Little Lola

It has been decided that Lola's birthday will take place this Christmas eve

December 24th.

She will turn 4years old.

Even though we are not sure just how old she is.

But her teeth are pretty white, so she is apx 3 years old.

Last year was our first year with her but we were in Edmonton so we were unable to celebrate Christmas with her and couldn't figure out the best date for her birthday.

We also don't know when her REAL birthday is so we thought that because she is a rescued dog that her life has become somewhat of a miracle in the making, so christmas eve being the "happiest" time of the year will suit the little snuggler just fine.

Congrats brandt!

Congrats Brandt on your new job!

Too bad we all couldn't get together here in Toronto when you were down for your short trip, but we will be in Ottawa next week -for a small visit!

I hope Leroy is ready to see his beloved playmate Lola!

We should all go to Bark & Fitz and grab a big stiff starbucks coffee

-would that be yuppie enough for you gov't man?

I always wondered who actually reads the pblog, besides Brent bugging me for the Crannie wedding pics --yes they will be posted tomorrow...they need some "re-touching"

Readers, please feel free to post comments of what you are "waiting" to hear about.

I'm not that psychic!

Kim in the city

It was wonderful to see you after all the crazy busy years Kim!

Its amazing that we got to share this small window of time to do such mad shopping and talkin!

You are like a big sis to me, thank you for all of your deep love and understanding.

I will miss your skinny yoga butt prancin around my town!

I also look forward to takin you to all the good places again

anytime you want on your "next" trip!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

a night in the hammer

Since we now live in Mississauga (shudder) its been a long time since I've had to drive only a small 1/4 of my total daily drive back to Hamilton. My aunt and uncle were in Hamilton for a wedding so I went to meet them for dinner. It was nice to drive again, its been so long, but man I dont miss it. Well I love driving, but not every single day for over 80kms. Urgh all that driving for what? work? thats just crazy nonsense. No wonder I easily gained 1olbs and am just now destressing and trying to lose that evil 10lbs as we speak. I'm sure glad we moved to be closer to Haggar...urgh enough for now I digress.

I made it to Hamilton in a giant rainstorm and there were 2 accidents, but no biggie I made it there in under an hour. The visitors were late anyway. I guess it runs in the family hahah

We had a great time with Auntie Cathy & Uncle Jim in the wonderful world of the hammer.....!
It was a fun time had by all at the swanky 1970's mafia Sirloin Cellar and then at the fine old WESTOWN pub...! There was a live band and we even ran into the wedding party! crazy.

It was fun to just relax with a nice dinner and plenty of wine! Too bad I drank so much.

Afterwards they were going to Ottawa to see the sights. Then to Montreal to see Cara. And then Halifax...for the heck of it! It is their first time out in eastern Canada....I hope they love it as much as I do. and I hope to see MORE of my relatives one day soon!

Actually my cousin Kim will be here on Thursday for a short visit!

Its going to be great to see her and show her around! She is also visiting her girlfriend as well...lets hope the weather cooperates and we can actually go to niagara falls?!?! brrr...!

To Crannie with love...

To Crannie with love,

PBLOG xoxoxoxoXXXxxx

middle finger salute

Ummm --no comment here.

death of a boombox

It is with much regret and giant sorrow to Dave's brother Robb that his wicked slick 1990's boombox has died and was transported to the Charlton avenue curb this past August.

rock on!

Its amazing that we can now fit "most" of our cd collection onto a teeny tiny nano.
Weird isn't it.
I think its a shame...I mean...its just not as cool and or slick to carry a little nano on your shoulder....right?

I think its lame to even carry it on your arm...with mac armband?

thats not cool.

And plugged into headphones? why, no one can hear your music.
Unless you want ear damage. Urgh...

I remember in my high school english class this guy used to walk out and turn on his favorite new TAPE:
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES...
t-u-r-t-l-e power
t-u-r-t-l-e power
it was odd, but funny as hell...

