Slife Four

Slife = Slice of Life

A weekly bit showing our daily world, shared with online friends to get to know one another better.

What a time this is. The best of times, for me, without a doubt. I used to be sad because I would never see a 50th anniversary but now I think it is even more exciting to be my age and anticipating a wedding! Work was fun today, thanks to Tracy Nita Pender, my co-worker and editor of the Wedding Guide. Our newspaper, the Bracebridge Examiner, is hosting a Wedding Show this weekend in Bracebridge and Tracy has written a story for The Weekender, our weekend edition newspaper, promoting the show. She asked me to pose for a photo to promote the show, since I JUST GOT ENGAGED ON VALENTINE'S DAY!!! Not that I'm excited or anything. So the Examiner's talented writer/photographer, Karen Longwell put her best "make-em-look-skinny" skills to work and held an honest to god photo session featuring me, my ring and a bunch of my co-worker pals, oogling my shiny new diamond! C'mon, how much fun is that! Thanks for the photos, Karen, and thanks to my "peeps" for posing!

Another funny photo Karen took today! What do you think of my beautiful ring? I LOVE it! It's white gold with a solitaire diamond in a very modern setting that allows a matching wedding band to fit inside it on one side, and a family ring on other side. Bring on the bling! I love this ring but even more than that, I love the question that went along with it. And more than anything else, I love the man who gave it all to me and changed my life.

Angus got his snowmobile licence a couple of weeks ago and has been chomping at the bit for us to get our machines working. Dave did just that and Gus was positively thrilled, spending hours going round and round and round our yard.

While we were outside, Duck Dodgers watched from his warm window ledge, munching kitty food and licking his lips.

Misty got all dolled up in the outfit Santa Claus brought her and played outside with us until her tootie toes got too chilly. I know, it's ridiculous, but when you have a pooch this tiny you have to dress her to keep her warm. I think pink is her colour, don't you?

Who's the biggest kid of all? 

Dave bought a cheap-o kids' tobaggan and tied it to my snowmobile, then let Angus tow everyone around the yard.

There they go! Look how cute Gus is!

Angus gives his little brother, Sam, a ride. Angus put 11.2 miles on the sled last weekend, going around our yard. Our yard isn't that big, which makes that even funnier. You can always tell when there's a kid and a snowmobile in the family: all you have to do is see a yard completely packed down by tracks and you know some little kid has spent a tank of gas and many happy hours driving in circles.

Sam asked me to take a photo of him with the snowman that Megan Raney made at our place on Boxing Day. The snowman has been snowed on, rained on, melted on and shot at but it's still ticking. Sort of.

Speed of sound: the boys hurtle around the yard in the toboggan, thanks to Bootcamp and the ski-doo. Sam shows off his Olympic red mittens. Go Canada!

Family Game Night: We tried out the new Monopoly game the Raneys gave us for Christmas. It's like the old one only with million dollar bills instead of dollar bills and skyscrapers instead of hotels. Note: Angus and Sam are eating pink and red Valentine cookies.

This is what happens when you don't brush your teeth all day and then eat red cookies. The red food colouring sticks to the plaque on your teeth and you look really, really gross. Do not blow this picture up, whatever you do. Angus, if you are reading this, go into the bathroom now and brush your teeth! Now! Move it! I'm not kidding!

My son the comedian: on Valentine's Day we met Leah and Vic for breakfast at the diner in Sprucedale. It's a little mom-n-pop operation that has loads of old-fashioned country charm as well as really good food. Angus and Sam ordered pancakes and french toast. Angus, the comedian, held the maple syrup containers up to his chest and announced, loudly, "LOOK AT MY JUGS!"

Bringing on the breakfast: from left, Vic, Leah and Dave are all smiles as the waitress brings over our bacon and eggs. MMMmmmm... I wish I was there right now.

The till at the Sprucedale diner. Isn't it GREAT? There just aren't many places like this in the world and I loved this spot, loved it, loved it, loved it. If you ever find yourself in Sprucedale, check it out. Oh, you don't know where Sprucedale is? Well, you go north almost as far as you can, turn left at the middle-of-nowhere and keep driving until the road turns into a pothole. Just kidding! It's about 45 minutes northwest of our house in Bracebridge.

The Sprucedale Bobsled Team sled. I had just stopped at the side of the road to take a photo of the snow sculpture in front of this guy's house (it's all part of the Sprucedale Winter Carnival festivities) when the guy came out and, without me asking, he brought out the parade "float" his wife had made. She and a friend hold up the cardboard sled and walk along, kinda looking like Fred Flintstone if he was a bobsledder at the Olympics. I'm not a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination but I've been enjoying the Olympics on TV, especially when Canada won its first two gold medals, ever, in history, on Canadian soil. Go Maelle Ricker! Go Alexandre Bilodeau! We are SO proud of you! Woo hoo!

And that, my friends is Slife on the Muskoka River.

What a week! What a wonderful week!