Canada's Wonderland

What an incredible day!
I still love Canada's Wonderland.
I wish I'd taken the camera, but I didn't want to worry about it while I was having fun!
We went on a lot of rides. Even Robin went on Rollercoasters. Yes, you heard me correctly.
My last ride of the night, as the clock was nearing 10pm (park closing) was the Bat. I saved the best for last because several months ago I dreamed of riding the bat at night and looking out over the Mountain with lights upon the waterfall. In my dream there were also fireworks. Riding the Bat again was just like my dream - minus the foreworks. (It would have been incredible if a show had started!)
Everyone really loved the new(er) ride Tomb Raider.
I remember when the stand-up rollercoaster came out (Sky Rider- and luckily I was a tall kid so I could ride it), and the suspended roller coaster (Vortex). Then they dame out with two roller coasters where your feet dangle (Top Gun and something in the kidzville) and Tomb Raider where you are laying on your stomach. There are some crazy (fun) designs!

We have many stories from yesterday - from nabbing theives (that was me reporting them to security after we watched them pull out stolen merchandise from their bag, while standing in line at the bumper cars, and try to jimmy the electronic security tags. They were right behind us in line, and apparently are so stupid that even though I held up the line so I could wait and talk with a ride operator so she could call security - they never even caught on. Not even when I was pulled from line by security to further identify the thieves. They just stood in line waiting to ride the bumper cars. Until security checked their bag and took them away of course.) to the potato-hut employees who must have been smoking up in back because they were so incredibly absent and incompetent to watching a woman whip past us on the Thunder Run (goes through the mountain) talking on a cell phone. Who sits in the back seat of a roller coaster to have a telephone conversation as it is running the track??

And now for something completely different (back to work).

Solstice Greetings

Midsummer is upon us. Where did the days go?

Since returning to Kitchener we've kept busy.

Robin finished the outdoor painting.

I took off for another four days to attend Wild Ginger Witchcamp. (The pond and underwater tree photo are from camp.)

Darla has been encouraging me to join her outside.

I've been crocheting witch hats like they're going out of style (which they are not! never!)

And the days ahead hold even more fun!

We're going to Canada's Wonderland this weekend!!! I've not been in many years. Robin has never been. Do you think I will be able to convince him to ride a RollerCoaster? Because you know that's where I will be lined up all day!!

Let's see... solstice celebrations. Then I'm off AGAIN (last time this summer) for 6 days to attend Spirits of the Earth festival near London, ON.

Soonafter, Robin will be flying out to Winnipeg for the wedding of Justin and Christina.

As for my work, as suspected I have to resubmit my ethics proposal and they want me to do a pilot study with one family before I do the rest. It looks as if I won't really be starting my research until this fall. In the meantime I have research to do for someone else (paid work) and a course to prepare. I even have students registered already for my course. Which makes planning scarier - it was easier to do when there were no students...

And I suppose it is long past time that I submit works for publication. I hate editing. Or more precisely, I hate having to revisit old work. I much prefer moving on to a new project!

In garden news - it looks great. We had a long dry spell broken by thundershowers yesterday, which were not long enough. The frontyard flowers aren't at their best, but we've kept the veggies well hydrated. I saw peas today :) And we've had lettuce for a while now. And radishes.

Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Kitchener again

It's been a whirlwind of activity - as some of you know first hand as I raced about Winnipeg. I flew in to the Peg May 17 and spend that weekend at Gaia Gathering - a national Pagan conference. My friend Ericka, currently of Halifax, also happened to be in town that weekend and of course we had to get together!

Gaia Gathering was great. There were many interesting panels and I presented a paper on Canadian newspaper portrayals of contemporary Pagans as well as participated in a roundtable discussion of academic research in Pagan Studies. Best of all, though, was meeting new people and seeing folks from Winnipeg.

After Gaia Gathering my sister arrived home from a wedding and my days were filled with Dorion. Or, they would have been except that the next day I caught the 24 hour flu. So sick in bed for 24 hours and another 24 to recover slowly - what a waste of two full vacation days! And I didn't want to get near Dorion and risk having him get sick too. But it passed.

During my stay in Winnipeg I met up with Joe, Jen, Rob and Amanda for lunch - very delicious I must add. Jen makes a great taco soup. I also had breakfast (that same day) with Lauren and Nikki. Also had dinner with my in-laws. Most of the time was spent with family - my apologies to everyone I missed!! I even got to see my dad play with his pipe and drum band at the Forks. This was a first for me. We took Dorion along too (he goes everywhere in the wrap I made for him) and he seemed to enjoy it.

I also went to the Assiniboine Zoo. I didn't get to go last time I was in town :( It was the perfect day to go to the zoo and we took Dorion - it was his first time. I finally got to see the "baby" (not so much a baby any more) black bear. He's actually white right now. There were a lot of young or baby animals at the zoo, including two gorgeous young bald eagles who didn't look like the adult bald eagles.

Then I was off again - driving to Saskatoon for four days at the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities. The best part of attending the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion is meeting up with colleagues from across Canada. I also chaired a roundtable discussion on the study of new religious movements, presented a paper on including children in research on religion, and co-presented a paper on the contributions urban Pagans have to make for environmental studies. All in all, I think the conference went well. I also ate very well! There were many collegial food gatherings.

Saskatoon was unfortunately cold and often rainy. I hadn't really brought appropriate clothing, but I managed to make due. It was beautiful on the last day - when we were leaving.

Finally, I was back in Winnipeg for a couple more days, which included a large family BBQ. My aunt hosted this in her new large backyard - complete with an outdoor, enclosed spa-tub! All my new family members were there - my nephew and two newborn second cousins. It was a fine time, even with the rain. (Rain was welcome in that heat!)

Back in Kitchener, Robin was not on holiday! He had to wake extra early every morning to walk Darla, water the gardens, then bike or bus to work (no decent parking available except on Sundays). When he got home he had to walk Darla again and make food (and water the plants again if necessary). Apparently he's discovered that cooking for himself is less fun than cooking for others. On top of that, he decided to paint the outdoor trim in my absence. It looks great! I can't say I'm too sorry for him - all those additional things he had to do are what I always have to do in addition to my work - because I work from home. Of course, I don't get up extra early, I just continue my work through the evening and use gardening and taking care of the animals as a break from research and writing.

Once I returned, there was gardening and other catching up to be done. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Ethics Committee regarding my research application. I've heard some pre-warnings, which have not made me happy. Suffice it to say, research will be delayed. This should not surprise me.

Coming back from Winnipeg was difficult. It's hard to say which place is "home". This is where my physical home is - and my nuclear family - but Winnipeg is where most of our family and friends are - and that makes it home. Ideally, we will move back. Ideally. If I can get a university job in the region. That's a few years away yet.