That Summer Feelin'

That summer feelin' is finally starting to set in.  And, like... FINALLY.  I mean, it is almost July for crying out loud!!  It's taken a while, but now that the lazy hazy days are upon us, I'm ready to set out a little bucket list of what I'd like to do this summer.  Here's what I'm hoping to get accomplished:

• Celebrate Canada Day with family & friends:  This one is on deck first, with the big day rolling around this weekend!!  Our little town celebrates a day early, so on June 30th I'll be having a party at my place (since the parade route goes right by my house).  My relatives from the TO area will be in town, and I always love seeing the friends and family that wind up on my front lawn in their red & white.  Looking forward to it!
• Attend the Carp Market: I went last summer with my friend Sharon for the Garlic Festival, and I'm hoping to go back again this summer (not necessarily for the garlic) - plans are already in the works!
• Dinner at Chelsea Pub/La Cigale for ice cream:  My sister & BIL don't live far from Chelsea, and we often say we want to go for dinner at the Chelsea Pub but as far as I can remember, we've only done it once.  And La Cigale is just around the corner, we HAVE to go there for ice cream too!!
• Beach Days... often!!:  I think I say this every year... I want to go to the beach more!!  I love beach days in Norway Bay with friends.  It's so close to home, I don't know why I don't go more often.
  
• Boat Days: My heart is happiest when I"m on the water, and I hope to get out there a few times this summer.  Friends Kerry & Jeff sometimes invite me out on their pontoon, and I also love a good rip along the river in Uncle Eric's boat.  I just told my mom recently that my idea of a perfect summer day is to spend the day bumming around on the beach, reading, swimming, tanning, and then heading out on the river on the boat, followed by a BBQ dinner.  Fingers crossed that we can make this happen!
  
• Take me out to the ball game:  I would love to hit up a few ball games this summer.  I'm not sure if the Quyon Flyers plan to play any games in town this year (I think they're scheduled to play home games out of Shawville), but I'd love to catch some of them, and also go to some of my nephews games.
• Fix up my deck: This one is a big "maybe".  As I've mentioned before, my roof and yard have been infested with pigeons in the past year.  So while I like the idea of making my deck a more appealing place to hang out, I also won't be investing in new stuff just to have birds crap all over it.  It's a shame to have a deck that I can't really enjoy, but the pigeons are a reality.  If they somehow get them out of my life, then maybe.  I'd like to get new deck furniture - maybe a swing, or a couch.  An outdoor bin to keep cushions and blankets in.  A fire pit thingy.  Get rid of the old BBQ.  Get an umbrella for the table.  ... we'll see.
• Pool Time, Any Time!:  If any invite comes in to go swimming... take it, Jill!!  Nothing better than bobbing around in a pool on a beautiful day!! 
  
• Beat the heat - go to the movies:  You know how some days are so damn sticky hot you can't even enjoy them?  Those are the days I plan to hit up the movie theatre.  There are lots of movies coming out this summer that I want to see:  Yesterday, The Lion King, Toy Story 4.  The movie theatre is another of my happy places, so I look forward to that too.
• Celebrate my birthday:  There is already a nice line-up of events coming together surrounding my birthday on July 28th.  Our company golf tournament is the 26th of July, the tractor pull is on July 27th, and then I'm off on holidays the whole following week.  Let the Queen's Jubilee begin!! ;)
• Summer Movie Marathon:  I always like to find one rainy Saturday in the summer to enjoy a Summer Movie Marathon.  I'm talking Dirty Dancing, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Cocktail, Mama Mia!... just summery movies, all day long!
• Hike to the Carbide Ruins:  I've been seeing pictures and hearing about this for a couple of years now.  Hopefully I can round up some fellow hikers to hit it up this summer.
• Enjoy fun summer reads:  I have a couple of books on my shelf that just scream "fun summer reads", and I've been kind of avoiding them, saving them for the summertime.  And now it's here.  Time to pick up those books and lose myself in some fun summer reading!
• Summer crochet projects:  I'm hoping this year to enter some crocheting at the Shawville Fair, and I have nothing accomplished thus far (thanks to an afghan I've been working on that is taking WAY longer than anticipated.)  I need to go over the list of categories and start working on those to have them ready for the end of the summer.
• Celebrate Kawhi Staying:  God, I hope...

