Not much to report… went to pump class, had tea with the ladies, did some chores around the house. We should have gone golfing as Lynne did on such a gorgeous day.

Cousin Darrell is back in the hospital for the next while.

No sooner were we back from Maryland than we were off to New York for four days. This was a trip that had been planned for the middle of September. The bus company very kindly found a couple to take our place on that trip and gave us the later date.

We had a great time… walked for many miles and many hours. While we were strolling through Central Park, Mike looked down and at his feet was a US bill with Ben Franklin’s photo on it. Yes, a $100 bill! A quick check at a bank proved it to be genuine so there was no chance of arrest for passing phony money or of cheating some poor cashier when we spent it.

This trip we didn’t see any shows but we spent Friday evening at MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art. Some great art in an interesting building.

Not a lot of shopping was done but we did manage to discover Filene’s Basement which has designer labels at fabulous prices.

Back to routine this past week with daily visits to the gym and/or pilates. Always good to be home and in the routine.

Cousin Darrell came home from the hospital on Wednesday after more than four months but unfortunately had to be readmitted yesterday. Not sure of the situation at the moment. As ever, our prayers are with him and Joan.

Tonight, Hallowe’en was extremely blustery although not too cold. The full moon and surrounding clouds were appropriately eerie. Our number of Trick or Treaters was down a bit… 90 instead of the usual 110+… this means candy left that we now have to avoid eating:)

Sure is dark out there this morning. I’m soon off to pilates, then depending on whether or not the forecast rain occurs, I’m off to golf or scrapbooking at Marilyn’s.
This actually feels more like a curl up with a good book day… maybe later. Haven’t decided whether the book I’m reading at the moment is a good one or not. It’s called “Runner” and is from from our CFUW book exchange. The subject, helping people to disappear to a new life to avoid some kind of danger is rather unsettling to me and I’m not really sure I care to read that kind of thing. Maybe a trip to the library to find something more upbeat is in order.
Thanks, Lynne and Joan for continuing to check to see if I’m writing.
Cousin Darrell continues to make progress. Cousin Barb is recovering from a serious operation and is our thoughts and prayers.

Mike and I got back today from our trip to the timeshare in Maryland. This year Patrick, Cathy and the kids joined us there. We had some beach time, mini golf and other kid-type activities as well as a bit of shopping.
We also went to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies and the small deer that live there. The area is sort of like Sandbanks but on the ocean. Mike and I golfed twice… one day was bright and sunny, the other sort of grey. We left Maryland in a drizzle and around the Lehigh Tunnel in Pennsylvania we passed through an area that had a couple of inches of snow on the ground. It was great to see the sun as we passed through New York and into Ontario.
It’s fun to travel but always great to be back home.

Doris Elizabeth Milne (3 Feb. 1919 – 14 Sept. 2009)

At this time last month we were so excited to learn that Mum finally had a place in a nursing home in Belleville. Finally we would be able to visit her every day after a long year of trips once a week to Deseronto. Unfortunately, shortly after moving into Westgate Lodge, Mum suffered a stroke. Early on Monday, September 14, she passed away quietly in her sleep. We miss her terribly but are grateful that she did not suffer for long and grateful for the many years that we had with her.

Writing sooner than usual… Gearing up for another busy week, so off to bed soon. We had a quiet weekend at home mainly… just out to the gym.

On Friday Elizabeth and I spent the afternoon together… it was her birthday. We visited Mum then did some shopping before having one of Mike’s great meals. I think E. enjoyed her day.

Cousin Joan reports that Darrell continues to make progress in his recovery. She looks forward to the day when he will be able to be home.

Another week of golf, gym, pilates…

Thursday evening our book exchange get together was cut short by the tornado warnings for the area. Fortunately our area only saw rain and thunderstorms.

On Saturday Elizabeth and I joined Laurel and Marilyn at an all day crop at Sweet Sentiments. Fun and productive…

Sandra and her sheltie, Cally, arrived on Sunday to spend a couple of days. We toured and shopped. The highlight was a visit to Spindletree Gardens north of Napanee. What a beautiful spot. We had it almost to ourselves to explore, take photos and marvel at the amount of work the owners have put into the property.

Mike enjoyed Cally’s company while we were out. Cally and our Maggie were playmates from their earliest days.

Another week has just flown by! Monday was my birthday. I golfed with Mike in the morning then Elizabeth and I visited Mum. E. came back for my birthday dinner… another great Mike meal.

On Tuesday M. and I golfed. It was a shotgun start at 8:00 am… a bit early, but still comfortable temperature at that time.

Wednesday was Mike’s birthday. We started by visiting Mum where I attended a meeting while Mike took Mum for a walk down by the bay. Then Mike and I picnicked along the way to Kingston. I got new golf clubs for my b’day. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant back in town.

Thursday I got a chance to try out my new clubs and posted my best score ever! We carted because of the heat and humidity… unusual for us.

Friday I finally got to the gym, had a quick tea with some of the ladies and then… you guessed it. We golfed again. Four times this week.

On Friday evening Vanessa and Carm arrived for the weekend. We visited Mum on Saturday and Elizabeth, Marie and Bob joined us for dinner. We relaxed on Sunday and V and C left for home in the early afternoon. It’s always so good to see them and the weekend passed too quickly.

Tomorrow is my birthday… the number doesn’t matter We were going to golf and have dinner at Timber Ridge today but cancelled because of the weather. Instead we had dinner at Marie and Bob’s.

Thursday to Saturday we had John and Louise here for a visit… good fun and conversation.

Time to close since I hear the rumble of thunder and I should turn the computer off.

Where is the summer going? Elizabeth and I visited Mum on Monday. I got in a couple of games of golf at the club as well as getting to the gym some days. Had tea with Evelyn and Deborah one day. Not so many of the ladies around lately… holidays, cottages, golf.

On Thursday Mike and I celebrated our anniversary. We went to Picton to golf… my first time there… then on to Kingston for dinner at Amadeus, a German restaurant. We were served more protein than we’d normally eat in a whole week! Had a great day.

Pat, Cathy, Julia, Mason and Buster visited for the weekend… arrived Friday night and went home today. On Saturday we made a full day of it with sun, water and sand at the beach and then a picnic at Lake Shore Lodge park. Yesterday and today involved trips to the mall and the nearby playground. Hope they had as much fun as we did! We also found time to watch the DVD of Julia’s dance recital. She performed along with it. A great weekend.

Cousin Darrell continues to progress. He moved this past week from the hospital to Parkwood to continue his physiotherapy and recovery.