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.

Green snowballs, too hot, not enough heat, too cold, and hint of Group of Seven

Although not much happened this week, it was actually quite interesting. Our garden (and lawn... grrr) started to really fill out with lots of heat and rain early in the week. This is the state of the snowball tree in one corner of the yard - green, but hopefully soon to be white. 

With all the heat, we realized that our air conditioner had stopped working. It was warmer inside than outside, and we ended up having to get a new A/C. Bigger but oddly not much more expensive than the one we had installed in 2001. 

I continued to make more bread this week. My first one (blueberry+cherry bread) was a complete disaster - the old bread machine appears to be failing, as it didn't have near enough heat to fully cook it. This cheese bread, however, worked perfectly. I waited until the A/C was on before baking this one in the oven. The bread machine was tried again for the next (plain white bread) with a perfect result. The machine (or the operator) seems a little inconsistent. 

I did finally finish the custom stained glass project I have been working on (since 2014...shhh!). We took a drive and socially distance delivered the two panels (32"x10" each) to our friend's house today. The design itself started with a Group of Seven style tree, then expanded from there. It is just sitting in the final destination window, but the light coming through made them look spectacular! 

Looking outside today, that green snowball has now turned white! Of course, it was only 6C when we woke up this morning and our new A/C was definitely not needed. Somehow a white snowball seems more appropriate at that temperature, doesn't it? 

More pandemic updates and a big birthday

Trying to find things to do during a pandemic is not easy. Since going out shopping, visiting family, or going to a restaurant are not available at the moment, we have been doing what we can to keep busy and keep connected.

Wendy, Sally and I were able to set the stage for a Yahtzee night with our friends Terry and Theresa. We did it using the online meeting software Zoom. They sat in their home, while we sat in ours, and we played Yahtzee (a dice game) together. Physical distancing, but not social distancing. We even set up the webcam so it was on top of our living room TV, so it felt like we were right there with our friends. Life sized! Sally won the whole thing with her beginner's luck!

Yahtzee night!

I have been continuing to make an effort to get back into doing stained glass. The large project I have been working on for a long time (4 years...) was still there and called to me again last week. I have been doing what I can to move it forward, while my fingers have been doing their best to try to stop me, but progress is visible. This project is for our friends Mel and Murray and I plan to finish it before the end of the pandemic restrictions.

It is a custom Northern Ontario scene with deer, hills, trees, water, rocks, etc.

Our hiking hobby has taken a beating, and not just because of my health. All of our local trails are closed to prevent people from getting too close. Many times we have seen people sliding their bicycles under these new barricades - they clearly are not capable of reading.

Our wildlife has been active and getting around, even if we haven't. The deer are out all the time, as are the turkeys. Yes, turkeys. Big things walking down the street, flaunting their newfound freedom from all those pesky humans hogging all the streets.

My 56th birthday happened last week - and if the doctors are correct, that may have been my last. I thought I would spend my first pandemic birthday doing interesting things. The first thing, after a web conference with students and some marking, was to make my own birthday cake. I made my favourite - poppyseed cake with a walnut cream filling.

Early in the morning, our friend dropped off for me a Cuban cigar on our front step. I know, I don't smoke, but it was a bucket list item to have a Cuban cigar in Cuba... that trip didn't happen because of my health. Our friends went and were able to bring this one back for me. Of course, what better day to try something new than my birthday?

Not long after, another friend dropped off (safely, without interaction) some refreshments for Wendy (the Coke) and I (the not Coke). The day was looking very promising and I hadn't even finished the cake!

Here it is cooling.

It didn't turn out to look the way I wanted... but it tasted great. The sauce was too thin and it kind of mushed out the sides.

Later in the afternoon, it was quite nice outside, so I did smoke the cigar and have a beer. The cigar smelled good! Maybe I should try a pipe next...

To compete with fire, Wendy decided to roast marshmallows at the same time. I still made more smoke than Wendy, though.

We had an online drop-in birthday party that evening on Zoom, with the same setup as our Yahtzee night. It was a lot of fun and seemed to become somewhat of a drinking game, as people popped up on screen. It was wonderful to see everyone and hear how they were doing.

This is the view that we had from our end of the party. For a while there, it look like the intro to the Brady Bunch, sometimes looking more like Hollywood Squares. For those not familiar with those TV shows, check them out online. It was bewildering, but it was a blast!

I was very happy with my birthday party and I think we made it a full and very memorable day.


Since my birthday, life has not slowed down! The next day, Adam's friends Neil, Mike, and Nick sent a package over with something liquid inside... he has some very thoughtful friends and they selected a very good scotch to commemorate an important milestone. Thanks, guys!

Wendy was lamenting that her hair was getting out of control, so we decided that I could take a stab at cutting her hair. She was definitely apprehensive about what was happening where she could not see. I said that it didn't matter how well it turned out, as she would be working from home for a long time to come... surprisingly, that comment didn't help much.

A nervous look...

No blood was drawn, and the initial apprehension gave way to a reasonable first time result of me cutting her hair (I have cut Adam and Parker's hair for years).

Not bad... can still see the pink that I put in for Wendy several weeks ago.

Not sure if she will allow me to do it again, and I am considering whether I should have her cut my hair in return...