On holidays

We are off to the lake/cottage for an extended time. We'll connect thereafter. Who knows: Maybe Val will even write a blog post in amongst the beauty of the great out of doors. Stay tuned...

Here's hoping you're enjoying your own summer where you are. It's blazing hot here at the moment, and close and humid. Not my favourite weather, but I don't dare complain!

xo

From folks to Folk Fest (by Amanda)

My two weeks in Edmonton with my folks (Anne and Colin) were highly successful: We had fun together and enjoyed each others' company, while also being very productive in sorting out closets and offices and outbacks. The photo below tells the tale: a good number of black garbage bags were sent to the landfill (sorry about that), several more to the recycling depot, and a car load to Goodwill. That boombox on top of the pile was diverted to the electronic waste depot, thanks to a stern message to me from Val on seeing the phone via text.

I happened to be in Edmonton while Wimbledon was on; my mother is an uber keen fan, while my father watches with interest. I haven't followed the tournament for years, but I got into it after downloading the app onto my iPhone and onto my mum's iPad. I would come up from my lower-level bedroom for tea in the morning and find Anne already on her second cup of tea and watching the live matches in progress on her iPad. As the tournament went on, we migrated to the TV to watch the more serious semi-finals on the big screen. 

Anne watches Wimbledon on her iPad. 

Watching Wimbledon on the big screen. 

For Colin, his iPad and his desktop Mac play a big role in keeping him connected to the outside world, as it is getting harder and harder for him to get out into it himself. He is a keen photographer of family and friends, and takes seriously his role to share his snaps with all of us. Here he is consulting with Anne on how to make (the damned) printer do what he wants it to. In the end, he succeeded. Phew. 

Colin gets around pretty well with a walker, and is game to do his share about the house. He sets the table and moves the laundry from the washer to the dryer. On a good day, his (blasted) oxygen tube doesn't get all caught up in this and that, and he manages to move about freely. Other times, tangles catch  him up and expletives can be heard. Nothing much unusual about that in a Le Rougetel house, I must say. 

I had an enjoyable time going through an old suitcase of my grandfather's into which Anne had put, in carefully dated envelopes, piles and piles of family photos. I left loads for Charles (my brother) and Katy (my sister) go through, but I brought a bunch home for my own files. Below is a rather sweet one of Katy (left) and me; I must be about a year old, which makes Katy about three. 

I am off to the Winnipeg Folk Festival this coming Thursday, which leaves poor Val alone yet again. If only she could enjoy what she considers the wailing of folk music, then she could come along! Her energy comes and goes, though I think it's true to say that the mind-numbing brain fog is over. However, the ups and downs of the returning energy is hard on the mind: So much to do, so much willingness to do it, yet not always the necessary amount of energy to actually achieve it. All positive thoughts continue to be gratefully received...