A number of my favourite bloggers have checked in to see where I’ve been and I’ve realized that a year has passed without a post. There is that phenomenon of time passing faster as you age but this is ridiculous! I’ve been pondering what happened after my last post that brought me to a screeching halt…
Pondering…
…speaking of screeching halts my beloved did drive off the road shortly after that post and totalled my car…but all turned out for the best in the end with no one hurt and an undiagnosed ailment diagnosed and under the fabulous Canadian public health care system – treated… and of course car insurance!
Write off!
Along with my trail mate extraordinaire Cheryl, we commenced the final year of our 900 kms long Bruce Trail hike – the toughest part of the trail so far and we don’t think it’s because we’re 4 years older than when we started our trek.
Stunning Bruce Trail
Bruce Trail was difficult
Then my boy Romy had a terrible accident and the vet wasn’t sure he’d ever be sound again – heartbreaking to be sure.
Injured front tendon
But a move to a professional stable and icing and bandaging his leg three times a day, for three months seems to have done the trick.
I should be able to ride him again by May 2018. Much joy all around! If you should ever need horse bandaging lessons please give me a call – seems a shame to waste my new found talent.
Come the summer my granddaughters and I had our third annual vacation together – this time to New York City. A blast was had by all and these two are truly world class travellers – a blogworthy trip so why didn’t I…hmm, pondering continues.
Central Park fun
Broadway theatre
Then there was my grandson who commenced on his future soccer career and my youngest granddaughter who has turned into an adventurer par excellence – wonderful blogging material I’ll admit!
By the Fall Cheryl and I were chugging champagne at the end of the Bruce Trail, getting ready for our celebratory party. You should have been there!
900 kms finished!
My mother turned 85 although you’ll see by the photo she’s still going strong! It’s not like I haven’t had anything to post about this year.
Mom’s 85th
I’ve given up trying to figure out why I didn’t blog – ‘no accidents in Vienna’ as my beloved says. Looking back over the year, I’d have liked to have recorded some of these events, I’ve enjoyed being back at the keyboard again and we’ll see what next year brings. Ivy doesn’t really care what I’m pondering anyway – she’s just pondering why the heck she has to wear this silly coat!
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Great to check out your pictures, and see a photo of your mum.
She’s hanging in there but her quality of life has suffered immensely as a result of the virus precautions. Nice to hear from you 😊
Wonderful it turned out to be a great year.
Sometimes a blogcation is just was is needed, but it’s wonderful to have you back. I’m looking forward to reading your 2018 posts. Happy New Year.
A blogcation or a great reinvention as you have done. It is fun to look back over the past year and looking forward to your posts too. Thank you for the warm welcome back.
Your Mom is a really gorgeous lady. 2017 looks like it was quite an eventful year. So glad hubby’s accident turned out ‘for the best’. All’s well that ends well. 🙂 Congrats to you and Cheryl on your successful Bruce Trail hike. That must have felt so good. How lovely to spend time with your grandchildren. They grow up much too fast. I enjoyed all of your photos, especially Romy with his stripey sock and Ivy in her smart winter coat. Happy New Year to you and your family. xx
My mother is gorgeous – great for her and not so much for me since people often assume we’re sisters😉. All the best to you and yours for 2018.
😅 Years ago, my sister’s friend thought I was her niece. She wasn’t impressed.
I feel her pain!
I forgot to mention that she’s my younger sister. 😅
Lovely to see you back and read your post. Reviewing a year is a good idea as it pulls into sharp focus both the very best as well as the darker, bad moments, but it also brings value to the new . . . that then became routine like learning to bandage Romy’s leg. Blogging is great for sharing and reflection, but I agree with Gwen that living is ‘experiencing today’. A sentiment I can see that Ivy would wholeheartedly agree with. Wishing you and your family a great New Year.
Thanks for your welcome back and all the best to you and yours for 2018!
Wonderful to hear from you! Yay … sorry to hear about life’s hiccups! I just love the shot of your Mum, she is beautiful. Happy birthday to her! And a very Happy NY to you 😀
And I’m guessing you’ve seen your New Year in already – all the best to you, family and Frog Pond Farm!
