The Baby Harvest, Fashionably Ecocentric and Haida Gwaii Friends

Well, it has come to this time of year again! For me it has been resplendent with beautiful people and things to do. Harvest. Pumpkin pies and wonderful hikes through amazing trails. I fell like I am at home here, more than anywhere I have been since I left my real home. Want to know a funny little secret? For the first time in forever I am from "Williams Lake" again. People up here have been asking me where I am from. Now I can't say Calgary and I can't say Toronto and I can't say Vancouver either- and for the first time in a while I don't want people to think I come from a city. I need to be from where I am from in order to relate to the people around me, get some street credit so to speak. I am from Williams Lake once again.

Anywhoo, speaking of Harvest, there is a “baby harvest” going on right now with everyone. Geeze. It’s the main topic of conversation these days. But a word out to my peeps that are prego. Ha, it must be something in the water. It started no doubt with Pamela, with child. Whoot, whoot for the up and coming babykins.

How cool that a lot of my best friends have or are all having babies! While here, I got a call from Candace and Dave. The last thing I expected to hear- I heard. “Candace is pregnant” amazing because it was tricky there! Dave tells me that this is the kind of thing that happens when you buy a Vanigan… and spend the entire summer in the shaggin wagon. Miracles. (Nine long hair friends of Jesus in a Chartreuse mini bus)

When they told me, I think all the hair on my body stood on end and I had one of those shivers and tears welling up in my eyes, and it just felt so good and right. It is the natural course of events for them. I CAN’T believe however that for an entire three day novel contest locked in a house in extreme close quarters and breathing down each others necks, NOBODY said anything about a BABY! How well those kids kept up the secret! And we eve drove around in the shaggin wagon and not a word… those sneakers!
I mean it really is a miracle.

AHHHHHH….. Here is the baby:



The next day at about 7 am my little sister Kerstin called me.
I said, “ You wont believe it guess who’s pregnant!” and she said “Me!”

Kerstin is going to have another baby! No doubt there will be another girl in the long line of girls already kicking around our family! I have no doubt this is going to be yet another girl. It is my early prediction.

And then today I noticed as I checked Facebook, my cousin Karl Johnson is going to be a papa! And again, how freakin cool is that!

My darling Ajay’s baby will arrive in January, yeah mama Maninder and Papa Jasbir! Whoot whoot! ) Especially whoot whoot for Julie!!!!!!!

So all in all, many babies on the horizon!


Rita is getting married the week after next and well, who knows! In the spring I will be surrounded by babies, babies, babies! Bliss!


This month has been amazing. I have met the most amazing people. Jeska and Derek and I hung out quite a bit, spent Thanksgiving all together.

We have had hikes and beach sessions and hang outs. They are off to Europe now, Paris and then Barcelona as Derek has an art show there. They will be back to Haida Gwaii in January and I wait for that expectantly, I had such a great time with them. Also one of the very beautiful people Jeska brought into my life was Erin who came up here to Haida Gwaii on invitation to do a workshop with the Carvers here in town (Masset) and in Skidegate.


What a delightful person to have the opportunity to meet. Wow, I hope to see her again up here in the future, and look forward to seeing her art.

Jeska and I in particular had quite the adventure one Friday night here in Masset.





Erin Sandulo who manages Alaska View in the summer season has been up here in Haida Gwaii this past week and it has been cool to spend a bit more time with her. We cook well together and I don’t know if I know anyone more similarly geeky as me on that scale, and of course Erin - I mean geeky in the best possible food channel watching, cook book reading, recipe testing way. I am not surprise to find that while I was reading the “Joy of Cooking” every night before bed, Erin was also reading the Joy. Ahh! Soul friends are fabulous.



