Congratulations on your new car

Grandma and Grandad left on Wednesday evening.  It feels like we’ve done lots and it flew by.  Shame the weather wasn’t a bit better (we do have snow forecast for Sunday).

......and just to keep a record of heights.....

And now the house is quieter and appears bigger.  We had a scorcher of a day on Thursday and rain all day Friday.  This weekend we have a quiz night to attend and a Jazz night plus Small wants to see the New Avengers film.  

I briefly popped to pottery today to glaze a milk jug I made ages ago.  While I was there I got congratulated on my new car.  Apparently it’s a Canadian thing.  Like when you have a baby!  I was also asked why we don’t say that in Scotland!!!!!

Here lies Grandad, roundabout but not forgotten

Small passed his referee exam and is now eligible to ref games 11v11 which will give him more money and more games.

Both boys took part in Bandstravaganza.  This is an evening where all Elementary feeder schools (schools from surrounding areas that go to the High School where Small is, grades 6,7,8) take part in a band performance individually and then all together with the high school band.  It is to showcase their talents and allow them to see what they could achieve if they take Music a step further.  It was a very good night and nice to see so many people playing that we knew.

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The boys all went to the Golf Simulator and ‘played’ at StAndrews (but only six holes in two hours).  We all met up at a fancy cafe later for smoothies, ice cream shakes, cheesecake and crepes.  YUm yum.

Grandma’s cheesecake

My little crepe

The boys’ milkshake/smoothies 

Last week I finished my physio on my shoulder and started with the Chirpractor.  Earlier in the same day, Huffle had been to see the same person for his ongoing back/hip problems, but instead she sorted his neck which had pulled muscle.  She popped and cracked it and then did a similar thing with my
spine and neck. It was a very weird experience.  She also told me to use warmth instead of ice, stop
my anti-inflammatories if I felt they weren’t doing anything for the pain and start using my shoulder bit by bit.  I came out with much more movement in my arm.  I think I’m going to like this treatment much better.  I did however have a bruise that really hurts!

On Friday we went for a Birthday dinner (for Smallest, Grandma and Grandad) at our favourite
Italian restaurant.  We were supposed to go to a really fancy place but it was all booked up.  

Saturday evening we had Mr&MrsChristmas round for some card playing.  It was a fun evening with plenty of silliness.  We ended with some trivia questions ready for our quiz night next week.

Sunday we had an Eater Egg Hunt for the boys with clues and lots of eggs.  We decided to go out for lunch and ended up at the Chippy.  It was packed but we ended up with a good dinner.  Afterwards to we went to the garden centre where the boys bought me a Lemon Tree for a Mother’s Day.  Last week Smallest emailed the radio station where MrsM has her gardening show and won me a book about growing lemons.   No I have my lemon tree too!

During our trip, Grandad and Smallest were in my car and as we were going round a roundabout (not many roundabouts here) we almost got hit by a silly girl not concentrating, driving too fast and not abiding by the give way/yield rules.  Expletives fell out of Grandads  mouth and resulted in a discussion about life insurance and Grandad being buried in the top of the roundabout.

Monday the boys, Grandad and I went to work (greenhouse).  I potted things on, the boys moved woodpiles and Grandad, with help later, moved a whole load of branches from place to another.  We worked there until lunchtime.  It was a scorchio of a day and we got to sit outside in the garden (though Grandad was upset that it was allegedly 21* in his UK garden).

On Wednesday Grandma and Grandad go home.   Three weeks have gone by quite quickly.  They have seen all sorts of weather and have been a great help with the garden and house while I have had a bad shoulder.

Knocking our Granny off the log near the Ganny

Today Huffle drove Small to his latest referee course before coming back and driving the rest of us to Port Hope for the “Float your Fanny up the Ganny”.  This is a river race with kayaks and canoes and then crazy floats with crazy people.  It was started 39 years ago to commemorate the town when it was flooded.

We got there about 11:30 just in time to see the canoes and kayaks finish their race.  The river was very fast flowing and looked incredibly cold despite the nice temperatures of 13*.  When the sun was out it was lovely though the cold coming off the river was at times quite cool.  We wandered one side of the river watching the canoes and seeing the various stalls and then we crossed the busy bridge and went onto the other side where we settled in to watch the crazy floats.

