We haven't forgot about our blog, but being back in Canada has been relaxing and yet very busy. We had a great time in Winnipeg staying in Beth and Patrick's driveway. We would do everything but sleep in Beth's house though. It was nice to still sleep in our own bed at night.
Following advise from Paul, I embraced a passion for my retirement years and that is cooking. I gave Beth the month off and I got to try many new recipes, some of them were amazing. I loved having a real stove and a big kitchen. I am still collecting new ideas for when I go back there next year!!!
It was fun being in the "peg" while the kids where in school. I loved watching them getting ready to leave for school and their arrival at home at the end of the day. We were able to attend a few assemblies and activities along with Beth and Jilly. At one event, I really got into the dancing and really embarrassed Clark. I like the fact Clark and Claire are in French Immersion so I could brush up on my own French. Actually Claire has a better vocabulary then I do now.
We took the opportunity while in Winnipeg to do some more renovations inside the motor home. With the help of Patrick and a neighbour across the street, we replaced the counter in the kitchen and bathroom as well got a new dinette table. Pat and Beth did the back splash and the motor home looks awesome now.
One of the events Beth and Patrick wanted help with was to look after the grandkids while they did a triathlon in St. Malo Manitoba. I had never been to one of these races and it was a lot of fun. Both Beth and Patrick did awesome. So proud of both of them.
I really loved when everybody went into the lake. Patrick called it the washing machine affect.
I almost got inspired to want to do a triathlon myself......that inspiration only lasted till the end of the day...lol.
Like all the other places we have been to since we started traveling we wanted to make sure we saw areas of Winnipeg that were new. We took a tour of historic downtown Winnipeg (after a great snack of Poutine...see Pic).It was very interesting. Didn't realize how important Winnipeg was in getting the west going.
Of course we went to our regular "go to place". Skinners hot dogs in Lockport -just north of Winnipeg. My mom used to go here when she was a young girl with her boyfriends. (back in the '40s)
A couple of more highlights of our time in Winnipeg was to catch a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game in the new stadium and going to a Michael Buble concert in the MTS Centre.
The time we spent here went very quickly. A day after the kids finished school we brought them with us and left for Lethbridge for the summer. It was so nice to spend time with the Vissers without having to rush back home to go to work. The joys of retirement.
SHE SAID:
John has been a bit naggy about me getting my comments in...I could say..."What he said", but I will add a few comments of my own.
Winnipeg was a great time, being able to spend it with the Visser Family, getting to know the grandkids better and spending some good quality time with Beth and Patrick. As Patrick is a great handyman, and can McGuiver almost anything, it seemed a good time to do some renovations on the motor home. I started out with new sinks, as the park in Lethbridge stained ours last fall. Well, that turned into countertops, tabletop and tile veneer in the bathroom and kitchen. I also added some wall decals in the sleeping area. Beth's neighbour is a cabinet maker, so did all of the laminate work. We were able to use laminate she had in her shed. A great deal and the place looks awesome. I must say, with vision in only one eye putting up the wall finishings was a challenge, but after watching for a bit, Beth broke down and helped...ALOT!! After we were finished, I realized the kitchen area looks erily like the kitchen renovation I did in our house. I guess I know what I like :)
We also got together with Carol Ladd, Aaron Ladd and his family and the Drozdowskis. It was great to see them all! Aaron is one of Paul's teenage friends, who spent a lot of time with us when we lived in Winnipeg. It was a fun to catch up with him and reconnect. Time with Carol, Nancy and Wayne was great - it's funny how easy it is to visit with old friends after a long time not seeing them. This is one of my weaknesses - not keeping up with amazing people whom have been a part of my life.
When it was time to leave at the end of June, we gathered up three extra people, and brought them with us. It was loads of fun to travel with Claire, Clark and Jillian. They were so well behaved on the trip, but will get into that in our next post.
