GlobalFest Fireworks Finale

We went to the fireworks finale last night and it was awesome as always. This is the 6th year in a row that I went with my friends John & Sheila. I convinced mom & dad to come and I THINK they had fun.

We had dinner first at the Olive Garden which was nice. Dad & Sheila made arrangements for Dad to teach Sheila how to make perogies. So on September 7th, I'll be posting some pictures of the Chef and his protege - keep a watch for this!

We were at the park early this year (before the place opened) and had to stand in line at the gate. Ok stand in a crowd of people who didn't follow the "line". People are so rude. We caught the bus from the Marlborough Mall parking lot down. This is WAY easier than trying to park near Ellison Park where the fireworks are. Plus you don't have to deal with other idiot drivers and pedestrians walking this way and that.

We sat in our usual place on the North side of the lake. This is the best spot as previous years when the wind comes up, it blows East and the people there have to see through the smoke. Same with the people on the south side.

I have to remember for next year to bring a blanket as it got cold. The day was beautiful but I forgot that we are right beside the lake and it gets colder than if the lake wasn't there. Dad only brought a light jacket and I know he froze but he wouldn't admit it and wouldn't take my sweater - knucklehead.

We had a good time chatting until the fireworks started. Dad teased everyone by asking them if they wanted some hot chocolate out of his thermos, mom was bugging John about peeing in a bottle because the line to the port-o-potties was long and I seemed to have been the "security and information booth" at the same time.

On the bus ride to the park, this weird lady sat beside me. She was complaining that she had to pay extra for the bus ride and telling me her life's story. I guess Sheila was behind me just giggling listening to me and this lady. Mom & dad were across from me and were laughing at poor Sheila.

While sitting at the park, the family beside us asked me to look after their chairs and blanket as they wanted to go look at the various tents and to get some food. Later after they had come back they were going back to the tents and then asked me when the show started. I just gave them a time but I really didn't have a clue when the fireworks started. Luckily I had a good guess as they came back just as the fireworks started.

I was also asked by a Japanese couple to watch their chairs as well. The man came back and got the chairs as they were moving.

All in all it was a good time and I really loved the fireworks.

Jury Duty!

I have been all excited today as tomorrow is Jury Duty day! Woo hoo!! With my summons I received a notification to call a certain number after 2 pm for instructions. I waited all day for this time to come. I am going to make sure that I capture this day for both myself and all my loyal fans out there! (that's funny)

At 2:19 pm I called the number and listened to the recording. Tears almost started running down my cheeks when the recording indicated that the Jury selection has been cancelled for tomorrow and there will be no rescheduling. IF they need my services again I will be re-summoned. I'm heart broken. There goes my chance to see in person and experience a trial, being selected, something! Gone, brushed aside like bread crumbs on a dirty counter.

I'm very disappointed in the legal system and its process. Here I am ready to do my civic duty when most people are trying to get out of it and they cancel it on me. NOT FAIR

So this is my theory as to why it was cancelled...... The people on both sides and the legal system saw my last name and because of the huge scandal with the Ryan Jenkins they decided to call it all off.

I think I should be able to sue Ryan Jenkins (or his estate? his family?) for causing me grief and heartbreak of not going to court. I'll settle for a break and enter case, drunk driving, anything!!????!

On the Ryan Jenkins front... before he hung himself Dad got a call from MacLean's magazine asking him if he was related in any way. They also got a call asking if an Elena was here. Wow, freaky.

Poor Rod got a call from a local radio company wanting to do an interview as they said they had a hot tip that Rod was Ryan's brother. Geesh give it a rest people. This was also before the guy was found.

So that is my sad story for this week. I was so excited all week just to be let down.

I did get tickets for the GlobalFest Fireworks Finale on Saturday evening but I think I need more than that to cheer me up. Sigh....

PS..... We had a relative pass on this week - Donna (Sedonia) Fedorus. I don't think I ever met her but my sympathies go out to all.

WorldSkills & my job

I have had a request to explain what the heck the WorldSkills is and what my job is so here goes....

