Not Guilty, Just Pleasure - Lousiana Rain

Happy Friday everyone.

Hope you all survived yesterday's deep freeze.  Talk about a shock to the system.

Happy Birthday John

For Not Guilty, Just Pleasure Friday, I'm sharing a song by an artist I can take or leave.  I know that this is a guy who is beloved by many.  His music was always around but I can't honestly say that I was a big fan.  Having said that, "Damn The Torpedoes" is an album I bought on vinyl many years ago and still love.

Today also happens to be the birthday of the one the best guys I know (and he's one of my very best friends).  Happy Birthday John!!  
John is a fan of Tom Petty (I don't have a photo of him listening to Tom Petty so you'll have to manage with a photo of him listening to Bob Dylan) and I know that this song is one of John's favourites.  I hope you enjoy it as much as John and I do. 

Have a listen to "Louisiana Rain," loudly if you can.  enjoy xo

They Say It's Your Birthday

Happy Birthday Mark.

You would have turned 64 today.  I never thought that I wouldn’t get to sing “When I’m 64” to you on your birthday this year (even thought it’s a Paul song).  We both knew that 65 might be a push and 70, well we didn’t dare dream that 70 was possible, but 64, that was a no-brainer.  I had already made plans for us to visit Montreal and you were so excited about that.  We would have left last night on the train (something we NEVER do – travel by train) and checked into John and Yoko’s room at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.  We would spend the day wandering around in Montreal, celebrating your 64th birthday in style.

How I wish that could have happened.

Instead, today, I have plans to celebrate your birthday with some lovely friends.  I am even heading out of town to do it (the first time I’ve left Kingston since we took that trip to Brockville to have your PICC put in).  We will remember you and will laugh a lot and probably cry a little and talk about much we loved you and the joy you brought to our lives, not to mention how much better off we were for having you in our lives.

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

Grandpa Shanks

This is my favourite photo of me and my grandpa.

I know I have shared it here before.

He passed away when I was 17, I was probably around 2 when this photo was taken, on Merrick Street in Smiths Falls.

Today is his birthday and while it's not the only day of the year that I think about him, I think about him often, it seems more significant to share a photo or a memory about him on April 20.

For the last few years of his life, my grandpa lived with us.  He had sold the family house in Smiths Falls and moved to Amherstview after my grandma passed away.  Him living with us provided my brother and I with a special opportunity my cousins didn't have.  Probably because he lived with us and likely because we were a bit older than most of our cousins, we have more memories about him.  When you live with someone every day, and, in particular, when you help to be a care giver to someone at the end of their life, you get to know them as a person and not a mythic grandparent.  I feel priviledged to have known my grandpa as a man, wise and honourable, strong and principled.  I wish that we had a few more years together, so he could have known me as an adult and so I could have known him better.

To me, it's almost unbelievable that it is almost 30 years since he passed away.  It almost seems unreal.  I take comfort in knowing that in the end, he understood how much we loved and respected him.  Happy Birthday Grandpa.

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was Mark's birthday.  This year, we decided, for a number of reasons, we were going to not really celebrate our birthdays (mine is next month) until the summer.

Right now, we have a lot of stuff on our plates and we both feel like we'll be in a better position to really celebrate in June or July.  Having said that, over the weekend, we did have a really lovely meal (that Mark cooked) on Sunday.  At times, I could actually taste and smell my meal.  We had grilled shrimp and veggies, so delicious!! Tasting and smelling are not things to be taken for granted.  I have been suffering with a nasty headcold for about 10 days now and I literally dragged my butt around all weekend.  On Saturday, we did some errands but on Sunday, I only got up off the couch to drag stuff back and forth to the washing machine.

A wild weekend indeed!

On Mark's actual birthday, yesterday, there was no cake, no balloons, not a hoop or a lah.  We were both sick.  I couldn't talk at all (had lost my voice from the coughing and had not slept a wink on Sunday night).  Mark was sick to his stomach (just a tip from us to you, read the list of foods to avoid during chemo BEFORE you start chemo - the spicy foods he loves are not his friends right now).  It was a pretty lacklustre birthday for sure.

When the time comes that we're both feeling perkier and happier, we'll celebrate properly.  In the meantime, we're both just adjusting to the changes we've made in the household to accommodate the chemo and continuing to take things one day at a time.

