Blog 23 of June

It's Saturday and it's the long weekend, and there are only 2 days left in this month!!!!
Had a full family house last night.  Albeit Patrick didn't get home until close to 1:00 in the morning from his movie, but Ashley and Ethan also graced us with their presence.  But of course it didn't take long for the house to empty out first thing this morning.  Ashley was the first to leave on her motorcycle at 7:00 a.m. - horse shows going on you know.  Bill followed shortly after that, for his workout and recycle run.   Then Ethan sauntered upstairs and hour later and ate breakfast and he was heading off for some "workout" training.  I got a little weed pulling done in the garden for an hour.  There is still a water restriction going on in the city, so the gardens have only been getting little sips here and there (or when I remember).  Explain to me why my potted plants are almost dead while the weeds seem to be thriving. I swear I am going to start growing weeds...  At 10:00 I headed out to Costco (not my choice on a Saturday morning long weekend),as  my girlfriend needed some stuff up at her cabin.  And I guess shortly after I left, Patrick hitched a ride with Uncle Brian to Edmonton.  He and his cousin Susan are participating in some obstacle race tomorrow.  Thank you to Maya for holding down the fort.
   "Well I had a little chicken and it wouldn't lay an egg, so I poured hot water up and down his leg, so I poured hot water up and down his leg, and the darn old children laid a boiled egg."  That 's the song that has been stuck in my head all afternoon.  Why you might ask?  Because the "ice cream truck" has been driving up and down the neighborhood and this is what it plays.
  A couple of weeks back, Ashley finally downloaded to my computer the pictures she took from Christmas (I may or may not have already mentioned this)  Thought I would share a couple of those photos.

 That's Patrick and his Nana. (my mom)

 That's Maya and Sam (we named Mom's oxygen  tank when she got it over ten years ago.

  That's Mom and her daughters. You figure out the ages. Also I must have missed the memo about wearing a shade of purple!

 That's proof that I do have more than one sister.  There is also a brother, but he couldn't make it to the Christmas dinner.

Off to pay all my bills.

Stacey

Blog 22 of June

It's been a busy week, but Friday is finally here.
Here is a quick summary from the last 4 days.
Tuesday:  This was volunteer day at Spruce Meadows.  Once again I was working the timing in the Meadows on the Green.  It was one of the most amusing days at Spruce so far.  I met a great couple - they are both judges.  I will just call them Bert and Ernie.  They were so entertaining.  Hard to believe they are in their 70's and possibly 80's.   I thought it was a little rude to ask. The drive to and from the show took a long time, as was expected.  I was a little annoyed coming home, but not so much with the traffic (even though it took me 40 minutes to get from the grounds to the Rockyview Hospital.)  No I was annoyed with drivers who were in a hurry to get somewhere.  People, take a look around, assess the situation, and if you can handle to anticipated traffic delays, don't be out driving in them.  Thank goodness I still had a smile on my face from the days activities.  But I'm pretty sure the blond lady behind me was telling me off when I looked at her in my rear view mirror.  She probably didn't appreciate the smile.
Wednesday:  Started the morning with a nice walk with Rose.  I was wanting to revisit our path to see if the previously dug "grave" had been filled yet.  The shovel was no longer lingering in the tree, but the hole and pile of dirt was still there.  As I nervously took a peek in the large hole, I was glad (and a little disappointed) that it was empty.
Came home, showered and went to visit Mom in the morning.  I thought it would be a good time to spread some "love" in the seniors building.  Stopped at Tim Horton's and picked up 4 packs of Tim Bits.  When I arrived at Mom's suite, I told her to put on her air (mobile instead of stationary) and lets go show some appreciation.  Mom was enthusiastic at first, although not sure why we needed to do this. We stopped at the nurses station, stopped at the staff room; next the kitchen and finally the front desk. By the time we headed back to Mom's room, she was a little out of breath.  One of the nurses stopped us and thanked Mom for the donuts.  I know Mom likes the acknowledgment, but her response surprised me.  "Well it was my daughters Hair Brained Idea!"  With a grin on my face, I told Mom I would accept what I thought was a backhanded compliment.  The nurse was sympathetic, and said it was much appreciated by all.  We sat and chatted for another 1/2 hour and enjoyed our coffee/hot chocolate.
Headed home for lunch and got a chance to get some much needed cleaning done.  Dust bunnies had once again invaded the house (but this is nothing compared to the rats and mice De caught in her garage)  After supper I headed down to Inland fields to hang out with some friends and watch their boys play rugby.  Not even my kids, but still cringe every time someone got taken down!!!!
  Thursday started off to be a productive day.  But then I took the bullet, with the roof down and headed for a manicure/pedicure.  The place was busy, so my quick visit turned into 2 1/2 hours.  Thank goodness for Internet.
  And here we are Friday.  A little bit of card work, a little bit of paper work and most definitely a beer on the deck in the afternoon.  Welcome summer.
Stacey

Blog 21 of June

Wow.  Despite the destruction and devastation that has hit the city, there are so many feel good stories in the aftermath.  If you are connected to radio stations on Facebook, no doubt you have seen and heard many of the same stories.
  The Mayor called for volunteers to group at McMahon Stadium at 10:00 a.m.  I was running a little late (driving the son for a haircut) and by 10:30 they had more volunteers than they could use.  I hope those people don't give up hope in helping and find other outlets.  I'll keep you posted on ways we can help.
  I also love that we haven't lost our sense of humor to help get through these trying times.  Here is one picture that I just couldn't resist posting.

