Killer Whales

Did you see the news story tonight about the killer whale, Kasatka, at Sea World in San Diego attacking her trainer during a performance? She had the trainer by the foot and held him under water. Luckily, he kept his cool and was able to calm her enough to escape with the assistance of the other trainers. This story reminded me of my close encounters with these majestic mammals.

In 1968 two local Pender Harbour gillnetters netted a pod of killer whales and penned them up in Garden Bay. Killer whales were abundant in local waters in those years and were easy to corral. The information of their capture was put out to the media and the Vancouver Aquarium sent staff and their trainers to observe and train the whales. I believe they bought the whales from the gillnetters, but don't know the details.

My family lived in Egmont and killer whales, or blackfish, as we called them, came past our house regularly. Probably more often than we knew, but we'd hear them blowing the air out their blow holes, breaching, flapping their pecs and tail slapping as they swam and ate huge quantities of salmon and herring. We knew not to bother going fishing for a few days after the whales had been in, they scattered and scared the salmon for miles.

My Mom took me and my cousins to Garden Bay to see the whales. They were penned inside a double net and were being studied and monitored. Pop says he remembers the whales "spy-hopping". They put their head and upper body right out of the water and watch what was going on around them. "Skana" was transferred to the Vancouver Aquarium and trained. She was a trememdous tourist attraction for many years. I saw her and her various trainers perform a number of times - and I even got to have a very close look at this beautiful creature and touch her when I went to the aquarium with a friend. My friend told the trainers we were from the area the whales were captured and they welcomed us to the pool area after the show. I remember the trainer feeding Shamu fresh herring - phew...what a stink - but the whale couldn't get enough! She came right to the side of the pool, put her nose up in the air and opened her mouth - gaaackkkkk, whale breath is rank, but oh, her rubbery, blubbery skin felt so smooth against my hand. It is one of those moments etched in my mind forever.

There was a huge controversy over keeping these beautiful creatures in captivity and there was a lot of pressure on the Aquarium to turn her loose, back to her native waters. I believe she either died in captivity, or perhaps was shipped to San Diego after a killer whale in Victoria attacked it's trainer, causing even more controversy.

Kent, Sean and I saw "Shamu" perform at Sea World in San Diego. He was another of the BC whales. Sea World has had a number of "Shamu's" over the years. They are a huge attraction and perform the most amazing feats - jumping completely out of the water, playing games and interacting with the trainers.

It's a shame when one attacks a trainer...but these are wild animals and their actions can't always be predicted. The trainers know that, yet they love the animals and spend their lives getting to know them.

Kent and I boat the British Columbia waters extensively and often see pods of killer whales. It's a Federal offence to disturb the whales, so if we appear to be on their route, Kent shuts the engines down and we just sit, with cameras in hand, awaiting their arrival. They are usually curious and may pass within 20 feet of the boat, cavorting it seems, just for the camera. We are always in awe of the whales, they are so majestic and beautiful in the wild. I took this photo in 2002 near Nanaimo.

I'm very glad the whales are protected now, but I must say I enjoyed the oportunity to see them while they were in captivity and it is a great learning experience to watch them perfom amazing feats. The killer whales don't seem to be as abundant now with fewer salmon in our area for them to feed on, so seeing them in their own environment now is the ultimate thrill for me. Check out this site on Robson Bight for more information.

I'm SPEECHLESS!

OH ME, OH MY!!!!

I can't believe it.... Skittles I LOVE you - you nominated me - AND they chose me!!!

Thursday, November 30, 2006
Weblog Awards - Beautiful British Columbia

Blog of the Day Awards for Thursday November 30, 2006

A Blog of the Day Award goes to Beautiful British Columbia

Travel, traditions, crafts and more. Lots of activities from the frozen North are available on this Blog that says: "When it's not boating season in British Columbia, what do we DO?"

Christmas Gift Idea - Make a Black Velveteen Apron with Rhinestone Trim

Don't you love receiving or giving a hand made gift at Christmas?

This is a very simple project if you have a sewing machine and can sew a straight line. (A serger gives a professional finished look but edges can be zigzagged or turned under).

I've made black velvet aprons with rhinestone trim for the past 4 years and give them as hostess gifts, gifts to friends, or just to indulge myself. I love mine especially because I have black "bling, bling" flip flops

to wear with it this year. Hmmmm.... I'll bet my husband would like it a lot if that was all I were to wear while cooking the turkey!

If you'd like to tackle this project here is a supply list:

1 yard (36 inches) black velveteen (or any other color or fabric you like)

2 1/6 yards (78 inches) 1 inch wide black satin or grossgrain ribbon

1/4 yard (9 inches) rhinestone trim (you will find some to be very expensive but there are lots of trims that are reasonable as well - depends on how glam you want your apron)

Black thread

Pattern - buy a simple pattern, find an apron in your closet to cut a pattern from - or just wing it from my approximate measurements ***

Method:

Cut out apron - I've allowed 1/4 inch turn under for side hems and 1 inch hems top and bottom.

Serge or zigzag all the edges.

Turn under underarm edges 1/4 inch, easing around the curves, pinning in place. Top Stitch.

Turn under side edges 1/4 inch. Pin in place. Top stitch.

Turn under top edge 1 inch. Pin in place. Top stitch 3/4 inch from top edge.

Turn under bottom edge 1 inch. Pin in place. Top stitch 3/4 inch from bottom edge.

Cut 2 pieces ribbon 29 inches long and 1 piece 20 inches long.

Turn under one end of a 29 inch ribbon 3/8 inch. Pin and stitch carefully to under arm opening with wrong sides of fabric and ribbon together. Do the same on the other side (as per photo).

Turn under tail of ribbon 1/8 inch then 1/4 inch so it will not fray. Pin and stitch carefully.

Turn under 1/4 inch of neck ribbon (20 inch piece) on each end. Pin to hold.

Place wrong side of ribbon against wrong side of apron fabric. Pin and stitch carefully at each end (as per photo) to create a neck loop.

Cut rhinestone trim to fit (I usually leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch at edges (as per photo below).

Use Alene's craft glue to attach the trim (then let it dry overnight) or hand sew it. I've tried using my hot glue gun, but it's messy and doesn't hold very well. A large zigzag stitch on my sewing machine worked in a pinch to attach small trim, but I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you have lots of practice and know your machine well.

I make this type of apron throughout the year - as gifts for men as well as women. Denim works great and you can add a large pocket - across the front or one on each side - even one cut off the butt of an old pair of jeans. The apron is fun to embellish - you can buy any different appliques or be inventive and draw your own idea then embroider it - by machine or hand.

Be ready for the ooohs and aaaahhhs when you give this beautiful gift of creativity! And send me a photo :)

*** Here are the approximate measurements I use - and it's easy to make the apron longer or bigger around:

Cut fabric into an oblong, 28 1/2 inches wide by 35 inches long.

Fold fabric in half lengthwise.

At top, measure 4 3/4 inches from fold and mark with a pin in each layer (this ends up being a 9 1/2 inch (9 inches finished) top edge).

Measure the side from the bottom up - 24 3/4 inches and mark with a pin in each layer.

Mark a nicely arced underarm from pin to pin (see the photo of my apron above) Be sure both sides are the same.

Lay fabric out flat and cut the arcs for the underarm - from pin to pin.

If you find my directions a bit vague for the cutting without a pattern, let me know and I'll draw and email you a diagram.

Follow the directions above to finish your apron, then go meet your husband at the door wearing nothing but your apron and your bling flip flops or high heels! I'll bet he thinks you are the most talented woman in the world :)

Helen's Blog

Please, please visit Helen's Blog today if you get a chance. She's a brilliant young writer and holds my attention - right to the end of her posts. I think that's saying a LOT for someone who is 14 years old!

If you click on www.Flickr.com (above the photo gallery) on the sidebar of her blog, you will find her photo album.

Helen photographed the remains of an Auschwitz concentration camp and they are photos I never expected or wanted to see - but they are riveting, they're cold, they're hurtful, they make me want to cry.

I hate that a 14 year old girl saw those atrocities but on the other hand I feel everyone should have to see them - even if only through these photos.

See her October archives for more on her trip.

