The Fourth Line

There seemed to be a theme to my birthday this year. On the big day, back in May, Ri and I went with Dorito and little E to Toronto to see The Railway Children. The story was fabulous and the whole set up - the temporary theatre set up around the tracks down at the CN rail yard (under the CN Tower) - was amazing. Real trains chugging in and out were incredible to watch. The first I'd heard of The Railway Children was over at Sharon's place when she wrote of her trip to see the stage production at London's Waterloo Station. I thought of her several times that day in May as we took it all in.

Trains sitting outside the wee theatre; Skydome in the background

But that wasn't the only theatre this year. Oh no. This is turning out to be a culturally enriched kind of year for me. Brother Enos gave Ri and me gift certificates to the 4th Line Theatre and last Friday we traded them in and the five of us were treated to a fabulous sold-out performance of The Cavan Blazers. It's the story of the Irish Protestants who settled Cavan township in the early 1800s and fought to keep the area 'orange' despite Catholic settlements in nearby Peterborough and Ennismore. Local history brought to life on an outdoor stage - doesn't get much better than that.

Visiting priest met by the Blazers

Can't remember who this guy is but he does look official, doesn't he.

The Blazers burn the cabins of the small Catholic settlement in Cavan.

I was wandering around the internet looking for more info on the Cavan Blazers and it would seem that one of the family names thought to be involved is Sutton. Interestingly, I have an uncle whose last name is Sutton and hails from the Fraserville area near Cavan. I do believe I shall have a few questions for him the next time I see him.  ;-)

That Danged Ragweed

It's that time of year when some suffer the wrath of Mother Nature. The majority of us in this household are lucky but poor Riley gets hit every year. Seasonal allergies. The ragweed's out in force and her poor nose is running but she refuses to take medicine to help her through. We tried a homeopathic mixture back in the spring, taken once a week for several weeks and that seemed to help with the pollen but she's back to square one. Good thing we're well stocked in kleenex.

Ri, cutting the grass, with a box of kleenex on her lap.

Top of the World

After all the stair climbing yesterday, we had three very tired kids last night. So they were a little hard to wake up this morning. We wanted to hit the road at a half decent time as we were heading into Toronto for the day. After a quick breakfast, we drove down to Oshawa to catch the GO train. About an hour later, we arrived at Union Station. The train ride wasn't quite as exciting as last year's trip - the boys are seasoned veterans at this train thing having been on it for the second time now - but they rather enjoyed themselves all the same.

We walked westbound on Front Street and found a restaurant for lunch. It had a nice outdoor patio so we relaxed there and enjoyed our meal. 

He takes after his father.

Then we headed a little further west to the CN Tower. Ri's been asking to go there for awhile so this was the day.

Posing under the tower

Now look up...look waaay up...

After paying admission and working our way through the 45 minute lineup (first thing in the morning is apparently the time to go - who knew) we boarded the supersonic elevator and zipped to the top. No idea what the hostess said on the way up as we were busy clearing our popping ears and taking in the amazing view across Lake Ontario. In 58 seconds (seriously), we reached our destination at the Look Out - 346m/1136' above the city's streets. Best not to think about it.

Looking down on the world

The piddly little white building top right in the picture above is First Canadian Place (marked BMO) and stands a mere 298m/978'. Pffft.

City waterfront and Toronto Island Airport

After making our way around the tower we joined the 1/2 hour lineup back to earth. Cameron suggested taking the stairs. We told him to have fun and we'd wait for him downstairs. He remained with us in line.

Back at Union Station, we hit the beginning of the mass exodus of workers heading out of the city and it was standing-room only on the train back to Oshawa so we made ourselves comfy on the stairs and settled in for the ride half-way home. Rosie, tail wagging, greeted us at the door at the end of our journey. 

A Little Wild, Lots of Water And Some Wheels

Paul mentioned this morning that he wanted to go into town. He had some banking to do so I invited the kids and I along. He became suspicious. You'd think after all these years that he'd know I don't just come up with plans on the spur of the moment but...oh, wait; yes I do. Let me try that again -- you'd think after all these years he wouldn't tell me that he's going into town but he did and the rest, as they say, is history. Half an hour later, calls were made to brother Enos and a friend of Ri and we were headed to...the bank.

