October has been a whirlwind! Where did the time go?

I have been having a super busy fall. There have certainly been some great moments....and then some others that were not so great. Some high points - the U2 concert and the Rogers Centre. What a fantastic concert. I figure you've got to go all out at least once and blow your dough on a ticket to see the really big.....shewwwwww! Anyway, it did live up to the hype. Joe and I loved it. We took in the Cirque du Soleil show down at the Portlands. Ovo is truly magical. Nonsensical words....music woven throughout... death defying high wire acts, trapeze, pretzel people (I mean how do they contort themselves like that) and wonderful lighting. Then it was on to Boys in the Photograph at the Royal Alex. Erica Peck played the part of Mary. You might remember her from We Will Rock You as Scaramouche. Good show. Innovative staging. Now I am looking forward to My Mothers Lesbian Wiccan Wedding next month!
Okay...so I mentioned some not so great. Spending 5 hours in the hospital emergency with my daughter was not so great. She was hit by a car but thankfully is okay! Whew. When does this parenting thing get easy?! Anyway...live love...love life. (As Joe would say.)

Weekend at the Cottage in Muskoka!

Headed out again but this time just a few hours to the north of Toronto to Diane's cottage in beautiful Gravenhurst.

Suzanne & Dave were there for the week and invited Joe and I to join them for the weekend. It just happened to be Diane's birthday on Saturday so she and Ed came up too. Lots of fun was had by all. Canoeing (well Joe...lots of dunking of course!) Good tunes (supplied by Dave on various guitars & bass guitars as well as a fantastic music library on his laptop!) And the hot tub was wonderful under the stars at night! Lots of good food, chocolate martinis (did me in but I only have myself to blame) and reading material. (There is a full fledged library there!)


Only one casualty...and it wasn't from Diane trying to bash the pinata.
Guess who? What would a summer be without an injury sustained from the Adventure Guy!

Thanks for having us! We had a blast. Same time next year?

East Coast Road Trip

Joe and I loaded up his mid-life crisis red hot convertible and hit the road for the east coast. We had a couple of destinations in mind. But took an unexpected side trip to Prescott. Said mid-life crisis car decided to drop its muffler (well disconnect some pipe from some other pipe well...what do I know about exhaust systems!) Anyway we were extremely fortunate and ended up at West End Motors on King Street West and met Glenn who fixed up the exhaust pipe in no time at all. Terrific guy. He turned us on to the Cowpaddy Boys, a motorcycle club that is all about helping others. Cool guys! Thanks Glenn for helping us on our way.

First stop on the tour - PEI - to visit my sister and her family. We had a terrific time listening to a local band, eating oysters, clams, lobster (well Joe..not me!) and checking out my nephew's new house renovations. Lots of work...been there done that! We even spent a day in my sister's pool (oh you unpredictable summer weather you!) and had a lot of laughs trying to "belly up" and I mean belly....to their floating bar. Lots and lots of fun. A good time was had by all. Thanks Kathie & Rob.

We then headed off to Grand Manan Island to go whale watching. It is a lovely (small) island with some amazing cliffs and some great places to stay like the Marathon Inn and the Surfside Motel and tasty eats at the Compass Rose and Galloways. We went whale watching with Whales N Sails and after four hours of aimlessly drifting in the fog....the sun came out, the tide turned and......thar she blows! We saw Great Fin Whales and Minke Whales. Lots of dolphins, porpoises, seals & puffins.

Back on the road we crossed at St. Stephen (chocolate capital of Canada - Ganong!) into Calais, Maine and then through the White Mountains to Gorham, New Hampshire. I have made this trip many times with gal pal Sandi to her timeshare in East Stoneham, Maine (Stephen King country). I love the White Mountains! We had the top down....the tunes blasting.... and Mother Nature decided enough is enough and dumped what seemed like 100 buckets of water on us before we got the roof back up (nowhere to pull over...no shoulders.) Anyway, I guess she figured the joke was over and the sun came out again, we took the top down, dried off and had an uneventful drive home.

I have created a picture gallery but unfortunately did not manage to label all the pics...so you'll just have to guess where I was. Cheers!

Muskoka Run June 2009

Inside joke with pals... Tamis & Dean!

Taking a break in Bala after some hair raising curves!

My "hog" and my sweetie! Who could ask for more?

On the town with the Curves gals!

Had a blast last night with the gals from Curves. Checked out Trattoria 328 (Dupont & Spadina) - the restaurant my daughter Caitlin manages for Lorenzo (an amazing chef). Fantastic pastas, seafood and wood-oven pizzas (smoked salmon, grilled chicken). Wonderful tiramizu (specially made by Lorenzo). Anyway... lots of laughs (and red wine). Definitely looking forward to dining on the patio when the weather warms up!

April Fool's Day!

Yummy...yummy pie! Lovely, lovely Fauxberry pie! You could serve it cold but it is best served warm! Right Suzanne & Dave! Gotcha.... April Fool's. This is no ordinary pie. Instead of tasting sweet icing & a chocolate filling you encounter mashed potatoes & ground beef. Yup... it's a rogue "Shepherd's Pie". Really fools you though.... as Suzanne and Dave found out. They thought the icing was.... "play dough?!!!" until they realized it was mashed potatoes. Hmmmm...what tasty treat can I cook up next year! (Check out the Ticking Time Bomb calendar for the recipe!)

