A Distanced Game Day

Last year Teri and her family launched an annual event in honour of her late father. Gord's Game Day is held in September and brings people together to be outside, active, and connected. Her dad was involved in many team sports both playing and organizing them, as well as, a driving force for their extended family to gather and have a good time. The event last year, in 2019, was at a public park in Hamilton, with obstacle courses, giant jenga, soccer and more. Entry fees and fundraising go towards the Brain Aneurism Foundation of Canada.

With the pandemic this year, the event had to go 'virtual' with a request that family groups and small gatherings of friends try to keep the budding tradition going by running their own Game Day in honour of Gord. A bunch of the participants sent in photos and clips from their activities, which have been made into a video. We did our own Game Day at the waterfront in August, organized by K. The video starts off with a clip from that day and me pushing a ball of Jason's spoon during a race (I am the worst!) You can catch glimpses of Teri, her mother and brother, Greg, R.O.M, K, Jason, Mike, LeMonde, Kristen, Noah, Leo, Monica, Andras, Sebi, and the list goes on. It is a fun montage!

RTW - And So It Begins

 RTW - Big drive out west from Toronto to Calgary/Banff/Edmonton and back. Covid means no flying or cutting through the USA, so Jason and I are taking the car and doing a road trip!

Date: Friday Oct 9, 2020

Starting Location: Home, Toronto

End: Jason's Parents, near Wiarton, Ontario

Starting Odometer: 285,665

Distance Travelled: 214 km

Scenery: Dark

Animals: Clancy, the lovely doodle and Biscuit, the "happy mop" according to Jason.

Notes: We did a good job of packing so were able to be on the road soon after Jason finished work. We picked up prunes and sour keys from Kristen and Noah (they got them for us from Costco) and drove north to Jason's parents, we noticed that by 7pm it was starting to get dark.

It's A Bit Like A Party

I hosted my third Virtual Trivia Night last night and it was busy! There were 19 teams! It is a big collection of people: from close friends to extended family, friends of friends and more. I have covered up their names but you might recognize some faces among last night's trivia crew:

Participants for Covid-19 Virtual Trivia Night

Hosted by me on Zoom

March 31, 2020

JBR - A Visit To Huntsville

Beer: Lake of Bays Brewing Company, on tap

Date Tried: Saturday March 7, 2020 

Location: Trading Bay Dining Company, Dorset, Ontario
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Yeah, it is fine."
Editor's note: It has never worked out that Kristen and Noah are heading to Huntsville at a time that we can join them. They have invited us a few times but we always miss out. Kristen's dad has a condo up near Deerhurst and they love it there, in all seasons. We got to go this past weekend and had a wonderful time. Went for a couple of hikes and did a tiny road trip a few minutes down the road to Dorset for lunch - at a restaurant filled with ski-doo'ers, I think we were the only people who arrived by car. I found an old Heritage Walking Tour of the tiny village so we made sure to do that too. It was a wonderful little winter weekend holiday!

Happy New Year!

Can't believe that it is 2020! Managed to stay up to truly ring-in the new year at midnight. Feeling very old when being awake that late feels like an impressive achievement. Kristen and Noah came over and the last few years we have gone to Fresh and then hung out together playing board games. We switched it up and get Swiss Chalet take away, which was easier and cheaper. Played a number of rounds of Spender, which I really enjoyed and need to remember to ask for next year.

Kristen Wins Halloween

I guess this is a follow up from a 2016 post when I was super excited by Teri's costume for R.O.M. that made him a tiny baby sushi.

Basically I love sushi!!

Kristen's costume for work this year is amazing and the next time I need a costume I am totally going to borrow it of make my own.

The little hat with the plastic grass, wasabi, and ginger is perfect. Though I gather Noah didn't recognize what it was supposed to be so she was worried that it wasn't working.

(Also, this was her testing it out this evening before wearing it tomorrow, so she is wearing pajama bottoms, I believe she plans on actually doing dress pants to work with it.)

Why Not Buffalo?

Jason and I have a tradition of visiting The States during Canadian Thanksgiving, also in 2017 we stayed in Toronto because we had gone to San Francisco at the end of September that year.

Last year, Kristen and Noah joined us for a road trip to Salem, Massachusetts and a little visit to Boston. Since this year we decided to go to Buffalo, New York, and Kristen's mom lives in St. Catherine's we invited them to join us again for a night it if worked out with their Thanksgiving plans. They came out for the Saturday night and we had a blast doing a self-guided walking tour together through Allentown, getting tastings at a gin distillery and beer brewery, eating 'buffalo' chicken wings and exploring the waterfront. The photo is from our walk through downtown on Sunday morning, lots of cool architecture!

An awesome highlight was getting to take Jason to The Buffalo Zoo! This has always been my favoruite zoo, we used to visit it a lot when I was younger and my grandparents first lived in Fort Erie. The last time I had been was during a high-school road trip with Teri. A lot of things had changed, less animals and larger enclosures mainly, but I still loved it and could have stayed all day!!