I’m so glad to see you back! But I do know how time seems to get away from us. I can’t tell if it’s just the time of year, but I’m finding it harder and harder to squeeze in blogging time. I suppose that’s a good thing – enjoying life instead of just writing about it … and your year has certainly been full!!
It’s good to hear that both the Beloved and Romy weathered the year intact. Those kinds of scares we can all do without!
I hope 2018 is full of great stuff that you’ll want to post about 🙂
Thanks Joanne – maybe 2018 will include a time for a hike together…when it’s warmer though! I feel like I could use a bit more structure in my life…a set time for doing emails and blogging – I have friends who brew a cup of coffee and almost every morning spend an hour keeping up with email and blogging and then just walk away for the rest of the day…I tend to do it in bits and pieces and then worry about being behind all the time:-( All the best to you and your family for 2018 and may you always be almost too busy to blog!
I can’t say I have much of a routine, but first thing in the morning with a coffee and WP is pretty much a given most days.
Stay warm and keep heart … this cold is supposed to snap by next week!
What a turbulent and traumatic year and so pleased to hear that both Romy and hubby are recovering well. I can certainly understand how the weeks and months just slip by, but that year off blogging can be quite liberating can’t it? Congratulations on completing your marathon hike. Any more similar challenges for 2018? I look forward to seeing the occasional post from you, but I have to warn you once you get back it can become addictive again…. Best wishes and good health for 2018 to you and your family (including the animals)
Thank you for your welcome back and yes the completion of the hike was very satisfying but it’s very hard to find an equivalent challenge. One of the things I would like in life is more structure…a set time to do my emails etc…but I won’t make it a resolution for 2018 or it’s sure to fail! Looking forward to following you (and through you Jack) in the year ahead.
I try to keep the checking of the blog and emails to a certain time, ie early morning and after dinner at night, but I fail sadly and find myself slipping into the computer room as I pass by “just in case” …. I’ll keep my eye open for any posts you get to do.
Ha! There you are. I can only echo all that the others have said before me. Hope to see you blogging occasionally in 2018, but we have to be careful not to spend too much time in the virtual world at the expense of experiencing today! BTW I am off to my first trip to Canada in June. Western Rockies well-trod tourist path for our first trip, but hope to visit the Maritimes and Eastern Canada at a future time.
I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time in the West – from your posts it looks like you have an interesting itinerary. Wanted to mention that if you are visiting Seattle, we took the Seattle clipper from Victoria and enjoyed it a lot. All the best for 2018!
We will have four nights in Seattle, staying with friends for that section. Then we intend to take the clipper to Victoria, where the escorted tour begins. Hopefully I will be posting as we go along (if I’m not exhausted 🙂 ). One place on the itinerary is Tyax – it looked a bit different to the standard tourist itinerary. I told Bill we’ll try kayaking, but he didn’t comment. Selective hearing, hahaaa
Good to see you back, Carol! You’ve had a busy year. I’m sorry to hear about the car accident, and poor Romy’s leg. Glad to hear he is on the mend. 🙂
Thank you Lavinia – Both my husband and my horse are on the mend – counting our blessings!
So nice to read a post from you again! You have certainly had an up-and-down year but fortunately the ups have prevailed. Glad to hear your husband is better and that Romy is on the mend.
Congratulations on completing the Bruce Trail – what an achievement!
Thanks for the welcome back message Clare and you’re right that it’s a good year when the ups outnumber the downs. The completion of the trail was very satisfying but now we do need to figure out our next challenge. All the best to you and yours for a happy and healthy 2018!
Glad to see you back here. I am trying so hard to post again. It’s a bit hard… isn’t it?
I am glad your beloved is doing well. Glad to see you have tackled your trail! Glad to see your best friend is healing!
Hugs my friend!
Here’s to 2018!
Thank you Nancy – not as easy as Instagram for sure! All the best for 2018 to you too.
