxury but something that she will use again and again. We went to the luggage store and stopped at the display that said 40% off. I really like my hard-shell suitcases and thought she would like it too. They had red, white and black and without hesitation she chose the red (mom would have loved it) and we were on our way to the next thing on the list. Summer shoes. Lorraine can walk for hours in Crocs flip-flops, so we went into the Crocs store and although they didn't have the fip-flops she was looking for, they did have a pretty pair with a little bit of a heel that would be a little dressy for the evening dress that was not purchased yet. The next shoe store had one pair of Crocs black flip-flops in Lorraine's size. As we walked out of the store with the purchase, we laughed, and Lorraine exclaimed, "What are the chances of only one pair and they were exactly what she was looking for."
I’m happy Lorraine agreed to purchase a new hard-shell suitcase. It makes traveling so much easier. I thought of mom and dad and their love of travel and mom’s love of the color red.
We left the outlet mall and went to Walmart. Walmart always comes through for us, and this was no exception. We had hoped to check off the bathing suit on the list, but after walking around the store with the neon pink and blue 80's high cut one piece in the shopping cart, Lorraine said “I just can't do it” and we returned it to the rack. She opted for a tank top and shorts which had a tag attached advertising quick dry. She added some walking clothes, and we went on to the next stop. On our way to the cash she spotted a long narrow black and white striped dress. I said do you want to try it on? She said no, it will fit. Done! Sleep wear was easy and fun, an oversized red Snoopy and Woodstock wearing Christmas hats did the trick. Lorraine is a great shopper. She has a good eye and the patience required to look through racks of clothes and find "the right" dress. She hit the jackpot on a long overstuffed clearance rack and amongst all the winter clothes pulled out a dress and a coverup. She tried them on, and they were perfect. While standing in line to pay for our purchases a lady ahead of us spotted Lorraine's black and white cover up/dress and commented I love that, where did you find it? It's always fun when someone comments on something in your cart. It was my favorite piece that she purchased too. Mission accomplished! This past week, Lorraine has been sending me photos from her southern vacation and it’s fun to see the items we purchased together.
I like eating lunch at Chipotle. I like the options and especially like their homemade vinaigrette.
Lorraine was right, the long black and white striped dress which she said she didn’t need to try on fit perfectly. The bottom right black and white cover-up/dress when the lady in the check out line commented on was the perfect day outfit. The shimmery evening dress was also perfect. She did well with her purchases and like we discussed, even though she had pretty dresses at home, in the future when she wears these items again she will remember her trip to Saint Lucia and the fun we had shopping for them.
I had promised her that I would not mention anything that I was working on while she was on vacation. I had pitched her an idea before she left and she loves it. She thinks you will love it too. I decided in the car after dropping her off at her friends for their early 06h30 pickup that I would work on the project and present it to her when she gets back. Of course, the project is a continuation of recipes and stories about life on the ship so I like to set myself up in an environment that inspires me. I like to set up my laptop in a coffee shop, and since I was staying in the area of the Welland Canal, I had some great options to choose from. I knew my new project idea needed to be reigned in a bit, so I stopped at Staples to pick up a little 1/2-inch binder with 12 separators so I could start organizing my thoughts. I went into the Pie Guy Coffee shop located in Port Colborne. They had moved to a new location this past summer and I was curious to have a look. I had gone to their original location just down the block and remember it had a lovely view of the canal. The new location is beautiful. There are so many windows. It's the perfect place to sit and have lunch, a coffee, or one of their delicious-looking sweets while watching ships. I asked for the WIFI code and opened my laptop and new 1/2-inch binder both blank waiting for my first thoughts. I had many thoughts and inspiration filling my mind because sitting in front of my parking spot and now visible from one end of the wall of windows to the other was the Frontenac, my first ship which I joined in August 1981. I thought what are the chances. I sat for a long time, thinking and reminiscing before jotting down a few ideas. Ideas that I hoped Lorraine would like. I sat for two hours and mentioned to the waitress taking care of my section that I would leave if she needed the table in the busy restaurant. When I left, I gave the waitress a tip that I believed reflected what she would have received if she had turned over her table twice. She said it wasn't necessary that, in fact, it gave her a chance to catch her breath during the lunch rush. I insisted, the memories of my own restaurant flashing back when the waitresses would complain that their customers were sitting too long. I would try to explain to them that we should be happy that they are comfortable and enjoying the atmosphere and ambiance that we created. If Lorraine were sitting there with me, she would have agreed.