Christmas Changes

I like that my Christmas traditions are slowly adjusting to be less material/consumer driven. Don't get me wrong. I love buying, giving, and receiving gifts - remember giving gifts is one of my main Love Languages! However, with a tiny Toronto house, I don't have room for a lot of stuff, and I have always valued experience more anyway.

This year Kristen and I went to a play together instead of doing gifts - with the added bonus of a dinner at my favourite vegetarian restaurant Fresh a head of the show. (We saw a musical parody of the TV show Friends.)

The lists that get sent between family members each year and leaning more and more towards consumable items - we ask for our favourite foods, household items we need, fun treats of one type or another that we wouldn't necessarily buy for ourselves but really enjoy. These types of gifts bring such joy and at the same time don't add to clutter.

Some Of The Things We Missed

During my missing streak, when I didn't post on Always Standing from June to September there was so fairly big things that happened - aside from starting a small businesses (though frequently related.)

Here are some things that happened...
- Got to Long Point a bit, but not nearly enough
- Summer Solstice Event involved a full road closure and wasn't as tiring this year
- I had a big team at the office with three students hired for the summer
- Kristen, Noah, Jason and I went on a road trip, got to do some white water rafting
- Mom and I went to Las Vegas, she did five posts about it on her blog
- We got our driveway re-paved and the roof done at Casa Verde
- Had an awesome day at Wonderland with Jeska, as is tradition

Super Mario Party

It is here!! The new Mario Party!! When we lived together, Kristen and I played A LOT of Mario Party 8 for The Wii. It was so much fun, we beat everything, unlocked everything, and loved it. A few years later when the next one came out (Mario Party 9) we rushed to get it - but it was terrible! Such a horrible disappointment, they changed how the game worked, the mini games within it weren't good, we played it only a couple of times.

Mario Party 10 came after that but it was for Wii U which wasn't a system we had. Everyone had the original Wii though, at one point we had two of them! The latest Nintendo system is the Switch, which Jason got a while ago to play Zelda (I think) since it had good reviews. I have been patiently waiting for a Mario Party to get released for this new console. Even though I think the price tag of $80 is insanely high, I had such high hopes that it would be good like the first one I played.

Jason surprised me by ordering the extra controllers we needed with overnight shipping, so we were prepared when Kristen and Noah came to test it out. I can happy report that is it awesome!! The main section returns to the style of play seen in version 8, the mini games are hilarious, and there are extra things that are super fun on their own. I can't wait to unlock everything!

TB - September 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

SEPTEMBER 2007

Settling into a full-time job, at GeoConnections, and going to school in the evenings (I am going to meet Erin AH and Jenn soon ... pretty sure they are both in the class I mention attending.) Looks like I signed up to help Kristen at The Charlatan and that I quit Subway, did I end up going back to Subway later? I have a hard time leaving that chain.

There is a quote from my dad! I don't exactly remember where or when or the context in which he was saying it but totally sounds like something he would say. Probably was on the phone. Sadly, I can no longer hear how his voice sounds in my head, it left quickly and I hate that it is gone. 

Noted Post: The I Can See!! post describes one of my favourite personal anecdotes, I remember it happening and I still laugh about it to this day.

Salem In October

Yesterday we went to Salem, which is just north of Boston. (It is actually on their commuter rail system it is so close, but we drove.) The town is really busy in October and was so beautiful. I definitely want to go back. The historic homes are incredible, they have houses dating back to the 1600s. There was a lot that we didn't get to see, just being there for a day. It is a harbor town and we didn't even make it down to the waterfront area. We were mainly there to learn more about The Salem Witch Trials.

If you don't know about this strange point in American history, I really suggest you look it up. The Wikipedia entry linked above gives a decent overview but I am sure there are other sites as well. Both Kristen and I consider this a common knowledge point but there are so many historic events in the USA it seems it isn't as known about as I had assumed. There is also a lot of miss information, and the Salem Trials get confused with facts from those that occurred in Europe.

Here are some things I was surprised about:
- Not as many deaths as I had thought, they 'only' executed twenty people
- Trials are well documented, there are surviving transcripts from witness interviews
- They relied on spectral evidence, which was a thing
- It all ended when the Governor's wife got accused
- They didn't 'test' the women in water, might have been a European thing
- Starts with accusations from afflicted children
- Along with sexism issues, racism was a factor too

Road Trip!

Jason and I like to travel to the US during Canadian Thanksgiving. This year Kristen and Noah were interested in joining us. We have planned out a pretty intense road trip over to Massachusetts. We knew you can get there for a weekend, since we had done it for the playoff game in April. That had been a lot of driving but with an extra day I hope to be able to see some cool things, going to visit Salem and Boston. We are used to being in the car together. Besides the playoff road trip, the four of us have also driven together to Pittsburgh this past summer, well just outside of it, to go White Water Rafting. Road trip!

The Warmest Water

I cannot believe how warm the water is here!! We went out on a sailboat trip yesterday, that included kayaking into a mangrove tree island thing - totally looked like what I pictured the floating island in the Life of Pi book to be. We also went snorkeling but I didn't really like it so took off the mask and just floated/swam around in the water.