What's on YOUR Summer Bucket List?

What's shakin' this week.

A point-form rundown of what's going on in my world this week!

• Still obsessed with the Raptors.  More specifically, Kawhi.  Is he going to sign with Toronto?  Is he going to bail for LA?  I spend far more time checking Twitter for any glimmer of hope or any sign of an update than I ever thought possible.
  
• Confession:  I've been writing Kawhi fan fiction.  It is absolutely ridiculous, yet here I am.  Sometimes writing fan fiction gets me out of an obsession.  For instance, Tessa & Scott.  I got all tied up in them during their Olympic run last year, and it wasn't til I wrote down my Tessa & Scott fantasy story that I was able to move on.  I don't think it's going to work for Kawhi though.  I need him to stay in TO.  I need him to reign as King of the North.
  
• Aside from the Kawhi stuff, I have become all caught up in the book I'm currently reading.  My sister had given me her copy of the latest smut she'd picked up, a book called "The Mister" by EL James (remember her?  She wrote the 50 Shades series).  It was slow for me to start, but last night I got totally hooked.  I read way past my bedtime, thus leaving me a little on the sleepy side this morning. I just love when I reach the end of a chapter of a book and can't wait to dive into the next.  It's pure dramatic smut, but we all need one of those every now and then, don't we?  It's keeping me...erm... entertained during my Kawhi obsession.
  
• This past weekend, I watched "When They See Us" on Netflix.  It's a miniseries based on the true story of five young black and hispanic teens who were blamed for the rape and attempted murder of a female jogger in Central Park back in the late 80's.  I had never heard the story before, and I got very swept up in the miniseries.  The first episode, when they show these five decent, innocent kids being coerced and forced by cops to confess left me feeling queasy and so unsettled.  It was pretty intense, and very troubling.  Also upsetting was seeing how Donald Trump tried to get involved, and even tried to get the death penalty brought back because of these young men and what happened.  Chalk another reason up for me to loathe and detest that barbarian they call "president". ugh.
  
• I'm excited about Stranger Things 3 coming to Netflix next week.  But in the meantime, I had to find something else to watch - something not too long, because I know I'm going to want to dive right into Stranger Things when it hits.  So I started up the last season of House of Cards that I'd never got around to watching.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, without Kevin Spacey on the show (understandably so), but I'm a few episodes in and I'm loving Claire as president and having her talk to the camera the way Frank used to. 
  
• I'm super stoked to see the new movie coming out this week "Yesterday".  It is definitely going to be my next trip to the movie theatre!  It just looks like so much fun, and I love the Beatles.  I'm hoping to drag my friend Sara along, since she is the biggest Beatles fan I know.  Who knows, maybe we can get a whole gang of friends to join us!  It should be a fun one to see.
  
• Also on deck to watch in the near future:  The Notebook.  Oh, yes, of course, I have seen it 86 times, but I haven't watched it in a while. And just last night, I stumbled upon a clip shared on Twitter of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams celebrating their Best Kiss win that year at the MTV Movie Awards by sharing a big, dramatic on-stage smooch.  I had never seen it before, and it was... hot.  It made me want to watch the movie again.
  
• Things are finally starting to feel summery around here.  It's been a long time coming!  This week has finally seen us have a hint of a heatwave (interspersed with rain and thunderstorms) and it has me craving all the fun things I want to do this summer.  Summer Bucket List coming soon!
• The rest of this week is being dedicated to preparing for the upcoming holiday weekend.  We have relatives coming from the Toronto area for our town's Canada Day festivities on Sunday, so I have grass cutting, house cleaning, and groceries to get done.  Hopefully all of this will keep me busy until the news on Kawhi comes down.
• Have I mentioned I still love Kawhi?  Because I still love Kawhi.
  