Let me know what you think....and let Helen know too.

6 Weird Things about ME????

I was tagged by Maggie to do this meme...now why would she think I have anything weird to say about myself? I am not weird - so I asked my daughter - uh, oh....

She didn't have any trouble coming up with the first one - I blow my nose so loudly I scare everyone - especially Hugo.

The second one has to be I find body fluids disgusting - I don't want to talk about it either.

Third - Everything makes my hands feel dirty - I wash dozens of times a day - even after picking up Hugo's little poops with a paper towel or a bag - even if it doesn't come anywhere near my hands - eeeeeeuuuuwwwwwww!


I peel my mushrooms - ya, I know, that's kind of anal.

I pay attention to detail - if you make a spelling error, I'll find it and wonder why you didn't proof read.

Me, the dog disliker ever since I was bitten by a German Shepherd, just fell in love with a little poopy dog named Hugo.

Well, this wasn't as difficult as it appeared so I am tagging A Thousand Wordsworth, Crunchy Carpets, Helen's Blog, Instant Gratification, Pear Tree Cottage and The Boomer Chronicles.

Here are the rules. I did not write them, I only copied and pasted - so if they don't make total sense to you (as they didn't to me), it's not my FAULT! Please copy and paste them into your blog:

The Rules:

Each player of this game starts
with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

One of my traditions!

It still looks like this outside

so I decided to stop grouching and make lemonade out of the bowl of lemons winter served.

I developed a few (quite a few) Christmas traditions over the years and I'd like to
share this one with you.

Since a friend taught me in 1981 I've been making Christmas Crackers every single year. You're lucky, I don't have photos of them all.....

Here's how I go about this lovely little tradition:

Gather together the follow supplies - one for each guest at your Christmas dinner table:

Toilet paper rolls - start saving them early if you need lots
Colored crepe paper or gift wrap foil - to match your decor or traditional red/green - sometimes I use a double layer of red and green together.
Snappers - buy at a craft store
Lottery scratch tickets
Party hat - buy at craft store
Chocolates - I always use Ferrer Rocher but liquer filled ones for adults are fun
Chinese cookie fortunes - you can make up your own - personalized or general good luck
Tape (I use masking tape or invisible cello)
Curly ribbon
Small gift item for inside cracker(optional*)
Gift tag if you are putting special gifts inside so you know which one goes at which place setting
Small decorative item for outside cracker (optional)

* Some of the gift ideas I've used over the years are: sample's of perfume and cologne, shock pens (heeeheeeheee), key chains, lip gloss, ornaments, anything small enough to fit - I used to spend hours combing the stores looking for suitable items - and this year - NOT a single gift item - too many times they've been left lying on the table - forgotten by the guests - so - a scratch ticket and a chocolate are wonderful treasures to find inside the cracker.

Directions

Cut foil about 10 inches wide by 14 inches long
Cut two lengths, or more if you wish, of curly ribbon 14 inches long, for each cracker

Place scratch ticket, hat, chocolate, fortune, snapper and gift in each toilet paper roll. I lay everything out in piles for each cracker ahead of time, otherwise I tend to forget if each cracker has everything inside

Place a roll at one end of the foil, centering it horizontally with equal lengths of foil on each end

Roll the toilet paper roll in foil

Tape securely and invisibly if possible

This part is easier if you have someone helping to hold it all together. Scrunch one end of foil near the end of the roll and tie with curly ribbon - I always use a butchers knot (go around twice instead of just once), pull the ribbon tight without ripping the foil

Tie the other end

Use dull scissors to curl the ends of the ribbon

Fluff out the foil so it's neat and tidy and fairly even

Cut the ends of the foil to look like a grass skirt - being careful not to cut the snapper

Place seam side down and decorate top of cracker with anything you choose - as simple as nothing (let the foil speak for itself) or as special as a tiny shiny reindeer, a plastic poinsettia flower, a sprig of plastic greenery or as opulent as a lapel brooch

Attach a name tag if desired (the crackers do double duty as place cards)

Make your crackers early in December and place on a tray to display on your dining table as a centerpiece

I place one at each place setting on your table - on the plate, beside the cutlery or near the top of the plate.

Before passing the food, I ask each guest to hold his/her cracker by the snapper end in their left hand and hold it out toward the guest on his/her right, crossing their right arm under their left and holding the snapper of the other persons cracker.

This makes for a lot of laughter, discussion and prompting, so it's a real ice breaker - but who needs an ice breaker at Christmas dinner? I've been doing this for over 25 years and still my family seems to need direction every year!

Count out loud to three and everyone pulls on the snappers - not hard enough to yank it out of the other persons hand, but hard enough to make the snapper "SNAP" - it's like a "cap gun" if you remember how those worked.

I ask each guest to wear the tissue paper hat - at least for the photo, then I don't care, but usually everyone keeps it on during dinner and sometimes all evening. It's very festive.

As we start passing the food, each guest reads their fortune out loud, scratches their ticket and perhaps even eats the chocolate. I ask everyone to just drop the bits of paper and ribbon - and toilet paper rolls under the table - or in a bag if I've remembered.

You can go thru the bag later and rescue the important stuff if you want - I save the decorations if they aren't damaged and use them again 10 years later :)

Tada...here's the finished cracker. It's a very special treat for very special guests! Kids absolutely love them for birthday parties and you can match them to any theme. I made pink and white crepe paper crackers for my daughters 12th birthday party - she helped me - the table looked so pretty and the girls loved them.



Pop helped me today to make the crackers by holding the foil for me to cut and watching carefully so I put everything in. We talked about the lottery tickets and that one of them might be a $5,000.00 or $10,000.00 winner - woohoooooo - and he said he'd share with me if he won!

AND in our household, there's a huge possibility with scratch tickets - I WON $10,000.00 in 1986 and I bought a ticket for son Sean's Christnmas stocking in 1990 - and he WON $5,000.00. Everyone remembers those times - and always hopes for the big one!

This is my planned place setting this year! Your invitation is in the mail.

I'm ready for a new game....

Okay, enough snow and freezing here in BC.

This morning when I needed another carton of Soy Milk from the fridge in the garage, I could NOT get it. The door was frozen shut!

I pulled and yanked at the handle. I kicked at the door, I screamed at the door in my frustration, I screamed at my husband. I was nearly panicking - I love my soy milk on cereal.

But then the reality of the situation hit me. What if I'd had a hair appointment this morning - I couldn't get to my car, never mind my fridge.....

Now that would be a major disaster.

I'm tired of playing this game - let's go to Hawaii.

I can live by this one!

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.

It's already tomorrow in Australia." (Charles Schultz)

Trooper Concert

The Semiahmoo Peninsula Marine Rescue Society (SPMRS) which is the fundraising body for our local volunteer coast guard hosted their annual Trooper concert in White Rock last night. Kent bought tickets and we invited Jim and Crystal and Trevor and Morgan to join us. The evening began at 8 with a DJ and we were half an hour late arriving so barely managed to get 6 seats at a table as there were so many people already there - and they kept coming all evening. I was told there were 300 people - but it must have been a lot more at one point.

Here are photos of just a few volunteers - there were many more.



The staff of Hampton's Pub sell 80% of the tickets and they volunteer their time, manning the kitchen and bar. The SPMRS members volunteer as well, selling tickets, manning the door, acting as security and just generally being helpful - like finding us 6 chairs to go with the table!


Every age group was represented and we all were there for the same reason - to help raise money for our local Volunteer Coast Guard Auxilliary unit - and of course to rock with our favorite 70's band - Trooper!

They came on stage about 10 pm and rocked the Star of the Sea Hall for an hour and a half. I squeezed to the front,

through the dancers to take as many photos as possible. The band was great and the crowd was hilarious.

I think the majority of people were in my age group, but there were a lot of 20 somethings as well and they just cracked me up - rocking with the oldies though some were not even born when "We're here for a good time, not a long time" was released! Have a look at Troopers web site and notice Rick Mercer called "Raise a Little Hell" the number one Canadian Rock song of all time.

I told some of these complete strangers I photographed they'd be on my blog today - some thought it was great and wanted to pose - with the band, or just wanted to groove in front of the camera.



