FREE RIDE

Anybody else remember that song? By Edgar Winter? 1973? Anybody?? 

"Come on and take a free ride, come on and take it by my side!"

This weekend hubby and I took a "test drive": never done that before, was a totally new experience. Basically you walk into a car dealership and you say with great pomp:
"I want to take the _______ for a test drive." 
They are very accommodating. All they want is a photocopy of your Driver's License and they pull up said car and hand you a key. Free ride baby, free ride. Heck I could spend an entire afternoon hopping from car dealership to car dealership just taking whatever car suits my whim out for a spin! 
But since this was my virgin voyage, we only took one out. It was this little cutie:

A Mini Cooper Countryman

I think it is a 2011 but don't hold me to it, ask the man, numbers mean little to me. But I do know it was a standard and quite a lot of fun to drive.

Here's a headless shot of me in the driver's seat. And yes, I know I have holes in my jeans, no need to point it out. 

This car is very small and cute, just like me...hahahaha. We zoomed around the countryside and on the 401 for a bit to get the feel of it and I quite enjoyed it! But now that I've tested the waters I'm thinking, do they just let you take ANY car out? No questions asked?? Could I check out that Maserati? - just kidding, there are NO Maseratis in my town that I know of, but you get my drift. 

The problem is, it's kinda like looking at puppies - don't do it unless you mean business. You are about to fall headlong into the investment. 

We brought the little dolly back and hopped back into our familiar Honda Pilot. Well....that was fun...

Later that night we went down to a local restaurant to meet my parents and listen to my brother entertain the masses. Spencer is an entertainer extrodinaire and he wooed the crowd with his lounge lizard Cole Porter renditions. 

I'm throwing this in cause he's my brother and I'm proud of him. La Familia, capisce? But he did not play Free Ride - perhaps I will request that next time. 

EVERYBODY LIKES A PLAY DAY

Like the rest of you, I work hard. I work hard at my job and I work hard at home. On Saturday I did a full day including cleaning bathrooms, laundry, and an afternoon of yard work, and that's after a week at work. 
So come Sunday, my day of rest, I like to put all work aside and enjoy a play day.

Right Lulu? Here she is giving me that "please grab the end of what's left of my frayed rope and let's play" look: Anytime, anywhere.

I've lived in the Quinte region for my whole life save for a brief stint in Sudbury at the age of 6. Now you have probably picked up on this by now but Prince Edward County is one of our favourite places so we grabbed a few friends and off we went for a play day in the County.

We started with lunch at the Drake Devonshire Inn situated in Wellington. I don't care what you do there but for the love of all things delectable, please try the blueberry scones with clotted cream

They are warm, soft on the inside, perfectly crisp on the outside. They are beyond description. My friend Kevin was working through one of these babies, staring out at the lake and stated "this is one of those perfect moments." Nailed it Kevin.

But we weren't done yet - our next stop was for homemade ice cream at Slickers in Bloomfield.

CHEERS!

Then we thought for the sake of our waistlines we had better slow down on the food thing and headed to Sandbanks Provincial Park. True, it is waaaayyyy to cold for swimming yet but there is an incredible delicate beauty in early spring. I snapped a few photos, cause, well you just can't ignore what you're looking at here.

It is a beautiful spot

We were at the site of the old Lakeshore Lodge, which closed in 1972 and sadly, burned down in 1983. There is still a significant dance floor and remains of the buildings to be seen but in it's heyday it was a full 3 storey structure with dancing, dining, shuffleboard, even a swimming pool. My grandfather would have played music here and quite likely taken my grandmother for a quick two step around the dance floor. I find it poignantly sad to know I missed this piece of history only to see the footprint left behind. 

Tomorrow it is back to work and we are expecting rain and the temperatures to dip once again (Oh Canada...). But today was a day full of beauty, relaxation, good food and friends and let's face it, everybody likes a Play Day!

SPRING PROMISES

You know those whirl-wind weekends that you pack full? I just finished one of them. In fact I took Monday off to regroup and refocus. Glad I did too, cause finally, FINALLY, the weather was glorious. 
In fact I put my shorts on and did a little of this...

Please ignore those ugly feet. We all have our imperfections. Besides, they are attached to my legs and insisted on being part of the photo. 
But let me just back up a bit....
This weekend my church celebrated their 20th anniversary. I know you are thinking..."pfffttt...20 years...you guys are just babes!"
True. But I have been fortunate to be a part of these "babes" for 19 of those 20 years and got to see all the changes, miracles, mistakes and victories. Here is a photo I snapped last night.

"Hi Everyone! You look Mahhvellous!"

We had amazing music, food and testimonies. I saw some very good friends who have moved away or moved on and it did my heart good I tell ya.

This morning when I got up and birds started to sing of all the promises ahead, spring or otherwise, I got out there to relish it.

I started raking the old leaves and debris off of the front garden and there looking back at me were my flowers starting to bloom. The promise of new growth, new life.

All just waiting patiently for me to shed some light on the subject and allow them to feel the sun and warmth a little more.

Even better, my good friend Andrew took me for a motorcycle ride! Now I've not had much experience with motorbikes; I'm all about the manual kind of bike. So this was only my third motorcycle ride. 

Here I am! a biker chick

Perhaps the pose is a little too matronly, but I almost pull it off! So this is a 2004 Honda 599, if that means anything to anybody. We took a loop around the Bay of Quinte. We watched a couple of parachuters land as we went through the air force base (very cool) and some old bearded guy who was hitch hiking gave us a solid peace sign (also very cool). 

Then Andrew yelled "When I give you the signal I want you to hold on REAL TIGHT!" 

"OK!" I yelled back.

He tapped my hand, I spooned even harder and suddenly we were doing 150 km in 2nd gear. I squealed with glee like the girl I am.

Thanks for the fast ride Andrew!

Back at home I tried my hand at a vegetarian chilli - never made one of these before, but how hard can it be? 

Looks edible to me...

So, here is to spring.

Warm up your bones.

Brush off that old debris and see what you have already sprouting. 

Take a new adventure and maybe you will attain a momentum you never thought possible! 

And most importantly (Lauren if you are reading this) - eat your veges!

FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP

Easter is my favourite holiday time but this year was different, again, for me:
No Easter egg hunt
No colouring any Easter eggs
Neither of my children came home
I had to work

But we were still able to participate in the age old tradition of breaking bread together with family and friends. 

On Friday we went out for lunch with friends at Blumen Garden Bistro. I had a lovely vegetable tart!

The next day was dinner at my husband's side of the family. There were two new babies to marvel at. 

Our children our starting to extend the family line! This is Kara, my nephew's new baby daughter. Easter is about new life, new beginnings and I got to hold this precious bundle while she slept. 

The next day was dinner at my parents. More amazing food and time with family.

And let's not forget those little candy coated chocolate  eggs. They are evil I tell you, evil. They suck you in with their soft pastel colours and before you know it you've devoured a mountainous amount.

"Food and fellowship" as the church people call it, are keys parts of any celebration. We reconnect, laugh at familiar memories and catch up with one another, all while we enjoy an abundance put before us. 

For me, because this year was a little different, I was also reminded of how precious our time is together and sometimes, how short.