Wednesday Medley: Garfield!!

Garfield has always been my favourite comic strip-related character (Garfield's Christmas special is one of my "must-watch" specials every holiday season) - so I just had to take part in today's Medley questions!

1.  If you have ever followed the Garfield comic strip, you know Garfield loves lasagne.  What is your favourite Italian food? Do you over-indulge when it comes to pasta?

I always say my favourite food, in general, is spaghetti, but I really love allllll pasta.  YUM.  I don't have lasagne often, but it is one of my "specialties".  I actually have one that I made in the freezer that I might bust out someday soon.  I now have a craving... mmmm.  And yes, I always over-indulge, unfortunately.  But I just love anything pasta-related so much, I have a hard time not going back for seconds.

2. Tell us about your first pet.  If you never had a pet, can you tell us about an animal that touched your life in some way?

My first pet was a dog named Jake.  My Uncle Garry & Aunt Brenda gave him to me for my 10th birthday.  I'll never forget the excitement I felt when they pulled in the driveway with the dog in the truck with them, and then realizing they were bringing him to ME.  It was a dream come true!!  Unfortunately, Jake was kind of a bad dog... lol.  Nobody liked him.  He bit people.  He was not fun to walk.  He always ran away and I'd have to go find him.  He was blamed for impregnating the neighbour's dog.  He was just an unpleasant animal in general.  I wanted a dog soooo badly at that age, and yet once I had one, it wasn't the "dream" I thought it would be.

Even so, my parents had Jake put down while I was away on an over-night school trip (he had been biting too many people), and when I got home and realized he was gone, it was complete devastation.  I think I cried every waking moment for a week straight.  It was the greatest loss I had suffered in my life at that stage, and I was not prepared for it.  My mom has since told me it was one of the hardest things my dad ever had to do, and that it wasn't an easy or fun decision to make, and so I guess I've forgiven them lol. 

(This is the only picture I have of Jake on my computer lol.  My dad was re-doing the floor in the garage, and Jake liked to stick his head out of this hole and get himself stuck.  What a dog.)

3. Garfield sleeps his day away, only waking up to to eat or sweet talk his girlfriend Arleen.  How many hours sleep do you normally get each night? How much sleep do you really need?

Before having a Fitbit that tracks my sleep, I would have told you I need a solid 8 hours a night.  If my Fitbit is to be trusted, though, I can now tell you I actually only get between 6.5-7 hours a night.  And I'd say that's what I truly need.  I love sleeping, and while I don't sleep in late, if I let myself go without an alarm I'd probably sleep in til 8 AM, and I could easily get 9 or 10 hours of sleep if I was allowed.  I can tell you, after staying up late to watch Raptors games over the past few weeks, that I do NOT function well with less than my usual.  The next day I feel achey and hungover, and my patience is very short. 
I am pretty proud of my current sleep patterns.  Most evenings, I'm able to keep myself busy and not fall asleep on the couch early (a bad habit I'd been wanting to break).  I have my evening shower or bath, then read for a while before falling asleep around 10.  I sleep pretty soundly most nights.  And my internal clock usually has me up right around the time my alarm goes off at 5:45 AM.  I hit snooze once, and I'd like to get rid of that, but I think one snooze isn't so bad.  (I used to hit it 2 or 3 times, pre-workout days.)

4. Garfield lets the mice in the house have their way.  When was the last time you had to chase out a little varmint?

It has been years since I've had anything bigger than bugs in my house.  I don't even want to talk about it and jinx it.  Even so far this year, I have yet to deal with my usual ants or earwigs.  KNOCK ON WOOD.  The outside is a different story.  Pigeons have taken up residence between my place and the church next door.  I think they're living in the un-capped chimney on the church, but they come and party on my roof all the time.  Bird.Shit.Everywhere. ugh.  I guess I'm just grateful they can't get inside.

