Still Here....

If I'm not careful the month of July will go with only one blog post (a first)....which can mean one of two things.  I'm either very busy doing nothing all day or there has been nothing worthy of the blog.  One might assume the sunny skies and long beach days have kept me from the blog.  One would be wrong!  I actually can't remember our last long lazy beach day!  The cloudy days have not exactly kept us inside reading but they have not drawn us out to sit on the beach either.  In true Canadian form, we have just decided to embrace the weather and move on.

This is the weather... trying to decide whether it is going to be sunny, cloudy or rainy.....

 This past weekend was our annual Amherst Shore Games.  Next year we will celebrate the 40th annual Games!  The Games are legendary around Amherst Shore.  People plan their vacations around the Games and have done so for as long as I can remember.  What once started as a softball game, a bridge game and a couple of other activities between two extended families at the shore has turned into a three day marathon of sporting events, board games and card games with over 100 participants.  The weekend is brought to a close with a talent show or with another entertaining and creative exhibition followed by everyone dancing the night away at the Barn Party.  We compete against each other for three days and then we party together...because we really do like each other!

This year our softball team wore highlighter yellow t-shirts that said, "Neon for Don".  We were commemorating our Uncle Don who passed away this year and used to bike and walk in a neon yellow shirt in his latter years.  It was an awesome tribute!

While the Games are fun to watch and participate in, they also can take a toll on vacation time.  "This is not a sprint, it's a marathon!"  It seems that every hour of every day is either spent watching, participating, setting up, tearing down, getting people to participate in the events, trying to find time to eat and finally sleeping.  Sleep usually loses out!  Every year we vow to rest on the Monday after the Games and every year we find ourselves at yet another activity on Monday with bleary eyes, sore muscles, tired feet....drinking a large mug of very strong coffee asking each other whose idea it was to do this!

Dancing the night away....so that's why my feet hurt so much the next day!

One day I keep saying I'll write a long piece about the Games.  I think it will have to be during the off season because there just is not enough time now to do them justice.  And believe, me they are worth it!  For now I will say, you have to see it to understand.

Maybe August will be a more reflective month.  July was just plain busy, much of it was beautiful, and most of it was enjoyable.  Life is good at the shore.