Anyway thats just my favorite boombox experience of all time...

I know that Dave was sad to let the boombox be taken away by some mysterious Hamilton person(s)....but they too will realize that the boombox died along with acid wash and their tigercats.

two cats a dog and a staircase

The trouble bunch!

All the ladies in the house whatcha gonna do???

From left: Maui, Mom, Patti, Lola, & Kelsie Chiles=we rule...boys drool!!!

Chinese moon festival!

ALL YOU CAN EAT MOON CAKES!!! WOW WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE!!!
How we ended up at a chinese buffet is beyond me, but MAN did we have a fun time!!!

k the guest clerk

Kelsie went to the hammer for a tough work day as guest student law clerk at DMC's firm!
Check out her big sisters velvet ensemble! woowee! Now she see's how hard DMC and the SH team actually work --oops!

Kelsie & mom's Thanksgiving visit

It was great to see you both!!! We sure had a great time with you!!!

220 B RD W -2 view

pblog Dear World, series 1:

220 B RD W

Urban,
cosmopolitan,
as diverse and exciting as the City of Toronto that lies beside it.

Citygate is well-positioned to take advantage of all its many amenities.

Rising on Burnhamthorpe Road West at Duke of York Boulevard across from Mississauga City Hall, Citygate's 2 magnificent 35-storey towers, with their striking symmetry and articulated cascade design - virtually all glass - will make a distinctive addition to the city skyline.

The outstanding array of condominiums, two-storey lofts and penthouses at Citygate offer an opportunity and lifestyle that very few can resist?

Lola time!

Finally I get to spend time with my little girl.....

the view from above

Here's a shot from one of our 2 balconies.
Come on, how often can anyone state that they have not 1 but 2 balconies?

We can.

Jealous? come visit them.

The sun was setting and it actually happened to be still clear out at around 7pm.
The smog was light on Wednesday night.
Not sure why, but I can't complain.

Because we face east we get a killer sunrise,
which I think is prettier anyway...what a nice way to start the day!
...and it is great to dash outside and look out across around 5 miles to the lake before the smog shows up.

The pets love it here and now can sit in the sun all day as our office window starts from the floor up to the ceiling. We are refusing to put up curtains in the sunny office,
so I will try not to run around in my pink pj's too often...you never know who may be watchin.

All those misc urban dwellers out there in the other towers sittin there in their finest, nothin better to do but create myspace sites and drink the night away listening to pixies.

A visit with Lauren!

It was wonderful to finally meet you today

Lauren!

David and I came to visit your proud mommy & daddy

and you slept all snuggly warm in my arms for a few hours

what a little sweetie you are!

A warm congrats to both Allison & Jeff

Good luck and all the best!!!

this is where I took my graphic design night courses...

I knew a few guys like this in my high school, they were such "gamers", they sat around on the floor in front of the lockers
playing "D&D" and rolling dice while drinking chocolate milk and Doritos.
The whole long trench coat look I could never understand, and Harley boots.
I watched my classmate transform himself in one semester, from a shy nice plain guy into a trenchcoat/harleyboot guy.
And amazingly his costume worked, and he gained a few friends. He didn't have to eat alone anymore in the cafeteria either.
I thought they looked like losers and their whole dark look was pretty silly.
Once he showed up in an Indiana Jones type hat. But the look didn't catch on in his group. But at least he looked like less of a clone.
Anyway I joked once about another classmate I knew who once was a snowboarder now turned trench coat..
"aren't you a little hot out here in the sun?" I questioned as we walked throughout Elk Island park on an art class excursion
to draw the natural environment. "nope!" he said then turned away and wiped sweat off his brow.
Those guys became so cool that they oozed this new term goth.
It was only 1994, what did I know.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/14092006/2/national-blog-man-identified-dawson-college-gunman-paints-dark-portrait.html

how many boxes does it take to hold my vogue collection?

Its that time of year again!

Time to sort through all of the massive amounts of stuff that have made their homes here with us on Charlton Avenue West for over the past nine months.

