Post Easter Recap

 For the past 10 years or more, my buddy John Coups and I have always made it a point to have breakfast together on Good Friday.  It must have started with going out late on a Thursday night, and then crashing over at his place, and continuing on in the morning with eats.  It has morphed from house to house, and other guests too.  Now, family, kids, and it is quite different from yesteryear.  However, the tradition continued this year and John and his family were over, Steve and Hellen, and for a first time this year Phil Dalton and his family.  It was a great get-together.  It was a scoff worthy of any $20 buffet breakfast at a restaurant.

On Saturday morning the family and I took in the annual Easter Egg insanity on the square in Goderich.  It is quite the event.  It is narrated with a mircophone by someone who thinks he calling a monster truck show.  The announcer is trying to get the crowd and the kids all wound up - like it is necessary.  Anyway, something was proclaimed about 20,000 eggs, and then the sound of a marine air horn.  Pandemonium ensued.  Kids and parents rushed to the treasure.  I don't think many parents knew what to do; take pictures, or take the candied eggs.  Wally and I just hung back in the peripherals, Molly eased into the ruckus and scooped a few eggs, Shelly was sussing it all out, and then it was over.  It was quite a cold morning too.  We walked the square a bit.  I got a new watch battery, we got some pepper for the pepper grinder, and then made our way home.

Sunday was the most impressive weather and social day of the weekend.  I went out for a relaxing run for 95 minutes or so.  I crossed paths with a coyote, about 40 yards away, I pushed a turkey for a bit, but then it flew off, and of course I say lots of geese, and rabbits.  Molly and I went for a swim at the YMCA, and then we packed up our provisions and went to Sarnia for an afternoon of family company and food. Suffice it to say the weather was awesome, the food was superb, the drinks were quenching, and all was right.  Wally was rather clingy and didn't seem himself.  Molly was herself; being a decent sport at times, being a bit of a bossy pants at times, and basically holding court as her typical self.

Monday was a rainy day.  A cold, wet hard rain until mid afternoon.  As it let up I got on the phone and called Phil to see if he wanted to go out for a run.  Shelly and the kids had long taken off for a bit of an adventure up to south Bruce county.  Phil was keen to go, so we hit the trail for an easy and mostly dry run.  Not to our surprise, there was a pretty big tree down across the path, so I return later that afternoon and diced it up...  My contribution to maintaining this public space.

Now I won't have to worry about that impediment during the next run....

That is about it actually.  Molly's school or class had a sports themed day last week.  It was "Jersey" day or something. She doesn't actually have any professional sports team clothing at all.  No Leafs or Jays gear.  Nor Raptors or any other professional team wear.  But I think she wore the best jersey ever to be drawn!

Post March Break

Another long wait in between a posting or two.  There is always lots that happen, then again maybe it isn't to news worthy for this forum.  I was sending a few emails today and got thinking I should at least update with a few pictures and some stories.

Shelly and I went to Toronto over the March Break.  The kids were in Lucknow, and they would be just fine without us for a couple of nights.  We took a very leisurely drive on Hwy. #86 getting to our destination, but there would be a few stops along the way. 

Elmira was the first braking point as it was the noon hour and lunch was calling.  We then stopped again in Guelph to see those crazy Tremainiacs.  Teressa was all to happy to load up our empty vehicle with toys-once-used.  We caught them de-cluttering, and there stuff became ours.  however I will say that the doll house and racetrack, despite looking a bit rough, were an instantaneous hit with Molly and Wally.  The doll house especially.  So before anything else could be loaded into the Jeep, we were off to our resting point of the Chelsea Hotel on Gerrard.

Toronto was fun for the two of us.  We crossed paths with mutual friends, had some great eats, went to a few bars, and pubs, listened to some live music, went to a movie, watched the St. Patrick's day parade, went to Canada Blooms, did some basic shopping, and walked around.  There were some misgivings about not having the two donkeys with us, but nothing that made a lasting impression on me - maybe a bit more on Shelly.  So feeling like we did what was needed to do in Toronto, we returned home and picked up the the kids.

The rest of the March Break was time spent in and around Goderich = a bit anti-climatic maybe, but there were some longer then usual sleeps, a big dump run with a buddy, a trip out to the farm to see how it weathered/wintered, and that is about it.....

I did however play in a St. Patrick's Day concert with my dad's pipe band - The Teeswater Pipe and Drum.  They held a concert in the town hall on Saturday the 19th, and I played along.  Over the past few weeks I went up to a few rehearsals, and my dad and I would practice an hour here and hour there, just to get the tunes in my head.  Indoors, these pipers simply play chanters and indoor bag pipes because, obviously, a bag pipe is simply too much inside.  Especially 8 or 10.  The guitar wouldn't even sound over a bag pipe, even plugged in.

So three or four weeks ago I got my mid-life crisis guitar!!!!!!  Gibson J-45 Custom Koa.  To say it is awesome, would not be saying all there is to say.  It is such an incredible thing.  It is art, instrument, class, and beauty wrapped together.  I got it used....  So happy.   So anyway it, and I, both had our stage debut.

Back to the concert = I chorded and accompanied along with a number of songs.  The Ministrel Boy and Loch Lomend, Paddy McGuinty's Flute, Britton's Glory, Doug's Jig, and the Skillet Jig.  I played along with a soloist singer as well.  Someone might have a picture - but I didn't get one - or a recording. but I will post a picture in the future of the new axe, and a video of us playing....  It was pretty fun.

We finished off the break, like I wrote, out at the farm to check on it.  The field looks amazing!  Tiling does work and it soooo worth it, but my trails are wet in places.  Some of the places are nearly knee deep of water.  I kind of expected that....  I don't know what I can do = It is a wet area....  But I started the lawn tractor and it worked, I started the generator and it worked, and the weed wacker started as well.  3 for 3 basically. 

That is the basic rundown of the last week anyway.  I got out on my motorbike for 10 minutes, then I poured rain on me...  I have got in an incredible amount of running and i feel great about that.  Phil and I knocked off a 5km tempo in 17:30 on the trails a week ago, and it felt super easy.... Coups and I had a huge dump run a week ago and we threw out so much crap!  Unreal how crap creeps up on you in a house.