Throwback Thursday: Pen pals

50. The excitement of coming home to a letter (or tons of letters) from a penpal is still, to this day, unmatched.

This is so, so, SO true. I received a letter the other day from someone in Georgia. I knew it was coming because she had asked for my address but it was still incredibly exciting to receive. Cards are amazing. I got a bunch of those for my birthday as well and many of them had particularly special about a letter written on stationery. As a child and young teen I had a few different pen pals. First and foremost were my cousins and my Grandma M but none of us wrote very often. My real pen pals were Leasa and Sharon. Leasa was first. Our families have known each other for years. As in before we were born. Our parents used to hang out together and know a LOT of the same people through church camps and other connections. We started writing when we were ten or eleven (so 1991 or 1992). I don't remember exactly but her family was in town and came to visit and we exchanged addresses. We wrote fairly steadily for the next ten years or so when email took over and life just became too busy. When I visited Ontario in both 2000 and 2004 I hung out with Leasa and actually stayed a few nights with her and her new husband David the second time.

Last year when I was in BC after Seth's wedding I went digging in one of my boxes of stuff that is still at my parents and found the letters that Leasa sent me. When I got back to Ontario she and I sat down and read our letters out loud to each other. What a trip down memory lane. I read my letters and she read hers. We went in order by date. It was hilarious. My pre-teen self was incredibly stuck up. My letters were all about the books I was reading, what my brothers were up to and trying to figure out how old her siblings were (I asked for their ages three different times!) Her's were all about reciting her report cards (she was a fantastic student who generally scored in the high 90s) reporting on piano lessons and talking about family vacations. Some of it didn't make sense to read almost 20 years later (20!!!) and some we had to give back stories too but it was fascinating and really fun. When it was done we took back our received letters. Maybe we'll do it again in another ten years or so. 

My second regular pen pal was a friend of Leasa's. In fact Sharon dated Leasa's older brother for a few months. We started writing later. Maybe in grade 10 or 11? Those letters are full of a LOT of teen-aged angst. Grade 10, or when I was 15, was not a good year for me. Looking back I was probably depressed but at the same time I was a teenager and we all go through crappy times. Sharon (and Leasa) are originally from Saskatchewan but both moved to Ontario. Leasa with her family while she was in high school and Sharon in 1999 or 2000. Sharon asked me to move with her at that time. How different might my life have been if I had taken her up on that offer!!! I wasn't ready though. Before I finally got around to joining everyone in Ontario, Sharon had moved back to Saskatchewan. We stopped writing in the early 2000s and I really haven't spoken to her since. I know she's doing well though. Two of her sisters and her mother in law go to my church in Ontario so I get updates. Part of me would love to do the same thing with Sharon that I did with Leasa, sitting down and reading our letters. But at the same time I think it might be better if some of those letters never see the light of day again. 

One last comment (this is getting long!) It was Sharon who gave me the name "Agent713". She had gone on a date with Leasa's brother and they saw the James Bond film "GoldenEye" in the theatre. (huh, Google says it was released in 1995, maybe we started writing sooner than I thought.) She started signing her letters "Agent 13.7" Thirteen was her favourite number but she added the ".7" to make it a little less unlucky. I just swapped that and became "Agent 7.13" When Hotmail came along and everyone was freaked out about using "real" names online, I was looking for something to use. Agent 7.13 was one of the few nicknames I've ever used so it became my online handle. Hotmail didn't allow periods at the time so I just became "agent713". Today I style it with the lower case "a" and run it all together and I use it pretty much exclusively online. In fact if you Google agent713, you'll find out more about me than if you use my real name (including finding this blog). So there, that's the story of my name. It's crazy to think I've been using it for over half my life already! That's the impact that a pen pal can have!!!

Also, a funny related to that. I was in Ohio a few years ago and my friend's dad was teasing me about being a Canadian spy. I denied it but a little while later in the conversation someone asked for my email. I spieled off "agent713 at hotmail" and he exclaimed "HA! I knew it! You've been exposed!!!" So that's now the running joke with us. That I'm a secret agent who visits to spy on Americans. The truth is that I DO major in North American Studies, so yes, I am there to study them ;) Not much secret about that! 

Happy New Year!

