CJ the DJ on CJAI

How corny is that? Well my little hobby has now turned into a 3 hour show from 7-10 on Friday nights as well as attending board of director meetings every couple of weeks. To say I enjoy being on the air again is an understatement. To have the ability to express oneself, freely, with the assistance of their favourite tunes is one of life's simple pleasures. For me anyways. Take a look at this picture I took getting off of the boat on Friday evening and tell me that it isn't a peaceful place!?



This one was taken as I was driving down the laneway to the station:



Last weekend was a total write off as far as outdoor renovation was concerned. It rained Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At least my housework got done:) Billy had to move the boat out of the sideyard on Sunday as we had an appointment at the boat mechanic's and the canvas shop to put new mooring covers on her on Monday. Well the van got stuck and Bill had to pull it out with the 4 wheeler. Then the boat trailer got stuck so we had to ask our neighbour Morey to help us with his 4X4 truck. We now have 2 foot deep ruts in our sideyard. The boat covers turned out beautifully...I just wish it would warm up a bit so we could get out on the lake. We have put the boat in on may 1st weekend and it is way too cold to be enjoyable.

This weekend has (so far) been spent putting up the fascia. Today will be dedicated to the EAVESTROUGH. Then the outdoor work ON the house will be done. The gardens have not been touched yet, but that can wait for a few more weeks. Here are a few pictures of yesterdays work:


This one was taken from the roof, by Billy. (I was too chicken to get up that high:


***** ATTENTION EVERYONE: I lost all my contacts in my address book as I had to format...if anyone I had sent email to in the past would like to still receive emails from me, please either leave a message on here or drop me a line at c2me4me@hotmail.com

No Time Left For You ...

So I have been busy...that is an understatement...between work, fixing up the crib & outside projects, there has been no time for my dear old blog. Sorry:(

Lets start with the fun stuff first. I started helping out at a local community radio station on Amherst Island. It has been 26 years since I was 'on the air' and even though I was real rusty, I enjoyed it. When your laughing so much your face hurts, then you know you had fun. And after all, isnt life about having fun? So this station was built in a milkhouse, attached to one my favourite buildings...A BARN! Check this out:

Here is one of the studios:

Even though I didnt speak a lot, I got to play my music and hang out with a few islaners...definitely worth the $6 boat trip.
And speaking of boat, I took this pic on the way back...thought it looked kind of interesting:

Tomorrow night I have a Heritage Meeting on the island, so I will be over there again...three times in one week:) Maybe I should be looking for property over there.

Due to the fact that Friday was a holiday, we took full advantage of that and spent three days power washing the house. It lookes GREAT! Last weekend Billy replaced the closet door and finished off the trim around the front door. It is perfect. Next weekend he plans on putting up new sofit, facia & evestroping. It will make the place look brand new. I was suppose to get the windows cleaned this past weekend, but that never happened...maybe during the week. Oppps...except I have to hunt for new music to play on my show on Friday night. Any suggestions?

Tonight, I have to get started making choices for my hockey pool at work...$20 for a few months of entertainment. This one is kind of neat as you get to see the updates everyday online. So you know where you stand in reference to the others you work with. It will be fun if I end up higher than some of the boys when its all over:) There are cash prices for those finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Ok, time to do some hockey research.....

7 weeks to go !!!!!!

I cant believe summer will (officially) be here in less than two months !!! Apparently we had an awesome day yesterday. Being the type to not be terribly distracted from my job, I never ventured outside, until it was time to leave. Of course it was getting cloudy and colder by then.
So this past week I have been burdened by a cold. It started in my throat, then to my head, then nose and now to my chest. So its almost gone. But holy jebus did it ever kick the crap out of me! It must be my age or something, but I'm not one to actually get sick, so I often times forget how it feels. As well, we have been under a bit of undue stress at work, so I am bringing that baggage home with me and stayed wide awake almost 4 nights in a row, going through things in my head and re-living situations & wondering how I could improve things. CRAP! I don't get paid to work at home, so why am I allowing it to effect my sleep patterns? Things are very strange when your brain is suffering from sleep-deprivation.
So lets try and get this brain kick-started again! Lets talk about more pleasant things such as The Trews show I went to a week and a half ago. Being the DD for the night (as usual) I picked up a couple of girlies on my way into the city and got there a bit late (by my standards) and had to rush up to the front to get my spot by the stage. I had not been to 'the hub' since they implemented the new security measures after a young man was murdered in this same building almost a year ago, to the day. It spooked me when I thought about it, but realized the importance of the metal detector invading my crotch when I recounted reading about that night in AJ's. Of course there were already kids crowded around the front middle of the stage, so I stayed to the left and never said a word to anyone as I inched up till I had my elbows resting on the stage. I had my small waist purse and a camera I had borrowed from work. I will never use that camera again. The flippin lens cap popped off and landed in my glass of water. Thank God this happened before the show did, so I found the small metal pin that holds it onto the lens laying about 2 feet away from me, on the stage.
I got a pile of pics, and if you want to bore yourself, I will leave the link to my photobucket site at the end of this post.
The show opened around 1130pm with Tom Wilson. He did a few songs from his Junkhouse days, some from his Blackie & the rodeo kings cd & a couple from his new cd. Two of the three band members were from Junkhouse, so the band sounded pretty tight. Tom had a rather disheveled look, and there were quite a few flat notes, but his little portion of the evening certainly satisfied this girls desire to here 'Shine', twice.
Here is an interesting pic of Tom and his bass player. Like I said, the camera I brought didn't like me, so not a lot of my pictures turn out the way I wanted them to.

