Finally, this year’s end of year’s party was so hipped! The theme was 50s, 60s & 70s. Great to see what everyone came up with. Although a number of people didn’t turn up, we enjoyed solely by ourselves lol We had food, games & great decor by Agnes, Dewi, Kim and Roy. Fusion of the era’s music and costumes, the aura was mesmerizing. Though everyone cleaned up & adjourn by 10+pm, the girls and I had another party to attend to. Metro City! Yes, it’s clubbing. To 3 of us, it was our first time stepping into such intimate yet heart pumping zone. Tried our first shots, felt awesome! I used to think that clubbing was an “impurity”, but after all the dancing and glancing, it has changed my perspective of viewing this popular hobby as a past time that keeps you alive. It really did keep me alive during the wee hours (though 2Am is still early).

This all happened last week, but it didn’t stop any of us to feel the WANT to go again. Yes, our feet hurt but once you step into this really upbeat and full-house zone, you wouldn’t care less about anything else. Just dance! Now I’ve started wondering, why didn’t I start such hobby much earlier when I got here. It’s a world of fun when summer holiday is here.

If you could go anywhere, right now – where would it be?

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I’m soooo sorry for being away since one week ago.  Thank you to those who sent/left messages!  The time just honestly slips away from me and unless I make it a point to always blog everyday sometimes things come up and blogging gets put on the back burner!!

It’s been a productive week though.  I’ve spent a lot of time using skype to connect with my family & friends.  See?  That has to come before blogging ya know?! When I call people it’s not just for 10 minutes… it can last hours lol.

We had our little niece princess Emily over today.  She came to hang out with us.  Steve got up early so I could sleep a bit longer and when I got up she was sitting down stairs eating cheerios.  The life of a two year old eh?

She had big smiles when I came downstairs!

And then she proceeded to feed her baby the cheerios.  One for baby, one for Emily.

My breakfast was a little bit different!  Toast with cashew butter.  AH!  Have you ever tried this!?  I bought my first jar this past week and I am in LOVE!  I may love it even more than peanut butter.  I think I need to use it when I recreate the cashew cookie Larabar this week.

This plus one more slice!

The weather was horrible today.  Rainy, windy – you name it.

We ended up watching 270 episodes of Peppa Pig from YouTube.

Then Emily was finally tuckered out enough to have a sleep….

While I was in the kitchen admiring my beautiful lilies that have bloomed!

I did some baking…
Did you see Polly’s post on her homemade granola bars this week?

Check out the recipe here.

I’ll have to post a picture tomorrow and show you the modifications that I made.  I had to sub a few ingredients and make minor changes only because I wanted to use what I had in the house rather than making another shopping trip.

They turned out great though!! So easy and quick!

Steve and I just finished watching X Factor.  Oh my gosh, I am ADDICTED to that show.  Last week I was massively annoyed when the twins didn’t go out since they were in the bottom two and I figured that Simon would have voted them out.  Well, nope – he didn’t.  BUT, this week they were oddly good in a weird sort of way but I still don’t think they have it to win.  I definitely think that Olly, Stacey and Joe are the ones to beat.  Danial is another fav of mine.  I’m so curious to find out what is going to happen tomorrow night.

I know most of the North American readers probably don’t appreciate the X-Factor talk but my fellow Uk’ers can probably relate.  Do you guys watch?!?

(X- Factor is basically our version of American Idol.  Simon Cowell is much nicer on this show, you’d be surprised!  He has a likeable factor!).

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I’ve been looking through photos from this past summer and especially when the weather is cold and rainy like it was today I find myself wishing I could turn back time and go back here!!

Our engagement spot!

Enjoying the lake by the cottage…

Hanging out at the bay!

If you could turn back time and go anywhere, right now – where would it be?

I had went to the local library to scan something off and to look for some chick lit when Joey called asking if I had wanted to have lunch with her and Diana- who came down from Newtown for the day- Heck yes! It was great, cos I haven’t seen Diana since last year, which didn’t feel that long ago, actually. We went to Noodle House in Cabra and then walked around trying to find a nice place to sit. It’s pretty hard finding any decent places to sit in Cabramatta, which is probably the reason why Asians squat, but hey. We evenually settled in a Thai sweets shop with some fried banana. Yuuum.