We picked up Ri's friend, actually went to the bank, and then met up with Enos at Wild Water and Wheels. Then the fun began.

Our little group followed the path around the main building and hiked up the hill towards the water slides. The kids changed into swimsuits, sunscreen was applied, rules about walking and not running were set down and off they went. (The no-running rule was forgotten in very short order.) Paul, Enos and I made ourselves comfy on a couple of picnic tables and enjoyed the sunny day while the kids got wet.

Ri & her friend on a couple of the slides

The humans under thirteen took a break after about an hour for some fries and a drink and then back they went for another 45 minutes or so of climbing stairs and slipping down slides into the cool water. They changed into dry clothes and off we went to the bumper boats.

"Get her, Dad!" orders Nolan. Great fun.

Cammy opted out of the pipeline coaster. It's a cool little ride that's powered by gravity. The rest of the gang went for a ride or three.

Here comes Nolan! Weeeee!

Cammy decided to try out the carpet slide.

Look out!

Of course, the ride that Paul and Enos were patiently waiting for was the go-karts. With helmets on, the race began.

Nolan wasn't quite tall enough so he was Paul's co-pilot.

I've been asked several times this evening when we can go back. Yep. Another successful trip to the bank.

Trials of a Sheepdog

Dorito arrived at our place around 8 yesterday morning in a fog. Oh, no, wait; that's not right. I mean she arrived in the fog. Yes, yes. The drive up had been clear but as she neared our neck of the woods, visibility all but disappeared and she slowly found her way to our driveway. Enos arrived a few minutes later. He was in a fog too. Greetings were exchanged, tails wagged, rain gear gathered and then we loaded into Enos' car and headed out on our two hour drive. The sheepdog trials were on in Kingston.

The fog cleared up shortly after leaving and there was no rain most of the way there. And, while the sun wasn't exactly shining when we arrived, the park was dry. And furry. We should have brought Rosie.

We wandered around, stopping first at a demonstration of a takedown by the Kingston police K9 unit. Sure wouldn't want to end up in the sights of that working dog.

Good thing he's got lots of padding. Ouch.

Next, we hit the washrooms. Then, we found our way to the show being put on by Jungle Cat World. Not much going on there; just a couple of critters that you'd see all the time. You know, like a lemur and a lynx. Oh, and a local siberian tiger.

The rain was hit and miss throughout the day - a bit of a shower here and some light sprinkles there - but it was never too bad. And the clouds kept the sun from beating down on an already hot day. There was an agility course set up for dogs and their people and a pen with some young sheep. If you had a young border collie with you, you could have him go in the ring with a trainer. Amazing the natural instinct of these dogs when they realize the critters in front of them are of the herding variety.

There's a joke in here somewhere.

The Canadian Raptor Conservancy was here again this year with some beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) birds. Red tailed hawks are stunning but I can do without seeing the turkey vultures. This year they brought along a bald eagle too.

Picture stolen from Dorito's place

Of course, the main event was the trials. Friday and Saturday brought over a hundred dogs and their handlers from across Canada and the US into competition, with the top fifteen vying for the big prize on Sunday. Given 25 minutes, the dog was sent off to bring back a group of seven or eight sheep. Then, once they reached a certain point, the dog was prompted to turn around and, as soon as he caught sight of the second bunch of sheep, off he went to bring them back, across the field and through the gates. 

Then, the two woolly groups were brought together and the shepherds guided the herd into the ring. Usually at that time, the four-legged herder was sent to the little kiddies' pool for a cool-down and a drink. Like I said - it was a mighty warm day. (There were pools placed throughout the park for four-legged visitors too.) We saw one handler call it because her young dog was overheating.

