My Holidays start in 22 hrs and I can hardly wait!

Yes, the one week for ME is coming up at 4 tomorrow night!!! Even though I have things I have to do during the week, it will still be so nice not to have to get up and take my life in my hands at 5:30am on the 401 everyday.

On Tuesday night I came home in a rain storm that evolved into a hail storm. No one was home with me so I decided to take a few pictures of the event. (in other words, i was too scared to stay inside)
My neighbours driveway was awash in pingpongball-sized hail stones. I couldn't believe how fast they were coming down:

My front lawn looked like a cooler had been dumped in the grass:

After the 25 minute storm, I went out and gathered some of the hailstones to show Billy. Then I macro'd a few of the rocks in my back yard:

This one looks like there is metal stuck to it:

And this is a pile I found by the fence:

I sent a link to my photobucket webpage to Tony Orr, who does the news on K-Rock (our local rock radio station)the next thing I know, I hear a story on the 7:30am news about a freak hailstorm that hit Bath. "A local listener, Cathy Christmas, tells us of a wild 25 min storm that hit her Village of Bath. We even have her online pictures to prove it!" heheheh My 15 mins of fame!
Moving forward, tomorrow night I am going to see The Tea Party @ Stages. Although they are not one of my favourite bands, I have to give this nikon 4800 camera a good workout at a rock and roll show! As well, I LOVE that new sound system at Stages. It is so crisp and clear...I doubt that it matters who is playing...its gonna sound GREAT!
Ok, so now its 21.5 hrs till alcoholidaze...Bring It On!

Another Weekend in July!!!

On Wednesday night, we went out to my cousin Wendy's place for dinner. When we got home there was a message from my friend Grigg saying he had just returned from London England. This was a bit surprising as I knew he had gone to see the Live8 concert, but he wasn't to return till Thursday night. When I got up at 5:30 the next day the news of the day was a terrorist attack on London!!!! All I could do was thank God that Grigg got out before the ruckus started. That night, we decided to pack the cooler and take off to the back beach. There was absolutely no wind, which pumped the temperature up considerably. When we got around to the other side of the island, we jumped in for a swim. How refreshing and relaxing it was. You have to admit, it is one beautiful slice of scenery:

As we turned the boat around to leave, the clouds were starting to come in from the west. I really like the way that this picture looks like it was taken with a filter and retouched with photoshop, but it was not.

Friday night was spent at the restaurant with our friends then out to possum lodge for the unveiling of a newold tractor. Isn't it pretty? A 1948 Case:

I found this sign in Harly's garage, thought it might give someone a giggle:

On Saturday, we went over to the cottage in the rain. It was not a pleasure cruise! This past week, Jim and Brenda were busy putting up the 100 yr old tin ceiling tiles that they acquired. What a beautiful touch to the cottage it makes:

Since last week, the new hutch has acquired a new plant and an old clock:

After dinner, we slipped out to the back porch and I noticed a big black cloud creeping up from the East. Billy decided it was time to leave so we traveled back across the lake in gale force winds. Suffice to say, I was soaked!
Today will definitely be a better day. There is a bit of wind, but no sign of clouds! Sunblock, here I come!

Happy Canada Day Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so nice to have a long weekend to kick back and relax. The rain happened on Thursday night so it didn't ruin the weekend at all. It rained so hard & then disappeared as fast as it came. I buzzed outside top take a few pictures. You can almost smell the raindrops on the daises:

We wanted to take the boat out on Friday but it was so windy, we decided to travel to the island via ferry. It was a beautiful windy day and we all soaked up the sun-block, shade & friendship.
We had made plans for a night out on the town for Canada day but Bill decided to stay at home and I went out for a night on the town. My favourite local band Batablokka were scheduled to play at the Merchant Tap House & I wasn't about to miss the show. Little did I know that the fireworks were scheduled to be lit off of Crawford Wharf, right behind The Merchant and right beside the Holiday inns patio bar The Slip. Suffice to say, there were NO parking spots left around The Merchant. Regardless, I found a spot on King Street and made the trek down Princess Street. I remembered that my cousin Wendy mentioned that Steve Cheeseman & the Heaters were playing at the Slip, starting at 7, so I ventured over there. It was so packed that I took off after a few minutes. Here is a pic I snapped as I was running away from the crowd:

Once I got to the merchant, I felt much better as there were a few people I knew as well as some of the band members I hadn't seen in quite a few months. It had been 6 months since I had seen Betablokka play together. My friend Shayne used to be their drummer and after he left the band in December 2004, it made me think that I didn't want to see them perform again. Boy, was I wrong! A little bird reminded me that it was the music that I loved so much, not just the musicians who created it. What a fantastic night it was. I was stuck to the front of the stage for the entire time. For once I decided to take a souvenir and asked Matt (the lead singer) if I could keep the setlist.
Here is a silhouette of Matt, taken from the side stage, right beside the speakers:

And here is one of Jon (Bass Player), Zane (Guitar) & Matt.
I have so many more pictures of the band that night, but I uploaded the better ones onto my photobucket site.
On Saturday and Sunday, we managed to burn about $60 worth of gas in the boat in two days. On our travels, we happened upon the tallship Playfair. She looked pretty regal in Stella Bay.

