Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head...

Doesn't your bed feel that much cosier once the weather cools off a bit? I know it's been much harder to crawl out of my cocoon these days.

Well...I guess the summer as we knew it is officially over. Not to say we won't have more warm sunny days (I'm pretty sure we will) but personally, I've crossed over to craving fall fashion - wanting to wear my new cashmere grey sweater and cropped wool pants from Talbots.

If you've never looked, check out Talbots online for good classic pieces. They have specialty sections for plus-petite, long-tall, and petite and have a great sale section where I purchased some items that all fit absolutely perfectly! I even ordered my George some silk/linen pants that fit him just right. ALL on SALE!

I'm feeling all back-to-school-ey. It's time to clean up the summer things, check out what I have/need for fall and sign up for some classes - yoga anyone??? I'm now committed to starting another boot camp in the middle of September and I have been Wii-Fit-ing which is surprisingly active. I did the boxing training the other night and I can totally feel some muscles that I haven't felt in awhile.
Any plans for the long weekend? We're hoping to get out for a sail but only if the rain stops - maybe Sunday or Monday. Also hoping to meet up with some friends, drink some wine and eat some yummy food. That's it. Oh ya, reading is also on my list of weekend activities - maybe a good movie on the telly from the comfort of our bed? Who knows? I'll keep you posted...

movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches...

Had a fantastic weekend visiting my dad and step-mom in Keremeos.

It's very beautiful country - nestled in the valley.

Walked along the river and enjoyed the cool evening air.

The highway runs right through town and it's the stopping off place to pick up your peaches, cherries, plums, etc on the way home from other warm climes such as Osoyoos and Oliver.

It's also become a hotspot for bc wineries.

The peaches in my dad's back yard were so prolific, they were breaking the branches off the tree!

On Saturday we drove to Kaleden to join my brother and his family at Ponderosa on Skaha Lake. Had one of my best swims of the summer - the lake temperature was perfect as was the company! Had a very hard time extracting myself to join the rest of the family for lunch.

Lake time is just so precious!
The bike portion of the Ironman Triathlon was heading right past Keremeos on Sunday morning so we went out and cheered on some of the riders. What a crazy, grueling event. It takes some of the participants over 12 hours to complete.
This was more our pace for the weekend...
I drove home very carefully - as the sign said - so as not to hurt any sheep. Unfortunately, I didn't even see any. Maybe the sign is more effective than they know? Ouch!

Everybody has a story...

I was speaking to someone about blogging the other day who said, "I don't know why anyone would want to blog about their boring life everyday or why anyone would want to read it." Ouch! I know that she just doesn't get it. The blogging world has opened up my life. I pay more attention - always thinking, 'is this something I might want to share?'. I take more pictures and see things differently. I catch up with people from around the world on a daily basis.

I visit (virtually) a man in the US who tragically lost his wife right after their baby was born in March of this year. He bravely and honestly tells us about his life and what it's like being a suddenly single father. The support he receives from the blogosphere is phenomenal.

I've just recently met (again, virtually) a taxi driver in Ireland who is so witty and creative in how she shares her life and stories.

I've reconnected with a friend who had moved away and will soon be returning to Vancouver.

I look at photos and stories by the amazing women on the Shutter Sisters site that always inspire me to open up my world just a little bit more - either through writing or pix.

And...I visit my friends locally (Cynthia, Barb, Carol, http://wayoutwear.blogspot.com/) who also share their life and stories through blogging and I get to see their world through a different lens.

I really do think everyone has a story to tell, don't you?

Catch up...

It's been yet another busy weekend filled with friends, cocktails, entertainment and good food. George was gone from Thursday - Saturday eve. visiting his family on the island so I had to fill the time.
Here's a snapshot...
Thursday night I met some friends at the Penny Lane Pub for dinner and a much needed cold beer (or two). It was extremely hot out there! It was also 35cent perogy night:)
Friday night I was invited to join in on a party at my cuz's apartment. She's already blogged about it, so go have a read if you like. Amazing food, entertainment and quality hosts.