5. Garfield also loves his teddy bear Pooky.  Did you have a favourite stuffed animal when you were young (or now!)? If you didn't or don't, what about someone you know?

Yes, I'm a stuffy girl!  As a kid, I remember getting a pink Puffalump for Christmas one year.  I named her Pinky and I kept her for years, until she'd been washed so many times she was falling apart, and her colour was more yellow than pink. 
In my later teen years, my brother got me a giant stuffed dog.  When asking for hints as to what he got me for Christmas, he told me it started with "Z" and rhymed with Jillian, so when I opened my dog, I named it Zwillian.  That giant dog still sleeps in my bed every night.  Don't even care how uncool that is.

6. Please tell us something about your week, so far.

I know I'm pretty much the only one in my social bubble that cares about the Raptors, but I miss them.  I only had a few weeks with them.  I'm glad I don't have to stay up til midnight anymore, but... I miss watching the games.  And it feels like the celebration just began and already they're constantly speculating, "Will Kawhi stay or will he go?"  Of course the player I picked to be my favourite is probably going to leave.  I have the worst frigging luck when it comes to "favourite players".  Dammit.

Weekend Rewind: Riding A Raptors High

So, as you all know from my post last Friday, I have somehow developed into a Raptors super fan.  I swear to God, I'm still glowing today.  My only regret is not jumping on the bandwagon earlier.  I missed all that fun, all that time I could have spent loving Kawhi...

After staying up til 1 AM the night before watching and celebrating Toronto's NBA championship, I expected Friday to be a right-off. Surprisingly, I felt fine and had a super productive day.  I guess I really was riding that high!  I got off work a little early, so Mom and I headed to Shawville for groceries and errands, and we had supper at Hursty's.  We came home and planted my flowers in the planter across the street from my house that I was asked to "adopt" for the summer.  Our municipality is no longer supplying the flowers for the boxes around town, so my cousin Donna decided to organize a bunch of volunteers to look after them.  It's so nice to see the community spirit as people quickly stepped up to the plate, and seeing these planters full of weeds gradually being replaced with flowers is a beautiful sight!

It was great that the flowers got planted Friday evening, because Saturday was 100% a rain day.  I know nobody wants that kind of weather this time of year, but I took advantage.  I had no pressing house or yard work to do, so I thoroughly enjoyed my relaxing rainy day.  I read (almost finished Crazy Rich Asians), I crocheted, and I Netflixed.  And it was glorious.  I watched three movies on Saturday.  THREE!!!  I watched Ben is Back starring Julia Roberts (pretty unsettling and sad), I watched Murder Mystery with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston (soooo disappointing), and I watched The Choice,  which was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel  (pretty typical but enjoyable). And in between all of THAT, I watched Ali Wong's first Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, and literally laughed my ass off.  I had pancakes for breakfast, chipstand food for lunch, and nachos and taquitos for a late supper.  While the rest of the world was probably bemoaning a wasted Saturday in June ruined by rain, I quite enjoyed it!

Sunday was Father's Day, which is kind of an uneventful day when you no longer have a father.  My sister and her fam were celebrating with her in-laws, so Mom and I decided to go on tour after church.  We went to the cemetery where my dad and several other family members are buried, and then stopped in at the Little Red Wagon winery where several artists were set up for the Pontiac Artists Studio Tour.  Quyon artist Cheryl Dolan was there with her art displayed, and I actually picked up some of her cards and a Christmas ornament she made.  I had never bought any of her art before, so I was glad to add some of her work to my collection of local art!  We stopped in Norway Bay on the way home to visit another cemetery where many family members are, and then headed for home.  The rest of the day was spent reading, napping, and a quick visit with my sister's gang before they went home.

Boy, it was hard to drag my butt out of bed yesterday morning.  I took 3 days off straight from getting up to do my workout, which is the longest stretch I've gone since the start of Lent for not getting up to get my steps in.  It was rough getting back in the swing of things.  However, the Raptors parade was yesterday, so I kept checking Twitter for pictures and videos and that kept me entertained through my least favourite day of the week.  (ugh. Mondays.)

