New 52: Weeks 29 - 33

And now for part two of my catch up post….

Week 29 ~ That's Entertainment

Ross & I have a date night and go see the "Buddy Holly Story" at the Huron County Playhouse. We are really fortunate in Grand Bend to have quality theatre ( talented actors and musicians) in our small town.  The venue is pretty nice too… This is also the week that our friends from Kitchener come to visit and we decide to go to the Starlite Drive-in to see Despicable me II, proving that we aren't snobs when it comes to entertainment :~)  It must be one of the very few remaining drive in theatres anywhere!

Week 30 ~ Hanna

It has been really quiet here without Dawson and in spite of just having been through the whole puppy training thing we (well mostly me) decide to go ahead and get another dog.  But what kind? After spending hours online checking out different breeders, and trying to sort out if I want to adopt an older dog, get another Pom or maybe try a Papillon I decide to go back to the breed I know and love. I'm home alone as Ross has gone canoeing with a buddy from college days for a week so what better time to start training a new puppy!  Whitland Shelties in Corunna, is not too far and has a couple of pups available so I drive out to see them. I had initially chosen her sister, the runt of the litter, but after spending over an hour observing the pups it becomes apparent that cute  and tiny as she is ( I love tri-coloureds) she's much too hyper for me. This one, however snuggled into my neck and went to sleep when I picked her up - I knew I had found my girl. She is incredibly calm and cuddly without being fearful or shy - the right temperament for me. Her colouring is sable/merle so a bit unusual. Meet Hanna…

Week 31 ~ Bugs

The area we live in is a rare habitat ( Carolinian Forest) and we have our share of unusual critters. I confess not all of these were taken this week but it made sense to put them together. The very noisy cicadas are super cool in close up - amazing eyes. Blue dragon flies, very strange and very long Pelecinus wasp that does not need a mate to breed - it is parasitic and uses that long tail to lay its eggs in beetle larvae in sandy soil, a moth with a mane like a lion…bees that kill cicadas ( no photo of  that one) they are huge and scary looking but for the most part docile - the males are stingless …always something new to learn

 

Week 32 ~ About Town

Welcome wagon dropped by with some nice coupons, so we took the time to check out some local businesses.  Some we'd been to before and others new to us. Ross loves Best Ice Cream ( he has yet to try the bacon flavour), and our neighbour Anne Fullarton http://www.annfullerton.com has some work in a local gallery so we stopped by there and tried out the restaurant next door for the first time. For years we have been driving by Dales Antique Market without stopping in and consequently missed out on a really cool place to shop

Week 33 ~ Homer

For the last few day we've had a racing pigeon frequent our backyard bird feeder. I think that means he's opted out of the race. He has red & green leg bands, and I've been in contact with a racing association to see if we can locate his owner.  We're calling him Homer. At the other end of the spectrum we have hummingbirds pretty constantly and I managed a pretty good shot.  Lastly there is a large flock of turkeys around but we never seem to have the camera at hand just when they come through.

New 52: Weeks 21~28

You know what they say about the best of intentions…I have to confess that this project still  hasn't made it to the forefront for me. Much has to do with how crazy busy it is to build a house, move, have company and get a dog… So this is a sort of catch up post and also a bit of a change of focus from all "new" things to a bit of a chronicle of what's been happening in the weeks since I last posted. I am still mindful about opportunities to try different things or simply to look at the world with new eyes.  Thank you Lynette for providing the nudge…again!

Week 21 ~ Garlic Scapes

Our friend Stan, who grows organic garlic as a profitable hobby, dropped off a large bag of these. Scapes, in case you didn't know are the edible top of the garlic plant.  A quick google turns up tons of recipes… we tried them raw, in a salad, and cooked in a stir fry. Very tasty! It was a large bag, so I chopped them up and froze most of it to add to soups and anything where I want a hint of garlic.

Week 22 ~ Maggie

The highlight had to be a visit to Toronto see my "aunt" Maggie ( she's actually younger than me), her lovely daughter Stephanie,  Dan and of course the unforgetable dashunds - Biskit & Brandie.  Can't believe I forgot to take photos, we were only there for about 8 hours catching up on about 20 years.

Week 23 ~ New Braces Again!

After just over 3 years in braces it turns out I have to go back to the beginning - you have no idea how pissed I am about this whole thing.  Got opinions from 2 highly qualified orthodontists, and it seems like there is never going to be space enough for the planned implant and the attempt to create it has left me with an awful overbite. Suffice it to say I couldn't bite into a tomato if I tried. So, for only $4500 and another 22 months in braces (joy!) we are trying to restore my bite, at which time we'll see what to do about the cracking teeth…crowns most likely. Moral of the story - always see a specialist and get a second opinion or better still, a third before taking a big step like messing with your mouth! Moving on… on the bright side, the new orthodontist is in Stratford and that means a trip to Madelyn's Diner 

( http://www.madelynsdiner.ca/index.asp ) for one of the best buttertarts ever. Rumor has it that it's Justin Bieber's favorite restaurant in his hometown, but I don't hold that against the restaurant. Stratford also means a chance to visit the swans - which I find incredibly beautiful! 

Okay one of those isn't a swan - but these geese were hilarious trying to chase Dawson.

Week 24 ~ Sting!!!

Our very good friends Gord & Rebecca had a pair of tickets they could not use, so they gave them to us along with the use of their new townhouse. First time to a live concert in ages - the acoustics in an auditorium aren't the best, but still it was fun to hear the music live with a huge crowd and a light show!

Week 25 - Pride

My nephew, the very handsome  Adam Campbell, graduates with honour.  He pulled this off while working part time and after a not so great grade 11. Nothing this kid can't do when he sets his mind to it!

Week 26 - Move in at last!

We have the keys to the new place, some furniture yet to be delivered as well as all the stuff from Calgary and lanscaping to finish off … but we're in. So happy with how it all turned out.  Home at last. Feels wonderful!

Week 27 ~ Visitors 

Marie-Rose (aka MR), my niece Reanne & Doris drove out from Saskatoon & Calgary to visit. They were the first guests in our new home and got to see the place before we finished unpacking and while it was still a bit chaotic here with people dropping by to finish up odds & ends and hook up cable, work on the yard….Still we managed to get out to the beach, fit in some shopping( Doris models the new shirt) and see a show ( Spamalot was hilarious!).  Reanne is growing like a weed - she's as tall as I am already!

Week 28 ~ Heartbreak

Our beautiful Dawson died of a seizure on July 26th, the day after getting his heartworm medication - we'll never know for sure if that was the cause, but the autopsy performed by the drug manufacturer found no underlying defects - up until that day he had been a very happy, and healthy little fellow. We miss him terribly, in just a few short months he had captured our hearts.