Yes folks!
here's the simple math for you:

9 mths of me driving
+
160km's to work each day
x
5 days a week
+
1 car accident
-
an average portion of my life due to the aprx drive time of 40minutes-3hours
+
2 nervous breakdowns
-
mileage of rental car=2weeks/14 days
+
gas=85.0-112.9/L

------------------------------
total: time to leave Hamilton


Its taken me by suprise how good it feels to cleanse and detox your house and move on to another unwritten path.

This new place even has a pool and a grand piano!
Come on, who wouldn't take a pool and a piano over steel?

It just feels good to pull everything off the shelves and ponder over why I purchased all of these odds & ends in the first place? Humans really are just born to work/produce/consume.

Anyway,
again its late, but this is whats been going on:
I have been packing alone as DMC has a trial this week. Its midnight and I haven't heard from him since 5pm. Not sure where he is or what he is up to. Hope bibby didn't drop him in a tub full of gooey cement.
And to make matters more insane: our apartment building told me that the elevators are booked ALL of Wednesday.
So now the movers that we did reserve for Wednesday said they never received our booking and cancelled on us.
So I decided to go for good old U-haul, and now they tell me that we can't have a truck for 2 days in a row as its "busy season", so I am not even sure if we can rearrange to have it just for "one" day which leaves us to Thursday.
John-the-axe-murderer-landlord screamed and argued that we must be out:
"midnight of the 31st--OR ELSE!!!"

--I am dyin to see John on the porch at 11:30, AXE in hand...


Anyway, hope we can just get out of here sooner vs later.
So I will take apart my PC here tonight and she will cry digital tears...


Lola just had her bath! so she is smelling like Lassie shampoo, too bad you can't smell the daisy-fresh scent.

time to go through the stack of mags leftover by DMC for me to "sort".
"SORT!?" -I said? there is no sorting required!

Just use extra tape!

sniffany & co.

how cute is this???

kerr's top 40

Only the finest Malt is allowed down on Charlton ave west

Congratulations on becoming a new lawyer Greg.....you truly are

ALL THAT!

Jibacoa strapless little number

Its funny how a big Torontonian like me can race around a FANTASTIC country like Cuba in +47 weather heck you can:
-hike
-ride a horse
-swim in a cave
-hike through a cave
-snorkel all over the place
-chase hemmingways ghost out of his hotel
and then race back to my hotel and look THIS good...
did I forget to mention that I was also sick for the past 2 days?

At this dinner we gave our waiter a bag of toys for his 2 little girls, he was SO happy.
Beanie Babies are still cool somewhere on this earth at least...

come on england?

Before B&B move across the pond we had the chance to spend some time with Brent at BP'S and had a great trivia match --Shaft was the winner.

Beth was busy trying to deliver a baby!

It will be a very sad good-bye.

But we are not saying goodbye.....just "until we meet again..."

We will miss you both very very much!!!

But we are quite happy that you are getting out of the hammer to do what your hearts are telling you to do:

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!
p&d xoxox

MG =She’s In It For The Money Bootleg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeWnWKxd1RU

bad boy astor

This is Lola's favorite little man "bad boy astor"....does your pet have a fav little critter?

en route!

A canoe trip around the lake....!
We had no idea what Lola would do once we put her inside the Crowe's giant red canoe,
but she seemed to really enjoy it...!

It was awesome to have her aboard! What a brave little Scottie!
Thank you Dave for being our favourite tourguide too!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Lola the explorer!

A good shot of Lola the explorer on our big August long weekend hike up at the Crowe's nest!
"can I drink this water??? I'm SO thirsty....and its SO cold!!!!!!"

The Crowe's nest 2006

We all had a wonderful time at The Crowe's Nest this August long weekend...!

Such perfect weather this year!!!