They found poor Harvey the Hound's head floating in the Saddledome.   

  As I mentioned I was driving the son for his haircut.  He needed to get to the S.W. - Heritage Drive.  We had heard about slow traffic so he asked if I would drive him.  Well traffic was fine for most of the way.  Then we hit Sarcee and Richmond Road and traffic slowed down to a turtle's pace.  It was frustrating, but also understandable considering most people would be travelling the outskirts of the city.  After about 30 minutes (in what should have taken 5 minutes max) , we discovered the traffic jam was caused by a stalled car.  If we hadn't been already late for this appointment, I would have found a way to help this poor soul out of the lane.  

Bill worked from home today.  His office building was open, but the city has still requested people not enter the downtown region yet.  I'm not sure how much longer I can keep him home.  He did seem to get some work done from home.

Stacey

Blog 20 of June

"The Taylor Swift Experience" or
"Why We Ended up in Winnipeg"

Either of these titles would be appropriate for this blog.
  We left a flooded Calgary on Friday at 2:30.  Surprisingly there was no flight delay to Winnipeg.  There had been a flight cancellation to Toronto and the West Jet line up reflected this disruption.  Thankfully we came prepared and had already printed our boarding passes at home; so we used the handy dandy machines to print out our luggage tag (yes only one bag)  A West Jet representative took us up through the quick pass thus avoiding what could have been at least an hour or more wait time.
  The actual flight was short and sweet, at least for me.  I had a window seat (Patrick chose the middle) and was able to comfortably lay my head against my pillow on the window; that and the Gravol made the flight seem quick.
  The Winnipeg airport looked vaguely familiar (from our sleepover during our Florida trip in Dec/Jan. (see other blog for details)
  Like most airports there were plenty of taxi's waiting and we had no problem getting a ride to our hotel.  We stayed at Assiniboine Gordon Inn on the Park.  Let's say we got what we paid for, and there were no complaints otherwise.  By the time we got settled into the hotel, it was past supper time and both Patrick and I were getting a little hungry (we missed the on flight bit and bites because we were sleeping) so we walked down the street to a Subway (Patrick's choice, not mine), picked up some subs and came back to the room.
  A little food, a couple of games of cribbage, a movie and.......well that's all I remember.  Not sure what time Patrick climbed into his bed and turned out the lights.
  Saturday started out as a lazy morning.  Went to the hotel restaurant for our complementary breakfast.  We spent most of the morning, chillin', playing crib.  Left for the concert at 2:30.  VIP check in was at 3:30.  Once we arrived at the Investors Group Field Stadium, everything became a line-up, as was expected.   What a great way to people watch.  If you were walking around and stumbled upon this venue, you would have no problem figuring out what concert was going on.  The outfits, t-shirts, banners, and especially lipstick, reminded you that you were here to see Taylor Swift and her  "Red" concert.  I was starting to feel a little left out that I didn't have red-enough lipstick on.
  Our first line up was just outside Gate 2 for the VIP's.  Here I was naively thinking there were maybe 50 VIP's.  NOT.  There was a couple of girls behind us and they had driven from Weyburn Sask.  I asked them if they knew any of my relatives?  (pay attention) Turns out one of them went to school with my cousin's, son's wife!  Back to the line up---The VIP gates opened on time at 3:30; we received out tickets, and signed  copy of Taylor's new CD Red.  Then we were ushered in through the gate, only to be sent to another line-up for entrance into the VIP Pinnacle Club.  These doors didn't open until 4:30, so while we waited in line, Patrick bought his Ed Sheeran hoodie and I got my Taylor Swift football jersey. We did a little more people watching and could also see and hear the sound checks for a couple of the opening acts.  As we were ushered into the Pinnacle Club, there was a photographer taking Red Carpet photos.

  Once inside we were treated to a finger food buffet (sliders, smokie sliders, french fries, etc) but again this was the start of another line up. There was also what I can only describe as a candy buffet.  This probably speaks to the demographics of the Taylor Swift fans.  There was popcorn of all types, M&M's, string licorice, chocolate fountain, marshmallows on sticks, jello shooters (non alcoholic) with gummy worms.  That line up became longer than the real food line up quite  quickly.  Kudos to the staff though, because at no time did it really seem too packed in there, and everyone seemed to find a table.  We hung out in this room until it closed - around 6:30 and then headed to our seats (with out a line up)  We were on the floor, third row, seats 9 and 10.  They were pretty good seats, had they been a little higher, they would have been fantastic seats.  Because we were so close and the stage was so high, it got difficult at times to see all the action going on.  We did have access to the large screen right in front of us.   As I mentioned we were in the third row, but moved up to the second row, when those seats became available.  This was a blessing, because on the other side of me (Patrick naturally was on one side of me) was a gentleman who despite he smaller stature, felt the need to take up 1 1/2 seats - his and 1/2 of mine.  

There were three opening acts.  The first was Joel Crouse - a country artist, then Austin Mahone - a Justin Bieber wanna be; then Ed Sheeran

  This is the gentleman that Patrick was looking forward to seeing.  And he wasn't disappointed.  If he hadn't been a fan before, he surely was now.  The guy is an amazing musician.  He came out with his little guitar and a looping pedal (you Google it)  Despite is bad choice of tattoos, and rooster tail hair (I'm just picking on him), he was really good.  He also came out during Taylor's show and did their duet.

And at 8:30, right on time, Taylor Swift started her show.

