Saturday June 15, 2013

Saturday June 15, 2013  update #483

Last night we had some serious clouds going over at sunset with some long tubes out front that looked ominous.  But they weren’t any danger as there was very little wind and no roiling clouds.

I didn’t do much today except pack, and re-pack, and re-pack, trying to keep the main suitcase under 50 lbs.  Like usual, a lot of stuff had to stay behind and my backpack and carry-on will be stuffed.

Today was a re-run of yesterday, with alternating sun, cloud and rain all day long.

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Friday June 14, 2013

Friday June 14, 2013  update #482

I got up too early after watching Lawrence Of Arabia into the wee hours of the morning but I wanted to see if the rain barrel had arrived as scheduled at Lorne’s.   I called and he said he had received two with big holes in them and to call again.

Today was a day where the weather couldn’t decide whether to pee or get off the pot.  Mostly it peed, but we didn’t need to go out until late. 

Every time I step out onto our deck, and then look at the neighbours, I smile and am so thankful that we spent the extra buck, did the work ourselves (with the invaluable help of our friend Ken Johnston) and put on the composite decking that we did.  I think it was called Trex, but I could be wrong.  It is always cool to the touch and still looks magnificent after 8 years.

I had to mail 2 packages of Eleggant Hooks then I sped into Calgary to try to do a quick shopping trip at Bianca Amor’s Liquidation Center.  I did pick up a couple of items, including a keyboard, and wireless headphones.   I just hope I have room in the suitcases for everything I want to bring back.   I better start packing tomorrow.

I went in to see Mom and we decided to play some Tile Rummy.  I had to smile when Mom insisted on dusting the table first.  It reminded me of her late husband Lou who said, “If you want to keep your Mom happy, hand her a dust rag”.  That has always been Mom’s hallmark, a spotlessly clean home, and age hasn’t diminished her resolve.

Now, do I have to admit that a 97-year-old woman beat me 2 straight games??  At least she doesn’t gloat about it (partly because she forgets who won…)

Then we went out for supper and her choice was to go to Boston Pizza for her personal “Meateor” pizza.  Better to have her eat something she enjoys than to hear grumbling over the meal.   It didn’t hurt that she could watch some wrestling on the big monitors.  Little things like that keep her happy.

When I dropped her off she mentioned that her thermometer in the bedroom window had deteriorated and was hard to see and she wanted a new one just like it.   On the way home I picked up a little gasoline and tried to use my Superstore coupons but they didn’t have any thermometers.   I did try to buy a $2 item which suddenly became $4 at the till so I told them they could keep it.

I could have gone to Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart but I was already fed up with Calgary so I headed to Okotoks and went straight to the Dollar Store.  There I found the right thermometer for a whole $1.   I dug up a nickel for the tax and opened my wallet to find my smallest bill was a $20.  Could you believe that the dimwit blonde at the till actually took out a calculator to determine that my change was $19 ??!!  What do they learn in school these days???!!!

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday June 13, 2013

Thursday June 13, 2013  update #481

Happy 53^rd Birthday to our youngest brother Norm.

Last night I was looking outside quite late and saw 3 deer over the back fence so I stepped out on the deck to see if there were more in the area.   I saw a black and white animal scampering to my right which came right below me.   I didn’t want to startle it but I ran to get my camera.   By the time I had returned there was no sign of the skunk.  This morning I made a very careful check of the yard to be sure they were not building a den somewhere.   I always remember when Dad shot a skunk at the farm and it wasn’t long before the whole town, 2 miles away, knew about it.  That smell is very di-stink-tive!

Leonie and Mom were off to see her new doctor in High River mainly to refill prescriptions and to have a quick check-up.  Mom likes the manner of this Doctor, even though he is far away, so she cooperates well.  It was no surprise to anyone that he commended Mom for keeping in such great shape for a 97-year-old.

 I busied myself with chores around the house, like finding additional carpet to cover the front steps because winter and snow-shoveling is too hard on the new paint.  This is pretty good carpet, not expensive, but hard-wearing so it should last for years on our steps that get almost no traffic.  Even the paperboys just throw the paper from several feet away.

Bella has a picture/painting of a Paris scene over the main fireplace and somehow the picture had come away from the matting and was conspicuously askew.  Naturally the back is covered with glued-down paper but I managed to dislodge ½ of it, enough to get at the matting and photo.  I taped it back into place on the mat then wiggled it back underneath.  After taping up the back again, I hung it back up and it looks as good as new.

