An Eclectic Week

So on Monday night I went to my first Oiler game with my minipac.    It was very exciting to me.  My team won against the Avs, but I was a bit disappointed that Gabriel Landeskog was not playing for the Avs, he might have a concussion.  My seat is in a good spot.  Then on Wednesday I went to the opera with Allison.  She has a friend who is in the chorus and gave us comp tickets to the dress rehearsal.  There were several school groups there, and I was a bit apprehensive that they would be noisy during the  performances, but they were not and seemed to really enjoy the show.  During the intermissions members of the opera in their costumes were out in the lobby, mingling with the guests answering questions.  It was really fun.

On Saturday I had a long day at work, I worked the regular shift from 10 to 3, then we had a wine and cheese for the teachers who are in out building to mark departmental exams.  It was crazy, there were people all over, all the dressing rooms were full and we made a LOT of sales.  I left around 6, and the rest of the ladies were there until 8. 

New Years Resolutions

Is everyone's NYR to update the blog more?  We have not seen so much updating in a long time.  Mine is to scan all my pictures, that gives much more choice when it comes to loading birthday pics.

Back in the swing of things, going to work.  I have a new convert to the store, Jovita came and bought a new dress.  I had breakfast with Grace and Jovita at the De Dutch, they have opened downtown and it was fantastic.  I really recommend the perogie pannekoeke, bacon, hashbrowns, cheddar cheese and sour cream, how can it miss?

Last weekend Anne, Del, Grace and I went over to visit George and Kay.  It was a really good visit, G&K liked Del and vice versa.  Kay was very impressed with Del's wonderful red hair.  Deanna's son Nathan got engaged to his girlfriend Lauren over the holidays, so a wedding for the other Sivaks in 2014.  they have already booked the Jasper Park Lodge for August 2014 for the wedding.  Haley's boyfriend has applied for Canadian citizenship.

Anne stayed over on the night before she was leaving for her horrible trip home.  I borrowed the car from Grace, and got up to drive her to the airport, for an 8:00 am flight.  After I read her blog about the  trip home, I was glad that at least the start of it was uneventful.  On my way back to the city, I realized I did not have Grace's address with me, I was just going to drop the car at her place, so I picked a spot in what I thought was the general area of her place, then sent a note to her telling her where I left the car.  Turns out I was just about smack dab in front of her place, glad she did not have to search all of McKernan for the car.

We were supposed to have the first S&B for 2013 today, but Diane is fighting a cold, and the rest of us decided that we did not want to risk catching one so it is postponed until Feb.

Now that the lockout is over I have to decide what to do about my Oiler tickets, right now I am leaning towards cashing them in because I am still disgusted by the behavior of the owners and players.  Supposed to get an email today with some more info on what my options are, so I guess I will see what they have to say before I make my final decision.

Some Pictures

These pictures are taken from the Douglas Family Preserve. I am pretty sure all the people who saw me there could tell I am a tourist, because everyone else was wearing sweaters or hoodies.

I am used to seeing liquor sales in grocery stores but I still find it a bit weird to see it on sale in a Drug Store.

I have found a site online where I can watch the Oilers when they play, so that is good. The play by play is done by different people, based on which station it is coming from, and I have to say that I really do not like many of the US guys, they seem to babble on just to hear themselves talk and they are always second guessing the linesmen. Tonight it is Fox Sports from Detroit, they are really terrible.

Flight is Booked

Return to Santa Barbara is 422.00, pretty good. I will have to pay for luggage but still a good price. It has been a very relaxing visit in Rocky. I have made the odd meal and done a few dishes, but mostly reading, knitting and watching TV has been the order of the day. I feel very rested and i might even make it to welcome in the New Year tonight. Yesterday I went over to the Mountaineer and Theresa & I went out for lunch. As I was waiting there for Theresa, I was offered a job there, must be because I am Theresa's sister and they like her so much. Anne and Tim went to Edmonton to the Czech vs US game. Today Grace and Sam are going to the Finland Czech game (courtesy of Tim). The weather here has been fantastic, lots of blue sky temps above freezing, just beautiful.

Last Home Game of the Season

Grace and I went to see the Oilers play the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, the last home game of the season. It did not start out so well, I was craving perogies and the last time I was at Rexall Place, I saw the sign for them. When I went to the place, no perogies, I was pretty disappointed. Once the game started, the Av's scored 3 goals in a row, and I was thinking it was going from bad to worse. then the team got it all together and final score was 5 to 4 in OT for the Oilers. A good end to the home games.

Not a lot new this week, after I got back from Rocky, I woke up on Monday and thought I don't feel like going in to work so I called in and said I was not coming in, and would work on Friday instead. Luckily my manager is pretty laid back and the client had Monday off, so it was no big deal. Of course by the time that Friday came around, I did not feel like coming in then either. But things went OK, and the day really flew by.

Last couple of days have been crazy with gale force winds and snow, I sure hope it ends soon.

Hockey

Well, the craziness has pretty much hit the city. The Olympic torch apparently was on campus this afternoon, but I was in class, so let it pass me by. I was downtown last night, but it was on the east side, well away from the Olympics, so I didn't see all the massive security measures. I'm going down on Monday to volunteer at the Cathedral (they are keeping the doors open 12 hours a day, so they needed lots of hosts!) I think I'll spend a bit more time when my shift is finished, check out the Alberta Pavilion and Slovakia House (maybe they'll have cabbage rolls?) The really big news is that I have tickets to a hockey game this Saturday - Canadian Women vs. Slovakia Women! I'm not really sure who to cheer for (well, I mean, I'll cheer for Canada so I don't get beat up, but I'll cheer for Slovakia quietly as well).



Of course, not everyone here is super happy about the Olympics. Check out this video. It's a about the "Share the Gold" campaign. It's not quite a protest, more of an awareness thing. They are asking people to wear yellow or gold as a reminder that if we can raise 6.9 billion for the games, surely we should be able to raise enough to end homelessness. The place where this video was filmed is the church that's become a shelter where I have a class every week. Ric, who you see in the video, is a minister who runs the place and is one of the instructors.

Hockey Night In Edmonton

Was disappointing, Edmonton was ahead 1 to 0 for most of the game and then in the third period, the Wings got 3 goals, Edmonton got one more, but lost 3 to 2. It was a good game over all, the Oilers played really well. Sam and Grace came over for supper, which was nice, I have not seen Sam since early January. then we caught the train to the game. My friend Corrie came as well, since Allison could not make it. even though we were pretty high in the seats they sightlines at Rexall are good, and there were not a lot of yahoos around us so a very enjoyable evening.

We are going flat out at work, lots of things due at the same time so the days are flying by. I am really looking forward to having 4 days off at Easter, and seeing some green. Still lots of snow on the ground here, and it is not melting all that quickly. It is reminding me of the year Anne was christened, early April and still tons of snow around.

This One's for Scott

Grace says he's our #1 fanboy.

Actually it is Allison posting on behalf of Judith, Grace, and me. We are at Judith's watching the All-Star game and feeling a little sad that the West is not winning.

Judith is making her delicious spaghetti, although she seems to not feel that is as good a dinner as we think it is.

Don Cherry is wearing a hot-pink Chinese silk blazer. ?!

I was going to install insulation downstairs over our furnace pipes yesterday but it was too cold. I did go to the waterpark at the mall with Kirsten & Isaac and friends. We just sat on the deck chairs, drinking gin & tonics and yakking. It felt like Mexico revisited.