The WorldSkills is a competition like the Olympics but for "skills". For example, some of the skills are Plumbing, Fashion Design, Cooking, Carpentry and so on. The skills are to get people (mainly young students still in high school) to think of other careers besides going to just University. They are not putting down the University choice, but some people just aren't suited for that route. This gives students a chance to see what other options are out there.

The WorldSkills competition is for students currently in technical colleges from around the world. There will be students competing from Australia, Malaysia, UK, Germany, etc.... The events are free to the public so anyone can go down and watch whichever event they like.

One event I personally want to see is the Mechatronics. They build robots and will be building teams to play hockey against each other. Sounds very interesting.

If you are interested you can go to their website for a better explanation. It can be found by clicking on WorldSkills2009.

Now for my job. The company I work for was contracted by the City of Calgary (one of the sponsors of the WorldSkills) to provide 18 technicians per day to install computer hardware, printers, cabling, etc. So after interviewing and hiring 27 staff for this we have been down setting up the Stampede grounds for this huge event.

For people who have been to the Stampede, they will know how big the grounds are. Well just imagine the whole park (plus the new buildings) being used. On the grounds they have put up huge tents (some the largest in the world). Every square inch of the grounds will be used for this competition.

Some of what we have to setup are:
- 850 PCs
- 120 laptops
- 40 printers
- 10 plotters
- lay 43 kms network cables

So my job is to make sure the techs are working and doing a good job. And to follow-up with the WorldSkills people if there are any issues and fixing them. I've had a few issues and am disappointed in one team that is working there but things are relatively going good.

Tomorrow I am spending the whole day down at the Park helping out and watching how the techs work. After the project I have to do reviews for all 27 people so I'm gathering info tomorrow.

I'll be glad when this project is done - September 9th.

I am excited though as Friday is Jury day. I'll keep you all posted!

Needing to find things to do at work

I need to find things to keep me busy and especially make me LOOK busy while at work. I am again in the situation where I have nothing to do. I’m surfing the ‘net but am only going to shopping sites so that could be VERY dangerous. I am also playing Spider Solitaire and it is getting boring.

Today at 9 am I was going out of my tree. I did nothing but start playing solitaire and was completely bored by 9. I would normally ask for things to do but no one is really busy and I don’t want to give them a reason to get rid of me. I’ve also been told by my boss to make sure that I always look busy, so you know they have reviewed my position and don’t deem it useful.

I’m also in a very high traffic location and people are walking by my desk all the time. I do have my back against the wall so people can’t see what I’m working on, but if they come around either corner they can get a glimpse of what’s up. I also have an extra monitor on my desk so can jump between the laptop and second monitor screens. This helps out a bit.

I do have some old paperwork at my desk that I constantly move around and pretend to look at. I’m a clean freak so every night before I leave I ensure nothing is left on my desk. So during the day I look busy with all this paperwork strewn around my desk. That I’ve mastered. It is the “keeping myself from going nuts” that I’m having problems with.

I haven’t even received one email today. How sad!

Grand Opening

Well Mom, Sheila, her daughter Jaime & I went to the Grand Opening today of the new outlet mall in Balzac. We went straight after work and got there around 5:30 pm. We shopped, had some food and were done around 9 pm. We had a good time looking at things and bought just a few items. Most of what we bought was from Body & Bath Works. They have the best lotion and soap there.

This type of mall is something new to Calgary and we'll see how long it lasts. The place was packed all day long and when we got there it was still busy. We were lucky and got rock star parking - very close to the door.

The interior is quite interesting and I took a picture of the huge fire pit they have at one of the entrances.

I also got a picture of my mom groping a huge bear! See the proof below.

To be honest I think that is the first and last time I'll go to the mall. Most of the stores are very high end and I would never shop there. Plus with Chinook opening another 200 stores in the next year, there is no reason for me to drive to the other side of the city.

We all had a good time and it was an enjoyable evening.

Bubble Wrap Suit

Well it appears I need to purchase the following suit...

Last night was volleyball practice and guess what! Yes I hurt myself. I went for a ball and the ball hit my hand and bent it back. I pulled or strained something and it hurt like the dickens. It started to swell so I had to call it quits. Luckily there was only three of us at practice so it was no real loss.