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day weekend and honoured those guys in your life who are great dads!  I sure do miss mine!!

WE THE NORTH... WE THE CHAMPS!!!

I'm tired today.  But I'm a very happy kind of tired today.

BECAUSE WE WON!!!  The NBA Championship Title is coming north of the border for the first time in history, and for the first time in the Raptors 24 year existence.

And I am thrilled for them!!!

As we all know, I have only been a basketball fan for a few weeks.  As the Toronto Raptors rolled through the playoffs, I was keeping an eye on them, but honestly, I hadn't sat down to actually watch a game until they reached the finals.  I decided to jump on-board the bandwagon, and I'm so glad I did.

Up until a few weeks ago, I would have said that basketball wasn't my game.  Hockey? Yes.  Baseball and fastball?  Yes.  Curling?  Kinda.  Football?  I can handle it.

Basketball?  Nope.  Never.

Well... Never say never, Jill, because in the past few weeks, a basketball fan was born.  I actually learned players names, and began to understand some of the skill and strategy that goes into the game.  I learned some of the rules.  I still have no damn idea what constitutes a foul, or how they decide how many shots they get from the line, or why sometimes they call a foul and no shots are taken at all, but... I was getting there.  I was starting to really grasp it all.

Oh, and I fell in love with Kawhi.  Oh, how I adore Kawhi.  If Kawhi is still in Toronto next year, I might actually tune in to some regular season games, just to see my Kawhi.

They were an easy group of guys to get behind.  They really did become Canada's team during this historic run, and the entire country celebrated last night.  It was monumental.  It was epic.  I almost chewed the end off my thumb in the 4th quarter - it was a little too close for my liking - and those last few minutes seemed to last for hours and took years off my life.

But man oh man, was it worth it.

I stayed up for a good hour after the game ended, just winding down from the excitement.  I watched the Raptors receive the Larry O'Brien trophy, and I watched Kawhi being awarded the MVP of the playoffs.  I watched Kyle Lowrey celebrating with his little boys, and Marc Gasol grinning from ear to ear.  I watched them jump and dance in the dressing room wearing goggles as they sprayed one another with champagne and beer.  Meanwhile, back in Canada, the Jurassic Parks that had sprung up across the country for viewing parties erupted in celebration.  The streets of downtown Toronto were packed with championship revelers.  Maybe they still are.  I don't think this glow is going to fade too quickly.

It's been a long time since this country has had a major sports championship to celebrate (aside from Olympics victories, of course.)  It's our turn to have a little taste of glory.

And man, it tastes good.

WE THE NORTH... WE THE CHAMPS!!!

What's Up Wednesday

Here's a point-form run-down of what's going on with me these days...

• I have only been a Raptors fan for 2 weeks, but they got me.  Hook, line & sinker.  I didn't realize how much I cared until I found myself gasping, praying, and crying out during the game Monday night.
  
• That said, I'm ready for this series to be over.  Staying up til midnight watching basketball is soooo not my bag.  Yesterday I was tired and had to work very hard not to be in a cranky rut all day.  Here's hoping the Raps win it and end this thing tomorrow night.  I'm sure the exhaustion the next day will be much easier to bear if I'm basking in the glow of an NBA championship win.
• So, some of the Toronto fans cheered and waved goodbye to Kevin Durant when he was injured and left the game the other night.  And Raptors fans are being labelled as classless and cruel because of it.  But you know what?  In the heat of the moment?  I can't say I had a different reaction.  I haven't watched basketball long enough to know or care about Kevin Durant, all I know is he was this big boogie-man that has loomed over this series.  "He might be in... he might be in..."  And then he was in, and I didn't like him.  So no, I wasn't sad to see him go down.  I also didn't realize in that moment how serious his injury was, and I suspect many of the fans applauding and cheering didn't either.  Nobody wants to see anyone seriously hurt.  This "ugly reaction" that TO fans are being charged with feels unfair.  That city - and this country -  have been waiting 24 years for a little taste of victory in this sport, and it's finally right there for the taking, you have to forgive us if we are a little blinded by that desire.
  
