Summer of Fun BABY... aka My Week
Wow, trying to catch up is hard work. This has been one crazy-busy week!
So yes. SUMMER OF FUN. My week in Rambling Text and Photos. Enter if ye dare.
Friday July 28th
So after baking for a kabillion hours in the heat, I decided to scrap the "spend the afternoon blowing up balloons for the yard sale" idea and, ya know, actually get some sleep before the first Gary Sinise/Lt.Dan Band concert. Jen was supposed to get off work at 3pm, which of course meant that work would get piled on her desk and she would not actually leave until 4:15pm. *sigh*
We got on the road with our trusty Mapquest directions (I am the one who holds and reads the directions... I feel so needed heh) -- even though I thought we should never use Mapquest again ever, after the whole 'ramp on the wrong side of highway' fiasco on the way to Pride -- but we also had plain directions from the Casino Rama website. So it should be simple, yes? Yes, except that the final step on each set of directions had us going two different ways. AAARGH. So then we had a whole series of conversations that sounded like something out of an old Abbott and Costello routine:
Jen: We turn left here?
Me: Right.
Jen: Right?
Me: No, we turn left.
Jen: We turn left here?
Me: Right. I mean... CORRECT.
Seriously, we had that conversation about three or four times. We are so lame.
When we got to the casino Jen was all "Okay, we have an hour till the show starts, let's gamble/grab something to eat/fill our time" and I am all "Um." while inside I'm going OMG THE SHOW STARTS IN ONE HOUR AND WE MUST BE IN OUR SEATS AT LEAST 20 MINUTES BEFORE SHOW TIME AND WE ARE NOT SURE ON WHAT SIDE OF THE CASINO THE VENUE IS LOCATED OMG OMG OMG.
So anyway, we decided to just grab a quick bite to eat (and I think I was very casual about checking my watch every.five.minutes.) and then we got to our seats (8th row centre) and then YAY GARY SINISE! YAY INCREDIBLY HOT VOCALIST JEFF VEZAIN!
The show was excellent. A few newer songs that I'd never heard of (Jen was able to name them as something by Evernesence?? and something by Beyonce), a few of the same songs they did last year, a few 'new' older songs. MaryAnne came into the audience to sing "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" again, and the older man she sang it to sang right along, changing Woman to "Man". He got a Standing O. :)
HAVE I MENTIONED THAT JEFF VEZAIN LOOKED INCREDIBLY HOT? Because he did.
Gary came through the audience and since I was at the end seat, I did the *holds hand up* thing and Gary did this little soft-slap thing. So then I was all *presses palm to nose and inhales deeply* -- because I was planning to then turn to Jen and say "Damn, Gary doesn't smell" -- except... he did. Kind of a musky/fruity scent, for anyone who cares what Gary Sinise smells like. ;p
ALSO? JEFF VEZAIN HOT.
When we went down by the stage during the encores, Jeff also did the leaning out into crowd to touch hands thing. So I reached up and Jeff touched me. I may have had an orgasm. I then elaborately sniffed my hand and... Jeff has no scent. And like, he is constantly running his hands through his fabulously gorgeous hair. So I have come to the conclusion that he uses no hair product. How does The Hair maintain its fabulousness? It's a mystery, yo.
They are sooooo strict about taking photos there, so I didn't manage to sneak any (crappy, kind of fuzzy) shots until they were lined up taking their bows:
Above: Gary is mesmerized by Jeff's hair. Who wouldn't be?
Above: Gary is all "OMG JEFF IS TOUCHING ME". That is how slash Lt.Dan Bandfic is born, my friends. :p
After the show, we went outside for a smoke break (damn Ontario and its no smoking rules):
Above: Jen. Note the sweaty brow. That is what close proximity to The Hair will do to a person.
Above: The Hand That Gary and Jeff Touched. Muah. :p
We then decided that it would be a very good idea to gamble, despite the fact that we both had to get up very early in the morning. I spent a whopping $10, Jen spent $20, and that lasted us a good hour. We also had Pepsi. And then drove 2.5 hours home.
