What’s In A Name?

I called a friend on Wednesday night and asked what she was doing.  She responded with “nothing, what do you want to do?”  We set a plan in motion.  Kevin and Pam were going to meet us at our house at 7:00 am with their kayaks.  Sarah said that she didn’t want to go with “us” but then learned that us included two extras and so she decided to drag herself out of bed.  Our first visitor wasn’t Pam and Kevin though…Penny, the neighbour cat showed up for breakfast.

After Penny had her breakfast, Sarah had hers and Kevin and Pam arrived.  They followed us down Mountain Road.  After living in Alberta, we wonder why this road is named that.  There are no mountains in Ontario. Oh well…what’s in a name?  Really…Penny, the cat??

Back to my story…we arrived at Eagle Lake and if you are getting in your mind that we drove up a mountain to a lake where eagles soared, you would have to change your thinking.  We drove along a somewhat curvy, unelevated road and we did not see one eagle.  The lake would be more aptly called, Loon Lake because we did encounter a number of these.

Speaking of names….we once hiked to Lost Lake.  We wondered if after being there it should be called Found Lake??

We set out paddling.  Kevin and Pam were in their kayaks, Sarah on a paddle board and Ron and I in our canoe.

It was a beautiful morning.  We paddled and chatted.  Ron and I went around Comet Island since we were working together in our canoe and the others were all independent.  Once again, we have no idea how this island got that name.  We didn’t see any comets, satellites or even stars.

We enjoyed our morning even without mountains and eagles.  Loons on a lake made for a good day and I’m talking about birds!

Sunday

This morning we went to church with a cooler packed for an after church picnic.  We met at the conservation park with some of the people from the church.  Some had packed lunches, some had bought them.  People mingled and visited and the children played.  It was a nice time.

On our way home, Ron and Sarah talked about the next activity and for them, it was a nap.  My plan was to get my 10,000 steps while they slept.  I just finished when Pam called and asked if we wanted to go on the pontoon boat to the sing at the park in Deseronto.  I woke the two sleepy heads up and we got ready to go.  It was a beautiful evening.  We met Pam and Kevin at the dock, along with Brad and Nylene.  We headed up the river and the boat started having a mind of its own.  It would slow up without Kevin adjusting the speed.  Pam, Ron and Brad checked to see if seaweed was tangled in the motor but that didn’t seem to be the problem.  We travelled a little further and things didn’t get any better.  Kevin made a captain decision and decided to do a u-turn and head back.  We made it.  We docked and sat and visited.  I got a notification that the power was out at the house so it was a nice place to wait out the hydro workers.  Ron and Brad did a coffee run and we stayed for a little longer.

When we got home the power was still out.  We got ready or bed with the use of candles and phone lights.  I was just putting on my face cream from The Soap Shack and dropped the jar.  Cream and glass came down on the candle that I was using for light. The candle burned out and I was left in the bathroom in the dark with a broken jar of cream.  Ron and Sarah came to the rescue with more light.  What a mess!  Ontario Hydro owes me a jar of face cream!!

At 10:00 pm the power came back on.  The fridge started beeping and the lights lit up our bedroom.  I silenced the fridge and shut off the lights.  I checked the bathroom for any glass that I missed cleaning up and decided to call it a night.  

Days Like These

Days like these come every once in a while.  The ingredients are perfect weather, no plans, and an invitation from good friends. Kevin and Pam sent us a text that they were on their boat at an island near Old Fort Henry.  We parked at the Fort and carried the kayak down to the shore.  We texted Pam across the channel and told her that we were on the way.  I paddled in the kayak while Ron swam toward the island.  

Kevin and Pam had spent the night and they had just finished their breakfast when we “pulled in.”

We sat on the boat enjoying the breeze and talking.

We went for a walk across the small island just to see the other side.  Pam and I went to the tower where Pam and Kevin’s kids use to take the island by force many years ago. Thankfully, we didn’t have to do any battles on this day.

We walked back to the boat and the sun was getting hotter.  We jumped in the lake.  The water was refreshing and it felt so good.  We floated around for a while and then Pam started lunch.  They fed us well.

After lunch, we visited some more and then had to get going.  Ron wasn’t told to “go jump in the lake” but that is exactly what he did.  

I paddled beside him and we made it back to the other side.  It took us a little while to get our bearings but we did manage to find the path that where we had started from and got back on shore.

It was just one of those days…a perfect one!

Kindred Spirits

Everyone should have at least one!  It’s that friend that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen them in months, you just pick up like you were talking to them yesterday.  They are people that you laugh and cry with and seem to send you a message just when you need it most.

I’ve been blessed over the years to find a few of these special people.  Kindred spirits are what we might call it…like Diana and Anne with an E.  (from Anne of Green Gables)

On Saturday morning, I got a text from one of those special people asking me to come to her cottage if I wasn’t doing anything.  I threw a few things in my overnight bag and headed towards Cobourg.  We spent the first two hours talking.  We discussed the good, bad and ugly and then made our salad lunch.

We went for a walk around the grounds even though it was super hot.  We enjoyed the gentle breeze from the front deck and then decided since we had a salad for lunch, we should do the chip truck for supper.

Of course, after poutine, another walk was on the agenda.  Before bed we spent some more time chatting with a tea cup in hand.

After a relaxing and a full day of conversation, we called it a night, thankful the cottage was air conditioned.

In the morning, I had a coffee and toast and then headed to church.

