September in Ontario

Labour Day came early this year, with September 1st being on a Sunday. It has traditionally been the official end of the summer camping season as all the students go back to school on Tuesday.  Maitland Shores had plans to end the season with a bang, literally, with fireworks as well as a pot luck and live band on Saturday night. 

On Tuesday, Ella, Jim and I played a round of golf at Freedom Oaks. Part of the reason for this grouping was for me to get used to playing with Jim in advance of our upcoming mixed tournament. 

Wednesday my friend Brad and his dog Bungy from Silver Dove Estates along with his mom who lives closer to Dunnville came over for a bite of lunch and some cribbage. In order to fill out the table I had asked Ed, who besides playing euchre also enjoys cribbage, to join us. We all got along famously, using a card table in the club house for our games after enjoying lunch outside my trailer. 

Thursday Ella and I went to Port Colburne for a practice round for the Niagara District Tournament of Champions. I arranged for an old friend of Ella's to join us. Jeanette Backus is a member of Port Colburne and I had met her at the euchre games in Lowbanks. Over the card games there I had gotten to know her. She isn't a great golfer, but she did posses some local course knowledge that should benefit both of us in the tournament and Ella hadn't seen her in a few years, I think since she retired from the credit union.  We had a nice visit both while on the course and afterwards on the patio over a drink. 

Jeanette

Ella

Saturday September 7th was the Niagara District Tournament of Champions. As the defending champion of the ladies amateur division there was a nice sign to greet me and all the other competitors on the road into the club, a nice touch, similar to what Golf Ontario does at the Provincial Championships.

Part of the reason the club offered to host the tournament this year was that they were celebrating their 90th anniversary. They had these special logos sprayed on the grass on the putting green. 

I put my ball and foot in the picture to give you an idea of the scale of it. I'd never seen anything done quite like this before. 

They had all the trophies on display near the registration table, so I checked out the one I won last year to see that they had spelled my name properly. They really need to add a new wooden base on the bottom of the trophy as they are running out of spaces on the top. 

Sorry I couldn't get a better picture.
It says Sarah-Anne Smurlick Freedom Oaks 2018.

I was unable to defeat Sandy on her home course. I'm hoping to get another chance on more level ground next year. I don't think it has been decided who is hosting it yet. 

We were finished the golf in time to watch the end of the Women's Final at the US Open Championship in which Bianca Andreescu defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5. The victory by Andreescu, a 19-year-old Canadian, was her first Grand Slam title and denied Williams her 24th. We were all feeling very patriotic. They had a nice BBQ buffet dinner available for the players and a live band was playing, so the after party was a little more upbeat and better attended than last year. 

The following day Jim and I played the mixed event at Delhi Golf Club. We weren't expecting to know anyone there, but were paired with Kathy Jamieson and a Native friend of hers who we learned at dinner is a hypnotist. They had won the tournament in the past, but hadn't played in a few years. They only signed up a day or two before it this year. They won!

The dinner following the golf was amazing. Served family style they had Rolls with butter, tossed salad, Schnitzel, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, assorted pies for desert. All home made style. All you cared to enjoy. Very yummy. 

The following days was heading into Toronto to make good on three offers of golf games and to do some of my usual Toronto errands and visits. I picked up my new eyeglasses in Ancaster, had dinner with Peter at a Greek place nearby and headed into Toronto, staying at Paula's house although she wasn't going to be there. The following morning, the 2nd anniversary of Ron's passing, I played Lionhead Legends course with some fellows I used to play with on the GTA Am tour back when I first bought the trailer. Unfortunately we ended up being just a twosome as two guys had to back out at the last minute. It was nice to catch up with Andrew Mitchell. The course was in good shape, they were very busy though as all the public players were on the Legends course because there was a large tournament on the Masters course. 

That evening I met up with Catherine Chan for AYCE Japanese dinner. I guess of all the times we have eaten together we had not done one of those. I surprised her with my knowledge and enjoyment of Sushi, Sashimi and other cooked Japanese items. Although she is Chinese she really likes all things Japanese and has traveled to Japan a few times. I'm hoping we might be able to go there together at some time in the future. 

