Good end to September

After a worrying weekend, we heard from Andrew that he has been offered a position at Berkeley! Everyone is happy! Details will follow. We had a turkey dinner tonight. It was nice. Heather didn't come after all but says she is coming tomorrow. It was a beautiful day!

Week of September 24

Hi there, It was a busy week with teaching/recovering from teaching! The weather has cooled, and it rained yesterday for the first time in months! It was nice - at first - to hear the rain coming. I was in Dean Park walking when I heard it coming. It was a bit of a bummer for Alex, who is camping at Port Renfrew with Sharah. Last time he camped it poured rain - he seems unlucky at finding good times for camping. Still some worries with him, but it's good that he did that, and the skies had cleared today. Heather is coming tomorrow, Sunday. We will hear all about her move to Kimberley. I am sad about that but maybe it will be good for her. We are going to cook a turkey, but maybe not a Thanksgiving dinner. I finished Kelly's socks and mailed them express on Thursday night. I hope they make it before she goes into labour. She is already four days over. It's an exciting time for her and of course for Catherine. Today we are getting the i's dotted and t's crossed for our renters, Cole and Mikaela Bartels, who are moving in to the condo October 3. Catherine and Sheralyn are going to help with that.

september 25

Subbed at Deep Cove for Johanne Chouinard,and will be in tomorrow too. I like the K's but I am tired after a day of being with them! I will be in Thursday for Matthew Makuch. I should be getting paid soon. Heather e-mailed to say she had given her notice and is moving to Kimberley for a while. I don't know what to think but I don't know exactly why she is doing it. She is coming over on Friday she says and then I'm sure she will be busy packing and moving. Catherine had another ultrasound today, and all is well with the baby, as we suspected. Just a couple of weeks to go now. Kelly is due any day! I have almost finished the socks for her.. I heard from Laurie, who had got the book I sent over via Holly. I felt bad that she didn't get into the choir. John made a nice dinner, pork chops on the BBQ with mushrooms and potatoes. We watched Downton Abbey, end of season one. We are anxiously awaiting the second season! Andrew hasn't heard yet from Berkeley but is still hopeful.

Thursday, Setpember 20

Subbing at Deep Cove School today. Yesterday at Keating for Douglas Fraser. Today was better than yesterday! The weather continues to be beautiful. John went fishing yesterday and caught two little fish, which we had for dinner tonight. Choir started yesterday. I wish we were better (especially some of the guys) and I wish we could sing some more modern numbers. I will hang in though. I went for a bike ride today, Mt. Newton X to W. Saanich Road. It was hard but nice and warm. Now to settle in for Jeopardy and Downton Abbey - one of my favourite things to do at night!

Tuesday September 18

I have let the journal lapse for almost a week! We have been a little busier now that school is in. I took cookies in to Deep Cove last Wednesday, and have been out a couple of afternoons already. One afternoon was FSL at Kelset (tiring!) and another afternoon at Deep Cove in kindergarten immersion (tiring but good). I will be out Thursday for Cindy Lister. I enjoy it but I like being home too, especially with the weather so good! I went for lunch on Friday with Carol and Deb at the Med Grill. It was nice. I rode down via the Lochside Trail and then John picked me up. We drove up to Nanaimo and caught the ferry to Horseshoe Bay. It all worked out well, and we got to Gary and Birgitte's place by 6:30. We had a busy weekend, hiking and biking, and the weather was great. We had a late night call from Alex - he had had a bad argument with Sharah and he was very upset. We almost left for home at 4:00 in the morning but finally Alex called back to say that he would be OK. It was good to finally talk to him on Monday and resolve some issues. We have been busy with renting out the condo and so far have four couples wanting to see it. Nick our tenant will show them through. We hope that will work out. I went for a long bike ride today, to Deep Cove School and stopped to eat blackberries along the way. The weather has been so warm, it's good to get out. John and I went golfing at The Ridge. I think I am getting better, although I'm still pretty bad. We watched the second DVD of Downton Abbey. It's nice that there's something we both enjoy watching together! Yesterday was the season premiere of Bones. Yay!

Wednesday September 12

Today I made a very good soup. I browned all the vegetables before putting them in the broth, and also made a bouquet garni to add to the broth - which was made from many chicken backs! I took my cookies around to Deep Cove and had a good visit with everyone. Then I went to Costco. I got some yoga pants among other things. I went to Jazzercize, and we watched a movie "Five Year Engagement", pretty funny. Jason Segal is my new secret crush!

