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I thought that I should mention that Kik's party was a huge hit. It was truly a great time. It's nice to see women that I like in a different surrounding. Kik's yard and hosting skills got lots of praise, which was nice and well deserved...

However...

When you are friendly with someone, then you see them in a different light, space, time, it is occasionally odd, which I noted on Tuesday night. Mannerisms that I thought were perhaps due to 'busy-ness' are actually the person's true nature. Yikes! Good to know to whom I shall keep my mouth shut....

Last night a couple of girls came over and we (or at least me) had a very nice time. I really learned a few things.

The one thing that we briefly discussed was how quickly things change, and the loss of formality.

Every Sunday as a child we would venture to my Grandparent's house. We'd be dressed for church (even if we skipped it, my grandfather would wear a full suit) and we ate off the good china. Every week... who does this anymore? Now (if you even own china, which I don't) you may bust the china out a couple few times a year...

Men used to wear suits to work. My one friend PF is an accountant and business owner and I know he rarely even wears a dress shirt. We sort of concluded that perhaps the public at large don't make assumptions based on appearance (uh, not if you watch Sex in the City) as much as they used to. Who wears suits everyday? What man owns more than 2? A CEO maybe.... the odd Realtor?

People used to dress up to travel on planes. Now TV segments are dedicated to showing consumers how to travel in comfort and practicality.

When I was little, I once wondered (after being scolded by my evil aunt) if one day I would prefer to sit up perfectly straight with ankles crossed. Well, I'm almost 35 and I rarely sit like a probably should...

So... is it perception, or have things really changed that much? I think perhaps both.

 

I thought that this one was pretty good...

 

Do you have any 4th of July or Canada Day traditions?

Hmmm, nope. I should put that on my list: "Get Tradition For Canada Day." Sounds a little forced doesn't it?

Welp, Billy is leaving for the great state of TN in about 4 hours... lucky man. The weather is supposed to be fantastic Tuesday and Wednesday and they already have tee times booked...

I really hope that everything is okay with the house. The last guy that was there (the bartender from Sutton Creek) had a crazy episode whilst barbecuing in the garage and... well, let's just say that there was a mullet, an offer of a burger, boxer shorts, a wife beater, and an axe involved. It's a good story, you can fill in the blanks... suffice to say the Sheriff was called. Awesome.

He's venturing down with 3 of his friends and they are taking MomG's new Edge, which is great. The other 2 guys only have 1 family vehicle each and well, the other guy's car probably wouldn't make it through Michigan... Billy's truck is fine, but the back seat is narrow for 2 guys to ride 10 hours in... so that means MomG gets our Fusion... so that means that I get to drive Billy's work truck. Super cool!

While he's away I'm having a couple of girls over on Wednesday night (I think, I still have to confirm) and a few other girls over on Thursday night. On Tuesday I have golf, then a pool party at Kik's which should be a riotous event for sure. It should be a good week for me too. I seriously hope to get rid of my farmer's tan!

It's all good. Of course I'll miss him, but he really needs this time away to be with friends, golf, drink, play poker and eat steaks. He deserves it!

 

We're back.. a day early. There was entirely too much rain... we did get really lucky though. It was beautiful when we walked in the Maitland, and the next day on the walking path, at the drive-in and during meal times. Whew! But seriously when it's thunder and lightening and HAILING it gets a little old. The poor pooch was not happy. She was either wet, in the trailer or having a marvelous time.

It's good to be back....

- because I like having dry and clean feet

- I'm not a big fan of campground showers or toilets

- I like my bedding to be soggy free

- as I enjoy cold beverages without worrying about the ice situation

Here are some pics...

Halia swimming and liking it!

Because of the rock bed, the water looks golden.

I'm sure it was some elusive mystical serpent that was frozen in time by an evil witch or warlock... I have to stop reading children's fantasy novels...

Proof I was camping, in Goderich, with my husband and dog.

At the drive in with Billy (Bert, Fred, Michael, William) Shelley and Johnny B.

On the Menesetung bridge. There were a ton of people fishing below.

There are a few wind farms north of Goderich. There are very cool and gentle looking.

Halia really wanted some of Billy's ice cream. At one time, her head was resting innocently on his shoulder.

Poor poochy was very tired on the way home. She fights it like a little kid... falling asleep while sitting up, then jerking awake... She gets that from Billy.

I golfed again today and last night... you'd think with all this golfing, I would be a) getting better, and b) walking off some poundage... neither is happening... not even close, but I am however enjoying myself quite a bit.

We're camping this week-end and it's going to be great. Hopefully the weather will co-operate.

Here are some things I love about camping... in no particular order... who has time for that?

a) going for long walks around the park

b) walking in the Maitland River, and watching Halia running around and swimming

c) coffee in the morning. There's nothing like the smell of coffee when you're surrounded by trees and drinking it outside... oh and the smell of bacon cooking is also pretty good...

d) going to the beach

e) hanging out with friends by the fire

f) eating like kings and queens

g) having some cocktails and wine out a plastic cup

h) sleeping soundly due to exhaustion

i) going to the drive-in and all the craziness that is Grand Bend

j) spending time with William

k) becoming a ninja after a few drinks

l) laughing and having fun

I'm really looking forward to this week-end! Pics to follow of course.

Probably a bit later by the time I actually type this out. And I'm going golfing, we have a 7:07 tee time... (It's raining a little, but other than that, it looks like a beautiful day) KF is probably the only woman I know that is more of a golf freak than I am, so I always have a partner...

