The 'Peg and Rough Riders, Days 5-6, August 11-12, 2024

 Sunday we packed up and went back to the city after our wonderful days of relaxation. Doug's eldest son, Nathan, and Carleen's sister, Carrie, came over for dinner. Nathan looks very much like his Dad! It turns out that Carrie and I had a lot in common, and there was no end of conversation.

Carleen made steaks in a sous vide machine, our first experience with that. And of course they were perfectly done and excellent!

Monday started off in the best way possible. After "irregulatrities" were said to have been spotted in my mammogram the start of July, conflicting medical opinions and multiple examinations, I had an MRI done only days before flew off on vacation. On this day, I awoke to find a voice mail message from my GYN saying everything was fine, there was NO problem, and have a great vacation! What a relief and a load off my mind.

Monday afternoon we went into the city again, and visitd The Leaf, in Assiniboine Park. It is a new (2022) botanic garden, with two main indoor areas., 

(not my photo)

The first room is the largest: the tropics! And boy was it hot and damp! This would be the perfect place to visit on a typical freezing cold winter day. There were lots of beautiful and exotic plants to see. 

I must learn how to format photos on this blog......

Back home again. Dinner tonight was pickerel (better known as Walleye), the major fish found in Lake Winnipeg. I ate it at the restaurant in Gimli, and was not impressed, but that was because it was overcooked and dry. Carleen's was of course much better prepared, and we all loved it.

Reyka knew that we were going out again that evening, without her and Cassidy. It's truly a dog's life.

The Cookes live only a few blocks from the Assiniboine River, and Carleen says they frequently see deer wandering up from the riverfront into the neighbourhood. And this evening on our way out, we saw one in the yard across the street! 

As for us, we were off to the races! 

The Assiniboia Downs opened in 1958 and hold races two to three nights a week in the summer months.One can, of course bet (we didn't), and they are said to have a very nice restaurant, We simply found some good seats and enjoyed the spectacle. It was the first time that either of us had ever attended a horse race. 

(not my photo)