At Camp

Hey, everyone!
I've just spent a glorious 6 days at the cottage and it was WONDERFUL. It started out sunny and cool, but then the temps went up to the mid 20s [C] again! We had one day of rain, so we did some inside work. Had a few campfires. It was surprisingly not windy, as it usually is this time of year, so it gave us a chance to burn some brush I had cut last time we were there.
We had a few saunas, and the lake water is still quite warm, about 70º F.
I've been reading a lot. I'm reading a Steven King novel, 'The Dark Half'. I used to be a fan of his years ago, but after discovering Dean Koontz, I kind of put King on the back burner of favourite authors. I'm almost done the book. It's okay, but it not wowing me like I hoped.
I usually like to sit on my lounge on the dock, but as Fall approaches, so does the change in sun pattern. In the summer, we have full sun on the dock until evening. Now by mid afternoon, the dock is in complete shade. Bummer. As much as I love the sun, I DO wear sunscreen. So now I put the lounge in the back yard. It's not as scenic, but comfortable just the same.
We finished putting the steel roof up on the addition. Doug installed the door and insulated around the new windows. Next comes the fascia and soffits and then we can open up the wall between the old camp and the new addition. Whoo-hoo, can't wait. D starts his second set of holidays in 3 days, so we'll be going back to camp for three weeks, give or take!! I'm hoping the heat-wave will return just for us!
Still having some abdominal pains. Meds aren't working as good as I thought they would, but I am MUCH better than I was earlier this summer. I'm so hungry though. I guess that's a good thing since I had lost so much weight, but I hope I don't eat so much and end up gaining more than I lost. It's fun eating though! Bring on the junk food!!
Dial-up at camp is SO SLOW. I try not to be online more than 1/2 hour per night. I've only got 10 free hours a month here. It sucks because I can't upload or download any photos. Takes way too long. So, I catch up over on TwoPeas once I get home.
We were invited to a corn roast at a cottage around the bay. I've heard that this group of people have the party every year, taking turns on who's cottage, so I kind of feel honoured that we've made the list this year! Doug had to work until 5pm, so we missed the afternoon celebrations, but arrived just in time for the Corn Roast and Pulled Pork. Met about 40 other fellow cottagers. I've already forgotten most of their names, but I've got pictures!!

Meg and Jay were at camp for the long weekend. Gracie was SO happy to see her favourite human friend!! Meg's friends joined us from Maple, On for two days, and Lauren brought two of her friends who are on their way to a new life in Toronto from Vancouver! It was a fabulous day!
Hope everyone had a great long weekend!
CHEERS

Here's my charming hubby. I swear this man will fit into any crowd and make friends in an instant!


This man was just one of many taking part in the Horseshoe Tourny! Wish I could remember his name!!


Friends, a setting sun and a bottle of wine! Need I say more?



This is Meg's boyfriend, Jayson. DH couldn't be happier that he's a musician too! They had a great time jamming together by the campfire.



Here's Meg doing her lesson preps on her laptop by the campfire. She just got hired a few days ago to teach grade 10 math, grade 12 math and grade 10 civics. She starts tomorrow, so she needed to 'work' while at camp!


And friends and family would not be complete without our best friend, Gracie! Just look at that face!!!!

Lauren and Meghan

LAUREN

This one was taken when Lauren was at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. I had a point and shoot then and now when I look back on the photos from that day I wish I could go back and reshoot with my Pentax!! These girls had a small dance group they formed and called themselves "Stir Crazy". This has always been one of my favourite dance shots. We had gone for a hike on our favourite winter trail, and I [with a new Point and Shoot camera] wanted to try some freeze shots with it! First shot and this was the result!!

MEGHAN

In 2000, the Performing Arts Department presented CATS, the Musical. Meghan was so thrilled to get the role of Victoria, [the white cat on the left]! What a wonderful show, such talented kids.

This shot was taken on almost the same trail as the one above, but taken last fall. I still didn't have my Pentax at this time, so oh... the possibilities NOW!! Thanks again for peeking at my old stuff. I'll be at camp for a few days, so likely not able to post for a bit. I need to get out in the bush and find something interest to photograph while I'm there! Have a great week!!

Dance

You know, at first, I thought that the POTD theme this week would be perfect for me! Afterall, DANCE has been a part of my life since 1985 when my oldest daughter Lauren took her first lesson. After looking through the hundreds and hundreds of photos I have of her and of Meghan, who started dancing in 1989 I realized that this theme isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Sure, I've got hundreds of photos to choose from, but which one do I pick? The one of Lauren's first tap class with her shiny black shoes with the big black bows? Meghan dressed as a lamb for the Little Bo Peep Character ballet piece? Lauren's first Modern solo? Meghan's solo in CATS as the white cat, Victoria? Lauren as Eliza in THE KING AND I?