The following day I visited with some former business associates and went to the podiatrist. There was some confusion on which evening I was having dinner with my cousin Allan Schwartz, so I ended up having dinner at a Jamaican place close to the Italian place I would be eating at the following night. It was very good and made me reminisce about one of the first trips I took by myself in 2002, which was to Jamaica over Easter weekend, when Ron was in Florida and I was still working. The weather forecast for Florida was rain, so I decided to go to Jamaica by myself instead. 

The following morning I played golf at Brampton Golf Club with my friends 

In the evening I met up with Allan for a lovely dinner and to help him celebrate his birthday. 

The following morning I met up with my friend Dean George to car pool to Oak Ridge to play with the Retired Fellas from Toronto Hydro. It was great to see the guys again. It was inspirational to play with John Boag, who recently lost both of his legs below the knee and was golfing on two prosthetic legs. Mike Reeve was in our group as well. There was some kind of team money game, which we managed to place in the money for. 

That evening I was to meet up with Jane and Barry White and Lynn Robinson at Red Lobster for their AYCE Shrimp event. As it turned out Jane and Barry had to cancel, but Lynn's husband Peter wanted to come. We had a nice meal and visit, following which I headed back to Dunnville.  

August in the USA and Ontario

The first weekend in August, the Civic long weekend was the earlier than usual date for the Senior Men's and Women's North South tournament at Pinehurst, in North Carolina. Because they were going to be hosting the US Open on course No. 2 in mid August they moved our tournament up and we weren't allowed to play No.2. Last year John caddied for me in it, this year he was going to be playing. Similar to last year I picked him up at the airport in Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon. We stayed over at the Cracker Barrel, in Fairmont, West Virgina, about 90 minutes south of the airport that night. We drove the rest of the way to Pinehurst on Saturday. Sunday we played a practice round, which was delayed by a few hours because of a strong afternoon thundershower. 

We weren't able to stay at the same place I had stayed the last two years as my friends and also their neighbors who helped us last year were going to be away, which left no one to help us get the water and power set up. I was able to get a spot at the Gilliam-McConnell Airfield, in Carthage, North Carolina, which has an expanding RV area. Roland Gilliam has quite an enterprise going there. They also have a BBQ restaurant called Pig n Poke on site, which has good enough food that people from some distance away fly in just for a meal, a gift store, museum and military memorial displays. 

John posing next to a plane formerly belonging to the Chennault's Flying Tigers,
 similar to the one Local lad Lt. Robert "Hoyle" Upchurch crashed in China during WWII.

Neither of us played very well in the 54 different hole tournament, this year played on courses No. 5, 6,& 8, but it was a nice excuse to be together for 9 days. (I hadn't realized how busy I was after the tournament when John proposed staying on until the Sunday after the tournament, whereas last year he only stayed a week and went back on Friday.) On the way back towards Pittsburgh we stopped in Max Meadows, Virginia for two nights. We stayed at Fort Chiswell RV Campground which was just off the interstate, but in rather rural country. The campground was really nice, with all the amenities you could want and reasonably priced. We availed ourselves of the propane filling station and laundry room. While out for a stroll the first night I had a bit of a chat with the farmer, who was returning to his farm and was realizing that he had a break in one of his fences, because the cows were not supposed to be co-mingling with the sheep.  

This pasture was adjacent to the campground.
I've heard of the black sheep, in this case it is a few black cows, in among the sheep.

The owner of the campground, also a golfer, was super nice and helped us get a round of golf on the nearby Wytheville Country Club, a private, equity, golf course, the following day. It gave us quite a challenge, almost as tough as Pinehurst. 

After golf I made a quick visit to the nearby West Wind Farm, Vineyard and Winery. They had some nice wines and a really amazing gift shop. 

I'm a sucker for the free wine tastings.

Our last night together on this trip was spent where we spent the first night of the trip last year, The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, Pennsylvania. We arrived Saturday afternoon with about two live standard bread horse races left to go and enjoyed sitting outside close to the finish line taking in the action. 

The finish line.

After that John spent the evening in the off track betting parlor and hot dogs for dinner, whereas I spent some time on the casino floor playing craps and some video poker and blackjack machines and enjoyed the buffet.

Sunday morning we got up, found some breakfast and drove the rest of the way to the Pittsburgh Airport for John's return flight. I headed directly back to Dunnville. 

