The Beauty In My Own Back Yard (so to speak)

    I have been moaning about this summer, well all summer.  Our family vacation was this past March (remember me going on and on about Disney).  All of our extra cash (what extra cash) has gone to towards gas to drive Grace back and forth to Stirling twice a day, and now it's time to outfit 4 children for school.  Early on this summer I vowed to make the most of the summer, but have only just started to make good on this promise. We recently took a trip to Roseneath to the carousel and then had a delicious dinner at Mankatos Chip Truck.  It did not cost a lot, but it made memories that will last our children, and ourselves for a lifetime.

    Today I packed a picnic dinner consisting of sandwiches on fresh bakery bread, boiled eggs, slices of cheese, chips and for dessert, Billet Logs (I know I should have included a fruit of veggie, I'll do a veggie tray for a snack tonight).  In terms of dinner, for cost and difficulty, I got off pretty easy.  We packed the kids and the car and headed up the road ten minutes to Vanderwater Park, a local conservation area.

    It had been years since I had been to Vanderwater Park.  I think the last time I was there was before any of the kids were born.  As we drove into the park, I wondered why I had not taken advantage of this beautiful natural resource sooner, it just seems criminal.  It cost very little for the gas to Thomasburg (this is where Vanderwater Park is), the picnic lunch cost less than a hot meal, and there is no cost to use the park.  It's difficult to get a more economical mini-vacation.

    Vanderwater Park is breathtakingly beautiful.  Because we have had so little rain, we were able to walk right across the river.  There are normally several naturally occurring waterfalls.   In times that are not drought conditions, the waterfalls are very impressive.  As girls my sister and I would wade our way over and sit under the falls.  I cannot think of a better way to cool off in the heat of the summer.

    My normally cautious children were like little mountain goats, running over the rocks.  They loved that they could explore, and I loved that the worst they would do is slip on the mossy rocks and get wet.  I felt a little badly for the other day trippers who may have hoped for peace and tranquility.  What they got were my children's squeals of delight.  Apart from the squeals of my delighted children, it was gloriously peaceful.  The loudest noise (other than my kids) was the sound of the water falling.  The only thing that could have made our afternoon better, would have been if someone had delivered Tim Horton's coffees to Christopher to enjoy on one of the big rocks.

    So often I think wistfully of traveling somewhere exotic, somewhere, new, somewhere interesting, somewhere beautiful.  On days like today I realize that if I want to see beauty, all that I really have to do is open my eyes.  I think that sometimes I forget to open my eyes.  Because the stunning beauty is right under my nose I forget to open my eyes and actually see it.  

    When I saw Vanderwater Park today, I was a little ashamed of myself.  I could not believe that someplace this beautiful was only 10 minutes away, and that for more than 17 years I neglected to visit it, probably because it was so close I forgot it existed.  We promised the kids that we would come back again this summer, and bring Gracie this time.

    This is my challenge to you, and to myself, be a tourist in your own backyard.  Look at your own little world like that of a visitor.  Explore the ordinary and you will be surprised by the extraordinary.

The Best Fries I Have Ever In My Entire Life Eaten - Mankatos

    Sunday afternoon we took the kid's to the Roseneath Carousel.  They loved it.  We then decided to go to the Alderville First Nation.  Years ago when there was a Rural Ramble, we had gone through.  There was a really neat tee pee that the kids could go into.  I thought we were so close, we should go and see what there was to see.  We went into a few gift shops and an art gallery.  We saw some really nice pieces of art.  We decided to head home, but everyone was starving.  We kept our eyes peeled for somewhere to stop and grab a snack.

    Almost at the same time Christopher and I both called out that we saw a chip truck.  Now I am funny about chip trucks and hot dog stands.  Just ask Christopher some time about my opinion about hot dog stands (I'll give you a hint, they have no running water).  This chip stand was immaculate.  I gave it my blessing, and so we went to take a peek at the menu.

Does you chip truck offer this kind of selection?

    Now your average chip stand has chips, and hot dogs and hamburgers.  Some of the better ones offer ice-cream.  We were blown away when we looked at the menu.  It was all items that you could order at the fair, only cooked by ladies who were spotlessly clean and not covered in tattoos.  Christopher literally had a river of drool dripping down his chin.  After much debate we decided upon just plain old chips, or so we thought.  I was impressed to hear the clatter of a chip cutter (that meant that these fries / chips were not frozen, but real fresh potatoes).

