'Pennies for Pets' - Thank You So Much!!!!

Imagine my excitement when I received an email from Alison Wells at the St Francis of Assissi Child Care Centre in Orleans, telling me that the kids wanted to sponsor me (and my dog Hudson) for the upcoming Humane Society Wiggle Waggle Walkathon! The kids, between the ages of 4 and 9, had completely emptied out their penny jars and wanted to give it all to the animals at the shelter. The news just got even better, when Alison challenged other child care centres including Holy Spirit, Beaconwood School Age, Lynwood School Age, Crestway School Age, and Jackson Trails. This morning, with my beloved Humane Society dog Hudson in tow, I arrived at St Francis of Assissi to meet Alison and the staff, along with the sweetest group of kids you'd ever want to meet. Waiting for me were rolls and rolls of pennies, (thank you to everyone for doing all that 'rolling'!) for a grand total of $200.67!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! And of course, the ANIMALS at the Humane Society thank you too!!

My goal for the 'Wiggle Waggle' coming up on Saturday Sept 13th is $1500.

These big hearted kids are helping me reach that goal!

This is the link to my fundraising page: http://www.ohsre.ca/Page.aspx?pid=393&frsid=1264

Please consider joining the walk to help the animals. If you can't make it, I'll gladly walk on your behalf.

details at www.ottawahumane.ca!

Suzie McNeil for World Vision

Canadian singer Suzie McNeil stopped by the BOB FM studio this morning! Not only is her music career on fire, she is also very involved in the World Vision campaign. Suzie travelled to Africa to see first-hand how World Vision helps children and families in need, providing essentials that are critical to their lives: medications, shelter, water, education and supplies to over-come the circle of poverty. Here in Ottawa, the goal is to sponsor 2500 children in hard-hit areas around the world by September 7th. For the cost of a coffee a day, you can sponsor a child through World Vision. Please go to www.worldvision.ca/ottawa for details.

Joel Plaskett without the Emergency

The Ottawa Folk Festival closed out last night with the always great Joel Plaskett, who brought along his Dad, Bill. Easy to see where Joel gets his musical talent. Nice to see Joel Plaskett enjoying such a large and appreciative audience. This east-coaster's popularity is growing in leaps and bounds. Check him out next time you get the chance!

Back with the Horses!

It was a spectacular afternoon yesterday at the
National Capital Equestrian Park for the $75,000 Brookstreet Classic Show Jumping Event! Three Olympic Silver Medalists competed , including Mac Cone, Jill Henselwood and 'Captain Canada', Perth's own Ian Millar.
Yann Candele and his horse Pitareusa won the Classic, with Ian Millar and Redefin taking 2nd place after a very exciting jump-off.

Looking forward to next year!

My Most Excellent Saturday!

Ottawa had just too much going on yesterday! Had a great time bopping from place to place...Super EX where BOB FM presented 'Prism'..then Bruce Cockburn at Folkfest..then over to catch the last set of surf rockers 'Evil Farm Children'! Too much funSUPER EX .... everyone on the Merry-go-round! I was too big for it

Al Harlow rocks the stage with PRISM!

AND NOW OVER TO FOLK FEST ...FOR A VIRTUOSO BRUCE COCKBURN PERFORMANCE

And...the night's not over! Time to check out some surf rock at the Rainbow with 'The Evil Farm Children'!

What a day

Down to Earth at the Ottawa Folk Festival

Steven Page brings his own non-plastic water bottle

(photo above) Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown (with her little guy) gives a passionate plea for us to stop buying plastic water bottles. One of the biggest threats to our environment. It sure opened my eyes.

I had a blast at the Ottawa Folk Festival last night! Former Barenaked Lady Steven Page was fantastic. His voice was in fine form, as was his sense of humour. He told the crowd that he doubts he will ever get the 'Order of Canada'. The Folk Festival continues all weekend long with Bruce Cockburn tonight, Joel Plaskett on Sunday. Complete line-up at http://www.ottawafolk.org/

Its time for THE BIG PULL!!!

The 3rd Annual 'BIG PULL' Tug of War is almost upon us! Sign up now- the deadline for entries is Sept 15th. The fun takes place at Mooneys Bay beach on Saturday Sept 26th.

Get a team together, dig your heels in hard and help raise money for the Stepping Stones Learning Centre at the Ottawa Mission.