 

Three days since my last post! Where does the time go?

Let's see... Friday I golfed in our Ladies 18 hole league and played like a donkey. Great. Friday night Billy and I were treated to dinner at the Keg by MomG and it was awesome, (hello blue cheese fillet...) except I felt pretty crappy all day long and it resulted in a migraine that I was sort of able to stop before it was too intense. It was weird. It was a sight based migraine, (for those who suffer from migraines you know what I'm talking about) and usually mine are smell or scent related. Strange.

Yesterday was mine and KimF ladies match (or as I learned actually 'medal' play... there is a difference) against two pretty good golfers. One who pretty much had the game of her life yesterday, but luckily for me, so did KimF... she also won her individual ladies match. The only contribution I made was a birdie on #8 for a net 1, and a par on 15 for a net 2. That was pretty sweet. It came down to literally the last putt on the last hole... which I missed, but KF made hers so we won by one stroke with a net 63. That's a damned good score in case you don't know... whew!

It was so much stress, not because I so badly wanted to win, but because I didn't want to let KF down... if we tied and had to go play extra holes, we would have been blown off the course due to weather, then they would use 'retrogression' to determine the winner (best holes starting with the last one played) - we would have then lost the match, as KF and I both sucked a bit on the back! Whew!

Billy was at the club so we had a couple of drinks, went home and participated in Rib Fest 2008 (just ribs for dinner, no sides... I felt like Fred Flintstone...) and watched Narnia (we had never seen it before, and I had just read the first 2 books in the series, and the second movie might be at the drive in this week-end... so...) We started to watch No Country For Old Men... it was disturbing to say the least, I had read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, so I knew this one would be equally warped... but my body said No More with about 20 minutes to go. Billy watched it and this morning asked me to finish watching the rest so I could explain it to him... I was like uh... wah? I hardly knew what was going on! Silly man.

Today is Dian's shower and I'm having a vegetable issue, so I'll be late to help set up. I'm sure there will be enough people, but still... stress! guilt! Arg!

I'm really looking forward to this coming week.... (it helps that today I feel better physically than I have in a week, despite less than 4 hours sleep last night)... I have a 7:07 tee time tomorrow with KF, (play ahead for while we're camping) ladies 9 hole league, camping and all the fun that entails as well as a potential trip to the Bend and the drive in.

Awesome, life's good!

If you don't care about local golf, then by all means skip this post...

So, today I played in a 9 hole tournament at Essex. They have hosted mens' senior PGA event as well as an LPGA event, , and is known as the oldest in the area & the most exclusive. It was the last private course in Essex County that I had to play. And I did... very badly...

First of all, it's not a particularly difficult course. It reminds me a lot of Beach Grove or even Roseland. Lots of trees, level fairways, water on 2 out of 9 holes and fast greens. No holes really stood out as beautiful, or particularly challenging. At one time I thought, 'oh, hey a dog leg, that's exciting'.

So why did I golf so poorly? I have lots of excuses. First of all, I will not drill 120 holes ever again the night before a big tournament. My right hand was so shaky I could barely keep score and still I can hardly type. Stupid. Secondly, the course was completely unfamiliar to me, and no one in our foursome had ever even played there before, (not like that really mattered, it was pretty straightforward). Nerves play a big part when you're in a tournament with people you know, let alone total strangers, and lastly, the greens were like putting on asphalt. Fast doesn't describe it, plus there is much more undulation in the greens than I'm used to. So there.

The club house reminds me of Beach Grove, but BG is actually a little nicer looking. Essex looks like there added additions haphazardly. I've heard wonderful things about the woodwork in the dining rooms, and I wasn't impressed. It felt old without the charm. There are so many little rooms and hallways, then big rooms and big hallways, there is no intimacy. I like that when you walk into Sutton Creek, it's not a maze. You wave to the bartender. You can look around and see everyone... same with Pointe West, but not so much at BG either.

The locker rooms were not close to what I expected. Pointe West has them beat without a doubt, and if anyone says different, I'd have to ask if they've actually seen Pointe West's locker room in the last 2 years... that's how obvious it is.

The bag drop off area was congested (yes it was a tournament) and I had to haul out my own clubs in front of about 50 women. Nice. The parking lot is angled weird, and not conducive to any type of flow.

The patio area at SC kicks Essex's ass. If you venture to the balcony at SC you are amazed by the beauty. You can sit in the sun or shade, and out of the rain. There's the fire pit and the waterfall... so nice... Essex does have a ton of mature trees everywhere, but that's about it.

SC is way more challenging and especially interesting. We do have a f'ugly back shop located not discreetly off the 17th hole, and of course the Barn of Shame (the name seems to be catching on thankyouverymuch...) but in the scope of things Essex is a good 80 years older than Sutton.

A Fox Glen lover said to me today that she had no ambition to play Sutton Creek. 'It's a glorified Wildwood'. Wha? Huh? Well, how old are you? Why don't you play a course before you judge it? Are you kidding me? Yes, it's newer like WW, but, hello, we have par 5's and uh, no trailers! WW is little, tight and tough... but geez... I'd like to chat with the idiot that made that comparison. You stay at FG honey, you keep your flooded areas, dry fairways, 6 hour rounds with it's membership reaching a gazillion, I'll keep Sutton Creek and all it has to offer all to myself... thanks.

So, all in all, I'm glad I was able to play at Essex, but I appreciate Sutton Creek and its members even more now though... we definitely made the right decision for us.