Welcome to Our Web Page
When this web page began more than twenty-five years ago, it described most of the activities of our whole family. Now that most of our children have flown the coop, it is mostly about what Ann and I (Dave) have been up to. I update it most weekends. We save all the messages over the past year in an Archive along with links to what we were doing ten and twenty years ago.
You can click on the pictures above to get a bit more information about each of us.
Sunday May 3
Alex with a nerf gun during Andrew's party
Ann and I are currently in Renfrew having driven up this way a week and a half ago. Unusually for us, we didn't leave until late Wednesday afternoon, taking the time to join the Railers for a ride from the 5k Café to the Bike and Bean before we left. Ann was having some difficulty riding her old bike — I had forgotten to pump up her tires so they were underinflated — so she and Pauline turned around halfway and stopped for a coffee at D & Jo's. The rest of us went to whole way and had our coffee at the Bike and Bean. We got back from the ride mid-afternoon, packed up, and set off getting as far as the Comfort Inn in Fredericton. The next day we drove all the way to Ottawa arriving at Julia's at around 8 pm.
The next day, while Julia was working, we rode our bikes to the Miracle Café where we met Morgan for coffee and treats. Then we rode downtown to the National Gallery and spent a couple of hours taking in an exhibit by west coast indigenous sculptresses and some of the permanent exhibits. After lunch in the gallery cafeteria, we returned to Julia's by way of the Byward Market and the trail along the Rideau River. Morgan met us there and the four of us went out to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant that Morgan recommended. We also picked up some cannoli at an Italian bakery just down the street from the restaurant and ate them back at Julia's.
On Saturday, we packed up again and drove to Renfrew. That afternoon, Ann and I took Andrew shopping for a present for his upcoming birthday: a new bicycle.
Sunday was a very nice day, so I went for a ride out the Millennium Trail, then along back roads to the Algonquin Trail which I followed almost to Arnprior. I stayed on the Algonquin Trail all the way back. When I returned, Ann and I took Andrew to an empty parking lot across the street to try out his new bike. He had a bit of trouble getting started at first but then got the hang of it.
On Monday morning, we packed up again and drove to Bracebridge to visit my brother Simon. We stopped for lunch in Haliburton and arrived mid-afternoon. Our niece Nicky came over with her kids Blake and Arlo and we all started a jig-saw puzzle then ordered some take-away food for dinner. When Nicky and the boys had left, Ann and Simon had a Zoom chat with Ann's book club which had recently read Simon's novel.
The next day we did a bit of shopping in Bracebridge, took Simon out to lunch at the Main St. Diner, then drove to Barrie to see our friend Nancy. We stayed overnight at her place, went out for lunch at the Chopped Leaf the next day, then drove down to Brampton to stay with Martha and Thom for a couple of days. John and Halima also came up from Bright's Grove. That evening the six of us went for dinner at Maswary Egyptian Kitchen.
On Thursday, Ann, John and Martha's cousins Sherry and Jane came for lunch. We all ended up around the dining room table chatting until dinner time when leftovers from lunch and the Egyptian dinner were wheeled out. It wasn't until about 10 pm that the gathering broke up.
On Friday, we packed up once again and drove back to Renfrew stopping in at my brother Nick's for a couple of hours on the way.
Saturday was Andrew's birthday party. Katy and Ben's good friends Chris and Andreanna arrived from Ottawa with their kids Kara and Clark, and five or six of Andrew's schoolmates were also invited. The festivities started with nerf gun target practice in the basement followed by a free-for-all nerf gun battle. That was followed by lunch with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake decorated in a Minecraft theme. Then they settled in to watch the Minecraft movie. Everything went very well considering they were a group of rambunctious of four- through eight-year-olds and everyone seemed to have a good time. When it was all over, Ann, myself, Chris and Andreanna escaped to Ottawa Valley Coffee for a bit of peace and quiet.
Today was another beautiful day so I took the opportunity to go for a ride up the trail to Cobden. When I got back, we watched Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with Andrew and Alex.