Celebrating Dad's Farming Career

Last night we pulled off the grand-daddy of surprise parties. My dad retired from farming this year (as I blogged about here) and it has been a transition for all of us. Farming involves the entire family so we all felt that it was the end of the era. I thought this was cause for celebration!

The idea started forming months ago but took some time to develop into a full fledged party. Juggling schedules and deciding on details took some time, but I must admit we pulled off quite the event. I had an absolute hoot!

This party needed to be a surprise because if my dad caught wind of it, he would put a stop to it right then and there. He is not much for crowds or making a “fuss” but I knew that if we could pull it off, he would feel as loved and honoured as we wanted him to.

I have the most amazing family and we really make a great team. Everyone has their own set of skills they bring to the table and when we arrived at the hall on Saturday we set to work. We transformed it from an old country hall typically used for card socials to a trip down memory lane. John provided some bales of straw, we had toy tractors, photographs…the place looked awesome. And smelled awesome too! We had a “farmer’s supper” of roast beef, mashed potatoes, veggies, and homemade carrot cake.

When my dad walked through the door and we all yelled SURPRISE! he was astounded. He thought he was going to a rural farmer’s dinner (or something like that…John made it up) Even after each of us gave him a hug and said “happy retirement” he was still perplexed!

It was the perfect blend of family, friends and neighbours; some who I haven’t seen in years. A really fun night where we shared stories of growing up on the farm and what that means to us, and even sang a song. This last minute idea from Connie ended up being the highlight of the evening! With the help of some Facebook friends, we re-wrote the words to Coal Miner’s Daughter to Three Farmer’s Daughters. Thanks Nadine & Brooke!

I left the party feeling so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. Thanks to everyone that helped us pull it off  and especially to my family. But most of all to my dad for shaping who I am.

Jacob Moon

This weekend I had the opportunity to see a fantastic local musician. I first discovered Jacob Moon about 10 years ago and was amazed at his talent. He's a guitar virtuoso! At the time, I had never witnessed anyone use looping techniques while playing the guitar and I was in awe.

Using a small machine at his feet, he would record a small sample and then play it back while he went on to play another part of the song. At least that is how I see it with my limited music knowledge! The result is a very full sounding song with just one man on stage.

Jacob writes his own music but also does a variety of covers including Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. If you know me...you'll know that covering a Paul Simon song is always a hit :) Anyway, he puts his own spin on these songs but knowing the song, you can still sing along. By far, the most amazing cover he does is Come Talk To Me. You must see it to believe it. It is not so much the sound of the song that blows me away but the fact that he is not strumming the strings but slapping them. So cool.

He will be playing London Music Club on November 30 so make sure you check him out!

Read previous posts about Jacob Moon here.

The Perfect Storm...of Awesome.

This weekend some of my favourite things collided. It was great!

I love autumn. The coloured trees are gorgeous right now and driving to my parents farm for Thanksgiving dinner was a great display. It's still nice enough to be outside but chilly enough that you can really enjoy a hot drink when you're indoors. Mmmm, autumn.

I love going to the Western Fair Farmers' Market. Just wandering around taking in the sights and smells is awesome. I really love the atmosphere and want to make it a weekly thing. Need to work on that. The best part is: it's close enough to walk!

I love Thanksgiving. Who doesn't love a good turkey dinner? Everything that Thanksgiving encompasses... a big family gathering, helping Mom get the food ready which makes the house smell amazing, remembering the things I'm thankful for. Ya, Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays.

Awesome weekend all around. Thanks to all that were a part of it. You know who you are :)

Liam's Big Day

As if a day at Ilderton Fair wasn't enough, the next day I took my nephew Liam on his very first train ride. It was a beautiful day as we set off for Port Stanley and we chatted our way down the road, sunroof open! At five years old, Liam is at such a cute stage. There were many moments that I thought "I need to remember this" but before you know it, it's left my memory. Darn.

At one point, Liam looked at the man in the car stopped next to us at a light who was drinking a Rockstar energy drink. He declared that pop is full of sugar and not good for your body. As I laughed in my head at his maturity, I agreed and said it is not. He told me he doesn't eat sugar. (he does come from a very healthy home) I replied that sometimes it is ok just for a treat but he insisted it is not good for you... until I suggested we get ice cream. Then he thought it was ok!

The train ride was great. It was about an hour long including a stop where kids can get off and check out some parked train cars for photos. We rode in an open air car and it was beautiful to see the fall colours as we traveled through the countryside. Liam was thrilled.

