Another "Different" Christmas

So, Christmas is over for another year - more or less.

Christmas Day was just Graham and I - quiet and peaceful and a chance to get ready for the "crowd" that we were expecting for Boxing Day.

Jamie & Scott arrived as planned around 7:00 on Christmas evening and Krista arrived about an hour and a half later - just Ryan, Deb and the kids to arrive on Sunday morning.............NOT!!!

The entire household - Ryan, Deb, Austin & Alex were sick for Christmas this year (Merry Christmas) and were barely able to budge from their beds never mind drive to London. So, it was just the 5 of us for turkey dinner last night and then Jamie and Scott were gone. This morning Krista heads back to Brockville and I'm off to work!! (Two days of double-time will help pay for a good chunk of our cruise).

Still have to find time in Ryan & Deb's and our lives to celebrate Christmas together - soon, I hope - my dining room table is still covered in gifts and that is where I usually take my pictures of my jewelry.

I think that we all had a great Christmas - I know that I did. I got an iPad for Christmas and I've been having fun setting it up and getting it synced. Graham has been having fun with his new Wii Tiger Woods game and Krista received her coveted Cricut machine and has been producing amazing cutouts.

Happy New Year to one and all!!

Finally - Another Cruise

After 2 1/2 years, we are finally going on another cruise. We have missed it terribly.

On Monday, March 28, 2011 a t5:00 PM we will sail from Ft. Lauderdale aboard the  Grand Princess. We will be making stops in Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Santo Domingo and Princess Cays. Fourteen days on a cruise ship - can't wait!!!!

Despite our frequent cruises to the Caribbean, we will actually be visiting 4 ports that we have never been to before - Curacao, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and santo Domingo.

Based on our weather so far this month (we have had more than 125 cm of snow in the past 10 days) we will be more than ready for some sun and fun by the end of March.

My First Craft Show

This past Sunday (December 5) was my first foray into the world of craft shows. This was a small, intimate, by invitation only show at a very exclusive restaurant here in town. My table was in one of the small dining rooms with 2 other wonderful ladies. We all had a marvelous opportunity to get to know each other and to pick each other's brains. Actually, since I was the newbie on the block, I did most of the "picking".

The first 2 hours were slow, but pretty steady - some of my work mates and friends were able to make it in. Starting at about 12:00, it started to snow - not just pretty white, drifting snowflakes .... no.... driving, you could barely see the buildings on the other side of the street snow. The customers dried up and most of us were out of there by 2:30. In the space of 2 1/2 hours, about 6 - 8 inches of snow had fallen and getting back home on the icy, snow-covered streets was a nightmare. This, however, was only the beginning of the nightmare. It is now Tuesday morning and the City of London has received approximately 80 cm (that is almost 3 feet) of snow and it is still coming down - up to 20 - 30 more cm of snow by Wednesday evening. The city is pretty much closed!!!

As for the craft show - I recouped the cost of my table and made a modest profit.

My First Craft Show

                                                                                                     

For those who aren't aware, Sunday will be my first foray into the world of craft shows. I am excited and nervous all at once. This is a show that I was invited to  participate in and for those who do not live in London, Auberge du Petit Prince is a small, intimate, very high end restaurant here in town. 

I have no idea who else is participating, however, I do know that there will be only one vendor for each business - ie. I will be the ONLY beaded jewelry person there.

Look for a post after the sale on Sunday. 

Babysitting

On Thanksgiving weekend, I foolishly opened my mouth and told Ryan & Deb that I really wanted to babysit the kids. I was hoping for a day, an evening. Was I offered a day or an evening - noooooo, I was offered a whole weekend. I was so very excited - here is my opportunity to bond with my grandchildren!!!

I have learned a lot over the course of this weekend - first and foremost...... I am so very glad that I am Nana and not Mommy - I can't keep up anymore.

We have discovered that somewhere along the way, Austin has picked up a New Jersey accent???? Somebody please explain.

Despite his accent, he is a vital translator because Alex is very difficult to understand a great deal of the time - Austin however, seems to understand her perfectly. The 2 things that I have no difficulty understanding are:  1. I'm hungry! This statement is said constantly throughout the day starting about 5 minutes after a meal is finished and ending when you finally get her to bed at night.
2. I miss Mommy & Daddy. This too is said frequently - most especially when she's tired and when she doesn't like what Nana, Gramps, Auntie Jamie or Scott has said to her.


The 2 children were watching the Tigger Movie after dinner last night. About half way through the movie, Alex informed me that she wanted to feed the ducks - not in the morning when the sun was awake, but right that minute. Of course, when I told her that it was dark outside and we couldn't do that right then, she burst into tears and informed me - I miss my Mommy and Daddy - as if they let her do whatever she wants. I think not!


