Painting of the Week

This painting is watercolor on Yupo paper. I think it needs darkening up some, but art class was busy yesterday getting back into the swing of things with my art girls. I did a similar painting while in Canada, but on regular watercolor paper. This one is a slightly different view of the other painting.

Yesterday I posted a link to Jason's blog, but I did not get the link correct, so here it is again. I also corrected the link to Iraq Partii on the post. That will learn me to post without my glasses - reading the link and then running from one computer to the other to write it out and then not checking the links. Silly me.

I Am My Mother's Daughter

Back in the day when my mother was the age that I am now and I was a teen-ager, it was quite fun to tease her about her changing eye-sight. Well, that has come around to bite me on the butt big time. As my mom began to need reading glasses to read things close up, she did not go to the eye doctor or the store, she collected other people's old reading glasses. She had my grandmother's old glasses. Friends gave her their old reading glasses. Mom had this great pair of green horned rimmed glasses that Betsy, an older hair-dresser, had given her. Betsy was amazing - still styling hair and driving an orange Charger up in to her 80's. Those old green glasses were great, but Mom tended to cut your hair a little too short when wearing them. We would tease Mom by saying, "Beware the Green Glasses!" Mom even had glasses that Uncle Gene had given her when his prescription changed - they were the big aviator type glasses. These eye-glasses were all over the house. Anywhere she might need them - by the phone, by her bed, on the table - that is where you would find glasses. And yet, they never seemed to be right where she needed them, because I remember her saying, "Have you seen my glasses" all the time. As a teen-ager, I teased her terribly mocking her while she looked for her glasses or for wearing them down on her nose or pushed up on her head. Now I have come full circle.

Although I have not "borrowed" anyone else's glasses, I buy glasses at the Dollar General or Wal-Mart and have a jillion pairs laying around the house. Yet, I cannot seem to find a pair when I need them. I wear them on my head until I break an ear piece off. Then I still keep them around, because I just cannot seem to throw them away. Technically, I can still use them, they just won't stay on my face very long, but I can grab up a pair of broken glasses long enough to read a phone number or whatever. The other night, I watched Toby grab up a pair of my reading glasses, get his new motorcycle magazine, get comfy in his recliner, and then put on my glasses to find that they were missing one lens. He was comical poking his finger through the empty space and laughing. When I heard we were going to Canada, I did not want to take my old broken glasses, so I bought a new pair at Wal-Mart. I thought they were very pretty - sort of tortoise shell color. It may have been a mistake. Take a look at the photo and see if you can tell how many times I lost them on the bed and how many times I sat on them while putting on my shoes. Now you know how they get broken.

Jesse took her first solo motorcycle ride on her new bike yesterday evening. She rode around the country roads before it got very dark. Finding time to ride has been a problem for her with work and her classes she is taking. She enjoyed her bike and asked me to take a couple of photos of her motorcycle.

We are going to Lubbock this weekend to see Toby's mom, who had knee replacement surgery while we were in Canada. Then Toby will leave next week for South Texas to join an audit team. I will not go with him, but I may join him on weekends somewhere in ST.

Toby's Canada Photos

Sometimes we actually let Toby loose with a camera. We rarely give him the digital, expensive camera (nor do we let him buy expensive sunglasses), but we do let him use the pocket canon which does take some nice shots. One of my errands yesterday was to get the film developed from the camera that Toby used. For the most part he did absolutely great - like this panorama of the mountains with Lake Minnewanka in the background. Then he took this silly shot of a chipmunk who dove out of the picture just as Toby snapped the shot (you can just see the blur going by). I was watching him take this picture. It was as if the Chipmunk posed and then hid on purpose. And yes, I laughed and gave Toby a hard time. Too bad he could not just delete it (hehe). He took a shot of me when we got to the top of Sulphur Mountain on our long hike. He caught me huffing and puffing, and that is one photo you will not get to see and one that I wish we could have viewed before we printed it. With my digital camera, I took a great one of him at the top grinning as if he had just conquered the world.


Another nice thing about his camera is that it is small and fits in his pocket. He was able to whip it out and take this photo of an old Rambler in the Kensington area of Calgary. My parents had a couple of Ramblers when I was very young, but I remember them well. Seeing this old car brought back lots of memories - like Craig and I fighting in the back seat on long trips or fighting over who would get to set in the front seat with Mom on short trips and laying the passenger seat all the way back and going back and forth from the front to the back seat (something we did with Mom, but never Dad).


Mom and Dad bought a 64' Chevy Biscayne to replace the Rambler. We drove that car until Craig was a senior in high school, and then he drove it off to college. He was still driving it years later after he graduated from college and he married Tish. The Biscayne was like family, but the Rambler was cool.

Busy Day

Taking Jesse's Scion to Lawton to have the oil changed turned into an all day affair. I left the house at 8 AM and did not return until 4 PM. The oil change went smoothly, it was all those other errands that I decided to do while in town that took so long. Such is life in the country - you have to take advantage of every trip to town.



