In the fall, my mother (92) fell. She required knee surgery that led to several months in the hospital. My sister, Lynda, became her primary advocate with my baby sister, Nancy, helping out. Both visited as much as they could. I had been in the habit of calling my mom but with moves from hospital to rehab to a care facility, this became impossible so I began writing weekly letters. My sisters kept me informed of Mom's progress but it wasn't the same as being there.
Once Mom had settled into the AltaVista Manor, I made plans to fly to Ottawa and visit her and the rest of the family. Lynda took time off work and hosted Glen and me in her lovely townhouse. She created some wonderful meals and we enjoyed relaxing with her after busy days of visiting.
I'm a bit of a worrywart and when I saw the booking reference for our flights, I grew concerned. Doesn't PERBLM resemble 'problem' to you? However, the flight east was uneventful and we didn't have to get up early to catch it (always a bonus). Lynda and her boyfriend, Chris, picked us up -- it's always nice to be met at the airport.
We couldn't believe the amount of snow in Ottawa. Two weeks before, they endured dumps of 50 and 25 centimetres. Lynda's garden was buried. But, over the course of the week, it melted enough to reveal daffodils and tulips growing.
With Lynda
Lynda and Chris acted as chauffeurs during our stay so Glen got a break from driving. And Lynda is the queen of breakfast dining! I told Glen not to get used to such pampering.
After Lynda's delicious suppers, we'd watch movies or TV. The first film we saw was "Steve Jobs". It affirmed what we knew--Jobs was not a nice person. The second movie was "Across the Universe", a 2007 musical set in New York featuring Beatle's music. It was very well done. Chris's favourite animation is "Frozen" and we'd never seen it (comes from having grandsons and no granddaughters). The final movie we saw was "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". It was excellent and had us wanting to travel to India. We also watched several episodes of MASH.
Monday (Day 3 of our visit) was Lynda's yoga day so she convinced me to join her. I've let my yoga sessions slip over the last 6 months but she assured me it was yin yoga and I'd be fine. I wasn't. I've never used pillows, blocks or bolsters while doing yoga so. I also wasn't used to holding my positions for so long. Suffice to say, I hobbled around moaning and groaning for two days afterward.
Lynda is famous for her teas so on Wednesday (Day 5), she invited some of her friends over to meet us and enjoy sandwiches, sweeties, tea, and wine. It was nice to put faces to the names I'd heard over years. What a nice bunch! Some were retired, some semi-retired but all seemed busy working on various projects. It inspired us to think over our own retirement plans.
Thursday (Day 6), Lynda wanted to check out another care facility for Mom so she and I went to see what the Garry Armstrong (had the right name) had to offer. Owned by the city of Ottawa, it has 180 rooms and a lovely open dining room on each floor. Even the semi-private rooms had windows.
Friday (Day 7), we went to Beechwood Cemetery to view the grave of Glen's mom, dad, aunt, grandfather, grandmother and older brother (very much a family reunion) as well as the one belonging to his Grandfather Armstrong and grandmother. The snow had melted enough so we could reach the graves and pay our respects. We also found one of two letterboxes hidden nearby. We had lunch at the Clocktower Pub and Craft Brewery in New Edinburgh. Its unique pub menu had an Asian flare so I ordered the Korean Beef Sandwich and Glen had Cheddar and Bacon Grilled Cheese while Lynda ordered their Classic Burger. She and I enjoyed their Bytown Brown Ale while Glen had their Bitters. Very tasty!
Saturday night (Day 8), I made my 'famous' pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and Lynda bought an apple pie. We had a great dinner with Chris joining us. I had made a mistake while mixing the pork rub spices but the sandwiches were still good.
Sunday (Day 9), I spent the morning packing then we went for a walk to Lynda's grocery store. Chris arrived around 3:00 and we headed to the airport. After supper in the Bytown Taps Pub (too much arugula!) we boarded the plane. We were 30 minutes late leaving due to a computer problem but the pilot made up the time. We were home within a half hour which is some kind of record. The taxi driver forgot to set his meter (the first time I've heard a driver swear) but we knew what we usually pay and he was happy with that.
With Nancy
Sunday (Day 2) morning we headed out to Lanark County to visit Nancy and her husband, Andy. We were to meet at Wheelers for a pancake breakfast. It is a family business begun by Vernon and Judy Wheeler in 1978 with a sugar shack selling maple syrup products. They opened their pancake house in 1996 having built it with logs and lumber from their sugar bush and derelict barns in the area. At first it only served customers when the sap was running but after the ice storm of 1998, they decided to open year round. They developed several hiking trails and in 2000, opened a museum using Vernon's collection of maple syrup artifacts (it holds a Guinness world record).
