Spinning

This year was going to be my quiet year. Because I hurt my hands shoveling snow I only worked 3 or sometimes 4 days a week instead of full time. We went on a family vacation to Bar Harbor and Kevin and I had a few days away in Muskoka at a lovely B & B. Tori went back to University as scheduled. All according to plan.

Then chaos.

My dad was taken to the hospital on September 19 when my sister noticed his speech was garbled. He was diagnosed with a stroke that day but the doctors felt something wasn't right. The next day more tests and the diagnosis was changed to a brain tumour. He spent 3 days on a stretcher in emerg before being moved upstairs. The care he received in emerg was good but you must remember that they don't carry pillows and blankets for long term stays and that stretchers are not meant for tall men. The second night I stayed with him to help out and let my mom get some rest. Once he was moved to the ward there were many more tests and finally the recommendation for the gamma knife as his weak mitral valve and lung cancer rendered him unsuitable for invasive surgery. He underwent this procedure at Princess Margaret at 6 am on October 4. Kudos to Leanne for getting my parents there at that hour. This shot was taken just before 7 am. The next day was their 55th wedding anniversary.

Since then he has had good days and bad days. Mostly he just wants to sleep. His speech is still hard to understand most of the time. He understands us but we don't always understand him. It is so frustrating for everyone. His spirits are good considering the circumstances.

So you can imagine what my days are like now. Work 3 days, travel to my parents for 2, back home to get caught up and pay attention to the dogs, back to my parents, back to home and work .... I feel like I am on merry-go-round spinning out of control a lot of days.

Last week Connor was in Florida with his cousins and Kevin was in New Brunswick on business so things really spun faster without their weight to anchor the ride. And tomorrow I leave for BC so I can drive back with Caitlin who feels the need to be here with all that is going on. So in less than 10 days our family has covered most of the continent. Coast to coast to coast and now we are filling in the middle.

I am getting off the merry-go-round and onto a roller coaster through the mountains of the northern US.

Overdue Vacation Update

My mother-in-law reminded me that it has been a while since I blogged so here is the condensed version of our holidays.

We went to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, Maine with my sister and her family.

We biked on the beautiful carriage trails built by Rockefeller starting in 1913. There are a lot of bridges that Connor liked to climb. He kind of reminds me of Kilroy.

Even though we had been here before we got lost a lot. Not surprising with maps that didn't show the underpasses and overpasses and great signs like this.
Connor went deep sea fishing with my brother-in-law and nephew. They came back with lobster, pollock and cod so we had a feast.
While they fished the rest of us went to Dive in Theatre with diver Ed on the Starfish Enterprise. It was educational and fun - a laugh a minute. We highly recommend it for anyone in the area.

We all enjoyed exploring the tide pools.
All of us as we are preparing to depart.

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!