Monday, April 30, 2012

Mom's New Doors!

Here they are!
they look great!
Lady at Rona ordered the wrong ones (again), but this was actually a good thing, as these ones allow even more light to enter. It makes a big difference in Mom's living room especially.



It's the last day of April

the sun is shining, and high of 15 today, is spring finally here?

It was interesting working at the poll last week, we were not that busy, so lots of people watching was done.  I also brought some knitting (no Allison not your sweater) and had a nice pollmate so the day went by very quickly.  We finished about 9:15 and as I headed home I thought I would sit in front of the TV all night and watch the battle between PC and Wildrose.  Not so.  When I turned the TV on the PC's had already be declared as they were leading or won in 60 riding's.Based on the polls not what I had expected.  I guess the 18% of undecided voters did make the difference.

I have been been busy again, what with working for a day, catching up with friends, and cleaning closets.  It will be good to have a break and wind down in Kelowna.  Sam moved in yesterday (with Geoff`s help).  I am happy that he will look after the place while I am gone.  Last Wednesday I participated in a visioning session at L53.  they are looking to find a permanent home in the next few years and were looking for input.  I felt a bit intimidated not really within my comfort zone and most of the people attending were unknown to me but it was fun. 


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

photos









1st picture, downtown las vegas. I couldn't get the guy with the headdress in, but he was pretty much naked, with only  few well appointed pieces of leather to cover the private bits.
2nd picture-on the strip, one of the few places where we found you could actually sit and people watch. We think they want you to keep moving, so you shop,gamble, and drink more. This was a great spot to watch though-sitting outside the Flamingo.
3rd picture-Golden Nugget lobby! I loved it!

the Nugget

I think going to Las Vegas for the time we went, was about perfect. It really is overwhelmingly busy and frantic, yet enjoyable.
The Golden Nugget was all that I had hoped for. Chandeliers, lights, gambling tables, it felt very Rat Pack. Room was good-we had a great view. Swimming pool with shark tank-super.
The size of the hotels got me. They are enormous and contain everything you might need to live. It is strange how these different hotels replicate cities etc.
We saw Cirque de Soleil-Beatles. It was well done and really good entertainment. We also saw Jubilee, the old style show with topless girls wearing truly incredible costumes. This also felt very Rat Pack.
I really don't know how anyone without an addiction lives there. You'd need one to keep up.
Someone at the hotel asked where we were from-Canada. 'Yes, I thought it had to be that or Minnesota'. I kept thinking, do we sound like the characters from Fargo?
 We got somewhat lost one night while wandering the strip, inside the hotels. Really. After our inadvertent tour, I decided that though I like the idea of modern hotels like Cosmopolitan and Vdara, actually being inside them feels cold and sterile. Nice to look at, not nice to be in.
On way home, we had a lout in our row. Some poor family a few rows back had a toddler and baby, who cried a bit before we left. This guy yells out, 'why don't you try some parenting.' Richard and I looked over at him stonily, then ignored him rest of ride. During which he whined about his hangover to his girlfriend across the aisle. Then at deboarding, he and girlfriend leap up and try to get out as quick as they could, jumping the queue, again moaning about their hangovers, how they had to get home and sleep.
As we lined up for customs, they were in front of us. As we left customs we saw him and girlfriend pulled aside and being questioned by agents.


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Happy Birthday Jim


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I Saw the Cutest Thing

I was walking home from the Dr. (everything is good there) today, and approaching a someone sitting on a bench.  It was a person wearing a grey hoodie, with the hood up.  I was wondering if I should feel nervous, was it some young thug?  But no it was Uncle George!!  No news from that side of the family and I really did not have any news for him, so the visit was pretty short.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Happy Birthday Lisa

1976 Prince George Christmas.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Kind of a busy week

Last week was busier then it has been for me since I retired.  Sunday afternoon the company left, and Monday was pretty low key, I did laundry.  Tuesday I went over to Rigoletto's with my friend Polly.  I had the baked rigatoni (of course).  It was great to see her again and get all the gossip from IBM land.  It makes me feel very happy not to be there.  Thursday afternoon Vicky and I went to Rutherford House and had tea.  Freshly made scones with raspberry butter and cream, yummm.  On Friday night I had a couple of friends over for supper.  That was a lot of fun too.  It is always nice to catch up. Today was the last S&B for the season.  Norine's new grandbaby is due on the 17 of May.  Donna is heading off on a cruise to Russia in the fall. 

I applied for a job to work at the polls and got the job at the General Hospital, so nice and close to home.  It pays 265 for the day.


Saturday, April 14, 2012

My bookcase


Have to show off my Christmas present from Geoff. He got a friend of ours to make me a bookcase out of walnut and it got delivered yesterday. Beautiful, no? Not sure I have books worthy of being stored in there.

We are in our third day of snow. Really. Everyone says we need the moisture but surely it could come in more liquid form. We had a week or so of nice weather previous to this and I was getting itchy to be in the yard. That itch will not be scratched for a while yet.