  She is a great entertainer.  I read the review in the Winnipeg newspaper and it was bang on.  She is talented, gorgeous, and humorous.  I'm pretty sure there were more than 10 costume changes.

  Just like the concert started on time, it ended on time.  The stadium is on the Winnipeg University campus, so we walked with the crowds out of the campus and onto the main thoroughfare, where there wasn't a cab in site.  We continued walking down the street, and after 90 minutes since the concert let out, we managed to flag down a taxi.  Actually I flagged down a taxi, Patrick had run off to find a washroom (make shift one)  i manged to flag down Patrick before he disappeared behind a building and the cab took us back to our hotel, via back roads (there were still traffic jams going on)

Needless to say there wasn't a lot of chit chat when we got back to the hotel.  We were both looking into a peaceful night and sleeping in.  That's when we rediscovered that our flight left at 11:00 am from Winnipeg, so sleeping in would have to wait until a week day (for me at least)

Sure enough, we were up by 7:30, and on our way to make our way back to Calgary.

The price of the hotel = cheap

The price of the flight to Winnipeg = great deal

The price of the ticket package to Taylor Swift = expensive

The weekend with my Son = PRICELESS!

That made it all worth it.

Blog 19 of June

  So this is how Noah felt.........almost time to build that Ark.   Thinking of those who are being so closely affected by this over abundance of rain.  I've lived in Calgary most of my 51 years and I have never seen so many evacuations of communities.
  Woke this morning to the heavy rain, which gave Rose and I a reason to take the day off from our walk.  I was going to climb back into bed, but decided I better get some stuff done around the house before I headed to work.
   Bill came home for work disappointed that golfing was also going to be a no show in the evening.  So instead we did some minor repairs/changes around the house.  Bought a new light fixture last week, for the family room, so we installed that, moved the old one to a fixture upstairs, moved that one to the furnace room, and will take that furnace room light fixture to the dump/fire station for disposal.  In between of those changes I managed to get some laundry done, vacuum the family room and get one bathroom cleaned.
   By the way, Bill found out from the golf course that there was a Flames staff golf tournament yesterday, and that our old neighbour Pat was golfing.  So the mystery golf ball has been solved.  Bill sent Pat an email to confirm, but haven't heard back yet.
  Tomorrow the son and I fly to Winnipeg to see Taylor Swift............can't wait.
Everyone else is in bed right now, so I'm going to follow them.
Night - and stay dry.
Stacey

Blog 18 of June

The weather-people are all saying the same thing. "June is known to be the wettest month - and Mother Nature is making sure these broadcasters look good.  It's been raining off and on all day again today.
  Rose and I hit the pavement at 7:00 a.m. again this morning.  At first, when glancing out the window, it appeared to be wet and dreary, but once we actually got outside, it was just fogging, thus giving the false look of drizzle.  We had a nice walk this morning.  We actually got in a little bit of arm work as well.  Mostly from hitting mosquitoes off of each other.  I'm sure if people were following us, they might have thought we were engaging in a small battle.  During the walk we came across an interesting site.  Rose noticed a "shovel" hanging from a tree - and not too far from this tree laden shovel was a pile of dirt and a fair size hole.  I being the more curious of the two, ran up to take a closer look at the hole.  I can only describe it as follows:  Big enough for a small body, and small enough for a large dog.  I hope there is not snow tomorrow morning, because I'm anxious to go by this  site again and see if the hole is still there, or if it has been replaced by a mound of dirt.  Then what........ (This looks like it could turn into a CSI episode)
   I'm not sure if mentioned this in my blog or not, but Sunday I lent my car to the daughter - yes the bullet named Mercedes.  Trust me, the request was met with much trepidation from me, but as my good friend Rose put it, Ashley has great people skills.  (for the record she came home late and complaining that my car didn't drive as well as Dad's- and that certainly solved any future dilemma I have about lending it to her once again).  Back to the story.  Ashley's "story" was she was meeting with her photographer friend from Spruce Meadows and they wanted to take some shots of my car.  Well I visited Dirks website and I came across some great photo's of Ashley, but only one of my car.

  Granted it is a great picture.  

After the walk this morning, a quick shower and I was out of the house and working on three stores to remove the Father's Day cards.  I'm happy to report to all shoppers that there should be no more "seasonal" card change overs until Thanksgiving and Halloween come along.  So enjoy the stores.........

Thankfully I finished up just after lunch time and had plenty of time to make my visit with Mom.  She was in much better spirits than the previous week.  And her mood only got better when I suggested that next week we visit Target!!!!!!  Yeah shopping - my favorite NOT.  I also tried to convince Mom to get her wheelchair to have at her place.  I told her I wanted to take her to Spruce Meadows for an afternoon.  That didn't meet with great enthusiasm, but hopefully Mom will follow up on that.  I can only make the suggestions..

  Bill arrived home from work on time and for a quick bite.  He was going to go golfing despite the "dreary" weather outside.  Just before he left, he noticed another golf ball on our lawn.  I slipped on the flip flops near the door and ran out to retrieve the lonely ball.  What a surprise we received.

Now ordinarily this wouldn't be such a big deal. We've all seen Flames balls (the golf type, not the players) being used by the average Joe.  The what was written on the other side of the ball was unexpected.

I love a mystery.  I'm thinking it might be from an old neighbor at our other place in the Hamptons.  Pat worked and still works for the Flames organization.  I'll keep you posted if I discover the mystery golfer. (or in this case, someone who is missing a ball!!!!!)

Have another great quote to share: (hopefully I haven't shared it before, but I was too lazy to go back and check.)