Lola loved the canoe trip around the lake...and we all went for a nice refreshing swim!
We had a good hike through the forest along the old logging trails.
After 1 year with us, Lola has become a much more confident rescued dog...we are so proud of how far she has come! She actually led the hike this year! She was SO determined.
Our big dog small pacakge led us even through the small streams...the cold water ran high against her legs & tummy, but she was a brave little scottie and seemed to love the outdoor adventure!

Thank you Lee & Wayne for the warm hospitality -as always!!!
It was great to see you both again...please come visit us in Toronto soon.



Also, the s'mores were awesome!



xoxoxoxo

We love you too Lola!

We were first kind of afraid of you...but we have totally grown to love your
big dog small package style! Happy 1 year livin with us spoiled cats...!
Love always Maui & Guinness xoxox

Lola's 1st full year

Happy birthday Lola, its been 1 year since we rescued you!
We love you and are SO happy that you are part of our team!

The photographer at El Capitolio

"SUPER ROMANTICO!"

"SUPER ROMANTICO!"

This was taken by an old Havana man and his 100 year old portrait camera
on the steps at El Capitolio. This landmark was modeled after its U.S. cousin, the Cuban Capitol is a stunning architectural work of grand scale--it's actually a bit taller and longer than the Washington version. There's not a whole lot to see here, but it's worth climbing the steep steps.

If you look closely at the photo the old man actually did *2* Cuban style cut & paste jobs
in +48 sun in less than 3 minutes...otherwise it would have been just a shot of the giant staircase and us. I also love his accidental thumb print signature at the side!

"super romantico!" he exclaimed over and over the entire time.
"no computer" he said as he pointed to the 100 year old antique with a plastic fixer jug hanging off its side.


All for $1 peso.

Havana Club Rum factory tour

Nothing like a rum museum tour in Havana at 9am!

Shots for everyone!

Make sure that when you open a new bottle...tip the bottle so that it spills the
top inch off on the floor as a sign of respect to all of the slaves that helped build this
Cuban rum empire.

DMC in Jibacoa

Ok here he is, my one and only super dave!

Here are some of the ruins of a small house that was built so that the landowner could "breed" his slaves to produce stronger slaves after slavery had been outlawed in the country.
The human race is quite awful. But has the world gotten any better?

Horses at the coffee plantation

This is Rolland, me and Lorraine on our Cuban horses!
Dave was our photographer. The horses took us for a short trip around the coffee farm.

Coffe plantation, Matanzas province

Part of our tour included a stop over for lunch at a local coffee plantation farm.
This used to be home to many slaves that were brought over from Africa to work the land.
It was a very sad experience to see the iron chains that were attached to their necks & ankles.
It was more disturbing to see ruins of a small house that was built so that the landowner could "breed" his slaves to produce stronger mightier slaves after slavery had been outlawed.
This tree was one of the oldest and largest in the area. The slaves used this as their
sacred prayer tree which was as ritual from Africa.
Touching it you could feel the hope and also the extreme suffering that had happened here.

The old man in the background grew up on this farm, he was 76 years old and had been there all of his life. His farm which has been in his family for many centuries was now owned by the government. It was hard to leave the farm and see the man off. This was his life.
Showing the chains, the sacred tree, the horse rides, the deep water well dug by slaves...
After riding one of the horses, we ran for water bottles.
Guai told us that the horses would "get a drink later" after I asked where there water was.
I then noticed that the horse handlers didn't even have one bottle of water for themselves let alone for the working animals. The sun was very intense. I then felt terrible for riding the horse. But figured they were used to the heat.
So of course it was strange to leave the plantation and for us to all get back in our jeeps and never see this old man again. He rested his tired arm on the iron gated entrance and looked at me and smiled anyway while we drove away.

free range jibacoa

This photo was taken after a long wild crazy fun day of jeep off roading...
and jeep "pushing".

Its difficult and at times frustrating to imagine living the actual "Cuban way" of life
until you are stuck on a hot jungle highway pushing your friends that just ran out of gas!
Cuba's national sport is hitchhiking.

