October in Ontario

In early October I went into London to visit a couple of my older lady friends.  I met up with Shirley Kay-Cookson, a distant relative of Ron's and member of the High School Reunion Group for tea, and then I had dinner with Marilyn Lefcoe.  She was one of Ron's first wife's sisters who I got to know and stayed friendly with.  She had been married to a Jewish doctor and golfer from London.  We had another lovely dinner at Sunningdale Golf Club, as she has maintained a social membership there. Our table had a view of the course, which was displaying fall color. We did some reminiscing and commiserating.  Her mind is starting to fail and she will likely be in a seniors residence when I get back in the spring/summer. 

On the Saturday of Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend the campground had a meal.  The park provided the turkey, rolls and potatoes and the attendees brought side dishes and desserts.  It was a lovely community event, which was well attended even though some of the campers had already closed up their trailers. 

I went to Or Shalom for Simchat Torah and the memorial service, after which I use the free green fee pass I had won at the 9 hole Breast Cancer tournament at the same course back in the summer.  The day wasn't ideal, but not bad for October 12th in Ontario.  I was able to play the back 9, whereas in the tournament we played to front. 

Saturday October 14th was the final meat social of the season.  The weather had taken a bit of a downturn, but we managed to play the full 18 holes, as opposed to all the prior ones which were just 9 holes.  I filled in as a guy for the team I was on.  There was a lovely dinner served and prizes were awarded, once again various cuts of meat.

In preparation for heading south, the truck went in for service on October 17th.  That date coincided with a seniors euchre game at the Mt. Bridges Legion, within walking distance of the Ford dealership.  I walked to Euchre and then one of the nice ladies I met gave me a ride back.  It was a nice day of Euchre for a small cost, which included a cold luncheon buffet. If I am back in the area I would go again, I think they hold it monthly. 

Another final preparation for heading south was to take the trailer in for a little service. I dropped it off Monday, October 23rd, and headed into Toronto for my annual physical, and meals planned with friends.  Unfortunately both the lunch and dinner ended up getting cancelled.  I visited my locker once again, taking some of the things from Ron's place and picking up a few items I need for the winter down south. Visited my safety deposit box. I also made a surprise visit to the curling club I used to be a member of seeing as it was Monday night, one of my regular nights.  It was nice to see many of my old friends and acquaintances, some of whom I had not kept in very close touch with.  

For this trip I stayed with my cousins Judy and Stephen in Toronto, the same place we hosted the bridal shower in the spring.  This brought back memories of way back when, in the mid 80's, after graduating college and finding a job in Toronto with Stephen's help, I could not get an apartment to live in right away.  Vacancy rates were very low, you had to pay "key money" and wait for someone to move out!  I lived in their basement for a few month until I got my own place. This time I was able to occupy one of the upstairs bedrooms and their three children are grown and have moved away. The house was in a bit of disaray as they were having the kitchen renovated, but we managed quite nicely. 

The following day, I had a massage with Janice, lunch with my financial advisor Mark and visited an old friend of the family, Doris Laskin, who had moved from close to the Ladies Golf Club to around the corner from Judy and Stephen who I then went to dinner with.  

The next day I had a follow up appointment with the sleep clinic, to check that my CPAP machine was working properly.  I had lunch with my friend Paula Zarnett, who lives close to the clinic.  I then drove to Hamilton for a dental appointment and dinner with my friend Enid.  I spent the night at Peter's, though he was out of town.

The last leg of the trip was to visit my Aunt Anita.  She is approaching her 100th birthday.  She was not having a good day, so she cut our visit a bit short.  I need to leave before her special day, so I picked up a nice card and left it with her.  I then picked the trailer up and head back to Silver Dove Estates.

I do pack a lot into these trips, but can leave the country feeling that everything is in order and everyone has been visited.