Hello from Strathmore...

Strathmore [ Alberta ]Currently
Observed at: Strathmore 7:00 AM MST Thursday 29 November 2007






Temperature: -17.6°C Humidity: 83% WindChill: -28 Dew Point: -19.9°C Wind Speed: NNW 19 km/h

Need I say more?

The eye in the sky... Google Earth

For years the capture of our house on Google Earth was an old one. Showing driveways with cars of neighbours who hadn't lived here in years.




Trees long felled and no Doug, (the pumpkin ash tree of whom I've blogged a couple of times,) in the back yard.

Well, Google updated! The new pic is from this past summer. Just thought I'd share it.

p.s. Bob is quite impressed with how straight the fence he & Matthew built is!

Getting ready for Strathmore, Alberta

Dang, I'd forgotten about Alberta at this time of year, sunrise, 8:07, sunset, 4:30.
I don't want to talk about -19.

Ok, all I've packed is an extra warm jacket, snow pants, mittens and a scarf... my bag is 1/2 full! Dang... I need to pack for 6 days, plus two sets of dress clothes just in case we partake of the finer establishments. (Are there any there?) I Googled

Restaurants
BAR 1
CAFE 4
COFFEE 2
FAST FOOD 3
FONDUE 1
PIZZA 5
PUB 2
SANDWICHES 1
SEAFOOD 1
Unknown Category 23 ah, upon clicking I find, McD's, Timmy's - hooray, 3 Mr. Subs and a lot starting with the word rodeo and ending in saloon.

Ha... there's a winery, life is good! (Bah... open May - October!) All is not lost, there are plenty of liquor stores.

Heroes... so/so

The bleeding eyes and the lack luster multi-personality people were back... yawn! The rest of the episode was great!

Except the part when our snazzy DVR, set to record something, changed the channel and I missed next weeks scenes. I couldn't get it to go back. If only I had the magic power to actually control the TV! sigh...

Upcoming trip... no, not sun and surf!

The blue splotch, inside the blue circle is where I live. Way, way South in Ontario. The green arrow is where I am going on Wednesday, until Monday. Hello? Strathmore Alberta at the end of November? sigh... I'm packing snow pants!

We don't' get snow until January or February here in the banana belt!

**EDIT** by snow until January or Feburary, I mean REAL snow as we just got some wet stuff that is already gone as it changed to rain.

Turmoil at the office!

Ok, we had our new phone system installed. It's a fancy, schmancy, multi-line, intercom blah blah blah thingy. Now... We're moving up to the front offices after many, way toooooooo many, years of sharing an office. The moment the new phones were working, a certain person who may own the company, but will remain nameless, decided to park himself up front in his new office.

Then I made a huge mistake! I printed out a list of instructions on how to use the system and delivered it! What the hell was I thinking?

Within two minutes of my arriving back at my desk at our current, soon to be old, office, my line rang, two short rings. It showed extension #224... guess who read "how to use the intercom system?" sigh...

NO way am I showing him how to do a mass page through all the phones! I, after all, am the one with the instruction list, I can edit at will!

Tomorrow I may have to do a small act of sabotage! hehehe

Dwight Duncan not sexy, low wattage and just well... Dwightish

So my "favourite" M.P.P. is in the news again. This time for saying that "it's hard being the non sexy M.P.P. for Windsor." Going further to say that "she's got better legs than me." This was said, not in a bar, not in an informal gathering of friends but at the Ontario Economic Summit, in front of the province's top business leaders. Yep, this is the guy in charge of our Provincial coffers!

Remember Dwight? The guy who in 1996 ran for leadership of the party, lost, threw his support behind Kennedy after he and his supporters had agreed to "anyone but Kennedy?" Costing him more than half of his supporters who failed to follow him. The same Dwight who upon realizing McGuinty had won could be seen on CPAC wide eyed, sweating and clearly stating "we're f***ed?" The same Dwight who was then seen wandering the floor crying for his wife?

The same Dwight who has stuck his nose into my ward whom he does not represent, into a Municipal matter, endorsing a proposed project that was objected to by hundreds of residents?

Yep that's him, our illustrious Minister of Finance.

Now what's interesting is Sandra Pupatello's constant defense of her old buddy Dwight. When Dwight was nosing about in her ward's fight with City Hall, I called Sandra, she didn't care. Told me it was his right to appear should he so choose. Now she's defending his "sexy" comments about her saying they're old friends, they kibbutz, they tease.

Well, that's fine, in private. NOT at the Ontario Economic Summit. Come on Sandra, have some self respect, if not for yourself, for the rest of the women in this province.

Shame on both of you!

Heroes is back!

I was worried, this season, up until last week, I thought Heroes was lost, with Lost! Tonight's episode... OMG! It was stupendous.

I have invented a new computer lingo acronym... it made me GOL... gasp out loud! Yea!

But there's only 2 episodes left? Nothing beyond December 3rd, and that was pre writers strike.

If only they'd make more episodic, real, (not reality,) shows like this!

p.s. and as a bonus, no Nicky or bleeding eyed siblings in this episode.

