Twas a winter's night book club. Our club trades books rather than everyone reading the same book at the same time. Books of note this month were:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

We also have a member who is going through the Canada Reads selections. She has already read:
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott (she carefully worded her review in a positive way, which meant it was good but ...)
Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald (we've all read that one already and personally I liked it)



Book Club?? We should call it Food Club! Dinner is always at book club as the appies are wonderful!

A glorious surprise was the gift given to us by one of our members. She was just down in Vancouver when the shop received a new shipment of the Canadian Olympic Team Red Mitts so she purchased some for all of us. Thank you, thank you. These are currently almost impossible to find in stores across Canada and net proceeds from every pair sold go toward supporting Canadian athletes in gaining access to top equipment and training.
eh O'CANADA GO! (official Canadian cheer ... but I'm not big on it) or as my sister prefers eeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh CANADA!

Xmas Memories

This past Christmas I spent some cooking time with Kate. She loved helping create our cookies, especially when it came to mixing the dough with our hands and adding the decorations (which were heaped onto the ones she decorated).

My sister just emailed these photos to me and it took me down memory lane.

Official World Cup Theme Song

My sister just shared this with me. I really enjoyed it so am sharing it with you. Hope you like it too!

Neat Site

Misplaced your cell phone? Don't have a land line to call it - but do have an iPod touch or computer handy? Here's a site that lets you call you cell phone in Canada or the US for free...

http://www.wheresmycellphone.com/

Just follow the ring tones to find your phone.

Two Must - Sees

Sherlock Holmes - saw it twice in Ancaster on a big big screen and loved it both times. Robert Downey Jr play a Holmes you could look at forever and there is enough action in the movie to capture the male audience as well. One of the best movies I have seen and I am glad I saw it on a big screen.


Finally went to see Avatar. Of course I was in Whitehorse at the time. Although the movie has been showing for 5 weeks here, the line up was lengthy and by the time we arrived in the theatre, only 2nd row seats were available. One has to almost lie down to watch a movie from that point of view. As well, the theatres here (both of them) have not been up-dated, so the screens are small (a blessing for those of us watching from almost under the screen) and they are scratched, so when a light coloured scene comes on, small scratches on the screen show through. But, having said that, and although the movie is 3 hours in length (ohhh my aching butt) is was thoroughly enjoyable. The special effects were superb and make the movie very worth seeing. My only complaint (other than those listed above) was the war scene was too long - great for the males in the audience, a bit long for the females. Another must-see movie (esp if you are in a big city with a real movie theatre).

Whitehorse in January

Southern people keep asking me how much light is there now in the Yukon. I never know how to answer except to say that as of December 21st we are getting more and more sunlight each day. I just returned from Ontario. I would wake around 8:00 am and the sky would be light. When I returned home I would wake at 8:30 am and the sky was still dark. The photo above was taken at 11:00 am and as you can see, the sky is light but the sun is still not very high.

I am also asked how cold is it?? Southern Canada was hovering around the 0 degree mark. When I arrived home at 1:00 am on Sunday, it was about -25 degrees celsius and there was a blizzard happening. Apparently that is the first real snowfall we have had since I left in mid December. But as weather goes, it is changing every day and today is about -12 and the snow stopped falling. I also must add that -15 here feels warmer than -7 in Ontario. I love the arid climate.

How much snow do we have?? Well see for yourself. Although it is dry snow - you cannot build a snowman here - the last snowfall was very dense which made shovelling a chore ... not that nice fluffy white stuff.

So that is my update on the Yukon today.

Art Series

Attended another in the Art Series last night ... a play called Lauchie, Liza & Rory. With only 2 actors, they amusingly portrayed quite a number of characters to tell the story of a coal mining family, their lives, loves and predicaments. The play was very well done, the acting superb and very amusing. I enjoyed it immensely!

Olympic Rings

Driving through Vancouver, signs of the Olympics are beginning to show. The rings light up the night sky and water reminding everyone of the upcoming event.

Leaving the airport, you boldly get your first glimpse of a set of rings. These ones are white and are very impressive when lit against the night sky. Apparently the street closures are beginning and there are lots of stories on Canadian TV of our Canadian hopefuls and the number of medals we are expecting. (We'll keep our fingers crossed).

Hello Alberta

I made a stop in Edmonton (to be more exact Sherwood Park) on my way west. Had a lovely visit with my niece and her family. The weather turned spring-like while I was there -- above 0 temperatures (I love the spring!). Did a bit of last minute shopping and went for a nice drive into Edmonton and surrounding countryside.

Went to the ski hill with Jenn & Dawson. This is time 2 on the hill for Dawson and he did a great job mastering the bunny hill.

Luckily his dad had a day off too so was able to visit with the whole family and see what Santa brought to them this Christmas.

Then it was off to Vancouver, to visit my friend and as luck would have it, my son. The weather just continued to get warmer as I travelled west. SR took Bev and I for lunch and we had a great chat for a couple of hours. It was a good ending to my Xmas travels.

