YOU | She's All Wet

The secret as to how our pal Diane Murray keeps her youthful looks is revealed here as our friend enjoys the invigorating waters in the Azores.

Diane tells Scribbles; "The Azores are a group of archipelago islands near Portugal".

Looks very refreshing "Endora" and as always, it's great to see that beaming smile of yours.

KIDS | Keeping Up With the Quinlan's

If you happened to stumble across the lemonade stand above, could you possibly walk by without making a donation?

With a little help from the grown-ups, Jodi Quinlan's daughter Morgyn and her little friend Olive, set up this lemonade and lollypops stand on Keith Street in Niagara Falls, one day this Summer.

Although a bit young to be a sales girl, Morgyn's little sister Moli (top right) was on hand to add that extra "cute factor" to the scene.

The lemonade stand was only one of many MANY things the Quinlan family during Summer break.

Below, we see Jodi, Matt, Moli and Morgyn as they head out on a road trip which would take them to all sorts of places, including The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. 

YOU | Around the World with the Mackies

THE KIDS ENJOYING GREAT WOLF LODGE'S BEDS

You're forgiven if you told us you were having difficulty keeping track of our dear friends the Mackie family. Francesca and Brian, and their children Colin and Catriona have always been a very active lot, but this Summer they've put adventure into overdrive.

There was a retreat to The Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls this Spring. It was a perfect outing. Colin and Catriona were kept busy with the lodge's infamous indoor water park, while Brian and Francesca chilled.

The Mackies also enjoyed a visit to Camp Adventureland before setting their sites abroad with a vacation in the UK. With family ties in the UK, it has become their second home. Heck they may very well consider Toronto their second home and the UK their true home, both places rate high with Brian and Francesca, that we know for sure.

And while adventure parks and a vacation in the UK would be a full agenda for most, the Mackies took one more trip, this time to Disney World Resort [as pictured above]

WOW! That's what I call a great Summer.  If Colin or Catriona are asked to write a composition on what they did this Summer, they're going to have plenty to share with their teachers and classmates.

YOU | Outdoor Super Model

YOU | True Love

ME | I Know My Nice, New Neighbour

I moved to St. Patrick St. in St. Catharines around June 1st, yet it would not be until 2 1/2 months later before I would feel comfortable enough to hang out in the backyard or basement where laundry facilities and my storage room are located.

The reason for my awkwardness?  The lady who lived on the main floor of this two unit house was....well....kinda odd.

We spoke only once, a few days after I had first moved in.  I was inquiring as to where to put my trash at which time she made sure to point out that the recycle bins were for her use only and if I wanted to be in the yard, I was relegated to a far off corner.

She went out of her way to avoid all contact with me, like the day I was heading out and she was coming home, but stayed in her car until after Timmi & I were in my car and driving away, or ducking behind the building when she saw me coming up the driveway to my entrance door, strange shit like that.

It was therefore a pleasure to discover that come mid August, this lady would be moving out of the house and the country for that matter (but not without first digging up shrubs and flowers she had planted and taking her recycle bins -none of which she would be able to take overseas with her, but hey, better to give them to someone else than leave them here for other tenants to use.)

Despite her demeanor, I still put a "Best of Luck" card in her mailbox, the day before she left.

What sweetened the deal even more was that I already know the girl who would soon be moving in. I met Deanna Gilligan a year or more ago through other friends and from some private chats on facebook.  We share a lot of interests and traits and there would be no more "This is MINE" and "That is YOURS" when it came to stuff like the yard or the new recycling blue box I recently bought.

Deanna has lots of stuff, so it took a while to get it all in here.  The next door neighbour is like a drill sergeant when it comes to anyone in this house using HIS god damn driveway [something he holds legal rights to, with an section saying we can use it for loading/unloading purposes only]  I can imagine he had lots to gawk at while Deanna and her daughter's stuff continued to be brought in to the house. LMAO.

Joining Deanna and her daughter Meghan in the main floor unit are 8 year old Shepherd/Husky mix Dakota [beautiful and friendly] and her daughter's 8 month old shitzu Cocoa, described as being "Bratty" by Deanna.  They also have a female "rescue cat" named Vashta. 

So between Deanna and myself, we've got both floors covered when it comes to its dog and cat quota...LOL!