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb, that's where all the fruit is."

Enjoy your Wednesday evening.

Stacey

Blog 17 of June

I apologize for my picture less blog last night.  It was late, I climbed into bed, remembered I had stuff to say, so used my I-pad to write my blog.  Obviously I haven't finished reading all my instruction manuals for the I-Pad because I couldn't figure out how to get pictures.
  Today is today and today is Tuesday.  Rose and I hit the pavement and paths again today for our walk.  Out by 7:00 home before 8:30.  We hit some rain at the beginning of our walk, and debated cutting the walk short.  Thankfully we didn't as the sky cleared up and more than half of the walk was done with clear glasses and hood-less heads (apologizes for the bad morning hair).
  I did have great plans to go into my stores, but yesterday I received a notice on my door from UPS that they had a delivery for me.  I tried phoning the 1 800 number to arrange other delivery methods, but after 20 minutes of pushing this button and that button, I finally pressed the "0" and was connected to a real voice (not a helpful one, but nevertheless, a real one)  I was informed that the options for delivery were limited because the parcel was coming from the U.S.  To make my life simpler, I decided to stay home to receive the package, with the hope that the parcel would be delivered at the beginning of the time frame of 10:00 - 2:30.   It didn't happen. That's ok, I've adjusted my remaining week days accordingly.
  What was in this unexpected package you ask!  Well turns out, when I ordered our Taylor Swift concert tickets (V I P), it comes with some lovely stuff (or as Bill might call it, junk).  There were a few things in this medium size box; a lovely throw blanket (a really nice one), some guitar picks (to put in my frame with the tickets) load of concert books (if I were a teenager, I'd cut out the pictures and make a collage for my wall), a plastic bag (my groceries are going to travel in class), a couple of plastic bracelets (hopefully they glow in the dark); a glow stick (which I will be taking to the concert), a rubber speaker (would help if I had a I-phone to attach it to), greeting cards (you pay money for these in Safeways) and a phone cover (again, will have to get a new phone in order to use it)  Now multiple all this by 2, because I have two tickets, so Patrick also got the same stuff (I'm assuming, because I haven't opened the other parcel yet)  So this Saturday night, Patrick and I will be rocking in Winnipeg to Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.
  As I was laying in bed last night, documenting my blog, I was also checking out Facebook.  I came across an entry that Patrick has posted.  It read "Happy Fathers Day; So lucky to be the son of Bruce Lee!"  and with that quote came the following picture:

Yes that is Bill.  I commented to Patrick that  he was brave putting it on Facebook.  But now that it is up there, I guess I'm ok to post it here.  Probably less people will see it.  This picture is hanging on our picture wall in the family room. A very long time ago, one of Patrick's school friends was over, and seen this picture.  He asked Patrick "  Why is your dad's head on somebody else's body?"  I love Colin!!!!! I can't remember Bill's age in this picture, but it was before Ashley, so it is pre - 1989.

  Also to celebrate Father's Day, Bill asked for a white cake.  I thought I would be creative and go a step further.  I'm not sure if I already mentioned this, but I decided to make cake pops.  I got the idea from my friend Linda Wong.  She told me how she made them.  So I checked with my other friend "Google" and confirmed how to make them.  Google suggested dipping them in chocolate, and so I did

They were pretty easy to make, but I didn't actually try one.  Everyone else did and it is my understanding they might be a little too sweet with all the chocolate.  That would explain why there are less than 1/2 of this tray left!!!!!!!!!  I think icing would be just as sweet, so maybe I'll just stick with a plain old cake.  At least the icing is distributed a little more.

I tried another recipe today. I had come across this recipe somewhere on the Internet and printed and saved it.  Last weekend when I went to Costco I bought the ingredients (except for the kiwi fruit) So today, while I had to wait for my delivery, I thought it would be a good time to get these made, before the fruit got old.  Here is the website and the picture.

http://pilatesplatinum.blogspot.ca/2013/03/mouthwatering-treats-from-mama-earth.html

 Unfortunately I don't have any Popsicle holders/makers/stick, so  I just used my trusty Tupperware dessert holders.  They are in the freezer now, so I will let you know tomorrow how they turned out and if they were a hit.  They are definitely healthy.  Hmmm,  make a little taste of tequila will make them tastier on a hot day in the summer!!!!!!

k..I better go; afternoon writing can take up a lot of time, and people are going to be wanting supper when they get home (if they come home)

Stacey

Blog 16 of June

First a quick update. I mentioned a job offer in a previous blog.  Decided to turn it down.  It was for a playgroup that I used to take a little guy to.  The owner/operator was looking for someone to "host/run" it, as she is not going to be able to next year.  She asked if either Rose or myself would be interested.  We decided the S.W was just a little to far.  We really wanted to help her out, as she is an amazing lady.  Hopefully our paths will cross at a different fork in the road.
  This morning Rose and I met for our walk at around 7:00 a.m.  I was back home and in the shower by 8:30   This week I will be working all my stores to take down the Father's Day cards.  The next card holiday won't be until thanksgiving and halloween.  Hopefully I'll be able to take some down time in the summer.
  I received a weird text the other day.  Here is how it reads.  "Here's the crazy hookup site I told u about at work Austin, ezHookupCanada.com - I got a lot of action lately, easier than POF for getting girls :)
  The number it came from doesn't look familiar.   The mom in me wants to reply, sternly, but the girl in me, wants to play a joke.         For the record I haven't gone on the website, because with my luck, it will be a porn site, and I'll have spam mail for the rest of my life.
  Also got an interesting email today from one of my cousins, Lane.  I've mentioned my auntie Bea before.  She passed away last year at the age of 100.  I guess one of her last requests was to have her sons locate the grave of her father (that would be my grandfather) and place a marker on the grave.  This would be my dads father.  I believe my grandfather passed away when my Dad was a young boy.  My dad was born in 1918.  I don't have the exact dates in front of me, but I think my dad was around the age of 8.  That would be 1926.  So for around 90 years there has been an unmarked grave site on cemetery hill for Joseph Zobach.  I have just added a new item to my bucket list.  To go visit (if that's the appropriate term) my grandfathers grave.
Early night for me, and hopefully another early walk with Rose tomorrow.

