Category Archives: Family

From Zero to Hero – Day 4 and Saying Good-bye to my Son

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….a challenging day overall…lots of company and one last meal with B and Az

Today’s assignment: follow five new topics in the Reader, and begin finding blogs (and bloggers) you love.

One way to increase readership is to follow other people’s blogs and make comments. Invariably they will come back to your blog to check you out. Today we are encouraged to branch out and investigate topics that we haven’t considered before. I’ve chosen the following five topics (some suggested by WordPress):

Stereotypes: Livicatherine  and You’ve Got to be Kidding and Rural to Roaming

Flaneur: The English Department and Around a Red Table

Coffee Culture: Cody Delistraty and Just Add Attitude and Filter(ed)

Owls:  My Eco-centric Life and Owl Moon (it’s amazing how many sites pop up when you type the word owl)

Humour: Singing Pigs and Life With the Top Down

Day 4 – The Daily Task

Today was a busy day with saying good-bye to our son and his fiancé. My friend, L came over to say hello and good-bye all at the same time and A and J came for an hour to say a final farewell. I knew that today would be a difficult day to tackle something new so I did what I said I would and that was finish reading the book The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. Reviewers used words like, charming, delightful, hilarious, compelling, unforgettable, unique and clever. I guarantee that you won’t want to put it down.

It’s been snowing off and on today, but mostly on and right now it’s very wet and heavy. Unfortunately I didn’t get out for my daily walk. I’ll have to do double duty tomorrow. Here’s hoping for a safe and uneventful flight back to the Netherlands for both B and Az. I miss you already. Love, hugs and kisses. Mom

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From Zero to Hero – Day 3

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….. in a previous post I told you I didn’t fix things that involved electricity…I lied

Today’s assignment: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog.

This post is one that I hesitated to publish because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was feeling somewhat melancholy after spending 3 wonderful days with my entire family. I think I was at a peak of euphoria when everything around me seemed to crash. Luckily the feeling was short lived and I’ve had more memorable moments with my son. For that reason the following post has been altered somewhat to reflect on the positive more than the negative.

 Feeling a Little Melancholy

Posted on January 4, 2014

….after three wonderful days with family

I knew that when my son came to visit, he would need to spend time with his friends. I just didn’t know that it would hit me so hard. I’ve looked forward to his visit for so long and when things didn’t go exactly as had been planned I experienced deep disappointment. There were times when I felt I was doing a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. So unlike me. I usually make things happen.

On the 30th of December, my son and his twin sister celebrated their birthdays. Earlier plans changed slightly to accommodate extra guests that been invited.  Originally G and Az were suppose to prepare the meal at G’s place and we were all going over there for a big Iranian feast. G’s place, however,  is just too small so the party was moved to my place. All in all it turned out to be a great meal and the important part for me was that I had my family together again.

I’m not complaining. I’m just overwhelmed and emotional. I love all my children and they all left the nest years ago. I wasn’t one of these moms that couldn’t cut the apron strings. When they left I was happy that they were starting on a journey to establish their own lives and when they call or visit I’m happy. My son, however, moved far away and I haven’t been able to hug him and reach out to him. So now that he’s here I think I expect more from him.

B and Az left on Thursday and took a train to Montreal for a three of day adventure. They’ll be back late tonight and then on Sunday they fly back to the Netherlands. Sigh!

Now I have a wedding to look forward to. The dates and the venue haven’t been decided but Turkey was mentioned as a possible destination. Smiling!

Day 3- My Task for the Day

Early this morning I fixed the lamp. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was not comfortable doing anything electrical but the lady in the store, yesterday showed me how easy it was to replace the part on the lamp. She was right. Here are some pictures documenting this momentous occasion.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

 

 

 

 

Success!

Success!

 

 

 

 

 

The lamp with its brand new shade.

The lamp with its brand new shade.

Once the lamp was repaired I checked my list to see what other job I would tackle today. I decided to wash and organize my night table and the ledge on the bay window behind my bed. Over the holidays and probably some time before that those two areas had become dumping grounds for my jewellery, hair accessories and creams and cosmetics. I love costume jewellery and never seem to have enough. As you can see from the before and after pictures it had become quite impossible to find anything.

