Canada in the summer …

After we stopped dressing up in our best clothes for the weddings & funeral -  our clothes & activities were a bit less fancy …

Here, in no particular order of occurrence or preference, is what we've been up to in the Nation's Capital (and surrounds)  this summer:

Camping
ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!
Tom, Sharon and Elizabeth!

Flowers 

this really was the first thing we did - we went to see Machiko (our favourite florist) for some beautiful flowers to thank Ken & Eileen for hosting us for (little did they realize) … 2.5 months (give or take a week or two 

the beautiful and talented Machiko
there MIGHT be a better florist (I doubt it)
 but there isn't a nicer one!

Our hosts - before they realized how long we would stay

Dentist

Strange thing todo perhaps but we don't have "a dentist" in Adelaide (yet) so - off we went to see Dr. Lehrer our dentist for the past 40 years!  … no fillings - but oh joy!  an extraction (Joe) and root canal (Jill ). My first and I was quite devastated  - the needles didn't bother me as much as the horrid gag-inducing latex thing covered my mouth!!  Joseph seemed quite happy to have the mind-altering drugs required for his!

no pics of dentist or root canal or missing tooth!

Hair

- I do have a hairdresser in Adelaide but I don't have Bruce - and even though his shop burned down just days before - he saved my day and made me feel human again.

Chiro

Feeling more human maybe, but my stupid frozen shoulder didn't realize it was warm in canada and that it could keep on thawing (it's been 1.5 years!) - it was going back to frozen!!  -  so off to visit Ken - I was SO happy to see Ken and it seems he has (once again) worked his magic - it is thawing now.

Eating - there has been a lot of eating

Started with a picnic with Nortel friends … lots of laughs and … nice healthy snacks there!  

Then we were into the serious stuff …

•Straight to Art-is-In Bakery for Croque Monsieur

… it did come with a salad!

•A few days in Toronto and of course there was LEE

- outside just as we like it - moderately healthy food

•Back in Ottawa and dinner with Jane (both Jane's),

here's Jane # 2 - Jane Keogh

here's Jane #2
Jane Brigham

• Dinner with the Bush's and the Bush's neighbours - a salad here and there

but no pics!!

•Father's day lunch with Julian and Chelsea and the beautiful Sophia (jetting in from Montreal).

•Dinner with Leanne & Jacques at their beautiful house

Yes they have a tree in the middle of their house!
(and I hope they don't mind me posting it!! yikes!)

•Lunch with Christine from the Second Cup (I know she is so much more - but that's what she'll always be to me!)

•Lunch with Özlem & Pete (Nortel)

Özlem & Pete's backyard with pool
… but they couldn't drag us in

Look what's in their backyard -
a good old TREE FACE!

... and in order to meet up with Cassia's friends Lesley and Helenka we had to eat  … and then I dragged myself off to  breakfast with Jane (K) and Brenda …  then there was the Italian Festival with the cars …

…  and( lots of) food of course!  (met up with old neighbours as a bonus)! 

(There were salads but there were lots of sweet potato fries as well!)

As one would expect - we've been eating non-stop with our wonderful hosts Ken & Eileen and now Brenda & Brad are hosting us this week so … 

well … it's off to try every restaurant on Preston Street! 

ooops - we ate the pizza!!

We squeezed in a lunch with Freddie and his parents

..there's Freddie and his parents - Karen and Marl

Cottages on lakes

 - the quintessential summer activity in Canada

 - well Eastern Canada

 - well in this part of Eastern Canada anyway!

Cook's Cottage - Crosby Lake, Ontario

 If you don't own a cottage hopefully you are (lucky enough) like us to know somebody who does. 

Not sure those friends are quite as happy as we are - but off we went …

To the Cook's:

We've been going here for 29 years  - some without the Cooks and some with - this time it was without them but with everybody else!

Pip, Eileen, Ken, Paul and me
those orange curtains make everything look orange!!
Happy Birthday Joseph!

 then Chris and Katie joined us … just missing the Cooks :(

To Marie & Frank's

- a chance to catch up with Janet et al … and T&E

There's L-R - Marie, Elizabeth, Frank, Tom, Joseph, Taylor (in front), Riley and her mum Janet

Riley - dressed for the beach!

