Today was sunny, with a cool breeze that let us know winter wasn't letting go quite yet. But with some heat in the sun, snowbanks were melting and water was running. A taste of spring.
My daughter in law and I took a drive down to Weyburn on this fine day. We talked all the way and it was a pleasant trip along highway 33. At Francis, I stopped to fill up with fuel. The little gas station and cafe/convenience store has wonderful baking for sale; I resisted, as I knew we would be well fed at Grandma's house.
Amy had not been to Weyburn since Grandma was in the hospital a few Christmases ago so she hadn't really seen the city, nor spent much time at Grandma's home. It was a nice opportunity to enjoy a smaller gathering of family.
The occasion? My Mom's birthday. She turns 71 on March 21. I brought down an angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Mom wanted to simply order pizza in and have as little muss and fuss as possible. My sister Paula had driven down earlier in the morning, and my cousin Chris and his girlfriend, Tracey were also there. We all quickly sat down, as the pizza had arrived and they wanted to eat while it was hot!
Grandma has a wonderful house, built in the 1980's. The front double doors open to a lovely foyer with an open staircase and railing upstairs. The formal living room is to the left, with a cathedral ceiling. The dining room is beyond the living room and that is where we all gathered for the birthday lunch.
Mom said she would order pizza from "Baa Baa's" and I thought her cell phone had auto-corrected from "Boston Pizza"! I was wrong. Apparently "Baa Baa's" is the best pizza in town. It did taste delicious! Soon, everyone was ready for cake, so my sister whipped up the cream and I cut the spongy cake into individual pieces. I also sliced a bowl of the fresh strawberries so everyone could put on their own toppings. When everyone had their dessert in front of them, we sang a lively rendition of "Happy Birthday", with my sister and I adding harmony on the last line! Mom seemed pleased!
After a while, we cleared off the table, and someone suggested putting the tea kettle on. We moved into the family room, which was sunken one step down from the kitchen. The afternoon sun was streaming in the patio door that faced west and we enjoyed telling stories and teasing among the cousins. Grandma sat in her recliner with her feet up and a small blanket across her lap. But she kept awake and engaged in the conversation. Not bad for 92 years old!
Mom grabbed towels from the dryer in the main floor laundry room. I helped her fold them while we kept visiting. Chris and Tracey were doing a grout/mudding repair in Grandma's basement bathroom so they went downstairs to finish the project. We sipped our tea.
By 4 pm,, I was thinking we should head back to Regina. But then Chris and Tracey left, and my sister was taking her dog for a walk. So Amy and I stayed a few minutes more - half an hour more! After some hugs and more birthday wishes, we finally made our way through the melting snow and ice to our car parked up the street.
We toured part of Weyburn and I pointed out the fairgrounds, the DQ and then we drove to the south end to "Signal Hill". We then took the other highway, 39 that turns into highway 6 going north to Regina. The return trip went by quickly as we chatted about various topics, mostly our families. And then I dropped Amy off at the ministry centre, where Mark was also just pulling into the parking lot. He had been to our house to print off his sermon notes as he is preaching tomorrow morning at Healing Hearts.
The sun was low in the sky as I pulled into our garage at 6:45 pm. My husband was in the garage, working on preparing a new car stereo for the Toyota Corolla that I had been driving. He was ready to install it so I went in to prepare a late supper.
I am just feeling kind of nostalgic as I think of both my Mom and Grandmother aging. I am now 50 years old. Time goes by. I am glad we could take some pictures together today.
I am very thankful for this lovely day and the family celebration that I could share with my daughter in law.
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