Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year.
After our flood last September, and 5 months living with our friend Rose-Marie in North Vancouver (thank you so much), we moved back into our condo in early February. I had managed to replace most items that were damaged in the flood, although the bed and shelves for Pete’s office were on order, so we did a little indoor camping. I believe the insurance companies (mine, the condo and the builder) are still discussing who pays what, but it’s nice to have our part finished at last. And it’s great to be back home!
In April, as part of a family visit to Ontario, I went to Lambton County (west of London, towards Sarnia). In 1852, my 3rd great grandfather Thomas Garrett moved here with most of his adult children and some of their children. In the late 1960s our family did a little road trip to the area looking for traces of them. We searched all the United Church graveyards around Exeter (they were Wesleyan Methodists), but it turns out we should have been looking in Uttoxeter, about 65km farther west. I found where they are buried, and took the opportunity to connect with cousins we had lost touch with over 150 years ago! Nice to meet another part of the family.
In June we took a trip down east (Pete had never been there). We flew into Montreal and drove to Bromont in the Eastern Townships for the first night. The next day we headed across Maine to New Brunswick. We took the ferry across the Bay of Funday (highest tides in the world for all you geographers and trivia people) and drove to the south shore of Nova Scotia to visit friends (who had lobsters waiting for us). After a circuit of Cape Breton, we took another ferry to Prince Edward Island (more lobsters – yum) then the bridge over the Nothumberland Strait (longest bridge over water that freezes for the engineers). Pretty cool. Watched the sunset outside Riviere-du-Loup on the Solstice. Wow.
We went to England in July for Pete’s sister’s wedding in Devon. Caught up with Pete’s family and did some nice walks in Dartmoor. Then we headed north to visit a friend in the Lake District. We next went across Yorkshire and down through Derbyshire. Stopped to visit a cousin in Leicester and old friends in Norfolk and Cambridge.
England again! Pete and I went to London in November. Then he went home and I went up to Ambleside to stay with a friend after an operation. Managed to avoid the worst of the storms and had several nice days for walking.
We didn’t do a lot of sailing this year – I injured my achilles tendon in the spring and it took forever to heal (as tendons do). Walking was out although bicycling was fine. All better now. Wonderful to walk at a normal pace again.
I’m still busy with the Dragon Class in North America and the never-ending genealogy research on various bits out our family. For a person who likes puzzles, it’s the ultimate challenge.
Pete says he is cutting back on work next year, (I’ve heard that before) but he manages to keep working no matter where he is. It seems like we’re still catching up with friends and family after the pandemic and we hope to see more of you in the next few years.
All the best for 2025!