The Grand River Dinner Cruise

Well, this vid. is late in being edited... and uploaded. I can't remember exactly when we did the cruise. (I'm thinking August although it could have easily been July!!)... Anyways...

Whenever it was, I took a day off work during the summer to attend a dinner cruise with mum and dad. Although we all had a great time, I have to confess, I felt a little out of sorts... I was most definitely among the very few that didn't feel the need to colour their hair to hide any greys.

I had a great time, though. The food was good. The music was a great mix of old and newish folk songs. And the captain of our boat kept us entertained with his running narrative of Grand River stories. (One that comes to mind is of one little boy who accidentally tried to drawn his father's brand new sports car in the river.)


grand river dinner cruise from dontpanic on Vimeo.

Hey Jude

A message I wrote to the stand up poet Jude Simpson:

Hey Jude.

Just wanted to show some love for your rhymes. Lately, I've been listening to your album (secret rapper) on the way to and from work. It never fails to puts me in a better mood while I'm either waiting for or riding the bus. :-)

I actually got the cd (ages ago, now) via your mother. My mother is Heather who is a long time friend of your mother and Helen. (I think they all trained together???)

Anyway, are there any plans to come to Canada? If not, maybe I'll catch one of your gigs on one of my trips to the UK. I'd love to see you on stage.

Take care,

Kate

Game On.... My Life According to...

Here's something fun from Facebook:

My Life According to: Bruce Springsteen

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 14 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "My Life According to (BAND NAME)"

Pick Your Artist:
Bruce Springsteen

Are you a male or female?
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Describe yourself:
Brilliant Disguise

How do you feel:
Lucky Town

Describe where you currently live:
Mary's Place

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Jungleland

Your favorite form of transportation:
Born To Run

Your best friends are:
None But The Brave

Your favorite color is:
Blinded By The Light

What's the weather like:
The Promised Land

Favorite time of day:
Spirit In The Night

If your life was a T.V. show, what would it be called:
Living Proof

Your ideal Birthday Present would be:
Tunnel Of Love

What is life to you:
The Rising

Your relationship:
Lonesome Day

Looking for:
For You

Wouldn’t mind:
Countin' On A Miracle

Your fear:
Darkness On The Edge Of Town

What is the best advice you have to give:
From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)

If you could change your name it would be:
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Thought for the Day:
Lift Me Up

How I would like to die:
Held Up Without A Gun (not really!!)

Soul's present condition:
Hungry Heart

Biggest secret:
Dancing In The Dark

My motto:
Code of Silence

Tag, you're it!! Now its your turn.

Justin

The other day I was watching 16:9. They were airing a segment on Justin Hines who is a Canadian musician/singer-song writer. I had never heard of him before the segment aired, but instantly felt a connection to his music. I found out while watching the interview that it was in part because he was featured in one of the Ontario Travel campaigns.

His upbeat and positive approach to life, along with the fact that he grew up listening to 45's radiates throughout his music in a way that is very refreshing. In watching and listening to him perform, you can tell he loves what he does and wouldn't change it. His disability, therefore, is a non-issue.

A few days later, I just happened to be in HMV and came across his second album (Chasing Silver) which dropped this spring (I believe). It was fate. lol I had to have it. Since then I have been listening to it on my way home from work each night and can't seem to get enough.

The Hills Are Alive

On Thursday evening I went to see the musical stage production of The Sound of Music. Fantastic show. Highly recommend it if you ever get a chance to see it.

In many ways, the show is very much what you would expect The Sound of Music to be, but there were a few surprises in the story arrangement that I am mixed about. I guess you could call me a "purist at heart" which maybe the reason that the changes didn't thrill me all that much. (They truly failed to increase my already interest in the story. I liked the story just the way it was... 'nough said.)

Elicia MacKenzie, however, who was awarded the role of Maria via. the CBC's edition of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, did a fabulous job of portraying the role that was first made famous by the great Julie Andrews. As it says in the program, "this marks Elicia's professional debut". During the intermission Mum leaned over to me and said there was one line in the beginning where she thought the slight British accent was forced, but I didn't pick up on it and despite having said that, we both agreed that Canada had picked the right Maria. We loved both her and the kids!!

Tadoussac Pix

The town of Tadoussac is very small and built mainly on the summer tourist industry. We heard that in the winter months the town is virtually deserted because of its -40C temperature. We met a waitress in a cafe who had just spent her first year in the town and said "it was a long and hard winter with not much to do because most businesses closed up shop for the season". These conditions, of course, bring the many transient workers to the town for the summer months.

The Hotel Tadoussac (which is where we stayed) is the oldest and largest hotel in town. It first opened its doors to the European tourists, who wanted a taste of the Canadian wilds, in 1864. Since then it has become famous for its picturesque scenery and fabulous dinning. In 1 of the three restaurants they have an "all-you-can-eat" buffet, which we took full advantage of in both our breakfasts and dinners.

The picture of the painting (above) is of the Tadoussac hotel that was hanging in the lobby entrance. As we were leaving, I suddenly realized that I didn't have a picture of the hotel itself!!

As I've said before, the whale trip itself was fantastic. The boat we were on was called the Dufour. This 3 deck boat could have held a capacity of 500 people during the peak of the season, but since it was early we were only 75 (many of whom were local school children).

Tadoussac & Back

So, a few weeks ago my parents and I took a trip to Tadoussac, Quebec, which is roughly 3 hours outside of Quebec City. Traveling time was enjoyable, but long!! I think in total it was about 8 hours by train and then another 3 hours by car.

'Was the trip worth it?' Yes!! I would definitely do this trip again later on in the summer season.

The motivation behind this 3 day excursion was to go whale watching at the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. To be honest, though, I think we were a little to early to see many of the whales and the different pods that feed there during the summer months, however, we did manage to see a few Fin, Minky and Beluga whales.

We have friends who did this trip a number of years ago one August. They saw many whales even from shore, (which is why I wouldn't mind going back).

Enjoy this vid. recap. I apologize in advance if the whale parts make you nauseous. The footage is not fantastic, but I was having fun with the camera. My disclaimer is that it was very windy (and therefore v. choppy) out on the water.