Of the twelve or fifteen sheep in the combined group, five had red collars on. The idea was to have the dog and handler shed the naked sheep from the ring and be left with just the collared ones. The groups we saw managed to chase off several but none were able to win full points for a complete shed. Not sure how they did earlier in the day.

The competition ended around 4 so we packed up and hit the road. We grabbed a bite to eat along the way, slowed down to a whopping 20kph when heavier rain hit and arrived back at the ranch around 7. I'm pretty sure they'll see us there again next year.

Sheepdogs and Strawberries

The boys and I took a trip into town this morning to pick up a flat of local strawberries at the Market. As we wandered around under an overcast sky, the Niagara peaches jumped out, blocking our path and forced us to buy them. Forced us, I tell you. Plums too. And cherries. The growing season may be short up here but, man oh man, when the crops come in, they sure are good.

Tonight, I sliced up most of the berries - you've got to save some for fresh eating - and layered them in the dehydrator. We're trying a few plums and cherries this go round, too. If they turn out nice, I'll pick up some more and the kids can add dried cherries and plums to the strawberry chips that they snack on at school throughout the year. Options are a good thing.

While I was cutting up the fruit, the Sheepdogs came on the all-request show on the Wolf. That got me thinking about the day to come. Tomorrow, Dorito, brother Enos and I are making our annual trek to Kingston for the sheep dog trials. (As this is the 3rd year in a row that we're going, I reckon it qualifies as 'annual'.) There's a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow and the forecast is for about 38C with the humidity. Lordy. May have to wander down to the lake for a little dip.

As for the musical Sheepdogs, have a listen. I heard them for the first time last week...as I was slicing strawberries. It's a toe-tapper... 

 

Well, I'm Ready for Winter

We've been sitting under a weather alert here in southern Ontario as the tropics have moved north and taken over our little corner of the Great White North. (Remember snow? I do too. Vaguely.) In Toronto today, they were close to breaking the all-time record for heat. Up here in the Kawarthas, we were slighty cooler, reaching only 35 degrees C with a humidex of a mere 48. Sounds even hotter when you convert to farenheit. Are you ready? One hundred and eighteen degrees! We did manage to find one way to keep cool, though...

 
Here's hoping for slightly cooler temperatures tomorrow.

* Please remind me of this day in January when I'm whining about how cold it is. Because I will be.

And The Weather's Fine

Holidays. Sweet holidays. We decided it was high time we took full advantage of our time off so we shipped the kids off to daycare. Alright, alright, they all asked to go. Come to think of it, they begged. Cammy's friend Snacky was there. Nolan's friend Markie Mark was there. And Riley's friend Jade was there. Who could say no, really. 

So, while Paul worked on building out and trimming our new functioning windows (the functioning part still brings a tear to my eye), I dropped the kids off at Julie's and went down to Orono to pick more blueberries. It was a lovely day - blue sky, sunny and the blasted humidity is gone. Ahhh. I sailed along, glancing at the scenery while the radio played one great tune after another. As I neared the turnoff, I found myself behind a slowpoke (who was neither wearing a fedora nor driving a Buick - and it wasn't Sunday). Finally, I followed him, slowly, off the highway and westward along the 3rd Concession. As I passed Allin's Orchard, I noticed a guy ahead on a bike. He held both hands out as if to balance but it didn't seem to be working for him. He seemed kind of wobbly. He sat very straight in his seat and had a little Canadian flag sticking out of the back of his hat. I slowed (even more) as I approached him and gave him wide berth as I passed. The guy was on a unicycle! Outside of the circus, I can't say as I've seen that before!

Another half a minute down the road, I made my way in to Wilmot's, parked and spent about 2 hours picking. By the end, I was getting rather parched as I'd forgotten to bring water, but I was happy with my haul. I came home with a couple of nearly full 4-litre buckets and a 3-litre basket for Julie. I see now that I'll have to work fast as the buckets don't seem as full as earlier in the day. Evaporation, perhaps. I'll leave you with the best song on the radio today. Hadn't heard it in years so it deserved to be fully cranked. The video quality's not great, but...they rocked.

