on Fathers Day, and every day...

Dad, when you left this world, you were never truly ever gone.  Memories keep you close...smells, tastes and sights enhance the recollection...  Yesterday was Fathers Day.  I miss you every single day, and the hurt I experienced when you passed away 9 years ago has never gone away.  On special "occasions", such as Fathers Day, the hurt is a little stronger.  In tribute to you, my awesome father, I thought I'd compose a list of things that have, and will always, remind me of you:

-Irish Spring soap.
-BRUT cologne (only on special occasions, of course).
-calligraphy pens.
-fried eggs with a dash of garlic powder (sometimes way more than a dash).
-La cucaracha, la cucaracha... (I had no idea you were singing about a cockroach, and, I'm pretty sure the only words you got right were "la cucarcha").
-Chap Stick - the black, original kind only, of course.
-turkey stuffing - your own secret recipe.  Todd gets close, but it's never truly been the same.
-beer and Clamato juice (blech!).
-Molson Canadian Lager.
-air-popped popcorn with a tall glass of Crosby's lemonade (made with a little extra water, because if you didn't, it would be too strong).
-The New York Islanders (particularly the 1980-83 seasons) when we watched them prevail (even listening to the New York radio station when the game wasn't being aired on CBC), all while enjoying your popcorn & lemonade you made special, just for the game.
-Archie Bunker
-lighthouses.
-Navy ships or anything to do with the sea, really.
-Dentyne gum (the classic, small stick cinnamon flavored kind); you used to drive me nuts when you chewed it.
-Nikita by Elton John.  You wore that tape out because you'd only listen to that one song on the one side.  The tape deck in the Tempo (or was it the Escort?) had a button where you'd flip the tape to the "B" side and you'd go back and forth in that same section of tape.  What was the other song? "Wrap her Up", maybe?
-John Wayne movies.  Remember when I worked at the video store and brought home the life-size cardboard cutout of John Wayne?  He stood in the basement for so many years...

I hope I always hold on to these memories.  I'm blowing kisses up to Heaven...Happy Fathers Day, Dad....love and miss you, forever xoxoxo.

Summer 2010

Well, now that Old Home Week has come and gone, we're all left to face the inevitable truth, and that is the end of summer. I've been a bad blogger -- barely scraping by with keeping this updated , and that's only thanks to a slight BB obsession. I would never normally say that I lead an overly exciting or busy life, but I guess these past few months have been pretty busy. I'm going to try to pinpoint the highlights - this blog serves as my journal, so there are a few moments that I don't want to forget! :)

• a great evening of entertainment & friendship thanks to the hospitality of Jo & Barry, and to Irish Mythen for lending her talent (as well as Andrew & Nikki). We had an opportunity to also meet Irish's parents, so that was super special. Irish is the spit of her momma!
• I was lucky enough to witness a live taping of the Live! with Regis and Kelly show when they took their crew on-site to PEI. It was an extremely successful endeavor by Tourism PEI -- and I don't think that any amount of money or any marketing scheme could have ever been as successful as how they promoted our Island for us.
• a successful baby shower for momma-to-be Tanya**! Julie R graciously offered up her new beautiful home to host a baby shower. She received so many beautiful gifts, and it was so, so nice to see her mom Vivien & her aunt Grace in attendance.
• I was able to waltz down memory lane a bit as Lana and I went thru the entire Degrassi High series in two get togethers. It was so fun :).
• I rode in a HOT AIR BALLOON!!
• Eating -- oh there was so much eating ;)....thanks to the Moshers, and to Matt & Nicole for your generous hospitality and hosting your bbq suppers for Chris and myself. The food was delish, and the company was even better!
• Speaking of eating, we had the opportunity to try out a few PEI restaurants that we'd not yet been to: Globe World Flavours, PEI Preserve Co, The Pearl Cafe, and the Doghouse (no website to link). Oh and ice cream. There's.been.SO.much.ice.cream. Soft serve cones, dilly bars, blizzards, flurries, oh my! I fear even the comfort fit waistbands might be a little tight for the next while...time to start eating like a rabbit *frown*.
• I was able to witness an evening of multiple shooting stars (it was a meteor shower, but, it was all shooting stars to me :)).
• Summer fun and friendship go hand in hand. I'm so glad that I had the chance to visit a few folks "from away", including an excellent supper out with a visiting Kelly and and the girls from work; a really fun evening at Carolyn's momma's house as she was home visiting from the big metropolis of Sturgis, SK *wink*; a quick chat with a visiting Kathleen and her granddaughter Elyse; and, a great chance to catch up with a few old Watts' alumni while a visiting Shawn was here for his annual trip home.
• I participated in the 7th Annual Corey Stevenson Memorial Tournament. By participating, I mean I sat in a fold-up chair for hours watching a far-away hole to witness the chance of giving away $10,000. The money didn't go, unfortunately, but I had a really great time, and I felt a sense of comfort knowing that I've finally participated in Corey's memory. Every year previous, the weather hasn't cooperated with the tourney. This year the sun shone bright and warm the whole time. I figure Corey was mad at me for not going previous years. I brought the sunshine. I'll be there from now on, Corey, and I hope to keep on bringing the sunshine. I miss you, buddy - so much, xo.
• On the forefront for this upcoming weekend, I have an end of summer gathering for work on Friday night; a party hosted by the lovely Bowlans that's sure to be a blast on Saturday night; and, a baby shower for Pam and her new little bundle, Ayden on Sunday afternoon. September looks a little slower...I'll blog more then, I promise :).