I went home and put ice on it. Sleeping was a little fun as it was really sore but I slept with ice and it wrapped, so I was able to get a few winks. Advil and ice will be my friend for the next few days.

So let’s recap my injuries so far this year:

1. Slipped on ice in February. Started 7 weeks of physiotherapy for tearing my MCL in my right knee.

2. Slipped on stairs on July 8th. Off work for 3 weeks with concussion and sore back

3. Hurt my right wrist practicing volleyball on August 18th.

They say things happen in 3s so that should be it!

Mom says that I try to hard, that is why I got injured. I just say I’m a clutz!

BIG Work Project ready to start

I’ve been working on a BIG project since June 25th and it is ready to come to fruition. The project officially starts tomorrow. This is the biggest project I’ve worked on so far since starting my new job in December 2008.

I’ve had to come up with a number of staff required for this, their schedule, do the interviews and a project cost vs. revenue.

The project requires 27 technicians that I had to break up into 3 teams working for 13 – 9 hour days. It took me almost a month to get the schedule right but it is done and I can’t wait to have this project start.

Tomorrow morning I am going down to the Stampede Park for 7 am. That is when the first shift is starting and I want to make sure everything is running smoothly.

So until September 5th, I’ll be at the Stampede Park almost every day checking on things.

Seems my August is going to be busy. Besides watching this large project, I am also playing on the company volleyball team for the Calgary Corporate Challenge. We are practicing every Tuesday evening in August. Our first practice was last week and for being out of shape I didn’t really hurt a lot. My right knee was sore but that was due to my MCL injury I had earlier this year.

I’ve also got a few company events that I have to go to as well. Plus my jury duty on August 28th!

Oh and wrestling…. Since I missed last month’s event I am going to make sure I see this month’s event.

Sandwiches

So we have been watching an Australian drama on DVD this summer called McLeod’s Daughters. It is actually very good and we are hooked on it. Originally we had started watching the series on TV, but were only able to catch it mid-way. We did watch the first few seasons on DVD as Jacki had purchased them.

Since Dad got his library card this year, we decided that we’d start watching the whole series starting from the beginning. I showed Dad how to check the library for availability of the series and he has been very diligent in either getting the DVDs or requesting a hold be put on them so he can pick them up.

We were going great guns for most of the summer when we hit a stumbling block and had to wait over a week for the next DVDs to come back to the library. Amazing how popular this show is.

Currently we are watching season 7 and it is starting to get familiar as these are the shows we have been able to catch on TV. The series on TV begins again in September but I’m sure we’ll have watched the whole series by then. It is too bad that there are only 8 seasons.

So what does this have to do with sandwiches you ask? Well the drama is about a bunch of women who run a huge cattle/sheep farm in Australia and in almost every single episode they are eating sandwiches. Whenever there are sandwiches on TV I can see Dad to start to drool and he gets hungry. It is pretty funny. He’s like Homer Simpson and doughnuts, but with sandwiches.

Mmmmmmmmm, sandwiches.

I’ve been called….

So I received notification the other day that I’ve been called up for Jury Duty. I am so excited! I’ve always wanted to be on a jury to see what it is truly like. You see it on TV but I want to experience it for real.

Will I get picked?
What type of case will I hear?
Will it be high profile!!!?
What juror number will I be?

So on August 28th I have to go down to the Calgary Court Centre early so I can go through security and see what all the fuss is about.

I just checked the internet and you can actually see what court cases are being held.

I'll definitely keep you posted on this!

First day back

Well today was my first day back to work after being off since July 8th. The day went OK but I'm still having problems with bright lights. I came home with a headache. I had the building guy remove the florescence lights from above my desk and wore my sunglasses at times. Let's hope tomorrow goes a little better.

The drive was OK - I wasn't as shaky as I've been lately. I just need to ensure that I concentrate and be careful.

I still have the red rash all over my body and it is itchy, but I'm hoping that starts to go away soon. My chest is still red and sore.

