Summer is over, but a lot of ice cream was involved

My last post had summer just beginning - well, it did its thing, and now it is over.

Wendy, Eric, Parker, and Jaclyn headed to Manitoba at the end of July for Eric's mother's Celebration of Life event. One of the first things we did was to visit the National Indigenous Residential School Museum in Portage. It was a great museum and had a very powerful message.

The Celebration of Life and interment at the cemetery was very well attended and was a beautiful day to remember Eric's mom.

Parker brought his grandma's ashes to the cemetery.

Eric gave a brief speech.

Before we headed home, all of us took in a visit to the local Dairy Queen.

Unfortunately, our flight got cancelled and rescheduled for a day later. We had to check into the hotel again and extend our trip by 27 hrs.

An extra night in the indigenous owned and operated hotel.

Ruby was happy to see us when we returned. She learned to play in the sprinkler in the ~40C heat.

Eric and Wendy celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary with some ice cream.

Adam just happened to be in Saskatchewan for work, and he dropped in briefly to see is Grandpa in Manitoba. 

At the end of August, Parker celebrated his 25th birthday with more ice cream!

Once September started, it was back to work for all, and this meant a new school year for Eric. This is likely the last time during the year that lots of chalk will be available....

Summer begins

Summer started with a trip for Eric to (smoky) Manitoba. He went to help out his dad for a week and a half and was there for father's day. 

Portage la Prairie, MB

Dan, Veronika, and Elizabeth came out for a visit as well. 

After returning home, we decided to take Wendy's mom's best friend (since high school) Anne out to dinner at a Ukrainian restaurant in Etobicoke that we had previously visited. Little did she know that Parker and Jaclyn plus Anton and Tanya would already be there!

Eric, Anne, Wendy at Barrel House Korchma

Raspberry season kicked into high gear with all the heat and sunshine, so Wendy took her friend Rahil from work, while Eric acted as photographer and raspberry sherpa.

An odd sight that Eric and Ruby came across on one of their morning walks. It was so hot during the day that early morning was the only time to go out. 

Before the raspberry season ended, Wendy wanted one more batch to go into the freezer. Eric got co-opted to pick this time. The freezer is now full!

Eric has been working on an abstract/mosaic stained glass to go into an old wooden frame. He just finished cutting all the glass and has the daunting task of foiling all the pieces next. 

Next for the summer? Eric, Wendy, Parker, and Jaclyn head out this week for a short visit to Portage la Prairie for the Celebration of Life and interment for Eric's mom. 

Spring 2025

It has been a while, so here are some pictures from the last few months.

Ruby took a Parkour course at McCann's Dog Training Centre. She loved it so much that she started to get on things frequently. Her world became decidedly more 3D after the first class or two. 

In April we had our annual poster day event and apparently I am now the face of the program! Should have worn the same shirt to confuse people. 

Ruby continues to grow and learn. She is very comfortable and often smiles for us. 

Also in April, I passed the 5 year in remission milestone. My oncologist says I am weird enough that he will keep me coming in every 6 months all the way to 10 years (usually the frequency drops at 5 years).  

In May, Wendy and I went to the Canadian National jigsaw puzzle championships in Georgetown. Wendy competed in individual, pairs (with our great niece), and the team competition. Her team went to the finals and came in 13th in Canada! I volunteered to be a spotter while Wendy competed. 

Our crabapple tree bloomed very nicely this year (not a guaranteed show). The reasonably cool weather made the blooms last longer than normal.

Ruby and I went on lots of walks and she frequently does parkour on the benches along the way. 

I got back into stained glass a bit more this spring. This one is the beginnings of a mosaic-like set of 4 panels in a repurposed window frame. 

We took Ruby on her first 5km hike in May. Weather was perfect and she loved it!

I was invited to be the guest speaker at a high school in Hamilton for their Relay for Life (raisin money for the Canadian Cancer Society). Over 400 students participated and I decided I needed to do a quick selfie before we started the survivor lap around the track. Great event in perfect weather!

Instead of going to Tennessee with our friends Terry and Theresa, we decided to cancel and book a cottage up near Midland. On the way up, Wendy and I stopped at Casino Rama. 

While at the cottage we did some hiking, some soaking in the hot tub, and a whole lot of nothing much. A very relaxing week.

Fresh baked croissants with chocolate, by the water

At a raptor rehabilitation facility, Wye Marsh

This is actually a degrading lily pad. Looked too interesting to not take a photo.

Forest fire smoke made for interesting sunsets

S'mores!

Back at home we switched the house lights to Pride mode for June.