This morning she got up with a smile on her face and informed me that - Daddy is going to pick me up, after lunch!


On the other hand, Austin did not appear to mind being with Nana & Gramps, however, he is a bit of a terrorist - poor Emma and Abby spent most of the weekend hiding wherever they could where Austin wouldn't find them!


I was up at 7:00 yesterday and at 6:15 this morning, however, I absolutely loved having them both. Alex's smile would melt the heart of the Sphinx while Austin's serious, gangster accent is an absolute delight. I also don't mind sloppy kisses and squeezy hugs.


If I hear the word "Mousekatoodles" one more time in the next 6 months, though, I just might scream!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

For me, Thanksgiving is over for another year. Jamis and Scott, Ryan, Deb, Austin and Alex were all here. Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to Springbank Park to feed the ducks and geese. The kids (I use this term very loosely) had a wonderful time and the geese were well-behaved for geese - they only nipped at each other, never at the children.


The fall colours in the park were spectacular.


Jamie managed to put the climax on the day. She and Scott chose to go to the barn after dinner (instead of staying home and watching a movie and digesting their dinner like the rest of us). The next thing I know, I'm getting a phone call from Jamie saying that she is on the way to the hospital. Sure enough, the magical combination of Jamie, a horse and a rope resulted in...............a broken finger. At least this time it is a simple non-displaced fracture that likely will just require 4 - 6 weeks of splinting. To be on the safe side, however, they are sending her to a plastic surgeon for assessment. Too much excitement!!!!

Enjoy the pictures.

Toastmasters

I have joined a local Toastmasters Club - First Class Toastmasters - and I am having a ball with it. Today I did a work-related speech for a local Rotary Club and it felt great!!!

We meet on Tuesday evenings for an hour and a half and while there are scheduled speeches (usually 5 - 7 minutes long), there is always opportunity to do short impromptu speeches.

The Toastmaster environment is a very supportive one. I will keep you informed as I go.

Charlotte

Graham and I are on the road again - this time to Charlotte, North Carolina. This is another ACN Convention. We left the house yesterday morning at 5:30 and finally arrived at our hotel shortly after 10:00 last night. Then we went for dinner and finally settled in for the night around midnight.


This year we are traveling with our friends Eileen and Wayne - but in 2 cars because they plan to leave early Sunday morning while we will stick around to hear "the Donald" speak on Sunday morning.


The weather forecast for Charlotte is 89 degrees every day - I think somewhat warmer than at home.


This morning, we are just waiting for Eileen and Wayne to return from a local chiropractor - Wayne is having some neck, back and arm problems and is in significant pain. We are all hoping that seeing a chiropractor will give him some relief.


More to come as the week end passes.

Home Again and the Story of Emma

I have to tell the story of poor Emma - I came home from work on the Tuesday before I was supposed to leave for Halifax to find her in obvious pain. She just wanted to sit - little walking and absolutely no jumping. She would also not climb the stairs. Every time that she put all of her weight on her back legs, she would cry!! Jamie rushed home from the ranch and we gave Emma the once over - we were actually on our way to the car to take her to the Emergency Vet Clinic when she seemed to perk up a little. We finally decided that since we were very sure that there was nothing going on in her belly (I would have immediately taken her to the Emergency Clinic and happily paid the hundreds of dollars that they would have ended up charging me) we would wait and take her to our own vet the following day after work. By this time we were pretty convinced that the problem was in her hips.

The following morning, she seemed to be a little worse and I could not bear to leave the house with her sad puppy eyes looking at me, so I scooped her up and took her to the vet before I want to work. Dr. Wilson examined her quite thoroughly. He agreed that she was in obvious pain, however, he was not able to find the source of the pain. He gave me some pain medication to give her and told me that she should be showing some signs of feeling at least a little better by the time I got home from work. NOT!!!!!!! I arrived home to find a dog who refused to stand up - she would only sit, turn herself around in circles and try to bite her back side. Back to the vet we went.

When Dr. Wilson came into the room this time, I left Emma on the floor so that he could see how she was behaving and she certainly put on a show for him. She also had a small pee on the floor. Dr. Wilson immediately recognized that the urine did not look right and she sucked some up for testing - full of blood and bacteria. Emma had a urinary tract infection. Those of us who have had urinary tract infections can attest to how painful they can be - imagine how long this had been going on for Emma because dogs endure a tremendous amount of pain before they let us know that they are in pain.

