What a Difference a Day Makes!

 

Today is one of my favourite people's birthday. Happy birthday greetings were sent to Em today, who is home from Kuwait for the Summer. She informed me of the bad news.

Today an alleged member of the extremist group ISIS bombed a mosque in Kuwait City. At last count, 25 people were killed and many more injured. My heart is breaking for the people of Kuwait, a small country in the Middle East where I am presently employed. I cannot fathom what the families and friends of the victims are going through. It appears that no where in the world is completely safe. 

There were also bombings and killings in France and Tunisia. Again, heartbreaking and devastating news...

But today there were also good things happening in the world. 

The Supreme Court in the USA ruled that same sex marriages are legal in all 50 states. 

I was invited for a delicious lunch and much needed visit with my lovely friend, Mary. Catching up in person with a good friend is like a breath of fresh air.

On the ride home my Jeep's windshield was hit by very large stone, shattering a section of the glass, but not causing injury or a road accident, thankfully. After a quick call to my husband I headed to the nearest town and was able to make an appointment to have it repaired early next week. 

My husband ran over his cell phone with his ATV and apparently it still works! 

I am sitting here in my living room over looking a calm, peaceful lake. The birds are singing. The fishermen (including my husband) are out on the water, casting for bass. 

Cars carrying weekend residents and family and friends are rolling in. People here respect one another's privacy and down time, but are also available in case of emergency. 

It is Summer, one of the most wonderful times of the year. My husband telephoned our son, a teacher, this afternoon, the final day of school for teachers in Ontario. I overheard this normally reserved man sing loudly, "School's out for summer!" I imagined what my son was thinking on the other end of the call and giggled to myself.

Life is full of surprises...some are sad and others are happy. 

May your Summer be full of the happy ones. 

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

And so the Busy-ness is Over for Now!

Welcome one and all to the Reunion!

 This past few weeks has been crazy busy as we prepared for bi-annual family reunion that is held at our home on the lake. The event occurs in the summer and usually includes a fishing derby, a horseshoe tournament, lots of eating and plenty of socializing with family members and friends.

Even though attendance was a little down this year, we thoroughly enjoyed our guests, their company and the delicious eats that they provided. I will have to head to the lake twice a day for the next few weeks, just to make up for extra calories consumed.

My husband is from a very large family.  There were twelve children in all.  Seven of those children are still living and ten of the families were represented at the reunion. We are all aging gracefully and enjoy swapping stories of days gone by.

Penney, Evie, Beverley, Audrey, George, Maynard, Clarke- seven of the twelve siblings

Adding Corry (eldest son of  Louise), Joey (youngest son of Gloria)
 and Lester (eldest son of Winnifred)-representing ten of the twelve siblings

A common theme of the weekend was that of sibling rivalry. brothers and brothers, sisters and sisters and brothers and sisters, vying for the championship trophy in various events.

 My personal favourite was the bass fishing derby which occurred on Saturday. Corry and Sherry (brother and sister) placed first and second overall.  Corry, the eldest of three, had the biggest fishing tackle box I have ever seen!

The BASS DERBY champion for this year...

The BASS DERBY champion and the runners-up.

The second day competition was the horseshoe tournament. There were four teams competing, which meant only three games of 10 ends were required.  In the first game I join my great niece, Naomi, to battle against my daughter and Naomi's mother's friend. We were whipped 11-3.  So that enabled me to become the referee for the remaining games.

The second game saw my husband, Clarke and his niece, Sherry, take on his sister, Penney, and her partner, Corry, Sherry's brother. This was an exciting match due to the teasing and tattling.  However, my husband's team advanced to the finals again my daughter's team.

I was at a loss as to who to cheer for.  My daughter was the returning champ from two  years ago, and had traveled from Scotland to be with us. My husband had put in an amazing amount of effort preparing for the weekend, and I suppose I secretly hoped he would win, after not winning the fishing derby.  In a very tight match, my daughter's team overcame the comments and put downs and won the championship 4-3.

We are the HORSESHOES champions!

So now it is Tuesday, after the reunion weekend.  I have caught up on my sleep and the house is back in order. We are eating the leftovers and reminiscing about the time we shared together.  As I think back about who was here, I am a little sad that I did not spend time talking to some very fine relatives. I want to apologize to those who came later and left earlier than expected. I did not take the time to sit down and catch up with you. Next time, I will try harder!

July 12, 2014 is our next major event at the lake...please place it on your calendar for next summer!

Until next time,

Bee Rich

Clarke speaking with a beautiful ornament from Bali-
a thank you gift from the family!
Thank you very much!