how I spent my summer vacation - part 1

This isn't going to be a multi-part post but I have just completed part 1 of my summer vacation. I went back to work this morning after a week's holiday. Technically, because of Canada Day, I only needed to book off 4 days. I'm taking two weeks at the beginning of August (hence the part one of two).

Last week, we got a tonne of stuff done around the house. I have had a list of stuff that I've wanted to do for ages which I'm now slowly getting through. Mark has a similar list and he's just plowing through his. Amongst other stuff, we were able to:

. get my tooth filled (well the dentist did it but...)
. replace the front steps to our house (Mark and Andy did a kick-ass job on them)
. totally re-organize our front closet (you can actually see the floor in there)
. packed away our winter coats for the season (yeah, I'm late on this)
. finally wash all of the hats, scarves and mitts we wore last winter and put them away
. de-clutter our two spare bedrooms (I sent a van load of stuff to the charity/thrift store and another load of broken junk to the dump)
. move all of the boxes (which have been on the floor for 3 years) out of my office and into the basement (my long term project will be, next winter, to go through 2 boxes every weekend until everything is sorted or chucked or donated)

I was also able to get lots of much needed cleaning done around the house. It was super nice around here on the weekend and I was actually able to open the house up (and turn off the A/C) and air it out. The dogs have been having a great time playing in the newly de-cluttered bedrooms. Every time I see one of them running out of one of these rooms, they are doing that double-time tail wag which means that they think they are getting away with something.

Last week, I did not spend much time in front of my computer so I wasn't always keeping as up to date on news stories as I would normally be. I did, however, celebrate the victory (finally) of Al Franken in his senate race in Minnesota. He's such an amazing guy, I'm really happy for him, his family, and the people of Minnesota!

ethan

ethan
Originally uploaded by Julep67

All day yesterday, I suppose because of the anxiety I'd felt for the few days preceeding, I was exhausted. We slept in a little bit but I wanted to get up and get going with my chores because I was heading back to work.

In the mid-afternoon, chores done, Mark and I sat down to veg out and watch "The Big Lebowski." About 10 minutes into it, I fell asleep for about 5 minutes. I forced myself to wake up though because I thought that if I took a nap, I'd be up all night. I was so wrong!! I not only didn't take the nap, I didn't sleep last night. If I did, it was in 10 minute increments. Not fun.

Saturday wasn't a whole lot of fun either. My cousin's funeral was at 11 a.m. The day turned out to be sunny and warm which was nice for those of us who had to travel from out of town. The whole thing was just really really sad. I mean, I know that funerals generally are sad but there is a difference between attending the funeral of someone who lived to a ripe old age and someone who lived too short a life. My mum told me that the funeral home guessed that 700 to 800 folks visited on Friday. The church was packed on Saturday morning. I think that there very few people in the small town who didn't either know my cousin directly, or who knew her folks or brother.

The only really "good" thing I can think that came out of it was that it became a mini-family-reunion (as these things to). My 88 year old Great-Uncle Herbie (and he's not just a great uncle, he's an awesome uncle!) was there, my cousin Dave flew in from Calgary, I saw my Great-Uncle Jack and Great-Auntie Muff... I'd not seen any of these folks since 1997 when my grandmother died.

I hate how it happens that folks only gather like that during a funeral. Fortunately, next month, this same branch of the family will gather in Quebec for a wedding. It'll be good to see folks under happy circumstances. I hear that there's even going to be a dance contest with a 5lb Hershey bar as the prize for the first place couple. Hell, if the possibility of 5lbs of chocolate can't make us all feel better, nothing will!

dynamic duo

dynamic duo
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Mark went back to work this morning. We actually got up with the alarm this morning. It was, well, alarming to say the least.

It was a little sad to see him head out the door to work but sometimes you have to do these things. Sam moped around the house a bit and I could tell he was really missing Mark. When Mark came home for a break, Sam was super excited. It was pretty cool to watch actually.

Luckily, we managed to sneak in a visit to the dog park when Mark got home. The thunder started to roll about 5 minutes after we got in the door. I'm really getting tired of all of this rain we're getting. The gloomy-ness of it all did not exactly inspire me to be very energetic today. I mean, I got a few things accomplished but nearly the number of things I'd hoped to.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day, I'm hoping for sunshine.

mid-holiday update

kingston memorial centre
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We've been enjoying our "stay-cation" this week. It's been at times busy, at other times, very very relaxing and the whole thing has been a lot of fun. This is the first time in a very long time that Mark and I have an entire week off together.

