So, here I am, semi-stranded at the airport in Toronto. I had my family reading pages of detailed plans that I had laid out - only for my brother's assistant manager not show up for work - and already my plans are being reworked. Thank goodness I didn't print them...or write them out by hand...
I love that this free WiFi thing has really taken off - YYZ now has free WiFi through the whole place - no longer offering that expensive pay-as-you-go coverage they had a couple of months ago. Very nice. I like what you've done here YYZ.
Especially since I have an hour to kill - missing my bus by 5 mins. I probably could have made it - if I'd known the schedule, but as it was, my luggage was in the first load off the plane, and I came here directly - so I would've only made time up by using my fast feet. (Contrary to the "vacation feet" I had on this morning).
I thought I was foolish this morning - packing myself a snack - since I was going to be meeting BT2 at the YYZ - but I am now QUITE thankful. My bag of veggies and turkey are really hitting the spot. :)
So, I've decided to write a book. It's still in it's infancy stage of development - but I think it's got some good bones. I just need to find "my spot" between fluffy chick lit - and interesting fiction... I want there to be real characters in here - which I think may be the most challenging part - getting a character in my head down on paper/screen - in a way that is capturing them - making them come to life. And there's the bigger fear - if I don't just run with the story right now - I may never write it - and I think it's about time I at least try. :) I'll let you know how the process goes. :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Our first van
Ok... that title could also be... our only van. "Our van"
Way back in 1989, my family of 7 got a mini van. They were invented FOR us. None of this "we have two kids, we need a mini van" crap - we had a person to fill each and every seat - daily. (Yes, I know I have friends with two kids and a mini van...and I'm basically making fun of you - but even you can see the difference in between wanting storage space and REALLY NEEDING it...) Don't ask me what we were all traveling around in before that day in 1989, I don't want to incriminate my parents... :)
Anyway... that day... so long ago... is LEGEND in my family. We were SO excited about getting this van. My parents had poured over brochures, visited many dealerships, and finally decided on a white Mazda MPV. They were still "new" to the Mazda family... So, even as we were making our decision - we were looking for Mazda's on the road - there weren't that many! It became a new game to play on road trips.
So, my parents went to pick up our van one night after my dad was done work (it was all the way in Guelph...) and we got to wait up to "meet" the van. And I'm just realizing this now - we NEVER gave it a nickname. Ever. Strange.
When my parents pulled up, we jumped in the van. And a magical thing happened. First - the interior lights slowly dimmed - which we thought was REALLY cool - and then the seats we were sitting in became "our" seats for the rest of the van's life... FT in the driver's seat, ET in the passenger seat, in the middle row, with the least amount of leg room, the tallest kid in the family BT2, and with the most amount of leg room, the second tallest of the brothers, BT1. In the back row - the girls - me in the far corner behind FT and BT2, then REMTS in the middle (she is the baby...) and then ST at the other side, by the door. (ST is always the first to have to pee and the most urgent about it - so we're REALLY glad over time that she got that seat!)
Then, we went for a drive to Jackson's Point - and we listened to my dad's favourite song at the time - really loudly (on our factory issue Pioneer radio system) - "Healing Hands" by Elton John.
And that van served us SOOOOO well! We drove to New Brunswick. We drove back and forth to two separate high schools for millions of events/practices/meetings/missed busses...and most of us learned to drive in that van... Actually - I can't remember... REMTS - did we drive the van - or only the Saturn??? I remember driving the van - but I don't know if I was supposed to be... Ha!!! Just kidding - I just remembered - I drove to see a friend over Christmas holidays one year and I was in the van - so yes, all of us drove the van at one point. My mom and BT2 were the only ones to get in accidents in it... Unless we count the time that ST drove partly into the ditch of a friend's house...who we weren't supposed to be driving home... (That's a whole other story!)
Reason for this entry? I saw this same van drive down the street tonight. And, tonight, in London, my brother's family got to go for the first drive in their new family van... May they have as many wonderful trips and memories as we do from our beautiful white Mazda MPV!
Way back in 1989, my family of 7 got a mini van. They were invented FOR us. None of this "we have two kids, we need a mini van" crap - we had a person to fill each and every seat - daily. (Yes, I know I have friends with two kids and a mini van...and I'm basically making fun of you - but even you can see the difference in between wanting storage space and REALLY NEEDING it...) Don't ask me what we were all traveling around in before that day in 1989, I don't want to incriminate my parents... :)
Anyway... that day... so long ago... is LEGEND in my family. We were SO excited about getting this van. My parents had poured over brochures, visited many dealerships, and finally decided on a white Mazda MPV. They were still "new" to the Mazda family... So, even as we were making our decision - we were looking for Mazda's on the road - there weren't that many! It became a new game to play on road trips.