Monday morning, August 12th, I headed to Deer Creek Golf Course in Ajax, Ontario, east of Toronto for the annual Credit Union sponsored golf tournament. I enjoyed playing with the same group as last year, Nick Dmytruszko, John Dolby and Dave Bell. Unfortunately Dave who had an injured leg and though he could tough it out had to give up after about 4 holes, leaving us short handed for the rest of the scramble.

Nick

John

I did win ladies longest drive (prepaid visa card), but didn't do as well on the raffle as last year. The meal afterwards was great as usual. After dinner I spent some time speaking with an old work colleague I had lost touch with, Denise Downie. She is still working, so it was interesting to hear a little bit about how the company is being run these days, suffice to say, I'm glad I don't have to be there. I filled her in on some of my activities of the last seven years. We will keep in touch through Facebook & Facebook messenger. 

The following day was the Ladies 4-Ball at Twenty Valley which I was playing with Soon. 

We looked better than we played.
 (Matching shirts from Freedom Oaks Member Guest.)

The event was very well organized and fun, but we didn't play all that well. They did have nice edible "place cards" on the tables:

and the center piece was a bottle of wine per person (the course is within a wine region). The meal was a buffet with various stations.  A first class day in every regard.

Wednesday I took a break from golf and went on a short fishing trip with Ed, in his small electrically powered fishing boat, on the Grand River upstream from the Dunnville bridge. He was a good fishing caddy as I had little interest in handling the worms to bait my hook or getting the fish off the hooks. I did have some success as indicated by these two photos. I felt a little guilty fishing without a license but if you average Ed's age and mine, neither of us would need one (over 65.)  Thankfully the fishing and game enforcement folks didn't catch up with us.

Thursday I took a break from everything. Friday I played a round at Freedom Oaks. 

Saturday, August 17th, was a practice round, which we started in the rain (but it cleared up) and welcome reception for the Inaugural Niagara Parks Women's Invitational, a scramble tournament with particular rules about the indexes of the team members. My friend Karen Vamplew was able to find me a partner who fit the bill named Maria Peplowski. We hit it off instantly at the beginning of the practice round! On tournament day we were paired with my friend Mary Jane Hall and her partner Joan Hulmston, who I knew as a member at Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto. Both teams started off well. My team did somewhat better during the middle part of the round. Towards the end my team was faltering a bit, but we gave ourselves a little pep talk and managed to finish strong enough to WIN! The meal afterwards was a very nice buffet featuring Lake Erie perch and local seasonal vegetables and some pastries for dessert. The prize giving ceremony was also very nice as it included a speech about women's golf by the hostess, Cathy Sherk, a pro friend of Mary Jane's. 

The Champions with the Vase Trophy.
(We are supposed to get smaller ones to keep, eventually.)

Wednesday August 21st was the second attempt at holding the Niagara District Wood Trophy Tournament at Port Colburne Country Club as the first attempt, which was to be on  July 17th was rained out. As our luck would have it, it rained again! The course was flooded from the day before and it was going to keep on raining. I had been particularly interested in playing this event because it would also serve as a practice round for the Niagara District Tournament of Champions to be held in September at the same course. I wanted to play it an extra time because one of my rivals in the District, Sandy Billiard is a part owner and member of the course, so has lots of experience playing it. With the rain out, the next rescheduled date, September 18th, conflicted with the Greens of Renton/Erie Beach Hotel Tournament, which we didn't want to miss, plus that put it after the Tournament of Champions, instead of before. Mother nature was sure playing havoc with my plans. 

The following day, I had a dentist appointment in Hamilton followed by lunch with my friend Enid Aaron at the location of August 8 a few blocks from the dentist. I also did some shopping for new glasses. 

After this bit of a hectic schedule things settled down for a few days as the summer is drawing to a close, with Labour Day approaching. 

Since when I was at Pinehurst, I had been shopping for new tires for the truck as I was informed at the last oil change that they were getting pretty worn, (they had about 65,000 miles them). I found a reasonably priced place that I had heard good things about in Dunnville and after getting a very competitive quote, I took Anne in to get them put on, on Wednesday, August 28th.

