Tuesday, May 26th - Welcome home Lloyd

After a coolish weekend, the warm weather returned on Monday - as did the blackflys! It was 25' when I was coming home last night, pizza in hand, to share with Lloyd. He'd arrived home, just slightly ahead of me - in fact he called me when he was passing the dealership at 4:50 and told me to wave.  This morning is overcast and we should see light showers for most of the day but the sun should return tomorrow.

Brenda came over on Friday evening and we enjoyed some wine and nachos and a new series on Netflix.  Then it was off to work on Saturday morning but it was an overcast and windy day for the most part so I didn't mind being there. Besides I'm still trying to catch up on the work from when I was away. It's going to take a while.

Sunday was very chilly so I went with the VanGaals for a bit of a road trip. Brenda was in search of a magnolia tree to plant beside her stone piazza. She had sourced out a small tree nursery near Kensington that had just what she was looking for. So after church the three of us headed out. It was cold but the sun was shining so it was nice in the car. We started out with breakfast at a popular little spot in Hunter River. It was quite busy and they have a lovely screened in outdoor area, where people were sitting. It was sunny but apparently a bit breezy so we opted to stay inside. But that's definitely a destination for a bike ride some Sunday morning later in the year.

From there we headed out towards Kensington and found the nursery. After much discussion, the perfect tree was found. Of course it's quite small right now but will grow. In fact it has one bloom on it already so there's something to look forward to.

One little bud ready to burst open

 The only way to get the tree into the car was the put it on the floor in the front seat, so Brenda and I sat in back and were chauffeured. We were also well satisfied by an ice cream from the Frosty Treat. We couldn't be that close and not stop in. Out of the wind, it was a gorgeous day so we just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. After such a harsh winter, it's lovely to see all the lush green fields again.

When I got home, I finished up a couple of little jobs that I'd been working on and called it a day. There were a couple of options for the evening - the RCMP Musical Ride was taking place in Stratford and the Irish visitors were at the Rec Centre for a bit of a reception. One of my favorite local singers, Eddie Quinn was performing and that seemed like the better of the two ideas, mostly because it was an indoor event. In the end I didn't go to either. I had started researching something on line and was watching instructional videos and lost all track of time. By the time I looked at the clock, it was after 8:00 and in the end, I just stayed home. 

We passed several truckloads of  horses just arriving as we were leaving town

Lloyd had a good trip back. He made it without incident and as usual for him, he drove straight through, stopping for a short nap in Quebec. Needless to say, he was pretty tired so it was an early evening for him
.

 He's got to be up early this morning as he's got to get the bike off the back of the truck before heading into town to pick up the baby chicks he ordered a while ago. Yes, there will be 25 little peepers here this afternoon when I get home.  And the summer begins.....

Speaking of summer. I chatted with Patti yesterday and James has a busy summer ahead. He's taking an extra course from school over the summer as he can't fit it into his schedule next year, and he also has some parades with the pipe band. He got his first taste on the weekend. They were in a parade in Milton and while it was a short parade, it was very hot so he got his first taste of marching in all that wool garb that comes with being a piper. I was looking at the photos on Lloyd's camera and it appears he also made a special appearance at his old school. The Montessori school hosts a fund raiser each year called Spring Fling and Lloyd always comes away with something from the silent auction. This year it's a picnic basket that will be ideal for quick trips to the beach after work. There was a photo of James standing in the playground, piping for the kids.  I'm sure his previous teachers were suitably impressed.

The pied piper of Guelph Montessori School