So, my parents went to pick up our van one night after my dad was done work (it was all the way in Guelph...) and we got to wait up to "meet" the van. And I'm just realizing this now - we NEVER gave it a nickname. Ever. Strange.
When my parents pulled up, we jumped in the van. And a magical thing happened. First - the interior lights slowly dimmed - which we thought was REALLY cool - and then the seats we were sitting in became "our" seats for the rest of the van's life... FT in the driver's seat, ET in the passenger seat, in the middle row, with the least amount of leg room, the tallest kid in the family BT2, and with the most amount of leg room, the second tallest of the brothers, BT1. In the back row - the girls - me in the far corner behind FT and BT2, then REMTS in the middle (she is the baby...) and then ST at the other side, by the door. (ST is always the first to have to pee and the most urgent about it - so we're REALLY glad over time that she got that seat!)
Then, we went for a drive to Jackson's Point - and we listened to my dad's favourite song at the time - really loudly (on our factory issue Pioneer radio system) - "Healing Hands" by Elton John.
And that van served us SOOOOO well! We drove to New Brunswick. We drove back and forth to two separate high schools for millions of events/practices/meetings/missed busses...and most of us learned to drive in that van... Actually - I can't remember... REMTS - did we drive the van - or only the Saturn??? I remember driving the van - but I don't know if I was supposed to be... Ha!!! Just kidding - I just remembered - I drove to see a friend over Christmas holidays one year and I was in the van - so yes, all of us drove the van at one point. My mom and BT2 were the only ones to get in accidents in it... Unless we count the time that ST drove partly into the ditch of a friend's house...who we weren't supposed to be driving home... (That's a whole other story!)
Reason for this entry? I saw this same van drive down the street tonight. And, tonight, in London, my brother's family got to go for the first drive in their new family van... May they have as many wonderful trips and memories as we do from our beautiful white Mazda MPV!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Winnipeg Folk Festival
So, on Friday night RC arrived in Winnipeg. We were both very excited to spend a day at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and see "The Swell Season" in concert. This is the duet from the film (yes, RS, it was a "film" not a "movie") Once
On Saturday morning, we caught a Winnipeg Transit Bus and traveled north out of the city to Bird's Hill Provincial Park. Now, I know you might be thinking this already yourself, but there's a type of person that goes to the folk festival... RC and I did our best to look the part wearing gear she bought off etsy.
We arrived at the WFF with only our experiences in London in mind... the London Folk Festival was always held in Victoria Park, downtown. We always enjoyed that festival, it was good times. This festival though had us out in the middle of nowhere. Nature and music. In the middle of nature. And tons of music. Got it? Oh, and dragon flies - everywhere. And birch trees, says RC from NB who hasn't seen them grown naturally since she left home. (Apparently the only birch trees she's seen in Ontario were bought and planted, not natively grown.) We walked through a forested area on a slim trail to come out into the WFF and see our first group - The Sojourners.
They're a gospel group - and were really great. It was a fabulous start to the day. We sat down on a duvet cover I brought and watched people walk by as they arrived at the festival. It was a great people watching spot and we couldn't believe the eclectic mix of people walking past. Young, old, conservative, very liberal... Ok, there were a lot on the liberal side... At about this point, I realized it was CdV's Mecca - all these people, the music, the mix of philosophies - he would LOVE to spend the weekend here. So, I sent him a text. He was very happy for me and wished he was there too.
Then, we set off to find the right stage for our big concert with The Swell Season. We were giddy! There were tons of great vendors that we walked past rather quickly, but promised we'd come back to... and we passed several other performance areas that were all busy. We found a great spot for ourselves - centre stage, just in front of the sound table (greatest sound spot in the place). It didn't take long for us to see everyone come on stage. It was a workshop session - so there was a host, John K. Samson, Jon & Roy, The Swell Season and Works Progress Administration. The best part was - each group would perform one song, and then the next one would perform... no "mini sets" within the session - so no waiting for set-up (thank goodness!) and it added to the dynamic because they were welcome to play with each other. At one point, Jon & Roy played their song "Any day now" and it has a great chorus. Those on stage joined in and the whole audience joined in - we loved it. The best part was - The Swell Season were to perform next - and he couldn't get THEIR song out of his head... it was hard for Glen to start singing what he was supposed to. It was awesome. I think we were all feeling a bit that way.
Here's some shots of the stage:
It was a great workshop. They did a lot of great songs - all of the groups on stage - and we loved when The Swell Season went from singing a Bruce Springsteen song (Drove All Night) into a traditional Irish wake song. (Very appropriate...???) It was great! We all sang along and felt like we were sharing something special. Glen explained that it was about thanking everyone, no enemies, no regrets, and wishing everyone joy. Here's a video clip of Glen and you'll even hear me singing along.