The cold/allergy thing is much better today although my eyes still look like I've been on a three day drunk. I don't think I have ever been on a three day drunk, but my eyes are red. What is that line in Cat Ballou? I think someone says to Lee Marvin, who is an ex-gunslinger and drunk, "Your eyes look really bad!" Lee Marvin answers back, "You should see them from my side."



Good News

My cousin, Major Jim Lively of the USMC, is home from Iraq. He did a years tour with an army unit training Iraqi military. He will be residing near DC for the next year while he does some sort of Congressional stint and spends time with his lovely bride Ariel. They were married last summer just a few months before he shipped out. As some of you know, my cousin refused to blog, but he did send some mass emails during his time in Iraq. If you ever think milblogs are not appreciated, think again. I have been reading Desert Flier, who was also on his way home from the Sandbox. His trip home must have been very similar to my cousin's - in fact, they left Kuwait and arrived home on the same day. Also I read Iraq Parti,who is just arriving in Iraq, but coming in the same way that my cousin must have been leaving. My cousin mentioned getting to see the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at TQ. Iraq Parti also mentioned getting to see the DCC there - they may have been sitting together!. Iraq Parti seems to think his blog is too mundane and no one wants to read such dull stuff as life in a FOB. Boy, is he wrong. Reading about the day to day life of our military folks is what I like. It makes me feel like I know what is really going on in Iraq. I also read Jason who just got a big shipment of birthday presents while in Iraq. He was genuinely surprised and happy. Reading his blog encouraged me to continue to send packages and letters even when my soldier does not write back. All of these blogs are an encouragement to me - they show what fine young people are serving in our military.



Buck recently got a new motorcycle. Go over to his blog and take a look and give him a congratulations. Here's to Buck. (Picture of Jes in Napa Valley)

Bits and Pieces

First of all, let me say that I am blogging from Jesse's computer because mine is not letting me post. When I try to post, I get an error message. This is really frustrating for me because I would like to fix my puter by myself, but I just don't know how. If I were more of a puter geek, I would be all over this (I'd have a much more exciting blog too). Jesse and Toby could probably fix things, but after working at computers all day long, they don't really want to deal with my petty problems. Maybe I should boycott - not fix dinner or do laundry until my computer is working properly - that would go over really well.

After going to the storage unit and digging through the suitcases, I did not find my camera cord to download (or upload, which ever word fits) my photos. Then last night I found the cord in the backpack here at the house. I put the pics on my computer, but I would have to use my memory stick to move things around from one computer to the other - because my computer will not let me post (maybe if I say that a few more times...). I may be too lazy today and just post more of Jesse's vacation pics from her computer.

Upon arriving home Saturday, I started having breathing problems. My chest felt heavy. I felt like I was getting a cold, but it may be allergies. My son said I was just used to breathing thinner air - that this heavier, humid air was too much for me. Okay, I will buy that. I need to go back to the mountains. Then yesterday my allergies hit me like a mac truck causing me to sneeze continuously. My eyes are swollen and red. Jesse is having the same problems. While at Wal-Mart I tried to buy more than my share of drugs and was told I could not have that much. So, Jesse will have to buy the Sudafed since I bought the Drixoral. I am sure the police will be out to the farm to check us out soon.

I had one of those "ranch moments" yesterday afternoon that I always dread. Toby asked me to drive the truck and pull the tractor out of the barn. Although we have been married for 30 years and I can almost read his mind, these things usually do not go well. It actually turned out okay. We had to pull the tractor backwards first and then move the truck around the barn and pull the tractor forward. Then I pulled him across the pasture to the propane tank (it's a propane tractor). When we got to the tank, he asked me why I pulled him so slow. I told him next time, I would give him the ride of his life! He just says things like that to set me off, and he always does.

After the tractor incident, I went back into the house sneezing and rubbing my eyes. A few minutes later, I saw him come out of the barn with his motorcycle. I wondered how he was going to cut the grass with a motorcycle. It turns out the tractor has a leak in the fuel hose and is not going to run until it is fixed. So, Toby decided to ride his scooter instead. I waited patiently for "the call." Sure enough, he called to say he was down the road and was out of gas. Then, of course, the motorcycle would not start even after I took him a container of gasoline. A few trips back and forth to the house for tools later, he had it running. He said, "It is just like a Baggett to go from one piece of junk to another."

When Jesse came home, she was mad that her dad did not wait on her to ride motorcycles, and she laughed that he had broken down. While we were in Canada, she bought herself a little 250 Kawasaki (is that right?). This last weekend she took a motorcycle class in Lawton. It was a beginner class, but it really gave her much needed confidence on her bike. Ssshe said she also learned that it is not good to sneeze in your full face helmet. She loved the class and took pics. She is ready for some action now!

And speaking of Jes, she was interviewed and had an article written and put in the Sunday Duncan Banner as "Artist of the Month." They took a horrible photo of her and blew it up huge. Like my article last year, they wrote some pretty odd stuff and misquoted her, but still, it is fun. I wanted to give the link, but when you go to the Duncan Banner website, her article is not there. I think maybe the "Lifestyle" page runs a week late. I will try to get it posted soon - if I can. Jesse is a great artist and deserves some attention for her art.

