another hot day

There is a problem at the water treatment plant so we are supposed to conserve water (there is certainly no water shortage this year, ground and late waters are excessively high). The result is that we couldn't have kids over to play in the water slide. Instead, everyone went to Terri's pool (which uses pre-conservation water). Rob Edin is in town (for the Rider game yesterday) and I got to catch up with him at Kevin's this evening.

INVASSION!!!

Hot day. William and I saw "Cowboys and Aliens" in the theatre (had fun, almost too scary a couple of times but generally light and action filled). We ate outside and noticed that we were "not alone". (See below)
 

lazy day

William has been really enjoying "Oddities", a tv show on Discovery about the buying and selling of macabre items out of a real store in New York. He wants to got to antique stories and find weird stuff too. Today I took him to a couple of thrift stores (odd doll display above) as well as the antique mall (Nazi arm band). Our purchases were minimal. I also shot a bunch of new microscope images and video for backgrounds (Frederick's lab) in Sockvile.

rude veg

William's cousins returned to Toronto today. With all his other friends also out of town, he spent most of the day watching tv and playing video games, that is until Paul arrived with his amazing cucumber. It's like someone tried to yell "Hey Kool-Ade"  but yelled "Hey Cuke-Ade" instead and this thing burst through our wall and a huge party began.
Okay, it wasn't quite like that, but what do  you expect in this heat?

two heads are better than one

Met with Rebecca Caines, a new faculty member today. Also shot the two headed puppet with William and Kiki this afternoon before she and her sister head home tomorrow.

Russian Deli

We lunched today at the Russian Deli on Albert St (just north of the tracks, south of Humptey's). It was very nice and authentic. I had the perogies with bacon. They had nice flavor even though they didn't have cheddar cheese inside. The borscht looked good and everyone who had it were happy (I can't eat that much roughage, otherwise I'd have gone for it too, regardless of my usual aversion to beets).

Berries

Picked raspberries and some saskatoons. The Saskatoon season is basically over.

cottage comforts

I installed a window over the door which lets in more light as well as fills the gaps where the flies were getting in. We also hung hammocks so we can lounge around and pretend that the farm isn't just about work.

Drivin' to the Drive In

Watrous Drive In Movie theatre

Today we went to the farm and from there we all loaded into George's truck with his extendacab and drove to Watrous for the drive in. There was only one show, Kung Fu Panda II, but they put a short intermission into it for snacks. The concession was a good deal (fudgciles were one dollar) and if you happened to walk there or wanted to get away from your vehicle for some reason, there was seating for a couple of dozen inside. All of the hotels were booked up when we got there so we had to drive home instead of staying the night. Next time we'll book ahead and be able to test the waters (it is a salt lake that keeps you very buoyant).

New Tv

My new tv arrived today, a Panasonic 37" LED that fits exactly into the cabinet we have. The girls had a sleep over. We broke in the set with "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". Got a blue ray player as well.

late night slide

It was really hot today, about 35 degrees. William's friend Griffon came over at 9pm and they rode the water slide until 10:30 then played Wii until midnight and the storm started. That is a summer night!

Poetry videos

Some of the videos I created earlier this year are available on line following the screening in France last month. See them and others from the same poetry project on THIS SITE.

life guard?

I spent much of today on an iron tower videotaping performances during the New Dance Horizons' Secret Garden Tour. Someone suggested that I looked like a life guard but I explained that I don't save anyone, I just document their distress. Is that the future? Stationing Youtube cameramen on beaches to capture last moments for posterity?
Got a bit of a sunburn even with 110 level block on.

no construction

William and I drove to the farm but discovered that no one was there today so we  had no access the tools. I dropped off some materials I'd brought and we returned home.

Sleepless in Regina

I've not been blogging very regularly this month. Part of it might be because I've not been taking pictures and so I've not had a visual representation of what I'm doing. Part of it might be this inexplicable sense of ennui I've had most of this summer. I have a list of things I want to accomplish in front of me and they all look like interesting and engaging projects, the sorts of things I look forward to doing. However, when each day begins, I feel almost no inclination to begin working on any of them. I'm finding excuses, distractions, and other traps. Cleaning my office (which I did a lot more of yesterday) has been helping. I found some open desk space and shelf space (although not much) and this makes me feel better. I made some notes towards a Splice article I want to write. I engaged Margaret in a conversation about the film so that I could get a fresh outlook but also to establish an expectation in myself that I need to complete it. 
It's five am. I can't seem to stay up late these days, I just want to sleep. However, I wake up after five hours with no inspiration. By the time I find some (or perhaps because I've found some) I feel tired again. Tedious.

Bridge

William and I went on a bike ride after supper. There appears to have been a fire on the walking bridge by Turtle Park.

Horrors

We went to a stage performance of "Little Shop of Horrors" this evening at the University.

It's Cleaning Time

I worked on cleaning my office all morning. This is how far I got:

Day at the Beach

We drove to the farm and from there we traversed some terrible highways past Earl Grey to the Rowan's Ravine beach. The day was great. Very hot but the beach was almost deserted. I read a book and the Kiki and William swam and buried each other in the sand. We did eulogies for them. I forgot the camera but Margaret did some drawings.

opening soon

I cut a couple more big holes in my "cottage" walls and installed a second and third windows today. No screens yet so it is still not comfortable. I want to put in one more window and then paint. It will have to wait a few days though. 

Canada Day