Lakers Night...in Whitby

The Lakers have been big news of late, not only because they're the best darn lacrosse team in the league but because of a decision last week by the shirts in the league that saw the Lakers go from being up 3-0 to down 2-1 to the Brooklin Redmen. You can read about it here, if you're interested. Pretty brutal way to lose a playoff round, if it were to go that way. Awfully sucky way to win, too, if you're the Redmen. Anyhoo, the Lakers won the fourth game to tie the series. Then, on Sunday night, Brooklin won game 5 (their first win in the real world, third win in the official world) and suddenly Peterborough was looking at an early exit.

Paul and I are on holidays this week (and the taller of the two is on holidays for a couple weeks beyond that  *happy dance* ) so the kids can stay up a little later than usual. Yesterday, we decided to go down to Whitby for game 6. Brother Enos came by after work and had supper with us then we headed out. We arrived at Iroquois Park around 7:30 and met Enos's buddy Jeff and his daughter Julia and took our seats. 

It's a different world to lacrosse in Peterborough. The bowl that they play in is cement, it's hot and probably only seats about seven or eight hundred (that may be generous). The Memorial Centre, on the other hand, has carpeted floor, is air-conditioned and seats around three thousand. Playoff games are all but sold out. Down there, half the crowd was from Peterborough (and we were louder, too  ;-)). Even ended up sitting with Lizzy, a friend from work. Oh, and there's the secretary from the kids' school. Oh, and the guy who fixes our computer. Hey, look - there's some folks that Enos curls with. It was almost like being in Peterborough...except for that hot, non-air-conditioned part. We figure there's more choices down there so they don't draw the crowds. Up here, we've got lacrosse in the summer and Petes hockey in the winter. And that's about it.

Having never seen a lacrosse game before (other than Cammy's, that is), I didn't really know what to expect. It was great. Lots of action, lots of cheering and, I'm happy to report, lots of scoring by the Lakers. The boys, proudly sporting Lakers Lacrosse Camp t-shirts thoroughly enjoyed the show. Riley, who didn't want to go, had a great time hanging out with Julia - even though the little shi darling cheered for the Redmen. Not sure who Jeff was cheering for (he's from Oshawa, after all) but he seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as we did. Final score was 14 to 5.

Game 7 goes tomorrow night in the Borough. Go Lakers Go!  
  

 

 (Lakers are in white)

** Updated August 18:  the Lakers won, 14-3, to take the best of seven series.

The Stage Is Set

Ri's back in drama camp this week and tomorrow the final curtain will go up, giving the performers a chance to show off their many talents. By special invitation, brother Enos will have the pleasure of taking in this truly extraordinary spectacle. Should be a hoot.

The Changing Face of Mother Nature - Down at the Bog

Winter fun on the frozen bog

  Spring has sprung...the snow has melted...and the weather's warm

Dog days of summer - lush and full of colour

Roadtrips, Dogs, Friends, Dogs and More Dogs - Second, Third and Fourth of Seven

Brother Enos, Dorito and I all took the day off work today. Roadtrip! Dorito brought her car up to the brother-in-law's garage for the day. Enos took a bit of a detour and picked her up around 9 before making his way to our place. I dropped the kids off at daycare at the usual time and came back here to wait. Some time before ten, we loaded into Enos's car and hit the road for the 2 hour trip to Kingston.

This weekend is the 23rd annual Sheepdog Trials. Dorito and I took the kids last year and really wanted to go back. We had decided this time we'd go without kids - but invited Enos anyway. Just before noon, we pulled into Grass Creek Park and, well, parked. After a quick pee break, we made our way to the Dock Dogs pool. There were dogs everywhere. German Shepherds, Labs, Border Collies, Retrievers, big dogs, small dogs, wet dogs, dry dogs - it was canine heaven for dog lovers. We found a spot near the corner of the pool and made ourselves comfortable. Then we watched the dogs do their stuff. Some of the dogs were just itching to get in the water. Others weren't too sure about the two foot drop from the dock. Some of them never did get wet. But the pups that were rarin' to go put on an awfully good show. The three of us wore ear-to-ear grins watching them. A couple of them looked an awful lot like Chimo - she would have been in her glory.