Diana left after a couple of… hours and I went back to Joey’s and we watched Hairspray. It was.. o.. okay. The beginning started off really slowly, but it got a bit better towards the middle and end. I stayed over til about 11 something. Epic! I was so tired, though and could barely keep my head from nodding off. I got woken up this morning at around 9 something. I’m supposed to go to the RTA, but I am way too lazy to go out anywhere. After exam celebrations, all I could even think about doing is staying at home and reading up on chaos theory or chick lit. Either goes :O)

Cleaned out my study as well. Several stacks of paper went into the recycling bin, which involved several trips in and out of the house. I’m tired now. Hope I don’t come across anything I need to take outside. I just want to be home all day (not even being out in the backyard). Sometimes I don’t think I get enough Vitamin D. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. Definitely not today.

Why am I so lethargic lately? I’ve also been getting the niggling feeling to revise something, but there’s nothing to study for. This is so routine. After the first few weeks of the holidays, I’m going to get bored so quickly. It’s imminent.

It’s a question worth asking.

It’s also the chief recommendation coming out of a comprehensive new review of the British educational system.

Today I’m over at PoliticsDaily.com weighing in on this topic, which has implications for learning, policy, as well as family life.

Do drop by and have a look at my post. As of today, AOL has instituted a “comments moderator” over at Politics Daily, which should mean that the saner corners of the earth will be heard from hence forth, and not (just!) the looney fringe of American political junkies…

Enjoy!

Oh, and do follow me on Twitter.

Image: Making Raw Chocolate Fudge With Children By Elana Pantry via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

This year my mother and I spent our holidays in Colonia Sant Jordi, Mallorca. End of september we stayed for one week at the hotel Marques de Palmer.

Unser Hotel in Colonia Sant Jordi - Hotel Marques

Except for one day (and the next morning until noon) we had great weather! So most of the time we spent at the beach lying in the sun and swimming in the beautiful, clear and amazingly blue sea.

Wir hatten Glück mit dem Wetter (bis auf einen Tag) und und ">waren deswegen meistens am Strand. Und das Meer war einfach wunderbar klar und so schön türkisblau!

On the day with bad weather (really bad weather with thunderstorm, hail and flooded street) we decided to rent a car and visit some cities. Because of the weather it turned out to be an “adventure trip” .
We went e.g. to Santanyi and Campos and then I wanted to see Castell Belver in Palma de Mallorca.

Santanyi

Campos

The last time I was there the time was not enough to see the city and the castell. From there you have a great view and luckily the time we arrived the weather got a bit better.

Castell Belver

Ausblick auf Palma de Mallorca

Ausblick auf Palma de Mallorca

The next day we went to the “Centre de Visitants”, a place where you get information about the national park Cabrera (small island lying near Colonia Sant Jordi).  They have an aquarium and you can see all the fishes and other animals that live there. It was great!

Informationszentrum Nationalpark Cabrera

Informationszentrum Nationalpark Cabrera

And in the afternoon we were again at the …

… beach .

The other day we walked “around” the town (the built a kind of loop road along the coast). We had a wonderful view but because of the one rainy day there were a lot of mosquitos. Damn, we got bitten so many times.

Rundweg entlang der Küste

... am Leuchtturm vorbei

... um den halben Ort herum bis zum Hafen

The week passed so quickly and we had to leave soon .
All the other photos I took can be found here.

By Rory Reynolds

THE current economic gloom has sparked a dog boom for Scotland’s oldest pet care home.

Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home has seen the number of residents leaving with new owners more than double this summer, compared to this time last year.

And the pet home reckons that people are choosing a new addition to the family rather than have a holiday this year.

Between June and August 84 dogs and 36 cats were re-homed with new families, compared to 40 dogs and 18 cats in the same period last year.

The home’s manager, David Ewing, 52, reckons people are foregoing holidays in favour of getting a new pet.He said: “I think they are using their extra cash to re-home an animal rather than going off to the Costa Blanca.

Unusual

“We are doing a lot better than we thought we would this year and it is quite unusual because the summer is a time that we tend to be quieter, as people are usually away on holiday.

“The summer is not the time of year that you tend to find lots of dogs and cats being re-homed.”

David added that the season is actually the best time to bring a new pet into a family as parents are children will often be on summer holidays.

Last Christmas a large number of pets were found abandoned, with the home caring for 110 dogs, far more than usual.

The rise was thought to be due to the recession and the cost of keeping a pet, but the summer boom has meant the home has seen off many of the abandoned pets to new families.