At the moment, we're waiting for some company to arrive so I thought I'd take some time to update on what we've been doing.

On Wednesday, we decided to celebrate our anniversary (we met 9 years ago on August 6) with a little road trip day for the three of us. Sam loves to travel with us in the van but we'd never taken him on the highway with us before. The main purpose of the trip was to submit our passport applications to the office in Whitby.

A few weeks ago, a friend of ours was talking about how he needed to get a passport because he's going to Florida on a course in September. Last year sometime, the fuckwits in the US government decided that Canadians needed a passport to fly into the states. Mark offered to go up to the passport office for him (he doesn't have a car). I suggested to Mark that we should get ours too because next year, we'll need one if we want to drive over the border to do grocery shopping.

Fortunately, the whole process for applying is a lot easier now than it was the last time I looked at the forms. Also, the office in Whitby is in a mall and you literally drive up to the front door, walk in and be back in your vehicle within 20 minutes (at least this was my experience). Unfortunately, they wouldn't accept my application on behalf of Andy because he wasn't a family member so now he's having to do it through our MP's office. Mark and I should have ours around August 20. I'm really glad that we've done this but I'm still annoyed that the shrub is making life so difficult for folks who just want to take a 30 minute drive and buy some Gulden's Hot and Zesty Honey Mustard!

On the way up, we stopped at the Quinte West Off Leash Dog Park in Trenton. It's a small but beautiful park. The whole area is properly fenced and double gated. The ground is covered with bark chips so it doesn't get muddy and there is a lot of shade for the hot days. One of the local home improvement places donated benches as well so you take a little break in the shade if you'd like. Sam had a lot of fun there and met a couple of friends. It wasn't super busy which was probably good.

When we got home that night, we decided to go to the Drive-In. We both wanted to see Pineapple Express and thought that a double bill at the Drive-In would be fun (there was no way we'd see Step Brothers otherwise). Unfortunately, while it was breezy and much cooler than in town, it was also very buggy. I can't tell whether the movie wasn't funny (it was cute in parts, really nonsensical in others - ie it had HUGE gaping plot holes) or the bugs were making me itch too much but by the time it was over, I was ready to go home.

On Thursday, we really slept in after being at the drive-in. The morning was spent doing work in the yard and 'round the house. We also got out and did some errands but our plans to spend the afternoon at the municipal pool were thwarted by bad weather. We got home in time for a very quick barbecued lunch but then the showers moved in and we were once again rained out.

Friday morning, we were glued to the tube (and kept indoors by the rain) watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Neither of us are fans of the sports of the Olympics but it was fun to watch the opening and see the Parade of Nations. With the Olympics in China, I have a hard time looking at the performers and the new buildings without imaging what these folks had to endure to create it all. I can't imagine that folks were paid fairly or treated decently through it all but I sure hope that I'm wrong.

Yesterday was my mum's 65th birthday. We met my parents for lunch and "surprised" my mum with a dozen roses. This was the third bunch of roses she received on the day. My dad sent her a gorgeous bouquet of a dozen red roses, my aunt & uncle sent her red roses with white carnations and we gave her a bouquet of peach and orangey coloured roses. Her house must smell really lovely today!!

Today so far has been quiet. We went to the dog park and ran around a bit with Sam. Originally we'd thought about taking a little road trip to Smiths Falls today but the weather in the morning looked dicey so we stayed home. It's turned into a pretty nice day after all so I suppose we could have gone. I'm kind of glad we didn't though, it's been nice to be close to home.

Tomorrow, Mark will head back to work. I'm off this week too and have a few things planned. Primarily, I have a to-do list for things around the house that I'd like to sort out. Mostly organizing, cleaning and chucking out of stuff. I imagine I will have a huge pile for goodwill (or I hope to). I'm looking forward to quietly puttering around the house and hanging out with Sam. It should be very relaxing if I get it right!

happy fun time

soggy sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

hi ya

yanno how sometimes, you're having so much fun that you can't stop for long to talk about it!?

well that's what's happening 'round here this week.

vacation is here, we're having a blast and I just thought I'd take a quick moment to check in, say hello and bop back out again.

hope you're all having a fab week!!

bella winks

bella winks
Originally uploaded by Julep67

How is your Simcoe Day weekend going folks?

Ours is going very well. Actually, we are now on vacation. I'm off for 2 weeks and Mark is off with me for the first week.

Yesterday, I think due to the strange weather we've been having, Mark had a killer migraine yesterday and I had a headache almost all day. At one point, we had enough pain medication in our systems that we could go out and get some errands done. Fortunately, we didn't have to be out for much longer than an hour or so.

