Our Message Archive
Sunday May 31
Returning from the Bike & Bean on the St. Margaret's Bay Trail a couple of weeks ago.
Friday was Ann's birthday and this year she decided she wanted a music party, so we invited our friends Sandy and Thomas, the other members of the Dave Brothers Band (Brendan wasn't able to come), the members of Ann's church choir, all our Rambler friends who either play or like to listen to music, neighbours, Ann's book club members, her Mahjong group, as well as a few additional hangers on. Everyone was invited for 5pm and the music began shortly afterwards and continued until about 9:30 when it all wound down. We managed to get through 12 large pizzas as well as cake, chips, nuts and other nibblies. From the feedback we have received, everyone had a good time. I know I did since I got to play music for four hours straight. After everyone had gone home, we watched some of the hockey game but gave up after the second period when it was clear that Montreal was going down in flames.
Last Sunday, Ann, David and I went to Ingrid and Mike's for dinner along with Alex, Kim, Glen, Will and Anneke to celebrate Ann's, Ingrid's, David' and Alex's birthdays. Ingrid provided lasagna, Kim and Glen brought salad, and we brought cakes.
I have been trying to get the rest of my vegetables planted but it has been so cold recently that I still haven't been able to transplant the tomatoes, eggplant and basil. There is another frost warning for tonight for most of Nova Scotia though here on the coast it should only go down to about 5°. The forecast has it warming up a bit on Wednesday so I should finally be able to get them in then.
We also planted a rhododendron on the rock garden in the corner of the back yard and a blue spruce a bit in front of where the maple tree was that came down in the fall of 2023. It is only about 40cms tall but in a few years in should fill in some of the gap between the trees so our back yard neighbours can't look into our kitchen.
Of course, there has been quite a lot of biking recently. We've been out twice with the Ramblers: on a new route circumnavigating the airport and ending in Oakfield park where we had a picnic lunch; and across the Cole Harbour Salt Marsh to Lawrencetown Beach and on to Grand Desert where we had lunch at the Rose & Rooster Café. On Tuesday, while Ann was volunteering at the food bank, I also rode with the Roadents from Laurie Park to Monte Vista.
Our biking friend Kimmie is a long term health worker who has been on strike for the past seven weeks trying to get the Nova Scotia government to pay them a living wage. On Monday, while Premier Houston was speaking inside, CUPE held a rally outside the convention centre in downtown Halifax. Ann, Kim and I went along to provide our support.
Wednesday May 20
Fancy tulips in the back yard
Ann and I stayed in Renfrew until Andrew's birthday on May 5. That was a low key affair after the excitement of the party the previous Saturday. There was a pancake breakfast with presents before the kids went off to school. Andrew also got to choose dinner but I've forgotten what it was.
We began the drive home the next day after seeing the boys off on the school bus. We stopped for the night in Rivière du Loup and arrived home in the late afternoon the following day, in time to go to Neptune to see The Ghost of Violet Shaw, a suitably mindless farce set in the 19th century; after driving all day I don't think we could have coped with anything more substantial. The next day we were also up reasonably early to go with Pat and Cindy to a dress rehearsal of the Neon Dreams show with Symphony Nova Scotia. The audience was largely made up of school-kids who got along well with the musicians.
Since then my time has largely been taken up by gardening and biking. I am continuing to dig up grass in the back yard in favour of flower/vegetable beds and there has also been the perpetual weeding. Most of the vegetables are now planted with the exceptions being those that need reasonably warm night-time temperatures: tomatoes, basil and eggplants. Hostas in the front yard have also been moved to the back and replaced by a new rhubarb patch; we'll have to wait a year or two before it bears full fruit.
A bald eagle soaring over the farmland
near Port Williams
Amazingly, none of the Ramblers rides has had to be cancelled due to poor weather (touch wood). A couple of weeks ago we joined them for a ride around Dartmouth and Cole Harbour and, this past weekend, we went to Bridgetown in the Annapolis Valley for three days of biking in gorgeous weather. We drove up on Friday, checked into the Bridgetown Inn, then joined Kim, Glen, Ingrid, Mike, Norm, Pauline, Jani and Lynn for dinner at The Crow's Nest, a seafood restaurant in Hillsburn. On Saturday, we rode north of the river to Middleton, then back south of the river. That evening, Ann, myself, Kim, Glen, Ingrid and Mike went to Restaurant Composé for a very nice dinner. On Sunday, we rode south of the river against a fierce headwind to Annapolis Royal, where we had lunch at the German Bakery Sachsen Café, then returned north of the river with the wind at our backs. Monday's ride was a Ramblers classic through the farmland between Port Williams and Canning.