I got to bed at 4am... and had to be up at 6am for the yard sale. Oy.
Saturday July 29th
So. Two hours sleep, then up for the yard sale at the nursing home. It was HOT. Not 120 degree melting hot, but still. Probably about 95. The yard sale is held in direct sunlight. We were outside from 7am onward. At about noon my niece Krystle says that she can't believe she forgot to put on sunblock. Which is the point when I remember that I also forgot to put on sunblock.
OUCH.
Jen showed up toward the end of the sale, and put herself to work doing clean-up, which was awesome. Jen, you rock as always. I managed to lay down for about an hour, then it was off with my OTHER friend Jehn (note the H) to the second Gary Sinise/Lt.Dan Band show.
Okay. So we are driving along and up ahead there are these grey *bands* stretching from the sky to the ground. Some of them are light grey, some of them are dark grey. And Jehn is starting to freak out. I am like "Hmmm, storm" and Jehn keeps repeating that she does not like the looks of this. But we keep driving towards these dark bands that are moving left to right on the road ahead of us...
... and then it is like one moment we are dry, and the next moment we are under a waterfall. I'm serious. This wasn't rain, this was waterfalls of water... and WIND. Holy shit. Jehn drives an Aztec (It was the first time I'd seen her new car... Me: "Oh, I know this car! Gale did a commercial for this car. Pre-QaF." Jehn is very lucky I did not share the details of the commercials, but I managed to restrain myself.)... Anyway, that's not a teeny car, and it was shaking from side to side as we were *crawling* along the shoulder. We could barely see the taillights of the car in front of us. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably about 5 minutes, we finally cleared the storm, and that was when Jehn told me that that weather front looked exactly like the tornado she was in when she was 13, and Jehn's leg wouldn't stop shaking, and I had a total anxiety attack in which my chest was on fire.
So that is my "I survived a tornado" story, because I'm totally calling that a tornado even though I did not see a funnel cloud. So there.
Then we are driving along, and Jen takes this off-ramp, and I'm all "Um, yesterday we went *that* way" as I point to the other direction. So apparently getting lost on route to the destination is a Jennifer thing, whether the name is spelled with or without an H. ;)
Jehn attended the Lt.Dan Band concert with me last year, so she was well aware of the Jeff Vezain Hotness. I HAVE MENTIONED THAT JEFF VEZAIN IS HOT, RIGHT? Just checking. This year whilst singing the line "Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you, babe", Jeff pointed at and sang to Jehn. They had a moment. They may be engaged now, I'm not sure. :p
Of course, I also saw Jeff singing another line like that to a MALE audience member. So.
I did the *hands up* thing again, and Jeff SLAPPED my hand. HARD. It stung. Mean Jeff.
Above: Gary waves to the crowd while Jeff contemplates his moment with Jehn and marvels over his own spectacular Hair.
On the drive home, we decided that Jeff Hotness is the result of 3 things: The Hair (of course). The Slimness. The HIPS. OMG THE HIPS. We also think that they should do "Hips Don't Lie" next year on tour. OH YES.
Um. So then my week was filled with busy boring things, and I went out to dinner, and we put together my lamps (and Jen laughed at me when I put mine together backwards) and also I melted in the heat wave. And then the heatwave broke, so it was THE RETURN OF THE SUMMER OF FUN!
Saturday August 5th
We set out bright and early at 9:15am for the village of St. Jacobs. There's a produce/home-made-goods market, a flea market, an outlet mall and the village itself, which is a three or four block stretch of craft-y type stores and more home-made goods and such. There's a big Mennonite community so you can find awesome things there.
We had directions from a St. Jacobs pamphlet. Information from the website. Mapquest and Yahoo-Maps directions.
We took a wrong turn.
