6 weeks at home

Wow, where has the time gone??!!?? As of tonight we, my wife and I, will have been home for 6 weeks! It is hard to believe. The time has passed so quickly and we have not had to many moments with nothing to do.
Our first week was spent catching up on almost 5 months of mail which Stephanie had collected for us. She had also gone through the mail and advised us of anything which needed attention before we returned. There really is very little int he mail requiring ''immediate'' attention.
At the end of our first week, on July 1, we all met at Marc's cottage for a family B-B-Q. Eric drove us and Stef. Nick, Sue and the grandchildren came from Ottawa, and Marc and Valery, along with Olo, were the hosts. We had a wonderful time. The weather was great and Uncle Marc had kindly provided his niece and nephew with water pistols and a hose. Needless to say we were kept quite cool!
To celebrate Canada Day, Sue had prepared a wonderful cake which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Sorry, no pictures!

In the afternoon we spent hours watching the tadpoles and looking for frogs. Darcy did manage to catch 4 frogs ''with my bare hands'' and Uncle Marc had a suitable container in which to place the little critters. Darcy had a great time and so did Olo. He kept trying to sniff the frogs when they were close to shore. We had to keep our eye on Wesley who enjoyed the floating dock. He never did fall in - although there were quite a few close calls! Time in the peddle boat looking for turtles and trying to catch fish were great hits with the kids.
Late in the afternoon we left and stopped in Lachute at Labelle's for the annual French Fries and Hot Dog meal!(With soft drink, of course!!!)
Nick and Sue came to Montreal and dropped off Darcy and Wesley before returning to Ottawa. Grandmaman and Papa  had a fun-filled week with the 2 grand-children. We did manage to go to Mount Royal for a picnic with Aunt Stephanie. The goldfish in Beaver Lake were quite safe! Much time was spent on the climbing apparatus and by the automatic sprinklers! Great fun for all.
The pre-ordered breakfasts of crèpes and then waffles were well received. Of course there were strawberries and blueberries in abundance.
Mornings were spent either shopping at the Candy Store or painting at the table. Wednesday and Thursday afternoons were spent at the new NDG Community pool. Darcy is well able to look after herself in the water. Wesley needed a noodle and close supervision. A great time was had and a bus ride home was just the ticket for 2 very tired children.
After packing our bags we took the Friday afternoon train to Ottawa and were met at the station by Sue. The children had plenty to do and to eat during the journey and we enjoyed our trip. After spending the weekend in Ottawa Gigi and I returned home to continue our adjustment.
We have entertained a number of friends and have also been entertained! Late night desserts at Rockaberry's, late morning breakfasts at St. Viateur Bagel, luncheon at the Monkland Grill and a few shopping trips downtown and to Costco to restock the kitchen. Obviously there have been the more mundane chores such as cutting the grass, weeding the garden, cleaning the windows and other tasks associated with home ownership.
We have been out to visit my Mom who is still going strong at 97! She is glad to see us again and always has a task for me to perform when we visit! Some things never change!!!
In all of this there have been some sad moments as we attended the funerals of Eva (Joyce) MacMillan and my Aunt Cherrie (Florence) Phillips.
We are well adjusted and enjoying our back garden for breakfast in the morning and for dinner at night.