Has it really been since June 21 that I last wrote?

Is there anybody out there?

So much has happened in this past month: I've been given a clean bill of health by my oncologist, the kids finished school, Toronto's strike has reached day 18 and I'm frustrated at the pile of garbage around my house and that the kids may not have camp certain weeks...and that the parks are used as garbage dumps, that there are no swimming pools, that people are potentially losing their jobs because they no longer have daycare or just don't have jobs this summer because facilities have been closed...I am very bitter in case you didn't pick up on the subtle tone.

And we just returned home from a vacation in Grand Falls, New Brunswick where I had no access to internet, which has left me a bit shaky I have to admit. Couldn't blog, couldn't twitter, couldn't read other people's blogs and tweets, couldn't check email, couldn't read the Toronto-based news. And it rained every day and if the rain didn't keep us in, the out-for-blood black flies did. So I drank wine, watched Harry Potter movie after Harry Potter movie with the kids (we are so ready for the Half Blood Prince!), drank more wine, shopped at Wal-mart and listened to my mother-in-law pine and vent...and then drank wine.

The fascinating thing about the trip to Grand Falls was that the purpose was a family reunion on Paul's mother's side. Charlene is from a family of 15 children and all 15 are still alive! They range in ages from near 50 to early 70s, 10 boys, 5 girls. Coming from a family of 8 kids where 2 have already been lost to accidents and illness (the curse of the Glover girls) I found this wonderful - as in full of wonderment. Some of them are not wonderful, they're a bit crazy. But unlike the last reunion, the false teeth stayed in.

Paul's grandmother, now 90, is also still alive. Though to be truthful, she's their step-grandmother, the original matriarch of the Morin clan died of cancer - which I'm positive was a result of having 15 children (no multiple births) plus miscarriages back to back. Memere Jean is adorable and speaks not a work of English and I speak very little French - though I do try. After trying to manage a small conversation, Jean gave me this kind of crazy look that transcends any language barrier and says loudly "who the hell are you?"

I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation!

Anyway, no update on the porch. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can post photos of the progress.