Calgary and Ottawa

We managed to pack up our cottage on Salt Spring and put the minivan to bed in the garage as our new tenant was moving in. We feel very fortunate to have another reliable tenant for the next two years, he comes highly recommended by our neighbour so we are leave feeling comfortable that our cottage will be well looked after.
He helped us load our vast amount of luggage and drive us to the ferry. We always have the maximum luggage allowed when we fly anywhere--it does not matter what we offload as gifts for family we seem to have a knack for accumulating the same amount again. This involves the endless transferring of things from one bag to another jumping on and off the scales so the four bags are close enough to the 50lb allowed. The four carry on bags are also at the maximum and we have to make them look as though they will fit in the allotted spaces.
Carol Ann and Ken picked us up from the ferry in Sidney as we manfully struggled to walk off with our bags with Ken swearing that one day we will travel light!!! We joined them for their neighborhood party where we had a wonderful roast beef dinner. They dropped us at the airport the next day for our flight to Calgary.
Aaron and a very pregnant Ashley met us and we had dinner with them at an Indian restaurant. They were the only members of the family that had not been able to get to Salt Spring as they had gone to Ashley’s family in Ontario so it was good to see her looking so well. Their baby is due in January so we will be sad to miss seeing our 7th grandchild for some time.
We stayed at Amy and Rob’s in their partly finished basement, Amy has reclaimed the room we usually stay in as she has started her nursing programme and has set up an office there. She is doing so well we are very proud of her.
Isaac in grade 5 and Alora, in high school--she is 5foot 10inches so towers above her beloved Papa--are growing up so fast.
We visited Mike and Eun at the new condo she has recently bought and she made us a lovely lunch. Her place is close to downtown and is very nice. Mike was in town for a few days and then will be going in the field so although we will not see a lot of him we will have his car for most of the time--a plus minus situation. Mike loves his job and has a good balance of field and office time and is well appreciated at work.
The next day was thanksgiving dinner at Amy’s so we all helped with the family dinner as she has midterms this week. It was like old times in Calgary with everyone talking and laughing at once.
The next morning was quite a shock when we awoke to snow!!! Only in Calgary!!! Oh, and I had appointments for mammograms and pap smear--taking advantage of our tax dollars using our Alberta Health Care. After no winters for 4 years I carefully negotiated the roads and managed to get to everything OK.
We spent the week just hanging out with the family enjoying their company and watching Alora’s hockey and Isaac`s soccer.
I fitted in one last lunch with the ``pottery girls`` and then it was time for me to pack up again and go back to Ottawa where I would visit Kristen and Kyle again for my last 2 weeks. Ken would stay in Calgary and we will meet up in LA on the 2nd November and fly to NZ on the 3rd.
Kristen picked me up at the airport and after dinner in a trendy restaurant we came home to greet Adelyn and Grayson again. It was nice to feel they knew me and I am accepted as a family member by them. I spent a lot of the time babysitting the kids while Kristen and Kyle worked so it gives me a chance for a one to one relationship. Adelyn continues to astound with her sharp mind, not missing a thing and Grayson has a whole new vocabulary. He is starting to assert himself more although he has a much more gentle nature and is more chilled out than his bossy sister. I did enjoy her though as she can carry on a conversation and comes up with incredible statements.
Kristen had bought 2 tickets to the Wiggles--Australian children’s entertainers--so Adelyn and I went. It was fun and she enjoyed it but was disappointed not to have cake as Kristen had told her it was part of her birthday present.
Kyle went on a business convention out of town for a couple of days and unfortunately Grayson developed croup rapidly necessitating Kristen to make a midnight trip to emergency. After a long night and a steroid shot he was able to come home and his breathing became easier.
Kristen and I went to a large craft show which was on and I was able to visit with several friends from my past life. I always enjoy reconnecting with them and appreciate the talents of so many people. My lifestyle is not conducive to more “stuff” but I was able to encourage Kristen to spend her money.
I took a day and borrowed the car and went into Ottawa for the day visiting the impressive Museum of Man which explores the peoples of Canada and their history and I also took a walk downtown satisfying my love of cities. The leaves are past their best and a lot of the reds have gone but there were enough to still be lovely.It was cool and I finally indulged in the odd favorite--poutine, strange combination of fries, gravy and cheese curds(whey)--hmmm--tasty but I don't think I could have it often.
Kristen had decided we should have a couple of days in Montreal as Kyle had had the business trip followed by a camping weekend with his brothers. We drove the couple of hours and checked into our hotel. We then did what I love and have obviously influenced her to love and we walked and walked and walked for 2 days. It is a beautiful vibrant city with a wonderful French atmosphere and I enjoyed croissants and french onion soup. Once again Kristen was doing the shopping and although did not find a hat which had been part of her objective but did get boots and several very cute shirts. There were some lovely trendy hats but her life is not conducive to such excessive trendyness ---I think there are perhaps a couple of years, pre kids, in one’s life when perhaps they may fit your lifestyle and after that you have to just look longingly at the great styles and wonder if you will ever be that person again--actually probably not!!!
Next was Halloween. Kristen and Kyle live in the heart of young suburbia where such things are taken seriously. Many homes are decorated with carved pumpkins, witches, ghosts and other scary creatures. Luckily some of her neighbours have invested in amazing costumes which they readily lend out so Grayson was a lion and Adelyn a dragon. They were soooo cute. It was fun to take them out to “trick or treat” and have them standing at the door and see the reactions of the faces of the people as they opened the door.
The last event was Adelyn’s 3rd birthday party at Kyle’s parents house in Kingston where she finally had her cake even though she was a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention and would not blow out the candles--oh well she did enjoy opening her gifts.
Tomorrow I fly to LA as our sojourn in Canada is over. We have loved seeing our wonderful family and are so proud that they have all developed their talents and are fine adults and parents. We also loved to see all of our friends and feel so fortunate that we have so many wonderful people in our lives. We leave once again with mixed emotions but are looking forward to being back on our boat and moving to the next stage of our lives.