The End of Summer?

Whew! What a week it has been. Last Sat. Kelly and I left the shore and headed to Toronto. Friday before we left turned out to be one of the best days at the shore in August. What a miserable month it was! I feel so bad for the people who were only there in August, the weather was terrible. Michael and Gina were there from the 2nd to the 7th and had no sunny days, none of those perfect Amherst Shore days that we all love so much. Kelly was there from the 1st till the 16th and only a few sunny days. If they could have been there in July the weather was unusually good! It is very different to have the luxury of being there for 6 weeks and not have to worry about the rainy days. I REALLY like the fact that I was able to spend 6 weeks at the shore this summer. I hope it is the beginning of many LONG summers at the shore.

In summary, the summer had 3 parts for me. The first 2 weeks were me and TJ and the farmhouse and the perfect weather. Low key and what I love about the shore, slow pace of life, great weather, spending time with the people who were there and just enjoying life. The second 2 weeks were the frenzy of friends, family, the games and mixed weather. Rachel, Matt and Daniel were there along with Katie. I love this time too but there is so much to do and so many people to spend time with I want to clone myself so I can enjoy it all with energy. Then the last 2 weeks that turned out to be very different this year. Michael and Kelly both came a little later this year and the weather was less than perfect and so many people left early due to the games being so early and they came for them. Many of us agreed that it was a "different"summer. I think the main reason was that the games were early this year and some people came for the games and then left so early and then others came later and there were no games. Who knows? It was a little "different". Still good to be there and see everyone regardless of the weather and the situation.

Back home, Kelly and I spent 3 absolutely lovely days in Toronto before we left for St. Louis. We had the days we wish we had at the shore. We rode our bikes to yoga and also went on a long bike ride and we ate outside and just enjoyed the perfect weather! Then on to days......and days....of driving. Kelly is happily back at school and I FINALLY am home for a few weeks. I think the drive today was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm done. In a good way.

Comic relief? At the border my car was searched for the first time EVER since I have been crossing the US/Canada borders. Just what I needed. Yes, I had more than my 2 bottle quota of wine and paid the duty after being very stressed about being stopped. I guess after 20 years it was bound to happen. I'm glad all I had was 4 bottles of wine. I guess my "wine smuggling" days are over. I will just have to learn to love the limited selection I have up here. Sigh. Oh, but it was so nice to be in a land where the selection was great and the prices were low! I miss that.

Back home, it was refreshing to come "home" for the first time in my life to a place that was not sweltering in August. My neighborhood looked lush and green. The flowers looked healthy and not tired and the fresh air felt soooo good. I think I will like this next season.

Time to sign off, too much babbling for now. Glad to be in one place for a while.

The craziness of mid vacation

It is mid vacation and I am working on being exhausted. The annual Christie Brown games were last weekend and much fun was had by all. I did not really participate much this year because of the arm injury. No volleyball and softball with two plates in my left arm! I did do the three legged race and that was about it. The Browns won this year, surprisingly as we were missing many key players.

Then the week flew by with a margarita party, the cousin dinner (at the farmhouse!) and dinner at the Browns for Lesley's birthday. All in all a very fun week but a very full week.

Kelly and Michael and Gina (girlfriend) arrived on Friday to rain and grey skies. We haven't seen the sun yet, boo hoo. Last night was a big party for the Atherton/Swetnam cottage and we danced until it was way too late/early. Today is recouperation day and tonight will be lobster dinner and stay at home night. Much needed by all.

Michael and Gina are here until Thursday and then TJ will be gone back to work and it will just be Kelly, Rachel, Daniel and I. I think I may even be able to read my book again and get some things accomplished. We love seeing everyone but also enjoy the peace and quiet when it is all done.

Some pictures to share.....

Summer at the shore, Part 1

TJ and I arrived on July4! How appropriate that we arrived on Independence Day. Independence from the big city and freedom at the shore. The weather has been divine for the most part, at least the first week was unbelievable. Today it is raining and a perfect day to catch up on chores and communications.

I loved the quiet of the first week,although I was exhaused just following TJ around and doing all the farmhouse things we needed to do. There is an ifinite number of things to be done at the farmhouse but things are coming along and the rewards are beginning to show. It is still a long way from becoming our vision of the family home.

The kitchen is beautiful and better than any kitchen I have ever had in any home I've lived in. Sigh.

It was great to just be here and spend the day doing physical stuff and have dinner and end the day fullfilled an exhausted at the same time. Things have slowed and sped up at the same time. The progress at the farmhouse has slowed but the social life has sped up and they days seem to pass quicker when more people arrive. I already see the days flying by and want time to stop so I can just stay here longer.

Enjoy this while it lasts!

Here are some pictures to enjoy.

The Baptism and other fun stuff

The last 2 weeks have been quite busy! We went to Madison for Daniel's baptism. I got to go for 4 days! Other than catching up with Rachel, Matt, Daniel and Kelly one of my main priorities was to go shopping, in the USA! Oh how I miss shopping at my old familiar stores with the low low prices of the states. I did less damage than expected but Ann Taylor has a good amount of my Canadian money now.

