{"id":1306,"date":"2015-04-07T20:01:03","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T00:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2025-02-23T18:35:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T23:35:31","slug":"going-round-the-bend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"Going ‘Round the Bend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easter weekend fell at a very, very excellent time for me this year, as well as an invitation from Yelena for us to join her, Steph, and his niece and nephew, Megan and Michael, and Jethro (of course) at a cottage for the weekend.\u00a0 My job involves a lot of financial responsibility for marketing projects and, with year-end falling on March 31st<\/sup>, the month of March, for me, is a time of high-stress, poor eating, and little sleep.\u00a0 What better way to wind down than to spend time with family, relaxing in someone else\u2019s house where there are no obligations other than helping with meals and clean up?\u00a0 And, I was not to know there would be a couple of surprises in store for me.<\/p>\n

So, after a wee sleep-in on Friday, we headed west to another part of Southwestern Ontario we\u2019re not very familiar with \u2013 Grand Bend, on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, not far up from Sarnia.\u00a0 But first!\u00a0 With the additional of Megan and Michael, there wasn\u2019t enough room in Yelena\u2019s car for poor Jethro.\u00a0 So grandma and grandpa came to his rescue, picked him up from Guelph, and made sure he got there safe and sound.<\/p>\n

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Good thing that dog is adorable \u2013 he whined for about half of the 3-hour trip and stood up for most of it.<\/p>\n

Did you know that Huron County is represented as Ontario\u2019s West Coast?\u00a0 At first I thought that was creative until I got to thinking about all the other \u201ccoasts\u201d in Ontario, some more westerly than the eastern shore of Lake Huron.\u00a0 If the county had a suggestion box, I would suggest they call themselves Southwestern Ontario\u2019s West Coast\u2026 but that would be me.<\/p>\n

Friday evening was perfect, hanging around snacking on cheese, crackers, apples, and blueberries, and enjoying our beverage of choice and some conversation while waiting for our lasagna to cook.\u00a0 And Steph made fabulous toasted cheesy garlic bread.\u00a0 Then, Steve and I had a little jam session before heading off to bed.\u00a0 We were assigned the queen master bedroom with 2-piece ensuite because we are so special (or maybe because they think we\u2019re \u201cold\u201d and need the bathroom more frequently in the middle of the night).\u00a0 Either way, we said thank you and took it (probably because we need the bathroom more frequently in the middle of the night \ud83d\ude42 ).<\/p>\n

All I know is that between the drapes in the bedroom and the numerous trees on the front lawn (that faces west), we thought it was early and we thought it was a cloudy day.\u00a0 Wrong on both accounts!!!<\/p>\n

After Steph made phenomenally delicious lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote and dark maple syrup for breakfast (brunch) we engaged in something I never thought I would do this weekend \u2013 or any other time, frankly.\u00a0 I photo-documented the process of Steph getting an under cut from Yelena and Megan and I don’t know who had more fun – Steph (who wanted this done), Yelena, Megan, or me!<\/p>\n

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Not to waste this glorious (but chilly) day, we started going ’round the bend by heading down to the beach\u2026 Okay, so maybe it isn\u2019t exactly beach chair and bathing suit weather, but it has potential! The white stuff isn\u2019t surf (one could only hope), it\u2019s ice and lots of it. The sand is quite lovely \u2013 soft, but also very hilly from the movement of the ice \u2013 but I\u2019m betting you wouldn\u2019t be able to find an uncovered square inch of it from mid-May to September!<\/p>\n

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A year ago, we spent the weekend in Prince Edward County and the beach at Sandbanks looked a little more welcoming despite the ice having only melted off it the previous week.\u00a0 You may remember that I \u201ctook the plunge\u201d so to speak, because I could.\u00a0 This year, the closest I got to taking off my shoes and wading in was to wear my sandals with my very warm, wooly socks and looking at the water.<\/p>\n

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(last year) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (this year)<\/p>\n

Dinner, thanks to Steph, was marinated\/coated\/baked chicken with biscuits and gravy, along with corn cob pieces and kale with garlic.\u00a0 We are eating well.<\/p>\n