Okay, I admit, it was my fault. But one line of directions said "Exit at Road 15" and the next line said "Turn left on King Road (Road 15)". Therefore, "Road 15" and "King Rd" are the same thing. So when I saw an exit for "King Rd" I said we should take it... and um, that was wrong. So... yeah. But we only went about 10 minutes out of our way. That's not bad, right?
Jen: "One day, we will go somewhere and not get lost."
Me: "That day is not today, my friend."
Above: Jen bought home-made strudel. She adored it. I told her that I was going to label this photo: Jen Having An Orgasm Over Raspberry Strudel. This is the result.
We went to the Mennonite Visitor Centre (very interesting), bought no-sugar jam and other goodies made by the Mennonites, discovered that the $225 artwork I saw in Hamilton wasn't all that bad when someone was selling an oil-painting of two kittens for $2500 (!!!!!), and then went through a traditional corn-broom-making place that was 80 billion degrees. I think I sprinted to get out of there.
Above: Me behind the corn-broom-making place. I am thinking "Hot, Hot, Must Get Drink, HOT."
After making a trip to the car to drop off purchases (!) we made the rest of the rounds of the street and bought more things. Then we went to dinner at the Stone Crock Restaurant, which was ridiculously overpriced but since it is the only restaurant in the village it's kind of hard to be picky. (The other two places in the village sell sandwiches/fries... and one of them sold DAIQUIRIS but I only found that out MUCH TOO LATE. *sobs*)
Above: Jen sitting outside the restaurant after dinner. I just think this is an adorable shot of her little pixie haircut.
And we parked in this free lot two blocks from King Street. We pulled in there. We went back to the car to drop things off. We were there many times. And we did not notice that the river is right there until we were leaving to come home in the evening.
We are lame. Seriously.
Above: Jen by the river.
So that has pretty much been my week. If you managed to read all that, I salute you!
I am so behind on everything LJ-wise, and writing-wise. OH! But Friday night when I could not sleep I randomly came up with the most brilliant Dare-Challenge fic EVER. People would read this masterpiece and they would cheer, they would weep with excitement, they would write odes about my awesomeness...
And then when I woke up in the morning, I promptly forgot what the idea was. :p
.
So yes. SUMMER OF FUN. My week in Rambling Text and Photos. Enter if ye dare.
Friday July 28th
So after baking for a kabillion hours in the heat, I decided to scrap the "spend the afternoon blowing up balloons for the yard sale" idea and, ya know, actually get some sleep before the first Gary Sinise/Lt.Dan Band concert. Jen was supposed to get off work at 3pm, which of course meant that work would get piled on her desk and she would not actually leave until 4:15pm. *sigh*
We got on the road with our trusty Mapquest directions (I am the one who holds and reads the directions... I feel so needed heh) -- even though I thought we should never use Mapquest again ever, after the whole 'ramp on the wrong side of highway' fiasco on the way to Pride -- but we also had plain directions from the Casino Rama website. So it should be simple, yes? Yes, except that the final step on each set of directions had us going two different ways. AAARGH. So then we had a whole series of conversations that sounded like something out of an old Abbott and Costello routine:
Jen: We turn left here?
Me: Right.
Jen: Right?
Me: No, we turn left.
Jen: We turn left here?
Me: Right. I mean... CORRECT.
Seriously, we had that conversation about three or four times. We are so lame.
When we got to the casino Jen was all "Okay, we have an hour till the show starts, let's gamble/grab something to eat/fill our time" and I am all "Um." while inside I'm going OMG THE SHOW STARTS IN ONE HOUR AND WE MUST BE IN OUR SEATS AT LEAST 20 MINUTES BEFORE SHOW TIME AND WE ARE NOT SURE ON WHAT SIDE OF THE CASINO THE VENUE IS LOCATED OMG OMG OMG.
So anyway, we decided to just grab a quick bite to eat (and I think I was very casual about checking my watch every.five.minutes.) and then we got to our seats (8th row centre) and then YAY GARY SINISE! YAY INCREDIBLY HOT VOCALIST JEFF VEZAIN!
