The awesome life of Tasha...

I guess that’s it. We can kiss summer goodbye. Kids are all back at school, nights are cool and it is time to get back to a regular routine. Although we cannot really call what we have experienced for the last two and a half months summer, I would call it a long spring with some (a total of eight, I think?) nice hot days and A LOT of rain. I think we all feel a little soggy and groggy after that many rainy days. I had one week off during the “summer,” the second last week of August. I was very lucky that my one and only beach day I had planned was on one of those nice eight days we were graced with, August 21st, the day of the eclipse. We lucked out too, as a party of three decided to park themselves beside us on Station Beach in Kincardine with eclipse glasses! So instead of burning our retinas out, as the three teenage boys that I had with me seemed intent on doing, we got to see the eclipse through a nice safe solar filter. All of our retinas are intact and working nicely (even th...

Here it is… the season I wait all year for, summer! For many this means heading into the great outdoors with vehicles packed to the brim with sleeping bags, food and tents. For me, the great outdoors is best enjoyed knowing that I have a cozy bed (that isn’t inflated with air) with quality sheets in a shelter that is not made of cloth waiting for me. I like solid walls, windows made of glass, electricity and running water, all of these things are fantastic. The idea of camping appeals to me; enjoying the sun while floating in a lake all day - then as the air cools and night approaches, cold beverages around a fire. Sounds great! The reality of it is there is no bathroom, no electricity, and there are bugs, lots of bugs. So camping is not great, camping sucks. During the day I can handle walking to a public washroom to use the facilities, but who wants to wake up in the night and walk anywhere… the other option, squatting. Ugh. I told you this camping thing is not great. And did I me...

Can you believe another school year is about to come to an end? I know I can hardly believe the little kidlettes are finishing up serving their 10 months’ hard time in the joints. Saying goodbye to teachers, textbooks and homework within a few short weeks! For me, June marks the last month that I will be the mother to an elementary school student. Come September the boy hits grade 9, off to secondary school and leaving those primary years behind. And I become the mom of an official teenager in high school. I am not sure how he is getting older… yet I seem to be remaining the same age?!    That very first day of junior kindergarten doesn’t feel like it was all that long ago. He was so cute, dressed in his little cargo shorts, nice button up, wee Nikes on his feet, and tying the whole look together with a Lightning McQueen backpack and watch; he was taking fashion to a whole new level. Although dressed to the nines and feelin’ fine before we got to the school, the day took a ...

W e once had a guinea pig. We got the guinea pig after my budgie was found belly up one morning. Although I didn’t do much else than complain about the mess and the noise of my beloved Bananas (the budgie), I missed the little guy when he met his end. Bananas was a “Fur & Feather” find from about 6 years previous, so as the Spring edition of the show was approaching, I was expecting to purchase another feathered friend. My first mistake was taking my son with me to the show. My second mistake was also taking my nephew along. We quickly bypassed all the cute little birds and bee lined it to furry creatures. And I wish that meant, a nice puppy, maybe even a little donkey or a goat (no one would notice a small barnyard animal living in my shed in my suburban crescent would they?).  But alas, no, we did not get a bird or even a puppy. What was it that so enthralled the boys? A guinea pig, that’s what. Sure, he was kinda creepy at first, a hairy rodent living in my house. B...

  I received my first “call from the principal” last week. He informed me that Gus had been in a fight. I am pretty sure my “I don’t give a @#$*” attitude surrounding the call did not go unnoticed.   However, I know my kid and if he got in a fight, well 1 of two things happened 1) his little fiery Greek temper reared its ugly head (that’s hereditary – so to be fair how can you get mad at a kid for his heritage??) or 2) someone really pissed him off. It seems it was the latter. It all had to do with a ball. I would venture to guess that this is what most 10 year old boys fight over; ball possession.   Seems the “victim” of this fight stole a ball and wouldn’t give it back when asked politely and then not so politely with a shove as he walked away. As it were, it came to fisticuffs. Later, when having the “talk” about the altercation, Gus explained to me, that after the first push by him, the other boy pushed him to the ground and started wailing on ...

Hot Topics!  Each night, before my eyes close for my much needed beauty sleep, I take glance at the CBC news app on my phone. I feel this is my way of staying abreast of things and being in the know. Not that I know all that much, most of what I learn is through the headlines. I figure I’m smart enough to figure out how the rest of the story goes from there.  This past weekend was no different from my other evenings.. I needed that one look to see what had transpired over the day throughout the world…. and this just added to the ambiance of my already craptastic weekend.  Guess who the top story was about? I imagine you could take two guesses and get it right. No, it wasn’t Justin Bieber, but yes, it was our other infamous Canadian, Rob Ford. Sends a shiver through me even saying the name in my head.  Seriously, can we just get rid of this buffoon? The story, of course, was about how RF was trying to have the Rainbow flag removed from outside Toron...