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.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Sunday, 29 August 2010
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
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 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
Saturday, 17 July 2010
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!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
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
Thursday, 18 February 2010
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Back in Time
Today, we started the day at The Alamo. Although there is actually very little left of the mission, there is enough to touch your heart and bring a lump to your throat. The mission chapel still stands as well as part of what is called the longhouse. Unfortunately, much of what is still in place is indoors and photograpthy is not allowed. Throughout the site are flags from the states and the countries where the Alamo defenders came from. Surprisingly they came from Denmark, England, Ireland, Germany and Scotland. Many, many states contributed to the last defense of the Alamo. There was also a gentleman named John, a black freedman. The entire compound is a very fitting memorial to the 13 days that the garrison of approximately 200 men held out against overwhelming odds.
Next we headed for the Riverwalk. For those who have never heard of the Riverwalk, it is a beautiful walkway designed in downtown San Antonio which follows a loop created in the San Antonio River. The walk encompasses restaurants and small stores and some beautiful greenery and landscaping. The pictures of the small knobbly looking trees are part of the root system of cypress trees. In some places, they look like a forest of little people. At night, right now, during the holiday season, all of the trees and bridges are draped with Christmas lights which twinkle constantly. The stores and restaurants are all decorated beautifully for the holiday season.
The weather today -- sunny and 12 degrees!! This evening, we ate on the patio of a restaurant called The Salt Grass Steak House. Graham was in his shirt sleeves and I just had a sweater on.
Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans. Another day in the car, but, a beautiful city at the end.
Next we headed for the Riverwalk. For those who have never heard of the Riverwalk, it is a beautiful walkway designed in downtown San Antonio which follows a loop created in the San Antonio River. The walk encompasses restaurants and small stores and some beautiful greenery and landscaping. The pictures of the small knobbly looking trees are part of the root system of cypress trees. In some places, they look like a forest of little people. At night, right now, during the holiday season, all of the trees and bridges are draped with Christmas lights which twinkle constantly. The stores and restaurants are all decorated beautifully for the holiday season.
The weather today -- sunny and 12 degrees!! This evening, we ate on the patio of a restaurant called The Salt Grass Steak House. Graham was in his shirt sleeves and I just had a sweater on.
Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans. Another day in the car, but, a beautiful city at the end.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Life is Interesting in Texas
For the second time on our trip, we woke up this morning to snow on the ground and our car - nothing like last week in Flagstaff though and we were soon on our way.
Another 9 hour day on the road. Life is interesting in Texas. The first thing we discovered this morning shortly after leaving El Paso -- the speed limit on the Interstates in Texas is 80 mph!!!!! According to Graham, driving at 80 mph is pretty scary. Next, we discovered that there are a lot of mountains in Texas and that a lot of the Interstate has been blasted out of sheer rock. There are palm trees and massive cactus everywhere. The trees are full of leaves, except for the dead trees - they are full of tumbleweeds.
Arrived in San Antonio safe and sound, despite the fast speed limit!
Another 9 hour day on the road. Life is interesting in Texas. The first thing we discovered this morning shortly after leaving El Paso -- the speed limit on the Interstates in Texas is 80 mph!!!!! According to Graham, driving at 80 mph is pretty scary. Next, we discovered that there are a lot of mountains in Texas and that a lot of the Interstate has been blasted out of sheer rock. There are palm trees and massive cactus everywhere. The trees are full of leaves, except for the dead trees - they are full of tumbleweeds.
Arrived in San Antonio safe and sound, despite the fast speed limit!
Flagstaff to El Paso
Strictly a travel day -- 9 hours on the road traveling from Flagstaff, Arizona to El Paso, Texas. A long day, but we are half way to our next objective which is San Antonio.
The interesting part of our drive occurred shortly after it became dark. The driver in front of us narrowly missed hitting a deer that darted into the road in front of him (her). Shortly after that , Graham murdered the tumbleweed that came rushing out of the darkness at us!! He did manage to miss the second one that camenout of the darkness shortly after.
The interesting part of our drive occurred shortly after it became dark. The driver in front of us narrowly missed hitting a deer that darted into the road in front of him (her). Shortly after that , Graham murdered the tumbleweed that came rushing out of the darkness at us!! He did manage to miss the second one that camenout of the darkness shortly after.
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