The show was excellent. A few newer songs that I'd never heard of (Jen was able to name them as something by Evernesence?? and something by Beyonce), a few of the same songs they did last year, a few 'new' older songs. MaryAnne came into the audience to sing "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" again, and the older man she sang it to sang right along, changing Woman to "Man". He got a Standing O. :)
HAVE I MENTIONED THAT JEFF VEZAIN LOOKED INCREDIBLY HOT? Because he did.
Gary came through the audience and since I was at the end seat, I did the *holds hand up* thing and Gary did this little soft-slap thing. So then I was all *presses palm to nose and inhales deeply* -- because I was planning to then turn to Jen and say "Damn, Gary doesn't smell" -- except... he did. Kind of a musky/fruity scent, for anyone who cares what Gary Sinise smells like. ;p
ALSO? JEFF VEZAIN HOT.
When we went down by the stage during the encores, Jeff also did the leaning out into crowd to touch hands thing. So I reached up and Jeff touched me. I may have had an orgasm. I then elaborately sniffed my hand and... Jeff has no scent. And like, he is constantly running his hands through his fabulously gorgeous hair. So I have come to the conclusion that he uses no hair product. How does The Hair maintain its fabulousness? It's a mystery, yo.
They are sooooo strict about taking photos there, so I didn't manage to sneak any (crappy, kind of fuzzy) shots until they were lined up taking their bows:
Above: Gary is mesmerized by Jeff's hair. Who wouldn't be?
Above: Gary is all "OMG JEFF IS TOUCHING ME". That is how slash Lt.Dan Bandfic is born, my friends. :p
After the show, we went outside for a smoke break (damn Ontario and its no smoking rules):
Above: Jen. Note the sweaty brow. That is what close proximity to The Hair will do to a person.
Above: The Hand That Gary and Jeff Touched. Muah. :p
We then decided that it would be a very good idea to gamble, despite the fact that we both had to get up very early in the morning. I spent a whopping $10, Jen spent $20, and that lasted us a good hour. We also had Pepsi. And then drove 2.5 hours home.
I got to bed at 4am... and had to be up at 6am for the yard sale. Oy.
Saturday July 29th
So. Two hours sleep, then up for the yard sale at the nursing home. It was HOT. Not 120 degree melting hot, but still. Probably about 95. The yard sale is held in direct sunlight. We were outside from 7am onward. At about noon my niece Krystle says that she can't believe she forgot to put on sunblock. Which is the point when I remember that I also forgot to put on sunblock.
OUCH.
Jen showed up toward the end of the sale, and put herself to work doing clean-up, which was awesome. Jen, you rock as always. I managed to lay down for about an hour, then it was off with my OTHER friend Jehn (note the H) to the second Gary Sinise/Lt.Dan Band show.
Okay. So we are driving along and up ahead there are these grey *bands* stretching from the sky to the ground. Some of them are light grey, some of them are dark grey. And Jehn is starting to freak out. I am like "Hmmm, storm" and Jehn keeps repeating that she does not like the looks of this. But we keep driving towards these dark bands that are moving left to right on the road ahead of us...
... and then it is like one moment we are dry, and the next moment we are under a waterfall. I'm serious. This wasn't rain, this was waterfalls of water... and WIND. Holy shit. Jehn drives an Aztec (It was the first time I'd seen her new car... Me: "Oh, I know this car! Gale did a commercial for this car. Pre-QaF." Jehn is very lucky I did not share the details of the commercials, but I managed to restrain myself.)... Anyway, that's not a teeny car, and it was shaking from side to side as we were *crawling* along the shoulder. We could barely see the taillights of the car in front of us. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably about 5 minutes, we finally cleared the storm, and that was when Jehn told me that that weather front looked exactly like the tornado she was in when she was 13, and Jehn's leg wouldn't stop shaking, and I had a total anxiety attack in which my chest was on fire.
So that is my "I survived a tornado" story, because I'm totally calling that a tornado even though I did not see a funnel cloud. So there.
