It is a very long post....

Wednesday saw me back and Laura and Daniel's house to help fill the support columns.In the afternoon I volunteered to go help find stakes for an unknown project. Bo and I walked around the village with Elana and then we cut them to size for the unknown project. Thursday morning I was again back at Laura and Daniel's to help pour the next two columns. Did some odds and sods work, moving gravel and bricks followed by some dirt to help with future landscaping. I purchased a watermelon on our way back for lunch which most of the team took advantage of...the rest went intno the fridge for the end of day. After lunch we split into 3 teams and went to plant trees at homes Habitat has been involved in previoulsy in the village. This is where the stakes came in...the team I was with put our names and best wishes on the stakes we planted around the trees. When the teams returned from tree planting we finished the then cold watermelon...and it was good. I gave the few slices left over to the kids playing next door. After the nightly gelato we started to make plans for Friday evening. Looks like it will be the Evita tango show for my birthday. YEAH!

Friday and back to the village for our last day of building. More of the same type of work at the homes we helped with. As the last GV team until February (due to the heat) we helped tidy up what we could and headed back to the main building for lunch. We had lovely empanadas that had been cooked in a solar oven. Quite delicious. Lunch was follwed by dessert--a birthday cake for me. The team made their best efforts to light the candles but it simply was not meant to be. I made a very good show of blowing out the candles as you will see below. The team sang Happy Birthday to me in English and then the families sang to me in Spanish. It was wonderful. One of the ladies from our group had brought some cookies from Canada to share which produced the best line of the week...."Why does this cookie smell like a tree?" They were maple cookies. We said our good byes and got back into the bus to head back to Buenos Aires.

Random pictures...
My favorite pizza...yep, that is boiled eggs on top. Yummy!

 Not always the best of equipment to work with. Plastic bags tied around the hose to prevent leaking.

 Now this is a truck load of bricks.

 This gentleman runs a car wash business in the village we were working in. He asked me to take his picture.

 Filling the support columns.

One of the toys around the site.

 The daily wheelbarrow load of tools.

 Birthday lunch!!

 Yummy!

 Lighting the candles.

 Pretending to blow out the candles. With cheeks like that I should have been a sax player.

 Team and family photo on the last day.

One of the houses that we would help build/replace.

 Joe's tango hat.

 One of the two photos I took during the show. It was wonderful.

 Happy Birthday to me. I asked if we could go up on stage to take a few pics and do a little dance.

It was a great birthday.

Saturday was a free day...in more ways than one. It was one of two R&R days for the trip and it was ride the subway for free day. That isn't a national holiday, but the Presidential inoguration is...and in honor of that the trains were free all day. I totally took advantage and spent the day riding the subway. Getting off at random stops taking a few pictures and then hoping back on and getting off when I felt like it. It was a terrific day.

From notes:
I took the subway this morning. I have/had no destination in mind I only wanted to go adventuring and find a typical neighbourhood. I have managed that. I have gone in and out of local stores checking out Christmas decorations, glasses, clothes and a hardware store. I saw an outdoor market of sorts being set up--lots of small booths. I am heading back to check it out. My pesos are low and the last 2 bank machines have rejected my card so I may be broke until Monday when the banks open and I can convert some CDN $ over.

My breakfast this am was a  sweet croissant with dulce de lechee (sweet milk) inside. It is every bit as good if not better than the pain au chocolate in Paris. I am yawning--but shouldn't be. I think I got just over 8 hours sleep last night. I got in just after midnight and we slept until 8:45am. I'm sitting in the shade of a tall tree enjoying the people walking by and the day in general. The subway and tains are all free today due to the Presidential inogeration and I look forward to more stops on the subway.

I got off the yellow line about 10 minutes ago and found this cute little cafe. I have what I consider the best seat in the house. It is on the corner and I am right next to the sidewalk, the lower window is open to catch the breeze but I am also using the view for people watching. There are only 4 tables with people at them--but then again it is barely 12:30 early for lunch. This as I sit here is the Argentina I was looking for.

