Earth day

 Wondering if anyone took part in Earth Hour last nite between 8 and 9 pm??

We shut our lights off to watch tv, lol!

I drove through town last nite and I didn't see any of the businesses taking part 

RIP Nicky :( :(

 Well I don't want to get everyone on a downer but I had a rotten weekend

 

We lost our 12 y/o border collie Nicky late Saturday nite, just before midnite,

and I am trying to stay strong for the kids but I can't forget the look of

her as she took her last breaths

While I am happy that I was there for her, I just can't get it out of my mind.

I think she had a stroke or something, at first we just thought that she had

eaten something bad as she was listless and then when we came home

from a friends house late that nite she didn't seem to be able to move

her hind quarters and shortly after lost control of her bowels.

She tried to move her head but she didn't even look like she

recognized us....even when we said her name

 

She was getting old and we knew that and had been wobbling about

some days with her hips, but just the nite before she was happy and

eating the kids' pizza crusts. Taking her to the vet for an emergency

late that nite just didn't seem an option when she was that far gone

and all I could think of was her on the cold steel table there....

I would rather she just go at home....but I still wonder if we made

the wrong decision and if we would have taken her first thing if

it all would have turned out different.

 

We got her a few months after we moved here to the farm and I

already expect her to wake to be at my bedside in the morning to let

her out....to eat the kids toast crust (they really missed that this morning too)

and to nudge my arm when I'm sitting her on the computer because

she wants attention. I haven't even been able to tell Mike about her last

minutes because I can't talk about it with bawling

 

I'm sorry ladies...I just had to get it out

Colin won Iron Chef!!

 WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

I'm so happy for him and his teammates!!!

First their mentors deserted them (the chefs who had been training them didn't show up)....
and then they had to bring their own knives because the chefs had them,
and then of course the fiasco of them going to practice one final time
preparing their meal before todays finals (it has been two weeks since they practiced)
and they couldn't go shopping here yesterday because the grocery stores
were closed because of Family Day so they couldn't practice!

He phoned just now and said he won all sorts of prizes from local restaurants and stores,
his own professional knife set and folding bag for it, a big cooking pot,
tickets to see our local OHA team the Belleville Bulls,
and to top it all off a $500 bursary for the college if he decides to attend there 

He said that after the winner was announced he had people swarming him
to take his picture and asking him questions and telling him
to talk into the microphone please, lol.....
I think he felt a tad like a celebrity!!
He has no idea though what tv or radio stations they were!

I guess we're gonna have to watch all the local news tonite eh? 

There were camera crews filming the competition today and all the contestants
will get a DVD copy of it....but they aren't sure yet which station it will air
on tv and when.

How cool is that??!!!
I'm not gushing too much am I??? LOL

Dinner Invitation

 Not sure if I told you all or not but Colin (my 17y/o)

is in the Iron Chef program at school. It's an afterschool activity
and they work with a local chef to prepare a fancy meal.
There are 18 high schools in quite a big area here that are participating,
and they have competed in the kitchen of the local college campus.
Well Colin's team was one of the top 3 so they are having finals on Tuesday 

Last nite we had an invitation to go to dinner at the college and have their chefs in training
make the finalists a fancy meal  We had for an appetizer

Grilled Citrus Chicken on a Pan Fried Ciabatta bun with
Smoked Chipotle Adobo and Baby greens

Then for an Intermezzo (to clear your palate of the spicy Adobo sauce we had

Lemon Sorbet with Strawberry

Then the main course was Mini Lamb Roast with a Pinot Noir Reduction,
this had fancy piped mashed potatoes and two asparagus spears
and a piece of zuchinni and shallots on the plate also.

Then for dessert Chocolate Raspberry Torte 

Most of it we weren't even sure how to go about eating, lol,
as it came with sprigs of thyme on top, or stacked so high you
didn't know how to tackle it!!

It was a nice evening though, and it all came out in different courses so we were there for over 2 hours 

The finals will be videotaped and shown on the local tv station and all
the kids will get prizes for partipating and a dvd copy of the event.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!!!!! 

Talk About Windy!

 Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's windy yet again here today with gusts of up to 120 km/hour...
and this is what happened on one of the 2 bridges that gets us off this island!!!!

This was early this morning when the commuter rush was on....
Mike and his team of guys are doing work in Belleville this week
and couldn't get over the bridge....it's a LONG way around to the other bridge!!

Everytime we go over the bridge and it's windy, I think about the wind
just picking up my tiny van and tossing us over the side!!!!!!
This transport truck was loaded too....so I can't imagine how
heavy it was....though it's a blessing there was no car beside
him or even yet that he wasn't going the other direction and possible blown over the side!!

A passing motorist stopped to help him get out as the driver's door
was on the downside and he couldn't get out....
I can't imagine how he'll feel next time he goes over that bridge with his truck!

