I would never have suspected thirteen years ago, when Mir and I both started work on the same day, that one day she would fly to Winnipeg to visit me. As for Julie, my dear friend of twenty-two years, I'd been blessed in China and Granisle days with a visit from her, but now a busy, working mother, I didn't foresee it'd happen again. I felt so spoiled on my April birthday when they said they'd come visit and looked forward to their arrival (after I confirmed I had no bedbug problem!).
One thing I anticipate with Julie is that we don't have dry-eyed farewells. I wasn't expecting to burst into tears, however, the moment I saw her descend the airport's escalator! It was nice to see her sniffling, as well. :)
As my guests settled in Friday evening, S and A were preparing to leave the next morning on a camping/work trip to Onion Lake, Alberta. They were gone until the following Thursday, so it was sad to have two-and-a-half year old Anna wake up the next morning and miss A already! While it would have been nice to have A around, and not just because she is really good at entertaining/caring for younger children, it was good for S to have some company as he's so often away from the family. The bonus was that we no longer needed to rent a van to fit our company!
After some cute morning play time,
Trying to get onto a nap-schedule for Anna, we spent the afternoon at home. It was cute to see the kids gravitate to Mir - and also to her iPhone, which she kindly let them use. We laughed at how Anna had figured out so much far before the end of their visit!
That evening, we mellowed out at St. John's Park on the west side of the Red River. The kids were fairly content, so we could visit a bit between meeting their needs. So enjoyable.
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| Anna with her favourite green blankie, watching Tubs and Mooshoo |
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| The girls enjoying some Nori together |
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| Beautiful mom and daughter |
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| Emu petting - like touching straw with caution |
Tired out, we kept Monday fairly mellow with a visit to Assiniboine Park's Nature Playground. The kids could have enjoyed the water play area for hours, but it was super hot that day! After a picnic lunch, then a nap, Julie & Mir took the kids to the nearby wading pool to cool off.
Dinner, followed by story time, cuddles and wrestling - so ended a lovely day for the kids and a chance to visit alone for us grown-ups!
Tuesday was a new adventure for me to beautiful Patricia Beach on Lake Winnipeg - about 50 minutes north of Winnipeg.
It was long enough for a quick nap for Anna, despite my two throwing things over the back seat on her! Rascals . . .
Growing up in Manitoba, Mir had great memories of visiting lakes in the summer. I'm so glad she did, as I hadn't yet been to any. It was a beautiful - if slightly windy - day, with so few people around on the beach. What a treat to be in a lovely place with lovely friends.
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| How parents start to think of arranged marriages. It would be nice for Julie and I! |
Thinking it'd be hard to top such a day, it was unexpected that Wednesday was just as novel and as enjoyable. Mir hadn't wanted to put us out by having us visit her relatives in the vicinity of Roland, 100 kms southwest of Winnipeg.
She needn't have worried, however, as I always love exploring a new town and gravel roads. It was a bonus that her relatives were so welcoming (though sadly, so were the local mosquitoes). I think, initially, Julie and I were concerned how we'd keep the kids happy and eighty-something year old Aunt Isabel's home safe.
With some toys, a garden and a local park, we breezed through.
Soon we were off to Uncle Lyall & Aunt Lois' farm and the home where Mir's father was born for a quick visit with the sheep . . .
Then we drove closer to Carmen where Mir's cousin, Linda, had prepared a big meal for the extended family to come spend time with Mir. She had a great time, as did the rest of us. The kids loved playing with Fauna, Linda's youngest. She had lots of toys and enough pets to entertain them for hours. The highlight was the trampoline, eating Saskatoon berries and raspberries from the garden, and riding the ponies, Prince and Shandy. Super lovely day and worth the drive.
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| I don't usually get to see my grey hairs! |
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| Enjoying our required rubber boots |
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| Sadly, spit baths still happen . . . |
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| A little hesitant with the ponies |
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| Not for long . . . |
To keep things closer to home for our rather tired kids, Thursday we relaxed a bit before exploring the nearby Exchange District. My favourite toy store, Toad Hall, is always a must-see in my books. It was also fun to take my gluten/dairy/sugar-free friend and my vegetarian friend to vegan Mondragon Cafe and see Julie's delight at finding a cinnamon bun she could eat! We didn't quite fit the mould of the regular anarchist/activist customer. : )
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| Breakfast in the living room with cartoons! Good thing Daddy was away. :) |
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| Anna helping Mir get ready for the day |
While the kids napped that afternoon, Julie kindly stayed behind while Mir and I went to the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) to experience one of my summer highlights, The 100 Masters: Only in Canada. In celebration of the WAG's centennial, WAG curators had put together an exhibition of 100 masterpieces borrowed for the summer from art galleries across Canada. Displayed in eight stunning galleries, from Old Masters (1500-1600) to the Group of Seven or more contemporary or politically inspired pieces, it was all beautifully displayed.