IMG_0178 IMG_0183On the window sill I needed to reorganize my jewellery and dust off the pictures. I actually threw a few things away and found a new home for some of my heavier and longer necklaces (in my closet). I really do have too many pieces and I should probably separate the pieces that I wear all the time from the ones I never wear. What I do with the latter I’m not sure but I’m sure I can find them a good home somewhere.

IMG_0180 IMG_0181 IMG_0179 IMG_0182  I was on a roll and when I finished this area of my bedroom I also decided to clean off my bookshelf which also becomes a dumping ground. Here is the after picture.IMG_0184

I’m enjoying this job a day challenge. Tomorrow might be a bit more difficult. My son and his fiancé are leaving for the Netherlands in the late afternoon and company is arriving tomorrow to see them off. One of the ‘jobs’ that I have to complete is read The Rosie Project before Monday and I need to start on some books for school. So I think tomorrow’s jobs will involve reading.

Day 3 – Walking

I was worried that I might not get out for my walk today so I made sure that my husband was up for a walk after dinner. It’s warmed up considerably since yesterday so the walk was very pleasant. In fact, on the way out we were almost too warm but coming back we were walking into the wind and were glad for our warm coats and mittens. In total the walk covered 3.7k.

 

My Twin Babies Turned 32 Yesterday

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….a hectic but fun day

The day started early with a visit to Sherway Mall to look for a winter parka for Az and a birthday present for my son. I had already purchased his sister’s present long before Christmas but we didn’t know what B needed or wanted so I waited until his arrival to Canada to find out.

It turns out that B really needed new shoes. It was his lucky day. Between his fiancé, Az and me, he ended up with three new pairs of shoes, 2 casual and one dressy. We also found a warm and stylish winter parka for Az, which will come in very handy when they go to Montreal later this week. It’s always colder in Montreal.

After our shopping spree we headed to Costco for gas and groceries. Az wanted to prepare an Iranian feast for us and what better time than for a birthday celebration. We were expecting 10 people for dinner and even though they had picked up a load of groceries at the Iranian grocery store (who knew) we still still needed a few extra items to round out the meal. One of the things we bought was a birthday cheesecake for B and G. I know that’s not very Iranian but it’s a bit of a birthday tradition in our house. Turns out that more desserts were brought by others and I have a lot of cake left over.

The girls hard at work.

The girls hard at work.

Once we got home Az and our daughter, G started to cook and cook and cook. When Az told me that 1 kg of rice wasn’t enough, I was shocked so when I picked up our other daughter, A, her partner J and our son-in-law we made another stop at a store to purchase more basmati.

The green olives were the best I've ever eaten. They were purchased at the Iranian market. The marinade included ground walnuts and it became a great dipping sauce as well.

The green olives were the best I’ve ever eaten. They were purchased at the Iranian market. The marinade included ground walnuts and it became a great dipping sauce as well.

When all the guests arrived the place was buzzing with activity. I noticed that Az was not happy with one of her dished and was quite upset. I tasted it and I thought it tasted wonderful. I passed it around to a few more guests to sample and they all agreed that she needed to serve it. Ignorance is bliss. It really did taste devine but I’m sure if it had turned out the way she wanted it would have been better but we didn’t have anything to compare it to. The whole meal was an explosion of taste in the mouth. I’m sure I could never recreate it on my own but our daughter G has a little more experience and hopefully I don’t have to wait for another visit from B and Az before we can experience this meal again.

Of course there was way too much food, especially desserts. My husband is hoping we don’t have to go grocery shopping for awhile. My fridge is jam packed with leftovers and the cheesecake is sitting outside in a cooler bag on the deck where it is frozen solid.

Thank goodness there aren’t anymore major birthdays now until the summer. My waistline can’t afford more days like this.

Cheers!

Things I’m Grateful for in 2013

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….despite a few ups and downs we’ve been blessed this year

Health

My husband continues to be ‘cancer’ free. His scans have been positive and for the most part is blood work is good. He’s suffered from shingles again but he’s on the mend and we’re waiting hear about surgery for his thyroid in the New Year.P1030973

I’ve been healthy this year. My weight goes up and down but I’m still more down than up and all my tests have come back with good news. Even my eyesight has improved to the point where I don’t need to wear glasses for driving anymore. I ran another 5k this year and I improved on my time from the year before.

My father has fully recovered from his fall this summer and is back to his daily walks with the dog.IMG_0066

Family

We visited with my husband’s family in Ireland this summer and met up with our son who we hadn’t seen in a year and a half. We also met his girlfriend for the first time.

