Finally, made it to Edmonton. Arrived last night at 7:30 PM and already have one bathroom ready to put on the second coat tomorrow morning while SR gets our coffee and muffins. There is a lot more work than I expected - surprise, surprise, considering 2 university students living here. I'll be ready for a rest on my return home!
The picture is of SR's Hallowe'en costume. Yes, he's the chair. He went to a party last night of 3,000 people including the Trailer Park Boys. He was mad that he couldn't register his costume as he thought he DID have the best. He said people kept sitting on him and he couldn't move... the prize was $3,000.00 + a Harley Davidson. Oh, well...
And as usual, when I visit Edmonton in November - it SNOWS! Of course, I don't have winter clothes with me - I went south, I didn't expect to wear winter clothes! Well, I'd better get back to work, or I'll never finish.

No new pictures so I pulled up this one taken a few years ago at my old house. Gramma (next door neighbour) loves Ladies Slippers, so I took a bunch of pictures for her. The photo is just so you won't get bored while I talk....Well, I last reported that the snow was here to stay. WRONG!! A strong south wind blew all weekend and now there is no snow to be seen. A bit of frost this morning, but no snow. Spoke with my friend Debbie last night who told me that her sister browses my blog once in a while. That tidbit of information came after I said that I should stop my blog as I think my ramblings just go into cyberspace. Few people comment, except for MJT, and I could write her a letter just as easily. So, thanks to all of you that do read.
This weekend I organized my office closet and came across my old (and I mean old) personal box which I immediately opened and started picking through. I spent hours reading the old letters I had received and one person in particular caught me attention as I had been thinking of him within the last month, which is strange because I go for years without thinking of him. That person is Hans Wallner (Gigi) the artist I roomed with while I was working in London England back in the very early '70's. I tried googling his name and cannot find anything about him. He is a painter, photographer, gold and silver smith, and surely some of his work must be around somewhere as that is how he made his living. So, if Hans if reading this (very little hope of that!) or if anyone has come across any of his work please let me know. He must be 65 years old now, originally from Graz, Austria, lived in England for many many years and could be anywhere in the world (or god forbid - other world) by now.
My next blog will be from Edmonton. Yes, finally I am going! - I leave on Friday and will be there for about 10 days - working hard painting and repairing a condo - something I am actually looking forward to. AND seeing JAMES BLUNT, my Christmas present from my son who knows how to pick the perfect gift for me. So, I'll talk to you then....

Adjacent to Yukon College is the new Athlete's Village for the 2007 Canada Winter Games. This building will be used for college residents when the games are over and the basement will be used for Yukon College. The remainder of the village will be used for low-cost housing.

Met my friend Carmen today for lunch at Yukon College - my old haunt in the early '90's. I still marvel at the artwork displayed in the halls. Notice the snow stayed so winter is officially here. It was about 4 degrees today but felt much colder than that. And it is currently snowing, so I'll have more shovelling to do soon. In case you care, the Yukon Party (Conservatives) are still in power after the elections. And I just heard today that your Aeroplan point system is changing. If you do not use your points within a one year period, they will remove them and make you buy them back for $30 (???) plus a cent a point. And, if I heard correctly, it will be discontinued in 7 years. So, all you people that have points, now is a good time to come up for a visit!

October 13, 2006

Twice this week I said that the greenhouse effect has changed our climate here in the north. In the past, on SR's birthday (October 11) - which was a Wednesday this year - there has been a skiff of snow that has stayed. This year, Wednesday passed, Thursday passed, and on Friday, I was outside raking leaves and taking pictures of the wonderful fall colours. Yes, it was a bit nippy, just below zero, but that is expected at this time of year. Today is Saturday and guess what I am doing ??? Shovelling snow ! Just when I think I have that theory figured out ...

Rolling Stones

For all you old Stones fans, my niece stood outside the stadium in Regina while they were playing. As they have huge screens all around, she was able to see as well as hear. For an "I hate concerts" type of person, she was totally amazed at the show and all a-buzz the next day talking about it! SR will be flying to Vancouver to see their show Nov 3rd ... the day AFTER WE see James Blunt in Edmonton. Ahhh, the tough life of a university student.

Keeping on the theme of my Thanksgiving dinner, here is the front yard of Frank's house - and this is just a portion of the dogs he has. The kennel is his business and once again, next year he will run in the Yukon Quest. He was thinking of politics, but that has now been put on hold. And speaking of politics, the Yukon is having a Territorial Election tomorrow - the day after Thanksgiving. Not such great timing as a good portion of the population is in the wilderness hunting, there are city elections going on, school board elections just happened and the leader of the NDP party was in Vancouver being treated for leukemia when our premier called the election. Need I say more?

Been a while since I've blogged, but...I've been WORKING!!!! Yes, a two week stint in the Department of Justice. It actually was interesting. I worked along side the coroner and the assistant deputy minister. Good to learn a bit and make money doing it. In a little over two weeks I'll be going down to Edmonton to paint the condo, and there is much to do here before then. Purchased a new DVD recorder, so am learning how to put all those VHS home movies onto DVD. And of course it is autumn and the leaves are falling and need to be raked up. The weather has been great - lots of bright sunny (but cool) days and the colours and smells are wonderful. Was invited to Thanksgiving Dinner at cousin Frank's house. His mum (Aunt Peggy) was there as well so had a very good visit. This is a picture of Frank & Anne's house, located along side the Takhini River, about 5 kms north of the Mayo Road off the Alaska Highway (for those of you who can picture those directions). As Thanksgiving came to me as a surprise, I was delighted to sit down to a full turkey dinner and delighted to bring home some turkey for those great day-after sandwiches.