Sound of Music Festival 2010

We love to attend the "Sound of Music Festival" every year in Burlington.  It is touted as being one of the best 100 festivals in Canada. We started the annual Thursday to Sunday Festival off with attending the big concert - Vancouvers' "Mariana's Trench". We were squished with 25,000 other people that wanted to hear them! The sea of people in Spencer Smith Park was unbelievable.  I'm surprised nobody fell in the lake!

 

Little people like Avalon couldn't see much and didn't much like being stuck in the crowd!  But she did enjoy the parade with all the floats and marching bands galore and the carnival rides!

We loved the Caribana festivities the best!

 

                            

                                                                              
                                      

There were lots of vendors (love my vendors!) - these roses look real - but they are actually wooden!

 

Avalon always loves the rides - a bit difficult when she is an "only child" now! Hee Hee - I had to join her on some rides.  Those carnival rides are so expensive! They work out to be about $5.00 each!  

                     

Three days of riding the rides - a busy weekend filled with fun, but we really missed her "sister-in-crime, 

Trinity"! It's hard being an only child - especially when you need a partner for the rides!

Rumblings

 

Well, this will be pretty boring to all you Latin Americans - but here in Ontario today we had a rare occurrence - we had an earthquake and it was the "talk of the town".  It measured 5.0.  It's epicenter was in Quebec and felt all the way to Ohio. I was in my office in a very large concrete/steel University building, sitting in front of my computer when everything started swaying including me in my chair, my computer, the plants and pictures on the wall. It was a bit surreal and I thought for a second that perhaps I was not "right" and my equilibrium was "off".  That is, until someone shouted out "Does anyone else feel that? Is this an earthquake?". So, it was the excitement of the day. There were some buildings evacuated as well, but no damage or injuries reported anywhere.

Father's Day 2010

I was trying to find a half decent image of JUST my Dad, or my sister and I with my Dad.  We had such a busy fIurry of children around us on Sunday during our "Father's Day Dinner"(great dinner!), that I forgot to get a snap of us with our Dad only.   I have so few images of my Dad not without my Mum.  They are an adorable couple that is ALWAYS together.  So, here is a pic of MY wonderful Daddy!

A Very Memorable Fathers Day for Douglas !

I was really relieved this year that Douglas had Trinity with him for Father's Day.  This is his second Father's Day in El Salvador. They had a great day together, but incredibly memorable! When I was speaking with Douglas he told me that he had decided to go to bed early that night as things always happen in three's right?

First thing that happened was he almost drowned in the Pacific.  They went to a different part of the ocean where there are tidepools and caves.  Now, swimming in the rough El Salvadoran coast is a very big concern for me - many phone lecture/warnings have proceeded Trinity flying down there. Apparently, they were being pulled into this tide pool.  Douglas threw Trinity to the shore area; she got scratched by the rocks on her tummy and apparently while Douglas was then trying to get to shore, she kept thinking that her Daddy was going to die on Father's Day! He managed to get to shore. 

The second thing that happened was that Douglas was stung by a scorpion! Ya, panicville. Where is the closest medical clinic??? Oh, only 1/2 an hour away in San Salvador.  His hand flared up for a bit, but it was okay later on as the evening went on. So, this past week has been filled with bats landing on the kitchen counters, poisonous cane toads under the chairs, scorpions running around on the kitchen floor and huge bugs flying everywhere. Hence, why he decided it would be safer to go to bed early! (But, hey, at least he has Trinity and a great ocean view!)

Can I bring him home?

First came the email with this adorable picture of herself and this cute little chow/boxer cross. Then she phoned me and "Mummy can I buy him?" ensued for 10 minutes! Trinity and Daddy were at Metro Centro where the dogs are sold outside on the street by all kinds of people. They went home empty handed - thank goodness!! (But of course, he is adorable!)

