FAMILY
a gift that lasts forever
(1979)
The usual a book, please bare with my recount of our 2016
(more photos will follow in another blog post )
December 2016
When we left off last year I was recuperating from a
sprained ankle which was well healed for the holidays. Christmas Eve Steve and
his family were with us for a sit down Christmas meal and the next day we had a
quiet day of it by ourselves, much needed after the busy- ness of the night
before as well as getting everything ready for the holidays with a sprained ankle. My
BP took some time to steady its self so I have seen more of our doctor than I’d
like :D and have remained on medication
throughout 2016.
I also had very upsetting news a week before Christmas 2015 about my sister Linda. She was diagnosed with PSP Progressive Supranuclear Palsy not a great way to go into the holidays for those that love her. A few months ago Linda was moved to a full care facility and now needs a
wheelchair when out of bed. Truly we lost her when this whole ordeal began a
few years ago but it is still upsetting to see how the disease is taking over her
body.
Mike is still waiting for an answer about what is going be
done or not done for his arteries so has not sailed for over a year. He was
told a decision will be made in early 2017. Let’s just say we are not holding
our breath waiting for an answer.
Winter was pretty quiet for us as I was fearful of going out
if there was any ice. We did go next door for lunch one day to catch up with
our busy neighbors. The twins who are like foster grandchildren are now in high
school and soon to be teens. They play ringette so quite busy on weekends. Community service is also part of what they
do and in the fall they came to help me clean up litter along the side of a street behind a
shopping mall. We plan to do more in the spring.
There were also our usual winter birthdays, we have a few of
them so a few celebrations. And that was about our winter. I stayed in and
Dick curled, shopped, walked and minded
grandchildren :D No wine making for over a year but he says he is going to make
some in the New Year. AND of course he ends up being my sidekick and right hand
man for all the stuff I get us involved in :D
Spring became a busy time
with gardens waking up. And we planned for what we were going to have done
outside. When I fell the first time in November 2015 decided we were at an age
that we needed a safer pathway out front because I was pretty sure I had
tripped over the edge of a flagstone that was sticking up.
Of course the stairs
to the drive way would need to be changed too.
Went about getting estimations and made up our minds about who we would
go with. Took some thought as all three contractors had different ideas.
Consequently by the time we signed a contact
the fellow we choose was backed up and wouldn’t be here until the end of June.
However, it gave us time to go look for the stone we wanted and to make
slight changes to the plan… We also had a lot of work to do in the yards to get
ready as we were having fences and gates built on both front sides of the house
and the pathway would continue around the house on one side to the back corner of the house where there
is a second fence and gate.
Also included in the contract was to be repair sand and stain our 20 year old deck..
Thank goodness for our town services as we
cleaned up and had them pick up close to three cubic meters of stones and wood.
The pile of stones at the curb, went down as a few people stopped by to take some. If we’d of know that before-hand could have invited them into the
yard to cart them away from where the were originally and saved ourselves lugging them to the
curb…
Due to a wet spring our job got delayed two weeks and then
more when we didn’t want all that work going on when Jared was with us.
Our second grandchild a sixteen year old, was here from mid-July
to August 7th. We did a couple of day trips while we had him then finished off with
a third to Ottawa. After watching the Changing of the Guard we headed to the Rideau
Locks - watched boats coming up the looks then headed down the stairs to the
museum. I made a very speedy trip down the second flight –yes I tripped at the
top
on the hand rail-less side but managed
to stay on my feet until the bottom two stairs at which point, as the speed of
racing down those stairs increased I could not control it and ended in a heap
at the bottom. The two guys were behind me and watched with horror as I went
down and ended with a thump before they could get to me.
It sure put a damper on our day and although I
assured the guys I was fine or fine enough to sit and read while they went on
which they did reluctantly their hearts were not in it so we headed home
earlier than planned. When we got here I looked at the two stairs up from the
driveway to the pathway, knowing it was going to be a challenge to do as I had
pulled my groin in that stair spirit and it sure was... The next day I was in
touch with the contractor to ask if he could please add a stair railing to the
work. He did.
We got the railing and it
is firmly installed out on the stairs where it is paying for itself in use.
(Blooming Common Milkweed in background)
Throughout the summer and now into the fall and winter I
have been a civilian scientist.
It
began with milkweed and registering where there was good patches of the plant
with Mission Monarch. Aim was to
be aware
of where there is decent habitat for Monarch butterflies. From there it was to
keep an eye of the patches for Monarch eggs, caterpillars and butterflies.