Now for some photos...with a mountain theme.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

As you know, Jesse, Lindsay and Reagan were in CA for a week while we were in Canada. They took about five times the amount of photos that I took. So, I thought I would share some of their vacation. I can probably share their photos until Christmas and not run out. No one gets tired of pretty girls having fun.

No Place LIke Home

The trip home from Calgary was uneventful. When flying and getting through airports, "uneventful" is good. We did have a little bit of a problem in checking out of our hotel. Up until check out, the hotel staff had been very friendly and helpful. I had made friends with several of the maids and clerks. But the same hotel clerk that I had witnessed being unprofessional with other guests was again very unprofessional and upsetting. On Friday afternoon, she came to our room. She said she had been trying to call me all morning (which was an out-right lie) and according to the files, we were suppose to check out on Friday. I told her no; it was Saturday that we were checking out. She said she would take care of it. A few minutes later, she called from the desk (see the phone did work fine) with a different story saying that we were suppose to check out on Sunday in order to get the monthly rate, and if we checked out early on Saturday she was going to have to charge us the daily rate of $149.00 a day rather than the monthly rate of $99.00 a day. Now, I'm thinking, "What!? One day makes such a difference?!" But rather than argue with an idiot, I told her that none of this was my business - that since the company was paying for this, Toby would deal with it when he came home - that she could take it up with him when he came in from work." Later that afternoon, I went down to the lobby to check my email and blog, and the hotel clerk attacked me again telling me that she was going to have to re-charge us at a different rate if we checked out on Saturday. I pretty much ignored her saying again that she needed to talk to my husband. By the time Toby came in, her shift was over, and the man clerk, who was now on duty, was new and did not seem to know what to do. Toby told him that we had already paid, our credit card had already been charged, that the room was ours until Sunday, but we were leaving on Saturday, and they could do what they wanted with the room once we left. Toby is always very matter-of-fact when dealing with business stuff. The whole thing really bothered me and made me fretful, although I tried to be more like Toby. I didn't want it to ruin my last evening there. Toby took me to one our favorite watering holes and I had a Grasshopper beer. It put me in a much more relaxed mood. Then Toby took me to Joey Tomatoes for a very nice dinner. We had a great "last evening in Calgary", but I was still a little worried about the possible confrontation when we checked out on Saturday morning. But my worry was all for naught. When we got to the lobby with all our luggage at 5 AM Saturday morning, there was a different clerk there. He said he would wait until the next day to "check us out" - no problem. So why did the lady clerk have to be such a pain in the butt and ruin my good time. Winning friends and influencing people was not her strong point.

We arrived in Duncan about 4:30 PM on Saturday after flying from Calgary to Denver and Denver to OK City. We drove straight to the Grand-girls' house. GBN1 was wound up pretty tight and a little excited to see us. GBN2 was a little shy. We visited with them for a while, and then went to eat supper with Jesse. Then we went to see the play, "Oklahoma" because Sarah Ann, one of my art girls, was playing Laurie. Several of my other art girls were also in the play. Emily danced an excellent ballet in the "dream scene" and was very animated through out her scenes. Megan played Gurdy and had a great laugh. Anna was just beautiful as one of the dancers and singers. Megan and Sarah's husbands were also in the play and did an excellent job. But Sarah Ann was absolutely great as Laurie. She has a killer voice and wowed the crowed. None of the girls thought I would be home in time to see the play - so afterwards when the cast lined up to meet the crowd, they all squealed when they saw me. And I squealed when I saw them. Toby and I were worn out from our travels, but seeing that play was just very important to me, and I think it was important to the girls. They were excellent! I was so proud of them.

I have some photos, but I can't seem to locate the cord that goes from my camera to the computer. It is going to take me a few days to get my life and my home straightened out, unpacked, and cleaned up. When I find things, I will post pictures and tell more stories.

Sad News

Chuck has shared some sad news this morning. Please go to his blog and follow the links. Once again I am on the public computer and am limited to my blogging ability and time. Also, it just makes me so sad, and I don't want to cry in public.

Paintings of the Week

The chair and table painting are done on the Yupo paper. I do like the brightness and looseness of the paper. It is about a 5x7. The old house is on regular 9x12 watercolor paper. The challenge was in leaving the white because I did not bring my masking fluid. The prairie elevator is on a small postcard. I took a similar photo of another grain elevator at the Heritage Park - maybe I will do another elevator painting. I also did a larger painting of Lake Louise on Yupo paper - it is similar to the small one so I did not post it.

Blogging in Public

My routine has to been to get on the hotel computer in the morning to check my email and blog comments. Sometimes I post from the lobby -sometimes I wait until Toby gets home to use his laptop in our hotel room. The lobby computer has some odd problemas and is slow. For instance, I cannot go to Shelly's blog without locking up the computer. And it takes forever to get Buck's blog to come up. The comings and goings in the lobby are also a distraction. Sometimes you feel like people are looking over your shoulder, and sometimes I am listening in on conversations that are not my business. Yesterday, some people were trying to check in. but the hotel clerk got upset - something to do with the room still being occupied. The guest was very patient and just trying to find out what the problem was exactly. Was there someone in the room? No. Did they check out? No. So what was the problem? Who knows, but the clerk started crying and complaining about other employees - very unprofessional. Sometimes the lobby is more interesting, but sometimes I just want to get the heck out of Dodge. I'm looking forward to sitting in my robe, drinking my coffee, playing with my dogs, and blogging at my leisure. Although Toby's laptop is very nice, it will be good to have my own puter to play with as I want.

