Prairie Crocus Transplanted

Can it be six years?

2011-12-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

Dennis Neil Ousey: June 14, 1947-December 16, 2005. Gone too soon.

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart
and bids it break. ~William Shakespeare

A Cloud in My Heart

2011-11-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to go to the cemetary but was unable to go. I still miss him profoundly. Today it is 1365 days without him. Next month, December 16, 2011 will be the six year anniversary of the day he left a big hole in my heart.

Gone - flitted away,

Taken the stars from the night and the sun

From the day!

Gone, and a cloud in my heart.~Alfred Tennyson

Five Years

2010-12-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Hello to all who knew Dennis Ousey. Today is the fifth anniversary of the day he died. We still mourn our loss. He was a good man and many are missing him.

This morning I honoured him by listening to a podcast of a debate on the question: Islam is a religion of peace. I know he would have been very interested in that. I am just sorry that he is not here so we can talk about it and express our own thoughts on the question. If you want to listen, here is a link. But be warned it is lengthy, about an hour and a half. I cannot paste a hyperlink to this website, so here it is: http://www.atheistmedia.com/

This afternoon Joel and Remy and I are going to the cemetery and we may go for a trip up Grouse Mountain, a trip he enjoyed in the past. I hope to post pictures either here or on Facebook.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal ~ from an Irish headstone.

Another Anniversary

2010-02-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

I went to Mountainview Cemetary yesterday. I cleaned the moss off the stone front and left a rose on the little shelf under his niche.

Then I sat in the spring sunshine by the fountain and re-read my journal and wrote a little. It was 1534 days since he died.

Today is the anniversary of our wedding. Forty-three years ago the first time we married in 1967, or, if you prefer, 23 years since the second time we wed in 1987. We loved each other so much we got married twice. But I have loved him for almost 45 years.

One thing that happened recently - Suzie, our beagle, who was given to a friend's family had to be put down because she had cancer. It was the loss of another link with him. And I am sorry for little Dominique who lost her much loved pet.

I continue to take care of my graddaughter four days a week. She is eighteen months old now and it is delightful to see what new word or behaviour she comes up with. My daughter said recently, "I think I will always, for the rest of my life, regret that Dad never saw my daughter." Yes, my joy is also always tempered with that knowledge.

I am tired, my Beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you... Amy Lowell

Going to Visit Pa

2009-12-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

Dennis Ousey June 14, 1947-December 16, 2005

Margot, Remy and I went to see grandpa at the cemetery today. Remy calls him "Pa." It was freaking cold and raining cats and dogs. We didn't stay long. Then we went shopping. A little retail therapy never hurts.

It has been 1472 days since he left us. There are many people out there who miss him.

In honour of the fourth anniversary I went back to read a few Prairie Dog Blog postings. I went back to December 2004. The first posting to come up was so typical of him. He was really concerned for the people of Asia who were victims of the Tsunami. I still donate to MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres) in his honour. Then I read the one he posted on Dec. 16, 2004, one year before he died. I recommend it to anyone who knew him. His voice still sounds loud and clear. A little politics, a little humour, a little family news. It is so him. The world is a poorer place without him.

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, the present and the future. Gail Lumet Buckley

Death Cannot Stop True Love

2009-02-17T23:12:00.001-08:00

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~ Lao Tzu

Sadness, Happiness, Sadness

2009-02-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

Gordon Denis Comeau

August 31, 1923 - February 8, 2009.

These pictures were taken the last time I visited my father at the Ridgewood Personal Care Home in Saint John New Brunswick. I am struck by how old he looked and how much he looked like his mother, my grandmother Comeau. She was 86 when she died, too.

My father had been sick for a long time and it was no surprise when my sister phoned me to tell me he had died. He left us a bit of a mess, because we can't find a will, so we are trying to get my cousin appointed to look after his affairs.

We will put his ashes in the ground beside my mother in Ottawa. My sisters and I will have a little graveside ceremony in the summer after the ground has thawed.

My father was born into an Acadian french family and in order to make it easier for him to get a job, he was encouraged to speak only English. I regret that our family lost the French language. He was the youngest of six children and his father died when he was about 14.

My father joined the RCAF in 1939 when he was only 16 and a half. Apparently he lied about his age because they only took 17 year-olds. I've seen a picture of him in those days and he was quite handsome with his blonde hair and blue eyes. He spent WWII in northern England as an aero-engine technician. It was quite uneventful. My father told me the only time there was any bombing at the airfield where he was stationed he was away on holiday.

When he returned from Europe he met my mother and they married on August 3, 1946. My parents had a total of 8 children, but three died in childbirth or were stillborn. We moved around every few years as my father was transferred by the RCAF.

My father was a UN peacekeeper in the Congo in 1960. My family went to live in Germany in the late 1960s for three years but I had already met and married my husband Dennis by then so I was no longer at home. He retired from the Air Force and lived in Ottawa with my mother until she died in 1990.

In recent years he had many health problems and was diagnosed with dementia in 2006. He lived the last few years of his life in the city where he was born, Saint John, New Brunswick.

I think about the good times we had as a family, birthday parties, camping, going on trips. His death has made me remember and feel again the loss of my mother and my brother, Gordie.

Upcoming sad days for me - tomorrow, Feb. 16, 38-month anniversary of Dennis' death. And Tuesday, Feb. 17 would have been our anniversary. I have lived 1168 days without him and still not a day goes by that I don't miss him.

I apologize to my friends for letting so much time go by without a blog posting, but I have been extremely busy getting Sapphire Studio set up. We now have our first 6 month renter and a possibility of two more. This is excellent news. We may be able to start paying the bills.

We had a celebration of our opening last Friday and a good time was had by all.

Other happy news is that my sister is buying a business she has had her eye on for several years. It is a ladies' consignment clothing store called Classic Closet. I am really really happy for her and wish her well in her new venture.

One never knows what life will bring. Sadness and happiness and sadness in the same week.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~ Albert Pike

Fogcity, Two Businesses, A Cold

2009-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Talk about Raincity, they should call this place Fogcity. We have had a week of continuous fog. The sun is trying to peek out today. If it does, I fully expect people to point up and say, "What the heck is that big yellow ball!"

Speaking of this place, the thought occured to me: how long can I keep saying I'm a new Vancouverite? In April it will be two years...wow...unbelieveable. I am extremely glad I moved here. It has been very therapeutic to be involved with setting up two businesses. And of course, being a mere three blocks away from my daughter and granddaughter is also terrific. And so many good things: being close to my sister, finding a new business partner. Life is good.

So, my second business will be open next Wednesday. My partner, A. and I will be having Open House from 12:00 noon to 6:00 every day for the rest of January. I'll be taking pamphlets around to the other jewellery related businesses to try to drum up business. Anyone reading this blog is welcome to come to suite 320 - 736 Granville St. in Vancouver and see Sapphire Jewellery Studio Inc. in action. We expect our major income to be from the rental of benches and tools for jewellery makers. We have all the toys: tumblers, polishers, a gas torch for soldering, a rolling mill for making our own wire, dapping tools and so on. We even have a scroll saw and a sonic cleaner. The website is under construction.

As for my other business, Prairie Crocus Jewellery, I have an appointment on Wednesday with the buyer for the B. C. Ferries gift shops. I am hopeful that I will have some sales. I have applied to sell at Portobello West, an upscale craft market the last Sunday of every month. I'm still waiting for a reply on that.

I am home today with a bit of a cold, so I am taking it easy, napping, reading, doing some laundry. Take care out there!

Take care and TATA......and PEACE

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ~Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought

City Bureaucracy Construction Blues

2009-01-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here is Remy on the Jolly Jumper. She is really starting to enjoy this. We keep it at Granny's because there isn't room at Remy's. I took 8 pictures trying to get one of her smiling, but by the time the camera focuses and takes the picture, the smile has disappeared in favour of the "what the heck is that?" look.

This morning I got a copy of a letter from the city ordering the owners of the block we are renting our studio from to comply with the inspector's orders or they will shut us down. Apparently they still have not shown that the construction meets the specs of the building bylaw. The real estate agent and the architect keep assuring us it is only a formality and we should go ahead with business as usual.

That's easy for them to say - they aren't the ones that will be slapped with a fine if caught doing business without a licence. But at this point we are too far in to go back without losing two months' rent. So.......we are going to trust these people know what they are talking about. Big leap of faith!!!

I went to see The Reader. Powerful movie. I shed a few tears. Another one that makes one think. What would I do if I were in that situation?

There is road resurfacing going on just outside my block. It's pretty noisy during the day, of course. But, because they moved the bus terminus it has been much quieter at night. I slept well last night. I wish they would move the terminus permanently.

One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half full. And he said, "Is it half full or half empty?" So I drank the water. No more problem. ~Alexander Jodorowsky

New Year, Synecdoche, Pipes, Wrestling and Rehearsals

2009-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!!! The top picture shows New Year's Eve Party and the bottom picture is of my sister and I on New Year's Day.

For the past couple of weeks, my partner and I have been setting up the studio. We plan to have it ready by Tues. Jan. 20.

I have also been on my yearly pilgrimage to theatres to see as many movies as I can before the Oscars. I have seen Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Wrestler, Marley and Me and Synecdoche, NY. All good movies, many excellent performances. I have a list to see yet.

Synecdoche. Quite surreal in many ways, terrific performance by Phillip Seymore Hoffman. He also gave a great performance in Doubt. Can this man act? Yeah, remember Capote? I don't think he's capable of a bad performance.

I saw this movie in a huge theatre. I was one of 10 people (I did count) at this showing. At the end of the movie, all 10 of us sat there staring at the screen as the credits rolled by, trying to make sense of what we had just seen. I love movies that make me think.

Charlie Kaufman, the writer and director, was up to his usual craziness. The main character is a director of stage plays. He mounts a play about his own life and gets people to play him and the others in his life. Actors drop out of the play (one literally) and he has to recast parts. It was all slightly confusing trying to keep track of who was playing a role and who wasn't....oh, wait...they were all playing roles. Except me...I wasn't playing a role...I think. Well, what can one expect from the writer of Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. He has made 6 movies now and I have seen 5 of them.

Anyway, this movie had me going to Wikipedia to read everything about Charlie Kaufman and going to my Oxford dictionary to look up synecdoche. Sin-neck-doe-kee, with the accent on the neck. I kid you not, that is how to pronounce it. I assume since the che is pronounced kee that the word is from a Greek word. Synecdoche means: extended acceptation by which when a part is named, the whole it belongs to is understood. The examples given by the Oxford: 50 sail (for 50 ships) and England beat Australia at cricket (England's cricket team and Australia's cricket team). So then I spent hours trying to come up with other synecdoches. The only one I am sure of is a Canadianism. The goalie stood in front of the pipes (for the net). I just thought of another one. Mickey Rourke plays in "The Wrestler." I guess we could call him the muscle of the movie. Let me know if you think of any others. No wonder darling daughter calls me a "word nerd."

And I am left wondering about how the meaning of synecdoche fits with the movie. The obvious, I suppose, would be that a biographical movie or a play is a part of a life that stands for the whole life. I want to see this movie again to watch if there are any synecdoches in the script.

A character in Synecdoche says: Everyone is the main character of their own play and there are no extras. Food for thought. I really need to see this movie again.

Tonight, the Golden Globes. Woo hoo. Is it the dress or the tech rehearsal for the Academy Awards? I don't know, but it is always interesting. The actors get free booze and many of them are a little snockered.

Much affection to the cast of my life.

My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot. ~Ashleigh Brilliant

And Another Christmas Picture

2008-12-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

Daddy plays with Remy while Mommy cooks a Christmas feast.

Still Another Christmas Picture

2008-12-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

Remy and her mother looking at the clown fish in the salty aquarium, one of Remy's favourite activities.

Another Christmas Picture

2008-12-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

Remy trying out a new toy.

Christmas at English Bay

2008-12-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the Christmas celebration at my darling daughter's. In the top picture it's Remy in her Christmas jammies, her mother and father and two grandmothers. It was so great to spend Christmas with my granddaughter. She knew something was different because she refused to nap all day. While the new toys were interesting she seemed to like the paper and wrappings just as much. Well, she is only four months old. Next year she will be 16 months old, probably walking and talking and better able to appreciate the wonder of Christmas.

Being able to see Christmas through the eyes of a child makes it a much happier time. I love to see the big tree decorated with lights on English Bay near the Inukshuk. On Christmas Day I walked along the sea wall at English Bay and was surprised at how many people were walking there, trudging through the snow and slush. We have had a lot of snow this year, a record amount. The snow has made it quieter, a more peaceful Christmas.

I wish for you all a happy, healthy New Year.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

True Love

2008-12-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

Dennis Neil Ousey

June 14, 1947-December 16, 2005

Death cannot stop true love.

In Limbo, Diamond Dealers, and Jolly Jumper

2008-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

Hello All. We are not exactly homeless, and not exactly in business. We are still waiting on the building permit, occupancy permit, and business licence. The city wheels turn exceedingly slowly. To use a religious motif, Sapphire Jewellery Studio is in limbo.

The leasing agent has taken pity on us and is allowing us to move our stuff in and start setting up. This is a good thing because when we get the paperwork done we will be able to be in business right away.

So we have our computer and it's all hooked up. We have a huge storage cupboard, some shelving and two chairs. Woo hoo! We have our keys and our mailbox and we can come and go at will. I will be signing the lease and we will start to pay rent after we get our business licence approved. It could be before Christmas if we are lucky. If we are not lucky it will be after the middle of January as City Hall will be shut down for a few weeks.

My partner, A., and I are so happy just to be able to start setting up. My partner is especially happy because she is convinced she's going to meet a man here. Good luck to her. We started the lease right by giving the building manager a box of chocolates for Christmas. One thing I learned while I was teaching is: keep the building managers and caretakers sweet and your job is as good as sunshine. The BM is a very nice man, married, though, and a little old for my partner.

We have met a couple of our neighbours, a goldsmith and a jewellery supplier. This building seems to be attracting jewellery-related business - good for us. There are even some diamond dealers in the building!!! I hope we can get wholesale prices. Who knows, maybe A. can get a man and a diamond!

I will take some pictures although it will not look like much for a while. We have to get the tools and jewellery benches in first and that may take a couple of weeks. Or more...

Giggly Granddaughter favoured us with some more giggles today. She loves to hear us sing and to play some rhythmic games. I will post pictures of her in her racy red Christmas sleeper as soon as we take some. The family is coming over for dinner tomorrow and I have bought her a Jolly Jumper. I plan to have it ready for her to use and we'll try her out in it. I hope she likes it. Most babies do. Darling Daughter loved it when she was little.

Well, bye for now, keep well and don't get the flu - get the shot.

The questions are diamonds you hold in the light. Study a lifetime and you see different colors from the same jewel. The same questions, asked again, bring you just the answers you need just the minute you need them. ~Richard Bach, Running From Safety

Homeless in Vancouver, Early Dementia, Learning to Read

2008-11-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

Here it is November 21 and we are still not in our studio. Sapphire Jewellery Studios are homeless and wandering the streets...well, not really, but we are homeless. The city inspector, the realtor and the architect are still duking it out amongst themselves about whether the work done for us needs to have a city permit and needs to be inspected. A plague on both your houses. Just do what needs to be done and get on with it! I want my occupancy permit and my business licence!

We are frustrated at not being able to get into our space. We have bought a computer and some office furniture. The retailers are keeping it for us until we can get it into the office. I am champing at the bit to get going. But the wheels of bureaucracy turn ever so slowly.

It's so hard to be patient. I'm consolling myself by making more PMC jewellery. It does keep me busy. I got a new tumbler to make the pieces really shine. Next I'm going to try embedding some bone china in a piece of clay before firing it. I love learning and trying new things.

And today I wrote my Christmas cards. That was a good job done. But the down side is: I forgot all about my dental appointment today. I wrote it on my calendar. I thought that was a pretty good strategy for a memory that isn't what it used to be. And then, I forgot to check what appointments I had today!! I just waltzed out the door and hopped on a bus for downtown. And didn't even think about the dentist until about an hour and a half after the appointment was scheduled. What's up with that!!?? Folks I'm here to tell you this aging thing ain't fun. I have some advice for all the youngsters out there. Don't get old...it sucks!!!!!

Now I shall have to get down on my knees and beg my dentist to reschedule. I hope they don't charge me for a missed appointment. I shall have to plead old age or early dementia or something.

My granddaughter continues to amaze and delight. She misses Mommy when Mommy leaves her with Granny. It will take some time for her to develop ease and comfort when Mommy is gone. But I do love spending time with her. She loves the sing-song games like Patty-cake and This Little Piggy. I know she doesn't really understand yet, but I read books to her. She does look at the colourful pictures on the pages. The experts say it's a good idea to start reading books even before they develop language.

May you all experience the joy of a grandchild if you haven't already.

Patience: A minor form of despair disguised as a virtue. ~Ambrose Bierce

Remembrance Day November 11 2008

2008-11-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a reprint from one of the old Prairie Dog's posts:

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now

We lie in Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

I received a very good article from niece L. about Canada's global role as a peacekeeper. It's worth reading.

Salute To a Brave and Modest Nation - Kevin Myers

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does. It seems that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored.

Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped Glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States, and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved. Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle. Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, its unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British'.

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.

So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British. It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.

Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces.

Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia, in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self- abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan. Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac, Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well.
Lest we forget.

The old Prairie Dog was researching the role of his two grandfathers in WWI. Here is an excerpt from his July 2005 blog post.

"I am now back at home doing some research on the net about Grandfather Percival Ousey and Grandfather Joseph Hogue. I found that they both served in the 16th Battalion during WWI. Percival was shot in the arm and the leg and captured by the Germans on Oct. 8th, 1916 at the battle of the Somme (the first battle where tanks were used).

Joseph Hogue left for Europe a little after Percival and he fought on the front lines in France and Belgium from March 5, 1917 to around April 27, 1918. He was then discharged for an "impaired function of the heartcaused by over exertion and strain of duty" while fighting at Vimy Ridge on or about April 30th, 1917. He probably wenton to fight in Passchendale. The cause of his heart trouble could have been caused by a gas such as phosgene, which was commonly used bythe Germans at Vimy Ridge at that time.

It could not have affected him later in life becasue I always remember him as a big , strong man and besides he lived to be 93! Anyways, imagine that BOTH Grampas from Winnipeg serving in the same battalion in the same war. It was kind of sad about Percival because he was only shipped to the front lines a few days before he was shot and captured and then spent the next two years in a POW camp in Germany.

I guess that there were many just like him because the glorious Brit commanders blamed, what seemed to them to be a runaway victory, the loss partly on the 'untrained troops being sent straight to the front!'......dozy buggers! And you know, neither one of them got any medals....but at least they did not die. More later, PEACE.

I could not have said it any better than the three writers I quoted. On Tuesday, remember those who lost loved ones.

Hallowe'en and Other Adventures

2008-11-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a happy Hallowe'en. Here is my granddaughter in her costume. She is a chili pepper. I found the costume at a Target store in the US and thought it was too cute to pass up.

She is a continuous joy. She smiles and vocalizes a lot now - she is so social. And she can grasp things with both hands. At eleven weeks! Such an advanced child. I concede that I might be a tad biased.

My business partner and I are getting into our studio this Wednesday. Yahoo! All the arrangements are keeping us busy. From getting a tax accountant and insurance to finding furniture. We bought our computer last week and it will be my job to keep the books. I hope I am up to it. My sister is going to give me lessons in using the Quickbook program.

My partner is designing our logo and creating our business cards. We have to get a business account at the bank, buy a phone and make arrangements for a business licence and get a GST number. It seems a bit overwhelming. But very exciting.

On to new adventures!!!!

Backward, turn backward,O Time, in your flight

Make me a child again, just for to-night!~Elizabeth Akers Allen

Working With Precious Metal Clay

2008-10-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

I just got back from four days in Lacey, Washington. Here is a picture of my instructor for Precious Metal Clay, Ruth. She was a great teacher and really knows her stuff. And here I am, hard at work, creating mini-masterpieces. Ha! I wish.

It was an intensive four days and I loved it. Precious Metal Clay is great stuff. You can mold it, roll it, cut it and make three dimensional objects out of it. It can be worked like clay. It also comes in paste (slip), syringe (for extrusion) and sheets. After it is fired it becomes 99.9% pure silver.

I learned how to set stones into an already fired piece with bezel wire, how to create many different types of bails (the piece of a pendant through which a chain is attached), enamelling, how to use the kiln, how to create different textures and how to polish a finished piece. We made pendants, earrings, rings, and clasps. I also learned how to "paint" an organic object, such as a leaf and how to add 22K gold to a piece.

I learned how to look carefully at a piece before going on to the next step. I'm glad I took my magnifying visor with me.

I also learned a lesson that I didn't think I needed to learn. Don't touch pieces fresh out of the kiln! Yes, I slightly burned the index finger and thumb on my left hand. Well, who knew that silver heated to about 1450 degrees could still be hot a few minutes later! Safety, safety, safety. I can't say it or think it too much.

I am excited to try a few new techniques such as adding some PMC to Jack's ceramic pendants. I can also use pieces of broken porcelain or other ceramics with the silver to create mixed media pieces.

I took some pictures of some of the pieces I made, but even with the flash turned off, I got such a bright spot on most of them that they were no good. The one picture that was not too bad is at the top of the posting. It's not a great picture, but, at least you can see some things.

Now that I am back in Vancouver I will be very busy setting up our studio and trying to do some more work (make some more jewellery). And, of course, I'll be spending time with my daughter and granddaughter.

