Farewell to August

The last day of August arrived reminding us that the summer break is quickly coming to a close.  We have had some good memories…beach days, Toronto exploring days, motorcycle days, water days and a few home days.  Sarah has even had camping days.

The highlight of the summer has to be Sarah turning 16 and getting her G1.  We picked up her report card this past week from last semester and she got an average of 86.  That is worth celebrating too!

We would like to forget the long recovery of poison ivy but am thankful that Sarah’s face is finally clearing up just in time for the school bell to ring.

Today Sarah spent time with one of the young Mutch families.  Two little boys love having a pretty teenager dote over them.  The boys’ grandparents and Sarah’s grandparents (that’s us) went for a motorcycle ride.

Kevin and Pam met us at our house and off we went down the Arden Road.  The road is nice and curvy and great for motorcycle riding.  It is also a rather quiet road and a good place to be on a holiday weekend.  We were able to cross the busy number 7 with little difficulty and continued north passing by some busy lakes. We continued along the way and ended up in Tweed at Tim Horton’s.  It looks like we definitely took the long way around but that is what biking is all about.

We know two couples from that area and while we were sitting and visiting in came the one couple.  Growing up I lived on Robinson Street.  For a while the Mutch’s lived on the corner of Robinson and right beside them lived Gary…and who should walk into Tim’s but Gary and his wife Carol.

We had a nice time chatting and catching up.  We finally decided we better get going.  It was a perfect day and a perfect way to close out August.

What will September bring?  I guess you will just have to follow the blog to find out.

Bird Watching 101

Ron and I decided to go bird LISTENING.  Yes, most people go bird WATCHING and we did that too but we took along our devices and tuned in on the Merlin App

We headed into Prince Edward County and went on roads that we have never been on before and found a National Wildlife Area.  They do lots of research on our feather friends by capturing, examining, tagging and releasing them.  They had two little birds there to show us and explain the process and then off they went back to their little flock.

We walked along the paths with our apps turned on, picking up a few new sounds to save to our life lists.  It was a beautiful area to walk.

We walked down one lane and were treated to beautiful butterflies gracefully swooping around us and landing on the flowers.  

Pictures don’t do them justice.  How did God think to create these amazing creatures and to know that they came from ugly caterpillars.  I was so hoping that one would land on me but I was not as enticing as the fragrant aromas along the way.

At the end of one of our little jaunts, a lighthouse stood bravely where it has been since 1881.  Although not in use anymore, it was surrounded by spectacular views.

Another path led us through a majestic looking forest.  Grass covered the path and the trees provided a canopy.  It was so peaceful as we strolled listening and looking.

We were careful to stay on the paths in order to avoid contact with poison ivy…we have had enough of that in our house over the past month.  

Anyone see a problem with this picture?

We left the sanctuary and drove through the Sandbanks Provincial Park.  It looked like summer was over with all of the empty parking lots.

After a couple of hours of exploring we decided it was lunch time.  One of our favourite places to go in the County is the  Waring House Restaurant. There are a few businesses on the property and one of them includes a Cookery School. You know that they want a good reputation for their school and the food has never disappointed us.

After a few more stops, we grabbed a coffee and headed for home.  Bird watching was something that I never really thought I would be doing.  My thoughts of this activity went back to the old show The Beverley Hillbillies. (You can watch the video by pressing the link.)  This morning I did not have the bird sight seeing uniform.  I only had my cell phone with the Merlin App.   Just like Miss Jane was always looking for Jethro…

I had my Ron.

So what do we do in retirement….just about everything!

I added a few new birds to my list so the day was productive.

Missed It!

Our schedule was a little full today for a couple of retirees but we felt like we could do it.  A memorial was being held for a friend’s brother who passed away a couple of months ago.  Ron and I checked with a couple of people and were told that it was from 11:00 to 4:00 and that it was a drop in type of gathering.  We arrived around noon and the formal service was just concluding….missed it!  We did arrive just in time for a feast of food and we did get to visit with people.  Oops!

Our next event was a baby shower from 1 to 4.  We arrived around 2ish just in time to miss the gender reveal.  Now, this reveal shouldn’t have been missed.  The mother and father to be were apparently given a confetti popper to turn to reveal to the guests the gender of their child.  Pink confetti flew through the air with the sister of the mom-to-be flying just as fast to tell everyone that pink was a mistake and that she was in deed having a boy.  We missed it! We did get to enjoy more snacks and cake.

