July 22 (Tues):  Been having a heckuva time the last couple days trying to get to the bottom of why we couldn't upload, but all is fixed now.  Hurrah!  (bloody annoying tech support people!!!)

July 20 (Sun):  Firstly....Congratulations to Andy, who is now finishing her second 6-month contract and has been hired full-time, permanent as "Director of Special Projects" for the Blachford group of companies, Canada and US (H.L. Blachford Ltd., Blachford Corp., Blachford Inc., & Blachford R.P. Corp.).  Way to go hun!

Well, we were cooked over the last week and we have now been washed for a day and a half.  It was around 30^o all week not including the humidex (which often adds 6 or 7 degrees) and one day it even got up to 33^o.  A couple of those days we had humidity up to 85%, so as you can imagine we were ready for the rain when it came.  I went out in the heat & humidity yesterday morning with a wet kerchief over my already wetted head to cut the grass before the rain came.  Andy also rushed to get the sanding and first coat of primer on the trim around the garage door before the predicted rain.  There was a 3" strip of wood added when the new door was installed, plus we wanted to change the rest of the trim to white.  Before we got to those jobs, we were already sweating from our walk up the street, which I'll get to shortly. 

We'd had a little sleep in after being out a bit late Friday night at the races with Uncle Lanny.  The Ohsweken Speedway owners have widened the track and put in all new lights and stands that go much higher.

Tigger also came to the races, much to Uncle Lanny (right) and his buddy, Larry's, amusement.  Andy made sure Tigger had hearing protection.

After our Saturday morning sleep-in, we finally made it over to the outdoor Farmer's Market at the mall.  It was about a 10-minute saunter up the road and we came home with lots of goodies from the fantastic (yet very economical) selection.  In fact, it was hard to restrain ourselves from buying too much at once as we didn't want anything to go to waste.

I do wish I'd got some of the organic honey.  They also had a large selection of teas and one booth with baking, which we drooled over but passed on.  Instead we came home with peaches and cream corn on the cob, green onions, new potatoes, cucumber, peas in the pod, cantaloupe, strawberries and raspberries.

Then, as I said, we rushed a couple pre-rain jobs, and about an hour later the clouds came and an hour after that it was raining torrentially.  We really enjoyed sitting out on the back porch watching it for a while, but then it was back to work on indoor jobs like 4 loads of laundry and changing the ceiling fan out of our room for a better one we had.  The rain has since lightened up substantially but continued all the rest of yesterday and all day today.  In fact, it's been rather Vancouver-like.  This morning when we went to Costco, it was practically misting instead of raining.

Earlier in the week, Andy, my little yard putterer, got a job done that we are both pleased with.  If you recall, we didn't like the red mulch on all the garden beds when we moved in, so Andy removed it.  Since then the weeding has been non-stop and Andy finally got fed up with it.  So we decided to try mulch again, but found some black cedar that we really like as it looks like dark, rich soil.

Doesn't that look much better?  And it smells good too!

 

July 13 (Sun):  Andy seems to be over her cold and it was a busy weekend.  Aside from chores and improvement jobs, we ended up having an impromptu birthday party for Dad yesterday.  His actual birthday is Tuesday, but we were going to take some lunch over and a bit of cake.  Then Scot, Monica and the kids came home a day early from camping as we've been having big thunderstorms again, but more importantly the mosquitoes were so bad.  So we got more food (Chinese) and an entire cake (Black Forest) and a mylar birthday balloon.  When we got to the house they had already surprised Mom and Dad and been in the pool.  We ate, gave presents, had cake and I also went in the pool with the kids and tried out my new floaty chair, which I really like.  As Scot, Monica & the kids had been caught off guard, they all brainstormed for quick presents for dad.  Ben came up with loaning Grampy ("Dragon Man") his favourite dragon for FIVE days!  Grace made 6 birthday cards, there were scratch'n win tickets and a certificate from Scot and Monica that will "magically change into lures, worms and beer" when we get to Bala (in a couple weeks).  We gave our usual gift card for Canadian Tire that will also magically turn into fishing supplies.

Today we were supposed to go take the kids to a movie, but to save an extra trip to get them, we ended up bringing them home and going to the movie yesterday.

It was pretty good with great animation but a little too old for the kids and not quite as good as Cars or Nemo.  Then the kids stayed overnight and worked on 100 piece puzzles.  Grace is a whiz.  Ben can do it but just doesn't focus (he's too busy talking!)

This morning we took them home by 10 and then spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing jobs around the house.

