Nine Months

So yeah, Baby Hiebert is still lounging inside that impressive belly. Tannis posted a bit about it today, and I went back to see some of her documentation of the progress: eight months, seven months, six months, five months, four months and the tiniest bump visible at three months. Her happy expressions in the photos do reflect a truism: Tannis is really, really good at being pregnant -- she's gracious, fun and doesn't complain about the parts that are less than ideal. I feel lucky to have experienced this three times with her, but not so lucky that I'd want to experience it again. If only kids were three-and-a-half years old when they were born...

July's Soundtrack

Listening to:

• Explosions In the Sky -- The Rescue The band offers mp3s of the entire album for free, and it's amazing -- lush, mellow instrumental joy.
  
• Tegan and Sara -- The Con It's as good as (maybe better than?) So Jealous, which I adored. We've been listening to a pre-release version for a few weeks already, but this is one I also purchased when it was released last week. We got tickets to their autumn show in Kelowna too.
  
• The new album from Interpol (click into VIDEO, then check out the vid for "The Heinrich Maneuver") is good listenin'...regular rotation in my brain. Some older stuff here if you're curious.
  
• The Handsome Furs wouldn't be for everyone -- the loose, raw indie-ish vibe takes some getting used to, but if you liked Wolf Parade, you'll likely love this. Same singer, but more accessible.
  
• In the car we've been listening to a rootsy mix I made...mid-tempo songs with banjos and steel guitar providing a country-ish feel. Some Weakerthans, The Constantines, Frank Black and other favourites from more obscure bands.

Skateboarding Giant's Head

I've tobogganed, hiked, snowboarded and mountain biked down Summerland's Giant's Head Mountain hundreds of times, but never thought of skateboarding down it (neat youtube video). That just looks like so much fun. Council has banned the practice, unfortunately, and tacked on a $500 fine (ouch), but I have yet to see any bylaw enforced here in town...so I doubt it will be much of a deterrent.

Milestones

Many milestones for Ivy Jane this summer after Kindergarten. This week she discovered her first loose tooth, and she promptly pulled it out two days later. Here's her new gap-toothed smile -- it won't last long though...the one next to it is loose now too.

Ivy's also been riding her bike with increasing skill, which makes me beam with pride, of course. Ella's also getting nice long glides with the run-bike, which means she'll probably be ready to start pedaling soon too. So glad I tossed those training wheels.

Fruity

Angelo's been anticipating this post -- every summer I go off about cherries at least once. He finds my fruit obsession to be a source of amusement, and rightfully so. Anyway, the cherries are outrageous. We've been nibbling at smaller quantities, but this week Tannis bought 22 pounds from our neighbour ($1.60/pound) and I've been gorging myself -- Pearl and Tannis canned a bunch and I hope we'll freeze a few bags worth.

We also dried apricots and the peaches seem early this year. The Saturday Farmer's Market in Penticton was fantastic this week with so much good stuff in season right now -- we also had fun drumming there and picked up the new Harry Potter book while we were downtown. On the way back just before noon, Sunoka looked so nice that we stopped to swim in the waves despite having limited beach gear along.

Saturday night, Bill and Sam joined us for some hanging out and supper. Mellow and fun.

Break in the Heat

Cooler and rainy and foggy today, which is a nice change from the blast of heat we've had since the beginning of the month. Great for riding, as the trails have perfect traction and it's still warm enough that getting soaked was fine on my lunchtime ride. Larry and Pearl got here on Sunday, a couple of days earlier than planned -- we had predicted that the hot weather would end as soon as they arrived, as usual. Luckily it's a longer visit this time, so they're bound to get some beaching in later. They've got the camper in cozy shape and it's great having them here.

Update: (July 25) Larry and Pearl are back from Vancouver and had a good visit with Mark. It's back to beach weather and the girls have been helping out with various projects. Larry's already starting on rafters for the new playhouse.

Good Rockin' Tonight

Brother-in-law and old bandmate Chad graciously sent me a DVD copy of a show we played in Angelo's dad's paint shop in 1993. Rock 'n roll night in Rosenort, Manitoba. I cobbled together some of the clips into this short video of the last song we played, called "What Makes You Hate?" The sound is terrible and the editing is worse, but I get all nostalgic seeing and remembering this stuff:

• I wrote the song in an angrier time, and it seems a bit comical now, but I'm stoked on how HEADBANGINGLY HEAVY it is. I'm typing with one hand right now because the other fist is raised in the air in a metal salute.
  
• Fortunately this recording dates back to our post-hairband era and not earlier, but Chad's hair was still super long. I apparently had an poofy ponytail attempting to contain the quasi-afro I was sporting at the time, which really complemented that blue Adidas zip-up jacket.
  
• We were really tight on a few of the songs we played that night...there's something so amazing about playing music with people who are totally on the same page. I miss that.
  
• If I remember right, it was bloody cold outside. There was no publicity -- a locals-only show, I guess, as you can surmise from that last shot panning the "crowd". 40 people, maybe? Many dear folks in attendance, though.
  