In addition there is Jakey down the road. Jacob had a party a little while ago and he didn’t really want to go. But well, we kidnapped him back and when we got to the little cabin there was a rocking crowd of nine of us and of those nine one included a DJ…turntables- seriously. This week we kidnapped Jakey Pooh again. It was a successful kidnapping and among other things Jake and Erin and I went for an amazing hike and made up fabulous stories along the way about a little boy named Pim. Ha! Watch for that! Jake has been great, we have all have been having some amazing “Garden State” times.



Well, also who was here? None other than Lucy Shaw! Lucy is a friend of Dawns, I have heard so much about her and Lucy was here in the winter a couple of years ago. Also a new soul friend, Lucy was familiar immediately. Lucy works for Naikun Wind Energy Group and is here with her energy center. We met a cool coworker of hers also- Hamish. I gave them the grill on the questions I had about windmill farms and am now sufficiently educated.

Let me just mark this passage as monumental, this meeting of Lucy. I am currently in Dawn’s world, and meeting people who know my sister. It is so incredibly cool to meet her friends. I feel like I am journeying through something really sacred, this place and the people she knows. It doesn’t happen often and the roles we have played through out our lives, being the eldest I am first. I have a big old footprint, and its usually a loud one. But it is sooooooo incredibly cool to come into a world I have never been in before and see the footprint my sister leaves behind her.


Okay. Shameless promotion, attention!

They actually sent me the picture and it was entitled “Candace and the Shaggin Wagon”
How apt is that!

Candace is having her sales this fall on her purses that she makes, which are dear to me- Books!!!!!



She will be at the Portobello Market just off of Main street and Terminal- the Rocky Mountaineer Station in Vancouver. If you are in the city and want to check it out, stop by and see her! The Market is very cool. If you haven’t gone, check it out!
If you go there and check it out tell her congratulations from me on her pregnancy!
October 28
November 25

Her website: http://www.fashionablyecocentric.ca/


Okay.

I am leaving you with a video of a woman I have been thinking about lately as I have been reading gardening books and composting. One of her books is always by my bedside.

Starhawk:



Also my new blog about here is at this address:
www.alaskaview.blog.ca

Plus cross your fingers for me! I applied to the Queen Charlotte Island Arts Council to coordinate the 2008 All Island Art show to be held at the Haida Gwaii Museum in February. I may submit a resume in to the library here which is looking for a librarian part time. Who knows! I may never want to leave.

My love as Always,

Angela

Powering a Small Planet- Plan A: At Long Last

The Duffy Lake Road runs from just before Cache Creek through to Lilloet and down to Pemberton. It is one of my most favorite drives in BC. Aside from that little drive in Rogers Pass when you go through the Shushwaps (Only in the summer though when the light is shinning down through the trees). And apart from that little stretch between Williams Lake and Quesnel where you look over and there is a field leading to a cliff to where the Fraser River is flowing.
After all the brokeness of the begining of the year, this drive to Pemberton seems whole and complete. Amazing what happens after you hit the ground.




Last week I was in Vancouver and the day after the novel contest I hung out with Lara. We went to Paul's Omlettery for breakfast and we wandered around my old hood and down the road to hers.

Then as all things go, I took her to the airport and she got on a plane back to Saskatchewan.
I met Lara three years ago when I went to Vancouver. I learned so much from her. She left TELUS last week in a grand finale of what we all like to refer to as "Awkward Cake". Its funny, I was pretty sure I wouldn't see her for a while. I wasn't sad. I'll miss her, but there is so much going on in both our lives that its an exciting time.



We had landmark times together. She is the most logical person I know, and probably the smartest. She has taught me how to say no and she said this funny thing once after I told her I learned how to say no from her, "You've learned how to say no to something and people are happy you are telling them no." Which is kind of funny because its true.

I thought I was a strategist and then Lara came along and blew all of those holey plans out of the water. Give her a problem and she's already looked at it a thousand times to find out where the cracks are. If you want to find a hole in a plan you go to her and she'll tell you exactly what is wrong with what you are trying to do. Then she'll give you ten solutions that would be better than what you're planning on doing. And together, well! Let me tell you. We could generate a small planet with all the energy we used talking things out!

