Nice Visit

I had a short but good visit with my older brother and his wife. They are 'travellers' and were 'passing through' on their way back to their 'home base' in Regina. After spending the winter months in Texas, the only thing they like about this weather is the similarity to the colour of David's beard!

Snow Again

It had been nice for a few days but here we go again...

Monday Morning Snowfall

One Size

I went looking for a new outfit today and was dumbfounded when I realized that I had gained some weight! Really, I knew I had gained some weight but somehow I did not think that would translate into different size clothing! dah! There is nothing like trying on slacks and not being able to get them over your thighs so that you can see if they fit at the waist. If I hadn't been crying, I would have laughed! Actually, I was not crying, I was more angry with myself that I let it get this far! 

Thankfully, I have a few outfits I can still fit into and they will be what I will wear until I can take off these extra pounds and  buy some new clothes. At first I thought maybe they were making the sizes smaller (and I still think that) but everyone else seems to be buying clothes so I guess it is me! I refuse to buy bigger, so will wait.

We are going out to a fundraiser tonite - and I intend to pay closer attention to what I eat, starting NOW!!

They will be missed

Well, the news just keeps coming. Today, Rita MacNeil, only 68, a great singer from Cape Breton has passed away and the famous and dear loved Beverly Shea, also gone at age 104. Sometimes it would be better if you didn't know. Ignorance is bliss.

Snow Squalls

I went to Calgary on Wed to visit my brother and his wife. It was a nice drive but I noticed that there was a lot more traffic on the road than there used to be when my parents lived there. Of course, that was a few years ago.

On my return home, I hit a squall of snow/rain mix coming across the Deerfoot and for 15 minutes, I could hardly see the cars and trucks ahead and beside me. There was so much water on the road and coming down that my wipers could hardly clear the window. It was almost impossible to keep within the lines of the road. I was literally 'on a wing and a prayer'! That was the longest, scariest, hardest stretch of travelling that I have ever done! It was like being in a big snow cloud of rain and snow and it seemed like it would never stop. The traffic did not slow down, the trucks kept passing and showering everyone with all the slush from the road and only a few of us in cars actually did try to slow down for the road conditions. However, you could not really slow down too much as the flow kept you moving. I honestly thought we all were going to end up in one BIG bunch of metal smashing into one another and going over the embankment!!!! It wasn't until the town of Innisfail that the snow/rain/mist/cloud lightened and you could actually see ahead and around you. Perhaps these spring squalls are more common in Calgary as most drivers didn't slow down at all. Although I thought about getting off the Deerfoot Freeway, visibility was so poor that I couldn't read the signs or see the turn offs until the last moment, so I just stayed in wht I thought was the middle lane and kept going (like everyone else)!  I guess you just HAD to keep going. I was definitely driving 'blind' in that snow storm.

However, from Bowden north the roads were clear and so was the sky. What a difference a few miles made. By the time I got to Edmonton the sun was shining.

Today, the sky is blue, the sun is shining but the weatherman tells us we can expect another 5 - 10 cm of snow starting tonite and into the weekend. Hopefully, he will be wrong.

More Sadness

Margaret Thatcher died today as well. 87 years old. Then I came home from work to find out that Raveen died! He was 77. I do remember attending one of his shows in Nova Scotia when I was only 16. I thought it was funny but my parents didn't think so. Guess it was one of those times when I didn't 'tell the whole story' of where I was going!

Sad, sad, sad

I just read on my computer that Annette Funacello (one of my favourite mousekateers) died today at age 70!

I cannot believe the number of people that I 'relate to' from my youth who are passing away. If I am not careful, I will turnaround and find myself gone!

My age group, my century is coming up. Like the game show bell... 'time's up'!

Morning Sounds

It must be Spring as the magpies are back. For the past week, every morning those birds have caw, caw, cawed at exactly 5:30 a.m. Just enough noise to wake me up. Then, they are gone (thankfully), but now I am awake! I try to go back to sleep and once or twice I have for about 15 or 20 minutes but only after trying hard to do so.  My alarm is set to go off at 6:40 a.m. but I have been getting up before that since I am already awake.  This morning, for the first time, it was not the birds. It was the fire trucks going by with sirens ringing. Birds or bells, they both wake me up!! Oh yes, there is also the snow that melted and turned to ice which sounds like someone crunching wrapping paper when the vehicles drive over it. This sound belongs to the car of the paperboy (man) who drives into the cul de sac, drops off his newspapers and drives out. He only takes a moment, but the sound still wakes me up. Then again, it could just be that it is getting lighter out earlier as the sun rises and my 'internal clock' is waking me up and none of the above! Guess I can take my pick. Well, now that I am up, I might as well get ready for the day!

Birthday wishes

Happy Birthday, to my friend, Gayle today! She knows who she is! A birthday can't get much better if you are feeling better, and in a warm place (actually IN a warm place - like say, Palm Springs!). I am sure she is in a 'warm' place in her spirit as well as she is enjoying 'feeling stronger' and actually doing some things without being totally worn out. Ahhhh the heat...it sure helps a person's disposition!!

Speaking of time (which I wasn't), I have been noticing how quickly it passes by without realizing it. Since I got my parent's clock fixed, the quarterly ringing seems to come round much quicker! I mean, 15 minutes IS 15 minutes, but it seems to just finish ringing and then it's ringing again! It's amazing how quickly time goes by when you are not watching the clock. I guess you don't have to 'watch the clock' when it is 'ringing for you'!  All that being said, I still love the chimes. I did set it to no chimes from 11-7 am so that John would not be disturbed. He sleeps pretty light anyway, without chimes going off every quarter hour!

It's About Time

I am feeling especially melancholy but happy at the same time. I took my parent's westminster chime into the jewellers to get adapted with an automatic timepiece. It is quite pricey. Might as well bought a new clock (almost). But, they told me it would be quite expensive also to fix it and encouraged me to use the automatic which did not require windup and I can adjust the sound and the music. At first, I did not want to do anything but FIX it. I wanted it the way it was...but realized I was not keeping it for an antique (they got it as a wedding gift on May 31, 1942 which makes it almost 71 years old) but merely for myself and my own enjoyment. My hubby is not keen on hearing it every quarter but the moment that she played it for me in the repair shop...tears came to my eyes. It had been a long time since I heard that sound. Memories!

Anyway, we will get used to the quarter chimes and I know they will become as comforting to my hubby as they are to me. (Time will tell).

Anyway, speaking about time and timing....I decided to take a quick video of the clock turning 6 pm and rushed to get my camera. It had already started the chiming when I finally turned the video on and at the same time, the telephone rang. Now...get the picture....I was in the bedroom with the chiming clock and my mom's old-fashioned phone with enhanced sound! I could hardly hear the chimes (as we had turned it down low to start with) and the phone was turned loud so we could hear it!! Timing...it's everything!

I just thought it was funny and maybe you would too!

Westminster Chime Clock - 71 years old and still running!