September 11

It's eleven years since 9-11. I still remember it so well. Alex was only 10. Today was a beautiful day. I made two kinds of cookies, ginger snaps and cocoa white chocolate. I thought I'd take them in to Deep Cove tomorrow. Still 5 lbs up so I didn't taste too much! I also started soup. We got the yard waste taken away from 7681 and got a couple of people interested in seeing the condo, so that's good. I am reading "the Limpopo Detective Agency" so spent some of the afternoon reading that. John made steaks early and we went golfing at Ardmore. I got par on the second hole! Still a lot of bad shots though. It was good to get out.

Monday September 10

An uneventful day. Weather has got cool. Alex and I worked on his cell phone bill. It felt good to get that resolved. Alex has promised to come to us if he has a situation - he hasn't been altogether truthful with us. Lunch is planned with Carol and Deb! We are going to Whistler on Friday to have a hiking weekend with Gary and Birgitte. Several inquiries about the condo. Mark is coming to haul stuff away from 7681 Grieve tomorrow. I made a nice mushroom chicken with roast vegetables... very French! Jazzercize.

Sept. 9 feels like fall

Today I went for a walk at 8:00 p.m. and it was dark! Also a little rainy. Fall is coming fast! This morning I went for a run, then we went down to see Chillis, who had asked for some help. She seems lost and lonely in her new apartment. We stayed for a couple of hours and took her for a bite to eat. After that we went to the museum. The dinosaur exhibit was on and we enjoyed it - I didn't stay as long as John. I went shopping and found a duvet cover. I think it will work. I have been looking for a new one for a long time. I made chili for dinner and Alex joined us. Still concerns about his finances. I hope we can work out his cell phone bill tomorrow. Not all days are great, and this one was not so bad, just not all good. Last night we posted an ad about the condo and we have had three replies.

Fishing and Saltspring

I have been trying to soak up every bit of summer I can, so when John asked if I wanted to go fishing last night, I said yes! It wasn't good for fishing (one little greenling which we just had for dinner and it was delicious) but it was such a warm beautiful night out there. Oh yes, I caught a starry flounder, but we threw it back because we don't like the taste very much. This morning I rode my bike to the ferry and over to Saltspring Island, to see Heather in the Gay Pride parade. Heather is not gay but the roller derby ladies wanted to show their support. I made it just in time to see them come down. Heather was busy but we had a quick lunch together. The bike ride was kind of brutal but I am glad I did it. Saltspring is a very hilly place and it took about 50 minues each way, even though it's only 14km from Fulford to Ganges. Getting to the ferry was another 30 minutes, going my fastest because I thought the ferry was 11:00 (turned out it was 11:30!). John kindly picked me up at the Thrifty's. It was about 3 hours return. Heather was surprised to see me. She looked great in her derby attire. She needs to made up her mind what she is going to do after September but we didn't talk about that.

Happy birthday Andrew John MacRae

32 years ago I was holding a red, bruised, most beautiful baby boy in the world in my arms. That was a wonderful morning. Now he is a dad himself, of course, and a very good one too. He phoned last night to say that they wouldn't be coming next week after all because he has an interview at Berkeley! Our fingers are crossed tight for that. Yesterday we missed Andrew's call because we were at Glen Meadows at the driving range. It was a warm, beautiful evening, and good to be taking advantage of this summery weather. Maybe we will get out in the boat before the cold dark nights arrive.

Sweet little baby girl is 5 pounds

Yesterday was a good day, though not too action-packed. We had our carpets cleaned and they look great - for now! We visited John's mom, who was looking good with new earrings and her hair done. We missed her ukulele concert this time but we now know about the next one. Catherine phoned to say that all was looking good for the baby. The ultrasound showed one very beautiful baby, just a little small - 5 pounds, which isn't too bad at all. She has been eating well and feels lots of movement. After Jazzercize I rented a movie - "Jeff, Who Lives at Home". It was short but sweet. We enjoyed it!

Mill Bay bike trip

Yesterday John and I rode our bikes to the Mill Bay ferry and rode up to Merridale Cidery. It was about two and a half hours of cycling, plus an hour on the ferry. It was a great day. The tasting and lunch at Merridale was spectacular. It was so warm and sunny, and I thought how great it was not to be working! For dinner we barbecued the salmon I caught Tuesday and shared a small crab. We had a very "locovore" dinner, having grown the arugula, caught the fish, and harvested the apples from Chillis's back yard. Today we got the carpets cleaned. I know this shouldn't be exciting but they are so clean! I don't want anyone to walk on them now. Catherine has her ultrasound today.

