EHR

This weekend, I discovered EHR...Extreme Hay Riding. This, of course has a lead-up story!
Several month ago, I suggested that since my friends Wayne & Sharon have a great piece of property in the country, they should host a hay ride. There was just one problem with this idea...they don't have a wagon, tractor, horse, even hay! They did, however, decide to host a "harvest" party. I kept bugging Wayne about a hay ride, but in reality, thought it wasn't going to happen.

Well, as it turns out, Wayne & Sharon rock and they rigged together the best hay ride I've ever been on! When I arrived, it was drizzling rain and Wayne was in the shop putting a tarp on the top of the UNIMOG. In case you have no idea what a Unimog is (because I didn't have a clue until last night) it is an old army-type vehicle. I felt like we were on M*A*S*H. There were benches down the sides in the back and a "chair of hay" for me to sit in at the front!! I was pumped.

The first trip was fun but rather uneventful. We headed inside for a huge spread of food and once it got dark, headed back out for a much wilder ride. This time we headed for the bush where we rolled over anything that got in our way (more or less) The adventure was heightened by the fact that the headlights were periodically going off, at which point we used a flashlight! By the time we got back, we were all cold but had a great adventure. It was time to warm up by the wood stove with a coffee or hot apple cider.

Wayne & Sharon, thanks for hosting such a great event! Looking forward to next year!

The Cute One

Paul McCartney...what a legend! I remember seeing a broadcast of his Off The Ground tour and thinking "wow if I could only see Paul McCartney one day... " Well, I did!

Monday afternoon Karla & I headed to Toronto to see if we could catch a glimpse of the former Beatle. There were a few people (25) standing around the end of the ACC where he would enter for sound check. As we waited, the crowd swelled to about 200. The anticipation was great... we were going to have an up-close encounter with Sir Paul.

Several vehicles came and went, including his tour bus. Each time, the crowd held their breath. However, there was no denying when the icon arrived... complete with sirens and a police escort that stopped traffic! True to form, the window was down and Macca was waving and giving alternate thumbs up and the peace sign.

Although we had practiced getting the camera ready, when the time came, I was awe-struck and was a little slow on the draw. This left me with a photo of the back of the car! Fortnately Karla was a bit more composed and snapped the photo shown above.

It was so cool to have such a close up encounter with someone I have admired for SO long!
We headed out for dinner and ran into my friend Mark and his wife Cathy. I, of course, told them the story and showed them the pathetic photo on my phone! When we finally got to the ACC we had to wait in this super-huge line, but it was ok as the anticipation was building. Inside I ran into several more people I work with that were there for the concert. Then we started our ascent to the TOP of the arena. Yep, that's right, our seats were in the very last row of the top section! (although there was a row of people behind me that had "standing room only") Although, our location wasn't too bad as we were almost beside the stage, so it worked out ok. After sitting through a DJ and 10 minute McCartney bio, the curtain rose to the sound of Magical Mystery Tour. The stage was a kalaidescope of colour as it was actually all video screens...very cool. Magical Mystery Tour was followed by Flaming Pie and Jet.

The whole night was just amazing. This guy never stops....63 years old and he's running all around and singing like it was 1964. I'm just struck by how adorable he is. He's this mega-star (and has been since he was basically a teenager) and he just acts like he's going to sing us a few songs, you know, whatever! A great concert by a fabulous entertainer. (and his guitar-hotties weren't too bad either!) Looking forward to seeing him next time around!

Girls' Weekend

What a great weekend! The weather was absolutely perfect. On Friday I headed to a cottage in Grand Bend with 5 girls from my book club. It was so fun. The cottage was pretty much right on the lake and the weather was just beautiful. Friday night we headed into "the bend" for dinner and later headed to the beach for a bonfire. We then had a late night card game and stayed up late chatting and laughing. It was like being in junior high again! Good times. The weather was gorgeous again on Saturday and we were able to eat breakfast outside and spend some time walking on the beach.

I finally headed home and in the evening had some friends over to play board games. Frankly, I think board games are underrated. Maybe it's my competitive nature or my love of all things fun...who knows, but I love board games. We started off with a rousing game of OUTBURST and split up to play FLASHBACK (70's, 80's & 90's TV trivia) in one room and CONJECTURE in the other. Conjecture just might be my most favourite board game. It is similar to Pictionary but it is played with playdough. It might sound a little strange and intimidating, but once you play a round, you're hooked!
Wayne was my partner after his wife Sharon tossed him aside like last week's trash. She apparently didn't think he had any artistic abilities, but we rocked! Of course, Sharon's feeble attempt at a tooth fairy (see photos) was proof of her own artistic talents.
All in all, a fun evening. I've already had requests for the next one!!

Well, another post, another concert! This time I'm looking forward to seeing SIR Paul McCartney! On Monday I'm heading to Toronto to see one of my favourite Pauls. (the other being Paul Simon) After talking with my fellow-beatle-fanatic-co-worker Mark Finch, I've decided to try and get an autograph. I know it's a long-shot, but I've been reading some online reviews of other concerts and some fans have been successful. Also, he apparently picks about 20 people to attend the sound check. I'm making every effort to be one of those people!! Really, what do I have to lose?? I'm so pumped. I'll post a full review next week.