I am so lucky to have such great nieces and nephews. I got lots of high fives, hugs, kisses, thank yous and I love yous from Liam while we spent our day together.

Kaelyn's Big Day

I spent most of this weekend with little people. Tradition states that each of my nieces & nephews spend a special day with Auntie Janice to celebrate their birthday. This weekend I did TWO of these days.

Saturday I picked Kaelyn up and we headed to Ilderton Fair. This is one of my favourite fall fairs and includes a lot of typical country fair events and exhibits. I knew it would be the perfect spot for me & Kaelyn to spend the day. After going to Dollywood this summer, I knew Kaelyn would be all about the rides, so that's where we headed first. We rode the ferris wheel, the tilt-a-whirl, the scrambler and a few that I don't remember the names of. We watched the time and at 4pm we headed over to watch the mutton busting. If you've never seen it, you really need to. Small children don helmets and knee pads and ride sheep until they fall off. It sounds cruel but it's a hoot to watch! (please note: the kids volunteer for the activity)

While we were over at the sheep pen, we walked by Olympic gold medalist Scott Moir. I had a star-struck moment and asked Kaelyn if she wanted her picture with him but she was more concerned about using the rest of our tickets on more rides!

The fair is a really great for observing. On one hand I loved the rural/agricultural feel of being in the country with tractors and animals surrounding us. On the other hand, we were at a fair...filled with the midway, bratty kids with a pocketful of tickets and carnies.

Kaelyn is one of the sweetest kids you'll meet. She nearly always has a positive outlook on things and is always smiling. We had a great day!

Polkaroo

If you know me, you know my affection for Jian Ghomeshi and his CBC show Q. I've blogged about him here, here and here. You may remember that I was super-psyched to bring his radio show to London and when the date was announced, super disappointed to realize I would be in Florida.

Well folks, it has happened again. Jian recently published a book called 1982 and as you can imagine, he's been doing some book signings to promote it. I had poked around online but didn't see anything near me...until today. This morning a tweet popped up on my computer mentioning his appearance in Sarnia on Saturday. What?!? How did I not know about this? We tweeted back and forth and I discovered he's also going to be in London on Saturday. This information is NOT on his website. C'mon Jian!

Alas, it is not meant to be. I have plans to take my niece Kaelyn out for her birthday on Saturday and as much as I love Jian, I love her more. I won't disappoint her by breaking our plans.

It seems that we just cannot be in the same place at the same time...he's my Polkaroo.

My Faithful Reader

It's always interesting to me when someone mentions reading my blog. I honestly write mostly for myself and otherwise to share photos/updates with family and friends. It's kinda like having a public diary.

So, it blew me away a few years ago when I met my friend Trevor's girlfriend (now wife) Laura. She mentioned that she loves reading my blog. I thought that was sweet.

Not only is Laura a blog follower but she's a total sweetheart. Now that her and Trevor are married and have an adorable son Luke (with red curly hair, no less!) we have had more opportunities for getting together.

Last week, Trevor stopped by my desk and said Laura had sent something for me. I wondered what that could be and he dropped two chocolate eggs on my desk. Apparently Easter Cream Eggs have come out with a Halloween version called "screme eggs". Somehow Laura remembered that I love them and told Trevor to deliver them to me. Aww, so sweet.

So, a shout out to my faithful follower! Need to do a games night or something soon :)

TIFF 2012

Another year has come and gone since TIFF 2011. Hard to believe it's been a year since my last star studded weekend!

It all started twelve years ago when my friend Lisa asked if I'd like to go to Toronto and get autographs from celebrities at the Toronto Film Festival. I thought it sounded pretty lame and why would I want to bother getting Jim Carey's autograph? Well, it turns out that TIFF is one of the biggest film festivals in the world and there are more than Canadian celebs there! Boy, was I wrong!

Since then Lisa and I have attended many TIFFs and scored pictures and autographs of Hollywood's finest. This year's TIFF did not disappoint. Thursday and Friday were spent gaining momentum for Saturday. Saturday I saw a huge deluge of A-list celebs. Both Hotel Transylvania and Cloud Atlas were crammed full of stars and they all showed up in Toronto! Adam Sandler, Fran Drescher, David Spade, Kevin James, Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon...just to name a few!