I am sooo glad she is taking time off and having a reconcideration of "Home". Happy for her and also thinking that hey, I haven't been to that province yet! And her family makes HAY! Jokes. Its grain.

I am where I am now in this very golden spot because day to day I had Lara to talk out the holes in my plan.



And maybe we did generate enough energy to fuel the little planet called "My Plan".

Thing is, that other life, the one I had before this one I have right now, was plan B. I tell you what! If you are not stoked about plan B, don't do plan B!!!! Plan B is not the plan you should be going with. Unless of course Plan A was to see a live Dodo Bird. Because lets face it, some plan A's need some thinking through. Which is where good friends come in handy. Because they help out with the checks and balances. I need checks and balances.

I would come to my friend and sometimes we nixed the plan right off the bat. Sometimes I'd come to her and she'd nod and I'd get to the end of the plan and she'd say, "Yep that might work."

Those were the ones I put on my list. Frankly I just wouldnt have made it through my little imploding universe if she hadn't have been around.

When you take a risk you always ask yourself, "Are the consequences of my actions something I could live with?"

If you can live with the consequences of your actions then take the risk!

Lara was the perfect person to go over my new life road map with because she could see past my blinders where I wasn't looking. In the procees I think we both got a pretty solid grip on what was wrong and what needed to be changed in our lives. Thank Goodness we both turned thirty around the same time. Wow. Thank you Lara!



Here I am. Saturn has sucessfully come in and wreaked his havock on my life and I am all the better for it. (SATURN RETURN: http://newage-directory.com/saturn.html and for the SATURN MYTH: http://www.saturnreturn.net/mythology.html ) A good thing to check out if you're tunring thirty anytime soon...


The best case scenario in hand, on my plan A, golden path.

I am waking up in the morning excited about my new life.

Its good. I was standing there in front of the airport with Lara and thinking wow, what we are going to have to talk about a year from now!
I have this superstition that all the energy that you wasted on the wrong things comes back to you ten times when you make the change.
If thats the case I've probably got enough coming back to power a big planet. Lets see!


"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." Og Mandino



All my love,
Angela

Letters from the Junkyard & "Woof"

Dear Friends,

I am in 150 Mile House right now having a visit with my peeps before my winter stint in the Charlottes- Masset, a town of 1500 people. http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3661

I have to tell you where I am right now. Its pretty creepy.

I am at my dad's shop, an old building from the 1940's thats made out of concrete and sits on top of a hill in the middle of a sea of land wrecked cars, looking out over a hayfield and Highway 97. Cariboo Towing.

As a child this place scared the shit out of me. My grandparents had a house here in the yard and as the cars drove past on the highway they illuminated the cars in the junkyard and I used to scare myself silly lying awake at night thinking about whether or not someone died in the wrecks and if there were ghosts, angry ghosts. Getting myself so scared I would lie awake arms and legs stiff with fear and completely paralized thinking of the many scenarios that could be possible.

Maybe early writerly imaginings.

I would come into this building (The Shop) and when I got to a darkened hallway between the office and the work bays, a deep dark part, I would run, scared something was going to get me. The basement I avoided at all costs and on the ocassions I did venture down, it was never alone and it was with a damn good adult and flashlight. Anyway, it freaked me out.

So here I am. Its not so scary anymore. Still, all the lights in the Shop are on.

I grew up in a tow truck and the junkyard was my playground. Somehow I don't think this dirty face has ever come clean. I think I am okay with that.

The radio is on and the Barenaked Ladies are singing Jane. There are ghost here for me, this counter that I am at, this office is where my people have come to work everyday my whole life, and way before that. This is where it all happened, family. Funny, on the wall here are pictures of the Tow trucks and the baseball teams they've sponsored, a map of the forrest region here in the Cariboo.

I came up on Friday and Dawn and Ben were already here. Christina and Wade came over and we all had dinner and chats and laughs. It was cool. Christina is a saint! What with the impending season looming her husband had the hunt fever.