Unfortunately, I can't name them all but I know this guy behind Crystal and Morgan is Jeff. You can see by their expressions what they thought of him. I thought he was pretty cute - he was having a great time just dancing by himself and flirting with all the girls (yes, even with Mom), but as my daughter said, "Mom you have tee shirts older than him!"

As I'm sure you are all aware, "Eh" is quite a famous saying here in Canada - a huge number of Canadians, especially prairie people end their sentences with, eh - like, "I was talking to my Mom, eh, and she said, like how's your day going, eh?" So, where was I going....oh yeah, so Ra McGuire of Trooper had a Tee shirt on that I thought was SOOOOOOO Canadian - I want one!
Ra is the orginal singer/songwriter/band member. His favourite quote is, "Experience is what you get when you get what you don't want". His son, Connor did a solo and was fabulous. He's doing his own shows now and is very successful.

The keyboard player,
Gogo, in the red satin jacket has, um, a jacket fetish perhaps. I believe he changed 5 times, he had this fabulous red satin jacket, a purple satin one,

a green, a yellow and a blue one with white stars
(dontcha love his skull and crossbones shirt - I almost bought socks like that Friday)
and he had more makeup on than I did. His lipstick certainly matched the red jacket.

Scott Brown, the bass guitar player, was, oh, so cute

- just the sort of hot guy you want to notice you in high school.....hmmmmm....I can still remember! The other guitarist, Brian Smith is an original band member and songwriter and a real rocker.

The drummer, Clayton Hill who's only been with the band since September was fabulous - his solo was amazing and he put everything into it - making it obvious he enjoyed his job and certainly is a huge asset to Trooper. Darn, I didn't get a photo of him and this web site link photo is much like a police mug shot...

This young man in the white shirt is Dylan. He was a guest performer and went to school with Crystal. Dylan do you have a website - and a last name??? I'd like to add both here if you let me know :)




The Rolling Stones were in concert in Vancouver last night. I'm sure they drew a huge crowd and rocked GM place. If I ever get to see them in concert my life will be complete, but meantime I had a blast last night!

Looks like Jim the Face had a blast too - notice his eyes in EVERY shot - and the look on his face - what a ham!










Here are more photos of us all, just having fun!








We left the hall about 1 and stopped by the Ocean Beach Hotel. It's the local hotspot - especially for the Washington State 19 year olds. Our drinking age is 19 so they all come across the border to party. The OB, as it's known has changed hands many times over the years, but is always a favorite and Trevor

really wanted us to go with them, to have a shot or two.

Kent


was the DD and always takes his responsibility seriously, so we were in safe hands. The snow was just starting to stick to the roads and they were a little slippery but there was very little traffic around.

After half an hour at the OB we were all ready to leave, but were HUNGRY, so we stopped by Boston Pizza. We found a table in the back, were served water, ordered 2 large pizzas and a couple of drinks. I went in the bathroom and it was so disgustingly filthy I asked to speak to the manager. I'd had a few drinks during the evening and might have been a little tipsy, but not incoherent or falling down drunk. I insisted he come in the ladies to see how bad it was, he agreed yes, it needed cleaning up. He called a young lady in to work on it.

I went back to the table and the manager came by so I asked to order a beer. He said, "No, you can't". "What? What do you mean I can't. You won't serve me?" I asked. He replied, "I have the right to not serve anyone who appears to be intoxicated". Who me??? Well, fine then, I was not staying there, besides the state of the bathrooms usually indicates the state of the kitchen. I know that....so I'm not eating their pizza either - especially without beer.

But, but, but.....what about the pizza they were cooking for us....we all just got up and left. I don't think the management was very pleased and someone was running after us, supposedly getting our licence plate number. We laughed all the way to Trevor's house but once he realized he didn't have a key, only a garage door opener, and the electricity was out, we had to get more serious and have a snowball fight. Ouch, he packs a hard ball - but I got him back really good when we got home to our place with one right down the back of the neck - heeheeheee.... They all came in for grilled cheese sandwiches. I sat up with Trevor and Morgan until about 3 am when his brother stopped by with the good news of a key to the house.

I decided not to answer the doorbell this morning as I was sure the cops would show up and we'd have to try to justify our hasty departure from Boston Pizza, leaving them with 2 pizza's in the oven. Luckily for me, there was 6 inches of white stuff on the roads and the cops had more important jobs to do than look for us renegades.

Weather Alert, Weather Alert, Weather Alert! Extreme Conditions in Beautiful British Columbia!

The Alaskan Low met the Pineapple Express and VOILA – here we have beautiful, beautiful snowy British Columbia!

I awoke this morning to the most spectacular sight - six inches of snow. We do not get a huge amount of snow here on the West (Wet) Coast - it usually falls in liquid form, not fat white flakes - so this is a very special treat. AND, the best part of all - it's not stopping, hurray. I want to go play!

Here are a few photos from our doorways at 9 am.



Crystal and I went out at 2pm to play in the backyard. It is steeply sloped so we flew down on our “slippery slide” carpets and made a nice track as we knew Sean and Kaia would be coming over later. We were soaked in no time as neither of us had really good snow clothing, but it didn't matter – we came in when we were cold and snuggled up in my big bed with Hugo and napped the afternoon away.

When Sean and Kaia arrived we all went out to play, dressed more appropriately. There was a FOOT of snow by then and it was dark out with absolutely no traffic around, not even the neighbours, so we used the slides to ride the road. We found we could go a LONG way down the road but not really fast as it's only a gentle slope. It was a good area to get Kaia used to it.

We went out back then and slid down the steep slope – Sean loved it of course. After a few slides our track was slick and fast with an abrupt stop when we came to the unpacked snow. We had so many laughs. Sean is heavier than Crystal and I so he went the fastest and farthest, making the track longer every turn. Kaia only went once and decided she'd rather watch from the bottom. It was hard work walking back up the hill – especially for Grandma, so Kaia and I started to build a snowman. Crystal and Sean came to help finish him. He has eyes of lava rock, a carrot nose and fir branches for arms, feet and hair. I put ears on him for some strange reason – he just seemed to need them to keep his hair in place – perhaps I was thinking of Hugo snuggled up to Grandpa, napping with the TV watching them and Great Grandpa.


We played for an hour or so, until our gloves were soaked and we were chilled and needed hot chocolate with marshmallows to warm us. It was a good day – the kind of memory making day I love.

At 7 pm, after 24 hours of non-stop snow falling I measured 12 1/2 inches! Of course it had been compacting itself during the day, so I know the amount was actually higher. It's still snowing and I think there will be more, from the sketchy weather details I've heard. Our electricity was off for about 6 hours, it has flickered dozens of times today and the cable (internet) was out... I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms as I couldn't play Word Racer, Literati, Cubis or even surf your blogs. All is good with my world now the cable is back!

Meet Kaia's Uncle Mike

Hey, if you have time, please visit Kaia's Uncle Mike. Mike works as a photographer aboard the Coral Princess and is sailing the 7 Seas (how many have you sailed Mike?). This young man has listed some of the amazing things he's seen and done in the past 11 months while traveling the world - working a dream job. Be sure to tell him Kaia's Grandma Heather sent you on a cruise.

Happy Birthday Kaia

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Dear Kaia
Happy Birthday to You

My Granddaughter Kaia is 4 today.
This is Kaia's Mommy and Daddy and the big grin shows how much Kaia enjoyed her ice skating lesson today!

Sean phoned to say they were taking Kaia to her lesson and Great Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie Crystal were all invited to join them at the rink to watch. Lucky Grandma - I got to help with the activities!



After seeing the Incredibles on Ice Kaia has it all figured out. She knows how to keep her balance, move her feet, kneel down, bend down and get herself up onto her feet - that's a huge accomplishment for only 2 lessons!
This is Auntie Tystal (Crystal) and Daddy - and who else but - HUGO.

Grandpa and I bought Kaia a "dress up treasure chest" as part of her birthday present. She actually picked it out at Costco and asked if she could have it for her "Happy Birthday" - could the Grandma who loves glitz, glamour and dressing up say no - NO, of course not! It's a cute box with beautiful dress up clothes, shoes, wands and hair thingys.

