The wave pool, more ice-cream and a big ol' purple bruise...

So Mom and I hit the wave pool yesterday on yet another "free" pass. I confess, I used to hate this place. Too much concrete equals scraped toes, scraped kness and an overall miserable time, but I'm happy to say, that Cindy's gotten smarter in her old age. Running shoes stay on my feet at all times (in the water too) And the cumbersome rafts I once struggled to get up on, have been replaced by clear, compact tubes, much better for manuvering and clinging to:-)

As I've said, neither Mom or I are strong swimmers, but she sticks close and having the tube at hand gives her all kinds of new, fun ways to torture me:-) I tell you, she gets that devish gleam in her eye, and I know I'm in trouble. She loves spinning me around and pushing me out into the waves and watching as they drive me forward, trying to spit me out.

Here's the thing. I still can't sit IN the tube. It's just too much trouble to sit on top. It takes forever to get in, and once my butt slides down, I'm never getting out. So, we put it over my head, and I grab on with my arms, while shimmying forward and flopping over the front until I have a good grip. It's not pretty, but it's effective. From there, Mom will grab on to the back and squeeze herself behind me to grab whatever is left of the tube. She won't do this in the shallow end (she prefers to push me around/spin me in the breakers as we make our way in) but she knows I'm not comfortable alone in the deep end, so she hangs on the back and steers us over the good "rollers" so that we feel the butterflies fluttering in our tummy as we crest the wave and slide over the other side. It's actually relaxing once you get the hang of it and beats the chaotic flailing I remember from childhood.

Mom however, seems to enjoy a bit of flailing/struggle hence her love of all waves breaking, moreso, her love of plunging me into them. She's getting better at keeping me out of the fray though, and pushing me back out when it gets too shallow and my feet are dragging. I'll feel the solid push and know she's sending me out to ride another challenge.

It's a fine line when you can't just stand up and walk out of the waves. One minute you're riding a crest, the next, your legs are dragging along the bottom, taking skin with them. I'm so glad I've found a balance. I was always so miserable at these places as a kid because I just couldn't move. It's frustrating when you see everyone else just up and walk away while you know your body is taking a beating, just from a day at the pool.

They've also made a new lazy river whish as the name infers, is slow. Slow I can relate to. I actually sent Mom down it on her own this time so she could chill out and not have to worry about what I was doing. I sat around eating/reading a book while she floated out of my sight. I might actually tackle a waterslide next time. Sure, the climb is long, but it doesn't look TOO bad, and there's loads of time between each person so I'd have time to head for cover before the next person came down. I timed it as I was watching for Mom (Yes, she is a slide girl) and I would have been okay, as most riders seemed to shoot out of the end and come to a stop right around the exit stairs anyway, to say nothing of the two lifeguards standing right there.

We had a nice little picnic but decided that a trip to Hutch's was in order after our tough day. (Not sure if you remember but Hutch's is my favourite fry place and it's literally, just down the road). It was a beautiful night and people were out in droves, enjoying the warm summer evening. The place is a total hole in the wall, but it's got that 50's feel to it, I was half expecting a movie to click on as I munched on my fries. I could TOTALLY see a drive-in fitting right in at this place.

Did I mention we had more great ice-cream? Good old chocolate/peanut butter. No worries, we had gift cards for that too. Total cost of this Summerfest? $5 (for the tube rental) Not bad, not bad ! :-)

Oh, and the cost for the huge bruise under my arm from sticking to the tube/holding on so tight? FREE. LOL That's okay, it was worth it to "catch a wave!"

www.hutchsonthebeach.com/

An Impromptu BBQ in the park...

Don't you just love getting a nice surprise on what starts out as a run-of-the-mill Thursday? It's Mom's mid-summer week off, so today we ventured down to the water, not to swim (yuck, you won't catch me swimming on the waters off this particular shore) but to get our first use out of our mini barbeque. We found a great open area with no worries of sending smoke into other people's faces. (Although I'm sure the wind caught the smell and it was making a few mouths water...)

