Best Friends and Birthdays

Tonight one of my nearest and dearest friends invited me out for

a birthday dinner.  I gladly accepted as there's no harm done in 

celebrating my birthday two nights in a row is there? ;-)

My friend texted me and said "wear jeans and bring jacket" and

all of a sudden I was super excited! I also grabbed my helmet as 'jeans and

jacket' generally means bike ride!  

I was right in guessing we were going for a ride and what a ride

it was. It's hours later and I'm still feeling the wind on my face, 
smelling the freshness of the country and hearing the roar of the engine. 
 We traveled out into the burbs to a fantastic Cajun restaurant,  
The restaurant was quaint, the food was fantastic and the company,
 I couldn't have asked for better!  

My friend who isn't a dessert eater suggested I order something special

to finish off the meal. I told him I was too full, he told me we could 

share something, my choice. I relented and chose pecan pie...

This is why he suggested, and I'm glad he did. Tonight I had the

absolute BEST birthday pecan pie I've ever tasted, not too 

sweet and the perfect blend... and you bet, the sparkler 

was a sweet surprise, my inner child loves sparklers! 

As we were enjoying the pecan pie a storm was brewing, 
the wind picked up and turned into a dust storm, thankfully
it passed quickly, but the skies were ominous and we knew it 
was time to leave if we had a hope in beating the rain.  About ten
minutes after we got back to his place the rain started, talk about
a close call, but then again what's a bit of rain when you're
having fun?  Nothing more than a shower with your clothes on! 

Bruce, you're an absolutely gem of a friend, 

it's such a blessing having you in my life!  Thank you from

the bottom of my heart... and no worries mixing up the day of my 

actual birthday, I got to celebrate twice and tonight was magical! :-)

Growing up... Optional

As I look at all that I do, (yup, turning another year older does this to me),

I'm extremely grateful to have such a young heart and quest

for life. I want to explore, dance, play and make the most of this

life, so that I do.  Last night to celebrate turning another year older

I went out with a girlfriend and it turned out to be quite the night.

We went out to a place known as Big Al's, there was a Jam Session,

going on. The entertainment, well to put it mildly, the first two

bands made me cringe.  The third band had a fantastic lead singer,

but the band itself left something to be desired. What did I expect, 

after all it was a Jam Session.  But what we found most entertaining

was the 'ballerina.'

A lady got up on the empty dance floor, it was apparent she has had

some type of training, what we guessed to be ballet.  She was not

only graceful and elegant, her movements captured attention...until,

well I'm not sure what the ballerina was ingesting but after about an hour

the poor girl could hardly keep from falling flat on her face. All

grace and poise went out the window. Sorry ballerina, but we had to laugh! 

My girlfriend and I decided to go outside for a smoke, not long after

a firetruck pulled up and I joked with my friend, told her she didn't have

to get me firemen for my birthday! ;-)  Shortly after an ambulance pulled

up, unbeknownst to either of us there was a young lady inside

who required an ambulance, she had overdosed on something. As they 

brought her out on a stretcher it perplexed both of us, neither of us

had even seen her in the establishment.  I hope and pray for that young

lady's sake she's going to be okay and learn from this.   

At the end of our adventure I couldn't help but laugh, my friend had 

ordered a bottle of wine, it was much cheaper than buying it by 

the glass, and the waitress brought my friend a bag to take the 

remaining half bottle of wine home. This is new to me, 

back in my drinking days people would get charged for taking 

alcohol out of a club,

today it's called corkage and totally legal.

So as you can see, and those of you who 'know' me here can attest to this... 

I know that growing old is not only a blessing, it is mandatory, 

whereas, thankfully growing up is entirely optional and I flatly refuse

to grow up! 

Timbit Tigers

I went to watch Elyssa play soccer and wow, what a little

go-getter she is!   This girl doesn't run, she flies! ;-)

Elyssa plays with heart and soul...

and once she got that soccer ball under control...

she brought it all the way down the entire field

four times, twice scoring goals!

Elyssa not only plays her heart out, she displays true sportsmanship...

Well played Timbit Tigers, well played!

History in the Making

The leader of the NDP party was sworn into office on Sunday, May 24th.  

There was a large crowd to witness history in the making as our 17th premier

became the first ever NDP leader to form the majority government of our

beautiful province. 