Heath Ledger RIP

 What a shock this was to the whole world eh??

My hubby thought it was a joke or something when he saw
the headline on the internet that day 

I haven't mentioned it till now as I've been inundated with info
from everywhere, all over the airwaves....
and I just wish now that they would leave him and his family alone 

All the speculation about why did the housekeeper call the Olsen girl instead of 911....
and would it have made a difference?
Really, what does it matter?? I'm sure she will question that herself for the rest
of her life and she'll have to live with that regret
but it won't bring him back and I just don't think the world
needs to keep speculating on this/that and the other thing....
why can't they just wait and let the 'news' come out?
I can't imagine how his family are dealing with all this attention
and media in their time of great loss  
So, so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take Your Dog to Work Day

 I left work yesterday and when I hopped into the van

I thought 'Boy it smells like Nicky in here'

and when I turned around to look in the back, there she was

sleeping on the back seat, LOL!!

She hadn't even moved when I got in, not until I said her name!

The nite before I had gone to pick up some of the kids

and she went with us...she luvs to go for car rides, lol!!

I guess we forgot her in the van and when I got in yesterday

morning for work, it was dark and I had no idea she was there, lol!!

Poor old girl....she's 13 and all she does is sleep so I'm

sure she was quite content, but she did take a very long

pee when I let her out, lol....The girls all came out to see

what the heck was going on and where did I get a dog from, lol!!

When I let her back in the van through the sliding door

into the back, she promptly crawled into the front

and sat up there with me, LOL....

guess she was making sure I didn't forget her

My Paintballers

 Here's Colin and Colton all dressed to go outside last nite to paintball.

You can see Colton already shot Colin on the shoulder there, lol!

I got a couple of videos of Cody and Colton playing today in the snow and hiding behind their barracades they set up on the front lawn too. Expensive toys though, Colin bought his himself with money from working and the other one belongs to  They do have fun though, lol!!

RIP Poppa Jack

 My step-father in-law Jack died Saturday after a brief illness. He had a stroke back in October and then slowly went downhill after that. He went into the hospital on Tuesday nite after he had fallen and my MIL couldn't get him up by herself. She called the fire department and they didn't like his breathing so they called for the ambulance. He really didn't want to end up in a nursing home and really didn't even want to end up in a hospital. My sil was flying out from Alberta because she wanted to bring him back home but he passed just before he got here.

Jack and his first wife had been a friend of the family forever. My hubby and his siblings spent summers at their house and then when Jack's wife took ill with cancer, he nursed her at home. Carrying her around, in and out of the bath, etc.....so she wouldn't have to die in the hospital and my sil just wanted to do the same for him.

Jack was 80 and would have celebrated another birthday on the 13th of this month. He was fit as a fiddle right up till the stroke. My kids have know him as papa since they were all born as he married my mil when Cody was barely 2 yet (he's almost 19 now) Hannah and Colton stayed with them whenever we went to Havelock so they got to know him very well. He was always one for playing games and spoiling them rotten...just as a papa should be. I never, ever heard him say an unkind word about anyone and I know that heaven is enjoying their new angel just as we did here

Still, I wish we would have found more time to pop in to see them both.....they only live about 3/4 of an hour from here and we just never 'made' the time. We saw them the day after Boxing Day when we went to their house for dinner but I know they would have loved to see more of us, just as any parent yearns for just one more visit or one more phone call from their children.

I am vowing to 'make' more time this year to share more treasured moments with all my special someones

Happy New Year 2008

 Did anyone see the New Year in at midnite?

We went to friends' and had homemade chinese food and lots of
yummy homemade pies for dessert. It was is 51st birthday today
so we helped him see it in 
He was the first New Year baby that year here in Picton and
he still has a little silver cup that the town gave him

Hannah and Colton came with us, Cody went to a party and
when Colin found out none of us were going to be home he
and his friends decided this was a great place to hang out, lol!!

I woke up for work this morning and there were 5 extra kids in the beds, lol!!

I hope everyone here has a year filled with health and happiness 

Snow Day

 Well, the tv is full of thanksgiving day festivities in the US

....but it's not a holiday here in Ontario...well except for the fact that the kids didn't go to school today because it was too icy out there! Only a high of -4 here and it's been freezing rain, snowing, blowing all day long!

I have to say that the kids haven't been too bad at all....but my internet is out and because of the storm they can't get to the tower to fix it till tomorrow!! So I'm on dial-up and I can't believe I ever used this all the time not so long ago, lol!! It takes forever for pages to open, so I've basically given up and declared it a book day for me! LOL

I hope you all are keeping warm and having a great day!

