Thanksgiving Weekend and Granny's 95th Birthday
On Thursday night, Mum and I headed over to the Island for Granny's 95th birthday. Since we both worked during the day, we decided to take the 9pm ferry. Nick drove us and dropped us off with lots of time to spare. As Nick and I were following Mum, carrying the suitcases, we watch in horror as Mum crumbles onto the crosswalk, doing a massive faceplant. We rushed up to her but she wasn't moving. This was so scary, especially as I was thinking, "I do not need to lose another parent right now!" She managed to slowly pick herself up but there was blood all over her lip and cheek. She must have misjudged the curb, turned her ankle and then gone down hard onto her knees, hands and then face. We got to the ticket agent who was really nice and got us a first aid attendant. She was quite useless, only giving Mum a bandaid for her cheek and then proceeded to take about 15 minutes writing up an accident report. Luckily we had lots of time before the ferry left so I was able to eventually get Mum to stagger up the walkway and get on the ferry. We had some ice packs and alternated them between her face, her wrist and her ankle. She was a real mess.
When we got to the other side, I ran and got the car and then we got to Granny's, just before 11. As you can imagine, she was quite horrified at the state of her daughter. However, we were able to wish her a happy 95th birthday and found out that her amazing neighbours had taken her out for a birthday lunch!! They are just great!
On Friday, Mum and I headed into Victoria to Moritmer's Stoneworks and Monuments to order a gravestone for dad. They were really nice there and we ended up spending over an hour in there, making sure we were doing everything right. When I had parked, I was about 3 inches over the yellow line so Mum was worried that we'd get a ticket. I brushed her off,, thinking that it was only 3 inches. When we came out of Moritmer's, I freaked out cause sure enough there was a ticket on the windscreen. Mum, of course, gave me a knowing look, When I grabbed the ticket and actually read it, I found that it wasn't for parking over the yellow line but for parking for over an hour in a 1 hour only parking zone! Seriously, it was 4 minutes over! We were so mad! It was only $15 but still - we were parked right in front of the business that we were at! Since we were so close to downtown, we found the address of the ticket agency and I dropped Mum off to try and rectify it. Remember that Mum is looking extremely rough, complete with a fat lip and bandaid across her cheek. When I drove around the block and picked her up, she had taken care of it. Apparently she explained to the woman what we were doing (ordering a gravestone for her husband) and I guess she felt sorry for Mum so she forgave the ticket. Yay!
That evening, we had Pat and Helen (Granny's neighbours) and Mary over for drinks to celebrate Granny's birthday. It was a huge success and everyone loved all the yummy food that I made. At about 7, my cousin Jeremy arrived from Grande Prairie along with a friend called Sarah. Shortly afterwards, Sarah's sister and her boyfriend arrived to pick up Sarah and take her back to Victoria for the weekend. It was very chaotic and Granny was looking very taken aback. We finally got rid of all of them and then it was time for Jeremy and I to pick up Daryl and Nick from the ferry. What a gong show! We took Jeremy's enormous truck and I didn't think they would believe that he had a handicapped pass so we took the 'normal' route. Big mistake! It took us forever to even get into the parking lot. Our attention was drawn to a piece of garbage being thrown on our truck. We looked up and there were Nick and Daryl, hanging over the ramp, waiting for us. Apparently they had been yelling and trying to get our attention for quite awhile. It took us at least another 15 minutes to get out of the terminal! Ugh!
On Saturday, it poured with rain but that didn't stop the boys from heading outside and chopping wood. Jeremy is very hard working (even if he is a bit of a loose cannon at times) and ended up being a wizard with the chainsaw! They got so much done and I rewarded them with a tasty casserole full of.....undercooked chicken. I was SO mad!!!! We managed to nuke it but it kind of wrecked the whole meal. Stupid old recipes....I guess they don't expect chicken breasts to be the huge size that they are now. I managed to redeem myself by serving a tasty angel food cake in honour of Granny's birthday and Jeremy's (Oct 1).
On Sunday, we had our Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey breast, brussel sprouts, carrots, peas, mashed potatoes and stuffing! This time everything was delicious and cooked! The boys ate so much that they had to rest before doing outside to do more work. They managed to hang a clothesline and start a huge bonfire to burn all the wood and branches that they had been cleaning up! It was awesome!!!! Here are some pictures.
Nick and Daryl working hard in the rain.
Jeremy up the tree with a chainsaw, sawing off limbs to be able to put up a clothesline.
Thanksgiving dinner with Nick, Jeremy, Granny, Mum and Daryl.