Happy Birthday Susie

Today is Susie's birthday.  She's an old friend who I haven't seen in a while but I always remember her birthday.  In honour of her birthday, I'm going to share this video.

A long time ago, my brother invited me to come to Ottawa to see one of my favourite bands (Sloan), with him and a bunch of friends.  I was excited to see Sloan again, and it was the first time seeing them in a venue where I didn't know most of the other folks in the audience (I had seen them play here in Kingston, a lot).

I had no idea until we got to the show, how much Sloan's popularity had exploded with the release of "one chord to another" and the place was packed to the rafters, with kids.  Their nervous looking parents hung around the edge of the room while the kids all pushed together in front of the stage.  Susie and I were up front  at the beginning of the show and eventually, the crowd started to crush forward.  She and I being adults, I think felt like we needed to protect the kids around us but eventually, the crush was too strong and I fell over.  First and last time that happened.  I crawled out of the throng of people, trying to keep from losing my glasses. 

From the sidelines, I watched the rest of the show. It was a weird moment and it's stayed with me.  I am thinking that had to have been the winter of 1997.  Feels like it was a really long time ago and just a few months ago at the same time. Time is funny like that.

happy birthday John

imagine: the peace ballad of john & yoko
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today would have been John Lennon's 73rd Birthday. It's also his son Sean's 38th birthday.

In honour of their birthday's, I think you should listen to your favourite John and/or Sean song today and celebrate.

In case you were wondering, my favourite John song is "Across the Universe" and my favourite Sean song is "Headlights" (because I'm a sucker for some hand claps).

Happy Birthday Sean and John.

Joe

Joe
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Last week's birthday celebrations did not got exactly as I'd thought that they would.

First of all, birthday Tiffany was out of the country on her birthday. She was whooping it up in Vegas, lucky girl. This meant though that I did not get to talk to her on her birthday or wish her a happy birthday, in person, 2 days late, at Lucia's birthday party.

Speaking of Lucia's birthday party, we stayed about 45 minutes and then left. Unfortunately, Mark quit work a little early on Wednesday afternoon because he had a migraine. He still had one on Thursday morning and could not shake it. By the time I finished work on Thursday (he'd stayed home), he was feeling better, still fragile but better. We decided we would try to go to the party. It was being held at an absolutely fabulous restaurant downtown. We were the first to arrive (which surprised us). They were expecting about 25 people and it was WARM in the room already. Warm is not good for a migraine sufferer. Once folks started to arrive and order drinks, I could see Mark turning green. The perfumes, the alcohol, the kitchen smells, it was getting to be too much. We stayed long enough to have a very quick visit with Lucia's parents and her grandparents and then we left.

On the way home, we stopped off at Dong Nai for soup but even that didn't help Mark. I'd never seen him so sick and he almost never had a migraine for 2 days. Awful stuff. Friday morning, fortunately, he felt better and went back to work.

We had a pretty good weekend, did lots of stuff around the house, got some errands done. We thought a lot about Mark's dad Joe too. He passed away 3 years ago this weekend. It's really difficult for me to believe that 3 years have passed but they have. I think about Joe all of the time, sometimes at silly times, often times when Mark is cooking and I think about much Joe loved good food. We miss him, lots. 3 years, crazy.

Birthday week!

first all ages show
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Tiffany (the lovely girl on the right in this photo) is having a birthday today. Happy Birthday Tiffy!! this photo of her is about 14 years old but her face is still as sweet as it was when she went to her first all ages show (cue Juliana Hatfield's "My Sister" here - although it was a cub show).

Also celebrating a birthday this week (already!) is Tiffany's beautiful niece, Lucia. How is it that Lucia is already (almost) a year old? We'll be celebrating 1 year of Lucia on Thursday.

Happy Birthday to all of the wonderful September babies!!

current weather

current weather
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The current weather here is gross.

Hot, sticky, smelly and gross. We've spent the biggest chunk of today, cowering in the air conditioning. The breeze outside died mid-morning. Not fun.

Both dogs celebrated birthdays this weekend, Gracie on Thursday, Sammy on Saturday. They are both now 2. For their birthdays they got extra trips to the dog park and lamp chops. Not bad huh?

