May 2016
Sunday May 29
Ann (in yellow) and other Ramblers in the Annapolis Valley
Ann and I were biking with the NS Ramblers again yesterday, this time in the Annapolis Valley following the same route that we took last year. It was not as nice this time with a fair amount of fog for most of the morning then mainly clouds, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.
When we returned, we went to our Syrian friends' apartment for dinner along with Jen and Colin who are also part of our sponsorship group. We were treated to traditional Syrian fare, all of the proper names for which I've forgotten, but all very tasty. I particularly liked the grape leaves stuffed with rice and lamb. Ibrahim, the soccer player, was very excited because Real Madrid, his team, beat Atletico Madrid to win the Champions League Cup just as we arrived.
Today was Ann's birthday which we celebrated in the usual way with Eggs Benedict for breakfast and a nice dinner of her choosing (barbecued steak with potatoes and asparagus followed by angel food cake with seven-minute icing). She also went to church which was followed by a party for the choir which is now on hiatus for the summer, and to a concert of Broadway show tunes by the Aeolian Singers after that.
Monday May 23
Liz and Katy
It's been a while since I updated this page but it has not been out of laziness: we have been busy. The evening of Friday May 6, Ann flew to Toronto where she was picked up by Martha. On Saturday morning, she rented a car and spent the day driving to Ottawa. The original plan was that she be accompanied by both her mother and my mother and that they would make a leisurely drive over two or three days to minimize long periods in the car. Then they would visit with Katy, Ben and Emily and our niece Liz and nephew John all of whom now live in Ottawa. However, first my mum then Ann's decided that the trip would be too taxing, so Ann ended up doing the drive by herself. I, on the other hand, got the long straw and simply flew to Ottawa on Saturday morning where Katy picked me up at the airport. Ann arrived in time for a take-away Chinese food dinner at Katy and Ben's along with Emily, her boy-friend Noah, and friend Hung.
On Sunday morning, Katy and Ben made Ann a big Mother's Day breakfast with me being a collateral recipient. In the afternoon we met Liz and John at Landsdowne Park then went for a walk along the canal before returning to Katy and Ben's for a barbecue dinner. While we were wandering around the market at the park, we witnessed a flash mob performance of the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth in honour of the European Union.
On Monday, Katy had to return to work in Chalk River but Ben put up
with us for another day which we spent going to visit Claire in
Gatineau. We met at her house then went for lunch in a pub in Chelsea
before returning to Katy and Ben's for naps and dinner at the Big Rib
brew pub.
The Rideau Canal approaching Dow's Lake
On Tuesday we met Emily at her new apartment just south of Carleton, then walked to Hog's Back Falls, down the canal past Carleton, around Dow's Lake and back through the Arboretum. We left in the late afternoon and drove to the Sharbot Lake Inn where we met Nick and Annette for dinner. Afterwards we took some beer back to our room where we sat out on the balcony overlooking the lake.
On Wednesday we drove via Orillia to Nancy's place in Barrie arriving in time to have lunch at the Grilled Cheese Social Eatery, the restaurant where Lauren works. It was a beautiful day, so we went to Wasaga Beach for a walk along the beach before returning to Nancy's where we had take-away Thai food before Nancy and Lauren taught Ann and myself how to play Blokus.
On Thursday, we drove to King City to take my mum out to lunch at the Paper Crane, the small Japanese restaurant in the centre of town. Our friends James and Judith met us a Mum's later that afternoon. The four of us went for dinner at the Hunt Pub beneath Hogan's Inn then returned to Mum's to devour a marmalade tart that James had made for dessert. That evening we drove back to Brampton but on Friday morning I returned to King City to visit with Mum for the next few days while Ann stayed in Brampton to visit with her Mum and Martha, Thom, Hannah and Rachel.