BBQd an awesome dinner of baked potatoes and steak, threw in some broccoli and asparagus and even Andy was raving how good it was.  She cleaned her plate and even finished my steak!

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July 7 (Mon):  Somebody has gotten very brave!

And we are shocked!  We are also kind of pleased, yet even more pleased that so far Comet won't go on the grass.  We didn't think the girls would ever go out, but with the yard contained by fencing, when she came to the door asking, we decided to give it a try.

One problem.....she wants to hang out in the garage!

This doesn't work out so well when she lays in the spot for the car.

Tonight we're watching the British Grand Prix and trying to recover from the weekend.  I spent Friday afternoon (as it's that time of year at work that we get Friday afternoons off) and we spent Saturday prepping for our "Pre-Wedding/New Home Open House & BBQ" yesterday.

Earlier in the week we'd ordered the cakes and balloons and done shopping for drinks, chips, and other supplies.  I'd booked a caterer ages ago as we knew if we had to do the cooking and deal with the food, we wouldn't get time to visit with our guests (and Andy thanked me for this idea last night when it was all over).  Saturday we went and got Loot Bags for the kids and coolers and chairs from my work.  We put up the second, much cheaper and more portable gazebo and were shocked to find it took us only about 20 minutes.  We also set up the two umbrellas and did lots more tweaking of prep work.

Sunday morning we continued setting up and before we knew it, the fabulous family crew arrived and pitched in.  Scot & I went to my work in his van and got the tables we were borrowing.  Andy and Monica went for the balloons, cake and ice, only to come back balloonless as our 6 bunches of 5 wouldn't fit in the car.  Mom and Dad watched the kids, then while Scot and Andy made the second trip for the balloons, Dad and Monica got all the table cloths on and taped in place.  I made some lunch for everyone, got the music set up, then we managed to have our showers, get the drinks on ice in the 6 coolers, and put the balloons in place before guests started arriving.

We designated the front yard as the smoking area with a couple signs out the back pointing the way, and nobody complained.

We also had the caterers set up on the front side of the fence (but took the gate off for easy access) on the opposite side of the driveway, under a tree, to allow us the full space of the back yard and prevent issues with kids being anywhere near a hot BBQ.  We tried to take advantage of every bit of shade and that tree was perfect for them.  They made hamburgers, veggie burgers, sausages, hot dogs, brought chicken for Scot after I asked if their burgers were gluten free and they found they weren't, and we had delicious Potato and Greek-Pasta Salads and Coleslaw.  They also brought all plates, napkins, cutlery and condiments.  Later on when they were cleaning up to leave, we got to keep all the leftovers.  Luckily, I'd thought to tell Mom and Monica to bring some Tupperware, and we filled lots of our own too.

We also had a game, created with the motivations of trying to entertain plus getting the different groups to mix.  There were people from my current work, my work before we moved out west, the professor Andy did her post-doctorate for & his wife, the lesbian friends, tons of family from Dad's side, friends from my teen years, and the ladies from Mom's work, where I had a summer job during my college years.  The game was trying to figure out "Where Were We?" in these pictures.  I'd printed off and numbered 30 shots of Andy and I at various locations. For example, the top row we can see here is:  Cape Canaveral, Florida, Niagara Falls, kayaking in Alaska, the San Francisco Wharf, and Talinn, Estonia.  As well, I made sheets with a column of numbers beside blanks and a second column listing a location for each picture with a letter assigned to each.  A player had to match a letter to a number.  Monica was our checker and gave out the prizes of chocolate bars or Welch's fruit chews.  We were very pleased to see so many people getting so enthusiastic.  Some of the pictures were very obvious but the ones that weren't gave us the opportunity to chat with the players and help them out.

We also had a dedicated kids area, with brown paper on the fence for painting, plus bubbles, and loot bags for each child.

Mom and Dad and Scot and Monica each brought their kiddie picnic tables, and Scot and Monica also brought coolers, their nice lawn chairs and some other toys for the kids just in case we needed them.

When the guests arrived, all went well, though the afternoon went really quickly for Andy and I.  We were trying to make sure we spent time with everyone.  It didn't always work out but I gave so many house tours that I lost count, so I guess I spent time with many.  The girls were each in a bedroom and - Joanne, you'll especially like this - I put signs on each door asking that it stayed closed, but then had pictures of what each room looks like, as well as what each cat looks like also on the sign.  I had many comments on what a great idea that was.  :-)

Here are most of the attendees, though I notice Vic was already gone, and I can see Aunt Sandy sitting in the back left, so she and her 2 daughters did not get in the shot.  Also, all you can see of my dad is his hat behind Mom.  We were all struggling not to squint, but poor Benny just couldn't cope, so has his hands over his face.