I do love a reflection photo.
The Pie Guy’s Cafe and Bakery’s wall of windows offers the perfect place to watch ships as they come off Lake Erie and enter the Welland Canal downbound starting with Lock eight.
The food they were serving smelled delicious.
The sun came out briefly and I sat for a moment at the lookout at Lock eight.
There is so much to see and learn about when you visit the Welland Canal.
While Lorraine is away on vacation with her friends, I have the pretty red car all to myself. I love driving too, but only if I am the only person in the car. The music is loud, and I sing along, off key making up the words as I drive down the road. Lorraine left me in charge of mailing out books and the 2025 Porthole Calendars while she is gone. She had packed up the books and calendars that were ordered before she left and showed me her system so I could do the same with the new orders. I don't know how she does it. I tried to follow her example but somehow didn't have the touch to get the tape to cover the edges of the mailer and the flap. I had to add extra tape and when I looked at the finished product I wondered if she would give me a passing grade, I think not. In any case, the books and calendars inside the package were safe from rain and snow if they found themselves sitting on someone’s porch. I made up the customs papers, which is my usual job, and had them printed off at Stapes. As I was driving to the Lewiston Bridge on the way to the Niagara Falls US post office I hoped I would not get the mean agent. Each time we drive up in the trucking lane (because we have commercial goods) we hope to get a nice agent. Thankfully, Lorraine only had the mean agent once. He yelled at her for having a manually filled form 7523. He said we should be filing electronically. She didn't dare comment that we were just a small business and let him yell at her for 10 minutes, the long line of transport trucks behind her growing longer with each passing minute. The very nice agent that looked at my paper work, gave my passport back and sent me on my way. I was greeted at the post office with a "Where is Lorraine?" They are so nice. One of the agents asked us to bring a book for him so I showed him the book. He leafed through the pages and said yes, he would love to have one. I had gone to the post office early and had the full day ahead of me. I went for lunch at Chipotle and ordered the salad. I like to go there, Lorraine and I had been the week before on our last trip to the US post office. You can build your salad with whichever ingredients you like. I really like their homemade dressing. I love to walk through the US grocery stores, well, any grocery store, but I didn't want the temptation to buy too much, because I was hoping I would get a call/job soon. I thought of going for a walk on the American side of the falls but rain was threatening and I didn't have my raincoat. I decided to stop at the Casino. We go occasionally, walking in with a budget and not straying from that, knowing there is a temptation to spend more. When Lorraine and I go, we split up, play the slot machines, and then meet up to finish our time playing together. Lorraine usually finishes first, having cashed out when she is ahead or finding me when her allotted money is gone. She will take the coupons of winnings that I have collected and cash them out. She always says, cash out when you are ahead and hold on to the coupon. We make sure we have covered the amount we came in with. Even though Lorraine was not with me, I cashed out each time after winning the bonus. It was a lucky day for me, I know luck has nothing to do with it, but it was a few hours of fun and not only did I cover the budgeted money I came in with I was way ahead. I photographed my coupons to send to Lorraine. I knew she would enjoy seeing that I cashed out each time after winning the bonus. I headed back to Canada using the Rainbow Bridge. It was getting dark, and I could see in the distance that the Christmas light show had been installed. Lorraine and I love to drive through each year and see the lights. It is especially pretty when there is snow.
We seldom go to a casino but when we do, we arrive with a small budget to resist the temptation to continue playing and lose money. I took a photo of the coupons I cashed out after winning the bonus. I reminded Lorraine that they were US dollars. I said I will put it aside for a future trip together. Our mom always shared her one trip to a casino story, how she wanted to bet 75 cents and dad said she should only bet 25 cents. When she hit the bonus, she pointed out to my dad that she could have won three times as much. That makes me laugh because recounting that story always came with a recreation of the “I shouldn’t have listened to you” face that she made to my dad, and I can still see the quiet smile that my dad would give back, hearing the story many many times.