I always shy away from these kinds of things but it turned out to be quite fun. The host assigned numbers to everyone in the group and then you had to find the other guests who had your number. Once everyone was matched up to about 4 in each group, we each got a bag of words to put together into sentences. They all had to do with the 'flamenco' theme of the evening. It ended up being quite fun and a great way to meet each other.
Saturday morning came much too early but I had booked myself in to do the BeautiControl training starting at 8:00 am in Metrotown!!! It was a long day learning about all of their products but I came away with a pretty strong interest in selling this line (not that I'm a total beauty product expert but I do really love a lot of their products - especially the instant manicure and the warming green tea mask).
Saturday late aft. and evening were a bit of a write-off. Soooo hot and tired, I just layed on the couch and cheered on our Canadian Olympic team, waiting for my George to come home.
We had hoped to do some sailing on Sunday but decided to hang around the house instead. George spent several hours mowing, weeding, raking, etc. while I did a much overdue grocery shop. Enjoyed playing the loving spouse and prepared a yummy picnic lunch on the front yard for my hard-working, sweaty man - along with some chilled rose.
Dined al fresco (and some yummy sausage kabobs) in the evening while watching the Olympics.
Oh yeah...G. came home Saturday night with a new Wii game which I never thought I'd ever be interested in playing but...SOOOO MUCH FUN!!! Played bowling, boxing, tennis, baseball and golf. A surprisingly great workout and also hilariously funny!
Last night we walked over to the Nat Bailey Stadium and watched our Vancouver Canadians baseball team win an amazing game against Boise - lots of action, a few homeruns and some really lame between-inning entertainment. Once again, see my cuz's blog for more info...

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! What was the best part? I'd love to hear about it...

You Like Me, You Really Like Me...

You know, when I started writing a blog, I never really thought about if I would care who read it or how many hits I might get. Well, apparently I do care - A LOT! I've become a bit obsessed with checking my stats and comments. I've learned a little bit this week about how to attract more readers -

1. read and comment on other blogs - makes sense (I'm trying to be more involved and not such a lurker)

2. write about pop culture - Amy Winehouse and Ipod entries got some new hits

3. write about dog poop - not sure what to say about this but hey...whatever works:)

Thank you readers for giving me the satisfaction of watching my numbers grow and occasionally leaving a comment or two.

Just a test...Britney Spears, Duffy, Adele, iPhone, Paris Hilton, olympics, beijing - ha ha

Happy Love Thursday!

I haven't taken any heart pix lately so I'll just show you what warms mine...

Check out Shutter Sisters for more warm fuzzy...

Excuse Me! Your Dog Just Pooped...

Got your attention, huh?
Well...I'm not a very aggressive or even assertive person so on the odd occasion when I decide to speak up about something, I've found that it often kicks me in the ass. The other day I was sitting in the car talking biz on my cellphone when I saw a women letting her little pooch have his poop on the neighbourhood lawn and then walk away. I promptly interupted my phone conversation to yell out the window, "excuse me, excuse me! your dog just pooped!" The woman looked at me like I was something her dog had just rid himself of and yelled back that she was just going back to her car to get a bag to clean it up. I felt like such a shmuck! Who knows if she was telling the truth or was just getting the bag because she was caught in the act but I shrunk down in my seat until she was well out of our neighbourhood. The whole dog pooping thing just really makes me mad! If you don't want to pick up after your dog, don't get a dog. Get a cat or a bird or do as we do - don't take on any type of pooping being. OK, I feel better now. Carry on...

A Good Read...

Barb told me this story in the pool yesterday so I went to check it out. Amazing and touching story from a mom in Ireland -
have a read...http://www.cackaloo.com/2008/08/09/the-secret-fire/

Happy Day to you All!

I Have a New Toy and I LOVE it!!!

I used my RBC Avion points to get my own 80 gb ipod and it's so awesome! It's got more memory than our computer! I've already downloaded all of my pix onto it and I've only just begun to download songs. Since my George got his ipod, I've been out of the music loop (we got rid of the cd player when he downloaded all of our music) so if he's out of the house, so is the music. NOW...I'll have music of my very own. New worlds to discover. I don't even know where to start although I will tell you I've just discovered a British singer called Adele that I highly recommend! Gives Amy Winehouse a sober run for her money. Gotta go play with my new toy...

I said I'd post so...here ya go...

