One Of Those Nights

It would be nice after a full day to be able to close your eyes and drift into a peaceful sleep.  Most nights that is the way it goes.  Tonight….not so much.  As I laid in bed, I began to hear the night sounds.  The birds have quieted and the frogs have picked up the chorus.  In the distance, the coyotes begin to sing their mournful song.  It seems that the group harmonizes with their eerie but somewhat peaceful tune.  Soon, they quiet down.  They must have been able to find rest.

I begin all the practiced techniques of falling asleep.  I start with praying…there are a lot of people to pray for…some sick, some grieving, some trying to sell a house.  With my round of prayers completed, my mind still rolls.  Next, I try to concentrate on relaxing.  I think about each part of my body, trying to make sure that I am totally relaxed.  Nope, my brain is not relaxing!

I listen to Ron’s breathing and try to mimic it.  By now, I know that nothing is going to work.  I slowly slide out from under the covers, grab a blanket and a pillow and head to the couch. Perhaps…just maybe, I can journal a blog and after putting some thoughts in print, I can fall asleep.  It’s worth a try.

I guess some nights sleep is just overrated.  Thankfully, I don’t have any plans in the morning.  

HaPpY bIrThDaY to Me!

Birthdays seem to roll around faster every year.  They certainly don’t hold the same excitement that they did when I was young. 

• Remember the excitement of turning 10…woo hoo, double digits!  
• Then, the thrilling age of 13…officially a teenager.  
• Nothing quite compares to that 16th birthday when you can start your driving career.

When I turned 20, it felt like adult life was real especially since I was now a wife.  At 26, I became a mom and then I began to count my children’s birthdays and then eventually my grandchildren.  

Today, I turned 61.  Wow!  

It was a good day.  Ron and I went to Denny’s for lunch.  Birthday people get a free meal.  I ordered off the 55+ menu even though that was so six years ago.

I received birthday greetings through cards, video chats, phone calls and in person.  Jenn sent me a beautiful fall flower arrangement.

I got a free blizzard just for turning a year older!

We went to Roxann and Philip’s for supper.  Cousin Philip and I share the same birthday and we have never celebrated together.  Roxann wanted to change that.  They made a Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner.  So much food and so good.

Ron was in charge of the cake and that was tasty too.

So turning older may not be as exciting as it once was but it’s still fun to celebrate, you can find freebies on your special day and get discounts.  

Just think only four more years until the government will pay me!

A Full Friday

We loaded our canoe last night and made plans to get on a lake this morning.  

We put in at Gull Lake and paddled into Little Gull.  

The lakes were quite small so we went around the perimeter until we found where the portage was to get into Puzzle Lake.  The “puzzle” is how could we ever carry the canoe?  The portage is short but not a smooth path.  We decided walking the portage was good enough.

We loaded the canoe and drove home and switched vehicles.  We took the scenic route to Westport and on to Charleston Lake.  

We had our lunch there and Ron went for a swim.

 I was getting pretty tired on the way home and then I got a text, “6:00 at the Black Cat.”  

After a short turn around and perhaps a little nap on the couch, we headed to the Black Cat.  It’s fun connecting with cousins.  Gary was itching to get the instruments out and so it became a two hour night of music on the front porch of the old hotel.  

Time for bed…

Meet & Greet

Our small community had a tragedy happen earlier this week.  A death is always hard but when it happens in a small village it touches a lot of people in a deeper way. We are new here and didn’t know this individual but our hearts go out to the family and friends that are affected by this loss.

A community “Meet and Greet” had been in the works for several months.  It was organized by some local business men and clubs to help newcomers connect to the locals.  

The question was asked, “should the event still continue after a community has suffered?” The organizers felt that they needed to follow through with their plans to show that as a community, we stand together.

We walked to the area and could feel the grief.  People were talking in hushed voices, voicing their sadness.  The barbeques were hot and the table was laid out with treats and drinks.  

New and old members visited on this beautiful afternoon and into the evening.  There was a sense of strength as those that grieved were able to share memories with others.  The conversation floated to questions about new connections.