On Saturday I went shopping for rain gear for my winter season in the Charlottes, back and forth between Mark's Work Wearhouse and Surplus Herbies and Canadian Tire. I got a jacket, wool socks, a rain hat, some rain pants, and the cutest pair of fake eyelashes ever!

No! I am totally excited. Theresa and I hung out for the first time in forever, this is the first time I have been home with no agenda of things to do. No holiday looming and no job to get back to and etc... so it was nice. I had time. We hung out until late late, and I got home and my parents were already in bed.

It is always weird at THIRTY YEARS OLD to sneak into your parents house.

Monday was the first day of hunting season so my parents were up at 3:30 and left to hunt Blue Grouse. Theresa and I had breakfast and looked through the Sears Catalouge. I went and picked up Tori (who is nine and in grade four now!!!!) from school and then we went for a little "us" time which involved Scout Island before we headed out to Springhouse. Tori showed me her horses. She is getting into Barrel Riding now, so thats cool. She is also writing a story about a horse and she read that to me. Kerstin and Mesa came home and Mesa's playing shy with me, I haven't seen her that much but she is adorable... and she dug dirt in the garden while Kerstin dug up potatoes.

Today my dad and I went on a tow call. We call them "Wrecker Calls".
We woudl say it in a sentence like, "Hey you going on a wrecker call?" or "Hey, I haven't been on a wrecker call in so long, can I come?"
We went down to 100 Mile and dropped off a car and then picked one up to bring back to the shop. It was a pretty interesting day. My dad took me to lunch at the Edelweiss Restaurant in Lac La Hache.
Fun times, these wrecker calls.

I am going to head out tomorrow. Off to Pemberton. Then on Sunday I am going to hang out with Uncle Curtis. Its so nice. When I get to thier house, it feels like "Ahhhh home".

Oh how horrible of me actually! I bet you are all waiting to find out!
How rude!

David Hunter and I completed the Three Day Novel contest with a book entry called: "Woof".

It was a tense weekend, and a lot of fun. You never know what you can do! With another writer, you get a microscopic look at your bad habits. Among many other things I have a bad habit of being controlling and writing in the present tense. Dave is a vegetarian who doesn't like pressure and deadlines. I was so proud of him however, he did such an amazing job and I can't think of another writer I could be more proud to do work with than Dave.

Dave and I are little mirrors. On the first day we woke up and were all happy and making little jokes and Dave would start a song and I'd finish it. I think we'd annoyed our Darling Candace before we began! What a saint she was! My darling cousin!!!!

The night before we went and got candy and spent the day writing about our charachters which turned out to be pretty vivid I think. Crashed got up the next day and began our story. It wasnt my day. I was off that morning. Well you know you do what you do. It ended well and by the next day we were well into it. Candace was just sooooooooooo great I can't even stress that enough!

Well okay so Dave and I didnt have any fist fights. Given the stress I think we managed to work together fairly well. Although I think I am an aweful person for emphatically saying over and over " faster, faster, we've got to finish this book."
He was such a good sport!

By the end we were both bleary eyed by the computer looking at each other writing the last chapter and being silly. I looked over at Dave and he looked dead drunk. We were so tired. But we finished it.


You have been amazing, thank you all for stopping by! On my blog stats I saw that in August there were 702 visitors here. You all rock!


On the road again. I am going to Calgary next week and then the Charlottes after that. I can not wait. I am so excited. Seven months.

Well my loves. I have never been happier.
Autum approaches. It makes me long for Toronto. Billy, a sweater and a walk. Nathan and coffee. Elena and anything. If only I could be there now just shrink the world and be sittingat Monzie's table with a cup of tea, and Dave and Liam.
I guess that leg of my journey will happen in the spring. Until then, in the Autum air I will long for them all.