On the 31st Jim, Ella's brother-in-law Jim and I went over to Delhi (about an hour west of Dunnville) for a practice round for their mixed event (modified Chapman or as the Americans call it a scotch) to be held September 8th. I had seen a flyer for the event and it sounded like a really nice one. None of my other mixed partners were available to play and Jim was interested in going. On the way back we stopped at a nice bakery, which had some gluten free things for me and lots of regular things Jim and his wife like, farmers markets for fresh produce and the cemetery in Simcoe, where Ron was buried. There, I found out that the date of death had not yet been put on the stone, nearly two years after his death! His daughter Maureen was surprised to learn that as she though it was going to be done right after his internment. I guess she hasn't been there to visit the graves of her parents since her Dad's funeral. 

July in Ontario

On the way back to Dunnville from Cousins Weekend on July 2nd, I stopped for a few hours in Toronto. I visited my former home club, Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto, who were hosting a Pro Am in advance of the Canadian Women's PGA Championship. 

I got to see some of my pro friends who were playing in it, some of the other club members and staff that I know. After that I went to Earl Bales Park Amphitheater, which I have driven by many times but never visited to see my friend Raul Knoll who plays accordion and sings with a Klezmer band. 

It was a nice evening for an outdoor concert. 

After that I drove home and the next couple of weeks were pretty much my standard routine of golf and card games, with the exception of playing in a 9 hole ladies scramble for breast cancer at Freedom Oaks, on July 9th, with Anna Lorraine and one of her friends. We placed well. They had a great "penny sale" table with a wide variety of gifts on raffle. The dinner after golf was a pot luck and many of the ladies outdid themselves with their dishes. It was a fun evening for a good cause and I would happily play in it again.

We had another torrential rain storm on July 5th, road leading to my trailer and the area around my trailer got quite flooded!

                                                          

Friday July 12th my friend Phil came to Dunnville from Toronto for the Member Guest tournament at Freedom Oaks and a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city. We played the practice round in the afternoon and enjoyed the Perch dinner. Saturday afternoon was the tournament. We didn't play as well as the year before, but at least we were in a proper foursome. Dinner was BBQ ribs. Sunday morning we went to the nearby Byng Island Conservation Area, the first time for both of us, to rent a double kayak for Phil to try it for the first time. Both of us got very wet bums, but other than that it was a good row. 

Phil in the front.

Me in the back.

Water Lilly

Sunday, July 21st, I packed up the trailer and headed to Waterloo in advance of the Ontario Senior Ladies Golf Championship at Grey Silo. I began feeling a little "high" while doing it as it seemed one of my neighbors in the RV Park was burning something very smokey that smelt a lot like marijuana (not that I'm an expert) in this fire pit, while his kids, ages 1, 4 & 6, were playing nearby. I know the guy smokes weed, as he broadcast that in the spring when the park first opened for the season, and how he was so happy that it was now legal to smoke and even grow a few of your own plants, because he had been using it for his ADHD for quite some time. It got almost to the point that I was going to ask him to put the fire out until I had left, because I didn't want fall off my roof while sweeping of the slide outs or to get caught for buzzed driving.

It was a nice drive over there on mostly country roads, with little traffic. On the way I stopped at a couple of farm stands to pick up fresh vegetables. The farmers were good about letting me purchase 1/2 containers of different items, so I could have more variety seeing as I am cooking for only myself. I picked up some peaches and cream corn on the cob, green and yellow string beans, small new red and white skinned potatoes, chives, mushrooms, strawberries and peaches. As they say, "good things grow in Ontario" and this was nearly the height of the season. 

The campground I had a reservation at was called Green Acre Park which had a good mix of park models, seasonal sites and transient sites. The roads were in good condition and being a mature park there were plenty of trees and a few ponds. The offered a wagon ride throughout the park a few times a week and had some other planned activities for both children and adults. I inquired about the cost of a seasonal site, but found it to be quite a bit more expensive than Maitland Shores and had a considerably shorter season (partly due to being slightly further north), so decided to just enjoy my 5 night stay.

After checking in, setting up, on the pull-through site I had reserved and putting all my fresh produce away in the fridge I drove to the Grey Silo Golf Course to check it out and practice a bit before the official practice round day. On the way back to the trailer I stopped at the grocery store a bought a couple of steaks to grill. When I got back, I had the microwave, all three burners of my gas stove going and the BBQ grill outside. That is the most I recall having going at any one time since I got the trailer over 3 years ago. I prepared a feast that consisted of grilled steaks with sauteed mushrooms, steamed string beans, steamed corn and microwave "baked" potatoes, which was enough for two meals. For desert I made a gluten free version of strawberry shortcake. It was quite a bit of work, but resulted in an amazing meal!

