Castles and Working

A few people have told me it's been a while since I'd blogged and I didn't realize how long till today. So here's what's happening:I'm exhausted. Worked overtime this week which basically means I'm working every day between April 17 and April 27, so 11 days in a row and then I have a 3 day weekend. I don't think I'm going to make it to church tomorrow.

The only reason I'm awake now is when Rich is on nights and I'm working the puppy is in her crate more so I try and give her as much time out after I come home before I go to bed. I only got home from the castle (see picture) a while ago so I'm giving her some play time.

We had a great Easter. Very relaxing. Very nice change of pace. We brought Gary home with us and he stayed for half the week, then went to London to visit his friend.

A girl came to the door Thursday evening canvassing for the Cancer Society. I was holding Chewie's collar who was straining a bit to get out but was being quiet. She was good until this poor girl who looked about 15 reached out to hand me the brochure, at which point Chewie decided to show her who was boss. The girl gasped and threw her papers in the air. It was hilarious. I assured her Chewie would not hurt her, she was still a puppy. She said she had a big dog too so she wasn't scared, just startled. It was funny. I went to bed around 11 that night and around 12:30 Rich came home from work. Some watchdog. Rich got in the bedroom before Chewie even noticed.

So today I worked, went to a friend's baby shower, then went to Uxbridge. The castle is in Uxbridge. My younger brother Gary was (is) on a tv show called TQ on CTS. It's a kids show - kind of like a religious Sesame Street. Anyway they had their final cast party at his cohost Shauna's house....I mean castle. Gary asked me to come (read drive him to the party) as the family was invited. So off we went to meet Mom, Dad and Ian who had come in from Kingston (Talie stayed at home with her boyfriend). Apparently Shauna's Dad was one of the inventors of the GPS tracking system. The man who founded Magna International Inc bought a development of land in Uxbridge. He bought 50 acres of land and built his home (and lake and pond) on it. He finished the home in December of 1991 and sadly, he died January 14, 2002, never living long enough to enjoy his home. So 6 years ago Shauna's family purchased it. They named it Blythaven which means basically a "joyful place of refuge". The house is gorgeous. I've never been somewhere so overwhelming that "normal" people live in. They were very kind and generous, completely unpretentious - the exact opposite of what you think when you drive by those enormous homes. They have an elevator that can take you between 4 of the 5 floors, winding staircases, beautiful tapestries and draperies. They have a prayer room in the top of one of the turrets that has a window facing all 4 directions. They have a board room, a soundproof "quiet" room for their kids to hang, a theatre, a recital room (loved that one), innovations room, and even a Fantasy room. They open their home to many churches and business that may want a change of scenery for a board meeting. Mom walked around with her camera as they are hoping their office will be able to go back at some point.

During dinner I asked their Dad if he knew how many doors there were in the place. He said he wasn't sure so after dinner Ian and I counted. We got to 71. They had pretty much the whole home open for us to come and go as we pleased but I don't know if we went everywhere. They even had a sauna room. So cool. We watched a dvd that Gary and Shauna did - a sort of blooper reel from TQ. Very cute. We all got a copy and they sent us home with Candy shish kabobs. Her dad also handed me the brochure they have on their home which explains the history. They even had mints all over with Blythaven on the wrapper. It was quite an experience. It was an enjoyable evening, got to see the fam again, but I'm exhausted. Chewie has finally stopped pacing so I'm off to bed to prep for another long day at work.