Welcome

FilKONtario

Just wanted to mention that FilKONtario's room block closes in ten days, so if you plan on coming and haven't booked your room yet, now would be a good time! Here's the link to the Delta's online room booking: http://www.deltatorontoairportwest.com/fil040

We are going to have such a good time this year!

Visit with France

France was here last weekend for a bit of relaxation. While here, she attended a house filk at Jane and Phil's and I also took her shopping to the fabric section of downtown Toronto. I found a post about where to get all kinds of fabric in TO, written by someone in the SCA, but we didn't have time to see more than one place, so I took her to Designer Fabrics on Queen Street.

If you see her, tell France that there are more pictures on my Flickr page.

Sally Swears!

Yes our very own Con Chair is now a Canadian!

Yay Sally! She did really well, and I didn't see her cry a tear (course it was difficult to see real well through mine.) There were nearly eighty people there, from thirty different countries, plus lots of friends and family, and it seemed almost all the guests had cameras. The judge explained how he had come to Canada with his family forty years ago, and how he had had to go back to high school. He washed cars to help pay the bills. He became a Canadian thirty-five years ago, and now he is a judge presiding over the Oath of Citizenship. He went on to wish all the new Canadians well. So Sally, I have just one thing to say to you - take off, eh!

Hugh's Room: Gordon Lightfoot Tribute
We all had a great time, the food was good, and the music was thought-provoking.

janeg and

sexybass have both had a go at describing the fun. I just wanted to add that it was a real surprise to get to see the Six String Nation guitar. Check the web site at http://sixstringnation.com/en/ to learn about it. What a piece, or sixty-three pieces, of history!

Happy Birthday TOM

Tom is now 59 years old, which makes him a year older than me. For a couple of months. He is a wonderful human being, and here's some stuff you may not know about him:

He was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario
He moved to Winnipeg when he was a teenager.
His brother taught him to play guitar
Tom likes to watch movies and loves to watch music concerts on DVD (last night it was the Eagles)
He likes to be "comfortable" which means he watches tv in his dressing gown.
He is the cleanest man I know - one day he had a bath and two showers. Or was it two baths and one shower??
Tom loves his new family, including the grandkids, but doesn't call the girls "little Angels" any more.
Tom has moose slippers, shorts, pajamas, tshirts, hats, belt, and socks. He doesn't wear a tie.
He's got a picture of a moose on the cover of his Nintendo DS.
He has at least eleven stringed instruments, plus a couple of accordions and has been eyeing some bagpipes.
He also has a "guitar" with no strings.

I love you Tom! Happy Birthday!

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Dave and Tom recording Gone Filkin

FilKONtario Web Site Updated!
Wow! I'm so excited! The FilKONtario Web Site is now updated for all to see!

You may not actually notice all the changes I've made, but there are many of things both in front of and behind the curtain that have been updated. There's still lots of work to be done.

My to-do list includes:

Revise the home page (haven't decided how)
Add more graphics, photos, and maybe some sound bytes
Test under different Web Browsers
Add Keywords
Run Spellchecker
Fix all the bugs as they are reported

But if you want to take a look, go visit www.filkontario.ca and let me know your thoughts. I've changed backgrounds; moved the hall of fame inductees onto their own pages so that I can eventually add photos, links to home pages, or whatever other goodies I can find; added links wherever I could think to put them, and generally tried to simplify things as much as possible. The United Filkers of Ontario web page has been updated with all our "local" events.

Do please report any bugs to me as you find them. I am also open to your suggestions for adding things you'd like to see there.

While I'm bouncing, I'd like to thank Judith for all her years of work on the web site. I have Dreamweaver's templates and style sheets and wysiwyg interface to work with. She created the web site from whole cloth, in html. A lot of what I've done is just reorganizing and de-cluttering.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to Spencer, who has been invaluable in his help and support. I couldn't have done it without him (he solved my panic attack today in just minutes!)

Happy happy joy joy!

Current Mood: jubilant
Current Music: Lord Landless

Sshhhhhhhhhh!!
Tom and Dave are recording! They are closeted in the recording studio ( + bedroom, +office, + instrument storage room). I'm busy typing quietly, while Dave sings The Witch of the Westmoreland. It's really funny, because I can't hear the music as they are wearing headphones. So Dave sings a bit, stops for a while, starts singing again, and so on. Occasionally there is a "discussion" between the two of them.

Tom: How did you feel about that?
Dave: I didn't feel good.
Tom: OK, let's just listen to it...
Dave: Drop out that lead instrument track. Yeah, that's out a bit.
Tom: The voice sounded good.
Dave: Yeah, but I'm going to try it again and get that expression in there.

And then they do five or ten minutes of listening with minor interjections, and back to the phantom singing. With the odd "Oops!"

Good thing I LIKE to hear these guys!

Dave is for sure going to have to come back to finish this CD, so don't be looking for it anytime soon. At least we've had a great visit so far, with friends, family and filk.