    When the chips arrived, they looked glorious.  You could tell before the first bite that they had the perfect amount of crispness, without being greasy.  My eyes did not deceive me.  They were flavoured with a type of spice, oh mama.  I do not like spicy food (neither does my stomach), but these had just a hint, did I mention .... Oh Mama!  I have never in my entire life tasted chips as good as these.  We were groaning while we ate.

    When we had finished our order of fries (which by the way were really inexpensive), we decided to try some dessert.  What a selection!  Riley, Rowan and I settled on deep fried Mars Bars... OH MAMA!  They were served between whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.  It was like heaven on a stick.  Elly decided on cotton candy.  Did I mention that they actually made the cotton candy while we waited?

    As we finished up, Christopher and I decided that we needed to come back.  My parents are chip truck junkies.  They make it their goal in life to hit every chip truck that they see.  Christopher suggested that we needed to introduce Mom and Dad to this chip truck, and the only fair thing would be to drive them here.  He then suggested that instead of going to Linguini's our favourite local Italian restaurant for our anniversary, maybe we could drive to the chip truck.  I love Linguini's it is a once a year treat that I look forward to, but I found myself considering the Mankatos Chip Truck instead.

    So now we are fantasizing about another trip to that chip truck.  I think that we should try everything on their menu.  I've decided to make it my life's goal to order every item on their menu (well maybe not all at once, that is a bit piggy).

Look at all of those toppings.

facebook.com/MankatosChipTruckAndFairFoods

The Roseneath Carousel

    For a few years now, Christopher has been wanting to take the kids to the Roseneath Carousel.  I have never flat out said no, but it seemed like a long drive for "just a merry go round".  I came up with every reason why we should not go.  Last night Christopher announced that if we did not do something this week-end he would loose his mind.  I recognised that crazy look in his eyes, that look I often get in the winter, cabin fever.  I suggested we drive to Roseneath to see the carousel.  He gave me a funny look, "But you never want to go there when I have suggested it".  "Well I'm suggesting it now, do you want to go?"

    

    This morning after we had been up for a little while, Rowan asked if we could do something fun today.  We told him "yes".  We loaded up three of our four children (Grace is away at my cousin's in Sudbury), and headed for Roseneath.  The drive was breath-takingly beautiful.  The hills rolled into each other in a blanket of green.  The colours all seemed brighter than normal.  In the back seat the kids kept yelling up "Give us hint, what's our surprise?"  In the end I threw them a bone and told them that the surprise was in Roseneath.  They were no farther ahead, but I had the joy of tormenting them.

    When we pulled into Roseneath, the building that housed the carousel was deceptively unassuming.  I even argued with Christopher that this couldn't be the right place.  He gave me that look that one might give to a simpleton (I'm pretty sure that is not politically correct), and just kept right on driving.  We parked and got out, although I was practising my version of "I told you so" in my head.  It turns out my husband was correct, we were in the right place, it pained me to admit it.  He was classy enough to not tell me "I told you so!"

    When we got out of the car the kids practically danced up to the building.  The carousel was Elly's favourite ride at Disney World.  We walked up to the unassumingly bland building.  As we got closer we could hear the old fashioned bright cheerful carousel's siren song.  We paid $3.00 each, and walked through.  It was almost like entering a time portal, and being transported back into the 1930's.  For some reason I felt myself tearing up because of the beauty of it.  Each horse had been lovingly restored.  It was absolutely magical.  The music blared right into my bones, beckoning me to jump onto one of those beautiful horses.  The kids excitedly pulled us to the horse that they wanted to ride.

    Riley and Elly picked gorgeous horses, while Rowan decided upon a row boat.  Normally when you go on a carousel there is a bench that simply goes around in a circle, it does nothing.  I thought poor Rowan had chosen poorly.  Riley changed her mind about her white stallion, and decided to join Rowan in the row boat.  Big mistake I thought to myself.  To my and to their amazement the row boat went went up and down, like a real row boat.  Their  little faces beamed with delight.  Being the pillar of emotional strength that I am, I began to tear up.  Christopher saw me and laughed at me.  I think that in reality he likes that I love our children to the depth that I tear up out of love.  I just feel overwhelmed by my love, and by my own joy.