To Pricilla & Keith's

 - OK - there's isn't really a cottage (it's their year-round home) - and Ok it isn't on a lake - it's on the Ottawa River - but it was LIKE being at a cottage.  These are friend's from Nortel so with Brad, Brenda, Lila and Priscilla it was a chance to reminisce about the "Good old" days and they would be the ones at BNR - that's how far we go back (30 years)

Keith built a topical island on the river!!

Brad Brenda and Lila on the "island"

Making sure I don't go under

See what I mean when I say it's not like a cottage!

There's Brenda, Keith,us, Brad, Priscilla and Lila!!

Spas

 - well somebody had to accompany Eileen to Le Nordik Spa!

https://www.lenordik.com

- and somebody had to accompany Brenda for her pedi!

Visits

Aunt Zita

It was nice we could attend Joseph's cousin Joan's memorial service at the nursing home   … and … right there in the same home ... was Aunt Zita!

Now you need to know that this is Mrs. Dafoe's younger sister and she is 101. 

(Mrs. Dafoe was almost 101 when she died and their elder sister Gen was 99 and their younger brother was 92 .)

Aunt Zita doesn't look 101 and she doesn't act 101!  She doesn't nap during the day - huh? !!  She goes to bed at 10 p.m. and is up at 6.00 a.m.  I'm too embarrassed to divulge our schedule!  We had to cut short our visit because she was going to her quiz afternoon - "Are You smarter Than a 5th Grader?" - trouble is, she whispered "I forget somethings I learned in 5th grade"!!

Maitland Garden of Hope

Our friends Colleen & Dave "grew" and grew their garden and now open it up for tours (guided and self-guided) and donations go to their daughter's school in Kenya.  

… and colleen makes the statues scattered throughout the garden.

… Jan stopping to smell the …
lilly!

… and they have a zen garden ...

Not only do they grow things - Dave is the most amazing cook and they are both amazing hosts… so off we went for a tour of the garden and … more food …

  Ribs (why did Dave never win his own Rib Cookoff competition??), lamb cooked especially for me (perfect), and chicken that was (apparently) to die for!  

… and ... a breakfast …fit for kings!!

… and Colleen is an artist!!

There's Cyril and Jan, Dave and Colleen … and us!!
You would look this happy if Dave had just fed you!

Canada Day

Canada Day in Ottawa is quite the day!  To celebrate - we went back to our old 'hood for pizza

Happy Canada Day eh?

our (former) corner pub … Pubwells!
then did our old walk into town to "the hill"

 - saw the Snowbirds flying over our heads right over the Peace Tower

There's the Peace Tower  on the hill
(too slow to get a pic of snowbirds)
…and there's Helenka -in the denim shorthand red sweatshirt
(and we didn't know she was there!)

 - heard "Summer of '69" (Bryan wasn't there)

- missed the concert (it has to be a BIG anniversary to be a good concert!)

 - but did see the fireworks from Ashley & Andrews balcony (thank you) …

Not the best fireworks I've seen here
(not the best photo either!!)

Canoe trip

Canoe trips are Joseph's favourite part of Canada

… but  not mine … 

so he took Brad to Algonquin Park and Brenda took me to N.Y.

 … well not New York CITY but N.Y. state

 Rochester upper N.Y. State (brad's brother lives there) and coincidentally there are Outlet stores on the way 

… and there is Dino BBQ (with the beautiful Ashley)

So that's more food!
I was able to stuff in some of the best BBQ pork and coleslaw in the whole world

...and bless (our host) Boyd's heart …
he cooked us ribs and took us to a lovely restaurant for …
yep … more food!

So we are into the home stretch now - back to Toronto to pack the millions of boxes onto half a million pallets … and  there will be … more food!!

… this is one of the larger boxes he is packing!

