Dear Faithful Bombshell Diary Readers. Please accept once again my humble apologies. It has been far too long between updates. I can only say that life has been... well somewhat hectic in oftentimes good ways but sometimes not. You know what they say all work & no play makes for very dull reading. Yikes. I'll try not to bore you. Read on.
July 8 - Jason & Lyndsay's Wedding Day
Well one wedding down - two to go! It was off to North Bay for a wedding on Joe's side of the family. His nephew Jason (currently a northern B.C. resident) and his blushing bride Lyndsay came back to Ontario - more specifically North Bay - to get married amongst friends and family. Joe's mother's family is from the North Bay area and Jason's mother Linda and his step-father Reg have semi-retired in what was once the "family cottage", therefore it made sense to have the wedding in North Bay. Weddings are a wonderful opportunity for family to take time out of our often too busy lives to reconnect. The day was absolutely perfect and the setting amazing. The wedding took place outside on the shores of Lake Nippissing. The bride is a truly lovely person, both inside and out. Jason looked liked the happiest man alive! I wish the newlyweds much happiness in the years to come.
July 19 - 20 Beach Bound
Caitlin and I decided we needed a break from the city and so we headed up to Kincardine for a couple of days to visit Nana & Poppa and hit the beach! The weather was perfect. I had a wonderful day at the beach with our giant schnoodle - Onyx. (Buster does not like the water and therefore did not join us at the beach.) I discovered that not all dogs can swim! Onyx was determined to join me in the water but soon discovered that the bottom dropped off suddenly. I figured hey - no problem. She'll just swim to me. Nope! She started thrashing & flailing around and if I handed quickly grabbed her and held her up she would have sunk to the bottom. So much for the dog paddle. So we went back to running along the shoreline and terrorizing seagulls etc. (Well Onyx did) I went back to reading a good book. Perfect summer day.
Work, Work, Work
The rest of July passed with meetings with clients, including a new web design contract. I now provide Outreach & Administration for the Catherine Donnelly Foundation www.catherinedonnellyfoundation.org and CAIC www.caic.ca. I also attended a meeting of lenders & funders interested in developing a policy around corporate social responsibility. Both of the organizations I work with are in fact what you could call socially responsible. Certainly they are providing much needed financial support to organizations working with the most marginalized in our society. Check out their websites for more information.
August 3 - Spamalot
Joe and I had been eagerly awaiting this Monty Python inspired play written by Eric Idle (former Monty Python alumuni). Eric Idle makes no bones about how he has basically “stolen” material from Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail and most notably the fish slapping sketch to put what turned out to be a really funny play. Joe and I are Monty Python fans and we were not disappointed by this “tour de force”. They even managed to work their magic with one of my favourite scenes from the movie - Search for the Holy Grail - King Arthur and the Black Knight. You remember - “none shall pass.... ” etc. etc. Well there was King Arthur lopping off limbs till eventually the Black Knight was completely limbless and yes shouting ..."“running away”....I don't know how they managed to make it look like he was limbless but they did. Funny (I know kind of sick) stuff. Anyway, I would recommend the play to anyone who is Python fan. You won't be disappointed. www.montypythonsspamalot.com
August 9 - 12 - Caneoing on the Saugeen River
Well it was back up to Kincardine, but this time Caitlin and I had Joe and her boyfriend Jeremy in tow. We all were looking forward to the beach (lovely again) and to a canoe trip on the Saugeen River. We drove over to Paisley with our canoe and rented another one for Caitlin & Jeremy and then headed off down the river. It was a perfect day. Not too hot (the sun would peak in and out of the clouds) and a bit of a breeze. Now I was a little surprised that Caitlin agreed to go canoeing. It is not her favourite thing, however, Jeremy loves it. So there the four of us were - on the river. After the first couple of hours... well let's just say Caitlin was ready to stop. We took a break at a Conservation park (www.svca.on.ca/ca-bluffs.htm) along the way and had the lunch we'd packed. I think that might have been a good time to stop but we still had at least another hour to go. Well, we made it... finally. Luckily for Joe and I we were far enough ahead we didn't hear the comments from the peanut gallery!!! Though I must admit Joe and I were glad to see the van from the canoe rental place www.thorncrestoutfitters.com/paddling/saugeen.htm (they pick you up wherever you want along the route). Anway Joe ended up cooling off in the river when I accidently tipped the canoe over as I was hauling it out of the water. Really... it was an accident.
August 20 - 24 - Maine
I was sitting in our hot tub with my friends Sandi & Suzanne when we came up with the brilliant idea for us to see if the timeshare that Sandi and I usually took our daughters to in the summer was available. (Long story but Sandi swapped her usual timeshare week for a week in Spain. Hey I couldn't blame her. And it was a great deal.) Anyway, we called and our usual week was available. So Joe and I headed off for a few days in Maine. We had a wonderful time. Even though he insisted on taking the Geo. (Good on gas, but not the most comfortable car to travel in.) I kept thinking it would blow up as we climbed mountains etc. It made it. Joe and I took a day trip down to Old Orchard Beach and dipped our toes int he Atlantic Ocean. I also managed to stop off at a number of Curves locations during our holiday. I always enjoy seeing how different and the same they are. Most of the clubs are pretty friendly. Joe and I enjoyed exploring the back roads from Maine to New Hampshire. It was a much needed break.
August 26 - 2nd Annual End-of-Summer Bash & Joe's Not-Quite 50 Yet Surprise Party
Well we had to rush back from Maine because I had planned a surprise party for Joe. Joe turns 50 on November 26th so it seemed logical to surprise him with a party on August 26th! I told him we were just having a few friends over (like last year) for an End-of-Summer bash. My niece Vann and her husband Bob came stayed for the night. Joe's sister Lorna and her husband Tom & son Grady joined us. The surprises continued when Joe's cousin Catherine Lemieux & her boyfriend Shane showed up! Suzanne had put together a collage of photos of Joe's life and I put it in a frame and had everyone attending the party sign it. Thanks to everyone who came. You know who you are. Joe was really pleased. Now we are looking forward to our trip south on his actual birthday!
