Meet Lily's new friend, Ginny.  They met this morning just before their walk.

And lucky for them Nancy had some treats in her pocket.

It was a beautiful day for a walk.  We all enjoyed ourselves.

Now, to watch the Olymics Opening Ceremonies.

bears, bears, bears

Conservation officers just shot the 13th bear in Whitehorse.  That's why Lily and I do not walk in the bush around my house this year.  But we will go to Riverdale today to walk with Nancy & Ginny.  No bears sited there yet.

Other things that make local news.  Kentucky Fried Chicken store opened yesterday.  Apparently there was a line up of at least 25 people to make a purchase!!  (Doesn't take much to excite some people).

Snowbirds

Couldn't leave you with one wee picture of the Snowbirds, so here are a few more.  Enjoy.

Wednesday

In case you weren't aware, the Olymics began today with the Canada v Japan football (soccer) game.  Above is Canada's goal which brought the score to 1 ALL.  Unfortunately Japan score one more and Canada didn't.  It ended 2-1.  They lost,  but considering they were playing the team in first place (and Canada sits in 7th place), it wasn't a bad start.

There was an air show on at the airport this afternoon.  The Snowbirds have been in town for a few days now (I did see them fly over my house on Sunday).  The show began with parachuters drifting down to the airport with Canada Flag parachutes.

The traffic along the highway was amazing.  Was I in Vancouver or Toronto during rush hour??  I have never seen it so busy (except during 9-11 when they evacuated downtown Whitehorse).

Then, finally, after two Air North (Yukon's Airline) flights arrived, the Snowbirds were able to use the runway and put on their show.  Excellent as always.

Friday in the Summer

Met the after-work crew for a cool one on the roof the The Edgewater Hotel.  First time I've been up there and it has a stunning view.  The new seating area along the waterfront looks to be about complete now and it also looks to be - a boat; that apparently was the design as the old steamships used to dock there many many many years ago.

Hard getting all three of us together, but we did it on Friday.  Terry is making plans to depart the territory so we don't know how many more gatherings the three of us will have.

The weather cooperated and we did catch up on our lives.  Cheers girls!

Summer

SUMMER WAS LOST, BUT NOW IT FOUND US!!  WELCOME SUMMER !!

Real estate

Just saw this great web site on tv and wanted to share with you.  It is www.thethirtiesgrind.com and what I liked (although I have to admit it is the only thing I have looked at) is real estate comparison - she compares Vancouver prices to other places - mainly in the USA but it sure rang a bell with me as Whitehorse is so so so similar.  Compare the first houses to the last!  Amazing!
Click Here

Change of Plans

Original Plan:  Golf this morning;   Weather Conditions:  Rain;  Alternate Plan:  Coffee and croissants at Nancy's newly reno'd kitchen ... new flooring, newly painted walls, new door and with the change in plans Joan was able to join us along with Gwennie who played with Ginny (the dog) as well as the cats of the house.  Turned out to be a lovely morning despite the inclement weather.

And, just heard on the radio that a local young talent is appearing on YTV's "The Next Star" program on TV.   Episode 1 has aired and the next episodes are on YTV on Mondays.
You can watch a bit of her by clicking on Episode 1 when it flashes in the box on the front page (I cannot see how else to see Episode 1) then slide over to minute 39:15 where Madi Dixon is featured ... CLICK HERE   As you can see, she made it to the Top 12 Finalists.  Congratulations Madi.  If you're interested, you can Google her and see some of her videos on You Tube.

The Birthday Post

Once a year it happens - Brooke has a birthday.  So this year I served her fave food - hot dogs!  Easy enough.  They had a full weekend including the new Mount Sima Adventure Park - new this year.  To see a 10 sec video, click here.

And a miracle happened ... it didn't rain all weekend.  So SR and Brooke and a few of their friends and a few of Lily's friend (4 dogs in all - Ollie, Beanie, Jacks, and Lily) all came over to end the week end with a bar-b-que.  And, the weather held.

So Happy Birthday Brooke.  Hope you enjoyed your Birthday weekend.

P.P.S.  Happy Birthday to Little Jenny - who turned the Big 4-0 on Friday.  Wishing you many many more Jenn!!!

Before I got my hair cut ...

Had to go to the bank first thing this morning.  Looking out the window I saw - what !?! - summer ??? Being sceptical I dawned my long pants and a hoodie over my 3/4 sleeve length shirt.  And a good thing too.  Looks can be deceiving.  It was 8 degrees with a cool wind blowing.  So downtown I drove.  I banked then exiting the bank saw the City of Whitehorse meter man.  Of course, as it was early (just after 9 AM) I didn't put any money in the meter.  Luck was with me though.  No ticket.  Walking through the street of downtown I say Team Venezuela.  Yesterday saw Team Mexico.  The Women's World Fastpitch Championship is currently on in our town.  (The 2012 Women's World Fastpitch Championship will take place in Whitehorse, Yukon which is part of northern Canada.  The city will host teams from sixteen different countries in July 13 to 22, 2012.  The event is hosted by Softball Yukon.)  Here are all the countries participating:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Canada
• China
• Chinese Taipei
• Czech Republic
• Great Britain
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Puerto Rico
• South Africa
• United States
• Venezuela

(Love how they say "Yukon which is part of northern Canada")Dawson, you may be interested in this.  Here is a website:  Click Here.