Adieu Ontario

My Ipod Touch was a success with my sister who became addicted to it. I now know what is on her wish list for the next present exchange.

No trip to Ontario is complete without at least one hockey game. This one was at a local arena with David scoring a goal (unfortunately I missed that as I was watching a bird flying around the indoor arena - a bird which I must tell left a calling card on my sister's coat!). David is doing very well with his game - getting better and better each time I see him play.

My last few days in Ontario included a lot of eating with a lot of family. It was great to spend time with all my sisters, aunt & uncle, mother, nieces and nephews and friends and acquaintances. I was just a bit sorry I didn't get into Toronto to visit my friends there, but there is always next time.

Happy 4th Birthday

Kate had her Princess birthday today. How excited she was. She started off by saying "Welcome to my Princess Palace", then led us into a room with princesses on everything.

She helped bake the cake herself. It was decorated with pink icing and of course, princesses.

I think this is the first birthday she really realized what was happening. I was happy to be a part of her celebration.
Happy Birthday Kate!

2010 - The New Year

Went to my niece's university apartment on my way home one day. One can learn a lot from her living room wall, as seen in the photo behind her.

Maya is a new addition to the family. She is only about 10 months old and can be full of energy. Lots of training needed here, but she is a beauty.

Well New Year's day came and went. It was a slow day in my sister's household. Eat, watch TV, nap...It ended with the movie The Hangover. Unless you're between the ages of 18 and 25, DON'T WATCH it...my warning to you.

To day is little Kate's 4th birthday party. It is sunny sunny sunny and about -8 degrees c. A perfect day for a celebration.

Ah Christmas. With the family this year. Above is just a portion of those I shared the day with. Lots of food, lots of gifts, lots of laughter.

Been a busy time, what with Bingo ... and speaking of Bingo, I never realized how complicated it is to play this game I once played as a child. But, alas, luck was not on our side this particular afternoon - we didn't win one game, which surprised me immensely. I thought with five of us playing someone would get at least one line, but no.

Lots of eating out. Here Tex displays the food while Will eats it. It was a cute little English pub which did remind me of England.

Then an afternoon at the bowling alley. Just as we started to catch on our hour of rolling balls down the alley was over. But we did have fun. Tomorrow we will all have bowling leg.

Tonight is New Year's Eve. Another party to attend. If I feel good in the morning I may once again add to the blog.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Kettleby Christmas

The Carolers came to the door tonight singing their Christmas music. It was lovely to see and hear. Although there is a bit of snow, there is nothing like the east coast of the United States. The tree is up and little Kate is getting excited. Santa will soon be here.


Caught Kate reading away in my bedroom. She has grown so much since I last saw her - two years ago...talking non stop and moving non stop. I've forgotten what it is like having a 3-1/2 year old in the house. The joys of Christmas!

Cookies

This is for my friend in Etobicoke. My cookie baking was drastically reduced this year but did bake up a few for family, friends and neighbours. Christmas book club was held at my house and this is the plate I served to them. If you were here, I'd share them with you.
Happy Holidays!

I may be Christmassed out by Dec 25th. Had our Christmas gift exchange today with my old neighbour Helen. Dianna (her daughter) was in town from Cabo San Lucas so we had a grand chat around cups of coffee and freshly baked goods. The funny thing is that Helen & I gave each other the same gift! They are locally made beautiful glass necklaces...great minds think alike!

This gift was given to me from one of my golfing partners. The tag reads "would you like to extend your Canadian golfing experience? These fur lined golf tees are the perfect gift for the truly dedicated golfer." Considering we HAVE golfed in the snow, it may come in handy.


I miss the drive from my old house into/out of, town. Stopped to snap this pic of the Alaska Highway with the trees frosted and the mountains against the sky. The cold weather is coming our way - should be -30 or lower by the weekend.

Christmas Dinner

Guess what I got for Christmas !!! We had our Christmas dinner and gift exchange last night at SR & Brooke's place and a lovely dinner it was. As they are both leaving soon for distance destinations, we celebrated and exchanged gifts. To my surprise, I not only received the handy dandy Home Hardware tape measure that includes a light, magnetic tape, pencil and poker (something I've always wanted ever since I saw the advertisement on tv) but I also received the iPod Touch with lots and lots of apps. Now my learning curve begins once again to figure out how it works (it's really not as easy as shown on tv). I am so excited, I have books, music galore, maps, foreign languages, soccer scores, youtube, clocks ... THANK YOU SO MUCH SR & BROOKE for such an exciting gift!

Even when they become men, they are still little boys are heart.

Thanks SR & Brooke for a great pre-Christmas Christmas.

YVR

Bev's mum recently celebrated her 90th Birthday! Bev treated us to a night at the theatre. The Metro Theatre on Marine Drive presented THEFT. We all thoroughly enjoyed the show.


It was a CP Air weekend.


