The Travels of the Agnew Family

October 16, 2016
When Ed started his business in the late 1970's his first client had him design a digit version of a device called an Electronic Ear. A doctor in France had determined that even though some people had the ability to hear their brains had problems interpreting the sounds. The Electronic Ear was developed to "train the brain" to understand the sounds. I've really simplified the problem and the process but I think I'm accurate though maybe overly simplified. Anyway back to the present. Earlier this summer Paul (the owner of the Listening Center and user of the Electronic Ears) called Ed and said that there is a fellow in Spain (Christopher) who is working on updating the Electronic Ear and Christopher is planning a trip to Canada and would like to meet Ed and talk about the Electron Ear. So today was the day Paul, his wife, Christopher and his wife came to Walkerton.


Christopher, Paul and Ed

About two weeks after Paul and Christopher's visit a documentary about retraining the brain aired on television and one of the segments was on the Electronic Ear. It's pretty amazing that something Ed designed almost 40 years ago is still being used and considered a viable treatment.

October 18, 2016
Snuggle time. Caity's getting pretty comfortable and getting me well trained.


I plumped my blanket up so she had a nice pillow.

October 19, 2016
This morning when Caity got out of bed I told her that her mom and dad were coming home from Hawaii. As she didn't react I don't know if she understood me. About 11 am John and Carol arrived and Caity was beside herself bouncing and jumping around. She went to her toy box and grabbed toys and ran around playing with them.



October 27, 2016
Snow .... I can't believe there's snow on the ground. I drove down to Burlington today and was surprised to see snow on the ground in towns to the south of us. When I left home Walkerton didn't have any snow.


Apparently, that changed over the course of the day.

By time I arrived back home in the evening the snow was gone.

In the next few days the temperatures climbed and we were enjoying Indian Summer.

October 29, 2016
A beautiful fall day.




Guess the fishing is good this year as we've seen a lot of guys standing in the middle of the river.

October 31, 2016
Our cutest tricker treator this year was little Hudson in his cow outfit. Grandpa Rob was happy to show Hudson off.

Hudson didn't get any treats but his mom and dad did.

Ed and Rob wanted to squeeze in one more ATV ride so the Rob, Ellen, Ed, Caity and I went to Rob and Ellen's cottage in Sauble Beach. The boys went ATVing while the girls hung out at the cottage (OK I snuck in a short ride) and went for a long walk on the beach.


Having a quick nap in Aunty Frances' chair to recharge our battery before driving to the cottage.


Testing out the couch at the cottage.


Caity loved the beach.


Caity is pretty sure she could drive an ATV.

It was a beautiful fall day and still warm enough to take the Miata for drive so we drove to the Bruce Tract.


It's nice to walk but boy do those leaves smell good!


Who snuck in the mushroom and fungi photos.


Nothing like a cup of Tim Horton's coffee after a long walk. Sorry to disappoint you Caity ---- we put water in your cup.


I'm not sure if Caity was looking at her reflection or not but I did discover it was impossible to take a photo of Caity in the mirror without the photo including me and the phone.


Back home it was time to help Uncle Ed with the barbecuing --- I think Caity enjoyed the sitting on the bench waiting for the food to cook portion of barbecuing best.


Time to rest after a long day. It's much more comfortable to snuggle in the pillows on the bed then sleep on the floor.

It didn't take long to get back into "life with a dog" when it came to feeding, walking and trips into the backyard to play ball. What it taking a bit more effort is getting use to life with a small dog --- especially one who likes to cuddle and sleep on the bed.


The first night Caity did sleep on the floor though her idea of sleeping on her bed was different than mine. She stayed there all night so she must have been comfortable.


She adds a certain challenge to using your computer. She really likes the "Dogs gone wild" video.


John and Carol, Caity plans on asking for a convertible sports car for Christmas.


My mother was due a visit so Ed, Caity and I went to Burlington. I think my mother really enjoyed the visit.


Watching TV is a group activity with a small dog.

Our friends from Michigan, John and Carol arrived yesterday with Caity. Tomorrow John and Carol are driving to Toronto and on Tuesday morning fly to Hawaii --- Caity is staying with us for two week. Should be interesting having a dog again if only for two weeks.

This weekend is Pumpkinfest in Port Elgin. Unfortunately, the weatherman and mother nature didn't cooperate and rain was forecast for yesterday and today. It rained a bit yesterday but today it didn't look too bad so decided to veture out to the Cinderella Car Show (part of Pumpkinfest).


We talked to one of the local business men and he said this year had the fewest number of cars in a long time, certainly the few number of cars in the years we've been attending pumpkinfest. The main street is usually full of cars on both sides of the street and so are some of the side streets. Attendance was also down --- I guess the rain kept both cars and people away.


Though there weren't a lot of vehicles, there were some interesting ones.



When Ed and I were in New Brunswick we stopped at a pottery shop that used a local clay. The potter did a lot of hand building (not on a wheel) and imprinted the pieces with things from nature like leaves, flowers and sea shells. Ed and I like a dish that was shaped like a leaf and imprinted with the leaf. While we were in the store Ed and the potter both said it would be a great dish for serving sushi.


As John and Carol are our first guest after the New Brunswick trip they got to help christen the plate.