....and with me!
Daryl and Nick enjoying the meal.
Jeremy and Granny celebrating their birthdays with champagne.
Mum and her poor battered face. She ended up putting her bottom tooth entirely through her upper lip!!
Our beautiful bonfire!
Nick and his fire....yup, he started it.
Nick.....on fire.....
Daryl and Jeremy and the fire!
Me and the fire.
The cleared side of the house.
The side of the house and the new clothesline.
The ash from the giant bonfire.
Our nice, clean beach.
The view from the steps down to the beach.
When we got to the other side, I ran and got the car and then we got to Granny's, just before 11. As you can imagine, she was quite horrified at the state of her daughter. However, we were able to wish her a happy 95th birthday and found out that her amazing neighbours had taken her out for a birthday lunch!! They are just great!
On Friday, Mum and I headed into Victoria to Moritmer's Stoneworks and Monuments to order a gravestone for dad. They were really nice there and we ended up spending over an hour in there, making sure we were doing everything right. When I had parked, I was about 3 inches over the yellow line so Mum was worried that we'd get a ticket. I brushed her off,, thinking that it was only 3 inches. When we came out of Moritmer's, I freaked out cause sure enough there was a ticket on the windscreen. Mum, of course, gave me a knowing look, When I grabbed the ticket and actually read it, I found that it wasn't for parking over the yellow line but for parking for over an hour in a 1 hour only parking zone! Seriously, it was 4 minutes over! We were so mad! It was only $15 but still - we were parked right in front of the business that we were at! Since we were so close to downtown, we found the address of the ticket agency and I dropped Mum off to try and rectify it. Remember that Mum is looking extremely rough, complete with a fat lip and bandaid across her cheek. When I drove around the block and picked her up, she had taken care of it. Apparently she explained to the woman what we were doing (ordering a gravestone for her husband) and I guess she felt sorry for Mum so she forgave the ticket. Yay!
That evening, we had Pat and Helen (Granny's neighbours) and Mary over for drinks to celebrate Granny's birthday. It was a huge success and everyone loved all the yummy food that I made. At about 7, my cousin Jeremy arrived from Grande Prairie along with a friend called Sarah. Shortly afterwards, Sarah's sister and her boyfriend arrived to pick up Sarah and take her back to Victoria for the weekend. It was very chaotic and Granny was looking very taken aback. We finally got rid of all of them and then it was time for Jeremy and I to pick up Daryl and Nick from the ferry. What a gong show! We took Jeremy's enormous truck and I didn't think they would believe that he had a handicapped pass so we took the 'normal' route. Big mistake! It took us forever to even get into the parking lot. Our attention was drawn to a piece of garbage being thrown on our truck. We looked up and there were Nick and Daryl, hanging over the ramp, waiting for us. Apparently they had been yelling and trying to get our attention for quite awhile. It took us at least another 15 minutes to get out of the terminal! Ugh!
On Saturday, it poured with rain but that didn't stop the boys from heading outside and chopping wood. Jeremy is very hard working (even if he is a bit of a loose cannon at times) and ended up being a wizard with the chainsaw! They got so much done and I rewarded them with a tasty casserole full of.....undercooked chicken. I was SO mad!!!! We managed to nuke it but it kind of wrecked the whole meal. Stupid old recipes....I guess they don't expect chicken breasts to be the huge size that they are now. I managed to redeem myself by serving a tasty angel food cake in honour of Granny's birthday and Jeremy's (Oct 1).
On Sunday, we had our Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey breast, brussel sprouts, carrots, peas, mashed potatoes and stuffing! This time everything was delicious and cooked! The boys ate so much that they had to rest before doing outside to do more work. They managed to hang a clothesline and start a huge bonfire to burn all the wood and branches that they had been cleaning up! It was awesome!!!! Here are some pictures.
Nick and Daryl working hard in the rain.
Jeremy up the tree with a chainsaw, sawing off limbs to be able to put up a clothesline.
Thanksgiving dinner with Nick, Jeremy, Granny, Mum and Daryl.
....and with me!
Daryl and Nick enjoying the meal.
Jeremy and Granny celebrating their birthdays with champagne.
Mum and her poor battered face. She ended up putting her bottom tooth entirely through her upper lip!!
Our beautiful bonfire!
Nick and his fire....yup, he started it.
Nick.....on fire.....
Daryl and Jeremy and the fire!
Me and the fire.
The cleared side of the house.
The side of the house and the new clothesline.
The ash from the giant bonfire.
Our nice, clean beach.
The view from the steps down to the beach.