The Matriarch's seventieth (or as others say: Mom's 70th)

Mom recently turned 70 and to celebrate this event, my sisters and I got our families together to throw mom a weekend party under one roof somewhere near where she lived. I still can’t believe my mom is 70 for a few reasons. One is that she doesn’t look it and two it would mean that I’m getting older as well which just doesn’t seem possible because I still feel like i’m in my early 30’s (#denial?).

My sister Kim, did the footwork and secured us a kickass place for all of us. It was an old house located in Haileybury that had been restored and that was now called “The Prospector’s House“. Owned and managed by a company called President’s Suites, the owner(s) have done a fantastic job on the house’s renovation and they also provided us with a great experience during our stay.

If you are looking to put up a large crowd, this is the spot. The house had 5 double beds, 3 single beds and two double wall beds. All the rooms (aside from the attic area) have electronic keypads (apparently, even prospectors had snoopy sisters they wanted to keep out of their room). The four full bathrooms in the basement also have said keypads. Yes, there are a total of 6 washrooms in this place.

Excessive? Yes.
Useful? Extremely.

The layout of the place was great for entertaining / hanging out and we all seemed to float between the 3 areas on the main floor:

Kitchen – Spacious with an island that can comfortably seat three people with many more standing around.
Dining room – With my much loved 8 person square table setup coupled with with solid / comfortable chairs.
Living room – With two large windows, over-sized antiquy looking furniture and a see through upright piano (that is is in desperate need of tuning – not that it stopped up us from playing on it all weekend).

On top of having the fridge stocked with everything we needed for continental breakfasts, the owner would stop by early every morning and deliver fresh bread. Croissants one morning and some crusty ancient grain bread the next. Very good stuff indeed.

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Benjamin Franklin

To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.

Abraham Maslow

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

Mark Twain

Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.

Kimberley Broyles

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.

Mark Twain

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

Benjamin Franklin

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Mark Twain

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.

Ted Turner

If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.

Anonymous

I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.

Mark Twain

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Benjamin Franklin

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.

Benjamin Franklin

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Winston Churchill

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

Albert Einstein

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

Steven Wright

The manager administers, The leader innovates. The manager maintains, the leader develops. The manager relies on systems, the leader relies on people. The manager counts on controls, the leader counts on trust. The manager does things right, the leader does the right thing.

Forbes Magazine

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

Native American Proverb

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

Zig Ziglar

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

Well done is better than well said.

Benjamin Franklin

Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.

Alfred A. Montapert

Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time, to figure out whether you like it or not.

Virgil Garnett Thomson

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

Plato

We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

Aristotle

Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.

Benjamin Franklin

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Gandhi

The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.

Mark Twain

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Benjamin Franklin

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.

Cullen Hightower

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Mark Twain

Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.

Benjamin Franklin

We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.

Bill Vaughan

He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas.

Benjamin Franklin

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Will Rogers

If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.

Frank Wilczek

Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.

Benjamin Franklin

History is written by the victors.

Winston Churchill

The measure of a life is not what that life accomplishes,but rather the impact that life has on others.

Jackie Robinson

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.

Plato

Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.

Yoda

Jedi Master

We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!

Benjamin Franklin

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.

Benjamin Franklin

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

Mark Twain

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

Mark Twain

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

Ovid

Poet (43 BCE - CE 17)

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.

Wayne Gretzky

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

Mark Twain

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

Benjamin Franklin

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

Groucho Marx

Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.

Franklin P. Jones

Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.

Benjamin Franklin

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.

Erica Jong

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

Winston Churchill

Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.

Winston Churchill

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Benjamin Franklin

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

Robert Frost

Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.

Benjamin Franklin

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

Harry Truman

When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.

Benjamin Franklin

A Man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

Benjamin Franklin

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.

Groucho Marx

Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away

Benjamin Franklin

Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.

Cale Yarborough

When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.

Thomas Szasz

You can do anything, but not everything.

David Allen

We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.

Robert Wilensky

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Albert Einstein

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Mark Twain

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Oscar Wilde

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

Thomas Jefferson

A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.

Winston Churchill

To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.

Jack Handey

Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.

Kurt Vonnegut

Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.

Mark Twain

If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.

Mark Twain

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.

William Arthur Ward

Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.

Kristian Wilson

Nintendo, Inc, 1989

Well begun is half done.

Aristotle

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Mark Twain

Our time was spent on a diverse range of activities. Laughing/joking, going for walks, having some people over and drinking/eating. We also played the piano, relaxed/read and even spent an evening crying with laughter while we played some games from the Jackbox Party Packs (specifcally Drawful 2, Quiplash and Tee K.O.) In Tee K.O. You are asked to draw some pictures and then write down some phrases. People are then given a random selection of them all and are asked to create the best t-shirt combo. The results can be quite funny.

For mom’s actual 70th birthday dinner, there aren’t too many places to choose from when you are in a small Northern community so we had a good birthday supper out at the Husky Truck stop.

Yeah, that’s right. The truck stop.

While you may think that this meant us eating club sandwiches and fries smothered in gravy, this place is different. On Saturday evenings, the restaurant puts out an Indian buffet that is quite good. In fact, it is better than some places I’ve been too in Ottawa and I’ve always enjoyed the food there. After dinner, we headed back to the house and surprised mom with cake, balloons, flowers and a few heart felt gifts. Heck, even the sunset was cooperating with us as it was perfect. The following morning, the sunrise was equally spectacular and I managed to get out and sneak in a few shots.

The weekend celebration came to an end all too quickly and even my daughter was sad that we had to leave. She loved the house and wished we could all live there as she thought it was quite “modern” despite the renovated rustic look it had. Fortunately, Christmas 2016 is not too far away so we will soon all be together again for some laughs and some rematches of Jackbox.