More rain last Saturday night along with a thunderstorm was what the farmers just did not need. Some reported more than an inch, but there was not that much at Meota. A drive to Medstead on Sunday showed many canola crops still in swath and some fields of standing grain. They need more sunshine and wind. The gardens are mostly in, so we don’t have to look forward to digging potatoes in the snow or freezing weather. It has been raining yellow maple leaves in Meota. Pretty, but a sign fall is here as they crunch under your feet.
In the Terry Fox report last week I had Karl’s name wrong. It should have read Caslor, and his wife Irene helped him with the organizing of the day. Sorry, Karl.
The seniors’ October meeting date is set for Oct. 13, as Oct. 14 the seniors are invited to Livelong for their annual games day. The 10 a.m. meeting will be followed by a potluck lunch. The seniors’ tea and dessert held Sept. 28 went over well, but there was harvesting going on so the turnout was less than usual. There was still lots of delicious food to choose from.
Contract bridge was played here Sept. 26, with top score by Bernard Gregoire followed by Eric Callbeck. Sept. 27 in Meota, they played duplicate bridge, with top score by Margaret Dyck and Dave Creegan. Second high were Gerry Fernandes and Maureen Campbell and third place went to Robert Iverson and Joyce Antoine.
Sept. 29 in the city, they played duplicate bridge with top couple being Glen and Julie Moore. Second high were Margaret Dyck and Joyce Antoine and third were Donna Scherman and Catriona Winterholt.
Valerie and Orest Holowich, former Meota residents from Vernon, B.C., have been back visiting friends in Meota recently. They also visited a grandson in Lashburn, who spent time in Meota this summer.
A fall supper is slated for Rabbit Lake on Oct. 8.
The Meota Lions annual fall supper is posted for Oct. 16, where you can see folks you haven’t seen for some time and enjoy our good cooks’ meal.
The Anglican/United Church is holding an evening of gospel singing Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Turtleford church, with lunch to follow.
The village office is now closed all day Monday and Wednesday mornings. The transfer site is now on winter hours – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The jam sessions at Medstead are held on the fourth Sunday of each month at 2 p.m.
The following was submitted by Laura Tucker
Alan and I left Sept. 1 from Edmonton. We flew to Iceland where we spent two days swimming in the Blue Lagoon and taking a tour of the waterfalls and geysers. A lot of the land you see is covered by lava so looks quite desolate.
Next we flew to Great Britain where we took a ferry out to the Isle of Wight. We stayed at a cottage that had been renovated from an old milking parlour. The cottage was on land where Alan's grandfather, George, was raised. We also went to the church where Alan's ancestors are buried.
Then it was off to Stockholm, Sweden to visit our daughter, who is attending school there. During the two weeks we were there we got to know the transit system, which consists of trains, trams, buses and boats. The city is built on many islands and has lots of green space. We went to museums, parks, Old Town and tried many different cafes. We dined in a 155-metre tall radio tower one night and in a dungeon the next.
For a few days we stayed at a cabin on an island about an hour out of Stockholm by boat.
Many, many people in Stockholm either walk or ride bikes. We took a train from Stockholm to Copenhagen where we spent two days visiting with a cousin of Alan's. We toured the city by boat, went to an aquarium, a harbour and a 400-year-old town.
We left Denmark on Sept. 28 and landed in Toronto later that day. We took in a Blue Jays game that evening and went to the Hockey Hall of Fame the next morning before returning home.
This report comes from Karrie Nordell of Edam.
Early Sept. 19, we — Stefanie and Clint Rogers, Darren and I — flew out of Saskatoon with Toronto as our destination. We took the train to Union Station and then a cab to our hotel. For about the same price, we could have taken a cab the entire trip, but thought a train ride would be neat, and it was. We saw parts of the city, although it went by quite quickly, that we wouldn't have seen in the cab.
Thursday was action packed. We couldn't get into our rooms at the Chelsea Hotel until after 3 p.m., so we started touring instantly. We walked to the Hockey Hall of Fame, to the harbour and took an island tour, then headed to St. Lawrence Market and then a quick stop at Eaton Centre before we stopped for supper. We hiked more than 17 kilometres.Â
Day two was much the same. We grabbed coffee at Tim's and Starbucks. There is a coffee shop on every corner, it seems, so we all got what we wanted without missing a beat. With our coffees in hand, we headed towards Maple Leaf Gardens. Ryerson University now plays their games in it, so we watched a girls’ hockey team practice and walked the building. It was a highlight for Clint, as he is a big Leafs fan.
From there we made our way to Eaton Centre, stopped for a late lunch, then headed to CN Tower, walking the PATH. I would recommend checking this out. It is an underground walkway that looks like a mall. It basically gets you to all of the "main areas" of Toronto that you would like to see.
The tower and Rogers Centre are literally steps from each other, so that made it easy for us. We toured the tower. It truly is an amazing view from way up there. The glass floor was a bit of a let down. We expected a good section of floor made of glass. There are actually two glass sheets taking up about 50 square feet each. You have to wait to take your turn to stand on the glass. Not nearly as exciting as they make it sound. However, the $35 per adult to go up the top was worth it.
From the tower we headed over to Rogers Centre, where the Jays played a great game, winning 9-0. Our seats were left centre and we felt they were great seats. Donaldson's homerun was just a section over from where we were sitting. According to Stefanie's Fitbit, we walked 18.5 kilometres Friday and climbed 33 flights of stairs.
Saturday's ball game was changed from 1 to 4 p.m., so that gave us a bit more free time. We headed to Eaton Centre and checked out the Blue Jays store. Our wallets were a little lighter after that stop. We also had to check out the stores at Rogers Centre, and lo and behold, we found items we liked there, too.
The Jays had to work a little harder, but ended up winning 3-0. This time our seats were along the first base foul line. Again, it was a great view of the game. We seemed to have been in the Saskatchewan section, as we met two other couples from Saskatoon sitting near us, and Layne and Gail Therres from Turtleford were just up from us.
After the game, we headed towards the Distillery District to check out the Fan Village that was set up for the World Cup of Hockey. We got to watch almost two full periods, along with a few hundred other people, on the big screen that they had set up there. There were blocks of activities to do — entertainment, floor hockey, souvenirs, food and drinks. Once that game was over, we made our way to Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant to have a late supper and finish up our evening.
I believe we clocked another 18 kilometres. I would totally recommend Toronto to anyone. The people are friendly, the food is amazing, there are coffee shops and bars on every street corner and so much to see and do.