He said: “It has been a very peculiar year – it bucks the trend and I do think that this has to bear some relation to the fact that people are not necessarily going away for long periods of time or going on expensive holidays.

“More people are holidaying at home and as a result we have seen a number of dogs and cats being re-homed.

“The credit crunch has had a beneficial effect for us during the summer months.

“It has definitely been an unusual couple of summer months for us.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Our hotel room had seaview and was faced towards the west – that made it possible to watch some beautiful sunsets (and to take photos – you can enlarge them with a click).

Wir hatten diesmal ein Zimmer mit Meerblick Richtung Westen – so hatten wir die Möglichkeit, ein paar wundervolle Sonnenuntergänge mitzuerleben, die ich natürlich auf Bild festgehalten habe. (Zum Vergrößern einfach anklicken)

Another day I was playing with shutter speed and aperture.

An einem Tag habe ich mit Belichtungszeit und Blende experimentiert – ein Motiv und doch unterschiedlich.

The last two days we had hardly any clouds. You could watch the sun disappearing into the ocean.

An den letzten beiden Tagen hatten wir sogar fast keine Wolken.Es war einfach faszinierend, wie die Sonne im Meer untergegangen ist.

The last picture shows a sunrise this time – taken at the airport waiting for boarding.

Das letze Photo zeigt einen Sonnenaufgang am Flughafen – aufgenommen während der Wartezeit.

Finally I had (still have) holidays after weeks with a lot of work. Part of my holidays I spent on Mallorca. The next weeks I will tell about it and show a lot of photos. Except for one very rainy day we had quite good and sunny weather with around 27°C and now back here I am freezing though we have a sunny day, but only 15°C . No chance to lie outside in a bikini. No chance to show my tan.

During my absence, our vegetables still grew. It seems they don’t mind the colder weather.

I still have some free days – to update my postcards blog, get a haircut, start the discussion about the Kite Runner, do my holiday postings and so on… And get adjusted to the weather

Just a small selection of your comments received during the Summer Holidays…

“Hi – Just to say our jigsaws arrived yesterday – very speedy service! – and we’re absolutely delighted with them.   The quality of the jigsaws is very good and I know our little granddaughters will love them.”
Jill

“Thank you very much thats a great help and you’ve made my day!!! its a 70th birthday present for my grandmother x” N.D.

“Thank you for the puzzle it turned out brilliantly and even better i’ll get to give it to him on his birthday on sunday. Thanks again.”
Adam

“I just wanted to let you know that the jigsaws arrived at the end of last week – in plenty of time – and that they are perfect. Thank you so much for your help with this. Best wishes”
Kevin

“Mandy they are fantastic, thank you so much for you fast service.”
Ro.

“The mugs are great! ‘Fabulous quality’, you have made my day.”
S.

“Received and fab, fab, fab is the verdict!”
R.

Head over to Fabulous Photo Gifts with your Summer holiday photographs and be ready to spread some Summer lovin’ all of your own.

After talking earlier this week about the seasons. I always think that after the summer holidays, that the autumn months are for giving something back after the summer fun and for focusing on fundraising.

Pink Friday is about commemorating an important cause. The pink awareness ribbon represents breast cancer.

If you have pink or stories to share, please post a link in the comments, so we can come and visit!

Ladies, don’t forget to check and if you are reading this and can spare £2, please donate

Cancer is sadly part of everyday life. It is rare to meet anyone who hasn’t been touched by cancer in one way or another. I lost my Mum to cancer in the Spring of this year and feel stronger now to look at raising funds for cancer research and for the good work that Macmillan does. Combined with Move-It Monday, I’ve decided to raise money by running. If any of you are able to spare £2 or more if you can, please have a look at my fund raising page. If you’d like to train for a 5k race, there are lots of training schedules to help you achieve your goal. Here’s a 5k training plan I found on the web.

I thought for this week’s Pink Friday, I’d give you FIFTY ideas for fundraising for your own special cause. You could combine a few of the ideas together into the same event. Have fun!

1. Host a coffee morning. Macmillan are holding the world’s biggest coffee morning to raise money

2. Why not go cold turkey and give something up – chocolate, telephone, blogging… (no not blogging!)

3. Host a day to remember – How about all dressing up as Elvis Presley or celebrating National Cheese on toast day!

4. Learn a new skill – juggling, mindmapping, make some land art. Learn a skill you’ve always promised to master and get sponsored.

