An Odyssey...

[sarah_beth_d]

Here's a brief recap of my life over the past while...

• On Thursday night, a group of folks got involved in a Guerilla Art installation. What an awesome experience.
• On Friday Ryan, Kevin and I made our way to Timmins. We left from the Guelph/Waterloo area and made our way into Toronto to tie up some loose ends for Kevin.
• Before leaving Toronto I got a triumphant call from my mom informing me that her surgery has finally been booked. She'll check into the hospital on Tuesday to have her brain tumour removed on Wednesday. So, it's off to Hamilton for my mom, Dad and I this week.
• We then hopped on the highway and headed North. We followed Highway 11 and hopped off occasionally for the purpose of exploration. We picked up a map for Ryan's wall (which also came in handy for navigation - who knew?) at an Info Centre in Barrie.


• While Kevin slept in the back seat, Ryan and I played a word game to stay awake and feed the friendly competetive spirit that we share. We played the "say a word, the other person says a word starting with the last letter, and so on" game. For the record, I won at Boys Names, and we tied on Girls Names. It was hilarious to hear Ryan speaking in Stream-of-Consciousness, as this is something my contemplative counterpart seldom engages in. And we discovered that lots of Boys Names end in N, while Girls Names tend to end in vowels.
• Somewhere along the way my Dad called to let me know that Shadow appeared to be having a seizure and that he was headed home to deal with it. He and mom called the Vet to make an appointment. It seems that Shadow started shaking and lost the use of her back legs for about 15 minutes. I wasn't particularly worried, because I knew a seizure was something that could likely be controlled with pills. It was just a matter of getting her to the vet and dealing with it. I actually said to my Dad as he assured me not to worry "If I can handle brain cancer in my mom, I can certainly handle epilepsy in my dog." Funny how you gain a whole new perspective and a means to deal with things, eh?