I am headed off to do some shopping and meet Toby for lunch. The temp is only suppose to bet up to 11 Celsius with possibilities of rain. Tomorrow will be a warmer day, but I will be packing and grinning.

A Cowboy's Life

Toby spent quite a bit of time on the computer last night looking for lyrics to an Ian Tyson song. We are big Ian Tyson fans and found out that he lives south of Calgary. Toby kept trying to think of the lyrics and the name of the song about moving to Alberta and clearing an acre of land. This land is just so beautiful with the mountains as the backdrop for the prairies - it all reminded Toby of the song. He did not find it on the computer, but he did find one of our favorite Ian Tyson songs, "Night Rider's Lament" - I especially like the Susy Boggess version, but then I like anything Susy sings. I can certainly see why Tyson writes such great songs about this land. The one thing that Toby wanted to do, but we did not get a chance, was to see more of the prairies/ranch land. His favorite houses at Heritage Park were the ranch houses - he said he thought they should have had more prairie houses, more farm stuff, a sawmill and a blacksmith exhibit. You can tell he is a farm boy.

Yes, it would be great to live here - right up until the big snows. This area reminds me of life in Northern NM. I love the changing seasons, the ranch land surrounded by mountains, the beauty of it all, etc. I could certainly see myself riding a horse across the land and climbing in the mountains and fishing in the rivers. I love the snow and the winter sports, but hauling feed and water to the horses during the winter was a pain in the butt. Breaking ice was no fun either. Maybe if I could just vacation in the mountains and avoid the heat of OK summers, life would be perfect. And have my Grand babies near me all the time.

Trains

Heritage Park had a great train display as well as a steam locomotive that ran around the park. Toby and I did not ride the train, but I did take a few pics of it. The first thing that we wanted to see (after we ate at the Dairy Barn) was the round house and turn table. Inside the round house there were several engines, a snow plow, and a caboose. The snow plow was huge - I guess it would have to be to break through snow along the Trans Canadian railway. Toby and I went through each engine like kids. I snapped this photo of the caboose about the time Toby stuck his head out - silly boy. The Park also had a collection of train cars from Canada. All were Victorian Era beautiful train cars. I say "Victorian Era" but actually the trains were early 20th century trains. The wood interiors were incredible. They had a summer car with wicker seats. They had a car that had been built for a special trip across Canada by English royalty and later used for other dignitaries. There was also train cars for the common folk - the seats were wooden rather than padded. Some cars had fancy sleepers with individual bathrooms - other had sleepers that folded out over the seats like the overhead compartments on today's planes, but much larger, and a bathroom at one end of the car that was much like an out-house. Toby and I went through each care in awe, read through the info and plaques and had a great time. What is it about trains that are just so fascinating.

Mass-Transit

I''m a people person. I could watch people all day long, but this weekend, I think I had more than my share of people. Saturday afternoon, we decided to take the LRT out to a shopping mall. It would be something to do, sights to see, and we needed a few things. The LRT system was having some maintenance done and the wait for the train was long. It was hot waiting in the sun for the train - sweat rolling off my face. The crowd was thick when we finally got on a train. It was warm - no air conditioning and standing room only on the LRT. Although this may make me sound snobby, I'm going to say it anyway. The passengers were not the usual downtowners. They were a lower class folk, not too pretty, not too clean, not too classy. Maybe it was the area or the mall that we were headed to. The two big department stores were Sears and Wal-Mart. Nothing wrong with those stores, but they are the cheaper dept. stores - and they were packed. Maybe it was just the heat and the constant jostling I took on the train that made me irritable. I was hit several times with backpacks and shopping bags. There were some highlights like the two older oriental ladies that Toby gave his seat to. They chattered away obviously arguing about where to get off because they went back and forth nearly bumping into each other trying to decide. I was glad to get away from the mall and the LRT. Toby and I had a disagreement about supper. We actually both wanted to go out for a beer and dinner, but he thought I was tired and wanted to go home. Why would I want to go home and cook if Iwere tired? We got it all worked out and had a very pleasant dinner, beer, and walk in the park.

Sunday we decided to take the LRT to Heritage Park - different direction from previous day. The ride out was easy with very few people. We then took a city bus to the park. It all went well. It was the ride back that was more interesting. There was the young couple with a toddler whom they let feed himself chocolate pudding. It kept us all entertained. The other interesting couple was a man and a...well, I'm not sure. It was obviously a man in drag. He was kind of pretty in an odd way - shoulder length blond hair, too much make-up, spiked high-heel boots - I was kind of jealous. It was the voice and the view from the rear that gave him/her away. They sat opposite from Toby and I. I was fascinated. I'm not sure what Toby thought, but the LRT was much more fun on Sunday than it was on Saturday.

