Doing the family thing, or The Longest Post Ever Seen On This Site
I had a Family Stuff weekend. My dad's side was out from Ontario, BC and Alberta to go through my great aunt's estate. A good time was had by all. I see these people so seldom that I forget how fun they are.
I got to tease one of my uncles all weekend. He's a pretty good sport and gives back as good as he gets. At one point I referenced his "gambling problem" in such a serious tone that I think he almost believed me. It's even more funny because everyone in the family is a straight arrow. A bit odd, but they're all good kids. They don't smoke, they're social drinkers (one glass of wine is the limit), so gambling is a bit out of their league. Most of them don't even spend money inordinately on non-gambling related items.
On Saturday afternoon we all met at my great aunt's former condo. I drove my little sister, as we'd been over to grandma's oldies home for lunch previously. The conversation on the way there:
Megan: "Do you know where she lives?"
Me: "Well, she's not anymore. But when she was you'd turn here."
My great aunt was at one time rolling in dough, so she had a really nice condo filled with a bunch of nice stuff. The things up for grabs this weekend were older mismatched kitchen stuff, clothes, linens, and christmas stuff - basically all the things that weren't worth anything. So I scored me some random cutlery, a rolling pin (a good solid one for the beatings, you see), some bowls, a glass measuring thingy, some mildly frightening dress shirts (I'll try to remember to post a picture), and a set of flannel sheets. If I could lose 20 lbs I could have gotten a blue evening gown too, but we all know how likely that is. For a 90-some year-old, my great aunt had some fairly decent clothes. I spruced up my wardrobe but good.
There was lots of food there. My aunt's former housekeeper, a sweet little German lady, brought a plate full of homemade German goodies that I sampled, and my dad's cousin brought a plate full of squares and loaf slices that she'd made as well. After that the group went out for a late supper, where I ate far too much greasy souvlaki, paid for by the estate. These people are completely ruining my evening gown plot.
Yesterday I went out to my parents' place, where my aunt and uncle (the teased one) were staying. I visited with them off and on, did some reorganization of the plethora of crap I'm storing in my parents' barn, and then went to the fall supper in town. All the relatives showed up for that too, since it's the area most of them grew up. After getting nudged out of the hall there, the party moved back out to my parents' place so that everyone could see their "new" house. Five years ago my parents built their retirement house on the same farm that they'd been living on for 27 years, and my brother and his wife moved into their former home. Some of dad's cousins hadn't been down since, so they got the grand tour. Oh, by the way, this retirement home is all in theory. My dad has slowed down some, but he's definitely not "retired", unless by retired you mean he still farms full time. Farmers are like that.
I also got to talk to my aunt, who lives a couple miles from my parents, and who I see once or twice a year. I found out all about their son who's in Japan, and who they're going to visit this year at christmas. I'm jealous. I also got to hear about their older daughter, she's Megan's age, who is going to school in Vancouver, and who I avoid like the plague because she's shrill and annoying and makes me want to strangle her. She means well though, and it's not her fault. As a friend of mine said not too long ago, "I feel sorry for people like that, because it's not like they mean to be annoying." Maybe it's genetic or in the water or something. Although her little sister is decent enough. I don't know, I got nothing.
Anyways, I'm glad we've had this conversation. There was lots more, but I'm sure you've been bored to tears already, so I'll leave you in peace. Tomorrow: the drive back to Regina, with unexpected guests.
I got to tease one of my uncles all weekend. He's a pretty good sport and gives back as good as he gets. At one point I referenced his "gambling problem" in such a serious tone that I think he almost believed me. It's even more funny because everyone in the family is a straight arrow. A bit odd, but they're all good kids. They don't smoke, they're social drinkers (one glass of wine is the limit), so gambling is a bit out of their league. Most of them don't even spend money inordinately on non-gambling related items.
On Saturday afternoon we all met at my great aunt's former condo. I drove my little sister, as we'd been over to grandma's oldies home for lunch previously. The conversation on the way there:
Megan: "Do you know where she lives?"
Me: "Well, she's not anymore. But when she was you'd turn here."
My great aunt was at one time rolling in dough, so she had a really nice condo filled with a bunch of nice stuff. The things up for grabs this weekend were older mismatched kitchen stuff, clothes, linens, and christmas stuff - basically all the things that weren't worth anything. So I scored me some random cutlery, a rolling pin (a good solid one for the beatings, you see), some bowls, a glass measuring thingy, some mildly frightening dress shirts (I'll try to remember to post a picture), and a set of flannel sheets. If I could lose 20 lbs I could have gotten a blue evening gown too, but we all know how likely that is. For a 90-some year-old, my great aunt had some fairly decent clothes. I spruced up my wardrobe but good.
There was lots of food there. My aunt's former housekeeper, a sweet little German lady, brought a plate full of homemade German goodies that I sampled, and my dad's cousin brought a plate full of squares and loaf slices that she'd made as well. After that the group went out for a late supper, where I ate far too much greasy souvlaki, paid for by the estate. These people are completely ruining my evening gown plot.
Yesterday I went out to my parents' place, where my aunt and uncle (the teased one) were staying. I visited with them off and on, did some reorganization of the plethora of crap I'm storing in my parents' barn, and then went to the fall supper in town. All the relatives showed up for that too, since it's the area most of them grew up. After getting nudged out of the hall there, the party moved back out to my parents' place so that everyone could see their "new" house. Five years ago my parents built their retirement house on the same farm that they'd been living on for 27 years, and my brother and his wife moved into their former home. Some of dad's cousins hadn't been down since, so they got the grand tour. Oh, by the way, this retirement home is all in theory. My dad has slowed down some, but he's definitely not "retired", unless by retired you mean he still farms full time. Farmers are like that.
I also got to talk to my aunt, who lives a couple miles from my parents, and who I see once or twice a year. I found out all about their son who's in Japan, and who they're going to visit this year at christmas. I'm jealous. I also got to hear about their older daughter, she's Megan's age, who is going to school in Vancouver, and who I avoid like the plague because she's shrill and annoying and makes me want to strangle her. She means well though, and it's not her fault. As a friend of mine said not too long ago, "I feel sorry for people like that, because it's not like they mean to be annoying." Maybe it's genetic or in the water or something. Although her little sister is decent enough. I don't know, I got nothing.
Anyways, I'm glad we've had this conversation. There was lots more, but I'm sure you've been bored to tears already, so I'll leave you in peace. Tomorrow: the drive back to Regina, with unexpected guests.
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