~ ANNE! ~

It's one of those classic Edmonton summer days that I remember from the first summer I spent here, when I was 16. The air is generally sort of warm and still, like a blanket on your skin, and smells of grass clippings and flowers. Nice.

Conversation with Rene yesterday:

R: "Look at my new white pants! Do you like them?"

A: "They fit well. Too bad they're so.... white."

R: "What?! You have to wear white in the summer! You can't wear BLACK."

A: "I wear black pants in the summer! Sheesh."

R: "Yeeeeeees..." (Rolls eyes and smirks). "Of course you do. You are Canadian, though."

A: "Are you saying Canadians can't dress?!"

R: "They can't! Anyway, you need white pants for the beach."

A: "Hmph. Anyway, there are other things you can wear to the beach. Like a sarong."

R: "Yes, I have a sarong. I wear it to the beach. I was going to get a man-skirt as well, but I couldn't find one that was nice enough."

!!!!

Did I mention that I took Rene camping and he wore a $400 shirt with a bandana tied around the neck?

The upshot is that he has agreed to take me shopping and find me some nice clothes "with some colour. You shouldn't wear black all the time. You need some col-our!"

So? What's been happening with you? I have been far too busy enjoying the weather to blog. So to recap:

As we all know by now, the Oilers choked in the final game and lost the Cup to the Ugliest Man on the Planet and his crack team of Hurricanes. (I was only slightly cheered to learn that a lot of them are Canadian, and in fact the goalie Cam Ward is from right near here). I mourned this loss by promptly catching some dread disease and feeling horrible and feverish all day Tuesday.

Went to the Buck 65 show on Wednesday and had a great time. I missed his pass through Edinburgh, and now I regret it even more. The man is incrediby endearing and I was charmed. He came out afterwards and signed Malcolm's knee brace. And I got to ride the wheelchair elevator down since Malcolm is disabled. Cool!

Ooh, and Kinnie Starr opened, who was well worth seeing. I think everyone was impressed. Although the other opener consisted of two guys who.... well, let's just say "amateur" does not being to describe it. sigh.

And then, of course, on the weekend I got to escape the city and head for the lake. Bliss! Steph, Sophie, Lana and I headed down Friday night after work, and spent two days eating s'mores and poking fires and canoeing and lying on the dock and hiking (well... strolling at least) and watching the neighbours get a giant fine for setting off fireworks. The lake was its usual beautiful self, living up to its "Crimson" moniker as the sun set behind it every night. Eventually... the daylight seemed to last forever, and when we went to bed at midnight it was still too light to see the stars.

Crimson Lake, by Lana (who, incidentally, had never been camping before and did very, very well):