This evening I will post more pics from Heritage Park. It was the trains that were most fascinating.

Heritage Park

Toby and I spent our Sunday at Calgary's Heritage Park which is a historical village with all sorts of interesting sites. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. The large house is the Prince home - Prince's Island is also named for him. Apparently, he was an early entrepreneur in Calgary. The paddle boat was not running today. Toby was pretty disappointed, but the scenery was wonderful with the fall folliage across the lake. I will share more photos tomorrow and tell you more about our day.

One Week to Go

I talked to both of my children this morning. Jesse was cleaning the house (you go girl!) and Bo was watching my Grand babies. GBN1 informed me that "Sophie was crying because she missed Booboo so much!" Then she put the phone near GBN2, a button got pushed, and she said, "Are you still there - Oh no, Sophie pushed a button!" Bo took the phone away from them at that point. Well I miss them too. It will be good to get home and back to the regular routine. But I am doing pretty good. With one week to go, I am still enjoying myself. This morning we found an awesome place that serves normal breakfast. It was yummy, and Toby and I were little pigs.

Several years ago when we were in Italy, I did not do so well. About three weeks into our stay, I got this overwhelming feeling of loneliness. I can't really explain it, and it is not like me to feel that way. Maybe it was because I did not have the internet to communicate with friends and loved ones. Maybe it was because my dad had been diagnosed with cancer and was at MD Anderson while I was in Italy, and I was worried about him. Maybe it was because there were very few people around me that spoke English. Normal conversation was nil. I just know that I had this feeling of deep sadness and felt like I could break down. It was not long lasting. I had Jesse and Toby and Italy to make me happy. Then Bo came over to stay the last week with us and that was a real joy.

I don't think I have ever felt that way before or since. In a way, I am glad that I experienced that deep loneliness, because it enabled me to know what other must go through when they are far from home and loved ones without an easy way to communicate with family - like our military folks. It makes me want to help - to try to bring joy and take away the sadness if I am able. I don't know that I do much, but I kow that letters and communication is good.

The workings of my mind

One of the luxuries of living in a hotel is cable TV. I have been watching lots of old movies while I paint. Some people like silence or music while they paint, but I like noise. Maybe that is why I like my art class so much. Anyway, the other day I started to watch a movie called "Because They're Young" about a high school. What caught my eye was all of the young famous actors and actresses. Then there was Dick Clark as the main character - a teacher wanting to help his students. Wow, I did not know Dick Clark was ever an actor. One of the other characters was a young handsome blond. I could not think of his name, but I knew he was famous. Later that night, Toby and I sat down to watch a war movie called "The Enemy Below" with Robert Mitchum. I was telling Toby about the movie earlier in the day with all of the young famous stars. Once again, I could not think of names. Then there on the war movie was the same young blond actor. I kept trying to tell Toby who he was - you know, he played in a western; he is famous. Toby did not have a clue, and I could not come up with his name or the name of the series he was on. Frustrating! Then after Toby left for work the next day, I was sitting there reading a book with the TV on when I suddenly said, "Doug McClure, The Virginian." Now why did my mind work like that when I least expected it?

Paintings of the Week

This is a painting of Lake Louise. The other is a painting of one of the houses in Kensington. Both are done on regular watercolor. Please excuse the odd angle of the second photo.

A funny thing happened today. I had a plan to meet Toby at 11:45 in front of his office building and have lunch with him. I looked at my watch at 11:30 and thought if I left then, I would have plenty of time to walk to his office. His building is only one block up and three blocks over. As I neared his office, I looked at my watch again and thought, "Gee, I have lots of time. I think I will turn into this boutique and look around." The boutique was not too impressive so I came out quickly thinking, "Wow, I am going to have to sit and wait since I have so much time." But as I got in front of the building, Toby was waiting on me (Toby does not wait well). His first words were, "What part of 11:45 do you not understand?" I showed him my watch which showed I had plenty of time - in fact it still said 11:30. Then he showed me his watch which said 12:00. I felt rather silly and said, "Oh, I guess my watch has quit working." Then I started laughing, which is my usual reaction. I told Toby, "You know, it did not take me any time at all to walk here!"

Effie and Jesse and Speed dating

Although we have a small kitchen in our hotel room, we eat out often. Lunch is easy - with all of these city dwellers there are lots of places to have lunch, but not so many places for supper. As I mentioned before, there are lots of bar/grill type places, lots of brewery/cafes. Many of the lunch places close before suppertime, and what is left is often "high dollar" restaurants. Toby and I have walked all over the city looking for just the right place to eat. Sometimes we eat at the mall food court, sometimes something fancy, but most of the time we eat at the bar/grill places.