• Life feels very odd right now.  I could care less who wins the Stanley Cup tonight, my sights are set on an NBA title tomorrow night. Who would have ever thunk it?
• I have some people in my life who have been afflicted by a bad cold/flu in the past week.  As a germaphobe, this has left me in a state of unease.  Also, I have had terrible allergies this spring.  So I spend every day wondering if I am exhibiting cold symptoms or allergy symptoms.  Today, I'm seriously concerned by this scritchy-scratchy feeling at the back of my throat.  It doesn't feel like allergies.  Please pray for me.
• The weather was gorgeous last weekend.  Truly, our first real taste of summer this year.  And everyone loved it, myself included.  So I'm almost ashamed to admit that if the weather forecast stands, it should be rainy on Friday night and all day Saturday, and I'm kind of looking forward to it.  I have no plans, and it sounds like a perfect excuse to laze, Netflix, crochet, read... we all need the odd rainy day off, don't we?  I know I sure do.  My hermit side craves it.
• I've been kind of in a TV binging lull lately. I've been trying to watch 30 Rock on Crave, but I'm not loving it.  I noticed The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 has a few episodes up on Crave now so I might turn to them this weekend.
• Back to basketball for a second.  I have a crush on Kawhi Leonard.  Like, a serious crush on Kawhi Leonard.  I like his aloof demeanor and the stories of his weird behaviour and how he leaves his teammates hanging when they try to high-five him.  I like how he looks out on the court, I like the way he moves.  My only problem so far with Kawhi?   The indents in Kawhi's shoulders.  They creep.me.right.out.  I get it.  This man is in incredible physical shape.  Those arms and shoulders are literally ripped.  But... I don't like those indents.  I want Kawhi to put a t-shirt on so I don't have to see them anymore.
  
• Oh, I saw Aladdin last Friday night!  And I LOOOOVED it!!!  I had to skip book club to go to it, which I felt pretty guilty about, and it was  difficult choice to make because I love my book club gals.  But I didn't regret the choice once I saw the movie.  It was just marvelous.  
  
• Funny story:  I've been trying to watch a Disney movie every Sunday night, and last Sunday my niece Danica asked, "So whatcha watching tonight, Jill?"  I said I didn't know, I wished I could watch the original Aladdin but it isn't on Netflix.  She said, "Don't you have the movie?"  I said yes, I do, but it's DVD and my DVD player isn't working.  She said, "What about Blu Ray?" I said I don't have a Blu Ray player.  I might have it on VHS, though.  She asked, "What is VHS?"  I said you know how I used to put movies in my TV up in my room?  And she said, "You mean, Blu Ray?"  I said, "No, no, I mean those big VHS tapes I had to put in the VCR."  And she replied, "Yeah, those are BLU RAY, Jill!!"  Cracked me right up.  She's quite the chick, that girl!  Here all along she thought clunky old VHS was Blu Ray.  Oh, and just try to tell her she's wrong.  haha!!  Priceless!!
• Lately, all I do is crave junk food.  My cravings bounce around.  Last week, all I wanted was hot fresh french fries doused in salt and vinegar and ketchup.  Today, I'd give my left arm for a chicken shawarma and garlic potatoes.  ugh.
• I'm also craving a good day at the beach. Or by a pool.  Or on a boat.  Today looks like it would be a beautiful day to do any of that.  Alas, it is not to be... sigh.

What's up with all of you on this fine Wednesday?  Make it a great one! :)

The Weekend Rundown

Hello? Nicer weather? Some semblance of Summer?  Are you out there?

It was another weekend of cooler, cloudy, rainy, slightly crappy weather, and there appears to be no end in sight.  WHAT is going ON with this WEATHER?!  We're normally getting at least a hint of summer by now, but not this year.  It's the never-ending dismal spring.  ugh.  I just want to sit on my deck and read without having to wear a sweatshirt!