We arrived home around 4:00 and had planned to go to the final hour of the FireFit competition.  We were all a little tired and perhaps over sugared and so we rested and yes, we missed it.

We missed the main events that were on our schedule today but we didn’t miss the food. Tomorrow we will try better to be on time for the events on our calendar.  This retirement life is very scheduled and sometimes we just end up missing things..oops!

Taking Advantage of the Day

Ron and I had one of those rare days.  We had nothing on the calendar, household duties were semi caught up and Sarah was away for the day.  We decided that the weather was just right for a motorcycle ride.  I wasn’t feeling the best but I didn’t want to waste a good day.  We rode down towards Lake Ontario and then waited for the ferry to arrive.  

We drove on and enjoyed the calm ride over to the county.  A couple from Savannah, Georgia chatted with us and told us that they were planning on doing the same drive and were stopping at an outdoor restaurant that served fresh pickerel.  

The ride from the ferry was beautiful.  We got lots of views of the water and the temperature was perfect.  We stopped at a fruit stand and picked up a few apples to take home.  Just around the corner, we found the Cressy Mustard restaurant.  We found our way to a table in the shade and ordered.

 Ron and I split a fish and chips meal with a side of dill pickle macaroni salad.  It was all very tasty.  By the time we were done eating, I felt done.  Ron headed home.  When we got there, I crawled into bed and fell sound asleep.  

Meanwhile…Sarah had gone to the Fun Zone with friends from the church.  The two young moms have four children between them.  I am sure that they enjoyed Sarah running after their children almost as much as Sarah enjoyed getting her children fix.

In the evening, we went over to watch the start of the FireFit competitions.  Tonight there were just local businesses competing against each other.  The next two days will be when the competition heats up when the firefighters take over the course.

Special Delivery

This morning Purolator arrived at our door.  They required a signature for a parcel.  We weren’t expecting any thing.  The driver said that it was from the RCMP.  Ron opened the package to find his badge encased.  We placed it on the shelf with other memories.  

Sarah and I walked over to the post office to pick up the mail.  She had received a letter.  She now has a picture ID which also makes her a legal driver.

Exciting and interesting deliveries today.

Found

Found…one set of keys!  If you have been following along with my blog you will know that on Ron’s birthday, while in Bon Echo we lost a set of keys.  Today they were found!

You know when you lose something how you check every place over and over again.  Well, I thought we did that.  We had walked the trails, checked the beach and looked through every bag many times.  When we got home that evening, I repeated the check of every bag again.

This afternoon, Ron and I were getting ready to head to a lake.  I pulled out my usual backpack and I felt something.  Inside the pocket where I had put my keys was another little hiding spot and there they were. The question still remains how they got there but we now have the keys back and an extra set that Ron had already ordered and got programmed.  Sarah is kind of excited about now having her own set of keys to the truck.

So the case of the missing keys has been closed.  Certain questions will remained unanswered because we are dealing with a couple of people who seem to forget where they put their things.

I did take my extra set of keys today and we came home with both.

89 Years!

August is a birthday month for us.  Sarah turned 16, Ron turned 62 and today dad turns 89!

Wow…89?  It’s hard to believe that he has arrived at that age.  He has had health concerns along the way.  Close to 20 years ago he had a couple of heart attacks and went through the procedures of stents.  His mobility has caused many issues and he now walks with a cane and had difficulty getting up from a sitting position.  Recently his eyes have been giving him lots of concern.  He has lots of appointments and he keeps going.

So what do you get someone that is turning 89?  He has not ever been the easiest to buy for.  Back in the day he would suggest a gift.  I would get it and it would be not the right one or he had already purchased it. So….what to do?

The perfect solution is to make a favourite dessert.  Coconut Cream pie made with love…

• 1936

  Food Prices:

  • Milk: 10 cents per quart (0.95 litres), according to Statistique Canada. 
  • Eggs: 31 cents per dozen. 
  • Sirloin steak: 25 cents per pound (454 grams). 
  • Tinned tomatoes: 10 cents per tin. 
• Wages:

  • Halifax trackmen and laborers: $0.35 to $0.47 per hour. 
  • Montreal trackmen and laborers: $0.31 per hour. 
  • Halifax unskilled factory labor: $0.30 to $0.40 per hour. 
  • Montreal unskilled factory labor: $0.225 to $0.50 per hour. 
• Personal Income:

  The average personal income in 1935 was $313 per year, according to Statistique Canada. 