Unfortunately due to my little "accident" I won't be able to go on my trip south with my friend Sheila. We were planning on a road trip to Missoula, Montana to do some shopping and have a nice little getaway. But since I can't drive and it was my turn, I had to cancel.

It was going to be the "Great 2009 Cracker Barrel Odyssey" trip. I had it all planned out. It is about an 8 hour drive from Calgary, but I had some stops arranged and we were going to stay in Whitefish the first day in a nice little motel called "Cheap Sleep Motel". We were also going to take the "Going-t0-the-Sun" road through Glacier National Park. It is supposed to be very scenic.

We were going to hit a lot of antique and quilt shops until we got to Missoula. Sheila wants an old fashioned rocking chair from The Cracker Barrel. I love that place. It has a great restaurant and nice shopping in the front. I really enjoyed it when we went to Texas in November. The fried catfish was great!

So now I have to come up with something to do for Sheila for making up for our trip. So any ideas out there, please feel free to offer them!

Snoopy hasn't been feeling well the past few days. Last night she was moaning and shaking. I had to hold her to calm her down. My poor little girl is getting old. She is 11 1/2 years and starting to show her age.

I remember when she was a puppy. She was a wild thing. There was one time when we were still out on the farm waiting for taking possession of our house. She was a little bugger and would always run and chase gophers, roll in horse poo etc. No matter how much I called, she would just keep running. That's the beagle in her..... always following her nose. She ran out on the road and a semi was coming straight at her. I thought she was a goner. She was lucky and the truck just missed her. Little devil.

One little slip...

... is all it takes. This year isn't my year for staying healthy. Back in March I slipped on some ice at a client's site and hurt my knee. I was in physio for 3 times a week for 6 weeks and it still isn't the same. Thank goodness Workers Compensation paid for that.

Last Wednesday.... I week ago to be exact, I was going down the stairs after feeding Paige and Snoopy at 4:30am. I missed the second last stair and hit my head. My head hurt like a dickens so I just sat there for a bit thinking if I pass out it is better to be in one place. Everything seemed to be OK so I went back to bed.

I woke up as per normal, had a shower, got dressed, ate breakfast and then started to drive to work. Last week my boss was on holidays so I was in charge. Things were going sour so I wanted to get to work early.

On the drive in, the pain in my lower right back started. It intensified so much that I almost passed out. I made it to work and thought I just needed to stretch. Just walking across the street to the office was horrific. I went and got my laptop and files I would need and headed for home thinking I'd work from home.

Again the pain worsened so I called my doctor's office to see if I could get in. They were not open yet but I left a message and headed straight there. I was lucky as I was the first patient of the day and was able to see her right away.

She examined me and said that I had a mild concussion and would have back pain due to the fall. The back was starting to freeze up and she gave me some Robaxacet with a prescription for stronger muscle relaxants if I needed it.

I went home and told mom & dad what happened. I laid in bed for a bit and could not for the life of me get comfortable so I took my first pill. Well the pill didn't last for very long as I threw that up quickly.

That whole day I couldn't get comfortable and the pain was excruciating. I had thrown up another 3 times and had mom take me to the Urgent Care centre.

We got to the Urgent Care centre at around 8pm got checked in and then had to wait. We waited and waited. I was in so much pain I wish they would have just put me out of my misery.

I was finally called and was taken into a room. The nurse - the worse nurse in the world - came in, took my vitals, asked what happened and then left. Even after I threw up the 5th time she didn't come back for a long while. Finally she did and gave me a clean dish to puke in if I needed it.

At around 11 pm the doctor finally came in. He again asked what happened, this time physically examined me and was sending me for some x-rays of my back. He also said he'd give me some medication for the pain and that I needed to be re hydrated. Well duh! I couldn't keep any food down, had thrown up 5 times and was sitting in a room for a good 3 hours with no water or anything.

So I had the x-rays and they came out normal. I then had 2 other grumpy nurses come in and take my vitals again and hook me up to the IV. They started me with saline, then something to calm my stomach down. Finally I was given a bag of Toradol but that didn't do the trick. The pain was still very intense. I think the nurses and doctor wanted to go home as they next came in with a shot of morphine. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, that surely did the trick.