Good-bye all. Keep well.

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. ~Henry L. Doherty

Happy 90th Birthday

2008-10-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a one-day trip to Victoria to celebrate Mother-in-law's birthday. She is 90 in another month but we celebrated today because this is the week her youngest son could be here.

It was great to see everyone at the party. Many people travelled from the US and Canada to attend the celebration. Mother's nieces and nephew from Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver were there. Most of the grandchildren and quite a few great-grandchildren. G and C hosted the party and it was a wonderful success. Mother was so happy to see everyone. She opened gifts and cards, drank punch and ate birthday cake.

But I do think that my granddaughter was the belle of the ball. She held court in a pink jumper with green trim and pink tights. Her outfit was completed by some hand-knitted booties in pale green and a sweater to match. Everyone commented on how well-behaved she was and how advanced. Well, they are right of course, but I might be just a wee bit biased.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera. I can't believe I left it at home. So many had cameras there, that I'm sure I will see many pictures.

A special kiss and hug for cousin M who expressed the belief that Dennis would have been proud to see his granddaughter. He would indeed have loved to have been there. Thank you, dear, for remembering him.

Mother now has 10 great grandchildren. Cheers and Happy Birthday. May I live so long!

I don't know how you feel about old age... but in my case I didn't even see it coming. It hit me from the rear. ~Phyllis Diller

The Peg and Back Again

2008-10-02T21:22:00.001-07:00

Hello all. I'm back from Winnipeg and none the worse for it. I missed the Big Sky. Everywhere I looked, there was a different cloud bank and different colours. Some other differences I noticed in The Peg. I smelled the burning of the stubble in the farms around the city and the meat packing plant. It was different from the smell of the seaweed and salt air on the seawall. But, unbelieveably, I found it more humid there than here, in wet city.

Here is a picture of me with my former pet, Suzie. She was so happy to see me and the feeling was mutual. She is being well cared for by her new family.

I spent many happy hours with friends I have missed. Thanks to everyone for the great company especially to A and J and W for putting me up. Ate lots of food, drank a few bottles of wine and managed to consume four lobsters at Lobsterfest. I had a great time.

It's good to be back home....I never said that about Vancouver before. It really is my home now. In the taxi on the way home from the airport I opened the window and took in great gulps of Vancouver air.

I am happy to be back to making jewellery, looking for studio space and playing with my granddaughter. She is the jewel of my life...beautiful Remy. She is smiling up a storm now. She knows what smile are for- she's initiating smiles to get smiles back from others. Darling daughter and wonderful son-in-law are doing a great job with her.

Upcoming highlights: Mother's 90th birthday celebration, a four-day session in Lacey, Washington, to become certified to teach Precious Metal Clay making.

May you all be as happy as I am.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. ~Garrison Keillor

Greataunt, Greatgrandmother, Great Trip coming

2008-09-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here are two pictures of Remy with greataunt Carolyn and greatgrandmother Vivian. They came for a visit on Tuesday and we enjoyed seeing them. It was especially great to see Greatgrandmother with her. Remy is Vivian's tenth greatgrandchild. Isn't that great? May I live so long.

In the jewellery department, I received some new ceramic pendants from brother-in-law J. and am excited to get started on some new pieces. I applied to get a table at the Portobello West craft market, but no answer to that yet. There aren't any places available until next March, but we will see.

My friend and mentor, A. and I are going to create a studio together and rent out space and equipment. We will be working on this as soon as I get back from Winnipeg.

I am excited to be going to Winnipeg to see all my friends. My appointment book is filling up fast for lunches, coffees, and dinners. I am so happy to be leaving next Tuesday. I don't plan to blog while I am gone, so don't expect anything. And, who knows, maybe I will even find a couple of new places to sell my jewellery.

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller

All of Our Future

2008-09-02T22:28:00.001-07:00

No new pictures of Remy to share yet. She has a little baby acne and I decided not to take any more pictures until it clears up a bit. Oh, vanity, thy name is woman!

I went over to M. and J.'s today and spent the afternoon with my little treasure. As soon as I cuddled her, rocked and hummed she went to sleep. This allowed Mommy to take a shower and go for a walk to Safeway to buy groceries. Remy doesn't like being put down even after she is asleep. But she slept for a good couple of hours in my arms. It felt great holding her while she slept. It made me think of my mother who was a natural with babies. I still miss her. At least she got to spend some time with her granddaughter. I wish he could have seen our granddaughter.

Sometimes when certain expressions pass over her face she reminds me of her Daddy. Her general look is like M. at that age, but she does have more and darker hair. She has changed so much already. Babies change so quickly. She is 18 days old today. Soon she will be smiling and chirping, making pre-language noises. I wonder what she will be like as a crawling baby, a toddler, an older child, a teen. With two intelligent parents like hers she is sure to be smart. She is all of our future. And the future looks bright.

She has gained weight and is going a little longer without needing milk especially at night. But it is tough for Mommy to be essentially tied to her. I agree with most of the books that one can't "spoil" a baby at this young age. She needs to be held - a lot. Making her feel secure by holding her will be a good basis for her future development. It's good I am here to help out with that task so that Mommy doesn't have to be always with her. Of course Daddy is doing his share and more, but he had to go back to work today.

Granny is willing and able to take on the childcare when needed. I am so glad I moved here, a short walk away from my granddaughter. It's not quite a whole village raising the child, but it's early days yet. Parents should not have to do it alone. Lots of young parents don't have grandparents close by to help. Children are the future of Canadian society. Society should help to raise children. It was hard enough when M. was little with the two of us and grandparents to help. I can't help but admire the single parent. So many things about child care have changed since I had a child, but one thing hasn't. There wasn't enough day care then, and there still isn't. What progress have we really made? That's my rant for the day.

Children are one third of our population and all of our future. ~Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

The Weight of History

2008-08-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here are two new pictures of Granny's Little Treasure. Baby Baloro now has a name: Remy Marie Baloro. Thus a tradition continues. Remy's grandmother has the middle name Marie. Remy's great grandmother had Marie for a middle name. Remy's great great grandmother's first name was Marie. Welcome to the world Remy Marie. You are much loved. Granny is close by when you need her.

Mother and Baby are doing fine. Father is taking care of his two women and doing an awesome job. Everyone is a little tired. There are more pictures of Remy, Mother, Father and Granny on J.'s Facebook Album so if you are a friend on Facebook you can access them.

Stay plugged in for more pics in a couple of more days. Thanks to everyone for their phone calls and emails. It is wonderful to be able to share our sweet girl with everyone via the Internet.

We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. ~Shirley Abbott

The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born. ~Pearl S. Buck

Announcing Baby Baloro

2008-08-16T08:02:00.001-07:00

I am proud to present my granddaughter, Baby Baloro. She was born at 3:53 this morning, August 16. She weighs 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measures 20 inches long. Of course she is the most beautiful baby ever born (next to her mother)!

Joel phoned me at about 3 am and told me they were going to the hospital. By the time I arrived, at 4:00 am she was already born. Margot delivered about 10 minutes after arriving at the hospital. It was no surprise to me because both my mother and myself delivered quickly.

The parents haven't finally picked a name yet, but as soon as they do I will let everybody know. She was quite alert and able to suck right away. She has quite a large repertoire of noises already.

Happy day. Hope you all celebrate this new precious gift.

Where did you come from, baby dear?Out of the Everywhere and into here.~George MacDonald, At the Back of the North Wind

Every child begins the world again.... ~Henry David Thoreau

Three Little Words X 5

2008-08-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

I have just three words. Precious metal clay. Also known as PMC. I took a one-day class in its use yesterday. Great time. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to many fine projects in the future.

This pendant that I made yesterday is pure silver, also known as Fine Silver. It is gorgeous stuff to work with. It doesn't look silver in the picture because I added a patina to make it look gold and coppery.

But, I have another one that I left in just silver. It is beeeeoootiful. But I have not managed to take a good picture of it yet. And pure silver never tarnishes!!!! Good news for me as I have bad chemistry with sterling silver. Literally - when I work with sterling, my hands get black.

This pendant is on a necklace of Swarovski crystals that I linked with silver and gold wire. I can't wait to get myself a kiln and really get to work.

Well, I have another three words. Adobe Photo Shop. I am starting to learn to use it and hopefully I will be able to improve my pictures.

And another three words. Lunch at Milestones. Darling Daughter, Wonderful Son-in-law, Sister and I had a great lunch at Milestones today. No reason, just felt like it. It was a great warm, sunny day here in English Bay. It would only be better if I heard three other little words: Margot's in labour. But no such luck so far today. No news on the baby front.

Here are three more words. Bye for now!!!

Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside. ~Rita Rudner

Sesquipedalian Musings

2008-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Half a fortnight of engagement at London Drugs for me. I will be toiling today - five till eleven. Only three more shifts peddling beautifying embrocations. Jubilation!

I've swallowed a thesaurus. I've set myself a task in this posting to use as many fifty dollar words as I can.

Last Saturday I had a soiree for the Festival of Lights. It was most diverting, but not as stimulating as the thundering Chinese display or the harmonious Canadian exposition. The Canadian team procured first place. Double jubilation!!

The neighbouring edifice has now reached its ultimate elevation. I had discourse with one of the builders who told me the floor which I was scrutinizing was the roof. So, contrary to my former surmise, my view of English Bay will essentially remain. Vibrant sunsets will still be accessible. Triple jubilation!!!

Tomorrow is G-day. The long-awaited Due Date. The mother of my grandchild assures me the signs of imminent labour are all there, but, so far no parturition. At this point in her gestation an incipient mother becomes truculent and obstreperous. Be tenacious, darling. Our exultation is impending. Infinite jubilation!!!!

I will terminate this communication with a quote from a paragon of humanism. Felicitations!

Hypocrisy is annoying but not evil. Someone who says one thing and does another has doubled their chances of being half right. ~Penn Jillette

Archangels, Timmy's, Wall e, 17 More Days

2008-07-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was Canada night at the Celebration of Light, the fireworks competition over English Bay. The show was spectacular. It was choreographed to the sound track from the movie Godzilla. No, no, it really was good. The music was better than I thought it would be. One of the participants in the Canada display was Archangel Fireworks from Winnipeg. Yes, there are a few good things about Winnipeg. They did a great job. I'm working at LD this Saturday so I'll miss the US entry. But I will get to see the China entry next Wednesday and the finale on August 2. I'm having a little fireworks party that night. Should be fun, fun, fun.

I guess I'd better enjoy the sight of English Bay while I've still got it. The building next door is right up to the bottom of the fireworks barge, so if they add any more storeys I'll lose my view. So sad. I think there will be one more storey.

But they are hard at work preparing the Tim Horton's downstairs. In a few short weeks I'll be able to go to Timmy's for my morning coffee and muffin. Yay!!!!!

Today I went to see the movie Wall e. It was an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. Very well done. Kudos to pixar once again.

More necklaces are ready to take around, so next week I'll be looking for more retailers. Hoping to get at least four more. So far no word from any of the new places on sales. It's hard to be patient.

Speaking of patience and angels, G-day is only 17 days away. Darling Mama is becoming uncomfortable. Some contractions and baby's head has dropped. Hang in there, Sweetie. It's worth all the discomfort.

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. ~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

A Long Sleep, A Good Laugh and Fireworks

2008-07-18T10:42:00.001-07:00

Only 23 more days till G-Day!!!! Darling Daughter says she is ready any time baby girl decides to make her appearance. The last few weeks are the hardest, of course. But I have been spending lots of time with her.

I am just now feeling almost up to par. I had three days where I was so sick, I just wanted to go to sleep for a month. I had to go to emerg. twice. The antibiotic I just finished today was causing nausea, so I'm glad to be finished. And I start back to work at LD today. But, yay, I've given my notice. My last day will be August 16. Then I will devote myself full-time to jewellery and being a grandmother. Whoopeee!!!!!!

Darling Daughter and I went to see "Spamalot," and a good laugh was had by all. Eric Idle took all the good bits from the movie, MP and the Holy Grail and expanded on them. Very colourful, musical and enjoyable. And tap dancing!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Two of the locations with my jewellery were without power for about a week. Not so good for a business. But the power is back on now and I'm hoping for some sales. I sold two more pieces at the Calla Lily.

The upcoming big event is the "Celebration Of Light." It's four night of fireworks. I am working LD only one of those nights. Two others I will work at a sidewalk table at Calla Lily. And the night of the finale I am having a fireworks party. That should be fun.

Bye to everyone out there in blogland. Keep on blogging. And to those who don't have a blog - get one. It's really easy. Just go to blogger.com.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb

Sick and New Outlets

2008-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

I am sick today. Fever, aching all over, tired. Taking lots of Tylenol. Bummed out to be missing my enamelling class today.

Great news - two more places now carry my jewellery. One is a designer dress boutique called Blushing Boutique. The other is an studio store at Horseshoe Bay called Starfire. I have so many pieces out, I have hardly any to take around to other places, so I have to get busy in the next week. Good to have that problem, let me tell ya. Brother-in-law J. is making me some more pendants. Go, J.

The day I quit LD just gets closer and closer. Luckily I am not working at LD today, so I can rest up and try to get better. Just 30 days to G-Day!!!!!! Love to everyone.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

A Theft and A Sale

2008-07-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

This must be a record - three blog postings in a row. But I had to write about it. Unbelieveable...I don't believe it, but it did happen. I have had one of my pieces stolen!!!!

A girl came into London Drugs this evening wearing the yellow earrings on the left in the picture. I asked her where she bought them and she said, "The Quick Nickel." That's a thrift clothes store down the street. Well, the last time I saw them they were in The Calla Lily, the flower shop down the street. So I told her they looked exactly like a pair I made and mine were never for sale at The Quick Nickel. So then she said her brother gave them to her. Couldn't even keep her story straight.

Well, I knew immediately that she stole them, but at the time I wasn't quick thinking enough to ask her to take them off so I could look at them. Damn!!!!! I know they were mine because I noticed that the wire on the left-hand one is not quite snug to the bead. Yep, I think I could convince a court of law that those were mine. An artist knows her own work. It's a little like the instant recognition of your own infant. Then I found out from another LD employee that she was a customer to watch because they suspected her of pilfering there. Well, that clinched it.

Now I have to go to The Calla Lily and let them know and see if there isn't something we can do to minimize the pilfering. I can't really blame them. She probably waited until they were serving another customer and slipped them into a pocket or purse. LD has a lot of pilfering, too, sometimes even while we watch.

A much happier experience earlier in the evening counterbalanced the theft. A regular customer at LD went to the Calla Lily and bought one of my necklaces. I know he bought it because he came back and showed it to me and it was in a little silver box that customers get from the Calla Lily when they buy my jewellery.

Such is life. It is composed of good moments and bad. Gotta go now. Just did an eight hour shift and tomorrow I do a six hour shift. I'll be so glad when I don't have to work at LD any more. Just a few more galleries and retail shops.....

Don't find fault. Find a remedy. ~Henry Ford

Painting My Own Nature

2008-07-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Unbelieveable! An art gallery here in Vancouver has five of my pieces of jewellery for sale. They have two necklaces, two pairs of earrings and a bracelet. See the first picture on Thursday's blog and the second picture on the blog just before that. Wow! Someone might buy them. Kim, the owner, also has artists' showcases where the artist works and the public comes in to watch. She asked if I would be interested in that, too.

http://www.eclektica.ca/

Now I truly can call myself an artist. I am still investigating other places to carry my jewellery. It is so satisfying that other people think highly of my work. Now, let's just see if that translates into sales.

Gotta go do some more work!!!!!!

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Romancing The Stones

2008-07-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here are two more pictures of my pieces. I have been hitting the bricks looking for places to sell my new line. I think I have one, a chi chi little boutique right downtown. Their demographic is the younger woman, twenties, thirties, with money to spend. The woman working there was impressed and said my designs fit right in with the type of clothing they sell. She just has to wait for the owners to return from vacation and she will give me a call. She also put me on to some other stores to try.

This afternoon I took them to a place on Granville Island that sells rocks and stones. The women working there said they really liked them. They are going to get the owner to call. Apparently if he likes them, he buys. No messing around with consignment sales. That would be great if he would buy some.

The buyer for the BC ferry gift shops sent me an email after looking at some pics and invited me to call her in early fall. It seems that's when she starts the buying for 2009. Wow, that would be really great. Lots of tourists take the ferries and usually the tourists are the ones who have the money to spend.

And every contact I make the person knows of one or two other places I could try. So who knows just how far this could go. Tomorrow I plan to make a few more calls.

My jewellery instructor is forming a jewellery-making co-operative at her studio and I am going to be a member. That way I have a place to get down and dirty with precious metals and the tools I need will be available.

There is a new stone store a few blocks away on Denman Street and they have some beautiful stones. I have my eye on some blue sapphires. Well, I just have to get them - they are my birthstone! I bought some moonstone and labradorite. And I have been out to another rock and gem store in Burnaby. I am on a list to take a class in metal clay. Can't hardly wait. They have beautiful quality gems in that store. Amber and rubies. I bought a funky star quartz cabouchon and have plans to use it in one of my silver clay pieces. When I take the class.

Next Tuesday I start a class in fusing glass to metal, techniques such as cloisonne and champleve. Should be great. Everything seems to be coming up rose quartz!

My life is now full of precious stones, pearls and silver and gold. Learning about the differences between amber and copal. Talking to other crafters about techniques and suppliers. Who knew I would be starting this kind of new life when I moved here last year. Life is amazing! And doubly amazing: 37 days until G-Day!!!!!

Got my ticket to Winnipeg. Will be visiting there from Sept. 16 to 30. Looking forward to spending time with old friends.

The karaoke at the bar across the street is loud tonight. They have the windows open because of the heat and humidity we've been having lately. Some drunk is singing..."I did it myyyyyyyyyy wayyyyyy." On that note, bye all.

There is in them a softer fire than the ruby, there is the brilliant purple of the amethyst, and the sea green of the emerald - all shining together in incredible union. Some by their splendor rival the colors of the painters, others the flame of burning sulphur or of fire quickened by oil.

~Pliny, about the opal

Sisters and other Family

2008-06-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Here are two of the new necklaces I made with the raku ceramic pendants created by brother-in-law J., a ceramic artist in Oklahoma. Photoshopping courtesy of same artist. Good thing, too. My photography is crap. The pendants are great! Each one has subtle colour differences. I bow to your talent, little brother-in-law.

Good thing my jewellery-making skills are better. I loooove to sit and create pieces of jewellery. I get into the Zone when I do that. Occasionally I glance up at the mountains or look at the sky over English Bay. I'm so focused I don't notice the sound of construction or time passing. After spending several hours at my worktable (doubles as my dining room table) I suddenly hear my stomach growling in hunger and realize I've missed a meal.

Sister D. who has caught the jewel bug from me was telling me she made 10 pieces last Sunday sitting in her sun room and growled at her hubby when he interrupted her. Yay, D. You go, girl. She has sold more pieces than I have. But who's counting.

We had our last tap class until September. We decided to have a hiatus from dancing for the summer. Our feet will enjoy the rest, to say nothing of the relief of our knees. Tappy, tappy makes me happy.

Dearest daughter and wonderful son-in-law took some prenatal classes this past weekend. She reports it was at the same time exhilarating and overwhelming. It is terrific to remember the experience of being a new parent. I just wanted to spend the rest of my life holding her in my arms and looking at her, my precious little girl. I think she's a little too big for that now. It was so humbling to think that this helpless, tiny creature depended on me and her Dad for survival and more than a little scary. Only 45 days till Granddaughter day!!!

Congratulations to grandniece Cheyenne on her graduation day. Thanks to brother-in-law G. for posting pictures. I wish I could have been there. Hugs and kisses to nephew Mike and Char. and all the kids.

I went to the Air Canada website to make a reservation for a trip to Winnipeg, but it is down. I hope it's up and running tomorrow - that's the last day of the seat sale and I really want to go to Manitoba for a couple of weeks in September. Gotta see some old friends.

Take care, all my sisters and brothers out there.

If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: "Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma." ~Linda Sunshine

I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 4-year-old named Lauren

Remembering June 14 and Fathers and Daughters

2008-06-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

T Here is a picture of Dennis and his daughter. It's my favourite picture of all time. And the other one is me and my dad. Yesterday was Dennis' birthday. He would have been 61. I spent most of the day with my darling daughter and we focused mostly on the future. We watched a couple of movies and played Trivial Pursuit. He was great at TP. The champion.

My daughter also brought the ultrasound video of my granddaughter. The word awesome is overused these days, but really fits here. The pictures of her gulping fluid, making a fist and holding onto her legs can only be described as awesome. Only 56 days until granddaughter day!!!! Yippee!!!

He would have been a terrific grandfather. I will make sure my grandchildren know how wonderful he was.

I remember some of the June 14 birthdays. We often went out for dinner. Once we had a big backyard barbeque. Many of his co-workers came to that one. It was a surprise for him and everyone had a good time. The last few years we often had combination birthday parties with our "Trivial Friends." That's what we called the two couples with whom we played TP. Oh, happy days, long gone.

I continue to make new forms of jewellery. I have made some new pieces with raku pendants Jack sent me from Oklahoma. I will post some pictures when I have them ready. I hope they sell. I received a request from one of darling daughter's friends for a private showing for her and a few of her friends visiting Vancouver. A private showing! Well, lah-di-dah. Have I arrived? It will be fun, anyway.

