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.  

Piece by Piece

This week was a full one.  Sarah was registered in horse camp which meant leaving the house every day before 8:00 am.  The camp was about one hour away so we tried to plan things to keep us busy for the day.  Monday, we shopped for new furniture for Sarah’s bedroom.  It took us most of the day to look, decide and purchase.  Tuesday, we had the truck serviced and walked a lot and shopped a little.  Wednesday was our island day with Pam and Kevin.  Thursday was a no go day so we worked on moving Sarah’s old furniture out of her room.  On Friday, we picked up the bed and desk and did a little exploring which I will save for another blog.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Sarah was learning all about horses, doing some riding and looking after the big animals.  She really enjoyed the horse time but the rest of it was a little much but she did it.  

By the end of the week, the owner had asked Sarah if she would be interested in coming back as a counsellor.  That was straight from the horse’s mouth!

When we got home on Friday night, we were all tired but there was work to be done.  Sarah and Ron worked to put the furniture together.  

There were lots of pieces and careful instruction reading taking place.

After about the 900th step, they decided to finish the desk in the morning.  

As of now, the bed and desk are set up, waiting for the mattress to be delivered on Monday.  Sarah can then settle back into her room.

Piece by piece the week went by and piece by piece the furniture got together.

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!

Reconnecting

There are some friends that seem like relatives and some relatives that are friends.  Growing up, I had lots of cousins around and I loved that I had so many.  I especially loved having some that were also my friends.  One of them was Dana.  My mom came from a family of thirteen siblings.  She was the third youngest.  She had 10 older brothers and sisters and two younger brothers.  The brother that was closest to her in age had 3 girls just like my family.  Dana and I were close in age and also the middle children.  We spent a lot of time together as young girls.

Years passed and we went our separate ways and only followed each other through family updates and later Facebook.  In 1999, while going through Georgia, we stopped and had a little visit.  We may have seen each other since then but I’m not sure.

Now that we are living in Tamworth and she came “home” for a family wedding, Dana and Mark came for an evening visit.  Our front porch was full of conversation, catching up, reminiscing and leaning about each other’s journeys.  When the mosquitoes pushed us inside, the chatting continued.  Ron and Mark enjoyed a game of pool and darts and Dana, Sarah and I continued to talk.

It was a lovely evening and I’m so glad that Dana found the time to reconnect.  They are hoping to sell in Atlanta and move to Tampa…another great place to have a visit!

Ron wanted to share a little taste of our “Frizzell” syrup from this year and Dana approved of the taste!

Philip…another taste test has been approved.

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

It’s a Pickle!

I thought I had a really interesting and heart warming story to tell.  It started out like the hallmark movies I like to watch. You see, I like these movies because there is a bit of drama at the beginning, a turn around and always a happy ending.  Yes, they are very predictable but I’m okay with that.  The movies that have me sitting at the edge of my seat dreading what comes next just aren’t my thing. My story I am telling needs the warning, “some readers may be disturbed by the content of this blog and it may not be suitable for all readers.”

Well, this story began along the shores of Bella Coola.  A baby seal was tangled in a net and the police were called.  Another call was made to Fish and Game.  They made their way over to do a rescue which is all another story.  They worked to untangle this little one and set him free.

The decision by the conservation side was to leave the baby there hoping that mama would return for it. This would have been when the producers of the Hallmark movie would have stepped in and had mommy seal appear and acknowledge thanks for the rescue. Since she didn’t show, the policeman’s desire was to take it home and bottle feed it.  

The policeman put up a trail cam after the first day to watch and the baby remained alone.  On the second day, Pickle was taken to the vet.  His breathing wasn’t good.  They hoped that they could stabilize him and he would be flown to the Vancouver Aquarium, restored to health and returned to live where he was born.

The story does not have the happy ending.  Pickle didn’t make it.

I’m so thankful for a son who has such a soft heart.  He has always wanted to save things.  When he was younger, he volunteered at an animal sanctuary where injured birds and animals were taken.  He has rescued a bird off the streets of Calgary and has been called the dog whisperer.

This time, there was a sad ending but he tried and I know that the next animal that needs help, he will be there.  There have been many happy endings in his rescue stories.  You only have to follow his Instagram to see that. My Rescue Family

He also rescues suitcases and people too…and it’s more than just being his job!

This blog is dedicated to Pickle💔….and Stephen. 💙

Celebrating

Sarah and Jett have been dating for one year.  They wanted to celebrate and we offered to be their transportation since one is too young to drive and the other is just learning how to.

The driver said that the taxi was leaving at 7:30 a.m. and we managed to make it into the vehicle close to that time.  We headed for the 401 and drove west.  As always, the highway was busy.  We parked in Whitby and got on the GO Train for the next part of the trip.

We arrived in Union Station (downtown Toronto) and made our way to Sarah’s first choice of the anniversary celebrations.  Ripley’s Aquarium did not disappoint.  It was busy but very interesting.  At one point we were all on a revolving sidewalk that took us through tunnels of fish over our heads.  

The colours of the fish were pretty nice.  

Sarah decided to crawl through another tunnel just because she could.

Next on the agenda, Jett wanted to go up the CN Tower.  Ron and I decided to sit that one out.  He had already done it before and for me to walk on a glass floor that high in the air was something I was willing to miss.

They enjoyed their experience.

After a little lunch, we all did the tour of the Scotia Bank Center.

Our tour guide explained the history of the Leafs and Raptors and the background of the building.  There were lots of renovations going on.  The moment that Sarah had been waiting for almost brought her tears.  She sat in the spot where Mitch Marner use to sit.  

There wasn’t a shirt hanging there anymore.  Thankfully there were still some of our faves still there.

We went back to the Go train and headed east.  We found our way to our car and pointed it towards home.  We stopped in Belleville for supper and then arrived in Tamworth just as it was getting dark.

It was a full day of celebration.  Jett informed us that next year he would be driving.  I think that means that we won’t be invited.