When the Trews hit the stage, the crowd came alive. It was like a 70's flashback as the first thing I smelled, as the lights dimmed, was the sweet smell of weed:) Yes, someone was brave enough to strike a spliff and there were so many people there, the security must have known it was safer to just let it be.
In true trews fashion, by the second song, John-Angus had started playing on the speaker stacks, right in front of me:

The plane hanging overhead in this picture reminds me of the show LOST:)
And here is a nice clear shot of Colin as he played the keyboard, right in front of me:)

The cool thing about these 4 men from Antigonish nova Scotia is that they remember their fans; the people who are pushing for their success. They don't snub us, they promote the bond between the audience and the musicians. Right after the guys left the stage, after the encore, they came right back out of their dressing room to greet the fans. They headed for the merch table so they could autograph their new cd for everyone who bought one as well as had their pictures taken with their fans. I managed to snarf Colin's set list from the stagehand, so I got both John Angus and Colin to sign it for me. I then turned around and saw my friend 'Roxy' getting her CD signed by Colin, which I managed to capture:

Since that night, not a lot of excitement has happened in my life. Well, I shouldn't say that...Currently I am listening to CJAI - Amherst Islands new radio station. It is amusing & entertaining and it reminds me of what I sounded like the first time I opened a microphone:) The music is pretty good though. They have played Cockburn, The Hip, The Mahones & Moist. So I cant complain:)
I am trying to find a way of getting my husband motivated enough to start on one of the many chores that we want to get completed before boating season starts. Any ideas?

Oh yes, and here is the link for all the trews pictures:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/cchristmas/2006%20Pictures/March/Last%20Two%20Weeks%20of%20March/The%20Trews/

Another week gone...Another week closer to summer:)

Last Sunday we were invited to my brothers place to celebrate his fiancee Stephanie's birthday. Steve spent 2 days cooking up a storm. We were so impressed with all the work he had gone through to create such a lovely meal for us. This is just one of the appetizer he created:

After we wolfed down the main course, we had to leave. It was so great to see my brother on the mend, although I am having a hard time getting use to him having a chin. I don't think he has had one of those since he was 12:)

When we got home that evening, our son Bryce had sent us some pictures of our granddaughter Dorrie. She looks so happy in Stratford...I really wish she didn't have to move to Toronto in May:(

So today was the first day of SPRING!!!! As I was driving to the pool this morning at 6am, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. What a beautiful site...I couldn't resist pulling over to take a few shots:

Here's hoping the week will fly by fast. I checked my calendar today and I still have 84 days till I go on holidays:( However, there is only 44 days till May 24 weekend!!!

This is an experiment

Only 9 days left till the *official* launch of Spring 2006 !!!!!

The sunrises lately have been so amazing...I am sure people who see me on the side of the road, camera in hand at 6:30 in the morning think I'm insane. There is just something about the sun hitting the flat, smooth ice that makes me smile:

And if you manage to witness this event prior to the sun peeking through, the colours are amazing:

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day...So Billy thought he better rush out and buy a new BBQ as our last one flipped off the deck in the last wind storm and smashed to bits. Our friend John also bought a new BBQ yesterday morning...so we had a bit of a race to assemble them. I think Billy won, but our BBQ was a lot smaller than Johns:)
Billy said it only took two tools and two beers to put the bad boy together:

Afterwards, we went over to Sue and Johns to check out their new grill...Isn't it a beauty?

While we were there, we had a quick euchre tournament and the girls beat the boys this time!!!!! Here is Sue counting out our well-earned cash:

Then it was time to test the new bbq:

Today (Sunday) isn't sunny, but its warm out, so we cant complain! We are going to go look at a farm that's for sale and then to my brothers place for a birthday get-together for his fiancee Stephanie! Have a great day everyone:)

Dude...It feels like SPRING!!!!!

Thursday morning, I had to take my car to the garage. The sun coming up was just gorgeous, so I had a few minutes and stopped on the side of the road and took a few pictures. I will only bore you with one:

Saturday began with me running into the city to do a bit of shopping then get my hair cut. On my way back, I had to take a few pictures of the frozen lake:

illy stayed at home and started the flooring by the front door. Once again, we were both amazed at the simplicity of the installation. I want this flooring throughout my house...So I can do the Swiffer dance and never have to touch the vacuum again!
Sing it everyone....Swiff it....Swiff it good...Swiff it...SWIFF IT REAL GOOD !!!
So this is what I found when I got home from town:

And this is basically what it looks like till we get the trim down next weekend:

I was impressed with how nice it looked!
On Sunday, we were to go to the hospital early in the morning so we could get my brother out of the hospital. Instead, he called at 9 to say he was already home. So we decided to go out for a drive. With the MLS book in hand. We didn't find anything we likes or could afford, but the sun was bright and it was the perfect time to take a few pictures with the camera I had borrowed from work, again.
Here is a red house I found in Newburg:

And a blue shed:

And a lovely mixture of red white and blue:

On our way home, we stopped at the lake. I couldn't believe how beautiful the blue sky reflected off the clear ice. The first two were taken facing West and the last one was taken facing the East:



When we got home, Billy made lasagna while I did laundry. After he finished, he decided to go for a short drive on the 4 wheeler. I took a picture before he left, just in case the insurance company needed it:)

I'm hoping that we can get the trim around the front door and the painting started next weekend. I want everything done, as far as renovation go, before the boating season starts!

What a busy week!

I volunteered to take care of my friend Sue's house while she and her family were down south for her daughters wedding. On Tuesday morning, there was a big snow storm so I figured I should take some pictures to show the family when they returned. I know how much they are missing the snow right now:) So this is what their front yard looked like at 7am on Tuesday morning:

There was a huge accident at the turn off to highway 15 on the 401 just after I got to work that morning. They closed down the freeway and routed the traffic onto highway 15. Quite a few of my co-workers got stuck in this traffic jam for almost an hr:

Although it was a bit late, one of the guys at work gave our friend Deb a new boyfriend who doesn't talk back. Isn't he a doll?

Then I got a call at 4pm that they were taking my brother for his long-awaited surgery at around 6-7pm. So I rushed home and picked up Billy then rushed back into the city, only to find out that the operation was cancelled.
On Wednesday I got another call at around 4pm saying that they were taking Steven in for surgery right away. So off I go to the hospital again. When I got to the sun room, my aunt and cousin were both there waiting with my brothers fiancee Stephanie. The sun was getting ready to drop, so I had to take advantage of the photo opportunity from the 9th floor:

With God watching over him, Steven made it through the surgery with flying colours! He is on his way to recovery and I want to thank everyone for their prayers...they certainly worked!
Friday was such a beautiful morning...I couldn't resist taking a few pictures while Molly the doggie chased her stick:

That evening, as the sun was about to go down, I couldnt resist the beautiful blue colour of the sky:

As I fed the cats, I thought I better take a picture to prove that I was feeding all 4 of them:

Here is a nice shot of the sunset reflected on the ice:

What a difference a day makes. Here is a shot of the same place, 14 hrs later:

Despite the storm, we headed into town around 9am to visit my brother. He needed some reading glasses but put in a request for the ugliest ones that we could find. His financee Stephanie had to model them first:

Then it was Billys turn:

Then Steven's turn. Do you think he was trying to look like Drew Carey?

When we got home, Billy thought he better get his 4 wheeler out and plow out the neighbourhood:

After the driveways were cleared, we ate dinner and then took off for Jimmy's 50th birthday party. What a loooong day it was:)

We tried to relax this weekend...

Thursday night we went to an NHL Oldtimers game at the Memorial Center. We hadn't been in that old building in 12 years but it still looked the same. We had taken our son Bryce to see the Barenaked Ladies for his 13th birthday and I would swear that time stood still. Even the picture of the Queen looked the same:) But we had fun, and that's all that mattered. Here is a picture of Kirk Muller with his NHL replacement players. Like I said, it was fun night and totally worth the price of the tickets!

Remember the guy who sings the national anthem for the Toronto Leafs games? His name is Michael Burgess and he was doing double-time by playing the game and singing before the games and during the half-time show. Believe it or not, he is an awesome hockey player.

On Friday night, we went to the Legion for dinner, then over to Sue and John's for a birthday party for Sue:

I felt obliged to help with the dishes and someone decided to cover me with bubbles:

Here is a picture of the birthday girl and our friend Deb Gibbs:

Then the poker game started:

And by the end of the night, all of the poker chips were in front of Diana Lynn:

On Saturday, we spent the day in the hospital with my brother. I couldn't resist taking pictures from the sunroom as it was such a beautiful, clear day:

After spending three hours cleaning, we went for a drive on Sunday. I found this house that had some pretty cool gargoyles growing out of it:

I took a pile of pictures of barns, but I will only bore you with this one. I love the way the heritage window was preserved in this old building:

This week I will be doing a short stint as a cat & dog sitter for some friends who have gone on a vacation, so I wont be swimming in the morning for the rest of the week.
Due to the fact that this is the last week of February, there is only 2.5 months till May 24 weekend!!!!!!!!!!