I could deal with retirement right now

This is a guilt post. Breukelaar continues to post regularly. Conley often gives me something to laugh about. Nagy throws on a little observation now and then. Even Bill got back into the swing of things. I've been off work for the past two weeks. What's my excuse? I'm pretty damn lazy. Here's your update, fools.

I must tell you, I've discovered The Grateful Dead. It was after watching the final episode of Freaks & Geeks in which Lindsay ditches her summer at a college and heads out with Kim and two hippies to follow the Dead. Jon and I watched it while he was home. The hippies turn Lindsay on to the album, American Beauty. I downloaded it because Jon and I agreed we had to check it out. It was good. Really good. So good that I bought a three album set that included the Dead's first live album, Live/Dead, from before their sound shift (to include more roots/blue/country stuff) as well as Workingman's Dead, which immediately preceded American Beauty. Anyhow, I've got Workingman's Dead playing while I type. It's great. I'm no Deadhead but I appreciate them now.

I've been looking for classic albums lately for some reason. Melanie gave me three Van Morrison albums for Christmas (the same type of set of the Dead that I purchased), including Astral Weeks, Moondance and His Band And The Street Choir. I've had Van Morrison's music around me since I was little because my dad was a big fan. I liked some of his songs back in the day but fell in love with the album Moondance while driving from Winnipeg to Calgary with Mike to visit Jon. Even though I was with Mike and not Melanie, I realized it was the perfect make-out album. It's just got this super hot vibe to it. You need to check it out.

What else have I been doing while not working? Last week was a total write-off. So bad that I actually feel bad about it and regret doing so little. Melanie worked almost every day so I was left to myself for the whole week. It sucked. This week has been much better because she's been off work too. We started packing a little (very little). I packed up my books - eleven boxes of them. They're not huge boxes but that still makes for a lot of books. We move in five weeks, I think. Nuts. I'm really looking forward to getting it over with because I don't like this anticipation of transition. We're moving but we've not yet moved but we have to prepare to move.

We went out of the house yesterday. First stop? Smitty's! We love eating breakfast foods no matter what time of the day. It was delicious. And, Mike, no diarrhea! Jon's such a liar. Hahahaha. After that, we went to the Art Gallery of Hamilton where they had some really great exhibits. I don't pretend to be some fancy pants art critic. If it looks good or interesting, I like it. I know nothing about painting except that I don't know how to do that. There were some really incredible paintings in an exhibit called Heaven & Earth Unveiled that featured paintings and sculptures from 19th century European artists (predominantly French)loaned by some really rich people. A few of the paintings looked like photographs. Fascinating stuff. There was also an exhibit featuring paintings by William Blair Bruce, a native Hamiltonian. Who knew that anyone good ever came out of that dirty city? Oh, right, Melanie lived there her whole life. Hahaha. There were also paintings by some guy who lived in the area where we cottage in the summer. He had paintings of the shopkeeper who kept the main store in Combermere as well as the first reeve in Barry's Bay (the exact place we go!).

Have I ever posted pictures from Barry's Bay? I don't think I have. Here's some to make you jealous. We stay at an old cottage (no running water and we use an outhouse) for only $200 a week. That's right, $200. Check it.

This is the view out of our window. Forest surrounds us as does water. Creation is a pretty killer place.

This is Laurie a few years ago at one of my favourite places in the world. In the cottage at Barry's Bay on the single bed beside the window. Last year, I spent several hours conked out in a senseless slumber after reading. I cannot sleep during the day when I'm at home. When I'm at the cottage and on that bed? Good luck keeping me conscious. It's got an amazing breeze blowing through the cottage as well as an amazing view of the lake and sky.

This the little crop of land that houses the five cottages. It's all available for our enjoyment. The lake is the perfect size. It's been pretty quiet the last couple years too (not too many boats and no jet-skis). I'm so glad that the new world will be the redeemed current world. Not much needs to change in Barry's Bay.

Boats at our disposal. There are four lakes connected where we stay. There is Carson Lake but we never go there. There's a small creek that runs into the second lake (we don't actually know the names, we refer to them by number), which is deep and weedy. The creek is super nice - sandy and warm - most of the time. Then you can go through a large sewer tube (no sewage inside, don't worry - just spiders) into the third lake. There's often a beaver dam at the entrance to the third lake. This lake used to be really sandy but there's been a noticeable growth of vegetation in it. Still nice to visit every year at least once. I caught the biggest fish of my life (a two pound largemouth bass) with my dad there when I was a kid.

Can you really go wrong with sunsets like this every day? The correct answer is 'no'.

Here's a shot that includes the owners of the cottage, Mr. & Mrs. Macdonald. We all went out for brunch at this awesome restaurant in town on a Sunday last summer and got this picture snapped. For those who have never seen my family, that's my dad and his wife, Laura. My sister and her husband, Al, are there too. I'm pretty sure I hadn't showered in two days at this point, hence the uncontrolled hair. It got better when I didn't shower for the next couple days. Hahaha.

There you have it. My favourite place in the world. I'm just finishing listening to Denison's album, Recovered. It's a great collection of covers that he gives his own spin. The dude could belch Abba covers and I'd likely buy it. But he gives these songs new life and turns me on to some new old artists (e.g. James Taylor, Jackson Browne). Dig in.

I don't think I ever posted regarding the marital union of our friends, Bill & Ronee! They finally tied the knot in Nashville, their new homebase, in December. We are thrilled for them. Two wonderful people with hearts of gold, beautiful senses of humour and knowledge of a sailor's vocabulary. Hahaha. May you continue to grow in love and admiration for each other and may God bless you throughout your lives. Amen! Oh, and stay in Nashville long enough for us to visit.

Ok, it's now 12:30 AM and Melanie's been asleep for an hour and a half. We're going to the Ontario Science Centre tomorrow to check out the Body Worlds exhibit. Looks fascinating. And, yes, those are REAL human bodies. You can donate your body to the exhibit if you're interested. I kid you not. After checking out the preserved human anatomy, we'll hopefully grab some delicious barbecue too. Nothing says Southern U.S. cuisine (i.e., barbecued meat) like checking out human bodies. Am I right, people?!? Dipamo's is fabulous.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I re-engage with the common folk by returning to work on Monday. I loathe Monday. Hahaha. Stay in touch. PEACE!