Look what we woke up to on Easter morning!!!<\/p>\n

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But that didn\u2019t stop us from participating in my second surprise of the weekend, which involved going much further ’round the bend.\u00a0 Yelena had arranged for all of us to visit her friends\u2019 farm \u2013 only 90 minutes from Grand Bend, near Kincardine.\u00a0 Ashley and Scott welcomed us into their home and their barn to see their farm animals.\u00a0 But not just any old farm animals \u2013 they have pygmy goats, sheep, a horse, some chickens, and a beautiful Sheppard named Charlie.\u00a0 The highlight was Yelena and Megan holding a one-day-old lamb and me holding a one-week-old lamb.\u00a0 Check out our farm experience\u2026<\/p>\n

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Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a decent picture of a chicken?\u00a0 That pecking motion is perpetual and most of my shots were blurred!<\/p>\n

Three of the male sheep were castrated the day before we arrived \u2013 the things you learn on a farm \u2013 and Dr. Yelena had an opportunity to help with the injections to minimize swelling!\u00a0 (I’m thinking all you guys reading this are now squirming and wincing – am I right?!)<\/p>\n

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While I was busy snapping away, Steve was trying out the new extended handle he bought for his Go-Pro \u2013 or most recently referred to as the Goat-Pro\u2026(although this first link is with the baby lamb and its mommy)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/y0rGfEgvpBA<\/a><\/p>\n

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Our daughter and her gracious friend and our hostess, Ashley…<\/p>\n

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One more surprise awaited us back “home”!\u00a0 While we were at the farm, the Easter Bunny visited and hid eggs all over the basement!\u00a0 For as long as I can remember, and for any Easter that Yelena has been in our company \u2013 regardless of her age \u2013 she has had an Easter egg hunt.\u00a0 (In 35 years, I think she’s missed less than 5.)\u00a0 For the past two years, Steph has also participated.\u00a0 This year, we had Meghan and Michael.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure they had fun and enjoyed the spoils.<\/p>\n

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Not that I helped much with Easter dinner (peeled some potatoes, trimmed some asparagus) but while I was close to the kitchen I heard \u201cLook!\u00a0 Pheasants!\u00a0 Or quails!\u201d\u00a0 Turns out, six wild turkeys ran through the backyard (there are no fences)!\u00a0 I was torn between looking or running to get my camera.\u00a0 I looked\u2026 and they were gone faster than I could have retrieved my camera anyway.\u00a0 You\u2019ll just have to take my word for it.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Easter dinner:\u00a0 baked ham with crackling and pineapples, scalloped potatoes (white and sweet),\u00a0braised asparagus, and cucumber salad (which no one ate because we were so stuffed).\u00a0 Awesomeness \u2013 thank you, Steph!<\/p>\n

Going home day\u2026 Steph was out walking Jethro and no one else was up.\u00a0 Sitting beside the big bay window was tranquil, yet noisy with all the birdsong so audible through the windows I checked to make sure none of them was cracked open.\u00a0 And yesterday\u2019s snow had disappeared, most likely due to the blazing sun streaming through the trees (yet it was deceptively chilly out there).\u00a0 We can only hope that Spring has finally arrived!<\/p>\n

Following a filling breakfast of oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries, drizzled with dark maple syrup, that Yelena whipped up for us, we loaded up the car and Steve and I did the reverse trip to drop Jethro back at his home in Guelph.\u00a0 He must have been tired because there was no whining and no standing up.<\/p>\n

Our Easter weekend wasn\u2019t over yet, though.\u00a0 It was Monday and Monday means \u201cjam night\u201d.\u00a0 We had just enough time to unpack, shower, change, grab our gear, and head to The Jam.\u00a0 Good session, including my Billy Idol version of White Wedding.\u00a0 But that\u2019s a topic for later, maybe.<\/p>\n

Going ’round the bend didn’t end up being quite so dramatic and scary after all!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter weekend fell at a very, very excellent time for me this year, as well as an invitation from Yelena for us to join her, Steph, and his niece and nephew, Megan and Michael, and Jethro (of course) at a Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,46,9,73,72,70,74,71,69,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-close-to-home","category-easter","category-family","category-farm","category-farm-animals","category-grand-bend","category-hair-cut","category-lake-huron","category-spring","category-surprises"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3557,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions\/3557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}