Brother-in-law Gary and wife Carolyn have set off on their trip to see their son Michael and his family in the interior. Somewhere near Terrace, BC. And they plan a side trip to Calgary and will also stop in Vancouver at the end of the trip. Happy Trails!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. If you still have your father, make sure you tell him how much you love him. I'm thinking about my father who is in a personal care home in Saint John. I remember going to see the first Pink Panther movie with my father. It was the mid sixties and I felt so grown up at about age 14 to be going to a movie with my Dad. We really enjoyed Peter Sellers doing Inspector Clouseau. All the jokes were so predictable and we laughed like fools anyway. And I remember Dennis introducing our daughter to the joys of Pink Panther humour. It's nice to know the best things never go out of style. Love to all fathers. And fathers-to-be, my dear. I wish you all the joys of the father-daughter bond.

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

Interruptions, Intrusions, Disruptions, Blockings, Detours, Delays, Reroutings, and a Suspension

2008-06-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

I phoned a friend in Manitoba a few days ago and our conversation was interrupted by a siren that was going down Davie Street, then a very loud Harley motorcycle and I know she was thinking: what a noisy place. How can she live there? The West End really is a happening place. And noisy. But I seldom lose sleep because of noise any more. Adapting to the climate here is only part of the challenge.

Speaking of noise, there is construction going on right beside my apartment building. They are building a 20 condo unit next door. The loud noises of construction drive me out of the block often in the daytime. Today there was a concrete pour and they were out there working overtime smoothing it out with those noisy machines that look like gigantic fans on their sides. They were still intruding on "So You Think You Can Dance" right up until it ended at ten PM!! It's not enough that they make enough noise to drive me away all day - they ruined my evening. There oughta be a law. Actually, I think there is, but I'm not sure what hours they have to quit making noise.

And English Bay has already been quite disrupted by the upcoming triathlon. A whole raft of tents and a huge grandstand is blocking my view of the beach. Some streets and sidewalks have already been blocked off. On Sunday, the day of the actual race, the sidewalks and Davie Street will be totally blocked off along with a few other streets. I remember last year getting delayed on the other side of the street and not being able to get back home after my workout.

I have seen some competitors trying out the course on their bikes and some swimmers practising in English Bay. I could never have tried anything like that. You gotta admire the athletes. For me a triathlon might be a workout on the stationary bike at my gym, a walk to Stanley Park and a six-hour shift windexing the showcases at London Drugs. Har har!

The last two days have also seen a film crew working at a restaurant around the corner. This happens often in this city. I remember seeing a crew filming Night for Day on Granville Street once on my way to tap dance class. There was also some filming at the Bus and Train Station. It was for the upcoming X-Files movie. Films are always allowed to disrupt almost anything here. Buses are rerouted, trailers park in non-parking zones and pedestrians are detoured around film crews. I read that tourism is down, so I guess filming must be encouraged to keep the economy afloat. There are always so many people involved in filming (why do they all wear headphones) , but so far I haven't seen any stars working on a film here.

As I got off a bus today I heard a youthful voice singing "Amazing Grace." I looked down the street and there was a young (about 14 years old) person of indeterminate sex sitting on the sidewalk with an empty coffee cup beside her (him). She (he)sported a shaved head and a coverall about two sizes too large. The feet were encased in scruffy sneakers. The voice was not well-trained, but the singer sounded sincere. I figured anybody who actually knew all the words of "Amazing Grace" should be rewarded. So I temporarily suspended my policy of not giving money to panhandlers and dropped a loonie in the cup. I was rewarded with a smile of pure joy. Ya gotta love the West End. In spite of all its disturbances, delays and impediments it's alive and vibrant.

Had a great time in Victoria for three days. It was so quiet I found it hard to get to sleep! Thanks to Gary for posting the pictures on his blog.

The closest you will ever come in this life to an orderly universe is a good library. - Ashleigh Brilliant

21, 893, 121, 76, 3, 24

2008-05-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

It has been 21 days since I last blogged! I didn't believe it until I checked my calendar. Where does time go? No one knows.

I have lived 893 days without him. I still miss him terribly. A beautiful sunset makes me think of him. I turn toward where he would have been sleeping when I sleep. When I watch a new movie I think about how he would have enjoyed it.

Sorry to write about being sad. But for some reason I've been going through a patch of sadness for the last few days. Sometimes I'm happy. When making jewellery (121 pieces made so far), baking cookies, spending time with darling daughter or contemplating the upcoming wonderful event. I suppose I ought to call the number 893 the days of my new life. It's as good as it could be without him.

Here's a happy number. 76 days until Granddaughter day!!! Yay. And three, the number of days I am spending in Victoria. I look forward to spending lots of time with the kin in Victoria.

Love to everyone reading this blog.
Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of the day. ~W. Beran Wolfe

Ginger, Stones, Birthdays, Timmy's

2008-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Happy Birthday to nephew Alan. It has been an eventful few days since I last blogged.

Baked some ginger snaps and was quite happy with the results. Another type of cookie to add to my grandmotherly repertoire.

On Friday my sister and I went to a beading show. I got some rubies, opals, labradorite, jade, and solar quartz. Great stones. I also got some African ceramic beads and some art glass beads. I can't wait to get started on some new jewellery.

I had a jewellery party last Saturday. Only two people attended. Nothing sold, but got another party booking out of it.

Sunday, my sister and her husband and I went to the Raincity Grill to celebrate their birthdays. The food was delicious as always and the service was great. But I'm not biased. I consumed enough calories for three days. Good thing I don't eat like that all the time.

Speaking of food, at long last another of my schemes is coming to fruition. After thinking that the Tim Horton's restaurant was not coming into our building after all, I noticed there is now a sign up in one of the store fronts announcing the restaurant. It makes me very happy to know how close my Timmy's will be. Yahoo! I wonder how long it will be until the interior construction is done and they open for business. It can't be too soon for me.

Only 97 days until granddaughter day. Double Yahoo!!

Patience is also a form of action. ~Auguste Rodin

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

2008-04-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

In the family, I'm known for my baking. My daughter likes chocolate chip cookies and my son-in-law prefers almond lemon biscotti. I love to bake for them. I don't cook often - I have a few dishes that are usually edible, but I enjoy baking most. I am known at work as the cookie baker, too. I often take cookies and other baking to work for my co-workers. I'll let you in on a little secret. I have been practicing cookies in preparation for grandchildren. In 103 days, give or take, I can start baking cookies for my granddaughter. Yep, that's right, my granddaughter! Well, I guess newborns can't eat cookies, but, eventually...

Darling Daughter and her Handsome Husband took me and the other grandparents out for dinner at the Sandbar Restaurant. It was to be a celebration of his father's birthday (I took, what else?, cookies) and their anniversary. But it turned out to be a celebration of another kind, too. They went to a company that provides ultrasound pictures and video and have had it confirmed - it's a girl. We were all so happy to see the wonderful pictures. She was holding up her little fist. She is so beautiful.

It would be great to have a grandson, too, but I am just so happy to know her and see the great pictures of her. The wonders of modern technology! So amazing.

It is so much easier now to imagine holding her, taking her for a walk, playing with her, teaching her to bake cookies. It is hard to be patient, but at the same time, I am savouring the joy of expectation. I have loved her since I knew she existed and I know he would have loved her, too. He would have been over the moon to know he was going to have a grandchild.

Thank you Darling Daughter and Super Son-in-law. You have given me a wonderful gift. I have to end this post now. I think I better practice my baking. I wonder if she'll prefer chocolate chip or peanut butter or maybe biscotti with her morning coffee...

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

Scrap, Waste, Trash, Rubbish, Refuse, Litter and Garbage

2008-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Today I want to write about garbage. It was Earth Day this week. Every day should be Earth Day. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Good motto. But here's a forgotten aspect of environmentalism. Yes, scrap, waste, trash, rubbish, litter....the stuff we produce so much. Some of us, it seems, forget where garbage goes.

In the locker room at the gym I noticed that someone had left an empty water bottle on a table and an empty chewing gum wrapper on the floor under the table. The thought occurred to me that I had seen an empty bottle and a gum wrapper in those precise locations a few times before. They must have been left by the same person!!!! Was an alien life form studying the customs and rites of the human exercise nut? Were these items left by an anthropologist hiding somewhere in the locker room as part of some government-sponsored research to determine what people would do when faced with these extraneous objects? Was there a hidden camera and at any moment a host would jump out and say Candid Camera? Naw, I decided, it was just some goofball who thinks someone else needs the exercise of bending over and picking up the gum wrapper.

I have just one thing to say to the unknown litterbug...the gym is in the process of developing new technology in which garbage will deposit itself in the correct receptacle. But they are still working out the bugs. In the meantime those using the locker room as their own private garbage can are requested to use the old technology of PICKING UP YOUR GARBAGE, WALKING THREE STEPS AND PUTTING IT IN THE CAN. Sadly, chances are the unknown litterbug will not be reading this blog...

It's the same story around the front of my apartment block. Ever since the store fronts have been finished and the bus company installed a couple of benches, people waiting for the bus have been leaving cigarettes on the sidewalk. Some of those butts, granted, are tossed on the sidewalk by bus drivers feeding their nicotine addictions during their breaks but most of them are left by people lounging around on the bus benches. Every morning when I leave for the gym the sidewalk is littered with newspapers, coffee cups, paper wrappings from hamburgers and sandwiches and plastic containers of all sorts and sizes. Yes, it's a dirty world we live in and some people are making it dirtier.

You are probably wondering: did the ranter pick up any of this garbage and deposit it? No. I talk a good talk, but do I walk the walk? I figure it might be considered a bit OC if I started picking up trash in my neighbourhood. Although, when I lived in Winnipeg, I used to carry a garbage bag whenever I walked the dog, a little one for the dog detritis, a large one for all the other garbage. I guess I have developed new priorities or perhaps new eccentricities. But I do put my own garbage in the garbage can.

Just one small plea for Mother Earth...don't litter.

Gotta get some sleep. Catch up on the sleep I've been missing the last few days. Have a good week. Keep Earth clean.

Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea.~George Carlin

Anvils, Hammers, Jigs, Grace and 1995

2008-04-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

These days my email and blogging are taking second place to making jewellery in my spare time. But I finally managed to get to those things today. Although it is two minutes to midnight. By the time I post this it will be well into Thursday. Sleeping is on the back burner tonight.

Here is a picture of a necklace I made, a custom order. I am enjoying the new method of stringing beads on multiple strands of thread and I like the results but it is time-consuming.

This week I bought a little jewellery anvil and hammer and have started pounding metal. I hope the neighbours don't start complaining about the noise. I have set niece L. to constructing me a jewellery jig...nothing to do with dancing. It's a flat 5 or 6 inch square piece of wood with holes drilled into it at regular intervals. One puts pegs into the holes in a pattern and wraps wire around the pegs and by this method, makes one's own links for chain. That's the theory at least.

I see by Gary's blog that Nana is doing well. He has posted pictures of her. She is in rehab...no, not that Amy Winehouse kind of rehab. She does physical therapy to counteract the effects of her stroke. Hugs and kisses to Nana.

I got an email today from my adopted French son, Matthieu. He and his wife Perrine live in the south of France where they are building a house. I sure hope I can go to France one of these days. Matthieu spent a July with us in 1995 on an exchange visit and we had many happy days showing him around Manitoba. We went to a White Lake cottage for a week and spent the days hiking, playing Yahtzee and fishing off the dock. What a great time it was. (See pictures above) Matthieu has kept in touch.

Darling Daughter is doing well with her baby bump. She takes pre-natal yoga for fitness. Good for her, I say. There is a stillness and a grace about her. As if she is compelled to conserve energy. It is lovely to see her shining with contentment. They say brides are lovely, but nothing compares with the beauty of a mother-to-be.

Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.

Mothers and daughters are closest, when daughters become mothers. ~Author Unknown

A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future. ~Author Unknown

Parties, Panties and Paradise

2008-04-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay since my last posting. I have been busy. Here is a picture of one of my latest creations. It's a three strand necklace of pearls, rivershell and silverfoil beads. I have also been stringing pearls and made a 12 strand bracelet. I looooove my Saturday jewellery classes. I manage to make about a piece a day on the other days. I now have over 50 pieces.

I plan to have two jewellery parties May 3 and May 31.

The saga of the crazy West coast fashion continues. "She" was walking away from me when spotted. (I use the quotation marks because I could not tell the gender of the person) She had on black tights, little white go-go boots, (only those over the age of 45 will know what these are) a short white jacket and viewed from the back a pair of white underpants over the black tights!!! I have seen these panty-like short shorts in the stores but that was the first time I saw them on a person. It must have been quite a sight from the front... Today walking home from work I saw a mother and adult daughter dressed in identical puffy green vests. And a man and woman were dressed all in orange, head to toe. Who says we have no fashion sense here in Lalaland? Vancouver must be the only city where you can see people wearing shorts and others wearing ski jackets on the street at the same time....

We have been having some spring weather the last two days...15 degrees and sunny. We can take any number of such days after all the rain, thunder, lightning, hail, sleet and snow we've had this winter. It's still paradise compared with other parts of the country.

The mother of my grandchild is doing well. She is looking forward to beginning her time off work which will be in about a couple of weeks. She looks wonderful and is enjoying driving around in their new Jeep Liberty.

Mother has been in the hospital for about a week. She has been having stroke-like symptoms although so far the tests don't show any stroke. We are all sending her good wishes and love.

Bye for now. Take care.

After all, what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi. ~P.J. O'Rourke

Strange Pawsh, Evelyn Strange, Strange Weather

2008-03-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Store seen in Yaletown, a yuppyish community in downtown Vancouver: Pawsh, Spa for Cats and Dogs. Well, lah di dah. Some people sure spend a lot of money on their pets. Some people think their pets are humans. Strange. Some pets are soooo pampered, n'est-ce pas?

I've been pretty busy the last ten days. I've been working at LD of course. And I subbed three days at the Immigrant Social Services school in an ESL class. It was fun. It was really easy this time because the regular teacher left me lots of activities for the class to do. One class was doing a unit on the theme of Money (who doesn't like that) and the other class a unit on Crime and The Justice System. And, since it was so close to Easter, I hid some chocolate "eggs" around the classroom and told them the Easter bunny had been there. We had an Easter egg hunt. Many of them thanked me for teaching them and one young woman even hugged me and said she hoped I would come back. Well, who wouldn't after a response like that?

So now I am available to sub Mondays to Thursdays and available to work at London Drugs Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And in between I make jewellery!

I am also taking some classes in jewellery-making. I am learning a better way to do crimping and wrapping beads and stones. Some of the designs tips have been helpful too. Ange, the instructor teaches at a local college also and seems to be quite knowledgeable. I've seen some of her work and it is fabulous.

It's only 136 days until G-day. I dug out the quilt that Nana sewed and embroidered with nursery rhyme characters for M when she was a baby. I placed it in the bassinette waiting for the arrival of our little treasure. The mother and father of my unborn grandchild have bought themselves a new car. It's a Jeep Liberty, dark blue, one year old and only 27 000 K on it. It has lots of room for the baby car seat and some cargo area for J to transport all the materials and tools he needs for his aquarium business. M was so excited and she drove by yesterday and took me and my sister for a spin around the block. It's a great little car.

Last Friday I took in a play with sister D and hubby S. It was a sort of murder mystery set in the 1950s called Evelyn Strange. I so enjoy live theatre.

Speaking of strange, we had a thunderstorm here yesterday and hail, would you believe. That sort of weather is fairly common on the Prairies, where I used to live, but it is rare here. The "hail" was more like sleet, really. No damage was done to buildings or cars. The Prairie hail is often big enough to damage cars and roofs and sometimes is even accompanied by tornadoes!!! And the strangest of all - it only lasted about half an hour. Then it was gone and the sun came out after! It has been mostly sunny here today, but as I write I can hear some sleet tinkling on the windows. Woops, it's gone now. Strange weather.

Well, gotta go. The shopping mall is calling me to come and spend some money. Time for somebody else besides me and Gary to do some blogging.

Ever consider what pets must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! ~Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist

All About Courtesy, Eve, and Living On

2008-03-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

I see by G's blog he and C are back in Victoria, city of the newlywed and nearly dead, or so it is laughingly called. I quite like Victoria but it is a quiet city. At least it seems that way to one who nightly tries to sleep through crowds of roisterous drunks as they leave the bars in the wee small hours. I can hear one cackling and shouting as I write. Anyway welcome back G and C to the fairest province in the fairest country!!

On the sky train the other day I sat right beside a young woman with an ipod earpiece in one ear blasting so loudly I could make out the lyrics of the song. Up to her other ear she held a cellphone into which she announced to the entire car passengers that, "...she's such a whore. Even Sam said she was a slut...." The other passengers tried valiantly to ignore her diatribe.

That little incident has to count as the most discourteous event I have witnessed since I arrived in this fair city. I'm pretty sure if I had commented on it, she would have looked at me as if I were an alien. What is it that makes people think they have the right to subject everyone else to their music, their cellphone conversations, their specious and unwelcome opinions??!!

After finishing a shift at LD today, I crafted two new necklaces and three pairs of earrings while I "watched" the movie, "All About Eve," on TCM. (see picture above) I don't work at LD again until Thursday evening. Of course, I may be called in to substitute. I hope not tomorrow morning. I haven't been for a workout in a few days and I feel the need to "get physical." Murphy's Law being what it is, I may very well get called to sub.

Then I spent a little time remembering and rereading the Prairie Dog blog. It is 27 months today that he's been gone. The PD blog is still getting hits. It has had almost 2000 since I stopped posting to it. He lives on.

Looking in the other direction, it is now 147 days to G-day. He lives on there, too. Darling Daughter was not feeling too well for a couple of days, but seems to be better now.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all those of the Irish persuasion and those, like myself, with Irish ancestors.

Take care...and tata...and Peace.

Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles. ~Sonja Henie

Crafting, Lucking Out, Selling, Taking Care of Business

2008-03-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

The Prairie Crocus has been taking care of business. (That sounds familiar...make a good lyric.) I quite like the way this necklace turned out. It can be worn with the clasp either at the front or the back.

Yesterday I stopped in at an optometrist to get some new nose pads for my glasses. Little did I know how momentous that decision would be.

The receptionist noticed the necklace I was wearing (the one in the photo). Well, I just had to brag that I made it myself. She was quite interested and asked if I could bring some pieces for her to look at. She didn't have to ask me twice. I high-tailed it home to my apartment a block away and gathered up a selection. She bought a necklace and matching bracelet as a gift for her mother. And the optometrist bought a necklace for his wife! My lucky day. Had I known how easy it is to sell jewellery here in the trendy West End I would have done it sooner.

Cashing in on my good luck, I stopped in to show some pieces to the owner of a flower shop on my way home. He agreed to allow me to put in a display case and sell on consignment. So my jewellery will be selling at a flower shop down Davie St. called "The Calla Lily." Today I went and bought some display supplies and a display case at a neat little store called "Eddie's Hang Ups." They carry all sorts of display things for retail stores.

Now that I have a business licence and am registered with Business BC, I can buy my supplies wholesale. The Crocus is quite the businesswoman. Bet you can't guess what I named my business? Surprise, surprise, Prairie Crocus Jewellery! I have even made myself some business cards. The Prairie Dog would have been proud.

Apparently working at London Drugs and crafting jewellery isn't taking up enough of my time. I don't have enough to do. I am also on the substitute list for the ESL school at the Immigrant Social Services. They called me and begged me to come in for an interview. It was pretty much a formality. They wanted to take a photocopy of my certificate from the Teaching ESL course I took and my Bachelor's Degree from the U of M. They have asked me to be available mornings Monday to Thursday. So I complicated my cosmetic department manager's life. I told her I would not be available to work at LD Mon. to Thur. mornings. Although she didn't usually give me morning shift weekdays anyway.

Do you think I have enough to do now? I may be able to get in a couple of hours of sleep each night. Eating is optional. I may get the odd day off here and there. Things may have to change when my grandchild arrives. That happy event is only 149 days away!!!

Keep well. See you in the funny papers.

It doesn't matter how many times you fail. It doesn't matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because... All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are. ~Mark Cuban

Cure for Cancer, Fox Boa, Some Lovely Photos

2008-03-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I went with friends L and B to see stand-up comic Ron James. Without a doubt he is one of the funniest men in the country. His imitation of Rob Deniro is peerless.

He also does a good sendup of a cigarette-smoking Quebecois doing improv. He claims the Quebecois smoke as if cigarettes were a cure for cancer. Another funny piece was a car trip to Quebec where his Dad tries to use "his best NHL French" at a gas station and the attendant (with a cigarette in one hand and the gas pump hose in the other) looks as if he'd like to spray the car with gas and toss in his cigarette. As he says they don't ask him to tour in Quebec.

One of the best pieces was a description of how he was watched in church by his granny's fox-head hat. I had aunties who wore the fox boa with the head still attached. Those beady dead eyes were the spookiest thing I've ever seen. The boa was held on by a clip that was formed by the fox's mouth. EEEW. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.

Anyhoo, a good time was had by all. Ron James was one of his favourites. I know he would have enjoyed it tremendously.

Also went to the art gallery with friend S from Victoria. We saw a very interesting photographic show called Truth, Beauty. Darling daughter, who is a photog, would enjoy it.

I've been making lots of jewellery and have signed up for a six-Saturday course in different techniques in jewellery making. It starts on March 22 and I can hardly wait. Yesterday I made another necklace and took some pics of some pieces. I also spent time pricing them for sale.

154 days until G-day. I have some lovely photos of the grandchild. Ultra-sound, of course. I can see the arm bones forming in the little beauty and the child's spine is clearly visible in the other. I will ask my grandchild's parents if it is all right to publish the picture in my blog.