After awhile, we were getting hungry so we walked over to the food tents. We took a seat and shared a mighty fine lunch of, among other things, onion rings, fries and poutine. After filling up on that highly nutritious meal, we took a seat at the trials.

The dogs are amazing. I guess some credit should go to the handlers too. As the collies run out at top speed, across the field to gather the sheep, you can see that they absolutely love what they're doing. It really is something to watch. The skill and control of both dog and handler is incredible. I can't even imagine the hours of training involved. I'd love one of these dogs to herd my kids.

After watching several of the border collies do their thing, we strolled over to another area of the park to see some pups in a pen with the sheep. It was here that you could really see that herding is what these animals are bred to do. An eleven week old pup instinctively worked the herd. With training, it may find itself on the main field one day going for the big prize.  

Boy, what did we do next. At 4 o'clock, the Canadian Raptor Conservancy put on a really good birds of prey display. Lots of information was given out while showing off a harris hawk, a barn owl, a kestrel falcon, a red-tailed hawk and a great horned owl. Great horned owls prey on skunks among other things. How can they stand the smell, you ask? Turns out great horned owls can't smell and skunks are slow movers. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure all my dogs have found out just how slow skunks can be. Wish I couldn't smell them either.

Great Horned Owl - look at those eyes

I have no idea what time we finally left the park. We worked our way west, taking a little detour by Fort Henry before stopping in Belleville to pick up a gift for Cammy's friend (birthday party tomorrow), grabbing something to eat and then starting the final leg home. 

Days don't get much better than this one. A rare roadtrip with a couple of nuts, um, I mean, with good friends (who may also happen to be family) on a mighty fine day, to a place that can only be compared to heaven on earth for dog lovers. We'll be smiling for days.
 

Week at the Improv

The family actress is in her glory this week. Uh no, that would not be me. Hard to believe, I know, however, you'll not find me up in front of people, by choice and, gulp, speaking.

*sweat beads across her brow*

No, we're talking about Ri and her thing for acting. She's in an acting camp again this summer, this time at PAPA, in downtown Peterborough. And she is loving it. The folks who run the academy live down the road from us and are even picking her up in the morning and dropping her off at the end of the day. Talk about customer satisfaction.

My dear girl hasn't given me much detail (have to go see the play Friday afternoon for that) but apparently she's playing a director's daughter who is a bit of a girlie-girl (that'll take some skill to pull off) and a snob. Her classmates have also been given their parts (drawn from a hat) and are learning three songs - something by the Beatles, a piece from the movie Enchanted and this one by the Proclaimers. (Or for my fellow Canucks - remember this?) They're going over some ideas and the rest is improv. I'm gonna be so nervous.

Today they had a little talent show where they could stand up and tell a joke or riddle. Ri, proudly wearing her "I have issues" tshirt, took the spotlight and asked, "Did you hear about the kid who took the train home? The police came and told him to take it back" or "Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide." I don't know where she comes up with this stuff either.

So, two more days of this fun and maybe we'll look into some classes in the fall. It's nice to see her so excited.

Oh, hey. Did you hear this one? 

How many Alzheimer's patients does it take to change a light bulb?  
~ To get to the other side!

Alright. She may come by it honestly.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Nah, I'm not really hoping for snow, just yet. But, I was thinking that if I sing winter songs then maybe I can fool my body into believing that it's not 40 degrees outside. Holy crap, it's stifling out there. We've been in the midst of a heatwave for several days now and, I for one, am ready to move on. Yes, I know. We whined last summer that it was cold. And rainy. And we whined two years ago that it was cool. And rainy. I get it. However, this is nuts. According to the forecast, one more day of this hot, humid, sticky weather and we cool down...for a few days. Then I'll sing more seasonal songs.