    Normally when you go on a ride it takes longer to wait in line than it does to enjoy your ride, this was not the case this time.  The ride length was extremely generous.  When we got off, Riley was bouncing.  "That was AWESOME!!!!!!"  "That was such a great surprise, thank you, thank you, thank you!"  Rowan looked a little green in the gills.  "Do you want to ride again?" I asked.  Riley and Elly were jumping up and down "YES, YES, YES!"  Rowan decided that he would sit this one out.

    After we had been lined up, Rowan peeked through the doors and decided that maybe he would like to take another spin.  The three of them piled into a boat, smiles so wide upon their little faces.

    The carousel is one of only 4 of it's kind in all of North America.  It was made in Abilene, Kansas and found it's way to Mohawk Park in Brantford, Ontario.  From there it was purchased by the Roseneath Agricultural Society in 1932 for $675.00.  It has 40 basswood horses and two boats.  The music is produced by a 1934 Wurlitzer 125 Military Band Organ with paper rolls.  In 1986 the ride no longer was in line with Ontario's safety standards.  Most places would just roll over, sell the antique pieces to private collectors or to museums and pocket a nice profit.  Thankfully for us, they did not do this.  A group of dedicated, amazing volunteers raised $400, 000 through fundraising to restore this treasure to it's former glory.  

    In the end, I admit it, I was wrong (you might want to write that down somewhere, because you may never see me say that again), it was worth the hour and a bit drive to Roseneath to ride the carousel.  I realize it is akin to saying "it's not really worth the one hour drive to travel back in time and see something that very few people have the privilege of seeing."  It was an inexpensive afternoon that was priceless for the looks on my children's little innocent faces.  As we drove away the kids all asked if we could come back again this summer.

    I have to tell you that it is worth your drive to go to lovely little Roseneath.  It is a beautiful area in and of itself, but honestly the carousel is something you owe it to yourself to see.  You can feel the love for it from the volunteers.  You can feel the love emitting from the building itself.

    The Roseneath Carousel is open on Sunday afternoons 1 - 3, from Victoria Day week-end until Thanksgiving week-end.

eagle.ca/carousel

Riley's Fairies

    Last week Riley watched "Fairy Tale".  We have seen it before, it is one of my favourite stories.  It's the story of the two little girls in 1917 who took pictures of fairies in their garden.  It is a truly beautiful story, and I highly recommend it.  As I say we've seen it a few times (we own it, that and The Secret Garden).  In the past viewing Riley enjoyed it.  This time it stirred something in her.

    Riley has become obsessed with fairies.  She will come and tell us information about fairies that she has researched online.  "Did you know that there is fairy butter?  Did you know that fairies like to drink milk?  Did you know that fairies like to eat berries that are poison to us?"  Every day we hear more facts about the fairies, it's nice.

    Every morning Riley races out to the backyard to see if there has been any fairy activity.  She has been leaving them food.  She came tearing in yesterday "They ate the cake I left them!"  She leaves them notes.

    Riley has been harassing me daily to help her make fairy furniture.  Today was the day, I made good on it.  Riley and Elly and I gathered sticks in the yard, and found some birch bark that had come off of our tree in  the front yard.  Using my trusty glue gun I made a tiny chair and a matching table using the twigs and sticks.  The girls were delighted (I have a few angry burns on my fingers to prove that I'm a good Mom).  

    When I had finished my glue gun magic on the twig chair and table, Riley clapped her hands and squealed in delight.  "Oh Mommy they will love it!"  She was so happy, it made me feel really good that she was so pleased.  I then found a birdhouse that my Uncle Johnny had made for me before he passed way.  That bird house has seen a few incarnations.  After Uncle Johnny first passed way I painted the birdhouse and made it into a lamp for the then infant Gracie.  She had a little bit of Uncle Johnny with her.  Recently I deconstucted it, and it just sat looking shabby.  It's latest incarnation is a fairy house.  Using my glue gun, I glued sticks around the outside, and birch bark onto the front.  Is it beautiful?  Not really, but Riley is so delighted.  I guess she is getting the gift of Uncle Johnny too.

    I guess we all need a little excitment, a little magic.  It's nice to beleive in something we can't see with our eyes.  We can't see love, but yet it exists....

