We've had a little snow!

The first picture shows snow amounts on December 10th; the next picture shows the amount on December 15th.

One of the many questions we are asked is how much snow do we get here in Parry Sound, and how cold does it get in the winter? December is the month we generally receive the most snow, because the temperature is just below freezing, and Georgian Bay is not frozen over yet.

It didn't start snowing until December 4th; and it feels like it hasn't stopped since! On December 11th we received 60 cms. 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast was as busy as it is at peak times in the summer when the police closed the highways and people were frantically looking for somewhere to stay. It was the first time that I've ever had people agree to take a room and not ask about amentities, price or even if we took credit cards!

For more pictures on what the snow looks like, check out our Facebook and Twitter sites!

Top 10 reasons to do your Christmas shopping in Parry Sound

1. Free parking is available in the downtown area!
2. The Downtown Business Association has a hospitality store available to wrap your gifts, get a warm drink and some popcorn at no charge!
3. Downtown businesses are participating in a chance to win a beautiful gift basket from their store
4. No line-ups for parking spots anywhere in town!
5. Line-ups at cash-registers are short to non-existent
6. Friendly service is always available to help you find that special gift
7. There are many great, one-of-a-kind items available for sale.
8. You can generally leave the car at home and walk to the shops
9. So far, there's no snow to make things slippery
10. Parry Sound has a number of chain stores that offer gift certificates and great return policies for the picky gift recipient.

B&B guests are the best!

I wanted to share a story about how wonderful people who tend to stay in B&Bs are!

Margaret and Jim have stayed with us at 40 Bay Street B&B several times over the last two years, ever since their daughter moved to Parry Sound. On the day they arrived, I had an unfortunate accident that put me on crutches - and wouldn't you know it, Simon was in Toronto working!

Not only did they take me to the hospital, but offered to forego breakfast in the mornings to ensure I didn't have to climb the stairs into the dining room, and wanted to clean their room before they left! They even picked up and washed the dishes that first morning! We ended up compromised - breakfast was served in the kitchen, and I was well enough by the time they left to go and clean their room.

But I know many other B&B owners who could tell you great stories like this! The saying is true - arrive at a B&B as an honoured guest, and leave as a wonderful friend. This is one of the best things about owning a B&B - all the wonderful friends I now have!

Fall colours are exceptional this year!

The Layfette String Quartet at the Festival of the Sound

40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast was pleased to provide accommodation to Pamela Highbaugh Aloni and her family while appearing at the Festival of the Sound. It is always amazing to see how the living room here can be utilized - as you can see here, it was used as a rehearsal space. How many B&Bs can offer private concerts by world-reknown musicians such as the Lafayetter String Quartet, in their living room?!?

Artists-in-Residence at the University of Victoria’s School of Music since 1991, members Ann Elliott-Goldschmid (violin), Sharon Stanis (violin), Joanna Hood (viola) and Pamela Highbaugh Aloni (cello) have inspired audiences and performed throughout North America and Europe since 1986. In addition to playing in the quartet, they have students from the university that study under them.

The thing that surprises me most when listening to a rehearsal is the discussion that ensues between the musicians about their interpretation of the music and the way it should blend together. All I know is, they make beautiful music!

25th Anniversary of the Festival of the Sound was fantastic!

This is a picture of Guy Few, and John and Fiona York, of York 2. All are talented musicians who played the last week of the Festival of the Sound, and stayed at 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast.

I had the opportunity to hear them both on the Friday evening at the Opera Gala; John & Fiona are pianists who generally play not only as a duo, but often on the same piano! Guy is a very talented trumpeter, cornist, pianist and singer, who played the piano at that performance.

I'm not the only one who is a fan - in an article that appeared in the local paper, the Parry Sound North Star - Ken Stephen wrote of the York 2 at their Thursday afternoon performance: "Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring fared better in this treatment, as the original is itself very sharp-edged and percussive. By contrast, Holst’s Planets sounded best in its lighter, gentler moments, and most like itself in the final luminous pages of Neptune, the Mystic". Mr. Stephen wrote of Guy's performance during the closing work 'Handel's Messiah': "Guy Few gave a spectacular reading of the trumpet solo in The Trumpet Shall Sound."

It's hard to believe that the Festival of the Sound manages every year to top the year before, but they do! Let's hope that next year is as much fun...

How does my garden grow? Organic, of course!

My neighbours all laughed as they watch me drive
the stake through the middle of this ladder back in June...I certainly believe in creative gardening!!!

The picture on the left shows the vegetable garden at the beginning of July, and one month later! While the weather may not have been overly conducive for holidaying this year, the rain, cooler temperatures and sunshine we receive in Parry Sound (Georgian Bay moderates our weather, while all the other areas around us receive the forecasted rain!) has been great for my gardens.

We will have a good crop of peppercorn squash this year - a nice surprise left over from when we cleaned out the compost and dug it into the soil... a lot of the seeds ended up germinating! The tomatoes are still flowering, and the first lot of beans has come and gone! If you come to visit 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast, you will have the chance to sample the produce - all of Chef Simon's breakfast recipes include the wonderful fresh herbs in one way or another, and tomatoes can be found decorating the plates of most of our savoury menu items.

PS - we might even send home a squash or two with you!

Sunset dinner cruise

Directly across the road from 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast is the M.V. Chippewa, which is my favourite boat to take for a cruise. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sundays they offer a wonderful sunset cruise dinner.

Dinner is catered to by our local fine dining establishment, The Log Cabin Inn, and you even get a choice of entrees! With a licencsed bar and great and friendly service, it is a wonderful way to enjoy the summer in Parry Sound.

Here is a picture of Captain Greg Aldworth, and one of Georgian Bay's famous sunsets! Greg is very knowledgable about the area, and tells get stories as you cruise by some wonderful islands, homes and cottages throughout the area.

Trains, trains and MORE trains!

This year has been an interesting one for the trains that go through Parry Sound. News reports say that rail traffic is down 20% and I believe that...but those trains that do come through are really LONG!

Two nights ago, there were no trains during that day at all - and then they started! We had 17 trains come through between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. Again, nothing at all during the day...I was braced for what would happen last night... only 3 trains - 2 at 10:30 p.m. and 1 at 7:00 a.m.

And of course, it wasn't warm enough to have shut up the house and turn the air conditioning on, so the windows were wide open! My poor guests! While assuring them that we normally had no more than 5 freight trains go through in the night, I felt so bad that I advised them if they ever came to stay again at 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast I was willing to guarantee no more than 7 trains, or give them a second night free!!!!

So what would contribute to all that rail traffic in one night? I assume they are working on the tracks, as we get several notices in the weekly paper about road closures for repairs to level crossings; there might have been a derailment or some other accident, or they decided to send all the freight up to Moosenee all at once!

The Bobby Orr Hall of Fame

Bobby Orr brought fame to Parry Sound as one of the best professional ice hockey players there ever has been. Born in Parry Sound in 1948, he was identified as a potential professional player by the age of 14. He won his first Stanley Cup in 1970 with a goal that has been immortalized in a picture that is referred to as NHL's most enduring image. Due to a knee injury, Bobby officially retired as a professional hockey player in 1979 at the age of 30.

A strong supporter of Parry Sound, Bobby visits regularly, and undertakes fundraising activities on a regular basis for the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame to help draw people to Parry Sound, and recognize others that have contributed to sports both at the local and national level.

We have been fortunate to host Bobby at 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast. He constantly amazes us at how down to earth and kind he is!

For more information on the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, please see the web site.