I Was Lured

There's a reason Jane Davenport's nickname is "Danger" and today I heard the siren's call of art supplies calling my name on her website.

Just yesterday, I told a couple of friends that I wasn't going to sign up for any more online classes for a while, since I am already taking 3 or 4 at the moment and that is more than enough to keep me busy for the next few months.

Then this morning, before work, I watched this video invitation of Jane's (the same Jane whom I met in June in Portugal):


and that was it, I had to sign up.  The line that got me was when she said it is time to stop feeling guilty about all the art supplies taking up space on your shelves, because by the end of the course, we will have had the opportunity to use them all and want to use them more often.

So, just as Susan Sarandon's character in Bull Durham advised Millie after she said she got lured:

"Annie: You didn't get "lured". Women never get lured. They're too strong and powerful for that. Now say it -- "I didn't get lured and I will take responsibility for my actions".

Millie: I didn't get lured and I will take responsibility for my actions.

Annie: That's better."

I need admit it, I didn't get lured, I will take responsibility for my actions and enjoy every minute of this course!

Labouring on the Weekend

For most of us, Labour Day weekend involves very little labour and a lot of relaxation and/or fun.  At least, that's what I thought, until I looked over my photos.

That's when I realized that several people went to a lot of effort to put together these two yard/estate sales that I shopped at on the weekend:

The "yard" sale was actually set up in this lovely old barn (which, alas, was not for sale):

My sister had to go under the cottage to tighten up a couple of loose clamps that were causing a bit of water leakage but it was a relatively easy fix. 

Which then created some work for my mother, who very kindly offered to wash the overalls.

Jane was put to work keeping score at the volleyball game on Saturday, and Janine was recruited to be head cheerleader in between her games:

Laura worked hard to make shots like this:

Alec and Axel will tell you they had the toughest job, raking the sand in between matches:

although all the ladies over 50 in the group will tell you the hardest part was pretending not to be checking out all the cute 20-something young men, some of whom had their shirts off (case in point: see Alec's muscles in photo above!)

The local bear was hard at work on Sunday night, forcing his way into our neighbour's metal "bear proof" (HA!) garbage can:

and then dragging the spoils across the road and into the woods for consumption:

I would have cleaned it up but to be honest, it seemed too much like work!  :)

Power Out

Just as we were starting to think about making dinner last night, the power went off at the cottage.  It was only 5:30 p.m. and although it had been a grey and rainy day, there was still light outside so it wasn't a problem at first.  We had a laugh when Mom went to heat something up in the microwave and every time we flipped a light switch on before remembering that wasn't going to help.  After about an hour, we drove in to town to pick up dinner at the fish and chip truck (delicious! why had we never done this before?) and brought it back to the cottage to eat by candlelight.

The candles and kerosene lamp stayed lit for the rest of the evening until we went to bed just after 10.  Had fun playing with my camera as the sun set, the colours of the twilight sky were astounding and the candles reflected in the window were so pretty.

7:30 pm - journalling by candlelight

7:43 pm - from the outside looking in

7:46 pm - from the inside looking out

8:15 pm - pink and purple delight

8:38 pm

9:23 pm

Power wasn't restored until about 1 a.m. and by then, I was sound asleep.  Grateful to wake up to running water and a flushing toilet.  Extra bonus - a defrosted freezer!

Cuddling Cats

While I'm away at the cottage this weekend (yes, probably doing some antiquing, especially if it's cool and rainy!), I thought I'd share this picture of Beans and Gus (a.k.a. Argenta and Aureus on the Abbey Cats website) that I took the other day. 

Could they be any cuter? I think not!

This sister/brother combo is still waiting to find their furever home - if you're interested in bringing this lovely pair of furry felines into your home and heart, please call Abbey Cats or fill out the online adoption form.

Labour Day Weekend

How did it get to be the beginning of September already?  It has been such a great summer, we have been spoiled with hot, dry weather.  The forecast this weekend isn't quite as good, it might rain and it might not, it might be really warm and muggy followed by a day or two of fall-like weather but really, who knows?  All I do know is that I'm not quite ready for fall just yet.

Whatever the weather, I'll be at the cottage for most of this long weekend, hopefully enjoying a sunset like this one last weekend:

The Return of the Dial Tone

The phone lines serving my apartment building have been out of service for the past couple of days. I'm not sure when it started, I first noticed it on Wednesday evening, when I went to phone someone and there was no dial tone.  Which meant I couldn't call that person because it was long distance and I hate to rack up those extra costs on my cell phone.

As of last night, the service was still out.  It was a strange sensation. I've been toying with the idea of giving up my landline, thinking I could make do with just a cell phone.  As I sat here last night, not being bothered by telemarketers (that was a bonus!), I realized there is the whole long distance issue to consider.  At the moment, I have a fabulous plan that gives me something like a thousand free minutes anywhere in Canada and the U.S. per month, which they haven't offered for years but I've held on to this plan in spite of many attempts by Bell Canada to convince me to switch to something else.  Really, what could be better?! 1,000 minutes?? That's a lot of chat to family and friends all over the continent. Needless to say, I rarely use that kind of time but it's nice to know I could if I wanted to.

I also still remember clearly what things were like in the hours after the 9/11 attacks - sometimes the landline worked, sometimes the cell phone service did, and for several hours afterwards, it was either one or the other.  I was glad to have both that day to contact those I love after that horrific event (can you believe it was 10 years ago??)

I also know myself well enough to know that using only a cell phone would bug me after a while.  Sometimes you just want to sit and hold a more substantial phone receiver in your hand, especially if it's going to be a long talk.  Or you need the speaker phone, like when you know you're going to be on hold for a long time (which was why I was glad when I didn't have to call in to report the trouble on the line, the superintendent was kind enough to post a notice in the lobby advising that the lines were down in the area and it was expected to take at least two days for the situation to be fixed.)  And of course, there will be those days when I forget to charge my cell phone and when that happens, I've got the landline as a backup.

Which is why I was relieved to wake up this morning and find the dial tone had returned.  If you have been trying to call me at home the past day or two and weren't able to reach me, or if you were waiting to hear from me, now you know why we haven't spoken.  And if you haven't tried to call me lately, why not?  Chances are, it has been too long since we talked - just call already!! ;)

Thursday Evening

7:15 p.m. - I've been sitting here for over an hour, playing around on the computer, surfing here and there, somewhat mindlessly, slightly purposefully.  Telling myself I should get up and go for a walk before it rains again, if it rains again, before it gets to be too hot and humid like they say it's going to be tomorrow. Or if I'm not going for a walk, I should go make some dinner or do one of the many other things I should/could be doing instead of sitting here, typing, clicking, reading, especially after doing exactly that all day at the office. 

And yet, here I sit...

7:59 p.m. - Okay, apparently I just needed to write that down in order to get the motivation to get up off my rear and get it in gear.  Went across the street and did several laps around the walking track there, watching the kids play soccer on the field in the middle, admiring the red ball of the sun as it dropped down through the haze and clouds towards the horizon, enjoying the music on my iPod.  The air was cooler than I had expected but in a refreshing way, enough to counteract the humidity.

Photo courtesy of home.comcast.net

I'm still not overly motivated to do much but now it's definitely time to make myself some dinner.

What are you doing with your Thursday evening??