• We stopped in Bracebridge to get another decorative map, but the Info Booth there was all out. Since we were already there, we decided to grab a coffee at a little place downtown. Ryan got a coffee while Kev and I opted for the fancier Mocha and Butter Tart combo. The Mochas were made with espresso, steamed cream, chocolate shavings and chocolate sauce. Damn they were good! They were coffee with the smooth taste of chocolate, rather than the sweet and icky things that pass as mochas in other places. The butter tart was runny as hell and super rich. It was death by yummy consumables. One cool thing to note is that the coffee shop has autographed photos of famous people on the walls. These include Red Green (I can't remember his real name right now) and Mike Myers.
• On the road again, we began to notice an accumulation of snow as we continued North. At first it was just in the shady parts of the ditches, then Kev and I saw a water-and-ice-fall cascading down a cliff just outside of North Bay.
• Apparently I mentioned that my grandma grew up in Cobalt a bunch of times, and there were quite a few billboards along the highway advertising the Cobalt Mine Tour, so we decided to explore a bit. We got off Highway 11 and drove through Cobalt and North Cobalt. The guys remarked on the condition of the town with its obviously hastily built and also hastily abandoned houses lining the highway... That got me even more excited about them seeing Timmins, as it is a town currently in decline, tho on a larger scale than Cobalt. We stopped in Haileybury to grab refreshments, and decided to take a walk by Lake Timiskaming. I took photos of the boys as they stood by the lake, with Kevin explaining artistic principals to Ryan. It was a really powerful moment.
• By the time we got back on the road, it was fairly dark. We continued our sightseeing as we headed toward our final destination. The most significant sight that we took in was the sudden change in snow conditions. It seemed a very abrupt shift from areas with light accumulation, to Timmins, with its thick powder and waist-high banks.
• As we entered the city through Porcupine, I started the tour. I pointed out the Falconbrige Met. Site, the government building where I wrote my G1 license test, the Porcupine Mall... After a much-needed pee break at the Tim Hortons in Porcupine, I took the wheel and gave the grand tour of South End. I showed them my old highschool, the downtown area, my old home, the airport, lakefront at Porcupine Lake, and the Barn arena.
• After the tour of South End, we headed into Timmins proper, with me pointing out things like the South End Cemetary where Grandpa Doner is buried, and the park-cum-tailings-pond outside of Schumacher.
• We thought we were ending our journey when we arrived at my cousin Darlene's, which is where we were staying for the weekend. We were wrong. I had forgotten to call Dar to remind her of our arrival, and she had forgotten about me. Ooops. She was at her daughter's ringette game, so we faced a locked door on an empty house. I preferred to pass the time in warmth, so we headed over to Uncle Bill & Aunty Mar's house for a little visit. We drank some pop and chatted with them for a while before heading back to Dar's.
• Once again faced with a locked door, we decided to knock on Chad's door to see if he had a key to Dar's house. He lives in a small house behind Dar's, on her property. So, I knocked and he invited us in to hang out and meet the baby that he and Wendy just brought into the world a month earlier. She let me hold the baby and feed little Lillian a bottle, so I was in 7th Heaven. Ryan and Kev oogled over her a bit, and then turned their attention to Chad's pet Tarantulas. The female is about 4 inches across, and the male is about 6 inches across. I'm probably off in my estimates because I stayed well back and coddled the baby, so you can ask Ryan and Kev for details.
• Dar eventually came home and stopped in at Chad's and we stayed for a while longer before heading to her place for the night. She set us up quite nicely in her basement, with Ryan and I on the futon covered by 4 very comfy blankets, and Kev in my cousin Ben's bed. Ben is away at school in Ottawa, so we had his basement bedroom as our homebase for the weekend.
• The next morning we woke up after a long and much-needed sleep. We made a career out of having showers and getting prepared for the day. At around noon we headed to downtown Timmins for a little bit of sightseeing and then breakfast at Nadeau's. The tiny French-Canadian diner has a sizable breakfast menu which included eggs and homemade baked beans for Ryan, a crepes and eggs combo for Kev, and an omlette for me. Plus, they served decent non-pretentious coffee. All-in-all, a satisfying meal and a great start to our day.
• Upon leaving Nadeau's we made the decision to go to Kapuskasing as an afternoon road trip. I know what you're thinking - Why Kap? Well, Ryan wanted to see Ontario's northmost road-accessible city. Boasting a population of 9 500 people, Kap holds that distinction. Who knew? So off we headed on a 300km round-trip.
• On the way to Kap we took photos of a snowplow-train as it cleared the railway that runs along the side of the highway. I learned that it is very difficult to keep pace with a rather slow-moving train while trying to keep the car safely on the road.
• Along the way we stopped to see the spaceship in Moonbeam. Yes, you read that right. There's a little town called Moonbeam along Highway 11, about 20kms before Kap. The city's major attraction is the 12-foot high fibreglass flying saucer that sits outside the local Info Centre. I have photos of Kev and Ryan sitting on top of the flyng saucer, as well as a shot of them standing in front of it in their "tourist pose".
