Family Reunion

It was so nice to see everyone from my side of the family at the reunion 2 weeks ago. The last family portrait we had was 6 or 7 years ago and there has been someone missing at every other get together since then. We held the reunion at Springwater Park again. It is partway between our abodes and close to the 400 for people who have to travel. There is lots to do - a wildlife rehab centre, playground, trees for climbing, hiking/biking paths and space for your own games.

My friend Linda always makes an amazing cake for our get togethers. This one was for the family reunion, Kevin and I turning 50, my brother and niece's birthday (Tinkerbell was for Ashley), Father's Day and welcome home to Caitlin and Alec. Each side said something different. The paddler had a little camera, map and set of keys.
Kevin's side of the family was invited but had other commitments. Kevin's mom and aunt were the only ones who made it. Here Kevin is taking his mom for a spin on the tandem.

Catching up

It has been very busy around here. Since May 13th we have had overnight guests 6 times. One I didn't even know (friend of Kevin). Two have stayed only one night but the rest were 3 - 10 nights. As you know that means a lot of changes in routine, extra laundry and transportation arrangements. There have been 4 trips to the airport and one to a bus station. We have been to a wedding and a family reunion. Alec was the last one to head home this afternoon. While I miss having my kids around, I am looking forward to things settling back to normal - whatever that may be. At this time of year work is still crazy so I won't be resting.

I finally have a few minutes to share some pictures with you.

I like this picture of Caitlin and I taken at the wedding shower.

Me and my girls
All my kids

Guess How Many

I had my hair done up special for the wedding.

I slept on it Saturday night and kept it in all day Sunday. It lasted amazingly well - only one curl came out.

So my question to you - guess how many bobby pins it took to hold my hair up?

Wedding

Alec's best friend got married today. We were very excited that all the kids could be around for his big day. We took lots of pictures. This is one of the best of our family.

The wedding was at the groom's parent's property. We walked down a steep embankment, crossed this beautiful covered bridge and the ceremony was held streamside in a small clearing. It was a beautiful day and a very informal wedding.

Tomorrow we are having a family gathering so it will be one busy weekend!

Blast from the Past

One of my clients has a special treasure.

I knew Connor would enjoy seeing his treasure so I arranged a trip.

George bought this 1931 Model A Ford Coach in 1946 when he was 16 years old for $250. I find it amazing that he has owned a vehicle for 65 years! And I was surprised to find that it is all the original parts!

It is a little dusty but George has dialysis 3 times a week and is on oxygen so he doesn't have the energy to care for it like he used to. However the woodwork still gleamed.
Reminds me of a mini van.

The guys tried to crank the engine and are very glad we don't have to do that now. I am not sure who enjoyed the evening more us or George. He enjoyed showing us his baby and learning about our tandem bicycle that we rode over. And we learned a lot!

Adventures in Veganism

Tori has been home for a few weeks. She eats vegan most of the time so we have been making a lot of dietary adjustments to accommodate her and hopefully improve our health as well. We have been feasting on Spicy Black Bean Patties with Lime Hummus, vegan pizza with cheese made from yeast flakes and soy milk and experimenting with egg substitutes. Products like Tahini and Salba are stocked in our pantry with Wheatgrass, Spelt flour and Dulce.

Tonight I planned Red Lentil Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach. The recipe called for 1 can Rotel. On my way home from work, I stopped at the grocery store and asked for help finding the Rotel. The grocery manager was sure he had seen it, maybe it was a cheese. The health/organic manager said she had been a vegan for 19 years and had no idea what it was. I figured we could make the recipe and substitute something so I went home. And looked it up

Hmm ... maybe next time I will look up the strange names before I head to the store.

Tonight's Top 3

The question tonight was "What is your favourite word in the English language?".

It took the 3 of us a while to come up with legacy, serenity (which led to tranquility), secularism, bumblebee and buzz.

But it only took us a minute to come up with a big list for Shasta - breakfast, supper, popcorn, bed (because she gets a treat there), squirrel, walk, out ...

What about you - what are your favourite words?