Our Message Archive
December 2023
Sunday December 31
Happy New Year!
Christmas stuffies waiting to go into hibernation
Thursday was my birthday, just one short of a pretty significant one. I was treated to waffles for breakfast, then Ann and I met Kim and Glen at the RBC Centre for an hour of skating followed by coffee and treats at Café Marco Polo.
Ann discovered that one of her skates was falling apart, so that afternoon we went to check out new ones. After a night of deliberation she bought recreational skates, instead of hockey skates, the next day.
On Friday, we went to an open house at Linda and Kevin's. Ann spent some time helping with a jigsaw puzzle and we both helped solved a massive crossword puzzle published by the Globe and Mail.
Ann was out again on Saturday for the church ladies' brunch, normally an annual affair though it has been on hiatus for the past three years due to COVID. As she has done in the past, Ann organized it. This year they went to The Palladium Family Restaurant where she ate with Cindy, Julie and Vicki a couple of weeks ago.
This morning we were up very early (5 a.m.) to get Ann to the airport for a flight to Ottawa. She will spend the next week looking after Andrew while Katy and Ben work (school doesn't go back until Jan. 9; Alex will still be going to daycare). Then she will take the train to Toronto and she, Martha and Thom will go down to Sarnia to help sort out Gran's affairs. David, myself and Louie will look after the home front in her absence.
Wednesday December 27
A belated Merry Christmas to you all!
Ann at Conrad's Beach on Christmas Day
Our Christmas Day was a bit quieter this year with only Ann, myself, David and Louie at home. We got up at a sensible hour and I made Eggs Benedict for three of us before we got down to the serious business of present opening, partly shared via Zoom with the rest of the family in Renfrew. Ann and I then went for a walk on Conrad's Beach. As we approached on Conrad Road, a thick fog descended which we thought would limit our ability to enjoy the sweeping vistas but, when we reached the end of the road, our luck changed: the fog lifted and a parking spot miraculaously appeared in the tiny parking area by the boardwalk. We had a very pleasant walk along the full length of the beach. Back home again, I cooked our turkey dinner then let the elves clean up the kitchen while I read one of my new books: How Cycling Can Save the World by Peter Walker. Meanwhile Ann watched White Christmas which I find a bit hard to stomach.
On Christmas Eve we returned to our traditional party which had fallen by the wayside due to COVID and our absence last year. This year Ingrid, Mike and Alex, Kim and Glen, and Carl and Roxanne attended. Dave and Chris were also going to come but decided to stay at home at the last minute because Dave was not feeing well; Chris sent over her word-famous tourtière anyway to complement our baked salmon, store-bought sushi, salads provided by our guests, and cookies and treats too numerous to document. As usual we played Town, River, Mountain joined remotely by Jim and the Renfrew crew (who won).
In the lead-up to Christmas we were out and about socially going to a summer solstice party at Carl and Roxanne's, a Christmas lunch at the Wooden Monkey with my ex-colleagues from DRDC (only me for this one), and a visit with our cycling friends Shauna and Peter. Shauna was recovering from a knee operation when she fell on some ice and prolonged her rehabilitation by several months. We hope that she will be ready to go when the bicycling season starts up again. Yesterday we also went to Susan and Dave's Boxing Day open house, another annual event that has been on hiatus in recent years due to COVID.
We have continued to get some exercise by skating at the RBC Centre and yesterday we went to the Emera Oval for the first time this year. We had planned to meet Kim and Glen for the 10:30 a.m. skate but instead rushed out early to meet them at 8:30 a.m. because we were afraid that the warm temperatures forecast would cause the later skate to be cancelled. We were at the RBC Centre again today because it was drizzling. It is nice that we have it as a back up for when the weather is bad or too warm.
Sunday December 17
Our Xmas tree
On Monday, Ann and I went to a pre-Christmas gathering at Bob and Mary's, two of our biking friends. The plan was to walk around their neighbourhood to see all the Christmas lights, then return to their condo for cider and cake. However, the weather was pretty awful so Ann and I showed up expecting only the cider and cake. But when we arrived, we found out that Bob had moved it to Tuesday but had forgotten to tell us (he did tell everyone else). They invited us in anyway and we spent a pleasant evening chatting. We returned the following evening, along with a full quota of our biking friends, and were treated to the walk and the goodies.
On Tuesday morning, we went to the food bank where Ann volunteers and helped to distribute Christmas hampers to needy families in north-end Dartmouth.
We were out walking with the Roadents in Shubie Park again ths week followed, as usual, with coffee and treats at Café Marco Polo. I also went skating at the RBC Centre on both Thursday and Friday. Ann joined me on Friday, but on Thursday she went instead to celebrate Vicki's birthday with Cindy, Vicki and Julie. They went to see the East Coast Carolers at St. Andrew's Church in Cole Harbour and then to lunch at the Palladium Family Restaurant. Ann thought the carolers put on a very good show and liked the restaurant enough to book it for the annual church ladies' lunch around New Year's.
This morning Ann sang with the church choir in a special service in which they sang songs to accompany A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. In the afternoon she went for a coffee at Julien's Bakery with our friend Manon then dropped in on Ingrid and Mike before coming home, picking up some take-away Thai food for dinner along the way.
Sunday December 10
Shadow's Place in Shubie Park
Last Monday we had the first major snow storm of the winter (though officially we're not quite there yet). Amazingly it has stayed cold all week so the snow is still with us; however, it is supposed to get warmer today and tomorrow with rain on the way, so by Tuesday we will probably been green again.
With the biking season over, the Roadents have begun weekly walks in Shubie Park, usually followed by coffee and treats at Café Marco Polo in downtown Dartmouth. The photo this week was taken on one of the walks. It is from a small spur off the main trail where there is a bench for sitting and enjoying the babbling brook. The bench is dedicated to a man, whose name I have forgotten, and his dog Shadow; I have always thought of it as Shadow's Place. David used to love going there when he was about six or seven; he would search for frogs and try to cross the stream without getting his feet wet.
The Railers have also started a skating group which, until the Emera Oval opens again, uses the free ice time on weekday mornings at the RBC Centre. Ann and I went the last couple of weeks.
It now being well into December, our Christmas preparations are well underway. Gifts have been bought, some wrapped, boxes sent to places far afield; champagne has been acquired for Christmas morning, a bûche de Noël for Christmas dinner, and negotiations are underway for what we will have for the main course (some among us think it would be a good idea to have a turkey despite there being only three of us). Invitations have been issued for our Christmas Eve party which is returning after a hiatus of a couple of years. Christmas lights have been added to the railing of our front deck and, last Sunday, we went to Hogan's Tree Farm in Mount Uniacke and cut down a tree which has been erected but remained undecorated until this afternoon. Our friend Alice came with us and stopped in afterwards for some cake to celebrate her recent birthday.
A week ago Wednesday, Ann and I went to see Jesse Cooke at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre. We have seen him several times now but he always has a great band and puts on a good show. We both enjoyed it.
There have also been several seasonal events over the past week. Last Saturday, we went to Kima and Glen's for dinner then walked to St. Mary's Basilica to see Glen singing with the Chebucto Community Choir in a concert of Christmas music featuring several school and community choirs. Ann has also been to a Christmas evening at the Fram's as well as a Christmas concert at the church by the Halifax Camerata Singers.