Mixed Bag of Home Life!

August 7/14.

It's amazing how many wacky, weird things can go on in the course of just 11 days of home life around here. (that's how long it's been since my last entry in Lain's Log). While out shopping, ran into my good old musical blog mascot, Aubrey Bolton on Gerrard Street. The fast fading few followers I have left, may recall Aubrey from the many times he's appeared here - (usually with his brother, Dana, who happened to be performing elsewhere on this particular day). I was caught off guard when I spotted Aubrey sitting comfortably under a straw palapa, donated by a friend to protect him from the bright hot sun. Funny how it almost exactly matches my hair! - (and not just the colour, but the "straw texture" of my tresses too). Ha!

I meet panhandlers all over town. Most won't even help carry a heavy grocery bag to the car for you, preferring to just stand around outside Loblaws or Sobeys asking for cash. A few even pick fights with folks who refuse to give a coin or two. Not Aubrey. He's NO panhandler. He knows my name, always has a short chat with me, works hard - up to eight hours a day, singing for his supper, and very well too! I often stop and listen to a couple of his fun eastern Canadian songs. Aubrey's an excellent guitar player/vocalist, (who sounds even better when joined by his bro), - and on sunny summer days, makes decent cash as a busker. Most of his enthusiastic fans toss money into his guitar case. I prefer to give him a cool one, (which he always appreciates)! When I ask what brand he'd like, he's never particular and often quips, "Surprise me!" He was happy with this icy Laker.

Meanwhile, driving around Toronto has become a frickin' nightmare! Besides the massive slowdowns (or COMPLETE stops on the Gardiner), it seems every corner of our Riverdale neighbourhood  is making it tough to drive (or to arrive) ANYWHERE on time! - Fuhgettaboutit!

Wherever I go, I overhear conversations from passersby about the city being such a mess. Several times, while walking along Broadview between Gerrard and King, I've had to ask city workers to open fences so I can get through to stores! I'm not sure how some of these establishments are even staying in business!

It seems nobody loves winter in Toronto, but construction sites are the downside of summer. Wonder how many times I've heard stand-up comics tell audiences here, "Toronto's a nice town. - If they ever finish it."

In the midst of the mass mess, I drove Kate to the Bay/Dundas bus terminal, for an overnight trip.

Bye bye! (yep, I HATE goodbyes - they're my WORST thing - always have been - even for ONE night)! I shudder to think how I'll react when my kids leave home for GOOD! - Gak!!!!!!!!!!!

I even tried to to stowaway in the cargo hold, but the driver wouldn't let me! The bum.

Kate was off to visit friends,

and see Calgary sisters Tegan and Sara in concert. They got a terrific spot to stand and cheer!

Must have been "concert week". The next night, Max, Kate, Sam and I went to the Molson Amphitheatre

to see James Taylor in concert. Has been many years since we've seen him in person.

Unlike my usual dinner menu at home, (which is pretty much nothing), I got a takeout pizzadilla (half pizza, half quesadilla) AND fries! - Those who say I don't EAT enough - take a look! 

(sadly, most of the fries got knocked to the ground when we arrived at our seats), but the pizzadilla was perfect)!

The sunset was very pretty as we waited for the show to begin, and we were really happy there was no opening act. For his fans, it was nothin' but JT for more than two hours! He performed some new material, but all the big hits including Sweet Baby James, Shower the People and one of my favourite songs in the world, Carole King's You've Got a Friend. 

He joked with the crowd that when he first heard Carole perform the song back in the '60s, he picked up a guitar to learn it, - "Never dreaming I'd be singing it EVERY NIGHT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE"!!!!! 

Thank goodness for the big screens as it was tough to see around posts and over people's heads when they stood up, but that gorgeous voice of his was as clear and lovely as ever. Tickets to the show were a gift Sam bought for himself to celebrate a milestone birthday! 

It was a fabulous and funny Sweet Baby James performance.

Max loved the JT show as he was preparing to release his OWN solo album two nights later. After months of work, The Palindrome Years was finally ready to be heard! Will get back to that in a minute. This was one mixed up, variety-packed day!

I went from Party Girl with my friend Pam Deacon-Pickard at her beautiful house, (my first visit there!), to celebrate her Mother's 90th birthday, 

to Roadie Mum for Max, - all in the course of a couple of hours!

