It's a grey, foggy day at the farmette. Woke up to -9C temperature and frost on all the trees.
On Thursday, we celebrated Rob's 76th birthday by going out to a lovely restaurant in Markdale called Marilynne. It's housed in the town's former fire hall and decorated with a tasteful farmhouse theme. The food and the atmosphere are top-notch. Highly recommend if you're ever in our neck of the woods.
It's also our anniversary, because we met in Toronto 34 years ago at the same time of year. We did a little reminiscing during the week of our time together, so I thought I'd share some of the memories.
We have been incredibly fortunate over three decades. From Toronto to Guelph to the farmette here in Durham, we've done well with remarkably few bumps in the road.
Some of my best memories are the trips we've taken. Early on, we did a western Canada tour, flying into Calgary, renting a Mustang convertible (!) and tootling in a big circle across two provinces. Along the way, we visited friends (Jane and Dana in North Vancouver) and family (my brother Bob, Joanne and the kids) in Prince George. While the kids Kate, Alex and Geoff were still in public school playing soccer on the weekends then, they are all now grownups with kids of their own.
We began our 'ta-da' pictures at about the same time. The one below was during another western trip in 2000 and the one on the left was in Scotland on Loch Linne. We also have them from the Czech Republic, Italy, PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. How much fun is that?
We've been to Scotland, where Rob was born, quite a few times over the years.
We're set to go again in June. This time, it's to the Orkneys to visit the Neolithic settlement at Skara Brae. Can't wait.
Home has always figured large in our lives. From our first apartment together on Osborne Avenue in Toronto, to the two-storey red brick house on Foster Avenue in Guelph and, of course the farmette. We love old buildings, which has meant we've done quite a bit of renovating over the years and are proud that the old girls are in better shape because of our efforts.
Family, feline fur balls and gardens have been mainstays, as well. We've gone to dozens of reunions, taken part in lots of Thornton parties and even hosted a few get togethers over the years.
One very special occasion was almost 10 years ago, when we went to Prince Albert Saskatchewan to visit with Rob's brother Bill and attended his crew's get together. Bill and Vickie (centre) had four daughters who all had lots of kids. All were welcoming and wonderful, and while the heads of the family are now gone, their substantial legacy lives on.
There's soooo much more. Suffice it to say we are lucky. We still have our health (mostly), we live in Canada as opposed to the Middle East or something (thank goodness), and I look forward to many more happy days. Until next week.
Gratuitous cat photo courtesy of Calvin (lap cat) and Hobbes. Oh, and Rob, who spends a lot of time being Calvin's chair.