Monday, last day before school starts - we went fishing and I caught a little salmon. It's a chinook, and we will have it for dinner! It was a beautiful night, a little cool out there but I had my jacket and sweatpants so I was OK. Today we are going on the Mill Bay ferry with our bikes and riding to Merridale Cidery for lunch. I wanted to do something special on my un-teaching day!

Saanich Fair

Yesterday, Sunday, we went to the Saanich Fair. We go almost every year, and sometimes I dread it. It makes me think about when the kids were little and then I miss them so much! John wanted to go, so we went and had a really nice time. We spent time looking at the kids' exhibits (so many of my little students had entries!) animals, plants, sheep shearing demonstration, bingo, and good shows at the main stage. Our favourite was a band called Younger than Yesterday, a cover band who do songs from the 60's. They were worth the price of admission! It was cute to see the kids dancing. Weather has been really good all summer, making up for a soggy May and June.

Back to school - well not really

Today is the last day of summer really - since school is back in tomorrow. Even though I am retired, it still feels like summer is over. That means that it's my New Year's Eve, since the January 1st one means very little to me. Years are measured from September to September in my world. So I have decided to start my blog again. It's OK if no one reads it. I am going to try to keep a journal. John used to but he has stopped, and sometimes I wish we could check back and see what happened on a certain day, or how long ago that was. So I will try to start, and seeing as how my handwriting is getting worse and my typing is better, I will type it. I am also thinking of getting out of Facebook. If I do, people can send me news and photos on this site, and I can share my news too. Well, it has been a good summer. So much has happened. Jackson and Sheralyn spent almost two months in Victoria while Andrew went to Europe and also completed his Ph.D. It was great to have them here so much more. Now they are moving, probably to New York, very soon, and we are going to look after Jack while Andrew and Sheralyn look for a place to stay. I hope they will also have at least a couple of days to be tourists and see some of New York City. Catherine and Paul are getting closer to being parents. They are having a little girl, due in October! Right now Catherine is just a little over 34 weeks, and things are going well. We spent a few days at their lovely home in Calgary just last week. We drove, which was long and monotonous but do-able once a year. C&P have a great house. We were there for nephew Ryan's wedding to Amanda Hindmarsh, or should I say a reception, since they got married in Cuba. It was so nice to connect with family. A highlight was sitting on the swing with 3 sisters! and later to sit with Kelly and Catherine, the two very lovely and very pregnant ladies. Kelly is due in just three weeks! Catherine is still teaching and doing well, but feeling extremely tired. She is looking very fit, and has kept swimming almost every day. Alex has continued with his welding. It's been up and down. I know he is anxious to move out but has no money. Welding is taking a while, and he is still on the learning curve about how to make/spend money. He has a lovely girlfriend, Sharah, and I hope they stay together. It was her birthday on Friday, and on Saturday Alex organized a party boat for about 11 people. Good for him organizing it, but he had to borrow money from us to do it, which I was not pleased about. It's a tightrope we walk as parents and sometimes I am not sure we are balancing it right. We haven't seen or heard much from Heather (Lorill) but she came over on Father's Day, and then again a couple of weeks ago. She is still on Saltspring, happy at the daycare but needing more money - and she has no permanent place to live. She is seriously thinking of going to Calgary to look for work. We hope it works out for her, but I hope it doesn't mean that she has to go to northern Alberta or something. We had almost a month at Savary. It was wonderful in every way. We got out on the boat, we had Catherine and Paul for six nights, we met new friends, went to the Frolic, Paul was in the Triathlon (next year - recreational! - he didn't do great but he got a medal!) I think I have gained five pounds but I'm scared to weigh myself. Some things are tight and I will try to get them looser before I put myself on the scales. I guess that's what happens when you have fun and eat some good food, despite daily running. One of the highlights of my trip to Calgary was a shopping trip where I was turned loose at CrossIron Mills and had four hours of shopping. It was great. I got running shoes, dress shoes, boots, shirts and a great dress. We're back home now, and it's good to be back. It will be a busy September, and we will be back to Calgary in October (or earlier!) A goal is to get the room above the garage cleaned out and made into a kind of games room/extra bedroom. Wish us luck!