Sep 20, 2006

My Flickr Favourites : PART I

Red is the colour du jour.

When I see RED in a photo, my eye immediately goes to it. The fact that the main subject is clad in red, matching shoes and all, really makes the picture jump for me.

But what really jumped out at me in this picture was the passion, the closeness, the kindred connection between the two subjects. To me, this picture is the epitome of the kind of relationship I am looking for. I want someone who finds joy and exhilaration in the same things that I do, and who is as excited and full of joy to be with me as I am with him. I am prepared to wait as long as necessary for this.

I wish I had taken this picture! I wish I was the woman in the red dress!

Bizzy ;)

Sep 17, 2006

Waiting for a pop fly


No balls yet
Originally uploaded by Bizzy Girl.
It was the boys' first baseball game, and it fell on a weekend that I was picking them up. Their father asked me if I wanted to tag along, as he had four tickets given to him by a friend, and the boys really wanted to go. To be honest, it was the LAST thing I felt like doing, however I knew it would mean a lot to them if I did, so what is a mother to do?

The seats were pretty good: we were in the 200's right behind home plate in the VIP section. There were pretty girls in black dresses with red scarves around their necks taking orders and serving snacks to people. I found this kind of interesting. There were guys too, but mostly girls...all young and pretty. Guess baseball is still very much a man's sport.

We arrived a few minutes late. Tampa Bay was already ahead by one run by the time we got there. The Jay struggled to keep the score down, but by the seventh inning they still hadn't scored. The boys, who were really getting into the spirit, were disappointed and feeling despondent.

Then, the Jays finally got a run. It was the bottom of the ninth when they finally evened the score, and the game went into overtime. The Jays brought out their closer, B.J. Ryan, to pitch, who ended up allowing another run (d'oh!). The game was now 4-3 for the bad guys.

The tension was thick as the crowd loudly heckled stupid mistakes made by the players (a ball dropped by the catcher Zaur that rolled away allowed a base to be stolen). It was the Jays' turn to bat again in the second half of the first OT inning, and they brought out their top batter. I forget his name, but he had an impressive .360 average. With a man on base he managed to hit a homerun and score two runs, leaving the Jays victorious in a dramatic 5-4 win!

A fantastic game, and a great one for the boys' first. I loved how it all happened at the very end....just like in the movies!!! I am certain that my late father, who was a big Jays fan, was there with us in spirit.

Bizzy

Sep 11, 2006

Bizzy's riding shotgun


Bizzy's riding shotgun
Originally uploaded by Bizzy Girl.
Awesome
Wicked
Sick
Amazing

These are some of the choice adjectives I would use to describe my ride on Berardino's Cessna 182 on Sunday afternoon.

I mean, how many of us who are dating can say that they went for an airplane ride around the city just for something to do??? It was a beautiful day...perfect skies and not too much wind. The ride itself wasn't near as bumpy or turbulent as I thought it might be, and the shots I captured were spectacular.

Ber was a good sport and endured the constant camera clicking, and he even wanted to see the shots afterwards. Flying as low as we were (about 2400ft maximum), the view was clear and breathtaking, and seeing my hometown from the sky for the first time was a real trip. We even flew over my old high school. It sure gave me a whole new perspective.

I hope I am lucky enough to be able to go again. Maybe I will even take the controls and try my hand at being the pilot!

'Bravo Indigo Zulu Zulu Yankee' over and out!!!

Sep 5, 2006

Remembering Dad...

One year ago tonight, my Dad passed away.

He was very ill and had been living in a nursing home for three years after his diabetes had wracked his body to the point that his organs were failing on him. He had been on kidney dialysis for ten years - the longest his doctors have ever seen.

He was fading away on us before our very eyes, and we knew he was living on borrowed time. He had always been very lucky to have survived many close calls with his health, and we often joked that he had more lives than a cat, or that he was born under a Lucky Star.

My favourite memory of my Dad was when my oldest son Josh was very little. He called Dad "Boppa", and used to follow him around everywhere asking "Where ya gonin' Boppa? Whatcha doonin' Boppa?" Dad used to talk about that often, and enjoyed those memories very much himself. Josh spoke at Dad's funeral, and hearing him refer to him as Boppa then at age ten, years after he learned to properly pronounce the word "Grandpa", really choked me up.

My phone rang just after midnight one year ago today. I knew instantly what the call was about even before I answered the phone. I was dreading that call, and hoped it would never come, although I knew in my heart it eventually would.

We went to the nursing home to see him, and say our goodbyes. He was in bed, with his head turned to the side as if he was sleeping. He looked very small and frail...even more so than he normally looked. I sat with him for awhile and told him I loved him, and that he should rest now. After battling with his health for decades his war was finally over.

Dad was 66 years old. Father of three and grandfather of five - three of whom he never did meet.
Miss you and love you Daddy, today and always...

Cathy, Pam, Jen, Joshua, Tyssen, Ashley, Abigail and Avery