Monday morning I headed to the golf course well in advance of my practice round tee time. The registration process was easy, with no line up. The gift was a cooling cloth and a chintzy looking score card holder/folder with a gold embossed Golf Ontario Logo on it, rather disappointing. It seems Golf Ontario has gotten cheaper with their gifts. They were charging for practice balls, so I didn't bother with the range. I just putted and chipped as I had done the previous day. The first tee is down a very steep hill and long path from the clubhouse, which makes it a bit hard to control the first tee without a started down there. Part way down the first fairway there is an interesting feature, which not everyone notices. A dead tree trunk has been carved into a work of art. 

Depicting the natural environment with birds, fish and plants. 

A river runs through the golf course, but doesn't come into play on very many holes. The banks are quite overgrown, making it hard to discern where the river really is. 

I think they should really try to cut back some of the vegetation, but I guess with the wet spring, perhaps everything is more lush than usual. The course was playing quite long as most of the holes run up hill and with the recent rains the ball doesn't roll very far. My practice round went o.k. Afterwards I went back to the trailer and reheated my planed leftover steak dinner .

The first round of the tournament I played really well. I shot 77 as was in 6th! My goal for this event was top 10 so I would qualify for the Ada Mackenzie matches the next spring. I had packed a change of clothes and my computer so that I could just hang out at the club after playing and before the banquet dinner. I showered, changed and worked on this blog. The dinner was buffet style and much better than the previous year (at a different course). I found lots to eat in all but the desert department, since I am trying to avoid wheat flour as much as possible and feeling so much better for it. I had a piece of cheesecake, but left the crust behind. After the dinner my Niagara District Team mates invited me back to their hotel room for a little visit. They had the room well stocked with beverages and snacks. I enjoyed getting to know them a little better. 

The second round coincided with my 55th birthday.  I was pretty stoked to be turning 55 and finally being able to start collecting my pension. I had really been hoping that by now John would have gotten his passport and could have traveled to Ontario in order to caddie for me at this tournament, share my birthday with me and have some time together. Sadly I knew for a while that wasn't going to happen, in fact he hadn't even applied yet. I told my playing partners about my special day before we teed off. I didn't play as well as I had hoped I would. I made too many bogies and double bogies and ended the day tied for 22nd. Both my playing partners had said they would buy me drink after the round, but in fact only one did and I was left on my own for the rest of the day. I treated myself to dinner at a southern BBQ restaurant reminiscent of my time spent in New Orleans. 

Catfish, Corn Bread, Cole Slaw and baked beans. 

The third round was nothing spectacular. I finished one shot better than the previous day and was T18, most likely too far back to be asked to play on the team. I didn't bother to stay until everyone finished and for the trophy presentation. 

My friend Brad and his dog Bungy was coming over from Silver Dove Estates for a visit, dinner and a few games of cribbage. Brad brought some pork chops and I offered up my fresh produce as sides. It was nice to see them both again as this was the closest I was going to get to their neighborhood this summer, seeing as even though my team were two time defending champions of the Wardsville Ladies 27 hole scramble, we weren't informed of when registration was opening and were on the waiting list for the July 3rd event. The owners of the club didn't seem to think that not having us back was a bad thing. I got over it in the spring and not needing to be there made the logistics after cousins weekend simpler.

The next morning I packed up and took the trailer to Ruston's for some service and while they had her, I went to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning, followed by lunch with my friend Enid Aaron. We went to August 8, which I really enjoyed.

The trailer was done on time and I headed back to Maitland Shores and set it back up. 

The last weekend of July was the Club Championship at Freedom Oaks. Unfortunately Lynn was injured and not able to play, but a couple of new gals entered making it an interesting two day event. I played in the Senior division as planned and managed to win it. Ella played Amateur and prevailed in that flight, which meant we both qualified for the Niagara District Tournament of Champions in September and the Provincial Senior next spring should we wish to play in it. 

June in Ontario

While Peter and I were at the locker last week getting the couch, we filled the rest of the truck with boxes of other items I thought I could sell at a yard sale that was scheduled to be at the campground June 1st. Here's how I set up my stuff:

I did sell a few items, though I'm not sure the proceeds were worth all the effort. I tried selling the golf clothes and some spare accessories one Tuesday evening at an event for the Ladies League at Freedom Oaks. That was a complete waste of time. I donated a new lap blanket to a nursing home in Dunnville. What remained was donated to a second hand store in Dundas, where I felt I had closer ties than Dunnville. 