We had a little sprinkle this afternoon in spite of warning for more severe weather.    I was hoping for a decent rain to test out the repaired rain barrel.  I have to remember to pick up the “new’ rain barrel from Lorne tomorrow.

I enjoyed a nice supper of microwaved corn-on-the-cob and plan to make some popcorn later and relax with a good old movie.

I was surprised to hear that Cuenca has quickly gone from drought to almost flood conditions.  Our area is not on a flood plane so we are confident we will survive this.

I keep procrastinating but I had better start packing the big suitcase with all the items we want to bring back.  I am afraid that, like last time, some heavier items won’t make the trip….

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday June 12, 2013  update #480 

Sad news received this morning.  Jill’s mother-in-law, Dorothy, has just been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung, stomach and spine cancer.  Poor Dodie has been a recluse for the past year no doubt dealing with her pain.  Darn cancer anyway!  Hasn’t it caused us all enough heartache and pain.   Where are all these cures that they supposedly have?  There was even a report that the U of A had found a miracle cure….

More bad news today…  Our Coopera Credit Union in Cuenca has been closed and is under liquidation by the Banking Superintendent, supposedly for money-laundering, the same reason they closed down the Banco Territorial earlier.  Everything I have managed to read indicates that we should be able to recover our deposits and we certainly hope it is as easy as the last one.  I guess we should make sure our deposits are always diversified and guaranteed.

I uploaded some photos for sale today and did other chores before going out to finish sealing the rain barrel crack.  Hopefully it will hold the pressure of a full load.

After cleaning up I headed in to visit Mom about 2:45 and she was more than eager to go for a ride so we headed south.  I cut off the highway through DeWinton and had a real leisurely drive so she could comment on all the lilacs in bloom.  She still had a fixation about groves of trees being too thick, or just right.  When turned back onto 2A heading to Okotoks we just went slowly in the emergency lane then turned right to get some rich country flavour and enjoy the horses, cows, and views of the Rockies.  We even went into D’Arcy Ranch Golf Club on the off chance there might be some deer around but no such luck.

Then we drove across town and she recognized that we were headed to our home.  The grass had been freshly cut so the place looks quite nice.  On the way out I always automatically look at the ravine behind the mail boxes and was rewarded with our first sighting of a deer in our neighbourhood.   Gosh I miss those guys.

We both had been craving more Wings so we went over to Foxy’s where Bev and Jocelyn always look after us so well.  We ordered 30 wings and Mom did her best to help me out and we picked those plates clean.

After getting Mom back home I decided to drop in on our friends Lorne & Mary and was fortunate to catch them at home.   They both look great, as do all of our friends here.   It must be the good clean Alberta air here.   We had a nice visit and chatted about many things and Lorne offered me a blue rainbarrel, available Friday, that I could easily put under the south downspout off our deck.   From the sounds of it I will have to doctor it up much like the other barrel.

That was today’s excitement.   Cheers, Al

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Tuesday June 11, 2013  update #479

Oh boy, an early night and a good sleep do wonders but awaking to a rainy day does put he brakes on that and make you feel dopey and sleepy.

However I did need to get up and get our Eleggant Hooks packages mailed off.  I tried to check to see if we had any new orders prior to leaving but the Internet, and hence our phones too, were down.

I went to the main Post Office to get the packages off with the morning’s stuff then went over to the Southridge PO to check out the additional parcel.  It was indeed Mark Anderson’s passport and paperwork all completed so he will be happy to see all that upon my return.   I did a quick tour in Staples but one look in my wallet cured any thoughts I may have entertained about buying anything.

I dropped in at McFarlane Agencies to see all the boys, including Bill who was in the office in one of his rare visitations.  Everyone looks really good.   I then spent a little time with the new girl, Nicole, who has inherited my book of business.   She appears to have already made a very good impression on her co-workers and my clients so we wish her the best there.

Back home I saw the Internet was up so I called Gord and Em to confirm that Wing Night is tonight at Original Joe’s.  I then gave my Mom a quick call to say I would stop by tomorrow.   Mom loves wings so I am toying with the idea of bringing her to Foxy’s…

Then the Internet went down again so I used my cel to call Platinum to complain.  They are saying it is a general outage everywhere and they are working on it.  It is not looking good for getting at the many things I had hoped to accomplish, like uploading more work for sale, etc.