The little mini-propane tank off to the side was something even I could handle and it was easy to light. Our steaks were done perfectly and I much preferred the taste to that of the charcoal grill last year. I guess I'm just a gas girl. :-)

The potatoes wrapped in foil had a nice smoked flavour without being overbearing and the green salad on the side with a cool cucumber dressing, rounded out the meal.

Should I tell you that we had our ice-cream BEFORE dinner? It was devine. I had "Strawberry Sensation" complete with shortcake pieces, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. TO DIE FOR. Mom had a coffee concoction that according to her, was just as memerable. I kept hearing this "Oh, I love nuts in my ice-cream! This is soooo good..." So, there you have it, two strawberry-coffee nuts.

Not a bad why to spend a beautiful summer's day. Ice-cream, barbeque, a good book, and some decent company. The only thing missing from the picture was one sweet little boy sitting in my lap, and his mischevious sister. They've been on my mind a lot lately, I think they are swirling around in my dreams.

Summer days, sweet treats, and even sweeter dreams, life could be worse.

Oh London...

I hope the London rioting/looting isn't as bad as it looks on t.v. It's freaky watching a place you just were, go up in flames, but I'm also trying to remember the conversation I had with my Irish bus driver about how the west likes to blow these incidents out of proportion and splash the worst of it across the airwaves. I truly hope that is the case here, and that all my new London friends are safe and sound. It's sad that one tragic incident can send a country spiraling out of control so quickly. I'll never understand the mentality that lets people steal from their friends/neighbours/communities  in times of turmoil and call it justice. What does it accomplish, other than to create more friction? I've caught a few interviews of Londoners in general, and they seem as perplexed as I am. What's worse, you can sense their fear/confusion and you realize that they risk getting caught in the crossfire just by speaking their minds.

I hope things settle down quickly, that London can go back to being the city I enjoyed on a hot summer day perched on top of a tour bus. She was cultured, distinguished, steeped in history, but most of all, she was kind. Kind to tourists, kind to each other. As I've said, it was one of the first things I noticed. The ability of all to stop and help, to take a moment from their day to put us on the right path.

I hope London can right herself and find the right path again, she deserves it, and so do her people.

A quiet few days...

It's been quiet around here lately. It's still humid, but lots of grey skies and you can tell that this hot spell will break any day now, ushering in the Fall. It's the time of year when no one wants to admit that summer might be ending, as the days become shorter and the overnight temperatures drop. Don't get me wrong, we've got a few weeks yet, but the unmistakable signs are all there. The "back to school" ads on tv, (the ones that until a few years ago made me think I would go back, sharpened pencils and all) My friends on Facebook talking about running out of activities for their restless kids and being at their wits' end with bored children. (I of course, would never sound like this being sans children, just listening to them complain about it, makes me feel old.) It's the good deals on laptops that always snag my attention, but I'm much too practical for my own good, and will dutifully wait until this one crashes before loading myself up with a problem-free, memory-filled, shiny, new machine. I may love the idea of a glitch-free computer, but I STILL don't love the price tag, so I'm okay, for now.

I don't mind Fall. The colours are pretty and the cooling temperatures will have a nice feel to them afer all of this sticky humidity, but in all honesty, I know what comes next, and my body just can't handle snow anymore. I can't move in it, I always ache, and the cold just never seems to let up until the April thaw.

So, I hope summer hangs out a bit longer, and that come winter, I take a little trip to a nice, warm locale. See what happens once you catch the travel bug? You spend all of your free time looking for the next "great deal" to get you away from what ails you. In my case, snow.

If you have any ideas, feel free to share, because I have no desire to be stuck in SNOW NATION for the next five-six months without a break from the mind-numbing deep freeze, fit only for the abominable snowman.

Why is the Water so cold?