5. Host a raffle

6. Persuade your friends and colleagues to donate their skills, expertise and services for auction. They could offer sports lessons, music, language lessons, cookery, ironing or other household chores. Try persuading local restaurants, theatres and leisure centres to offer meals, tickets and other goodies.

7. Have a space hopper race or a skipping competition – how many skips can you do without stopping?

8. Hold a fashion show. This can take many themes, for example, ask friends and family to donate old or unwanted clothes and hold a ‘recycled’ show.

9. Gather your friends together and ask them to bring a chair, then play musical chairs in the park, your garden, in your front room!

10. Hold a sports competition

11. Hold a sweepstake – new baby weight, football competition, TV show,

12. Persuade your local amateur dramatics group and musical society to perform in aid of an important cause. You can raise money through ticket sales, programmes and refreshments.

13. Hold a photograph caption competition. Choose a funny photo from your last holiday and ask entrants to pay per caption and the winner receives the framed photo.

14. Hold a karaoke night.

15. Get a group of friends, dress in fancy dress and go on a sponsored walk.

16. Enjoy a fancy dress party with friends

17. With Halloween just around the corner, why not organise a spooky event.

18. For Bonfire night how about asking for a pound for the guy or holding a completion to design a guy. Sell hot dogs, baked potatoes, roasted chestnuts and mulled wine.

19. Gather your friends together to take part in a fun run and then host a party afterwards to raise even more funds.

20. Host a Pamper party evening for your friends.Facemasks, nails painted and a footspa. Don’t forget the popcorn!

21. Gather together all of your family’s and friends’ mouth-watering recipes and create your own cookbook.

22. Sponsored silence – great for noisy adults and kids!

23. Take a baked bean bath. Get sponsored to take the plunge in a bath full of beans. Onlookers and supporters can also pay £1 to top up the bath with a can of beans over your head.

24. Hold a Barbeque and invite your family and friends. Donations for your tasty feast.

25. Devise some cunning clues and hold a treasure hunt and games day.

26. Cracker race – how many dry cream crackers can you eat in a minute? All you need are cream crackers and a glass of water.

27. Host a night for playing card games and board games.

28. Have a quiz evening

29. Get crafting and make things for people to donate money for.

30. Shave all your hair off!

31. Host a talent competition

32. When it is your birthday, ask everyone to donate to your favourite cause and give the presents a miss.

33. Host wacky races – plastic ducks, paper boats, snails…

34.Hold a plant or flower sale

35. Host a bingo event

36. Host a book sale

37. Host a luncheon or dinner party

38. Host a party and ask people to donate for their favourite song to be played.

39. Ask your friends to set you a fundraising challenge – eg learn a language, swim, run in a race.

40. Hold a weekend car wash.

41. Host a cheese and wine evening.

42. Create your own version of the popular TV series ‘Come dine with me’.

43. Hold a bring and buy sale

44. Hold a darts competition

45. Clean people’s shoes

46. Host an evening dedicated to a country – eg dress in French costume with vin and fromage! Dress as Italians and eat pizza and pasta.

47. Host a bad taste day – dressing in your worst tie, bad hair or garish clothes.

48. Learn a language and get sponsored for your effects.

49. Give out tubes of smarties and ask the recipients to fill the tube with coins after eating the smarties. One tube of smarties holds 27 pound coins.

50. Get sponsored to swim the English Channel in your local swimming pool or cycle America’s Route 66 in the gym.

A few weeks back we decided to take a vacation from summer vacation. This past weekend we packed up and headed out to the woods to a guest cabin in Talkeetna Alaska for a few days away.

What is in Talkeetna you might ask? We had no idea and that is where the adventure came in. Turns out it is the place where all the Mount McKinley climber hopefuls congregate before heading out to base camp. (Note to self, find out if all climber hopefuls look like they’ve taken a hit on a bong or hit some other highly illegal substance before combing their dreds and sauntering out around town…but I digress). Mount McKinley in the highest vertical rise mountain in the world…surely you’ve heard of it. We had a spectacular view of it from the upstairs window in our cabin and a nice viewing spot 10 minutes drive away. There are perks to living in Alaska.

We enjoyed ourselves despite the whining that seems to accompany us everywhere we bring Thing One and Thing Two. That is another story all together, so I again digress. I learned something about booking lodging up here in Alaska though. You need to ask VERY important questions about the facility before you run headlong into a weekend of dodging disaster after disaster.

