NBA - Celtics vs Raptors

A dream come true ...

As mentioned earlier in our blogs, I think it was back in the baseball one, that one of my goals while we were travelling was to see as many different sporting events as possible. So far we have been to the Canadian Open tennis and the Toronto Blue Jays baseball and we are not far off going to see the Maple Leafs ice hockey at some stage. But a dream of mine was to go to an NBA game. Ever since I was a little kid I have loved the game of basketball. Obviously back home I supported and followed the Geelong Supercats. But the biggest league in the world and the most exciting form of the game is the NBA. When I was growing up the teams to watch where the LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics. Of course Michael Jordan would have to be my all-time favourite player, but my Dad and I always had a soft spot for Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

Irrelevant of which teams were playing I have been dying to get to an NBA game. So as we are living here in Toronto, it was obviously going to be a Raptors game versus someone else. When I heard that my beloved Celtics were coming to town to play the Raptors I had to grab some tickets. I'm not even going to mention the price of the tickets, as they ranged from $5000 courtside, to $80 up in the nosebleed sections. Sporting events are so expensive here compared to back home. Thank yourself lucky all of you AFL supporters. Let's just say though, we had good seats for the price we wanted to pay. Unfortunately it was the same weekend that Mel was away, so our friend Lawry came with me. This game was back in late November, but luckily the Celtics were back in town just on the weekend again, January 2nd, so I was able to take my beautiful wife then. 2 games in 2 months ... bonus!

The other bonus of going to see the Celtics at the moment as well is that Shaquille O'Neal, the big Shaq, is playing with them this year. That will mean that I have now seen three of my top five players of all time. I saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play in 1989 and then Magic Johnson play in 1995. And now the great Shaq. It is unfortunate that I will never be able to see Michael Jordan or Larry Bird play live, but this was still going to be awesome!

 

The patriotic anthems - Star Spangled Banner and O Canada

The one and only SHAQ!!! All 7 ft 1" of him.

 

  

Starting 5 lineups and Raptors showtime

  

 

  

  

Under 2 mins til tip-off. So excited!

  

Shaq wins the tip. Good start.

Raptors draw first blood though. 

Then Shaq gets fouled and sent to the charity stripe.

(Well, charity for the Raptors. Worst shooting action ever, poor giant)

  

 

Close game up to half time. Boston playing a safe game, Raptors hanging on. 

We saw some awesome halfime entertainment at both games. At the first game the Raptor mascot put on a dunk show and drove round in his convertible. That was followed by dog agility which Roxy loved.

At the second game we were treated to a great magic show. Too dark to take photos though, but enjoy the other shots.

 

Raptor mascot doing a somersault off a tramp.

On with the game

 

Mel had the camera in hand just at the right moment when DeMar DeRozan threw down the alley-oop.

 He started to dominate the game and the Raptors were looking the goods ...

until Big Daddy came back on started throwing his 150kg weight around!

With 5 minutes to go in the 4th the Celtics started to pull away with some great shooting from the evergreen Ray Allen. A beautiful 3 point shooting action. Hand in the biscuit tin and all Nath and Keith!

A Celtics 93 - 79 win!!!

Crieffs Ladies Retreat

Back in October of 2010, I was invited to attend a Ladies Retreat for church. At the time I was hesitant only because I did not know many of the Ladies and all the church retreats I had been on in the past were not really my cup of tea, but I decided it would be a great way to meet some of the Ladies in the church. Plus it meant I got to see more of Ontario.

So I hitched a ride with Erica and Meg, two ladies who were roughly around the same age as me and as it turns out Meg went to Dort college in the states with a girl who was in my class at school. In fact they were room mates. What were the chances that I would meet someone that knows of friends I grew up with. It really is a small world hey, (Jeanette, it was Odette that Meg lived with).

The retreat was to be held at an Anglican campsite with 3 large dormitary blocks, each consiting of 18 bedrooms with ensuites and in house kitchenettes. Then there were separate little limestone houses that were just beautiful if you wanted to rent a family getaway house.

So I was expecting a church retreat to be full of devotional or bible studies, that sort of thing, But to my pleasant surprise it was more a time for relaxation and a real weekend away with the girls. There was wine and cheese flowing a plenty. They did have some activities planned that were optional such as an art class, a drama and acting class, skin care class and Tai Chai. I did the Tai Chi which was fun. I was planning on taking the art class but missed it because I was chatting to my husband (I have to admit I was very nervous leaving him, it was the first time we have been apart for more than a couple of hours and we don't have the alarm set up here that we are used to back home for emergencies, so as you can imagine I was a tad worried how this was going to work from a practical level) who had planned all these ventures that I was not interested in while I was away. I think all the men whose wives were at the retreat from church got together so they could spend time together as well. I did end up doing the drama class which I was not planning to, given it is not my forte, and although it was fun, it confirmed for me that I should stick to what I do best and acting is far from it. I think I will leave it to Tim and my sister-in-law Noni.

At this place they had these amazing hiking tracks, so I took a lot of time walking through these, taking photos and enjoying the nature. I came across this big cross just as the sun was setting behind it, was quite magical and my mind went to you Nan. I thought how much you would have loved it and cherished that moment. I took some photos for you, but it really did not do it justice.

I got to meet so many of the ladies from church and was able to build the beginnings of some great friendships. It was a lovely weekend and just what I needed!

Christmas 2010

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"

 

Roxy of course got the most presents! 

Here we are at John and Ingrid's place, half way through the meal and feeling bloated and sick from eating way too much with the dreaded yet excited feeling that dessert was still on it's way. A lot of what we ate that day was a mix between, British & Canadian cuisine. Hence the Trifle!

Can't go past a 6 kg Turkey, brilliantly basted smothered in English bangers wrapped in Prosciutto cooked with the juices of the Big Bird.

 Here are some photos of just some of the decorations around the city.

The Christmas Tree featured first in this section, although may look like a normal christmas tree is actually covered in Swarosvky Crystals. It was the most dazzling tree I ahd ever seen. people were lining up to take photos of this tree. I however was not that patient so took a picture from upstairs.