Our Thankful Thursday

Denise, the owner of the Soap Shack always calls today Thankful Thursday.  Denise is married to my cousin; so, she is a cousin by marriage and has become a special friend. We stopped by the shack today for a little visit.  We didn’t get past the little pond before I had to stop and take a picture of their falls and spring flowers.  

They have been adding to the pond and we noticed the little turtle hanging out on his own little island.

The fish were very interested in us standing close to the edge and were hoping for a handful of food to be flung their way.  

We moved in from the picturesque pond to the wonderful aroma of the soap shack.  Denise was busy making up packages for Mother’s Day.  What a perfect blend of handmade products made with care and packaged nicely to make for a perfect gift.  

I enjoyed a herbal tea before we asked to continue the tour to see the sheep.  Three new lambs were waiting for us.  

Cousin, Gary made his way into the enclosure and gently picked up one of the babies and handed him to me.  The little black face was so cute and he cuddled in for a while until mama started bleating for him.  The little lamb in my arms squirmed and cried back.  I wanted to hold him longer but my heart went out to the mama sheep who was worried about her little lamb.  I handed him back over the fence and immediately he was calm and mama was happy.

We left Gary and Denise’s with some chives, rhubarb and a couple of other plants for the garden.

When Sarah got home from school and found out that we had a little visit with the baby lambs, she wanted to go.  We left the house early for her to get to youth and stopped for a cuddle with one of the babies.  It was the same response as before but so worth those few minutes to enjoy the new little additions to the Frizzell farm.

So we were thankful on this Thursday for family close by that share their experiences and their perennials with us.

Boat Ride to the Hot Springs

The weather was still cool but the sun was shining.  Today was our boat day.  We dressed in lots of layers with our bathing suit being the base layer.  Off we went to the marina.

Stephen and Kylie got the truck backed in and the boat launched, ready for the passengers.

The sun felt warm but the wind was cool and the further out, the colder it got.  We had hats, gloves and hoods on as we travelled across the water.  

Once again, the views were beautiful and it didn’t matter which way you looked.

Stephen and Kylie pointed out different things along the way while always looking for any sea creatures.

We arrived at the very natural Tallheo Hot Springs.  Stephen dropped us off at the rock and then anchored the boat in the very cold ocean.  He put on his wet suit and was able to walk to shore. We soaked in the two hot pools.

The sun had warmed up the air a bit but it was still cool once we got out of the warm water and had to dress to get back into the boat.  When it was time to go, Stephen put his wet suit back on and this time had to swim to the boat because of the tide coming in.

On the way back Kylie and Sarah saw a whale.  We all got to see porpoises.  Sarah was very excited. 

Kylie and Stephen spent some time in the afternoon packing for their cruise. In the evening, we played some games.

 It was another great day.

Time to fly

Yesterday was a full day!  We left our house around 6:00 a.m. and drove to Napanee in snow!!  We parked the truck and got on the Megabus to get to Toronto.  The roads were icy and we saw a few accidents on the  east bound and we were only a little delayed but didn’t have any major issues.

We were dropped at the airport around 10:30 and then we just had to wait.  We put some steps on dragging our luggage around the terminal.  Sarah pulled out school work and got quite a bit done.

The highlight of the airport’s long wait was that Sarah was able to get the biggest Starbucks drink ever and she sipped on it for hours.

On one of our walks we saw a little flock of birds that had somehow gotten into the building.  We watched them for a little while and saw how smart they were.  They would fly to a fountain to get a drink.  Where does the expression “bird brain” come from?

Around 4:30, we were headed down the ramp to the airplane.  I’ve got some pretty nice travellers with me.

At 5:00 pm, we were on our plane, headed west. We spent five hours sitting, eating, playing games, listening to music, watching shows and yes, Sarah had to visit the bathroom twice….remember that very large drink!

We arrived in Vancouver at 7:00 pm local time which would be 10:00 Ontario time.