Last night we found one we really like. It did not have the rowdy crowd of after work drinkers. The food was good, the sports channels were on, and we had a nice time. The funny thing was that in one part of the restaurant they had a speed dating night going on. How very interesting! I am not sure how well this works, but I guess it is a good way to meet a person who is looking for someone to date. Our waitress, who reminded me very much of my niece, Nina, thought the whole thing was pretty funny. Toby and I watched a little, but not much. We wondered what people talked about in the few minutes of their "date". What would be the question you would ask first? Toby and I play-acted as if we were speed dating. It was silly, but funny. Toby kept asking me, "So, Lou, what is your favorite thing to do?' I replied I thought that was a stupid question, try again. AS soon as I said it, I realized that was not a good answer. It would have ended the "date" pretty darn quick. Either I am not very good at speed dating, or I am very good at it.

I got an email from Jesse last night. She sent me this link and said the article reminded her of me and her together. There were several things about the article that I knew were like us, but which things did she mean? Could it have been the part where the mom decided to go on the cross-country trip with her daughter or was it the part about the robust figure. Maybe it was the part about her mom being "open-minded." Here is an expert, but read the whole article:
But Avis Hotchkiss, Effie’s open-minded mother, refused to allow her daughter to embark upon this trip alone. But, instead of forbidding her daughter to make the trip, she joined her. A sidecar to accommodate Avis’ robust figure became a necessity, and she was nestled in for the long haul.

I think Jesse was right; the article does remind me of her and me. Since I cannot see Jesse speed dating, I think you boys out there need to beware. Jesse may just have to run over some guy to find herself a husband. - like Effie did.

Stuff

According to my sitemeter, I have been getting lots of hits on my blog from Calgary. People are googling "Calgary Aphids" and coming to my blog. I feel rather bad since I wrote about bugs in my beer - certainly nothing scientific going on here. I bet people are very disappointed, but it is rather funny.

Calgary had a very beautiful day yesterday with temps around 23 Celsius. Today it is raining with a high of about 11, and a low of about -2. I am loving the weather - beats the heck out of Okie weather right now. Toby does have to walk to work, but I think he likes it too. Last night we walked through the park and then back into the downtown area to find something to eat. We ate Italian food at a bar/grill type place. Most places here in downtown Calgary seem to be bar/grills with a heavy emphasis on bar. I guess it is a city thing.

More photos

We saw this "Texas Gate" sign several times and had to take a picture.

Toby and I were hungry when we finally made it to the summit - the burgers were not particularly good at the cafe, but we wolfed them down like they were the best.

You might can see the snow in this picture of Toby on the observation deck.

Here is another pic of Lake Louise. I wanted to prove that Toby did take a few pictures with me in them. It was a rather cool morning, and I have multiple shirts and my hands drawn up in my sleeves.

At the end of Lake Louise, the trail continues - the waterfall is as far as we made it.

More Banff Weekend

I'm still pretty proud of myself for hiking the Sulphur Mt. trail. The view was amazing. We rode down on the gondola with an elderly couple from Long Island. There seem to be lots of older couples from the NY area on tour buses, and there were lots of tour buses. After the gondola ride, we headed to the Banff Springs Hotel. I had seen photos of it and wanted to see it up close and personal. It is just pretty amazing. Toby and I walked around the inside, but while we were in a bar area, some guy said he was setting up for a wedding - in other words we needed to leave. I am not sure what gave it away that we were not part of a wedding party - it could have been our sweat-shirts or maybe my tennis shoes. So we headed outside and took photos outside the hotel. We also found a little art gallery/gift shop and bought a few things. We met another older couple - this time from Buffalo, NY.

Eventually we made it to the village of Banff for more site-seeing and shopping. We sat down at a Second Cup for some coffee and a rest. We were having a great time, but our park pass had expired. We needed to leave the National Park or buy another pass or something. We found the visitors center and bought another pass so that we did not have to drive out of the park. We also found a B&B to bed down at for the night. The B&B was a huge old home supposedly built in the 40's by rich folks coming to the area to party and entertain. A young couple had recently bought the home and turned it into the B&B. It was very nice. After settling in at the B&B, we walked back into town across the Bow River Bridge (old and funky) to have dinner. We met some motorcycle riders - two young men. Toby had to talk to them because one of the young men was at least 6'8" if not taller. Toby asked him what kind of motorcycle he rode and could he really "fold himself up to ride it". I enjoyed the young men because they were handsome hunks with sincere smiles. By the time we walked back to the B&B, I was pretty tired, but a little excited by the events of the day. It took me a while to fall asleep, but I did.

After a nice breakfast of bear food - fruits and berries with a little roughage (we did have several cups of coffee), we headed off on our second day of adventure. Toby loves to just be free without any itinerary. I worry that I am going to miss something if I don't read all the brochures. I want to do it all. As we left Banff, we had intentions of going to Lake Louise, but we made a swing up the mountain to Norquay ski area. We drove into a cloud and could not see the ski area, but we did see two elk silhouetted by the morning sun in the midst of the cloud - beautiful.

We went on to Lake Louise. What amazing color! We walked to the end of the lake and on up to a small waterfall. It was probably a couple of miles, but I did not want to try to make the full 5k to the glacier. I was not sure if I could make the return trip. My legs were getting tired although it was a pleasant walk around the lake. The hotel there is also very nice, but we did not try to see the inside this time. On the far side of the lake, we stood below rock faces that went straight up. I noticed the little metal hooks for rock climbers - pretty amazing to think of climbers on such rocks.