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| Rembrandt van Rijn "A Woman at her Toilet" - 1632 |
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| Pablo Picasso "La Misereuse Accroupie" - 1902 |
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| Vincent Van Gogh "Vase with Zinnias and Geraniums" - 1886 |
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| Claude Monet "Waterloo Bridge" - 1903 |
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| Emily Carr "Big Raven" - 1931 |
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| Bill Reid "Sea Wolf" - 1961 Kind of cool I got to see it here, since I've never quite made it to UBC's Museum of Anthropology. This is the first time it's left there, so what a treat! |
Mir and I found ourselves with moist eye while looking at some of them - often different ones than each other - if not for the beauty conveyed on canvas with all the texture and layering (or lack of it - with simple lines), than for the story of the artist behind the painting or the story captured.
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| Paul Peel "The Modest Model" - 1889 While rather cute, it stuck with me, maybe as a mom feeling sad for a little boy not wanting to stand for the artist. I'd be against my son being made to feel this way. Also sad, as this Canadian artist, full of such potential, died suddenly of influenza at age 32. |
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| Sir William Nicholson "Canadian Headquarters Staff" - 1918 Nicholson captured the generals before they posed in front of a painting showing Ypres' utter destruction. By the end of World War I, over 170,000 soldiers from both sides were killed in the area (aside from countless civilians). One of the largest paintings in the gallery, it cast the shadow it should. Even more once one learned Nicholson had lost his second son to the war, months before he painted this, months after his wife had died of influenza. |
I was so impressed that the WAG was able to envision and pull off such a bringing together of great pieces (and impressed by all the Canadian galleries who would lend their most prized artworks!). And it was all ten minutes away from home!
Meanwhile, on the home front, Julie was not only looking after the kids, but cooking up dinner for evening guests and welcoming A and S home from their time away camping. Her afternoon was far less peaceful than ours! Thanks, Julie!
Friday arrived too quickly and the morning was spent packing up and reacquainting A and Anna - not hard to do! They were inseparable throughout the morning.
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| Spoiled by new phones (too many calls together that have ended prematurely because of my old phone?) |
There are claims that Winnipeg has the highest number of restaurants per capita in North America, so if felt odd to narrow our dinner choice to a burger place: Unburger. It had good reviews for both meat-free and gluten-free options, which made for a fun and yummy meal. (One of the enjoyable things of the week was discovering a few new places with specialty menu items for my special friends. :) Helped me get to know some local businesses better, not to mention getting to try some different food thanks to Mir and Julie's help in the kitchen)!
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| Attempt #? to get A to take our photo |
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| A few more tries. Coaching A, we didn't notice Iz dancing on a table! |
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| No luck getting these guys to all look at once or stop squirming! But they had fun . . . |
Off to the airport, then a quick farewell to dear friends. Overtired as they were, my kids were a handful! Too busy trying to keep my skirt from being yanked down by Ai or Iz, the upshot was that I managed to walk away from Julie and Mir with just a glistening of my eyes, rather than the expected big tears. I also walked away with an amazement at how well everything had turned out - not that I hadn't expected it to! But with Mir along, Julie got a little more break than she might have otherwise, as did I. (Though Anna had Julie up at 5:30 or 6:00 every morning)! We had the perfect ratio of adults to kids with A gone most of the week. With happy kids, we got more happy quality time to spend together. And with S gone, we got to have girl time without worrying that we might bother him. :) As was, the weather was just right, as was the week. I'm so very thankful. Maybe it means they'll come again one day? In the meantime, I'll make use of my new phones . . .
Thank you both for your friendship and for spending your vacation with me!
2 comments:
How lovely, your photos, friends and memories... Susan :)
I'm very blessed with what I was born with, and with life has given me with people to love. So glad you're one of them, Susan!
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