Drum Lessons

Andrew had his first drum lesson after work today - he will be going each Thursday until he gets better! He likes to play his new drum set in the house, but it is very loud and I wish that we had a large property where we could build an outbuilding for him to practice in. I made a video of him so we can see the progress that he will make (he wants me to say that he was nervous that I was filming him - but really, he does have a hard time maintaining a constant beat.) In a strange coincidence, the new neighbor diagonal from us on the cul-de-sac, who just moved in about 3 days ago, is also a drummer. We have not met them yet but we have definitely heard the drumming. Andrew is thrilled!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 14th anniversary. After so long together we are now ready to punch each others lights out, ha ha. In celebration, we are each having a couple of, oh my god, hard liquor drinks! Gin and tonic for me, and a new one for Andrew that he found in the bartender guide, called Bee's Kiss. It is 1.5 shots spiced rum, 1 tsp honey, and 1 tsp heavy cream, all over crushed ice. Way too boozy for me but it might be good for taking care of a flu perhaps. Andrew liked it and is having another. For dinner we are making a favourite - Vegetarian Bim Bap, basically a ton of vegetables over rice. No big plans for tonight, Andrew has some programming to do to get ready for teaching on Thursday. The semester starts tomorrow and that means the summer is over. Wah!! It went by too fast. But luckily summer down here weather-wise doesn't really end until October so we are still looking forward to plenty of weekends on the lake. If we can get our lazy butts out there that is. We have started back at the gym in the mornings to combat the couple of pounds gained in Winnipeg. That, and eating mostly vegetarian, should hopefully get us back on track quickly.

Shopping

This weekend turned out to be an errand weekend - nothing too exciting to report. We went shopping on Saturday and hit 10 different stores. While Andrew was at the drum store picking up a music stand, I went to Williams Sonoma and got us a pasta maker and a drying rack. We are looking forward to making fresh pasta next weekend. While shopping I got to use my new wallet that I purchased in Winnipeg. My sister-in-law wanted to check out a fashionable luggage and baggage store so I bought myself a retro-style wallet as my souvenir for the trip. Today we slept in till around noon. I am still fighting off my cold and Andrew was feeling sleepy too. Oh well, that is what Sunday mornings were made for. Our big effort of the day was going grocery shopping and changing a battery for the garage clock. A little bit of laundry and now we are ready for a movie. We watched "In Love and War" last night so tonight we will be watching "A Walk in the Clouds". "In Love and War" was a nice movie, although a little slow at points. It was about the true story of young Ernest Hemingway in World War I Italy and his first true love, Agnes, who ended up leaving him but leaving an unforgettable impression on him.

Back from Winnipeg

We got back from our trip to Winnipeg on Tuesday night. My cousin was getting married and I wanted to visit with my relatives in Carman and participate in the festivities so we took a few days off to visit the prairies. The farmers were in the middle of harvest. The photo to the left is of one of the flower arrangements at the reception hall - the wedding colors were pink and green, which just happen to be my favorite colors right now. We had a great time and hopefully my aunt and uncle will come down here to visit us at some point. I will be making a CD of the photos and movies I took to send to everyone. The other photo is of me standing in front of the historic Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. We just made it back in time on Tuesday to pick up the cats. There was a huge thunderstorm right when we were getting them, and so everything got soaking wet, including the cat tower and cat carrier. But the cats were thrilled to be back home and just wouldn't shut up for over an hour, including Sidney who is normally very quiet. It was as though they were trying to tell us everything that had happened during their week in jail. Unfortunately I came home with a very bad head cold and had to take Wednesday and Thursday off from work. Flat on my back for 2 days straight, but today (Friday) I went to work and had a bit more energy. I did a little yard work this afternoon and now I am relaxing and ready to watch this evening's movie selection "A Walk in the Clouds". Dinner tonight is soup which I made last night, so I have nothing to do accept lay on the couch. Hopefully this cold is gone quickly and we can go boating on Sunday.