I took a printed copy of the picture to Mother in Victoria last Wed. She had a great time listening to me brag to all her friends and the staff at the Cridge Centre about her 10th great-grandchild. It was a good trip. I enjoyed my time there and gave Mother a necklace and pair of earrings that I had made. Niece L joined us for a tasty dinner at the Centre.

I see by G's blog they are heading back to Canada and will probably arrive in Victoria by next weekend. Happy travels, G and C! Be seeing you soon.

Got plans to get some groceries and get ready for work. I work today from 6-10. Evenings are so slow at LD. But there's always some cleaning to do. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

Tata...and take care...and PEACE.

Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you. Mel Brooks

Rex Redux, The Only Thing Constant Is Change

2008-03-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

I worked at LD from 10:00 till 6:30 today. Not a good shift. Irate customer. But after work I finished the NYT Sunday crossword. I've never timed myself, but I'm sure I'm not very fast. I don't care about speed - I just enjoy it so much. Checking it out on Rex's blog, I noticed there is a reciprocal link there to the Prairie Crocus. Maybe that will mean more traffic on my blog.

I have big plans for this week. I will go to the chamber of commerce to get a business number so I can get my beads for jewellery-making at wholesale prices. I'm going to start the next tap dance session. My sister will be there with her new tap shoes on. Fun, fun, fun.

I have updated my resume and will make appointments for interviews. I hope to do a bit of substituting in ESL classes.

And on Wednesday, I'm going over to the Island to visit my mother-in-law in Victoria. I'll just be there overnight and then I have to return to work at LD Thursday evening.

The mother of my incipient grandchild reports that according to tests conducted recently, it appears that she may actually be a little ahead of schedule in producing said grandchild. That would be nice. I sit in my living room and look at the cutest little frilly, white bassinet and stroller. I'm storing them for the parents until they get a bigger place. Today it is 161 days until G-day, according to the original due date. I may have to change my calendar. I have all the days marked off on this one in big black letters until August 10. Jimminy Cricket, I may have to get a new calendar!

I read in WE, Vancouver's Urban Weekly, that readers voted the Raincity Grill the number one restaurant in the city in the category of West Coast Cuisine. Congrats to darling daughter(service manager) and all her co-workers. Those awards and accolades just keep rolling in. Take it from me, the food there is superb. And I'm not just saying that because she works there.

Went shopping and had lunch with my sister yesterday. It is so nice to be able to renew and strengthen our relationship. We lived geographically separated for so many years.

Bro-in-law in Oklahoma is making good changes in his life. Losing weight and getting more exercise. It's bound to be good for his heart and everything else. Yay, Jack.

Bye all. Must go veg out in front of the TV for a while. Snore...snore...

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. ~Annie Dillard

Certificate, Creations, Carpet (Red), Cosmetics, Class

2008-02-27T22:38:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone in blogland. It's been a little while since I last blogged. Sorry but I have been getting back to my regular routine and resting up after my month-long adventure at Vancouver Community College. It's official. I passed. I go to pick up my certificate tomorrow. Was there ever any doubt? Not to me. Anyone who knows me knows I never put in less than 100% effort.

The picture here is of some jewellry I made. I am going to be selling it. Probably starting around the end of March. I worked on it for about three hours today. It satisfies some creative urge in me.

Last Sunday I had an Oscar party. At first I told everyone to come at 7:00 pm. That's the time the pre-Oscar festivities start. In Winnipeg! Then my observant offspring pointed out that: "Here on the west coast, the shows start at about 3:00 pm." Oops, I almost forgot that I live on the west coast now!!! So it was time to revise the invitations.

My darling daughter and a friend of hers from work came. Also my sister. Other invitees were not able to attend. More wine for the four of us. Or, I guess I would have to say: the three of us. The pregnant lady does not imbibe. We ate lots of appies and junk food and watched the gowns and jewels on the red carpet. It was fun to trash the really bad ones. There were not too many surprises at the awards. Marion Cotillard was a surprise. I hadn't seen "La Vie En Rose," so I ordered the DVD from Amazon.ca. I was very glad to see that a song from "Once," won an award. I saw that movie and it was amazing. I've also ordered it. Got to support the really good indie movies. I was proud to see that the writer of Juno won an award. O Canada....wave the red maple leaf.

On Tuesday I attended a Revlon school. It's a one-day seminar sponsored by the cosmetics company, usually about their new products. It was good - got a few good make-up tips and a free lunch. The companies always give attendees products, too. One good reason to keep my LD job!

Tuesday evening was the last class of this round of tap dance lessons. It is so much fun. My sister takes the class, too. Our instructor, Jennifer, is the best in the city, the country, maybe even the universe! She's been teaching us the Shim-sham-shimmy. Dare you to try saying that three times fast! http://youtube.com/watch?v=rKue2kgoncw Here's another group (not my class) doing the dance. My sister and I have signed up for another set of classes. Yay. Yay. Yay. No tappy, no happy.

Take care and ta ta.

It is never to late to become what you might have been. ~ George Eliot

TESOL and other Language Plays

2008-02-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

Hello All. The end is in sight. No, Darren, not the itchy end. Ah, no, not the end of the world, either, the end of my TESOL course. That's Teaching English as a Second or Other Language to the uninitiated. I have handed in my assignments, attended my last class and just have the take-home exam to do this weekend. Since I also work both Saturday and Sunday and have to attend to my laundry this weekend or buy new undies, I won't be coming up for air until Monday.

But I just wanted to share with everyone out in blogland another blog that is very amusing. Go to the blog listed below. The blogger posts pictures of incorrect use of quotation marks. This blog is funny if you know that the proper use of quotation marks in these examples is to indicate something that is ironic. Like naming Robin Hood's six-foot sidekick, "Little" John. In other words, if you use "dog" it usually means something that isn't a real dog. (A fake dog? Something dog-like? A cat?) But most people use quotation marks as emphasis when they should use boldface or underlining. Interpreting the quotation marks as if they were used correctly creates funny meanings. Well, maybe my sense of humour is warped.

I challenge you to go to the blog look at the billboard using the phrase Thank "God"and not laugh. Just make sure you read the entire group of comments. People who play with language are so funny. I laughed so hard, my sides are aching. And I'm still laughing.

http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/2007/10/or-whatever-diety.html

And for all you grammarphiles, linguistic nerds, and punsters this blog has links to other interesting blogs that play with language. All this talk about language play is turning me on. Might this be the ultimate pick-up line? "Would you like to play with my collocations?"

That, of course, is the other major use of quotation marks - to indicate what someone has said. Even if the someone is an imaginary speaker.

Gotta go. One more time at the "God" site before I go to sleep. He would have loved it.

There are three kinds of people in the world: those who can count, and those who can't. - Warren Buffet

Rex and Oscar

2008-02-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

Today I want to write about two important men in my life. One is a very cerebral blogger. The other always appears in public in the nude.

One of my favourite leisure activities is doing crosswords. I like puzzles and games of all kinds, but I love doing the Sunday NY Times crossword. We used to do it together. I still do it most weekends. Here in Raincity the NY Times Sunday puzzle appears the following Saturday in the Vancouver Sun. So I am always a week behind.

Today I did a particularly (I thought) difficult one. I had to google many of the clues. If I can finish it without googling anything I call the puzzle easy. Then I check it on this blog: http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/ Rex, of course, is a pseudonym. I have a theory that Rex's real name has the initials "R" and "E" because the "X" in Rex can be put with "word" to create an abbreviation for crossword: Xword.

Rex rated yesterday's puzzle as medium. He does puzzles every day and competes in tournaments, so he must be good. He finished yesterday's in eleven and a half minutes!!!! It took me a couple of hours over two days and some googling to get it. Even then, I had two letters wrong. Some people think because they filled in all the letters, they have it right, but if I check, I often find some mistakes in mine. So Rex really helps me with Xwords.

Anyway, each puzzle has a theme and if you can get the theme it goes a long way to helping solve the puzzle. Some of the themes are quite original and complicated; some are simple. There are many links from Rex's blog to other Xword pages. If you like Xwords, you might want to cozy up to Rex like I do.

Today is a rainy Sunday and I spent some time today thinking about the other man in my life, Oscar. As in golden statuette. I am planning an Oscar Party. I love seeing the gowns and jewels and the touching, funny or just plain stupid acceptances speeches. It looks as if the writers' strike will be settled soon and the Oscars will be a go. Yay. Turner Classic Movie network has been showing Oscar-winning movies for a week. I've caught a few and really enjoyed them.

Bye, bye for now. Hey, get out here and blog!

One of my favourite quotes from one of this year's nominees: JUNO
Vanessa Loring: Your parents are probably wondering where you are.
Juno MacGuff: Nah... I mean, I'm already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could I get into?

G Day Minus 185, Practicum, Hypocrisy

2008-02-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

It's G Day minus 185. Mother and child are doing fine. My grandchild's mother and I went shopping Monday evening on her day off. Then we went for a bite to eat. It's wonderful to be living here in Vancouver where I can spend time with her.

I continue with my studies. I just spent two days at my Practicum teaching students English. My partner and I are team teaching. We plan together and then we are a tag team in the classroom. We work well together. The students seem to be enjoying themselves - sort of.

In unrelated news I had a painful experience the other day at LD. We get a lot of interesting customers. This one was quite colourful. She looked about 70 and had bright red hair and foundation so thickly applied on her face I couldn't have scraped it off with a trowel. Well, I thought, at least she is trying to make herself attractive. She came in to get some eyeliner and after helping her with that I began to talk to her about skin care products. All of a sudden this paragon of unspoiled beauty began to spout off. "Oh, I don't believe in that wrinkle-removing stuff...I believe in being yourself(!!!!!!Have you looked in the mirror lately?)...I got rid of my old husband...(Why do some customers think I need to know private stuff like this?)...I'm sixty-two and my boyfriend is twenty-eight...(I don't want to know any more...Stop, please stop I don't want that picture in my head)...He doesn't want me to get a face lift or get rid of my wrinkles...Blah dee blah blah." I smiled and nodded until she went away. Then I reached for the Tylenol. All that smiling gave me a face-ache.

Then there was a man a few days ago who went to great pains to tell me he really hates it when people take a noun and create their own verb from it. Not five minutes later I heard him do exactly that. Don't these opinionated people listen to themselves? If you are that passionate about an idea, shouldn't your behaviour coincide with your belief? Can you spell hypocrite?

Well, I need to get some sleep. Class all day tomorrow.

Take care and keep on blogging.

He does not believe who does not live according to his belief. ~Thomas Fuller

Weather, Central Canada, Turn The World Upside Down, G. Day

2008-02-01T23:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I heard a weather report on TV: Colder than seasonal on the west coast of Canada, cold on the east coast, extreme cold on the Prairies (minus 30-40), not too bad in Central Canada !!!!!!! Central Canada? The Prairie Dog would have been right on it. Rant time!

Have you ever looked at a map of North America? Some of you might be surprised to learn what major city is the closest to the geographical centre of North America!!! Surprise, surprise.....Winnipeg! Only people from Ontario and Quebec call Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal Central Canada. What unmitigated gall!

I'm channelling the old Prairie Dog here, but, would all you self-centred, navel-gazing, "if you sail west of Thunder Bay you fall off the world" types just curl up and go to sleep. For a hundred years. Until the prince awakens you with a kiss. (Never) Don't you just hate it when they call everything from Manitoba to the Pacific Ocean "the West." If you live west of Thunder Bay you probably do. Lump them all together, they're all the same, anyway.

Reminds me of a world map that a teacher from Australia posted in his classroom with North at the bottom and South at the top. Imagine that. Kinda makes you think, doesn't it? It made me realize that most of the land masses on earth are in the northern hemisphere. I challenge you to take a map of the world and turn it upside down. See where that takes you.

Speaking of groundhogs....well, aren't prairie dogs almost the same as groundhogs? Kissing cousins at least. Today, Feb. 2, is Groundhog Day!!!! I never understood that whole thing. If the groundhog sees his shadow it means six more weeks of winter. Presumably if he can see his shadow it must be a sunny day. So, if it's not a sunny day and he can't see his shadow, does that mean more than six more weeks of winter or less than six more weeks of winter? It's too just too vague for me. Maybe that is the point.

Anyway, the only really important event is the upcoming birth. Grandchild Day, not Groundhog Day. Here is the official countdown to August 10. As of today, February 2, there are 190 days until G. Day. So it's G Day (Grandchild Day) minus 190.

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young

Happy Event, In the Middle, VCC, Learning Community

2008-02-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

The cat is out of the bag at last. I have been given the go-ahead to shout it from the roof-tops. This is my metaphorical shout out.

My darling daughter and her helpful husband are going to have a baby. The baby is due August 10. Another little piece of him is coming into the world in a whole new human being. I am over the moon about being a grandmother. My friends will know that I have wanted a grandchild for a long time. I remember clearly how I felt when my mother came to visit us a few months after my daughter was born. I felt so protected, so much in the middle of the universe when I was the middle generation between my mother and my daughter. Now I can experience the joy of being the older generation. The circle of life is completing.

I have known about the upcoming event since before Christmas. One day early in December my daughter made plans to come to my apartment do do some baking with me. That morning I had woken up feeling sad before I even opened my eyes. I used to wake up feeling sad before my eyes were even open in the early stages of grieving. I had not felt that way for several months and had thought I was moving on to a new stage in the grieving process.

But that day early in the festive season, I must have been dreaming about something sad - I don't remember what, I woke up sad. Oh, crap, I asked myself, am I going to wake up that way every day until Christmas? A depressing prospect. When my darling daughter arrived and told me the good news, it felt as if a switch was turned on in me. For the next several days I woke up with a smile on my face. I felt a renewed sense of purpose. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I did tell a few close friends.

Of course I am extremely pleased about the prospect of seeing a grandchild and looking forward to the elation of holding him or her in my arms, but still, once in a while a lump comes to my throat at the thought that he won't be there to see our grandchild. Family was always so important to him. It's just not fair.

The latest news is that daughter and son-in-law have heard the baby's heart beat. My daughter reports that it sounded strong and clear and tears of joy were shed. They will be going for an ultrasound in about a month. Stay tuned for more reports.

I am so happy that I moved here to Vancouver so I can be with her. It is gratifying just to be there for her while she goes through one of life's most wonderful experiences.

In other, less important news, I continue in my course at Vancouver Community College, Teaching ESL. I am half-way through the course. I am so happy to rediscover how energizing it is to be part of a learning community. We are a diverse bunch. Age range is from early 20s to seniors. Experience ranges from many years of experience teaching to a few years volunteering in an ESL classroom to no experience teaching. Some are native English speakers and some have another language as their first language. But I am learning from everyone in our class. Our instructors are great, dedicated and encouraging, as all good teachers must be. The most interesting classes so far are those where we had a beginning lesson in Serbo-Croat and another in Arabic. Don't ask me to speak any words in those languages...I really empathize with those learning a new language from nothing. I felt so stupid.....

My practicum is in a class of international students. The class is a wide age range, from many countries, but all are here to learn English and then plan to return to their home countries. Our sponsor teacher had us up and teaching right away the first day, working with small groups or pairs.

My best to brother-in-law J. Keep well, little brother. Talk to you soon.

Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. ~Lois Wyse

New Year

2008-01-17T22:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my darling daughter and I at Christmas. The turkey is done. I'll post more pics in later posts.

I apologize to all my friends who like to keep track of what I am doing by reading my blog. It's been a long time since I posted. I have had serious writer's block. I have sat down at least a dozen times at the computer fully intending to write another post, but...sorry.

I am still working at the drugstore and mostly liking it. I have a new activity, making jewellery. It satisfies some creative urge in me. Next week I start my course at Vancouver Community College.

I miss my friends in Manitoba. Happy New Year to you all and I hope to see you soon.

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

A Courageous Woman

2007-12-29T01:32:00.000-08:00

I was devastated by the news of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. She was a hopeful sign in an otherwise chaotic and repressive country. She was educated at Harvard and Oxford and was an anomaly in a country where few women enjoy freedom or education. What kind of a world do we live in where a woman is killed for speaking of truth, justice and equality? They killed her father in 1979 and now she has also paid the penalty for daring to speak out against the injustices in her country and in favour of democracy.

The government of the tyrant, Musharraf, was quick to blame the Taliban and Al Qaeda. But the government stood to gain from her death because her party was very popular in Pakistan and she was leading in the campaign for the January election. Remember, this is the same Musharraf who responded to the rape of a woman by a military captain by accusing the victim of prostitution.

Whether it was the fundamentalist Muslims or the dictator, she was killed by men because she was a woman who dared to stand up for her beliefs. She was a courageous woman and the world is poorer for the loss.

No one is free when others are oppressed. ~Author Unknown

Turkey Day, Cherry Winks, Reeking Lum, Honour Wall

2007-12-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hello all in blogland. It's been sixteen days since my last post. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I have been busy. I moved into a larger apartment in the same block. I worked many of those days and I prepared for Christmas. Yes, I do celebrate a secular Christmas. For me the best part has always been the family get-togethers.

I had 6 for turkey dinner on Dec. 25. It was a lot of work, but worth every minute. Here for the festivities were darling daughter and her splendid spouse, sister and spouse, son-in-laws parents. We had a wonderful traditional turkey dinner and a lovely bottle of pinot noir. I lit a candle for those whom we were missing and put his stained glass creation in the window. It was wonderful to be in a bigger suite, where I could accomodate seven people for dinner. I made a toast such as he would have made: Here's to good food, good wine, and family.

One surprise package sent from Winnipeg was a gift of home-made cherry winks and Swedish Christmas cookies. Thanks a huge bunch to great friend Pat. I received many terrific gifts, too numerous to mention, but I love all of them. Many, many thanks to all the friends who sent cards and emails. Lang may your lum reek. (Old Scottish saying: Long may your chimney smoke.)

My new suite has 650 square feet and a great view of English Bay and the mountains. I am looking forward to many more opportunities to host social events. Little hint to any friends from afar that are thinking of visiting me - there is to be a new guest suite here at the block available to family and friends of residents for a mere pittance compared to hotel prices. I don't know when it will be finished, but I will keep you posted. So start planning your Vancouver getaways.

I spent a few minutes rereading the Prairie Dog Blog from December 2004. Had a little cry. I can still hear his voice when I read his blog. His Christmas remembrances are there and the cutest little touching story about a group of little ones he took on a tour through the Western Canada Aviation Museum in December 2004. How he loved life. How I miss him.

I got an email from the Reh-fit Centre. They have finally put up the memorial plaque I requested on the Honour Wall. See picture at the top of the post.

Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.

Honour A Life, Festival of Lights, Remembering Him

2007-12-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to me that it was almost two years ago that Dennis died. I feel as if I have lived two lifetimes, one with him and one without.

Last night we went to the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens for the Honour A Life ceremony. It began with music and a slide show. The music was touching and made me cry. We wrote messages of love to our missing ones on Christmas decorations (plasticized cards). We lit candles and went in procession to one of the trees in the garden where we hung our Christmas decorations on a tree. I had also printed up some pictures of Dennis, my mother and my brother and we added those to the decorations. The procession through the garden wound among the lighted trees that they call The Festival of Lights. The lights were fantastical. Some of them changed colour. Some were wrapped around tufts of grass on the ground. Lights played on a fountain. It was indescribably beautiful, like some wonderful fairyland.

The Prairie Dog would not have been happy to hear the references to god in the program. Just because it is "non-denominational" doesn't make it inoffensive. He would have been offended. But I was happy to be there. Many of my bereavement group friends were there and my daughter, son-in-law and sister. It is good to be able to share our losses in community. So I ignored the religious references.

But, in order to be all-inclusive there should be no mention of religion or god in the program. I am an atheist and a humanist and proud of it. Atheism is not just a lack of religion. It is faith in the present, faith in nature. It is faith in the ability of human beings to love and take care of each other. I do not believe in anything supernatural. There are wonders enough in the natural world for me. And wonders enough created by humans...like the Festival of Lights.

I don't know whether I will have time to post more entries this week because I will be quite busy between work and moving. But on December 16 I will remember. I know many of you will too. This video doesn't really relate to this festive time of year, but it is him, so here it is.

Dennis Ousey June 14, 1947-December 16, 2005

He was a man who loved controversy, practical jokes and family.

LD Party, Moving, Timmy's Is Comin' To Town

2007-12-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of me and two work friends at the London Drugs Christmas party. We had a lovely roast beef dinner and the view from the 31st floor of the hotel was fabulous.

I have a couple of pieces of good news. Well, they are good news to me. And I need good news right about now.

The first is: I am moving into a larger apartment in my block. It's just down the hall and so the transfer will be relatively easy since we won't even need the elevator. It will happen over the next week and by Christmas I should be settled into my new place. Details on the address will be in email to all my friends and family soon.

The new apartment has 600 square feet! Every room is bigger. More cupboard space in the kitchen. Bigger living room. Bigger bedroom. I will have room for a dining room suite. Wow! And I have a view of English Bay. I can have a "Fireworks Party" next summer. For those who have never witnessed it, there are fireworks displays four evenings in the summer and thousands of people descend on the West End to view them. They are spectacular.

The other good news is: there will be a Tim Horton's in the store front of my block! I emailed the company and told them there were store fronts for lease here and told them they should get a Timmy's at this end of Davie Street. The building managers told me a few days ago that T. H. signed a lease. Unbelieveable! I looooooove my Timmy's coffee! And muffins, and donuts and soup and sandwiches.... Yahoo. Heaven on earth! I may never cook again.