Spam subject line of the day

I wonder if fantasy creatures get Spam?? Today's email included one with the subject line "Grow a new horn fast!" This will be good news for the unicorns.

Or maybe it's an ad for trombone seeds?

The mind boggles!

Current Mood: quixotic

Tahiti

Tahiti must be one of the most beautiful places on earth, or rather the islands of French Polynesia in general. All of the islands have that rugged, volcanic outline, but some are more spectacular than others. Bora Bora was amazing for its lagoons and motus. But it would be impossible to pick a favourite! I think there are more people in my condo than live on some of the islands!

Our cruise around the islands took us from Tahiti, to Huahine, to Rarotonga, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Moorea, then back to Tahiti. We had a beach picnic, swam in the Pacific, took a sunset cruise on a catamaran, and toured around several of the islands. We learned about black pearls, the geology of the islands, a little southern-hemisphere astronomy (I saw the Southern Cross! And Orion!) and we sat on deck drinking rum punch and watching the world go by.

It was very warm and mostly sunny, and the few downpours happened mostly while we were inside or under shelter. Food was good and plentiful, and featured tons (literally!) of fresh fruit grown locally. The coral sand speckled our suitcases when we got home, after it dried and fell out of our shoes.

Tom will be posting some of our favourite photos on Flickr, sooner or later. It's been hard to motivate ourselves to do much, after spending nearly two weeks in paradise! However when we returned we were slammed back into reality with a letter from the tax people about Tom's income tax calculations, and a visit to my dentist for a root canal. Never mind, we have videos and photos galore, so we can go back and relive the adventure anytime we choose.

But we're back now, sun-kissed, and happy. There's a house filk next weekend! Life is good!

Honeymoon
Tom and I are leaving tomorrow on our honeymoon. Before we go, I wanted to make sure you all know that we had a wonderful wedding and we so much appreciate all the good wishes of our friends and relatives.

I was going to list all the people we wanted to thank, but it started sounding like an Academy Awards acceptance speech. Probably because there are so many of you who helped to make the day special, from Jane who made the wedding cake, to Merle who iced it, to the unknown group who filled our room with balloons, Thank you to everyone who was there, or who wanted to be there but couldn't.

A special thank you is due to Tom's Winnipeg "family" who flew in from Winnipeg. And to Dave and Al who played for us at the wedding.

When I start counting my blessings, I begin with all the people whom I love, and there are so many of you that I can hardly believe my good fortune. Thank you for being my family, my friends, and indeed, my loved ones.

See you when we get back from paradise!

Scatterbrained

FilKONtario is nearly here. Helllllppppppp!

Uh, don't fret, I'm fine. Just that it was not a good idea to sew my own wedding dress. A costume. Before the convention. Where we're getting married. And be on Concom. And be responsible for the web site, etc. I know one or two of you will sympathize.

By the way, the schedule is now posted on the web site at www.filKONtario.ca on the home page. It's the latest version of the timetable grid, and is probably going to change again tomorrow.

So the dress is nearly done and now I'm worrying about it fiting, looking decent, etc. And I'm wondering how to hide a couple of boxes of Kleenex in my bouquet since I have the feeling I'll be needing several. Tom wrote the wedding vows. And I cry at the drop of a hat. And, well, all our loved ones, friends, and adopted family will be there, either in body or in spirit. Including all the members of our extended filk family.

This is going to be a marvelous wedding, followed by one of the most memorable conventions ever.

If you have the choice of love, money, fame or power, take my advice. Pick Love!

Current Mood: giddy

Ten Things..
Rules: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names.

10. I like to know the rules. Mostly so that I can tell when I'm breaking them, which I do with gay abandon.
9. I am probably a dog person more than a cat person, and I miss my little dog Gaia.
8. I was a member of the Smothers Brothers fan club.
7. Our black and white TV died the night of the moonwalk, so we packed up the baby and went to Mom's to watch it on her TV.
6. I read Stranger in a Strange Land in high school, and I think it warped my character forever. I don't care what other people do so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
5. If I could change one thing about me, I'd be a lot healthier (but I'm fine. Really. Just getting older and things are starting to run down.)
3. I'm getting married next year at FKO. Oh, You knew. Well, come watch the fun. We're hoping our friends will come dressed in costume.
2. I LOVE children's books. I'm reading one now that my grandaughter left around the house.
1. Tom is my favourite person in the world.
0. I'm adding a zero item because I once had a computer textbook with a chapter zero, and also because I skipped number four to see if you were paying attention, so there's still ten items. Well, the rules say 10 items!

My turn to play tag and I hope no one beat me to it:

worfiesmom

kittyguitar

deborah_c

roja

realfranklin

sexybass

pwl1

technogeek1</div>

filkergem

lemmozine

Tanglefoot!

sexybass and I went to Hugh's Room last night to see Tanglefoot. Oh wow, are they ever great to see live! I saw a review that called them "Stan Rogers meets Van Halen". Ummm, yes, I can see that! Their music combines true stories of Canadians with joyous pounding rhythms and much heart and laughter. Their banter between the songs makes you feel like one of the family. And oh my, I love the fiddle!

