Newest Addition to the ElizaMike Zoo!

For the past couple of weeks, we planned to drive to Toronto today to visit the Avworld store. It’s a great aviation store just across from Pearson Airport. Mike, Jan and I drove for about an hour and a half, only to find that the store wasn’t open. What a bummer! I guess we’ll have to make another trip back at some point. I didn’t want the trip to be wasted, so on the way home, we took a detour to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. They have a great gift shop and we were able to pick up some Christmas gifts for each other and some other family members. I also saw some copies of a wonderful book there:

You can see more about the book and purchase a copy here: Stella and Lizzy Take Flight.

I think we wandered around the gift shop for about an hour. Although it was disappointing that Avworld was not open, at least we have another trip there to look forward to!

Farewell Warplane Museum….always a wonderful visit:

We’re mostly just relaxing now that we’re home from our fun day out. Time to tend to the animals, including our newest addition. I was out winterizing the gardens a few days ago when I came across an adorable praying mantis. I looked it up online and they typically die during the first frost, which likely would have been last night. No way I was going to let that happen to little Stibbons!

Who would have thought our zoo needed more animals??

Today’s symptoms: I felt quite good today! My energy didn’t start waning until around 4:00. It usually starts around noon, so having the extra few hours of energy was awesome!

Neighbourhood Aerial Pics

The Neighbourhood app I’m on is doing a photo contest of neighbourhood-related pics. I figured taking a pic of the entire neighbourhood would suffice:

And here are a couple closer views of the awesome Sunset Beach:

I see the snow fences are up on the beach now. We’ll have to be careful not to walk into them when we go for our walks in the evening. It’s a tad hard to see them when it’s dark.

Earlier in the summer, I found a peanut in our back yard, which was split open and had a root. I planted it and just dug up the spoils today. I’m going to start a new business selling peanuts, grown at the Elizaplantation! With a yield like this, I’ll be rich in no time!

I think I can make 1/400th of a jar of peanut butter so far!

Today’s symptoms: I had a couple pretty bad days last week with lots of nerve pain, fatigue, brain fog….blah! This weekend was a different story though. Felt good enough to go for a flight Saturday. Yesterday, Mike and I went to my mother’s to help decorate her cute little 5′ Christmas tree. These good days certainly make the bad ones a little bit more tolerable, as they give me something to look forward to.

Gallivanting Through Niagara Gorge

I was rather surprised to learn that Mike has never been to the Niagara Gorge. However, I still love him and am able to look passed this deficiency. We decided to take a vacation day and head there last week. All the times I went as a kid, the stairs seemed like they would never end. Seeing them this time, they didn’t seem nearly as bad:

Twas a foggy day and we only saw seven people in over two hours (three were fishing and two couples just started their trek as we were finishing ours). It was pretty close to what I remember from being there many years ago. I knew there was a path right down to the Niagara River and we eventually found it:

A tad too cold (and dangerous) for a swim:

It was so neat to see the Niagara River from ground level, as we had just flown over it and Niagara Falls a week prior:

I never take living here for granted. One certainly can’t scoff at having Niagara Falls, the Niagara Escarpment, two massive lakes, plenty of parks and nature trails in our backyard.

Today’s symptoms: I’m doing so much better today than yesterday, which was one of my bad days. It didn’t start off too rough, but by noon, the pain and fatigue really set in. I got really down too. The days full of lousy MS symptoms is enough to deal with, but it’s always much worse when the feelings of hopelessness and being discouraged take over. I dread those days and am so appreciative of ones like today, where I feel decent physically and my mood is elevated.

Amazing Shower View

I miss the window in the shower of my old 10th floor apartment. While I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, it would cause the tub floor to be slippery. At the high end of the tub, I would face the window. As I slowly slid down to the other end whilst rinsing, I had an amazing panoramic view of west St. Catharines and northwest towards Burlington and Oakville.

Despite the loss of the amazing view and living so close to everything in downtown St. Catharines, I have no regrets at all about moving. Living with Mike in Port Weller is awesome and I wouldn’t give it up for anything!

Today’s symptoms: I had another really good day! I cherish these days so much. Jan and I got our fifth vaccine shot this morning. They have all made me feel quite sick for five to sixteen days, but I’ve decided that I’m not going to feel sick at all from this one.