While we were boating, we both noticed this cloud that had a rainbow-hue to it:

We ate well and spent time with our good friends for three days straight and it really put things in perspective. When we took off from the dock on Sunday evening, I took a few pictures of the beauty we take for granted everytime we go boating. Here is Jim and Brenda cleaning up after the crew has left for the weekend.

And one last shot of the sun reflecting off the water as we slid across a beautiful lake on the way back to the marina.

Long weekend coming up

However last weekend was pretty excellent too:) Our friend Roberta & Roger have been working hard for the last year rebuilding a boat. The maiden voyage was last Friday night after we all had dinner together at the restaurant. Unfortunately there was a small leak in the stern so she had to be hauled out that night:(

The next day (Saturday) we went to the back beach for lunch till the wind picked up. We decided to head over to the cottage in hopes that the dock was ready to accept transient boaters:) Well our timing was impeccable as Jimmy has just finished attaching all the bumpers and railing! After we docked, Roger and Roberta appeared in their newly named vessel "No Stress"!

Our friends Rick and Colette brought along their new puppy 'Casey'. Well the poor thing is so young, she wasn't quite sure how to behave on the dock or even how to get from the dock to the water. Here is Billy trying to show Casey how to dive:

I realize everyone must be growing tired of my many stories of the boat, marina, lake,cottage and dock, therefore I will take a short break to show you the young couple that has recently moved into our back yard, under the shed. I call them Chip and Dale:

And here are Emmy and Jethro drooling over the new neighbours:

So Sunday we hit the water around noon. Billy forgot his wallet at home, so he left me at the dock as I watched the snow fall around me in the boat. There are a pile of cottonwood trees that are shedding their fluff right now and it seriously looks like it is snowing in June:

We spent the day on the dock and I think I was in the water at least a dozen or more times. Now I have an earache, which I have never had. I'm hoping it will go away.
Check out the nice reflection of the cottage:

that's it for now. Billy and I are going out on the town on Friday night. He is off to the Toucan for a retirement party for a guy from Dupont & I am going to The Merchant Tap House to see my favourite local band Betablokka.
Be prepared to see some band shots in my next installment!

A day to relax

I'm exhausted! When I left work at 12 on Friday, I went over to the Gleneagles to visit my brother whom I hadn't seen in over a month. Then I stopped at Foodie B's to grab some shrimp for Betti's party that night. As soon as I got home I threw my lunch in the microwave and warfed it down in record time while checking my email. Then off to the bank to sign up for RRSP's. Yes, I am officially old. However I plan on being young enough to do some traveling when I retire, so I better start putting money away NOW for that:) When I got home at 2ish, I ran in the door, did 45 mins of ironing, showered & raced into Amherstview to get my hair cut. When I got back home, I changed again, and off to town we went. I'm glad Bill was driving; I actually had time to catch my breath!
We drove around in circles trying to find a parking spot close to the Toucan. It was pouring rain and we were suppose to meet some friends out on the patio for a bite to eat. When we finally got there, I saw my friend Clarke sitting at a table by himself with his laptop blinking. Apparently there were a few open wireless connections in the area so he was just surfin away as he awaited our arrival. It was so weird seeing little birds flying around our heads when we were in an enclosed patio! Here is a picture of Clarke feeding the little critters:

After we ate, we gathered up Clarke's guitar and yaptop & off to the Stiff's house we went. When we got there, Mitchell, Ken & his wife Beth were already having a visit with Betti. Ken (Globey) brought along his stand-up bass. Isn't it a cool instrument?

The party was suppose to be outside, but it was cold and damp and kind of raining. We did spend a significant amount of time out on the patio as that was where the jagermeister was:) Here is a picture of Betti after trying out the big green bottle of headaches!

