This is the story of my last days in Sherbrooke this summer.

MondayToday I did a ton of puttering around - cleaning, checking for and getting stuff, making bird food, doing my laundry... Tonight we're having hamburgers and hot dogs in a sort of echo celebration: Today is my grandfather's birthday, though we observed it a few nights ago. My ( Read more... )

Again, this is a story of yesterday. After doing a little post-breakfast cleanup, I went up to the neighbours' where the cousins and uncles were discussing the potential for going golfing. Alas, a tournament was being played; I'm going to guess it was the "St. Mary's River Backyard Open." I did my e-thing and Alex and Matt went to Antigonish ( Read more... )

Here's the story of yesterday (Saturday). Uncle C. went kayaking in the morning and reported still conditions, seeing a family of loons, and an eagle being vocally harassed by crows while it was in flight (they quieted again when it perched). He brought in a few water lilies and put them in bowls of water - they were wide open and beautiful but ( Read more... )

Written Tuesday night.The bad news is that my grandmother is in the hospital. The good news is that my grandmother is in the hospital. My grandfather says she looks and sounds better being there. But every bed is in use, so they're sending her back home on Thursday morning. Her sister will come back down that day, and there'll be people here over ( Read more... )

The wasps, I doth hate them. Once last week I was taking out the refilled hummingbird feeder and one was on top of me as soon as I stepped outside. I only had time to set the feeder on the railing (instead of hanging it up) before retreating. It drives me nuts how they bully the hummingbirds, too. If I had protective gear, I'd go out and try to ( Read more... )

Written Sunday night.My grandmother has come home from the hospital, at least for the time being. A nurse comes by from time to time to maintain her apparatus, and a trusted housekeeper with home care experience gives her her baths. She'd been nervous about coming home, but here she gets poked and prodded less (and generally not at, say, 6am). My ( Read more... )

Written Monday evening.

I just got back from my evening walk. It is probably the latest I've been through Stonewall Park - I left at 8. (My stick is starting to rot and I need a new one.) On the way out the driveway, I met my grandfather driving back from the hospital with my grandmother's sister. She'd rode to Halifax and back in the ambulance ( Read more... )

Composed Thursday afternoon.This has been a bizarre couple of days ( Read more... )

Written Thursday night.This morning we went to West Side Indian Harbour Lake and helped unload a cargo container. An older European couple (he French (and also German-speaking), she German) had recently purchased an awesome place on the lake, along the fun twisty dirt road on that side of it, and a bunch of their stuff had been shipped in the ( Read more... )

Composed Saturday night.Friday was fun. In helping out a friend, I discovered that my mom's ginormous sedan will fit a few lengthy two-by-fours - from the top back edge of the left rear door all the way down into the front passenger footwells. I suddenly realized why those godawful sport-utilities are so popular ( Read more... )