Field Marshal, His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, KG, PC, KT, OM, GBE, QSO, CD, Colonel- in- Chief, & my Dad

My Dad told me the story of his meeting and having a beer with, H.R.H. Prince Philip a few times. It was when we were posted in Soest, Germany. I remember the day of the Royal Visit. I had to wear my Brownie uniform and we practised standing at attention. (The other time I had to wear my Brownie uniform to base was the first raising of the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag, I remember it like it was yesterday. (oops, only old people say that eh?)

Well, back to my Dad and Prince Philip, I just found this pic from a year book of our years in Soest.

Prince Philip, Centre second row. My Dad, third row, second from the left. I assume that's the day my Dad and Prince Philip shared a beer. (Though I suppose they met again in 1983 when Prince Philip came to CFB London for the Centenary of the Regiment.)

Another "SPORTING" story!

I'm not against hunting, in season, legally, humanely and if you eat what you kill... but this story just about made me drive to the guys house, (with a crossbow!)






http://huntinfo.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-backyard-buck-bites-dust.html

(I can't get the hyperlink to work so if you want to see the story in the guy's blog, copy and paste the above URL.)



Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Another Backyard Buck bites the dust!


My good buddy Marc put the smackdown on a tall-tined local deer last night. Here is his story...
Just before dark he heard this deer walking and finally saw him in one very little opening through a
bunch of vines about 25 yards away. He saw a bunch of horns and didn't
think twice. Squeezed the trigger on his crossbow and heard a really good thump. He
could only hear him run off about 25 yards or so. So he sat in the tree
stand waiting for it to get dark. When he got down and started looking around he found his arrow right away with good blood but could not find a blood trail anywhere. So he walked back to his house and
waited about an hour to get a flashlight. When he walked back up to
the spot and shined the light around and he saw a big deer about 50 yards
down the tree line from his arrow standing up with its head down looking
really weird and not even looking up. The buck staggered into the
woods and so he decided to go back to the house again and give it more time. After another hour gone by, he went to the spot where he saw him go into the woods and found blood. After a little more trailing into the
woods and into the back of the neighbor's property he tracked the
blood right to their pond. He shined the light around and what he originally thought was a rock protruding from the water later ended up being his deer!
It was floating in the middle of the pond! He made a quick recovery and with the help of another Deere got back to his house for some quick pics.
Nice buck Marc and great story! Congrats! Now help your buddy Bill get ones of those others you got on trail camera from earlier this year!!

Pretty funny story with a nice 7 pt. to show. First buck with a bow.

posted by Bill MacFarland @ Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Yes sir... "pretty funny story!" Let the deer suffer for hours and find it drowned in a pond! Really sporting, really a story of which to be proud!

Test: What's wrong with this picture?

(Hint: Click the pic for a better view)










a) November 15th and the geraniums are still blooming.
b) My neighbour across the street has fricking Christmas lights up!
c) They've had them up for almost two weeks!
d) All of the above!

sheesh... really Christmas fricking lights! Hello? I think they went up the day after Halloween! Bah Humbug. (Though in some ways, rushing this year to be over is not such a bad idea.)

signed: The Grinch!
P.S. Our leaves have finally turned colour.

*EDIT 10:10pm* P.P.S. Wow, I'm pretty cranky eh? Ignore me, maybe I'll be happier tomorrow!

Parcel from Germany

Today I came home to a parcel from my family in Germany! First I spent time looking at the stamps which made Michelle threaten to cut through them if I didn't open the package! Nice eh? Being a avid stamp collector I was shocked and dismayed by her attitude. I keep telling her, I brought her into this world, I can take her out!

In the parcel was a photo album of my cousin Heike's wedding and pictures of her baby Jana, who has been featured here before. Also in it were pics from the 60's.
(There are pics from the 40's and 50's too, but that's another post.)

They sent me two "Thun" Angels. They match the one my Oma, (Grandmother,) sent me years ago. :)

Seriously, this turning 50 has advantages! My family all came down (best gift!), I got great gifts, I had two parties, I got more gifts, wine, cards and candy last weekend, so other than the whole falling apart thing, 50's not so bad.

Click pics to enlarge.

pic #2 - me (with curled hair!) and Barbara looking out the window at Oma's house
pic #1 - my First Communion taken outside our apartment building in Soest Germany. Barbara has my purse and I'm thinking I'm not impressed! Mom, Dad, Oma, Opa, Tante Gitti holding Sandra (looking at this pic, I'm pretty sure Mom is not happy with what Barbara and I are doing!)

Ok fine, no posts for 4 days!

It's taken me this long to recover from two parties in 7 days! Last Saturday's party was a good one too. The last guests left at 3:30am. The weather allowed us to be outside again. We had two fires and fireworks. (Again... if you are from the Windsor Fire Department, no we didn't!)

Oh and I guess it's true that you fall apart at 50! The bonding came off my front tooth at the party, so for 4 days I was a hillbilly. Though I could make a cool whistling sound through the hole! (Dr. Chase, my dentist, was impressed.)

And you all mocked me when I had the plague!