The Ottawa Police Association is working with the Mission to get as many teams as possible! Yes, there will be tough-as-nails police officers competing, along with firefighters, and people from all walks of life- its all for fun. You can be the office's 90 pound weakling and still beat the tough guys at this event! There are different categories for everyone, kids to seniors! BOB FM is proud to be one of the sponsors of this event. I'm looking forward to it! I plan to wear spiked heels for deeper digging into the sand. Please rally the troops and sign up now- more info at https://www.thebigpull.com/Home.aspx?PageID=266&mid=ctl00_LeftMenu_ctl01-menuItem006, (its also on the main page at www.939bobfm.com) Help the Stepping Stones Learning Centre at the Ottawa Mission, where homeless people can realize a better life through education.

PROJECT NORTH: PLEASE DONATE GENTLY USED SPORTS GEAR

Project North: Hockey sticks, gloves, skates, baseball bats, any and all sports gear that you and your kids can part with - please donate to Project North!!!!

While researching and photographing Nunavut and Nunavik for an upcoming book, local photographer and philanthropist Michelle Valberg and veteran writer Joan Weinman came up with the idea of collecting sports equipment for the children who live in these communities. Ottawa Police Chief Vern White, Ottawa Senators' Chris Phillips, 67's owner Jeff Hunt, Ottawa Citizen Publisher Jim Orban, and many other community partners are rallying to collect as much 'gently used' sports gear as possible by Sept 11th, after which it will be flown (courtesy of Adventure Canada) to our northern communities and put directly in the hands of Inuit children. You can drop off the sports gear at any Ottawa Fire Department station, Canadian Tire (Coventry Road or Carling Ave), as well as Valberg Imaging, 322 Richmond Road.

So let's all check those tucked-away boxes in the basement, grab the hockey sticks in the garage that the kids have out-grown, maybe even venture into the back of your kids' closets where you might find a baseball glove that hasn't seen a ball diamond in a year or two....

please donate it to Project North. For more info, check

http://www.valbergimaging.com/

Pictured above: (from left) Joan Weinman, Chief Vern White, Rabbi Bulka, Chris Phillips, Jeff Hunt, me, Michael Allen, Clayton Anderson, Jim Orban and Michelle Valberg. In front: Saelynn, Kenneth and Damian

Polo in the Ottawa area!! Don't miss it!

I recently received an on-line notice from Harry Nowell, a professional photographer and teacher who I had the pleasure of working with in the past. Harry not only taught me about apertures and exposures, he also attempted to fix my tripod which I had broken in three places, but thats another story. Harry was inviting photographers to his 'Polo Workshop'. (here's the link: http://www.harrynowell.com/workshops/workshops_event.htm )

Lo and behold, I discovered that not only is there a Polo club in the Ottawa area, 'The Augusta Polo Club', (1 hour south of Ottawa), but they were having a HUGE event on Sunday August 30th called the 'Peanut Polo Cup'! A beautiful drive south to North Augusta will take you to heart-throbbing fast paced polo action, with proceeds to ELEVEN animal rescue charities! I had the pleasure of attending a 'media preview' of a polo match this past Sunday, and it was fantastic. Take the whole family, have some fun, and help out some very worthy animal causes.

http://www.peanutpolocup.com/. p.s. listen to the 'Morning After' all next week for your chance to win VIP seating!

Squirrel Crasher!

And this is how it all started!!

The couple in this photo, Melissa and Jackson Brandts of Minnesota, were visiting Banff National Park and decided to set their camera up on a rock. They set the camera's timer, got into position with the beautiful lake and mountains in the background, and then.....it happened. A rather inquisitive ground squirrel popped up to check out the 'buzzing' sound that the camera timer was making, and...'click', he became the main subject of the photo. This photo was chosen 'photo of the month' by nationalgeographic.com ....but the best part? It has gone viral on the internet all over the world, with people photo-shopping 'Squirrel Crasher' into every scene imaginable. You can check these hysterical photos out at http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/photo-crasher

Crasher Squirrel Contines to Crash Things

Please sponsor us for the Humane Society Wiggle Waggle Walkathon

Hudson (adopted from Humane Society 12 years ago)

Molly (adopted from Humane Society 11 years ago)

Kitty (stray, now sleeps on our bed)

the Humane Society Wiggle Waggle Walkathon is coming up on Sunday, September 13th at the Experimental Farm Arboretum! Full details at http://www.ottawahumane.ca/home/index.cfm

Join honorary chair Ottawa Police Chief Vern White, myself and 'A' Channel's Kurt Stoodley for a fun-filled day of dogs, dogs and more dogs! Games, prizes, food, stuff for sale, its all here! Last year almost 1000 dogs joined the walk for the shelter. If you are unable to attend, it would be amazing if you could sponsor me and my 3 animals (Kitty won't be coming for obvious reasons, did I mention '1000' dogs?). Here's the link to my fundraising page: http://www.ohsre.ca/Page.aspx?pid=393&frsid=1264

All proceeds to the Ottawa Humane Society!