Tim and his friend, I guess girlfriend, Courtney came over for supper this week so we could meet her. She is very nice. She has a little 8-month-old son who is as cute as can be. Fortunately since I have been cleaning up downstairs we could easily locate the high chair and baby toys that I have been keeping for some reason.

Geoff has been off work for a few weeks now and is enjoying his time at home. I am certainly enjoying the meals cooked for me. Between him and Jude I can't remember the last time I cooked supper.

Friday, April 13, 2012

See Ya, Las Vegas

So it turns out that Vegas is exhausting. It brings a whole new meaning to the idea of constant stimulation. Time has very little meaning, which is good, because there are lots of lines!

But boy was it fun. We did some shopping (great outlet stores), saw some shows, and did a little gambling. We went to go see Penn and Teller - it was very good! The hotel it is at is quite a ways off the strip, and we had to walk there, which was probably good for us. We got the tickets at a discount ticket place, which worked well. We all won a little at the blackjack tables, much to our surprise. Last night we only had about ten bucks each to play with, but we managed to build that up some, have a good time, and walk away with money in our pockets. I did well at the slots too, to Jeff and Ryan's chagrin.

There are a thousand things to see, and ten thousand things to do. We spent a lot of time just figuring things out - I can see why people go back, since it takes a while just to get used to the place.

The weather was pretty nice - hot the first day, and warmish the rest of the time. We got some quality time in with the sun by the pool, which was great. It was really dry there, so totally different than Victoria. The soles of my feet were cracked, which was too bad, since we had to do a lot of walking!

The trip back was nearly as long as the trip there - about 14 hours from when we left the hotel to when we got home. We flew through Los Angeles this time. I think that next time I'll swallow the expense and fly from Vancouver to the island. This bus and ferry nonsense wastes a lot of time. Happily Kirsten picked us up at the ferry on the Island!

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Monday, April 09, 2012

Viva Las Vegas

We made it to Vegas! It was a long trip - we flew out of Vancouver, so had to catch the 7:00 ferry this morning. Got to Vegas about 6:30. The trip was ok, but our luggage wad almost delayed in Edmonton which almost made us miss our flight. In the end we got here though.

We are staying at the Monte Carlo. Jeff and our buddy Ryan made friends with the desk guy, who upgraded us to the top floor. It's prettty nice! We went out and had a quick look around themstrip tonight, but we're pretty tired, so not too much. So far: lots of people, lots of lights, lots of slot machines!

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A Very Nice Easter Weekend

G&T came to visit since none of the kids were going home.  Friday night I made clam chowder out of the cookbook Will gave me for Christmas, very delicious.  On Saturday, we went out for breakfast at the Blue Diner, then over to Wener Shoes so Theresa could spend her gift certificate.  She found two pairs of sandals (she also added some of her own money). then I ,ent to the library, and G&T found a hat for G.   After doing some shopping, we went over to G&K's to visit with them.  They had a great trip to Arizona, Marylynne, Deanna and Nancy flew down as well and they had a family reunion in Phoenix.  Kay said the first time in 5 years they were all together.  Both of them were good, and not too much new.  Saturday night we watched my team (Oilers) lose the last game of the season :-(.  Sunday a couple of visits from the Easter Bunny. Then a combo Easter/Birthday dinner, as it was  Grace's roommate Leanna's birthday as well.  Ham and all the fixings.  Allison and Sam  also came over so we had a visit with them too.  After dinner G&T left for Rocky, Sam to study, Allison for home and the girls finished the dishes and then they left to go home, and I was back by myself again.

Spring is certainly not here, still snow on the ground and I have not seen any flowers pushing up.  I guess I will have to wait until I get to Kelowna before I see any.

Spring





We have been busy painting Mom's house. Jim left yesterday, after doing much work here with it! We enjoyed his company, although the poor guy did nothing but work and eat while here :)
Yesterday while putting second coat on front, I noticed 2 quail, 1 robin, 2 ducks, and a squirrel in our yard. Nature!
Mom's house looks great-with the colour you notice her house now, with that yucky brown, it just disappeared.
We have to put a 2nd coat on the siding, and I would like to get primer on the patio bricks.
I have posted a few pictures of our spring here :)
Work has been super busy, doing training for our move to the new building. One more week of that to go, then perhaps a reprieve? I am probably being optimistic. Though stressful, doing all this move stuff is quite interesting.
I am finished my class-my essay was on ethically analyzing dialectical behaviour therapy as a treatment for borderline personality disorder. I found it interesting to do.
My next class is the ethics and politics of health care.
I am irritated with my union. Not unusual. I find this black and white thinking about stuff irritating, and I also find it irritating to be manipulated by it as they try to build support for action. Really, now you offer an information session on job action with pizza and pop? Also interesting is that from my small little sphere, it seems that the people most interested in union activity are the people with 1) worst communication skills 2) poorest job performance 3) poor sense of personal responsibility.
In other news, looking forward to our trip to Las Vegas-shark tank! People watching! Pool! Hotel with many lights!

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Happy Birthday Laura

1974 Crafty Laura

Monday, April 02, 2012

Happy Birthday Will

1989 after a busy week staying with me in Edmonton.