I love this action shot of Shayne as he raced down the back stairs:

When Betti's hubby Rob arrived home from work, he was immediately drawn to Ken's big bass:

And then the music started:
Nothing calms my nerves like listening to the soothing voice of my friend Clarke. What a great way to shift the party inside...bring out the instruments and start the show:

Then it was Mitchell's turn to play:

After a very late night, we got up at 6:30am on Saturday to go get groceries, came home, unpacked the food, packed a bag and a few coolers and then off to have breakfast and catch the 10:30 boat to the island. The day had finally arrived when the dock was being relocated from the land to the water. Here is a picture of the new cottage-hutch that Jim's dad made for Brenda. Naturally she had found plates to match the decor:

Another new addition to the cottage is the chalk board that will be used to keep track of the points that the men gain and loose:

After a few hours of waiting for the traffic to subside, the guys waited till the top of the hour to start moving the dock across the road and slowly sliding it down the bank to the water. As you can see, the dock is kind of long and blocks the road off entirely:

And this is from the inside of the cottage:

This is what the dock looks like before the wings are dropped:

This is Rob and Lawerence (island boys) and my hubby Bill trying to position the dock before the legs were set in place.

I'm guessing Lawerence drew the short straw as he was lucky enough to be the guy who got to climb the rigging to furl out the dock wings:

We did make Lawerence feel better tho...We let him take a shot with the potato cannon:)

Unfortunately Lawerence was attacked my a killer rock, so nurse Judy had to fix him up after dinner:

All in all, it was a great day, with great friends. I cant wait for the warm weather to return so we can actually use the dock for tanning and swimming purposes.
While waiting for the ferry, I took this picture of my favourite island barn.

Man I hope this week goes fast.

Imagine that...An update in the middle of the week:)

Seeing as I updated on a Saturday last week, I thought I better get my pics posted from Sunday, Wednesday & Thursday, or else I would get Waaaay behind.
Sunday was another hot, steamy day yet we had to get the housework done. While Billy cut the grass and did the weedeating, I tackled the laundry and the vacuuming. Have you ever tried to vacuum carpets when its 30 degrees out? It isn't an easy task, believe me. We grabbed some drinks and hit the water around 1:30 with no definite destination in mind.
My cousin Wendy and her boyfriend Sean had gone to the 1000 islands for the weekend on their boat so we figured that they were probably at the public dock on Amherst Island as the sky was cloudy & it looked like it would open up and pour any minute. It was a good guess as they were indeed there, as were carol and Mike, on their boat. We were fortunate enuff to get there just in time for lunch. Here is a picture of Mike pretending to be the dock chef.

Sean and Wendy's boat is only half a foot longer than ours but its so much bigger as it has a practical cuddy cabin. We are planning to buy a bigger boat for next season.

Naturally, when there is food cooking, a dog appears. This one just showed up, begged for a few scraps, slurped up some water out of a frisbee & then split.

After I snarfed down a sparky-burger, we took off for a clean spot to swim. There seems to be a lot of pollen and moss floating on the surface of the lake. We managed to find a spot right in front of the cottage. I felt safe swimming there as I knew the area very well. It looks so strange to see the cottage with no dock. Oh well, this Saturday we are putting the party dock in so we can come over on our boat and spend the day!

After we had a swim, we went back over to the mainland and took a side trip up the Millhaven creek. Here is a picture of a rock face that holds up the trailer park that Bill grew up in. YES, its true...I married a real-life trailer-park-boy.

When we headed back to the marina, I spotted our friend 'Mork' hanging out on a neighbour's dock. Man, he looks like he has a double-chin. He must be eating well this summer:)

Here is another critter who docks for free at the marina. His name is Thunder, and everytime we see him, he is just standing in the water; staying cool. Smart guy.

Fast forward to yesterday (Wednesday June 15th) ... when I pulled up in the driveway after work, I noticed that my tiger lily's have finally bloomed. What a beautiful shade of orange they are!

And my flowerpot on the stairs is coming along well, considering we haven't had a lot of rain this month.

Oh yes, and how could I forget my talented co-worker Dave & the new trick he learned yesterday. He managed to balance an ice-cold Pepsi on his head AND stick his tongue out at the same time. Imagine that, a man who multi-tasks:)

On my way home from work tonight, I got caught in a traffic jam on Bath Road, just east of Portsmouth Ave. Good thing I always carry my camera, as I managed to get three good pics, just after this accident happened.



I'm sure the guy behind me was wondering why I was hanging my camera out the window:)

Tomorrow I work half a day, then I have an appointment at the bank to buy some RRSP's, then get my hair did, then we are going to the Toucan for dinner on the patio. Afterwards, we will be meeting up with some friends at the Stiff's house. I am so excited as I have not seen any of these people in many months. It should be a blast!
I am sure I will be taking a few pictures at this event!