After spending our morning visiting my mother at the retirement home and our old friend, Joyce, who was recently released from hospital, we drove out to Fred and Christine's cottage. Mom had had a nasty fall on Saturday morning and fractured three discs in her back forcing her to become bedridden for a while. Fortunately, the nursing-staff at Victoria House are all very attentive and she is being well taken care of but she is in a lot of pain. Along with some cheering up, Rick and I provided her with a new phone and a new easy-to-see alarm clock. Joyce, who suffered a debilitating stroke on September 12, 2001, is permanently paralyzed and reliant on others, recently broke her hip. She was thrilled to see us and it was good to know that she is back home and on the mend.

We enjoyed our drive out to the Shaw cottage at Gloucester Pool, partly because it reminded us of the days when we owned our cottage there and it had been a very long time since we'd made that drive. Since we sold our cottage in 1997, (we only owned it for three years) it is a place that we often think about and miss because of the beauty of its location. Chris and Fred bought their lot in 1987 and piece-by-piece built the cottage themselves with lots of tender loving care. It has evolved into a wonderful, peaceful retreat where they and their family and friends can go to appreciate the ever-changing beauty of nature.

After a leisurely boat ride around the lake to see the many new cottages built since we resided there, we returned to their cottage where we were able to take some beautiful photographs. We then shared barbecued pickerel, some fabulous fresh vegetable salads and lots of great memories from when we were neighbours. Our evening at the cottage was perfect; peaceful, reminiscent and relaxing, exactly what we needed after a busy week.