TGIFriday...

...in a number of ways.

The weather is spectacular; as summer begins to wind down, the unbreathe-ably hot days of late July and early August are behind us and the temperature hovers at a comfortable 24 or so under cloudless skies. Environment Canada, the national weather service has just confirmed that New Brunswick has the hottest summers in Canada ("Sizzling, hot - New Brunswick?") , so the gentle temps of late summer are a welcome respite.

Friday also means people are in a good mood, so I spent much of the day floating around the office hitting up my co-workers for pledges for the AIDS Walk, which I will be taking part in for the first time on September 10 this year (along with Husband).

Getting involved is in part inspired by a feeling of having been very blessed, and a desire to continue giving back wherever I can; in part inspired by getting to know some families living with HIV/AIDS in the past few years and getting a much better understanding of what that means; and in part inspired by discovering that half the money raised will stay in my province with AIDS New Brunswick/SIDA Nouveau-Brunswick and half will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to work fighting the impact of AIDS in Africa. That seems an uncommonly reasonable approach and since Mr. Lewis is one of my great personal heroes, it was a cause I couldn't refuse.

Then after home, a bite to eat and a nap (it's been a rough week at work), we buckled on Veronica's harness and she and I took a stroll around the neighbourhood, enjoying the sun filtering through the trees and the compliments of passers-by who paused to fuss over her. We relaxed in the back yard for awhile before moving indoors to enjoy a Caesar cocktail over lots of ice (me) and an ice cube (her). She's sound asleep now, worn out from her star turn, and I'm messing around online and working on a web page I'm designing for our nieces & nephews to help keep in touch.

TGIF, indeed.

ronnie