This Christmas all my children and their significant others, including our son and his girlfriend spent Christmas Eve with us. On Christmas Day it snowed some more so Az truly experienced a white Christmas.IMG_0041

My sister in Chatham has been preparing for her wedding in January and we convinced my father to attend the wedding. We booked and paid for his train ticket and we will be going with him the day before the big event.

My brother-in-law surprised my sister in Calgary, on her birthday (Christmas Day) with a visit from her two sisters (me and C from Chatham) this coming March. He’s paid for our plane fares and is planning some more surprises when we get there. This is as much a surprise and treat for the two of us as well.

The biggest surprise happened Christmas night when my son announced that he proposed to his girlfriend, Az. My husband and I were the first to be told the joyous news but the phone calls to Iran, the U.S. and the sisters in Toronto soon followed.P1030978

Avoiding Disaster

This summer Toronto experienced an overwhelming amount of rain and thousands of homes were flooded. We, luckily, stayed dry and weren’t inconvenienced. This past week we were hammered with ice and again we were safe and warm and not in the dark. Thousands of homes around us (literally over 250 000) were affected with power outages and temperatures well below freezing. For many families the power still hadn’t come back on for Christmas. As of today there are still over 35 000 families without power (one whole week).

Doing a Job That I Love

Even though I could have retired almost two years ago, I continue to teach because I love it. I love the kids, I love what I teach and I love the people I work with. My colleagues and many members of the community have been so supportive and caring. They are like a second family. Thank you all for making coming to work a joy.

Friends, Old and New

This year I’ve continued to stay connected to old friends from high school and I’m ever grateful for all of my friends. It takes effort to stay in touch when you move or change jobs but it’s worth it. Thank you for all the dinners, movies, canoe trips, concerts, walks, yoga classes and long talks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.

My Blogging Friends

I couldn’t possibly mention all the people that follow me but I am most appreciative of those that take the time to write to me on a regular basis. I love hearing from you and the encouragement you give me to keep doing what I’m doing. When I started on this journey I had no idea where it would take me or how long it would last. It’s been almost two years and I don’t see stopping anytime soon. Thank you Mark, Viveka, Leanne, Mary, Beth, Dorothy, Rosemarie, Paul, Ann, Anne, Lee and Baz. I’m sure I’ve one or two of you but please be assured that your comments are always appreciated.

Happy New Year everyone! All the best in 2014.

My Favourite Decorations

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…..homemade are always the best and then those that have been lovingly gifted by a special friend

As I decorated my tree this year, I discovered that I was more particular as to what went on the tree. One of the reasons for cutting back on the decorations had to do with the size of the tree. Every year for the last few years I’ve been down sizing when it comes to choosing my tree. I used to look for one that was tall and full but in my little house that really didn’t make much sense and as the family has grown to include significant others space has become an issue. This Christmas Eve we had 11 adults over and when it came time to open presents the living room was jam packed with bodies.

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I digress, however, so back to the topic that I started with. Decorations. As a child I used to love the glass ornaments that my mother brought with us from Germany. They were brightly painted and very delicate and more than once I remember breaking one or two because I chose to play with them when they should have been left undisturbed on the tree. Some of them were in the shape of instruments and actually played a tuned when you blew into them. Oh how tempting for a six year old to remove them from the tree and try them out. Sadly all these beautiful ornaments have disappeared over the years.

When I married I started to collect ornaments for my own tree. Over the years my friend AB gifted us unusual and beautiful ornaments to adorn our tree and in my crafty days I made numerous objects to hang on the tree. One of the simplest ornaments that I made was a walnut sprayed with gold paint and adorned with a red bow. I’ve had a box of these for over 20 years.IMG_0009 When my oldest daughter left the nest she also started to make ornaments for the tree. Her choice of medium is felt and she has created some very unusual pieces, including a human heart (she’s a medical illustrator by profession). One of the first ornaments that she gave us was a cute felt squirrel because she knows how much my husband loves (NOT) those pesky little rodents.IMG_0005

 

 

 

 

 

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Over the years my collection has grown partly because of my friend, AB who I have known for over 35 years. She has made it a tradition to give me ornaments every year. I’ve received little fans, wooden angels, apples, and numerous other glittery and mostly red ornaments.

