Thanks

Our final day visiting friends and a great way to spend a Thanksgiving Monday. Lots to be thankful for with a great vacation to spend with family and friends. Our first day of drizzly weather which the shore captain had actually been hoping for as he has been thinking the waterfowl are enjoying the beautiful weather and so not coming near to the sloughs they've been wading in. We shall see what their return brings but at least the western daughter has a goose to put in her cooler to take home as of Saturday.

When the great white hunters returned on Saturday afternoon we had made it back from checking out the few yard sales we could find. Some excellent items which again wouldn't fit in the luggage but did manage to pick up a few things. A BBQ for Saturday afternoon/evening rounded out the social calendar and it was a great way to meet some of our hosts friends and neighbours, including a wonderful chat with a community health worker who had a long history of isolated northern community work. Our hosts tend to be early risers and thus not night owls but one of the invited guests who "enjoyed a wee dram of scotch" was reluctant to leave, attempted to provide musical accompaniment with his harmonica and regaled us with stories of his Scottish homeland, finally making his departure at midnight - our friends required a debriefing session of a smoke and drink after that in order to settle down.

Yesterday morning we took in the Golf and Country Club brunch which was a big hit on our last trip here. Stuffed ourselves at the great buffet which offered everything from fruit to turkey - they even had an eclair tree! The warm sun in the afternoon and full bellies made naps a requirement for some. Our hostess whipped up cabbage rolls and pierogies for supper really ending the day in style making for an early evening for most. I stayed up to finish my book as I was getting tired of dragging the hardcover tome around and I highly recommend finishing the Steig Larsson trilogy as The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest was an excellent conclusion! Good to pack away the weighty volume and get out the Kindle though for convenience.

Planning to print out the boarding passes for tomorrow's flight from Edmonton to Yellowknife now and gather up the 'stuff' for packing. Will mean a middle of the night departure from our wonderful host family (best if we sneak away as there are no tears this way) who are planning a trip back east in the spring so that will be nice to look forward to. Our hostess regaled us yesterday with a story of her parents staying with friends in Halifax and her mother getting up in the dark and applying what she thought to be deodorant to her underarms only to find out later on that it was....bingo marker!!! Memo to self: be careful to turn the light on to get dressed. Maquest and Google Map disagree on the time required to drive from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to Edmonton Airport in Leduc as either 7 or 8 hours and as the western daughter (who will be dropped at the Greyhound station for her return to Red Deer) says "when you're attempting to catch a flight this is not the time to try and set the speed record or see which one is right, it won't hurt you to wait a bit". Good in theory but the shore captain is not a big fan of waiting and following check in times. Back in touch from the great north.