Birthdays by the Bunch

What a month for birthdays, not to mention Mother's Day. It seems that this is a great time to celebrate life. For Mother's Day, Peggy took two friends and me to "Seasons in The Park," a restaurant at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. It was a sunny, warm day. Our table was by a window and we looked out onto trees and flowers that were all in bloom. In the background were the city's high rises and the North Shore mountains. It was a gorgeous day to spend with good friends and excellent food.

The next weekend we had another special time. Susan was home from Burlington and Alyson surprised us with a weekend visit from Calgary. On Saturday evening we were treated to dinner at The Pear Tree Restaurant in Vancouver to celebrate three birthdays -- namely, Susan's, Al's and mine. Alyson, Jordan and Peggy celebrated with us. Oh my goodness what a delicious meal.

On Sunday, the family celebrated again with a barbeque at Al and Peggy's. Now it's time to start my diet.

Two other birthdays in my family this month--my granddaughter, Katie and her husband, Allan Eisses.

What a beautiful month. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Daisy also celebrated her thirteenth year on May 24th.

April's here--where is spring?

Here it is the middle of April and it is still cold and wet. The trees are in blossom; the spring flowers are in bloom, but no sunshine.

It's been four years since Gordie's death. I was chatting to a lady from one of the seniors' homes near where I live. I asked about her husband and she replied, "Oh, he has been gone so long now that I forget that I was ever married." She is quite a character and she tells me how old she is every time I see her. It is never the same age--it ranges from 80 to 105. I imagine she is in her nineties. Her name is Florence--people used to call her "Florence Nightingale." It would be interesting to hear her stories.

I had nice visits with both Don and Brian this past month. Not long visits, but nice ones--I enjoyed the one-on-one time.

Sue hosted a fun, delicious dinner on April 8 in honour of Avril's 60th birthday; on Sunday, my family and I enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner at Peggy's place. My kids are all such good hosts.

The next birthday will be Natasha's on April 23. The next batch of birthdays isn't until mid-May. May is a popular month for birthdays in my family.

Spring is around the corner

A lovely warm week has just ended. The forecast is for rain. I enjoy walking in the sunshine, seeing the crocuses and snowdrops peaking out among the grass in the empty lots down the lane. I wonder how long those lots will be empty? Perhaps the recession will hold back the builders for awhile.

My home is gradually undergoing a facelift. New paint jobs in the bathroom and kitchen, plus new flooring. I feel as though I am living in a first-class hotel.

Another couple of birthdays this month. My grandsons, Dennis and Neil, will be celebrating their days of birth on February 23 and 25 (respectively). Dennis will still be at his job site in Korea I imagine. I wonder if my sons, Don and Brian, remember having a birthday party for Dennis while Lynda was in the hospital with Neil? It seems to me I received a phone call asking how to cook spaghetti. I think Don was happy to see his mother-in-law, Marilyn, arrive on the scene to take over.

My poor little dog has to have some teeth extracted. What a procedure to go the vet. More attention than lots of young kids get. Dogs having their toe nails clipped, dogs getting vaccinations and some dogs who just seem to come for the edible treat from the biscuit jar.

Memories

I try to write a blog at least once a month. February is here and it's time to write. Three of my grandchildren had birthdays in January. Only Jordan was here to celebrate. I remember receiving the news when each of them was born. How exciting!

Three of my grandsons, Jordan, Grant and Neil, were all born within six months of each other. None of the cousins lived near enough to know each other. Each summer, when they were little, their grandpa arranged for the family to spend a week camping at Okanagan lake.

The camping tradition was such a good one and it made many happy memories. The kids were free to roam with their cousins, uncles, aunts and a grandma and grandpa too. Uncle Don's speed boat, Uncle Brian's sail boat, even grandpa's fishing boat all got plenty of use by the eight grandkids and their parents. All you had to do was ask.

A small convenience store at the entrance of the campground sold ice cream and penny candy. The only problem was, it was a long hike up a steep hill to get to. You really had to want an ice cream cone to invest the time and energy it took to climb the long, winding gravel road. I wonder if my grandchildren remember the fun we had in those summers? There was always one good rain storm that made the holiday complete.

I hope my children are able to give their grandchildren fun time like these so they can reflect on the memories as they grow older.

Winter Wonderland

Here it is 2009! Where has the past year gone? The old saying, "Time waits for no man" is so true.

December was a busy month. Don and Brian were both here for a visit; they each spent a couple of days. It is nice to have company at breakfast.

It has been a snowy holiday season. Another dump of snow today and still it continues to fall. Walking is hard and I hesitate to go further than the front sidewalk. It is so icy around the apartment building. The salt supply was depleted after the first downfall of snow and stores won't be restocked until the middle of January. Salt is imported from Quebec and the trucks are having a hard time to get through the mountain passes.

Susan and Peggy have been so good about taking Daisy so I don't have to take her out. Daisy was my proxy at Al and Peggy's on New Year's Eve. She even had a sleep- over. Nothing spoiled about my dog.

We had a lovely time at Christmas. It was nice and cozy at Al and Peggy's. Even better, both Alyson and Jordan were home. Avril and Garth managed to dig their way out of their driveway to join us. Good family, good friends, what more could we wish for?

Standard Time

Oh, how I wish that Daylight Saving lasted all year long. It is only 4:30 P.M. and it's already dark. It is a clear evening, so the lights of Surrey are sparkling on the other side of the Frazer River. I take Daisy out first thing in the morning and last thing at night--it is dark both times--and there aren't many people around to chat with. On two separate occasions, people have stopped me telling me to be careful of my dog as there are coyotes hanging around the school grounds. Oh my gosh, that is all I need to brighten up my walk.

Since I last posted a blog, I flew to Calgary to visit family. Peggy and I started off bright and early Saturday morning and caught a plane from Abbotsford Airport--the flight left at 6:30 A.M. Al was kind enough to get up early and drive us out. Alyson ran into the airport at the very moment we arrived at the luggage carousel. She drove us to Pat's house for a lovely breakfast and a visit with Pat, Erin and Alyson. Next it was on to Aly's for a short nap in her comfortable bed.

It was such a busy weekend! We managed to see everyone, including Brenna, Grant and Ethan. Sunday morning we phoned Bethany to say hello. She invited Peggy and I to have brunch with her and Kurt. We arrived in time for a lovely meal of pancakes, cranberry sauce and whipped cream, scrambled eggs and bacon. I am sure they enjoy a breakfast like this every Sunday.

A fun and busy weekend, but I was happy to crawl into my bed at midnight on Tuesday.

Falling Leaves

When I came into my computer room I noticed the leaves on the tree outside the window. They are starting to turn colour. This particular tree is exceptionally beautiful every fall. I hate it when the wind comes and blows the leaves away. A case of "enjoy the moment while you can."

I had lots of visitors this past month. It's so nice to see family and old friends. My friend, who lives in Vernon, stayed with me for a couple of days. We were friends in Pitt Meadows when our kids were little. We spent most of our visit talking about "the olden days." I think where a person raises their family is the place that stays most vivid in our minds. I was amazed at Gordie's celebration of life, how many people from the old Pitt Meadows neighbourhood attended. People said they enjoyed playing in our yard (even if our dog, Sarge, barked continuously).

My sister is coming next week for a vacation. We will talk about different times, when we were young and growing up in Winnipeg. (Ruth still lives in Winnipeg.) I enjoy hearing her version of our home and our parents. My sister is almost 87 years old. We must make the most of the time we have and take advantage of the fact that we're both still healthy and able to travel.