I chatted with an older man who had gone out west with my dad when they were in their teens.  Ron and a local realtor reminisced about connections from 40 years ago.  I met a young couple that had just moved from British Columbia.  He was a local guy moving back and she was a BC girl.  Their dogs drew me to them and their personalities kept me talking.

When we thanked our hosts and said our goodbyes, we had a little more sense that we have come home.

My Favourite Season

As the summer months come to a close, there is a bit of sadness for some.  The bathing suit, shorts and cool tops will soon be packed away.  The sweaters are on standby for those cool evenings that are sure to come.  The dreaded season wardrobe change is a bit of a wonder…what will fit me from when I put my summer clothes away?  And, then I remember… my fall clothes are mostly stretchy tights and long sweaters…BRING on the cold!

Fall is actually my favourite season.  When I was younger, much younger, it was because my birthday fell right at the start of the season and that was always exciting.  Birthdays don’t thrill me like they use to but watching God paint the trees to such brilliance makes me smile.  First the colours slowly change until eventually the woods become a masterpiece.  It is just starting!

Today, we did the fall thing.  We went for a walk along the river.

We biked down a road that we call the “canopy road.”  We are anxious to see this is full colour.

We then went for a drive to an orchard and picked apples and bought a couple of pie pumpkins.  We stopped at a nursery and added fall mums to our Fall finds.

When we got home we peeled, sliced and cooked.  We put apple sauce in the fridge and freezer and enjoyed a warm apple crisp.

There is so much to enjoy in the fall and we are experiencing an Ontario fall season once again…new and old adventures to find.  Harvest treats to make me thankful for stretchy waistbands.

It’s Been A Minute

Life can be so busy even as a retiree.  It’s a different kind of busy these days.  The work schedule is replaced by more of a social schedule.  When you start to think there is nothing going on, that is when the calendar appears to have a conflict.

We are enjoying the times that we can meet for a coffee with someone or be able to attend special celebrations.  I have also been relearning some of the hobbies that I had put aside…like knitting, reading and discovering new recipes.  

Recently a cousin-in-law (is that an actual term?) and I decided one week to take a western trip the next week.  It was very spontaneous and proved to be a lot of fun.

While we were away, because this “cousin” chooses to be more private than I do about adventures, I wrote a little journal each day and sent it to our family chat room and to a special cousin.  She is an in-law too!  When I returned home and got to meet up with Denise, she told me how much they enjoyed our adventures through my writing.  

She told me that I should be writing a blog and so I resurrected my old one.

I’m hoping that I can find some interesting things to write in here.  

So here we go….another hobby resurrected.   This is for you, Denise!!

It’s Here

It’s only 8:30 and I have already crawled into bed.  Ron and I have spent this week getting ready for what is about to happen.  We have signed papers to sell our house and had a zoom meeting to docusign to purchase one.  We have cancelled utilities in Alberta and arranged for hookups in Ontario.  We have our suitcases packed and hopefully they are hidden enough from the real packers AND tomorrow it begins.  The packers will arrive and get to work while we sit and watch.

I think we will have the weekend to live amongst boxes and they will return on Monday to finish it up.  Tuesday, our house will be loaded into a transport.  That thought always blows my mind.  How can it fit?  I then find out that actually three household items are going to be in one truck and transported to Ontario.

So, good night from me.  It seem to take along time but now we are here.

One Last Time

The time is getting closer and closer to our move date. Every time we do something now, we wonder is that the last time before we move?

Yesterday, we headed to Waterton with our snowshoes, wood, lunch and games.  The drive down was beautiful.  It was a gorgeous day and the mountains looked spectacular with their winter coats.  We drove down the Akimina Parkway.  There were very few cars and the big horn sheep were enjoying the quiet road.

We were stopped a couple of times going in and they did not seem at all concerned that we wanted to get somewhere.

We parked at the road closure and put our snowshoes on.  There was a nice path through the “woods” that we took.

 A fire from a number of years ago has left mostly blackened trees or stumps but new growth is taking over. This could definitely be a good sermon illustration.