This year, Lisa and I actually went to see a movie. Yes...in the theatre...we watched a movie. Since Lisa's #1 celebrity is Tom Hanks, we opted to go to his premiere. It was kinda cool to watch the movie with the actors that star in it (although they were so far away you had to remind yourself you were in the same room). The movie, however, sucked. I hated it. It is a parallel universe, crazy tale that involves multiple plot lines in different times in history. Weird is all I can say.

with David Spade

It was a fun weekend that ended with us spotting ourselves in the paper and on just about every website carrying TIFF photos.

it's JIM from The Office!

Caravan To The Mountains

It all started during our Thanksgiving gathering last year. The weather was unusually warm and we were sunning ourselves on the deck before the Turkey dinner. It was at this moment my dad chose to announce two things. First off, he had decided to retire from farming. Secondly, he told us that next Thanksgiving (2012) he wanted to take us all to a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. Many questions erupted and ideas were tossed around. Considering how long the drive is, it was decided that a week would be a much better than just a weekend.

Over time, the trip moved from Thanksgiving to the summer to accommodate schedules and this August all FIFTEEN members of my family spent a week together at a cabin in the mountains. Initially I was concerned that we wouldn't be speaking to each other by the end of the week. Afterall, it's been a really long time since the days of a "family vacation" in the motorhome. Add in in-laws and kids and I was unsure how it would go. As it turned out...no need to worry. We all had such a fun time we wanted to stay for another week!

Stay tuned for some of our adventures!

#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!

Back Beat

If you know me, you'll know I love The Beatles. You may have known me long enough to remember my near obsession with them during my teenage years. Back in the day when I had time for recreational reading, I would devour anything I could get my hands on. I read about how they met, all of their back stories, the days in Hamburg, and their rise to fame. My attention to detail was amazing.

This weekend I saw BackBeat in Toronto. It's a stage production of the early years of The Beatles and it was fab. I couldn't believe the details I remembered as the story unfolded with Stu, Pete, Astrid and of course Klaus Voorman. I remember finding the story of Stu and Astrid so enchanting and tragic...and it played out on stage just the same.

Both were incredible artists and I had a chance to see some of their work a few years ago at a special exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

What fun it was to travel back in time last night to the early days in Hamburg. The famous pictures snapped by Astrid were brought to life with the iconic poses. The mannerisms were uncanny - the stance on stage, the style of strumming or drumming. If you like the Beatles and are in the Toronto area you should definitely check it out. Paul's right-handed guitar playing is a dead giveaway though!

The Threes of Me

One of my friends recently posted a Facebook "note" from a few years ago on her blog. It was fun to go back and read it and inspired me to do the same. There was a phase where these types of notes/chain letter things made the rounds. Here is one that I wrote called The Threes of Me from August, 2009. Enjoy.

Three names I go by ::
1) JanJan
2) JMills
3) Queen (of the Furrow)
all still apply

Three Jobs I have had in my life ::
1) deli girl
2) book research/author
3) production assistant
yep...deli girl!

Three Places I have lived besides London, where I now reside :
1) Aberfeldy Line
2) Hamilton
3) multiple locations in London
I have added one more to the London list since then.

Three Favorite drinks :
1) coffee
2) chai latte
3) chocolate milk
more or less

Three TV Shows that I watch : (need to find some new ones!)
1) Gilmore Girls
2) ER
3) Prison Break
I still love these shows but none are still on the air. Not to worry, I have found some new ones :) Parenthood and Sons Of Anarchy are current faves.

Three places I have been ::
1) San Francisco
2) Cereal City USA (Battle Creek Michigan)
3) Manchester, England
need to return to SF and being in Manchester with my Grammie (her hometown) was awesome.

Three of my favorite foods ::
1) chicken lo mein
2) watermelon
3) BBQ steak
I'd say this is pretty accurate!

Three most recent books I've read: (the first 2 I'm currently reading. I'm slow)
1) Don't Sweat The Small Stuff
2) Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox bio
3) The Kite Runner
I have read one or two since then :)

Three things I do every day:
1) take my daily photo for my project
2) text
3) check my email
(wow, exciting days I have, I know)
the daily photo project is done but the other 2 happen on a very regular basis

Three things I am looking forward to:
1) watching the first 2 seasons of the Muppets on DVD
2) shopping in Pt. Huron tomorrow
3) Beatles Rock Band
yep

Three things that make me happy:
1) music
2) a fresh hair cut
3) my friends
definitely

Shock and Awe

As I stole a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror today, something caught my eye and jerked it back to look in the mirror for a closer look. Was it just a glint from the sun? Or did I see a gray/white hair?!?! Although I have yet to determine, I was horrified at the very thought.