By the time I left for Halifax on Sunday, Emma was showing definite signs of feeling better - she was climbing the stairs, but she still spent most of her time sitting and she still wouldn't jump on anything. When I picked her up from the dog sitter (they actually don't usually want to come home from there) she was Emma again - the tail is wagging, she is walking, standing, jumping and just generally behaving like my Emma again.

What a relief!! I don't even want to imagine what the Emergency Clinic would have put her through - blood work, x-rays and who knows what else and I'm mot convinced that they would have come up with the correct diagnosis. While the trips to our vet weren't inexpensive, at least she wasn't put through any unnecessary procedures and once she actually gave him a solid clue, she was on the road to recovery!!

Crime Stoppers International Training Conference

I am in Halifax this week at the annual Crime Stoppers International Training Conference. 


I left London on Sunday morning at 11:30 and took the train to Toronto. Even though the train was only about 10 minutes late leaving London, somehow it managed to be 40 minutes late arriving in Toronto, leaving me little time to get to Billy Bishop Airport and catch my flight. I arrived at the airport with only 5 minutes until the scheduled departure time for my flight. Somehow I got lucky. The luggage had all been loaded and a special trip was required to get my suitcase on the plane, however, the plane had not started boarding. 

I flew Porter Airlines. They allow you 2 pieces of checked luggage (no charge), they feed you!!!!, they use real glass for the drinks (I understand that if they are serving a full meal, it is served on china), the seats are leather and there is actually some legroom!!


The Halifax airport is almost an hour outside of the city. Volunteers from the local Crime Stoppers program drove us into town - as a car was filled, off we would go.

Downtown Halifax is very interesting - you can get almost anywhere downtown by means of indoor "pedways". The four of us from London are staying at the Halifax Delta which is connected by pedway to the World trade and Conference centre where the programs are being held.


So far, the conference has been quite interesting and informative. It has also been exhausting!! One more day and then it's time to try the trip back home.

Another Trucking Week

I actually thought that Graham might be home today - 1 day early. He's been to Indiana and to Massachusetts so far. Two trips - what he normally does in a week. Instead, he's on his way to Petersburg, Virginia!!!! This means that it will likely be Later Saturday or perhaps early Sunday morning when he finally gets home.

I still hate trucking, however, this does allow me to spend extra time working on my jewelry. I am starting to sell some of my pieces - just a few sales right now, but they are increasing. While it is hard to part with some of the pieces, it is nice to be making some money from this business.

I've started a slide show of some of my work. For those who want to see more, please check out my store on Etsy: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NancysBeadArtistry

I Hate Trucking

As most of you know, Graham returned to driving a truck in April - not because he wanted to, but because we needed him to. So far, it hasn't been too bad - he leaves Monday morning and is usually home sometime on Friday. That is, until this week's comedy of errors.


He started Monday off as usual - delivering his load from last week (in North York). Then he waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, at 6:00 he was sent to Mitchell for a pickup first thing Tuesday morning for delivery in Massachusetts. Flash forward to Tuesday morning - the order that he is supposed to pickup doesn't exist! Again with the waiting and finally back to Cambridge to pick up a load going to ...... (wait for it)......... Fargo, North Dakota. Do you know how far away that is????? In case you don't, it is almost 1800 km - EACH WAY!


Now, this story isn't done yet. Finally, he arrives in Fargo late Wednesday - too late to deliver that day. The load is delivered Thursday morning and he picks up the first half of a return load somewhere in Minnesota on Thursday, however, is too late to pick up the second half. There he is, waiting again. Come Friday morning - the company where he is supposed to pick up denies any knowledge of his pick-up. Apparently it took a few hours to sort that one out (there was no pick-up there) and off he was sent to his second pickup #2. When I talked to him at 9:00 last night, he was still waiting to get loaded!!! Guess when he's going to get home - somewhere in the wee small hours of tomorrow morning. What a comedy of errors.


THIS IS TRUCKING and I hate it!!!!!!!!

Muir Woods and The Coastal Highway

We considered Wednesday our last day of "freedom" prior to the start of the convention. We wanted one day of relaxation before getting down to work.

We chose to spend our final sightseeing day visiting Muir Woods, which is the last large stand of coastal redwoods left in California. redwoods are a close relative of the sequoia, however, they are taller than sequoias. They are not nearly as big in diameter. The redwoods in Muir Woods are at least as old as 1000 years - please note the picture of the cross-section. This tree fell in 1909 and based on the "story of the rings", the tree was "born" in the year 909. These trees can even withstand fire and continue to grow.

