January 2016
Sunday January 31
Snow in the back yard yesterday
On Thursday evening Ann and I went to see Magnificent Mozart performed by Symphony Nova Scotia. It was a nice program with a symphony I had never heard before (number 34) and two pieces with which I am very familiar but had never heard played live: the 4th horn concerto in E flat (famous to some from the Flanders and Swann song Ill Wind) and Symphony No. 40 in G minor. We both enjoyed it a lot.
We had another big storm at the end of the week, as you can see from the photo. Parts of the province lost power but we suffered no ill effects. It all began on Friday afternoon and we were both able to get home before the roads and the traffic got too bad.
This morning Ann, Pat and Vicki cooked the Early Risers' Breakfast, a monthly gathering of women in the church basement. She spent much of yesterday acquiring various exotic fruits and slicing them all up to make a fruit salad.
Sunday January 24
Ann and Louie
We have had a very dull week, basically going to work and doing a succession of small chores around the house: necessary but hardly exciting stuff. We did find a little time for rest and relaxation, as can be seen in the picture, and on Tuesday we went to see a showing of the documentary Poverty Inc. at Dalhousie.
Sunday January 17
Peggy's Cove
With Christmas over, the new year started, all the kids gone again and my mobility now close to normal, Ann and I have been getting back into the empty nest rhythm, pretty much as we left off when I had my accident now four months ago. We have got pretty lax about formal meals preferring to eat on our laps while watching something on TV, usually a murder mystery. Last week we watched River, a show about a mentally ill policeman trying to figure out who killed his partner. Jim and Valerie watched the first one with us so it only seemed right to ask them over to watch the remainder over the next few nights. We have now moved on to Midsomer Murders but there are a lot more of them so it may take us a while to get through them.
Last weekend we took James and his room-mate Duncan back to Acadia for the start of the new term. Duncan arrived from Ontario on Saturday afternoon and stayed overnight in Dartmouth. On Sunday we all drove to Wolfville making a detour to Peggy's Cove first so that Duncan could have his picture taken outside a real lighthouse.
This week the weather has been the main topic of interest. On Monday, Ann spent some time tidying up the back yard raking leaves and actually cutting the grass. On Tuesday evening, the first big storm of the winter began. By Wednesday morning we had about 20 cms of snow to shovel. Most businesses delayed their openings to allow everyone to dig out. My lab closed for the morning and Ann switched her work day until Friday so she could stay home all day. We had a second round last night with another 15 to 20 cms. The drifts at the sides of the roads are now high enough to restrict visibility quite a bit. The predictions of a mild winter are beginning to look premature.
Last weekend we bought some leeks at the market and, for a change, I decided to make quiche aux poireaux, something that I always enjoyed when we were in France. The recipe I used suggested that I would get one quiche from it but it soon became clear that there was plenty of filling for two. Ann and I ate half of one for dinner that evening, then had visions of quiche for dinner for days on end. So on Friday we invited Jim and Valerie and Carl and Roxanne to come and finish up for us. They also joined us in watching the next episode of Midsomer Murders.
My hip is continuing to mend well but I still walk with a bit of a limp and am continuing to go to physio. Ann gave me an exercise bicycle for Christmas which, after discussions with my physiotherapist, I have been using to get my legs back in shape for the spring bicycle rides. I usually use it while watching one of the murder mysteries or a weekend soccer game.
Sunday January 3
Happy New Year!
Dave and baby James on Xmas Eve
(picture taken by Emily)
Monday was my birthday and, as usual, I was given the full birthday treatment: waffles for breakfast, presents and exemption from all household chores. In the afternoon we all went to see the latest Star Wars movie (I enjoyed it though it is esentially a remake of the very first one) followed by a very nice dinner at Il Trullo, a new Italian restaurant at King's Wharf in Dartmouth.
On Thursday we all went to Ingrid and Mike's annual New Year's Eve party. Most of the usual suspects were there and we all ate well and had a jolly time, lasting until midnight, barely, before heading home again. Several of the other attendees couldn't make it that far; we no longer have the stamina of our younger days.
On New Year's Day James' godmother Jenny dropped in for tea and later in the afternoon Andrew and Amy also came to meet us. Amy is the daughter of Ann's sister Martha's neighbour and will be entering graduate school at Dalhousie in the spring. Her supervisor will be one of my DRDC colleagues, Mae, with whom I shared an office for a number of years.
Katy, Ben and Emily left for Ottawa early on Saturday morning, driving all the way in one go as the weather was quite reasonable (a few flurries and a little rain but nothing too bad). They arrived at around 11 PM.