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....

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.

It has been a busy fall!

 I guess it has been many months since the last post - this one will be a big catch up post before we head into the Christmas season.

Ruby continued to adjust to her new family, and learning new things.  She chases her tail, loves the back (patio) room, and absolutely adores going out in the back yard. She also has quite a side-eye/sassy attitude at times.

Ruby loves to be outside in the yard!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8QRN8aXJxmCHe6ii8 

In October, Wendy and Eric visited Manitoba and were able to be part of the Thanksgiving celebration. While in Portage, Wendy got her hair coloured – all pink this time. Adam was up in Attawapiskat (west side of James Bay, about 1100km north of home) for work, and Ruby was with Parker and Jaclyn at their place. During our week of vacations, we also went to a hockey game, toured the Western Canada Aviation Museum, visited Camp Hughes (1.5 hr west of Portage, where Eric’s grandfather trained prior to heading to France during WW1), and did some hiking at the Spirit Sands in Spruce Woods Provincial Park.

Arriving in Winnipeg for a week long visit!

The Thanksgiving crowd

We all fit around the table!

Fully pink!

Spirit Sands - there was nobody there!

Spirit Sands rope ladder

Sand was in whatever direction you looked

On returning home, Ruby started Level 1 puppy training class at McCanns (15 minutes from Dundas). Adam took part in some November 11th activities and we actually got a photo of him in uniform! Jaclyn had a big birthday celebration in November and we went out to dinner with Jaclyn and Parker plus her father and brother before going to do some (dark) bowling. Adam travelled to Wainwright AB for a Canadian Armed Forces training course and graduated around the same time that Eric’s parents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

Comfy and happy

Jaclyn's birthday party

Captain Seidlitz

She is a happy girl!

At puppy class

In December, Eric’s classes ended, and Wendy’s office moved within the hospital. Ruby learned all about snow (she was originally from San Antonio TX) – she seemed to enjoy it. 

We also began our most recent renovation project to change the look of our living room fireplace and mantel. It was too formal for us and hadn’t been updated since 1964… so a refresh was in order. We will show more details in a later post, once it has been completed. 

This week, Ruby graduated from her Level 1 puppy class this week to move on to Level 2. 

Getting ready to be evaluated

She passed!

Next post will after our fireplace renovation is completed... and, in all likelihood, it will be after Christmas as well.