Can't believe that summer is actually over. Last time I posted, it was April and I had recently had surgery on my vocal cords. Well, a lot of little things have happened since then (including another surgery), but overall, everything was quite positive.
After my surgery in March, I slowly improved with using my voice - finishing without too much struggle my winter term courses, then proceeded with teaching 2 spring courses as well as being a TA for an evening course for the Department of Anesthesia. I will teach that course in the fall, so it was a good way to get up to speed.
Over the summer, everyone in the house got fully vaccinated. Things felt a small amount less scary out there in the real world after that. Still hung around at home and taught online, but the feeling was different whenever we went out.
So different, in fact, that we took a week off with friends Terry and Theresa to go to a cottage we rented (have been there before) just north of Belleville. Good to take a break and relax. We even went for a hike... between mosquitoes.
Adam was thrilled to get an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) apprentice position repairing helicopters with Rotor Services at the Kitchener-Waterloo airport. He left his previous job in Dundas (sadly) for the exact position in his preferred area within the field he trained for! Unfortunately, it is a 45 min drive to get there. He comes home dirty every day but loves it. Wendy is learning a lot about some of the specialized tools are that frequently show up at our door - a new guessing game of theirs.
Parker continues to work for Purple Bricks. He is also still working on his real estate course and is progressing well. He seems to be saving money well (likely for his next car) and is waiting for the pandemic to lighten up before going out more.
June was a month for planning for a bathroom renovation (last room in the house to be renovated). Still working on the plan and hope to get the job started in early fall. We have cabinetry and countertops made by a cabinet maker and have most of the supplies already.
Since my voice was not quite up to what I needed for teaching (back in person at some point), I had another surgery in June followed by 5 days of no talking. Wendy wanted us to go away for that time, but I couldn't face the additional stress of being away from home and not being able to talk. It was... quiet, as expected. It was equally as difficult as before to not speak. I did break the rule a few hours early, when I woke up at 4am, stood up, and got blinded by green light from our window. Yes, I said a bad word, and Wendy woke up and told me I was not supposed to talk yet! It was a blinding set of lights from a movie should a few doors down. Apparently the lights were simulating the moon, and they were filming all night long (the "Chucky" TV horror series).
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| Movie set a few houses down on our street. The house doesn't look like the $1.2 million that it recently was listed for. |
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| Movie lights (aka the Green Moon) |
August came quickly and Wendy and I took a week to go to Manitoba to visit my parents and two brothers. Flying during the pandemic was a little different, but no problems. Manitoba removed most of their restrictions the morning we arrived, but I think pretty much everyone wore a mask everywhere (even though not required). We got to drive to Gimli, eat in restaurants, Wendy had her birthday, we went to see my brother's new workplace (Roquette Pea Plant), visited my other brother for dinner in Winnipeg, and even got to have a short visit with my nephew Rick and his two beautiful daughters while in Portage la Prairie.
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| Gimli, MB |
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| My parents seem in better shape than I am, and they are 87 and 89! |
On the day we were out driving to the Pea plant, we also drove back and took a tour around the island in Portage (you can see it from my parents' house). We drove by the spot where I proposed to Wendy exactly 31 years previously (Aug 8, 1990). A strange sense of spontaneity took over, so I got down on one knee, exactly as I had done so long ago that day. Getting back up was certainly different this time.
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| 31 years later... |
In returning home to Dundas, Wendy and I took the day off and celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary!
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| 30 years ago! |
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| On our 30th wedding anniversary |
The whole family (including Sally), went to London for their 2nd annual drive in airshow. It was blistering hot and we all melted. The Blue Angels and Snowbirds put on a great show, and Sally was impressed by the noise! Parker was turning 21 the next day, so we picked up a DQ ice cream cake that he had requested on our way home.
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| 21st birthday! |
Now that September has begun, everyone in our house is back to their normal activities - except for Sally. A few days ago, Sally defended her PhD and is now finished!!! Dr. You is ready to take on the world and is heading back to China in just over a week. After her significant quarantine, she will see her family and get prepared to move to a different city to take her new job. We will very much miss her around here, after two years of living and working in our home.
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| Dr. You |
School is getting ready to begin again for me but with only one course live and in a classroom. Still haven't been to my office (544 days and counting as of today), but I might drop in next week to see how dusty it is. I start my first day of the new term not being able to eat breakfast, as I am having a CT scan in the morning. As well, I come back home then do a 3hr ethics meeting followed by a 3hr virtual class for the first year students (Cell Biology). Back into the fire!
Here are a few extra photos from the summer:
