Could It Be?

Early Wednesday morning I went with my sister to High Prairie, about

 5 hours north of where I live, thankfully the roads were nice and dry and

the weather was good. It was a quick trip, we went to our Uncle's 

Celebration of Life, visited for a bit and turned around to head home.

Blue skies were peeking through here and there and the snow

shone where the sunlight could get through the clouds. It was beautiful

considering it's February. 

Today the sun shone brighter, I had to go out for a bit to get my 

registration renewed and almost didn't need a jacket, at least not a parka. 

So with my new sticker in hand off to the

car wash I went. At this time of year it's almost

pointless to wash the car, but I had to get that darn sticker on. 

Could it be S..... is on it's way? As with every other year

I'm not going to say or type in the word, I don't want to 

jinx us and have Winter stick around any longer. Me superstitious? 

Nope, not at all! 

Art Gallery of Alberta

I was passing by the Art Gallery today and I still wonder what in the heck

they were thinking when they created this building, it's rather odd and I 

know I shouldn't judge it, especially since I haven't even been inside of it yet.

I'll put this on my list of things to do when I'm running out places to go.

I'll be away from my computer for a few days, I'm going

to go and say goodbye to my dear Uncle who passed

on last week. My sister, who is also a photo buff, shared

this photo of me and my Uncle. It was taken about 10 years ago

 at my youngest sisters wedding. I remember I was busy cooking and 

the last in the shower and I was rushing to get outdoors to 

witness my sister and brother-in-law say their vows; they had a

 country wedding and it was beautiful. I stopped long enough to have 

a photo taken with my Uncle.  

Rest In Peace Uncle Alvin, you will be missed. 

Quick and Easy

Tonight I wanted a quick and easy meal for dinner, well wouldn't you 

know it there happens to be a pizza joint right across the street 

from me, so quick and easy it was! 

Tonight I was also looking at glasses online, my current prescription is

for progressives, now to find out the measurement of your current glasses

if you look at the inside of your glasses it's written there. This I didn't know.

So I'm trying to look, but how am I supposed to see the 

tiny print without my glasses on? I came up with a brilliant idea...

This totally worked, I just snapped a close up photo, pulled

it up on the computer and just like that I now know what size of 

glasses mine are! Now how's that for thinking? 

Memories

Tonight some of the family went out to celebrate my nephew's 27th 

birthday, he chose the restaurant. Generally I'm not a big fan of 

Canadian style Chinese cuisine, but tonight I was impressed with not 

only the food, but the service was fantastic as well. The restaurant is

 called the Lingnan Restaurant, they have been serving Cantonese 

and Szechuen cuisine in Edmonton since 1947... this is something I just

 learned from Googling this establishment. 

Tonight I'm posting a photo of my son and myself, this is

my oldest son and we're rarely in photos together. 

The restaurant we went to tonight brought back memories

not only for my son but for me as well. When I was in my late teens

and early 20s I worked in a lounge which had a Chinese food 

dining lounge attached and I used to take my boys out to dinner at this

 restaurant. The food was good and my boys were always treated 

to something special. This place sure reminded both of us of the 

place I once worked; we were transported to another place in another

time. It was rather cute, my son ordered a Shirley Temple, before the

waiter slipped away my son changed his mind and had an alcoholic

beverage... he remembered that he was now legal I think! lol 

This establishment even has the same drink menus

that were on the tables at the place we went to many years ago! 

Ahhhh Memories. 

Give Me 40 Acres

Well it's been a while since I've posted. The album I was working on is ordered, all 90 pages of it! I've been to visit with Herb only briefly to take a look at his newest purchase, which is extremely impressive I must say. 

The dashboard looks like it only a pilot could navigate their way around it.

The truck itself still needs a few additions to bring it all together, 

simple things like the company name and some pin-striping, minor in the 

bigger picture. 

This unit should be on the road and ready to start earning

its keep within the week. Congratulations Herb, this is one

beauty of a truck! 

I have no idea why that song give me 40 acres and I'll
turn this rig around, pops into my head... it just does! lol 

In response to what this truck does, I copied and pasted this wee 
bit of info,if you want to know more about this unit just click
 on the link as I've linked into this as well. 

"A hot oil unit is designed to circulate heated fluid into piping,
 tubing, casing, or tanks for a variety of reasons, including the 
removal of paraffin and tar-based oils." 
If you'd like to know more about it just click on the link, I don't totally
get it, all I know for certain is a unit such as this costs a ton of money but
this is an excellent investment as the unit will pay for itself, and then some. 

RIP Uncle Alvin

I was out looking at Herb's new truck around dinner time when I received a text informing me that my Uncle passed away. My Uncle Alvin was a kind, caring man who would help anybody he could, actually when I moved into the city many years ago it was my uncle who helped me move here. 

This photo is really old, my uncle however wasn't all that old, I believe he was only 69; today I found out he died peacefully in his sleep. 

Rest in Peace Uncle Alvin. 

