Wednesday August 31, 2005
I was greeted by a noisy cranky cat late last night after my tour of southern Ontario over the past week. She still had lots of food and water, so no big guilt on that side of the story - she just missed me. Aw. She's forgiven me already and is peacefully snoozing on the bed.
After spending a few days at either end of my visit to London with my friend Judy, I came away with a basket of her home grown tomatoes. As evidence of my confusion, the predictable result of many occasions of shuffling stuff in and out of my car during this trip, a bag of my belongings was left behind. Didn't even notice until she called me during my picture taking tour of Whitby. I was ready to drive back and leave the next day, but her offer to send it to Ottawa by train was deemed to be less stressful for my just back to road tripping neck and to cost about the same as the gas I would use backtracking.
I continued along the 401 from Whitby/Oshawa (hard to tell where one ends and the other begins these days) and on the spur of the moment and based on the time of day dropped in on my cousin Gail and her family just north of Sulphide. Figured I'd have a cup of tea, leave my new contact information (new since the last time I saw her - bad me) and be on my way. But long lost cousins who grew up together have too much to catch up on for a half hour chat. I accepted her invitation to stay the night and rest up for my last leg to Ottawa.
Had the farm to myself for most of the morning and when the sky was less threatening and more conducive to picture taking, I drove into town to get more film. Walked around the landmarks that were part of my family history taking pictures and reminiscing with myself. Back to the farm and spent the afternoon with Gail. Her two sons took a break from their labours and joined us for a bit.
The evening closed with a very enjoyable dinner with Gail and Gary followed by more conversation with Gail while Gary went to find the part of the fence the cows were getting through. Came away with some of their beef for my freezer and a nice feeling of having reconnected with my roots. We both want to get our children together for a visit and reacquaintance sooner rather than later. Something to look forward to, indeed. We expect a good time will be had by all. The last time my kids were at Gail's was back in the early 80's. The kids still remember each other which bodes well for the next reunion.