We have also been out to Lawrencetown Beach with the Railers and twice with the Roadents, from Laurie Park to Monte Vista and from the 5k Café in Beechville to the Bike & Bean in Tantallon.
I have also been following the Habs/Sabres hockey series including the nail-biting seventh game overtime win on Monday. Let's hope they do as well against Carolina.
Sunday May 3
Alex with a nerf gun during Andrew's party
Ann and I are currently in Renfrew having driven up this way a week and a half ago. Unusually for us, we didn't leave until late Wednesday afternoon, taking the time to join the Railers for a ride from the 5k Café to the Bike and Bean before we left. Ann was having some difficulty riding her old bike — I had forgotten to pump up her tires so they were underinflated — so she and Pauline turned around halfway and stopped for a coffee at D & Jo's. The rest of us went to whole way and had our coffee at the Bike and Bean. We got back from the ride mid-afternoon, packed up, and set off getting as far as the Comfort Inn in Fredericton. The next day we drove all the way to Ottawa arriving at Julia's at around 8 pm.
The next day, while Julia was working, we rode our bikes to the Miracle Café where we met Morgan for coffee and treats. Then we rode downtown to the National Gallery and spent a couple of hours taking in an exhibit by west coast indigenous sculptresses and some of the permanent exhibits. After lunch in the gallery cafeteria, we returned to Julia's by way of the Byward Market and the trail along the Rideau River. Morgan met us there and the four of us went out to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant that Morgan recommended. We also picked up some cannoli at an Italian bakery just down the street from the restaurant and ate them back at Julia's.
On Saturday, we packed up again and drove to Renfrew. That afternoon, Ann and I took Andrew shopping for a present for his upcoming birthday: a new bicycle.
Sunday was a very nice day, so I went for a ride out the Millennium Trail, then along back roads to the Algonquin Trail which I followed almost to Arnprior. I stayed on the Algonquin Trail all the way back. When I returned, Ann and I took Andrew to an empty parking lot across the street to try out his new bike. He had a bit of trouble getting started at first but then got the hang of it.
On Monday morning, we packed up again and drove to Bracebridge to visit my brother Simon. We stopped for lunch in Haliburton and arrived mid-afternoon. Our niece Nicky came over with her kids Blake and Arlo and we all started a jig-saw puzzle then ordered some take-away food for dinner. When Nicky and the boys had left, Ann and Simon had a Zoom chat with Ann's book club which had recently read Simon's novel.
The next day we did a bit of shopping in Bracebridge, took Simon out to lunch at the Main St. Diner, then drove to Barrie to see our friend Nancy. We stayed overnight at her place, went out for lunch at the Chopped Leaf the next day, then drove down to Brampton to stay with Martha and Thom for a couple of days. John and Halima also came up from Bright's Grove. That evening the six of us went for dinner at Maswary Egyptian Kitchen.
On Thursday, Ann, John and Martha's cousins Sherry and Jane came for lunch. We all ended up around the dining room table chatting until dinner time when leftovers from lunch and the Egyptian dinner were wheeled out. It wasn't until about 10 pm that the gathering broke up.
On Friday, we packed up once again and drove back to Renfrew stopping in at my brother Nick's for a couple of hours on the way.
Saturday was Andrew's birthday party. Katy and Ben's good friends Chris and Andreanna arrived from Ottawa with their kids Kara and Clark, and five or six of Andrew's schoolmates were also invited. The festivities started with nerf gun target practice in the basement followed by a free-for-all nerf gun battle. That was followed by lunch with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake decorated in a Minecraft theme. Then they settled in to watch the Minecraft movie. Everything went very well considering they were a group of rambunctious of four- through eight-year-olds and everyone seemed to have a good time. When it was all over, Ann, myself, Chris and Andreanna escaped to Ottawa Valley Coffee for a bit of peace and quiet.
Today was another beautiful day so I took the opportunity to go for a ride up the trail to Cobden. When I got back, we watched Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with Andrew and Alex.