Stacey

Blog 15 of June

Happy Father's Day

History

Father's Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting.
After the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother's Day in the US, some wanted to create similar holidays for other family members, and Father's Day was the choice most likely to succeed. There were other persons in the US who independently thought of "Father's Day", but the credit for the modern holiday is often given to Sonora Dodd, who was the driving force behind its establishment.
Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd, who was born in Arkansas. Its first celebration was in the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there. After hearing a sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them.  Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
  There is much more to the story and you can check it out at this website:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father's_Day

 Here are a few memories of my Dad (and Dad-in-law)

  This is where my Dad was the happiest.  Out fishing; in the summer or the winter.  He built a wooden ice shack for when he was ice fishing.  This is a picture of a fish that he caught when he was ice fishing.  It was one of the largest to come out of "a particular lake, through the ice.

  I think one of his grandchildren may still have this "infamous perch.

In the summer we would pack up the trailer and head to a favorite campground.  The first trailer I remember is the one below.  It had a set of bunk beds in the back.  Robin and I would sleep on the top bunk and Mom and Dad would sleep on the bottom bunk.  One time, it was suggested (and I'm not sure by whom) that we switch bunks.  So Robin and I snuggled into the bottom and Mom and Dad struggled to climb up top.  In the middle of the night, Dad had to get up to go to the bathroom.  He forgot he was on the top bunk, so as he sat up and step off the bed, there was no floor.  Let me rephrase that, there was a floor, but it was quite a few more feet down then he remembered.  So basically he fell out of the bunk.  If the table had been set down at the other end of the trailer, he would have hit his nose (and trust me, the Zoback nose is already a remarkable size), and probably done some serious damage.  I think the trailer shook for a long time that night.  Not from the fall, but from mom laughing so hard.  

Below is a picture of a paddle boat that my Dad made.  I remember Dad and Uncle Casey riding on it, but I don't recall if I ever got to take if for a spin.  Probably not; I think I was too small at the time.  I never realized at the time how talented Dad was.

And finally here is a picture of my Dad in his younger days. This is in downtown Calgary.  We have quite a few pictures of him in a "cowboy" hat.  Handsome looking guy!!!! Love and Miss you Dad!!!

Then there is my Father-in-law

 This is a picture of Mom and Dad taken I believe some time in 1994.  He was a great Father 

And a great grandfather.  This was from Nov 2001 at Grandpa's birthday dinner.  There was always a picture with the birthday boy and his grand kids.

 Another birthday picture from October 1998.  I used to warn Patrick to not make funny faces during pictures, because they would come back to haunt him.  This is one of those times......  Thinking of you Dad on Father's Day.

Father's Day got off to a quiet start this morning.  Ashley left early for work; Ethan left for home; and Bill and I drove Patrick to the University for his course.  We then went to the cemetery to show our respect for our Dads.  Queens Park was busy today.  We visited Bill's  Mom and Dad's site first.  Did a lot of weed pulling (Dad would not like weeds)  Then we went to visit my Dad's site.  It was a little more difficult to find because the grass was quite long, and it is a flat stone.  

After we got home, Bill got his golfing stuff in order as Patrick and Ethan were taking Bill and Steve (Ethan's Dad golfing in the afternoon)  Unfortunately Ashley had to work so she will celebrate with Bill when she gets home this evening.  And the bonus for me............ It's nice and quiet in the house.

 Here are a few pictures of Ashley and Patrick with their Dad!

This is Bill and Ashley on September 29, 1989.  Ashley is 16 days old.

 This is Bill and Ashley on October 28, 1989 - Ashley is 45 days old.

 This is Bill and Patrick in April of 1993, so Patrick isn't quite a month old yet. I'm not sure why we are always comparing feet size.  We should almost do a feet comparison now with Bill and Patrick - Bill could use Patrick's shoes as boats!!!

 And this is Bill and Patrick in May of 1993.  You noticed for the second child, I don't have the exact dates.  Thankfully I have the month and year.  

Happy Father's Day Bill, you are a great Dad.  