Nothing!
Adult Monarchs didn’t come this
far north and have been few and far between for a few years now.
Only spotted one out front at the end of the
summer and it likely was on its way south. Thus I have ordered a Monarch kit to
be delivered in July 2017 so I can share the wonders of the butterfly with the children in my life. My
hope is that there will be at least one female in the five caterpillars that I will release into an enclosure where hopefully she will
lay eggs that we can watch go through all the stages.
The next civilian scientist project began in November. It
is to monitor our bird feeders/yard two consecutive
days a week and report the highest number seen at one time for each species to
Project FeederWatch.
Just happened to be
watching during a five minute period one week when at least 8 Northern
cardinals came sailing in, fliting here, there and everywhere then flew away
never to be seen again. Have been feeding birds for well over 20 years and that
was a first for me. Was too busy trying to count to run for the camera and get
a photo so have nothing but the memory.
(Leave it to a chickadee to find a new feeder)
A week and some after Jared went home our job began and was
done in record time. We are very pleased with the work and get loads of
compliments about it. Having a warm end of summer that extended into the fall we
got to enjoy the little patio we had added to the front of the porch so we can
have chairs out there to sit and watch the neighborhood go by.
All of our grandchildren are in school or soon will be. The
youngest starts pre-kindergarten in the New Year. We look at that little girl and
wonder how did this happen, really this little tyke is going to school can’t
be. Christopher is in his second year at Memorial in St John’s and in a pretty
serious relationship with a young lady from back home that is also going to
Memorial. He worked at a university day camp during the summer and we got a kick out of
teasing him about the way the poor guy suffered with all those spoiled children
he was trying to be in charge of :D
Welcome
to the real World Chris… (
Photo Chris being silly)
The other grandchildren
are spread out between grade 3 and 11.
Interesting to hear what they are up to or how different school seems to
be from when their fathers were students.
I completed three MOOCs in 2016 with excellent percentages
and loads of information collected. Took one in the spring another in the
summer and the third in the fall. Think for now I’ll stay away from courses and
get on with other interests such as blogging which I started in November and
will soon have four blogs on the go covering my writing, roots, the Elm
Ramblers and now a blog to keep family and friends up to date with our family.
Cannot forget to mention Dick has gone to Laval a few times
to be with the children while their parents are working or away. Granddad
always comes home with interesting stories to share. Nana to our Laval Gang, is not up to late
nights or at times recuperating from an injury such as my sprained ankle. When
I do go though, the camera is always with me as Granddad playing dolls with
Bella makes for great shots.
Sure you noticed we didn’t go very far in 2016 our outside
make-over was our vacation or money wise at least and we did enjoy having
others do most of the work while we sat back afterward and enjoyed it all basking in the glory and accolades. However in 2017 there are plans to
participant in Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation
celebrations. Our national parks are open for free to Canadians throughout
2017. You can order a free discovery pass through Parks Canada to visit the parks - our pass is on the way.
Our
150
th celebrations will start in the spring when the anniversary tulip
bulbs planted along the top on the rock garden and pathway bloom.
My hubby only golfed once during the 2016 season – that was
in mid-September and more or less was the start of our fall activities. He golfed
with a group from the club where he golfed for years. They get
together once a year for breakfast, perhaps dinner and to play of course. He
misses his golf though and is hoping to play more in 2017. Curling was well
underway by end of October. And his walking for steps has continued - think it is
a well instilled habit now. Together we have been combining our steps or the
kilometers then marking the distance on maps. We left home in March to virtually
walk to Mike’s got there in July and have been walking around Nova Scotia since
then. My hubby is doing much, much
better with his steps than I am.
The work was finished and our back yard is back to rights
For me it was to continue to clean up litter in our
community which had been instigated in the spring as a civic project in
preparation for the MOOC, my third of 2016 that began in September. It was a
very intense course at times but will be carried on for a long time. Have met
other students from across the world via Facebook groups formed for the course and
saw firsthand that litter is a world-wide problem though their eyes, postings
and articles. This was a first for the 5
MOOCs I have taken - students and instructors become close and
friendships will carry on.
Also have been helping out at a food bank, not often but
will keep at it when I can.
My fun time
has been to go to an Art Hive at our Civic Centre with a friend where I tried
water colour painting, (not for me as I'm too shaky now). Decided to get back to my drawing. Plan is to render
a drawing of each of our grandchildren when they were babies. There too, new
friends have been acquired.
