Steve’s first task for the day was to go out and buy his first lottery ticket. He played a $3 Bingo card and came up empty. He wants to try his hand with Proline next. He was so happy that the convenience store owner asked him for his “id”. He is now talking of going to visit his buddys studying at the University of Ottawa so they can go over to Hull to the pubs. What kind of kid did I raise? Oh the joys of turning 18.

Steve flew in from Kansas (via Air Canada not a tornado) on Thursday to attend his high school graduation and convocation. The ceremonies were held in the gym and it was great to see all the kids again and all grown up. He is off again tomorrow and heading off to Little Rock Arkansas to regroup with his team on their October road trip. He will miss Thanksgiving and the bbq’d maple glazed baby turkeys and his Birthday. I am making him pumpkin pies for tonights dinner (his favourite). Can you believe this weather that we are having. It was 27oC yesterday and I’m lov’n it.

Early Thursday morning our tenant across the road was shaken from his sleep by a thunderous crash. It was windy that night and the huge maple tree in his back yard split and hit the ground shaking every window in the house. Luckily nothing was damaged when it hit the ground but what was left of the tree was hanging precariously over my workshop.
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The city streets of Mississauga will never be the same again now that the Bako boys passed their G1 driving test. They passed on their first write. Turning 16 does have its right to passage. Peter is out practising in the neighbourhood with Nick. They will do their in-class study 25hrs and 10 in-car driving lessons this fall. I now have lots of designated drivers in my household.

Well our friends Cathy and Keith went off for a little romance in Paris this week. We are looking after their dog Cinder while they are away. They are celebrating “empty nest” as their 3 boys are all off to university. Glad to see that they are spending some money on themselves before it all goes to tuition and residences.
Cinder is having a holiday at our place too.

Well I can not believe it… when I drove home from work today there were 4 block line ups for gas at every station. Jackie had warned me last night the talk at the newspaper was a 50 cent price hike for gas. I drove across town to a gas station on Hwy#2 thinking perhaps the lines were shorter, and I was right. The gas was at yesterdays price and I topped up at $1.04 a litre. Else where in Chatham when I drove back home the price gouging was as high as, get this… $1.79

Peter and Brian are 16yr old today. They woke up in a flurry and ran through their morning routine in a flash. I broke down and drove them to school (2blocks) so they wouldn’t be late. Brian forgot his lunch and also forgot his wallet. He also did a cross country running practice in the rain this afternoon. The day may be hot and humid but the rain is cooling things down from the 36C today. We had a steak dinner tonight and we will have cake when Nick gets home from his company golf tournament. I am very proud of my boys. Some pictures can be found here.

To celebrate Martha completing her first week back to school I called her up after dismissal on Friday and asked her out to dinner. The weather has been outstanding the last few weeks so I thought a leisurely bike trip to Marine City, Mi might be fun. We took the back roads and decided to cross into Michigan via the Walpole ferry and return on the Bluewater ferry at Sombra. The air was clear but warm and the ferry ride was fun with the bow slapping the waves and the spray gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Of course I walked a little too close to the gaping bow ramp and got the leg of my riding pants drenched.

I had intended on going to a restaurant called Bill’s Duck Inn for supper. We hadn’t been there for almost two decades and I wanted to check out the latest owner’s menu. We didn’t even get north of Algonac, Mi when the aroma from McRae’s Big River Grill had Martha tapping my back and saying lets eat here instead. [Catherine, this is the old Sid’s on the Seaway Restaurant, remember? ] It was a blast from the past because this was a restaurant Mom and Dad had taken our family to (on VERY special occasions only) before I was even a teenager One of the few things I recall from Sid’s was the red transparent plastic straws they used put in their soft drinks when all I had ever experienced before was paper straws, oh the decadence. Flash forward some 40 odd years and now this restaurant has a Caribbean-inspired menu with great views of the river and a laid back Caribbean theme decor.
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Nick and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary on Aug 17th. We celebrated with a Greek meal around the swimming pool with the boys. The swan that was swimming in the pool at our wedding reception made an appearance after I retrieved her from the rafters in our garage. I dusted her off and I loaded her up with flowers and set her afloat. Nick was so happy to come home from work and step out onto the back deck and see the table set and the swan swimming in our pool. Happy Anniversary. I gave him a cd of music from the 70’s and an iron ornamental birdbath for our garden as a reminder and token gift. I think the boys liked hearing us say “I love you” to each other and knowing that our marriage and love is strong still after all these years.