Many of the trees have strange-looking growths on them. These grotesque growths are called burls and are full of seeds - when these pods burst open, a small forest of baby redwoods begins to grow at the foot of the mother tree.

When we were finished at Muir Woods we decided to drive part of the northern coastal highway. Like the city of San Francisco, the fog rolls in and out all along the highway.The scenery is breathtaking. I can't imagine living here and being able to surround myself with this scenery day in and day out.

Yosemite

On Tuesday, we made the drive to Yosemite National Park. On the drive there, we discovered that, in California, this sign, truly means "Curves Ahead". As we drove higher and higher into the mountains, the road became a series of back and forth curves - so much so that we were able to look back and see where we had been.The road was a little scary - nothing between us and the edge and a straight drop down.


The day was beautiful - sunny and mid 60's temperature. Imagine our surprise to find about a foot of snow on the ground in the park despite the beautiful, sunny, warm day

On the Road Again

Time for the February ACN convention.We are back in California this year, in San Jose this time. San Jose is only about 30 miles from San Francisco,m a city that I have always wanted to see, so we decided to come down early and do some sight seeing. I am totally "blown away" by the unexpected beauty that is part of this area and this state - it is more than just a pretty face.

We flew down on Saturday , finally arriving at our hotel about 10:00 Saturday evening, California time!!

Sunday was a rest and get ready day.

Monday we spent the day doing a 47 mile self-guided driving tour of San Francisco. You know those movies that you watch where people are driving up and down impossibly steep and long hills and you think to yourself "hmmm, looks like some camera funny-stuff". Believe me, there is absolutely NO "funny-stuff" involved. All I could think about as we drove through some of those neighbourhoods where the streets are really as steep as thet look was that there is NO WAY that you could build a city like this somewhere where it snows - you would not be able to get up and down those hills. San Francisco is a very unique and beautiful city and those hills just add to it's charm. It is a city of contrasts. The downtown area is very modern (so are the people). In the core of the city, most of the available housing appears to be town homes. One thing that has struck us here is that people do not seem to have enough room for their cars. They have a garage (whether they have a car in it or not is anybody's guess), they have 2 cars in the driveway and then the streets are lines with parked cars!

Anyway, during this tour there were several times when it appeared that we had left the city - beautiful parks and green spaces - then we would turn a corner and would be back in the middle of the city again. We just had to ndrive over the Golden Gate bridge - it is as amazing as it always appears in film and pictures. I will post a bit of a slide show of our tour. San Francisco is everything that I had imagined it would be and more.

New Orleans

Seems that it's about time that I got around to this!!!!! We actually did make it to New Orleans!! Like just like just about everywhere else that we went, New orleans was colder than we would have liked it - especially when walking the dogs first thing in the morning and last thing at night!!

Someone forgot to tell us that the Sugar Bowl was being played in the Silverdome on New Year's Day and that meant that getting to downtown New Orleans on New Year's Eve would be absolutely impossible. Disappointing as we had hoped to spend the evening in the French Quarter. We ended up spending the evening in a small casino about 10 miles out of downtown. There we soon discovered that New Orleans has "Saint Fever"!!!!! Even the dealers were all wearing Saints' jerseys.

We actually arrived in Covington, which is on the north shore of Lake Pontchatrain on New Year's Eve at about 6:00. To get into downtown New Orleans, we had to cross the causeway across Lake Pontchatrain - this causeway is 22 miles long. What a feat of engineering!! Again we stayed at our favourite - Residence Inn. Since most of our activities in the Big Easy were not  "dog-friendly", we were able to leave the dogs in their crates in the bedroom and housekeeping was still able to clean the rest of our suite (they were, however, quite appalled that we would consider making our own bed!!)

We spent time at the New Orleans Riverwalk - quite different from the San Antonio Riverwalk. This one is a mall on the Mississippi River - just when you think that you've hit the end, there is another bend, a few more stairs and a whole other level to explore. We took a carriage ride through the French Quarter - just about froze to death doing it. The carriages are pulled by mules in New Orleans. Our mule's name was Pumpkin and our guide was David, a born and bred native resident of New Orleans.

We found it more difficult to put in full days in new Orleans because our hotel was so far away from the city and we couldn't leave the dogs for long periods of time. Generally we would make the trip into the city just once a day and find something else to do (like relaxing) the rest of the time.

All too soon, Monday arrived and it was time to head home so that we would be back in time for Jamie's surgery on Wednesday morning. We packed up the car and the dogs and managed to get home from New Orleans in just 2 days with a stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

It was an amazing trip and as hectic as it was, I would do it all again. We certainly saw some awesome scenery and witnessed the site of some heartrending history. We also took time out to play.