Now, if I can just get some storage space in the block so I don't have to store 20 boxes in a storage locker...well, we can't have everything. We need something to work towards.

Tata...and take care...and PEACE.

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, something you give away. Robert Fulgham

Loved Ones and Slushy Snow

2007-12-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last blog but my heart hasn't been in it lately. The Christmas season is a tough time of year for anyone who has lost a loved one. The anniversary of his last hospital stay is approaching.

On Monday, Nov. 10 Margot, Joel and I will be attending a ceremony to "Honour a Life." There will be a candlelight parade and the attaching of his name to a tree. My sister and her husband will also be there. There are other family griefs to acknowledge also. Our mother, our brother, Papa (my father-in-law) my sister's brother-in-law and my son-in-law's grandfather. Everyone has suffered losses.

Our mother died on November 26, 1990. Our brother on September 7, 1999. See pictures. I have those two pictures because he scanned them into a computer. Thanks to the old Prairie Dog.

Work at London Drugs goes on. I am grateful for the opportunities to keep busy and keep my mind off grieving for a few hours. One bright note: I won a $50 gift certificate from LD.

The weather here has been weird. For the last two nights it was slightly below zero and it has been snowing. Now it is zero and there is lots of slushy snow. Even though it's snowing people carry umbrellas. They do call this "Raincity," don't they? Tomorrow the prediction is for + 11 degrees! 4 mm of snow and people don't want to go out! I am told the Skytrain can be brought to a halt by a little snow on the track. Strange. This is like a very nice winter day to me.

Love to all. Especially those grieving a loss. My heart is with you.

[A] final comfort that is small, but not cold: The heart is the only broken instrument that works. ~T.E. Kalem

LD, Wrinkles, Elvis and Learning

2007-11-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

The Prairie Crocus is still enjoying working at London Drugs. Not enough hours yet, but as we get closer to Christmas, the hours will increase. I am learning new things about cosmetics companies and not all of it is good. Some companies make outrageous claims for their products which are easily disproved. Many of them have "scientific evidence" of the efficacy of their products on their websites. Someone should tell those companies that a report paid for by the company is not scientific evidence, no matter how many dermatologists sign the report. If it's not published in a bona fide professional journal, it isn't valid science. And, of course, a healthy skepticism is warranted for any website. Any fool can create a website. Or a blog! Even a transplanted prairie crocus!

That being said, there are still some cosmetic products that can improve the skin. Most of the good ones contain ingredients that have been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. Madame Dubarry was known for her skin softening milk baths. But none of them can take away years of neglect or sun damage. Not one of them will get rid of deep wrinkles. As one ages, one's skin gets old! To all you young women out there: the number one skin ager is the sun. Forget the suntan. It's a baaaaaad thing. Stay out of the sun as much as you can and use sunscreen and your skin will stay more beautiful longer. Oh, and don't smoke. That's the number two ager of skin. Not to mention its other deleterious effects. If you are not afraid of lung cancer, be afraid of wrinkles! Although she quit ten years ago (it's never too late) the Prairie Crocus is still suffering the effects on her face of smoking for many years. Be wiser than I and you will look younger.

Last Friday the Crocus went to see live theatre with her sister and sister's husband. The play was called "Bathroom Humour." It was a farce set in the 1980's. Remember the big hair with the teased up bangs! The big shoulder pads! The parties fueled by alcohol and chemicals! Yes, it certainly brought back memories. The play was quite enjoyable. There was even an Elvis impersonator. Hilarious.

In keeping with her belief that learning never stops, the Prairie Crocus is going back to school. She is going to study "Teaching English as a Second Language" at Vancouver Community College. The course runs from the middle of January to the middle of February, all day, five days a week. After that the Crocus might just be looking for a part-time job teaching at a language school here. And, who knows, maybe even going for short term jobs overseas sometime in the future. But I plan to keep my job at London Drugs. For a while at least.

I am going to Victoria tomorrow for the rest of the week. Visiting my mother-in-law (89th birthday tomorrow), and brother and sister-in-law. Should be fun.

Bye to all. Tata...and take care...and Peace.

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~Mark Twain, Following the Equator

Remember, Coen Brothers, Workin' At the Drug Store

2007-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Remember the veterans today. We owe them for their sacrifices.

The Prairie Crocus is enjoying working at London Drugs in the cosmetics department. The other people who work there are very friendly and welcoming. We certainly get some colourful customers. There is one man who came in the other night about a half hour before closing. His clothes are all too big for him and were held together with huge safety pins. He dropped the names of the former manager and current manager of the cosmetics probably to establish that he was harmless. Then he proceeded to talk my ear off about global warming, the weather, the windstorm last year, his father taking up Spanish in his later years, living in a foreign country. It was random and non-stop! I was pretty much a captive audience. Lotsa nodding and smiling on my part. There should be a bonus for dealing with boring customers!

Last night I went to the restaurant where my daughter works and had my usual halibut dinner. Great! Then we went out for a couple of drinks after she was finished work. I'm hoping to have my fabulous daughter and her talented husband over for dinner tomorrow.

I went to see "No Country For Old Men." The Coen brothers were up to their usual tricks. Just when I think I've got them figured out, they do something surprising. It was a very dark thriller. Tommy Lee Jones' performance was terrific. I'm thinking Oscar nomination. Javier Bardem also did a great job in the character of a cool killer. But this movie was not one of my favourites. I found the ending unsatisfying. If you like the Coen brothers you might like this one but I caution those who don't like "weird" movies.

Got to go and get ready for work. I work today from 5:00 till 10:00. I'll be getting double time as it's a statutory holiday! Woo hoo! Keep well.

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. ~José Narosky

Flu Shot, Transplants, Turning back Time

2007-11-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

I went to my doctor's office to get the flu shot. Why are there so many sick people in doctors' offices! I probably picked up a few new germs from all the coughing and hacking.

While I was there I was reading a local newspaper called Metro. Here are the headlines from the first two pages: COP CAR CRASH KILLS 2 and VGH(Vancouver General Hospital) SCORES PERFECT 10 WITH TRANSPLANT RECORD. Tears came to my eyes as I realized those two stories were related. Two young men in their twenties died as a result of a high speed crash with an RCMP car that was responding to a call about a suicidal woman. In the second story, surgeons performed a record-breaking 10 organ transplants in a 24 hour period. The hospital, of course, can't reveal who the donors of the organs were, but I think one quote from the story clinched it for me: "... the hospital was pressed for time because organs from the two donors could only be stored for a few hours." So, there was grief and sadness for two
families and happiness and relief for ten families. Too bad the happiness depended on someone else's grief.

I passed my "drug test" with a very good score. I begin my first shift at the London Drugs store this afternoon. Where else could I get a job in which I could chat with people all day about something I like and get paid for it? And only a block from my apartment! Whoopee!

My darling daughter and her handsome husband return from their holiday tomorrow. Yeah!

One of my nieces is moving into a new house in the Courtney area of Vancouver Island and starting a new job. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are helping her get unpacked. All the best in the new house!

Here it is, a new month already! How time flies! Don't forget to turn your clocks back tomorrow night. We gain an hour. What will you do with yours?

Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. ~Author Unknown

Drug Test, Something Fishy, Radar Trap

2007-10-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am now an employee of London Drugs. I just spent two days in training. I go back on Friday to write the exam. I guess one could call it a "drug test." Oooooohmigosh....how long has it been since I last wrote an exam. Too far back to remember. But this is one drug test for which one can study! Got three days to study up a storm. I wonder if the instructors take bribes...

Saturday I start my first shift at the London Drugs a block from my apartment. How great is that! I can walk to work and be there in two minutes. Woo hoo!

My darling daughter and her spectacular spouse are on holidays in the Philipines. They are lounging on beaches and snorkeling in the ocean. I am missing them. It will be nice when they are home.

While they are gone they have left me in charge of the aquariums. Son-in-law J. showed me how to feed the fish in each tank. He has one salty aquarium with a clownfish in it. Remember Finding Nemo? Well, it looks exactly like Nemo. In the same tank are two fish that are bright yellow and saturated purple. They are gorgeous. It's fun to watch the little crab with a conch-shaped shell in that tank too. The most interesting tank is the one with the discus fish. When I arrive at the apartment I talk to the fish and when I go around the corner to look at the discus they are all congregating near the door watching for me with their mouths opening and closing. They have such big eyes and are so curious. I think they are more interested in watching me than they are in eating. The other fish dash for the food when I put it in, but the discus watch me watching them. And then, slowly they amble over for the food. I think they must be quite intelligent for fish - the Einsteins of the fish world perhaps.

I have also been in charge of the daughter and son-in-law's car and I've taken full advantage of it, driving it to work. I have noticed police with radar guns on Granville twice, but always been driving within the speed limit. Nya, nya, nya, nya, nya...you didn't catch me! I wonder if they take bribes? I have noticed one thing about Vancouver car culture - amber means: go very fast, and red means: two more cars can go. Hey, just like Winnipeg!

Friends in Winnipeg, A and J have a new granddaughter! Congrats to all. Welcome to Jin Mei. I had a lovely time at my sister D.'s on Sunday. Roast beef dinner, Canada-opoly and Wizard (card game). Dinner and entertainment. Great stuff. Happy Hallowe'en everyone!

Did you know America ranks the lowest in education but the highest in drug use? It's nice to be number one, but we can fix that. All we need to do is start the war on education. If it's anywhere near as successful as our war on drugs, in no time we'll all be hooked on phonics. ~Leighann Lord

Old Job, New Job, Georgia O'Keeffe's Message

2007-10-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have given my notice at the kiosk. I am still awaiting word from London Drugs; they are waiting for the results of the background check. I'm sure they won't find anything too awful in that. I have a good credit rating and was never convicted of anything more serious than a traffic violation. They said they would be contacting my references, too. The references I gave were ones I was sure would be positive.

I took the computer aptitude test for London Drugs. Very interesting. It consisted of a Math section, a Verbal Skills section and a personality profile. The Math one was grueling. Math was never my best subject. I didn't finish the test in the time allotted either. Here's me, the perfectionist spending too much time on each question. But I passed it. The Verbal one was a breeze - well, one would hope I would find it easy. A teacher and a writer, if I don't have good communication skills...I finished that one with time to spare. And scored well.

The Social Skills section was interesting. They showed statements like: I am easily angered. I am a successful human being. People talk about me behind my back. The choices for answers are: always true, mostly true, sometimes true and sometimes false, mostly false and always false. It was pretty much what I expected, but what's up with this one? My friends have been successful in business. What does one's answer to this question have to do with one's social skills? I guess it gives a clue to how one perceives other people.

Some of the questions were a little hard to answer, like, I am easily depressed. Not really fair to a person still grieving for a major loss, but I just tried to answer that one in general. I am a pretty optimistic person and seldom get depressed if you don't count grieving.

One of the hardest things I have noticed lately, probably because I am back in the working world, is that I no longer have that one person I can count on to be there when I need a pat on the back or need to bitch about life. He was always so supportive and often provided me with a strong anchor to reality which kept me going in spite of life's little bumps. Such a loss.

I went to see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the Art Gallery last weekend with friends L and B. I noticed that Georgia survived her husband by forty years, forty very productive years. I realized there is a message there for me to take to heart. I'm trying very hard to make my life productive. Isn't it what everyone wants? To make a difference.

The exhibit was fabulous. I could go again. It is so great to be able to share it with intelligent friends and talk about the experience with them. I have heard that people see sexual metaphors in her work. Giant vulva and such. She didn't agree with that interpretation. She said she used her perceptions of nature to paint. One can find great beauty in her work without relating everything to sex. I guess naughty bits are in the eye of the beholder. I did find her work quite sensual. Her style is very feminine, with the colours and curves. She is famous for her flowers, but I also enjoyed her landscapes and later, more abstract works.

Okay, people, get blogging out there. I'm doing my share. Keep well.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for. ~Georgia O'Keeffe

Aligning the Calendars and What The Boss Doesn't Believe In

2007-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been a while since I posted a blog entry. I have been busy with the new job. I have discovered that I am incapable of being on my feet for 10 hours without a break! Who knew! I requested shorter shifts. 4 or 5 hours and I feel the strain. And I'm in good shape for a sixty-year-old. Then I have an hour-long bus ride to get home. What a nice end to the working day! Why is it that when a person gets on the bus reeking of garlic, they always sit next to me! This often happens early in the morning. In what culture do they eat garlic for breakfast?

I often work in the morning. It is actually quite boring. There are very few customers at malls in the morning. The only excitement is the little old Chinese men who come to the kiosk an hour before it opens to ask questions while I'm trying to get set up for the day. Or the little old ladies who talk and talk and tell me their life stories. And they never buy anything. I think they are just lonely and need to come to the mall to socialize. It's kind of sad, really.

My boss has a pet peeve, a messy kiosk. If the calendars are not lined up exactly, you are not doing your job. So I spend most of my time roaming the stand, looking for that calendar that's 5 degrees out of alignment. I think I will bring a measuring tape and a level to work. it's the only way to satisfy her. Actually she has a lot of pet peeves and they seem to change daily. I am glad I changed my mind about wanting to manage, although the way things are now, we all seem to be managers. At not much more than minimum wage.

We are expected to be at work 15 minutes before our shifts. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if she's not paying us, that's illegal. We don't get breaks. We can snatch a couple of minutes to get a lunch to eat at our kiosk or take a bathroom break if we can con a security guard to babysit the kiosk. And the boss doesn't believe in chairs or stools at the kiosk.

The boss also doesn't believe in getting sick. If we are ever sick, I have been told, we have to get our own replacement! Isn't that supposed to be the manager's job? She didn't have time to set up the schedule of working hours so she told two other women working there to set it up themselves. They scheduled me in for a twelve hour shift! And when I reminded her that I had asked for shorter shifts she told me to talk to the others and settle it! Isn't scheduling the manager's job also. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. We have no manager. The manager that was working there got sick with strep throat and, "she is no longer with us." I guess the boss doesn't believe in strep throat either. That was the day I decided I didn't want to be a manager there.

Seems the boss doesn't believe in communicating with the staff either. I had to pick up my paycheque yesterday on my day off after it had been sitting under the kiosk cash register for three days. And there was no stub to show how much tax or other deductions was taken off. So I can't even tell if she paid me for the right number of hours. Maybe she doesn't believe in paying taxes!

So, things are pretty disorganized and I'm looking for a job closer to home. I have applied to London Drugs, a block away from my apartment building. They have an opening for a sales associate in the cosmetics dept. I have experience. In the late sixties and early seventies I worked in the cosmetics dept. at Eaton's. I am hopeful that I can get in there. It would be a couple of minutes walk away and I have heard from other employees that London Drugs treats their employees like human beings. What a concept!

Gotta go get ready for work. Meanwhile I'll dream of the perfect job. Or at least a satisfactory job. Bye for now.

Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says "Go!" - a leader says "Let's go!" ~E.M. Kelly

New Job, Calendars, Jewellery, Thanksgiving

2007-10-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

I have a new job! I will be working at a Calendar Club kiosk in Oakridge Shopping Centre. My boss, Cheryl, hired me on the spot. She said I was "classy" and "awesome." I have to agree with that. Never argue with your boss.

She is opening a kiosk tomorrow. I will be helping her set it up tomorrow and working there for a few days while she gets a store up and running at the same mall. She is considering putting me in management there. It's going to be fun. Exhausting, but fun.

It takes me about 40 minutes to get there on the bus. The Oakridge Shopping Centre is a high-end mall. There will be high sales volume there, based on Cheryl's past experience, and if I manage the store, there will be bonuses also.

I will be working a lot of hours for the first two weeks to get everything up and running, but, after that I can decide how much I want to work. It's just so exciting. My sister is going to apply for a job with Cheryl also and that would be just about perfect, if we could work together.

The mall is great. I've been there twice already and the people working there, like security and maintenance are so nice. There is a store there, Monte Cristo Jewellery, where the door is locked and you have to buzz to get in. I'm assuming most customers have appointments. They probably don't let anybody else in unless they look like real money. La-di-dah. Look out Prairie Crocus, you'll be mixing with the rich and pretentious!

I had a stroll through the Birk's Store and tried on a couple of rings. Sapphire and diamonds. The least expensive one was $2000. Not that I'll be able to afford anything like that. But I can dream, can't I? Even a cat may look at a queen.

Happy Thanksgiving to all friends and relatives. Take care.

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. ~Harold Geneen

Grand Nieces and Nephews, Rain, Happy October

2007-09-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here are two pictures from my Victoria trip. Ben, Megan and I and Jacob, John and I. As you can see, I had a great time with all the nieces and nephews, and grand niece and grand nephews. I forgot my camera when I went to Lyn and Alan's.

I am happy to be back in my little suite. It does seem very little after the huge space I had in Victoria. Well, it is my home. I came back to three days of rain and the prediction is for continued rain for several days. It is fall, isn't it?

I have been having trouble off and on with my internet connection so a Shaw tech is coming on Monday morning. I hope I am able to upload this post.

I am back to working out at my usual location and plan to get back to dance lessons ASAP. I got myself a new pair of tap shoes, so look out, dance class, here I come!

I hope I get an answer soon to my application for a BC teaching certificate. I am anxious to start applying for a job.

Bye for now. Have a happy October and fall.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Across The Universe, Dog Doo

2007-09-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went to Lyn and Alan's for dinner and afterwards his band, The Wharf Street Band had a practice. So it turned out to be dinner and a show! Great fun. I so enjoyed the music. Alan cooked pork with a cinnamon, apple sauce. Very nice. Thanks again for the invite.

On Sunday I went to David and Tena's for dinner. It was a very tasty meal. Tena made rouladen with veggies and mashed potatoes. Great gravy. I did not know how much David had travelled when he was in the air force. He's been to so many places in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Thanks for the great meal and company.

Tonight I go to Noni and John's for dinner. It will be good. John is a great cook. Noni is doing very well after her surgery. She had lost her voice for a few days, but is getting better each day. When I spoke to her on Sunday her voice sounded deep and husky.

I am really enjoying my time with the nieces and nephews. Thanks to all for the hospitality.

Yesterday I went to see two movies: 3:10 to Yuma and Across The Universe. They were both excellent. I loved ATU. It was all based on the Beatles' music. It took me right back to the sixties. With the protests, the Vietnam war, the flower children and the death of Martin Luther King. There were some interesting effects. A sort of acid trip in parts. The actors were great and good singers. I read that Ringo and Paul liked it. Kudos to Julie Taymor. I'll be buying that one when it comes out in video.

I saw a sign on someone's lawn when I was out walking: Here lies the last dog to do his business in my yard. I can sympathize. Some people are always careful to clean up after their dog, others not. I remember one occasion when the Prairie Dog saw a dog owner letting her dog do his thing on the boulevard in front of our house. He ripped open the door and shouted, "DO YOU NEED A BAG?" The startled woman pulled a bag out of her pocket and picked up the leavings. Then she ran off with her dog. We had a neighbour who would walk his dog and carry a little black shovel from a fireplace set. It still had the price tag on it. If that was visible, how much could he have used the shovel? I've been getting my dog fix at Noni's and David's. Each of them has two dogs.

I'll be going back to Vancouver on Thursday. Originally I planned to go back on Saturday, but I decided the ferry would be less full on a week day and since Mother is in the Cridge Centre, she doesn't need me to be here. I will go for dinner with her one last time on Wednesday. I'll be glad to be back in my own little suite. Thanks to G. and C. for letting me stay in their house and use their car.

Bye all.

A dog. I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl. ~Penny Ward Moser

Winnipegers at the Cridge, Emmys, Funny-coloured Fuzzies

2007-09-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Moving day went without a hitch. Mother is now a resident of the Cridge Centre. It's a lovely place and the staff are helpful and caring. The residents get lunch and dinner provided. The kitchen is managed by a trained chef who believes that they should have two different entrees from which to choose. And the food is good there. I had dinner there on Saturday after moving Mother in. We had pepper steak with rice, squash and broccoli. It was tasty. And the tiramisu I had for dessert was great.

Many of the residents play cards. There is a group that play cribbage, and since that is Mother's game I expect she will probably join up. Mother's neighbour across the hall, Archie, is originally from Winnipeg and apparently there are a few other former Winnipeggers at the Cridge Centre. So Mother is quite happy.

I went there to take her some plastic bags and an over-the-door hook this afternoon and when I left her she was happily planning all the friends and relatives she was going to call. The residents have free long distance calls in North America.

What with the good food, the free long distance calls, free Shaw Cable and internet access, maybe I should move in there! Her suite is even bigger than mine! She has 650 sq. ft. I only have 450 (and I think that's an exaggeration on the part of the building managers). Naw, I really do like my suite and besides, I moved there to be close to darling daughter.

Watched the Emmy Awards last night...TV giving itself a huge pat on the back. I watched because I'm a sucker for red carpet fashions and jewels and hairdoes, and shoes. Apparently the gimmicks the producers tried didn't work too well. The ratings were down.

The round stage: James Spader said he got the worst seat in the house (behind all the presentations). Well, with that round stage I don't think anybody had a good seat. I missed the intro with the cartoons from Family Guy singing. By all accounts I didn't miss much. I hated that stand-up comedy routine by what's his name, the unfunny comic. All he did was spit out toxic comments about his employers, the producers of the show. And another vapid acceptance speech from Sally Field. Pretty much a waste of three hours. Maybe next year I'll just watch the red carpet show and skip the awards.

Probably the most interesting comment was from the Saturday night part of the show, the "creative" awards. (Aren't acting, writing and directing creative?) It'll never be shown on prime time TV, though. Kathy Griffen said: “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” Then she made an off-colour remark. The old atheist Prairie Dog would have been chuckling.

