Mike

That’s what I’m looking forward to this weekend as I head back to my small hometown of Harrow (south of Windsor) to visit family and friends. Unfortunately I don’t get down there as often as I’d like because gas prices have been outrageous lately. However, this weekend that’s exactly what I’ll be doing as I make the most out of the trip.

Fishing with dad, wine tasting tours, bonfires, and quality girl time are all on the itinerary, along with Mother’s Day plans. It’s funny how once you start your life in another town you start to miss those things. Lucky for me Norfolk County is very similar to Harrow so I can enjoy all the same activities from back home.

This summer I’ve decided I’ll take up either kayaking or canoeing here in Norfolk. I realize this will either become a new hobby for me or will turn out to be a hilarious disaster since I have terrible balance, but it’s sure to make for a good story!

What are some of your favourite things to do here in Norfolk during the summer? I’m feeling like I need to get out more, maybe I’ll get some colour from all the sunshine while I’m at it!

Have a great weekend!

- Bridget

We wife and I recently had our modest fifth wheel towed from a seasonal park 10 minutes north of Sauble Beach to another park not far from Turkey Point.

Yes, it’s be a Norfolk summer at the RV from now on. It’s like coming home, since we had camped at Turkey Point Provincial Park at least once or twice over 15 years as our two boys were growing up. The park we’re moving into is pretty to close to it.

As much as I enjoyed towing trailers around southern Ontario–I must be crazy–I decided I’d rather have someone bring the trailer down here. We sold the pickup when we parked the trailer several years ago.

No question, we’ll miss the area up there, including all of the sandy beaches from Oliphant to Port Elgin. Then again, there’s quite a sandy one at Long Point, where we’d take the boys during our camping years.

We’ll also miss the park owners, who were kind enough to arrange to have a couple of the RV tires repaired, since we weren’t able to make the drive. As far as the 3 and a-half hour trip we had to make to get to that park, whether for a weekend or a week, I’ll actually miss the drive. I like driving. However, now there’ll be more time to relax with a relatively shorter drive to the Turkey Point area.

We’ve been to the park few times to get ready, but there are still a few things to do, including clearing anti-freeze from the trailer system. Once we get the water pump working, that is.  There’s always something to deal with at the start of the year, but in the end, it’s all resolved.

Not many more sleeps there are until we spend our first weekend at the trailer. Actually, it’s this weekend.

I have just had my first and second feed of local asparagus! Sure, you can buy asparagus year round but it is not the same as what we produce here in Norfolk County. Those purple tipped spears steamed and smothered in butter with a dash of salt and pepper. What a treat, and to tell you the truth, a veg I can eat and enjoy 365!

Now, as the title says Asparagus and Mother’s Day. Here’s the Mom part. I did not eat asparagus until about 25 years ago. My mother never served it to us. Why? Well when she a girl, she would visit a friend on an asparagus farm just west of Toronto. The family cooked up platefuls of asparagus at mealtime, but it made my mom deathly ill during and after the visit. Mom had some sort of allergy to it. So, when she married my dad and had my 2 brothers and me,  every vegetable was available to us except asparagus. I had no idea it even existed!

Perhap I was meant to end up living in Norfolk – Ontario’s Garden. My wife Kim and I enjoy wonderful meals locally sourced, especially now during asparagus season.

As for mom, Happy Mother’s Day. No asparagus for Doris Hamill. Maybe dinner out at her favourite Chinese Food restaurant. Love Ya!

In fact she said it was so easy that she would bake one for the newsroom on the following Monday. Now I would never ever ask anyone to bake me a cake however if you say your going to do something then darn well you should do it. It has been three months since this conversation and still Bridget has not made the cake.

At least three times now she has promised to come in the next day with a Boston Cream Cake only to leave me disappointed . Even now she still says she will come in with the cake however as you can imagine I have taken the approach of I will believe it when I see it. Again I don’t expect people to bake me anything however when a promise is made; where I can from you keep your promise. I would be lying if this whole debacle hasn’t put a strain on mine and Bridget’s work relationship. Hopefully one day we can get past this however I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

The next time I saw the band was at a benefit for a mission trip to Haiti – a trip Kenny was a part of. Money raised that night went toward building a dormitory at an orphanage built in the remote mountainside of Haiti. Last year, the band donated money from merchandise sales to help build the orphanage.

“When we were there, I helped clear part of the mountainside (with hand tools) so they could start building. They estimate a cost of about $80,000…good Haitian wage is about $2/day…” he wrote. “The dormitory is a place for the girls to stay during the week. At this point, young girls have a 2-hour mountain climb just to get to school!”

TSoG is hoping to raise enough to even cover labour through sales of their forthcoming album.

“…so if we could sell 500 CDs and let’s say donated $2/sale, we could fund 500 days worth of labour to build it… That is my plan. What do you think?”

I think you guys are real rock stars.

“…we wanted it to be about more than just us. We have a passion for music, but we also have a passion for seeing kids reach their full potential and that is why we are using our (album) release to help.”

If you’re interested in supporting great local talent and this terrific humanitarian effort, look for “The Shroud of Gaia” album, coming out soon. These guys are REALLY good…

Find out more http://www.theshroudofgaia.com/foundations

A

@adamliefl

That extra bit of energy you get even after a short, intense workout.

I find that one of my favourite types of cardio is the cross trainer. Sometimes I have sore joints (a lot less since joining Simcoe Health & Fitness) but with the cross trainer, none of that matters, low or no impact is the name of the game here, while simultaneously racking up those calories.

Here’s how I like to Cross Train:

1st:

20 minutes BACKWARD

Starting at the default difficulty and incline, slowly increasing the incline by 1, every minute until it is maxed.

Once there is no more incline to raise I start increasing the resistance up by 1 every minute until reaching the max, so both incline and resistance are maxed out.  I also try and “sprint” for about the last 15 seconds of each minute. when I am around the 19th minute, I lower everything back to or below default and “run it out”

2nd:

I then repeat this for another 20 minutes going FORWARD. (If the gym is busy you can do something in between to give other people a chance)

Trust me when I tell you that at the end of this you will be completely wiped! I’ve burned upwards of 700 calories in 40 minutes doing this.

Now for those of you hardcore runners who would tell me the benefits of the treadmill or other such things I completely agree, and variety -especially in the gym is important. But as a wise, extremely fit, person once told me: “A calorie is a calorie is a calorie”.

Mike

“The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr” is a portrayal the glorious battles and no less glorious defeats in the life of one of Canada’s most prominent and influential female artists. Its characters are the people and places – literal and metaphorical – which haunt Carr’s imagination amid her struggle to gain acceptance as a female painter in a field dominated by men. That field included the Group of Seven – Canada’s most recognizable group of painters. Today, many exhibits and references to the Group of Seven include its “honourary member” Emily Carr.

This play will show you how it all happened – the way it only would to Emily Carr. Come with an open mind, because this show will tune it, your heart and soul.

“The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr” Presented by the Waterford Old Town Hall

Starring: Dawn Bommarito, Gloria Mitchell, Kristina Puddy & Adam Liefl

Directed by: Elana Post

Friday, April 27th – 7pm

Saturday, April 28th 7pm

Sunday, April 29th – 2pm

General admission $15

Contact: 519-443-0113

www.oldtownhall.org

Quick tip: Start slow, you don’t need the biggest Kettle bell in the place, just do what you feel comfortable with (you know your body) and don’t worry about the rest.