What Reader did on his summer vacation!

Reader here, rested and rejuvenated after two weeks vacation!

It always seems to go by too quickly, but if holidays never ended, we wouldn’t be able to look forward to the next one, right?

I didn’t get too crazy during my time off, spending most of it at our family farm, located a mile west of Conquest, not quite an hour southwest of Saskatoon.  For those who aren’t quite sure of where that is, I always say we’re between Outlook and Rosetown, but closer to Outlook!

Before I headed out of town, though, I did have one thing to finish before I hit the road… the Health Foundation Charity Road Race on August 17!

Even though it rained earlier in the morning, by race time, it was really nice, actually.  Cloudy and a bit cooler, it made for great running weather.  I set a personal best, completing the five-kilometre race in 38:44!  It was great to see a ton of friends come out and take part, raising money to support the great work of the Health Foundation.  A big thanks to all the runners, organizers and volunteers who helped make this year’s run another great success!

The one downside to the day, was that I was going to test out my brand-new barbecue in the evening, and had a nice rib steak ready to go, but when I wanted to fire up the grill that night, it started pouring rain… Just my luck.  So I popped the steak in the freezer and it’s ready to go.  Maybe this weekend, I’ll christen the grill with a big slab of beef!

The next day, I headed home to the farm, taking the scenic route, going to Regina, making a couple of stops, before trekking up Highway 11 to Saskatoon, where I hit a couple of shops, before meeting up with my brother Ward, his wife Aimee, my nieces Abbie and Brynn, and Aimee’s sister Jade, for a tasty supper at Wendel Clark’s Grill and Bar.

After a couple days of kicking around the farm, helping Dad fix stuff and taking some much-needed naps, I took a trip to Prince Albert, to visit a good pal (and former co-worker), who was part of the main cast the Broadway North Theatre Company’s production of the musical “Grease” at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre for the Arts.  Bryan and his castmates did a fantastic job, and the packed house had a ball on the evening I attended.  Well worth the trip!  I forgot how nice the drive up to P.A. is – I hadn’t been there in ages!

We also caught a pretty good fireworks show in Outlook, as part of the town’s first-ever Potato Festival, celebrating all things Spud – a big part of the economy in the community!

The rest of my time off involved more work around the farm, including firing up the garden tractor and mowing all the grass, helping Dad work on the disc-bine and tractor,  I wasn’t doing the fixing… I was more like the assistant, grabbing tools and doing the running.  If I tried fixing things, it likely wouldn’t go too well!

I also got the chance to get in a good visit with my cousin Derek in Outlook, and then on Sunday, my parents and I went to Rosetown, to visit my Auntie Alice, who celebrated her 74th birthday, before getting home to the farm, to catch the second half of the Riders’ huge, dramatic win over Winnipeg in the Labour Day Classic.

Alas, all good things come to an end, and Monday, I had to pack up and make the drive back to Yorkton.  But, before I left, Mom and Dad fed their first-born son with a fantastic BBQ steak and potato lunch, with fresh garden beans.

They also sent me back with lots of veggies from the garden, including beans, cucumbers, carrots, onions, fresh dill, and potatoes.  Is there anything better than fresh garden potatoes?  Soooooo good!

All in all, it was a great (and much-needed) break.  Now, it’s back to the grind.  But, if the kids can get back to school, I s’pose I can get back to work!