Surgery

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you all know that my Mom had her surgery today to remove what was left of her Lung Cancer and all went well. She was in the operating room yesterday, fully prepped with the Anesthesiologist set up and about to start her on the anesthesia when an emergency heart surgery bumped her. They immediately stopped what they were doing and sent her to ICU for the other drugs to wear off, penciled her in for first thing this morning then gave her a room for the night. As hoped they took her in first thing this morning and by 10:30am we heard from the surgeon that all went perfectly. She'll be in the hospital for up to a week depending on how fast she heals up but all looks really good. :)

The Freecycle Network(tm) - Changing the world, one gift at a time.

The Freecycle Network(tm) - Changing the world, one gift at a time.

I expect to see Blairmore added to the list in Alberta in the next while. I think this is the way for me to get rid of all of that software.

Holiday Photos!

I'm still working on descriptions but here are a selection of our photos from our Alberta trip.

Craigslist

On-line swapmeet makes waves on the Net. Suddenly it's everywhere!

Free Software!!!

In my never ending battle to free the loft of clutter and debris I have a few things to offer up to anyone who would like them. All I'm asking for is postage. I can give you computer specs/requirements if you need them. Here's what I have:

Diablo (cool game with lots of beasts/demons/creatures to slay)
Hellfire (the expansion pack to Diablo, gives you a couple of new characters and a whole wack of new spells/tools/beasts)
M1 Tank Platoon II (a pretty good M1 tank simulation game)
East Front (a top down strategy game modelled on the Eastern Front during Dubya Dubya Two)
WordPerfect 7 Suite (just like Word only not :)) I also have a book for this one
Command and Conquer (you heard right kids - The Original!!)
Command and Conquer:Counterstrike (the add-on to the item above)
Command and Conquer:Red Alert (not an add-on)
Dune 2000 (runs on the same engine as the Command and Conquer series but uses the Dune storyline, loads of fun
I also have a stack of old Technet cds if anyone is interested.

Domestic Air Travel Blows!

How is your weekend going? On the bright side our planes didn't once go off the end of the runway. One has to wonder what kind of "plan B" the airlines have when a storm hits Toronto and air travel all across the country is thrown into a fit. We sat and waited in Calgary for our flight (Calgary has nice big comfy leather chairs hidden away in quiet areas) and overheard some flight attendants discussing a big storm in Toronto and how it was shaking up some of the flight schedules. Ok, no big deal we think since we still have several hours to go before we get into Hog Town. We get on the plane, fly to Toronto, and the nightmare begins. We sit for two hours on the apron in a hot stuffy Airbus waiting for the gate to clear so a plane in front of us can offload its passengers then allow us to get off our plane. While we're waiting we learn the flight to Ottawa has been cancelled. Where are our bags? Well, the baggage people seem to have unloaded the planes then dumped the luggage into a giant dryer then randomly are sending the bags up on the carosel for the waiting passengers. We did not find our luggage. We opted not get a hotel room since it was 2am and our flight to Ottawa this morning was going to be at 7:15am so we'd barely have time to sleep. I'm not sure that was a good call as our second option was to take advantage of the foam rubber you see the poor slobs sleeping on whenever Pearson Airport has a problem. Sort of the airline version of people sleeping on beds in the halls of the local hospital. We were up and back in line at about 5:30am to get to the gate and the flight to Ottawa was delayed again. Someone's bags got loaded then they didn't show for the flight. Hang on everyone while we dig through the cargo hold to find the unclaimed luggage. Anyway, we arrive in Ottawa this morning and only one of our bags comes up from the plane. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Turtle Mountain

Today we took on what can truly be called an oddessy journey to the top of Turtle Mountain. Jess, Rebeca, Steve, Marpho, Coco, Mook, Bella, Ruffles and Mitch all packed our bags with beverages and a snack and strapped on our most worthy climbing gear then headed for the trailhead. It was epic! Crazy, dizzy heights and lots of sharp and jagged rocks but we made it most of the way up. You could see all of Blairmore and off towards Coleman and off the other side you could see Frank and the remenants of the slide. It was tough slogging but we had a good time. We took loads of photos and got a whole wack of exercise, extreme exercise!