The market was a bust-just lots of mass produced stuff at each booth. Oh well. I decide that I point better than I speak Spanish and should give up butchering their language. I am the paranoid tourist when I walk--hand holding my bag in front--but then as I looked around on the train so do the Argentine's. Theft and pick pocketing is rampant--violent crime is not. (I later learned that two of the twelve team members had almost been pick pocketed that day.)

My sandwich has arrived. White bread, crusts cut off with proscuitto and cheese. Yummy. My finger nails are disgusting still dirt under them from the build site. Off to explore a bit on another subway line.

It's supper time now. Early for Argentina but with an impending tango lesson at 8pm I figure I better eat now. Not sure who is going to show up and frankly my feet are KILLING me. Who ever packed for this trip did not do a good job. Of course the lack of a decent pair of runner could have something to do with it. I'm in a pizzeria- a rather expensive one-sorta. There is a pizza place called Uigi's and they sell a mozerella pizza for 19 pesos. I opted for a restaurant with a washroom and seats...and well, one that was close. LOL. I am not entirely sure where I am suppossed to be going for hte lesson, there was talk of a cathedral but I thought is was a metro stop, not a place, but time will tell.

After much confusion and a wild taxi ride across the city we made it to the address we had. It looked pretty sketch but we knew it would be great--and it was. This is the kind of building you will never see built again. Barn like on the upper floor with a wood ceiling. Eclectic doesn't even begin to describe the decor. It looked like someone had been out on garbage day to collect all the tables and chairs people were tossing out. The art on the walls was huge and fabulous. We spent the night under the watchful gazes of two older ladies drinking wine. It was a great piece and must have been close to 6 feet long. The rest of the group stood up to take the lesson. I elected to be the purse watcher. I never actually wanted to learn-only to watch. The instructor was great and I had a wonderful time watching. After walking for most of the day I was tired and left at midnight. The rest stayed until 2am. Even with my early bedtime I am still feeling that I will need a vacation from my vacation.

Random pics...
This is my favorite from the whole trip. Taken at Laura and Daniel's house.

 Selling garlic on the street.

 Fake trees for sale.

 Veggies and fruit.

 Mate cups and straws.

 Rough looking neighbourhood at the end of the blue line.

 Mmmm, street meat.

 Getting my mate cup personalized.

 It has my name on it.

The sketch tango hall.

 It takes two to tango.

Finally...the trip

I dashed out the door on Friday morning (December 2) and headed to work for my last 4 hours of work before my vacation started. I was able to concentrate on work but also very aware of the time. One of the gals from work, Tara, was kind enough to take me to the airport and even hung out for a bit with me while waiting for the flight. She and the rest of the office surprised me with a donation for my trip--and a birthday cake! Tara had gone around that morning and told people what I was doing and received $730 in donations towards the trip. I was so touched by everyone's generosity I cried.

Flights went smooth all the way through.

From notes: We are landing in Buenos Aires soon. So far a very smooth trip. I've lucked out with my seats and haven't been cramped--well--no more than one can feel not cramped in lower class. I can only imagine how awesome one of the first class pods wouuld be. Maybe some day. I met up with one of the other volunteers before leaving Toronto and by the time we left Santiago, Chili the four of us on this flight had met up. (My first time on the same flight as another GV volunteer.) My flight was Fort McMurray to Toronto, Toronto to Santiago, Chili and the Buenos Aires, Argentina. A total of 26 hours from check in to landing in Argentina.

The hotel is quaint. If you didn't know exactly where it is located you would walk right by. The front of the hotel is about 6 feet wide including the door. But it opens up inside and and it surprisingly wide with a lovely open roof that brings great light and a wonderful breeze into the hotel. From front door to 3rd floor there was 108 steps to walk up and down...and I did 2 times a day at a minimum. There was an elevator but it only held three people at a time--max and frankly it was usually faster to walk then wait for the lift.