Leaving you on this note. My love as always, Angela

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.
Anais Nin

(I love Matt Pond PA, courtsey find of Dave and Candace)

My New Home is Heaven, Charlottes Adventures

This up and coming weekend marks the turn of a year for me since Sedna. Nadia came to visit me and brough me a picture she drew me, "While Sedna Sleeps"

Ah how she wakes!

I did not realize when I sat down at my computer a year ago to do the write a novel in three days contest exactly what the implications would be on my life. Most of the time it happens this way.

Sedna ruled my apartment for two years. Vancouver and the West Coast were the place for me to get back. However that happens. Like how things get scrubbed clean by the sand in the ocean. Maybe that environment scrubed me clean a bit too. Here for sure.

When I visited the Charlottes with my mom last September, coming to Alaskaview to see my sister I fell in love with this magical place immediately. I wrote the book without having been up here, based on all the landscape stories Dawn had told me. Based on some things we had conversations about.

It is a special place. This is a special and amazing place.

This is the view from the livingroom.



I arrived to the Fishing Lodge first by plane to Masset and then by Float Plane to Langara Island last week and was completely amazed. I have so much respect for what my sister has been doing these years. Her and Ben. Everyone respects them, knows them. Shes told me so many stories and yet it is nothing like the experience of the thing. I was a galley girl and was serving up there... long days. Very cool guests. Very cool co-workers. Fisherman all over the place. It was teeming with red cruiser suits.

This really great guy Brian took me out on a Zodiak, called Safety One. We were a combo Safety boat slash sandwich boat... we'd cruise and make sure the boats were safe and note when we saw them and where for refrence. We were out delivering great sandwiches and cookies and such when we got a call that on the west side of the island the wind had picked up. So we had a rough ride out to the West side, to round up a couple boats out there.

There was a pirate party the gang had in the fishroom/storage room, a regular disco with amazing soundsystem at impromptu really, and there was a dancefloor and it was all real great.

Crazy, to have sealions sunning on the rocks and an island tree atop the cliff with an eagle on one side of you and a humpback whale on the other and miles of ocean floor below you and above you only sky.
This is somebody elses movie but... well....

There are two Langara lodges there and I had the opportunity to go up to the lodge my very very very dear old friend from childhood Marty Stacey works as a Chef for the Staff. It was cool, he "Facebooked" me and I told him where I was and that I wanted to sdee him. The next day he came down the hill in his down time. I was stocking the staff cooler with soda and heard this, "Ang".
Marty!!!
We had a chat and he said to come up to see him on my down time... when he worked. I got an Americano from the Choho Cafe at the fishing lodge and a little bag of treats for Marty and then I climbed up the big hill to Langara Island Lodge.

I got there and was looking for the kitched and I overheard Marty say "I wonder where Angela is." Then I knew I was in the right place, at this big fancy lodge! It is amazingly beautiful. I have never been somewhere so special. He gave me a tour around and we had chats and I wish we had more time to talk but he had to get back to work. It was so cool. Last time I saw him was when I was in the Charlottes with mom and he was flying through and called us fromthe airport and we went to see him, and I hadn't seen him in fifteen years!!! But he's still Marty.
Ahhh.

I flew out on the Helicopter over Langara Island to Graham Island where Masset is located here in the Charlottes. With the Helicopter Pilot Bucky. I was in the front seat and wore the headset and mic!

Again, somebody elses video:


I got to Alaskaview and Bob was flying through so we all drove together to Alaskaview and we pulled into the driveway and I just thought "I AM HOME."

Erin has been amazing. I can't even believe it! I am so lucky. and I met Jeska who works here. She is amazing too and will be up here in the winter when I am up here. Stoked. Her boyfriend is coming here too and he's an artist. Jeska is an artist. I am so excited. She tells me there is a great arts community here in Masset and this is great. I can't wait. Jeska also tells me that there is a writer down the road. I went out for a walk this AM on the beach and met the neighbor Ernie and we set out a crab trap. Today we cleaned up the yard, went to town with the Recycling.