I'm back to work tomorrow. The past two weeks have flown by but I had a blast. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to going back but I can honestly say that it's not something I'm dreading. I'd just rather always be home with the doggies if I could be.

happy birthday grandpa

me and my grandpa
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today is the birthday of my grandfather, Lawrence Shanks.

I've been thinking about him a lot more than I usually do lately. Partly because today is his birthday and partly because of a review I read about the coffee shop at St Joseph's Oratory.. Thanks Ralph!

I often think about my grandfather. He was a really cool and smart guy and he was a massive Habs fan (just like my dad is) so I know he'd be happy that they're in the play offs this year. My grandfather died almost 25 years ago and I still miss him.

So yeah, before I start to water up and the screen goes all blurry, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday grandpa!

I can so drive the van

I can so drive the van
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Have I mentioned lately how much I love sleeping with the windows open? No!? Well.

I love sleeping with the windows open.

For some reason, over the weekend, when I saw the weather forecast was for sunny days, I wrongly thought sunshine = warm. I forgot how cold it can be in April. On Saturday, when we were doing errands, it was cold as, well, really cold weather. Well, not really cold, more like, it was sunny but the wind off of the lake was cold. When we got up on Saturday morning, convinced that it would warm up, I turned the furnace off. Saturday night, I decided that we should leave the windows open.

On Sunday morning, we awoke to a really cold house. I jumped out of bed, frozen almost solid (made jumping difficult) and closed the windows. While Mark hid under the covers, I went to the living room to turn the furnace back on. It was 14 degrees in the living room. That's cold! Eventually, the furnace kicked in and the house slowly warmed up. It took me almost all day Sunday to thaw out after that. I swear my nose was colder than Gracie's all day.

The last couple of days though, have been gorgeous. The breeze is still cool but the sun is lovely and we've been sleeping with the windows open again. Man but I sleep so much better with the windows open. Fresh air is really truly awesome after a long winter of being cooped up with too hot central heating.

Yesterday was Mark's birthday. We didn't do anything too fantastically special because we'd sort of spent the weekend celebrating his birthday. The Tuesday actual birthday day was a little bit anticlimactic but that happens when your birthday happens mid-week sometimes.

Tonight we're seeing my parents for a birthday dinner and that should be nice. We only saw them very briefly on Saturday so it'll be good to have a visit and get caught up with them. Other than that though, there's not much to report around here. Work's busy but it's a good kind of busy which I really like.

It's not often than I can say that I have no complaints (because I can whine for Canada if I have to) but today, I have to say that live is really good, deceivingly sunny days and all.

ready for a tummy rub

ready for a tummy rub
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today is Sam's birthday. He's had a pretty good birthday-week I think. Even though we had to slide out of town for a few hours earlier today (to attend my cousin's wake - more about that later), he had an awesome breakfast of eggs and turkey, got a gigantic raw hide bone/toy to chew on and went to the dog park twice. Not bad huh?? Between trips out of town and visits to the groomers, he's had a pretty much fun-packed 2 weeks. I must say we have too, at least up until the past couple of days.

The death of my cousin has bothered me a lot more than I thought it would. I guess I figured that because she'd been so sick, for so long, that when the time finally came, I'd be okay (or as okay as you are in these situations). Right now though, I think I feel a little bit relieved. See, this afternoon, we went to the visitation and I saw her husband and parents for the first time since she'd died. I hadn't actually seen them in a while and it was tough. See, her parents are my godparents, her dad is my mum's oldest brother and I knew that when I saw him, I'd lose it. I promised myself I wouldn't but when I hugged him, I totally lost my composure on him. He just laughed when I said, "I promised myself I wouldn't do this" because I think everyone was saying that to him. He's been a rock through all of this stuff. I hope that in a few days, he can collapse into a puddle for a while (if that's what he needs - I think it's what I would need).

There were dozens of people there when we arrived. We stood in line for about an hour waiting to get into the room. By the time we were near the door way, we heard that they had started turning folks away and asking them to come back to the evening session. It was not something I'd ever seen before. Of course, all of her mum's siblings were there, with their children and grandchildren. I'd forgotten how large their family was. It was really overwhelming. Seeing my family though, did help and I feel like I'll be able to retain some semblance of cool tomorrow and keep things together. I'm not saying that I won't have dozens of tissues in my pockets but I think I'll be a little less rattled. I hope so anyway.

done sniffin'

done sniffin'
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I seriously wish I was done sniffin'!