The view from the first floor lobby area...there was another set of steps down to the key desk before you got to ground level.

The dirty clothes chair...it probably smelled pretty bad.

Room with a view? Taken from my bed. In the bathroom we had a bidet as did all the rooms and a walk in shower. The shower curtain touched your knees when you sat on the toilet. Tiny.

Plaza Asturais. The first restaurant we ate at as a group. (Saturday evening) Everyone is getting along well. Note to travelers, when you order steak in BA, steak is all you get...we had three people order stead and these giant pieces of meat came out for them to eat. No garnish, no side dish, just meat. It was about 2 inches high, 4 or 5 inches wide and 10+ inches long. I had chicken with a side of pumpkin. It really tasted more like butternut squash and not at all like pumpkin pie.BA seems to be very European in scope but with a slightly different feel that I haven't yet put my finger on. While I am not presently a visible minority as I have been on my other builds I am very much--as is the entire group--a verbal minority. They had 3 English menus at the restaurant even with that we were challenged to order food. But we all ended up well fed.

The Spanish in Mexico is a lot closer to the French in Canada than the Spanish in Argentina.

In Buenos Aires to rent one must have a large down payment, up to 4 months rent, a guarantor who owns land in the city and proof of a job. That is very difficult for many people to achieve and so a lot of people live just outside the city or in hotels in the city. According to the information presented at our orientation session about 35% of all people in Argentina live below the poverty line which is $1300 pesos per month. (Less than $300 US/month) We were building in La Matanza which is located about 24km from downtown BA. The four families we would be working with were: 1. Laura & Daniel, Miguelina, Gustovo & Lourdes,and Elba. They live in what Habitat calls seed houses and habitat helps with incremental improvements.

Monday--December 5 Day 1 of building
We were split into two groups.I offered to go and help the group that would be putting in a new floor vs helping with painting. I'm not much of a painter and finishing painting is something I should be kept far away from.

I headed out with 5 of the guys from the team at Laura & Daniel's house. They have 3 kids; 5, 12 and 14. He is a cook and she does cleaning at various parks in the area 1/2 days.

The mortar mix was 2 buckets of sand, 1 cement and 1 lime and 10-14 buckets of aggregate plus water as needed. We did about 15 loads--so do the math and figure out how many buckets of sand and aggregate I helped shovel. We had an electric mixer which made the job much easier and faster than I had anticipated. Mixing on the road or a flat surface would not been reach nor would it have been as consistent. We finished the floor area by end of day and everyone was pretty happy with the job we had done.

The other group had completed the finishing work at the first home and after a quick round of photos at the end of the day with the family we were off and back to BA for the evening. This evening would start two very dangerous behaviors that would follow us for the remainder of the trip--eating gelato and drinking red wine--not together.

After a hot day working in the sun it was fabulous to pop down the road to the local gelato store, select from over 30 flavours--and picking 2 or 3 at a time then sit and eat. The first night we got back to the hotel, showered and then headed out for our cool, sweet treat. By the second day we knew better and instead of climbing the 108 steps to the showers headed for gelato first. I'm sure the guys that worked there were impressed with the look and smell of us.

And after the second or third day we even figured out the right way to order--pay first and then select the flavours. Whoops.

The gelato was 18 pesos a pop or about $4.50 CDN per night--by far my biggest expense of the trip.

The red wine came after the showers and before dinner. Knowing we were in Argentina where they make red wine we took it as a challenge to find some great wine to bring back with us to Canada. Each night 3 of us shared a bottle of wine--for research purposes.


Tuesday, Day 2 of building
I learned today how to plaster--I suck. I spent the morning back at the same house I had the first day, digging, filling buckets, etc. After lunch I decided to change things up a bit and one of the gals who had been painting and then plastering switched with me. After my failed attempt at plastering I grabbed my camera and took a few shots of the garden the home owner tended to.

My tiny bit of plastering...