My life would be complete if only I knew how to add the Happy Birthday song right here! Can anyone tell me how?

I put a bid on EBAY this morning.

Bobby Griffin at The Bestest Blog of All Time is so smart!!! You know he's gotta be good if I compare him to Hugo.... He offers a chance to be "Bestest Blog of the Month" on EBAY and sells the spot to the highest bidder. Now that's thinking! He convinced me to try it. Why don't you? He has a Google Page Rank of 5 and approximately 2000 hits a day - and that means you have the possibility of riding on his coat tails to increase your traffic. I like it! Check out the auction.

Hugo the Explorer

Hugo the Explorer is learning about life very quickly. He knows to go to the door and when I open it, he runs to the little step Grandpa put up for him and he goes right down it to the gravel in the courtyard and squats. I think he knows all he has to do is squat and look like he's doing his business then run back inside, sit on the mat, look cute and he'll get a treat. He's had a few little accidents but sure tries to please us. He's such a SMART poopy dog!

P.S. Hugo, please forgive me for dropping you out of your blanket last night and for letting you play so hard you fell off the bed. Bad Grandma.

Three Things Tag!

Crunchy Carpets tagged me today - and this is my FIRST ever tag. I guess this means I'm getting around a bit, learning the ropes and the best part of all - making new friends in the blogging world!

Three Things Tag

1. 3 Things that scare me: spiders, tailgaters, snakes
2. 3 People who make me laugh: Jim Carey, Jim Hollingsworth, Paulette Guerrier
3. 3 Things I love: chocolate, chocolate covered cherries, Texas
4. 3 Things I hate: impressions of my teeth, hangovers, mammograms
5. 3 Things I don’t understand: Latin, what you will learn from this, what I will learn from this
6. 3 Things on my desk: camera, corona, chatelaine
7. 3 Things I’m doing right now: drinking corona, talking to my husband, Hugo sitting
8. 3 Things I want to do before I die: nothing - I'm happy with my life, where I've been, and all things I've seen. If I die tomorrow, you can shed a few tears and remember me, but don't grieve
9. 3 Things I can do: quilt, sew, fish
10. 3 Things I can’t do: paint, draw, be original
11. 3 Things I think you should listen to: my advice, your heart, your Mom
12. 3 Things you should never listen to: "you can't", my advice, John Denver (my husband says, "don't speak poorly of the dead - but I always said this when he was alive as well".
13. 3 Things I’d like to learn: to use my camera, cell phone and computer more knowledgeably
14. 3 Favorite foods: bread, chocolate, dessert
15. 3 Beverages I drink regularly: Corona, coffee, water - in that order
16. 3 Shows I watched as a kid: Bonanza, Sonny & Cher, I Love Jeannie
17. 3 People I’m tagging (because they intrigue me): Iowa Guy's Blog, Theory of Thought, Mike's Place

The Incredibles on Ice

While you were all eating your turkey dinners this afternoon, my daughter Crystal, my friend Gay, my granddaughter Kaia, Hugo, and I drove to Granville Island in Vancouver.

Crystal dropped Hugo off to be with his daddy at work as he's too little to stay home alone and it was too cold to leave him in the car. Apparently he was a very good boy all evening (I don't know how much work the guys actually did cause Hugo is just too cute for words).

We walked through the Granville Island market and looked at all the beautiful displays of fruit, vegetables, flowers (ooooh, have you seen the new poinsettias that have small, tight, double or triple flowers, instead of the larger traditional ones?). I've never seen them before and didn't think to take photos - duh, Heather...but they are on my "must have" list for the Christmas season.

We admired the trinkets and hand crafted articles and Kaia chose round chocolate brownies with marshmallows, icing and walnuts on top from one of the bakeries as her "Happy Birthday" treat. Gay bought two loaves of bread (which she forgot in the backseat of the car, hee hee hee - I'm gonna enjoy one of them and Crystal the other!!!) then we had a quick dinner of chinese and greek food in the Blue Parrott lounge. The lounge is on the second floor, above a food court and we were the only people eating there. It has a few tables and chairs, is very basic but has the most fabulous view of False Creek harbour. The tide was high and all the lights of the city surrounding the small harbour glistened on the water. The little harbour passenger ferry was running back and forth and we watched a tug boat pull into the dock right next to the market.

We rushed off right after dinner to drop off a brownie to Jim and his co-worker then headed to the Pacific Coliseum for "The Incredibles on Ice" a Disney show - well, I guess really it was a Disneyland commercial that we paid to attend!!! We loved it though, the skating was fabulous as were the costumes, light show and props. Minnie & Mickey hosted the show and were kidnapped by the bad guy whose name was weird and I can't remember. The family of superheroes, "The Incredibles" who were visiting Disneyland saved the day and saved Minnie & Mickey. The show incorporated many of the Disneyland rides and attractions which brought back great memories for Crystal and I, and Kaia I hope, of our holiday at Disneyland last March.

Kaia was afraid a few times, of the ghosts, the eerie lights, the strange sounds and kept covering her ears and her eyes at the start. Once she was used to the whole showy, loud atmosphere she was fine and clapped along with the music and turned on her wrist bracelet to help the Incredibles rescue M&M. We ate a few handfuls of the huge bag of popcorn which came with the "bad guy" mask.

Gay bought Kaia the "Omnidroid" (a grey octopus sort of thing with suction cups on the legs so it will attach to a window, a mirrow and even my head - it was then a brain sucker starving to death) and Crystal bought Kaia a princess wand with twirling lights on top.

The show lasted about an hour and a half with a short intermission. It was a really good "happy birthday" treat for Kaia and we all enjoyed it enough to plan to attend again next year.

Hope you enjoyed your turkeys - darn I don't have any leftovers.

Bling Bling Bling!

My new flip flops just arrived.

Bling, bling, bling - I love bling!!!

Kent found someone to talk to again!

Oh, darn - the print is SO small you'll have to get out your reading glasses - but it WILL be worth it!

Hahahahaha.....I'm always saying Kent finds people he knows everywhere we go - even to MY elementary school re-union - and I wait and wait and wait while he chitchats....

Well, isn't this good news?

My blog value more than doubled - again!

My blog is worth $5,080.86.
How much is your blog worth?

This is exciting - even if it doesn't actually mean anything!

Try yours :)and let me know the results.

Happy Thanksgiving to our American Friends from the Canadians!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A little house with three bedrooms and one car on the street,
A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat.

In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone,
And no need for recording things, someone was always home.
-
We only had a living room where we would congregate,
Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate.
-
We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine,
When meeting as a family just one room would work out fine.
-
We might have had one TV set, and channels, maybe two,
But always there was one of them with something worth the view.
-
For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip,
And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip.
-
Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother liked to cook,
And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book.
-
Weekends were for family trips or! stayin g home to play,
We all did things together -- even went to church to pray.
-
Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own,
But we knew where the others were, without our own cell phone.
-
Double-feature movies with your favorite movie star,
And nothing could compare to watching movies from your car.
-
Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season,
Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.
-
Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know,
Have real action playing ball -- and no game video.
-
Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend,
And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend?
The way that he took care of you or what he had to do,
Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you.
-
Remember going to the store when the sky's were oh so sunny,
And when you paid for what you got, you used your very own money?
Nothing you! had to swipe or punch, or put in some amount,
And you had a friendly cashier who actually could count?
-
The milkman went from door to door,
For just a few cents more than a trip to the store.
-
The mail was delivered right to your door,
Without the junk mail that we all deplore.
-
There was a time when just one glance was all that it would take,
And you would know the kind of car, the model and the make.
They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile,
Streamlined with white walls and fins,
They really had some style.
-
One time the music that you played whenever you would jive,
Was from a vinyl, big-holed disc they called a forty-five.
The record player had a post to keep them all in line,
And then the records would drop down and play one at a time.
-
Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today,
As always we were striving, to find a better way.
-
But how the si! mple li ves we led, still seem like so much fun,
When the way to explain a game was just kick the can and run.
-
And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle spokes,
And for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes?
-
This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways,
I love the new technology, but miss those good ol' days.
-
So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same,
But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory lane.

