Family Time

We had a slow start to our day before getting on the road.  Relatives of Ron were on their way through to the maritimes and were stopping at Mike and Ellen’s for a visit.  Mike is Ron’s second cousin.  We drove to Prescott and pulled into their driveway.  We hadn’t been to this home before and it was a beautiful property along the St. Lawrence River.

We spent the next few hours reconnecting, meeting and waiting for others to arrive.  It had been a long time since I had seen everyone.  Ron had seen some at his mom’s funeral in 2022.  Once everyone had arrived, there were 16 of us ranging in age from about two to ninety-two.

There was a lot of catching up. Phones came out often to show pictures of a story that was being told.  Questions were asked about other family members and memories were shared of years gone by.

Around 5:00, the barbeque was started and the men took care of the burgers.  

The ladies brought out the salads and fixings and within a few minutes a feast was ready.

The visiting continued around bites, going back for seconds and sitting back contented.  Cake came out for a few birthday people and then the question was asked…chocolate or white?  

Just before 8:00, we said our goodbyes and gave and received hugs.  We promised it wouldn’t be so long before we did this again.  

It was a really nice day and very special to be with family.

May Long Weekend

On Friday, I went into Napanee for a massage and then Judy, Mom and I went out for lunch.  We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Napanee Riverfront Restaurant.  We decided that the meal was so good that we should try the dessert too.  We walked out of there very satisfied.

I picked up Sarah and we headed to Kingston.  While I was out enjoying a meal and dropping our girl off in Kingston, Ron was having lunch with an old friend from Sharbot Lake and then he went to golf with the black flies.

We both arrived home in time to watch the Leafs play and were surprised that they lived to play a game 7.

Saturday morning we went to the Tamworth Big Breakfast.  

Each month the volunteers do a breakfast for a different cause.  All the food is donated, including REAL maple syrup and all the donations go to the designated charity, project or person in need.  This month was for the Canada Day celebrations.  Tamworth knows how to give and how to celebrate.

We received an invitation for supper from new friends at the church.  Judy and Barry (Judy is another cousin) also came for the evening.  The view from their home was beautiful.

After a nice dinner, we played a new game.  I’m unhappy to report that the men beat the ladies by a tiny little bit.

Sunday morning arrived and we were off to church.  I visited in the foyer while Ron was in a board meeting.  Yes, Ron is the newest member of the church board and I’m the one that forgot to ask for the car keys before he went into the meeting.

There was a little bit of excitement, much trepidation and a lot of uncertainty for the evening’s activity.  Game seven for the Leafs against the Panthers was scheduled for 7:30.  Ron had to go to a sing at 6:30.  Due to the conflict of scheduling, Ron went to the sing and I stayed with the tv.  It seemed to be what would work best.  Apparently the sing went well and game seven did not.

Picture taken from the video on YouTube 

Monday morning came and I was busy in the kitchen.   I made buns and cookies to take to the 50 Plus service and lunch scheduled for Tuesday.  I also made sour dough granola bars and sticky rhubarb pudding from our own rhubarb.

We met Jett and his dad in Godfrey and got Sarah back.  She had a good weekend with friends and Jett’s family.  As we drove  she leaned up and gave me a gift for Mother’s Day (Nanny’s).  I opened the little box and cried.  It will be nice to carry around my beautiful grandchildren on a new keychain.

Ron is out cutting grass again as I type and Sarah went straight to her room.  Long weekends are great but sometimes more tiring than the regular routine.  

Just What We Do

We went to church this morning and it was good to see everyone.  We were one of the last ones to leave.  We stopped at Wendy’s for lunch and ran into cousins Tam and Katy.  We received an invite for supper due to our encounter.

Tammy made a great dinner and Gary and Denise were there to help eat it.  

After we were well fed the gamers gamed.

The hillbillies moved to the front porch.  Ron is adopted into the fam due to his musical ability.

I was the one that just didn’t fit in and got to enjoy my own little porch watching the dogs.

Just a day in the life of people from Tamworth.

Things To Do

Our day was spent back in Ontario but we kept moving.  We were up around 6:00 am, back to the routine.  I was so tired.  

Sarah and Ron left shortly after 7:00 am.  Sarah was off to school and Ron was getting new tires put on the car.  He stopped on the way home and had a visit with the cous’ clan.  New additions had been added to their herd. 

After my hair appointment, we went to Kingston for my uncle’s wake.

Uncle Johnny was always a big part of our family.  His wife was my mom’s sister.  Uncle Johnny and Aunt Juanita stood up for mom and dad in their wedding.  

A few years later when I came along, Uncle Johnny chose the name, Penny for me.  Years later when Ron and I got married, Uncle Johnny and Aunt Juanita’s sons’, Paul and Tim, were both in our wedding.  Uncle Johnny was always a big personality and one of my dad’s best friends.  There are lots memories of our two families doing things together.

We checked on Sarah to see if she wanted anything brought home.  She had decided to make herself dinner and I was quite impressed.

She had also stopped to pick up the mail.  We were excited to open something from our great niece.  Taylor has worked hard and her dedication has paid off.  Congratulations sweet girl!

Our evening then turned to game five of the playoffs. The Leafs didn’t disappoint this time.  They beat the Sens and are moving to the next round.

It’s time for bed now….hoping for a little longer sleep.

Live Goes On

We woke up to rain.  Coffee always tastes better on stormy days.  This was our last full day here.  Kylie made us a big breakfast.  I sat on the deck with a blanket over my lap eating my breakfast. Stephen, Ron and I went for a drive to the ocean.  Even with heavy clouds and rainy skies, it was pretty.  

We went for an afternoon walk with the dogs.  The dogs enjoyed some time in the water.  We filled the rest of the afternoon with games and snacks.

Tomorrow we fly to Vancouver.  

Tonight we are sitting watching the election results roll in.  I’m thankful that I don’t put my trust in the government.  Life continues no matter who gets in as prime minister.  We need to choose to keep looking up, stand together and keep going.  

On Our Own

Kylie got up and made us breakfast again.  German pancakes have become our favourite and it is a recipe that I am taking home.  German Pancakes 

Kylie was trying to squeeze the few things in her suitcase.  Ace was thinking she might like to sneak in on the cruise.

Stephen got an email from the airport that the plane wasn’t going to be able to land in Bella Coola so they needed to be at the airport sooner to take the bus up the hill to Anihim.  He was not excited about going up that hill in a bus but Kylie had done it before and said that it was fine.  When a bus or transport/semi are going up the hill, there is a radio channel for other oversized vehicles to turn to so that two large vehicles don’t meet.  This is a serious hill!

We drove them to the airport and they checked in their luggage.  

We went for a little walk to “the tree.”  

The bus arrived and off they went to the tarmac to load.  

They will be off to Vancouver for the evening before their flight tomorrow.

We are on our own now…well kind of.  We have two dogs and two cats that want to be very close to us right now.  We stopped on the way back to the house to pick up a few groceries.

When we came in we found a frying pan on the couch and the drawer from the air fryer on the floor.

They had been washed and were left drying in the sink.  I washed them again and put them away this time.

Sarah did some school work and then went to have a nap.

We had wanted to go to church but the Pentecostal church has been shut down for 10 years.

After supper, we took the dogs for a walk and managed to find our way back home again.  Princess, one of the local dogs led us for a little while.

We tried to get a picture of Sarah with the dogs…we tried!

Sarah is going to try the king size bed to see if she can collect all the animals for the night.