There's lunch at the AGO in with Les & Gwen (who also fed us dinner in their beautiful garden way back in May!!) and it's also a chance to catch up with more family - the Feeney Family and there will be food … and photos of this one I'm sure  … sorry Kerry! :( 

… a few last-minute visits (more food?) and then good-byes !!  Oh dear - I'm not looking forward to them!  I AM looking forward to see everybody back in Adelaide - but I'm not looking forward to the goodbyes

YumYum Beavertails!

It's 38c outside the mall and these people are sitting around the fire inside!
Something wrong with this
… good old USA!

Three weddings and a funeral …

After Joseph came back from Africa and we schlepped the rest of the heavy furniture from #5 - four doors down to #8 and after mum's bathroom was finally finished (oops photos owing)! and after a fun sleepover with #1 grandson we escaped winter "down under" for summer in the north…

Many pills and three uneventful flights  - et voilà!!  … we are back "home" in Ottawa  … and except for a few things -  it was as though we hadn't left !   

Except that this time we are in Ken & Eileen's basement "apartment" with gourmet meals almost every night and this time we are packing boxes instead of suitcases and this time there is no store and for the first time in 23 years we aren't going to Carlingwood everyday!  Still I must say we have adapted!  We're good at that!  We're good at letting people look after us - good at eating till we can hardly walk - good at being spoiled rotten!  Yep - we have become so good at all of that!

Other than seeing friends of course - the main purpose of this trip is to pack up all of our *worldly possessions into boxes that fit onto pallets and ship them "home"… to the other "home" … on the other side of the world … the "home" that will probably become home!  … but besides all of that … there has been three weddings and one funeral.

* "all our wordily possessions" take quite the hit once I've applied the Konmari (http://tidyingup.com) approach to whittling them all down to only those things that give me joy!!

The Funeral 

(Aunt Audrey - Ken's mother's sister)

It was quite the most exquisite funeral I've ever been to!  Aunt Audrey was just three weeks away from her 100th birthday and while we would never have been invited to her 100th birthday -  due to incredible timing, we were able to plop ourselves right down in the middle of her funeral.  She was quite the lady - her husband was the British High Commissioner to Canada and India and also the Governor General to Kenya and Malaysia.  She had met the Queen and the rest of the gang including the Queen Mother - and was best friends with the lady who wrote Born Free - those and a million other amazing things.  But - there was not a mention of any of that at her funeral - just a photo of her with Elsa (the lion cub) on the back of the funeral flyer and a passing mention of the Queen Mother by the Deacon of Ottawa during the service.  But there was the best organist in the city playing List, Mozart and Chopin at the start of the service, there was the best tenor in the city singing  Panis Angelicus (urgh - throat constricts just thinking about it!!)  and there was her granddaughter giving the most perfect bible reading I've ever heard (priests, ministers included!) and then … then there was Strauss'  "An der schönen blauen Donau"  to waltz everybody, with smiles on their faces, out of the church and onto champagne and hors d'oeuvres.  You're right - we didn't really belong - we had only met her a few times - but as for anybody who did meet her - you never forgot her or her stories and I was so happy to put on my pearls and say goodbye - for Erin who should have been there but couldn't!

The Weddings: 

#1- Ashley and Andrew

(Ashley is my friend Brenda's oldest daughter - sister of Jessica (she of the winter wedding Feb 2014))

So there we were right in the middle of everything (again!) - staying at the same (fancy) hotel 

as the wedding party

View from the nice hotel window - that's looking across from the province of Quebec (Hull) to Ottawa in Ontario!

That robe was so heavy I couldn't life it with my stupid frozen shoulder!

King bed here!

liking the de-fogging mirror!

 - 

invited to the lovely rehearsal dinner on Thursday night …

…  right there for the meet and greet on Friday night, 

…

right there for a peek at the bride and her maids prepping on Saturday morning 

prepping the M.O.B

and there for the beautiful, wonderful, amazing wedding on Saturday up in the breathtaking Gatineau hills...

LeBelvedere!

So much beauty!

there's Jess!  the beautiful baby sister!

 

M.O.B. "after" pic!

Pretty proud dad there Brad!