Thanks Cheryl for inviting me and for being you!

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." Anne, from Anne of Green Gables

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.  

Happy New Year

As the calendar switched to 2024, so did our minds take a turn.  Reality has set in.  WE ARE MOVING!  It’s the waiting that is the hardest. Even though the RCMP hire packers, there are still a lot of things to think about.  Ron has been busy on the phone and iPad organizing things.  We have dismantled some equipment and still have others to do.  I took down the Christmas decorations and all the bins are in the middle of the floor downstairs.  For the next five weeks, we will live with clutter and organized chaos.  We are excited about the move but have all those familiar feelings.  We have enjoyed our time in Pincher Creek.  We love the mountains, the hikes, snowshoeing and cross country skiing.  I don’t even like to think about saying goodbye to the friends here. 

On Wednesday, we drove to Calgary to have a visit with our nephew and his family.  This has been another great thing about living in Alberta.  We were able to reconnect with Dustin and Katie and their adult kids. It was a great dinner and a nice time.  I will miss this but am trying to encourage them to come for an Ontario visit.

On Thursday, a family that we adopted, came for a visit.  Japhia brought soup and I made pie.  We played games and enjoyed lots of laughs. Once again, we did our best to sell Ontario so that they would come for a visit.

Yesterday, we drove to Waterton.

 We did a little walk around the village.  It was cool and windy but still so pretty.  

Sarah told us that we are going to miss the park and yes, she is right.

It started to snow when we were going to bed last night and this morning our world has turned white.

The countdown is on…5 weeks and two days and the moving truck will be pulling out with us not too far behind.

Christmas Catch Up

Normally, I would start decorating our house for Christmas the middle of November but this year things went a little crazy.  Getting an offer on our house right when I would normally be pulling out the many bins definitely threw my schedule off.  So, instead of decking the halls, we were throwing things in a suitcase and heading off to Ontario to buy our forever home.

Finally, after three weeks, many kilometres, three offers and perhaps a few tears along the way…we were able to check that huge purchase off of our list of things to do.

We arrived back in Pincher Creek on Tuesday afternoon and unpacked.  Wednesday morning the bins, boxes and trees came out of hiding.  By that evening, the house was looking very festive.

The next day, Ron and I both had massages.  I was told that my neck was extremely tight. Stress…perhaps!

Friday morning, we headed to the mountains.  A massage may remove some stress but there is nothing like the view of the mountains to help you relax.  

We took our skis and snowshoes to see what activity the snow would allow us to do.  In Pincher Creek, we have green grass but the mountains shared a little winter with us on that day.  We went further than I expected but it was just too nice to stop.  

Apparently, the warm weather has confused the bears because we did see some tracks of them roaming. And yes, we will miss our mountains when we move!

On Saturday, we had a relaxing day and then on Sunday, we went to church.  It was nice to see everyone.  I went to Tracey’s for an afternoon tea and we visited for a couple of hours.  I’m going to miss her.  I’m thankful for modern technology to help friends from far and wide to connect.  It’s not the same but it helps with the goodbyes.

Another week as gone by since then and it makes you wonder how time can fly by so fast.  Christmas will be here and gone before we know it.  January will bring lots of preparations and February will be our move month but stop, I need to enjoy the moment.  I’m sipping on my last bit of coffee with the Christmas lights adding some ambiance…time goes by too fast and so does the coffee.

What’s Been Happening?

Our house has been getting some more attention but still no offers.  It sure would be nice to have it sell before we go home and mess it up.  The weeks have been flying by while we hang out at the lake.  We have been all over.  On Sunday, we went to the Sharbot Lake church where we pastored for 8 years.  Abby was with us and we came back to the trailer to kayak and swim.

Monday - we got going early to drop Abby off at school and then we toured around the Thousand Island Parkway and enjoyed the weather and the views.  

We had a visit in the afternoon with old friends from the first church that we pastored.  Ralph and Diane served us coffee/tea and cheesecake and then sent us home with their own maple syrup.

Tuesday - Ron and I drove to where my dad had a hunting camp for years.  

We walked all over reminiscing and looking for trails that had grown up lots.  

After about 20,000 steps, we found our way back to the car.

Wednesday - Ron and I went in different directions.  He went to Ottawa to visit with his uncle and cousins.  I went with Jenn and had a visit with Ron’s cousin, Kathy.  She has a little shop with lots of great things.  Jenn bought a pair of shoes and I splurged and bought new sandals and blundstone boots.  

An old friend, Thelma had us over for a delicious lunch.  We share the same birthday and it was really nice to see her and Rick.

Thursday - we took Sarah to the hospital to get her wrist checked.  She had hurt it in basketball and needed a doctor’s note in order to play in the games on Friday.  After over 7 hours of waiting, X-rays, and more waiting she received a cast instead of a note.  The poor girl was devastated at having to miss the games and more.  The orthopaedic nurse gave her a choice of cutting her shirt or a hospital gown.  Sarah was horrified at the thought of a lululemon shirt being destroyed and so she was rocking the hositpal gown.

Today - we were up bright and early to drop the newly casted girl off at high school.  She’s a tough one.  We then drove down to Prince Edward Country.  It’s always a treat to cross on the ferry.  

The beaches in the provincial park are so beautiful and we enjoyed walking in the sand.

We have had such amazing weather for September.  We are hoping to stay at least one more week before making our way back to alberta where the snow could fly anytime.