Retirement Musings and Everyday Delights
Good morning Funchal! I'll admit I had to look up Madeira on a map before we left Canada. I knew it was a Portuguese island, but I didn't know where it was. It's geographically closer to Morocco than it is to Portugal, and has pleasant weather year round. It was 19 or 20 degrees during … Continue reading Sisters in Madeira
When I read about the top five regrets of the dying, the one that surprised me the most was not keeping in touch with friends. If you ask people what matters in life, most would put friends and family near the top of the list, but life gets busy and we don't always invest our … Continue reading Friends for a reason, a season or a lifetime
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.""Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch carved the Yemeni chicken! After the Thanksgiving turkey jerky incident, my sister was determined to make … Continue reading Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more
I've added a few items to my 60 at 60 list since my last post, including tandem skydiving. #43 Trip to Toronto to Bid Farewell to Ric and Susan / Try Disc Golf Our longtime friends Ric and Susan who lived in nearby Cobourg when we moved here, decided to sell up and move to … Continue reading Flying High
Our Thanksgiving weekend started with some Wii bowling and a pizza lunch with Ray's mom - who is looking pretty sharp for 95, don't you think? - and Ray's nephew, Curtis. My sister hosts Thanksgiving dinner, but she's always so busy getting dinner ready that she doesn't have time to visit, so this year she … Continue reading Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!
I said to Ray the other day that we're kind of at the peak of our lives. We're healthy, our friends and family are healthy, and after decades of saving, we own our own time. When everything is going great in life, there's always that niggling awareness that it can't last forever; that we have … Continue reading Windows of Time
Karen and I booked an apartment in Lagos for five nights and rented a car so we could explore the Algarve region. The first day was cloudy and cool, but still nice enough to explore the town, stopping for some wine and nibbles at a beachfront cafe. The owner of our favourite little coffee/breakfast place, … Continue reading Sisters in Portugal: Lagos & the Algarve
Last weekend, Karen and I flew to Lisbon for a sister holiday. It's my first time visiting Portugal (her second). I love the feel of European cities, with their narrow cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and laundry drying on the balconies. I was surprised to see how touristy Lisbon is, right up there with Paris and … Continue reading Sisters in Portugal – Lisbon & Sintra
Someone asked me if my sister got any sort of prize for being the top fundraiser for Ray's cycle (having donated $1,000 herself and then raised another thousand from her friends & family). I said she didn't get a prize. "Well, she got a t-shirt at least." Uh, no, she didn't get a t-shirt either, … Continue reading How to be a Karen
My family, on both the maternal and paternal sides, started in Winnipeg, but over the years many of them moved west to Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. We were the only ones who headed east. My parents and their siblings have all passed away now, but Karen and I wanted to touch base with the relatives … Continue reading Family Matters
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