 I started to tackle the repair to the rain barrel outside.   I applied some Weldbond glue that is not good on plastic (not much is…) and I will apply some Duct tape over top of this once it is reasonably dry.   Hopefully it will then be able to hold water for a while.

Then I went to work on the new camera equipment, installing the UV filter, checking out the 2 new lens hoods, and connecting the new lens cap.   I am very pleased with the small investment.   I took a few shots with the new 70-300 lens and was thankful for the image stabilization feature because the image in my viewfinder wasn’t very steady.  I am quite happy that the photos turned out much better than expected.

I was pooped so settled in for an hour-long nap before heading out to Wings.  Many folks are away so there was only five of us tonight.   I had the salt & pepper wings and was adding more black pepper when the girl cam by with the peppercorn shaker.   Mmmmmm good and spicy.

I then went down to Gord and Emily’s for a quick visit with them and Chimo, their champion Golden Lab.   Oh, the two huge cats, Pepsi and Orange joined the party too.  First we went downstairs to check out why they are not receiving most of my emails but this is a universal problem with Shaw  so they will need to phone Shaw.  I had forgotten how nice a new computer can be, with almost instant page changes and no waiting on anything.  While we enjoyed an ice cream dessert we were treated to a few videos of Chimo doing his workouts and also some footage of his first litter.  Chimo is such a gentle giant who doesn’t bark and is such a pleasure to be around.

It will soon get boring around here once I finish these small projects and I know I will be looking forward to getting back to Bella and the Boys.

That was today’s excitement.   Cheers, Al

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday-Monday June 9-10, 2013

Sunday-Monday June 9-10, 2013  update #478

Early Sunday morning Jill and I met with old friends Norm & Alice Bilodeau from Legal for breakfast.  We hadn’t seen them in a few years so it was very nice that they made the special trip in to see us.  They were married in 1971 like I was and Norm was one of my Best Men.

Jill and I then stopped to pick up some baby gifts for Heather’s and Leah’s babies before heading back to Jill’s to pack up.   Jill and Danai headed for cheerleading practice while I finished up then quickly delivered the gift to Bea Rankin for her grand-daughter.

When I joined the girls at the cheer practice I was immediately amazed at the intricacy of the modern cheers groups and the immense strength in these young ladies.   I had watched my daughter Jill get thrown around in High School and when she was an Edmonton Eskimo cheerleader many years ago but had never really watched so many repetitive moves and lifts as I had in this practice.  Jill said Danai comes home just exhausted after a practice and I don’t doubt that one bit!!  Time after time they have to bend and lift and hold and throw, then hold and catch the falling “top” girl who isn’t necessarily much lighter than them.  The immense trust between the teammates is obvious.  Danai is a real jock, only 13, very strong, and in the top five in track & field in her age group in the province!  We are very proud of her accomplishments.  These young girls vary in age, but they are doing much more complicated routines that Jill did in her day, and Jill has a Duo World-Champion trophy in her case.

Sadly I had to leave but for a good reason as I was headed to spend another day with Todd, Janet, Tyson and baby Sofie.  We had a delicious steak supper and tried to watch TV but wind and rain kept interfering with their Telus satellite signal.  Finally we just hooked up the Nintendo and switched to NetFlix.

Todd had disappeared while we were watching the action movie  “Special Forces” and it became apparent later where he was.   He was in a spare bedroom putting together a futon they had bought so I would have a place to spend the night.  How very nice it was.

Monday morning I helped Todd bring his Yukon over to a mechanic to get repairs started on a rear leaf spring.  Todd has a couple of days off so he is hoping they can accomplish the task before he has to return to work.

I hit the road at 10:30 and arrived in Calgary at 1pm and went to Superstore for some grocery supplies.   I hurried because I had an appointment to meet my friend Janice at A&W for coffee.   This is the nice lady who helped me out with the use of her car in January.  She is presently unemployed so I hope she catches a good break soon.

Next on the agenda was to meet Mom and I arrived early.   I stopped in the parking lot to watch the antics of a squirrel and was surprised to see Mom step out on her patio to check if it was me, and it was only 2:30…  I checked in at the desk and spotted a beautiful bouquet with an unusual orange flower so the camera went to work on that and a rose.    I didn’t realize they were fake silk until I processed the photos.