After the photos I grabbed a quick drink of yerba mate with Antonio--he was the master plaster helping. Mate is a tea. The traditional way to drink it is to share it. You fill the mate (cup) with the yerba mate (tea) dry and then add a bit of cold (or hot) water to it and insert the bombilla (straw). The idea is to wet only one small area of the mate with the liquid. The person making it sips it to check and then passes it to someone else who drinks until the liquid is gone and passes it back. The water is added, the tea is tested and it is passed to someone else. Sometimes it is mixed with tang instead of plain water. With the tang it is super refreshing and super yummy.

After my quick drink I offered to help sift sand for the plasters. It took about 20 minutes to sift a wheelbarrow full which was about the same amount of time it took them to use up a batch of stucco.

Wednesday--Day 3 of the build
I headed back to Laura & Daniel's house to help fill a couple of support columns. I filled the buckets with sand, gravel and cement mix then into the mixer, add some water and voila! It was a bit more accurate then that but not by much. The rest of the team with me filled pop bottles with the cement and passed it up to be poured into the columns. When the cement was mixed and dumped I went back to trying to dig a hole that a couple of people had started the day before with a pick axe. Yep...it was some pretty hard dirt.

The family and the support beam building team. (Actually the team from Friday--but you get the idea) From left to right: Joy (co-leader), Maureen (daughter of Joy), Laura's dad, me, Peter. In front kneeling Bo and beside him Laura (home owner)

The support columns ready to be filled.

Some tools of the trade.

Starting the hole.

My buckets for making cement.

The hole...partially filled with water. When you put water in and then use rebar to make a few holes in the dirt the water is absorbed quickly and then it is a bit easier to dig out...muddier yes, but it works.

Supper on Tuesday night was at a local pizza parlour. Yummy. We ordered 4 different types and tried them all. My favorite was the Nepolean. It had proscuito on the bottom followed by slices of ham and palm heart, lots of cheese and then chopped hard boiled egg with a pepper and olive for presentation. YUMMY. It also has salsa golf on it...yeah, that is actually this sauce made out of ketchup and mayo. Trust me...it was amazing.

Ok...enough for tonight/today. It has taken a good chunk of the day to get the pictures uploaded. I'm off to Edmonton in the morning to catch up with a friend. More photos and stories later in the week when I get back.

I'm back and alive...the girls are enjoying me being home. Too tired to do anything except sleep. Updates later in the week with pictures.

Tired but happy. Lots of notes from the trip. Updates on Monday...or maybe Tuesday when I touch down on Canadian soil.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

It's our final day of the build here in Buenos Aires. We didn't have internet connection on Wednesday and so there were no updates.

The build continues to go well and we have met a number of families. I have notes on all of this that I will write up for you when I get back.

Tonight we go to a tango show. YEAH!

Friday
We are landing in Buenos Aires soon. So far a very smooth trip. I lucked out with my seats and haven´t been cramped--well no more than usual in lower class, the whole trip. I can only imagine how awesome one of the first class pods would be. Maybe some day. I met up with one of the other team members in TO before getting on the plane and by the time we arrived in Santiageo Chili the four of us on our flight had met up. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the team.

Frist supper with group at Plaza Asturais. Everyone getting along well. Note to travellers when you order steak in BA, all you get is steak. And a lot of it. We guessed 20 ounces. No garnish, no side dish, just pure meat. It was good. I didn´t order steak but did have a few bites of someone else´s. I had chicken with pureed pumpkin. It was yummy. A couple nice glasses of a Norton Malbec and to end the evening a shot of Lemonicilloi (sp?). A short stroll down the street looking for an open supermarket proved futile but we did find a store open 25 hours. Yep, that´s pretty good service.

BA seems to be very European in scope but with a slightly different feel that I haven´t yet put my finger on. While I am not a visible minority here I am as is everyone else on the team a verbal minority. English is not as common here as it is in India, Paris, etc. But we are certainly surviving. They had 3 English menu´s at the restaurant and we simply passed them back and forth.