We sipped REAL coconut milk from REAL coconuts during this bumper-to-bumper
ordeal...I told our tourguide Guai, that up on our side of the world coconuts are available,
but come wrapped in plastic and the milks been replaced with water...as the milk is then sold in tin cans. He coudln't understand this complex chain of coconut events.
He thought our world was the good life and that his world was poor and empty.
I spoke to him all day and let him in on the real life we live...and how his was in fact better.
We went to a coffee plantation to have lunch and I mentioned how our meats/chicken etc is loaded with chemicals and are raised in tiny cages after farm chickens, roosters and turkeys ran past my feet. I told him that they would be "organic-free-range" because they were allowed to roam and to have a good life.
I then said that his life was pure, healthy & simple.
He let us know that the lunchtime banana's were straight off the trees on the farm.
I then told him that ours are shipped bright green before they can ripen on the tree.
His eyes bugged out in disgust...I am not sure he feels the same way about us tourists anymore
and or where we come from. I tried to let him know how it really is, and that it isnt all its cracked up to be in his mind. I also wished that we could have taken him home to Canada to be "free?!" to be the biologist he studied to become and not a tourguide trying to survive within Castro's regime.
We then wondered how he would feel about seeing both worlds like we had and letting him choose which is actually better...or the ripest.

Roof Garden at Ambos Mundos

http://www.casaparticular.com/hotel-view.asp?lID=1&hID=119&show=1

While in Havana we went to this famous hotel for mojito's...

Much is made of Ernest Hemingway’s predilection for staying at the Hotel Ambos Mundos; he wrote the first few chapters of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ in room 551, which is now maintained as something of a shrine.
The rooftop terrace view was incredible and you can see a church with its giant 'bell' off in the distance.

Hence the inpiration regarding the title of his novel.

Old Havana cigar lady and misc roaming dog at large

I had to snap this shot real quick as this old Havana lady was charging to do so!
She also spotted me with camera in hand...or was it my lilywhite office cubicle skin perhaps?
Anyway, she saw us and then quickly released her fan to block her face from taking a good picture.

She also has a giant cigar in her mouth.

The wild dog happened to get in the shot, which I love most about this as his spots happen to match the vibrantly colored wall.

Old Havana was a magical place indeed.

We gave out our old ball caps and assorted little toys..it was wonderful.

Havana

YOU...!

yes YOU....!

get under my boot!

Canada Day in Cuba

This was taken outside our 'ocean-view' room on Canada day...
I didn't want to wear my hockey sweater...but I am wearing red lipstick!

Jibacoa

This was taken just outside our room...
every night we got to watch the giant sun melt into the ocean...

Matanzas, Jibacoa & Havana 2006

We are back in Canada now...just about in 1 piece
despite our jeep pushing the other 4x4 jeep that ran out of gas "the Cuban way"
while we were all driving in the jungle aka: the 'Cuban forest', and then on the provincial highway. We survived swimming & hiking through giant sodium chloride caves,
being tugged underwater by our dive leader hand-in-hand in a sea of a million jellyfish to see everything and also to take pictures with our 'hightech waterproof camera'.
The best part of the dive was seeing a big fish down below hiding inside a pile of rocks and shells and there I was, watching him then get hit on the head by the leader throwing rocks to cover his hole/lookout...and then the fish would push them out of its mini-cave....it was funny.
Then our leader kept throwing them on him....this was kind of insane.
And he joked that he tortures this poor fish everyday.

We loved the trip and met a lot of people.
Despite the short length -altogether it was an amazing trip visiting
the cities of Matanzas, Jibacoa & Havana.

I have to sort through my 1GB of photo's but this shot was a goodie taken in
Havana's biggest city square where Fidel gives his "IMPORTANT" speeches.
I can't believe Dave and I are sporting a smile while standing on a tarmac in aprx +45 humid heat.

As our tour guide said,
"you only live once"
So thank you Guai, for showing us your version and highlights of your special country
frozen in time.