… with Lisa and Lacey our Christmas visitors!

As if the (beautiful) yummy food wasn't enough … there was a Poutine Bar!!

…. and yep!  we were there again for  brunch on Sunday morning !! 

 Oh dear- so much (wonderful) food - so many (lovely) people - so many (very, very funny) Newfie stories (both families originate from Newfoundland!) and so much fun.  In between the fun and food there was the casino-right next door!!  

We were probably the only wedding guests who gambled - but the hotel gave us a $15 voucher!! -  so on Friday night .after meeting and greeting off we went!  I had an extra $5 (signed up for their mailing list) and we started out winning bits here and there and  and every now and then it started to just spin by itself (huh??) so we kept winning a bit more and  we took a break and went to eat and then back to still winning (small) bits here and there - and then - we started to lose!  By around midnight I was down to my last $5  when it seemed that the machine just went to $0!! There was a balance of $4.75 showing but when I tried to cash it out nothing happened!  So I hit the "SERVICE" button and waited … and waited… and when I went to find where the "Service" was - they said it was a very busy time (midnight???) and I would have to wait.  So back I went and I waited and finally around 12.30A.M.  the "service" man came and he  turned keys and pressed buttons and went back over the spins and after much humming and hahing - he pointed out that when the hotel gives you a $15 voucher - they expect that you will play it all - not try and cash any of it out!  Humph!  I was pretty-sure that technically I wasn't trying to cash out THEIR $4.75 but it was late and he had a strong French accent and my French wasn't enough to argue and Joseph just wouldn't be a part of it - so I had to sit there and spin 100 more times until I had lost all of the  money!  Humph!   Oh well - it WAS a lovely wedding!

Colour in the hills ...

#2 - Dayna and Robbie

(Dayna is Joseph's mother's 101-year-old sister Zita's granddaughter)

SO special of Dayna to notice we would be "home" and invite us to her wedding. Dayna is on the Couture side of the family and a lot of them live in the Trenton/Belville area -but Dayna went to Queens University just like her uncle Joe and Tom and that's where she met Robbie.  So that's where the wedding was and we were pretty excited to be going back to beautiful Kingston down on the St. Lawrence - - with it's beautiful grey sandstone buildings and…

 our favourite bakery  (started by the guy from the Loving Spoonful!). 

Brunch at Pan Canchos!

We even stayed at the university (they run it like hotel during the summer break) and this is where Joseph studied Geology a million years ago so every time we went out it was a different street with different memories

Lots of old things on the Queen's campus

 and there we were again  -right in the middle of the action  - staying on the same floor as the young (oh so young)  wedding party 

and able to walk to the reception in a beautiful hall in one of those amazing grey sandstone buildings!    

It was another beautiful wedding - beautiful Dayna and her two beautiful sisters! 

 (There are just so many beautiful people in this world!).  

More great food and fun with the relatives we hardly see

… Dayna's dad Paul second from left, his twin sister Barb in red and Rhonda Mother of the Bride in navy.

Yep - same dress, same suit, same tie! … just a different (beautiful) bride!

#3 - James and Jessica

(James is the son of Greg and Florrie who own the cottage we (frequently) frequent!

Again such timing that we would be here and that James & Jessica would be so kind to invite us to attend.  Sadly we have declined. Their wedding is in Winnipeg -  a long tough drive from Ottawa and because it's summer airfares are crazy  -  so we've sent Ken & Eileen out to give them our best wishes and  to return with pics and stories.  We'll see their parents at the (oops - at their) cottage!  

In between the weddings and the funeral we have been;  to the dentist (jill & joe), to the chiropractor (jill), for a massage (jill), to  the hairdresser 

Lucky Bruce had another salon after his main one burnt down!) ... 

 visiting friends...

Hey Kate!  … I need a photo of everybody else at this picnic!

Friends from a long time ago … Chris White, Rhoda ...and Eileen!

Good friend Leanne … great way to get together!

 and  packing (Joseph ) boxes …but mostly we have been eating … eating all our favourites at our favourite restaurants …and still we haven't finished!