And Making Even More Friends

Trinity really wanted an Iguana.  So, her latest little friend is  always on her shoulder on a little leash.  She named her Iguana after her sister, Avalon's little "pet name" - AVALONKA - we Czechified it!!

Trinity Is Making New Friends!

         They are apparently all DEAD though!

Road Blocks

Douglas and Trinity have been running around for days now getting the salon equipped and set up.  It requires driving into the Capital city, San Salvador.  There are two roads that take you out of El Tunco - one was impassable due to a bridge being wiped out in the "Agatha" storm and the other road was blocked with mattress', furniture and a mass of impoverished people.  I can't make out what the sign says - perhaps demanding some government intervention to assist them rebuild?  Would make perfect sense, but El Salvador is unfortunately a very classist society, not exactly a socialist country.

Early days in Trinity's Adventure in El Salvador

It's early days still, but I thank goddess for the technology of the iPhone and new media to keep Trinity close to me.  I speak with Trinity the old fashioned way (on the phone) and via email, exchanging videos and pics from morning until evening!  I have to ease into this being apart from her.

She is settled in to her new casa with her Daddy - a little Rancho on the Pacific coast with the ocean on her doorstep.  They have 24/7 security and it is a gated community. She has  her own room and her own ensuite washroom.  The rest of the casa is very open concept (read no walls).  The beauty of nature is all around them, however so are the mosquitos!  Hence, a mesh screen is being installed tomorrow to help them out with the challenges of these pesky critters.  This is their new casa:

Cane toads are also all around them - these things are pesky Toads all over Central America - apparently they breed by the thousands.  When they are threatened (for example when Tequila is growling at them), they spew a poisonous liquid at their target. If it is a dog for example, the dog would probably die.  In fact, Douglas knows someone who had a dog that died as a result of one of these toads. So, Douglas is on guard trying to protect little Tequila from being harmed by one of these toads.

They sent me this picture of a toad over their shoulder one evening when they were sitting at the dining table having dinner.

I don't think they even know whether it is a cane toad or not, but it freaked them out nonetheless. Douglas has the casa decorated quite nicely for Trinity, but then for those who know him, what else would you expect?

Her straightening iron has not been touched - I think she realizes it is a lost cause and is making good use of her hair clips!  So, she is adjusting to the humidity, heat and rain!!! It has rained almost every day since she arrived.  They were fine during the "State of Emergency" that was called due to tropical storm "Agatha" that hit land in Guatemala.  She is enjoying being with her Daddy, being off school of course and hopefully learning some Espanol! They are running around right now trying to get cable, wifi, &  phone connection but everything down there is on "El Salvadoran time" - so "manana" is the prevailing attitude. I don't think Trinity minds though, she is enjoying her little adventure and keeps telling me that she is not coming back until her Daddy comes back with her! 

Our Baby off on an Adventure!

Trinity left this morning for El Salvador.  She made it on the plane by the "skin of her teeth".  Her bags were all overweight (which we expected - $160.00 later), then the Flight Agent informed me I needed to pay an additional $123.00 for an "unaccompanied minor" charge (which ended up being great because they escorted her from security gate, extra attention on the plane and then handed directly to Douglas - he had to sign for her like the precious package that she is).

Now for the "cherry on top" - when I handed them the permission letter I had written, I was then informed that the rules changed 2 weeks ago with El Salvadoran immigration and it had to be notarized.  The desk agent phoned down to El Salvador and they informed her that if she arrived with the letter not notarized by a lawyer, they would deport her right back to Canada.  So, where do you find a lawyer at 8 in the morning in Toronto?  After much running around, a lawyer was found - he was 20 minutes away; he spent all of 3 minutes signing my letter and sealing it and then took my $160.00 CASH and slipped it in his pants pocket.  So, $430.00 later, Trinity was finally on her way. 

Douglas was of course over the moon to receive her in El Salvador.  She is tentatively booked to come back in September, but she may stay longer, we shall see!