 Then driving a little further on I saw all the smokers standing outside the 98 Hotel (our 1Star establishment).  Don't know what time that bar opens but they were already on their smoke break at 9:10 AM.
The wind seemed to be picking up again.  Saw tourists holding onto their hats as they walked.   So drove home listening to James Morrison, a cd I just dug out of my pile of cd's yesterday.  Still love that voice.
Now I'm off to get my hair cut by my "old" hairdresser who is actually way younger than me.  I stopped having her cut my hair for about a year as she was in a boating accident, but that's a story for another time.

Ah yes, my golfing buddies.  Yesterday, not only was the weather 'ify', but the wind was severe.  It blew in from the south and in parts of the territory the downdrafts were almost tornado like.  In fact much of the southern Yukon was without power for a great part of yesterday (and about 500 users without power into today) as the wind not only blew trees onto power lines but the trees were blown right down to the ground, carrying the power lines with them.  Heard on the radio this morning that Whitehorse is in a small pocket that is receiving unseasonably cool, wet conditions and it will be like that for the near future in any case.  All around us - and of course in the remainder of Canada - the temperatures are very summer like - but not here!  Was fresh snow on the mountains this morning.  SNOW !!  IN JULY !!  OUR WARMEST MONTH !!  But we do try to get out onto the fairways twice a week - and take our rain gear, warm sweaters and vests, short sleeved shirts, sunglasses and umbrellas .. in other words, we are ready for any weather, as conditions can change in the time it takes you to say "FORE".  Luckily this morning we had the threatening clouds at our backs and the sun in front.  All in all, good conditions to play.

House for Sale

Went to Lake Laberge on Saturday to help Terry with her garage sale - she also had an open house as her beautiful house on the creek is up for sale.  Above is a view from her dining room.  I have to admit I wasn't much of a help.  The morning started out nice and sunny, so I didn't wear warm clothing - BIG MISTAKE.  It got progressively cooler as the morning went on and by noon I was frozen.  I pumped up the heat in my car on the way home in an attempt to thaw out.  (Take that you southerners in 40 degree humid weather)  If you wish to purchase a beautiful house, here is the link:  CLICK HERE

More Projects

And while I was painting in the house, Sue was painting in the garage.  Here are her new baseboards which we will very shortly install in her house.  It's a good summer for projects.

Another Room Painted

What did I do this weekend??  Well, since I had a gallon of paint which I purchased last week because it was on sale, I decided that rather than store the paint I would use it right away.  So, my dining room was emptied and I painted.  Having painted the living room last month, the dining room was next in line.  Now it is done and that feels good.  The curtains are washed and ironed, the floor is clean and I am now ready for some dining.

Golf Night

OK.  So they caught me searching for my ball in the bush.  It was suppose to be on the green and even thought I visualized it going to the green, it didn't.  That happens!

When we were looking for "E's" ball in the stream, up came this Beaver swimming by.  This is now definitely The Beaver Hole as we often see this guy here. He was fun to watch as he hit the current and was dragged back twenty feet.  But he persevered and swam to shore then walked to where he could swim again.

Thanks to Nancy and her iPhone for these pics!

Executive Summary: Eat your fruits and vegetables! | EWG's 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

Executive Summary: Eat your fruits and vegetables! | EWG's 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

Too hot?  Come to Whitehorse.  Forecast high is 11 Celcius today.

Update:  1:00 PM ... Raining and 6 Celcius.

Happy Canada Day everyone!!!!

!Awoke to sun!  It rained almost all day yesterday to this was a pleasant surprise.  And it was predicted to be sunny all day then rain again tomorrow.  So I drank my coffee, put on my long pants and sweatshirt - sunny yes, but only 4 degrees C - and went outside to mow the lawn before the rain cometh.  As I was mowing, the wind brought in the clouds, not the nice fluffy sunny day clouds, but those with blackened heavy bottoms that threaten rain.  Oh well, I will be in the house for a few hours late this morning to early afternoon watching Euro 2012 trying to decide who I want to win - I like Spain, but it's kind of Italy's turn.  I hope it is a good game!

And being Canada Day, I want to share an APP with you, especially you southerners who do not listen to CBC Radio.  It is the CBC Music app from the iTunes Store.  Not only can you listen to live CBC Radio but they also have Genre Streams which are amazingly good.  I don't have time to make my own playlists (if you can believe that) but I don't have to because I truly enjoy the playlists they have already made.

So there is my Canadian tip for Canada Day.  Hope y'all enjoy yourselves today!