I'll be back to regular posting soon, I'm almost done with my album and once I'm finished I'll be able to post some of the photos of the new rig and stop by to visit all of my wonderful blogger friends, I've been missing all of you... work first though. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

Time is just flying by, I'm working on an album right now and would like this done and ordered by the 21st which is quickly approaching. Saturday night I was at a dinner and dance, yesterday it was a meeting and visiting with friends afterwards, and today... well today is darn near done and here I am wondering where time is slipping away on me. The good news is that this project is coming together nicely. Here's a sneak peek at what I've been up to when I'm not out and about...

I'm putting together this album for Elyssa. The last one I did only went up to when she was 11 months old, she's going on 3 in May and not only am I incorporating my photos, I'm also going through all of my son and his wife's photos so it's a big job, but one I'm having immense fun doing! 

Love Is...

When Elyssa arrived to spend the evening she proudly game me an envelope, 

she had made me a Valentine card and one for Abbie as well...

Love is expressed in many ways. At this particular moment  in time

 I've never felt more unconditionally loved; the past is the past,

 tomorrow isn't here yet to be concerned with, and in this moment I was 
drawn into the here and the now. Life is so beautifully simple

in the eyes of a child. 

There's no better love than that of a child. Thank you Elyssa

for our beautiful Valentine's! 

Will It Work?

I have no idea how fruit flies can survive in this harsh

of an environment, but they can and they do. They have

to be the most annoying pests, well besides mice, and snakes, 

oh and spiders, and not to mention mosquitoes...

but as I was saying, they're here and I'm sick of the few that 

I can't seem to catch. Today I finally had about enough of 

these pesky critters so I googled how to get rid of them. 

I found that apple cider vinegar put into a bottle with a funnel is 

supposed to work, so I found me some cider vinegar, put it 

into an empty water bottle, heated it and I'll see if 

anything comes of this. 

I hope that it works or I'll have stunk up my house for nothing

 and it'll be back to the drawing board. 

Selflessness

Have you ever had a friend who is so thoughtful they put you ahead of themselves? I have a friend just like that; today she is celebrating her birthday, she went out of her way to stop in briefly tonight to give me these...

This kind gesture sure touched my heart, a true act of selflessness. 

Wishing each of you a ...

Perfect

This needs no explanation...

Flat Stanley

I have a HUGE favor to ask... Today I received a flat Stanley in my mailbox, my great niece who is from a neighboring city sent it to me and I've agreed to take photos with me in them of where I take Stanley over the course of this next week. Then I'm going to include not only the photo but a brochure of where Stanley and I travel to and send flat Stanley back to her. 

Now this is the part where I'm asking for help from anyone willing to participate in this project. If you could right click on Stanley, save him to your computer, print him out and take him out for a tour of someplace which is possibly a landmark in your town/city/or country and do the same, take a photo of you with Stanley in it, and email me the photo as well as the location and I can Google information and sent it off to my great niece.  I would really appreciate some help with this. My niece doesn't know I'm doing this, but I'd sure like to be able to send her back a few Stanley's from various parts of the world. Thanking you all in advance to those who will take part in this, the email address you can send this to is 

darlin4321@hotmail.com

Have a wonderful day! 

Color In My World

Today I had my hair done, I love my dark brown hair and the 

caramel streaks my hairdresser uses, a bit of color is welcome

 in my world. 

I need some help with this color, this next photo is a beautiful

 rose plant which a dear friend gave to me about 3 weeks ago. 

This is what it looks like now unfortunately. If anyone knows how 

to tend to indoor roses please let me know, I'd love to save this plant. 

And this last bit of color... I was playing. 

With the long winters we have it's nice to find some color in what

could be considered a drab world for us right about now.

If I look around me I can find beauty in almost anything I see,

that's my choice... as is said on the side of the main page of my blog
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life." 

Life is about choices and attitudes, today I choose to see 

color in my world even though the skies are grey. 

Canadian Girls

Tonight Elyssa came to spend the night, this is such a welcomed surprise. 

After dinner I decided that we should bake some cookies, so that 

we did.  Elyssa got right in there and pitched in to help out. 

As most people do, we talk and visit as we cook; 

Elyssa told me about this man who had to go 

to the penalty box for 2 minutes, he was on a time out. I asked her 

why he had to go to the penalty box and she told me matter 

of factly that he tripped somebody! She is definitely a hockey

 fans daughter, a true Canadian girl who is going to 

grow up knowing all about the game.  

Elyssa is growing up so fast, she's fun, funny, and intelligent. 

I am blessed to have such an adorable granddaughter.

As for what we Canadian girls do once the baking and cooking is done,

we change, get comfy, curl up and watch some TV; take some

 time out from our hectic schedules. 

TV watching here in Canada, in my world anyways, is a winter event, 

come summer we find other things to do which often includes

being in the great outdoors. 

Everybody meet Horst

Horst is a fellow blogger whom I first met here on my blog a 

few years back. Last year, or was it the year before? 

Hmmm

... anyways, Horst came to the place I used to cook at and 

I met him in person, he's the first blogger friend I'd met.

 Horst is a retired photographer who has graciously offered 

to educate me in photography. Today I went and met with him 

for my first lesson and he realized how little I know about 

cameras... good thing he's a patient man, 

he's got his work cut out for him teaching me! :-) 

Everybody meet Horst;  a kind man who takes amazing photos. 