My luck happens to find Erin who has taken Publishing in school and so we have much excitement over this, she's going to lend me some books on publishing.

We are friends after a couple days, I am so excited! We have a lot of things in common.

Today Chef Stephane Levesque came to releive Erin and he cooked. Tonight he made Scallop Bruschetta, AMAZING!

Right now the Cedar Planked Salmon is on the barbeque and the guests are in the hot tub. He made Chantrel mushroom Risotto which the musroom guy came along this week and dropped off the fresh local mushrooms.

Stephane is from Rimouski and is off on adventures cooking in remote locations. He was previosly cooking on a scuba diving boat. Quite tasty cooking!

Today Erin cut Stephane's hair in the driveway behind the B&B. It was a classic picture.

We listened to this on the satelight while he was cooking dinner.
Abotu a little French seal.






I am back to Vancouver tomorrow.

This weekend coming up, Dave and I are writing a novel in the three day novel contest.

How much life will change again!

After that, I get preapred to stay up here for the next 7 months.

I can not wait. I am holding my breath. It is beautiful.

My love as always,
Angela


Update:

Okay so after I entered this entry events started cookin. I went to get Erin from the cabin down the road where she was chillin and when we got back the guests were down by the fire. We ate dinner. Wow. The Risotto that Stephan made was AMAZING. And he made my favorite vegetable, Eggplant. Wowsa and the cedar planked salmon was so perfect. All in all, a 10/10 meal.

We were invited tot he beach with our guests, Jes, Erin, Stephane, and myself with the six guests. We sat around the fire and Stephane and Jeska sang and played their guitars. Erin took videos.
Just as were starting to get a little sleepy the rain shower came briefly, and we scampered up the pathway to the house.

Thank you Ben Cleland for building such an amazing fire pit. The guests loved it.

On the Road Again, Hobo Style

Oh! I have so much to tell you and not enough time. The Mexican Fiesta was brilliant and I had so much fun. Rita's friends are amazing, and I can't wait to be in Mexico with everyone in November. Rita is hard to leave. I love her so much!

I was hard pressed to get in the car but I made myself and I felt horrible leaving again and barely said goodbye to Rita so I didn't have to sob!



The drive was great. Over the mountains and canyons and hills. There is something about the road for me that makes things feel okay when put space between yourself and things and then it does this magic thing and opens up before you and the way is clear.

I got to Vancouver and saw some of my peeps, Claire's home a nice welcome sight. Lara and I had a fabulous walk on Kits beach for a couple hours. Dinners, chats.

Before I left Calgary I got a call from Langara Fishing Adventures to come see them and I went in to see them when I got back to town.

This time, for realsies, I did get a new job. I am going to be up at Alaska View B&B October 01 for the winter season. Its the bed and breakfast Dawn was at up in the Queen Charlottes. You've heard about it!

I am going up to the Charlottes tomorrow for a week. I will update you later my friends about what goes on.

I am over the moon happy! After this amazing summer even more amazing things to come. Sometimes things work out better than you could imagine.


Tori has been here and I have had a good visit with Violet. Amazing place. We went to the PNE and I rode the closest thing to a rollercoaster I've ever been on. I am a screamer. I think there were three or four rides I screamed the whole time on. Poor Tori!

We've been hiking, picking berries and swiming here. Its been great.

I have once again for the third time now packed up my car and I am just getting ready to hit the road.

I am sure there are so many more adventures to come.

I have so much more to say, but have to go. All my love, as usual.

For all those Canadians who remember... one of my favorites:

Lime in the Coconut and all "Knocked Up"

Yesterday we took back the defunct palm tree cooler and this time we brought Lynn with us, Rita's mom. Alas we found a new fan of the party decoration store! We spent a lot of time in there again. We were having so much fun int here the girl behind the counter said " Hey you guys are having so much fun one of you should work here!"


I got a new job.






Just joking! I'd never do that!!!!!!