The end of the Stirling trips...

    So here we are, one more trip to Stirling and then it's all done.  The summer that was all about Grace is winding to a close.  As I write this, Gracie is performing her second to last performance.  Tonight at 7 pm is the last time that Grace will be performing in Munsch Tales.  I have spent dozens of hours behind the wheel of my car, and hundreds of dollars on gas to transport her, and today is the last day.  It has been quite a journey.

    We have gone from practising lines for her audition to practising lines for her play.  We have helped her learn her solo debut of "Life is a Highway".  We have seen our little girl perform in a professional theatre production, and I am pretty sure that this acting bug has bitten quite deeply.  Yesterday's show was 4 tickets short of a full house.  My little girl is pulling in sold out shows!  There were buses parked outside of the theatre, buses full of children come to see my child (o.k. not just my child).  Yesterday afternoon I sat by myself, surrounded by strangers.  It was a really neat experience.  I got to see the performance, not through the tainted eyes of a loving mother, but through the paying eyes of an audience.  I heard the children around me explode with laughter at all of the right spots.  I sat in tears as the audience without provocation began to clap along to "Life is a Highway", and then when Gracie had finished, the audience exploded into deafening applause.  They did not know Grace, they were just rewarding an exceptional artist, an artist that I just happened to give birth to.  I sat with a stupid grin when I heard the people behind me, who did not know I was anyone's mother, talking about what a talented singer that little girl on stage was.  That experience more than made up for the dozens of hours behind the wheel and the hundreds of dollars in gas!

    In just a few hours the curtain will fall on this production.  In just a few hours Grace and her cast mates will be enjoying their well deserved cast party.  I said in the beginning what an amazing opportunity this was for Grace, but I don't know if I grasped just how much of an amazing opportunity it would be.

Watermelon Sorbet

    I love to make ice-cream.  I think I may have shared this fact before.  I am a regular Ben and Jerry.  I love to experiment with different types of ice-creams, the kids like me to also.  Rowan has been bugging me for a while now to make watermelon ice-cream (Rowan LOVES watermelon).  I have been mulling this one around, trying to decide the best way to make watermelon ice-cream.

    This afternoon I had that light bulb moment as I was slicing up watermelon wedges for the kids to snack on, not watermelon ice-cream, watermelon sorbet!  The first thing I did was too pour through my ice-cream making cookbooks (hard to believe but there are actually lots of ice-cream cookbooks out there).  None of them had a recipe for watermelon sorbet, that's weird.  I would create a recipe on my own, heaven help us all.  I took 1/4 of a watermelon and but it into small pieces.  I then put this into my blender.  It did not blend.  I then poured all of the chunks into my food processor.  It blended perfectly, but it also splashed out of the food processor and down the side of my stove and onto the floor.  I am not sure what genius created the prototype for my food processor, but I don't think he should be employed by Black and Decker any more.

After it was all blended I took my sieve and put a coffee filter into the bottom of it, and placed it into a bowl. I then poured the contents of the food processor into the sieve.  It took a long time to strain.

    While the watermelon puree was straining, I poured 2 cups of water and 1/2 of a cup of white sugar into a small sauce pan.  I cooked it until it was almost boiled, and then added an envelope of Knox gelatine (1 tbsp or 15 ml) and whisked it.  When that was all cool I added the watermelon juice to the mix.  I think I now know why they call it "watermelon".  It is pretty much all water.  There was maybe an eighth of a cup of pulp left from 1/4 of a watermelon.  When it was all stirred in I put it into a jug and refrigerated it... it's a good thing that I own a dishwasher!

    While we were eating dinner I poured the jug of watermelon mixture into the ice-cream maker.  It took about 25 minutes to freeze up.  It turned out pretty good.  It had a nice light fresh taste to it.  Christopher suggested that it would taste really nice mixed with some vodka, I agree with my husband on this one.

    I think that I know have sorbets under my belt, I think I might try lemon sorbet next.  Wish me luck!

The Great Outdoors i.e. Sleeping in The Back Yard

    I am sure that we are not the only family that has to account for every single penny in their budget.  A few years ago we made a promise to ourselves to live debt free.  This sounds really smart and great in theory, but the reality is really tough.  It's much easier in some respects to live in the now, i.e. instant gratification.  If you want a new T.V. put it on credit.  We don't do this anymore.  It was great in the now, but very stressful when it came time to pay it off.  We now buy things when we have the money, in theory great, but sometimes it's tricky to save that amount of money on one income.  It also means that we do not live a lavish lifestyle.

