REMEMBERING 2024

As I have shared here several times before, because I lost my mother in her fifty seventh year, I have promised myself that I would never wish away time. That said, this past year has been so devastating on so many levels, I cannot wait for the clock to strike twelve at midnight; so that I can tightly slam the door and throw away the key.

In contrast to all of my other year-end offerings, I don't want to thank 2024 for the memories. What I will do is punch it in the throat and thank it for proving to us that we are stronger than we ever imagined we could be.

Let's all raise a glass and get ready to welcome a new year.  All the best to you and your loved ones in 2025, and thanks again for reading.

~ Rhondi

PS: As you reminisce with me electronically you can click links to journal offerings that you may have missed, or wish to revisit.  

PSS: This offering closes out my year with a total of 52 posts. An average of one a week, which has always been my goal.

Here we go.... Keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times!

Most Impactful Moment (centre - His start of week three, still immobile, chatting with his dad): The Wednesday after the May 2-4 weekend, my travel buddy hubby rolled his ATV down an embankment and into the lake at the cottage and spent seventeen days in St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto.

His three brain bleeds, emergency surgery to repair internal bleeding, and his suffering a stroke only scratched the surface of what he endured while confined to a hospital bed.

(LINK TO RE-READ: BORINGLY NORMAL NO LONGER)

January: December left us like a lamb and January came in like a lion. After spending the holiday break at the cottage, this is what the view from my home office was on January 18th (top left). Though my photo is beautiful, we truly had a very mild winter with minimal snow overall.

February: Enjoying a great dinner out for Jukeboxs' birthday and my capturing the boys enjoying an evening out in our sleepy little town. To take a peek at our antics, check out my post from my April A-Z Challenge.

(LINK TO RE-READ: T IS FOR TOMFOOLERY)

March: In an effort to offer a healthier option, I began baking dog cookies. They were slam dunks. When a coworker asked if it was because I was trying to save money, I told her that I was always 'squirreling my nuts, so that I could eventually shuck my clams.' All these months later, she still references the saying and reminds how much she enjoyed my post.

(LINK TO RE-READ:SQUIRRELING MY NUTS )

April: Let me tell you, I may have shucked a few clams to spend my birthday on Cable Beach in the Bahamas, but it was totally worth it (top right). Scored us $300 roundtrip flights over Christmas Break and the rest is history.

(LINK TO RE-READ: J IS FOR JOY)

May: We moved to the cottage for the summer the weekend before the long weekend. There was no one around. It was at dusk, when I spotted what I thought was an otter moving in the lake. It turns out it was a moose. Less than two week later, everything changed.

June: My travel buddy hubby arrived home after seventeen days in a Toronto Hospital. I swear the dogs figured he was never coming back. They never left his side for the three months following when he was healing at home.

(LINK TO RE-READ: STORMY WEATHER REFLECTIONS)

July: I was devastated by the sudden death of my cousin Denny. So grateful for all the social media sound bites of his voice and singing. Such a talented and wonderful person. Will miss ya, always, Den.

(LINK TO RE-READ: MY FAVOURITE COWBOY)

August: I was happy to host my sister for ten days at the cottage. As we do for anyone that visits, she had to have a drink with our Dad.

(LINK TO RE-READ: CHEERS FROM ANDY GIRL)

September: Unexpectedly, we lost my beloved Annie to an aggressive brain tumour. Only seven days from the time we discovered her drooling, to her no longer know how to eat and drink. I loved her for her entire life and will love her the rest of mine.

(LINK TO RE-READ: REST EAST MY ANNIE)

October: For the first time in almost two decades, my travel buddy hubby and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner. So thankful for all those that attended. Their unconditional support during this very trying year meant the world to us.

(LINK TO RE-READ: A TABLE FOR TEN)

November: We managed to get in a week long vacation to the Mayan Riviera mid month. In keeping with the theme for the year, we were not even remotely surprised to be absolutely hammered by Tropical Storm Sara. 

(LINK TO RE-READ: PONDERING REALITY)

December: Snowmageddon 2025 rolled into town, and stayed over a week. Lake effect snow off Georgian Bay had the Town of Gravenhurst under a state of emergency, reminding us that our town was in the same state fifteen years ago to the day.

(LINK TO RE-READ:SNOWMAGEDDON SUCKS

THE 6AM SNOW SHUFFLE

Trying to dig out from the overnight 
storm after the plow passed.
DECEMBER 13th, 2024
(Shortly after 6AM)

Yesterday marked more than two weeks since I’d left our house.  

Technically, it was since I had left our yard - but I think you can catch my drift. Which is not be confused with those drifts that have been freshly fallen snow since Snowmageddon 2024 roared into Muskoka on November 28th!

Though we did get a bit of reprieve during those calendar days, because I work from home, I simply stayed home. With each work break including the movement of snow around the yard. The dog trails seemed to occupy the most of my time. But that's the household deal we agreed to. I run the manual shovels and my travel buddy hubby navigates old Bessie our blower.

The snow accumulation was getting to be so much, that we found ourselves going to bed early, so we could clear required snow for the car, and get it the hell up the driveway before the snowplow passed. 