I’ve met some very talented people over the years. One of them is a neighbour who used to paint beautiful characters onto fabric and then sew around the painting and stuff them. They were small enough to be hung on a tree and I have saved and cherished her work for many years. Another neighbour and good friend has a sister who also used to sell her handiwork and one of her Santas has become one of my favourites.P1040004 P1030998

 

As my collection grew I started to give away some of my ornaments to my children, especially ones that I made.  It’s nice to know that they have good homes and maybe some day will be passed on to other generations. One can only hope.

Hope all of you had as happy a Christmas as I did. The celebrations continue at our house.  Boxing Day with my father, a trip to Niagara Falls, and a birthday celebration for our twins (going on 32). New Year’s Eve will probably be quiet but you never know.

Cheers!

Planting Tulips in December

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….temperatures warmed up enough to get a shovel in the ground

Sunday, December 1st…the first advent of the Christmas season and I’m in the garden planting tulip bulbs. About three weeks ago a parent at school kindly gifted me 40 tulip bulbs and advised me to plant them that weekend. I told her I had problems with squirrels digging up all my bulbs in the past so she also brought me a small bag of hen poop. Apparently they don’t like the smell. We’ll see.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the bulbs in the ground when the weather was warmer and the soil was still soft. Life just got in the way. Last weekend when I had some time I pulled out the trowel and almost broke it when I tried to turn the soil. It was so cold that the ground was frozen solid. Winter had arrived early.

This past weekend we were having the kids over for our annual pre-Christmas goulash and mulled wine party. I wanted to start decorating the house to get in the festive mood so I pulled out the outdoor lights. After testing each string and hauling the ladder out from the garage I started to drape the yew in front of the house. I noticed that the ground was pretty muddy so I decided to take advantage of the conditions and get my bulbs into the ground.

So there I stood in the drizzling rain, bent over and digging holes in the garden. My neighbours must have thought that I was crazy.P1030767 Once all the bulbs were in the ground I continued to decorate the tree with the outdoor lights. It was still raining as I was literally tossing the strings over the branches. I made several trips into the house and I noticed that I was tracking in a lot of mud.

With only a couple of hours left before the kids arrived I got out the pail and mop and washed the floors, cleaned the mud from my shoes and set the table for our meal. I then drove up to the liquor store to buy the wine for our mulled wine or gluewine as we call it. My husband was in charge of making the goulash.

When the kids arrived we enjoyed some appetizers and cups of mulled wine while the spaetzle cooked. I underestimated the amount of  German noodles that I needed to cook but there was more than enough of the goulash to go around. Everything was delicious. After dinner our son-in-law brought out the board game we bought him for his birthday and we all learned how to play Small World: Underworld from Days of Wonder. When the rules were being explained to us I really didn’t think I’d get the hang of it but once we started to play I was on a roll. In the end I tied for second place. My son-in-law, the game board master, was impressed with my standing.

Less than three weeks of school left before we’re off for the holidays. The Hundertwasser projects are coming along nicely and hopefully I’ll be able to post some of the finished projects in the next day or so. I’d better get off to bed. I have to get up early for more basketball practises. We play in the semi-finals next week. Till later.

Cheers!

Christmas Shopping On-Line

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…..easy if you know what you want and don’t go for the first link

More and more I’ve been shopping on-line for Christmas presents. One of the reasons is that my adult children post everything they would like on-line with links as to where one can purchase the items. It really makes it easy but I have discovered a few glitches along the way.

First of all, when you’re ordering from Canada the free shipping claim is often null and void. By the time you pay the shipping you’re not saving very much money, if any. This is true for Amazon. com. The shipping charge was more than $16.00 for one item and the Canadian taxes hadn’t been added either. When I went to Amazon.ca the same item was initially a little bit more expensive but even with taxes in and no shipping charge the final price was cheaper than the American price. So Canadians beware.

Amazon.com  and Amazon.ca are offering free shipping for a month on all items but after that you will be charged a $79.00 fee for the rest of the year. Personally I rarely shop on-line after Christmas so it doesn’t make sense to sign up for the free offer. If you’re willing to wait a few extra days for delivery you can get free shipping anyway. The lesson here is to read the small print.

If you use Paypal you can get a 5% discount back on all your purchases that you make for the next little while. I think its just from now until the first week in December but every little bit helps. I wish I could use Paypal for all my on-line purchases.

