Seven Drunken Nights!

When we saw that Seven Drunken Nights was coming to the Chatham Capitol Theatre, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a rousing night of Irish music. The "play" is more of a live telling of the story of legendary Irish folk band The Dubliners, and their lengthy career that began in the early 1960's.

After attempting to eat at The Satellite downtown, we left after waiting an inordinate amount of time for someone to come and serve us - even though we had been greeted on arrival. We went next door to the Elephant's Nest and were delighted to see the same menu - which we only recognized from looking online because we never did see one at The Satellite! Turns out the same owner runs both establishments with a shared kitchen - so we enjoyed great food, good music and much better service on the bar side!

The stage was set at the Capitol Theatre - literally - as the interior of an Irish pub. Most of the band members were fairly young in comparison with the real band - all of whom have now passed away. They did feature one elder statesman in his 70's who was the main storyteller. They even had a bartender that kept refilling their drinks....which were mainly Guinness!

While the tales were great, including details of the the band's successes and tragedies, it was really the music weaving all the stories together that made the evening. Guitars, banjos, fiddle and pennywhistle rounded out the rich harmony of vocals served up by the troupe.

We recognized more songs that we might have thought, traditional songs that a host of other bands have also covered over the years, including "Finnegan's Wake", "The Black Velvet Band", "The Wild Rover" (Great Big Sea), "Whiskey in the Jar" (Metallica and many others) and "Dirty Old Town" (The Pogues).

After much hand-clapping and foot-stomping, we headed for home with a smile on our faces and a song in our hearts.

Chatham Capitol Theatre

Seven Drunken Nights

The Boys down at the Pub

The bartender brings another round!

Colourful Wedding

Autumn arrived early, with late August into early September featuring warm days with cool nights that persisted throughout most of the month - our favourite time of year! Birds and butterflies were everywhere as tomato wagon continued to roll.

We managed to make a Sunday night concert at Two Creeks, to see The Mudmen for the first time in forever - unfortunately, one of the Campbell brothers had broken his ankle, so it was The Mudman! They were still really good, though the new singer's country background definitely added a bit of a twang to their Celtic sound.

With Vincent still requiring management for his diabetes, we cancelled plans to spend an autumn week back at the cabin with Keith and Ashley. Luckily, Keith was able to come and visit instead, and spent the week with us relaxing and hanging out on the back deck amid some great fall weather.

We did board Vincent at Noah's Ark to make a quick overnight trip to Barrie to visit our friends and plan another joint vacation for the spring.  :)

Since he did so well, we boarded him again for a few nights later in the month, so that we could head to eastern Ontario and attend my niece's wedding. What a perfect day for an outdoor wedding, on a beautiful horse farm owned by my sister's friend. We got to visit and catch up with a bunch of folks, enjoy the fall colours, and witness the marriage of two very special young people. 

We mainly took full advantage of the stunning seasonal conditions to get a lot of work done around the yard, including an overdue round of tree trimming resulting in a van-load of brush to the yard waste depot.

The Mudmen rock Two Creeks

Beautiful fall colours in eastern Ontario...

...and a little fall colour back at home!

The wedding of my eldest niece 

The Happy Couple

Tender moments

A hungry visitor to the back deck

Some tree work and a load of brush

Bird seed leads to random sunflower!

August Archive

August went by in a blur. Every weekend was occupied with an art show, or an opportunity to visit family some distance away. Work was busy. The ongoing tariff wars with our neighbours continued.

We endured a few heat waves, which we combated with frequent dips in Lake Erie in the evening hours. So much of Canada was hot and dry and crispy and brown, but in our area we got enough rain and moisture that everything stayed green and yes, the grass kept on growing.

We received some great news - after four months of living in the hospital, a bed opened up at a long-term care home for Jane's dad. We took a two-day trip to get all his stuff moved in an set up, and then welcomed him the next day to his new home. He is already doing noticeably better after only a short time in the new home, surrounded by his own belongings and exceptional staff.

We also received some bad news - after noting how much he was drinking, we had Vincent tested and it turns out he is diabetic. This has quickly turned our life upside-down with twice per day blood tests and insulin injections. Moreover, with controlled feedings and six other cats who can no longer graze, it does make travel more of a challenge. He's taking it like a champ, and we're exploring local options to board him so that the others can carry on as normal if/while we are away.

Tomato season is also upon us, with tandem wagons everywhere. I have been harvesting our own bounty every few days, to freeze for whenever Jane has the chance to do a big batch of sauce and salsa.

John also got us hooked on Prado - a step-based app adventure game. It definitely got us walking more, even if only around the property. The three of us formed a party and along with Vincent has quickly re-defined our daily routine!

Evening sun casts a warming glow

A few scenic storms but at least we got some rain!

Jane swimming in Lake Erie to beat the heat

Dave in his new digs at the long-term care home

Vincent adjusting to the new routine - literally climbing the drawers for food (and insulin!)

Sugar cat chillaxing

He's back to his old jerk self!

Monarch caterpillars enjoying our milkweeds

Our Tower of Fallen Fruit is as tall as a windmill!

Movie time on the back deck

Experiencing tomato season from the Renny's patio

Muskoka Bound

We made the trek northward for a series of visits with friends and family. After a stop in London to visit Dave at his new digs at Victoria Hospital, we carried on to Orillia for lunch at Montana's with my dad. We stayed with Keith and Ashley and got in a nice visit with them as well.

On Saturday, the three of us headed further north to explore Muskoka, journeying through my old stomping grounds and past Huntsville to the Burks's Falls area. After a nice swim near Port Sydney, we visited a great café and tourist info centre overlooking the falls, followed by a visit to the Screaming Heads art installation to the west.

It's a great spot and highly recommended - all kinds of weird and wonderful cement structures in the fields and woods of Muskoka, complete with a hippy commune vibe. It was a hot and muggy day, but otherwise we greatly enjoyed exploring the 67 acres of artistic embellishment. Apparently they also have weekend festivals with music and bonfires and so forth - check it out!

We also took the opportunity to explore two local museums - one an historic one-room schoolhouse, the other an old farmhouse with a garage full of vintage antiques including a horse-drawn hearse.

We visited my dad again on the way back south. We also opted for the scenic route home on Sunday, travelling due west past Stayner and then cutting a diagonal south and west through rural countryside to London to visit Dave again. What a great weekend!

Jane and Keith swimming in Port Sydney

Screaming Heads near Burk's Falls

Great installations!

Great cafe with a view in Burk's Falls 

Wiseman's Corner Schoolhouse museum

The old swing bridge

Watt Farm outside Burk's Falls

The old Burk's Falls hearse