Had a Fab Time in Toronto

 Well, we had a fabulous time!! I'm so glad we went and stayed the night, as it was a great opportunity for the kids to get some playtime in with Andy. We actually were at my other sister's...Linda....Tricia is up north of her in Bracebridge but I'm touched that you remember Karin. Actually right now Trish is in Florida with hubby and all 5 kids for a two week working holiday...gosh I don't know how she does itlol

 

We stopped at my mom's in Whitby on the way Saturday, and after a little visit there we got to Toronto around 6 where my bil cooked us some yummy ribs and chicken wings We all went to bed at 11, even the kids...and then were up before 8 to head to the church.

 

Andy was a perfect angel, and so well behaved. We had coffee and sweets in the auditorium there and then headed to the Japanese restaurant.

 

My sister paid...and the meal was $8.95 for each of us...there were 14 of us in all but four of the kids split meals. I can't believe all the food we got!

 

First was the Miso soup which you drink from the bowl and then  a small salad which I managed to eat with my chopsticks!! Actually I hate the whole meal without using a fork, which you had to ask for, lol!

 

Then we got the little plate of sushis, raw salmon chunks, pickled ginger (which I tried, it was very spicy) and a little dab of wasabi in one corner of the plate. This is very hot, my sister warned me...but I had to try everything, lol! The sushi was alright but I wouldn't eat it again And the tiny dab of wasabi I added to my sushi was soooooo freakin' hot that it brought tears to my eyes....YIKES!!! My sister told me later that usually you add a bit of wasabi to your little bowl of soy sauce to make it spicier, LOL!!

 

We got a bowl of white rice, a piece of fresh salmon cooked this time, some tempura (battered sweet potato and shrimp), then our chicken with some kind of sauce, then some beef, then veggies, and finally some chow mein noodles....all of this cooked up on the grill in front of us. He did amazing things with fire and wow, the heat was fierce!

 

We had a little bowl of Green tea ice cream for dessert. I was amazed the kids ate as much as they did...they luved the meat!

 

Afterward we went back to Lola's house (this is what my nephew calls by bil's mother...it means gramma in their language) where she had cake and lots of sweets ready for us. She had just been on a hiking trip to Turkey (this woman in 75!!! and she's been all over the world hiking!) and she had some figs and some Turkish delight that she brought home with her. We were stuffed!

 

We left around 4 and seeing as how we were going right past my dads place in Bowmanville, I called to see if they were home and we dropped by there too. He was just watching the end of the car race and then they talked us into going out for Chinese food!!!! I couldn't tell them I was sooooo stuffed, lol!!! We had a great little visit there too and finally made it home around 10 last nite...just in time for me to watch Dexter, lol!!

 

By the time I went to bed, my stomach was doing flip-flops, LOL!!! A little too much foreign food me thinks!!lol

 

Thanx for reading the book....we just had such a fabulous weekend, it was amazing!

Off to Toronto

 Hannah, Colton and I are heading to my sister's

in Toronto in a few hours. It's a rainy day here and not

really looking forward to that 3 hour drive

My nephew is being Baptized on Sunday morning,

so we are staying overnite tonite.

After the service we are going out for a real Japanese

meal, where the guy cuts and cooks a meal for your group

right in front of you.

Not too sure what I will eat, lol....

or if the kids will eat anything

It'll be an experience

Soccer Tournament

 Well, my one day off this week and I spent the whole day at a nearby school, at a soccer tournament with Colton.

It was pretty cloudy and cool all day, though the sun did peek through a few times. At least it didn't rain! lol

His school team made it to the semi-finals but lost out there 2-1....they did pretty good 

On the way home I stopped to vote in our provincial election here.....Evelyn....I hope you got out there  I have a sick feeling that the guy who already lied to us countless times is going to get in again  I just wish I could convince my husband to go, and of course Cody came up with the excuse that he wasn't registered yet, but he could easily have shown a few forms of ID and they would have given him a ballet. It's just so sad to see so many people not stand up for our rights....I'm quite sure if we didn't live in a free country we would be bitchin' and complainin' about not having the right to vote!! Sorry....I'll get off the soap-box now 

Then we picked up the big boys at their soccer practice and dropped them off at work....so it's a quiet nite here. Just done supper and I'm going to make some muffins and perhaps some fudge for dessert...while I watch one of my favourite shows....KID NATION!! Luv those kids!

Woke up in Maynooth

 We were up in Maynooth this morning and they had a lot of frost on the ground....it was sooo cold!!

Went there yesterday to attend a baby shower for my niece and we ended up partying a little too much afterwards and didn't think we should attempt the two hour drive home, so we stayed the nite. We had a great time and a great visit 

Today it's supposed to warm up but right now it's soooo cool here in the house that I'm thinking of lighting up the woodstove for a bit, lol!!! Brrrrr.....I guess that's a sign that I could get outside in the sunshine and keep warm....I know there's lots of things to do out there 

Back to School today

 

The kids were excited and even the big boys didn't mind going back, it's just the getting up so early in the morning that they don't like, lol!!