Asara, I know you were in my kitchen...

The dragoness is trying to ruin my life, marriage and what little sanity is left upstairs.

Last night I spent 5 1/2 hours on a site Asara posted about, weffriddles, nearly tearing my hair out trying to solve a dumb riddle (it was only dumb because I didn't understand it for 4 1/2 hours) then she had the audacity to come into MY KITCHEN. I know it was her... I dissed her on my blog for making me so anal I had to sit up til 2 am figuring out answers to riddles, so I'm sure she was just trying to get back at me.

I was sitting in the TV room, just minding my own business, playing with weffjebster and SHE, the dragoness, meandered into my kitchen and turned on my coffee grinder.

Honest..... at 2 am, my coffee grinder ground the coffee. It woke up my 93 year old "Pop" as well as my husband, and neither of them had kind words for me. I tried to explain it wasn't me, but at 2 am, they did not want to listen to my wild stories.

Asara, I know you were here - don't deny you were trying to mess with me....

Weffriddles

Asara posted about a brain teaser called weffriddles and I stayed up into the early morning hours trying to figure out how to get past level one. Once I did that, I just had to keep going but now I'm stuck on level 5.

Obviously I need sleep - this is crazy - but so mind-bending it's hard to stop once you are on a roll.

Give it a try - and then blame it all on Asara.

It seems like yesterday.

My daughter, Crystal is a Care Aide and was just hired by Peace Arch Hospital. This is my daughter we're talking here - who'd a thunk it?

Since she was a very young girl, she had such empathy for younger children, old people and people with disabilities. I'm glad she feels so strongly about helping people, but I just don't know where it came from! Certainly not my family - or her Dads!

6 of my family members were joining a tour of the Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada. Crystal was about 15. The parents of 3 children were having a difficult time keeping the kids in line and quiet while we waited and waited for our tour to start. The youngest child started screaming and having a tantrum. We all rolled our eyes, feeling sorry for the parents and secretly wishing the child would shut up.

Except Crystal, she turned to me and said, "Ohhhhhh, the poor little girl, listen to her, she's so upset." At the time I thought, "WHAT? What about her parents? What about us having to listen to the brat?", but the only thing Crystal heard was the distress in the child's voice.

That was a turning point in my life I quite often look back to. My daughter changed MY outlook - it was just one of those moments I'll never forget.

Crystal started looking after a quadriplegic when she was 20. I was shocked to say the least - how could my little girl bathe an older man, change his catheter and dress him? I asked her very specific questions about what she actually had to do...and she was very matter of fact about it all...it just wasn't a big deal to her - it was necessary to help this man. She played computer games with him, drove him to appointments and kept him company - that I could understand.

She's looked after a number of other quads since then and learned a tremendous amount. She realised she needed more information and a certificate so enrolled in a Resident Care Attendant Course. I was pleased she had an interest in learning more but didn't really think she would even bother to complete the course, never mind making this her life's work.

Crystal is starting in the Finlay Pavillion, she's done 2 days of orientation and will work with a "buddy" for a couple of days. Then she'll have a number of "residents" to look after - most suffering with demential and alzheimer's.

I am very, very proud of my daughter! Crystal's 25th birthday is in 15 days and 23 hours! It seems like only yesterday I was in the Peace Arch Hospital where she was born.

Sunday Snoozing

Our granddaughter, Kaia, will be 4 very soon! She and her Daddy were here for dinner tonight after the Grey Cup Football Game.

Great Grandma Smith, Great Grandpa West, Grandma (me), Grandpa, Auntie Tystal, Jimmy,

and 2 friends were here as well. We had a fabulous rib roast, yorkshire pudding, gravy, baked small new potatoes with onions and garlic, carrots and salad. I've been a little lax lately in the dinner department, so I think I sort of made a few points tonight!

I put a candle on Kaia's dessert and 9 of us sang Happy Birthday. She was bashful but enjoyed the attention - we are pretty boisterous - and she enjoyed the chocolate cake! Most of our family seem to celebrate for at least 3 days before and 3 days after birthdays - and any excuse is a good excuse to celebrate when you are nearly 4.

The adults were a little boring by the end of the evening so she flaked out in Grandma's chair. She can have my chair any time!

I seldom see her sleeping and this is the second time THIS week. Here's a photo from a few days ago. Her skin was flushed and translucent - she has her Mom's porcelain and her Dad's rosiness - they made a beauty!

Saturday Reading Club

If you scuba dive, enjoy history, boating, treasure hunting or intriguing mysteries, this book is a must read. I was breathless with excitement many times while hanging right there, on the anchor line, decompressing with Chatterton.


Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

For nearly an hour, both Chatterton and Kohler ascended and decompressed, each unaware that the other was nearby. At 30 feet, Chatterton caught up to Kohler and settled just below him. Kohler angled his head sideways to steal a glimpse at Chatterton's bag. Kohler could not contain himself - he lived for artifacts and was powerless at the sight of a bulging goody bag. He released the anchor line and drifted down to Chatterton. The divers were now eye to eye. The unmistakable bone white of china seemed to light the ocean around Chatterton. Kohler's face flushed and his heart pounded. There was history in Chatterton's bag; he could smell it. He reached for the bag...

Hugo the adorable!

Poopy-dogs rule the world.....well, at least Hugo rules my world right now - he is sleeping on my lap and oh, so adorable!

When he's awake, he runs marathons around the house, pees where he shouldn't and tries to chew everything - fingers included. AND those little poopy-dog teeth are SHARP.

He is sure bright though - he knows if he goes outside, squats on the grass and pees (or pretends to pee), he gets a treat. He knows he gets another treat for coming right back in the door. He chases and fetches, he eats like a, well a growing dog. He's feeling very "at home" in his new home.

Crystal and Jim have a cat "tunnel" for him. It's very light weight and has 2 holes on one side. Hugo tries to carry his pet dinosaur into the tunnel through a hole, but the dinosaur is bigger than he is and bigger than the hole, so has to go through sideways. He has trouble getting it in but keeps trying until he and the dinosaur are in this safe little dark haven, then he chews and chews.

I could watch him for hours!

John McCain's Pledge of Allegiance

"The Pledge of Allegiance" - by Senator John McCain

"As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner
of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our
imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or
three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions
of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a
room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a
direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf
of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named
Mike Christian.

Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't
wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he
enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going
to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight
Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and
deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military
provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed
some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these
packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of
clothing.

Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of
months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of
his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang
Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of
Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most
important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark
cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did
periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn
inside, and removed it.

That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and
for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for
the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the
cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle
on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of
the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could.
After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room,
and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of
red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend,
Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut
from the beating he had received, making another American flag.
He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel
better. He was making that flag because he knew how important
it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and
country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must
never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of
Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom
around the world.

You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country."

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Your truck is stuck where?

This would be a difficult one to explain to your boss...

My daughters boyfriend, Jim, is a house painter and works for a fairly large company in Vancouver. He has a brand new Ford F-150

- a real black beauty with 4 doors, leather upholstery - all the stuff guys absolutely love. And he takes very good care of it - I think it ranks right up there in his top 3 list.

The tonneau cover latch stuck closed and Jim could not get it open - so that was bad news for work - he couldn't get to his tools. He took it to the Ford dealer and asked them to repair it and since he was there, asked for an oil change and tire rotation at the same time. It was a good plan to have it all done at once so he wouldn't have to miss time at work.

He watched as the hoist lifted the truck 10 feet in the air - it's pretty awesome to see a vehicle that large being lifted. He was admiring it, chatting to the guys and the power went out....ooops, his truck was stuck.

The lift was electric - one of only 2 at the dealership - the others ALL can be moved up and down hydraulically. What luck, huh? After an hour or so of discussion and phone calls to the hydro company, the dealer gave him a courtesy vehicle, but he still didn't have his tools, the tonneau cover was still stuck and the truck was really stuck.

I'm sure it was not easy to explain that one to the boss!

The storm struck yesterday afternoon and electricity was out throughout the lower mainland, phones were down, cable was out, the rain was pouring down and the wind was gusting so hard vehicles pulled over to the side of the freeway to wait it out - the cars were being buffeted by the wind so viciously the drivers couldn't keep them on the road, and of course the flooding started soon after.