I am getting really sick of allergies. For the past few days (well since Friday I guess), I can't tell if I have a cold or just really bad allergies. Today I'm feeling really fuzzy and weird and I'm tired of my eyes itching and my nose running.

It's not fair!!! Yeah, I know that lots of stuff isn't fair but I really don't think it's fun when you feell fuzzy and weird on your birthday. Yeah, that's right, Happy birthday to me!

The birthday after a big milestone birthday feels a little ordinary. When your birthday also is falling on a Tuesday and you have to be at work and have allergies, it sort of feels like just another day. I think that this weekend will feel more celebratory. It's a long weekend around here and I have Friday off too so it should be a good one.

Tonight we're having dinner with my folks which will be nice. I haven't seen them in a couple of weeks so it'll be good to have a visit and a meal that doesn't involve anyone having to do dishes. Other than that though, it's just sort of a sniffy tuesday 'round here!

Dancing Sam

Dancing Sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Mark's Birthday Weekend flew by in a snap.

I snap my fingers a lot lately so I've got "snap" on the brain. It actually works to get Sam's attention so I'm using that as part of our training.

Saturday was sort of a lazy day. I was up early and Mark slept in a bit. I got up and hung out on the sofa in my pj's with the dog. It was awesome. Early in the afternoon we went out and did a bunch of errands which included going to costco at zero hour. All of the looky-loos were out lining up, 10 people deep for a one inch piece of cheese bread. Seriously people, it costs $6. Just buy it.

Yesterday I was not feeling good. I had some sort of weird cold all last week and I think it finally caught up with me yesterday. I'd not slept well on Friday or Saturday and I think that part of it was that I was overtired. I had a nap in the afternoon and then a really hot shower and felt much better. Mark and I went out for sushi rolls last night as part of the birthday celebration weekend.

Today, we both had the day off from work. We booked it off because it was Mark's birthday and also so that we could take Sam to the vet together. He needed to get his shots and meet the vet. I was quite nervous about the visit for a lot of reasons. Sam's still learning about the leash and I was deathly afraid that he'd somehow get out of it and run into the street (the Vet is on a really busy corner). Last night, we took him out in the van for his second drive in it. We did not want him to associate the van with going to the vet. He was really awesome in the van, he seems to be more comfortable there each time we go out.

When we got to the clinic, didn't he wiggle out of his harness (we didn't have it tight enough). Fortunately, when he did this, Sam pushed himself flat down onto his stomach on the pavement. Mark was able to pick him up and carry him inside. Once we got inside, he was pretty good. He's not had a lot of time around strange people or other animals so he barked a couple of times but overall was very well behaved.

He had 3 shots today and we are going back in 3 weeks for boosters. After that, he'll go back for his operation (yes, he's getting snipped!) and he and Mark will go to obedience school. By the time summer arrives, he'll be really ready to get out and do things with us without having any anxiety.

That's the plan anyway!

mark cooks

mark cooks
Originally uploaded by Julep67

It is Mark's birthday on Monday.

It's his birthday weekend this weekend. A few ago, a gift I'd ordered for him arrived in the post and I let him open it early. He very sweetly didn't start to use it until tonight. I ordered three t-shirts for him, one has the logo and the name "Springfield Isotopes" on it (go 'topes!). The second shirt says, "you lika da juice?" and the third, he's wearing right now (put it on after work - for the birthday weekend) says, "giggity goo."

I think his birthday is off to a good start. He's chilling out in the living room, watching Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues band (on the DVR from the other night - we love cool tv!). It's a 2000 show that was taped at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The sound is amazing and so is Taj.

In addition to the shirts, I picked up a few other odds and ends for Mark on eBay over the past few weeks. He chose to open one of the gifts tonight. The gift he chose was a copy of "American Dad, Season 2" so we'll be watching that tonight and hanging out in our toasty warm house, ignoring the cold wind and rain outside.