1. When you say you have “playpens” available do you mean ones from the 1960’s or the 2000’s?
2. When you say there are two levels do you mean there are two dangerous stairways that Smudgie will surely try to climb and fall and hit his poor little head on the laminate floor multiple times? (2a. Laminate floor? Child gates?)
3. When you say “cabin” even though it looks pretty brand spankin’ new and modern will it have heat? That’s kind of important come end of August you know.
4. When you say kitchen facilities, does that include a gas range right at a two year old’s level? Can you say worried we might blow up the place/ourselves after the child turns on the burner and no one notices?
5. When you say “spectacular views” does that also mean a sheer cliff 200ft down to the river right outside the backdoor? (5a. dictionary definition of child friendly probably doesn’t include 2 year olds cliff diving.)
6. Trains? Are there any? One might want to mentioned any loud passenger train that passes by twice a day (early morning, late at night) which for all intents and purposes is right outside.

We topped the weekend off with a late planned trip to the Alaska State Fair. We got to sit by a 313 lb pumpkin…need I say more? Really though, it was a fun weekend. So long summer, we’ll miss you! Next year, we take on Girdwood!
K.

Since I don’t really know what to write, and I’ve had a pretty uneventful day (that’s what happens when you spend most of it on the sofa – I think my fatigue is nearly gone though ), I thought I would just make a quick list of 10 thoughts or things that I haven’t necessarily learned today, but that have returned to mind or made themselves evident today.

1.  Apparently, my mother standing on my laptop is appropriate recompense for my threatening to take a picture of her.

2.  My father has an intense and somewhat irrational dislike of Eminem and the Black Eyed Peas.

3.  Good films on dvd never go on sale quickly enough.

4.  Your hometown is the best, most comforting place when you’re somewhere else.  As soon as you’re back there, it’s claustrophobic and overly familiar, and you want to break out all over again.

5.  According to the return of X Factor and the continuation of Big Brother, reality tv makes the world go round.  Not only is it recession-friendly, but it somehow hypnotises 95% of the population and destroys their remaining brain cells.  Am I really the only one who finds those kinds of programmes irredeemably tacky???

6.  There are not enough sexy men in my life.

7.  Everyone must have come back from summer holidays because suddenly my blog is getting lots of views again like it used to! (There was a two-week lull.)  Thanks y’all

8.  As much as we chastise celebrity fragrances for being tacky, not realising that Armani, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and lots of other brands pay perfumers to manufacture perfumes for their brands in the exact same way and with the exact same lack of input, I still want to buy myself a new bottle of Britney Spears Curious.

9.  Beyoncé has the power to make my father’s voice (and his criticisms and jokes) inaudible to my ears.

10.  Fashions may change, the world may evolve and people may be born, live and die each day, but love will always remain one of the constant cruxes of the human race.

Is it me or do the summer holidays seem shorter now? Hardly have the schools broken up than it’s time to drop the kids back at the front gates again.

Maybe I’m too nostalgic but this time of year sets me thinking about my own school hols. Every year followed the same pattern; six weeks of laziness culminating in two days of where did it go? Oh happy days…

In an attempt to circumvent some of the stress that the words ‘back to school’ induce I offer a tongue-in-cheek check list of things that really need to be done before term starts.

Find PE kit  It’s that stinky bag  stuffed under the stairs. Check if it fits (well it was worth a try), and has their name sewn in or written in magic marker…yes I am kidding!

Book haircut For the sake of your child do this at least a few days before term starts to avoid the ‘just shaved’ look on the first day back.

School shoes Prepare as you would for a long car journey. Take books, snacks, toys etc. because I guarantee you will not be the only parent trying to find the cobbler’s equivalent of the Holy Grail; a pair of shoes which combine comfort, durability, street cred, value and on which both you and your offspring agree. Good luck!

Stationery Now what is this year’s must have item? Is it one of the Aliens in the Attic pencil sharpener form or perhaps an Ice Age gel pen. Who can tell but one up-manship is serious playground currency so be guided by your children on this one.

Homework It’s a mean old teacher who sets school work over the summer (in my humble opinion) but just in case your child has been unlucky try some timely nagging or better still, bribery (see stationery above). This should ensure they return to school with a clean slate and a clear conscience.

Timetable Specifically designed to catch out the unwary parent. Be top of the class; check term dates and teacher training days and book child care / time off in advance. You too can be the smug parent at the school gate who always seems to know what’s going on. That is of course until your son or daughter casually mentions that Helga is arriving on an exchange trip from Germany tomorrow for three weeks, doesn’t speak English and oh, by the way is a vegan.

