The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves...: Farewell 2019

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Farewell 2019

We headed out on December 19th for the annual holiday fun run across Ontario. We left green grass behind and hit the 401 with fingers crossed, not knowing year to year where winter might begin. This year, it began around Milton. We opted for the 407 as thing started to get dicey, and took a much-needed lunch break along the 400 north of Vaughan after finding out that our lunch date in Barrie with Kevin was cancelled due to illness.

As we left Vaughan, they closed the 400 between Bradford and Innisfil due to what turned out to be a 50-car pileup amidst sketchy winter weather. We detoured up Highway 11 and passed through one of my old haunts - literally - in Churchill, before regaining the 400 at Barrie and carrying on northward.

We spent a few days in the Barrie/Orillia area and visited with a number of friends and family, staying two nights at my dad's place and a third at a nice Airbnb in Orillia. In spite of plenty of snow on the ground, a few days of sunshine meant we set out on dry roads for eastern Ontario, taking advantage of the favourable weather and the the more scenic route along Highway 7.

We spent several more days in eastern Ontario visiting more family and friends, including a great turkey dinner at my mother's and a delicious ham dinner at my sister's. The nieces have grown into young ladies with a great sense of humour. I even got to visit with two of my cousins and their families, whom I had not seen in a long while.

But for a brief fog as we departed, the good weather held out as we returned westward, following the 401 back to the London area for Coxmas. Toronto traffic was intermittently frustrating, but not so bad that we felt like paying for the 407. Coxmas itself was great as always, involving another yummy turkey dinner and much laughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and thanks to all who housed and fed us over the holidays. It is more appreciated than you know.

We made it home by December 29th, to eight angry cats and a lot of unpacking. Luckily, mild weather persisted and out they went while we opened windows and rounded up cat litter.

By the 31st, we were into this year's chosen TV marathon, "Random Passage" - CBC's epic story of settling a Newfoundland outport in the 1800's, accompanied by a smorgasbord of appetizers and some mulled wine. Once finished the mini-series, we decided to start re-watching Supernatural!

2019 was a challenging year for us, with Jane's knee issues, surgery and recovery all intermingled with art shows galore. With one more surgery to go early into the New Year, 2020 is shaping up to be a much better year for mobility and quality of life!

See you next year!!!