Well we had a lot of fun and for round two, we got the best thing ever a Shrilling Chicken.

You squeeze it and an egg jumps out its butt. You squeeze it a couple times and the egg jumps in and out of the shrilling chickens butt.
Its a laugh. Get yourself one.

Party plans are coming along!

Today we did the food shopping and got a haul. I am going to make some dip and then I am making homemade salsa ala Billy. I am going to make a fruit salsa too.
We've got the music. We've got the decorations. We've got the costumes (sombreros!) 30 + guests... and we've got Margarita's. We even got this weird thing "Carmel Diet Coke". Which I was going to make fun of Rita for choosing (but really wanted to try) so weird and unusual. We got it and tried it. I will never underestimate "Carmel Diet Coke" again. It is going to be fabulous with booze!!!!

I am thinking I am going to make Lime jello shots, and even maybe Lime Coconut jello shots.

Rita and I haven't had jello shots since the Scavenger Hunt in Williams Lake, a very very very long time ago. But so influential we haven't done them since. Or a good scavenger hunt since.
Oh yes! I believe that the Jello shots were deadly. I was talking with Teresa about it it too, and I think I had a chat with Janice about it before I left Vancouver...

Yesterday after we did our decoration shopping we went to the movies and saw Knocked Up. I laughed my ass off, really really loud. Rita laughed so hard she was crying. Lynn was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. It was funny. I mean we came outta there just laughing.

Beware of the swearing / ADULT CONTENT:




All in all this was a great week. Tomorrow it Friday and it is cooking and cleaning for us chicks!
Mexican Fiesta all the way my friends!

Mexican Fiesta- the Decoration Store

Yesterday at the party store we had a hay day! It was unbelievable. There were party themes for every type of party you could imagine. We went cuckoo for the Mexi themed decorations.

I was in heaven. I mean if there is a heaven and I die and go to it, it has got to be an "everything themed decoration party supply" heaven, or I don't want to go.

It was Rita and Leslie and I at the party store. The three of us were exclaiming "Whooa! Look at this! "No look at this."

Okay and I think my party days are over but I meant I could really get into the themed party thing. There were Oktoberfest decorations, Man parties with football and sport decorations, there was a balloon counter. I could go nuts! How many green balloons could I blow up! Not to mention 99 red balloon's!!!

There were streamers and noise makes, cow bells and feather boas!

I mean it really was heaven.

One of Rita's prized finds was a 6 foot tall palm tree whose base was a beer cooler. She hummed and hawed about getting it but she did in the end.

My prized treasure- the "Mexican Moustaches", oh yes! I knew I would find them one day! That day has come!

We went out last night had Vietnamese soup and salad rolls- Calgary has the best Vietnamese restaurant selection in Canada. Then we went to Chapters and I had my first fancy coffee in six weeks! It was a treat night!


We came home and the palm tree was out on the deck with a few floating chairs and a helium balloon kit. So the palm tree was faulty, but we are taking it back. How disappointing!!! Alas we will fix this situation!


All in all, a very cool time.

August 07, 2007

Today Rita and I are going to look for Mexican Pinatas for the party on the weekend. We are having a Mexican Fiesta for all the bride and grooms friends, time at the lake and a barbecue at night. It should be great. A week of preparation.

I was just lounging in the sun in yoga pants and a little baby doll, glam sunglasses and my hair in rollers reading a book and having morning coffee. Rita comes by. "You look like the ultimate suburban housewife." Irony.

This morning I got up and before I even went to get coffee and I checked in on the newly replanted strawberry plants. They were a little wilty so I got the hose and started watering them right away. I hope the sun isn't too hot. Its a scorcher today!

I hope they survive. We found them yesterday as we cleaned up a whole pile of junk behind the greenhouse. A bed underneath, they survived and I managed to separate them, the root systems looked good. So I replanted them last night in the newly cleaned area. I am here one more week, lets see what happens in a week!