A few days later, my Ex-sister in law Christine was making a stop in Hamilton on her way to England and Ireland. 

A group of her friends from when she lived in Hamilton and I joined her at Swiss Chalet in East Hamilton for dinner. We have been communicating by phone and email periodically since she moved to British Columbia. There was a chance I was going to go out to the Canadian Senior Women's Golf Championship in BC in August and have a visit with her there, but this opportunity to visit, however briefly had helped me decide that the trip out west isn't really very important to me anymore and I will be skipping the Canadians. 

June 7th I was thinking about going to watch the Canadian Open in Ancaster at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. I had arranged for a free pass and would have been able to see my friend Johnny Andrew. It was also Enid Aaron's birthday and she was going to be volunteering at the course that day and was going to be staying for the concert, which I also has some interest in. After rain on Thursday, I decided against going as it would have been a long day, between the drive there, watching golf, waiting for the concert to begin and then driving home in the dark. I decided to forgo the trip and ended up playing a nice round of golf with Lynn in the afternoon. 

June 12th I had an appointment at Beverly Golf Club to return my share and pick up a cheque for its value. I had been holding onto it primarily for sentimental reasons, but the privilege had been costing me $50 per month for quite a few years now, my share of the cost of the mortgage on the new clubhouse. I had been informed that there would soon be another assessment in order for them to upgrade the irrigation system. Seeing as I don't believe I will re-activate my membership to play there regularly, I decided selling at this time was the best alternative. While there I played what will be my final round at the course with my friend John Sharp, who I have played with several other times. I stayed over at Peter's. 

The following day I participated in a Mah Jongg Tournament at Beth Jacob Synagogue. I was a little rusty and didn't win anything, but it was a fun day, with good food and a chance to see some old acquaintances from the synagogue and some distant cousins. 

June 15th I played on a team in a Ladies golf tournament, a fundraiser for breast cancer, at Lookout Point, which is where the Canadian Senior Woman's championship was held last year, which I played in. This tournament is held only once every two years and has a waiting list. I was filling in for a lady who couldn't make it. I had played elsewhere with Patricia and Soon. It was interesting to meet Kathy and get to know her. She is an Indigenous Canadian who lives on a nearby reservation. Kathy picked up Patricia and then picked me up on her way to the course, which is about 45 minutes from my place.

Patricia Brat, Kathy Jamieson, Me & Soon Huh.

I ran into quite a few ladies there that I knew from other golf events. Our team ended up in a three way tie in the putting contest. In order to break the tie they had a putt off in the banquet hall, with an indoor putting game and putters from the pro shop. One representative was selected for each team. I was selected for the team I was on. After the first round of sudden death, one team was eliminated. The other gal and I went 3 more rounds before she missed and I made it! We won gift sets of watches and bracelets. They were different colors, so we traded among ourselves until we had the colors we wanted.

I was happy with the Black set.

In the scramble tournament we placed 5th overall and got a gift certificate, which I exchanged for a pair of rain pants.

June 22nd was the big Dunnville Hospital Fundraising golf tournament at Freedom Oaks. I thought the price was a bit high for people who were already members of the course, so instead of playing in it, I decided to try a course in the area that was new to me. I chose to play at Pelham Hills 

 

after getting a really good deal on the green fees from the Golf Now ap. I was put in a group with a Chinese couple and their 25 year old daughter from Toronto. They were all pretty good golfers. I had a nice round with them. They were spending the weekend in nearby Niagara Falls as a goodbye celebration before their daughter was heading to Germany for a job. I enjoyed the course. It was a bit wet, as pretty much everywhere in the area is given all the rain we have had this spring

June 28th I packed up some things and headed to my cousins, Steven and Judi Kauffman, cottage for their annual "cousins weekend." I had been invited in the past but had not been able to attend as it conflicted with golf events or other commitments as summer weekends are usually pretty busy, especially as this one was also the long Canada Day holiday weekend. Last years was cancelled because Judi was battling some health conditions, so it was a great sign that the event was taking place this year. I felt it was very important to attend, seeing as we aren't getting any younger. It ended up being mostly a Smurlick weekend as everyone from my immediate family that lives in Ontario attended, and there was only one other couple there for the most part of the weekend, with a few others coming up only for part of one day. 