The Under Bird

We made it! Arrived safely in Calgary and drove to Red Deer to spend time with the Ironsides and have a private viewing of their new house. Everyone is well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation, although it sure didn't feel like summer, brrrrrr.

After a few days there we travelled along the Cowboy Trail to Blairmore and are currently enjoying the fantastic hospitality of the Atkinsons and visiting with assorted Spragues (Mom, Dad and Marpho!). Marpho travelled with the dogs, Bella and Ruffles, who enjoyed the swank and luxurious comfort of the Under Bird, patents pending.

I passed my driver's test!

You could make up to 15 non-critical errors, and I made 5. I'm going to go pick up Laura in a few minutes-- I think she'll be surprised!

Commercial shot in CNP

Here's a link to the goofy commercial shot in Coleman a couple of months ago. It's a viral ad that is circulated by internet only, so you won't see it during a break in Corner Gas.
www.milkandcookies.com/links/32416/

It's for AXE deodorant spray. Their ads are usually kind of risqué, so this one is a little tame, but fun just the same.

Do Not Drill

"There are over a hundred species of birds with soft downy feathers, perfect for soaking up oil spills." Go sign the petition.

Speaking of birthdays.....

That cake was a super deelux, home made(by Jess of course) ice cream cake! She baked the cake, cut out the centre, and filled it with icecream, then put a cake bottom on it and froze the whole thing! It was Yummy! I think Laura had some for breakfast the next day!

Happy Birthday Laura!!

Have a fabulous day!!

I walked past Willow this morning when she yelled "I'm trying to sleep here, can you pull the blinds please?" 

The crazy Traffic after the Fire work show!

These shots are from our front window looking out onto the main street at about 12 midnight. There is a Ford pick up truck in the upper left shot that did'nt move for about an hour! Can you imagine being stuck in traffic in small town Blairmore! I'm sure glad we get to walk everywhere we need to go! There is also a Midway in the background which was the first year that they came for Rumm Runner Days! They sure made our week extra busy, they showed up on the Wed to set up and started coming in to get coffee and use our washroom. Then they ALL came in for the whole entire weekend! Breakfast, lunch and dinner! Don't think I'm complaining but we were busy! Better get off to bed, my one day off was more like another day of work, I moved out one of the ovens in the store and had the electrician run 220 line into the store and hook up our new oven we bought a long while ago! Then I took the one i took out upstairs to our place and the oven that was upstairs out and down to Mom and Dad's new place! Three ovens in one day! I did manage a ride though, all before this crazy work thing happened! Catch ya later kids

Just a couple of shots from the Thunder in the Valley display!

I started out watching the fireworks from the roof of our building, then relized that the street lights wreak all hopes of pictures, so i hurried down off the roof and ran down the street to get as better vantage point and here is some of what i got!I missed the ground show which was supposed to be awsome, I'll get it next year for sure!

Guess Who's Going to Uni!

Not me, guess again. Rebeca is off to school next fall. She's going to study some political science and history courses at Carleton University.

Kona Baybee!!

I'm so pleased with my latest ebay treasure that I thought I must share it with one and all. Behold! The Kona jersey!!! Oh, and the gut is an optical illusion created by the light, the colours of the jersey, and a chicken satay we had for dinner.

Wooly

There I am, strolling down the boulevard minding my own business and this guy appears out of no where all in a rage. As it turns out he was hot and was looking for a beer fridge to hide out in until the rains arrive.

A Morning Brush with "Celebrity"

On my way in to work this morning I spied Tom Green on the Hill with a camera crew preparing to do whatever it is Tom Green does these days. Ottawa is a good place to see minor celebrities. The CBC's new building is across the street and half-way down the block so we see reporters from the news all the time and the occasional political types.