JACKIE SURVIVES ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

MON 29 AUG 2011 3:30pm  Jackie's birthday! We just had a wonderful meal at Me & Suzie's. Thin crust pizza and the best salad I've ever had. Spinach, nuts, berries, cheese, amazing. Jackie had a cocktail and I a draft. Then if that wasn't enough we traipsed down to the Roxy and had coffee and deep-fried ice cream. Diet be damned! This was birthday fare.

Jackie enjoying her birthday cocktail

 Me & Suzie's, Port Stanley

Patio at Me & Suzie's

I'm writing this by hand because I'm lounging in the tub preparing for an early-to-bed, a long day coming up tomorrow.  I figured if I waited until I got around to it on the computer it may never get done, so here I am scribbling away. It means I'll have to type it later but that's alright. At least it's getting done.

We had a surprise visit from Tara & Mike. Haven't seen them since they got back from out west. Met Tara when she was working at the native plant nursery where I also worked for a while. At the time Mike was studying in Montreal. And when that was done they married. Great couple. It was good to see them. They both are into nature so get what we are doing here.

On Saturday Lori and her daughter Logan came for another rare visit. Logan came armed with her fiddle and amazed us with her playing. She's 13 and already making money busking with her friends. (See Reel Young Fiddlers here). We went to Pt. Bruce for lunch and a walk on the beach.

Saturday night it was back to Duane Rutter presents at Neighbors to see him and Judi Rideout and the X Husbands. It was the last show of the series and they were swingin'!

Also on Sunday we had a long walk on the beach and got a lot of good glass. Found a nice yellow one and a grey one, both quite rare these days. I found an old Castoria bottle in perfect shape.

Much cooler now, feeling like Autumn. We've had a lot of rain this month so everything is growing like crazy. Grass, bushes, trees, vines. If I didn't keep cutting them back we would be trapped in an impenetrable woodland. They would only find us in the late fall when all the leaves depart. Our house (is a very very very fine house) is close to the road, but you can't see it from there (two cats in the yard; life used to be so hard).

I downloaded an e-book on photography. I've only read a bit but it looks good. It's probably much the same info I have in a dozen other places but there's always that urge to hear it in a new way. And the photos, all taken in travels around the world are great. It's a book for travelers, of course, but the techniques work well anywhere. And it's good to be like a tourist in your own area. Even if you're not taking photos or writing stories it's always good to look with fresh eyes on even the most common and mundane things. There really is a beauty in everything when combined with the right light or the right sound. A rusty piece of metal can become a work of art with the right light and shadow interplay. You don't have to be a photographer to see this, just have to want to see it.

31 AUG 2011 4:45pm  Everyone tried to ruin my day yesterday but today I'm risen above it. Went for breakfast, enjoyed every morsel.