I have never been in natural water this warm in my life! (However, after saying that Jason reminded me that I have been to quite a few hot springs, but let's not count those.) The people crewing the boat kept saying it was 27, degrees Celsius, and then everyone else on the boat complained about how cold that was. At the time all I could go by was the fact that it felt like bath water, and I knew that one year we did a Toronto Try-Tri in 19 and the Azores was 16. Looking it up online now, it seems that the super quick swim that Kristen, Noah, Jason and I did in the Indian Ocean near Durban in South Africa probably had water temperatures close 27, but it was very wavy and windy, so didn't feel that warm. I found a website that details sea temperatures around the world - so cool! The great lakes don't ever get much over 20.

Unrelated - Here is a bird photo inspired by Mom's Blog, which now even features bird pictures on her 'at home' posts. Jason and I did a short stroll along a boardwalk in The Everglades named after this bird. There were quite a few of them, some making quite the racket as they did mating displays. I preferred the quiet ones that just hung out on logs near the water. Saw one trying to eat a fish, that I think was way too big for it, greedy bugger.

An Anhinga in The Everglades

Photo by Jason, with his phone, April 2018

How Hard? Boston Hard

Both the CBC and Toronto Star ran articles recently talking about how hard it was for the public to buy tickets to see the Leafs play in the upcoming first round of playoffs. It was counting the one hundred or so seats that were offered to the Leafs Nation fan club, which is free for anyone to sign-up for,as part of the presale and not the general public. But even with Jason's access to tickets through the fan club the prices were insane, the options limited, and everything sold out almost immediately.

On Monday night we somehow we ended up looking at tickets in Boston, for Saturday's game. The ticket prices were comparable to regular season in Toronto (which is still expensive) and the selection left was varied. We messaged Kristen and Noah. In a rush of hockey excitement the four of us planned a road trip, got 4 seats together, and are off to see the Leafs take on the Bruins at the TD Garden on Saturday.

No one is taking time off work, just leaving as soon as we can Friday evening and heading for Albany to spend the night. A short drive from there to Boston in the morning will give us the day to explore the city, which I visited with Teri a few years ago. The game is at 8pm and we have a hotel booked for Saturday night. Then the eight and a half hour drive home all in one go on Sunday to get back to Toronto for some rest before work on Monday.

Let's hope they win - Go Leafs Go!

Plant Nite!

Succulents In A Fish Bowl

Teri and I, taken by the instructor

March 2018

Part of my Christmas gift from Teri this year was an evening together making a terrarium. I have been to a few of the ones that are for painting a canvas - with both Tessa and Kristen on multiple occasions. I always have issues figuring out what to do with the picture afterwards. Teri had heard me complain about this aspect and thought the plant one would be a good solution. It was! We had dinner together at the pub beforehand, as these things are often hosted at a bar, and then made a little planter. It has inspired me to re-pot my other house plants too!

Also, is it just me or does Ter look the same as she did in 2006 in the photo? Way to not age over the past 12 years. This shot actually reminds me of an exact picture of her from somewhere but I couldn't find it on the blog and I am not heading over to Facebook to see if it is there. Either-way, basically if you just refer to this photo, she is still 22.

Spring Switch

Today I switched out my winter purse, which is a basic black one - for my Spring Purse. Kristen gave me the blue and white striped bag that I use in the warmer months a few years ago. I can't believe it still looks good, the black ones I use over the winter only last for one season.

Feels good to make the switch, clean things out, reorganize everything.

Another Extra One

Nothing was scheduled for Monday on the tour since it was the day that everyone flies home, and the flights all leave at different times. For example, Kristen and Noah had a 7pm flight out of Johannesburg and later on Mom, Jason, Tessa, and I had to catch a plane at midnight. It did mean that all of us had pretty much a full day to fill. Here's what everyone decided to do:

-- Jason and Tessa went to the spa next to the hotel for massages, and spent time by the pool

-- Kristen and Noah went to The Cradle of Humanity to the the caves and museum

-- Mom and I decided to do another extra safari, we went to Pilanesberg National Park

Staying On The Bucket List

We had a great time at the shark diving. The cage is attached to the side of the boat and the swells at our anchor spot made it feel like a water rollercoaster when inside. The water was very warm (over 19). I got to be a "double diver" and spent a lot of time in the cage.

All the other participates from our tour, and just over half of the boat got sea sick. Luckily Kristen, Noah, Jason, and I were spared, probably because we took Gravol the night before and right before boarding the boat.

We didn't end up seeing any Great White Sharks, but six Copper Sharks stayed around the whole time and they were beautiful to watch. It was very cool to see them under water and even when watching from the surface it was captivating.

Seeing a Great White in the wild is still something that I would really like to do. I guess we will have to come back!

Itinerary Update - Bit Of A Split Up

Pre-Scheduled Post: Sunday - Cape Town City Tour
As per our trip itinerary (bar any issues/changes/complications etc.) we will split up ....

Mom and Tessa will join the Winelands Tour along the country's principal wine route to the scenic towns of Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch with tastings along the way.

Kristen, Noah, Jason, and I will take a full-day excursion to "Shark Alley" to experience great white shark cage diving.