We happened to be in a rapid spot where lots of people lost control or capsized.  It was very funny.  There seemed to be a lot of rocks in the river and I can imagine there would have been an awful lot of bruises and scrapes.  Talking of bruises and scrapes, Grandma fell off the log she was sitting on, luckily not towards the river.

We watched until most of the ‘boats’ came through and then walked into the town and got a nice warming hot chocolate/tea/coffee before driving off home again.  On the way we saw the finish line.  Bearing in mind it was a fast flowing river going in one direction, Grandma asked if the start was the same as the finish!!! DOH! The floaters have to get out of the water, take their boats and one,of the team has to get to the finish.  There are trophies and cash prizes.

It was very entertaining and made better by the fact we had our picnic with us including scones and jam and cream.

Huffle collected Small who had done his Part1 ref course ready for Part 2 tomorrow.  There was a lot  of Footballing in the garden, some climbing of ladders and then we went out for dinner.  Good day.

The upside down bench and seahorses

Monday to Friday

Our week has consisted of shopping for food, trying to find a bean bag for Smallest’s birthday, researching bike racks and buying bits for Grandads reconstructed bench and pantry shelves (every year he adds a few more shelves for my organising OCDness.  I am a lucky girl).

When we moved here seven years ago (eeeek) there was an old falling apart bench at the bottom of the garden.  We could still sit on it but it wasn’t very safe.  Grandad decided last time that he would mend it and what a fabulous job he did despite the fact we thought he had put the back on upside down.  Huffle, while we were out, etched a new sign for it.  It has now been placed in our vegetable garden and I’m sure will be used a lot.

Before

After

Yesterday (Wednesday) he mended our spinner which broke in the big winds.  Grandma bought Huffle a new spinner for the front garden but he mended the old one and is now trying it out.

Grandma has made two lots of scones, one lot we ate our way through (just to check they were up to standard) and the second lot were made for our picnic at the weekend.  She also made two lemon drizzle cakes.  One we ate as a pudding with custard due to it falling apart and Grandads ridiculously large portion control, the other was also for our picnic.  She has also made lots of dinners because my poor shoulder is stopping me from doing most things right now.

Grandma and I went to the charity shop and purchased some ‘seahorses’ for Grandad.  Like crocs but seahorses instead.  Oh he was pleased ha ha ha.

The weather has been warm, snowy, rainy, sleety and fog.  Hoping this weekend will be just right!

Tartan scones

Sunday morning Smallest made us pancakes for breakfast.  After some games, table tennis and jigsaw, Grandma, Small amd I went into Port Perry for the Tartan parade.  We weren’t sure what to expect or how much of a parade it would be.

It wasn’t much.  Lots of bagpipers, a marching Scottish band, lots of people in tartan and they all walked up the main road, then dispersed.  We later found out it was a whole day of things, including church service, dinne, dance etc.  We grabbed a Gelato, watched the parade and followed them and then perused a few shops, bought sausages and had a nice little lunch before walking by the lake and buying a few essentials for dinner,
.

Chocolate. Salted caramel and sorbetto

Smallest had a football practice which Huffle and Grandad went to and we all met back at home later.  Grandma and I put dinner together and Grandma made scones which we had afterwards.  Yum yum.  Smallest ate his in the bath!

All of us played Rumoli (card game) and watched TV before bed.

Compo, Aunt Sally and a case of marmalade

Grandma and Grandad arrived on Tuesday just as the snow was disappearing.  Since they have been here we have had several snow flurries and blizzards but nothing too bad!  They came carrying their usual haul of goodies and very little clothes for themselves.

On their first full day, we went and collected my new car (new to me, not new new but a terribly good deal despite it being six years old with just 7,000 km on the clock, heated leather seats, blue tooth and rust proof paint (as used on submarines).  On their second day here, my car wouldn't start and the
garage had to collect it and fix it.  All good now!

Photo credit Peter Hall and his new camera phone

On their third day the Boys had a day off school (PA Day) and we took them for haircuts while Grandma and Huffle swept and mopped the floors and Grandad and Smallest built Smallest's new desk chair.  We ended the day going out for dinner.

Saturday we watched our respective football games.  Stoke fans in the loft and Leicester fans in the living room.  In the afternoon we packed a lunch and went off to the Scouts for Smallests 18 wheeler race.  He was doing okay but both him and Ew lost out to faster and better trucks.  Smallest was a bit upset but a quick trip home and then off to the Maple Syrup Festival and he forgot all about it,

We learned all about how the Syrup was collected and boiled in Settlers times and then how it was done on modern times.  We got to try some, wandered the Maple Trail and went and had dinner out.