Happy Birthday Ron!

We have been busy with birthday celebrations for a 16 year old but today we had to set that aside and celebrate Ron.  Sarah gifted Ron two golf passes.  He booked a tee time for tomorrow.

It was another hot day so the only natural thing to do was head to the lake.  Just before we left, Ron told me to grab the extra set of truck keys just in case.  I secured them in my back pack and off we went. Today we chose Bon Echo Provincial Park.  We arrived right around lunch time.  I barbequed hamburgs and we enjoyed them under a tree.

We then headed closer to the lake.  It was a very busy day at the beaches but we finally found a little piece along the water.  We swam, kayaked and went on the paddle board.  We rested on the chairs and then repeated the process.  

The afternoon went by with lots of water time.  

Around 6:30, we decided it was time to pack up. We started to look for the keys.  They weren’t anywhere that we expected.  We began looking in the unexpected places.  We retraced our steps and Sarah and Jett even looked in the water.  Thankfully, Ron had told me to bring my keys.  On our last load to the truck we kept our eyes on the path hoping to find our lost keys.  No luck.  We loaded the kayak and stopped at the park office but no lost keys there either. Even after getting home, we hoped that they would appear in one of our bags but nothing.

The moral of the story is try to be prepared for the unexpected because some times what you fear will happen.

Ron will be getting a belated birthday gift…a new set of keys.

Too Hot To Not

We have been in a heat wave.  Our air conditioner has definitely been getting a work out.  Ron went for a bike ride this morning before it got too hot.  We had an errand in Napanee so we took the motorcycle in to town.  By the time we got home we were hot.

We had lunch and then started to pack up for the lake.  On our way, we picked up Jett.  We purchased an Ontario parks seasonal pass a few months ago and it has been used regularly.  Today, we went to Sharbot Lake Provincial Park.  We drove to the far side and set up our area.  This area has been a place that we have been going for over thirty years.

It was hot and the water was warm.  We all enjoyed a swim.  Sarah and I brought books and read for a bit before we worked on supper.  

We ate well. We enjoyed more swimming and I kayaked across the bay while Ron swam.  

Jett and Sarah had a unique experience.  They were floating and enjoying the lake and a loon swam close to them.  They watched him and he kept an eye on them.  After a few minutes, he dove and wasn’t seen again.

After one more swim, we packed up and drove home.  I still needed to get some steps so while I was doing that the others set up the viewing area in our driveway.  Tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be the best nights to watch the meteor showers.  The moon was a little bright and we saw a few.  It was nothing like our previous experiences in Waterton National Park but it was a nice ending to a good day.

It’s important to find those good moments to make memories.  When some say that it’s too hot, we say it’s too hot to not think about finding a lake!

Birthday Celebrations

Today was a full day.  We separated and conquered the tasks.  Ron and Sarah left for Kingston first thing in the morning.  They picked up Ariana, the birthday cake and shopped a little bit at Lululemon.

Cheryl and I worked at organizing the house for the birthday celebration.  We straightened, decorated and prepped for the party.  I was so thankful that Cheryl had agreed to come.  She helped in so many ways.

Lunch was served and then Ron took the girls to Gary and Denise’s to see the sheep and The Soap Shack.  Cheryl and I worked on the final touches.  We were ready!

The Bruyere’s were the first to arrive.  We were now a party of 11.  Next mom and dad arrived and found their chairs.  The last to arrive was Sarah’s grandma Lynn, her Aunts Christina and Liz.  The party was ready to start.

The table was set with food and everyone served themselves and found a place to eat.  

People chatted across the table and around the room.  

Downstairs, the kids were doing more laughing than eating.

Cake and icecream was served after the meal.  

Sarah opened her gifts and thanked everyone for their thoughtfulness.  She made her rounds to give everyone a hug.

The kids drifted off downstairs.  The Wii was given a work out with each one taking their turn. The pool table got a little attention too.

We made sure to take pictures as everyone was leaving.

We also took pics of those staying…

It was a good day.