For me, it was kinda nice to spend today alone at last, lol...
well if you don't count the internet guy, and hubby coming home at lunch 

We Went to the Fair Today

 I have to work all weekend, right through Tuesday...so today on my day off I took the kids to the fair in Belleville. It was a perfect day for a fair....sunny yet only 23 degrees out 

Cost $22 for a bracelet to ride all day for the kids, and $5 for me to get in. Plus they had wrestlers there which I thought my son would get a kick out of since he watches on tv (much to my chagrin, lol) and boy did they entertain...quite funny actually, lol!

We got there this morning at 11:33 a.m after dropping Colin off at work and didn't leave till 10:33 p.m.....that's the exact time we got back in the van to go home, lol....WOW...11 hours of standing there watching and waiting for the kids to go on rides, and boy did they get their money's worth!!

Still my legs and feet are killing me...the only time I sat was for one minute for a washroom break, and the hour and a half that we sat and watched wrestling!! I am pooped to say the least!!

Goodnite everyone, and I hope everyone has a wonderful last weekend of summer...it's back to school soon!

Finally...Havelock Pics

 

Got home late Sunday and found out we were having problems with

our internet!! Very slow and then today it was just gone...

back this evening though so here's a few pics

(There's more on my Facebook page)

 

You can't really see the effect in this pic, but our campsite

is just steps away from the road that brings all the campers out

in the 'Back 40' up to the stages. These are the real partiers, lol!!

Literally hundreds, probably thousands of people stream up this road

with their coolers and various accessories ready for a nite of

country music under the stars

And of course it wouldn't be Havelock without our truck breaking

down somehow, someway, lol!! Last year we overheated pulling

the trailer up the hills in the area and this year Mike and his brother

Bill spent most of their mornings working on putting the power

steering something or other back together, lol!

Here's the only shot of me....and I'm sleeping, lol!!

Mike took this pic and I didn't know till I got home and took

them off the camera. It's a long day in the sunshine and you get up

early after partying the nite before to set out your lawnchairs so you

can get a good seat.....I had to have a nap, lol!

Of course this doesn't show that he had just had one there too

I was dissappointed with some of the shows like LeeAnn Rhimes and

LeeAnn Womack...because they really didn't 'entertain' they kinda just

got up there and sang. But the acts I wanted to see like Terri Clark,

Jodee Messina, George Canyon, Doc Walker and Jason Blaine

were awesome!!! Great entertainers and they really got the crowd

involved. We only had a bit of rain....that was while George was on

stage, but we pulled our raincoats over us and it didn't last long.

A Long, Long Soccer Weekend

 Well that's another soccer season done with,

and three of our four teams made it to the finals today

We started yesterday morning at 8 a.m and after 8 games

yesterday and 5 more today our last

game was today at 5:30....well, it was supposed to be

until a young guy in the game before ours had a collision

in front of the net which is quite normal, except for the fact

that when he got up he kinda staggered around a bit

like he was drunk and then just crashed to the ground.

I think he passed out but they were worried about a

concussion because he fell so hard, so he lay there flat

on his back till an ambulance came and put him in a neck

brace and took him away on the stretcher.

That plus the fact that it started to rain before the ambulance

left so they finished the rest of their game and then when it

started to pour they held off on our game hoping it would slow

down so we could play. It did and we played the game,

all of us soaked and shivering after being in the 28 degree

sunshine all the rest of the weekend, lol!!

Only problem left was wondering who I was supposed

to be cheering for because both Cody and Colin were

playing in this final and of course they are on opposite teams, lol!

Here they are at the end of the game, which went into

overtime, just as a playoff game should

Cody's team ended up winning 2-1 in sudden death overtime

but that was better at least than having to go into a

shootout! They are waiting to get their medallions

Cody is sitting in the white and Colin is green #3 on the right

Hannah was also in the playoffs today and though

her team made it to the final they lost 1-0.

By this time of the day the kids were getting loopy, lol,

running into each other and falling down alot

so as you can see below, any chance to rest was taken lol

This is Hannah in the net and her friend Hannah being

her defence, lol

Colton's team didn't make it into the playoffs for today

but yesterday in his last game he got two goals

so was very proud of himself for giving it a valiant effort.

He played goal for the whole first half so that was

quite a feat

Here he is, the second yellow player from the left

just after taking a shot on net.

I am on a hill taking the pic and watching Colin's game

while Mike was down watching Colton's, lol.

It's real nice that all the fields are right together,

definitely when you have 4 kids playing

We had a great weekend, the weather held out till

late today and we had alot of fun watching the kids

and all their friends play and have a great time!