I always considered myself lucky to have great hair genes. My mom is 65 and only has a very few at the temples. In fact, her longtime hairdresser (that went gray at 19) says that if she didn't do mom's hair, she'd swear that she dyes it.

My Grammie has dyed her hair for years so when she recently suggested that she'd maybe let it go natural, I protested. Hair is such an important part of how we look, she just wouldn't look like my Grammie if she had white hair!  I did assure her that I would support whatever decision she made.

I will investigate my possibility of acquiring some silver and keep you posted but let's hope it was just a sun flare.

The Strong Silent Type

A long time ago, there was a commercial that featured a blond-haired kid with glasses. He didn't say a word during the 30 second spot, but just dipped his french fries in ketchup and ate them.
My nephew Josh reminds me of Jay. The strong, silent type. He is a really neat kid but very, very quiet. When we do our birthday outings, I'm at a loss as to what to talk about. I usually get a "yes" "no" or shoulder shrug.

This year we went to see How To Train Your Dragon at the JLC in London. Before the show, we headed to The Works for a burger. I came prepared for our conversation time and had lots of questions to keep him talking. I must say, I was surprised at the response!

He told me all about fishing - the different kinds of fish, styles of fishing, how to filet them, eating them, how he likes playing baseball and football, he'd like to learn how to play the violin and I learned all about his vegetable garden. What a great time we had! And the dragons were pretty cool too.

Do It Again

It was my first sense of independence. I was stepping out and forming my very own opinion. I was about 10 years old and I had discovered The Beach Boys. Up until this point I had been happy to listen to the country music my Dad would tune in on the radio, but now... now I had discovered a music that I could claim as my own. I saved up my money and purchased a cassette tape at the drugstore and listened to it incessantly. After that I received a few different ones for Christmas or birthday gifts and I was officially a fan.

I loved the sweet harmonies, the idyllic images of sun, surf, and sand. I'm fairly certain it was the sounds of The Beach Boys that established my love of the 60s so, a fairly influential moment.

When I was 16, my brother John was going to see The Beach Boys in Detroit with his friends. I was elated when he invited me to come along. My first BIG concert! It lived up to my expectations - awesome. When I heard the group had reunited this year for a tour, celebrating their 50 years of music, I knew I had to go. Ideally, I wanted to return the favour and take John to the concert but things didn't quite turn out that way.

I ended up seeing them at the very same location nearly 20 years later and they sounded just as sweet. Sometimes as artists age, their voice doesn't hold up to the demands of the songs they wrote decades earlier. This was not the case with these guys though. From the beginning sounds of "Do It Again" (appropriately enough!) to the final sing along of "Fun Fun Fun" they were stellar. Brian Wilson's genius arrangements shone through like the California sun.

To kick off the summer, Kim, Carol-Ann, Deidre and I spent a weekend on the rollercoasters at Cedar Point, outlet shopping and capped it off with the personification of summer itself - The Beach Boys. Thanks for the memories!

#RCRT2012

For the past 2 years, my cousin CA and I have talked about doing a trip to Cedar Point. She lives in Kuwait and comes home for just a few weeks during the summer, during which time she needs to cram in a lot of visiting, events and Canadian fun! Last summer seemed to fly by and without a game plan, she was back on a plane to the desert before we knew it!

This year we planned ahead. A trip to Cedar Point morphed into an official kick off to summer road trip. We invited our cousin Deidre to join us and my friend Kim rounded out the group. (even numbers are always better at amusement parks) After deciding to take in The Beach Boys concert in Detroit we figured we'd squeeze in some outlet shopping between the roller coasters and the West Coasters. Believe it or not, CA had never been outlet shopping! I was excited for her! It was determined in our Facebook thread that the trip would be known as Roller Coasters and Retail Therapy or RCRT for short.

We set off on Friday morning, crammed into the beetle and ready for adventure. I had prepared goodie bags for each of us, complete with puzzles, snacks, glow sticks and plastic nose glasses. (what are those called?) Before long we had reached our destination: Cedar Point. Just looking at the silhouettes of the coasters was thrilling! Our first ride was The Raptor and we loved it! Our feet dangled as we flew through the air, screaming our heads off! We really lucked out with short lines so we could maximize our wait to thrill ratio!

