A busy spring, ready for summer

It has been such a busy late winter and spring that I haven't posted since right after the new year!  Sorry, but this post will be a long one!

I taught 7 courses over the winter term, so that kept me very active at work. That didn't stop us from taking a week (February break week!) for a short vacation. Wendy and I took a trip towards Ottawa and stopped by for a few days to visit Wendy's brother and his family (Peter, Lynn, Spencer, and Henry. We took in a few curling games (our nephew Henry was playing) and toured around the Belleville area. Even dropped in for lunch at a fantastic café owned by a good friend of Lynn's in Camden East called Stone Corner (stonecorner.ca).

We continued our trip to Ottawa and took in a few sights along the way - mostly to take some photos for Eric's cannabis course.

In Ottawa, we stayed at Wendy's cousin's place (Sarah, Tim, and Christine). Did some shopping, met a friend of Eric's for dinner (Marcos), drove by some of Wendy's old schools and where she lived, and went for breakfast with our friends (Simone, Ken, and Kiera). It was definitely cold in Ottawa, but the Rideau Canal was surprisingly closed since there was not enough ice!

On our way out of Ottawa, we stopped by the Diefenbunker - a cold war underground military facility that is now a museum. 

The museum was fantastic! Wendy thought it was better than she expected. Reminded her of all the offices that her father used to work in. 

We headed up to Petawawa to visit our nephew and his family (Dan, Veronika, and Elizabeth). Had a great time there, toured the base, and had lunch in town. 

Although it was warmer in Petawawa, it got really cold when we headed to Haliburton! We stayed at an AirBnB in the woods outside of town. Saw a large number of wild turkeys - didn't know they could fly up into the trees for the night! We also went to dinner with our friends Carolyn and Bill, and spent the rest of the time relaxing, before heading back home. 

The crazy weather continued in March and April, with snow storms (wind chills below -20C)) and heat waves (above +30C with the humidex).  Parker bought a used car (2020 Nissan Kicks) so that he could get out and apply for jobs. The real estate company he worked for (3 years with Fair Square/Purple Bricks) closed all North American offices and he was out of work.

When spring sort of arrived again, we took Anton and Tanya to the Westfield Heritage Village for the Maple Syrup Festival! A few days later we went with them to a free concert at a church in Dundas.  

After many long months of waiting, we finally received the mechanism to repair our recliner couch. It was surprisingly cheap, but we had to rely on Adam to take everything apart and replace the mechanism on one side. Parts and tools everywhere, but it works like a charm now!

Parker did get a new job in real estate (his card is below), but he also got a job at the SnuggleBugz warehouse (high end Children's items) in Burlington to make some steady money.

Eric turned 59 and really started feeling his age.

He also celebrated 3 years in remission and had some cabernet sauvignon icewine to mark the occasion! 

Maddy went to the vet for her first 'geriatric wellness check' at age 12, and the heart murmur she had since birth seemed worse. We kept an eye on her as suggested, and just a few weeks ago Maddy started having some issues with breathing too fast.  After connecting with 4 veterinarian places on a Saturday morning, we got her seen and a few days later she had an echocardiogram. She definitely is worse and has multiple leaky valves and her heart is enlarged. We got a batch of medicines for her and she is still adjusting to them. Hopefully things will settle a bit, although it is unlikely to reverse any of the damage to her heart. 

Wendy and I started really feeling our age as we both got hearing aids! I lost hearing over the entire frequency spectrum (over the last several months it was noticeable) and Wendy lost hearing in the more typical pattern of high frequencies only.

As the term ended at McMaster, one of my students gave me a very thoughtful gift. I bet that I will feel younger when I wear them! 

Spring really hit with all the flowers and trees blooming around here.

Maddy continues to improve and even went to get her hair cut today. She was happy that she got treats, but wasn't as thrilled with the fake flower they stuck on her collar. 

Our next post will be in about a week. We are heading on an extended vacation out to British Columbia, but before we post about that, I will be posting something special here as a parting gift to my graduating students.  Stay tuned...

Canada Day and an unexpected week in Manitoba

Wendy and Eric took Tanya (Anton went to bed early) to her first Canada Day celebrations in the town of Lynden. They have a great small town event with music and food, topped off with fireworks. Cotton candy, kettle corn, and lemonade were purchased as we sat waiting for the fireworks. After a bit of a delay for technical issues, the show was great! Even better, there seemed to be no mosquitoes! 

Eric, Wendy, and Tanya

Eric's father had a medical emergency and needed surgery to insert a pacemaker. Eric and Parker took a week and flew out to Manitoba to help out. Flying through Hamilton (on Swoop) was a great choice, with no lineups for security. 

Eric's younger brother Dave picked us up in Winnipeg and drove us to Portage la Prairie. We stopped for a quick dinner and introduced Parker to Slurpees from 7-11! He had a few during the week.

Eric's mom's flower gardens were doing very well (although not so well for vegetables). Lots of interesting things to see growing in the yard.

Dying poppy

Eric did some cleaning and cooking so that everyone had lots to eat, and went shopping for groceries a few times. Even had some time to walk around town to recall some fond memories.

Eric's father is still recovering from his surgery, but is keeping as active as he can. Sometimes he was too active... and needed a few reminders to try to take it easy. 

The BBQ got a work out several times during the week.

Burger day

Chicken legs, grilled turnip, peas

When it was time to head back home, Eric's older brother Karl came from Winnipeg to take us to the airport, giving us a short visit in the car. 

Even with blue sky and sunshine all around, we saw a rainbow on the way to Winnipeg. Within 10 seconds of taking this picture, the rain started. 

A minute later, still under blue sky and sunshine all around, the rain stopped as suddenly as it began. Must have be one cloud directly overhead.

After a late flight back to Hamilton (landing at midnight), Adam picked us up to bring us home. Overall, it was a good trip and the little things we could do to help settle things back into a routine were well worth it.