#JanicesSong

My day started in the best way yesterday. My phone notified me that I was mentioned in a tweet. When I checked it out...this is what I saw:

Yes! That's right. A song just for me! If you remember, I had some interaction with a great Canadian talent, Reid Jamieson, a few weeks ago. He had asked me for a request and I responded that I'd like him to perform in London or anything by Paul Simon.

So, check out my song here and Reid's website here.  For those of you in the London area, he'll be performing at the Vinyl Cafe Christmas show with Stuart McLean. Can't wait! I've already got my tickets.

My Fruzzin Carol Ann

First off, I will say that I'm working on back posts. Not posts about my back...but rather posts I have mostly formulated in my head and haven't had time to sit at the keyboard and compose. I have just returned from my family's adventure to the Smokey Mountains so expect me to share some stories about that soon, but first...

I think CA said it best as her Facebook status: For 35 years we have been cousins, but this summer we have become friends! Thanks for some great times Janice Mills!! Will miss ya!

I have never had a close relationship with any of my cousins which, as I get older, makes me kinda sad. We would see each other at the Murray Christmas once a year and perhaps a smattering of times in between but certainly didn't get to know each other very well. However, in my adult years I have connected with a few and become fruzzins. (friend/cousins) It's been nice.

CA's new shoes & 1st Instagram!

This summer, CA and I did not one, but TWO road trips. She is an adventurer that has trotted the globe and currently lives in Kuwait. We have similar interests, humour and it was about time that we did something like this! In addition to the Roller Coasters & Retail Therapy trip, the two of us headed back to Great Lakes Crossing to shop until we dropped. Really that wasn't the plan but we closed the mall at 9pm! The next day we hit the Henry Ford Museum for their Titanic exhibit. It was fantastic and left both of us wanting to watch the movie :) The rest of Henry Ford was pretty cool too.

 
As luck would have it, when we got back to Corunna, our fruzzin Josh was in town and we all went to visit Grammie. We had tea while watching the Olympics and discussing various aspects of the games. (Grammie is pretty hip, happening and hilarious) Once the photo albums came out, we were in for the long haul. Instead of being pictures of our parents when they were little, we had struck gold! Photos of the Murray Christmas through the years as well as our school photos. We laughed and laughed and didn't leave until almost midnight!

Terry Fox

Sitting in the staff lounge at work, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I was on my dinner break and rather than tuning into my usual show - The Big Bang Theory, I was watching the movie Terry.

I've always admired Terry Fox and was consumed with watching his story unfold. I have a vague memory of his Marathon Of Hope when I was just tiny, but of course I don't remember any of the details.

I was overwhelmed with emotion as I watched. Terry Fox was such an inspiration. He lived through his cancer treatments and observed many others suffering around him. He felt compelled to do something about it and just look at the results! His name is synonymous with cancer research right around the world and millions of dollars have been raised in his name.

Terry's courage and determination was amazing. I'm sure there were many days when he felt exhausted, discouraged, in pain, overwhelmed and wondering if he was making a difference...but he never gave up.

The country was heart-broken when he was forced to end his journey and eventually succumbed to cancer. But his legend lives on and I am so very proud to be a Canadian.

#ReidInLdnOnt

If you know me, you know that my radio is usually tuned to CBC Radio. Listening to Vinyl Cafe is a Sunday afternoon thing for me and if I miss it, I listen to the podcast. About a year and a half ago, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the musical artist. His name is Reid Jamieson and I was smitten! I just loved his sound.

Natually, I went to his website to check him out. Over the next few weeks I spent some time exploring his music but eventually it faded from my immediate focus. My memory was jogged when I heard him again on CBC and decided to look him up on twitter. I started following his tweets and that's how we got to this point in the story.

Today Reid was tweeting links to MP3s to listen to online. I clicked on a few and was like "this guy is really great!" I retweeted them for my friends to enjoy. Then I got a mention from Reid himself who asked if I had a request. My request was a show in London, Ontario - to which he replied that he would be in London with Vinyl Cafe for the Christmas show. Woot. That is one of my Christmas traditions so I'm pumped. He asked if I could spread the word about his music so he might do a solo tour in Ontario some day. He asked the right person :) When I like something, I'm passionate about sharing it with everyone I know so they can enjoy it too! I'm determined to get #ReidInLdnOnt trending on twitter and spread the word about this great Canadian artist.

So, check out Reid Jamieson here and let me know what you think. When I went to the Reido Radio section, it was like looking at my own music collection with a lot of my favourites there! He has the coolest covers of songs like Sesame Street and  The Littlest Hobo themes and more from my favourite artists: Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, Neil Young, Sarah Harmer, Don McLean...seriously. Awesomesauce!

So, I recommend checking out Reid Jamieson. Like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and give him your support! Let's bring Reid to London. Show your love with the hashtag #ReidInLdnOnt.

POSTSCRIPT: On Saturday morning (the day after posting this) I settled in to my car for a weekend roadtrip. The first hour or so was on my own and flipping through the presets, I heard the familiar sound of Stuart McLean on CBC Radio2. I didn't even know Vinyl Cafe played on Saturdays at that time but it worked out perfect. I hit the highway and couldn't believe my ears when Stuart introduced the musical guest. It was Reid Jamieson! I got to hear a few songs and Stuart told the story of how Reid's "Presley Sessions" came to be. Kizmit!

The Peanut

Seven years ago, after waiting at the hospital all night, I finally got to meet my nephew Jesse Harding Koiter. He has the distinction of being the only one of my nieces/nephews that I got to see when he was less than an hour old. Even before he was born, he acquired the nick name Peanut from me. This transpired when Jo-Anne told me she was pregnant and the baby was about the size of a peanut.

Jesse has developed into a really neat kid. He loves exploring, asking questions and being tactile. He's great at building things and making paper air planes. And he's really sweet too. More than once he has offered to share something he considers very precious...which is very precious.

This weekend we celebrated his birthday by going to Kitchener's The Museum. I had gone here a few years ago for a Warhol exhibit and remembered that it would be a cool place to take one of the kids. There's lots of things to explore (hands on) and currently there are special features on dinosaurs and a Yoko Ono exhibition.

The Wish Tree

We started off with a picnic lunch and some fun at the park before hitting the highway. Apparently someone had a little too much watermelon at lunch and we had to make an emergency exit from the highway for a pee on the side of the road!! The Museum was really fun - we explored sciencey stuff, laid on a bed of nails (!) and checked out the dinosaurs. I was a little surprised at how much he enjoyed the Yoko exhibit. It was very "hands on" so it makes sense that he was all over that. We wrote wishes and hung them on the wish tree, (Jesse's wish was "I wish I had a remote controlled jet") we drew pictures and put them on the wall of colour and we "mended" broken pottery by gluing it back together. Jesse was disappointed they didn't have tape. He loves tape.

Bed of Nails!

Perhaps the biggest excitement of the day came when we went to the gift shop. He brought his wallet and wanted to buy something. There was a lot of thought and consideration that went into his purchase and lots of questions for the girl at the counter. He finally settled on a wind-up robot that dances around. He was quite thrilled with him and spent most of the ride home looking at the little book that accompanied him.

One of my favourite things about my special birthday days with the kiddies is seeing their unique personalities develop and being a part of the process. Happy birthday Peanut. Love you!