The highlight, by far was Millennium Force. As we waited in line we watched it rush past, the wind from the cars blowing our hair. Could we really handle such a coaster with just a simple lap bar holding us in place? The time came and indeed we did handle it. It was amazing and we only wished the line was shorter so we could do it again.

Outdoor Shower

Today I had my very first outdoor shower. Nope, I wasn't camping. I stayed at my Uncle Doug & Aunt Carmelle's house last night. When it was time for me to start the day, I said I was going to hop in the shower. That's when Uncle Doug asked "would you like an outdoor shower?" I was intrigued.

Doug and Carmelle are just the sweetest couple and they have created a home that suits them perfectly. It feels like a remote cottage despite being within the confines of Corunna. It is eclectic with many features that have their own story to tell. This completely reminds me of my Grandad. (Grandad rubbed off on all his sons and it amuses me that their subtle mannerisms scream Roy Murray.)

So, I gathered my essentials and a towel and headed outside to have my shower. Heated by the sun, the water wasn't hot but was not intolerable either. In fact, it was refreshing! Tucked away behind the wooden lattice I enjoyed my first outdoor shower. It was such a unique experience to look over the fence at the garden and up to see the clouds in the sky while I shampooed my hair. Loved it.

Thanks Uncle Doug and Aunt Carmelle for your awesome maritime hospitality and the opportunity to use your outdoor shower.

Remembering Jim

I've been thinking this week about Jim Teskey. It was on June 29 of last year that he passed away, in the most graceful way. As I wrote about here, I was struck by how he handled the news that his time was limited and the details of his final farewell that could only be his. I think he touched more lives than he realized.

During Jim's final days his catch phrase became "stop and smell the roses" ...such a great way to live life. As Lynda moved into Petrolia and left the farm behind, I wanted to help her feel at "home" so I gave her a gift card to get a rose bush. This week she emailed me some pictures of the first blooms on Jim's rosebush. She planted it on their anniversary and it was blooming just in time for this anniversary.

Sending a big hug out to Lynda and thinking of Jim. XO

Holiff at the Hyland

Last night I attended a hometown premiere of the movie "My Father and The Man In Black". I had a vague recollection that Johnny Cash's manager, Saul Holiff, was from London but hadn't given it much thought. Until this week when a tweet from LFPress caught my eye. There would be a screening of the movie at the Hyland and a Q&A with Saul's son and the movie's writer/director/producer to follow.

I believe it was a record attendance at Hyland with about 50 people turned away! The Hyland, for those that aren't familiar, is an art-house movie theatre and more than once there have been less than 10 people watching the movie with me.

As a Johnny Cash fan, I really enjoyed the "insider information" in the movie. It was full of audio recordings, phone calls and letters between JC and his manager. The movie focused on Holiff and how he handled the pressures of managing a star that was wildly out of control (he brought him through the years Johnny struggled with addictions and many cancelled shows) as well as his estranged relationship with his family.

Following the movie, Johnathan Holiff took to the stage and fielded questions from the crowd. Quite a few former neighbours, babysitters and friends of the family were there and shared stories from the past, some of them meeting the Man In Black.

Here's To Dad...

This weekend people everywhere gathered around BBQs and picnic tables to celebrate dads. Dads play a huge role in our lives and our relationship with our father can have lasting impacts. Unfortunately there are a lot of absent dads, which leaves a gaping hole in forming one's character.

My dad is a straight shooter. He's a hard working farmer. He's an inventive jack-of-all-trades. He observes more than he speaks. Despite his exterior, he is sentimental. He is conservative and cautious proving slow and steady wins the race. He needs time to process things and is sometimes not the best communicator. He has years of life experience adding to his dad cred. He is my dad and I love him.

I am made up with 50% of his DNA which could possibly be why we have clashed sometimes over the years. We may not see eye to eye on every subject but as we get older, dare I say more mature, we see things differently. Maybe he's used to my spontaneous and frivolous tendencies and maybe I am willing to accept that we are different. But despite our differences I'm sending a big shout out to my dad. Love you loads!

Family Photo Booth

In honour of my dad's birthday tomorrow, I hosted my family for a BBQ today. It was perfect weather to be outside, eating great food with my favourite people. I planned a fun activity, with hopes of doing a further project with the result. Having a "photo booth" at events has become quite popular and I did one of my own. I included some of my favorites!