Forms  Take it from me, there is at least one form you should have filled in before term starts and it’s almost certainly accompanied by a demand for money. Do not take no for an answer. Search every crevice of their school bag and every pocket of their uniform. It’s there…somewhere.

Cheat a bit As sure as God made little green apples at least one of your children will end up writing an essay in the first week entitled ‘What I did in the School Holidays’. Young children tend to think of the most recent family outing they’ve been on and ‘I went to ASDA with mummy,’ while grammatically correct is not terribly inspiring. So remind them of all the fun things they did every day for a few days before they return to school. Personally I feel poetic licence should be encouraged especially if it makes you look like a better parent and gives the teacher something interesting to read.

Finally, the night before term starts, pack ‘em off to bed early, pour a large glass of wine and relax with a good book!  

Previous midweek inspirations by Woollywotnots can be read from these links:

Colour in your home

Brain Exchange

Flickr Love

Thinking about the future

Lists

Developing your colour sense

Sources of Inspiration

Time with Friends

Your Car

Back to School

Finding your mojo

Weather and Seasons

Trash to Treasure

Pay it forward

Sound of Music

Lost art of letter writing

We’ve made illuminated scrolls and stained glass, designed our own coats of arms, built castles out of nothing but cardboard boxes and determination, and battled for honour in jousting competitions in the front garden complete with inflatable horses and lances.  We’ve made badges, puppets, shields and masks, had visits from Zoolab and comic artist Kev F. Sutherland, and penned Edinburgh’s maddest fairytale (where everybody wrote a sentence and then passed the pen on to continue the dragon filled adventures of Cindy and her hapless boyfriend Prince Tommo).  In the midst of all this, over a hundred kids signed up for the Questseeker’s Summer Reading Challenge, and even now we are nearing the end of our “make a film in a fortnight” challenge, drawing together all the writing and drawing the kids and teenagers have done this summer into one ambitious animation project.  Part one is premiering on Friday 21^st August at a star studded awards ceremony where we will also be giving out medals and certificates to our successful Questseekers.

BUT!  The fact that the school holidays are drawing to a close doesn’t mean that staff at Moredun will spend the run up to the October holidays merely issuing and discharging books.  Oh no.  That’s just not how we roll.

For instance, this autumn we’ll return to promoting our Chatterbooks reading group with primary aged children.  Emma’s Book Group will continue to run from 10.15am on the last Thursday morning of each month.  For mums and babies, Rhymetime will be the third Friday of each month at 10.30am.  Our volunteers Fred and Gwyneth will carry on running the Library Link for older readers every second Wednesday at 2pm, and we’ll carry on providing monthly book deliveries for Housebound readers (please telephone on 529 5652 if you or someone you know in the Moredun area wants to be added to our list).

‘You do so much,’ we hear you cry, ‘but what about those poor old teenagers?  Obviously you’ve got the Libraries 4 U project on the go, but surely there’s more to life than PCs, games consoles and a wide range of graphic novels?’  Well dear reader, we are glad you asked, because this September we’ll be launching a Wednesday night multimedia group aimed at 10-19 year olds.  The first project will be to design your very own interactive computer game, and later on we’ll be story writing and publishing, comic drawing and film making.  We are also hoping to run a series of information events for teenagers, where they can drop in and talk to professionals about issues affecting them including health, safety and careers advice.  And as if all that wasn’t enough, there will also be a range of activities for the Tales of the City project, based on what the kids have told us they want to do.  We’re good like that.

A recent survey by the Social Issues Research Centre found 34 percent of people questioned could not remember the last time they tried something new and nearly half said they had not tried a new activity for a year or longer.

With the summer break upon us now is the time to break the mould and try something new by picking up a last minute relaxing yet invigorating cycling or walking holiday in some of Europe’s most beautiful countries.

Full release available here>

So … Rumpus is playing tennis every morning this week. Their coach deserves a medal – one morning would be enough to put me into an asylum and he does it *every day* of *every week* all through the holidays. It may seem like chaos, but Rumpus loves every minute of it ….