A girlfriend of Pam's actually CREATED this Y & R cake, which proclaims,

Young at Heart and still Restless,

a tribute to her diehard Y & R fan Ma! - (left to right - Pam's teen son George, Pam's Mum, Lenore,

Pam and her brother Rod. They created a very memorable day for her!

I brought the publicity stills from my Trials & Tribulations/Soap Dish golden Global days, 

and was given the honour of cutting the cake for guests, (some of them, lifelong relatives and friends of Lenore's).

I'm sure it's a day she'll never forget. Pam, Steve, Rod and George, - you did her proud! Thanks for inviting me. The food you prepared was terrific, it was great to meet your friends and tour your home! SO many incredible trinkets and funny figurines from trips! ("Lucy! You got some 'splainin' to do"!) Ha! - Love that Stomping-the-Grapes doll you have on display! - Hope your Mum has a very happy REAL 90th birthday on August 12th - maybe poolside at Fern Resort, where you and I first met years ago. - Have a martini (with extra olives) for me! Cheers!

OK - so, from floaty mini-dress to jeans, hoodie and hair-stuck-under-a-spiked-hat as I turned into Roadie Mum

for my talented son, Max at the Smiling Buddha on College Street for his long-awaited CD release bash!

Max's pal, Duke was official photog, while Kate and her boyfriend, Damian, toted the box of CDs.

Kate wanted to support her bro, so she was also on door duty, collecting admission fees, (which came with a free album)! Woo hoo!

Love this shot I somehow managed to snap before showtime, featuring - (left to right), opening act and bandmate/friends, Jacob Switzer, (HeadSpace), Emmett Webb, (Ghost Daze) - plus (of course) -  headliner - MAX!!!!!

Jacob and Emmett really warmed up the gang for Max's debut. Terrific job guys!

Max played ALL 12 songs from the album. Whew! If you HEAR it, - know that he played EVERY instrument (but keyboards), and even did the background vocals himself. - When he hits the Performance & Music Production course at Centennial College next month, he'll really have a head start!

If you'd like to get the album, click here!  - Max declares "Buy Now! - Name Your Price"! - $$$ 

Good deal!

Max's friend Jelly, was a big help - sang on stage with Max at the show and is also featured on the album.

Talented singer Missy, (another performer on the CD) came out to cheer Max on, 

as did the fabulous Jackie Moore - (rhythm guitar in one of Max's OTHER bands - Sister Hyde)! - If you can believe it, Max continued on to do ANOTHER show AFTER his own solo release with Sister Hyde at 11 p.m. -  I drove him there and can tell you he was heavily STOKED and PUMPED, as you might imagine! What an amazing evening for Max!

As for ME,- one proud Mama! And, not ONLY is Max finished with his OWN CD, 

he's ALSO producing his sister, Kate's album, titled Stay Golden, (one song already finished), - plus - (here's an intriguing shocker),

- our long-time friend and extremely dedicated & reliable appliance repairman extraordinaire, Trevor Bailey, - (a grandfather!), has requested that Max record HIS album!! Wouldn't that be cool? LOVE this guy! - (Do you think he's written any washing machine or dishwasher lyrics? He's the EXPERT on those!) Only kidding. He says his songs are much deeper than that - and very bubbly. Hmmmm.

After all the musical excitement, Sam's Dad, Ben Bornstein, requested we take him to one of his fave places, - The Mandarin, for dinner. We picked him up and drove off to the massive buffet! We had a great dinner, (DUH), and Zaidy particularly enjoyed the delectable desserts! 

Sam, (always reluctant about having his photo taken), agreed to pose with his primo Pop. As you see, Max is a fabulous fan of his zealous Zaidy!

Later in the week, had a quick visit with my sister, Carrie, who dropped by to show me a few things on my iPhone, (as I'm heavily-technically-challenged). She was on the way to her annual canoe trip with boyfriend Paul, so this was a nice farewell. 

Since then, she and Paul have been enjoying a much-deserved peaceful and quiet week together somewhere in the Kawartha Highlands. - This time, NO BEARS in sight. - (thank the Lord). Have fun you two! Miss you! xoxo

Only chippies around their campsite! (Our late Gramma Burridge and Mum, would have LOVED this sweet little guy). Naturally, Carrie brought peanuts to feed them!

So that pretty much wraps up the past 11 days. Sounds like heaven on earth, (which in many ways, it IS). We have our share of problems, just like everybody else, but I choose to leave that stuff OUT of the blog at the moment. I have a terrific family and should be nothing but grateful.

