Saturday, October 4, 2008

Official photographer of us having fun

Well yesterday's trip to Sylvan Lake turned into a short trip to the lake and a longer trip to WalMart for some shopping for our Cuban friends as daughter # 1 is going to be the courier in January when she heads down for a visit.

Last evening we headed out to Lacombe for supper at a restaurant which offers Greek food and was highly recommended by the daughter's co-worker (a former chef) who said it was the best calamari he'd ever eaten. However the calamari experts in our party claimed it was "not bad" and a 7 out of 10 when polled. So it was okay, but a bit overrated when we critiqued it amongst ourselves afterwards.

Have been getting alarming updates from home that one of our summer neighbours has fallen and # her leg so we have been thinking about them for the past few days. It sounds like it's been quite an expedition with a trip to the city to have the leg repaired etc. and not sure when she'll get back and then back to the US. Oh my.

Today we did a few errands and found our way to the bird sanctuary which is located in the middle of the city. There is a nature center explaining the geology and history of Red Deer - it was always a central place for native hunters and then a crossroads of settlers making their way between the north and south of Alberta. There is a 4 km trail around a lake, through woods and boardwalk over marshy fields which was a beautiful place to try out the new camera. Discovered that geese are easier to catch swimming than flying and that there are many more features than I know what to do with on my new toy. Photographic evidence here on the left that I can at least put it in auto (idiot proof) mode and shoot scenery pics. Got some nice photos of geese and beaver lodge as you see as well as muskrats, ducks, and a magpie as well as some pretty fall scenery. So there is hope I'll improve. Went to a local diner for lunch and had perogies instead of fries with our sandwiches - only in western Canada you say eh?

We picked up daughter # 1 from work and dropped a customer who needed a ride off at his house while he was telling us his work history. Apparently he responded to our down east hospitality as he'd been having a kind of rotten day so glad we were able to provide him with our service.

We headed out to Tony Romas for supper with our daughter and her friend and had many ribs and many laughs as the shore captain was encouraged to tell his stories of his myriad adventures so a good time was had by all.

Tomorrow the plan is to hit the farm market in the morning, sushi for lunch, visit the tea shop and then meet our neighbour from home who lives here in Red Deer for supper. So a full last day as we have to head out in the a.m. for the airport. Hard to believe that it will have been 10 days here - vacation always goes too quickly. And vacation it has to be as with houses which would not be equivalent to ours at home going here for over a million dollars. Imagine.

I managed to look back and find the horoscope for my birthday and it sounds like I'll have a good year coming up if I choose to believe this:

IF SEPTEMBER 28 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: "Make hay while the sun shines" should be your motto for the year ahead. You have your finger on the pulse of business necessities and enough street smarts to earn career kudos in November. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a beneficial change or to improve your circumstances may appear in January. Be sure to take advantage of any opportunities to improve your circumstances and don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. You can ask for the raise you surely deserve, apply for the job of your dreams or go for the gold by entering into a romantic commitment.