Just a quick update. Yesterday was New Years Eve and I spent most of the morning packing. I worked from 1-9:30pm. It was a weird shift because it was fairly quiet but then when we were ready to close it got busy. Rather annoying. Plus my coworker was fighting with his boyfriend (via text) so he was in a bad mood so it wasn't my favourite shift ever. Anyway, we got out just after nine and I headed up to my friends place in Guelph (about a half an hour north of Waterloo). When I arrived the group of people there were playing Cranium. They threw a question at me just as I walked through the door and I answered it correctly so both teams started arguing over "who got Heidi". That was a good ego boost :D

It was a nice relaxing evening. We finished the game (my team won), visited, played some crokinole and then the guys broke out the guitars and we ended up sitting around and singing till midnight. One of my friends is a FANTASTIC picker so we were singing gospel songs at a super fast pace. It was a blast. We did the big countdown to midnight and I texted a few friends (while everyone else kissed :P) I left sometime just before 1. It was a wonderful way to ring in the new year.

For the past few years my friend Leasa has hosted a New Years Day get together and has invited me. Of course I was always back in BC so I missed it. This year I was in town and I told her I wanted to collect on the rain check. Turns out she didn't plan a big bash so it was just me, Leasa, her husband David and their two adorable children. It was actually perfect. We just visited for most of the day and had a big lunch of homemade pierogies and farmers sausage from Saskatchewan. David's dad joined us for dinner as well and he's a Newfie so he's a ton of fun :)

David and Leasa live about an hour south of me and I have another friend in the area so I stayed at their place until 7ish when my friend Nate finished a family dinner and then I met up with him and his friend who was visiting from Peterborough. It was funny because the friend and I spent the whole time going "Oh! You're THAT friend" to each other because Nate has talked a lot about each of us to the other :P It was good to spend time with all these people. I'm definitely going to miss them while I'm on my Grand Adventure but Nate's coming to Europe so I'll see him there.

Happy New Year! Here's to an EPIC 2013 :)

Christmas 2012

This was my first Christmas that I was away from my family. I knew in August when I was in both Alberta and BC for Seth's wedding that I wouldn't be going. I had a few moments where I felt a bit sad but logging onto an airline website and seeing the cost of flying over the holidays cured me of that very fast. A few weeks ago my coworker and I drove another coworker to the airport and I was SO glad it wasn't me getting on that plane. I mean it would have been nice to see my family but I was glad to not do a cross country flight at this time of year. 

I opened on Christmas Eve and then packed up and headed up to my friends home in Mount Forest. It was a wonderful low key Christmas Eve and morning. Brenda and Regan (above) and I played a very close game of Upwords, I convinced everyone (Brenda, Regan, Grace and Esther) to play a Canadian Trivia game that I bought at Value Village (which meant it was 15ish years old, but still fun) and we watched the original Grinch. Along with lots of hanging out and an amazing meal cooked by Esther.

Christmas morning we slept in...well, I was up around 8am which is good considering how much I've been opening (that means 4am wake up calls) and then we opened stockings. I hand't really thought about it so when there was not only a stocking with my name on it, but a VERY generous stocking, I was surprised, touched and very thankful. It was all thoughtful gifts like gum, candy, bath products and an iTunes gift card. Consumables that I don't need to worry about packing. Perfect!

After breakfast (show above) we headed over to Oma's for Christmas dinner. The best part about joining this particular family for Christmas is not only are these four dear friends but the whole extended family is as well. Every one of them is a good friend of mine and it was a pleasure to spend Christmas with them.

The family is Evelyn (Oma) and her four children: Brenda, her husband Regan and three children Grace (left), Esther and Stefan. I have known Stefan's wife Susannah since she was born and her family for many years before that. Margaret was there with her son Adam. Ruth and her boyfriend Jody brought their two adorable children Hope (left) and Jonathan (below). Kids always make Christmas more fun! The youngest is James who is married to my BC friend Sharlaine. They were married just two months before I moved to Ontario and Sharlaine and I have become great friends since we moved here.

So many awesome people made for a great Christmas. It was fun watching everyone open their presents. They draw names so each person got a decent larger gift and then a small gag gift from someone else. Some of them were hilarious, if you know the inside joke. It was a lot of fun. Of course we had a scrumptious Christmas dinner including turkey and all the fixings and then a huge dessert table as well. We finished the evening with various games but I left a bit early because I was fighting sniffles/allergies and I had to open on Boxing Day. 