From Lake Louise, we drove back down the Trans-Canadian Hwy to Lake Minnewanka. It did not have nearly the crowds that Lake Louise had, but it was just as beautiful. We saw scuba divers along the lake dam. Jesse would have loved it. Later we learned that when the dam was built to enlarge the lake, the lake covered a village. It is a very popular spot for scuba divers. We met a young couple with a large Great Dane and had a nice conversation. I miss my dogs. There is so much to see and do, and as we do things, we think of our family wishing they were here to enjoy this beauty with us. We think of our church family and friends missing them too. I wish we could have everyone here with us.

In this second pic, you can see the dam on the far right passed the boat dock. Cars were parked along the dam with the scuba divers and all their gear.

Banff

Toby rented a car, and we took off for Banff and beyond early Saturday morning. If there is a more beautiful part of the world, I have not seen it yet. Italy was beautiful, but I did not hike in the Alps. Maybe if I had, I would feel different, but these mountains and lakes were gorgeous. We could not have picked more perfect weather. And yep, I did some hiking.


As we started west from Calgary, Toby and I were pretty excited about the ranch land and mountains. The closer we got to the mountains, The closer we got to a large cloud looming over the edge of the mountains like giant fingers. It was just pretty cool. We drove into that cloud which stayed with us until we rose above it. Then it melted away.







We drove through Canmore which is a lovely little town. Then we got to Banff and headed straight to the gondola that goes up Sulphur Mountain. I was thinking we were going to ride the gondola, but Toby had read that the hiking trail to the top was easy and you could ride down for half price. Someone had written that "my six year old had a few problems, and I had to carry my two year old..." So Toby talked me into hiking the "2 - 5 hour hike". Now, I have been walking around Calgary for two weeks getting my legs in shape, but I still have problems with my calves cramping up. I have started to write about the problem, but who wants to hear about my leg trouble. Usually, if I just keep walking and resting, the tightness goes away after a while, and things are good. That is what happened on this hike. When my legs finally quit cramping, I did pretty good. Then the only problem was shortness of breath. I kept thinking, "What the heck was I thinking to climb a mountain like this?" It was not an "easy walk"; it was up a mountain - steep at times, but constantly up. People kept passing us walking fast using those ski poles, clicking along like it was easy. I wanted to take the poles and poke 'em. Then there was the lady with the bell on her back pack - isn't there some joke about finding little bells in bear poop? We just kept pluggin' along. We met all sorts of people - had some great conversations. One family we passed, then they passed us, then we passed them, but they beat us to the top. One guy said, "Aren't you glad you are passed half way?" I replied, "No, now I cannot go back." A thought that kept me going was, "Won't Catherine be proud of me! And Jan too!"


Well, I did it! I climbed that sucker to the top, ate a big meal, walked around the observation deck, rode down, walked all around the big hotel, walked around the town...Take that Becky Miller! Did I mention that it snowed on us at the top?


I will post pics of Lake Louise and Lake Minnewanka and tell more tales later. It was a great weekend. It was a perfect weekend.

Paintings of the Week

I am going to go ahead and post my paintings this evening rather than tomorrow. It is just easier posting from Toby's laptop (I don't have one). I Use the hotel computer during the day while Toby is at work, but I am not sure about doing photos from it. It can be kind of jickie.

All three of these paintings are more of my experiencing with the new Yupo paper. I am not sure I have the hang of it. The first painting is one of the flower baskets that hang in the park. My painting does not do them justice. They are simply gorgeous. The second painting is a small part of the Bow River that runs on one side of Prince's Island. You will notice that the sky is cloudy - that is because I either held the paper there with my greasy fingers or erased something - both are no-nos on the Yupo paper. The third painting is of the playground at the park, and the last painting is a simple flower painting. The last two were done plein aire.

Here is to bugs in your beer!

We heard from Jesse today who is in the San Francisco area. Here is what she had to say:

Hello Mudder,Hello Fadder
We also went to San Fransisco, yesterday. I really think you guys would enjoy it. It has a foreign feel to it - it reminded me a little tiny bit of Florence, but much funkier. Joe used to be a Marine, so we got to stay in the Marine Memorial Hotel which is a wonderful old building in the downtown area. We walked through China Town (I bought Lizzie a Chinese outfit), and Little Italy, Fisherman's Warf, we rode the cable car, and drove across the golden gate bridge, we walked up Lombard Street, and gawked at the wierdos (they were comparable to Taos' weirdos). The whole experience was awesome!

Today we went to Napa Valley, and did some wine tasting. It was Gloria Ferra (or something like that) and they made sparkling wine which you know I love! The rest of the trip was a little blurry... Nah, I'll show you the pictures - it was absolutely gorgeous out there! Ya'll will have to go to Napa sometime too. Mom, you could paint while Dad drank! I think we are going to have to build our hacienda hay house and plant a vineyard! After you see the pictures, you'll be inspired too.