Hydro estimated the power would be restored Friday or by Monday at the latest!

It could have been worse if his truck was parked in it's usual spot - in front of our garage - right where the tree top landed.

28 hours later the dealership phoned - electricity was restored, his truck was repaired and all 4 wheels on the ground.

Back to work, with a great storm story to tell...

How much is your blog worth?

I need help!

Last week when Barb at Skittles Place posted the "How much is your blog worth?" site on her post, I just had to try it. What a let-down, my blog was only worth 564.00. WTF, why was hers worth nearly $118,000.00 and mine was nearly worthless? I know it doesn't really matter, but I wanted to know why, what made the huge difference.

I still don't know exactly, but I think I'm figuring it out, slowly.

I've had 3 people ask to exchange links since then, and I've asked for a couple of exchanges. I added a lot more ads, a few interactive thingys, and tried to post more often. I'm getting more hits every day. Something is making a difference - now my blog shows it's worth at $2200.00. That's exciting - it quadrupled in value. Imagine if I could do that every week :) Not that it makes much difference overall, but it makes me feel good.

So, what I'm really leading up to here is:

I want to add the "What's your blog worth?" button on my sidebar, but it just won't work for me.

I entered my blogspot address then copied the html and pasted it into "Add a page element" under "html/Java Script". It doesn't copy correctly - part of it shows up, but not the value and not the option for others to check their blogs worth.

Am I doing something wrong?

My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?

See, it works perfectly here - try it - then look at my sidebar - only part of it shows up - gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

If anyone can make a suggestion, I'd sure appreciate it!

Any other suggestions for increasing blog values?

What do YOU do to increase the value of your blog?

That storm blew down trees that never blew down before....

Yesterday the wind was howling, with gusts up to 140 km. Our electricity flickered a number of times, the internet was down, darn it, and the phone didn't work (which was just fine with me!).

We have 60 - 65 foot tall, old Western Red Cedars which are very controversial throughout the neighbourhood. Two local arborists say the trees are distressed, lacking water, brittle and potentially dangerous. The majority of residents oppose removal of trees, so it's an ongoing, difficult problem to deal with.

Pop was sitting in the family room, watching TV, listening to the wind whistling through the trees. He could see through the skylight in the ceiling the tree tops whipping back and forth.

He heard a cracking sound and a big bang, felt the house shudder and knew instantly a tree had blown down.

Our son, Sean was just leaving and came back in to say there was a tree through our garage door!

The top 20 feet of a cedar was lying on our driveway and the road and one end (about 8 inches in diameter) had torpedoed right through the garage door, missing my car by 4 inches and Pop's scooter by 2 inches.



The top of another tree came down with it and was lying on the garage roof with part of it broken off and at the side of the garage. These 2 trees are about 45 feet from garage.


Kent's truck has a dinted front fender (from one of the branches), the metal flashing on the roof is damaged in a few places, the security light is broken and the garage door has a 3 foot gash and is irreparable. Luckily for us, we don't have to deal with the insurance company. Everything on the outside of our townhouse is owned by the Strata, so it'll be their insurance claim. Of course, we, the owners, are the Strata, but the office will take care of the details. I guess that means we'll be getting a new insulated garage door!



There's always a silver lining somewhere in the clouds.

BTW, In the 1920's there was a huge windstorm in the Egmont area. Pop remembers his "Pappy" telling a couple of visitors about it and he said, "That storm blew down trees down never blew down before!". The visiting couple laughed and laughed and when Pappy looked puzzled, they said, "Don't you realize what you just said?". When he figured it out, he slapped his knee with his hand and laughed with them. Pop says he still remembers Pappy laughing and slapping his knee as clear as if it was yesterday!

Hugo the Pill

Little Hugo has a prescription of worm pills now that he's 8 weeks old. Apparently all dogs are born with worms - or they get them - or some such thing....I am not a dog person, so I really don't know a lot about them.....BUT, I've had cats and I've had children. It's always a fight to get a pill down the throat of human or animal babies, but with perseverance and knowing it's the right thing to do to make them better, you just do it. Right?

I went to the vet yesterday with Crystal and Hugo and watched how to make the puppy swallow the pill. Just have someone hold him, facing the correct way, use your right hand to open his mouth, put your index finger and thumb head between his teeth to hold the mouth open and drop the pill into the back of his throat. Close his mouth, holding his chin up, blow gently at his nose and he swallows that big old nasty pill. Give him a treat and do the next one. Piece of cake.

No problem - I did it right there in the vets office and I knew I could do it at home. For some reason, Crystal just can't do it. I think she's just being the over-protective Mommy, not wanting her poopy-dog to suffer or cry, so I offered. It's a nuisance driving to the vet every day and the staff there will soon get tired of being the good samaritans.

The first pill went down his throat with no problem. The second one almost went but his little tongue pushed it aside as Crystal was pushing my hand aside, saying not to hurt him, so he spat it out, whimpering for his Mommy. Again, and again. Crystal was almost in tears, I was frustrated and, sure enough, the dog beat us both. Finally, I let the two of them win.

No pills for Hugo. Hugo the nearly 8 week old Boston Terrier is stronger willed and more determined than I..... darn he's cute - wormy, but cute.

Operation Christmas Child

I delivered the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes to Safeway today.

The customer service rep thanked me and said 300 boxes were delivered by ONE school!!!

That is fantastic.....she also said the boxes were being loaded onto pallets in the shipping area to be trucked east - and there are a LOT of pallets (and that's just one collection area of 50 plus in our locale). I was very happy to hear that.

If you start multiplying the average number of boxes by the number of drop locations by the number of cities in the USA and Canada............ummmmmmm......well, that's mind-boggling.

It's heartwarming to think so many "have not" children of the world will receive a Christmas gift.

Havaianas Swarovski Crystal Flip Flops

UH, OH!!!!

I like these "bling" flip flops A LOT.....and they are black. What more could a woman ask for? Oh, maybe a flat pair, maybe a pair with a 1 1/2 inch sole, maybe a 2 1/2 inch sole.....how will I decide. Guess I better hurry so I have them in time to host my December party!

Operation Christmas Child Canadian Site

Well, I just learned something new!!! Canada Safeway (2 of them within 5 km of my home) accepts Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Who knew? Not me.

I lived 3 blocks from the Ocean Park Safeway for 21 years and never knew anything about the Shoe Boxes. I knew my life was busy with a family of 5, but really??? I guess I just won't bother driving ALL the way to Bellingham to the drop off center - I can drive 3km instead, park undercover (it's going to rain all week) do my grocery shopping and be back to blogging in no time.

I already have 6 boxes to deliver, with a 7th promised. I'm just so pleased to have done this small project and am looking forward to next year already. I plan to pick up little items all year long, whenever I see them - what fun!

Here are the 6 boxes, all ready to go.

I hope the children who receive these shoe boxes filled with gifts and much love have a very Merry Christmas!

Hugo

This is my Granddog, Hugo. He's an 8 week old Boston Terrier.

Crystal's boyfriend, Jim, bought him for Crystal for her 25th birthday (a little early). They have been waiting for Hugo to grow up enough to come home, and today was the big day.

For 2 weeks now, Crystal and Jim have both been anticipating this day with great joy. They called each other numerous times a day to say, "We're getting a dog!", or, "Only 5 days to go!", or, "We're getting our dog tomorrow!" They were pretty cute about the whole thing - both of them were so excited.

They were up early and drove to Winlock Washington to pick up their little Hugo from Darlene at Bossy Bully. He slept all the way home (4 hours), only waking up for 2 pee breaks and not even whimpering for his Mommy.

He is adorable, as you can see!

John Ward West

The Fishermen's Navy

John Ward West didn't serve in the Armed Forces during WWII but he served his country.

Four young men from the Egmont area enlisted in the services when war broke out, including Stan Silvey, Ben Griffith, Ben Vaughan and Pop's younger brother, Robin West. Pop was a commercial fisherman, so was exempt from serving. He was a very important part of the "food chain" and chose to carry on supplying the country with salmon. He was able to request a deferrment and his brother and brother-in-law both discouraged him from enlisting by saying, "You stay to look after your family. We are single and will go fight for you as well as ourselves and our country". Fortunately they all came home.

