2019 Drury Wrap Up
The photo above is of our house in 1979
the year we moved here... The second a painting I had done in the summer by one of
our talented artist neighbors/friend as we have been here 40 years.
It was done from a photo and then colour added to the gardens as
the photo was taken in the spring before anything had bloomed. It
was my gift to my hubby on our 55th wedding anniversary in August.
A highlight of the year was having Mike and Lauren come for Easter plus Chris joined us as he had been working in Ottawa .( cannot find any photos from that weekend but have added some from three years ago)
As I write this Chris is once again in Ottawa
working but going home before Christmas then to St John's to complete
his final semester before graduating in the spring. Looks like he may
be coming back to Ottawa to start his career... time will tell. He
did spend 4 weekends with us in 2019 we so enjoyed his company.
We didn't go very far from home in 2019
tried but finding a sitter for Brandy didn't work out. Our
little blind girl is so attached to me that she whined and cried the one
overnight stay we tried. It was a perfect place too only 5 minutes away with a family
that would have spoiled her rotten. Next we will try leaving her at
home and having someone come in to be with her...
Because of that I decided that my
summer would be devoted to helping Monarchs. Sharing my knowledge and
the Monarchs in all four stages of their development with others,
thus I spoke and shared with at least 150 people. Dick of course was
my side kick through most of it :DOur three granddaughters are all keeping busy with school and activities. Katie and Bella are in Girl Guide/Brownies and Lauren has been helping with young children in a drama group.
They all are interesting young woman we enjoy have around of being in touch with .
Our Laval kids got to free the first
2019 Monarch I raised and Chris the last one he also got to enjoy a
male I could not set free because for some reason it couldn't fly.
Summer followed indoor gardening mainly
of native plants and milkweed seedlings. The milkweed seeds were so
successful I had about 300 seedlings to give away, won't do that again
but will give seeds away have
enough to make at least 1,000 little
packs. Plan is during an event in Dollard des Ormeaux a
small group of us, the Elm Sommers, will be giving them away. The group is now working with the city on
a better mowing plan of the natural areas and to enhance the
biodiversity in the areas around our community.
Monarchs had a very good year, the best
I have seen since I took an interest over ten years ago. I raised
quite a few and gave eggs or caterpillars to others to raise .
Because I had decided to attract them I decided than I should take
care of them especially if I saw them laying eggs . It got to the
point that every time I went out for a break a female came along and
laid eggs, My hubby said I needed to stay in as I seemed to be
attracting them, It did seem like that :D That was my spring and
summer months in the fall and winter it is the Art Hives and Izzy dolls. Lately we are knitting small baby hats - HPIC asked if we could make some a month ago. They will be going to Kenya and Mali early in the new year. Both countries has suffered greatly from the elements or warring groups thus desperately need the medical supplies and whatever Health Partners International Canada and other agencies can send them...
In between everything else we had a new
furnace and water heater installed then the bathroom renovated. Had
the bathtub removed and a walk in shower put in its place. Loving
it, so roomy and much easier to clean than the whirlpool.
Cataract surgeries, for both of us in
2019 mine was in June (had right eye done 10 years ago), and Dick's
first was December 12th the second will be January 9th
so we have nearly two months of daily eye drops to do. But then
again I'm doing Brandy's twice a day, (to ward off Glaucoma due to
her cataracts) so what's another patient :D The man that was so nervous to have the first surgery now cannot wait to have the second eye done as he has already seen so much improvement in his eyesight :DSo happy I insisted Richard get referrals from our doctor for his hearing (loss of 22 %) and his eyes a few months ago. Our doctor is retiring at end of December so we will be without a family doctor for quite awhile as there are no doctors taking new patients... and we are way down the list of those needing a doctor... I have been with our doctor since '82 and Dick '87. Knew retirement would be coming as he has been in practice for many years but he certainly will be missed when we have a medical problem. And because I actually looked forward to going to see him. Wish him well though and hope his retirement brings hism some peace of mind and helps his gimpy back... Sure the stress of work and the nonsense the government causes has not been easy...
I'm waiting to heard from the hospital
to have my eyelids tightened as they are interfering with my sight
especially when I am reading or at the end of a long strenuous day –
not until Dick's surgeries are done though.
No golf, curling or wine making in
2019 . Had wine made in the store and we went to bottled it... so
much easier that way. Golf, curling and wine making were good pass
times for Dick so trying to find something for him to do if he
doesn't get back to golf or curling... We have been watching the
Outlander series, the first three after I finished reading the books
and part of the fourth on Netflix will finish the 4th
series in what was PVR'ed when it was on a year ago. I didn't become
interested in Outlander until it was more that half way through the 4th
series - now I'm doing my best to read book five as series five will
begin televising in February. Each book is thicker than the last
and although I started the fifth book in the spring it was put aside
until a month or so ago.
We finish the year with something new,
the board game Warhammer Age of Sigmar - our youngest grandson Alex
has wanted to get into this game for two years. His mother suggested
it as a gift for his birthday and/or Christmas so the research began
problem is a university course is needed to learn about it but I
found out enough talking to him and searching on line to decide what
to get him however it is a combined gift for his 13th
birthday and partly for Christmas, not sure what he'll get for
Christmas but sure it will be related to his choice of armies
Lizardmen (Seraphon) or to help him get his models ready to play. We
have gone to a local hobby shop where they play Warhammer K40
every Saturday and he has gotten involved watching, or with the fellow that leads the sessions who also suggested
that he help Alex in mid December to learn some of the core rules of
Age of Sigmar a fantasy game whereas K 40 is futuristic . This
will be the third Saturday in a row we spend at the shop. Appentantly Alex and Steve will be going again on Saturday (Dec 21st) to play a game against each other. Hope this starts a hobby the two of them can do together :D
I'm all
for helping with everything but playing and am sure Granddad will do
what he can as well :D Plus Alex may have something to bond with his
grandparents now – his sisters have a few things that we can do
together. But we have also all gotten into jigsaw puzzles when they
are here – then Christoper comes finish the ones we've had a
problem to do wonder how we can get the Jared and Lauren involved as
well?
Our 2019 won't quite end with that
though Jared is coming with his girlfriend to spend 9 days with us so
will be here to ring in 2020 with us Jared is in the Reserves
training and helping out where needed. He wants to get into the Army
but may have to wait 2 to 3 years. so this possibly could be the last time we see him for awhile...
Have a Merry Christmas and a happy,
healthy 2019