Tomorrow is "clean out the fridge" day. There are some funny-coloured fuzzies growing in there. It's time to wipe them out before they come spilling out to swallow me up and take over the world.

Tata...and take care...and PEACE.

How can you put on a meaningful drama when, every fifteen minutes, proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? ~Rod Serling, quoted in Submitted for Your Approval, Public Broadcasting Station, 1995

Il Terrazo, Zen Martinis, Retoxing, D Q, BB8

2007-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

My darling daughter and son-in-law were here on Monday. We went to dinner at Il Terrazo. This was on the recommendation of niece Noni and it was a fine restaurant and a lovely meal. Then we went for a bar crawl. No much doing in the bars on a Monday night. All the sensible people were at home sleeping. Next day was hangover day. It was not pleasant. You'd think by the time I reached 60 I'd know by now...I think next time it'll just be Zen martinis.

On my actual birthday, yesterday, I spent a very quiet day. I went for a workout, roasted a chicken for supper, bought myself a new book: George, Eric and Me by Pattie Boyd. Great trashy read! The stars were retoxing even then! Nothing new under the sun, Lindsay and Brittany.

I treated myself to a sundae at Dairy Queen. Very nice. I had a phone call from my sister. Very, very nice. And my daughter. Very, very, very nice!

Mother is getting ready for the big move on Saturday. She had me packing a few boxes today. Niece Noni is having surgery today. If I don't hear from John or Lyn by this evening I will call to get the scoop. She is scheduled to go home tomorrow. Hopefully I can get out there to see her within a few days.

How are you doing Char? I think about you every time I watch Big Brother. It'll be down to the final two tonight. Who will win? Shouts out to Jack and boys, too. Even Gary hasn't been blogging very much although he has a good excuse.

Zen martini: A martini with no vermouth at all. And no gin, either. ~P.J. O'Rourke

Moving, Moving, Moving, Camping and Cruising

2007-09-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have been busy in Victoria. Mother is moving into her new suite on Saturday. Niece Lyn and nephew David will be helping with that. A friend has lent his truck and trailer. I anticipate that it will go smoothly.

I went to visit niece Noni on Saturday. She and John and Jacob were cleaning and packing stuff to take to storage. They are decluttering in preparation for marketing their house. Been there, done that last spring. Isn't it amazing how much stuff one accumulates over the years!

They have bought a house in the Courtney/Comox area. I've seen pictures and it looks great. Lots of yard, enough bathrooms so that they each get their own (Noni is ecstatic about that). There is even a little shed which they plan to convert to a clubhouse for Jacob. They are moving up there the beginning of November.

I have been going for workouts every other day. I am so lucky to have found a gym that belongs to the same organization as my gym in Vancouver and they are letting me use this gym for ....nothing! It's great. I can go there as often as I like and not have to spend money on it. One of the members said that when he goes to Vancouver, my gym makes visitors pay ten dollars a visit. Not really fair, is it? I would speak to them, but I doubt it would do any good.

I went to see the movie, "Stardust." It is a fantasy about a boy who sets off on a quest to find a fallen star. Very enjoyable - just the kind of movie I love, good escapist fare.

I am also taking long walks. I went along one side of the gorge and up the other side. I was only accosted once by a street person asking for a handout. The weather has been gorgeous here. Sun, sun and more sun. But I'm not complaining. I'm loving it.

There is a street person here in Victoria who is suing the city for not allowing him to sleep in parks. He claims the law banning people from camping in city parks is unconstitutional! Against his human rights! He should be allowed to sleep anywhere he wants, including private property!!!!! What next. Will they be demanding that restaurants feed them? That retail stores must give them clothes? That citizens should be forced to let them take a shower if they come knocking on the door?

I'm reading Gary's blog and they are enjoying Italy. I am mighty envious. Take lots of pictures, Gary. Then I can live the cruise too.

A shout hello to niece Charlene. I watched Big Brother last night. It's down to the final four. Dick and Danielle, a father and daughter, Zach and Jameka. Who do you think will win?

My darling daughter and her husband are en route from Vancouver as I write. Better get back to my laundry.

Tata....and take care...and PEACE.

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Lagoon, New House, Blood Test, Jewellry, Baking

2007-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Not much news here. See Gary's blog for first posting on the cruise. I am sending Gary an email to his gmail address. I'm pretty sure he can access his gmail from anywhere. There's some information from the council.

We went for a drive on Monday to see the lagoon and dropped in on David and Tena to see their new house. It's very nice - big back yard, pool, hardwood floors, fireplace, neat little kitchen with glass doors on the cupboards. I can see them re-decorating and making it their own. Well, Tena, maybe. I think David would be just as happy to let her do it. He likes his computer time. The two dogs, Zach and Tyson are very friendly, big, and intelligent. David already has them trained not to go into the living room by just putting a piece of cardboard across the door! Those dogs could easily knock over the cardboard, but they hate noise, it seems, so it's an effective deterent.

Tuesday, Nana and I went to take her for her blood test and, not knowing where I was going, I followed her into the clinic instead of the lab. The receptionist soon figured out what we really wanted and directed us to the lab. Three doors down in the mall.

Yesterday Nana and I went to a jeweller's to get her watch band made smaller and to put special attachments on her rings which were loose and she was afraid they would fall off her fingers. It's always a big production when she goes anywhere. She can't walk far unless she has a shopping cart on which to lean. Then we had trouble finding the elevator in Zeller's. Then we didn't know how to get from Zeller's to the mall. Luckily the jeweller was close to Zeller's.

She thought the jeweller was taking way too long with such simple jobs and she told me she, "...doesn't trust anyone." I think she was worried that he might take off with her rings, or change the stones or something. All jobs were completed without mishap and she was glad to get done jobs that she had been wanting done for some time.

Next we had to find a dollar store so she could buy me a birthday card. Then she sent me into a hairdressing salon to inquire about prices for the different services and whether they set hair using rollers. None of this new-fangled curling iron stuff for her!

She sure is keeping me busy. Well, it's keeping me off the streets! You never know what kind of trouble you are going to get into in a strange city.

Today I made some almond haystacks and later I plan to make some biscotti. Gotta keep busy. Maybe I can outrun my sixtieth.

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the hell she is. ~Ellen DeGeneres

Chez Ousey, Tim Horton, Substituting Redux, Sixty

2007-09-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone in blogland. I am now in Victoria, chez Gary and Carolyn. Great hotel, but I have to do the cooking. I don't mind, though.

I am here to keep Nana company. She will be moving into a seniors' place by September 15. Everything has been arranged with niece Lyn and some friends. I will just have to help with the packing and unpacking. I am so envious. Nana's apartment is bigger than mine! Mine is 450 sq. feet and hers is 650 sq. feet! Well, who'd a thunkit. I do like my apartment though.

Anyway, I have already been to the grocery store to stock up on some things I like. And this morning I went for a long walk to the nearest Tim Horton's. They have the best coffee. No, I was good this time - didn't have a donut or a muffin. I wish there was a T. H. closer to my place in Vancouver. Oh well, can't have everything, I guess.

I am looking forward to seeing all the nieces and nephews and their children. Although, so many of the children are moving out, going to school, etc. I plan to spend as much time as possible visiting with them.

My wonderful daughter will be coming here for a couple of days. Looking forward to that. Anyone know any good restaurants in Victoria? We will probably go out for dinner. Someone's birthday coming up. Sixty! Hard to believe. I have applied for and will be receiving Canada Pension. Whoopie! That'll just barely keep me out of the poorhouse.

I have started the process of applying for my BC teaching credential. I think I will have to do some substituting. Otherwise I will have to give up all luxuries. Can't have that!

Bye for now. Bon voyage to Gary and Carolyn on their Meditteranean cruise.

A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart. ~Author Unknown

Money, Astronomers, Senior Moment, Wedding

2007-08-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I'm writing about everybody's favourite topic: money! My mother used to say that money was the root of all evil. She had a million sayings and some of them were even funny. Later in life I found out that the real quotation goes something like this: The love of money is the root of all evil. I suppose the idea is that one should not be greedy. But, seriously, how would we survive without money? I guess we would all have to use the barter system.

What got me started on this topic was that this morning I put my coins into those paper coin holders and found that, omigosh, my coins added up to $20.00! Wow! Well, by this time of the month I need every penny I can scrounge, so off I went to the bank to turn in my coins for a crisp, new 20 dollar bill.

I don't know about you, but no matter how hard I try, my month always lasts longer than my money. I think astronomers ought to train the Hubble telescope on my bank account because I'm sure they would find the black hole of the galaxy for which they've been searching since telescopes were invented.

Oh, Prairie Crocus, you just have to sit yourself down and have a serious talk with yourself. Make a budget! And stick to it! Stop making those impulsive purchases! Like the food you bought yesterday. Did you really need the tomato, the apple, and the 6 eggs you bought at Extra Foods? (When did I start buying single pieces of fruit?)

There. Wasn't that easy. I feel so much better.

Anyhoo, I was at the bank handing over my hoard of pennies. Then I started searching through my wallet, muttering (mild) curses and rubbing my forehead. The very nice young man who was counting my treasure said to me: "Something wrong, ma'am?"

"Yes," I said with a sigh, "I left my bank card at a store I was at yesterday."

"You mean this one?" he inquired, holding up my bank card. We both laughed along with the teller beside him and the customer beside me.

"Just having a senior moment," I said with chagrin.

Smart-alec bank tellers. The thing to do if you are caught out by a younger person when you are having a senior moment is to get very ornery and try to pass the blame on to someone else. Play the curmudgeon. To the hilt. It's what he would have done.

Speaking of greed - tonight's 6/49 lottery is estimated at 15 million! Whoopee. Now, I agree with my brother-in-law who says that the odds of winning is almost the same whether you buy a ticket or not! He is right. Still, I happily plunk down my $3.00 for the privilege of imagining for a few minutes what great things I would do if I had 15 million dollars.

In reality, I watch my little nest egg shrinking with the recent drop in the equity markets. The bankers keep assuring me things will look up. Stay the course, they tell me. Yeah, it's not your life savings. Why is it that whether the economic times are good or bad, the banks still make money?

I have been asked by my niece and her fiance to perform their wedding next summer and I am completely honoured to do it. I am permitted to do it as long as there is a BC Marriage Commissioner at the ceremony. When I lived in Manitoba I was a Marriage Commissioner, but I am not qualified here. I would like to be an MC here, but at the moment there are no openings.

I know everybody is busy with their summer activities, but come on, everyone, do some blogging.

Tata and take care...and PEACE.

Foul cankering rust the hidden treasure frets,
But gold that's put to use more gold begets.
~William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1593
(Somebody forgot to tell RBC about that!)

Queen Elizabeth, Estrogen, and Harry Potter

2007-08-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

I went to Queen Elizabeth Park a few days ago. This is the highest point in the City of Vancouver. It was an old quarry that has been converted into a park. Isn't it beautiful? I think so. The first picture shows Mount Seymour. The second is a flower bed along a walkway. There is a restaurant called "Seasons," and a botanical garden which was not open the day I went because of the strike by civic workers. There were some children playing in the fountains near the botanical garden building. I took a lot of gorgeous pictures. I know he would have taken a whole pile of pictures and would have enjoyed the park.

I read in the paper that some scientists did some research and you'll be surprised to hear that a lack of estrogen in menopause causes women to gain weight! Any woman over 50 could have told them that. I suppose these scientists got a government grant to come up with that brilliant conclusion. What a waste of taxpayers money.

I just got the last book of the Harry Potter series. I'm going to take it with me to Victoria. I heard that some people go immediately to the last chapter and read so they can find out who dies. I'm not doing that. So if anybody out there has read the book, don't tell me how it ends...No, I'm covering my ears...La la la la...I can't hear you.

Well, time to say goodnight. Pleasant dreams, all.

Ron Weasley: Hermione, you are truly the most wonderful person I have ever met and if I'm ever rude to you... Hermione Granger: Then I'll know you've gone back to normal
(Lines from the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Acadians, Rush Hour, Funny Cigarettes, Hugging It Out

2007-08-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

I have just spent the day in my pyjamas reading a book about my ancestors, the Acadians. I think one should do that sort of thing every once in a while. Then I hauled out the genealogy my aunt Evelyn produced in the 1980s. Fascinating stuff. My ancestors were deported from Nova Scotia in 1755. One of my ancestors returned to Nova Scotia after the furore had died down and re-established my family lineage. I am hoping to go to the Maritimes next fall with my daughter. We'll go looking for our roots. See how many relatives of my father we can find. Of course I have been there before and met some cousins of my father and saw some of the old places, but it was a while ago.

I went to see the movie, "Rush Hour 3," a few days ago. I like to go to movies by myself on a weekday afternoon when there are few people there. I can just sit there in the dark and enter the world on the screen. It's very therapeutic.

Anyway, the movie was amusing. It was definitely better than RH2. I think they must have hired some half-decent comedy writers this time around. There were some interesting minor characters including a French taxi driver who starts out as the stereotype of a French taxi driver and...well, I won't spoil it, but it is funny. The highlight for me was a "who's on first" type of exchange involving some Asian names. What a hoot.

The walk home was as interesting as the movie. And To Think That I Saw It on Davie Street... One feisty old lady with a walker was wearing a tee shirt that said: "No Smoking Near This T-Shirt." She was about as wide as she was tall and looked tough enough to take me two out of three in arm-wrestling. I wouldn't have messed with her for any amount of money.

A middle-aged man and woman sat side by side on a bus bench scratching matching lottery tickets. Now that's togetherness! I wonder if they would have shared their winnings equally?

As I walked past an outdoor bar I caught a whiff of some funny cigarettes. Not that I ever smoked anything like that! Oh, no, the Prairie Crocus would never do that. (You can't see my crossed fingers behind my back, can you?) Reminds me of the time I watched a man get on the bus with a lit joint. When the bus driver told him to put it out he said, "I have a license for medical use."

"I don't care if you have a signed note from the Prime Minister," the bus driver said. "Put it out while you're on my bus." So he did.

Anyway back to Mulberry Street, uh, I mean, Davie Street. I passed many professional recyclers. They make a heck of a noise trundling their shopping carts down the street. Most of the stores will only allow each customer to turn in a certain number of cans and bottles, so they need to make the rounds of grocery stores to earn their money.

I passed a man wearing a tee with "LET'S HUG IT OUT" printed on it. Sounds like a plan to me. Far superior in my estimation than fighting it out.

I missed the first part of the conversation, but as I passed two men on the sidewalk I heard one man say to another one who was carrying two large pizza boxes: "You're not faaaaaat!" Well, excuse me, but if you eat those two large pizzas by yourself there's every chance you will be. One article I read recently told BCers not to be too smug about the fact that BC has the lowest percentage of obese people. The writer was of the opinion that just meant BC people were not gaining weight as fast as other places.

Ah, Davie Street. 24 hour grocery store and drug store. This street never sleeps.

I notice none of my favourite bloggers have been blogging! Except for Gary. Come on people. I write for you. You could return the favour and let me know how things are in your little corner of the world.

Tomorrow I am having lunch with my friend, K. I am going to the North Shore on the Seabus for the first time. Should be fun!

Take care.

What is the city but the people? ~William Shakespeare

Insalata, Ancient Roma, Griffin's, Printed Noise

2007-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Why is it that salad always tastes better away from home? I can't be that bad at making salad. Yet, even when I get the same ingredients, it's never as good as the salad at restaurants. The best place to go for a salad here in Vancouver is Insalata in the food court of the Pacific Centre. They have a great selection of fresh ingredients: veggies, meats, seafood, nuts, cheese and fruit. And about a dozen different dressings. You pay by weight and you can get a great salad for about $8.

Here's a little information for all you trivia buffs. The word "salad" comes from the Latin word for salt "sal" and the Romans (world's best Latin speakers) ate their fresh veggies with a salt dressing. Another little aside. The word "salary" also comes from the Latin word for salt because the Roman soldiers were sometimes partially paid in salt which was quite valuable in ancient times. Hence the expression someone is "worth his salt." Ain't education great? The Prairie Crocus learned about that in her other life when she taught thirteen-year-olds about ancient Rome.

Another good place to go for a salad and cold buffet is Griffin's in the Hotel Vancouver. Their selection is not as extensive but it includes cold crab, prawns, pasta salad, greens, veggies, soup and dessert for $27. A bit pricier, but also good.

I went out for lunch at Insalata the other day and I noticed on my way home how young people, especially Asians, like to wear t-shirts with words on them. Mostly the Caucasians like tour t-shirts from their favourite bands or funny sayings like, "I'm with stupid >>>>>>>" Or, "I'm more of a hands on guy." There are also some racier ones, but, hey, this is a family blog. I don't want to get an R rating.

But the Asian youth like to wear either brand name tees like Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch. I see more of those than any other brands, so they must be the height of cool. Okay, I can understand why they want to wear the clothes that tell the world how cool they are. I wonder if they realize they are unconsciously providing free advertising for those companies. Maybe they don't care, Crocus!

But I really don't understand why they wear tees on which are printed meaningless English phrases. I've seen a few, but this day I saw one on the bus: IN BORN DAYS THE SURF. What does that mean? Is it just printed noise? Is it a bad translation from another language to English? Should it be: BORN TO SURF? Or is there some aspect of the Japanese, Korean or Chinese culture that I just don't get?

And speaking of clothes and shopping, I saw a rack of clothes in the mall with a sign that said: 4.99 and up. Out of curiosity I checked. Every piece of clothing on the rack was priced at 29.99! I suppose they could have put one item on the rack for 4.99 and it sold right away, but really, I don't think so. I guess truthful advertising really is an oxymoron.

And at Sears they have a shoe sale: CLEARANCE, BUY 2 PAIRS, GET 1 FREE. How can they call it clearance when the very same shoes are there every time I go and the sale has been there since I moved here in April! That's 4 months, people. Why haven't the shoes cleared out by now? Has no one bought any? Do the shoes magically reproduce at night when the stores are closed?

I see by Gary's blog that Crocus' niece, the lovely Noni, and her lovely man John have got themselves engaged. Congratulations to you both! Happy August to all.

As advertising blather becomes the nation's normal idiom, language becomes printed noise. ~George Will, quoted in Stephen Donadio, The New York Public Library: Book of Twentieth-Century American Quotations

What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public. ~Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 1964

Birthdays, Children, Philosophy

2007-08-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of our birthday celelbration at the Sandbar. We celebrated birthdays of Margot and Diana, Joel's mother. We had a lovely time. Friends of Margot's and Joel's bought us a bottle of champagne and paid for much of our meal. Merci bien, vielen dank, gracias to J., T., and M. You know who you are. It was a tasty meal. And don't we all look happy?

Yesterday my beloved daughter and I spent the afternoon together, just chatting, having supper, watching some videos. It is great fun to have such a good relationship with an offspring. My friend, L., and I were just talking about this yesterday. Not everyone is fortunate to have such a great relationship with their children. My friend was telling me about how supportive her son and daughter were when her husband died. And now she lives in one half of a duplex and her son lives in the other half. Her daughter and grandson live close, too. She said she was grateful that her children wanted her so close.

As a parent one hopes that one's children will not suffer in their lives, but it is an impossible dream. Life happens to everyone and no one is immune to pain, loss or suffering. As the old prairie dog would say, "It's what you do with what life sends you that matters."

A little touch of philosophy.

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. ~John W. Whitehead, The Stealing of America, 1983

Chatterbox, Snooty Cats, Cutesy Dogs, Hairspray

2007-08-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here it is seven days into August already. Time sure flies when you are having fun. Hmmm. Something tells me that is not original.

I was in Victoria for a couple of days. Jack and the boys were there. We had a great time talking with them. Andrew - what a chatterbox! I wonder where he gets that from? Know anything about that, Jack? I heard a rumour that Jack was a real chatterbox as a kid. Played cribbage with Nana and got Gary to show me how to use my new portable drive.

I also had lunch with my friend, S. He's in Victoria to attend Camosun College in September. We ate at a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant called "Green Cuisine."

The ferry ride was uneventful. That's the way it should be. No bomb scares. This time.

As soon as I got back, I hopped on the Skytrain to Surrey. I don't know if "hopped" is really the right word. Weighed down with a large suitcase and a carryall full of books I did more dragging than hopping. I was pet-sitting for my sister.

The two little canine boys were happy to see me. Buster and Dusty, two fuzzy little cuties. But the whole weekend they kept going to the front door. Looking for their master and mistress, I should think. The cats just came and went as the mood took them. They have a pet door and once or twice they graced the house with their presence. Cats are such aristocrats. They look down their noses at the world and walk on their tippy toes. They're like the high fashion models of the pet world. I guess that's why they call it a "cat walk!"

While I was there I went to see the movie "Hairspray." Loads of fun, especially John "Revolta" in drag. He did a credible job with the part, but ooo, they should have gotten a better make-up artist. His face looked as if it were going to fall off any second. The audience clapped at the end. You don't hear that too often at movies.

I also went to my friends' place for dinner. Afterwards we all played a rousing game of "Probe." Did you know that game came out in 1968? At least that's the copyright date on the Rules folder.

Now I am back in the West End and glad to be home in my own comfortable bed. Today I worked out, did laundry, dusted and cleaned out my fridge. Quite the domestic. But I am looking forward to dinner tonight at the "Sandbar" on Granville Island. It is a celebration of my darling daughter's birthday. Another year goes by.

Must be on my way. Still having trouble with my new TV and DVD player, so it's another trip to London Drugs this afternoon.

