Happy Anniversary!

 Saturday was our 24th wedding anniversary. We went out for dinner.!

Here are a few photos as a reminder. We were married on the front lawn of the cottage. 

Back to the present!

We were going to sit outside, but the music was too loud, and it was hot. Why not sit inside in the peace and quiet?!

A beautiful card! My gift was my replacement video camera! Local flowers from the market.

We stopped in Stewart Park as Joe wanted an ice cream after dinner. 

Stewart Park is a great location for wedding photos and weddings! 

July 2012: A wedding in Stewart Park in Perth

July, 2022.

Clouds wafting across the skies, we headed home.

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  

I had a trip into town!

 I decided, with the troops arriving Monday, I should have a relaxing pedicure. Off I went. It didn't begin well.

Firstly, I was tailed by a Bell van the whole way into town. Then three emergency firefighter vehicles went by. I duly pulled over, which is the law. The Bell truck tried to pass me, since he didn't hear the sirens or see the flashing lights. 

Firefighters from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The town was crawling with people and vehicles. Into the hotel I went. The parking was atrocious, I snagged the 2nd last spot. I found the last viable spot, methinks. Some people aren't very good at parking between the lines!

This dude didn't seem to care where he parked. Parking was difficult to find. The employees park here, as well as guests. 

I had my pedicure, and relaxed. I needed that. It's a lovely setting for a spa and hotel. 

Out the window I could see the wedding preparations as Ivy worked on my toes. Women white dresses, and men in tuxes wandering back and forth! It's a popular spot for weddings. They stay in the hotel, have their hair done, and party. 

Stewart Park is amazing! The land was donated by Mrs. Stewart in 1947. What an everlasting donation. The gift was given on the condition that no one would be charged admission to visit. That's why the free July music festival is so much fun for all. I was there when there was another wedding: A wedding in Stewart Park in Perth. The photos are so much fun.

I had my deluxe pedicure, which includes a foot and leg massage. I was so relaxed. Heading home, I was tailed by a big, black SUV who thought I should be doing far more than the speed limit. I put on my turn signal, slowed down, and spotted something in the driver's side view mirror. I couldn't believe it. A motorcycle passed the SUV and me. If I hadn't stopped he and I could have been in a terrible way. I was so upset. Why are people in such a hurry? 

motorcycle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🚑 The bad news is that our local Perth ER is closing for five days. They are having trouble getting staff. There are a variety of reasons, which our re-elected premier doesn't seem to have a handle on. ("Nothing to see here, folks!") Dr. Drummond says it is due to a nursing shortage exacerbated by a COVID breakout on Thursday. His nursing staff has shrunk from 15 to 5. We'll have to drive 20 km to Smiths Falls, which is easy for us, but not for the most vulnerable.

This morning, on the local news, I found out what the firefighters were headed to Saturday afternoon:

#LeedsOPP and @RideauLakesFire responded to a 30ft vessel on fire in the Rideau Ferry area today. The captain sustained minor burns and made it safely to shore before the vessel sank. The Ministry of Environment has been notified and recovery to follow. @RLTwp ^nc pic.twitter.com/6uTEt5wuMx

— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) July 2, 2022

 Be safe out there, people. We have people who love and need us.

Lilac season is so short!

Our daughter was married on May 28th, and she wanted lilacs at the wedding. The florist couldn't promise them, so since me and my brother were in charge of decorating the reception hall, we ran around Nepean looking for neighbours with lilacs. We put them on the tables as table centres, and I was so pleased.

Caitlin's wedding, May 2005, was the last time my mom ever traveled, and my brother drove her from Bala to Ottawa for the trip. She died in 2006. It was difficult, as she'd been in treatment for cancer for several years. She was weak, but did her best. She waited at our house while we did our decorating. Caitlin's father-in-law was in charge of beverages. Her mother-in-law in charge of decorating the church. Her father and step-mom managed the cake, and all those details.

Here are this year's lilacs, in celebration! First, the hummingbird moth, then a big bumblebee. The Swallowtail butterfly is most impressive, however.

Family wedding –it was a chilly one!

Temple's Sugar Bush - it was an outdoor one. It was only a half-hour drive for us.
It was longer for those unaware of the detour.

We wouldn't have known to tell anyone!

Hubby's cousin's son. This is hubby's aunt, who has 5 adult children, raised in the military and transferred around the world. Betty tells us of being popped into a 2-bedroom apartment in Halifax with 5 kids, once-upon-a-time.

Hubby wore his hatching-matching-dispatching suit. The only one he has left. While my mother was failing, her house had an infestation of moths. I found them later in her unused flour, she was quite the baker. They destroyed his other business suits, but left him the black one. We often meet his family at these family occasions.

I refrained from taking photos during the ceremony, unlike some attendees who actually moved around to do so. There were lots of cell phone photos, too! This is my selfie from 2013 at the previous wedding. It's not about me –so I could wear the same outfit!

Just as the ceremony finished, while they were signing the register, it began to rain. Hubby's cousin thought a chair would be a good remedy. Then the danged photographer demanded a group photo, as the rain came down harder. It's a shame, as it was a great hair day, but it's not about me! His cousin took our photo for us.

I liked the thumb/fingerprint guest register!

Kelly (in blue), the MC and elder sister of the groom, was great. She sat at her mom's table. We sat with the groom's father. Another one of those well-orchestrated family weddings with in-laws and out-laws! It was a lovely venue. Bless their hearts, they figured out how to give hubby a non-dairy/eggs/yeast meal.

There was one natural ham, in the bright green jacket, and the spoons on his eyes, who was born to the bride after the last family wedding in Feb., 2013.