Over 200 kilometres of tubing bring the sap from 15,000 maple trees to the sugar shack making the Wheelers' 600 acres of forest look like a giant cat's cradle. The sap is boiled down in huge evaporators. Forty litres of sap creates 1 litre of syrup for those who love numbers.
Apparently, it is tradition that families head to Wheelers for Sunday breakfast during spring break. We hadn't realized this but the change to daylight savings time, gave us a leg up on getting there before the crowds. Or so we thought. The place was packed but they were well-organized. A parking attendant showed us where to park and we put our names on the list for a table. I ducked into the bathroom and when I came out, everyone was sitting at a table.
I ordered the Sugar Bush Special which was two pancakes and three maple flavoured pork sausages. The cakes were huge but so fluffy I had no problems gobbling them down. Glen had the Canadian which was french toast, pancakes and sausages. Chris and Andy had the same while Lynda had French Toast and sausage. Wheelers also makes gluten-free pancakes so Nancy could enjoy them as well. No one worried about running out of maple syrup!
After a touring the museums, we headed to Nancy's place. She has a beautiful home off the grid in the hills of Lanark. We did a tour of the new work they've done then enjoyed cheese, prosciutto and sweeties with wine, beer and tea. Oh, and lots of laughs.
With Aunty Mabel
On Monday (Day 3), after a visit with Mom, Lynda drove us to my aunt's apartment. It was good to get caught up on her news. She leads a very busy life and everyone in the building seems to know her. She told us a few funny stories about them.
With Victor
Tuesday (Day 4) we entertained my cousin (Mabel's son), Victor, his wife Wendy and their two kids, Colin and Valerie. I was shocked to learn Colin had started searching for universities to attend. Wasn't it yesterday that he was born? He's tall and into science. Victor is dealing with some health issues but he didn't come to discuss them. We had lots of fun enjoying his 'joie de vivre'. Wendy even got a few words in. Valerie got bored so watched the movie "In and Out" while the adults chatted. We ordered two pizzas from Gabriel's for lunch.
Founded by Michael Hanna in 1977, Gabe's is a successful immigrant story of how one determined man made a place for himself and his family in Canada. Michael landed in Ottawa with little money and no English. He began his career as a bus-boy. After bringing his brothers and parents to Canada, they opened a pizzeria in the town of Orleans, just outside Ottawa. There are now 23 franchises throughout the region. Their pizza was delicious!
With Mom
Our plans for Saturday (Day 1) was a visit with Mom. We had a nice lunch in the manor dining room (see photo) although I believe my veal stew came from a can and Glen's eggs benedict had only one poached egg. The soup was good and Mom's chicken sandwich looked tasty. She couldn't eat it all so Glen polished it off. Dessert was a date bar or honeydew. I explained this to Mom calling it a honeydew melon. According to the server there is only one melon and that's watermelon.
We also had a short visit with Mom before seeing Mabel on Monday (Day 3). Lynda played pool with Mom's new boyfriend and the rest of us watched. Mom loves playing pool but has to be careful not to push herself as her knee is still painful. Lynda did get her walking with her walker down the hall and was happy with her progress.
Our next visit was to enjoy St. Patrick's Day celebrations on Thursday (Day 6). The manor had a quartet of gospel singers playing Irish tunes in the lobby. We had bought some head-decor at the dollar store so were ready to party. Nancy and Andy arrived first and Chris drove us there so we were quite the group. Other than someone's medical alarm sounding, the concert was pretty low-key. Glen said if they played Danny Boy, he would leave but when the woman sang this song, I think everyone wanted to leave. It isn't an easy song and she had problems.
Afterwards, we were supposed to go upstairs for green beer. Only three groups made the trek to the second floor where our family commandeered the biggest table. Lynda and Chris played pool while the rest of us chatted. Two small plates of pretzels vanished and several small glasses of beer also disappeared. When the cookies came around, all the menfolk indulged. As we were leaving, the entertainment director brought us the rest as she was throwing them out. Glen, Andy and Chris did not complain. As I'm not a big fan of green beer, I drank some Guinness when we got back to Lynda's place.
Our final visit with Mom, on Saturday (Day 8), we found her sitting in the lobby watching the flag blowing. She liked the shapes it created. I showed her pictures of our time in Victoria and she loved the ones I'd taken of the mergansers. Lynda ran some errands and when she came to pick us up, discovered Mom's hearing aid was missing. I hadn't noticed because Mom seemed to be responding well to our conversation. Lynda has a gift for finding the aid when no one else can and true to form, she found it in the bathroom I thought I had searched well.
It was good seeing Mom in high spirits despite the pain of her knee surgery and recovery. We enjoyed lots of laughs. Growing old is hard; watching someone you love age, even more difficult but our visit showed us Mom was still feisty and embracing life.
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