Regent Street

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

This is where my dad grew up. It is a large bungalow on Regent Street in London, Ontario. I forget when exactly his parents bought it, but it was before Dad was in elementary school.

After my grandfather died, Aunty Laura went to Toronto, and Dad moved away when he finished university (Western), my grandmother still lived in this house. We visited her here all the time when I was a kid.

I went on a road trip to London today, with Tessa. I wanted to visit my aunt for her birthday and see a bit of the city. I also got a quick chat in with Amanda which was a pleasure as always. Finding the house was borderline instinct - I was pretty impressed with myself and my memory.

It was fun to see the changes (or not) in the neighbourhoods I visited as a kid.It was a bit of a shock to see all the changes to the Western University campus, which I visited often as a child (or we drove through often) since it is just a few blocks from this house..The house was sold in the late 1990s or maybe early 2000s to become a student house. I was happy to see that it seemed well taken care of. It is a way nicer student house than those in Toronto or Ottawa. 

The back wall in the dinning room (through that big window on the left) has built-in glass shelves with a mirror on the back. It was a bit strange to see a collection of alcohol bottles there instead of all the cute little tea cups and figurines Grandma had. But the big magnolia tree (on the right, in front of the porch) seems to be doing well.

I have great memories from London and it was fun to be back. It is a beautiful city. 

A New Baby

Aria Lynn 

Born: August 3, 2014

In my usual form, I am very late with my Always Standing congratulations, but on August 3rd, Amanda (SoccarStar, WalkerPal) and her husband, Tim, welcomed a beautiful daughter into their family. Amanda and I have been friends since elementary school; we walked together and were always late. Of course, we were also friends all through High School too. I very much wish she lived closer to Toronto (in fact she did live in the city but I was in Ottawa at the time, and moved away before I got here.) Amanda is amazing and I miss her a lot.

When she was born, Aria Lynn was 'only' 5lbs 13oz, and I like to hear about tiny babies, since 8 and 9lbs now seems to be the norm. (I was 6lbs 11oz, and I don't think I was considered small at all.) I have yet to meet Aria Lynn, however a very pregnant Amanda was at Teri and Greg's wedding on July 26, so I was in the same room as the baby - kinda. Teri and I will make our way to see the new one soon, and of course visit with proud big brother Hudson.

All photos by:

Cayley Black Photography

Copywrite 2014

TB - October 2006

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.

OCTOBER 2006

Oh my, it was a packed month! It is a slow start, but Always Standing in October of 2006 features a really old picture of a long-haired Mike, my 100th blog post, friend introductions of Kristen and Kristin, a couple of posts about a visit from Amanda, my break-up with W, a cancelled party at Le Manoir, a trip home to party with Teri instead, and Halloween.

Noted Post: I really like the strange one that compares passion to horseback riding. It isn't written perfectly, but there are parts that I still really like.

Back In The City

My trip back home was really really good. I slept on many buses {including one with SoccarStar and her varsity team} hung out with my Dad {a local diner is expanding so we had breakfast together at the new location} exercised with my Mom {went for a walk on a nature trail where we fed chickadees out of our hands} chatting with Little Brother Mike {his life is so much worse then mine} went on a day driving trip {wine tasting, beautiful scenery, and a Natural Wonder Of The World} saw relatives {Grandparents and my uncle, because we were moving some wood} partied with Teri {she is such a good friend and she has such good friends}. I'm happy I went home and now I'm happy to be back home.

Gord

SoccarStar and I walked around the market this weekend. She bought a ring and a little tiny painted pumpkin. I loved the pumpkin, but was broke so couldn't get one of my own. She took it home and named it Gord. It is a confused geek, so cute. The New Roomate just carved a pumpkin for our front porch as well. It is huge, literally around 70 pounds, looks awesome. Prepping for the party!

Snowing!

I went out for breakfast with SoccarStar, who was in town for some games. We hadn't seen each other since I visited her in The Real Big City in February, 8 months ago. It is amazing how easy it is to fall out of touch. I hadn't even known that she went to Holland during the summer. We walked around the market as she commented on how pretty but cold the city was. I shrugged it off, she was just a soft young southern Ontario girl, the weather was perfect. After I dropped her back at the hotel with her team, I was biking home when it started to snow. Snow, before Halloween. It is awesome, though it is the sharp, wet kind so actually a little awful too. Happy First Snow Day!