Summer Vacation 2011 comes to an end....

Another ending and yet another beginning. The summer season isn’t officially over for a few weeks yet but you’d never know by the weather the last few days. Brrrrrrrrrr

This past weekend was a great one. The annual Fish Fry went off without a hitch even though Saturday was a scorcher. Fish, corn and salads a plenty everyone enjoyed the buffet style meal not to mention the desserts and cold drinks. I was a perfect angel with a tarnished halo but if one looked hard enough my horns were peeking out just a wee little bit. I could tell a few whispers were circulating within a small group of people about recent changes in my attitude towards life and I think the smile that stayed on my face the whole day confused more than a few people. You know what they say “Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to.”

Over the Labour Day weekend my dear friend came down from her Northern world to celebrate her sister’s birthday. During her time here in the South, we text messaged back and forth and giggled secretly about all sorts of things. It brought me back to the days of our yester-years when secrets were shared over the phone or whispered in each others ear. On Monday we got together and left the city just before 10am. It was cloudy and cool but the grey skies didn’t deter our adventure. It was off to Port Dover for a day of fun a small bit of shopping and of course the famous Arbour Dog, along with a Cherry Glow for her and a Peach Glow for me. We walked barefoot in the cool beach sand and had a laugh about the difference in colour from dark tan and almost pure white. We even braved a small “toe dipping” into Lake Erie and shivered as we watched a very few take on the cool nip of the air making their way into the chilly water. Before we ended our adventure we sat on the deck of the beach restaurant for a drink. We ordered a
pina colada and a margarita and we toasted to the end of summer and our long lasting friendship.

A friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself...Jim Morrison

My Port Dover Butterfly Find!!

Feet of Friendship

Yes it takes 2 hands to manage 12"











Things are still in an upheaval on the work front, and even though a shift was taken away from me and given to someone else I’m still going to smile all the way through it. It was definitely unfair and if I had to hazard a guess it was so that the person who was given my shift would feel beholden to the new supervisor and become a program Instructor filling a spot where one needed to be filled. From what I gather it was not a smart move on the new Supervisors part since the person did not take the offered program Instructors position leaving her searching for someone else. Oh well, sucks to be her…lol. I’m sure there are going to be many many problems as the rental season begins and I will have great joy in sending all problems across to the “Big Desk” in the office. In the past we were given access to certain things in order to thwart any situation before it became a problem. We no longer have that access so I will be smiling that cheery smile of mine as I post note after note onto the “Big Desk”.


Things really DO happen for a reason!!!!

Yet another chapter is coming to a close......

The tans will fade, but the memories will last forever.

Connections!!!!!!

Ah the memories! What a wonderful thing it is to travel down the paths of time gone by. There has been a old group but new for others including myself onto Facebook. This group is dedicated to people who grew up in Brantford and can remember different things. It’s officially called “If you grew up in Brantford you remember…….. or IYGUIBYR for short. I signed into this group and wow, what a group this is. There are over 3,000 people in this group and all have memories of different things in Brantford as we were growing up. I have connected with a few school friends from my past and it’s amazing. It’s strange when you first start thinking about all those memories, it really makes one feel old, but once you see others remember them too, it’s like you are transformed back in time. I have re-visited places I used to hang out, things I did as a kid, troubles I got into and even visited the schools and certain school teachers that were in my past. I have posted some of my memories and others have eagerly posted back saying they remember this, or they remember that and I have done the same thing to other peoples posts. There are a few sad memories that people have posted but the majority are fun and either make you chuckle silently to yourself or burst out laughing saying “OMG I remember that!” It’s a great group and one that is extremely fun to be part of. They did have a flash mob on Saturday on the Zellars parking lot. I would have loved to have gone but other plans and taken its place. That particular parking lot was chosen since parked there permanently is one of the few remaining “original” Stan’s french fry truck. I can only imagine how busy those poor French fry servers were during this event! I’m an original/lifer Brantfordtonian and proud of it!!!!!

From this

to this

Just a few Summer Ramblings.......

Well, where do I begin? Ok here we go; first off I cancelled the weekend camping trip that I was reluctant to go on in the first place. Let’s just say I was not happy at the way things were starting to go and did not want to participate in what some had planned. Needless to say that did not go over well, but as the saying goes…”they can bite my royal behind!”

Secondly; my dear friend and her hubby made a quick trip down to the southern area for some personal business. It sure was good to see my friend again (even though it’s only been a month since I seen her. On this quick visit I was able to see her hubby as well. It’s been years since I actually “seen” him and it was a good thing. I enjoyed visiting with them both and listening to different stories while we shared lots of laughs and yes, even some cringes as the different stories unfolded. The animated words and hand movements as my friends hubby replayed some stories of long ago made me laugh. Something I really haven’t done in a few weeks. I left their hotel room with a smile and a lighter load on my shoulders.