Mom & I got home around 12:30am and I went to bed before the medication started to wear off and I couldn't get comfy nor sleep.

The next few days weren't much better. I had been given Tylenol 3s with codeine and oh by the way have I told you I wasn't able to have a bowel movement??? Also whenever I ate the pain intensified.

I finally had a bowel movement and boy did I feel 100 times better. The pain was gone in the back! I could handle the headache and dizziness now.

Monday I went to the doctor as the pain is still there and my bowel movements weren't the greatest. Also it burnt like heck when I peed. Yup, you guessed it - an urinary tract infection. Oh the joy!

So I got drugs for the UT infection and an appointment to have ultrasound on my kidneys and bladder. That is today. I've fasted and am ready to drink my 4 glasses of water before having to be at my appointment.

I've been off work this week (with a doctor's note) but have been worried about it all along.

So the moral of this story is that a little fall is very dangerous or painful.

Thunderstorms and Farts

Thunderstorms - Snoopy HATES them! She can hear them coming and she starts to pace, ears back and listening intently. As they get closer she starts to shake. I'm not sure what happened to her when she was little to make her afraid of thunderstorms but she is a complete wreck. She also then pees due to them.

Mom and I were in the office the other day when a storm was brewing. We had Snoopy in the room with us and I thought she'd be fine. But she then squatted down on the dog bed and peed! Good thing the bed was washable. I couldn't believe it. I had to get out one of her doggy diapers to put on her.

When I had to leave her and put the diapers on her, she would rip them to pieces and I'd come home to find a huge shredded mess to clean up. Also - you guessed it - a nice pee spot.

The only way to make Snoopy calm down and not pee is to literally squeeze and hold her. It is a sad sight - me squeezing Snoopy in my arms and physically laying on her. She still shakes and also whimpers but that is the only way I can keep her settled. What would Cesar Milan say about that!

Thursday night a storm blew in and I heard the bang. I jumped out of bed to find Snoopy to make sure she didn't pee anywhere. Thankfully she didn't. I grabbed her and took her back to bed. I had to squeeze her tight and lay on her for a good hour. The storm must have blown over as I woke up later with her in my arms still but me no longer squishing her.

I hear this coming up week is to be full of thunderstorms so I am doubtful I'll get any sleep. Ah the joys of owning a neurotic dog.

That reminds me of a funny story about Cali. Cali was awesome with no fears.... except of her own farts! Yes I said it.....her own farts. If she let one go, she would quickly turn around to see what that noise was and where it came from. It was a funny sight. If you were standing near her, she would look up at you with her eyes as if saying "what did you do that for!".

Then one day she must of have gotten into something as she had the farts all night long. If she moved, she farted. If she laid down she farted. Poor girl probably thought she was dying. It was so bad that she started to whimper and any movement she would let out another ripper. I had to at one time lock her in the spare room as she was farting constantly. Being the softy I was and hearing her whimpering I brought her back to bed and held her. I had to talk her to sleep where the farts seemed to have then disappeared.

Farts will always remind me of Cali - especially of the day she had the bad gas and it didn't matter what she did, a fart would come out.

Bestest Road Trip Evar

Today I went to Radium Hot Springs with friends. We left the city a little late (11 am) and the first thing that happened..... WE GOT STUCK IN TRAFFIC! It took us a good hour to get out of the city. The day was perfect - not too hot and not cold. As we arrived at the Banff Park gates we again hit traffic and it took forever to get in (ok maybe 15 minutes). Finally free to go we drove to Radium.

Sad thing... I've lived in Calgary all my life (except for my metal lapse of 8 months in Winnipeg) and have never been to the Radium Hot Springs before. It took my friend from Oklahoma and her husband to get me to go there! Ok my life is officially boring.

The hot springs were great and it only cost $6.30 to get in (including GST/PST being in BC). For a 2 hour drive that isn't bad. If you wanted you could stay in the springs all day. You might come out completely wrinkly but you can have a good day. It was very relaxing and I almost fell asleep. There are two pools there - a hot one and cold one. The hot was 39C and the cold springs was 29C. We started in the hot, moved into the cool and then back into the hot. The soothing mineral-rich warm water and scenery combined to relax my muscles and return my peace of mind.