 Congratulations Rachael Notely, please do us proud as 

all eyes are now on you to clean up this mess the previous government has

left behind. 

Metis Festival

Every year we have a Metis Festival, this brings out the fiddles and

jigging competitions and it's an amazing event to watch.  Young and

old compete and community comes together to take in this spectacular

event. 

The old timers fiddle competition, at the bottom of this

collage all fiddle players who want to participate come

on stage to play and honor World Fiddle Day, which is today. 

This is the men who played along with the fiddles. 

 A couple of the jiggers...

And what the Metis are famous for, the fiddle. 

It's been a great day, listening to music, watching dancers, 

visiting, and taking photos... life is good in my world! 

Beautiful Buds

It's absolutely beautiful seeing the buds coming out again, makes

me believe that we may finally have S_ _ _ _ _ (for those who don't

know me or are new to my blog, I don't want to jinx us so I don't

use the word until I'm absolutely certain we've had the last of winter...

which is sometimes late May! lol  

I didn't realize until yesterday that it's a long

weekend this weekend... hmmm what can I 

get into now? 

Labor of Love

On Wednesday and Thursday I cooked stew to serve approximately 

160 people. I pared, peeled, chopped, fried, simmered and cranked up 

the music and in no time at all the work, well it wasn't work anymore. 

I had one friend come over to visit on Wednesday, she grabbed the 

potato peeler and she cleaned the carrots and potatoes as we visited, 

times like this is something I miss and thoroughly enjoyed the few hours

we spent together catching up... our hands might have been busy,

but we still got in an amazing visit. 

At the end of the day, once everyone was fed, it was time to clean up.

The counter top roaster I used was very easy to clean, but these extra

large stainless steel pots... not so easy, so I brought the pot home and

soaked it.  Whatever works right? 

This volunteer job I did was a definite labor of love. 

I love cooking, feeding others, and the bonus is I got to 

visit with a dear friend who I don't get see too often. 

Life is amazing, I love how things come together! 

Time With Those I Love

I have no idea how I've been so busy lately, I'm done with studies, 

I'm almost done my research position but yet I find there's so much

to do still.  The one thing which I'm absolutely loving is spending time

with people I love.  

Elyssa came and spent the day with me a few days back, naturally

we always get into something and this time it was Grammy's hats. As

you can see we have a ton of fun when we're together! 

Yesterday my oldest son, his wife and Elyssa had me over for a

Mother's Day BBQ and was it ever delicious! 

And I got two dozen gorgeous purple roses which Elyssa

picked out, one of her favorite colors is purple! 

Last night I received a message that my aunt was in town
and that she'd like to see me while she's in the city. I went
today to visit and it was so nice connecting with two of my
aunties, we don't get the opportunity to visit too often.  My
aunt who was in from out of town gave me this gorgeous bracelet,
her daughter made this for me, they know I love turtles! 

I am blessed beyond words! 
I love having this time to spend with those who are

nearest and dearest to my heart, yup a true blessing. 

History in the Making

The province I live in has had a Progressive Conservative Government

for the past 44 years.  Yesterday there was a provincial election and it

became obvious it was time for a new government, the New Democratic 

Party won the majority of the vote, history has been made!

Rachel Notley, the NDP leader spoke out and was heard by the
people, in her victory speech she said:
"I think we might have made a little bit of history tonight...
Friends, I believe, that change has finally come to Alberta.
New people, new ideas and a fresh start for our great province."

My hopes are this new government comes through on campaign
promises, we will see a new brighter future if this transpires. 
Are we ready for change? I believe we are, in a big way! 

A Special Birthday Celebration

Today is a very special day, my granddaughter turned five today and

what a cool day to turn five.  It's the fifth day, of the fifth month and

it's 2015.  Elyssa picked out where she wanted to celebrate her special day, 

she chose the zoo and what a phenomenal place to have a birthday party.  

The party was on Sunday. 

Lucy was out for a walk

The children, adults as well, got to pet a snake

The party host brought out an armadillo 

The entire time at the zoo was not only fun, it was informative, 

interactive, and interesting. I also got to get a selfie with

the birthday girl...

And if this next photo, well it speaks for itself...

Happy birthday my special girl, Grammy loves you immensely!