Dinner Friday Night

Everyone was given a shopping list of items to bring towards the meals and we all pitched in at various times for their preparation. I was assigned 3 types of melon. 
The weather wasn't perfect, but one day Steven took us all out on his new pontoon boat for a cruise, primarily to get ice cream cones. 

Another day I got out in my kayak, while Rob and Elizabeth were in a canoe. I saw the cutest family of Loons. 

Mother Loon and three chicks.

At nighttime you could clearly hear their haunting calls.  I was prepared to teach Judi to play Mah Jongg, but she decided she wasn't interested, so my students ended up being Shirley, Elizabeth and Robert. We also played Rummy cube, Settlers of Catan, watched some movies, enjoyed conversation during meals and had a tour of Steven's observatory. At Steven's request, I built a 4 hole pitch and putt golf course in the front yard. 

I also had a minor roll helping Steven, Elizabeth and Robert build a corn hole set, using Steven's power tools and safety equipment. Overall it was a really fun weekend.

Typical sunset over the lake.

May in Ontario

Since returning from the Dominican Republic on May 7th, the weather has improved. I made a great decision in going on that trip. Shelly, my trailer, was just fine when I got back. 

I went out to Freedom Oaks to play a round. I was rather upset that they hadn't yet replaced the cups and flag sticks, which were well worn the previous season, but now with the new rules of golf allowing for putting with the flag stick left in the hole, it is of paramount importance that the flag stand straight up in the hole. These worn ones tend to lean in whichever direction the wind is blowing. After some pleading and checking the actual cost of new ones (just over $1,000 for 18), I was assured they would be replaced and were within a couple of weeks. 

Friday May 10th I attended a production by the local amateur theater company. It was called Sex Please We're 60, a comedy. 

The set.

I had hear it was featuring the former Chief of Medicine from the local hospital, who had recently retired and thus had more chance to enjoy his hobbies, another of which is golfing at the same course I am a member of. His performance was well done, but it was hard for me to overlook the fact that another role, that should have been played by a man was being played by a woman, and they did NOTHING to make her a convincing guy, no greased back hair, no wig, no fake facial hair, no beer belly (pillow), no strapping down her breasts, no shirt tucked in with a big metal belt buckle around her waist, nothing! I know it was amateur but really?  Perhaps if they couldn't field and appropriate cast they should have done a different production? I won't be rushing to their next presentation. 

I ventured into Toronto for three nights starting on the 13th, staying with my friend Paula. The first part of the plan was for me to met up with my friends Dean and Carrie George (who I last saw briefly in Arizona last winter) for a wonderful Dim Sum brunch in Markham at 10:00, following which Dean and a couple of other fellows and myself were supposed to play a round at Spring Lakes, where Dean is a member, in advance of the Ontario Tournament of Champions the following day. The weather was very overcast and rainy, which made the traffic much slower than usual. Although I thought I had given myself oodles of time to make it to the restaurant on time without going on the 407 Toll road, the traffic was so bad I had to utilize it for the last portion of the trip or I would have been very late for the meal. (Weeks later I got a bill for around $20.00.) Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very co-operative. It had rained and continued to rain most of the day. I hadn't played the course before, only having been driven around it about 22 years previously (the trees had grown considerably), when I was considering joining it. I really don't like to play in the rain if I have a choice, Dean's friends had already cancelled and Dean wasn't that keen on playing either. So instead of playing we went out to the course got a cart and did a quick drive around it. The course was extremely wet. Our cart got bogged down a few times in the muck. I was thinking that the tournament should be cancelled because the course was so soggy, there was even standing water in many bunkers and on some portions of some greens! Dean gave me some strategic advice, I took a few measurements and we went back to his house to dry out. We had more time to visit before dinner, prepared by Carrie and the younger of her two sons, who is still living at home. After dinner I "checked in" to Paula's place.