Cammy's enjoying his lacrosse camp. This year he knows a few people in it and he's more confident. He's talking about playing house league next year. (Mental note for mum: don't forget to sign him up.) Yesterday, I wandered over to the Mem. Centre to watch the end of day scrimmage before home-time and found brother Enos taking in the play. Cammy was pretty proud that someone other than his ole Ma had come by to see him. Enos even got a wave. Guess I can't complain too much, though. I do get a nice little hug every morning before he heads out into the bowl.

Chickens are doing great. In the few days that we've had them, the four ladies have given us a dozen and a half eggs. One of the Rhode Island Reds has held out a time or two, but makes up for it the following day with a whopper. They spend some of their time under the front porch where it's shady and sandy. I can just imagine the dust baths going on there. Wonder if they make sand castles to pass the time? Each day they explore a little further from their coop, enjoying a veritable smorgasbord of tasty bugs. Gives new meaning to the 100 mile diet, really. The two leghorns, Phanny & Bobbie-Oar, head in each evening on their own accord and take up their defensive positions on the roost while Crosby & player-to-be-named-later have to be coaxed inside. So far, we're winning.

* sings *

"...when it snows, ain't it thrilling; though your nose gets a chilling; we'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way; walking in a winter wonderland..."
    

Weather Watch And Wee Birds

I picked the kids up after school today. As we drove along, the sky to the west threatened. Then, shortly after arriving home, the skies opened, the winds puffed and we were blasted with rain. Hail was thrown in just for fun. It's been like that lately. Hot, sticky, humid days followed by a cold front that turns the weather upside down. There was a tornado warning for the area last week. That was after the earthquake. Had a power outage too. Quite frankly, I could do without that much excitement in one day, thank you very much.

Thankfully, with this evening's storm, came cooler air. As we sat outside watching the rain, we could feel the temperature changing. What a relief.

After supper, Nolan grabbed a hockey stick and ball. He wandered out to the hockey net and discovered he had a new goalie. A wee bird was sitting in the crease. Not exactly a mighty duck and too far from home to be a penguin, we looked him over. He didn't have red wings and he wasn't a blackhawk but he was still wild. We wondered if the strong winds had pushed him out of the tree. The little guy was really too small for the draft. Or, perhaps, he just wanted to get away from the maple leafs. Who could blame him really. We searched high and low for a nest while a bird flew about us. His mama we figured. Then another peep, peep and we discovered, in the garden, a second wee bird. A left winger, no doubt. We set the rookie goaltender down with his teammate and vacated the arena so that their coach could join them. Go flyers, go.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

 

 ...again. Might as well have fun.

.

Vacation...at the Dentist's?

It's been a busy couple of days. I started a week-and-a-half vacation yesterday...at the dentist's office. Riley's last baby tooth wouldn't come out even though the adult tooth had already grown in, so she had to have it pulled. The tooth broke in two and she only had half to put under her pillow but I'm guessing that the tooth fairy took pity on her for what she had to go through to get it. Ri found a toonie and a loonie this morning - all other teeth have been worth just the two dollar coin. Lucky kid. (Although, come to think of it, she does owe me money.)

Ri was feeling okay after the appt, so we picked up a few back-to-school things. Nolan picked out a transformers lunch bag and a batman pencil case, Ri and Cammy found a couple of things that they needed and we added one more small thermos for Nolie to the lunch container collection for those hot lunches on cold days. Not sure I really believe that my wee Nolie is starting school in a few weeks.

Next, a few groceries and then home. The afternoon disappeared in a fog (I fell asleep in a chair) and last evening I was back into Peterborough for a meeting about the 2010 International Dragon Boat Festival. This was the first committee meeting we've had since January or February so it was a good chance to catch up and start to assign roles. Finally, we locked up and headed out in one helluva storm.

This morning, back to the dentist for fillings for Nolan and down to Oshawa to wish Dorito a happy happy birthday. (Happy Birthday, Dorito!) As the kids and I started the trip home, I changed our course and headed down to Lakeview Park. We went for a walk along the beach and out on the pier. The boys were pretty amazed at the size of a couple of the ships in the harbour. They had cranes! That's when I realized they'd never seen Lake Ontario before. I know. Sad. But we've rectified that now. We spent some time at the playground and then home we went.