Then we are driving along, and Jen takes this off-ramp, and I'm all "Um, yesterday we went *that* way" as I point to the other direction. So apparently getting lost on route to the destination is a Jennifer thing, whether the name is spelled with or without an H. ;)
Jehn attended the Lt.Dan Band concert with me last year, so she was well aware of the Jeff Vezain Hotness. I HAVE MENTIONED THAT JEFF VEZAIN IS HOT, RIGHT? Just checking. This year whilst singing the line "Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you, babe", Jeff pointed at and sang to Jehn. They had a moment. They may be engaged now, I'm not sure. :p
Of course, I also saw Jeff singing another line like that to a MALE audience member. So.
I did the *hands up* thing again, and Jeff SLAPPED my hand. HARD. It stung. Mean Jeff.
Above: Gary waves to the crowd while Jeff contemplates his moment with Jehn and marvels over his own spectacular Hair.
On the drive home, we decided that Jeff Hotness is the result of 3 things: The Hair (of course). The Slimness. The HIPS. OMG THE HIPS. We also think that they should do "Hips Don't Lie" next year on tour. OH YES.
Um. So then my week was filled with busy boring things, and I went out to dinner, and we put together my lamps (and Jen laughed at me when I put mine together backwards) and also I melted in the heat wave. And then the heatwave broke, so it was THE RETURN OF THE SUMMER OF FUN!
Saturday August 5th
We set out bright and early at 9:15am for the village of St. Jacobs. There's a produce/home-made-goods market, a flea market, an outlet mall and the village itself, which is a three or four block stretch of craft-y type stores and more home-made goods and such. There's a big Mennonite community so you can find awesome things there.
We had directions from a St. Jacobs pamphlet. Information from the website. Mapquest and Yahoo-Maps directions.
We took a wrong turn.
Okay, I admit, it was my fault. But one line of directions said "Exit at Road 15" and the next line said "Turn left on King Road (Road 15)". Therefore, "Road 15" and "King Rd" are the same thing. So when I saw an exit for "King Rd" I said we should take it... and um, that was wrong. So... yeah. But we only went about 10 minutes out of our way. That's not bad, right?
Jen: "One day, we will go somewhere and not get lost."
Me: "That day is not today, my friend."
Above: Jen bought home-made strudel. She adored it. I told her that I was going to label this photo: Jen Having An Orgasm Over Raspberry Strudel. This is the result.
We went to the Mennonite Visitor Centre (very interesting), bought no-sugar jam and other goodies made by the Mennonites, discovered that the $225 artwork I saw in Hamilton wasn't all that bad when someone was selling an oil-painting of two kittens for $2500 (!!!!!), and then went through a traditional corn-broom-making place that was 80 billion degrees. I think I sprinted to get out of there.
Above: Me behind the corn-broom-making place. I am thinking "Hot, Hot, Must Get Drink, HOT."
After making a trip to the car to drop off purchases (!) we made the rest of the rounds of the street and bought more things. Then we went to dinner at the Stone Crock Restaurant, which was ridiculously overpriced but since it is the only restaurant in the village it's kind of hard to be picky. (The other two places in the village sell sandwiches/fries... and one of them sold DAIQUIRIS but I only found that out MUCH TOO LATE. *sobs*)
Above: Jen sitting outside the restaurant after dinner. I just think this is an adorable shot of her little pixie haircut.
And we parked in this free lot two blocks from King Street. We pulled in there. We went back to the car to drop things off. We were there many times. And we did not notice that the river is right there until we were leaving to come home in the evening.
We are lame. Seriously.
Above: Jen by the river.
So that has pretty much been my week. If you managed to read all that, I salute you!
I am so behind on everything LJ-wise, and writing-wise. OH! But Friday night when I could not sleep I randomly came up with the most brilliant Dare-Challenge fic EVER. People would read this masterpiece and they would cheer, they would weep with excitement, they would write odes about my awesomeness...
And then when I woke up in the morning, I promptly forgot what the idea was. :p
.