last hurrah

 The sky is low and heavy with grey although I can see tiny slivers of blue - it's supposed to be sunny and 'warm' today but the weather forecasters must have mixed us up with somewhere without clouds!

We are at Kirsten's, 'holding down the fort' with all the tiny and big beasts while they go off to celebrate with Shenna for her 'white coat ceremony', which is sort of a welcoming celebration for first year medical students :-) Unfortunately their water system is fubar so we are without running water in the house - thank goodness for the villetta! And thank goodness that Carm filled up our water tanks last weekend so we should be good until Friday.

It's our last hurrah before we bring the trailer home for the winter 😞 Ah, such is the rhythm of the seasons… soon we will be hunkered down for another 6 months of isolation… I'm going to try harder to have friends over on a regular basis - last winter I more or less hibernated for the duration! Time to get the recipe books out :-) 

Yesterday was Mom's appointment to get setup for radiation treatments - we were shuttled from one location to another as she got scans, a mask, and other accoutrements needed. Mom was a trooper through the whole thing. While Mom was getting the MRI done, I chatted with a young woman (maybe early 30s) - she had breast cancer that had spread to her bones - inoperable… so sad for such a lovely young person.

Sometimes I hesitate initiating conversations with strangers, especially in a waiting room, but I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to make contact. I'm glad I did. It must have been a little overwhelming for her, sitting alone, waiting for her prep, and perhaps the distraction helped pass a bit of her time. And there's something about sitting in a room with other people with no one talking that feels even more isolating than if I were by myself.

Last week a friend from writing class contacted me about a quilt for Mom through Victoria's Quilts. They make quilts and donate them to people undergoing cancer treatments; the quilts are blessed in a church service, and along with a prayer, are sent out to the recipients. Mona did the arrangements and I picked it up on Monday night so I could give it to her yesterday - a figurative hug that bolstered her spirits. I will admit to a tear or two when Mona passed it to me… Thanks for thinking of us Mona!

Monday I made another batch of soup for Mom: a pumpkin red-pepper soup with lentils, zucchini and a bit of cabbage added to bolster nutrition. As I was driving to the hospital with Mom yesterday, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten it at home - an expletive or two burst from my lips, shocking Mom who never swears! 

Anyway, I had a bit leftover, so invited Trudie & Leo over for a bowl… they didn't stay very late - perhaps they were still hungry from the megar supper and wanted to get home for a snack!

Going back to Saturday, we were blessed with an overnight visit with Olaf & Stephanie. They got to ours a bit before 7pm, just in time for a comforting supper of pot roast, potatoes, roasted squash & carrots, and of course, yorkshire pudding! It wasn't a late night as there was a golf outing planned for early Sunday morning. I skipped out of golf, (the dogs would have been alone for too long), but after golf, I met them down at the St. Lawrence for brunch at the McIntosh and a trip around the flea market. I scored the blue candle holder that I'd had in my wish list for a few  years. 

Awesome!

“Victoria Quilts”

“visit with Olaf & Stephanie”

“finding the perfect candle holder at the flea market!”

“running water”

“Ted Lasso”