It's a grey, cold day at the farmette. No snow overnight, but we have plenty, so not complaining.
Yesterday, we did our combination February birthday celebration over at the Thorntons. Rob's was on the first, and niece Rachel's was right on the day - the fifth.
She turned 26 and he turned, ahem, a lot older. They're both looking pretty darn good though, and we all had a fantastic visit with the full-on feast that only my sister Sandy can produce.
It was all hands on deck in the kitchen as the time drew near for chowing down. Rachel had requested barbecued steak and had even cleaned the barbecue in preparation. Lamb chops, regular and sweet potatoes, beans, zucchini and a spinach-apple salad contributed by yours truly rounded out the meal.
On the drive over, we remarked on the fact that it looked like someone sprayed the trees like a movie set - say The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I half expected to see Mr. Tumnus, with his deer-like lower half - emerge from the snow-covered conifers.
Here are the two sisters - Rachel and Erin are like chalk and cheese - two very different personalities. They sometimes really rub each other the wrong way. But they love each other, and Erin, who's been a baker since she was wee, made her sister a lovely marble birthday cake with a scrumptious icing that melted in our mouths. YUMMMMY.
Rachel's all grown up, has a great job at Georgian Peaks - a ski resort in Collingwood - and will be getting married to Jesse next year. Being very organized and a planner, it sounded like she's already got most of the main bits lined up.
As we sat around having our post-dinner chat, I realized we had hardly talked at all about the lunacy going on in the streets of our country's major cities.
Which was a BIG relief I gotta tell you. I've been really upset by the amount of hate being thrown around these days.
Hopefully the pandemic will ease, and life will return to semi-normal, although I'm not sure how long it will take to heal the wounds that have opened up.
I guess we have to just put one foot in front of the other, keep our heads up and remember to stay kind. And relax, like Sadie. Until next week.