Very few visitors in all those yrs with the exception of Bird, Tin, Sylvie, Kay (once but I was convalescing post op) and my Auntie Betty and John Guty.
A couple of weeks ago I received emails announcing two Guty childhood pals were coming to Nova Scotia. While the timing for me was lousy, I had to make time to see them. They were virtual siblings after all. We haven't bothered with much housework - there is no time. But really it hasn't mattered much as we've not had houseguests and let's face it, we all clean for guests even if they are family.
Auntie Betty was a 3rd parent to Bird and I, when our parents worked. And when my father left when I was 9 yrs old, she became a 2nd mother and best friend to my mother. Our backyard at 767 Eastvale Drive and the Guty's backyard on Bickerton where connected. Steps were put in place for easy access. They had an above ground pool, we had a swing set and both properties provided an expansive playground for all sorts of fun-filled hours: hide & seek, good guys/bad guys (we were politically correct even then!), tag, etc Auntie Betty took us in before & after school and summer breaks. She fed us, educated us, entertain us, took care of scraps fights & illnesses. She was and remains an incredible woman and one I owe a huge debt of gratitude as she is a big part of who I am today (only the good parts of course!) I love my Auntie Betty immensely.
There were 5 kids - 3 Guty's of Ukrainian/Québecois heritage and 2 Cases British/West Indian descent. We all had nicknames for each other. From eldest to youngest Diana (banana) Stephan (the fan) Michelle aka Moka (cow) Robert (Robbie the Froggy or just frog) Elizabeth (simply little Elizabeth though Auntie Betty says I called her 'pig' imagine! me? lol) Auntie Betty also called me Honey Bunch and Bird, little Diana.
Sadly, we lost Steph several years ago in a tragic workplace accident. We all miss him.
Diana Banana aka Bird was/is in the midst of her big move from Milton to Belleville so she could only be there via photo and in spirit!
Elizabeth - Me - Rob with photo of Bird we texted to her immediately of course
Sgt Robbie Froggy - yep he decided he liked playing "good guys / bad guys" so much he'd make a career of being a great cop! He's birthday was the day before we got together so I had to make sure he had candles and a sweet treat! He's now 49 and holding for 1 more yr
Katerine Sitland on our swing - a chip off the old block in many wonderful ways
Harrison - the silent observant eldest
Harrison checking out the swing and the lake view
Mum and daughter
Katerine was first in!
Jack is quite an expressive adorable character
Katerine and Jack - such beautiful healthy children
Big brother joins his younger siblings and ...
Look who makes it to the raft first
Jack, Katerine and Harrison (big brother made all the difference especially giving Jack confidence to swim to the raft)
Swimming back to shore
My recommendation - Cow's Icecream!!!
All these great photos were taken by Kristin Kent except the last two
Kristin had relocated from Toronto with Paco her Burmese/Border Collie mix aka my grandson days before.
I scrambled to get our only guest room into shape as it has been my indoor workout space over the detached garage for over a year! Though shes staying fulltime in Bedford with her mum I wanted to make sure she had a room with us too!
I miraculously rearranged my workouts during EPIC recovery week to clean inside/outside and Barry worked miracles too (I even powerwashed the garage, front porch, part of the house amd back deck one evening afterwork). I BBQ'd and made almost all the side dishes so I'd be able to enjoy the visit more. Kristin and Barry pulled together all the last minute things on my list so that when I arrived home, it was all perfect!
Teamwork! Mega thanks to Kristin who stepped up as cohost, photographer and storyteller - owe her big time!!!
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