Thank you very much to the members of my filk family who first took me to see them! Happy happy, joy joy!

Welcome Back
Welcome back

avt_tor and congratulations to

mvt! Hope you live happily ever after! Hugs from me and

sexybass!

A Day at the Races
Well, actually an evening.

janeg invited me to join her at Woodbine Racetrack to see the Super Finals of the Ontario Sires Stakes races.

OK, I've never been to a racetrack before. Really. And this was a very special event. There was a reception with wine and hot and cold appetizers, where people mingled and talked. I'm not good at mingling but I found myself chatting happily with several of the other guests. Jane is amazing - she glides sociably around the room, greeting friends and acquaintances, and introducing herself to other racing enthusiasts. One of her friends has promised to come to a house filk some day, and I hope she does.

The buffet dinner was delicious. I skipped the roast beef in favour of the lemon chiffon cake and fresh fruit. Okay, I had a fruit tart too. And a tiny eclair. But I didn't eat any of the scrumptios-looking pecan chocolate pie.

The horses were racing all during the meal, and with Jane's help I placed a small wager on a horse or two. It added a dash of excitement to the race to think I could actually win a lot of money (not that I'd win much with only a two-dollar wager). The balance for the evening - down fifty cents. If I had bet on more races, I could have lost lots more! Plus you don't win much when you bet the favourite to Show. :-O

At one point someone collected Jane and another lady from our table to go and present the award to the winner of the sixth (?) race.  Very impressive!

It was a delightful evening!  Thank you Jane!

Best of all,

sexybasswas waiting up for me when I got home, so I got to tell him all about it. Nice to have someone to brag to!

Switzerland
Anke has been treating us as honoured guests. We took a drive yesterday to see Lake Constance and the Alps, and she took us across the border into Switzerland, too! Tom has never seen mountains before. The drive was amazing - what exotic scenery, and it changes so quickly from plains to mountains. The day was perfect for a drive, with lots of sunshine after the early morning mists burned off. We stopped at McDonalds for a bio break (and a big mac tastes the same the world over as Tom discovered). Coming home we stopped to allow a procession of goats, cows, and natives in traditional dress to pass by the car. One of the cows actually bumped it. Amazing! Tom videotaped it in case Anke has to sue the cow. :)
Today we are taking it easy and just going for a view of Stuttgart and ice cream. Our plans for tomorrow are to visit a castle and enjoy the weather, scenery and Anke's company.

Did we ever thank the Concom for treating us so well at the convention? It was a magical weekend. We will be coming back again someday for sure someday. Thank you all so very much!

Germany!
Tom and I are having the most wonderful time here. The convention was amazing, the Germans are so friendly, everyone sings so well and speaks such wonderful English.

The castle was beautiful and we will never forget the experiences we have had over the last few days. We took lots of pictures! We met lots of new friends and filk family. Dandelion Wine was a big hit - the spontaneous circle of people at the end of the concert was one of the most moving experiences I've ever had at a convention, and Dave wasn't even aware of it until after the song was over. Tom and Dave did a bit of singing in German, and the audience understood them! Dave even wrote a song in German!

We are staying with Anke for a couple of days and then going to visit Franklin in the Black Forest. They are taking excellent care of us here, and we are even going to see a bit of Switzerland. The scenery is beautiful and Tom's new movie camera has already needed to be recharged.

Enough for now, but I would recommend that anyone who gets a chance to come here should grab it with both hands!

Hugs from Sue and Tom

If you need to get in touch
Please post a comment to this entry if you need to get in touch with us!

Time Flies

Home from Chicago, then a day at the Ex (oh my, the very last day of the Ex, and it was bright and beautiful and wonderful weather) with the grandchildren.
Tuesday we picked up Caitlin after school on her first day in grade seven at a new school. And then we picked up Alyssa at her school too, and went out for dinner with the bunch of them.
Today we had an appointment to take the car in for its first checkup. We did a bit of shopping and came home again - Tom is having a nap - before we head out to see Bill Bourne in concert tonight at Hughes Room.
Tomorrow we may head up to the cottage, where we're maybe going to have to transport the nice man who will cut down the "widowmaker" of a tree that has half fallen behind the cottage. It's broken at right angles about twenty or thirty feet up, and the tree is about two feet in diameter. Big. Scary. Bad tree, bad!
I am looking forward to some free time to go and kill Orcs or something.
Tom wants to go fishing.
Oh, and we need to migrate the new Cubase scratch tracks for the DW CD 3 and back them up.
And do laundry and pack and get ready to go to Germany in less than three weeks! Eeeeek!

How can I be so busy when I'm retired???

Happy Birthday Peggi!

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