You can check out his blog by clicking on his name in 

the opening sentence. 

Now to practice what I learned today; good

thing I took notes! Then it's onward and upwards

from here... I hope! 

Thank you so much Horst for taking time to teach me! 

Excuse # 2

I went to get on my exercise bike and realized I needed to change

 the batteries, much to my surprise the batteries were corroded; 

this in turn ruined the battery cover and now I'm on a mission to

 find out if I can get this part replaced. 

Yes, it's been a while since I've used the bike, but not long enough 

that this should have happened!  My first excuse was

I don't feel like it. 

Now that I realize summer is on it's way, or at least I hope it is, 

and I want to get in some exercise, my first excuse was growing old... 

but excuse #2 is now

I can't, it's broken! 

Sigh some days are just like this. Maybe I'll try this other machine

and see how it works, hmmm what's it called... right the 

Thane fitness Twister. If you don't hear from me for 

a few days you'll know it works real good! 

Lets Talk About Love

With Valentines Day just around the corner 
I thought I'd talk about love and put the question out there:

How do you express your love on Valentines Day? 

Do you use words to express your love? 

Possibly candy? 

How about flowers? 

Maybe candy flowers...

Here's a novel idea, an ice cream cake! 
Would that express to your loved one 
how much you care? 

 Ahhhh, a woman's best friend....

Maybe a movie? 

 I failed to include a nice dinner, possibly a 
bottle of wine or champagne to go with the dinner. 

Maybe a special get away, just the two of you. 

I'm curious, how will you show or express your 

love this Valentine's day? 

(My favorite of these:  "All you need is LOVE, but DIAMONDS help!

P.S. I love you." 

That one put a smile on my face today! lol)

Start the Car

I was browsing online today, looking for a particular brand of blue jeans 

and when I was checking out (getting ready to pay)  it was going 

to cost me approximately $28 to have two pairs of jeans shipped here. 

I thought I'd take a drive down to the companies outlet store here in

 the city and see if they possibly had the blue jeans in stock I was looking 

for and they did!  Not only did I buy two pairs of jeans, I also bought

two new shirts and the cost for all of this was only $48 in total! 

Only $20 more than just the price of shipping and handling. 

It was definitely a START THE CAR moment, I felt like I was stealing,

the deals at the clearance outlet were that good! 

Penny for Your Thoughts

Today is the last day the Royal Canadian Mint distributed pennies to

 financial institutions. Yup, the penny is no longer being made in Canada

 and they will be phased out. Businesses are encouraged to

round up, or down, to the nearest 5 cent increment. I've read that 

this only applies to cash though, not to debit or credit card

purchases; I wonder how long until all purchases are 

the same regardless of how I decide to pay. 

So now our next generation won't know the saying:

 "A penny for your thoughts"...

and this quote will have to be rewritten...

"Bitches are like pennies: 2 faced and worthless."  (unknown)

ooops potty mouth. 

Okay here's one I like:

"I don't need a bunch of fake friends. 

It's much better to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies." (unknown)

So farewell to the penny, I won't miss it, after all what

does a penny buy these days? I know when I was in Australia

I thought it was brilliant they didn't use pennies there, less weight

to pack around! 

Sharing The Love

Tonight was a special night, my oldest son and his wife hosted a 

family dinner, it was a magnificent prime rib dinner and it was delicious!  

I probably won't be seeing Elyssa again until just after Valentines Day so 

she got her Valentines gifts tonight.  

Last night I baked some special cookies for my little Valentine,

I wasn't too sure how these would go over as it is Elyssa's job to

help me decorate cookies; a tradition I started with her. When

she saw the cookies she said "I should have helped." 

 Way too precious! 

I told Elyssa that next time she comes to spend the night

at my house we can decorate more cookies, she was happy

with this and after dinner she enjoyed her special Valentine's cookie.

When I asked her which shape of cookies she'd like to decorate

next time she's over she said round ones, so round it is. Maybe

we can do happy faces, or I'll just let her creative mind decide... 

after all it's her job to decorate cookies! 

Yup, it was a fantastic day and I enjoyed sharing the love

not only with Elyssa, but with my children as well. 

Bags

Today I went out to the market, the Old Strathcona Farmers Market this is. 

There's always so much neat stuff to be found there and naturally I 

didn't come home empty handed... I bought a reversible handbag. 

The ladies who make and sell all sorts of neat things call their company

The Bag and Bath Ladies. This next photo is this handbag reversed. 

The ladies even threw in a handmade reusable shopping bag, 

one I'm sure I'll use time and time again. I detest paying for

shopping bags.  

Now how's that for keeping a customer happy! 

Memories

I ordered two mugs for my son and his wife, matching mugs this is and 

I ordered a different one for myself. Vista print did a wonderful job. 

I like to have things thought of ahead of time and they both have birthdays 

coming up in April. 

The photos on the mug are clearer than they showed up when

I took a photo of them and on these mugs I had added

"The best memories are family memories" along with family photos.

Now I hope my son doesn't visit my blog... Shayne if you 

do act surprised when you get these! lol