Remembering Grandma Mills

It's intriguing how certain dates trigger memories. Birthdays are an obvious one, anniversaries less so, and then there's the "other" category. It could be your first date, when you started your job or something more life altering like a car accident or the death of a loved one. In fact, as I type this I can hear my coworkers discussing the date they were previously laid off.

June 6 is a sombre day for me each year. I don't intentionally mark the day but when I look at the calendar or somehow realize the date, I pause to remember that it was on June 6 that my grandma passed away. I was only 6 years old and it was my first real encounter with death. Perhaps that is why it is engrained in my brain.

Looking at this picture of the 2 of us reminds me of the details of our time spent together. Memories like: listening to her stories while we laid on her bed, riding on the back of her wheel chair, combing her long, grey hair, and playing hide & seek.

Honest Ed

This weekend I trekked to Toronto to visit my friend Sarah.We hit Ikea and then hopped on the TTC to head downtown to meet up with some of her friends. We were going to play ping pong. Yes, ping pong. A crazy but fun idea! The place is called Spin and it's like a pool hall...but with ping pong tables instead. In fact, it's owned by Susan Sarandon. (interesting side note)

Sarah's friends were a lot of fun and we all enjoyed some table tennis action, some of us better than others! When our table time ran out, we set out for the nearest patio for dinner. (this is when I ordered the worst caesar salad...but I digress) At some point we started talking about how her friend Ed has never used his oven. I was astonished and asked him what he eats. "Subway" was his reply. As someone that detests the smell of Subway, I could not imagine. I decided to probe the subject further. I soon discovered that Ed had made some healthy changes in his life recently, meaning he quit smoking and switched from McDonalds to Subway for his daily food intake. Clearly Jarrod is his role model!

My questioning revealed that he goes to Subway not only for lunch ever day but dinner too! That is some serious sandwiching. I hated to break the news to him but Subway is not that healthy. Sure, it's healthier than McDonalds but deli meats, cheeses and bread are all processed and full of unhealthy stuff. He was shocked. I must have been a major killjoy to this poor guy because I then told him that diet coke wasn't a great option either.

The best part of the conversation came when he revealed to us how he orders his coffee. I think that up until that point everyone else knew of Ed's eating habits but the coffee was a jaw-dropper to us all. He only drinks 2 cups of coffee each day. His first is a large and contains 15 sugars. FIFTEEN! His second coffee is medium and he scales it back to 10 sugars. I'm still shocked nearly a week later as I write this. I wonder how you determine that 15 sugars is the "sweet spot" for your morning java.

We finally let Ed off the hook and moved the conversation on to other topics but I promised him that I was going to blog about his intriguing eating habits. Thanks for being honest Ed and I wish you well on your road to a healthy lifestyle :)

The Evolution of Friendship

When I was 16 I met my BFF. As teenagers, we were inseparable peas in a pod that gravitated towards the eccentric. We loved Ashley MacIsaac, Dr. Suess, MC Escher and shopping at Value Village. Ha. When I think back on the adventures we had, I have to laugh.

Unfortunately, as the years pass, we don't see each other as often. Daily phone calls are replaced with sporadic email check-ins and weekend adventures have become afternoon coffee talk. Living in different cities hasn't helped.

When Karla Ann's mom offered to babysit Madilyn so we could take off for some cross-border shopping, we jumped at the chance. It was like old times as we set off in the Beetle on our mini road trip. Where else would we have dinner but at Olive Garden? It was always a favourite on our shopping trips to London. Especially the bread sticks!

What a great time we had... outlet shopping and catching up. Despite our infrequent friendship, Karla Ann knows me inside out. She will forever be my kindred spirit. Thanks for the memories friend.

Cancer Sucks

Last week, I grabbed my mail from the box as I was leaving the house. I was on my way to work and sifted through it while in the car. It contained the usual junk mail, a bill from Bell and a fat envelope from London Health Sciences Centre. The week before, I had signed up to be a Change Bandit for Children's Hospital and I assumed this was my information packet. I stuck my finger in the corner and slid it along the edge to open it. As I read the letter that was included, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.

The letter was from the Cancer Genetic Clinic at LHSC. Because of my family history, my family doctor had recommended me. I read and re-read the letter during the red lights on my way to work. They would like me to complete a family tree with as much information as I know about cancer in my family. Wow, how did cancer make its way into my family? It still seems so foreign to me.