This year we used Elfster to organize our gift exchange. It’s been fun and it’s forced me to think about what I would really like for Christmas. At first I found it extremely difficult to write down what I wanted. I just couldn’t think of anything that fit within the $100.00 limit. I never have problems knowing what I’d like when I actually go shopping but the reality is that I probably don’t NEED anything. I did, however, come up with several items. Once I started I was on a roll and before I knew it I had nine items on my list. Some of them are over the limit but my husband doesn’t have to stick to the limit. The gift exchange doesn’t include significant others. I’m still responsible for getting my husband gifts and vice versa.

The best part of on-line shopping is having the parcels arrive at the door in a few days. It’s like Christmas opening the parcels, even though you know they’re for someone else. I think there’s some truth in the saying ‘It’s better to give than to receive’.

Cheers!

P.S. We’re finally having our gift exchange party tomorrow, even though we all know who we’re buying presents for. My husband is starting to feel better as he recovers from his shingles and is finally up to preparing his Gluewein and Goulash dinner.

Sports, Shingles, Supper and Shopping

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…..my week so far

Basketball

Last week, after a flurry of tryouts, we chose the girls’ basketball team. We had to go from 40 girls to 12 when choosing the team. Every morning since we’ve had early morning practices starting at 7:45. Tomorrow is the tournament. Yikes! I know that the season has been short but we literally didn’t get any information about the season until people started to ask when and where the teams would play. My friend, L swears that we’re going to win but I know for a fact that some schools have been practising for over a month compared to our seven days. Anyway wish us luck. If we win, however, it means more early morning practises and another tournament.

Shingles

No, not the ones on my roof. I’m talking about the painful kind that affects adults who’ve had chicken pox when they were children and no, I’m not the one who is suffering with it. Shingles is an infection of a band of nerves and results in a rash along that band. The pain can be moderate or severe. In my husband’s case, unfortunately his pain is severe and feels like stabbing pains under the skin. This is my husband’s second bout with this horrible infection. He’s on some antiviral medication that should help with the healing process but he’s already at day 10 and only today is he starting to feel somewhat better. There is a shot to prevent shingles but it costs about $200. for one dose. If K could take it, he says he’d pay $1000.00 to be pain free but because his immune system was compromised by his cancer he doesn’t qualify for the treatment. If you want more information about shingles click here.

Supper

My brother-in-law from Calgary called on Sunday and told us he was going to be in town on Tuesday on business. He wanted to get together and grab some dinner before he checked into his hotel. Not knowing how well K would be feeling we left it open as to where we would dine. I also didn’t know if I’d be having dinner because I already had made plans to have dinner downtown with a group of friends from work.

It turned out that my dinner was cancelled so when I got home I was able to join them. GS literally arrived a few minutes after I walked through the door and at that moment in time K wasn’t feeling too bad. So we got back into my car and drove over to the Junction to catch up with what was going on in GS’s life while we enjoyed a light dinner at the Indie Ale House. The evening went well but I could see that K was starting to fade so we had to call it an early night. I sure hope these shingles are gone before Christmas.

Shopping

Now I know that I told you that I didn’t need to shop for a long time but I can’t resist a great sale and I mean great. The doors were only open to family and friends and as a friend I couldn’t turn around and invite some of my friends. I did, however, buy some great gifts for my family and, well, I just couldn’t pass up a good deal, I picked up a few things for myself.   How can you say no to $100. sweaters for $15. 00 and designer blue jeans for $15.00.

Tune in tomorrow to see how we performed at the tournament.

Cheers!

 

Cleaning Wins Out Over More Shopping

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…..funny how I get the same satisfaction from organizing my space as I do from shopping

Yesterday I wrote that I might attend another craft show today but when I woke up it was bitter cold and there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground. It seemed like a perfect day to stay indoors and work on organizing my clothes.

I got an early start to the day. After a quick breakfast I checked my emails and then closed my laptop. I find I’m spending way too much time on the computer lately. I set a goal to clean out my closet and purge, purge, purge. I stripped all the beds and gathered up all the laundry around the house and from my husband’s car (i discovered that there was bedding still in the back of his car that he brought back from the cottage but didn’t bring into the house).

While the washer and dryer were going full tilt I started to go through all my clothes. I put away the summer clothes, took out the winter clothes and discarded clothing that didn’t fit anymore or I hadn’t worn in years. I folded and organized my 37 scarves (yes 37, not including the 4 I’m giving away or my woollen scarves), I packed three garbage bags with clothes and loaded them into my car and dropped them off at the Good Will store.

I vacuumed, did four loads of laundry, made chicken stock, returned two bags of bottles, cleaned the bird cage, cleaned the kitchen and managed to organize half of my bedroom. Now that the clothes are put away I can start organizing all my paperwork….ugh! A job for next weekend….maybe.

Now that my closet is organized I can see that I don’t need to go shopping for quite awhile. I also discovered some Christmas gifts that I had bought in the summer and had forgotten about. I put all the gifts in one of the blanket boxes at the end of my bed where I’ll be able to find them when I’m ready to wrap them. I’m usually a last minute wrapper but maybe this year I can get a head start on that as well.

I packed my gym bag and will place it in the car so that I have no more excuses for not going to the gym. I haven’t been in months, despite the fact that I’ve been paying for it every month. I need to leave school earlier and get a workout in before dinner. I have one more medical appointment tomorrow right after school and then I’m planning on stopping at the gym. I’ve packed my lunch for tomorrow and will be leaving extra early to get to basketball practice by 7:45. Our tournament is this Thursday.

Did I say I didn’t need to do any shopping for awhile? Hmmm! I forgot that I’m going to a special clothing sale on Tuesday after school. Maybe I’ll find some more gifts for the family.

Cheers!

Unexpected Pleasures

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…..the joys of spontaneity

I really didn’t have much in the way of plans for the weekend. The only thing that I really needed to do was buy new tires for my car. So early Saturday morning I dropped the car off at the Tire Centre at Costco and walked home. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the walk was invigorating. I made an unexpected stop at the library and successfully signed out the next book for our book club meeting in December. So far I’d logged in 5 kilometres of walking and it didn’t stop there.

When I got home I changed into my running shoes and joined my husband, my daughter, G, her dog, Lucy and our dog, Frances for a walk to Sam Smith Park. I brought along the camera and found lots of wonderful things to photograph. Again, I played around with the macro setting and got close and personal with some plant materials.

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Not only did I walk another 5 kilometres but some of that distance was covered with running. I didn’t want to get too far behind the family who were always a few steps ahead of me. The distance would get longer every time I stopped to take pictures so I found myself running to catch up. Near the end of the trail I found the group sitting on the rocks waiting for me. As you can see, Lucy has fully  recovered from her surgery.

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Later in the day, my other daughter called and wanted to meet and go to Ikea. We planned to rendezvous at Costco when I picked up the car but when I got to the tire centre the car wasn’t ready. I quickly called my husband to pick me and the girls up and drop us off at Ikea. This part of the day wasn’t so wonderful for K but the rest of us had a great time. Since it was already late in the day, we decided to have dinner together after our shopping adventure at Ikea. Again K picked us up and took me back to Costco to get the car and then we each had a job to do to get dinner organized. A and I were assigned to get the salad and wine and K, G and J were in charge of getting the pizza.

The day ended with a lovely unplanned dinner with all the girls. G’s husband was at a conference in North Carolina and our son of course is still in Rotterdam. We sent him a quick message to see if he still wants to participate in our Secret Santa draw but I haven’t heard back from him yet. Next week we’re getting together again for a planned meal where we will draw names to see who we will buy gifts for this Christmas. I didn’t think I’d like the Secret Santa concept but we’ve done it for a couple of years now and it certainly takes some of the stress off of buying gifts at Christmas.

Yesterday we got an unexpected phone call from old friends who live in Calgary. They were in town and wanted to get together before they go back on Wednesday. Today was the best time for all of us so we met at the house and then drove over to the Roncesvalle area and had a nice lunch at Hey’s. We had a long leisurely lunch and got caught up on what’s been happening in our lives. My husband and L have been friends since grade school and we all went to university together. We were at each other’s weddings and the births of our children. We literally had to drive L and L to the hospital when their first child wanted to enter the world in the middle of the night. As luck would have it, their car wouldn’t start at that crucial moment in time.

What a great weekend; fantastic weather on Saturday, walking 10 k in one day, an unplanned dinner with family and an unexpected visit from old friends. What more could you ask for? I hope your weekend had some special moments as well.

Cheers!