After spending a good 2 hours in the springs we got out and went to grab something quick to eat. Radium isn't the biggest town so we stopped off at an ice cream shoppe and had a small sub.

On the drive home, I asked Sheila if she could find a moose for me as I took my camera and never really seen a moose up close. She said she'd do what she could. It was around 6:30 on our drive home and we started to see a lot of deer. I was really hoping to get my moose, but no luck.

Instead we drove around a corner and on the side of the road was this great black bear. We stopped and watched it for a bit. It was eating up dandelions like there was no tomorrow. I didn't know they ate them and wanted John to catch it so we could take it home to clean up the dandelions around town.

John made a noise and got the bear to look in our direction. That is when I got this great shot. The bear looked to be in good shape and was making a good dent in the dandelions.

Just as we were about to drive off, I spotted a cub coming out of the woods. It was cute as could be.

Then a second cub showed up! This one wasn't as adventurous as the first one but it eventually came closer to its mom too.

I wanted John to catch me a cub to take home as a Father's day gift but he chickened out and wouldn't do it. What a friend!

A lot of people had stopped and were taking pictures and wouldn't you know it there has to be fool in every crowd. People actually started to get out of their vehicles to get closer and take a picture! It would serve them right if the bear attacked them, but then the poor bear would be put down because some jackass got hurt. We were afraid that these people were going to startle the bear, it would warn the cubs and I could see one of them running onto the road and getting run over. After telling people they should really stay in their cars we drove off.

We drove a good 10 minutes until we came to a store/rest area. John went in and asked if there was a way to get a hold of a ranger as we didn't want the bears to get hurt. The store owner seemed to indicate that the mother and her cubs have been seen a lot but when he was told that people were getting out of their cars he radioed for the ranger right away. So we did our good deed for the day.

We saw another black bear on our drive but it was further in the woods and Sheila didn't stop this time (meanie!). There were cars pulled over every now and then but we didn't see any more animals. Then we came upon this wolf on the side of the road. I say it is a young wolf, John thinks it is a coyote. You be the judge.

This guy crossed the road several times and seemed to be afraid but he wasn't going very far. He seemed to want to get close to the vehicles. Again the stupid people seemed to come out of the woods and threw food out of their cars for him to eat. Where do these people come from? Wild animal = wild food NOT McDonald's! I really hate people.

Anyways I got a few good shots of him and Sheila was able to pull up beside him so I could get these great shots.

It was a very exciting drive home but I'm pooed and now off to bed to dream of bears, wolves and relaxing in the hot springs.

2009 Travel Adventure Cancelled... or Postponed

Well since it is almost the end of June it looks like my Travel Alberta trip this year has been cancelled.... or maybe just postponed. I have yet to do a short trip or day trip, especially with Snoopy. I still would like to go to some places this year, so we'll have to wait to see what happens.

My friend Sheila and I have been talking about going to Missoula, Montana as she wants to go down to Cracker Barrel and get a rocking chair. We saw them when we were in Texas in November.

I'm looking into the trip and will keep the blog updated with info as it comes available.

Procrastination, Funeral & Grief

Yesterday I went to a funeral of a lady who I had worked with in the past. We had worked together back about 10 years ago. I then found out she worked for the same company I currently am with, just at a client site. So we never really knew this until I went to the client site for a meeting and saw her there. We weren't "close" friends, more like acquaintances.

Her death seemed to have hit me hard. I think because I knew she was sick and always said I'd call her so we could catch up but never did. I guess I feel guilty about that.

She had a nice service and I needed to attend. Besides the guilt of not calling her, the service seemed to have put closure on Aunt Phyllis' death since I was not able to go out when she passed away. It also helped me in the closure of letting Cali go.

Grief can be a powerful thing and you don't know how much it really affects your life and your being until you finally get a little closure. The light at the end of the dark tunnel seems to be getting closer where I can start to feel like I can let go.