When I went on to Deanna's facebook page to check out some pix for this piece, I kept seeing photos of her at events I had attended. One was a wedding, where not only were we both there, but she sat in the same row as Rob & I,  separated only by the aisle in the middle.  I knew Deanna knew a few of the same people as I do, but it wasn't until I saw so many familiar faces amongst her pix that I realized just how many friends we have in common.  

This new living arrangement just keeps looking brighter every day and I couldn't be happier.

Welcome Deanna & Meghan and all your four-legged roommates.

 

YOU | Jeanne & Megan Brighten Up Niagara

 SEQUENCE OF PIC TAKEN ON THE LAST NIGHT I WOULD SEE JEANNE & MEGAN BEFORE THEY RETURNED HOME. WE DO 'CRAZY' SO WELL, DON'T WE?  LOL.

THE GIRLS GAVE ME A HUG CARD

When it comes to my cousins Jeanne Prince and her daughter Megan Fox, I could write an entire page about their adventures and my undying love for both of them.  As anyone who has been around for the ride since our magazine days knows, Jeanne and Megan have been a big part of Scribbles for decades.

Megan has the dubious honour of being Scribbles second most featured friend over its 35 years, the first, of course, being my sister Jane to whom the very first Scribbles [then known as Sunny Digest] was created on Labour Day 1979.

Jeanne and Megan spent a week in Niagara this August, something the wild and crazy mother-daughter duo try to do each Summer.  Since Jeanne and Megan once lived in St. Catharines, where they naturally made many close friends, it's usually a non-stop visit with this friend or this group of pals. Dinners here, a BBQ there. A party the next night. I am sure the girls need a week to recover from all this merriment, crammed into so little time.

JEANNE & MARTY  |  JEANNE & OLD WORK PALS

When Jeanne and Megan ["me" and "mini me"] were still residing in St. Catharines, now just the two of them in the household, I was at their place constantly.  I was Jeanne's interior decorator and confused young Megan a bit being a "Boy/Man" and a little girlie playmate at the same time. LOL

Given our history, it is mandatory that Jeanne and Megan get together with me at least once per visit to Niagara. We were able to spend two nights together, which as you can see in the photos featured in this section, was a lot of fun.

Old friends like Marty Wilson, Beth & Rob, the girls from work were also on Jeanne's "must see" list and for Megan, there were old friends that she got to spend some quality time with.

Then it was back to Renfrew to share with their adventures with their spouses, family and friends.

Same time next year Jeanne and Megan?

KIDS | Bossom Buddies

 

Emerson Rose may be a petite little girl, but her new friend is even smaller. I love this chipmunk and judging by these pix, Em does too.

Earlier this year we featured a pic of our buddy Dylan standing in a field of small seedlings.

As we see in this series of pic taken by his mom Erin, Dylan's definitely got a green thumb, just check out those yummy looking fresh veggies! YUM YUM!

The series of pix above make me laugh.  We start with little Em and her donkey bag - all packed and off for a sleepover.  She follows her cousin Dylan, donkey bag in tow, while later the cute cousins are all tucked in for bedtime.

YOU | On the Road Again

YOU | Proud Moments for Niagara's LGBT

YOU | "A-TENN-SHUN!!!"

RODNEY, KADE & DERYK IN THEIR COMBAT GEAR  |   PHOTOS COURTESY , RODNEY DENNIS & DERYK COLLARD

Members of the military from across Canada, the United States and the UK were seen across Niagara this August as they took part in some extensive military training.

Parts of the soldier's barracks - set up in Welland - were open to the public and as we see in these pix, our friends Sandra Burger-Vedder, Rodney Dennis, his son Kade and nephew Deryk Collard, were all in attendance.

The boys got to sit in military vehicles and wear combat gear. It was a great way to get up close and personal with the soldiers, almost like actually being in the military.

In your camouflage gear, you look like the real deal, Rodney, Kade and Deryk....but I'm pretty sure your shoes are not regulation footwear.

LOL!

KADE PAYS CLOSE ATTENTION TO INSTRUCTIONS   |  PHOTOS COURTESY , RODNEY DENNIS & DERYK COLLARD

DERYK'S READY TO RUMBLE  |  PHOTOS COURTESY , RODNEY DENNIS & DERYK COLLARD

KIDS | Happy Days

KIDS | Samuel is a Sweetie

PHOTO COURTESY JENN YOUNG

Jenn and Sean Young are enjoying parenthood and with a son as adorable as little Samuel, how could they possibly not?

