ToddBlog says it's "Must See Film Of The Summer!!"

Ya, dinosaurs are cool and everything, but....
I saw a movie that I think everyone would enjoy and maybe learn a little something from.  

It's called Inside Out.  

A little girls emotions are depicted as these cute characters in her head.  Joy , fear, anger, sadness...and they all get in trouble when the family is uprooted from their home to go across the country.  

Very funny and Sooooo relat-able on every level.  

The main characters are Joy and Sadness and how they interact and ultimately...well no spoilers! 

The guys at Pixar really know their stuff when it comes to getting to the heart of these stories!

Of all the movies coming out this year, 30 are sequels to OTHER movies, so it's great to have an original story that is both entertaining and heartfelt! 

What if Hollywood said "No more sequels for a year"?  I think we would get more movies like this one!

I left the theater feeling like I understood people a little better, and maybe even animals!  

Stay through the credits to see what I mean.

P.S. have a tissue ready!

Always try SOMETHING!

The Creator of the Pink Flamingo has died, Don Featherstone was 79.  

Remember the pink lawn flamingo?  Hello, 1960's and 70's!

Those cheesy looking things were an odd sort of item to catch on as a "thing".

But hey, Don and his wife dressed alike for 35 years, so he was a bit odd to begin with!

You never know what's going to be popular, right?

I mean, what focus group would say, hey people want plastic birds on their lawn?  

What board of directors would approve such an idea? 

Probably the same guys who said Beanie Babies would be worth millions someday!

Probably the guys who sold those "country" wallpaper borders in the 90's! 

Thanks guys!

Don invented hundreds of products for his company and went on to become president of it!  

Bottom line is he made them a ton of money, so what do they care if he was a bit eccentric?

"We know he fishes in a kiddie pond in front of his desk, but we just leave him alone, cause...you never know right?"

They say there are more plastic Featherstone flamingos in the world than real flamingos!

There is one species of bird that we definitely want on the endangered list!

Let the WWF try and save them!  Public opinion is against them on this one!

The upside for environmentalists is that because they're plastic they will get recycled!

Who knows?  

That hipster-environmentally-friendly cell phone case may have once graced the front yard of an insurance salesman in Boca Del Vista, Florida!

I'm not sure why some trend catch on and others don't, there has to be something tribal about it.

We follow the people who stand out, but we like to make fun of them the whole way!
 
Here's the lesson...never be afraid to try something, don't be afraid to fail, and you never know, your invention or idea could be what EVERYBODY wants!

Midweek Day Off?

We did not go here.

It was a weird thing to have Wednesday off this week.  It's just how Canada Day fell this year.

What do you do?

Here is what we did. (Me, Rose, Jasmine)

Go get coffee at Tim's. (They were open!)
Come home and make breakfast. (Eggs, bacon, home fries)
Work on models.  (Star Wars, Ford Mustang and Iron Man)
Watch Jurassic Park.  (All three!)
Drive to downtown Barrie for poutine! (Smokes!)
Walk through all the stuff happening at Promenade Days. (Booths, rides, more food!)
Drive around Barrie for a while then stop to buy chips and root beer.  (Shoppers was open)
Come home and eat chips and drink root beer.  (Mmmm)
Have a small bonfire in the backyard. (Small fire pit)
Make s'mores.  (I passed on these cause I had enough junk food by then)
Watch neighbors fireworks. (Lots!)
Go to bed and watch MST3K on tablet.  (Attack of the Giant Leeches)
Sleep.

Whew!

I though we were supposed to relax!

And to think we almost made a road trip to Sudbury!

Canadian eh!

Vintage CBC logo.

My fave Detroit station for Star Trek and Batman!

Growing up near the USA, I used to feel a bit inferior being a Canadian.

We watched American TV (WXYZ, WDIV, WXON, WKBD), listened mostly to radio stations from Detroit (WRIF, WLLZ, WHYT, CKLW), followed the Red Wings and the Tigers and knew more about U.S. politics than my own.

My notions of being Canadian came from the CBC.  My dad would listen to "As It Happens" and other shows on our national broadcaster.  We had an old radio in the downstairs bathroom that would blast Michael Enright and Alan Maitland (Front Porch Al) and other features.

We would sometimes head over the border to do a little "Sunday Shopping".  That felt strange because in those days you could not shop on the Lords Day in Canada!  I remember observing the way our U.S. neighbors lived life.  I noticed that they were very open and free, something us conservative Canucks felt a little uncomfortable with.  It was fun to watch though.

These days, what it means to be Canadian to me has changed.  I think we have retained the best of our British Empire roots along with a progressive outlook and good global citizenship.  We are not pushy, but know where we stand on the issues.  We look after those who are the weakest to the best of our ability.  Compassion rules our hearts, faith guides our steps.

There is so much of the country I have yet to see,  I have seen quite a bit of Ontario, some of BC and Quebec, but our dream is to head "down East" and see the beauty of PEI and Newfoundland!

How about you?  What makes Canada special to you?

Love My Family.

It was Fathers Day last weekend and I was blessed to have my son come down from New Liskeard for visit.

After a few changes in plans, we all decided to head for Niagara Falls to spend the two days exploring and having fun!

Alex had never been there and his girlfriend, Jess was super excited to go and re-live some memories and make new ones.

Alex. me, Brett (Jasmines boyfriend), Jasmine, Rose and Jess

We hit up some museums and then ate at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.

Afterwards the falls were lit up so we took in the scenery!

Next day we headed back to Clifton Hill for some more activity and the off to the White Water Walk and the Whirlpool.

Niagara is an awesome place and I love going there!  The history is fascinating!

Look out below!

We waited for Alex to tour under the Falls and took some selfies!

What a spectacular view!

Some history I was unaware of!

Falls at night.

Night Falls.

Whirlpool cable car.

The awesomeness....and the Falls to. lol

We had such a blast spending time together and we look forward to the next time!

Thanks guys for the wonderful Fathers Day!

Be Inspired!

This weekend was a busy one!

On Wednesday I was at the Pan-Am Torch Relay in Peterbourough, Friday, a Jays game in Toronto, then on Saturday we were in Huntsville for a big carnival for The Table Soup Kitchen!

In Huntsville I was inspired by the project they are raising money for, a men's shelter.

The shelter is in an old mechanic's garage and has required may hours and dollars to convert.

It's part way there and looks great!

The lead person for the project is Heather Berg and she is doing an amazing job of seeing the vision become a reality.

I find it inspiring that someone can get inspired to do a big project like this and then stick to it through all the set-backs and delays.

Heather says she is letting God work things out behind the scenes and is not getting stressed about it!

What a lesson to us!

We do our part and then let God do His!

Great work guys!

If you can help them finish the project, contact them!

She Did It!

It was a great weekend.  

My youngest daughter, Jasmine, got her certificate for completing the Police Foundations course at Cambrian College in Sudbury!

She says that there was one moment when it hit her that she wanted to get into policing.

It's funny how we have those "aha" times when our life direction seems to be so clear.

Jasmine will tell you, it was not always easy, but in the end it was so much fun.

It's just the first steps toward achieving her greater goals.

As a family, we are behind her 100%

I have to say that I am proud of all my kids!  They see life with such optimism and energy!

We hope that we have taught them good things and set a good example, but it is also cool to learn from watching them, 

Our prayers are for all of them to follow their dreams and know that we love them and God loves them!

Isaiah 54:13  All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.