Daniel is a great baby. He is so happy and such a good little guy. Not to mention cute as can be. No bias either, haha. The baptism was beautiful and it was so nice to have my parents there to meet Daniel and see his baptism. The day turned out to be perfect and we all enjoyed the after party at Dan and Peggy's house (Matt's parents).

I got home Monday evening and on Tuesday my parents came to visit as well as sister Susan. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal for their visit. All my talk of how we have been enjoying the evenings on our deck and how nice it has been to go biking sounded a little false with what we had during their visit. Susan and I did get to go biking along the lake on Wed. before it rained for the rest of the day. We went to Niagra Falls on Thurs. and were not disappointed. It was beautiful! Niagra on the Lake was fun too and we enjoyed lunch and shopping. Susan and I had "mass transit day" on Fri. and took the GO train into Toronto and saw the tall ships visiting the area and sat outside and had happy hour in the sun. It was great to have family around and more fun to be able to get out and about with them and show off the city. I think we all had fun.

Party Time

It was the 1st anniversary of my 50th birthday on Sunday and we had a great BBQ. It was not planned to have a "birthday" party, it just happened to be the most convenient day for all the invitees to come over this weekend.
We had an Amherst Shore warm up party. All of our friends and family that live nearby came over for some Texas brisket, bbq beans, colelsaw and Texas sheet cake. The beer was Canadian though. We even managed some Texas weather for the event. Yes, it was 33C/96F with humidity the day of the party. Go figure! Last year it was the same weather....and we all jumped out of a plane. This year no such activities. I'm just glad to be walking easily!
It was a great time and so good to have a house full of friends and it got us all fired up for the summer vacation at the shore. I think it won't get here soon enough for most of us.
A fun way to celebrate my birthday!

A Place to Belong

We just got back from a week at Amherst Shore. May at the shore...a first for me but not a last. In spite of less than perfect weather I really enjoyed the trip. It is so different to go there and not be surrounded by the usual friends and family. It was peaceful and quiet. Still the same beautiful place with the same smells and sights I have loved my entire life. I felt at home. After so many months of not feeling at home where I live, it was so nice to go to the shore and belong somewhere. It was nice to go into the cottage and have it smell just like I remember and to see all of our familiar things and look forward to another summer with the family. I look out the windows and see the things I have looked at for years and open the windows and smell the fresh air and the freshly cut grass. I can go to Craigs and walk in and be a familiar face and see familiar faces and chat about the winter and the upcoming summer. Oh, to feel connected is so welcome.

I realized on this trip ,especially, that this place and the farmhouse when it is finished will be our family home. We don't and won't live in a place anymore where the kids all grew up and where we have a history. No place except the shore. It will always be in our family and it is where no matter where we all go in life we will always have this place to belong. It makes it so much more important to finish the farmhouse and make it our home for the summer.

Back home...in Mississauga, it was even good to be in our house. Slowly I am warming up to living here. Not that I haven't liked it but I am feeling a little more comfortable here and have a few things to look forward to doing around here. I have plenty to keep me busy until it is time to go back to the shore. I think I will really like spring turning into summer up here. So far I am thrilled with my yard and discovering all the new plants that I have never been able to grow in the south. I really never liked gardening because I associated it with lots of sweat and bugs. Not so up here, it is so nice to go outside and feel the velvet air and breath easily. I think gardening up here will be very rewarding, the colors are so bright and things just grow so nicely here. Such a variety to choose from too, I have even planted a few herbs and lettuces. A first for me, the non gardener.

Italy!

After 2 years of planning, the trip to Italy finally happened. It was worth the wait and was everything and more than we had expected. We left Toronto on April 20 and returned on May 4. Two glorious weeks of good friends, beautiful places, perfect weather and too much food and wine. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 30 years of marriage.

With 22 good friends from Columbus, Ga we started our trip in Tuscany. We visited Siena, Pienza, Florence, and Montepulciano from our first base in Chianciano Terme. From there we went to Assisi by way of Perugia, sampling some yummy chocolate on the way and looking out the windows with anticipation. Assisi was inspiring. St. Francis is inspiring. What a beautiful place filled with history. Our hotel was a highlight with it's views and terraces which our group took full advantage of at night. There was a very long drive to the Amalfi Coast but we stopped for a break in Pompeii. Amazing. Each stop was more and more beautiful. The Amalfi Coast with it's blue water and steep rugged coastline was very different from Tuscany's rolling hills and vineyards. Another hotel with a terrace on the top and this one had a view to take your breath away. We again took full advantage of it for happy hour! Our trip ended in Rome, a city that has so much to offer that around every corner there is something to enjoy. I could go on much longer singing the praises of each of these places and still never do them justice. How can you describe something that has survived since before the time of Christ? How can you describe the beauty of so many churches filled with frescos and history? How do you describe spending 10 days with some of the best friends we will ever have? It was a perfect trip.

Back home, the flowers are blooming and there is life all around. This may well be the longest spring I will ever experience. It was spring in Italy, then spring in Switzerland and now it is spring in Toronto. I like having a spring that lasts 2 months!