The kids visted!

First: Happy anniversary to us! Grampa brought the steam ship model upstairs. It was a gift from another year. 

The day of our wedding, Aug. 22, 2002, we were married on my parent's front lawn, and all 9 if us took a dinner cruise. 

I was gifted 23 roses! They are beautiful! They looked even better the next day.

The kids arrived after work on Friday, bringing pesto sauce, spaghetti, a salad. This was our farewell before school begins. Jordan is off to Queens University on the 30th. (Astrophysics!) He's in residence, in a bedroom+ (AKA Can+), which means he and his 'roommate' have rooms on either side of a shared bathroom. 

Things sure have changed. The family has a two-hour window to move new students in, with 5 minutes in a special parking spot to unload stuff. They have been given maps to get show their routes to campus, with specific roads they are to take. It's quite organized. Classes begin Sept. 2nd! 

Aster is going into gr. 10.  She starts Sept. 2nd, as well. Band, French, guitar, math, and she's anxiously waiting to get her schedule. She took an online summer course (Careers and Civics), in order to have room in her schedule for guitar in first semester. She's been playing on her own, and has motivated me to play my autoharp. (My piano has to go to the dump soon!) 

Grampa gave Jordan his vintage 1972 Queens U. tie!

I decided to put on my wedge sandals! They don't compare with the grandies boots... We were headed out to say a final goodbye, and take more photos, I needed some height.

Jordan tied his tie himself. His voice has changed with his trans treatments. He's taking hormones,  Grampa is taking anti-andigens! Grampa's voice hasn't changed. Thankfully! One of them is getting more hair, the other is losing it. We think it is rather funny. Hooray for science, though.

Our family, beside their EV, ready to drive back to Ottawa.

Gramma was standing on her tip toes, and still I'm shortest!

We had a good laugh over that.

Sunday, our cyclist from the US arrived on his way through to Ottawa, more on that another day! 

Happy anniversary!

I was given a lovely Mother's Day present from Caitlin. A beautiful spot of spring, colourful wooden tulips from the Dutch shop in Ottawa. 

We don't really celebrate extended family anniversaries per se, but the flowers fit perfectly in one of the vases from Caitlin and JL's wedding! I'd saved two of them.

JB and I drove past the hall on our marathon trip to Ottawa for his cancer treatment. It brought up a fun memory.

May 28, 2005, 18 years ago!

The wedding took place in Nepean, and we all drove to the reception hall in Fallowfield. We lost the bride and groom for a half hour. The bridesmaid were coming to me to ask where the couple was. They couldn't have eloped, they'd been married! It turns out, the priest whose church was attached to the hall, took them out for a beer! 

Jesse, JB, myself, Caitlin, JL, son Terry, my late mother, my brother

My brother picked up my mother in Bala, and drove her to Ottawa. She died the year after, and wasn't well at the time, but she was thrilled to have made it to the wedding. 

Isabelle (13) did this painting for her mother for Mother's Day! She was secretly working on it in the basement here. Caitlin took a photo as Izzy has to smuggle it out of our house and into their car for the surprise at home.

Josephine (15) was supposed to have her braces off last Wednesday. She managed to qualify for the semi-final for javelin in high school championships, and they had to postpone the removal of braces. They gave her an appointment in June, then phoned back and had a cancellation Thursday morning. Finally, after two years, TA DA! 

I leave you with the robins under the deck, who are getting bigger, and will soon fledge. They don't quite fit and are growing like mad.

 

When the babies leave the nest, they still get fed. On July 19, 2021, I was working in the yard and I could hear a juvenile robin begging for food. If you watch to the end, you'll see its parent shove food in its mouth. It was a serviceberry, and it spit it out. No veggies and fruit for the teenager! baby robin  

Happy Anniversary to us!

 Yes, twas the day, lo these many years ago: Aug. 22, 2002.

Our 'post honeymoon' was in Cuba. I think 2003, we went to Cuba for a couple of days.

I bought this fan when I was there. You can see the left side where it is broken, I glued it on the right side! It has finally been laid to rest. JB ordered me a new one! 

JB wanted this sweatshirt. Sadly, the shipping is about the same price as the shirt ($30). It says Grampasaurus. 

I've been working outdoors in spurts, I've finally gotten some energy and motivation. It's been terribly hot. Ten minutes and I'm dripping in sweat. 

Wild grapes!

Grape leaf skeletonizer caterpillar! (Harrisina americana ) As with many caterpillars, once they get furry sticky outie bits, they are poisonous and can give you a rash. 

Wiki tells me that they are widespread "in the eastern half of the US." OK, but we're in eastern Ontario! 

By xpda CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

After I'd done my research, I figured I best go back and see if there are any others. There were! 

I was happy to get back indoors in the A/C. JB watched tennis in the cool of the basement, while I watched a RomCom!

Our Anniversary!

Aug. 22

It started as a dreary day. The critters have been having fun at the feeders. The sparrows were first, followed by the nuthatches, and now the goldfinches. The sparrows were trying out the hummingbird feeder. Then, red squirrel got in the small bird feeder.


I began the day with a pedicure. Very relaxing. I complained about the woman yelling on the phone during my last visit. They promised signage. I asked about protocols for staff. 'Tis done!


Then, off to Westport.


Westport, a cool lunch! It was about 19 C., with a wind. Hubby puts up with me, and had brought a jacket! It's still summer when you can eat outdoors.


They were doing this at a local restaurant, and had to stop due to health and safety bylaws. Four dogs, and a woman with her foot up on the chair!
It's a good thing no one is afraid of dogs.


Did you hear about this? Not everyone likes dogs!

When will we find out #Putin is an AustinPowers creation? He lets loose his dog with #Merkel who has a dog phobia. pic.twitter.com/mjrLA6BBi7

— Gerry Hassan (@GerryHassan) January 11, 2016

On the way home...


It was difficult to turn right! Eventually, he spotted us, and moved up.


I was afraid to ask the price, but it is beautiful. It's a doctor's buggy, having spent 55 years in a barn. OK, I asked the price: $1800. That's a bit much for a lawn ornament. sigh.

Around the world

July 21 => Aug. 25

As my faithful readers know, our kids have been traveling around the world on points. 

Five weeks, and they are back on North American soil. They have a day in L.A. I watched the tracker as it moved across the ocean. They missed the typhoons in Korea and Japan, happily. 

Next flight (tonight) is LAX => YVR (Toronto, Ontario), then Ottawa (YOW) and home! 

The girls konked out in business class! 

I wondered where they were headed....

 Once landed, they had to wait for four planes to take off before their plane could cross the tarmac to the gate.