The whole time I was keeping in touch with all my extended family via text message as well. I have decided that my sister in law Robbie is my favourite because she texts back the fastest ;) All in all it was a good Christmas. My family would have been better but considering this is the choice I made, it turned out just fine. 

Christmas in Toronto

One of the reasons I moved to Ontario was so that I could explore the city of Toronto more. It is Canada's largest city and it has lots to discover but I have been awful at visiting. I'm not really sure why. I used to go into Vancouver all the time and Toronto's not that much further away. I guess I just need a reason. Anyway, Sunday evening Grace, Esther and I packed up our ice skates and headed into the city with the intention of skating at Nathan Phillips Square and then checking out Eaton Centre. We left Grace's car at a shopping mall just off the 401 and then I drove us down towards the city centre.

In typical Heidi fashion I kind of aimed the direction I needed to go and started driving. Initially I knew I was going the wrong way so I just waited until it was convenient to turn left and then drove that way for awhile. The road curved, and split and I turned once and then I was on a major road which I took until I could turn left again. I was reading street signs but I hadn't actually looked at what road I needed to be on. Sure enough, within about five minutes, our EXACT DESTINATION showed up on the left!!! Amazing! I totally just stumbled on it. Yeah me! LOL

So this was our destination. City Hall (above) which I've never been to before but it's pretty distinctive, and the ice rink at Nathan Phillips Square which is right in front of City Hall. Can you see the CN Tower peeking through the buildings?

I haven't been ice skating since I left BC. I bought skates in January when I had time before Ashley's funeral (Collingwood has a Canadian Tire. How convenient.) But last winter was too mild and I never got a chance to use them. It took a bit to get going but I was impressed with how fast I managed to move. The rink is a good size so it didn't feel like you were going in tiny circles and it wasn't very busy which was nice.

The crazy part was the weather. It was WARM. Seven degrees Celsius. You can see from this picture how wet the ice was. It makes for a pretty picture! As long as you didn't fall, the wet ice was actually kind of okay because otherwise it was really chewed up. The wet ice was smoother if that makes sense. I managed to stay upright the whole time as well which is good because otherwise I would have been soaked.

We skated for close to an hour and then changed back into boots and stashed the skates in the car. Then we walked around the outside of Eaton Centre and back through the inside. I posed with a mannequin...

Esther posed with a tree...

And we found the massive Christmas tree and 20 foot tall reindeer inside. The stores in the mall were closing by the time we go there which was fine because we weren't there to spend money anyway. Mostly it was just nice to walk around and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city during the holidays and spend time with each other. I'm going to miss these girls an awful lot while I'm gone!

Stoney Creek

A couple of months ago I was hanging out with Heather and Kinsey and we were discussing (among other things) our summer plans. I mentioned that I wanted to take advantage of the activities planned in remembrance of the War of 1812 and Heather informed me that she has a friend who is a War of 1812 reenactor! I went home that night and immediately added Ryan as a friend on Facebook...or maybe he added me. She messaged him to say that we needed to meet. (Can you tell which one is him? LOL) I've been chatting with him infrequently ever since. Picking his brain about reenacting and the upcoming events. 

Sunday, June 3rd I had an evening church service and Ryan was in Hamilton at the first major event of the year. The 199th Anniversary of the Battle of Stoney Creek. Heather had been away for most of May so I talked her into coming to Stoney Creek with me so we could catch up (it wasn't that hard to convince her). It was a grey, overcast day. I had on a hoodie and I wore it all day. At one point it warmed up and I pushed up the sleeves but that was as hot as it got. Still when I got home my nose and cheeks were rosy. Stupid UV rays! Anyway, it was actually good weather for an event like this. Too much hotter and it would have been miserable. 

We arrived just before the memorial service (second picture) and afterwards went up the monument to see the view. After that we wandered around and took in the sites. We tried oat cakes made by someone on site, learned about early 19th century diseases, listened to musical performances and sat for over an hour and listened to "Tecumseh" (left). He was a very passionate speaker and very engaging but I got bored. Heather loved him though.