It’s hard to believe summer is slowly nearing the end. I still have a few things I want to do before it closes its door for another year. It’ll soon be time to get back into the regular grind of work. I’m not sure how things will go with the new Supervisor, but I’m sure there will be many days when I can only shake my head and laugh at things.

There are a few projects that I have started to construct in my little corner of this world and as all construction projects go, I’m sure I’ll run into some pitfalls. But hey, isn’t that the way life goes. I may be dealt lemons at times, but I’ll have my margarita glass ready!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and that the up and coming week is a good one, and always remember………………………….

summer is only half started...a stab at being an optimist.....

So, we are now at the half way point of summer and so far it has been a great one. I really enjoyed my trip north and the re-connection of a much loved and valued friendship. I have been keeping myself busy by doing day trips here and there. I have been visiting Port Dover to have the famous arbour dog and some very delicious perch on a regular basis (the ole waistline has been enjoying these trips waaaaaaaaaay to much). I also went to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. Now that was a trip well worth my time. Some have passions in gardening, cross stitching, donkeys and many other wonderful things. Mine just happens to be butterflies.

Ok the campsite is booked and I’m preparing myself for the chest thumps of the evening campfires. Oh this should be good and I’ll not say anymore until after that weekend has passed as I’m sure the weekend will be filled with many tongue biting moments.

This week will just be spent doing nothing. I believe even the dust bunny’s need a summer vacation too and well me being such a gracious hostess to them I say to them
-“enjoy yourself while you can my fine fluffy friends!”

And on that note my dear blogger friends I will leave you with one more thought……..

The heat of the summer

With Mother Nature on a fiery rampage the temperatures have been pretty brutal. The grass has turned from lush green into crunchy hay type ground covering. The flowers have pretty much wilted into nothing but colourless sticks haphazardly sticking out from their planters and the once vibrant gardens. Air conditioners are heard buzzing between every house as the heat blankets us tightly. Lordy I thought the constant hot flashes were bad, but this summer heat tops it off. Maybe it’s my age, and damn I hope it’s not, but I just can’t seem to adjust to this heat.

I received a call yesterday asking if I was available to cover a few shifts since the centers in the city will be opened to the public as free cooling stations. I of course said I was able to cover the shifts and then the caller proceeds to go into all the problems she has had to deal with. Granted the new Supervisor is more than a few crayons short of a full box but on the other hand, this particular caller was the shark that was swimming and circling the old Supervisors desk as soon as she announced her retirement. As far as I’m concerned, what goes around comes around. If she can’t handle the stress of dealing with a half empty box of crayons she should not have tried to make it crystal clear (to me especially) that she knows more than what she really does. Karma is a bitch for sure. She even suggested that myself and another co-worker send an email to the “Big Boss” telling her of any concerns we had. It took all I had not to bust out laughing since only a few short months ago my concerns were scoffed at as though I no right to feel as I did. She then had the nerve to say that since my co worker and I had been employed the longest that we should voice our concerns. Well hells bells I had to contain myself because those same short months ago, when I mentioned my years of employment and the rights that “should” be mine, I was chastised by her, my co worker and a fill in Supervisor. Now all of a sudden my years of employment count????. I listened to her go on and on and when I hung up I just shook my head. I’m happy where I am. I would never stab others unexpectedly to gain footing on the so called corporate ladder as I was stabbed. That’s just not the way I am. Like I said, I am happy where I am and I know that whatever I achieve I have done so without running others over to get there.

I hope everyone has been able to stay as cool as possible and are enjoying “The heat of the summer”

Have a good weekend!

Well things are back to normal after my holiday. I never really realized how much I did miss my good friend until I saw here standing inside the airport. As I said in the previous blog I had a wonderful time and look forward to many more visits with her and her hubby.

It’s funny how time away from the stress and drama of my work place has given me a renewed sense of value and self preservation. There were many thoughts that ran threw my mind as I took a well deserved break from that place and in all honesty I was never so glad to put distance between me and it. The back stabbing and drama was put into a whole new light for me and I vowed never to let it get to me again. I’m not employed in a place that will make me a millionaire, or even comfortably well off. Let’s just say people on social assistance make more a month than what I do so therefore I needed to weigh things out. Was it going to be the silly little squabbles and the meagre pay cheque, or was it going be my sanity? Of course I chose my sanity (what little I have left anyway…lol). I did have to pat myself on the back when I got back from vacation. I had sent an email to my supervisor and the big boss letting them know I would be home in time to cover Sunday shift. When I did get home I checked my work email just to make sure there were no last minute rentals and low and behold my supervisor had gotten someone else to cover the Sunday shift. I was a bit miffed at that, but didn’t get really angry. I figured it wasn’t worth the energy it takes to get completely pissed off. I actually felt very proud of myself for not letting it really bother me. It really is true that things happen for a reason and I was able to enjoy and have an unexpected relaxing day.

I hope everyone has a cool, relaxing and fun weekend!