From Marketa's twitter
We played in Winnipeg the night before last, what a gorgeous festival. So relaxed and fun, our first gig of this tour. It's always nice to play after a break, everything feels fresh and new again.
After that concert, we walked through the vendors - bought some honey with raspberry in it (amazing!) and I also picked up a beeswax candle that smells wonderful. We walked past all the food vendors - a very interesting selection! RC couldn't believe all the vegetarian options! She was in heaven!
We were a little sore from sitting cross legged all day, so we went and found a place semi-close to a stage so we could hear music, but we could also totally lay out (the joy of bringing a duvet cover) and totally relax. ...Until it rained... Then we looked quite cute huddled under umbrellas sitting on the duvet cover eating veggie sticks and nuts.
Overall, the WFF was very much PEACE and LOVE. We joked that we were at our own version of Woodstock. Everyone was so happy, there were tons of tree-huggers, vegetarians, babies in wraps and barefeet! It was a fun day and a neat experience. Hopefully this can become an annual thing for us!
On Saturday morning, we caught a Winnipeg Transit Bus and traveled north out of the city to Bird's Hill Provincial Park. Now, I know you might be thinking this already yourself, but there's a type of person that goes to the folk festival... RC and I did our best to look the part wearing gear she bought off etsy.
We arrived at the WFF with only our experiences in London in mind... the London Folk Festival was always held in Victoria Park, downtown. We always enjoyed that festival, it was good times. This festival though had us out in the middle of nowhere. Nature and music. In the middle of nature. And tons of music. Got it? Oh, and dragon flies - everywhere. And birch trees, says RC from NB who hasn't seen them grown naturally since she left home. (Apparently the only birch trees she's seen in Ontario were bought and planted, not natively grown.) We walked through a forested area on a slim trail to come out into the WFF and see our first group - The Sojourners.
They're a gospel group - and were really great. It was a fabulous start to the day. We sat down on a duvet cover I brought and watched people walk by as they arrived at the festival. It was a great people watching spot and we couldn't believe the eclectic mix of people walking past. Young, old, conservative, very liberal... Ok, there were a lot on the liberal side... At about this point, I realized it was CdV's Mecca - all these people, the music, the mix of philosophies - he would LOVE to spend the weekend here. So, I sent him a text. He was very happy for me and wished he was there too.
Then, we set off to find the right stage for our big concert with The Swell Season. We were giddy! There were tons of great vendors that we walked past rather quickly, but promised we'd come back to... and we passed several other performance areas that were all busy. We found a great spot for ourselves - centre stage, just in front of the sound table (greatest sound spot in the place). It didn't take long for us to see everyone come on stage. It was a workshop session - so there was a host, John K. Samson, Jon & Roy, The Swell Season and Works Progress Administration. The best part was - each group would perform one song, and then the next one would perform... no "mini sets" within the session - so no waiting for set-up (thank goodness!) and it added to the dynamic because they were welcome to play with each other. At one point, Jon & Roy played their song "Any day now" and it has a great chorus. Those on stage joined in and the whole audience joined in - we loved it. The best part was - The Swell Season were to perform next - and he couldn't get THEIR song out of his head... it was hard for Glen to start singing what he was supposed to. It was awesome. I think we were all feeling a bit that way.
Here's some shots of the stage:
It was a great workshop. They did a lot of great songs - all of the groups on stage - and we loved when The Swell Season went from singing a Bruce Springsteen song (Drove All Night) into a traditional Irish wake song. (Very appropriate...???) It was great! We all sang along and felt like we were sharing something special. Glen explained that it was about thanking everyone, no enemies, no regrets, and wishing everyone joy. Here's a video clip of Glen and you'll even hear me singing along.
From Marketa's twitter
We played in Winnipeg the night before last, what a gorgeous festival. So relaxed and fun, our first gig of this tour. It's always nice to play after a break, everything feels fresh and new again.
After that concert, we walked through the vendors - bought some honey with raspberry in it (amazing!) and I also picked up a beeswax candle that smells wonderful. We walked past all the food vendors - a very interesting selection! RC couldn't believe all the vegetarian options! She was in heaven!
We were a little sore from sitting cross legged all day, so we went and found a place semi-close to a stage so we could hear music, but we could also totally lay out (the joy of bringing a duvet cover) and totally relax. ...Until it rained... Then we looked quite cute huddled under umbrellas sitting on the duvet cover eating veggie sticks and nuts.
Overall, the WFF was very much PEACE and LOVE. We joked that we were at our own version of Woodstock. Everyone was so happy, there were tons of tree-huggers, vegetarians, babies in wraps and barefeet! It was a fun day and a neat experience. Hopefully this can become an annual thing for us!
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