Steven and Huguette, our Best Persons, were a big help in entertaining people and looking after the cakes.  Well, actually one cake.  We had two half slabs, one white and one chocolate, but we never quite finished the chocolate, so most of the white went to work today and made some very happy people.  Andy was shocked at how good the cake was.  We sometimes have these at work for special occasions.  I told her they were fantastic, but the proof was in the eating and she told me just how right I was.  It was 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake with chocolate whipped cream instead of icing and filler, plus between the layers were also sliced strawberries, there was dark chocolate drizzled on top and it was accented with strawberries dipped in chocolate.

The last two people left at about 7:30, we opened many presents we had not really expected, but are very grateful for, and were in bed by 10.  Only problem was that both our heads were spinning so we did not get a full night's sleep.  Andy also seems to have come down with a cold.  At first she thought she was just hoarse from talking all day, but then she woke up coughing and greatly congested.  Today she felt lousy, so we are now in quarantine mode, trying not touch the same things, and definitely sleeping separately.

Before I completely finish talking about the BBQ, I would once again like to thank profusely the crew that helped us out.  Without Scot, Monica, Mom, Dad, Steven and Huguette yesterday, it would have been FAR more difficult for us.  THANK YOU!

Switching gears, Mumsy and Dad had a stressful week.  Mumsy got an abscess tooth and ended up in the hospital for a couple days.  She got it removed and did some high dose antibiotics and is now home fine.  Phew, that's a relief!  Dadsy had to pitch in looking after the household chores, getting Ashley's packed lunches together as he works long hours, visiting at the hospital, and keeping us informed via email, for which we would like to say thank you!

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July 2 (Wed):  Ok, it's just a door.  I know that.  But we're very happy so I can't resist.  The old and the new!  Wahoooo!

Oooooo, could that possibly be a number pad for a garage door opener on the left of the frame?  You  betchya!  And the car is now proudly sporting a remote control.  Again.....wahoooo!!!

Friday, we headed off camping for the long weekend.  We'd both taken Monday off so we could camp straight through till Canada Day on Tuesday.  Saturday, we also headed off camping for the long weekend.....as in Take 2.

Friday, we'd both got home in the noon hour, did the last of the packing up, got ice, and headed off.  We got about a half hour up the highway when I started reading the reservation paperwork and realized we weren't scheduled to arrive until Saturday.  "Ahhhh, honey......" 

I guess when we booked this back in February we thought we wouldn't be able to get Friday afternoon off.  We headed back but kept on going right up to Caledonia and visited with Scot and the kids for a few hours, while Monica was at work.  Came home and didn't unload more than our toiletries, then Saturday we just went and bought fresh ice.

We went to Sibbald Point Provincial Park on Lake Simcoe, an old family estate that has been converted to a campground.  There is still the old family house as a museum and their church, which is very pretty.  The weather was good to us, not getting too hot and not raining more than some spits.  If we'd gone Friday it would have been another story as we had another major storm that night and we saw plenty of sleeping bags and blankets hanging out to dry when we got there.

Unfortunately, it wasn't our best camping experience as it is a very big park with over 900 sites, so we didn't get the quiet I was looking for.  But we had nice campfires and got tons of sleep.  I love falling asleep in the tent to the sound of light rain and I got to have that.  Andy got to chop wood and we both did tons of reading and played many rounds of Backgammon and Battleship.

Here is the multitude of pictures:

The beach was busiest on our last day, which was also the sunniest.

A strange looking country club we drove by while exploring the shoreline.

The cottage we will buy after winning the lottery this weekend (and the next shot is its back yard).

St George's Church

We had a chipmunk that came by often to enter the hole in the middle of our campsite where it lived and this mother and two baby raccoons wandered by one night then headed straight up a tree as a dog started barking at them.

   

It's the first time we've ever had a fire pit that is actually just a pit!

We go through this every first day of camping.  Andy brings the mini cereal boxes you can eat right out of but can't find the perforated lines and starts "improvising".  Then I harass her so that she does it right the next day.

It ain't easy chopping without a block.

Notice she makes sure to wear her safety footwear.

A ceremonial burning of my favourite, most comfortable pyjama pants ever, that had become threadbare and holey.

The beach the way I like it - all to myself.

Andy shows off her tastiest spot.

Got myself a new, extendable roasting stick!

We celebrated Canada Day Eve with some sparklers.