glad i said yes...

when one of my best friends asked
if i wanted to go with her
and another best friend
to charlottetown
to see catherine maclellan
sing songs of her father's, gene maclellan
i said yes.

in all honesty, i am
a little embarrassed to say
that i knew nothing about
gene maclellan...
i mean...other than snowbird...
and put your hand
(and, truthfully, i'm not even sure
that i knew that he wrote that song).

but i am so glad that i went...
her voice is incredibly beautiful and the band
was awesome (i love the sliding guitar thing
and the really big guitar thing...maybe a cello
or a bass or...i really don't know...but i know that
i loved it).

it was the perfect mix of story
and song
sweet & just a little bit sad...
and i especially loved the old photos.
the story of the eye patch,
the references to 100 huntley street...
and the beautiful venue...
along with the amusing & witty company :)

i am so glad i said yes.

oh!  and also not to be forgotten...
we ate at cedar's eatery beforehand...
it's been a long time since i have eaten there
although it used to be a once a week excursion
for us in our teenage days.
i had the greek salad
(don't act so shocked...i don't ALWAYS eat chicken fingers)
but really...i had the house salad
because i don't eat olives or feta cheese
but i really really wanted the greek dressing
and they added some chicken
(i think she said from the shwarma's)
and it was sooooo damn good.
i love that place!
there are so many interesting little things to look at
and the big wooden tables,
not to mention the delicious food
and the waitress was sooooo sweet.

seriously.  go eat there.  :)
and then go see catherine maclellan...
you'll be happy you said yes, too.
 

and i got to see this...♥ ♥ ♥  i know it's not a great picture but it was my phone and it's a busy street AND you only get the walk signal for so long!  i was panicky.

and the sky was so cool on the drive down!  :)

yes. i live on an island...and can't swim

a couple of weeks ago
a friend of mine said
wanna go kayaking?

and my first instinct was
efffff no.
and she knows i can't swim, right?

but then i was like
well....
this is my year of "adventure"
and, to date, i don't really have a lot of adventure
to report
(i did the play...and a radio interview...and videotaped a possible squirrel attack
but really...that's it.)

so i said ok.

i was literally sick about this
for days leading up to it.

she assured me she had a life jacket for me
(or that she would sew balloons to me...)
but this is the kind of reassuring/pull the rug out from under you
kind of friendship that we have. 
it's a special thing.

so anyway.
i took a deep breath
and i went.

and it was awesome!

trying not to look nervous...i think i nailed it.

like...seriously...awesome.
i loved it.  i immediately went home
and started googling
"where to buy a kayak"
and
"what size kayak will fit in my hyundai accent"...
(well, not really, more like "where can i buy a
cheap but really cute jeep"
cause i really want one of those
and i could put a kayak on top of it).

so...on a sidenote...that same day
i also drove a really big truck
(please don't ask me the size...it was
big and loud and
could have eaten my l'il hyundai accent
for a mid morning snack)
and went on the zipper with campbell...
which gets harder and harder for me every year.

it's like a ritual.
i have to go on the zipper once every year.
and every year, it gets harder because,
i don't know if you
know this about me or not,
but i'm claustrophobic.
so...i LOVE the ride.
but as soon as they shut that door
i start to panic
that i am not ever going to be able to get back out.
i don't worry that ride itself might break
midway through
and that i might be flung a million feet
in the air and crash against a building...
i am afraid that i am never going to be able to get back out
of that damn cage...

but every year i force myself to get in and not
have a complete mental breakdown in that 3 minute span
before the ride starts...
and then the ride starts and it's SO FUN!
until the ride is over
and there is that 3 minute wait
til they open the damn door again
and i'm sitting at the top
looking down
fluttering my hands nervously
and muttering why aren't we moving?
what are they doing down there?
just get me down now...
just open the door, open the door, open the gawddamned door.

i'm a lot of fun to go on rides with.

and i know this is really long and totally not what i meant to write today
but i have to tell this story because it fits so well with
why a person really SHOULD NOT BE ABLE to just get out of a ride...

the year of my husband's motorcycle accident,
i made an impromptu stop at the carnival with my kids...
i don't know why...i think i thought we just needed to blow off some steam
and laugh a little...
there was a ride there that went upside down...it was like a big boat
BUT IT WAS NOT THE PIRATE SHIP.
(everyone always says oh, the pirate ship...but it WAS NOT THE PIRATE SHIP...)

so anyway...i really wanted to go on this ride because
IT GOES UPSIDE DOWN
but neither of the kids would go on with me.
so i say...ok.  i'm going on by myself.
they agree to wait for me.
i get on the ride....the guy buckles me in...
we are waiting for the ride to start.
i start thinking
what if something happens.
what if i DIE on this ride.
and my kids are standing RIGHT THERE...watching!?!
and their dad is in the hospital in charlottetown,
he can't help...what will they do?
who will take them home? do they have their cell phones?
WHO WOULD THEY EVEN CALL...
I WOULD BE DEAD AND THEIR DAD'S IN THE HOSPITAL.

i swear to gawd all of this ran through my head
in a 2 minute span.

so.

i wriggled out of the seatbelt thing (quite easily come to think of it...)
(not that reassuring for a ride that goes upside down!)
and got off the ride.
the guy...who was just about to start the ride sees me
and looks shocked and says "get back in there!"
and i was like...sorry...no, i can't die today.  my kids are watching
and their dad's in the hospital...soooo....

like i said...i'm a lot of fun to go on rides with.

but now...what should the next adventure be???