And will leave you with one final musical note. Kate, Max and I have laughed our heads off at Jimmy Fallon's "Tight Pants", co-starring Will Ferrell. (I like THIS version better than the JLo one and can't stop singing it)! - HEY EVERYBODY! - Get out your tightest pants to dance and sing along!

See ya next time!!

Old friends

July 23/11.

Friendship has always been HUGE with me. My favourite song in the world is You've Got A Friend. (I know it's written by Carole King, but most of my life, I've loved the James Taylor version better than anything). That voice of his, the sweetness, tenderness, beautiful guitar work, his face, hair, killer eyes, - everything hits you directly in the heart. And those lyrics..."Close your eyes, and think of me, and soon I will be there." Sigh. Love it SO much. This is a stunning take. (except for the end, when it cuts off abruptly...hate that!!!!!!!!!!!)



I didn't know WHAT I would write about today. The "Hidey Hole" experience is history. Radiation is on hiatus till Monday. So WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??

But then, I realized, I have the most important thing to write about this day, and that is friendship. Woke up...(well, not exactly. Barely slept at all. GOT up, after NO rest for the wicked), did the whole shower, hair, makeup routine and walked down the street to Withrow Park for the weekly farmer's market, (which I've never attended in all the years we've lived in this neighbourhood!)

My old high school friend, Dean Rogers, invited me to join him at the market to get some goodies. I met him there, and was very surprised when he handed me a gift in a brown paper bag! It contained some Body Shop vanilla-scented cream products, (after he read on the blog that I'm addicted to vanilla)! Dean is amazing. I once wrote here that he is a man who makes things happen! He did today, and will again on Sunday night, as he has invited me, my daughter, Kate and her boyfriend, Damian, to join him for a night of standup comedy at the Absolute Comedy club. Can't wait!
(laughter is the best medicine, right??)

On top of Dean's gift, I also received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from my sister-in-law, Jan and her husband, Arlen, in Ottawa. The card was one of encouragement, saying that I was almost done with treatments and wishing me well with the last few hospital visits. Very kind of them, and the flowers grace my table perfectly! (Thank You Jan & Arlen!)

And lastly, my close friend, Joanne Silver, from Los Angeles, arrived in town for a summer holiday and gave me a lovely glass bowl she MADE. So, here's my diningroom table, covered in gifts from great friends!!!!!!

It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO hot out, but Dean took a shot of me, and I tried not to melt! (lol) - Quick! Somebody hand me a fan! Whew, it was baking at Withrow Park!

I ended up really enjoying the market and bought fresh green beans for tonight's dinner, fresh bread and some speciality cheese. (everything turned out to be delish!!) We invited Joanne, her sister, Val and her husband, Dan, to come for a barbeque dinner. We all went out shopping together on the Danforth, which was so much fun. I almost always go shopping alone, and forgot what it was like to shop with friends! Lots of laughs. We bought salmon at the fish store and everything else at Sun Valley, best specialty grocery store in the area. Got lamb skewers, burgers, salad makings, strawberries, raspberries, icecream and lemon tarts!

Everyone helped out in the kitchen to prepare the dinner. It so reminded me of that great cooking scene in The Big Chill where everyone hangs out together, creating a feast. Can't BELIEVE how much easier it is to make a meal when you have so much help and laughter! Thanks you guys!

We spent some time together out in the sunshine on the back deck, while Dan, master barbequer of the universe, prepared the salmon, skewers and burgers for everyone.

But then, it started to pour rain, and Dan had to flip with one hand while holding an umbrella in the other! (Nothing like being invited to dinner and then have to spend your evening working!) But Dan has always been so easy going about these things and he barbeques brilliantly!

Dinner is served! Kate, Damian and Sam joined us at the table. What a great feast and fabulous group!

Later, Max came home with his girlfriend, Robyn, and then, Kate & Max performed a couple of tunes for us - Lucky (Jason Mraz) and The Beatles' I Should Have Known Better. I have talented kids.

Valerie, Dan, Joanne, - plus ME!
All in all, I loved the whole day from beginning to end. It's been a pretty stressful, crazy and nerve-wracking time for me lately, but just looking at this picture makes me smile because I can see how COMPLETELY comfortable and happy I am. This is the me I long to be every day, laughing, calm, barefoot, relaxed, hanging out with my lifelong pals. They're incredible! I have to remember, "When you're down & troubled, - You've Got a Friend!" Thanks for everything gang! Love you!