Bye all.

As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat. ~Ellen Perry Berkeley

The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer. ~Paula Poundstone

Paris Encore, Madness, Fireworks, Oklahoma

2007-07-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

This posting will just be to catch everybody up on my activities this week. On Monday my daughter and I had lunch and went to see the movie, "Paris, Je t'aime." I already reviewed it in a previous posting, but it was worth seeing again.

Wednesday I went to a "Summer Madness Picnic," with my Walk-and-Talk Bereavement group. Everybody brought something and we all sat around, chatted, ate, drank a little wine. It was fun although it didn't quite live up to its name. The only possible "madness" was a fuzzy-haired dog being walked that was barking at us. I don't know why.

Saturday my sister and her fiance came downtown to watch the fireworks. It was the Canadian team's turn and they didn't disappoint. The show was loud and colourful. The head of the team was from Winnipeg! His company is called Archangel Fireworks. I remember passing it on Pembina Highway as I was driving home from the reh-fit centre. See, Winnipeg can be known for something other than mosquitoes.

My sister called the next day to tell me that they did not get home until 2 am even though they left my place about 11:00. The lineups at the Skytrain stations were several blocks long. Wow! I'm kind of glad I will be out of town for the other two evenings of fireworks.

On Sunday I hosted my friends, L. and B. for dinner. I made some of my world famous lasagna. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But it was a hit.

Tomorrow I will be getting ready and packing for a trip to Victoria. My brother-in-law from Oklahoma will be there with his two sons. I hope there aren't any delays at the ferry. There was a bomb hoax a couple of days ago. Passengers were evacuated and delayed for a few hours.

As soon as I return from Victoria, I go to Surrey for the weekend to animal sit for my sister's menagerie. Buster and Dusty are the two dogs. I don't remember the three cats' names, but they are cute.

When I get back we will be going out to dinner to celebrate my daughter's birthday.

Whew! I really am pretty busy. I may not be posting for a week, but I will be back and posting regularly.

Tata...and Take care...and Peace.

We dare not trust our wit for making our house pleasant to our friend, so we buy ice cream. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bitterosity

2007-07-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

This morning I read a great piece http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_mallick/20070723.html written by Heather Mallick on the CBC news website. The topic fit so well with my last posting that I had to share. Food for thought.

Murphy, Grumbling, Strikers, Gelato

2007-07-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

I see by the hit counter on my blog that I have had 948 hits. That's amazing considering I've only been writing it since the middle of April and it's basically being read by family and friends. This week I will probably top 1000! Yahoo! Mountain Dew!

On Wed. I went to visit my sister in Surrey and returned in the early evening. It was raining pretty steadily, but I was nice and dry on the Sky Train. The calm before the proverbial tempest. I got off at Burrard Station and walked a block to Robson. Normally that bus runs about every 5-10 minutes. I stood sheltering from the rain under a store overhang and waited for a Robson bus...and waited...and waited...and waited. I started to worry about the bag I was carrying. Murphy was on the pitcher's mound that day, because I was carrying a foil bag with two containers of gelato in it. I really like the chocolate gelato at the Great Canadian Superstore ( or as my friend, C., calls it the "Stupidstore") so I had taken advantage of my trip to Surrey to replenish my supply of gelato.

My arms were getting tired and my feet ached. Several of my fingers were white from the cold and I was shivering like someone fighting off a fever. I considered walking home. After all, I had walked that far before. But it was raining and I didn't want to ruin my leather shoes. After about 40 minutes I spotted a bus in the distance. Great, I thought, my gelato will still be edible. But Murphy stepped up to the plate once again. And hit a grand slam. The bus sailed on by. It was so full, the driver didn't stop. I said a bad word, a very bad word, a word my daughter would be shocked to hear coming from my mouth. Then, I startled the people on the sidewalk by loudly declaring that if the next bus looked like not stopping, I would throw myself out in front of it! I don't know why some of them moved away from the overhang.

After another 20 minutes of shivering and worrying about the gelato, another bus came along. I was going to complain loudly to the bus driver, but the look on his face said many others had been there before me and I decided discretion was the better part of valour. With the luck I was having that day he probably would have thrown me off the bus. I meekly took a seat and sighed deeply.

In the end, after a half hour on the Sky Train, an hour waiting for the bus and the fifteen minute ride home, by the time I got the gelato home it was like soup and I had to trash it. I could have walked home and back in the time I waited.

People can be such whiners, can't they. (Not me, of course. My complaints are completely justified.) It seems every time I get on a bus, the vitriol starts. Complete strangers assault each other with unsought opinions. The big news this week is the civic strike. The city workers are members of CUPE and they started with work to rule and have now moved to full-blown strike.

I heard some people discussing it on the bus. They all agreed that the $20 an hour being sought by the strikers was way too much. Is $20 an hour too much? Or is it a decent wage? This is a pretty expensive city. I read in the paper that the average person in Vancouver spends 70% of income on shelter. I wondered if someone had offered one of the complainers $20 an hour for a job, would they still think it was too much? People get so incensed when they think someone is getting more than they are, but I venture to guess not one of those people would have turned down such a wage. One man said they should fire all the workers and hire some out-of-work people. He'd be the first one to complain when those untrained people couldn't do the job.

Another man opined that bus rides should be free. What this has to do with the strike issue, I don't know, because the bus drivers are not in the same union. But some people have to take every opportunity to express their opinion. One woman said, if riding the bus were free, taxes would go up. At that point the debate degenerated into stupidity. The free rider said bus rides should be free with no increase in taxes. You're dreaming, buddy. To call him stupid would be an insult to stupid people everywhere.

Hey, bus riders, stop bitching on the bus. Get yourself a blog. Then you can rant to your heart's content. Har dee har.

Last night I went to dinner at my daughter's restaurant. Well, she works there! Some friends were celebrating a birthday. A fine time was had by all. Happy Birthday, Lori!

Bye all. Take care now. I'll keep you posted on the stink from the uncollected garbage!

Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at? ~W.S. Gilbert

Coffee Grounds, Tappy, Happy and Casino

2007-07-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

I love my coffee. Sometimes I make my own. Often I go to a coffee shop. Since I now have vascular issues, and an irregular heartbeat I should not be drinking coffee. So now I usually order half decaf and half regular coffee. Shhhh. Don't tell my doctor. Of course there are an infinite number of coffee shops here in the city that never sleeps. Probably can't sleep. Drinking too much coffee.

There is the ubiquitous Starbucks. They are everywhere. There is even one corner, Robson at Thurlow, which boasts two Starbucks kitty corner to each other. The tourist buses point them out as a tourist attraction. I have heard various stories about why there are two at the same corner. The two businesses have mated and spawned several urban myths.

I counted six Starbucks on Davie Street, a street that is about 12 -15 blocks long. That's almost one every two blocks! And do they know their business! They know how to keep the customers coming back. Their people are so cheery. Their tables and chairs are inviting. Their tops never leak!

The other day I ordered my usual "tall" (which is really the smallest size) half decaf, half dark. I noticed grounds floating along the top, probably because it was the last cup in the pot. This has happened to me before but until that day I never said anything. I just drank it and picked the grounds out of my teeth. Well, this time the Prairie Crocus decided to speak up. No more Ms. Nice Gal. "There seems to be a lot of grounds in this cup," I stated firmly.

The baristo (is that what you call a male coffee maker?) peered into the coffee, made huge eyes, poured it in a sink and apologized profusely. He requested that I sit down and read my paper while he made a fresh pot. Not only did I get a grande (large) fresh cup, but he also gave me a coupon for another coffee. "I'm so sorry," he said, "That your experience here was less than perfect." Well, la-di-dah. Sounds like a prepared speech. I wonder if they have to recite The Speech back to the manager. Still, it is nice to be treated so well. And when I went back the next day and ordered my usual tall, half-decaf, half-dark, flashing my coupon, the barista said, "Keep the coupon for a special, more expensive order. This one is on me."!!!!!!! It's not hard to figure out why I keep going back. Treating the customer well: what a concept!

I am embarrassed to admit I have never ordered anything at Starbucks except coffee or hot chocolate. It just seems so confusing. Latte, cappucino, mocha frappucino, strawberry machiatto etc, etc, etc...!!!! And they all seem to be full of caramel, chocolate, and mountains of whipped cream. Oh, yeah, that's just what my arteries need.

Some people here don't ever go to Starbucks as a matter of principle. I remember a stand-up comedy routine by Ron James in which he talks about the shiny, scrubbed, cheery, uber-youth of Starbucks. He says it's a reminder of what life might have been like had we lost the war to the Nazis.

The competition includes the franchises of Blenz and Tim Hortons and there is even a locally-owned coffee shop on Denman Street called Delany's. I have sampled the coffee at all these places, and like the coffee at all of them. I used to go to Delany's most often until the day I ordered a decaf. With a sneer, the coffee maker told me, "Delany's doesn't do decaf." I got out of there before he carded me or asked for a note from my mommy saying I'm old enough to drink real coffee.

Friends of mine will only drink coffee certified as fairly traded. I tend to agree with this stance, but I'm just too lazy to ask. There's a brand here called "Saltspring Coffee," which is certified organic and fairly traded. You get to feel smug about two issues for the price of a cup of coffee.

I went to my first tap dance class on Saturday and I'm loving it. Harbour Dance on Granville; I dragged myself up three flights of stairs. Talk about the Grouse Grind! Once I got there I thought I might have to ask for the defibrillator. But the class was fun. Jennifer, the instructor was great.

After class I had a few sore muscles in my calves and my feet, but nothing requiring medication, so I think it's going to be all good. I bought a t-shirt that reads "NO TAPPY, NO HAPPY" on the back and the text on the front is: "Hit the wood!" Okay, for those non-dancers out there, "the wood" refers to the wooden floors on which one does tap dancing. I think. Although it could be interpreted as a double entendre. I think. Oh, Crocus, you are so naive.

This week the Red Hat group, the Hollyberries, are having lunch at the River Rock Casino. Row-di-dow-dow! The Prairie Crocus will be let loose in a casino!!! Stay tuned to see whether Prairie Crocus has to go out panhandling on the street.

Take care...and ta ta...and Peace.

I bought a decaffeinated coffee table, you can't even see a difference. ~Author Unknown

This coffee tastes like mud! Well, it was ground this morning. ~Author Unknown

Dance Class and An Amazing Coincidence

2007-07-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

When I lived in the small city of Winnipeg, I used to say that I could stand on any street corner for an hour and someone I knew would pass by. But who knew that could happen here in the city where you can see palm trees and snow from the same vantage point. Granted, the snow is at the top of the mountains, but still...The world is full of the most amazing coincidences and I experienced one today.

Those of you who know me will know how much I enjoy my dance classes. I started ballet classes when I was about ten, and throughout my teenage years I took ballet, jazz and tap dancing classes. From about age 15 to about 19 I aspired to be a professional dancer. But it was not to be. I met the love of my life, my husband, Dennis, and not for one second did I ever regret giving up my dream and moving to Winnipeg to be with him. Right about now, most of you are thinking, right, but what does that have to do with amazing coincidence. Be patient, I'm getting there.

Off and on through my adult life I took dance classes. (See picture above from 1977)
I took jazz dance classes right up until my seventh month of pregnancy. So, my darling daughter, I danced you into life. In recent years I have taken hip hop dance classes and I have enjoyed them tremendously. Some of my readers have seen the video of my friend Deborah and I doing our hip hop routine. I am not a great dancer, never have been, but I think I am pretty good for a soon-to-be-sixty-year-old. Dance class was a form of therapy that helped me cope with the grief of losing my love, my husband. Dancing gets the endorphins flowing, those happy hormones of the natural high.

So it won't be a surprise to learn that I signed up for a set of dance classes. Today I put on my dance clothes, packed my tap shoes in my bag and headed off to the West End Community Centre. The woman at the Information Desk informed me that I was the only registrant for the class. Oh, oh, I thought, looks as if the class might be cancelled. Sure enough, when the instructor showed, she said she would not conduct a class for just one dancer.

Disappointed, I began to negotiate for a refund. Behind me I heard a voice say, "Catherine?!" Then I heard a scream as I turned around. There was petite, dark-haired Lena the hip hop instructor from Winnipeg. Words can't express how happy I was to see her. She was such a good teacher and it is due to her understanding of how I learn best that I was able to do as well as I did with hip hop. I knew that she had been planning to move to Vancouver and I often thought how great it would be to meet up with her here, but Vancouver is a big city and I never thought I would run into her just by chance. After hugs and promises to get together for coffee, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. She recommended a dance school downtown.

If I hadn't signed up for a dance class I wouldn't have been in the Community Centre at that precise time. And if the class hadn't been cancelled, I would have been in the auditorium when she went by and we would have missed each other. What a precise sequence of coincidences!

Take care, everyone. Keep dancing.

Dance till the stars come down from the rafters
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop.
~W.H. Auden

1965, Ben Kingsley, Job Hunt

2007-07-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day I met Dennis. July 9, 1965. It doesn't seem possible that is 42 years ago. It feels like yesterday. Thanks to brother Gary I have video of us in 1965 and 1966. We were unbelieveably young and good-looking, weren't we?

Yesterday I went to a movie with my sister. We went to see "You Kill Me," with Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni. It's a dark comedy about a hit man with a drinking problem that starts to affect his job, so he goes to AA. Much of the movie was filmed in Winnipeg and one of my friends has a part in it. I recognized the Forks and the train station and other places in Winnipeg, standing in for Buffalo. My friend Lorraine plays a member of AA, Brenda. It was a most entertaining movie. Just the kind of wry humour he loved. It's worth seeing. Congrats to Lorraine. Hope you get lots more work.

I have been out making the rounds of some retail stores on a job hunt. I decided I needed a part time job to keep me busy. One can only do so much working out and walking on the beach. I wouldn't have room for any more furniture so the assembling and painting are finished. Now that I am pretty settled in I have lots of free time. Too much free time, really! Never thought I'd ever say that.

So, I updated my resume, went to my daughter's hair stylist for a new hair cut, donned my Calvin Klein suit and boldly walked into most of the designer stores in Vancouver. I left resumes at Ferragamo's, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany's, Holt Renfrew. Which might be a mistake. If I do get a job at one of those places, I'll probably want to buy all the things I'm selling. I'll keep you all posted on the job hunt. Wish me luck.

Tata and take care...and PEACE.

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman

A Stinky Story: Eagles, Kilts and The Decline of Hunters

2007-07-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

News flash: there's been a sighting of a rare and wonderful pseudoscotbird in its urban environment. I spotted a six-foot-something man yesterday swaggering down Howe Avenue in its summer plummage: a kilt. Okay, that's not too bad. I'm sure we've all seen pipers or certain soldiers wearing a kilt and a sporran. But no uniform jacket, and no sporran! Scandalous. A slight breeze could have exposed his gaucheries. And call the fashion police. On his very shapely legs he sported black stockings! With seams! Now, I know what most of you are thinking - YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO WEAR ANYTHING UNDER A KILT! Well, at least he was wearing shoes that were a cross between Mary Janes and those funny round-toed shoes they wore in the Renaissance. And he did have on a hat that approximated a scottish tam. Such a colourful bird!

Here's a really stinky story. The BC government is trying to encourage more people to hunt. Hunters are now an endangered species!!!! It seems over the last couple of decades, the number of registered hunters has dropped from six percent of the population to 2 percent. Well, I'll be hornswoggled, what a crisis!

And in order to "meet a provincial goal of generating 20 000 new hunters by 2014" the government is going to allow people to keep any roadkill they decimate!!!!! Jumpin' prairie dogs, I didn't know it, but formerly roadkill was legally the property of the Crown. I'll bet you didn't know that either. I'm sure most of you are just as excited as I am at the prospect of sinking one's teeth into that skunk splattered all over the highway! How in the name of holy hopscotch is that going to encourage hunting? Why would we want to encourage hunting?????

For another "stinky story" see The Prairie Dog Blog Tues. Aug. 16 and Wed. Aug.17 2005

I think they should just issue licenses for the hunting of the rapperplaying cruising adolescent and the foulmouthed pubcrawler. This city is full of them. That's a population that needs keeping down. I'm just saying.

And in other news, bald eagles are now off the endangered list. What is this world coming to when bald eagles are off the endangered list, but the government is worried about declines in the population of hunters? Well, folks, who voted these cretins into office? Don't blame me; I wasn't even a resident of BC at the last election. I feel as if I just channelled the old prairie dog.

Speaking of bald eagles, I guess the population must be up, because I saw two pairs of them this morning as I walked along Kitsilano Beach. One pair was at each end of the beach. Each pair had a humongous nest of very large sticks in a very tall tree. I hope they had a clutch of eggs. The birds were magnificent. I also saw a flicker on my walk. These species, of course, are routinely to be found in Manitoba. I remember fondly seeing bald eagles at Grand Beach, great blue herons on Hecla Island and ruby-throated hummingbirds at White Lake. We did a fair bit of bird spotting in the day. So far the only exotic birds(not seen in Manitoba) I have seen here are of the mammalian variety. Colourful birds indeed.

Summer has finally arrived in our fair city. Today it was about 28 degrees, hot and sunny. I guess that's why so many birds were out and about. My daughter and I went for pedicures in an air-conditioned spa this afternoon and we followed that up with a couple of episodes of "Sex and the City" and a glass of rose wine.

Congrats to Chelsea for her Humanitarian Award. Happy Fourth of July to our American friends. Love to all family and friends.

(Here's a bird quote to remind you of Papa - remember how he used to recite this)

A wonderful bird is the pelican
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.
~Dixon Lanier Merritt

Canada Day, Usual Suspects, Weeping and Laughing

2007-07-02T00:41:00.000-07:00

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly. Canada is 140 years old. I hope you all had a happy Canada Day, relaxing and spending time with your loved ones. I went down to Canada Place at the harbour here in Vancouver. There were lots of people there, mostly families, watching an "Idol" contest but it felt lonely so I came home and by the time they set off fireworks I was in my apartment baking biscotti. My son-in-law loves biscotti, so I put some in the freezer for him.

As I write, the usual suspects are out in the streets carousing. I have to keep the window open because it's too warm, and with an extra day off this weekend the young and the restless aren't letting it go to waste. The shouting and foul language floats up to my window and is punctuated by cars roaring by, sometimes with the reverberating boom of a car stereo. I hear the occasional police car siren as Vancouver's finest make the streets safe from crime.

Although I have been fairly busy this week, spending time with my sister, going shopping with my daughter and setting up my new TV, I haven't posted anything to my blog lately because I've been a little depressed. I'm thinking my readers have come to expect some amusing tale or other, but I just haven't found much funny this week. Into each life a little rain must fall...

Take care and TATA.....and PEACE

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either. ~Golda Meir

Victorian Travels, Jeanne's Cake, The Bard Rides Again

2007-06-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a visit to the Victorian Ouseys. It was Gary's birthday on Thursday, so I went to celebrate with him. I stayed one day in the clubhouse near Gary and one day with niece Lyn. I took with me a Jeanne's cake from Winnipeg. My friend P. just happened to be arriving the day before from Winnipeg, so he hand-carried the birthday cake. Thanks to him, we had a taste of the finest cake in the world. Yummmmmmm. See pictures above for the brunch we had on Saturday.

Yesterday, I went to Bard on The Beach. They do Shakespeare's plays in a tent. I have been told that it is the only Shakespearean festival in Canada that is self-supporting. I think I can see why. The play was "Taming of the Shrew" and it was terrific. It was set in the wild, wild West. I wasn't sure it would really work, but it did. It had gunfights and Mexican characters, tumbleweeds and a message delivered by Pony Express. Argueably the funniest part was when a man rode in on a horse and the actors followed the sound of a horse's hooves around as it "rode" through a series of speakers behind the audience.

The character of Petruchio was introduced like Clint Eastwood in "the man with no name" of spaghetti western fame with his signature music. Sporting a six-shooter, a stetson and a striped serape, he strutted around the stage. It was perfect. His sidekick, Grumio, looked just like Gabby Hayes in one of the old westerns we boomers remember fondly.

They even dealt with the modern sensibilities of the audience by having the character of Katharine played with complexity and irony, so that her "transformation" into a dutiful wife became a realization that she could manipulate her husband into doing what she wanted by helping him save face. Without changing a word of Will's dialogue, they conveyed her cooperation and his recognition of her need for validation by having them both kneel to each other at the end. A happy, funny and most enjoyable play.

As I was leaving the theatre I saw a young girl of about six or seven telling her mother about her favourite part. A new generation of Shakespeare fans is in creation!

Oh, Will, the Prairie Crocus loves you. I think I will be watching some of my Shakespearean faves on DVD. I'm so looking forward to the next Bard On The Beach play.

I am wealthy in my friends. ~William Shakespeare "Timon of Athens"

Movie Reviews, Canada Line Construction, Sharp Things

2007-06-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I O.D.ed on movies. Well, I had to, really, because, yesterday afternoon the power was turned off in the block. No computer, TV, or stove. Even the elevator wasn't working. And I wasn't climbing up seven storeys every time I wanted to get to my apartment. That's just begging for a heart attack. So, as you can see I really was FORCED to go see several movies.

So I left at 11:30 am and got home at 9:30 pm. First I went to see "Ocean's 13." It was fun. Some hilarious moments. The usual banter between George and Brad. And they're not too bad to look at, either. My favourite part was: every time "The Amazing Yen" spoke, he spoke Japanese and every one of the others acted as if they understood Japanese. Very droll. I give it four stars out of five.

