Book ~ "His 'N, Hers" - Mike Gayle (2005)

From Mike Gayle's website ~ From their first meeting at the student union over a decade ago, Jim and Alison succesfully navigated their way through first dates, meeting parents, moving in together and more. Then they split up and divided their wordly goods (including a sofa, a cat and their flat) into his 'n 'hers. Now, three years later, with new lives and new loves, they couldn't be happier. Until a chance encounter throws them back together and to embark on a journey through their past to ask themselves the big question - where did it all go wrong and is it too late to put it right?

This is the fourth "lad lit" I've read by Mike Gayle since discovering him this year ... and it's probably my favourite.

It's written in an interesting style ... going back and forth between Jim and Alison's perspective over the years.

The usual conversational tone was there as was the humour.

Would I recommend it? Yes!

KC's check-up

Gord took KC in for her annual check-up last night.

She has a chronic eye infection ... so he got more drops for it.

She has a few more cysts lately and I was concerned about one. But the vet said it was fine ... it must have gotten irritated when she got clipped a couple weeks ago.

They did some blood tests, etc. and left a message today saying she is in great shape for her age.

Yay!

So when I got home from work today, I took her for a walk to a park before I headed to the gym.

Second Annual Chillin' Chicks' Weekend - Sunday

When I woke up this morning, I walked down to Sturgeon Lake ... about five minutes away ... even though it was raining. I stood in the lake ... it wasn't that cold. Then Franca and I took Misty and Taffy, Ron and Deb's dogs down to the lake for a walk.

After a delicious breakfast made by Ron and Smitty, we went to Bobcaygeon to check out the 25,000 pairs of shoes at Bingley's Shoes.

Then we went to the Kawartha Dairy in Bobcaygeon for an ice cream. As usual, I got maple walnut. Very yummy!

Franca, Deb, Teena and Liz
The Chillin' Chicks

Deb, Franca, Liz and Teena

Teena, Julie, Liz and Franca
Last weekend I kissed a dead frozen cod ...
This weekend I hugged a fake cow!

The Chillin' Chicks are celebrating 15 years of friendship this year. There's nothing better than having good friends!

Our plan is when Liz turns 40, the four of us are going to go on a big trip! So that gives us four years to save $$ and lose weight. Ha!

Second Annual Chillin' Chicks' Weekend - Saturday

The Chillin' Chicks (aka Deb, Franca, Liz and I) spent the weekend at Deb and Ron's on Sturgeon Lake, about two hours northeast of Toronto. Deb spends the weekends there and Ron lives there full-time. Lucky Ron!

Deb's daughter, Julie, (who Deb lives with during the week cuz it's closer to work) was also there.

Deb's husband, Ron, and their friend, Smitty, took good care of us!

The view of Sturgeon Lake from the deck,
where we relaxed for the afternoon

Franca, Teena, Deb and Liz

Franca, Julie, Liz, Deb and Teena

Smitty BBQing our ribs and potatoes

Smitty and Ron, our "chefs"

The sun is going down ...

There are 50 dairy cattle living next door

Deb, Teena, Liz and Franca

The sun is setting ... but the mosquitoes are out!

My Aunt, Liz

There were two kids in my father's family ... he and his younger sister, Elizabeth.

When I was about six (so about 1968), we drove to Toronto to visit Liz and my grandmother (we lived in Nova Scotia). When my father died in 1971, we lost touch.

I always wondered what happened to them and I started looking for them in 1996. I found Liz's husband's name and address on the Internet but their phone number was unlisted. I wasn't sure it was them so I sent a letter saying that if my father's name meant anything to them, to get in contact with me.

Liz called right away. She was so excited to be in contact with again. They were living a couple hours north of Toronto. Sister Sarah and I got to know her and her family (she has five daughters our age).

Liz moved a lot over the last few years, she got sick and we lost touch again. The last I heard from her was a voice message a couple years ago saying her husband had died.

There was a voice message from Cheryl, one of Liz's daughters, left sometime today. Not a good sign. I just called and she said that Liz died peacefully on Sunday.

There is a memorial service next Saturday afternoon and I'm going to go.

Happy Victoria Day!

In Canada, the celebration of Victoria Day occurs every year on Monday, prior to May 25th. It is the official celebration of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Day was established as a holiday in Canada West (now Ontario) in 1845 and became a national holiday in 1901. Before Victoria Day became a national holiday, we had celebrated Empire Day , beginning in the 1890s as Victoria approached her Diamond jubilee in 1897.

Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India, was born on 24 May 1819. She ascended the throne after the death of her uncle, George IV, in 1837 when she was only 18. She ruled until her death in 1901 when her son Edward the VII became king of England.

I spent today heading home from St. John's.

Sister Sarah and I had lunch at the Sundance before scampering to the airport to catch our 3pm flight home. She got home around 4pm and I got home just after 7pm.

Lottie's Place, St. John's, NF

We wandered into Lottie's Place - home of the $4.95 double White Russian.

Trevor and Sarah

Sarah and I

Bridie Molloy’s Irish Pub, St. John's, NF

We had supper tonight at Bridie Molloy's.

Con O'Brien was playing so we stayed for a set.

Sarah

Newfoundland Dog and Labrador Retriever Tribute, St. John's, NF

In downtown St. John's, there is a tribute to the Newfoundland dog and Labrador Retriever.

Me

Sarah

Cape Spear, NF

We stopped off at Cape Spear on our way back to St. John's.

Besides being the most easterly part of North America, it is another historical site.

Sarah

Me

It was really foggy and cold ... but still a cool place to be!

O'Brien's Boat Tour, NF

We did a two hour boat tour this afternoon in Bay Bulls (about 30 minutes south of St. John's) with O'Brien's Boat Tours.

It was really foggy.

Me and Sarah

They took us out to Gull Island to see the amazing amount of birds.

It was cold!

Sarah and Joe, our guide

The Captain's Table Restaurant, Witless Bay, NF

We had lunch today at the Captain's Table Restaurant in Witless Bay, about 30 minutes from St. John's.

The restaurant is a tribute to the heroism of Captain William Jackman.

Sarah

Me

Kelly's Pub, St. John's, NF

We had supper at Kelly's Pub & Eatery. What attracted me there was there was a singer.

Sister Sarah recognized him as Con O'Brien from the Irish Descendants. So we stayed for his three sets. Because it's the long weekend, there weren't too many people in the pub so he sat with us and chatted.

Con O'Brien

Sarah's new friends, Diane and Mike

St. John's Boat Tour, NF

We did a two hour boat tour out of St. John's this afternoon with Iceberg Quest.

They took us around the Harbour ...

Signal Hill

And then out into the Atlantic Ocean ...

Cape Spear - the most eastern spot in North America

At times it was a rough cold ride.

Back in St. John's

Signal Hill, St. John's, NF

We spent this morning exploring Signal Hill. It's quite a historial site.

Teena and Sarah

With St. John's behind me

We hiked down as close to the Ocean as we could get ... quite a rugged climb. Going down wasn't too bad ...

It's quite a steep decline.
That's the Tower behind us from the first picture.

Sarah at the bottom of our climb

Back at the top again!