Classes and rehearsals. Costumes and makeup. Ballet slippers, Pointe shoes and calloused feet. Sore joints and bruises. And fundraising!!

From the first cute little Ballet lessons of 'tap tap tap' and 'point point point' to Arabesque, Développé, Fouetté and Pas de Deux. From early Modern classes of 'stretch and reach' to Contraction, Spiral, High Release and Bre-e-e-athe! And how many times have I heard "and...five, six, seven, eight!"

Lauren began Ballet and Tap at a very popular studio in town. I thought it was THE place to take her. After a year or two, I realized that it was too 'hoity-toity'. There was too much emphasis on show and not enough on the technique and the fun. I will never regret pulling her out of that studio and bringing her to a tiny studio in our former small town. The Lesley Kallio School of Ballet is where both my girls truly began to love DANCE. Lauren began there at 9 years of age and Meghan at 7. Soon they were bumped up with the more advanced girls and began honing their craft. They were GOOD. That's just not Mamma talking, but they had a talent that certainly did not come from me! I am so uncoordinated when it comes to dance. Yikes.

They danced with Lesley for about 5-6 years until her studio closed. Lesley recommended another studio in town for them to go to and the rest is history! Sudbury School of Dance, under the direction of Denise Vitali is where my girls are still involved. Mostly a Modern Dance studio, Lauren and Meghan excelled in the Graham method of Modern Dance. As well, they both attented Sudbury Secondary School, a Performin Arts High School where they majored in Dance. There, they took Ballet, Jazz and Modern as well as Choreography. They both earned Honours and many awards there. As well, they were in almost every school musical. Recitals, Concerts, Festivals, Performances and Shows were part of their lives.

After High School, Lauren went on to study Professional Modern Dance training at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Meghan continued to teach dance occasionally at both the high school and the studio.

So, here we are - 22 years later and DANCE is still a huge part of their lives, and ours. We are so proud.

Since last year, Lauren has been teaching Modern Dance and some Ballet at two studios. She teaches 6-8 classes a week. She just returned from an intensive two week Modern Dance workshop with Dance Theatre David Earle.

Meghan is now a qualified High School Teacher and one of her teachables is DANCE!!

If any of you have children that are just starting out in dance, this story just might be yours some day! Encourage them. Support them. Inspire them.

______________________

If you've read this far, thanks for hanging in there! Back to the POTD. To be fair, I suppose that I should be out taking new photos, but classes don't start here until the first and second week of September and I'm not usually in the studio any more with my girls. I hope you don't mind that I post some of my favourites! Hope you enjoy these from the early years!

Lauren's first year of Ballet, 1985.

Meghan as an "Aristocat" in 1991.

A Trip to Killarney

Killarney is a tiny little community where the North Channel (above Manitoulin Island) meets Georgian Bay, about an hour southwest of my home town of Sudbury. The hills around the town are topped with white quartzite crystals.

The town was originally a fur-trading post, and a popular resting spot for voyageurs, midway between the French River and the North Channel, on their way to the St. Mary's River to Lake Superior. The town was once only accessible by water to Manitoulin Island until 1962, when a highway connected the community to Sudbury. One of the nicest Provincial Parks is located nearby. Killarney is now a quiet vacation town except during FISH AND CHIPS season!

For the past several years, actually more like 15 or maybe more, we've made at least one trip a year to Killarney for fish and chips. Herbert Fisheries, a little chip stand that has been around for decades serve the BEST [and I mean the BEST] fish and chips.... ever! They serve out of a small red school bus from May through October, 7 days a week. I can't imagine how much fish and potatoes they must serve each summer! They truly are to die for!!

Anyway, it is such a small town [only about 600 population], but such a huge tourist place. There's not much to see, as they have only one main road, but what is there is beautiful. Wonderful views of where the channel opens up into Georgian Bay. Sometimes humongous, honking yachts go sailing through and then you might see a canoe or kayaker go by! Some of the towns people have quaint little homes and others look like old cottages, barely standing. There's one church, a few gifts shops and a General Store. Two resorts are situated on either end of Main Street and both are wonderful places to stay.

Back to the fish and chips, because it's really all about the fish and chips. We started taking our girls there when they were small. At first they could barely get through their shared order of fish and chips, but now find that it's not enough! For $11 [it went up this year] you get 3-4 pieces of lightly dusted fried fish and a whole bunch of fries. You can have lemon sauce, tartar sauce, vinegar, malt vinegar, salt or pepper on the side! It amazes me how organized and efficient they are in serving the hoards of people that order. My dad especially loved going on our annual trek and I always think of him now when I'm there. He SO loved the fish. Today, we took Meghan's boyfriend with us. It was his first time ever there and he was not disappointed!

I took quite a few pics today. Used my 50-200mm which I don't normally do. It was very sunny, so I had some exposure issues, but all in all I thought they turned out pretty good. I just posted some of my favs. Even one of little 'ol me!!

