Is there Life after the Oilers?

Even though we still have snowdrifts in the backyard, check out what I found growing in the flower bed this afternoon!

Update on the "Change" thing, and a contest!

Well, you can see that the glaciers are indeed moving, and, I pray, receding. This image was taken April 11th. At this rate, we may see actual new growth by.......... ???

Now for some fun! Who will be the FIRST to identify the following image? Think real hard now. All of you have seen this object. What is it, and where is it? Tick tock, tick tock....

Change

To those of you that think things always stay the same, I have news for you. To those that say change is too slow, sit up and pay attention.

Observe, if you will the two images below.

Now, these two images clearly record the same backyard (mine, in fact). Yet there are obvious differences. The top one has more snow on the branches of the trees, more snow on the rooftops of the neighbouring houses, while the bottom image clearly, clearly shows that there has been some retreat of the snowdrifts in our yard. True, there is snow falling in the bottom photograph, so that point may soon be moot, however, the fact remains that at one time in the near past, there was actually old grass showing through the snowpack. This is kind of like "spot the differences" isn't it?

Now, here's the really amazing part. The bottom photo was taken yesterday, April 4th, while the top one was taken on November 15th, 2006 - hardly 5 months ago! See! Change does happen!

Thank You Meg, or Lenore, or maybe Rachel...

One of the privileges of being retired is the time to do something when you suddenly get an idea. I remember asking for a good pasta recipe a few months ago and either Meg or Lenore responded with the "You Won't Be Single Long Vodka Cream Pasta" recipe from Rachel Ray. So, tonite was the time to try it and it was great! I made it with butter-garlic shrimp and a green salad (had to look up what a shallot was). And wine. And some more wine....

It was so good that I'm really going to have to use the spell check after I finish this post, as my typing has gone all to h-e-double hockey sticks. Thanks Meg and Lenore.

First Day of Spring

So, just when does spring arrive in this part of the country? Most would say that spring is officially here on the vernal equinox (March 21st this year). If you said that, you'd be wrong. Others say spring coincides with the end of MLB's spring training, or the weekend of the Final Four in NCAA basketball. Wrong again.

My daughters know very well that not too much (aside from Ground Hog Day) excites their father and heralds the "official" arrival of spring than the heart-warming sight of the first crow of the season.



Yes, this morning around 11:41, there they were,two harbingers of spring, perched on the roof of LCHS, raising all manner of ruckus.

We did have a couple of false alarms. Yesterday, I chased after what I thought was a congregation of the rascals, only to discover that it was a flock of ravens, not a murder of crows.



There were even a couple of untimely photos in the entertainment section of yesterday's newspaper to refute.









So, Raymondo says you can now take it to the bank. Spring is here!

Gone and Done It!

I think that's the name of that Shania Twain song isn't it - "Gone and Done It"? As I have three of her CD's I could probably look it up. And yes, it might also surprise some of you to know that I admire more about Shania than just her lovely voice.

To get on with my story, it's tough being a sports fan in northern Alberta these days. The Oilers have just racked up eight straight losses, Kevin Martin lost out in the Brier, Singor Mobeley got released, and so on.

Well, one can seek remedies in rum, comfort in crying, solace in screaming, but that only lasts so long. At some point, one has to actually do something constructive.

A couple of month ago I told the nice lady from the Eskimos Football Club that I would not be renewing my season tickets unless I could get substantially better seating than my eagle's aerie in row 263. "Sorry", she said, "no can do. We're all sold out down there where the good seats are".

"Okee-dokee" or something like that sez me. "It's been great watching the Eskimos perform this year. Call me if you have something better to offer".

Well, damned if they didn't! This morning I renewed, but for two tickets in the lower bowl, covered seating, 35 yd line! Touchdown!! If the the Esks perform half as well as their ticket office staff, we should have another Grey Cup on the shelf come this November.

Which brings me to the next point. I expect that the Stamps and Riders will be fighting it out to see which one crosses over to the East playoffs this year. The Eskimo pass defense was their Achille's heel last year, so I figure all we have to do is go out and sign everyone else's best DB's and we'll be back in the game.

So, if there are any particular games that you would like to see, I've got two tickets. Give me a call.

Move along.... nothing to see.

Even after driving a stretch of Saskatchewan's Highway 16 for the umpteenth time, one can still be caught unawares. Returning home after visiting Grandma C in NB, somewhere about 20 km short of Lloyd, we ran across Saskatchewan Tourism's latest attempt at attracting the tourist dollar with their new roadside "comfort stations". With it's lovely coral hues and retro design, not to mention a great view, it proved too much for me to resist. As Grandma C would say, "What next?"



Speaking of our NB visit, Mom is well. She was recently awarded a lifetime membership (no dues to pay) in the NB Sr. Citizens Society. She is still playing bridge twice weekly, doing lots of reading, and busy watching the Briar. We helped clean up a few things and had a good visit, bringing her up to date on the doings of her children and grandchildren.

One thing that needs some attention is the roof on her house. The past couple of summers have seen leaks develop along the upstairs dormers leading to moisture damage in the living room and kitchen ceilings and walls. A tradesperson has been contacted to repair that first thing in the spring. The walls and ceilings need to be replastered and repainted, but first the water leaks have to be stopped. Right now there are large blisters in the ceiling and on the walls so it doesn't look so good. Plans are to repaint the kitchen, living room and front room as well as replastering the ceilings on all three rooms. Once completed, I'm sure it will be a much cheerier place for her to live.

Grandma C send a big "hi" to everyone.