In the evening we all went off to watch Small’s final football match.  He got a medal but we’re not sure where he came due to some scullduggery.

Catch-up of 2019

Well I often write this blog in my head on a day by day basis, but actually sitting down to write it is another matter.    So I haven’t written since Jan and now it is already April.  What have we done?

I continued with pottery and made some lovely things, some terrible things and some good friends.  I should have started a new course ast Friday but injury postponed it.  More about that later. 

The boys also had a go at pottery and both got to go on the wheel.  Smallest prefers to handbuild but Small was happy on the wheel and they both made some lovely pots.  

Smallest has been accepted again for his football team which makes him very happy.  He has scored a couple of goals and sometimes played in his favourite position (midfield) but mainly he’s the force on defence, chopping everyone down who goes near him.   

Small too has been continuing with his football and is now in the playoffs.  So far he has played three and won two with five goals on each game and a draw on the last one so they must be at or near the top.  He has also scored a couple of goals but like his brother, is firmly at the back stopping anyone getting near him.  He growled as he ran the other day and got told off by the referee and the opposition coach.  Big babies!

Smallest has played in Dodgeball and Cricket Tournaments for school and took part in the Battle of the Books this week.  It was very geeky and exciting.  They didn’t get through to the next stage but he said he enjoyed it.  He’s been a busy boy.  Both are in their school bands and we have a Bandextravaganza in April where they will both perform for the first time.  Should be good.

 

We have had plenty of snow and ice and weird weather but I think maybe now it truly is Spring.  Last week at the greenhouse, I saw snowdrops emerging.  There are some leafs emerging in our garden, daffs I think. It’s been a really long hard winter and I can’t say I’ve really enjoyed it. Smallest went snowboardong with school and passed all his classes and is now a fabulous little boarder.  Small has been a few times with Huffle where they met up with Smallest too.  One day on the slopes, Small was
told his ‘son’ was an excellent snowboarder.  Small is very very tall and probably does look like a man with all his paraphernalia on but to call Smallest his son, that was funny.  Huffle took me
boarding one day in the week when it was quiet.  We practically had the slopes to ourselves.  I still
hate the chair lifts though.   We all went sledging one day which was fun.  No injuries but
lots of laughs.

Because of the snow, we had lots of ‘snow days’ where the school buses were cancelled.  In this case, Small can’t go to school because if a big bus can’t drive, then neither can I.  All of his work is on his laptop so he can continue.  Smallest always wants to go so we walk and although it’s only 1.5km, it’s a hard walk and means it’s 6km of tough snow walking for me backwards and forwards.  Good for my thighs though ha!  On one of the days where he decided he didn’t want to go to school after numerous snow days and walking, everyone in his class went except for him and everyone was really worried about him because it is so out of character.  I felt a bit guilty but once in a while isn’t bad.

During February we went into Toronto and visited Graffitti alley.  We have been before but it does change quite a lot.  We also went to the Light Festival at the Distillery District which is always entertaining.

 Our Hamlet has a winter Carnival which also happened in February.  A parade, food and things to do kept us busy for half a day.  

Huffle had a birthday.  The old man is now 44 and he had his usual request of Victoria Sponge.  We went out at the weekend and had a meal for his birthday and got the waitress to bring us a decadent dessert.  

I’m still teaching my little girl to knit and she has made a bobbly mat and a tumbling bunny.  Next we are making a teddy bear.  

I was asked to make a ‘toothless’ from How to train your dragon and I sold that plus six little dish scrubbies.  Unfortunately I am now not allowed to knit or pot due to a batting cage injury about three years ago.  Something happened to my shoulder and I thought it had healed but it has been causing me a lot of pain.  Then my elbow started hurting so I finally gave in and went to the docs.  Ultra sound, x-ray (still waiting for results), five physio sessions later and now I’m not allowed to do anything.   Grandma and Grandad arrived a few days ago and have taken over food preparing, cooking, cleaning and anything physical I’m not allowed to do.  Thank goodness they arrived when they did.

I did manage to make a cake for Smallest’s twelfth birthday before being given strict instructions to cease all things except clean my teeth and brush my hair!!

Now I've got all that out of the way, I can start writing about the adventures of Grandma and Grandad..........