****** IF YOU ARE PUTTING A TEAM TOGETHER FOR THE 'WIGGLE WAGGLE TEAM CHALLENGE', PLEASE LET ME KNOW, EMAIL ME AT mornings@939bobfm.com

WE WILL DEFINITELY GET THE WORD OUT FOR YOU, AND TRY TO STIR UP AS MUCH FRIENDLY COMPETITION AS WE CAN!!

Another Great Youtube Moment

Thanks to one of our awesome listeners, Cameron Ritchie, for sending along this priceless Youtube video.
Its called 'JK Wedding Dance'. Its hysterical. For anyone who has a wedding coming up, some inspiration for you....
Click on link and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=fvw

Blue Rubbermaid Container Overload

(pictured above) 'HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER HOLIDAYS'

This is the final day of my holidays (unless you don't count Sunday as a holiday, in which case my final day of holidays was on Friday). Anyway, I am very much looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. Not just because I love my job, but because there are no blue Rubbermaid containers at work. I am currently living in a sea of blue Rubbermaid containers. My husband and I are moving to a new house in Manotick. The moving date is not til the first week of September, but I thought that I would take some time on my holidays to start packing. Rather than accost Costco or the LCBO for cardboard boxes, I thought I would buy some blue Rubbermaid containers and start packing. The plan was to pack everything that Rob and I don't really need , as the moving date is still a month away. I have now purchased and filled 23 Rubbermaid containers. The scary part is, that's 23 containers worth of stuff that we don't need. A carefully wrapped concrete turtle. A glass wine decanter from an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant in New Orleans. A detailed map of Mexico. Two nerf footballs. We can't seem to part with any of it. And I haven't even come close to packing things we actually DO need. I figure by the time I'm finished, I will own over 100 blue Rubbermaid containers. Which, ironically, I will no longer need. Can't wait to get back to work.

ODE TO THE SUN

PLEASE, IF YOU ARE ON THIS PAGE, PUT ON YOUR SUNGLASSES. IF YOU CAN FIND THEM, ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU'VE NEEDED THEM. BUT PLEASE PUT THEM ON FOR SAFETY'S SAKE, AS THE ABOVE IMAGE IS, IN FACT, THE SUN.

IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SUN, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. ONCE UPON A TIME THIS SOURCE OF HEAT AND LIGHT WOULD SHINE ON AN OTTAWA SUMMER, WHICH IN TURN ENCOURAGED US TO GO ON OUR BIKES, SIT ON BENCHES, AND LIE ON A TOWEL ON THE SAND.

YOUNG CHILDREN MAY BE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SUN AND IT'S RUMOURED VISITS TO THE OTTAWA AREA. THE DINNER TABLE IS THE PERFECT SETTING FOR PARENTS TO EXPLAIN THE PHENOMENON OF THE SUN TO THEIR CHILDREN. YOUNGSTERS WILL DELIGHT IN THE STORIES ABOUT HOW THE SUN WOULD REGULARLY SHINE OVERHEAD. IT WAS MOSTLY FRIENDLY, KEEPING US WARM AND DRY. SOMETIMES, IT WOULD MELT OUR ICE CREAM CONES, BUT WE JUST LEARNED TO EAT THEM FASTER.

THE ABOVE IMAGE OF THE SUN MAY BE ENLARGED. CUT IT OUT AND PLACE IT ON A SKYLIGHT, ON THE INSIDE CEILING OF YOUR CAR, AND ON THE WINDOWS OF YOUR WORKPLACE. LET US NEVER FORGET THOSE WONDERFUL YEARS WE HAD TOGETHER.