It was almost theee kilometres to Cameron Lake.  The temperature was very mild and, for the most part, we were sheltered from the wind.

We arrived at the lake and could hear laughing somewhere but no sign of anyone.  It’s quite different in the summer when the place is crawling with people.  We had a little rest in the shelter before starting back on the road.

Painting on the window

The snow was good for snowshoeing but so much less than other years.  We have to keep going higher in the mountains to find the white stuff.

Once we got back to the truck, we headed down to the village.  The sheep had moved to the side of the road.  

There was one guy that wasn’t sure if we should be passing and he kept us waiting while he strolled down the middle of the road.  We aren’t going to have this happen in Ontario.

We found a little warming hut and Ron started a fire.  I made our lunch and some hot drinks.  

We played a few games of Rook before packing up.  Ron was the big winner!

We burned up all of our wood because we are assuming that that was our last time for an afternoon fire in Waterton.  

19 days until our move day!

Steps To Moving

 One month from today we will take possession of our new home. It certainly is a process.  Our final move is courtesy of the RCMP which means we do everything according to their schedule which is okay when they cover the bulk of the costs. So let’s, step back and see how we got here.

August - we listed our house.  Over the next three months, we had a good number of showings but no offers.  As the three month contract approached, we decided to take the house off the market and wait until spring.  

November - The week before the agreement was to expire, we got the offer. We went to Ontario and shopped hard for a house but nothing firm was completed in the first seven days.  That first week was paid by the RCMP and after that we were on our own.

December - After three long weeks, over 30 houses and our third offer, we found the house we wanted to retire in.  We flew back to Alberta, decorated for Christmas, and had Stephen and Kylie come to celebrate.

January - we undecorated and left all the Christmas bins and boxes in the middle of the recroom floor.  Ron has been busy with talking to lawyers, finding insurance, getting tv and internet disconnected and connected, dealing with the propane company and the hot water heater situation.  I have worked on finances, giving dates for disconnects and making sure that we have hydro when we get to Tamworth. 

Our minds are constantly thinking about what we need to do next and going over lists of what we need to remember.  It will all happen but sometimes we need to just get out and clear our mind and that is what we did yesterday.  

So what else needs to be done:

• Clean out the storage area in the house
• Pull down all of the items from the shelves at the top of the garage
• Clean the appliances when we are done using them (the mini fridge and freezer are already empty)
• Continue to organize by putting things together so they will be packed and unpacked together 
• Go to Lethbridge to sign things at the lawyers and pick up the summer tires that have been stored at Honda
• Do a mail forward at the post office

We have also been doing all of our last appointments.  We had a dentist appointment and a massage. I have booked blood work, a doctor’s appointment and a hair appointment and we both have one more massage appointment.

Looking ahead:  

• February 9 & 12 - packing the house
• February 13 - load day and start our drive

Counting Down

One month from today our house closes in Pincher Creek.  We will no longer be homeowners in Alberta and will actually be homeless for 5 days.  It will be through those days that we travel to Ontario.  Our bank account will look good for a little while.

In the meantime, we continue to enjoy the area.  The weather has been bitterly cold and kept us close to home.  Today, the temperature rose a bit and we headed to the pass. Ron headed up the hill and I went towards the lake…no drastic inclines.

It was still cold but we were dressed for it.  I had been hesitant about going but the views, as always, didn’t disappoint.  

After I made it to the lake, I turned around and headed back towards the truck.  I put my skis away and grabbed my snowshoes and headed up the hill.  Once I was at the top, I met up with Ron.

We headed back down the hill.  He was able to go much faster but I always feel safer going down the hill on snowshoes.

Another gorgeous day in the mountains.  People say we will miss the mountains and that is true!

One Month

One month from today our western life will come to an end.  The movers will be loading our truck on February 13th and we will be spending Valentine’s Day somewhere on the road. 

Abby has always identified me as Nanny out west….I guess we will still be a little west of their home.

In the meantime, we are hibernating.  It’s been a very cold week!

It got down to feeling like -54 Celsius last night!