The week has been rainy and the following day it predicted rain from morning until night. Normally one might think oh dear it's raining but I was excited. There is something calming about a rainy day and I had the perfect activity planned. I packed up my laptop and 1/2-inch binder and went back to Port Colborne. This time I chose to set myself up at Sophia’s Cafe. It is another perfect place to watch the ships as they enter or depart Lock 8. I continued to work on my project. I sent a project sample to a longtime friend and got positive feedback. I was especially excited to hear that they liked it because I hoped they would be interested in contributing to my idea.
I thought how lucky to see the CSL Welland when I parked my car across from Sophia’s cafe. My luck continued when I saw another ship from inside the cafe.
The windows from Sophia’s by Lock eight offer a great place to watch ships as the enter and exit the Lock.
A great spot to have lunch and a homemade baked treat. I sat with my laptop and ½ inch binder. Watching the Algoma Bear and the CSL Welland was a bonus to my rainy afternoon.
One day this past week was spent going on a little road trip to Long Point. Long point is a narrow piece of land referred to as a sandspit. (I just looked it up because I didn’t know how to refer to the long strip of sand. It was very interesting to read about the sandspit and want characteristics a sandspit has. I had to remind myself that I wanted to finish this story for you before lunch). It was fun driving though the countryside. There were acres of Asparagus fields. There were also multiple fields that had posts with black tarps as far as the eye could see. I had no clue and was grateful to see a sign that said Ginseng farm. Not knowing would have kept me up at night. I had never seen anything like it. I looked it up, and ginseng likes the sandy soil and likes shade, so the tarps are there to offer them shade. I was driving and couldn’t take photos but I would love to return to show Lorraine if I am still waiting for a job this coming week.
Long Point Sandspit
Walking out to the beach of Long Point on Lake Erie reminded me of the Sandbanks near Picton on lake Ontario
Long Point Beach offers camping and lots of beach access.
The sand dunes are very similar to the Sandbanks.
There is a story about this lighthouse on Long point but I will save that for another time.
It was so interesting. Another activity I enjoy is walking along the canal's bike/walking path which runs the length of the Welland Canal. It's fun to see ships from the canal banks. I like discovering different areas and even though it was raining lightly drove to Allanburg Bridge which offers parking and easy access to the walking path. I didn't look up if ships were passing because I like to be surprised. Imagine my surprise when not only was there a ship, but there were two. The second was the Spruceglen and I messaged the Captain that I was just on his port side after the bridge and would wave. It was so much fun to get the special hello. I wanted to take a video, but the message that kept popping up on my phone these past weeks claiming to be almost out of space, decided to confirm at that moment how serious it was and refused to take any more videos until I cleaned up and removed some files. Reasoning with your phone wishing it to just take one more video, promising that you will remove the excess is pointless. So I snapped a few photos, thankful that it allowed me that feature. Oh my gosh, I just looked at my word count. I am chatty Cathy this morning.
It was fun to walk on a different section of the path that runs along the entire Welland Canal. Even more special was seeing two ships .
What a wonderful surprise to the the Spruceglen. I wished I had room on my phone to capture the special hello.
A new dish that I will share with you. Curry shrimp with cauliflower gnocchi. It was delicious.
I had mushrooms that were nearing their expiration so I made pork with a mushroom sauce over mashed cauliflower. I really enjoyed it.
I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. I will resume the wait for a job/ship tomorrow. Making sure to avoid locations that might interfere with an incoming call. I did get one on Thursday but for some reason, the call did not ring, I was in an elevator and my heart sank when I saw the "Thorold Union missed call message" ping on my phone when I exited the building I was in. I called back immediately and was told the job went to the next person on the list. I needed to know what I missed and was told it was the Algoma Compass. It does not sail with a second cook. I am hopeful to get a call early this coming week. I will pick up Lorraine tomorrow and we will plan a trip over to the US Niagara Falls, NY Post office again. The books and calendar make great Christmas gifts, and we will be happy to mail them out and Lorraine will make sure they are perfectly wrapped.
We will be happy to mail out your purchases from the US and plan another trip early this coming week. Canada Post is currently on strike but we will send the Canadian purchases as soon as they end the strike and return to work.