I THINK ITS AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO QUOTE THAT FAMOUS EARLY 70'S POSTER WITH THE DOVE FLYING IN THE AIR:

"IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE. IF IT COMES BACK, ITS YOURS. IF IT DOESN'T, IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE'

WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE IF THE SUN WAS EVER OURS. IN THE MEANTIME, WE'LL LEAVE THE PATIO TABLE, THE PLASTIC CHAIRS, AND THE BADMINTON NET RIGHT WHERE IT IS. BECAUSE WE ARE OTTAWANS. AND WE BELIEVE IN A FUTURE THAT SEES THE RETURN OF THE SUN. WE JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE.

Bluesfest in Ottawa: BEST FESTIVAL EVER!!!

Good2Go rocks the Hard Rock stage (below) Mallory Giles from Politique

Ken Workman and the Union on the Black

Sheep stage (below)

As I write this, I am getting ready to head out for the final day of Bluesfest. I would have been at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest for each of the 12 days and nights, but I made a quick side-trip to Halifax last weekend to see Paul McCartney. ( Quite possibly one of the only concerts that could sway me from my beloved Bluesfest). So, despite my 3 day sojourn to see a Beatle, I all but set up camp at Bluesfest, and the smile never left my face. From stage to stage we bopped, me and my music-crazed husband Rob, catching some of the finest live acts out there today. This year, the theme for Bluesfest was 'Summer Vacation', and I met so many people on the grounds of LeBreton Flats who took the advice. My non-scientific poll concluded that a large percentage of Bluesfest-goers did not go to work this week. They booked it off months ago, when the full schedule came out. Music lovers of all age groups: youngsters, teens, 20-somethings, thousands in their 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's. Toddlers with faces painted, rarin' and ready to see Kiss. Older generations with beer in hand taking in Jeff Beck, Spencer Davis and the Yardbirds. Rockin' out to the Stone Temple Pilots and spending a magical evening in Ottawa's biggest backyard to sing along with Blue Rodeo and their impeccable harmonies. Bluesfest is also about broadening musical horizons, catching acts that ring no bells when you read their names on the schedule, but enjoying every moment on the smaller stages; the Black Sheep Stage, the Hard Rock stage, host to blistering blues and gospel and reggae. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Oumou Sangare, Toots & the Maytals, just to name a few. And for locals bands, there is no better gig than Bluesfest. Here, they get the stage, the lighting, the video screens, the same respect as the 'big name acts' and rightfully so. Bands like Good2Go, MonkeyJunk, Politique, Ken Workman and the Union, these were performances that signalled great things ahead. The opportunity to play for rabid music loving crowds will never be under-estimated. Last night, while jockeying for position at the Drive By Truckers show, I ran into an old acquaintance of mine named Rick. I first met Rick in 1985, he had sold me a pair of tickets for a Bruce Springsteen 'Born in the USA' concert in Syracuse. We talked about the hundreds of concerts we have seen over the years, the miles we have travelled, the money we have spent, all to feed our passion for live music. I asked him if he was enjoying Bluesfest this year. He said, 'Its the best thing about Ottawa'. I couldn't agree more. To the brain-child behind Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, Mark Monahan, thank you for another spectacular festival. Kudos to the Black Sheep's Paul Symes, AJ Sauve, Joe Reilly, and the countless volunteers who make it happen. Only 360-something days until next Bluesfest.......

Animalfest for Big Sky

The Big Sky Animal Sanctuary in Kemptville is a truly magical place created by Andy Parent to be a safe haven for animals of all shapes and sizes, furry, feathered, tiny souls to big loveable beasts. They all come to this place with a story, most of them unwanted, no where else to go. For years Big Sky has continued to provide these animals with dignity and respect and a loving home to live out their years, thanks to the generosity of animal lovers everywhere. Big Sky founder Andy Parent is battling cancer. But each day at the Big Sky Animal Sanctuary the sun comes up, and Andy makes his rounds, making sure all the creatures big and small are taken care of. We need to help him out now more than ever. This weekend is the 5th 'Animalfest' for Big Sky, a wonderful fundraiser thats filled with fun and animals, non-stop live bands, prizes, BBQ, all kinds of surprises. Bring the whole family out. Its only $5.00 admission, all proceeds to the dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats, all the animals at Big Sky. This year Animalfest will be located next to the Canadian Tire in Kemptville. For details go to www.bigskyranch.ca . p.s. thanks to Steve Gregory and his wife Diane (along with countless volunteerss) for making this happen