1.   This is so true.!!!!!!

Blog 14 of June

This picture was taken by the photographer at Spruce Meadows.  When I first saw it, I too thought I was taking a quick nap.  Then I quickly went through my memories of the day and I didn't remember nodding off (but then again, I don't remember seeing the Rolling Stones)  Some of you may have already seen this picture on Facebook on my file.  My lovely daughter tagged me in it.  Turns out, it was during one of the storm delays and I was actually checking my phone.  Note to self - when volunteering at Spruce Meadows, hold my phone up to check messages and keep the chin up - hides the wrinkles.....
   I visited the  Spruce Meadows website for the "Naming of the Foal" contest.  I'm sharing my ideas with you.
Foal #1 - I chose "Intuitive" as the first name.  The horse was born under the astrological sign of Aries, and Aries are known to be intuitive. (and the name had to start with the letter I)
Foal #2 -I chose the name Le Mieux de Premier (roughly translated it means "Best of the First".  The Father's name was  Le Premier (and it had to start with the letter L)
Foal #3 - I chose the name "Le Noir Sur Le Blank" - again roughly translated it means Black on White.  Just like a silhouette, and the Mom's name is Silhouette.  (the name had to start with the letter L.)
  Got a job offer today.  Don't want to go into too many details right now, but it would start in September and go til June.  Still pondering, and the best part is I'd get to work with Rose again..........
  Ashley and Ethan are home for the evening and I think Patrick and his friend are coming back to the house to watch a movie.  So when Bill gets home from golfing, it will be a full house...... Can you say games???
  Ashley just gave me the pictures from Christmas so I'm going to sort through those.
  Enjoy Saturday night.
Stacey

Blog 13 of June

And the weekend is here.
Put in my last volunteer day at Spruce Meadows (for this show)  I was promoted to a bigger ring (I must know somebody with clout)  There were a lot more bodies in the judges booth; I learned that when there is big money involved they have to have three judges, more timers, the video-ographer, etc.  It was nice working with other times and I was with a pro; her name is Rosemary.  She gave me a lot of tips and pointers.  Ashley said they don't usually put newbies (me) in the bigger rings, unless they are young and keen.   I asked her if she was indicating that I was "young and keen."  Her reply - "have you seen the age of the other people."  I'm not what that means, but I'm taking it as a compliment...    As is the case with most Spruce Meadows tournaments, we had a down pour.  There were two delays at the ring I was working.  The rain wasn't the problem, but it was the lightening.  I guess there was a lightening strike at another ring on the score board.
Is is a note from spruce meadows website:
Calgary, AB – June 14, 2013 – Riders at the Spruce Meadows 'Continental' Tournament had to deal with incoming rain and storms today, but it didn't dampen the level of competition. McLain Ward (USA) and Grant Road Partners' Super Trooper de Ness were fastest in a large field of 75 to win the $33,000 AltaGas Cup 1.45m. Christine McCrea (USA) and Romantovich Take One, owned by Candy Tribble, were best in the $33,000 Scotiabank Cup 1.50m.

Between the jumps and the jump off, they brought three new foals.  Spruce Meadows has a contest where you can enter to name the foals:  http://www.spruce meadows.com/contest/view_contest.jsp?id=17
I'm going to do a little research and send it my entries.  You should do the same.

   Due to all the delays, I didn't head home until around 4:00 pm and coming from spruce to my side of town, it was obvious I was going to hit rush hour.  And what would rush hour be without some accidents.  I was complaining to Ashley that it took me an hour to get home.  Apparently an hour for that distance and time is pretty good.  OK, I take back my complaint.  I do miss my off hours!!!
   Both Bill and the son were out and about (golfing and PREP courses, accordingly)  So Maya and I just chillaxed for the early evening.  I'm sure looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

I head a good joke the other day and I thought I would share:

Q:  What do you do when you see a spaceman?

A:  Park your car, man!!!!

K, that makes me giggle every time I say it (or type it)
Enjoy your weekend.
Stacey

Blog 12 of June

What a great day today.  I volunteered at Spruce Meadows once again.  But this time, instead of working in the lounge, I was assigned the duty of timer.  Now before you hold your breath, and wonder how I got a position with such great responsibility, understand that I was not the official timer.  I'll explain.  On each ring there is a computer timer that goes by the "computer beams and computers".  Should that system fail (or blow over in a rain storm, or get knocked over by a horse, etc), they have back up "ground timers" who are using stop watches (that's me) for emergency cases.  So although it might not be the "high ranking" timer, we do have to keep focused.  This is a true test if someone might have a slight case of ADHD.  (and I may be in there somewhere)  We sit in the booth with the judges, and announcer,  and official timers, and all those who wander in and out. I can honestly say I only missed one (or two or three) times, but usually it was because I pushed the wrong button on my stop watch.  In addition to ground timer, I was also asked to help with ribbon presentations, which means I had to put on one of the infamous "red Spruce Meadows coats", and  help distribute the ribbons to the riders, (luckily I didn't have to place the actual ribbons on the very large, four legged, animals that glared at me from the corner of their eyes).  Then as the riders did the victory gallop we had to clap and take the salutes.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, most of these workers are volunteers and the entire operation is a very well oiled machine.  As an added bonus, I got to see Ashley in action.  She walks from ring to ring making sure everyone has what they need or solve any pressing problems - the walkie talkie is practically glued to her ear.
  The fabulous day got off to a very early start.  I set my alarm for 5:45 am as I had to be at Spruce by 7:45. Around 4:00 a.m. I and startled awake by Maya doing her annoying growl.  I listen to see what has got her defense mode up.  I hear birds, and then I see Bill is also awake and I ask him what the noise is.  He too hears birds.  Now we are not talking one little beep, beep, but more like a flock of birds that has decided to descend on our house, surround it, and purposely compete to see who can be the loudest.  I get up and go the kitchen only to discover, my mom's alarm clock (that I took from her yesterday because it was broke) actually works, and the alarm was going off.  I can't for the life of me figure out why she would have the alarm set for 4:00 am.  I quickly turn off the alarm and remove the batteries just in case, it is a malfunction and we are attacked later on by those fictional birds.  I don't believe I went back to sleep, so I'm convinced I'll need a nap when I get home - and I did.
  I entered a contest the other day on a website.  I think it was for one of the radio stations, but I didn't mark it down, so I can't be sure.  The contest was to write something that your Dad taught you or a lesson learned from your Dad.  Here is my entry.

