October Halloween Puzzle: The World of Frankenstein by Adam Simpson

 The World of Frankenstein - jigsaw puzzle by Adam Simpson

🧩1000 pieces

A while back, Bill purchased this puzzle and thought it would be great for us to complete in October - in honour of Halloween.   It's a bit of a tradition now to do a Halloween-themed puzzle and either pass it along, or keep it to do for the next year.

This was a beautiful puzzle with vibrant colours, intricate design and artistry. No puzzle dust and all the pieces fit really well together. We really had no complaints, except for one (you'll know why in the next photo).

We finished 999 pieces out of 1000 of this puzzle! 😁

Ugh, definitely did not expect a missing piece, but I guess you could say Frankenstein shall remain unfinished. 🧐 

Despite the missing piece, I really love the art work and have my eye on The World of Dracula puzzle. 

Hopefully if you purchase one of these, you are able to fully complete it!  I never think about keeping receipts like this which was necessary if I wanted to contact customer service, but maybe something to do as this was such a lovely puzzle and it's sad to know 1 piece is missing like this! 

💜Puzzle Collection

2026 Halloween Tree

 Say hello to our 2026 Halloween Tree!

While getting ready to decorate our tree for Halloween, it looks like whatever water damage happened from one of the storms at some point trickled into the big bin where we stored all of our decor, lights, etc. Thus, we lost pretty much all of it that we usually put on the tree each year. Fred and Jean Claude (animatronics) are still in-tact. so we were happy about that. 

Life happens, so we just pivoted and figured out how to still make the tree reflect "us".  I think it looks great. 

Strolling Through Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake is absolutely beautiful and to think we only got our feet wet in exploring just the shopping district. 

We walked around and popped our heads into all the little boutiques and artisan shops.  We had a late lunch at Corks Winebar and Eatery Great service and I had the most delicious butternut squash ravioli and Bill enjoyed an indulgent serving of manicotti with a thick slice of garlic bread. 

The landscaping all around is gorgeous as you can see from the photos and this time of year is particularly beautiful with all the leaves changing.

Before heading back to Windsor, we stopped in at a lovely local French-inspired cafe called Café Lumiere for a latte and a sweet pastry - a crumbly apple lemon bar. 

A little slice of heaven at Café Lumière

Niagara-on-the-Lake was a wonderful way to end our anniversary/mini-break - I am grateful for being able to come here with Bill. I am looking forward to another visit in the future together - especially as theatre lovers, the Shaw Festival is on our list.

Life slows down here and I'm all for being part of it.

💜Niagara-on-the-Lake

💜Café Lumière

💜Corks Restaurant

Niagara Falls: Clifton Hill District Adventures

Hi friends! We just got back from our much needed mini-break to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, so I will be sharing some of our adventures over the next few days, as I settle back into routine here.

panoramic shot of the falls.

It was very busy during the day near the falls but we took a nice walk through the gardens (Bill spotted this unique tree!) and also did a little bit of shopping and exploration in the area.  The mist over the falls was neat to look. The CN Tower looked beautiful at night as we were heading back to our hotel.

Now for Clifton Hill!

If you are heading to Niagara Falls and planning to visit the Clifton Hill district, I would suggest getting the Clifton Hill Fun Pass.  It's really the best deal to experience a lot of the attractions and save quite a bit of money instead of paying for each one.

Here are some highlights of what we did! 

👉Wizards' Golf (18 holes of mini glow golf with magical & whimsical themes!) It's a Glow-in-the-Dark Bill.  This was a lot of fun. Definitely a multi-sensory experience!

👉Toy Store 4D is a MUST if you enjoy immerse experiences. Just buckle up and enjoy the ride! Bill had a blast on this one. Since this is 4D, there was an option to have a non-motion seat. All I had to do was leave my buckle undone. I am glad that they offer this, so I could partake in the activity in some ways too, but honestly, I was having the most fun watching Bill bounce around in his seat!  

👉Ghostblasters Dark Ride This one is a seated ride to blast those ghosties! Lots of cool animatronic characters and props. Around every corner is something to destroy - so that was pretty satisfying, if I may say so.

👉Creepy Castle - Another adventure ride - blasting all the creepy ghouls. This one was also motion-seated. but nothing compared to Toy Store 4D. I just had to let the attendent know I would like a non-motion seat, so I basically had my laser and was in a computer chair lol  while Bill was in the motion-activated one. 

*Note that we didn't go on the Niagara SkyWheel (this was part of the Fun Pass 6 choices available), since I don't like heights. I told Bill he could go solo, but he didn't want to.  So no big deal, we gave a nice couple walking by our passes to enjoy!

Big Top Amazing Mirror & Laser Maze - Didn't go to this one but took a photo walking past!

👉Movieland Wax Museum - There was a spot where you could take a break and just watch a little mini history on classic film actors like Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy. Interesting factoid: Buster Keaton had broken just about every bone in his body!

A low-key activity to just check out all the famous folks from different eras. Honestly, some of the wax figures were terribly inaccurate, which made us chuckle, while others were spot, and of course a little in between too. These were some of the favourites going through the museum!