Then, best of all, a movie called, "Paris, Je t'aime." It was a whole series of shorts, different directors, different genres. Some in French, some partly in English; some about native Frenchmen, some about immigrants. The glue that held them together was the setting, one of the neighbourhoods of Paris. Many of them had surprises or twists, so unexpected. One of the most unusual was with Elijah Wood, set at night, in Paris, involving vampires. Double-twist ending. Not a word of dialogue! One segment was about a middle-aged American woman speaking French very badly (so bad, even us Anglos got the joke) on her first trip to Paris. I won't spoil the ending, but after leading us all down the path of the cliche, it surprised us with a longing so strong it makes one's throat hurt. Five stars for this one.

Then I went to another theatre to see "Once," a movie from Ireland recommended by some good friends. It was very good, too. About a young street musician who composed some lovely songs and was trying to make it in the music biz. It was lovely, and just like real life, relationships were confused and messy. Four and a half stars.

These movie reviews are really only the introduction to what I really wanted to write about in this blog.

Those who live in Vancouver will know that Cambie Street, a pretty major street here, is all torn up and goes down to one lane each direction in some parts. They are building an addition to the Skytrain, called the "Canada Line." The completion date is before the Summer Olympics in 2010. They want to have a line that goes from the airport to downtown.

But, the disruptions of the businesses along Cambie Street have been in the paper and letters have been written to the editors; it's a real controversy. I travelled on a bus down Cambie Street to get to one of the theatres and it's sad to see so many store fronts empty. Some of the small business owners have been driven out by this construction. Customers have been staying away from this area in droves.

I saw a poster put up on a pole asking for people to call or email their councillors and the mayors in support of all the business people suffering from the loss of customers.

Several handwritten messages added to the poster outlined the controversy perfectly. The first writer expressed disdain for the poster. He claims that one of the vendors across from the poster sells "street knives", and urges people not to support that vendor's right to compensation. The next writer wrote very sarcastically that "oh, yes, since one business sells 'sharp things', we should all make sure everyone suffers." The next graffiti artist wrote about the first writer that he was, "a typical ignorant, racist, hic Canadian." The fourth writer complained that he was the ignorant one, because he didn't even know how to spell and left the "k" off "hick." Well, lah di dah. Anonymity brings out the worst in people, doesn't it? And how quickly opinionated people get totally off topic. The arguements devolved into name-calling. Some people seem to be more interested in promoting their own point of view than in listening to anyone else's.

It's almost enough to make a person become quite cynical. But, no, not for the Prairie Crocus. The Old Prairie Dog would have got up on his soapbox about this and probably would have written a few letters and emails himself.

I won't be indifferent. I really do feel sorry for the people whose businesses have gone under. Some of those people had their life savings invested in a business and through no fault of their own they have nothing. I believe they should be compensated or helped in some way. And that's my rant for the day.

Bye, bye for now. Gotta go for a walk on the beach.

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
~Elie Wiesel

Hangovers, Roast Duck, Fathers

2007-06-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

The All-Time Greatest Description of a Hangover:
"Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way...The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth had been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he'd somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by the secret police. He felt bad." ~ Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim. (lol - I'm nominating that last line for the greatest understatment of all time.)

I didn't write that, but I wish I had. It's from Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler.

Cures for hangovers:
Japan: Wear a gauze surgical mask soaked in sake. (Yuck. How long can you hold your breath?)
Hungary: Drink sparrow droppings in brandy. (I'll have my brandy straight up - no sparrow droppings for this Prairie Crocus. Hair of the dog, okay, but I draw the line at droppings of the sparrow.)
Ancient Greece: Draw blood through self-flagellation, allowing the alcohol to seep out. (By the time of the hangover, the alcohol has already "seeped out." And correct me if I'm wrong here, but doesn't the drinking that causes a hangover qualify as self-flagellation?)
And my favourite from those fun-loving Ancient Libyans: Mix seawater into your wine. That way, you can't get too much wine into your system before the seawater induces vomiting.

Let that be the final word from this great book on Alcohol.

Last night Margot, Joel and I had a wonderful dinner. Margot cooked duck in a raspberry sauce. It was delicious. Margot got creative with the rotini and tossed in a few pecans along with some olive oil. (Yummy. It's been cristened - Rotini a la Margot.)We also had Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, French onion soup (insipid due to its lack of salt and weak beef stock. My fault.)Lemony Biscotti and Mango Sorbet. We managed to consume a couple of bottles of wine over the course of the afternoon and evening - hence the preoccupation with hangovers.

Yes, I did have a slight hangover this morning. Not as bad as the one in the above description, although if I'm being honest I'd have to admit I've had one that bad once or twice.

This will be a busy week for me. I have a Red Hat Society Meeting on Tuesday, my Walk and Talk Bereavement Group on Wed., and on Thursday I go to Victoria for a few days to help my brother-in-law celebrate his birthday.

Happy Fathers' Day to all the fathers out there. Don't forget to kiss your kids!
Tata...PEACE.

NORA: What hit me?
NICK: That last martini.
The Thin Man, 1934

Prairie Dog Rides Again

2007-06-11T00:54:00.001-07:00

I had a quick peek at the Prairie Dog Blog and it's still getting hits. It's over 15 000 now! This Thursday, June 14, Dennis would have been sixty. One of the things I plan to do to mark the day is to reread some of his blog entries. I almost hear his voice talking whenever I do that - his writing was so much like his speaking. Those of you reading this blog: if you knew Dennis, take a little time to reread some of his entries. He will be with you again. There's a hyperlink right on this blog.

Saturday, June 16 will be the 18 month anniversary of his death. Margot and Joel and I plan to spend time together. We are going to cook dinner here at my apartment together and Margot is happily planning the menu. We are having three courses and dessert. We'll have the salad course after the main course, just the way he liked to eat it. I have a recipe for Lemony Biscotti that I am going to try. He loved to eat and he loved a glass or two of good wine. We will definitely drink a toast in his honour. And make his favourite toast: To good food, good wine and good friends (and loved ones).

Take care, and TATA ....and Peace.

Triathlon, Near Tragedy, Indecent Exposure

2007-06-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I was awakened at 7:30 by a such a clatter, I threw open the window to see what was the matter. (That sounds vaguely familiar.) There was no traffic on Davie Street. There was a crew putting up portable fencing and yelling at each other. It was my introduction to a fairly frequent(in the summer, at least)Vancouver activity known as the dreaded URBAN RACE.

This time it was the World Cup Triathlon. Swim a whole bunch of miles, bike another whole bunch of miles and run a last, exhausting six miles. Why, I asked myself, had I not heard about this? It was not very well published. I rubbed the sleepy dust out of my eyes and since I was already up I decided to go early for my workout.

The first problem was I could not get to the other side of Davie Street to walk to my fitness club. I had to beg one of the workers to let me through. After I promised him my first-born son (ha! fooled him, like that's gonna happen at my age)he let me through. Muttering grumpily under my breath I stomped to my club.

After a workout, in a better mood with all the endorphins flowing, I headed home. Again I was stopped by the portable fence. So I stopped into a bakery and had a coffee and a chocolate croissant(still warm from the oven)while I watched the competitors zip by on their bikes. My, they go at quite a speed. Zip, zap and they were out of sight. A few minutes later, another group of six or eight whiz by.

All of a sudden I noticed an old lady standing right in the middle of the race course. She had white hair and wore a plaid poncho and was consulting a guide book as she crossed the intersection. I held my breath as I watched, knowing it was just a matter of time until the next group of bikers came barrelling down Davie. The Prairie Crocus saw, in slow motion, a bike collide with her,and in a domino effect more bikes and athletes one after another crashing into the tangled mess and bikes, tourist and athletes all tumbling over each other crashing into the fence? Would the race end in tragedy on the six o'clock news?

Well, no. She got across the intersection unscathed and wandered over to the beach oblivious to the near catastrophe. But she could have been hurt. To the race organizers: NOT ENOUGH P.R. I'm just saying.

About those triathlon athletes. There's not an ounce of fat on any of them. The men are very buff. They wear those skimpy little unitards that leave little to the imagination - anything less and they'd probably be arrested for indecent exposure.

And the women - well, let's just say some of them look like men. I hear that elite women athletes often stop having menstrual periods because they have no fat to store estrogen. Mother nature's way of saying, "You've gone too far." Seems just a tad extreme to me.

The story has a happy ending. The winner of the men's race was a Canadian, Victoria's Simon Whitfield http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/story/2007/06/10/whitfield-vancouver-triathlon.html And in two weeks - the VANCOUVER MARATHON! Whoopeee. I think I'll put in some earplugs and sleep all day.

So, it's good night from me and it's good night from me. Take care!

You don't suffer, kill yourself and take the risks I take just for money. I love bike racing.
Greg LeMond

Can You Eat Just One?

2007-06-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Just read Danielle's blog and tried the donut quiz. Here's the result.

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut

You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun.
You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life...
Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut.
To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions.

What Donut Are You?

I didn't make it up, honest. Those who know me can decide how closely this describes me. Try it yourself. See what kind of donut you are. BTW Tim Horton's (not one of the choices in the quiz)rules!

Alcoholica Esoterica, Pork Roast, Harping On Musical Instruments

2007-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a great book I bought on Granville Island. It's Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler. It combines two of my favourite things, liquor and trivia. I have learned so much about alcohol from this book. Did you know that rum was America's drink of choice until the American Revolution? That Empress Elizabeth of Austria had floor-length hair which she washed in shampoo made from egg yolks, pressed onions and 20 bottles! of the finest French brandy. Talk about conspicuous consumption. If you want to keep an opened bottle of champagne bubbly, stick an ordinary kitchen spoon, handle down, into the bottle. The author of the book claims he tested this "under strict scientific conditions(downing several bottles in one sitting, by making notations on a clipboard and at all times wearing safety goggles)." Can't you just picture it?

I wrote a limerick about one of history's most interesting boozers:
A magnanimous Peter the Great
Was so tall - he was six foot eight.
He rode round on a sleigh
Giving vodka away
And left Russia a drunken state.

I give the book five stars out of five and highly recommend you read it. Or would that be I recommend you read it while high.

My sister and her fiance came for dinner yesterday. The pork roast was very tasty. I cooked it in the crock pot and it took 10 hours; it cooked while I slept. I think it was enjoyed. My sis asked me for recipes. We washed it down with a nice beaujolais and some Bailey's with coffee.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. We saw a man pushing a makeshift dolly constructed of a shopping cart and a chair - he was transporting a harp down the sidewalk. Yes, I said a harp! I've seen people with guitars, bongo drums and harmonicas on the beach, but that was a first. I wondered if he had just bought it and was taking it home or if he was on his way to a concert in the park. I'll never know. I may be "harping" on this subject just a little too much.

Ooh, Prairie Crocus, you are such a bad punster. I learned from the best. Bye for now. Take care and peace.

Vodka is tasteless going down, but it is memorable coming up. ~ Garrison Keillor

Team Building, Karaoke, Sharp Knives

2007-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Update on Canadian Outback's Amazing Race. I googled it and it's a team-building seminar offered to businesses here in Vancouver. That's why I've seen so many of them during the day on buses around the city. I wonder if the Amazing Race people know about this use of the name. I won't be snitching - and don't you, either.

On Thursday my wonderful daughter and her amazing husband took myself and his parents out for dinner. We had a great time at Milestone's and then we went for a walk on the beach. (See pictures) Then everybody came back to my apartment (all 450 square feet of it) for dessert, coffee, tea and drinks. I made her favourite dessert, Sunburst Lemon Bars. Like a mini-lemon pie, only healthier. The Baloros and I made a tentative date for karaoke. Apparently they have a machine! Woo-hoo! My long-suffering daughter will be embarrassed. We just won't invite her. Anyway, I think good time was had by all.

I bought myself a set of good knives. They are fully forged Henckels. In case you wonder, that means the tang (the metal inside the handle) and the blade are all one piece. The things you can pick up by googling! (What did we do before google?) It also came with a sharpening tool. Now, if somebody can show me how to use it..... So now I am all set, just in time for hosting a dinner for my sister and her fiance. The menu: roast pork with chili and orange sauce, wild and white rice, green beans and carrots, and Sunburst Lemon Bars.

Bye for now. Love to all family and friends. Missing my friends in Winnipeg. P.S. Thanks Danielle for the suggestion.

If life gives us rocks, it's our choice whether to build a bridge or a wall. - Unknown

Ornithological Fashion Statement, Three Strange Men, On The Lot

2007-05-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

I love this city! Never a dull moment. Last night I was on my way home from doing a little shopping when I saw a pretty amazing sight. There was a woman walking toward me, probably in her early thirties, slim attractive, blond. At first her clothes seemed just a little out there: military fatigue-style camouflage pants, silver Western belt, leopard print shoes. But, wait, what's that on her shoulder? She was wearing, I kid you not, a long-tailed, sea-green parrot! All I could think about was...what happens when the bird needs to answer a call of nature? The output of pigeons and gulls is all around us, on buildings, fences, sidewalks. Then I noticed she was wearing a shirt just about the right colour to blend in any possible bird droppings. I had to laugh out loud. Somehow I don't think bird shit really qualifies as a fashion accessory. Although, have you seen any haute couture runways on TV lately? The clothes just get more and more outrageous.

That was one strange woman, but today I encountered three strange men. On my way to Science World, I stopped in at Starbucks for a coffee. I was standing at the counter waiting for my order when three men approached me. One asked if he could buy me a treat! I almost said, "Sorry, you're not my type." Then another of the three explained that they had to buy a treat for a stranger and get their picture taken with said stranger. Then I noticed they were wearing identical yellow t-shirts that had these words on them: Canadian Outback's Amazing Race.

Well, what else could I do? I 'm a fan of almost all the "reality" shows, including Amazing Race. I let them buy me a piece of coffee cake and the Starbuck's employee took our picture. I wonder if somewhere in cyberspace there is a picture of me and three strange men huddled over a piece of Starbuck's orange-cream coffee cake.

The newest TV "reality" show is about directors. In "On The Lot" they each have to make short movies and get eliminated until the last one gets a million dollar deal with Spielberg's Dreamworks. I've been following that and find it enjoyable. That Mark Burnett must be a multi-billionaire by now!

Prairie Crocus signing off from an Amazing Race in an amazing city.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable, we have to change it every six months. ~ Oscar Wilde

Supremely Satisfied

2007-05-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

The Prairie Crocus is becoming quite the little handywoman. Remember the assembling of the bed and dresser from Ikea? I had help with those. On Friday Sears delivered some of my new furniture. Of course the curio cabinet and the bookcase were in boxes and in a state of pre-assembly. My daughter would not be available for some time and wasn't really up for assembling any more furniture. So I tackled the bookcase solo.

It came with instructions. It's a good thing I didn't realize when I started how difficult it would be or how long it would take or how much I would sweat, or I probably wouldn't have started. It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle. I was going along quite nicely, about half-way through when the instructions said: Have someone hold the door in place while you put in the screws. Well, the last time I looked, I was alone. My assistant must have taken the day off. I balanced the doors on some CD cases and carried on. It worked.

The next problem was trying to get the shelves attached. The screws were inside these little plastic hiding places and the screwdriver had to be held sideways. That was a real challenge. By this time, I had a blister in the middle of my right palm from using a hand screwdriver. I severely regretted having sold my Black and Decker electric drill/screwdriver.

I knew I wouldn't be able to finish assembling the bookcase using a hand screwdriver, so I hied me out to the little hardware store a couple of blocks away. Just a really little store, they did not sell power tools, but, luckily, they had some for rent. I told the gentleman behind the counter about my troubles with a hand screwdriver. His response was: "Oh, so you want to really screw things up with a power screwdriver!" Mumbling under my breath about male chauvinist pigs I left with my rented power screwdriver.

After that, things went much faster. And after just 5 hours, I had myself a new bookcase. (See picture) It is six feet tall and weighs almost a hundred pounds and I did it all by myself! Good job, honey! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't collapse when I fill it up with books.

The next morning I bought myself a cordless power drill/screwdriver at Canadian Tire. Okay, Prairie Crocus, you're ready for anything now. Anybody need any furniture assembled? I'm your woman.

My next project was to paint two bookcases to match my new bed and dresser. I sanded them a little, then put on a coat of primer. After letting them dry a little I put on one coat of the dark brown paint and they look pretty good, if I do say it myself. That took two days. One last coat tomorrow and they will be ready.

The curio cabinet is still in its box. That might be a little more challenging, as it has four glass sides and the shelves are glass. I think I will have to get myself an assistant - anyone out there who wants the job?

In the past, he was the handyman and I was his assistant. I was a good assistant, too. I did learn a few things from watching him. For example, he used to put the screw onto the screw bit of the electric drill and then onto the wall. Such a simple little trick, but it's much easier than holding the screw on the wall and then trying to fit the bit into the screw. He was a good handyman, but I can't ever remember him assembling any furniture alone - he always had me to help him. So I am quite proud of myself.

I see that Gary was planning to leave for BC today. They are probably stopped at a Walmart somewhere in Saskatchewan, sleeping in the RV. Pleasant dreams!

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. ~Lord Acton

Blue Heron, Chinese Garden, Reflections On Water

2007-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today the temperature reached 18degrees Celsius. A beautiful day so I went for a walk along the sea wall. If you start at English Bay Beach and walk towards Stanley Park you get to Second Beach. Right there is a huge freshwater pool that accomodates 3000 people. There were some people in it today. And I heard the delighted shrieks of children in the water of English Bay. I stopped to watch a great blue heron walking slowly, gracefully, his long neck stretched out sideways to spot some morsel in the shallows. I sat there, watched the heron and allowed myself to be hypnotized by the play of sunlight on the water, a million slivers of light dancing on the Bay. I find it calming.

But what I really want to write about today is my favourite place in all of Vancouver - the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens. It is a classical garden created to resemble a scholar's residence of the Ming dynasty. It is advertised as "Refreshment for the heart." And that it is. It has buildings, water, rocks and plants. The courtyards are composed of mosaics of river pebbles and convey elements of the Daoist philosophy that teaches balance through contrasts such as: soft and hard (plants and rocks), flowing and static, light and dark, and large and small.

The rooms are full of rare woods and antiques. The trees have been pruned so that when you look at them, you can see things beyond them. There are these unique windows in the whitewashed walls called "leak windows" that frame beautiful views like pictures.

It is enjoyable to take a tour through the garden where the guide explains many aspects of the classical Chinese culture typified by the garden. There is a pond where the green clay on the bottom was chosen so that it would reflect the trees and plants all around. The plants were all chosen so that in every season there are different colours.

Sometimes I take a tour, but I also love to sit and write in my journal. The garden seems to shut out the hustle and bustle of the city and create a space for reflection. And of course that was exactly its purpose in the life of a scholar/official in 14th to 16th century China. Here is a link to the garden: http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/ I recommend this garden to anyone coming to Vancouver for a visit.

I see by Gary's blog that he is almost ready to bring mother to BC. So sorry to hear of Aunt Merle's recent illness. She was always a very lovely person. Hugs and kisses to Carolyn and Lewis and Betty.

So great to read the new blog entry by Charlene. I'm hoping to watch a new Big Brother series soon. Tonight is also the start of New episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance," another of my favourites. I spent yesterday with my daughter and had a simply marvelous day eating, drinking, shopping and watching improv. Great for Mother-Daughter bonding. Thanks, Darling.

Only in quiet waters do thing mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world. ~Hans Margolius

Friendly Vancouver, Engineer, Curmudgeon

2007-05-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

I met a man in the elevator the other day. He was carrying some suit bags so I asked if he was going on a trip. He replied that he was going home to Alberta and had been here visiting his daughter. He told me that he liked Vancouver - he felt the people were friendly.

I have to agree with that. I often carry on conversations with complete strangers. I hardly ever took the bus in Winnipeg - didn't need to - had a car. But it's quite common for complete strangers to engage others in conversation while riding the bus here. I quite enjoy that. My daughter doesn't agree with me that it's fun to travel on the bus. She is busy being nice to people all day in her job, so she doesn't want gratuitous conversation with strangers. I, on the other hand, have very little social life, so a chat with a friendly stranger can be the height of my social life for that day.

Here's an example. On a long bus ride out to Richmond I sat beside a young man wearing a construction helmet and work boots. He was wearing a little silver ring on the smallest finger of his right hand. I wondered if he were an engineer. He kept nodding off and falling asleep against the window. All of a sudden, he awoke with a jerk and asked where we were. I told him the name of the last street I had noticed. He said he was afraid he would miss the airport as he had to get off there. I took out a package of gum and offered him one. As he took it I told him I thought he needed something to keep him awake.

So he told me he was working shift work and was experiencing insomnia and of course, sleepiness at inconvenient times. I commiserated with him about insomnia (boy, do I know about that) so he started to tell me about his fellow workers who used alcohol to put themselves to sleep when they were going on a different shift. He said he chose not to do that, so that meant he had to put up with the sleep disturbances. Then he talked about his days as a student. He was an engineer! I mentally gave myself an "A" for being observant. This little exchange with a fellow human being made my day.

Not that all friendliness is appreciated. The old curmudgeon who mutters about how rude some people are, the people whose first language is not English, asking for directions incomprehensibly, the children who run up and down the bus aisles screeching - unfortunately, I am also familiar with them. Nevertheless, I am forced to agree with the man in the elevator. Vancouverites are friendly. Now if I can just get someone my own age that isn't related to me to go for coffee, I might be on my way to a less superficial friendship. But that's another blog posting.

Good-bye for now. Peace.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. ~George Bernard Shaw