Hello, I’m back. Well most of me anyways. A  medical issue to deal with there, put my updates behind schedule. Thank you for the flowers, well wishes, and yes the chocolates. They were all really good.  Once again, I’m not quite ready for that container! Thanks for checking in and waiting around. I appreciate your visits and all your help. Good time now for my career change!  ( insert chicken picture here). This honorable parade photo was developed on July 19th 1948, Northern Alberta, Grande Prairie possibly. Is that Archibald General Store? Another photo shows Storm’s Inn.

Parade 1948

 What’s been going on in the Shuswap, you would like to know? Lots of people on the lake, waterskiing and swimming and trying to keep cool in this hot weather. All kinds of crazy stuff going on out there.  All kinds of boats out there and action everywhere. A silent ensemble for you. Celista condos in the background. Click on theses photos for a larger view.

Fast Boat

Stop The Boat and Let Me In Boat

More Than Boats 

 Shuswap  Houseboating

Everybody heads for the water in the Shuswap summer time, whether it’s to the big lake or small ones. A cool dip for this young moose seems to help relieve him from the heat, as his mother keeps watch in the background. Sorry to bother you, but I’m just taking some current photos for my blog update. Any deer around today?

Moose and Mother 

 My little Geothlypis trichas chick  sits in the shade of the bulrush and cattails waiting for his dragonfly lunch to be delivered by his mother. The Common Yellowthroat has a range of Canada to southern  Mexico. It winters southern United States to the West Indies and Panama. Incredible little warbler bird with exceptionally attractive parents.

 Common Yellowthroat chick

                                                                              Anxious Mother Geothlypis trichas                                                                                             

                  Serenading Father

 From yellow boats and  birds, its only fair to have yellow petals and red sepals, a dovelike plant and shape of an eagle too they call it! Aquilegia formosa a distinctive plant loved by hummingbirds, butterflies and people too. I have only seen this plant in the shady forest beside water sources. Quite beautiful they are. I harvested seeds one fall and planted them early spring  in my rock garden. Although the plant is in full sun and quite dry conditions, it thrived. What a delicate and hardy plant.

Aquilegia formosa 

Been hanging out, too hot to do anything else, except maybe going to the beach and having a visit and barbecue with friends.  I’ve got lots of pictures I’d love to show you and almost as many Blog Stats. Well not quite, but I’ll keep trying and really hope you will keep reading. Who knew there were things like “The Internet” out there. Does everybody have electricity?

 Smitten Kitten 

Hey you guys, is that a beer you got there in your hand? Hey watch what you’re doing there, two hands! Now look what you have done, you’ve got that fishing hook stuck in your weiner! We will have none of that stuff around here! Aren’t you the same guys I’ve had this conversation with before? Oh I’m sure. We need to talk, again. I’ve never had this  many exclamation marks before, must of been the beer! 

Yeah Same Guys

Everyone is all wound up about our blog stats. We are at the water whirl amount of 3346, exactly how many spins my young friend has done here as he heads off to get his operator’s proficiency card. Make sure and take your buddies with you!  

Him Too

 For the last picture of this very belated blog is a most requested location ”Copper Island. I’m heading west looking back with Scotch Creek and distance Anglemont. Right about center of the island is where the cliff  jumpers risk life and limb. Please don’t do it. Go to some safe diving board somewhere instead.

 Copper Island Today 

  Have a wonderful summer on the Shuswap Lake.  As always be careful out there. Until next time!

See you in the Shuswap?

xoxoxox

(Source)

Sarah is being lazy but suffering from blogging (or lack thereof) guilt.

Its my last 48 hours and 6 minutes of summer holidays!!!

/:

Myra sering menjadi teman untuk grocery shopping. Aku pasti Myra amat popular di high school. Pernah seorang quarter back Northwestern University menghantarnya pulang. Sebagai pelajar senior year di sekolah tinggi, aku mengharapkan Myra berjaya mendapat keputusan cemerlang untuk Advanced Placement (AP).

Rambut Myra panjang ke paras pinggang. Kerana gemarkan Beyonce, Myra berkeras untuk menyimpan rambutnya selama beberapa tahun. Myra amat gemar membantu di dapur. Air tangannya juga boleh tahan. Cuti musim panas yang lepas, Myra telah memasak nasi lemak untuk kami sekeluarga di pagi Ahad. Ku lihat suamiku, Adam telah menambah dua tiga kali.

Dengan ketinggian 5′ 7″, Myra yang berkulit putih kemerahan amat senang bergaul dengan kawan-kawan. Myra tidak pernah pulang lewat daripada 9:00 malam kecuali Prom Night iaitu pada jam 11:00 malam. Myra juga disenangi oleh guru-guru di sekolah.

summer holidays beach palm trees boat

Now this is where I wish I could be on my summer vacation!