The process is, of course, voluntary. This caused me to pause and wonder if it was something that I wanted to pursue. However, I determined that I want to be as proactive as I can be, so I will be completing the packet of info and going from there. It just caught me off guard arriving in my mailbox, as unassuming as it did.

Growing Up and Growing Old

I wish that when I was a kid, I realized just how good I had it. Footloose and fancy free. My biggest responsibility was practicing piano or doing homework.

As you get older, you acquire more responsibilities which leaves less time for fun. It's an unfortunate reality. However, I've decided that worse than growing up is growing old.

I have watched the steady decline of my Grammie's health recently. She is still rather independent but relies more on a cane (and subsequently a walker) and requires more assistance from her family and friends than she did before. I can see the frustration on her face and hear it in her voice when she wishes she could "trade in her legs for a good pair". How discouraging it must be when your body fails you. In your mind you can feel like a 20 year old but the reality is that ankles swell, knees get stiff and organs don't work as efficiently as they once did.

Visiting Grammie used to mean that she might take me somewhere special or I would get a treat. Now I take her somewhere special or bring her a treat. Slowly, the tables have turned. We both still enjoy our time together but it is a different role I play now.

This weekend we attended the Victorian Tea at the Moore Museum. It had been on the calendar for months and we had the perfect day. Beautiful sunny skies, a lovely afternoon at the museum my Grandad worked so hard to establish and we finished off the day with french fries by the river. I loved our day together and I know she loved it too. Just as a kid I would anticipate Grammie taking me somewhere special and eagerly awaiting the big day, it is now her turn to be taken out for the day.

I hope you take the time to appreciate the seniors in your life. Spend time listening to their stories, encouraging them when they get down and don't forget to take them out for a special day now and again.

The Iris

At this time of year, I love to walk through the neighbourhood and see the beautiful irises towering over the other flowers. The combination of their height, deep colours and ruffly petals make them my favourite!

For my birthday this year, my thoughtful brother gave me iris bulbs from his garden. I thought the gesture was sweet and didn't realize until this weekend that irises are his favourite too!

For the past few weeks I've had a couple of iris nubbins just waiting to bloom. I waited patiently and each day would check but they just didn't seem to want to burst forth. Finally this weekend I was graced with my first bloom. Thanks to Mark & Debbie Reddick who brought those bulbs last year to my house warming!

Victoria

Last weekend was my whirlwind trip to Victoria. As mentioned previously, we were presenting at the CEP Media Council. A ten hour trip there and back with 40 hours spent in Victoria...exhausting! But the scenery was great. What a beautiful city. Here are a few of my favourite pics:

Mamma Ellen

Today is Mother's Day. A day set aside by the greeting card companies and flower shops to honour our mothers. That sounds jaded. Don't get me wrong, I play along and get sentimental on this day, but when you have an amazing mom...you should honour her more than once a year!

I happen to have an amazing mom. I'm certain there are many out there that feel the same way about their own mom, but you can write about her on your own blog :)

My mom is the most selfless person I know. She is constantly doing for others and without herself. Her caring and nurturing personality made her an ideal nurse and all of her co-workers at "the Haven" (Twilight Haven and then Meadowview Villa) called her Mamma Ellen. As a kid, she knew how to: fix anything, proofread English papers, create amazing science projects, how the song you were practicing on piano was supposed to sound, and counsel you through whatever trial you were going through.

She instilled my love of music firmly within me. She sang to me before I was born and never really stopped. We would sing in the car, around the piano, at church, in the kitchen...well, you get the picture. Our repertoire of songs and lyrics is so extensive that many times a word will trigger an outburst of musical spontaneity.

My mom encouraged me in whatever venture I set out upon. She has been my biggest and unfailing cheerleader and her enthusiasm doesn't diminish!

The past several years in my family have been trying. She has had 2 daughters battle cancer, a sister-in-law (this term does not do justice the relationship between Mom & Peggy) also battle cancer and an extended recovery and transitioned her own mom from her home of 60 years to a seniors apartment. She has been a rock throughout all of these challenges because she knows the people she loves need her to be. In addition to the emotional support she has been nurse, medical translator, appointment scheduler, shuttle service, babysitter, hand holder, shoulder to cry on, prayer warrior, decision maker, peace maker and encourager. I am amazed at how she has handled the curve balls thrown her way.

So, here it is. My Ode to My Mother. Happy Mother's Day to my very favouritest woman. Thank you for all you do, all that you are and most of all, for my middle name :)