One is a
young woman, the ceramics instructor, my friend and I have been helping her
with her knitting. She is so happy we are doing this and shares her joy with her
grandmother in Mexico who is pleased as well.
Looking forward to getting back to the Art Hives in 2017.
One of the twins next door said she wanted to learn
to crochet so I spent some time with her showing her what to do, not easy for a lefty who taught
herself to teach a right-handed person but all of a sudden it clicked and she
was on her way what a boost it was for me ! Must ask how she is doing and find out if she is ready to move
on past the basic stitches.
Discovery my tablet's panoramic option
Perennial sunflowers started from a handful of Dad's years ago
In September we took Alex and Katie out to Ste Anne de
Bellevue my old stomping grounds, for a fun day of free admissions and activities.
We enjoyed visiting the farm and the arboretum after some time in Ste Anne’s to
be present for the release of Monarch butterflies.
We had taken Katie to see Monarch
caterpillars at the DDO library the day before , then the two of us watched the “Flight
of the Butterfly” movie that night so she had a good idea of what was happening
the next day. At Macdonald Campus Farm the highlights were the petting area and
holding a chicken. Off to the Morgan Arboretum the children made pine cone bird
feeders and we had a stroll in the bush for a while by that time the children
were truly enjoying the day which had started off slowing for them with too much
adult stuff to see and do.
In October we took them out to Hudson to
the Le Nichoir Wild Bird Conservation Centre for
an activity sponsored by the Redpath Museum and the
CWF Wild Family Nature
Club.
I was intriguing with what the club is all about esp. the NATURE aspect pf it and have started the
Elm Ramblers a little group of four families that live around us and our Laval
family. You can read all about it in the Elm Ramblers blog
(see end of Newsletter)Let’s just say, after years of not working
with children and nature this little club has lifted my spirits - as a friend
said, “You are in your element.” -
so
true.
December has been about the holidays. The house and outdoors
are decorated and now it is onto food and gift wrapping. Our Laval Gang will be with us for Christmas
dinner and we will see Mike and the kids via Skype at some point.
Once again I am working on our cards and the newsletter late into the game... hoping I get it all together in time to get it to you before the holidays are upon us.
Enjoy the holiday season and have a happy, healthy 2017.
We start and end the year with our resident male Northern cardinal :D
5 CM turned into more like 15 - lovely though
Before posting this decided to add a couple of photos of our snowy day.
Cathern's Blogs and a Storify creation:
Elm
Ramblers http://elmramblers.blogspot.ca/
Sharing our Canadian Wildlife Federation: Wild Family Nature Club rambles
Merging
Roots http://mergingroots.blogspot.ca/
The ancestors, history and stories of two families united through marriage (Harrison - Drury)
BUT You Have
to Milk the Cows… http://cathernstories.blogspot.ca/
For years I have been writing about life stories and other bits and pieces of life in general.
Merrily
Rolling Along with the Drury Family http://druryfamilynews.blogspot.ca/
This blog is to share our lives as time goes on
MOOC Litter Project report: My Litter Journey https://storify.com/Cathern/my-experience-with-litter
For
several years we have been attending the December International Christmas
Dinner, organized and hosted by one of the families in our block of the
street. They turn their house upside
down to accommodate 20 or more people . We are contribute to the meal. For many
years I made a double lot of Boeuf a la Bourguignonne from one of my old cookbooks
because we like it but with a couple of changes, Ketchup for tomato paste and beer for the wine :D. It has always been a hit at the dinner and some have asked for the recipe. However,
last year when I sprained my left ankle decided to do something a little easier
especially to transport the short distance down the street as the Boeuf a la Bourguignonne was
hot so needed good padding to keep it that way and to protect the person
carrying it. 
1 teaspoon red
wine vinegar
Now Maybe I should think of a food for our British and Irish
roots. Maybe Eccles Cakes which originated
in Manchester Lancashire where my paternal grandfather was born and the family
owned the Parsonage Nursery/ Green Grocers in Lostock not far from Manchester. Coronation Street fans might remember Eccles Cakes
as one the tea break goodies the girls from the factory would pick up. 
Perhaps Irish Stew would cover my hubby’s roots . It seems
his paternal grandmother and grandfather had Irish – a new find that come
though my genealogy. The later mentioned ancestors came over towards the end of
the potato Famine, what a lot to research as they seemed very leery to trust
anyone. So the facts and names etc. were always changing or was it a lack of
them not reading or writing – some of the census takers had the same problems
but another player in the mix was they lived in predominately French areas and some
of the poorest in the city. 