If you figure out why you stayed away from blogging for so long, let me know! Maybe I can use that excuse too, haha. As much as I love my blog I can totally relate. I’m glad that I could follow you on Instagram which is where I spend most of my social media time these days. Who knows what 2018 holds but I hope it is a great one for you.
Not sure I’ll be able to help with figuring things out – sorry! Instagram is great but still not as satisfying than blogging somehow…lets see if we can get back into it! All the best to you and yours for 2018!
Love seeing you on Instagram!
So glad to see you blogging again and to hear about your year. Glad everything turned out well in the end.
Wow! Your mother looks so much better at 85 than I do. I’m jealous.
Thank you! Saw that you had you big 85 this year too – not that old any more it seems. Yes my mother has great genes…that seem to have skipped me though;-)
Nice to hear from you. What an eventful year full of blog worthy material, but sometimes a break from the keyboard is exactly what we need. Wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Thank you. A wonderful New Year to you too – hope it warmed up a little for you from earlier this month!
Good to see you again! Happy New Year!
Thank you GP and all the best to you and yours for a great 2018!
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I hear ya. I’ve just published my first post in 6 months. I don’t know where that time disappeared. It wasn’t intentional. There’s about 14 unfinished posts in my Drafts folder! Glad to see you back and I hope, like you, my residence in the blogosphere will be more interactive next year.
Thanks for the summary of 2017 too!
I’ll pop over straight away and see what you’re up to! Looking forward to following your exploits (and thoughts!) in 2018.
I loved the summary of your year too, and am happy to note that the good times seemed to outnumber the bad. Welcome back! I know that for me, the bottom line of my own blog is that it’s a sort of diary for me, especially as a record of any travels I may have made. So while I’m encouraging you to become a more regular blogger again for my own sake, as I always enjoy your posts, I think that in the end, you may be a beneficiary too. Happy new year!
You’re absolutely right in your count and as it was all seems to have turned out for the best – lucky us! Good thoughts on being a beneficiary of your own blog too – during our Bruce Trail trek I often referred to my friend Cheryl’s blog where she chronicled it in detail. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Wonderful to read your post and catch up with all your happenings in 2017. Accidents not withstanding, it seems you have had a busy and happy year. And what an amazing sense of achievement you must have felt on the completion of the Bruce Trail. I hope 2018 brings lots of good times for you and your family as well as strength to manage the inevitable not so good times. As for the number of posts; it’s quality not quantity which is important, and this post is quality. 😀
What lovely comments – many thanks! It is inevitable that into every life a little rain (or in our case usually snow!) must fall and I really try to keep a perspective on how many blessings there can be in life. Look forward to hearing from you in 2018!
Great to hear from you, and yes, I have wondered but you can’t keep pestering people. 🙂 🙂 Though I do have a bit of a reputation for that. I’ve occasionally seen a like or comment and knew you were out there. Good to have the update, and it’s been a bit of a rocky road, hasn’t it? I guess when we look back on most years there are highs and lows. Just grateful you came out on top and that Romy is not too far behind you. 🙂 Put your energies into the things you love, and have a healthy, happy 2018! Catch up next year? 🙂
Thank you and I always enjoy your posts – especially your walks! There have been a few bumps in the road this year but I’m feeling very lucky about how well it’s turned out.See you next year for sure!
Such a great post and such a great walk down memory lane. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to being part of your 2018 adventures.
You were such an important part of my adventures – couldn’t, wouldn’t have done the trail without you!
So very good to see you back again! Looks like 2017 was a great year, I’m also sorry we missed out on your adventures, but the summary was nice! Wishing you great adventures for posting come 2018!
Thank you and I always enjoy keeping up with your adventures too – hi to your pup from Ivy!
Sissy (my pup) sends a hi back to Ivy!
I’m rather waiting to see if anyone else asks about the view from my recent post. Santa brought us a drone for Xmas, so that’s how we got that amazing view of the creek and trees. (Why I didn’t answer to your comment just yet!) 😀
I wondered – it is a spectacular shot for sure! Thought you were being legitimately secretive about the answer – but now I know;-)