Saturday was the girls' afternoon out at the theatre. Martha, Edna, Ann and Hannah drove to King to pick up Mum and myself, then drove to downtown Toronto to see Kinky Boots at the Royal Alex. The Gardiner Expressway was closed for repairs and there were dire warnings of traffic gridlock, so we left plenty of time to get there. Of course, the traffic was quite reasonable and we got there far too early, so we stopped in at the Elephant and Castle, just down the street from the theatre, for a few nibblies. While the girls were at the show, I wandered around my old stomping grounds at U of T watching a couple of field hockey games on the fields across the street from Trinity College and what looked like a pick-up game of cricket in Varsity Stadium. We all met at the Kit Kat Italian Bar and Grill for dinner before Martha drove us all home again.
On Sunday, Simon, Linda and Nicky came to Mum's for lunch and Ann borrowed Martha's van and drove up from Brampton as well. Mum provided a very nice spread and we all had a nice time catching up.
On Monday morning I drove back to Brampton, we returned the rental car and in the late afternoon and Martha drove us to the airport for the flight home. We were initially on different flights but we managed to get them changed at the airport so we flew home together. Although our stay in Ontario was fairly short, it was great to have the opportunity to see so many of our friends and family.
During the time we were away the grass seemed to grow about six inches and much of it transformed into dandelions and forget-me-nots. We spent much of last week trying to get the yards back into a semblance of order.
At the beginning of the month, our neighbours across the street, Bill and Colette, moved elsewhere and a new family moved in. On Friday, Carl and Roxanne had a small gathering to introduce them to their new neighbours, though only Adria (mother) and Aurelia (daughter) were able to come.
Bicycling along the Southside Harbour Road
This weekend Ann and I have been in Antigonish for another bicycling trip with the Nova Scotia Ramblers. We drove up on Saturday morning arriving in time for a 1 PM departure for a ride around the Pomquet region to the east of Antigonish: 60 kms in total on a very nice day. Kim, Glen, Ann and I stopped in at the studio of artists Alice Reed along the way to see her paintings of Nova Scotian landscapes; some very nice stuff. Kim and Glen returned later to buy one.
Yesterday we headed north until we hit the Northumberland Strait, then west along the road to Arisaig where we stopped under the lighthouse for lunch. We returned by the same route. At the start of the ride Ann realized that her FitBit was missing and she returned to the hotel to find it (fearing the cleaner might put it in the laundry with the sheets), then drove to catch up with us about 10 kms along the route. That turned out to be a lucky mistake as one of the other riders was not feeling well and was clearly struggling a bit on the ride home; I was able to offer him a drive back to the hotel for the last 10 kms. That meant that Ann and I both rode only about 50 kms of the 60 km ride, but it was still a good test of our legs.
There was another ride scheduled today along the south shore of Cape Breton between the causeway and Judique, but the weather was drizzly so we decided to drive home via Cape George instead stopping at several small harbours and beaches along the way. Kim and Glen also came along and we had a pleasant lunch with them at Café Italia in New Glasgow before returning home. I managed to lengthen our drive by forgetting my sun hat in the restaurant, only discovering my mistake 25 kms or so down the highway.
Monday May 2
A crocus in our flower bed
(now gone until next year)
Ann spent most of last week doing our taxes; in particular, trying to determine why the amounts are so different from last year. In the end she got it all figured out and in the hands of the Canada Revenue Agency.
On Saturday we went to Neptune to see Drowning Girls about three women who were married bigamously then murdered by the same man about 100 years ago. Much of the time they are popping in and out of the three bathtubs where they were drowned; by the end the stage was a big puddle. It was actually not too bad; certainly different. We were on our own this time so decided to eat at home rather than going out as we usually do.
Yesterday I took Ibrahim to his soccer game along with his older brother Ahmad. They were playing the other U12 C team to make sure that the two teams were roughly the same strength. Ibrahim played very well, scoring two goals. Afterwards we went back to their apartment for coffee and cake where we met up with Ann and her friend Amina.