The Federal Government did not own enough ships to patrol the West Coast and required all fishermen (especially those fishing the West Coast of Vancouver Island) to keep their eyes and ears open at all times. Pop had to swear an oath of secrecy in the Customs Office. He had to paint a 4 or 5 digit registration number on the roof of his boat to be visible by airplanes. He and other fishermen weren't to discuss amongst themselves or others, anything they heard on their radiophones or saw on the ocean, but they were required to report any unusual activity to the Navy. The Navy conscripted many local commercial fishing boats and they were unofficially called the "Fishermen's Navy".

The fishermen were also required to report to a Navy ship stationed outside Vancouver Harbour when they were heading in to sell their catch to the fish buyers in Coal Harbour. This Navy Ship was a conscripted commercial seine boat, registered and painted grey. The boat was stationed near Point Atkinson. It was not achored, just adrift and sometimes had to hail or chase down boats that didn't comply. Pop knew the regulation, but some fishermen were not aware or ignored the law. He knew one captain who neglected to check in and the Navy ship fired a shot across the bow of his boat! He never made that mistake again.

I asked Pop if he ever saw anything unusual while fishing the West Coast. Not a thing, he said, but he did hear Estevan Point light house was shelled by the Japanese. His brother-in-law, Ernie Seaton was in the Navy, stationed in Esquimalt, working on a "conscripted" seine boat. He was on the ship that went to Estevan to check the damage. He said when they went ashore they found where the shells hit the ground, totally missing the Light House and did no damage. There was no evidence to directly link the shelling to the Japanese. The rumour mill suggested perhaps it wasn't the enemy who fired on Estevan Point light house on the West Coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino, but was perhaps "friendly fire" Read the Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
account of this and other incidents. Apparently there was much suppressing of information in order to avoid mass hysteria. This attack, or incident, certainly made everyone more aware of the potential threat to North America by the enemy.

Pop remembers huddling round the radio in the evenings hoping to hear the war news - even week old news was of great interest. He is amazed by the speed of internet, by the information we all have access to, by the fact I can take his photo with my digital camera then post it online in minutes, by the fact the world of internet users can communicate so quickly and easily (he's 93 years, 5 months and 2 days young).

Let us all remember the Western world still has enemies and we do need to be on guard. We may feel safe and secure in our small world of affluence and freedom, but there are those that hate us and our way of life and wish to eradicate us.

"Lest We Forget"

Remembrance Day

Lest We Forget

My family did not lose any loved ones in WWI; Grandfather Griffith came home to his family. He suffered though - during his time in Europe and certainly afterward, as did his family, not knowing if they would see him again, not hearing from him for weeks, even months at a time, not knowing if he was still alive.

He was buried alive in a trench, was mustard gassed and hit by shrapnel. Imagine him going off to war to protect his family and the families of his relatives and friends, his descendants - like me and my children. I seldom give it a thought - but today is the day we honor all those who served our great country of Canada and I started thinking of his service and sacrifice.

My Grandfather suffered much for his country, as did my Grandmother as he went off to war, leaving her to care for their 5 children (the oldest was 7). He discussed the situation with my Grandmother before enlisting, and she supported him. I'm sure she was afraid for him and for their family, not only because of the world enemy, but the enemy of most poor families - poverty.

I can only imagine my Grandmother's thoughts of trying to support her family if her husband did not come home. He knew she would receive his military wages on a regular basis and have enough to feed their children while he was gone. He knew she would receive a pension if he didn't come back. All round, it was a good decision as jobs were scarce and his number one priority was supporting his family. He knew he had to go to war. He was 32.

Private William John Griffith enlisted May 5 1916 in New Westminster with the 131st Battalian and was transferred to the 47th Battalian to serve in the "Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force". He served in France, at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, with the 131st Battalion for 15 1/2 months before being shipped home and discharged as "medically unfit".

Grandfather Griffith died a year before I was born.

I will not forget.

Warning

ATTENTION BLOGGERS



Aliens are coming to abduct all the good looking and sexy people.


You will be safe - I'm just posting this to say goodbye!

Do you travel?

If you travel throughout the year and stay in hotels, you know there are soaps, sewing kits, pens, writing pads (and sometimes other lovely little items) in the rooms.

Will you collect them up each time you travel and send them to me?

They can be included in the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for needy children.

This is such a simple way of helping - and it can make a tremendous difference in a child's life.

Thank you for caring enough to help me help those less fortunate.

Operation Christmas Child

Mary Anne from Qualicum RN put together a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. How kind is that - she works full time and still makes time to help others!

Mgal who's blog is titled "trying to find my way" said she'd try to get one together too. I really appreciate her kindness.

My Aunt and Uncle, who are in their 80's, went shopping to fill a shoebox - then she gift wrapped the box - with the lid wrapped separately. A very lucky little girl will receive this treasure box - and enjoy cuddling the doll, playing with the ball, coloring, skipping and using the sweet barrettes in her hair. Of course there is the required toothpaste, toothbrush, pencil, sharpener and activity book in the box, as well as the cutest little pink socks with Curious George on the toe. My Aunt and Uncle are the best - they are always first to respond whenever someone has a project. Thanks Auntie Marj and Uncle Dave!

If anyone else would like to help with the project - please see my posts below for all the information. I'm collecting the boxes and will deliver them to a depot by the November 20 deadline.

I couldn't resist!

I just have to post this joke. My husband sent it to me this morning!

A man and his wife are dining at a table in a plush restaurant.

The husband keeps staring at a woman who is extremely drunk sitting at the bar all alone.

She repeatedly asks for refills of her glass of gin.

His wife notices that he keeps staring at the woman and asks, "Do you know her?"
"Yes," sighs the husband, "She's my ex-wife."

"She started drinking right after we divorced seven years ago and I hear she hasn't been sober since."

"My God!" says the wife,
"Who would think a person could go on celebrating for that long?"

Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box 

Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box 

Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child

My daughter, Crystal, and I filled our shoe boxes today for Operation Christmas Child.

We did some serious bonding while combing the dollar store shelves for items we both felt were suitable. The age group we chose to buy for is 10 - 14 and we bought enough items to fill 2 boxes for boys and 2 boxes for girls. Crystal kept vetoing my ideas as too young or too "not fun enough - would you like to get that for Christmas, Mom?" Well, ya - that's why I picked it - duh.... I wanted to put a doll in for each girl - nope we bought Peace Prayer angels instead. Well, I must admit they are cute, appropriate for Christmas and all, but doesn't every girl want a doll for Christmas? Doesn't every boy want a Matchbox car? I might sneak one in each box when she's not looking :)

Crystal really liked my idea of a hammer, pliers, crescent wrench and tape measure for the boys, and she added nails and screws. Perhaps we'll encourage a young mechanic to fix his bike or build something. Unfortunately we couldn't find a screwdriver set. I also found a keyed lock which I thought would be great for a bike. Of course we bought the basics of toothbrush, toothpaste, bandaids, comb, soap, pens, pencils, notebook, pencil crayons and candies.

After putting away our groceries, we piled all the stuff on the island in the kitchen. We had a mountain of goodies and only 4 little boxes to pack it into. We had to remove some of the packaging - from the flashlights, the tools, the pens, etc., and we filled the boxes to the brim and had to re-arrange a couple of times to get everything in (with the lid on), but we managed.

We had such a good time putting the boxes together I think it will become a tradition and perhaps when Crystal has children she will carry it on. We discussed the items and how the children would use them and other items we thought they should have. We talked about condoms and tampons but decided perhaps they would be supplied elsewhere. We talked about girls using pads and tampons versus cotton cloths or leaves - even crouching over a hole in the ground...... hmmmmmm.....we are rather fortunate here in the West. We talked about the double standard of putting gum and candies in the box as well as a toothbrush. This is such a perfect opportunity to bond with your children - even when they are grown up! Crystal is 25 by the way.

It's definately a "feel good project" and seems like a worthy cause to try to help children in difficult circumstances.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is organized by Samaritan's Purse to make sure children in impoverished countries receive a Christmas gift.