At the moment, we're just waiting for some pizza to arrive for dinner, Sam's playing here in my office. I know it's going to be a great weekend cuz it's off to an awesome start.

autumn leaves

autumn leaves
Originally uploaded by Julep67

hey, hey, it's Monday.

hey, hey, it's my lovely brother's birthday. I'm sure that he'll be celebrating in style if he hasn't already started.

I survived the weekend but it would take very little convincing to get me to go back to sleep this morning. I feel absolutely exhausted. I guess working last weekend and then having SUCH a long day on Saturday (we left town at 10:30 a.m. - I got to bed at around 3 a.m.) has taken it's toll.

I like the Zombies but am not enjoying feeling like one. I really hope I can take a few days off soon. I feel like I could really really use a few.

the birthday girl

the birthday girl
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Happy Birthday mum!!

Today is her birthday and we stopped by for a little visit earlier this evening. From what we heard, I think she's been having a super birthday, as she should!!

For the first time since the water main construction started, our water was turned off for a while this afternoon. I had just put a load of laundry into the machine when I heard a knock at the door. The fellow said it would be off for about an hour but it was less than that, maybe only 45 minutes.

So far, I am happy to report that the construction folks have been polite and courteous. I'm not sure if I'll be feeling this way when they get to the section of the street in front of our house and we're not able to access our driveway but so far, I can't complain.

icing on the cake

icing on the cake
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

I have had a great birthday weekend so far. It's winding down now but it's not quite over.

It's safe to say that I've had a lot of fun and feel as if I've been completely spoiled rotten. Rotten maybe strong because I actually appreciate all of the effort that Mark has gone to this weekend to make this particular birthday, particularly special.

Tonight, Mark is barbecuing. I can smell it right now actually. It smells good. For dessert, he's made ma a cheesecake. As long as I have known him, he's boasted about a white chocolate peanut butter cheesecake but he's never made it for me. Until today!! It's huge so I imagine a large chunk of it will go to work with me tomorrow.

this afternoon we went for a bit of a drive. I got to see my mum & dad for a few minutes and then we went out to a park along the lake shore so I could try out the new camera on something other than our fish! I felt a little bit like I was doing surveillance with this camera but it was really cool. Some of the shots I got were really nice, particularly of the water and some of the birds. I am taking so many more shots with this new camera that one or two are usually quite good and I can toss out five or ten. This camera has completely changed the way I take photographs. It's very cool. The whole weekend has been cool.

So far, I have no complaints whatsoever about being 40!

early birthday gift

early birthday gift
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

My birthday fun started a day early.

Well, technically, it began yesterday. In the morning, a massive bouquet of flowers arrived at the office from Mark. Then, I had a nice brown-bag lunch with a couple of friends and they gave me some lovely votive candles and holders.

Last night, we had dinner with my parents and then went to the carnival. This morning, Mark surprised the crap out of me.

I thought we were going out of town but he went along with that idea to throw me off the scent of my fabulous new camera!!! He got me a Nikon D40 for my birthday, with a 18-135 mm lense. I've never really used a camera like this before but so far I'm loving it. It feels just great in my hands and already I've taken some (in my opinion), nice shots. It's much easier than I expected because many of the settings are automated. Eventually, I'd like to figure out all of the manual stuff too but for now, I'm just loving what I can do with it.

We're heading out shortly to see my godson, it's his birthday today (happy 21st Matthew!!). I'm not sure what the rest of the day will bring but holy crap on a stick I'm having a good birthday weekend so far!!!

candy apples

candy apples
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

When life gives you apples, dip 'em in cherry flavoured sugar and enjoy!!

Well, not quite but you get the sentiment, right?

On the way home from dinner (at my parents, in celebration of my birthday - two days early, it's not until Sunday) tonight, we saw a carnival set up in a mall parking lot. I made Mark stop so I could get some photos of the rides and people. Of course, these things always also have the best signs ever. I am a sucker for a good sign.

I'm a little surprised that I'm still awake at this hour. Usually we're alseep by now but it is Friday and it is my birthday weekend so it's okay. Tomorrow, we can sleep in a bit. We're planning a trip down south of the border. Probably to Syracuse for some shopping and birthday fun. I'm not sure if we'll go tomorrow or Sunday, it's all kind of up in the air at the moment.

Whatever we do or wherever we end up, it'll be fine with me. I don't plan to do much more than have fun and enjoy the last few hours of my 30's.