It was about an hour later that we were able to get our luggage, find the shuttle and check into our hotel.  We talked to Stephen twice….we are a bit excited to see him and Kylie and their fur family.

We were ready for bed after a 19 hour day.

This morning while updating the blog…I had some extra help.

These guys go everywhere with Sarah!

Side note….thanks to my wonderful cousins for looking after us while we are gone…looking after our truck, house and back up if anything goes wrong.

Sailing

Today was the day!

 It was time to take the sailboat out.  We packed up some lunches, snacks and fishing equipment and headed to the port. Sailing needs wind and the water was like glass.  We were not going to give up.  

Stephen used the motor to get us out in the channel.  We thought we felt a breeze so the motor was turned off and then nothing.  

It really didn’t bother us.  We sat in the calm water and soaked up some sun.  Stephen grilled some cheese sandwiches and Kylie made us tea.  No complaints from us.  Just as we finished our lunch, the water had a slight ripple.  

Kylie turned the sails this way and that and we were moving.  What a thrilling feeling..using the wind to move across the water. Kylie slowly zigzagged along the channel.  The further we went, the more wind we had in our sails.  It was exciting and sometimes a little scary when the boat would lean towards the water. After awhile we headed back to the port. 

 The weather had changed, the sun was gone and the temperature was cooler.  Stephen had tried fishing all along the way, and even though he didn’t have any luck, our sailing day was a success!

All good things come to an end…like a good day of sailing and our visit with Stephen and Kylie.  Tomorrow we start our trip home with a few stops along the way.

Last Day!!!!

When Ron and I got married 40 years ago this Sunday, he was a breakfast manager at McDonalds.  True story! Shortly after that, he took the five or six week course to become a Real Estate Agent.  

He sold houses for a couple of years before we moved to Peterborough for him to go to college at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College.  He got his Bachelors of Theology with Honours!! I received my PHT (Put Hubby Through).  It was actually a thing…I have the certificate to prove it. I’d like to think that I did it with honours too.

For 19 years, we pastored in three churches, all in Ontario.  We thought we would be doing that forever but God led us in a different direction and that is when the RCMP life started. Through the past 14 years, he has worked in 5 different posts (more if you count the times he went to other towns to do relief work).

• 1983 - Breakfast Manager
• 1983-1985 - Real Estate Agent
• 1985-1989 - Student at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College (now called Masters) He worked at DuPont during the summers.
• 1989 - 1991 - Assistant Pastor in Gananoque, Ontario
• 1991-1999 - Senior Pastor in Sharbot Lake, Ontario 
  
  
  
• 1999 - 2008 - Senior Pastor in Frankford, Ontario
  
  
  
• November 2008 - April 2009 - Cadet at the RCMP Training Depot
  
  
  
• 2009 - 2013 - Constable in Swift Current, Saskatchewan (Rural)
  
  
  
• 2013 - 2015 - Constable in Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan 
  
  
  
• 2015 - 2018 - Constable in Three Hills, Alberta
  
  
  
• 2018 - 2023 - Corporal in Brocket, Alberta 
  
  
  

During the past 40 years, Ron has worked at a different places doing different jobs.  He has seen people who have made decisions that have changed their lives for the better and the worst.  We have lived in areas where there are rivers, islands, lakes and creeks.  We have gone from trees to a tree on the prairies.  We have lived where there were three hills and moved to a place where we are surrounded by mountain ranges.  We have tried to enjoy each place.  We have canoed, cross country skied, biked (pedal and motorcycle), hiked and have met so many great friends along the way.

Today, Ron backed out of the driveway to go to work for his last time.  Tomorrow starts a new chapter…retirement!  I know that we will enjoy many new experiences.  We will move to a new place, meet new people and reacquaint with old friends.  We can enjoy each sunny day and do nothing on the stormy ones. Our schedule will be now what we want to do and not wait for the days off because now, everyday will be a day off.

Happy Retirement to Ron!