New Ideas Festival 2009

Went to New Ideas Festival 2009 - Week Two with Suzanne, Dave (the bass player) and Dana! Really enjoyed Diane Forrest's play - Really, Sort of Almost Getting There (Fantastic performance by Melina Nacos), and The Date by Rosemary Doyle featuring "Mr. Collin's from P & P...Steven Burley!!! How wonderful to see him on the stage again. And quite a departure from Jane Austen! This is the 21st year of NIF at the Alumnae Theatre http://www.alumnaetheatre.comAnd it is really cool that new plays are given a chance to shine. Also kudos to Suzanne for absolutely fabulous posters and brochures! All bow to the web & print goddess!

Red Carpets, New Digs & New Baby Too!

Well, here it is mid-March and I am not joining the hordes heading south. March break has ceased to have meaning for me, what with two kids long out of high school. Speaking which Cait has moved out again. This time with two gal pals and the apartment is close to her school and really quite nice. I remember when I was in college and sharing an apartment. I had hand-me-down furniture and pop crates for bookshelves. Not for my gal. It is all first rate! But you have to admire her get up and go. Nicholas has benefited from the move too! He now has a larger room with an en suite washroom. Room for his guitars and a little more rehearsal space. We now have an empty room (well almost empty if I can keep Joe from filling it up with his yard sale finds!) that will become a guest room if I have my way.

I hosted some of the gals for Oscar night. We had our own red carpet fashion show (Alice was amazing in her "homage" to Slumdog Millionaire and Sandi...well Sandi was sporting polka dots! Suzanne and I sported tiaras and boas! Alice took home the trophy for Picking the Best Actress and Brenda won for Picking the Best Actor. Suzanne took home the Picking the Best Picture award! Great fun... I think we are on again for next year.

March also welcomed in a new member of the clan - Kyra Christine Raftrey Collins was born to my niece Jenna on March 2nd. Can't wait to meet her at Easter!

A Brand New Year! Happy 2009!

Well, let's start out by saying that I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions. Why you might ask? Just call it being real. I mean we all have the need to start off a New Year with a clean slate. So we make all kinds of promises to ourselves and to our family and friends. We're going to lose weight, quit smoking, quit drinking, etc. etc. I say let's resolve to not make any resolutions. Let's not beat ourselves up. Enjoy life.... in moderation and I think we will all do just fine.

That being said.... we have been bad little bombshells. We had thought that by introducing a "blog" format to our Ticking Time Bomb Diary we would be busy little bloggers and keep you all up-to-date on our "fabulous" lives. Suzanne and I will try to do better. (You notice I didn't say resolve.....)

So what have I been up to since August!!! Well, I bought a Honda Shadow VLX 600 (I know... I know... it's a Harley wannabe but I love it) and I went on a two-day tour with Joe, and our good friends Tamis & Dean through the Muskokas. It was great. My first day riding was almost my last. A dog ran out in front of me and couldn't make up his mind which way to go. I couldn't stop (without launching myself over the handlebars) so I slowed down as much as I could (forgot all about my horn) and screamed at the top of my lungs. The dog had a look of absolute terror but managed to leap out of the way at the last minute. I missed him by an inch at most!!!! So what did I do after that... well I kept going and I got back on the bike the next day too. We managed to get in a few more rides before it got too cold. My baby is now parked in a heated garage for the winter. Can't wait until the spring.

Had an extremely hectic October and November. Mostly work, work, work. But I managed to celebrate my 50th Birthday on October 18th with some really great friends at the Alpine Hotel. It reminds me of the bars I used to sneak into when I was underage back home in Kincardine. My gal pals performed a song that Alice had written in my honour and to top it off Mary had created "Valerie" face masks for them to all hide behind. It was a little daunting facing so many of me! I really appreciated all the efforts of my hubby Joe, daughter Caitie and son Nick put into my special day. I am really lucky to have such great friends. And heck... even Al Brindley showed up.

November I kicked into high work gear with two big meetings and a presentation at the MARS Centre on behalf of CAIC.

And then the next thing I knew it was Christmas. I managed to get some Xmas baking done in time for the cookie exchange with the Curves gals and all my Xmas shopping done early. Then it was off to Kincardine for a few days with Mum & Jerry. My niece Jenna and her son Dylan joined us. Quiet but very enjoyable. Then it was back to Toronto on Boxing Day (the kids had work & band practice) and then it was time to ring in the New Year! We got together with our neighbours Ingrid & Dan, Bonnie and Mohan, Karen & Richard to raise a glass or two.

Now here it is January 2009 and both Suzanne and I are busy with an upcoming production of Pride & Prejudice at the Alumnae Theatre (Berkeley & Adelaide). Suzanne is performing (multiple roles) and I am assistant stage managing. The show opens January 16th. Check out the website for more details www. alumnaetheatre.com