I was my Dad's baby girl (youngest of 4 children)  When I was younger, my Dad used to repeat over and over to me "Stick with me Stacey, and you'll be wearing diamonds!"  At the time I didn't quite understand what he meant.  Fast forward to my late teens.  I was still living at home, and Mom, Dad and I went to Northland Shopping Center for Chinese Food.  When we finished dinner, we were walking past a jewelry store.  I reminded my Dad of his promise about sticking with him.  Surprisingly, Dad walked into the store, with Mom and I following right behind him.  Dad picked out a diamond ring for me (you would need a magnifying glass to confirm the diamond part).  He also bought my mom a diamond engagement ring with the matching band.  My mom only had a tiny gold band that Dad had given her in September, 1943 when they drove to Calgary from Carmangay and eloped.  In 1983 my Dad passed away with cancer, but two months before he passed away, I became engaged, and my "husband to be" gave me a 1/2 carat engagement ring.  I now truly understood what he meant.  I did stick with my Dad and I had my diamond (both of them)  I lost my Dad when I was 21 and my husband and I just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.  I'd say Dad had great advice.

This is one of those stories that you want to pass on to your kids and grandkids.

This picture is from my grade 12 Graduation.

Miss you Dad!

Stacey

Blog 11 of June

And the week is half over.

I went to visit my mom first thing this morning. I should have picked up on her bad mood as soon as I walked into the room.  I put a smile on my face and said "good morning Mom".  "Oh hi.." she replies.  I asked her where her smile was.... She didn't know.  So I pulled out my bag of goodies for her.  First I brought her another bib.  I did a few alterations so it would fit better.  But again, it wasn't right.  It was too long (it was the same length as all the others) and the neck piece was too wide.  I tried to explain about the length being the same and that I made the neck piece smaller.  I even demonstrated.  But no, it wasn't right.  So I gave up and said, "Well that's all I got, just give it away."  Mom folded up the bib and put it down.  It was quiet for the next few minutes (seemed like forever).  Finally I broke the silence and asked how everyone was.  OK, I guess...... which is the usual answer.  I gave her the stamps she asked for and told her I ordered the flowers for her daughter-in-law like she asked.  Oh, good.... said the lady of few words.  "My radio doesn't work!"  I picked it up and offered to take it home to fix it (change the batteries)   I managed to keep the conversation going for 45 minutes and then I finally said I had to go - which I did, as I had a dentist appointment.  A quick peck on the cheek and I left, completely drained.  I am trying not to take on my mom's issues, but it's hard.  Hopefully next week will be a better one for her.
   So I headed to my dentist.  I had made a thank you card as Dr. Kim sponsored me in my Kidney March.  I promised to keep her posted on my progress and run.
  With my teeth newly cleaned and polished and all the other extras they do, I headed to one of my card stores.  It was pretty quiet in the store so I was able to get everything done in about 45 minutes.
  When I got home, I had received a nice text from a friend.  I had been invited out to help another friend celebrate her birthday.  It was going to be a surprise.  After the busy day I had, I was looking forward to a gathering of great ladies.  It was good to catch up.
  I also wanted to send a Happy Anniversary to my friend Rose....... 5 years - cancer free.  What a wonderful thing to celebrate - the beers on me!!!!!!
  I came across another great quote today:
    "Don't make a permanent decision, during a temporary emotion."  - I know I have probably done this in the past (if I could only remember), but one person comes to mind who has done this recently. (and many times before ).  My wish for them is that they realize this, and maybe figure it out before it affects them and their family in a way that cannot be fixed!

  It's a late night for me; already past 10:00 pm.  Better gather the pup and my book and settle in for a short read tonight.

Blog 10 of June

Sorry, I will try and stay more consistent with the heading of the blog.  I changed from "Day 1 of June" as it was confusing some people because it didn't necessarily match the actual date of the month.  Hopefully I haven't made it more confusing.
  Another early start to the day.  Patrick had his doctor's appointment regarding his cluster headaches.  I found it very hard to sit there and let the son conduct his own meeting.  It was much easier when the kids were younger and I got to ask the questions and look for the answers I wanted.  I came in hand with all my notes, waiting for the chance to be asked my opinion.  Didn't happen!!!  The doctor prescribed Alieve to see if they would stop the pain from happening.  Hopefully once the headaches are under control or in remission and the pain isn't influencing his treatment options, the son might look into "non"medicinal options.  But as my friend Janice explained to me, when we were that age, anything out of the norm also sounded "hokey".  Ahhh, to be 20 again, NOT!!!!!!
  After the doctor's appointment, I met Janice, Anna, and Debbie at Cora's in Sunridge Mall.  It didn't seem as busy as the Cora's at Northland, which was a nice change.  We had a nice meal and caught up on stuff.  A quick pit stop at Superstore on the way home and I was ready to finish up that darn laundry!!!  As you can tell, not my favorite home job!
  I'm trying to get a few things done for Mom to take to our visit tomorrow - the bibs and she also asked me to type up instructions for a different scarf.  She was given some new wool from her sister and the instructions for the scarf are on the back of the wool label.  Of course the printing is very tiny and mom can't read it, so she asked if I could type it up.  No problem - oh wait, my eyes are getting just as bad and I can barely read it.  It might take a little longer than I thought.

