The World Around Us

Summer 2010 update

Country: Canada by Lisette

25-07-2010

My mood has improved considerably with the arrival of spring; there was finally work, sun, Ernestine’s Affair, a new blog and outdoor activities.

EWS-Logo_OldErnestine’s Affair

So what is Ernestine’s Affair? This is the yearly gala we organize at Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter to raise much needed funds for our organization. I was a little nervous for my first gala ever, but loved it. We were honoured by our host Erin Davis, a well-known radio-DJ in Toronto, laughed with the comedian Debra Giovanni and were moved by the tragedy that happened in Ed and Dawn Novak’s life. Her partner in 2006 murdered their daughter Natalie. Natalie was only 20 years old. We shared hope with her parents about the trial and about educational plan to teach teenagers about domestic violence. The evening was everything it ought to be and more. We raised $70k!

Walk of woMan

Marlowe walked nearly 50 kilometers south on Yonge Street to raise money for Ernestine’s and he did a great job! He was in good shape despite the heat wave and made good time. I slowed him considerably down when I joined him for the last fifteen kilometers but is was good fun. Ernestine’s has repeatedly told me they would like to have more spouses of board members involved; Marlowe has hopefully started a trend. Have a look at Mephit Design (Note 2012: this is now Yes Creative) for his account of the day.

WalkOfWoman_TwoPix

AGCO

I found work with the provincial government, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) regulates liquor sale and gambling sites. I work with the department that licenses charity organizations wishing to hold fundraising lotteries. It’s been an interesting journey to learn all the terms and conditions and have written, what feels like, a million manuals.

MarloweWOutdoorsy

We’ve been pretty outdoorsy since spring. We went to lovely Georgian Bay for our first anniversary and enjoyed the hike along cliffs and some local beaches of Lake Huron. The water is as blue and crystal clear as possible, … and freezing! Like it wanted me to remember I’m still in Canada and certainly not in the tropics. I suppose I should have known.. it is one of the Great Five Lakes of North America.

We were able to get a few friends together for a camping weekend trip to Picton; what a beautiful area of Ontario! As lucky as we were with the sun and the fantastic beach on Saturday, we were glad to have found a cute cafe for a gorgeous breakfast as we faced torrential rains on Sunday.

And.. we cycled to Oakville on a whim. Forty-five kilometers doesn’t sound far, but is not too easy without any practice. My knees were hurting and it was hot-hot-hot. But the view at the lakeside was worth it, so was the delicious pizza that awaited us at the finish!

You can see more pictures on Candid Photography.

Liberty Village

Of course I kept an eye on the FIFA World cup of soccer and was pleasantly surprised with the Dutch team. Sure, we didn’t play the most amazing soccer we are famous for, but we made it to the finals! Dressed in orange (our national colour) I dragged Marlowe and friends to Liberty Village, an old area downtown Toronto where we watched the final match with a large crowd. We lost from Spain, but I’m proud we got this far!

10-07-16-Boatcruise-ThreePix