Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

I remembered to take my camera to work with me today.  Every day is getting a slight bit easier, as I slowly start to grasp what's going on.  Maybe my 40 year old brain just doesn't have the capacity to retain information and learn quickly anymore.  Either way, this will be a great learning experience for me.  I suppose a good challenge is never a bad thing.
After work, I made Tristan, Talia and Dave some perogies and meatballs.  It's a little tragic that none of us have much inclination to make good dinners when we get home.  Lurline hasn't been home for supper, so we just make whatever is quick and easy from the freezer.  Is that pathetic?
After dinner, we watched some more episodes of Dexter.  We've seen them all, but it was interesting the second time, too!
Anyway, here's a view from my office window.  We actually got a sprinkling of rain for about an hour today - the first time I've seen rain out my window since I started, and it looked kind of pretty, so here it is:

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Last day of unemployment.  I was back on Kijiji in the morning looking for another good buy.  I got very lucky again.  A guy posted an ad for a black, leather sofa for $40.  I called it within 1 minute of the posting.  I told him I'd come to look at in right away.  It's a good thing I did... Dave and I arrived and two other people were there who wanted it.  One of them was very rude and pushy ... I think he might've been a used furniture dealer or something because he arrived with a cube van ready to go.  Anyway, the guy was great, and said it was spoken for, and he helped Dave carry and load it into the Toureg.  He was a very nice guy... I think Dave wanted to be his new best friend - also because he was a chef.  Anyway, long story short, I got this amazing full size, black leather sofa for a mere $40.  It's in great shape, too!  I bought a few more smaller items today - got a mirror and a wall picture from Goodwill, too.  I will have to post a photo of my new place if and when I ever find one.  That way you can see all my newish items in their new home.

This evening, Lurline and Dave went to see the final Harry Potter, so I went to wash my car of all the dead insects and dirt, then took a drive into the Mission district where I'll be working.  I thought I'd see if I could once again find an apartment I could look at.  Unfortunately, I didn't come up with anything.  Regardless, I did drive up this road that led me to this great view of the city... very near to where I'd like to live actually.

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Well, I'm off to Calgary!  Got up earlier than I would've liked, got dressed, and headed out the door.  The drive was pretty good. I was a little worried about possibly falling asleep at some point, since I didn't get enough sleep and this was the fifth trip between Calgary and Chilliwack in about three weeks. The first few hours hardly had any traffic, and the sun was shining the entire way.  My car was so full, so it was a little heavy, which made for some slower climbs up the hills.  I saw some big horn sheep through Golden, which was the only wildlife I encountered.  I made some pretty good time, arriving in Calgary around 5pm Mountain Time... just in time for rush hour traffic.  It took me an hour just to make it from the highway to Lurline and Dave's house.  Here's a photo of my very full car - notice all the squashed bugs and dirt on my car.  It needs a good wash!

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Had a very nice day today.  Woke up to another sunny, hot day.  Mom and I had a relaxing morning at home, while everybody else was at work.  Then, we decided to go to Value Village just to check things out.  We both bought a few items, and had a 25% off coupon for our purchases, so that was fun.  I dropped mom off at home, then drove up to the North to visit with Debra.  On my way there, a storm blew through the city - rain and lightning and wind.  Then, by the time I got to Debra's, it was sunny again.  Clear, blue skies once again.  We took her dog for a walk, and enjoyed the sunshine, while we caught up on things.

Then, I headed to the Kensington Pub to meet Bryn.  Again, it was wing night, so I filled up on some tasty salt and pepper wings.  That's one of the things I miss most about Calgary!  There's a wing night somewhere every night... and they're delicious.  Anyway, while I was chatting with Bryn, we both heard some pretty heavy rain falling on the skylight overhead.  It was getting louder and louder.  Then, we both realized that it was actually hail.  HAIL?!  I was beginning to freak out a little, knowing that my car was parked outside on the street, and just last year, Calgary had a hail storm so powerful that it did damage to thousands of cars in the city.  So, I took my camera and ran outside to check it out.  I couldn't even go on to the sidewalk because the hail was so strong and the hailstones were so large that people were running for cover everywhere.

Once it had subsided, Bryn took a walk to my car to check it out for me.  He said that there didn't seem to be any hail damage, but I had left my sunroof popped up and the inside of my car was pretty wet.  I was relieved.  Water will dry!

Here is one picture of the hail.  Not sure if you can make out how big some of the hailstones were, but it looks like it was snowing in July.

Monday, July 18th, 2011

I had a job interview today, so in the morning I prepared for that, then left for the interview.  I thought it went well enough, but it's never that easy to tell until the decision is made.  After the interview, I headed to the Regal Beagle in Kensington to meet a friend.  We sat out on the patio and had a cold drink and some wings - it was wing night!  We didn't stay too long because it was about 34 degrees and the heat was draining our energy.  I headed back to Lurline's, and still needed a photo for the day, so we all went to Tim Horton's to grab an Iced Capp... the sky was starting to look like a storm was coming.  There were some large clouds that looked like they could turn into a tornado, so we took a picture of that.  These skies aren't like the skies in BC ...