    This last March we took the kid's to Disney.  Disney has a great program that allows you to essentially "layaway" your vacation.  Having said that, it also ensured no summer vacation, because it used up two weeks of Christopher's three weeks of holidays.  A further four days of the three weeks holidays was taken up when Christopher took time to look after me after my nose surgery.  Why am I sharing all of this?  Because we just don't have the funds or time this summer to do a big family vacation.  Most of our summer is being used up driving Grace back and forth to Stirling.  We are running out of summer.

   Christopher and I made a vow that this summer we would make the most out of it.  We knew there was not a lot of extra money, any extra money (three birthdays in a one month period is pretty pricey).  We knew that there would not be much time, but as we sat sipping our coffee on the deck just before the end of June, we made a vow to have the best summer that we could.  Along the way we forgot about that vow.  The summer began to slip out of our fingers.  This summer has been the hottest that I can remember.  Because we have had scorching hot weather with no rain, our municipality has placed a water ban, and a fire ban.  That means no back yard fires!  Back yard fires are a staple for our family in the summer.  As well as being the hottest summer that I can remember, it has also been the worst summer I can ever remember for mosquitos (see outdoor movie blog).  Bug repellent has no effect on those little blood suckers.  That limits our outdoor movies, another staple.  Not only were Christopher and I forgetting our vow to make this the best summer that we could, the summer itself was doing it's darnedest to make us forget.

    Last night it was Daddy to the rescue!  While I had Gracie out for a hair cut, Christopher set up our tent in the backyard.  Every year since we moved into this house (10 years), Christopher has set up the tent and slept in the back yard with any kids old enough to camp out.  Usually it involves a fire, but not this year.  The kids were so excited, especially Rowan.  They could hardly wait to take things out to the tent.

    Dusk finally came, and saw children in pjs make their way into the tent with walkie talkies.  You will notice that no where in this blog you see that I sleep out with them.  I prefer my own bed, and the peace and quiet that I only get once a year.  I do the nice mom thing and take them out a snack once they are finally settled, that's my contribution.  I also answer hundreds of calls on the walkie talkies "Momma bear ... Momma bear, this is baby bear, are you there?"  It's cute for the first twenty calls, but it gets a bit much.  Last night was no different.  This year's treat was chocolate chip cookie s'mores ( I did not have any graham crackers so I substituted chocolate chip cookies).  I made them in the oven (stupid fire ban).

    At midnight I finally called out to the tent "If I can hear you in the house, it's too loud.  We have neighbours." (yes the biggest kid was out there with them aka my husband.  No, I have no idea why he didn't tell them to quiet down).  After the call from the Wicked Witch of The West, things quieted down.  It was shortly after that Grace came in.  She decided she would prefer her own bed, to the hard ground.  After that I did not hear from anyone until this morning.  

    One back yard campfire does not a summer make, but it does remind us that it costs nothing to give the kid's amazing memories.  We just need to remember our vow and try a little harder.

Breakfast For Dinner / How to Make Your Own Baking Powder

    It's HOT!  I don't remember a hotter summer than this one.  I did not feel like cooking dinner, but I had to, my family still likes to eat, even when it's hot. I decided to make something fun for dinner... rainbow sprinkle pancakes (plus pancakes don't heat the kitchen up).

    There was one small problem with my plan... I did not have any baking powder, and the stores were now closed.  I had already measured the flour and sugar into my bowl... what could I do?  Enter the trusty computer i.e. the internet.  I typed in "How to make baking powder".  It turns out baking powder is baking soda mixed with two parts cream of tartar.  I am a doubting Thomas.  I checked three different sites, each confirming the other.  In the end I had no choice, but it worked.

My Pancake Recipe...

(or should I say, Company's Coming "Muffin's and More")

 1/2 cup all- purpose flour                                       1 Egg, beaten

1 Tbsp Sugar                                                          2 Tbsp Cooking Oil

1 Tbsp Baking powder (one part baking soda to two parts cream of tartar)

1/2 tsp salt                                                              1 1/2 Cup of Milk

Mix the dry ingredients, then whisk in the wet ingredients.  Don't over mix it, or it won't be fluffy (trust me on this one, I know from experience).  I added the sprinkles at this point. The key to great pancakes is a hot pan.  Turn them when they start to bubble.  