I feel like an orphan. Lindsay and Reagan are always on the phone with friends and family, and no one calls me :( Janice insists on talking to me when she calls which makes me feel a little better. Don't pay me no never mind! I love you guys!

Poor little thing! My little orphan is having a great time, but no one calls her. I would feel rather sad, but she seems to be having a great time. Thanks, Janice, for talking to my baby. And Jes, as to the me painting and Dad drinking, well, I thought that's what we were doing. In fact, I spent the day painting in the park. Then last night we walked around the park ending up at Joey Tomatoes - Mediterranean cuisine with an outdoor patio for eating. We had probably the best meal we have had in Calgary. We had huge burgers and fries with a pitcher of wheat beer. It was a wonderful evening. Your dad has loved all of the specialty beers here in Canada. He just wishes he had Jay and Bo to share them with. Drinking and painting has been great here.

There is an aphid problem here in Calgary. Aphids are basically gnats. Due to the warm weather they are prospering. Sitting outside to eat is often difficult with them flying around your food and your face. I have inhaled a few while bike riding and talking while we walk. I may have snorted a few too or possibly I have just had a few sinus problems. I don't mind really, except when they dive into my beer which they did last night. I would really rather not drink a bug. It brought back a childhood memory of Red River.

The town of RR used to have a town picnic in the spring before the summer season kicked off. It was held at the old golf course. There was lots of food -burgers and hot dogs cooked on a bonfire. There was lots of beer. I remember a wild baseball game with players like Johnny Mutz, my dad, and others who had had too much to drink. But one thing that has always stuck in my mind was Don Carmichael drinking beer and a bug flew into it. He was so silly saying that the bug was going to drink up all his beer. Don was my friend BG's step-dad at the time. He was good looking, charming and very tipsy. I was only about 9 years old and was fascinated. Anyway, the bug in the beer brought back some special memories of that picnic in Red. They no longer have the annual picnic, but they should.

My Own Personal Busker

I met a busker today in the park. We had a nice conversation. He was lots of fun. I asked him why there were so many homeless people here in Calgary. He did not seem to think there were that many, but offered a few thoughts. He said the high cost of housing is the main reason. He said that he lives in a shelter, but did not offer his own story. No, we discussed the origin of the word busker. He thought it was an old word - Shakespeare type word. I have my doubts.

Buskers and Such

Toby and I rented bikes yesterday and rode around the Prince's Island trails. We ate ice cream and had a great time - the weather has just been beautiful. Now not only are my feet sore, my bottom is too. Twice older couples passed us, dinging their little bike bells for the passing lane. Maybe we will try the in-line skates next. Some guy wearing a tunic-like outfit and interesting colored hair came up to Toby and asked him where he got his "shades". Toby replied that he got them in Oklahoma at Harbor Freight. Under his breath Toby said they are safety glasses, $1.99. The guy remarked that he did not think he would be going to OK today, and we all smiled nicely. I thought the whole thing was a bit odd. I asked Toby if he had accidentally widened his stance or tapped his foot. Toby did not think I was funny.

While waiting in line to get into the zoo, we read a sign that said, "NO Buskers." We wondered what were buskers. Our best guess was that they were people who cut in line. Further on, we saw another sign, "Due to construction work, no buskers." Hmm, apparently we were not right. Toby asked the people in line behind us. The lady said a busker was a person who played music for money - like a guitar player who leaves his case open for people to drop money into. Isn't that interesting. I looked at Toby and said, "Your nephew is a busker!"

Later at the park, I saw a busker playing a banjo and singing - I guess that is very common. I like it. It is much better than the homeless or drunks who wait on corners or outside stores and beg for money. Calgary seems to have more than its share of those guys. Although, I don't think the crime rate is high here. The Calgary news said something about a recent murder being the 22nd of the year. Only 22 murders this year! Some cities in the US have that many in a day, well maybe I exaggerate. The news here was talking about how crime was up and they needed to clean up the "east side" which apparently is where the druggies and homeless live. I guess all cities have their problems, and beggers are a big one here. It does make me wonder what it is about Calgary that they would have a high homeless problem. I would think that with cold weather coming on, the homeless would be moving out. Do they tolerate beggers better than other cities or take care of them better? Any thoughts?

Here is an email from Jesse in CA:

Hey You guys!The weather here inTurlock is rather hot. Yesterday we drove down to Monterey area where it was around 70 degrees. We went straight to the beach which was freezing! We stayed the night there and then went to art gallerys and shops today. We just got back to the house. Lindsay's Aunt carla and Uncle Joe are extremely wonderful. They've treated us like princesses the entire time! Tomorrow we are driving to san Fransico and then thru napa Valley on the way back. I'm gonna get you some wine, Dad! I'll write more later.Love you guys!
Princess Jesse

Babes

Everyone loves babies. The Calgary Zoo had plenty of baby animals. There was a new baby elephant born just the other day, but the public was not able to see then newborn yet. I thought I would post some of my favorite babies including Jesse and Lizzie, whom I am missing.