I’m working on my holiday here but I’m bored to tears.

I have watched a few very weird movies on my cable tv and they are old as the hills and nutty!

But to pass the time, I’m forcing myself to watch them.

Looking for clues as to how to make a good movie last long!

I’m taking a break from it all.

I’ve only been doing a few posts in the morning then I leave my day free to do something!

Problem is I have no money to go an do anything? LOL

I’m missing my computer.

I’m sleeping alot.

I’m debating about painting a picture or something creative for a change.

All my energy is zapped from this heat wave.

Even with air conditioning I’ve woken up with a heavy chest and can hardly breathe!

I’m depressed still about that interview I had on Monday!

I guess  that a few days of depression is normal for people.

I know I’m supposed to get up and do something but I don’t feel like it.

So the best thing for me is to meditate, listen to positive messages and watch funny movies.

Sooner or later I’ll feel better!

It didn’t help when my phone wasn’t working this morning.

I waited 15 minutes on hold for a CSR TECH then got fed up.

Went to their office, talked to a nice lady , thanked her for the nice bag they sent me in the mail, then told her about my phone not working.

She gave me some steps that she had received in an email earlier this morning.

While I was in line, an older gentleman was complaining his phone wasnt working for a few days now!

I find out lots of people didn’t have any phone service in my city!

I talked to a lady beside me who was thinking of switching from Bell Canada to Cogeco Phone.

I told her to forget it, if she has medical emergencies in her home, an alarm system or no cell phone it’s not wise to go with the Digitial Cable Phone.

It doesn’t work if the Cable Signal having an outage, or if there is no hydro!

She was shocked to find that bit of information out!

She decided to listen to my advice and walked away after waiting there for 30 minutes.

I worked for customer service for over 10 years for Cogeco, so I know a bit about it’s background.

I got the landline simply to make local phone calls and to save myself some money.

Harold is a gabster and loves to talk to his friends every night on the phone.

I was tired of my high phone bills.

Even with free evenings and weekends it’s still over $70/month!

It’s all good though, I was kind of mad today.

I had to make some important phone calls and I used my cell phone!

Another big bill for me!

paper clip use to reset modem

What I am happy about is a CSR that knew how to handle me!

It was great to be told what to do to fix my problem!

I like it when there is a solution to my problem, and it didn’t take me 30 minutes or an hour to find out.

I’ve posted it on my Blogspot and Facebook on how to resolve the Cogeco Digital Phone Outage Problem.

I’m lucky that my internet and cable were still working, imagine all 3 being in an outage, I’d go nuts!

This pic looks like the modem that I have!

cogeco cable modem rca

I’ve been a tad stunned by the reports over the past couple of weeks regarding who is in power with the Prime Minister on holidays and as a person who studied, trained and for a while practiced as a journalist, there are a number of issues that I feel are worth discussing. The headlines that have really surprised me revolve around Gordon Brown’s two Parliamentary lieutenants, Harriet Harmon and Lord Mandelson both having overlapping holidays, which allegedly meant that that there was no one in charge of the country for two whole days.

I’ve heard of media beat-ups before and I know the British media like to attack their own representatives constantly – just look at what they are doing to the English cricket team after their loss to Australia on Sunday (not that I’m complaining about that mind you). But to think that just because the Prime Minister is on holidays… in his own constituency… in the UK, there is no one in charge shows that it is actually the journalists who have gone on holidays.

When the PM was in Italy for the G8, he was still in charge. Just because Harriet Harman represented him at Prime Minister’s Questions, doesn’t mean she suddenly became PM. If there was an issue of national importance, Gordon Brown would undoubtedly be running the show.

The PM, much to Sarah Brown’s annoyance I’m sure, will still be flanked by advisers and will no doubt be spending a good deal of his ‘down time’ discussing policy, strategies and politics. A PM couldn’t just shut down even if he wanted to.

The Prime Minister is always in charge, that is what he was elected (or not in this case) to do. Pre Alexander Graham Bell, Bill Gates, telegraph communications and electricity, I could understand the argument, but not now.

However, mostly this is summer headline grabbing journalism and if this is what Mr Murdoch wants us to pay for online, I’ll pass thanks.

Cross posted with Ruder Finn UK Dot Comms