    So now you know, if your recipe calls for "baking powder", and you don't have any, make your own.  All this time I have been spending an arm and a leg on baking powder, and I could have just been making it myself, who knew?

The Terrible Day That Could Have Been Much Worse

    Do you ever have one of those days where everything is in perfect alignment, and then you find yourself smashed back into reality?  That was my day this past Tuesday.  On Tuesday I drove Grace into her radio interview at the local radio station in Belleville (see yesterday's blog).  We got there early.  The interview went great, everything was in alignment.  After the interview Grace and I went to a big independent grocery store and had some lunch ( I know that sounds strange, but they serve meals to go at a very reasonable price and they even had a sitting area).  As we entered the store Grace shared with me that she did not feel very well, her tummy hurt.  "It's just nerves, I bet" (famous last words) I told her as I placidly patted the back of her shoulder.  We sat down for our lunch, and her colouring did not look great.  We finished our lunch, and got into the car.  As we were driving down the road it sounded like Grace was pouring water in the back seat. As I turned around to tell her to knock it off, I noticed the grocery bag under her chin.... it was not water pouring out of a bottle!

    I filled the car up and we headed home.  When we stopped for gas, I looked around the car for more bags.  For once my car was actually clean, darn it.  On our way home, Grace's radio interview came on the radio (it had been pre-recorded).  Gracie missed quite a bit of it, because she had her face buried in a grocery bag throwing up.  The perfect alignment began to quickly fray.  I had gotten our gas at the native reservation (cheap gas), so that meant I was traveling home on the back roads.  We were driving behind a van that seemed like it was held together by dirt and luck, traveling 65 Km in an 80 Km zone.  I did this for a while, thinking maybe he'll speed up.  At last, spurred on by the sounds of retching coming from my back seat, I decided to pass.  Passing makes me nervous, it is always a last resort for me.  Inevitably when I go to pass, the idiot I am passing decides to speed up, leaving me in the wrong lane, driving at the speed of light.

    So here I am behind the vehicle that looks like it will not survive a rain storm.  I decide to pass.  I push my foot down to the floor, and glide into the opposite lane.  That's right the guy speeds up, but that's not all.  As I am pushing my foot to the floor, the car is no longer accelerating, oh no, it's decelerating.  I am in the on coming lane of traffic diving 40 Km an hour and not so slowly, slowing down.  I instantly think I will just go into back into the lane, but out of no where there are 10 cars behind the derelict van.  I decide to stop in the opposite's lane shoulder.  After my heart eases it's way out of my mouth, I turn the car back on, and try to get back into my lane.  The car gets me back into my proper lane, and then promptly dies.  Did I mention that the heat that day (and every day this summer) was oppressively hot?  I shut the car off and try to start it again.... nothing.  I feel that little girl inside of me shouting "Just call Christopher, he'll fix things".  I mentally tell that little girl I am a grown up, and can fix things my own self.   I fish into my giant purse and pull out my cell phone and CAA card.

    Every year for Christmas, Christopher's parents, and now just his Mom have bought us a CAA membership for the last 18 years.  On the surface it seems like a pretty dry gift, but I will tell you it is the best gift we could receive! That card has saved my butt more times than I would care to admit to.  CAA is a really beautiful thing.  We call them before we go on a trip and they map out our trip for us, even giving us information about construction.  Being a CAA member entitles us to beautiful guide books from our CAA office.  When we go to hotels we get better rates by showing our CAA card.  We save money on movie tickets when we buy them from CAA.  We save a lot of money by either showing or buying our Canada's Wonderland, Disney, Sesame Place, ect tickets from CAA.  CAA is a great thing to have.  The greatest, best part about CAA is the roadside assistance.  Although I was stranded at the side of the road, I knew that the tow truck would be coming soon, and would be free.  That gift of CAA each Christmas, is a very beautiful thing!  It is the gift of reassurance.

