Couldn’t resist:) We spent the day on Friday with our friends, John and Louise… had lunch then went to the AGO to see the King Tut exhibit. Fabulous stuff!!

We spent Friday night at Vanessa and Carm’s… always enjoy a chance to visit with them. After brunch on Saturday we headed back home.

Today we spent some time at Marie and Bob’s for a bit of Grey Cup watching.

Now to rest up for another busy week ahead… it’s soon going to be December and I have no Christmas shopping done yet!

Monday again… went to gym for pump class then tea with the ladies. This afternoon we took advantage of the continuing warm weather to wash windows, then Mike did some carving while I did some scrapbooking. Ah, the joys of retirement!

Last Wednesday we golfed with our friend Terry… a gorgeous sunny day with spectacular views across the Oak Hills. And I had my best score ever! Mike golfed again on Saturday with Ian. What a November this has been, weather-wise.

Julia seems to be on the mend after her bout with H1N1. No-one else in their family seems to have got it.

Darrell was home again with Joan for the weekend and will possibly be home for good soon.

Sad news from England, where our Uncle Tony died on Sunday. He is cousin Frances’ Dad and Lucy’s Granddad. Our thoughts are with them and all the family: John, Mary, Ian, Jane, Sonia, Barry, Tony, Adam and Sarah.

Almost two weeks since I made an entry…
Last Tuesday I gave a genealogy presentation at the library… a case study based on my search for one of my great greatgrandmothers. I did it as a Powerpoint and that was a learning situation for me since I had never done one before. It was lots of work to get it together but fun to present. I’ve been asked to present it again at a future date.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful. Mike golfed last Thursday and we’re going out again this week. Unbelievable to be golfing here in mid November!
Joan was happy to have Darrell home for the past weekend… and it coincided with her birthday.
Little Julia apparently has H1N1… has been sick for the last few days. Hope she’s feeling better soon.
Mike and I, Elizabeth, Stephen and Susan all had dinner at Marie and Bob’s on Sunday. Bob has just returned from a trip with Casey… Belgium as well as South Africa where they went on safari as well as touring the Cape area. Sounds like a place to see some day.

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.