Mom had also planted a couple of geraniums in her plastic swan planters courtesy of my sister Leonie.   Thanks Leonie!   That is something that Mom takes pride in every year, showing off her geraniums and getting them photographed.

Across the hall from Mom’s is the Garden Room where the ladies work on jigsaw puzzles, and some of them are exceptionally beautiful.  I sure loved the farm scene with the John Deere that brings back memories.

Mom wanted to see photos of the wedding on May 25 so I took her up to the computer room only to find that it is now moved over to the Library room.   Then we didn’t know the password and neither did the supervisor in that room so she let us use her laptop.   Another resident even came and enjoyed the show until Mom hinted strongly that it was time to make a pitstop. 

When we headed back to the room I soon begged off with my anxiety to get home and rest a little because I knew I had many chores awaiting me.   First I stopped to gas up and was dismayed to see that gas prices were increased again, compounding my price for the mid-grade octane.

My first stop was at the mailbox where I was pleasantly surprised to find my 3 packages of camera accessories had arrived.  I will play with those tomorrow.

I sorted out my dirty clothes for laundry tomorrow as well before tackling today’s emails and our Eleggant Hooks orders.  There were 4 orders stacked up including one very large order that needed clarification from Bella and some label printing.  It is a good thing that I have hauled along my external hard drive so I have access to all these unusual items.  It took some time but they are all ready to go now.

I also had another parcel notice for a fourth item that had me mystified until I heard the messages on the phone.  This will be Mark Anderson’s passport so he can sleep a little easier now.

I downloaded my latest batch of photos to the computer here then fired up the laptop to transfer all the Edmonton photos to the external hard drive.

I had another quick meal of nuked smokies with mustard, one of my favourites.  That is one thing I miss in Ecuador is a really good sausage.

It will be an early night tonight!

That was today’s excitement.   Cheers, Al

Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday June 8/13

Saturday June 8/13 update # 477

Jill was off early to take Danai to visit a friend while Dawson and Ash were off to coach a hockey practice for a bunch of 9-year-olds.   I got a call from Ash’s Dad to meet him for coffee so went over to a nearby shopping center.  There was a gazebo tent in front of WalMart which looked like a charity food concession so we checked it out.  It was in favour of the Stollery Children’s Hospital so we gave them our business and basked in the beautiful sunshine, watching the WalMartians go by.

I made it back at the same time as Jill so we called to make sure Bea Rankin was still expecting us to visit this afternoon.  They said to come on over so we arrived to an unexpected First Birthday party for grand-daughter Jenayah (sp?).  Bea had made a point of not telling us so we wouldn’t feel obligated to bring something.  Jenayah is only age One but already knows how to pose for the camera, just like her model mother Leah. 

There was an amazing painting on the wall of Bea’s late husband Jack who passed away Nov 2011.  Another good friend gone to his great reward.

We again made it back home in time for me to jump in with Ash and Dawson to join them for a 6:15 hockey game for their young charges.  The Kinsmen arena was again way on the south side so it was a fair jaunt.  It was kinda neat to sit beside 15-year-old Dawson as he skillfully drove us there.  Then it was a treat to watch these youngsters show off skills well beyond their years.  There was a lot of time to waste so luckily there were lots of TV’s tuned to the Chicago – LA playoff game.   Chicago scored late to make it 3-2 and we thought it was over, with 15 seconds left but somehow LA managed to tie it and it was headed to overtime.

As we reached the truck Dawson showed me a text from Jill to contact Norm & Alice, old friends for many, many years.   I managed to reach them to arrange a breakfast meeting for tomorrow.

I then checked my cel to find that I had two messages waiting as well.  This phone is too new and I am not accustomed to the ring yet, plus it is in a heavy case inside my fanny pack so I didn’t hear it nor feel the vibration.  The messages were for my cousin Jeanne asking if we were nearby and to stop for some Dairy Queen cake…  Well, we were close enough to make that very appealing so we stopped over and again enjoyed a few laughs.  We also managed to catch the goal in the second overtime that won the series for Chicago….  Ash drove us home from there and everyone collapsed into bed.

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.  

Enjoy the pics at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com