Grandma’s stories…(as read at her 90th birthday party celebration)
I remember grandma being a part of my life in a big way when she and the family moved back to BC after grandpa died. We had a pretty small house in Yarrow at the time and several of them moved in with us until they could get settled into their own home. I was in kindergarten, going into grade one – I had red rubber boots. Lucy was going to be in my school! It was all an adventure for me. Before their arrival, I only knew my other grandma and didn’t know that they came in all shapes and sizes. My other grandma was "grandma-like" with permed grey or blue hair, kinda short and pretty quiet. The day the family arrived, I couldn’t believe it – this woman was tall (at least to me at the time), had long black hair, and did not fit any grandma image that I knew. She actually fixed her own car! I was so excited to get to know her.
I never tired of hearing grandma’s stories. This is how I learned important things about our family’s history, their move to Canada, my dad’s life as a boy and the hardships they all had to endure. After they all moved out, our families visited together regularly but my special time with grandma was always one-on-one. I was a bit of a clumsy girl and twisted my ankle a lot. Whenever this happened, we’d go over to grandma’s and she would get out the liniment and massage my foot until I felt better. Her hands and her presence were so strong and healing!
When we had an assignment at school to interview someone about their history, of course I chose grandma. I couldn’t wait to ask those burning questions like: what did you eat when you were a little girl? What did you play with? How did you come to Canada. What was it like for you? I couldn’t get enough of her stories!
My biggest and fondest shared experience was getting to go back to Mexico with grandma in 1983 for one month. This, for me, was a trip of a lifetime. She has always been one of my favourite traveling companions (George is in the top two!) She graciously shared this journey with me which on many occasions meant also sharing a bed (we won’t talk about the snoring), translating conversations (I didn’t speak any German), and comforting me when I became homesick. At the time, I didn’t even appreciate how this could have been difficult for her – and she certainly never gave me the impression that it was.

Grandma taught me to love and appreciate travel – how to pack a suitcase (always roll your clothes), and how to take any situation as it came and make the best of it. I love you Grandma, thank you for your stories !

My house is a MESS!!!

I don't know what happens, it seems to sneak up on me but...WOW! I think someone has been sneaking into our home when we're not home and throwing clothes on the floor, making soup and leaving the pot in the sink and stacking up the mail in various piles around the house. Why would anyone be so cruel??? HELP ME...I'm DROWNING!


Ok...enough of my wining (oops! I meant whining:). It's actually been a fantastic summer and there are good reasons for my house to be messy - I haven't been around much to clean. This is the best summer I can remember having for a very long time - lots of swimming, sailing, cocktails with friends, visits with family, travel...
I know there will be a day that I look back at this summer with envy or maybe awe:) Hope you're also having fun days - my lurky friends.

Kind and Generous...

This is the song that we sang for grandma at her 90th - by Natalie Merchant.
(perfect words)

la la la la la la la la la.................
You've been so kind and generous,
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
For everything you've done, you know I'm bound,
I'm bound to thank you for it....
la la la la la la la la la ...........................
You've been so kind and generous,
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
And I never could have come this far without you
For everything you've done, you know I'm bound,
I'm bound tothank you for it....
Na Na na na na na na na na nana na na na na na na na na na
Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness,
I wanna thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity,
the love and the honesty that you gave me
I want to thank you, show my gratitude, my love and my respect for you,
I wanna thank you
Oh I want to thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...

Can I bottle this feeling???

This past weekend will go down as one of the more magical moments in my life experience. I got to re-connect with some family members that I had such special bonds with when I was younger. I spent many, many hours in my girlhood singing with my aunties and cousins and we got to recreate that all this weekend - but even better. Saturday night was spent singing our hearts out in my uncle's basement - 3 part harmonies, blended voices, magical sounds, connecting spirits! I will hear those voices in my head for a long time with so much fondness and love!
Grandma's birthday party went off without a hitch (except for the part where we almost started her on fire by putting a bunch of sparklers on her cake - not a good combination with 'vintage' polyester!), I said my speach with much difficulty (so much emotion) and about 100 people came to honour her and the gifts that she has brought to so many lives.

I can't quite figure out how to explain my feelings/thoughts other than to say, these are 'my people'. They look like me, sound a bit like me, have similar mannerisms and thoughts as me. Being with them all again and hearing our voices singing together was so powerful!

When I'm away from all of this so long, I forget that feeling of connectedness that's feeds my soul. I'm welcomed into this group and surrounded by loving arms. Sappy, I know.

My aunt and uncle who hosted the after-events all weekend are so gracious and giving - they have the perfect party house with a basement full of musical instruments, a bar, many rooms for sleeping and a kitchen that welcomes all who enter. There were so many things that reminded me of the past, but even better, new memories were created. I'm a different person now and I come to these experiences with such different eyes. I get to put the pieces of the puzzle together - the history of who I am and these people that are all part of that creation.
Now I just have to catch up on some sleep!

Happy Birthday to You...

This weekend, we're celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday. 90!!! And she's going strong. We have over 100 people coming to the party in Chilliwack. I've written a little blurb to say at the event which I'll probably post after the fact. Please join me in honouring a wonderful and inspirational woman. Happy long weekend all! (my George is coming home tomorrow!!!)