• We reached Kap in good time, and stopped to take photos of Ryan and Kevin climbing on more stuff. Ryan chose to lie prone beneath the rather large statue of a bear that is Kap's major attraction. Kevin made it his mission to mount the bear, which he did after much effort. I also have photos of Kev and Ryan standing atop a very large stone Kapuskasing sign.
• After a quick stop for coffee and a photo of the large decorative monument outside the very attractive Kap train station, we headed back to Timmins. We returned to Dar's place to find it empty (actually, Steph was home, but we didn't know it at the time) and the door unlocked. We let ourselves in and watched a movie until she and my cousin Corinna came in.
• When Dar and Corinna got home, they let me know that my Aunt Debbie was in the hospital. She is severely diabetic, and her sugar levels went very seriously out of control (for those who speak diabetes - he sugar was over 70!!!!) after a three-day bought with the flu. She was brought to hospital by ambulance by her son Kyle where she was admitted to the ICU. She's doing ok now, but the doctor's made it clear that Kyle was lucky he brought her in when he did.
• Despite the bad news about Debbie, we all enjoyed ourselves at the Wedding/Baby shower for my cousin Ryan and his new wife Jen over at Bill & Mar's place. We played cards with Steph and Chad's step-son Steven. We ate good food, visited with my relatives, and enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere. The highlight of the night was the DVD slideshow put together by a friend of Ryan & Jen's. It included a montage of Jen as a little girl and growing up, a similar sort of montage of Ryan, and then a montage of photos from throughout their relationship. It was a really touching presentation. Right afterwards, Jen and Ryan opened all of their gifts. I got to help by handing the gifts to Jen. She opened them, Ryan read the cards, and Dar & Aunt Vicky helped record who gave them what. It was a nice system, and they got some nice presents, many of them baby-oriented and thus inspiring a lot of Ooos and Ahhhs. It was a nice close to the evening.
• We went back to Dar's where Steph and I proceeded to kick the stuffing out of the boys at a game of Signal. Their signal was ingenious, but they lacked any skill at actually colleting the 4 of a kind necessary to actually use the signal. Steph and I played a subtle and straighforward strategy and beat them by approximately 30 to 3.
• Steph headed to bed, and we went to our basement hideaway to watch the rest of The Emperor's New Groove before getting some sleep.
• The next morning I got a call from my mom informing me that my Uncle Bob passed away. It was not a shocking revelation, as a few days previously he had decided to stop battling the cancer that he had been suffering from for over a year. I was actually quite relieved to know that he did not have to wait long to get his release from the disease. The memorial celebration of his life will be held on Sunday near his home. I'll be attending on behalf of my family, because Mom will likely still be in the hospital in Hamilton.
• We waited until Uncle Doug and Aunty Vicky arrived with a CD of photos from Brenna's wedding before finally heading home. We made a quick stop at the Earlton Zoo so that I could point out the giant anatomically-correct buffalo and so that Ryan could take over the driving.
• Our next stop was at Thornlowe Cheese factory where I picked up some cheese curds and a large block of cheddar for my Dad. We also stopped to explore the Highway Bookshop where Kev purchased a book on speech and human communications.
• Our only other stops were for peeing as we made a steady line for home. Still, it took us quite a bit longer than my dad expected, which irked him a bit. Still, he had to admit that he was glad we weren't rushing and driving like idiots, so he couldn't be made.
• We pulled into Waterloo around 9pm. The boys unloaded, and I said goodbye to Ryan before heading home.
• Today I got the details about Uncle Bob's funeral. I excused myself from all my lectures this week so that I can be ready to go to my cousin Rebekkah's side if she needs comfort or assistance while preparing for her father's funeral. The great thing is that her boyfriend was already out visiting her at school (she goes to Dalhousie for Nursing) so he was by her side when her father passed away. Bek and I spoke when mom and I visited this summer, and she tells me that her boyfriend is truly her soul mate. I'm really thankful that he could be there with her. As much as it is a relief to know that her father is no longer suffering, I'm sure she is still filled with all kinds of emotions.
• My mom got a call today from her cousin Ida in Thunder Bay. Her mother Hazel fell and broke her hip last week, and had it replaced today. Ida's daughter was also just released from hospital because she is battling some issues related to depression. Rachelle and I are fairly close and she was planning to move to Waterloo to come to school at UW. I sincerely hope she can still make it here next fall, because I'm sure the change of scenery and lifestyle will do her a world of good. On top of that, my mom's and Ida's cousin Dorothy died after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Our family is going through a lot lately. Wow.

So that's it in a rather HUGEMUNGOUS nutshell. I didn't mean for this entry to go on so long, but there it is.

How am I doing through all this? Great, actually. The trip to Timmins was a great escape. I got some R & R and some quality time with Ryan, and with Kevin and my family. It's rejuvenated me for what's to come. I'm really looking forward to mom's surgery, I'm at peace with my uncle's death, and I will deal with everything else as it becomes necessary to do so.