The Great Quilt Room Cleanup

Today mom and I spent about 6 hours cleaning up and re-organizing her quilt room. After about 2 years, it just wasn't working. You could not use the full cutting table as it was constantly full of half projects on the go. So we decided to re-organize and it turned out really good.

We moved the quilt books, magazines and binders off the shelf in the closet onto the bottom of the cutting table. We hardly use them but when we do, it will be easy for us to access them.

We then put all mom's projects on the shelves and labelled them so she knows what is what. It gave us more room I think.

We then cleaned up and removed an extra table around the sewing area. Now you can walk around with ease!

The counter wasn't that bad so we just tidied it up a little.

Look a place for visitors to sit! There was a chair under all that material.

A Birthday Remembrance

It would have been 11 years today that Mojave Desert California Dream "Cali" was born. This is a remembrance of her.

It was back in August 1998 when I was looking for a companion for Snoopy. We were living in the country but moving into Calgary. I had bought my first house and had a very, very long possession date. I had to wait 6 months before I took possession - November 1998. Since Snoopy was used to having company - Lakota, Raven and Sarge - I thought it best if she had a sister of her own to share experiences with in the new house. Before taking possession of the house I thought it best if Snoopy and her new sister got to know each other.

I had looked hard around Calgary for a sibling but could not find anything. I did not want a male dog as they pee on everything and I thought it best to keep with us females. My search expanded to Alberta, then Canada and I still could not find a sibling for Snoopy. The prices were incredible - close to $1,000 - and I didn't want to pay that since I got Snoopy for $250 (without papers).

At the time I was working at PanCanadian when the internet was in its infancy. My job let me to surf the net freely with no consequences (except for the naughty sites). I searched and searched but finally found a dog that needed to be rescued in California. I had no idea what it would take to get this dog but I wanted her. She was a blue ticked beagle like Snoopy - hard to find. I had also been looking at breeders and found Mojave Desert who was in California as well.

I thought I would do a good deed and get the rescue dog and when talking with the Mojave breeder, he offered to go take a look at it and see about getting the dog sent to me. I had contacted the rescue society and told them that Donald from Mojave Desert was coming to take a look at the dog for me. After a lot of time and effort, the society would not let me have the dog as I lived out of the country. I was heartbroken.

Donald knew what I was looking for and so we started talking again. He did have a beagle girl who was ready to go and after a lot of diliberation I said I'd take her. I didn't know if he was just a puppy mill breeder but put my faith in him and glad I did as I was never disappointed with the outcome.

He had indicated that she was a "little tri-colored female who is submissive but beautiful, healthy, playful and very loving". Years later she was still that way and that description fitted her to a "T".

It was August 29th that I had received notice from Donald that Cali had "passed her physical with flying colors". He had indicated that "you are going to really be happy with her. She is one of the cutest beagles you will ever see. Her head is turning a soft, light brown and she has those long floppy ears. She loves to be held, petted and carried around. She will be a great friend for your other beagle." He couldn't have said it any better.

On August 31, 1998 Mom, Ross Van Wert (a friend and co-worker from PanCanadian), Snoopy and I got in the old truck and drove to the airport. Cali was coming in on Canadian Air Cargo that evening around 8:30pm. We had to drive back to the cargo office as that is where she was to be picked up. I was excited and nervous as I didn't know what I was truly getting. It could have been a stuffed dog with 2 missing legs for all I knew.

We went to the cargo office and we were told that we had to go to the hanger where the parcels came in. So we hopped into the truck and drove off to find the hanger. Finally getting to the hanger I was so excited. I had all the paperwork and was ready to pick up my new member of the family. At that point I was told that they could not release the dog as I had to go to customs first. The person indicated that I might not be able to take her home as customs was closing in 20 minutes and sometimes they held the animals for a day. My heart fell to my stomach and I wanted to cry.

So mom quickly drove me back to the airport terminal where I had to find customs and speak with them. Ross stayed behind to check on the pup. At that point I had not even seen Cali. I walked into customs and there was no one around. It looked as if everyone had already gone for the evening and I was heartbroken. Truly ready to cry. An officer saw me and came to see if he could help. I told him my circumstances and was almost in tears. He indicated that it was late and that he doubted that I could have her tonight. Tears started falling, so he went back and spoke with his co-worker. He came back and said that he was wrong and that I just had to pay the customs on her - $44.94 and she was all mine. BUT I had to hurry as the cargo hanger closed in 10 minutes.

