Day 1 of May

Yes we are into May, May 4th to be exact and there is still some snow on our front lawn.
Not a lot of "happenings" to report. Believe it or not, Sunday night everyone was home, so I asked (forced) everyone to play a family game. We played Crokinal(sp). It was girls agains the guys. Although Ashley and I took the first game in a best out of the three. The guys came back and won the last two in a row. Seems Ashley was hitting the "pieces" just a little too hard and had an injured finger. During the last game there were a few distractions. The first one made Patrick jump right out of his chair. Just as a shot was being made, there was a loud bang on the kitchen window. Normally this time of year, we would have thought some golfer might have sliced his shot. But seeing how the golf course isn't open yet (much to Bill's disbelief), and the window was covering in feathers, it appeared the windex commercial had come to life. A bird had flew into the window. Now this south window is not the window that usually interrupts any birds flight. The kitchen west window has been know to fool a sparrow or two. To solve the problem, I placed a sun catcher in that window. As for this newest accident, Ashley raced out to the deck to discover a beautiful (my words, not hers) bird (as opposed to those damn magpies) had crashed into the window. Dr. Ashley grabbed one of my fine dish towels and went to rescue the injured bird. Unfortunately, it was discovered that he was already dead - a broken neck perhaps (which would explain why his tongue was hanging out of his mouth). After consulting a bird expert (Google - my expert) it would appear the bird was a Northern Flicker (a type of woodpecker) Here is my theory what happened:
The Northern Flicker was returning to his home in Northeran Alberta (say Red Deer) and decided to take a short cut through Calgary, as he was told there was still snow, but wanted to see for himself. His GPS system was shorting out and instead of following Deerfoot trail he wandered towards Stoney Trail. To avoid the flock of seagulls over the dump, the Flicker cut through the Hamptons and that's when the Magpie spotted him and that chase began. Although a faster flyer, the Flicker was not familiar with the area and it's window traps. While taking a steep dive, well, .... that's when we heard the loud thump. And that bold Magpie sat on the deck railing, observing the Flicker before Ashley came to it's rescue. Now if I had to rewrite the story, it would have been the Magpie that crashed into the window.
That was our Sunday.

Tuesday night was a little more entertaining. Shaunan and I went to see John Edwards. Not the politician, but the psychic, lecturer. What an amazing show. Although we didn't ask any questions; nor did we get a reading; three ladies next to us were surprised with a reading. They were three sisters; two were believers and one was a skeptic (when she walked into the room) Thank goodness Shaunan had kleenex because the skeptic was in tears (hopefully of joy) as she was being connected to loved ones passed. It was amazing to listen to some of these stories. I felt very fortunate by the time I left that evening. Here I was wanting to go and hopefully connect with my Dad or Mother-in-law or Aunts or Uncles. I miss them, and they are/were very important people in my life. But some of the people in the audience - they lost loved ones due to accidents; lost children; two children; their personal stories made me glad they were able to connect. I came away feeling lucky to have witnessed their connections and not at all disappointed for not getting my own connections. If you ever get a chance to see this man, he is not only an amazing psychic, but a wonderful speaker and motivator for making you appreciate what and who you have on "this side."
So between the Northern Flicker and John Edwards, it has been a very thought provoking week so far for me. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings (did I mention Thursday is Cinco de Mayo - stay tuned)
Stacey