WE'RE BACK - Part two

WE'RE BACK  -Continued--

Finally, the four friends/neighbors who had joined us two years ago near the beginning of the houseboat adventure, Wanda and John, and Anne and Paul, fittingly joined us again to help us wrap up the adventure. And despite some engine challenges, we wrapped it up in fine style, and had a wonderful relaxing and fun trip back down to Kingston where we

 met other friends, Denise and Mike, and did a dinner cruise in the 1000 Islands (on a rather bigger and more reliable boat!!) to help them celebrate their anniversary.



Along the way, we had made the decision to sell the houseboat, and quit our  seasonal migration to Canada, after 27 years. We advertised, showed the boat as we travelled, and found buyers who were willing to let us stay on until
after our various guests had been and gone. End of an Era! We’ll miss both the boat and the lifestyle; we’ll also miss Canada

(in summer) and mostly all the family and friends there. But we won’t miss that trip over and back !! Now the word is out;- we have visited all you Canadians for many years, now it’s your turn to visit us !!

After a very rough and harrowing crossing of the end of Lake Ontario to take the boat for handover to the new owners, we got off and stayed at Maureen's for much of the remaining holiday. She and Don had gone out west to his family, so we had house and car to ourselves. We spent a few days in Ottawa helping Tanya and Cristina unpack and settle into their new house, assembling new furniture and a bit of painting. Busman’s holiday!!  We were also so pleased to be able to catch up with a family friend, whose mother was a very close friend of my parents; hope we stay in touch Lyn. We also spent a couple of days touring the St Lawrence Seaway project and the lost villages flooded by it, as well as Upper Canada Village. It had been years since we’d been to
that area; and this year we had a more detailed interest due to a novel we’d just read, set in that era.-Thanks Carole

Our last week or so was fun and wonderful, but bittersweet, saying goodbye to older friends we probably won’t see again; being wined, dined and generally treated like royalty by various cousins and friends; a family Sunday at Maureens block; catching up with some annual ‘traditions’ like scrabble tournament, fondue night, etc. Besides seeing so  many of the people important to us in one short period, we were privileged to be visited by a doe and fawns at Caroles, and deer and a beaver at Maureens. This year, perhaps because Canada was having such a hot dry summer, there seemed a remarkable amount of wildlife about! Besides those mentioned above, here are a few glimpses.

We managed to change our flights to get home early on Sept 4, which gave us a head-start on things. We let the firms involved with our redevelopment know they could move their starts forward; they took us at our word and the siteworks people started at 7:30 am on the 5th !! Alison and Graham had made a start in our absence by taking down the pergola;- thanks guys! By the end of the first week we had a sand-pit and a dirty great hole where the jungle used to be !! We’ll be  living in chaos for the next while. Wish us strength and patience!. As I write, instead of the 'jungle',  there is a forest of 2x4’s and tin out there in the vague semblance of a pool, so it’s taking shape!

 There were a number of other bonuses to getting home early!
We got home in time for Katie's baby shower, a remarkably lovely afternoon high tea. Anne was inspired to dig out David's blankie,which she'd been intending to try to repair for years. She asked Alison's advice/help and Ali ended up taking it on and doing an amazing job on it!! Have a look!


We were home in time for school holidays and got to catch up with some of the grands, with excursions to Dwellingup and to Whitemans Park.


Another milestone we were home in time for, was my wee cousin Georgia's third birthday party. Hordes of preschool kids having a wow of a time while all the adults visited, ate and drank.

So all in all, it's been good to be home early, despite the unseasonably cold spring we've had! (All you Canadians, sit up and quit laughing!) We've really been enjoying the young cygnets, the dolphins and at least one calf, as well as catching up with everyone and getting the jump on jobs and appointments.                       

We are again having tech problems, so wish me luck!  I'll close now and try to publish both parts of this blog. Cross your fingers for me.Wishing you all much love and every happiness.

Anne and Kathie
Happy Not Wandering (for now)