I'm feeling groggy but better today. I don't remember when I slept as much as I did yesterday, it was strange. I was up early yesterday with the dog but then went back to bed until 7:30 or so. By 10 a.m., we were back in bed sleeping again. Got up around 12:30 to do errands and stuff. I had another nap in the late afternoon and still slept like the dead again last night.

Today is much better though. I'm getting stuff together for us to go to a friend's house for the day. It's the home of Bella's parents. They live north of the city on a gorgeous lake in a log cabin home. We're taking Sam so it'll be his first experience of actually going into the lake for a swim (or just to explore the lake shore). I'm sure he'll be a matted, muddy mess by the end of the day but that's okay. We've been looking forward to this for a while.

another sunny day

stars
Originally uploaded by Julep67

the storm we have been watching out for has not yet come to pass. I'm not unhappy about that, it's good to wake up and not have to think about shovelling snow!

Today I'm trying to get stuff organized. I am making up lists and am attempting to plot out the next few days. I'd like to much of my "work" around the house done as quickly as possible and free myself up for next week. We have some plans made with friends and it would be nice if I could just go about my days having a good time instead of thinking about how I haven't scrubbed the bathrooms yet or about a stack of stuff that needs to be wrapped.

Having 10 days off before Christmas is absolutely decadent, I know it and I love it. I've done this for last 3 years now and can't imagine not doing it, I'm spoiled, what can I say!?

flowergirl mackenzie

flowergirl mackenzie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I booked a vacation day to add onto the long weekend so I didn't go into work today. Given how messed up and turned around I got over the weekend, I didn't mind staying home today.

This morning, I got up at the normal time as Mark was heading off to work. Also, I wanted to get some laundry done before the work started outside at 7 a.m. You just never know if they are going to shut the water off or not.

In the end, they did not but I had my laundry and a couple of other chores done early, which was nice. I don't think it's overly optimistic to guess that we might be back in our driveway by the weekend. Our next door neighbour (to the east) is back in his tonight. We noticed that dump trucks were delivering the big chunks of limestone which had been hauled away a couple of weeks ago and slowly, the hole is being filled in again.

It's a really big hole. I imagine that between what they are doing to the east of us and how long it'll take to fill things back in, it'll be at least the weekend. Having spent the past couple of weeks climbing over trenches and large pieces of machinery, I'll have a whole new appreciation for our driveway when it returns, guaranteed.

cletus

cletus
Originally uploaded by Julep67

hello.

guess what?

I'm on vacation.

Officially.

My vacation started at 4 p.m. today.

I do not have to return to the office until August 20.

I am a happy girl.

Hope you're happy too.

only a taxi could get away with this

only a taxi could get away with this
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Good Saturday morning to you!

Do you like this picture? I really was amused by the cab on the sidewalk when I walked out of Schwartz's. Mark was in the deli, waiting for his order and I was wandering around on St-Laurent Blvd taking photos and observing the traffic. I see cabs in Kingston do stuff like this all the time but I don't normally have my camera out to capture the moment like I did the other morning. snap!

It's hard to believe that I was off work for an entire week. It flew by really quickly, what with the holiday and a trip to Montreal in the middle of it. Fortunately, I can sort of take things easy today and really relax for the rest of the weekend.

It's a little hard to believe that I'm back to work again on Monday. Fortunately though, I'm only back for 3 weeks before I have a long weekend booked. After that, I have to work a week and then I've got another 2 week break booked. I really tried to space out my time off this summer. Speaking of spaced out, I think I should probably think about some coffee and maybe move my butt outside while the sun is shining.

H2O for Pink Floyd?

H2O for Pink Floyd?
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We this truck fairly often, usually when we're visiting the big metropolis of Napanee, Ontario.

Ordinarily, we see it in traffic, on Sunday, it was parked, in the parking lot of the mall we were stopping at for groceries. It always makes us laugh because of Roger Waters and it says "Rogers Water" and we're simple. At times anyway. Water trucks amuse us, but not to death, if yanno what I mean.

So it's almost the long weekend here in Kingston, just like it's almost the long weekend all across this gorgeous nation of ours. As an added bonus for us, Mark and I are starting a little mini-vacation tomorrow too. Mark is taking off Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, I'll be off all of next week. I'm really looking forward to it. We're going to be out of town for a couple of days in the middle of it but other than that, we play to kick back and do not too much.

I really love just hanging out at home these days. I have a few chores to get done at some point but seriously, the majority of my time will be spent outside. I cannot wait. I know that I must wait but it'll be tough. I can do it though!