The following day I got up, had breakfast and made my way across town to the golf course. I was still hoping they would cancel the tournament, but I guess there is a lot of pressure not to as the field was vary large, comprised of all age groups and both the male and female club champions from all over the province. Many had traveled further than I did. At registration we received a small towel and some kind of business card holder, not very impressive gifts. It was at this point that I also learned that the information about the tees we were going to be playing, that was on the website and on which I based my notes were wrong. We were going to be playing from further back, thank you Golf Ontairo! I'm sad that given that we all had to ride and we used 36 different holes, that we did a lot of damage to the course, which may adversely affect all their members for a considerable period of time this spring/summer. 

I was competing in the Amateur Women's division as that is the portion of the Club Championship I played in at Freedom Oaks last summer, even though I qualify for the Senior age division. I sloshed around and slugged it out placing 10th in the field of 23. The final results showed the top 6 spots held by the younger players, mostly college age. If I had shot the same score playing in the Senior Women's division I would have placed 4th, but given that they also played from tees shorter than the Amateurs I likely would have had a lower score and placed even higher. We were fortunate that it didn't rain during the entire round, just off and on and not very hard when it was on, but the course was so soggy it was often either a long way to get way from "casual water" or basically impossible. The highlight of the day was the hearty buffet style meal the club served afterwards. This summer I will play the Senior Club Championship at Freedom Oaks, so that if I win there I can play the provincial in the Senior division next year. 

After the dinner, I headed back to Paula's where we had a nice visit before bedtime.The following morning, May 15th, I had an appointment to have a mammogram/ultrasound done on one of my breasts. I had been informed shortly after my appointment last November that the pictures weren't clear and they couldn't rule out breast cancer until I had this follow up done. I took the bus and subway there and back as opposed to driving downtown. It was quite an eyeopener, as I hadn't been on public transit in Toronto in quite a few years. I definitely felt like a minority. The multiculturalism of the city was very evident during my travels on the TTC vehicles. Thankfully I go the all clear after another mammogram and an ultrasound. I also had a brief visit with my family doctor that day. Later in the day I drove over and visited my storage locker to take some measurements of my couch, because my brother Peter was in the market for something to replace his old love seat. I also had a brief visit with my cousins Judy and Steven. That evening Paula and I went out for an Indian dinner and further caught up with each other. The following morning I headed back to Dunnville. 

May 21st I drafted and sent a letter to my pension company, OMERS, informing them that I wanted to start collecting my pension right after I would be turning 55. I've been retired and living off my nest egg for 7 1/2 years. 

It will be nice to be getting monthly income again!

May 23rd to 25th I traveled to Syracuse, NY, just with the truck, to play in the Ada Mackenzie matches, which I qualified for based on the Ontario Senior Women's Order of Merit for last year. In the practice round I played with Sue Postian (my partner from last years 4 ball at Ladies), Mary Ann Hayward and Judith Krynis, who were just coming back from the USGA Senior Women's Open in Pinehurst, NC. The latter two weren't hitting many full shots, as they were too tired. The course was quite nice, but Syracuse was also suffering from a cool and rainy spring. 

Opposition had to drain the long putt to
tie the hole after Mary Anne pitched in.

View from highest point.

Scoring Sheets

In the first round of the tournament, in Chapman format, I was paired with Terrill Samuel, who was also a The Open. Neither of us was playing particularly well and we lost our match, though it was close. All the other Canadian teams won, so we had a 4 - 1 lead after day one. That evening the Raptors were playing in the NBA Finals, which they won, I don't know where my room mate Marion Reid watched the game, but I did so in our room by myself. The following day, I was paired with Mary Ann. I had a few moments of brilliance and we took all three points in our match in Better Ball format. Our team won the overall event easily. 

Thursday May 30th I attended the Beth Jacob lottery night with my brother. I didn't think it was a good as last year. The food was fine, but the silent auction items weren't as appealing to me and for some reason they gave away a lot of door prizes, included in the price of the admission ticket, rather than using them for a silent auction or doing a "penny sale." I feel it was a big mistake if the purpose of the event was to raise funds for the synagogue!  The Chief of Police for Hamilton sat at our table and provided some interesting conversation. 

The following day we went into Toronto to pick up the couch we had decided would fit nicely in his living room and would be more comfortable for his girlfriend Debby.

It was kind of exhausting work. We were lucky to find some strong fellows to help us lift it into the truck in Toronto. To get it into the house we/I had to take all the backs off and then reattach them. I'm glad we got it done. This couch was one of the nicer and newer items that was in my storage locker of things from the condo.