A simple shoe box and a few items such as toys, toiletries and school supplies and a $7.00 donation to cover the shipping costs are all that are required.

Will you help me help the children?

Taking part in a worthwhile cause at Christmas time is a joy to me and this seems like a project which may reap very large rewards for a needy child. All I ask of you is to mail a shoe box size box (it can even be rubbermaid) with some of the "new only" supplies needed in one of the following age categories:

Boy - 2 to 4 years
Girl - 2 to 4 years
Boy - 4 to 9 years
Girl - 4 to 9 years
Boy - 10 to 14 years
Girl - 10 to 14 years

Gift guideline ideas include:

small cars
balls
dolls
stuffed animals
musical instruments
yo-yo's
skipping ropes
slinkies
pens
pencils
erasers
pencil sharpeners
writing pads
solar calculators
crayons
toothbrush
toothbrush cover
toothpaste
soap
soap container
comb
washcloth
T-shirt
socks
ball cap
sunglasses
hair clips
toy jewelry
watch
wrapped hard candy

Please do NOT include:

used items
chewy candy
gum
shampoo
conditioner
food items
or anything that will freeze, leak, melt, scare or harm a child

Please include a $7.00 donation which will cover the cost of shipping and handling to the various countries which this year include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatamela, Nicaragua and Bolivia. If you include a self addressed envelope you may even receive a letter or thank you note from the child you help.

You may send the boxes directly to a collection area (see the Samaritan Purse website) - or mail them to me at:

Heather Smith
PO Box 2556
Blaine Washington
98231

(Email me at heathermarysmith@hotmail.com for my Canadian address)

Please be sure to mail your shoebox gift before November 8 as the collection week is November 13 to 20, then email me at

heathermarysmith@hotmail.com

to let me know to watch my mail box. I will post updates as I receive the boxes and link to your blog or website, then after I deliver ALL the boxes on November 20 to the Bellingham Washington office I will post the grand tally - and a huge thank you!

My personal goal is to collect 10 boxes from my friends and relatives, but by using the power of the internet, email and our blogs I think this goal can be increased exponentially.

Please forward this message to as many people as possible and encourage them to be involved in this simple but perhaps life-altering gift.

I believe we all should try to make a difference in the lives of a few children not as fortunate as our own.

Let's keep "Christ" in Christmas!

Terrorism in my own neighbourhood

We live in a townhome in a very nice area, but as with all areas these days, you just can't get away from crime and drugs.

Our vehicle locks have been broken a number of times by vandals, our cars rifled, a bicycle stolen and two stolen cars were left right outside our door. Other problems have been reported by neighbors - break-ins, thefts and such - but these days that's pretty common. It seems to be something we just have to live with and hope our security is good enough to keep the bad guys out of our house when we're not home.

Our strata council came up with a great two-part plan for security which included gating the complex. Yes - I love living in a gated community - it makes me feel more secure and adds a small deterrent to drive-in thieves. The residents voted it down - some said they didn't want to feel imprisoned - others didn't want the nuisance but most just didn't want the added fees to their monthly dues. That was last week.

There is a "suspected" drug dealer renting in our complex. There are suspicious looking people coming and going from his house constantly. There are no women around, they drive very expensive cars, they are not neighbourly - I know this doesn't make them drug dealers - but they are suspected and the strata coucil has been trying to get them evicted. It's not easy to get a renter evicted in BC - they have more rights than the owner of the home. Oh, and the owner lives out of country and the rental of the home is managed by a local property manager.

A neighbor found a loop hole in the strata by-laws that would allow eviction of a tenant for "nuisance". This sounded logical so a number of us signed the request he wanted to submit to the strata office, hoping they could deal with it.

Ooops, big mistake.

We believe the renter learned of this (probably through the property manager who was requested by the strata office to evict the tenant).

The neighbour who lives directly across the street from us has been very ill, has a feeding tube, etc, etc, but he is cheerful, walks his dog every single day, gets out and about, picks up our newspapers when we're away and is a pleasure to have as a neighbour.

Wednesday about noon, he answered his doorbell to find a man standing there. When he opened the screen door the man pushed him to the floor and said, "Don't fuck with Peter, little man, or you're dead." He walked away and got into a vehicle and drove away. The neighbor called the police, filed a report, and of course there's nothing the police can do. No one's dead. Oh, and Peter is the name of the renter of the suspected drug house....hmmm, such a co-incidence is it not?

The neighbor is traumatised, terrorised and surely will not leave his home now, never mind answering the doorbell ever again. His style of life in our lovely area that has been his home for 20 years is completely changed.

Many of us are traumatised and terrorised. My daughter is talking of carrying bear spray in her hand at all times when she leaves the house. We're talking of keeping a gun at hand. We're talking vigilante style retribution. But it is all just talk - there's very little we can actually do except hope the police will protect us.

And that's a laugh - they have "serious" crime to work on, they are not interested in the drug retailers - they want the dealers, the importers - those are the big coups - they make the news, they clean up the streets. The little guys are just nuisances.

So, how do we fight terrorism on our own street?

I keep watching the gate and the street - I'm expecting a knock on the door - after all our names are on that petition as well.

The last hour ....

Do you provide care for an elderly family member? I'd love to hear how you adjusted, what you struggled with and how you coped.

My Dad "Pop" lived with us last winter and he's here to stay again this year. It's a huge adjustment to our lifestyle but I wouldn't trade a minute. I've gotten to know him as a person, not just a father, in the last few years. Since my Mom died in 1999 Pop has relied on me. If someone asks him to go somewhere or to do something, he always asks, "Is Heather going to .....?" then before the other person can answer, his answer is, "If Heather is, then I will...." He likes to eat much the same as I do - he compares our plates of food, he watches me and moves around the house as I do, he agrees to nap in the afternoon if he thinks I am. He wants to sit in the kitchen when I'm working there. I know it sounds really cute - and he is..... but sometimes I just want to lock myself away for an hour with no interuptions and no responsibilities.

I used to have a life!

My children went off to school for the day. My husband went off to work.... then I'd have 6 hours to get my housework and errands done. If I really planned my time carefully, I could make time to quilt, sew, do crafts, go shopping, go out for lunch - or read a book. Boy, did I ever have it good, now that I think back....

Now, my husband is retired and my children are grown - you'd think my life would be one fun event after the other. Right? That's how it's supposed to be isn't it? No one to pick up after, no lunches to pack, lots of time to run the errands....

Uh, uh - life just doesn't work that way. What goes around comes around.

My parents looked after me when I was young and dependent. Now it's my turn to look after my Pop. It's just really hard to remember that sometimes.

Luckily, I have some wonderful role models. My Aunt and Uncle provided a home for and looked after her Mother (my Grandmother) when she was not able to be alone in her home. Three of my cousins have looked after their aged parents, enabling them to stay "at home" rather than "in a home". They are great inspiration to me when I'm feeling down, tied down or hard done by.

Even more important, I have a very supportive husband. Kent is always there for me and for Pop. He does everything we ask of him - and more. He shares our life and our interests and our friends with Pop. That's a lot to ask of a spouse - but I never even have to ask. I can depend on him.

Pop is a pleasure to have around most of the time - and is easy to get along with - I just nod and agree with everything he says and we're both happy! If he says black is grey that's good enough for me - at 93 years of age, black can be any color he wants it.

I've found Pop likes to reminisce about his life, his work, his family - and likes it even more when I ask questions - and even more when I write his stories on my blog. He's quite proud of his memory. Kent asked him what my Uncle Ken (his brother-in-law) named the boat he built (in the early 1960's) and Pop said, "Give me a few hours - I'll think about it and maybe by the morning I'll be able to tell you". Sure enough - an hour later - out it came, "Kestrel". He still has all his marbles.

Pop seems to appreciates his family and all the little things we do for him, more now than ever. He thanks us for helping him - with big jobs and small. He still doesn't like to ask for help but he realizes sometimes he must. He makes phone calls to keep in touch. He's a realist - he knows he won't live forever, but he's doing everything he is able to stay healthy and is going to keep on keeping on as long as possible.

Meanwhile, I've enjoyed this last very quiet hour of the day - thanks for listening friends.