Photogenic and 3 months old on August 25th, this little tyke is sure to become a popular little Scribbles star.

Who knows, maybe when he's older, Samuel might take after his dad and become a volunteer firefighter. All we would need then is to blow up a generator at the Vineland camp resort N.E.T. then watch as father and son come to our rescue, as Scribbles unique following continues to overlap once again...LMAO 

PHOTOS COURTESY JENN YOUNG

YOU | She Works Hard for the Money... So You Better Treat Her Right!

YOU | Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter. Every season has many good reasons to get outdoors and no one knows that better than our friend Rich Hunt.

Above, Rich and his BFF's Niko and Mya are all smiles as they head off on another wild and wonderful adventure.

Below, when he's not behind the wheel, Rich can often be found treading water in some remote, serine location.

YOU | Birthdays Galore!

Just in case all those long weekends, holidays and warm sunny days didn't get us enough reason to be thrilled about Summer, many of our readers also celebrated their birthdays.

Here are A FEW of those birthday bashes...

Rain or shine, the party must go on. The event: Melisa's daughter Sara's 9th Birthday in July- The venue: my friends Doug & Heather's house. The weather: Cloudy with a chance of meatballs!

Fortunately Sara and her guests did manage to enjoy some time in the bouncy castle which had been rented for the party, before the skies opened and the rain fell. 

It was great to see the old gang all on board for Sara's birthday, especially the one's who were once the kids in the room, not parents!

  

 

On August 30th, Jim Triemstra-Bailey celebrated his 50th birthday (yes, despite how young he looks, we said 50) with husband David, family and friends. 

On facebook, our Brantford buddy said "This [Police Box] was on the top of my birthday cake. Thank you to everybody that came to my party. It was a great time especially when my friends from holland surprised me by showing up." 

Lookin' good Jim!  Welcome to your 50's! 

 

What do you get when you take two silly siblings, whose birthday's are only a day apart, and add family, food and refreshments?  You get a wild and crazy party that's what.

Bob and Jeanne's party was one of many events the Farquharson's and their offspring enjoyed while chillin' at Cathy and Ernie's trailer on Mink Lake this Summer.

When her boyfriend Kevin turned 30 this Spring, Amanda Bergsma along with Kevin's family and friends, gathered at a local park to blow up about $1000 worth of fireworks. (That's what you call a "birthday blast" -LITERALLY!)

Amanda's birthday was in August and although the sky may not have been illuminated by the flashes of fireworks like Kevin's party was, Ms. Bergsma put her own unique spin on the event.

She is creating a Dragon Hoodie, and shared the pix above on facebook, to show her friends the progress she had made.  We're not entirely certain if the hoodie is for some particular function or just a new kind of fashion statement. Either way it looks wicked.

 

Our Toronto pal Kirt celebrated his Summer birthday in a grand way, with a trip to New York. Above we see Kirt flying 1500 feet above the Big Apple in a helicopter tour and making a big splash on the speed boat "The Beast".

Kirt also enjoyed the play Kinky Boots on Broadway and ate his weight in tasty foods ("May I have some more ribs please"...LOL). No wonder he referred to this as a "fantastic birthday".

And although it looks impressive, we must confess, Time Square didn't really get all dolled up for Kirt's celebration, despite the Photoshopped pix below.

Diane Murray had extra reason to be happy on her recent birthday. She and hubby BJ now reside in Niagara Falls, and by the sounds of things, they really love their new place.

Diane is pictured above in a photo from Scribbles archives. Diane (right) is seen with daughter Katie. Katie and her BF Jay created a lovely "welcome" sign for Diane and BJ's new home, which we also see above.

Meanwhile, Di's son Patrick and daughter-in-law played host to her birthday lunch in August.

"Endora's" living the good life these days and that's bewitching indeed!

 

PHOTOS COURTESY BRENDA TURNER, JEFF ZWICKER PHOTOGRAPHY, JANE PERKINS, LYNN S.LUDWIG SHUTTERBEAR.COM

There were plenty of other Scribbles pals who celebrated their birthday's over the Summer months including [seen above left to right] Dave Webber, Clayton Hackey, Tyson Lee, Jane Perkins and Steve Sauder.. 

Yes, we're missing a plethora of others, sorry about that....We hope you ALL enjoyed your birthdays