This past weekend whizzed by so fast, and yet it was an enjoyable weekend, with plenty accomplished, and also plenty of fun.

Friday evening, my mom, sister, and I joined friends who had invited us to go the Daniel O'Donnell concert at the NAC.  Truth - I had never heard of Daniel O'Donnell prior to this.  But my mom is a fan, so Kara and I decided to go along for the ride.  The evening ended up being wonderful!  We had a delicious meal and drinks at Darcy McGee's, then walked over to the NAC for the show.  It was really enjoyable, and he was a great entertainer.  We may not have had grey enough hair to truly fit in - LOL! - but I think he might have turned us into fans.  There were some poignant moments too, once when he sang my dad's favourite song "The Green Green Grass of Home", and once when he sang one of my Uncle Garry's faves, Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home".  The show went one a little longer than I expected, so we didn't get home until after midnight and it was a fight to keep my eyes open.  Still, I was so glad we went, and it was nice to do something with Mom that she really enjoyed.

The late night on Friday meant a little bit of a sleep-in on Saturday; I didn't roll out of bed until 8:30 AM.  I lounged around for a bit, drinking coffee and watching episodes of 30 Rock on Crave.  I had a bunch of little things running through my mind that I wanted to do, but I had this niggling feeling that if I didn't make a list and start crossing things off, I'd get nothing done.  I made a list that included running errands in Shawville, cutting the grass, uploading pictures on my laptop, baking cookies, and working on my crocheting.  Despite having a sinus headache that escalated as the day went on, I got everything accomplished.  Mom and I headed to Shawville late morning where I got my groceries and did all the running around I had to do, then stopped for a quick lunch at Hursty's.  When I got home, I hopped on the riding mower, which had been returned to me in working order (a temporary fix, I think a new lawn mower is on the way!) - and got my grass cut by myself for the first time in weeks.  Hallelujah!  I also got my photos off my camera and put on my laptop (I was so behind in uploading pics and posting!)  It was a big relief to have that done.

Once I had all of that done, it was around 4 PM and my head was pounding.  I put some of my Peppermint Halo on the back of my neck and head, took an Advil, and slept soundly for 2 hours.  When I woke up, I felt much better.  It was a strange hour of the day to do it, but I then decided to bake my cookies that I've been craving - my version of Christmas Jumbles.  Lol!  If summer is never going to come, Christmas cookies in June it is!!  I had a late supper of spinach pizza that I heated out of the freezer, then settled in to watch the new Netflix flick Always Be My Maybe, then headed for bed.

On Sunday, I was up early and got ready for church.  We enjoyed a nice service at Wesley, and then my mom, Kara, Danica and I hustled off afterwards to my niece's dance recital at the Museum of History.  I so enjoyed it!  The music was awesome, and these kids were AMAZING!!!  They danced the way I dreamed of dancing as a kid.  Neve did a terrific job in her jazz performance.  I was so impressed.

After the dance show, we went back to my sister's for an impromptu BBQ dinner of burgers and dogs.  While we were there, my sister got the alert on her phone for a tornado warning in the area.  (For some reason, I did not.)  I spent the evening feeling rather anxious, as friends on social media posted and shared photos and videos of a tornado that touched down in both Gatineau and Orleans.  What is going on with these tornadoes in our area?!?  I feel like I lived my whole life without hardly ever hearing a tornado warning, and now we're getting them all the time it seems.  I. don't like it. Not one bit.

When I got home, I landed on the couch and all but slept through the Raptors game. LOL!  I fell asleep early on and woke up for the last 5 minutes or so.  It was close, but they lost Game 2 and the series is now tied 1-1.  I heard the rest of the games are all going to be at 9 PM.  Why does basketball get played in the middle of the damn night?!  I expect I'll be sleeping through the rest of them too!

Hope you all had a great weekend. :)