No plans to go anywhere tomorrow other than the Farmers Market in town. Peaches are in season.

No More Soakers

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down...

Up until a couple weeks ago, that was the official song of summer. And living in a swamp means there's lots of muck around. Usually, into July, the runoffs are soft but have pretty much dried up. Not this year, though. Lots of water and mud. It wouldn't be so bad if we could just stay away from it, but to get to the pool or the chickens or the shed or the garden or the swings or, well, you get the drift here - we all end up with mucky feet. We've tried planks of wood. They work okay but everyone's toppled off of them into the muck at some point. And you just know that that mud is going to be tracked into the house and across the floors.

And then one day, not so long ago, Dave, our good friend next door, was over and suggested to Paul that he put in a proper culvert. The man's brilliant! And we probably should have thought of it ourselves. But we didn't so Dave gets the pat on the back.

Paul went out last week and had a twenty foot section cut down, brought it home and dug it into the runoff. Then he laid some sod and now we have the loveliest little grass bridge. I'm still waiting for some wee trolls to take up residence beneath it, it's so lovely. And there hasn't been a soaker since. Beautiful. Next up, a duplicate grass bridge across the other runoff to the garden.

Sheep Dog Trials

On a whim, Dorito, the kids, Ri's friend Kaitlin and I packed up the van yesterday and headed down Kingston-way to watch the 22nd annual Kingston Sheep Dog Trials. The whole thing came about Friday after Dorito sent a youtube video of border collies herding sheep - she has a thing for border collies...and sheep, apparently - which led me to google 'sheep dog trials southern ontario'. Who does that? Well, me, it turns out. I'm so glad I did, though, 'cause up popped the Kingston festival. This weekend. Roadtrip! Dorito agreed to hang out with us for the day even though she had no clue where we were going until she saw the sign at the Joyceville exit. I forgot how long a drive it is to Kingston.

The day was great - warm and sunny and there were black and white dogs everywhere. Dorito was in her glory. We watched a dog jumping competition that measures height or distance as dogs jump into a pool. The kids were most interested in this. Some of those dogs can really jump.

But it was the sheep herding that I liked the most. Those dogs and their handlers are amazing. Dorito has video footage at her blog - go check it out!

We're definitely going again next year!

Fabulous

Showplace in Peterborough hosts the Fabulous Green Roof Children's Theatre Workshops over several weeks of the summer and Riley spent last week there polishing her acting skills. She loved it. During the week, the kids come up with an idea, write a play, rehearse and, on the final day, performed "The Good, The Bad and The Sleepy" for us proud parents. Here's the write-up from the playbill (yes, they even handed out a playbill)...

The Play

A group of orphans dream of a home where they are loved, fed properly and are allowed to enjoy just being kids. When they share a dream about this possibility they seek out help in the form of a dream detective and her Dream Team.

Meanwhile at the university a professor begins to be seduced by the power of harnessing people's dreams for his own good.

It is a classic good versus evil clash that proves that dreams are not to be taken lightly.

Only in dreams can we truly be free!

Not bad for a week, eh?

Riley had mentioned earlier in the week that acting is really hard work. She was paying attention and her brain hurt. Hmmm, could there be something to this?

After the show, Dan, her instructor, told me that Ri was really good - she could think on her feet, she focussed really well and she should keep acting. I suggested to Ri that she audition for a math play as it might help her focus on that and improve her mark.

Now, take a look at this. CHEX TV, the local CBC channel, sent out a reporter on Friday to get some footage of the dress rehearsal. Ri's the one with the kerchief on her head (and ripping a bigger hole in her pants) and she's wearing a black top and skirt in the dream sequence...

http://www.chextv.com/videos/Newswatch_TheatreCamp.WMV


I don't remember these kinds of things when I was a kid. But then again, you wouldn't catch me up on a stage...except maybe in a dream...