I worked at CP Air from 1972 to 76 at which time I moved west to Calgary. I visited my long-time friend Bev (I was going to say "old friend" but changed my mind) this weekend as Bill was in from England. Now, being with two CP Air people, we spent our time visiting others that we worked with - some I haven't seen since 1976! I am happy to say everyone looked the same, only, like wine, we seem to be getting better with age.


Just found this blog about CP Air: CLICK HERE
Don't know who made it up but if you want to reminisce (and remember what air travel used to be like - remember customer service????) - it's great to browse through.

Canada Line - Vancouver

Took a quick jaunt to Vancouver this weekend. Experienced the new Canada Line which was built especially for the Winter Olympics to be held soon in Vancouver. We were fortunate as the rain stopped and the sun shone its merry face as we road the rails from Richmond to downtown. If you remember the news during the building of this system, many of the main roads were closed for construction and many of the shops went out of business due to the fact no one could reach their stores. But now that it is complete I, for one, enjoyed the ride downtown. This line also can take you out to the airport.




Two ways it could be improved:
1. SIGNAGE - we sometimes found it was like the blind leading the blind to get to where you wanted to go.
2. The Stations - they all look the same, white and grey. I would have liked to see each station a distinct colour with perhaps some art work in them.

But, they didn't ask my opinion when they were building the system.

Sunday Dinner

When I was young Sunday dinner was roast beef and mashed potatoes. Today - Sushi.
Had dinner tonight with my YEG tenant during her visit to YXY and SR's friend that I haven't seen forever! T'was fun and I didn't have to cook!

Spruce Bog

Ah, Christmas must be coming as it is once again Spruce Bog time. Held this year at the Canada Games Centre, it was busy as usual.



Saw Deanna Slonski, selling her rock art. She is just back from Las Vegas, one of the reasons she looks so warm and relaxed.

And, amongst others, ran into Cody and Ella. Ella was in need of a nap so wouldn't smile but wasn't cranky either...just tired.

Although is was only about -10 today felt much colder than that. A bit of snow falling and very wintery looking, so good weather to browse crafts for Christmas.

The Hand of Henry

In case you missed it, World Cup controversy starts early this time. Thierry Henry's Hand Ball in the World Cup Qualifier match against Ireland wins France an entry into the games. Henry admitted (albeit a bit late) that he used his hand to direct the ball and FIFA have denied a replay of the game. Wouldn't it be something if France won the cup in the 2010 World Cup !!

Art Series ... again

Went to another in the Art Series tonight - Mary Gauthier (pronounced GoShay). Had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. She sings in the line of Dylan. Born in Lafayette and I believe now living in New Orleans she is internationally known. Her introductions are humorous but her songs are of the sadder variety - like she once said "I should sing a happy song now, but I don't have any". A show I thoroughly enjoyed. Below, I'll give you a taste of her music.

Article of Interest

Sipping my coffee and reading Popular Science (my favourite magazine) this morning, I came across this story:
PERSONAL CHEMISTRY
It talks about all the man-made chemicals we have in our bodies from womb to now.
Seeing the photo of the coffee-maker and reading my coffee contains "Deca BDE
A toxic flame retardant in plastic can leach into your brew" didn't help me enjoy my morning java. It went on to talk about sun screen, lotions, shampoo ... things we use everyday and things which are suppose to be good for us and the Rule of 1,000 - Anything released indoors is about 1,000 times as likely to be inhaled as something released outdoors. It is a very interesting article and if you View Photo Gallery you may wonder how we are still alive after using these everyday things.

On a similar note, (and in the same magazine) I cruised this site:
Alternative Uses for Everyday Products
I may just have to start using Vodka to clean my bathroom tiles (and I can think of another use or two for this cleaning agent).

Good health to you!

Oops

So if you think you just had a bad day at work ... it probably could have been worse.

Hallowe'en Night

Bookclub was set for Hallowe'en night. With minimal kids trick or treating it didn't really make much of a difference if we were home or not, and personally, I'd rather be sitting around with friends, sipping wine and eating appies than feeling the blast of -10 air hitting me every time I open the door to hand out candy. I know that's sort of a bah humbug statement but that is the truth.

Luckily we arrived before Peter, Cody & little Ella left for their Hallowe'en Party. As is the case with babies, Ella has grown by leaps and bounds since I last saw her. She was all decked out for the party in her Bat Cape & Bat Hat.

It's funny how different books affect different people. Joan & I loved The Book of Negroes while two others in the group couldn't read it as they found the subject too depressing. They also wouldn't be able to read the Wally Lamb book I'm currently reading called The Hour I First Believed which is about experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings. But I think everyone could read Gods Behaving Badly which is one of the few books I have ever laughed out loud to whilst reading it.

Clocks turned back, and extra hour of sleep (or partying), I guess winter is officially here. Going today to The Country House's Christmas open house. Lots of sales (along with appies) at my favourite store in Whitehorse.