Monday, July 6th - a belated Happy Birthday Caitlin

Well, the holidays are over and it's time to get back to what ever resembles normal around here. The weather certainly isn't. After extreme bitter cold the past week, yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was just below freezing, around -6 or -7 and no wind. A perfect day to go skiing, but unfortunately it was also the day everyone was leaving. Greg was flying home and Patti and the kids dropped him off at the airport on their way by. She and the kids and the two dogs are on their way. I was texting them last night before I went to sleep and they still had good weather and roads and at 10:00 our time they were just starting to look for somewhere to stop for the night. They had freezing rain in Ontario and Greg called and told her the 401 was like bumper cars. Not good! We are getting that today so it's remarkable that she didn't run into it yesterday. With any luck at all, they will sleep through whatever storm hits their way and maybe be better this morning?  Let's hope. It's a little too early to text them yet this morning so I'll be anxious to see them get safely home.

With our lovely day yesterday,  Brenda and I did indeed take advantage and go out to the National Park to check out the condition of the trails. Today we have a freezing rain warning and an expected high later of 8'. Does this make any sense?  We have lots of snow so rain will really make a slushy mess of things.  Can't wait for the drive to and from work, although it's not meant to start here till around 9:00. Hopefully I'll get to work before it starts, and it will turn to rain and melt the ice before I leave to come home.

It was a quiet week, with not a lot to do but everyone seemed to keep busy. It was just too darn cold for any outdoor activities. We went to the pool one day and the movies on another. On Saturday, I went to work and Patti spent part of the day tidying up and packing up their things for the drive home on Sunday morning. Brenda and Bernie were coming over for supper so when I got home we set about getting everything ready. Meghan and James were a big help in the kitchen and we set up the card table at the end of the big table so we could all fit around it. The kids love Brenda and Bernie and are always so excited to see them when they come to visit. It's kind of like Cooper, give him a few minutes and they settle down somewhat.

We had a great supper of BBQ steak, that Lloyd and Bernie grilled in the garage.  Shrimp cocktails followed by baked potatoes with all the trimmings, carrots and cherry tomatoes sautéed in butter and garlic, sautéed mushrooms with the steaks and Meghan's creme brûlée for dessert. Accompanied by great company, it was a delightful evening.  Between dinner and dessert, James entertained everyone with his magic act he'd been working on all week. The VanGaals had given the kids some games and one of them was a magic kit. He loved it, and spent the week working on his performance and the guests were suitably impressed.   They had also brought over a board game that had everyone howling with laughter at the end of the evening. A wonderful end to a great week.  I'll be able to totally relax once they are all safely home.













Our trip to the park yesterday was great. The trails are no
longer groomed so we were hoping others had broken the trail for us and on such a nice day, many people were out.








The weather has certainly taken it's toll on the trail. Several spots are blocked with large trees that have toppled over so you have to either find a way around them or try to get under them. Not an easy task but it can be done. It was the perfect day with the sun coming out every so often and shining through the trees. It's the first time since I've been here that there's been so much snow on the trails this early in the season. I suspect the skis will get much more use this year than last.