Mom had driven around several times until I came out and she said she almost got in trouble for parking so long waiting for me. I told her we had to hurry back and explained what had happened. We got back to the hanger and had all the official paperwork - Cali was officially mine and I could take her home.

She was a groggy little pup as she had a long day. Snoopy sniffed her, wasn't impressed and sat in the back with Ross. Mom thought she was an ugly thing but she was wrong. Cali was always a sweet, cute, loving, playful and cuddly little angel.

Snoopy and Cali became the best of friends, hardly ever fought and played all the time. Cali was a special girl who will always be in my heart forever. Remembering her aroo, her favourite toy - the green frog she carried around by the crotch in her mouth, her excited dance when you came home, to her last breath. I love and miss you my sweet little angel.

Snow on June 6th

Snow started at around 4:30 am.

Cute little snowflakes.

Snow starting to accumulate at 8am.

8am - snowfall

A nice little skiff of snow in June.

After the snow melted, we had a little hail.

Update from Parents

Well mom & dad were not abducted by aliens NOR were they sleeping in the airport for 7 days. Today I got an email from mom saying that they were in Ketchikan, Alaska and they were having a good time. Of course she asked if Paige was well first, guess I should let her out of the shed! bahaha (evil laugh). As for being abducted by aliens, she did say they weren't but some of the people on the ship were weird. Will have to get more information on that when they come home.

Their weather has been beautiful so far and apparently there was a storm last night but they both slept through it. Mom asked if I'd rock her to sleep every night.... um... NO! Sorry!

I guess they have been SHOPPING quiet a lot as I was asked to put some money on their Visa card for them. I'm scared! She also indicated that they sent a package home so when I pick up the mail if there is a package it is from them. They were unsure of the amount of room they have left in their luggage. I sure hope they didn't buy Alaska out. Mom indicated she picked up some Alaskan type material so to be prepared to sew when she gets home.

They had seen some humpback whales, dolphins and okras so far. She also mentioned there is a lot of junk in the ocean (that's sad).

I guess the lineups to get back onto the ship is quite a site - I hope they have some pictures.

I called the Alaskan Airlines to confirm they are still booked for the flight home and they should be fine.

I did warn them that there is SNOW in the forecast for this weekend, heavy snow and that I was not joking. Mom said she heard that.

I'll be bringing in all the plants I can tonight as it is supposed to also freeze, so I'm gonna try to save some plants.

The Crazy Robin

Before mom and dad went away on their vacation, I was in the basement with the dogs and we heard this thump. It was loud and consistent enough to get Paige barking. I went to see what was going on and saw that a bird had flown into the basement window. It kept flying into the window time and time again. At first I thought it was trying to kill something so I went out and checked with window well. The robin flew away when I came to investigate.

It was the first night mom and dad left. I think they must have had the following planned somehow. Starting at 4:30am the next morning that thumping sound was back. Of course Paige started barking but this time the thumping came from my window. I got up to see what it was and it was the damned robin again. It flew into the window a couple of times before I scared it off.

The next morning around the same time, the damn robin was back. It would fly into the window consistently and not stop. I would have to go to the window to scare it away. It would just fly up and sit on the fence staring down at me. It was as if the damn robin was mocking me. I then put a pillow in the window thinking that might scare it off if it came back the next day.

Well sure as anything it did come back the next day. Pillow didn't work and I was at my whits end. I went into the shed and got the snow fence out. This time I covered the whole window over. If anything I was going to stop this robin.

While putting the snow fence up, I noticed the bird had flown across the street and was attacking their basement window with as much vim and vigor as anything.

Sure as I'm typing this the next day the thumping was back. But this time it was in the other room. I had scared the bird off my window but it was now attacking the window in the other room.

Finally this morning there was no thumping. Either the robin flew into the window enough times that it killed itself or it has left.

Killer bird marks on the window.