So it was another beach day in Port Dover today and the water was FREEZING. I don't get it. It's been thirty-plus here for WEEKS. (well over ninety, sometimes closer to one hundred throughout the day) yet the water is cold, cold, cold. It's okay once you're in, but walking in is brutal. The sun beats down on you so you think "Okay, great time to head into the water, and BAM, you are assaulted with "frigid Friday" temperatures.

In the end it's worth it because a) it cools you right off and b) it gets you away from the thirty people seated behind you (all in one family) who insist on a) speaking in another language (Italian I think) and b) doing so very loudly and then cackling with laughter. Yes, I said cackling as in giving the wicked witch of the west a run for her money.This, as they spread their kids' toys all over creation and expect you to squeeze in to any square inch of space they dane to leave you. Very frustrating. The picnic was good though:-) (as usual) Mom does a killer potato salad.

I won't tell you about the too expensive "homemade" ice-cream that wasn't even very good . This, when I had a coupon for "buy one, get one free" at Tim Horton's (Yes, some locations sell ice-cream) and we passed right by it. Lesson learned. Coupons rock. :-)




All in all, much better than sitting around waiting for the snow to fall, cold water or not. :-)

What have you done for me lately?

I was THISCLOSE to going to see Janet Jackson tomorrow, but alas, someone finally came to their senses and bought the tickets WAY below cost. It was the minimum amount I would have taken, but even I have to admit, she was grossly overpriced. It's funny, when I snagged these babies, I thought I was in for an easy sale. The Janet I remember could fill a 10,000 person stadium with little effort given her strong performance skills. (I always saw shades of Michael in her dancing and her songs seemed suited to her voice)

That said, I think her management team picked the wrong venue. Her tour is labelled "Up Close and Personal" so I guess they were going for that "cozy" feel when picking this location who's seating capacity reaches a mere 2200 people. Why couldn't she sell the place out? I'll give you a hint, top price was $215 per ticket and even my "middle' orchestra seats had me salivating at the potential return, $165 each. Clearly, the decision was made to soak as much out of a small group of people as they could, in exchange for a more "intimate" concert experience. They failed miserably. Last week, Row A was still coming up on ticketmaster and my tickets sat up on the selling boards crying out for a serious buyer. I don't know if it was greed that propeled this choice, or a lack of understanding of the market in this town. Hamilton is an industrial town, making it's living off of the steel mills. They won't spend that kind of money for one night, I don't care who it is or how talented they are. My buyer ended up coming from Oakville. (Mom's town twenty minutes away) They have more disposable income so it's not such a tough sell. Even good old cash rich Toronto (one hour away) wasn't going to help me out on this one. After I sold my set, I had an offer come in that was nothing short of insulting:-)

Anyway, a note to all of those "big wig" performers out there, everybody has their limits, we can't all have unlimited resources and big bank accounts, you might want to consider the masses before your next performance or be prepared to look past the bright lights to a bunch of dark, empty seats.

Josh Groban said it best "You guys paid big bucks to see me tonight, boy did you pay. I promise to sing my ass off for you tonight, I'll try anyway."  Soon, even the promise of a focused effort may not be enough, as people struggle to make ends meet in a time when prices continue to soar. It seems Janet might not be the only one asking "What have you done for me lately?" Her fans want to know too.

And the glitches continue...

Yikes more glitches--now I am minus my aol toolbar but the the spell-checker is gone! Give and take I guess, computers are bizarre. (Or maybe it's the user.) Anyway, Mom did a little Kodak slice show, we are getting 50 pics for free so she's over there fiddling around (See? I come by it honestly) and put some nice captions/frames on the pics

hBy the time I work all this stuff out, I'll be buying a new computer! See? One minute this link works, the next you get a blank white screen. <Sigh>

Ahh..she deleted it while trying to add more pics. I'll add it in when she is completely finished. 

Hopefully, it works for some of you, if not see photobucket! LOL Like the fancy show but not going to drive myself mad for it:-)