Hope you enjoyed my little tour of Killarney!!
Thanks for stopping by.

I'm anxious for the POTD Dance theme! I'm gonna rock with this one!!!

My Diagnosis

Thank you friends, family and web buddies who have asked how I've been. It's been a long haul, but I'm finally starting to see some sunshine regarding my health issues. If you don't want to read any more about bowels and gastrointestinal stuff - you can be excused! Thanks for dropping by! :)

Yesterday, I had a colonoscopy. Some you might be saying to yourself, "ew" - but really, you need to do yourself a favour and have one. For some, it can be a life saver. For me, it confirmed that I have Crohn's disease.

If you wish to read my first two health posts, they're here and here.

A few months ago I had an upper GI and Small Bowel Follow Through exam. The prep for the test was HORRENDOUS! First I had to eat soft foods for a day, then the next day drink fluids only. I had to take a solution called Citro-Mag. Ewww, ewww, ewww. It tasted like pure lemon juice with the consistency of a thick syrupy drink. That stuff was wicked!!
I had such incredible cramping and pain during the night and the trips to the bathroom were many and violent. I was so exhausted and weak the next day. The test itself was a breeze, although time consuming. After I got home I ate and then went to sleep!

For the colonoscopy test all I had to do was drink fluids the day before. I drank clear juices, tea, broth and Gatorade [recommended]. I swear, I will probably never, ever drink Gatorade again if I can help it!! At 6pm I had to take a solution called Pico-Salax. You mix the package into a half cup of juice or water or Gatorade. The next dose was taken the following morning at 5am. This time I had very little cramping but I was nauseous and threw up once. I slept all through the night without having to go to the bathroom once. I guess the second dose made things kick in because by 7am things were moving!! I expected much worse, so I can honestly say that this prep was a breeze!!

I had to be at the hospital one hour before the test. Not sure why because I just sat there in my hospital gown and housecoat doing nothing. It was kind of funny, really. I felt like a cow being led to slaughter!! There were about 5 or 6 patients at a time in the waiting room. All of us in our hospital garb, waiting for the inevitable test! I struck up a conversation with one woman who was there on the advice of her doctor. She was there for a routine scope. She had to be there TWO hours before. Can't figure that out!

Finally a nurse asked me to sit in a little cubicle where she asked me a few questions about meds and health history and she took my blood pressure and weighed me. BTW, at this point - I have lost a total of 13 pounds since my symptoms started. I'm actually quite happy at this weight and I'd be happy if I stayed here.

In the mean time there are patients coming and going every 5 minutes or so. To and from a scope of their own. I'm amazed at how many people are having this procedure done. From what I understood, there were three doctors at the hospital on that day. Perhaps they are only done on Wednesdays, but still, that's a LOT of scopes!!

Now I'm led to a curtained area to a stretcher. My belongings and my housecoat and shoes are put on the shelf below and I'm covered with a blanket, given a pillow for my head and wheeled down the hall wait for my turn. About 15 minutes later I'm taken to the "procedure" room. My doctor and another nurse are there. I'm fitted with a pulse monitor and given an IV of a mild sedative. I felt it kick in, but I was still awake, kinda. The scope itself seemed to last only moments. But I think it generally lasts about 15-20 minutes. There were some moments where I felt a lot of pain, but the doc just eased off on the air and I was relieved somewhat. He removed a small ulcer near the inflammation site and will send it for biopsy. I am not concerned about cancer at this point because all my other tests have been positive and are not leading to that at all.

Then I am taken to the "fart room". I laugh, because a friend of my DH has scopes done every 2 years. He calls the recovery room the "fart room". This is where you are encouraged to pass gas before you go home! Too funny! There we are, 3-4 people on stretchers being asked to pass gas!! Of course, all of being ladies in the room, we were quite discreet! We were given juice and cookies and about 20minutes later, we could leave! Because of the sedative given, we are asked to have someone drive us home. I felt quite fine and because I live only a 5 minute walk away, I decided to walk home.

The first thing I had when I got home was my usual morning latte! MMMmmmm. Then I had a bowl of cereal and a nap!

So, everyone, I encourage you - no I urge you to never, ever be embarrassed to have a colonoscopy. It's truly not a bad experience at all. It could literally save your life. Mine diagnosed Crohn's, which is completely manageable - but for some it reveals colon cancer. Early detection is key.

I was given a prescription for a very mild dose of Prednisone for 5 weeks duration. Each week the dose is decreased by 5mg. I am also taking Pentasa, which is an anti-inflammatory. Hopefully in a few days I will be feeling more like myself again. I am looking forward to becoming active again and enjoying life a bit more than I've been able to lately. My camera has certainly taken a back seat in the last few months.

Thanks again to those of you who have asked about me. I appreciate your concern for me.

If you suffer from Crohn's or know someone that does - I would love to hear from you.