    So I had phoned CAA and after much explanation as to where I was, I was told by the operator that we could expect the tow truck between the end of my call and twenty minutes.  I rolled down the window, opened Grace's back door and we waited.  The longer we waited the hotter the car became.  I thought about us getting out of the car, but that did not seem safe.    Three calls to CAA and enough sweat in my cleavage that I could make a small lake, and an hour and a half and the tow truck arrived. The up side was that the tow truck had glorious air conditioning.  I felt badly for the driver having to sit beside me in my state of stink.  I sat in the middle on a seat the size of a postage stamp.  I had to twist my feet to the side to accomodate his cooler.  Grace by this point seemed to have stopped throwing up, but looked like someone had painted her red.  She leaned her head against my shoulder for the whole car ride.  This seems like no big deal, until you begin to think about how much the human head weighs... a lot!  As if  the physical discomfort were not enough, I was feeling like throwing up thinking about what it was going to cost to fix my van.  After what felt like a ten hour drive (it was really about 20 minutes), we pulled up to my local garage.

    The end of the story... the car cost a lot less than I had thought it would to fix.  I would have rather had it fixed itself for free, but all things considered we got off o.k.  It was a crappy day, of that there is no doubt.  It could have been a lot worse, I know this and I am thankful.  If I had not gone to get my gas on the reservation, I would have never traveled home on the back road.  Had I been passing on the main highway, I am not so certain I would be writing this blog today.  

    The moral of my story, is CAA (AAA) is good!  This is wedding season, a CAA membership would be an amazing wedding gift.  The bride and groom may give you that fake smile that screams "what a lame gift", but they will be singing your praises if they find themselves at the side of the road.  If you are wondering, no I have no affiliation with CAA, I just know what a great gift it is.   Oh and the other moral, my life is never boring, and if it ever is, I will be thankful for boring.

Grace's Radio Adventure

Some the cast of Munsh Tales with Charity Brown 

    When Gracie auditioned for The Stirling Festival Theatre's Young Company's "Munch Tales", I knew this was an amazing opportunity for Grace.  Stirling Festival Theatre has much critical acclaim in our area, and even beyond our area.  I thought that she would gain confidence.  I thought that she would learn more about the theatre, and how to take direction.  I knew that she would make new friendships with kids who had a shared common interest.  Of all of the opportunities that I thought I "knew" about, I was surprised to discover today's opportunity, a radio interview.

    Gracie was beside her self with excitement when she learned that her name had been drawn to go to the radio station (the entire cast would not be able to fit into the small recording studio, so names had to be drawn to keep it fair).   She had a mixture of excitement and and an equal dose of nerves.  As we drove to Belleville, Grace looked like she might burst from excitement or throw up.  When all of the kids had assembled at the station, their faces mirrored Grace's.  You could feel the tingling like electricity from their combined feelings.  I looked at all of their fresh faces, taking in the atmosphere, thinking about their potential.  These kids are the potential for Canadian entertainment.  No matter what had happened, Celine Dion would have had a beautiful singing voice, but without people encouraging her, and helping her, the rest of the world would have never heard her voice.  The Stirling Festival Theatre's Young Company parents are encouraging the kids to reach their potential.  David Vanderlip the play's director has seen their potential, recognized their talent and helped them to shape their potential.  The radio station and Charity Brown the DJ, is feeding their potential, telling them they are on the right path, telling them to continue, strive harder.  

    When Grace came down the hall from the recording booth, her face was flushed, and she was walking on cloud nine.  She could barely contain herself.  As soon as we were in the car, she exploded with her joy.  " OH MOM!  We saw how they do the radio.  Charity pushes buttons.  Oh she is sooo much prettier in person Mom  She was soooooo nice Mom.  She's so pretty Mom.  Maybe I want to have my own radio show...."  It all tumbled out of my little girl's mouth.  It was pure joy to hear her. She gave me a play by play of what happened, each new piece of news building with excitement.

    The above is a clip of still pictures and their interview.  Grace and I listened to the interview on the radio as we drove home.  I could barely see the road for my tears of pride.  My little girl was growing up.  She has accomplished so much already.  I don't know if as an adult I would have the courage to do what she is able to do, even though I dearly wish that I could.  It has always been my dream to act in a play, to sing in public, but I just don't have the courage.  Here is my 11 year daughter ripping through my fears, with cautious abandon.  In this case I should be looking to my own child as a role model.