The main attraction was the battle at 2pm. It was preceded by an artillery demonstration (that's Ryan on the  cannon crew). The battle was fully narrated so that us "civilians" could tell what was happening and why. It was fascinating. There was a small group of Americans portraying the "other side". It ended with a moment of silence for all the fallen.

Renactments are interesting to watch, especially when the British are involved in their red coats. 

Heather and I after the battle.

Ryan and Heather. I can't wait until the next event!

The Shallows

A few weeks ago I met up with my friend Steph for drinks at a new cafe in town that I recently discovered. It was a gorgeous day so we sat out on the patio and then went for a walk through Uptown Waterloo and browsed in the shops. We ended up in a bookstore where I picked up a few books from the bargain bin. As I was paying I made a comment about hoping I could concentrate long enough to actually read them. I'm finding that my ability to lose myself in a book for hours on end like I could when I was a kid is gone. I was questioning if it has just been the books I've been reading (are they not that interesting?) or conditioning from working as a receptionist for so many years where you're constantly interrupted. The owner of the book store asked me to wait and he went and pulled a book from the shelf entitled "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains". I almost never buy full priced books but this one looked so interesting that I just did it. And luckily it was. The book itself is pretty full of stats and results of studies and surveys but the bottom line is that the inability to concentrate that I am feeling isn't unique to me and the culprit is actually the internet!

One passage that really stood out was near the end.

"The influx of competing messages that we receive whenever we go online not only overloads our working memory; it makes it much harder for our frontal lobes to concentrate our attention on any one thing. The process of memory consolidation can't even get started. And, thanks once again to the plasticity of our neuronal pathways, the more we use the Web, the more we train our brain to be distracted - to process information very quickly and very efficiently but without sustained attention. That helps explain why many of us find it hard to concentrate even when we're away from our computers. Our brains become adept at forgetting, inept at remembering. Our growing dependence on the Web's information stores may in fact be the product of a self-perpetuating self-amplifying loop. As our use of the Web makes it harder for us to lock information into our biological memory, w're forced to rely more and more on the Net's capacious and easily searchable artificial memory, even if it makes us shallower thinkers.

The book talks about the lull of electronic stimulation and how our brains have been reshaped and reformed to need it. On one hand it's a bit depressing but on the other, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one feeling like this and it CAN be reversed. It just takes dedicated time to rework those neural pathways. Interesting stuff!

Distillery District

I'm having adventures faster than I can blog about them! Let's see if I can catch up a bit here.

I do realize the irony in following the previous blog post up with this one but I want to stay chronological here. So after posting about how much I like doing things with my friends, Wednesday, May 30th I headed into Toronto by myself. My destination was the First Parliament Interpretive Centre. I need to back up though and give a bit of background. Before I moved to Ontario I was at a ScrapShare Washington Retreat and discussing my plans with my friend Linda. She suggested that I connect with her friend Wendy who is involved in some of the fields I am looking at employment opportunities in. Wendy and I added each other on Facebook and then life got in the way. I moved, settled into school, went to Quebec and took my epic road trip last summer. She moved between Ottawa and Toronto and got divorced. This year when school ended I contacted her again and made plans to come out to visit. Wednesday was that day. 

I was late leaving Waterloo but traffic wasn't too bad so I got to Toronto around 1pm. Wendy was waiting for me and greeted me by name when I walked in. We started chatting and talked for probably two hours straight. It was great. We discussed the exhibit and how it developed, her involvement and the other places she has worked. From what Linda had said I knew Wendy would be a good resource and I was right. We discussed the job market in our field in Ontario, ways to network and a bunch of other things. The exhibit itself is a temporary one so it's mostly just informational panels. I didn't take any pictures but it was interesting to read and a good introduction to the War of 1812 bicentennial events happening in Ontario starting this year.