See? I told you it could have been plague! Fine, I haven't skinned any lions lately but hey, there are lots of feral cats in my hood, I could have been scratched by one. Last night, coming into the yard after work, Bob had a run in with a giant raccoon and a opossum! (Hmmmm is it a opossum or an opossum? You don't say the o part so now I'm confused!)Regardless, there's a plethora of wildlife here and anything could happen! ha!

T minus a mere 4 hours and 10, 9 , 8 , 7 ... minutes!

Yes folks, it's official! My birthday Eve... 50 looms menacingly and for some strange reason I'm feeling really, really tired!

This pic is of my 1st birthday, I thought it appropriate.

Commander & Chief

Really, all these years and still the little guy never fails to amuse...

"My message was that we believe strongly in elections and that you ought to have elections soon and you need to take off your uniform. You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time," Bush told a news conference.

I need some "white out" for my screen!

I love the use of the word "whom." It tries to make the headline so serious, so grammatical! They look so foolish... "For whom would you never vote?" THAT is how this questions should have been phrased! GAWD! (Sorry for the rant but this is one of my pet peeves!) It's up there with "where's your car at? or What time are you going at?) Just typing those make my teeth hurt!

For the birds!

Five minutes ago, Mich was going up the stairs to shower and stopped to ask, "hey, is my bird feeder going to be illegal?" (Though it does cause a mess for my very understanding and kind neighbours.)

It will shortly be illegal to feed pigeons, stray cats and well... anything, anyone decries a nuisance! It will be up to the by-law enforcement to determine "nuisance." Great eh? Gotta love these clear cut, definitive laws!

Ah the joys of Windsor, Ontario a city racing to the status of Flint Michigan... way to set those priorities!

Us

I really like this pic! (Thank you Sandra.)

OMG

Here's a pic of the moment I walked in the door on Saturday and everyone yelled "suprise!" Lucky I didn't drop that carton of $3.00 USD, ($2.80 Canadian,) Coca Cola on my foot!

Caught by surprise!

It turns out, Bob, Michelle and my friends and family are a sneaky, (and secretive,) bunch! A couple of days ago, Patty asked me if I wanted to go shopping in Detroit. Hello? Stuff at half the price it is here, only one 6% tax and using a dollar worth $1.07... of course I wanted to go. One problem, Robin was making me work Saturday. I started bugging him, (nagging, whinging and meanly demanding according to him,) to let me go home at about 1pm. I finally left at 1:30. I was worried about keeping Patty waiting. I come home, Patty comes to get me and off we go to the USA.

Three hours later, we're coming home, I'm hungry, I offer to buy her dinner. Nope, she wants a glass of wine. I tell her Sam's is just up ahead, we can have pasta and a glass of wine. She just keeps driving.

We get to my house. There's a giant wooden duck on my lawn that says "happy 50th birthday Pat." I am confused. My birthday is the 10th, there's a party on the 10th. I ask Patty why there is a birthday duck on my lawn. I wonder if someone got confused. I tell her I hope not everyone is confused otherwise a slew of people are going to show up tonight and I won't be ready. We grab some bags and go to the door.
(Oh, I should mention that Patty had been texting and told me it was to Dan.)

I ring the bell, Michelle opens the door, I walk in and hear people yelling surprise! OMG... I had no clue, none.

I look around, My brother-in-law Mike and my nephews David and Danny from London, My sister Sandra from Sturgeon Falls, My sister Sarah, brother-in-law Claude and nephew Patrick from Montreal, my friends Ann, Joey and Tyler from Toronto, my friends from here on Elm, The whole Anber clan including a sick, but adorable Aryanna and Nanny are all here. My sister Barb had a business trip in Halifax and couldn't come but hey, she got to enjoy the hurricane that hit there yesterday. Now, Mario, Sandra's spouse, had to be elsewhere too and I find that highly suspicious and think maybe he and Barb...? hehehe Erin, my niece had to work, but she called. My Auntie Kay in Calgary sent me a card earlier in the week, Auntie Lorraine in Montreal and Auntie Sheila in Calgary sent cards with Sarah.

I was gobsmacked. I cried. As I looked around and saw one by one who was here, I was more and more surprised.

Debbie made all my favourites, her famous spinach dip and humus. Chinese food was delivered, much wine/rum/beer was imbibed and fireworks may have been involved. (unless you reading this are a Windsor Fire Department Inspector then of course there were no fireworks, that would be wrong!)

This morning, Robin and Debbie made us their famous Christmas breakfast of eggs Benedict, asparagus, fresh pineapple, bacon, sausage and my cheesy potatoes.

Maybe turning 50 isn't so bad if this is how it starts!

I just wish my Dad had been here.

thirty pounds of cat - Zapato visit!

Just another reminder of just who the muse of this blog really is! Isn't he a cute little thing? You really need to click the pic to get Zapato's full majesty!

Maisy Toal as Shrek for Halloween!

hehehe...

The countdown begins

T -9 days to 1/2 century... 50 years... 600 months... 2,600 weeks...18,200 days (not counting leap years)... 436,800 hours... 2,620,800 minutes... sigh, I need a nap!