Author: trendfamily

Thursday was for getting stuff done around the house. Cliff got up early to meet an alarm technician to get a security system set up. While that was happening, I did an arm workout in the chilly garage.

Colin and I made peanut butter marshmallow squares to enjoy!

Cliff and I got out for a walk to look for winter ducks, but we only spotted some boring Pacific Black ducks.

Laura worked on homework and Colin made fantastic progress on a new jigsaw puzzle.

Daphne, Gord, and Jordan came over for supper and a visit and I completely forgot to take any photos! But we enjoyed turkey shepherd’s pie, along with the squares and a cherry pie that was in the freezer.

We decided to spend the day in Halifax, but Cliff and I had to wait for the kids to wake up first. Eventually we woke them up and went for a neighbourhood walk while they got ready.

Then we started with a delicious breakfast en route at the Labour Day Picnic cafe. Their food is fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed my sausage roll and maple-pecan-sticky-bun scone.

Off we went to the city, where we drove down Quinpool Road looking for murals from the past few years’ mural festivals. We will definitely go back to walk it next summer – there were all sorts of gorgeous artworks!

We parked down by the waterfront and then spent a couple of hours at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

We walked back up the waterfront to enjoy some chowder and sushi at SeaSmoke restaurant.

Colin was wiggly so we went back out along the waterfront to get some energy out,

We walked around quite a bit more, including stops at Cows ice cream, Freak Lunchbox, and the Board Room game cafe.

Then we picked up cousin Jenny, who came back to Bayview for supper and a visit. She brought a selection of board games with her, and we enjoyed Sushi Go! and CodeNames.

Cliff had a few different folks come over to the house today to discuss future projects, including the dock re-build and cleaning out the cistern.

While he was doing that, I did a leg day workout and then went for a long walk – it was a beautiful morning!

The kids were finally awake by the time I got home. Laura did some school work and Colin did some reading and gaming. Cliff kept puttering and I drove up the shore to buy some needed items – a lamp so I could see to stitch, and a bedside lamp for Laura’s room, plus a few toiletries and groceries.

Cliff made delicious Swiss chard enchiladas for dinner and afterward we played the Trekking the National Parks game again. Laura won this time, and was a clear victor!

Colin and I had another sleep in, then did some house chores. We planned the menu for the next few nights and I went to the grocery store. Then I went to the airport to pick up Cliff and Laura, whose flight arrived more than a half hour early!

We made it back to Bayview in time to catch a lovely sunset. Cliff and I went out for a walk.

I made spaghetti for dinner while Cliff and the kids played a National Parks-themed board game. After dinner we played cribbage, and the parents just barely beat the kids. Every game so far this week has been very close!

Colin and I both had a great sleep and a wonderfully lazy morning. Since it was dark when we arrived yesterday it was a treat to wake up to this view:

Then we went over to visit Daphne, Gord, and Jordan. We had a great time catching up. The kids played basketball and some indoor games while the grown-ups worked on a jigsaw puzzle.

Gord and Jordan’s Taw Keon Do group meet for runs on Sunday evenings, so we tagged along to get some good exercise in the very refreshing 4C weather! Colin did 2.4 km and then some sprints. I did a couple of extra track laps while everybody else sprinted, as I didn’t think my cranky Achilles tendon would care for sprinting. So I did 3.2 km.

After our run we returned home to eat leftover soup. We played a couple of after-dinner games and then got ready for bed.

As Colin was getting ready for bed, Cliff and Laura took off from Houston, headed to Newark after an afternoon of dancing. We’ll pick them up tomorrow!

We decided to head North for the American Thanksgiving break. Colin and I flew to Newark Friday night then on to Halifax late this morning. We stopped for groceries en route and arrived at the house late afternoon.

We are settling in just fine, enjoying homemade cheddar-mushroom soup for dinner with maritime brown bread, then Colin beat me at a game of cribbage.

Cliff and Laura will join us after their weekend of Nutcracker rehearsals.

Hello! day 57 was good. we are finally back home! the drive today was normal again. the main nice thing is that we are back home! i have had fun doing the blogs for this trip as well, and i will probably be doing them again next year. for the last time this year, that’s all for now. Bye! -Colin 🙂

Hello! day 56 was a good day. we drove most of the day. we got up, had some fancy-ish breakfast in the hotel, packed up again, and got driving. we didn’t visit anyone, and there isn’t really much to talk about. when we got to the hotel, we ordered some sushi for supper. that is all that really happened that day. that’s all for now. Bye! -Colin

Hello! day 55 was good. we are almost home! once we got up, we went down and had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. then we packed up the car and got driving. we visited a friend first, and i played with their dog for a little while. the drive took about 7 1/2 hours. the drive was uneventful. when we got to the hotel, we got our stuff unpacked and watched Big Hero 6, which is a very good movie. that’s all for now. Bye! -Colin

Hello! day 54 was very good. we got up and drove for about 6 hours to another hotel. the drive was good, but uneventful. after we arrived, we went to a hot air balloon and laser show. we walked around some stalls for a while and found one that sold glowy stuff for after it got dark. then we found a stand that had a bunch of 3D printed stuff. there were things from dragons to dice rollers. we ended up getting two dice rollers and 10 little mini things. they are a surprise for some people who might be reading this, so I’m not going to spoil it! 🙂 after a while, the balloons started to inflate, but they had to be called off due to a thunderstorm that was happening soon. a little while later, they started to blow smke into the area to make the lasers appear better, but there was some wind that kept blowing it away, so the lasers weren’t as cool as they were meant to be. the end of the day was a dissappointment, but the rest of the day was good. Bye! -Colin