 The exhibit closed at 4 and I left just before that. Wendy directed me to the nearby historic Distillery District (which is where I had ended up parking my car) and because I wasn't in a rush to get anywhere, I hung around for awhile. I browsed through the shops, ate the lunch I had packed while people watching and treated myself to some fabulous chocolate and a tart from the bakery. In a store called Bergo I found THIS. I first saw it in the MOMA gift shop when Meredith and I were in NYC. I also recently pinned it on Pinterest. I know you can buy it at uncommongoods but I found it for cheaper here. I don't know what I'll use it for. I have no need for a creamer but I've regretted not buying it for two and a half years so I had to get it. Interesting side note. I had a feeling I would find it in that store. All their other stock was similar gadgets and by the same designer so I was working my way through looking closely at each display. Just before I found it I got a call from Meredith. We had been playing telephone tag so I was expecting her call. I also had a pretty good idea of why she was calling. The day before I had learned that one of our elementary school classmates had passed away. I don't even know the last time I saw or spoke to Laura but she used to live across the street from me and we played together a bit. This is really random but one of the clearest memories I have of Laura isn't even about her. It was of Meredith telling me, in maybe grade 3 that Laura had said that her older sister was "bleeding from between her legs". It was the first I had ever really heard of menstruation and I remember Meredith sounding really concerned about Laura's sister and the fact that it could happen to us. I also remember responding in that "I'm-younger-than-you-but-the-oldest-child-in-my-family-calmness" that "There must be an explanation for it. We just don't know what it is yet". Anyway, as I said. Random. The point of that segue was to say that just after I hung up with Mere I found the creamer so in a weird way it felt like she was there with me this time too. Anyway, this has gotten kind of long and rambly. I guess I can finish up by saying it was a nice, relaxing, productive day and I can't wait to get back to the Distillery District and to other parts of Toronto over the summer.

BlackBird Vintage. Another amazing shop that was like having my Pinterest boards come to life. It was everything I could do to hold back and not drop major $$$!

The chocolate shop

Port Dover

Monday, May 21st was Victoria Day. I worked a six hour shift at Starbucks (time and a half baby! ;)) but I was done by 1pm so I made plans to meet up with Jess in the little town of Port Dover on Lake Erie. It's about the same distance from my place to Port Dover as it is from hers and there's no real convenient place to meet up so we just met there. It worked well though because Jess had the whole day off so she was able to go out early. I got there around 3pm and joined her on the patch of beach that she had staked out. This picture was taken later in the evening when the beach had cleared off. It was BUSY, which makes sense since it's the "official start of summer" and probably the nicest May Day we've had in a long time.

We both brought snacks but we got fish and chips for dinner anyway. I had the perch and she had halibut. Food eaten outside always tastes better and this was no exception.

The line for food was crazy long. Can you see Jess (in the grey cap) and Chili in line?

We both had books so we just sat and enjoyed the nice weather. We read a bit, chatted and did a lot of people watching. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to welcome summer. I hope we can have a lot more days like this.

Niagara Falls

This is my friend Grace. She turned 25 on Friday. She was having a hard time with that number. I think we all have issues with some number or another. For me it was 23. 25 was actually pretty fun. Anyway, since she needed a distraction, a group of us decided to go to Niagara Falls for the night. There were seven of us total so we got two hotel rooms just a few blocks from the falls. We carpooled down and arrived about an hour and a half before our dinner reservations. I had anticipated the early arrival and packed a selection of cheese and crackers which I served as an appetizer on the slate cheese board that I bought Grace as a present. (I bought the same one for her brother and sister-in-law's wedding last year and she's been coveting it ever since ;))

Grace is a very girly girl so we decided to use her birthday as an opportunity to get dressed up. Our dinner reservations were at the Keg so we all pulled out our fancy dresses and did our hair. We got lots of looks but the "Happy 25th Birthday" balloon that we made Grace carry explained a lot :)

After dinner we changed into more comfortable shoes and then set out on a scavenger hunt that Sharlaine created. (Note the feather boa and blinking crown for Grace ;)) We broke into two teams and had to find 25 things such as: ONE famous person (a picture or a statue), a person with TWO tattoos, THREE people drinking coffee, etc. And of course get a picture of a team member with each person. It was a lot of fun. We only gave ourselves 45 minutes so there was a lot of running involved. My team won but only because we managed to get a group picture with TWENTY people looking at the camera (in Tim Hortons, we just kind of shouted and everyone looked LOL)

Saturday morning we slept in, had our own continental breakfast in the hotel (I brought fruit, one of the other girls brought homemade biscuits, and we had the leftover cheese) and then we headed out to see the falls. Even though Grace was born and raised in Ontario this is the first time she had actually been to the falls (other than crossing the border). She's been lots of other places. England, France, BC and on two cruises but sometimes the things in your own back yard are just as hard to get to.