• Steve started that incredibly odd frog-hop-moshing, and was joined by Tom, Will and I think Jesse or Jeff. I'm so glad that the weirdness was recorded for posterity.
  
• Trev joined in later when it turned into more legit moshing for about a minute -- I'm surprised he didn't dismiss our efforts altogether. I noticed a few other characters in the audience: Kristin, Ang, The Johns from Niverville, KenQ, Marj...the picture isn't very clear. Anyone else remember who else was there? Plett, Greg and Brent must have shown up at some point. I seem to remember Boot making a late appearance.
  
• I assume that Mal was there, because we were opening for Jean Pool (Mal's band with Tom and Will), but I don't see him. I think I played bass for them that night without really knowing any of the songs, including their one song that kicked so much ass (RPC? RBG?). As hideously bad as my bass playing for them must have sounded, I'd love to see the video of that set.
  
• This was 14 YEARS AGO. I'm old. If you were there, then you're old too.

31 Degrees at 10pm

So it's been dusky and darkening for an hour or so, but it has barely cooled off. Not a hint of a breeze. Bill's window-unit A/C in the living room is the only reason the kids were able to fall asleep tonight. Still, pretty nice evening for sipping wine on the patio.

Yesterday I started work early so we could hit Sunoka by 4pm, and we've been bringing sandwiches so we don't have to come back into town. By 8:30, I was hacking around on the ice, playing hockey for the second time this week with a bunch of Summerland locals -- felt super weird to be wearing shorts and flip-flops and carrying hockey gear into the arena. I jumped in the lake afterwards...gotta love a swim in the dark. Myron and Blair came over for a few beers later and savoured the hot summer night until 1am.

Beachers

June was cooler and cloudier and rainier, which is pretty typical here. Usually at some point around July Long, a week or so in either direction, it suddenly turns to summer, and this year it happened right on the weekend. Hot ever since, and check out the weather forecast for the week. So yeah, we've been heading down to the beach daily because the house is pretty hot late in the day. It's been very nice to meet friends by the water, sometimes planned and often not. Even with four beaches, we bump into people we know pretty much every time. Ivy's been running into classmates and local friends this week, to her great delight.

Update: Really, it seems silly to start duplicate posts all summer to say the same thing...so I thought I'd add a few more recent photos from July 10-15:

• Me and Ella happy at Sunoka, spinning and catching
  
• Tannis looking like a swimsuit model in a maternity-wear fashion spread
  
• The girls walking the trails at Sunoka

Oh, These Sisters

Hard to believe that this twosome will soon be two-outta-three. Here they were licking ice cream cones on the front step, and I just thought it captured something perfectly idyllic. More sisterly cuteness:

• The pirate pair: Captain "Poison" Ivy and her sidekick Matey
  
• Oh, and Ella watering the garden in her housecoat. Not sisterly, but SO cute.

Action Packed Pletts

This trio descended on Summerland this weekend. I had just returned from yet another LA trip (a good one, but I didn't take any photos for proof) and took Friday and Tuesday off to make for a looong weekend. It's a big weekend for us most years anyway, with Ivy's birthday (6!) the day before our anniversary (11!), and that whole Canada's birthday thing. But yeah, the Pletts were out, so that was good. Selected snippets:

• They got into town Friday evening. Plett went to bed early. Look for a pattern.
  
• Saturday night's party here with the Pletts, Duecks and my parents -- we celebrated Ivy's birthday, brought in fish 'n chips so we didn't have to cook, and just hung out. Despite staying with us that night, RP went to bed well before Ivy did, dashing my hopes of a late-night boys'-beer-'n-BS session on the patio.
  
• Breakfast at the Elite with them and the Duecks. The restaurant isn't all that elite, but the food is consistently good and the decor is perfection. The kids were all remarkably well behaved. James just smiles -- super happy.
  
• On Sunday afternoon we (and my parents, and the Pletts) joined most of my Aunt Lucille's crew at Sunoka for a family bbq, including cousin Jason (and clan), Mel/Andy and their kids, whom I had never met. The weather wasn't super beachy, but it was fun anyway -- good food, good company. Plett went to bed early.
  
• Monday found us back at the beach in the afternoon and the Pletts wandering the South Okanagan trying to find us (LEFT AT THE GAS STATION!). This wasn't actually a highlight, but it lets me make fun of Plett's navigational foibles. Plett managed to stay awake until nearly 10pm, so we almost got to drink beer after dark.
  
• Tuesday night was the most fun I had all week. Myron and Tracey cooked up a serious feast for all of us, many bottles of wine were consumed, and it was the perfect hot summer evening for a bonfire. After Plett jammed out early again, we sullied his name with unkind epithets for 45 minutes before viewing his rented Jetta turning back into the driveway. He returneth! Redemption! I had to apologize for the character assassination and finally got to revel in three hours of the old Plett aura.

Update: Heather posted a bit about the trip as well, and avoided making fun of us. I could probably learn something from that approach.