Our Message Archive
January 2024
Monday January 29
The view from the top of the hill at Martock
Ann and I went skiing a couple more times this week, on Tuesday and Friday, both times at Martock which is a bit closer to home than Wentworth but is a smaller hill with not as much diversity in the runs. Both days the conditions were good but, on Friday, it began to get busy around lunch-time so we came home. We have ski passes through the Ski Atlantic Seniors Club so we don't feel that we have to stay all day to justify the cost of the lift tickets.
On Wednesday we got our exercise by skating at the Oval. It was cold but sunny, so quite pleasant. It was Ann's first time on new skates which she had to get after the blade on one of her old ones began to fall off.
Ann has also been socializing. On our way home from Martock on Friday, she got a call from Shirley asking her to go to a Symphony Nova Scotia concert of songs by Queen; Mark was unwell and unable to go, so Shirley had a free ticket that she wanted to exchange for a ride to the concert (she is currently in a cast and unable to drive). On Thursday, Ann met Cindy and Vicki for coffee and a chat, and, on Saturday, Ann, David and I went with Roxanne to the Resolutes Club for brunch.
We had a major storm last night, about 10 to 15 cms worth, so David and I stayed home for most of the day. Ann had a doctor's appointment in Halifax so took the bus there while David and I shovelled us out (our next door neighbour, Dave, helped us out by doing most of the driveway with his snowblower). This evening Ann is at the ABC Book Club discussing Peace by Chocolate and David has gone out to pay D&D with his friends.
Monday January 22
My latest puzzle
Guess what I have been doing while Ann was away. This was a puzzle that I received for Christmas 2022. I worked on it for a while, then it was put away to make space on the dining room table. I got it out again a couple of weeks ago and finished it off a couple of days before Ann got home.
Ann flew home on Thursday. She had fun looking after Andrew for a week, then took the train to Toronto and the commuter train between Union Station and Pearson Airport where Martha picked her up. They went down to Sarnia the next day and for two weeks they, along with Thom and John, packed up a whole bunch of stuff in Gran's house so it can be put on the market in the spring. We will probably drive up in March to bring back boxes of stuff that she couldn't bring back on the plane.
On Saturday we went to the Resolutes Club for lunch with Carl and Roxanne, Ingrid and Mike, Kim and Glen, and Will and Anneke. It was originally an athletic club but is now just a members-only pub. It costs very little to join, so we are all members so we can get together and take advantage of their very cheap brunches.
That evening Ann and I were back in Halifax to see Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 1, 3 and 5 by Symphony Nova Scotia at St. Andrew's Church. We met our neighburs Heather and Marcel there. Ann was back again the following afternoon — Ingrid had an extra ticket and asked Ann to go with her — to see the remaining three, 2, 4 and 6.
Today we went skiing for the first time this season at Wentworth. It was a lovely day, though a bit cold early on, there were very few others on the hill, and the snow conditions were good: a nice way to spend the day.
Sunday January 14
A selfie at Conrad's Beach on Christmas Day
David, Louie and I have been co-existing tolerably well in Ann's absence. I have spent my time puttering, putting the Christmas decorations away, shredding old documents, working on a puzzle that has been brought back to the dining room table, playing the banjo, cuddling with Louie, and generally trying to stay out of trouble. I have continued to get some exercise by skating, at the Oval when the weather is conducive, otherwise at the RBC Centre.
We have had a couple of nasty storms this week, on Wednesday and yesterday. Both started with snow then quickly changed to rain with very high winds. There were the expected power outages around the province but we, thankfully, were spared. The three of us just laid low and waited them out.
We have decided that it would be a good idea to replace our natural gas furnace with a central heat pump. To get the federal rebates we needed to have an energy audit done: that happened on Wednesday. We have also had an electrician in on Tuesday to give us a quote on upgrading our electrical service to 200 amps and there will be more people in next week to give us additional quotes before we make a decision about who to get to do the work. It should be done some time in the spring.