It was a fabulous day for sightseeing. It was the holiday weekend so it was a little busy but not as bad as it will be later in the summer. It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze so when we did get hit with the spray from the falls it was refreshing more than annoying. The mist at the Canadian Falls was there but it wasn't really all that bad.

The first time I visited Niagara Falls was during my trip to Ontario at Easter in 2000. We drove down on Good Friday and had to be back for an evening church service so we didn't have a lot of time. It was a cold overcast day as well so it wasn't all that enjoyable. Aside from the brief stop I made on the American side of the falls in December 2010 I haven't been back. Maybe it's all in my head but I swear the falls look different from when I was there in 2000. I feel like I can tell that they have receded. It's really interesting to see.

Grace, Sharlaine and I decided to take the Maid of the Mist. Again, I did ride it twelve years ago but this time we were able to go SO much closer! Right up to the base of the Canadian Falls. It was awesome!!! Well worth the money it costs.

These are the American Falls as seen from the Maid of the Mist.

I didn't actually realize the bird was there until I uploaded this picture. I like it. There are tons of birds all around the falls and they are interesting to watch too.

After the boat ride the three of us joined up with the rest of the group and we visited a few of the shops in Niagara. The Hershey and Coke stores were favourites. This picture was taken in a hotel lobby by a friendly guy with an accent. That's me at the bottom, Susannah, Sharlaine, Elizabeth, Grace, Rachel and Esther. Just some of my awesome friends in Ontario :) 

Random Easter Memories

I suppose any annual event makes you think about past ones but today I'm reminiscing about past Easters. When I was a kid the chocolate was there but the emphasis was, as with every Sunday, always on church. Doing an Easter egg hunt was always a bit awkward because it was either completed in a hurry before church (like the picture) or we had to wait until after which was just painful :P

Because we moved a fair bit, Easter is very much associated with the house we were living in at the time. For example I know, from our ages and the angle that this was the house on Harwood. I very clearly remember the excitement of finding our chocolates in Mom and Dad's closet too. And our "baskets" that were actually empty Becel margarine tubs :)

The year we were on Astoria we had our hunt in the back yard. That summer we found a stray chocolate egg in the dryer vent. Somehow we had missed it and by then it was very melted. Ooops!

One year on Perth we had to do the hunt in the living room because it was POURING rain outside.

When I got older it was less about the chocolate and more about the fact that I had a long weekend and it was a great time to travel. In 2000 I visited Ontario for the first time and in 2007 I was in Texas. It is crazy to think that I now LIVE in Ontario (I joked about moving back then but I never, ever would have done it) and it floors me that Texas was five years ago already.

Easter is obviously about much more than chocolate or travel. After this weekend my heart is full of thanksgiving, love and new memories as I look back five years, twelve, twenty some and two thousand to where it all began.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#14 - Farmers Markets

One of the things I loved about living in my apartment in BC was that the local Farmers Market was within walking distance of my apartment. There was nothing better than walking downtown on a sunny Saturday morning and loading up with fresh veggies.

One of the reasons I chose to move to Waterloo, Ontario was that it is close to the little town of St. Jacobs is so close. St. Jacobs has a huge Farmers Market that runs throughout the year on Saturdays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer. Unfortunately between school and work I can't always get out there so this year I was super excited to get involved in the student run Farmers Market on campus! There is a group of students (mostly in Geography interestingly enough) who work together to source local food (not always "organic" but definitely local) and sell it in the Concourse once a week. Local means seasonal so this time of year it's a lot of root vegetables (beets, turnips, sweet potatoes) which I have been having fun eating. They sell each item piece by piece. For example, 25 cents for a potato or apple, 1.25 for broccoli, etc. and focus on small amounts. One of the issues with the bigger Farmers Markets is that you often get massive amounts of food. Like two pounds of green beans or ten apples. Well that is great if you are feeding a family but for a student, on a budget, buying huge amounts of food doesn't make sense because it goes bad before you can eat it. This way you only really have to buy for the week and you can load up again next week!