I wanted to share a couple of  quotes that I seen on a radio Facebook page.  I didn't write down the authors, but both of these really made sense to me.

1)  Life always offer you a second chance, it's called TOMORROW!

2)  The best part about being over 40, we did most of our stupid stuff before the Internet!!!!!

Finish up and off to bed.

Stacey
 

Day 9 of Blog

For someone who is down by one job, I still seem to be busy!! (but somehow laundry still takes the back seat)
I worked three different stores today, but it was nice to be home by 1:00 pm.  Ashley had the day off, but by the time I got home, she was out and about on the two wheels.  Seems she took the boyfriend to lunch and then met up with some fellow Spruce Meadows staff.  One of the gentleman is a photographer for Spruce and he took this great picture of Ashley today.

Ashley also took some shots at Prince's Island Park.  Lots of geese and their babies.  Funny as she was showing me these pictures, she came across pictures she had taken at Christmas dinner at our house.  I hadn't seen these photos yet.  She thought she sent them to me.  Hopefully she'll have them to me by next week and I can take them to show Mom.  There were some great family shots.

I was updating my Kidney March page and I'm excited that I am over half of my goal for pledges.  But the best part is the messages that everyone has left.  Here are some of those messages.

Call me if you need a practice partner.

You go girl.

I'm PROUD of you Stacey!! You can do this!! Love, 

You go girl. It's pretty cool your doing this.

Keep checking off that list! Good luck!

Its great to have people like you who are up for the challenge and dedicated to a great cause!

Hi Stacey, Wow, this is quite the challenge, and a great cause. We will be cheering you on with each and every step.

Way to go girl!

Good luck Stac

Go Stacey, we are cheering for you

Good luck Stacey!

Good luck on this journey!

Stacey - We know you can do it!! And while you are walking, you can be practicing your karaoke singing as well! Good luck! 

You are an inspiration to me! I will be cheering you on! Yay Stacey!

Those comments and the support mean so much to you.  Thanks to everyone again.  Excitement seems to be out weighing the nervousness right now.  After doing some of the training walks, I think I can do the walk (because I know there are potty breaks and such every 5 km) and I think the night time bonding and meeting new people will be a wonderful bonus.

I also signed up for my volunteer position at Reggae-fest once again.  One of Bob Marley's sons will be performing this year, so the show should be as exciting as always.  

I better get my desk cleared off.  Another hectic day tomorrow.

Stacey

Blog 8 of June

It's Sunday, and I woke up with a bit of a sore hip.  Hopefully it's just from the way I was sleeping and not from my walk last night.  I met up with Jean and we did our training walk.  Made it home before the rain got too heavy.  I love how fast a walk goes when you are walking and talking with a friend.  Jean is also doing the Kidney March, so I'm sure the 100 km will go very fast.
  This morning, I went with Bill to his office downtown.  Bill has been with his new company almost a year and a half and this is the first time I have been to the building.  He has finally moved offices (he's been procrastinating it for a few months) so I offered to come and help move his files.  The quest didn't get off to a great start as it seems the city is getting a start on Stampede paving and 9th avenue was down to one lane.  This stopped us from being able to pull into the parkade.  Luckily we found a parking spot not too far from the building.  I did not enjoy the ride on the elevator to the 43rd floor, but in these large towers, stairs are not always an easy option.  You have to zigzag on where to get off and on the stair path.  The move didn't take long at all.  The furniture was already in place.  The view is amazing

I'm not sure I could ride up and down the elevator a couple of times a day, and I think I would get a little distracted staring out the window all the time.

As I was pulling maps off the wall in Bill's old office, I came across a couple of art projects of the kids. I was impressed that Bill had them in his office.  I guess he does have a sentimental side.  Why must he hide it so often.  

I'm pretty sure this one of Ashley's was done in either preschool or kindergarten.  So that would make it about 20 years old.  The hand prints seem to be holding up well.

And this Father's day card Patrick made in 2005 so that would make it 8 years old.  I should convince him to make a similar one this year and post them side by side.

So we finished up and came home.  Around 4:30 Patrick comes home from school.  He's decided we should have a fire pit and cook some smokies.  Sounds good to me.  My clothes are always in need of a little fire pit smell.  I head out to start the fire and Patrick follows shortly after with the supplies.  We just get the first round of smokies cooking and the sky opens up and the rain begins.  At first it is just little drops, but before long there is a down pour.  Secretly I think it became a competition as to who would be the first to cave in and head inside.  I'm covered in a sleeping bag, eating my food underneath.  I hear Patrick give a yell, and as I poke my head out, I see him brushing off a hot ember from his sweatpants.  And just as he is observing the thumb size hole in his pants, another ember lands on his "fancy" sweat jacket, this time leaving a smaller hole in the cuff.  All of a sudden it is the "fire gods" fault.  Being the good mom that I am, I tried to hide my amusement, but Patrick noticed the giggles before I could stop them.  Then I asked him my most famous question "What lesson did you learn?"  I don't think he could think of a lesson other than to blame the "universe".  I tried to explain that maybe he shouldn't wear nice clothes to a fire pit, and he probably won't again.  Lesson learned!!!!!!  We both headed inside while the rain continued.  As soon as we sat down in the kitchen and continued to eat, the sky cleared, the rain stopped and the sun was shining.  Ahhh Karma!!!  I dragged Patrick back outside to enjoy the remaining flames and embers from the fire and of course, my company.  I love this moments.

Better get things cleaned up in the kitchen so I can relax with my book.

Stacey