Sunday, October 07, 2012

Woodstock/Cambridge Ontario Visit (2 days)

We had a couple of good days visiting the kids and grandkids. I know my American friends may think this is way too early for Thanksgiving since they use it to kick off the Christmas season south of the border, but our seasons are different up here and we like to celebrate the harvest before it is buried under a blanket of snow.

I woke up late yesterday and took a pass when Heather and Tom dragged Sandy out for a cool morning walk. What Sandy didn't know was that the route was over five kilometers long and part of the last section was uphill. Still, they made it back in one piece.

Suitably exercised, the four of us hopped in the Avalanche and headed for Kim and Mike's in Cambridge.


Seen on a cold morning on the 401 (red and white patch on the helmet)

We arrived to find Jolene colouring at the dining room table and Robyn napping. Jolene is now in full time Junior Kindergarten and told me she really likes it.  Robyn got up before too long and has to be the happiest almost two year old I have ever seen. She has an infectious grin that lights up the whole room. Mike fixed a couple of pizzas for lunch and we spent part of the afternoon playing with kids and visiting.

Jolene colouring

A picture for Grandpa Jim


Later, Sandy and I joined Tom and Heather at his mother's house in Breslau for Thanksgiving Dinner. Tom's dad Stan is a truck driver and was on a run across the country but his mom Zofia set a table for the family, including his two brothers and all three sets of in-laws. All were originally from Poland and, including a great table of food, there was a selection of fine vodka and other spirits. Since the men were driving, most of the imbibing was done by the ladies. I had a great talk with Agnes' father who goes by Wesley. I won't try to spell his real Polish name but he is a programmer/systems guy for RBC with libertarian leanings so we had a lot in common.

After supper, we drove back to Woodstock and went to bed soon after.

Sunday morning was cool but Tom and I headed for nearby Cedar Creek Golf Course. It is a nice little nine hole course without too much trouble and we were only the second twosome out. I persuaded Tom that a power cart would be a good idea. The round was pretty good although my wedge was not working at all and probably cost me seven of the 48 strokes on the card. On the plus side, I finished with the same ball I started with. We will have to do this again.


Back from the course, the four of us took a trip to Home Depot to check out building materials for finishing basements. It will be a while before they are ready to do the reno, but Heather wanted to know what was available. From there, we moved on to Cambridge to Kim and Mike's again.

After more playing with grandkids, we sat down to another Thanksgiving dinner. Again the grandkids were very well behaved and we enjoyed the meal immensely. There was some more playing and then, after bedtime, the grownups had some time together before it was time to return to Woodstock again.

No comments: