Five Alarm Funk"Wash Your Face"

Saw this band THREE times at Sunfest this year - they are my favourite act and hail from Vancouver, B.C.

This band is amazing LIVE! Most videos on youtube are the "official" videos which don't always show them playing. This song is one of my favourites - I love the bongo player - he often puts costumes on, like a batman outfit, a gorilla mask, an alien's head etc. So much energy and humour and FUNK!!

46 Sleeps until Ireland!

I should be ready to go in about a week! Hah! I like to prepare rather early for things - a friend of mine once said I'd be sitting in my coffin 6 months before I die! It's the teacher in me, I can't help it!

So I've starting getting things out of storage around the house as well as purchasing some new things. So far I've purchased FRESH NEW DEODORANT (your welcome Annie hee hee!), listerine, face wipes, and kleenex. Last year I took a cheap brand of tissues and they just didn't do the job. Annie had to loan give me a few out of her stash last year. I'm not sure why but our noses were really drippy up on the hills of Hadrian's Way. 

Every hike needs some trail mix! And no, not just for the smarties!!

I'll have to try these out with my hiking boots before I pack them. They're "runners" socks so they are very thick and soft. Hoping to avoid getting blisters this year. Yeah, right.

New undie dundies that are advertised as being able to wick moisture away from your skin. We shall see. I will say that they are extremely comfortable - made by Fruit of the Loom.

New sports bras - I prefer wearing T-back bras being the round-shouldered old biddy that I am, and a package of "light day" pads just because.

New T-shirts for $4.00 each - can't beat that price! I like to layer tank tops under T-shirts or long sleeve shirts so that as I warm up during the day I can peel off a layer. Or two.

A whole bunch of new tank tops - everything is fairly neutral so can mix and match.

Have also purchased blister bandaids and am considering buying this silicone-based stuff that rolls on to protect your skin in areas where you tend to get blisters. I have two toes that rub together on my right foot plus I had a doozy of a blister on the sole of one of my feet last year - will have to check photos to see if it was the left or the right! If this goo prevents blisters from forming it will be worth its weight in beer!!

During volleyball season I lost my favourite zip-up sweater with zip-up pockets. Well, not so much "lost" but forgotten. So I did a little thrifting and found a few replacements - I forgot to take photos of them so I'll show those on another day.

Getting forgetful aren't I?
But guess what? I'm not going to forget it's dinner time!!
See ya!

Bat out of Hell

I set a world record yesterday.

This weekend is our annual Sunfest celebration where bands from all over the world come to play and food and craft vendors set up throughout our downtown park called Victoria Park. When I left to cycle to the park it was hot, humid and sunny.

After enjoying the music of "Jewish Monkeys", (not making that up!), hailing all the way from Tel Aviv, I decided to walk over to the main band shell to see who was playing there. Sorry to say I can't really remember much about this band, whoever they were, other than the lead singer had a bushy beard. That's because I became transfixed by the sky!

Suddenly day became night! As I had cycled to the park I knew I had to leave NOW! I wasn't the only one with that idea. I fought my way through the crowds til I could get on my bike and start to really move. I pedalled so hard I ended up with a kink in my right shoulder (??). Lightning was flashing and it started to rain, not too hard at first. The worst part was riding through a large soccer field (a short cut) where there were no trees and I was the tallest object! I hunched over the handle bars and pedalled even faster!

It started to rain harder. Close to home I stopped under a tree for a second to find my house key. I was thankful I wasn't being hit by hail and by this time the rain was really pouring down. I opened up the front door and fell inside, bicycle and all. Moments later the rain became torrential - I checked the windows and the basement floor, out of habit, and then nabbed a towel to dry myself off. It was good to be home!

I'm thinking maybe next year the Tour de France?

Fun Fotos

Sooooo, recently a good friend of mine celebrated her 50th birthday.  Being a 

landmark birthday she decided to do it up big! She rented a car for almost

two weeks and "raised a little hell!" OK, I exaggerate just a wee bit.

First beach was in the lovely time-forgotten town of

Pt. Stanley. The external l950's facades of most stores and restaurants

remain intact and it was a very Twilight Zone type of day.

I love the fact

that the owner of a big restaurant right on the beach has real

palm trees planted every year. Then they are stored at a nursery over

the winter. Gives it a tropical vibe doesn't it?

I love to capture images of children enjoying themselves on the beach.

They don't worry about how they look and they don't worry

(too much) about getting sand in their icecream. They are

so in the moment!

Can't go to the beach and not get a standard sailboat photo! 

I'm not gonna lie - I really wanted to try this little guy's bulldozer! What

a cool toy for the beach!  (or is it a front end loader?) Sorry,

I had a girl child :) 

Hear we are enjoying the sunshine. We had great weather every day.

We are also in a drought right now - nice for days at the beach but 

not so great for farmers. 

And here we are at Pt. Pelee National Park. Yes, there were other beach visits

but I figure you see one you've seen them all! 

We were really yucking it up!

I took a LOT of photos but am including just a few...we walked on a boardwalk through

a marshy area - lots of birds and water lilies. 

A painted turtle.

Another type of water lily.

Purple martin below - I used to see a lot as a child as my dad would put up very tall

birdhouses but now my sightings are quite rare.

This beautiful fella has a lot of different sounds that he makes - around my area

he squawks but in Pt. Pelee he had the most piercing whistle!

A view of the marsh and boardwalk.

Then we hiked down to the point where the waters join - 

a magical spot.

There was another beach day followed by a day of shopping and exploring and eating

in a very quaint village south of London - called Sparta.

I found a few Christmas gifts :) :) 

For lunch we ate in the local teashop and I had a salmon and cucumber sandwich 

with a nummy salad and of course a pot of tea! 

After lunch we went to a wonderfully whimsical place in the country

called "Winter Wheat." You can walk all through the trees

on this large property and be amazed at every turn.

I took a LOT of photos as I normally do but am just sharing

a few like this wood nymph! 

Troy in one of the many little sheds and cabins nestled into the trees - we 

were ready to move in!

A strange fella playing a player piano in a little clearing.

A low hanging chandelier...

A hermit's little house - all windows!

Everything is made by hand, even the furniture. The owners take

all sorts of junk and re-use them to create sculptures and

installations.

I want to live here!!

Another sweet little hut.

Troy and I at her final blowout partay!!  I don't seem

to have any photos from our previous night of celebration

at London's Wine Bar (I think they are on my phone) - what a great place!

And what a great time we had celebrating and whooping it up big time!

I rode home on my bike at 2am through the quiet streets of London - what

a surreal experience that was!!

Starting at the End...

...of June, that is...

June was a month of ups and downs - the prices of everything went UP and my bank accounts went DOWN.

I received my first Canada Pension Plan payment and used most of it to pay for my new phone. Boo.

My dentist looked at my teeth for 15 seconds and for that I gave him $189.00! The good news is my hygienist said my oral hygiene is better than hers!! Do I really want her scraping and cleaning my teeth?

Today I received my first GST/HST payment of $105.00!!! That's a little bit of our own tax money given back to us from our government based on our income. I haven't received this little tidbit for years as my income was too high. Welcome to retirement! Oh, and I get that little boost 4 x a year! YAY! Though I'm wondering if I'll get it next year now that I have to add the CPP payment as income on my tax return. It's a nice monthly stipend of $558 (actually over $600 but I'm having 10% tax taken off at the source). Next year's tax return should be interesting.

Also paid CAA in June (geez, what DIDN'T I pay???) which came to $224 for Kazi and me. That's part of her birthday gift each year. Yippee! I tell ya, my daughter sometimes wishes I wasn't such a practical gift giver but I just can't help myself. With her car being a 2006 model and mine being a 2000 I think it's a necessity to have this extra coverage.

I spent more than usual on food in June - likely because cherries were $6.99/lb and strawberries $4.25 a quart. We ate a LOT of them :) Eventually they both went down in price. I shopped at Farmboy (more expensive!) several times because I love their pre-made salads and they sell the best freshly made turkey burgers in the city. On the flip side of that I haven't purchased gas for the truck since the beginning of June! So in June I took what was left of the gas budget ($100) and added it to the food budget ending up even Steven.

My savings went down by $2,000 as I paid for the rest of my trip to Ireland though I have replaced $500 of that. Annie's already got an idea for next year - Scotland and the Isle of Skye!!!!! Hopefully I won't drop any more phones in my coffee which will allow me to save $900 - $1,000 per month for upcoming trips. I might start taking 2 per year! We'll see how the saving goes.

June was my month of cycling 400km to raise money for children's cancer research. I reached 106% of my cycling goal and 110% of my money goal!! I reached my goals by June 21st which allowed me to spend time with my friend Troy to celebrate her 50th birthday over the course of 10 days!!! We went to 3 different beaches (Lake Huron and Lake Erie), went to Pt. Pelee National Park which is the southern most bit of Canada (had never been), went to the Wine Bar :) and had a day of shopping/exploring in the Sparta area south of London. Great time! I'll get some pictures posted in my next post - I think Lily is eating a bee so I better go check! Ick, it was a large fly....gross!!

On Holiday

Hello my loved ones. I have been helping a friend lately celebrate her 50th birthday.  She rented a car and I have accompanied her on day trips to various beaches and other interesting places. We've been to Pt. Dover and Pt. Stanley, Bayfield and yesterday we went to Pt. Pelee - the southern most point in Canada!

Today we are off again to Sparta which has a number of fabulous places to visit - tea shops, candlemakers, museums etc. I'll update when I can with photos etc. Now I need to eat breakfast and get dressed.

Talk to you again soon!

June Bug...err...Budget!

Probably June bugs are a more interesting topic than my budget! Or the weather, or the democratic nominee! Well, maybe not that hee hee! Oh Bernie, I was rooting for you!

So...the budget...

Hey, speaking of budgets, I thought Trump was made of money?! Why did he only have around $7 million to spend compared to Hillary's $700 million?? Or thereabouts. Yes, I know my figures are wrong but not far off. He hasn't paid for a TV ad in a month and a half while Hillary has spent millions! You know, I thought our federal election was a tough choice - I'm sure glad I don't have to vote in the U.S. election! Wow.

Oh yes, my budget...it's been raining here off an on for about 3 minutes. The rain drops didn't even get a chance to join together and create a wet spot before they evaporated in the sunlight. To say it's dry as a popcorn fart around here would be no small exaggeration! WE NEED RAIN!

I've got the figures right here...so we just found out our Ontario "leader" is coming to London today so we've put a flash mob together and we're going to ambush her!! Apparently there was a flash mob outside her office in Toronto earlier and several people were arrested! That would be fun, right?! No, I'll be a good girl...maybe...

Oh! Here comes 27 more raindrops! Should I get excited yet?

I spent a lot of money this month...and I'm so glad I didn't go to the beach today!! I was going to go with a friend but she ended up having too much work to do (she's a supply teacher but has been working a long term temporary position and has to do report cards etc etc) but that turned out to be a good decision as clouds are looming heavily and occasionally dispersing a few drops of rain.

Well, I'd better get ready to go flash the mob hee hee! I think I've pretty much covered everything I wanted to cover...umm...yeah...

Life's a beach! Hopefully tomorrow!