For whatever reason, the eve of Thursday the 12th had me the most concerned with the new storm front that arrived. Our largest dumping came that day, with another 40cm expected overnight. The photo I am sharing above is what we woke up to.

The photo came to fruition because less than a minute before the car was going into reverse, the end of the driveway was filled. The pups and I hauled butt up to the top to assess the situation. There was no way we could push through the bank without damaging the under carriage of the car. So, out came old Bessie to the rescue.

I shoveled most of the morning to clear the doors and decks, as well as widen the dog trails. Old Bessie was back in action at lunch time, when her operator returned home to blow out the remainder - as only the top was cleared before he had to head to work.

My morning photos illustrate a couple of thing that I know to be true. 

The top photo proves to me that this was definitely the one day a year when winter is really pretty.

So, what does photo two (below) illustrate?

...That WINTER FREAKING SUCKS!

Old Bessie doing the 6AM snow shuffle
TAKEN: DECEMBER 13th, 2024

DECEMBER 11th, 2009

In preparing for another possible 40cms of snow, I have spent my home office breaks clearing the overhanging white stuff with our roof rake. In the twenty plus years we have owned our home, we’ve never had to shovel our roof.

If we get the next dumping of snow they are predicting, I am going to have to hire someone to do it. With my travel buddy hubby having balance issues, it will be the first chore we haven’t been able to do ourselves; yet another reminder that getting old really sucks!

Nonetheless, while I was eating my lunch and checking my socials, I clicked to take a look at my online memories. You know, where Facebook shows you something you posted on this date, and how many years ago it was.

Well, today I was reminded that it was eleven years ago today that I had lunch with one of my closest clients, sharing my intent to quit my job at MWDC.

Thirteen years ago, today I posted, "Leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades." (Something I still truly believe.) 

And, that fifteen years ago today Bracebridge was under a State of Emergency.

I really like checking out my memories. It gives me a chance to download pictures I may have lost thanks to the many 'blue screens of death' I have experienced. I can recall two desktops and a laptop that I never fully recovered from.

Today's memories helped me recover about a dozen pics from varying years. Now safely stored on an external hard drive, that I also back up.

The photos I am sharing today were taken with my Blackberry - no clue which version. 

Not only do the photos bring back great memories, like when the kids still living at home, when the house had green trims, and that we really DID shovel before old Bessie.... It shows me just how far digital photography from a phone has progressed.

Stay safe and warm everyone. Winter is here to stay!!

Taking a break from shoveling in the whiteout
TAKEN: DECEMBER 11th, 2009

The house when it had green trims
TAKEN: DECEMBER 11th, 2009

Before we got rid of the trees
TAKEN: DECEMBER 11th, 2009

Goob in a cape and shorts!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 11th, 2009

KATIE LU IS TWO!!

 

Woohoo… Katie Lu is two!

And to celebrate her arrival into the world, she lit up all my socials, to a plethora of heart felt birthday wish across numerous platforms.

That said, I don’t like to think of my dogs as 'Facebook famous', but I will admit that they all have acquired their own hashtags and are never camera shy when duty calls.

Note: The word cookie may have been used to achieve her beautiful birthday portrait this morning. #yagottalaughaboutit

PS: A happy 63^rd birthday goes out to my big bro today as well.

PSS: Cheers to these two beauties having a great day!

SNOWMAGEDDON SUCKS

...It is beginning to feel a little lot like Groundhog Day.
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 30th (left)
DECEMBER 1st (right)

These last few days the lake effect snow's hammered the Muskoka region to the core.

White out conditions started early Friday November 29^th,  but by the time guy got home it has slowed, so we decided we would tag team our snow shoveling/blowing efforts first thing in the next morning.

Up bright and early, we discovered the snow was so wet, the blower struggled to move it. With me working the clearing of the decks and stairs, I could only use a small shovel as the saturated weight was simply more than I could manage.

Slowly and steadily we moved snow off the driveway, decks, and doggo trails for the better part of Saturday. By sundown it was a total white out and by 8pm the hydro was out. And it stayed out for more than 14 hours. In all our 22 years here, this is the first time the hospital grid (which we’re on) has been out for more than a few of hours.

By morning we were ready to start again. I boiled water on the BBQ for coffee, then we headed outside. My travel buddy hubby mentioned that he was going to head across the street to get the intel on the neighbourhood blower guy.

In the bitchiest tone ever, I asked why was wasn’t going to fire up old Bessie, “...because the snowblower is an electric start” he replied in the same tone I came at him with. Which was deserved. It was just one of the things you never think of, nor have impacted us previously.

Tired and spent, mid afternoon Sunday brought the sun out and our accumulation to date was about 52 inches.

That said, I have been shoveling though the day today and Bessie our blower is back at it as I type, as we received another good six inch dumping today.

I have always been proud of our efforts to do our yard chores, when everyone else on the street has hired help. It has sort of been a badge of honour.

That said, I now understand first hand the reason why pride is classified a deadly sin. 

Because without our old Bessie, this specific 2024 storm front feels like (if we would have had to deal with it old school)…. It might have killed us!