My last visit to Lacombe for 2018

I always sleep well when I'm in Lacombe.  My bed in the basement has a couple of heavy blankets and a thick quilt so it's like the old days when duvets were French.  I always like to join Sheila before breakfast as she enjoys making me a cappuccino with lots of froth on top and in an enormous mug.  We sit looking at the arrival of daylight and watching the birds at the feeders and the squirrels trying to find a way to get the seeds.  On the deck a Downey woodpecker was rattling away at something between the boards.  It's always a nice way to start the day.

After breakfast I helped Sheila post her three old fibreglass canoes on Kijiji; she wants to give them away as they need work on them.  Meanwhile she's bought herself a new canoe which is now anchored at the Leaney lake.  She's amazing; when she was in the Yukon she fulfilled her dream of canoeing down the Yukon River; she had a guide chap in the canoe but, at well over 80, I think that's good going.

Before leaving Lacombe I drove to see Mo and Peter.  I had to hang around a bit because Peter said Mo was in the semi nude.  I feel sorry for her as her health isn't good.  I said it may be to do with all her skating years when she and Peter were in the European Icescapades show - I'm sure she must have fallen a thousand and one times while practising and rehearsing.  I said I was lucky as I avoid all forms of sports.

The drive north was a miserable one.  I filled up with gas and bought two sausage rolls for my lunch.  The visibility was so bad I kept finding a car with tail lights on so I could see what was in front.  It kept trying to snow and rain all the way back to the farm.

When I got back to the house I had to laugh because Bill had found another mushroom.  It was enormous so I took a photograph of it, looking as if it was my dinner plate, with knife and fork alongside. I'll have to cook it before it becomes mushy.

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Picture attribution: I forgot to take a photo of the frothy coffee. The picture above was added by a friend who helped me set up this blog. The image is by Todesschnalze from Wikimedia Commons, and is released under Creative Commons.

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A surprise visit to Lacombe

It's awful waking up with no sunlight streaming into the room - winter is coming.  Outside it's dismal with mud and slush everywhere; poor Sheba looks bedraggled as she refuses to take shelter.

Before lunch I welcomed some of the people from the Permaculture group.  They are using Bill's kitchen for the weekend, and his living room for a seminar.  They are a hippy looking group but quite pleasant.  I asked Bill if he was going to be welcoming them and he said he wasn't.  Later I mentioned to Jenny that I thought it was odd that Bill would invite them but have nothing to do with them when they arrived.  Jenny said it was her and John who'd invited them - not to work in their kitchen but in Bill's.

I showed them where to find pots and pans, beakers etc and then I left to have lunch at the other house.  I told them I'd made three traps to catch the hoards of fruit flies.  They plan on making jam so it's possible we'll have even more flies in the kitchen.  Before going over, I checked my email and there was one from Joy Newman saying she and Keith would be with the family in Lacombe today and why didn't I join them.  Seeing as the house would be full of people I decided to phone Lacombe to see if it would be OK, and it was.

For about an hour it was a miserable drive with snow and rain in the air.  It was difficult to see when vehicles past.  Thankfully, it cleared up and so, for two hours, I just had to contend with light drizzle.  I'm now hoping it won't freeze and I'll have a safe drive back tomorrow.

I was pleased to discover I was the second youngest among the six people sitting around the table.  Nowadays, I often find that I'm the oldest person in the room.  I've been to restaurants in Cambodia and I've noticed that I push up the average age by quite a bit.  Three of the family have or have had terrible colds so the coughing sounded quite profound; one member is booked for a new hip next month.  I felt quite good about myself as I feel all right.  I tell people that I love being with old folks - they can be quite funny.  Jack received a Rotary International award for his contributions to something or other.  Sheila said, "How did you manage that when you spend all your time in the basement?"  Joy had just had a birthday so she was presented with a cup cake with a candle.  Sheila had also remembered my birthday on the 23rd so I also got a cake.  Sheila then placed a lovely apple pie on the table so I decided to save the cake and focus on the pie.  She always says to people, "If you don't like the pastry, blame Peter as it's his recipe."  I can't remember a thing about it but I go along with the story as it's fun.

I watched the Canadian national news for a while but gave up as it was almost entirely about the hurricane that has landed in North Carolina.  I'm sure other things are happening around the world so I'll have to turn to trusty old BBC.