Chores

We have been taking care of a few chores lately. While Andrew was away I went shopping and purchased a mirror for the second bathroom. He begged me to take a photo of him being the "handyman" while we hung it up. We just finished doing the housework, finally, and are going to reward ourselves with pizza - yeah! Pizza has got to be one of my favorite meals. Good news - Andrew found out that the movie projector was indeed still under warranty, so it got fixed and he just picked it up today. Tonight we will be watching either "Matrix Revolutions" or "V for Vendetta". Hopefully the projector doesn't blow up during the middle of the movie.

Man Overboard

The weather was warm and a little windy today so Andrew and I went sailing for a few hours. We did a 'heave-to' and then Andrew took a swim, hanging onto a rope so he wouldn't get too far from the boat. The day was very pleasant, with winds out of the northeast at around 10-13 mph (force 3) and cloudy skies. Normally the winds are coming out of the southwest and west, and so today we had to do a lot of tacking to get back to the slip. Later we went to Lowes and Andrew bought a new carpet to put under his new drum kit, and a floor fan to cool him off. He is very excited to play this new kit on September 1 at the band's next gig.

It Was A Long Trip I Guess

After work today I went to Bloom and picked up some more Peroni beers. They were my reward for weeding the side yard in this heat. My shirt was completely soaked, it looked as though I had put on a totally wet shirt. But those weeds have been beaten into submission for another week. Andrew came back from his trip today around 7:00pm or so. He had a quick shower to rinse of the airplane grunge and then had a recovery nap on the couch. Apparently a little too much food and beer and whiskey over the week. He even said he is looking forward to eating a mostly vegetarian diet again so he can start feeling better. Oh well, every now and then you gotta let loose - otherwise what is the point of trying to stay healthy in the first place? In a few days he will be feeling better, starting with a dinner of rice, beans and cabbage tonight :-). Another pop-up storm is on it's way. Lots of lightening so far but no rain. I got a shot of the approaching clouds because I now know my camera has 'night' feature. Maybe in the future I will get a lightening strike picture.

Macro Sidney Attacks Camera

RTFM

After work today I mowed the grass, then spread out 4 bags of cornmeal to combat the brown patch fungus on the lawn, and swept up the mulch that was dislodged in the rain we had on Wednesday early evening. I got home pretty late from work yesterday and missed the storm, but it must have come down heavy because the cats were wet when they came inside for dinner and my "rain indicator" tree trunk was soaked through (this tree trunk is protected from normal rain by branches and leaves, and so if this trunk gets completed soaked, I know it was a hard drenching rain). I was reading the manual for my camera the other night and discovered that it has a digital macro function. Geez - and I've been trying to take closeups of our dinners all this time without it - loser!! So today I shot several test macro photos after mowing the grass. It worked pretty well I think. In the photos (click them to make them larger) you can see closeups of the Muskogee (light purple) and Hopi (medium pink) crepe myrtles and another of a moth (or butterfly?) of some type on another flower. Immediately after I photographed this moth, Harley pounced on it and ate it. What is it with eating moths? Sidney does the same thing. I think Harley learned to eat moths by watching Sidney. Tonight for dinner I am going to make rice, red beans and cabbage. Then I might watch a movie, or tv. Working in the yard in this heat and humidity is tiring. PS: Just after I posted this entry, a big pop up rain storm showed up and so I tried to call in the cats. I brought my camera and was able to catch a fast running Harley, but Sidney unfortunately was far away from our yard and she was soaked by the time she came in (about 15 minutes later).

Happy Birthday Harley!

Today Harley turns two years old. When we adopted her from the no-kill shelter, the vet estimated she was about four months old, so we gave her an August 1st birthday. We played a little with a red bow before going back outside to work on spreading mulch and watering plants. It was another very hot day here and we need some rain. I noticed that tropical storm 'Chris' has formed and I hope we see a little rain out of it. Otherwise it is going to be a long hot August. Tonight for dinner I made a new soup recipe "Chickpea and Leek Soup" and it is delicious. It called for 5 leeks which seemed like a ton but they cooked down nicely and have a nice mellow onion flavor. The other ingredients are garlic, fresh thyme and parsley, chickpeas (half of them pureed, half whole), and vegetable broth. A little fresh grated parmesan on top and that's it.