I was able to volunteer for an hour and a half between classes for about a month and a half. I got off track when I got sick but I'll be back next year for sure. I stopped by the last market booth on Wednesday and they gave me a little bag of chocolates as a thank you which I immediately devoured :)

I look forward to next year and in the mean time, I'll try and take a trip out to St. Jacobs again. It's only about 15 minutes from my house so it makes a nice little trip.

Attitude of Gratitude V4#1 - Friends

Today is November first, again, already. I'd like to try and do the "Attitude of Gratitude" thing again this year (for the fourth time!) I've noticed that people are doing something similar on Facebook but I'm going to keep my posts here because it gives me room to expand on my thoughts if I need/want to.

My first entry is being grateful for friends. I have SO many wonderful people in my life and I am constantly reminded of just how blessed I am. I've been in Ontario for just over a year now and I have developed many amazing friendships but the deepest ones are definitely with Jess and Grace (who dressed as each other for the Harvest Party at church. It was hilarious.)

With them I can totally be myself, be silly, be happy, be sad, be real and they totally support me.

These two are only two of the people I am proud to call friends. Even when we have cookies on our faces :)

By the way, if it's not obvious, I made my costume. I'm the siren/mermaid on the Starbucks logo!

Pinery Provincial Park

Monday was a Civic Holiday in Ontario. Meaning lots of people get the day off but it's not actually a statutory holiday (it is in some provinces, BC being one). I only had to work from 8am to 1pm so when Jess mentioned that she was planning on heading to Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron I convinced her to wait around and take me with her. Actually I had volunteered to just drive out and meet her but it's about 1.5 hours from my place and she realized how dumb it would be to take two cars so she waited.

It was a perfectly lovely day. Chili, Jess's standard poodle was with us, which means we were on the dog beach. It was pretty busy but the waves were loud so even though you could see everyone else, you really couldn't hear them. The beach front in that particular spot is pretty narrow as well and backs onto a grassy bluff so there was no one behind or in front of us.

Jess and Chili played Frisbee in the water some but I mostly just sat and read my book. The sun was warm but there was a strong breeze so it wasn't too bad. I wore a cap and sunglasses for most of the day and Jess wore the big floppy hat that you can see in my picture.

She packed a scrumptious picnic salad of mangoes, avocados, and blueberries over organic lettuce along with tuna salad on rice cakes. I haven't had rice cakes in years but they are a perfect summer beach food.

As the sun started to set the beach cleared off and we ended up staying for the whole show. It was so peaceful. In the last picture the sky was almost a rainbow. Redish-orange along the horizon, yellow and a tinge of green moving up and fading into a purple blue. It was gorgeous.

Jess actually lives on Lake Ontario so we walk along the waterfront all the time when I visit. With this visit to Lake Huron I have officially completed #72 on my list (visit all five great lakes) but I look forward to spending much more time at them.

The big three-zero

Sunday was my birthday. My thirtieth birthday. I'm officially in a new decade. I remember turning ten. I was so excited to be in the double digits. Turning thirty hasn't been all that bad. Not nearly as exciting as ten but nothing to dread. I had a harder time with 23 for sure. Anyway, I think the fact that I had such a wonderful day helped make it easier. My phone was going off constantly all day with Facebook messages, texts and emails. I went to church in the morning and for our weekly potluck afterwards where everyone sang Happy Birthday. In the late afternoon six of my closest friends joined me for a trip into Toronto. We parked at a shopping centre and took the subway into the downtown core. Our destination was the CN Tower which I haven't been to since my visit to Ontario in 2000. I figure once every ten years is good :)

The day was a bit smoggy and slightly overcast so we couldn't see super far but it was decent. They've expanded the glass floor since I was there last. Some people still have a lot of problems with it but I like it :)

This is the group: Jess, Rachel, me, Esther, Grace, Elizabeth and Leasa. Leasa was with me the first time I went to the tower but she didn't actually go up. Rachel and Grace were born and raised in Ontario but this was their first trip to the top!!!

After the tower Leasa and Elizabeth had to head home but the rest of us went out for a light dinner and I got a birthday brownie (with forks so I could share :)) It was close to midnight by the time I got home but it was so worth it. Great friends and great memories make turning thirty a lot better. I look forward to thirty more years of memories :)