Saturday, July 16th, 2011

What a hot, sunny day in Calgary!  It was a nice change to see the sun.  Mom, Lurline, Talia, Tristan & I headed downtown to check out what free Stampede events we could find.  We went down to Fluor Square at Olympic Plaza, but nothing was happening.  So, we walked along Stephen Avenue in the sunshine, and looked at the stalls and did some people watching.  It was lunch time by this point, so we sat on the Earl's patio and had a refreshing beverage and a tasty lunch.  Afterwards, Lurline took us to her new office because mom hadn't seen it yet.  Then, we went to a big discount store in the South and everybody bought something small.  That night, Lurline, Dave, mom and I went to Ceili's pub in the South and listened to the live music out on the patio.  It was nice to enjoy the warm weather well into the evening.  I love Stampede!

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Felt a little under the weather today.  Sore throat and clogged sinuses, which never bodes well for having a productive day.  Regardless, I did some designing and watched some Photoshop tutorials, and also looked for jobs online - none of which required a lot of movement, which worked out well.  Later in the afternoon, I started dinner.  We decided on barbecued kebabs with Piri Piri marinade - shrimp, chicken, pineapple, onion, and peppers with rice on the side.  Yum!  Then Lurline and I took a quick drive so I could get my picture of the day.  It was a beautiful sunny day again, but within a  few minutes a storm rolled in and the winds picked up.  Tree branches were down across the city and everything was blowing around.  Then, just as fast as it moved in, it was gone again.  We drove into Fish Creek park and I got out to take this shot of a hiking path:

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

A warm 26 degrees today in Calgary!  Talia and I went downtown into the Mission district and had lunch and a drink at Purple Perk - one of my favorite coffee shops in Calgary.  Then, we drove around a bit - Talia doesn't get to go downtown very much, so I think she was enjoying the people watching.  We ended up at Eau Claire and looked around some of the shops.  I bought a ring from Tibet for $4.00.  I'd be losing money if I didn't buy it, as Lisa would say.  We had a few hours to kill, so we took a walk around Prince's Island Park and it was absolutely gorgeous - green, lush and full of activity.  We decided to head over to Fionn MacCool's and have a drink.  So, the two of us had some bonding time and talked about everything. A little later, Debra and Bryn showed up.  Then, the band arrived.  We listened to Sean and Rodger do some songs that I know and love.  Finally, Lurline got dropped off by Dave to drive Talia and I home - we'd been drinking so needed a driver.  After a great night with friends and fantastic music, I said good-bye and headed home.  What a brilliant day and night!!!

Here's me with one of my best friends in the world, Bryn:

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Happy Solstice!  What a gorgeous, sunny day here in Calgary.  Woke up at 4:30am to drive Talia to her job at Starbuck's for 5am, then I came home and went back to bed for a couple of hours.  When I got up, I said bye to Lurline as she was leaving for work, then set about to organize my guitar music book.  It took hours - it was a mess!  I re-typed some of the songs, downloaded some new sheet music, and typed out a table of contents.  I don't have everything printed yet, but that's tomorrow's goal.
I went outside in the afternoon and helped Tristan to weed the front yard a little.  Doesn't look much better, though.
Once everybody was home, I barbecued some marinated chicken and made a hearty green salad for dinner.  Then I went for a walk to find a picture for the day.  It was a beautiful view out towards the Rockies, but the photos didn't do it justice, so I used this picture of a lush, green tree and a blue sky with a few clouds.

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Last day of Spring, and the weather was all over the place.  We had hot sun, thunder storms, rain, sun again, more thunder, then more sun yet again.  Calgary's weather has always been a little unpredictable.

I decided to take Soleil for a long walk today down to Fish Creek Park.  It was beautiful when I set out, and I was enjoying the walk so much that I maybe went a little too far.  Soleil's leg has a partially torn ligament, so she wasn't used to going for long walks.  Just as we were about to head back, a woman stopped me and said that there was a cougar in the direction we were headed so be careful.  She said she saw a deer, too, so maybe the cougar was after the deer.  Needless to say, I headed back in a different direction.  Then, the thunder and lightning started off in the distance.  Unfortunately, Soleil is terrified of thunder storms, and so she started shaking and tried to pull me all the way home.  Then, she started limping really badly from the strain.  I felt terrible that I had subjected the dog to such an ordeal.  Regardless, she seems okay, but she's not walking on the leg at all now - I'm a bad dog-sitter.  

The photo I took is from the top of a hill at Fish Creek Park - it's a panorama, so click it to see a bigger copy.  

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Got up fairly early this morning and actually saw some sunshine!  It was quite fascinating.  Then Lurline, Dave and I went to meet Jeff at Nellie's for breakfast.  We had some great conversation and some laughs, but the best part was Jeff just got a new, little puppy - it was some mix of bichon, mini poodle and something else, I think.  Honestly, it was the most adorable little thing I've seen in a long time.  It made me a little sad that I couldn't just play with it all day!  But, we had to go and drop some things at Lurline's new office, then we were off to the Farmer's Market.  I love it there!  Then, we spent the rest of the day checking out new RV trailers.  I don't know why, but I love to look through RVs, etc.... maybe because I know I'll never have one, so it's nice to dream!  When we got home, there was some thunder and lightning, and Soleil was scared and crawled under the desk to hide - she was shaking and cowering - poor thing.  Once it stopped, she seemed so relieved and happy - this is her... post-storm.