Stop and Smell the.....Wild Flowers!

My day didn't start off as I hoped it would because I'm on holidays right now, but I knew one day this week I'd have to go into work to fill out my shift bid sheet. Just having to go in when your suppose to be on holidays just doesn't sit right with me, but heh I don't make the rules. I figured I'd go in a see a couple of close friends fill out the bid sheet and be gone. Now that my department has been blended into one large department I was a little taken by the 218 lines on the shift bid sheet, and yes they want them all filled out. My seniority places me 44th over all, so technically I should only have to fill out 44, but nooooo. I filled it out, and hit the summit button, and received a message indicating I had used the same number twice..grr. I tried to find my mistake, but it was kind of like finding a needle in a hay stack. Attempt number two! I redid the whole thing and again hit the summit button, and this time it tells me the page has run out of time??? I ask around, and the system crashed. grrrr. I bring it to managements attention, and their like" can you come back in later?" I'm quick to explain I'm supposed to be on holidays are you kidding me? Just as I start to make my way to upper management I hear someone say the systems back up now. Attempt number three! back to the computer, and another 218 lines, and guess what? yep the old you use the same number twice appeared again, but this time I found it fairly quickly, and finally got my shift completed. What I thought was going to be a half hour quickly became closer to two. I couldn't get out of there fast enough...man I was burning, and I needed a relaxer. No not a drink, or stress pill something better. A drive in the country just to get as far away from that place as soon as possible. It's amazing just how fast it effected me once I got a half hour away. I started to see some farms, and noticed less traffic turned the radio off, and rolled down the windows and took a few deep breaths...now that's more like it! I just kept heading in a northeasterly direction twisting and turning any which way I really didn't care, and before I knew I was faced with a NO EXIT sign. Should I turn right or left? no! I thought go straight ahead and see just how far I could go before running out of road. This was just what the doctor ordered. I went down as many of these roads as I could find. You see you can have the whole road to yourself because no one else wants to use it, and this gave me the perfect opportunity to slow right down and enjoy the sights. I never really get a chance to take a close look at some of the amazing wild flowers that enhance our country roads. I'm not big on gardening myself, but I do enjoy flowers and plants. This also gave me a great chance to try out my new camera. It didn't matter where I was because there was no one else around, so I just stopped the car in the middle of the road and walk to side and snapped away. I'm not sure why it has this affect on me I'm just glad it does. It wasn't the best of weather, but that didn't even matter I was stress free, and loving it. Here are a few shots I found only 1 to 2 hours away, but felt like I was in a totally different world. I ended the day with the perfect vacation food: pizza, and a cold beer.

Easy come, easy go....easy come again

Well it was that time of the year again for Bernie and Tina's annual pool party. We have been celebrating this now for around 6-7 years, and it's always been a great gathering. This year the weather was a perfect 90 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. It always attracts around 40-50 people, and we play live music. This year I played as an official member of "Kurb Appeal" (the name of our band) I'd been asked to help out playing a couple times before with them, but as of early spring I was asked to become a permanent member. It's always nice to see old friends that you only see around once a year, and get a chance to catch up. It was a perfect day, weather, friends, food, drinks, and live music what could be better? Well, having all these wonderful memories to share with family and friends, but unfortunately that wasn't meant to be. I had taken my camera as I usually do, and took lots of great shots, but at the end of the night the camera was nowhere to be found. I just figured it would show up the next day during the clean up , and didn't really worry much more than that. The next day I returned to gather my other belongings, chair and cooler, but still no camera. I then thought someone probably mistakenly gather it at the end of the night, and when they realize it they'll call Bernie or Tina, and I'll be reunited. After a week of silence I could only come to one conclusion there was a thief among us. A close friend of mine also lost a pair of sunglasses. The camera itself wasn't really expensive, and I've already gone out and purchased another with the swipe of my card (just to easy), but what really bums me out is who ever did this stole my memories, and that hurts! Fortunately Tina took some pictures and was kind enough to email me a couple, so this is all I have to share. Yours truly rocking on, and my friends Mary and Romana (who lost her sunglasses in this shot) Honestly though, I can't wait for next years party! I'll be there (good lord willing) and ready to capture more memories.

Don't Adjust Your Set's

I finally got off the overnight shift from work, and have now returned to the land of the living. I wasn't able to adjust my internal clock to accept sleeping all day, and being wide awake all night. Some people love it, but it's just not for me. I had three days off between my old and new shift, and that amount of time to switch my sleeping habits. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors this Sunday, and what a picture perfect day it was. There's only one place for me to be on a day like that..yup.. the lake! The sun was shinning, and not a cloud in the sky, also a good breeze that help the waves roll in, and decrease the feeling of the heat. I guess that's why I just couldn't convince myself to move into the shade. Heck I've been in the dark for the last three months, and man did it feel good to feel the sun on my face....well until I got home, and looked in the mirror. Lobster face! We all now that the suns rays can be harmful, and isn't good for our skin, and not to mention the link with skin cancer, but man it just felt so good. I'm glad I left when I did because this could have easily been a third degree burn day. I'm putting vitamin enrich oil on my skin to help sooth, and prevent pealing (I only wish it could do something for my looks) but I hope it will turn into a nice tan.

Now That's an Entertainment Centre

With all the new technology today that adds comfort to most of our lives it's hard to get off yer rump. Most people have a home entertainment centre that includes a big screen TV, Surround Sound, DVD, and some have HDTV. They would never leave the basement if not for the familiar words "dinners ready." Well this is my version of a home entertainment centre (in the summer time at least) My favorite cooking tool (bar-b-que) my favorite game (backgammon) my favorite drink (Is there anything better than Crown Royal & Canadian Ginger Ale?) my favorite pastime (learning to play the harp) my favorite current book (Across the Great Divide..The Band and America) my favorite tunes (I rock to classic rock) and my favorite source of comfort (my pipe.. like my gram pa used to smoke) I know everyone spends their time differently, but I thought I would share my favorite long weekend pastime.