It's been a fantastic summer, filled with so many excellent memories. I'm so fortunate to have so many great friends in my life. Raising a glass to Summer '10 ;)


**Exciting update: This post has been in my drafts for a few days as I compose when I have a few free moments. I'm happy to report that Tanya gave birth to a healthy baby boy on August 26th at 9:34 am. Welcome to the world, little Jared "Ryder" Mason! Tanya, I'm SO proud of you! I cannot wait to meet your gorgeous boy! xoxoxo

Up, up and away!!!!!!

So my amazing weekend continued...

Having already been down to witness the hot air balloons on Saturday night and Sunday morning, Chris was like a kid in a candy store, insisting we go Sunday evening for their night flight. I wasn't overly enthused, I'll admit. Thinking if there were dozens of pretty balloons I'd be so much more impressed. He'd already shown me some fabulous photos he'd taken of those that would be taking off. There were 4. Selfishly, I was sorta tired, and wanted to go home. However, he was the driver, so after he took some pics of Tanya and after we had a lovely visit with the Masons, we headed to the Crapaud field.

The trucks were lined up waiting for the next run. The mosquitos were absolutely INSANE there. Queue Cranky Amber. I'm in a hot car waiting for something I have no idea if I'll even enjoy. I'm not prepared for warding off bugs. I'm in my flip flops and don't have a coat. We don't have bug spray. I'm anticipating hours of being inside the car because I'm trying to avoid being eaten alive while he's out shooting photos. And I'm tired.

One of the pilots knocks on Chris' window to let him know that the wind has changed, and the take off is going to be out of Hunter River instead. 1o billion mosquitos pile inside the vehicle in search of unsuspecting flesh (ok possibly not that many; 5 billion?). So we follow - I'm still not overly impressed, but I do have a glimmer of hope as I envision the possibility of having a pee and perchance, the purchase of some bug spray. We went to the Hunter River Irving, shooing mosquitos as we traveled, and found our refuge in a tiny bottle of Muskol.

We got to the field for the lift off. The crews unloaded the gear and unfolded the balloons, and one started to fill. As I watched the balloon take shape and the utter enormity of the balloon in scale of everything else in my surroundings, I then started getting impressed. Yeah. It was pretty cool. The pilot that Chris had followed out (he'd been part of the ground crew earlier in the day - holding onto the restraints as the balloon filled) came over to me, handed me a pair of gloves and said she was going to put me to work. I helped keep the mouth of the balloon steady as the air was forced in. In no time, it was filled, and we all were asked to use our weight to keep the basket down on the ground. She asked Chris if he wanted to go up. Her basket was the smallest there -- room for only herself and one passenger.

When you go up on a balloon, you are moving with the wind. The crew on the land have GPS systems and they 'chase' the balloon to help with the landing and to pick up the pilot and passengers. We had taken Chris' car there. His car is a standard, and because I can't drive a stick, he declined, knowing he'd have to be the chaser,...but then quickly volunteered me to go up in his place (he was SUPER jealous, but was happy that one of us at least had the chance to go).

I'm terrified of heights, so for a brief moment had a thought cross my mind of, "Wow, can I really do this?". With hot air balloons you don't have a lot of time for large discussions -- so without much further thought, and more of a, "Wow how can I NOT do this??", I climbed into the basket and off we went. It was spectacular. Amazing. Incredible!

Here are a few shots I took with Chris' G11 point & shoot. I was one-handed -- having to ensure one hand was always on the balloon. Funny thing with those things ...there's no seatbelt. There's no harness... and this particular basket wasn't overly tall. I would have felt a lot more safe had it been about a foot higher in height (that surely would have made the climb in and out that much more entertaining to observers, too, no doubt).

So yeah. I flew in a hot air balloon over picturesque PEI. And it was amazing. It's as good a task as any to have added to your bucket list. And I get to cross it off mine. :)