Hotel is quaint. Not fance, no frills, but totally acceptable.

Saturday
We went on a tour of BA today. One of those totally tourist things where you sit at the top of an open air bus with headphones on to the language of your choice. It was a great way to see the city and was over 3 hours long. The commentary was interesting but not a lot of great picture opportunities.

This evening we had our GV orientation. Learned about Habitat in Argentina and about where we would be building. Here´s a few facts, 1/3 of the population of Argentina is in Buenos Aires. 4/10 people live in poverty but the Habitat people think that number is old and low and think is more like 5/10. Habitat has been in Argentina since 2002 and have helped with over 150 homes. Their mission statement is "Mucho mas que casas" "Much more than houses"

I like it.

In BA, to rent an apartment you must have a large down payment, upwards of 4 months rent, a guarantor who owns property in BA, and proof of a job. It is difficult to get all these things lined up when starting out. We will be working with 4 families, Laura & Daniel, Miguelina, Gustavo & Lourdes and Elba. They live 24km from the city centre and make around $300 US per month.

Tonight we had mate, a traditional drink for the area. It is a very strong green tea. Interesting way of drinking it...they hollow out a gourd (and let it dry) then they fill the gourd with yerba mate and put in a silver straw that has holes in the bottom--tiny holes not like a normal straw. Then you add the hot water. The server tries it and then you drink until all the water is gone and then pass it back. Then they add more water and the next person drinks out of it--same straw. I bought two of the gourds and may experiment when I get back to Canada.

Tomorrow we start building! Yeah!!!

Oh, awesome surprise for me before I left FMMA. My workmates got together and collected $730 towards my trip. How nice is that? And they gave me a birthday cake and card. I was totally touched, Ok, yes, I cried a bit when they presented it. People really are good.

I will update when I can.

I am such a procrastinator. I still haven't done my pre-pack to make sure I have everything...oh well. I'm sure I'll be fine. I still haven't cleaned the house from top to bottom and I have someone stopping by tomorrow to meet the cats so it at least needs to be presentable. And I still haven't finished my Christmas door decorations.

I have...spent part of my evening entertaining my cats and thinking about life and my future. I have recovered from one day of illness on Monday when I was home sick. I have managed to pick up a charger for my camera. Not the charger I ordered but one that will do for now. I also managed to finally get the promise from the store manager that when the one I ordered comes in she will take this one back. This one is twice the size and while it would work for any battery of this type regardless of size, I want my small charger. It fits into my life nicely.

Work was interesting today. We were evacutated from the building last night due to what they thought at the time was a gas leak. It wasn't. It happened at the end of the day and there was only a few of us in the building. 911 was called and it was fine. I actually was just about to leave the office when we were told to get out so I just drove home totally unconcerned. Today it happened again just before lunch. We evacuated again and after a quick head count headed down the street to one of our other offices. The staff were feed pizza, watched a movie and awaited news. Some of us spent the time in the building trying to determine if/when it would be safe for the others to return and how we were going to fix the smell. It wasn't a gas leak. We are pretty sure we have an idea of what caused the smell. It certainly wasn't dangerous but better safe than sorry. Everyone is back to work in the morning. Needless to say I didn't get much actual work done.

Yes, I'm super excited about the trip...it is almost all I can think about. What I am surprised at is my apparent lack of planning. I didn't go to see about shots and immunizations...which I should have. Having been to India in April I figured I was up to date. I have had worries recently about yellow fever and my ability to get into the country but my research over the weekend shows I should be fine. (Fingers crossed--wouldn't that be embarassing??!!) I haven't really done any searching for places to go or things to see in Buenos Aires. I normally do lots of research, grab a travel book and highlight the heck out of it. Not this time. I guess because I really only have 2 days to tour around and at least part of it will be with the team I don't expect to need to 'fill time'. It is going to be a very relaxing time for me. Yeah.

Here's the website the team will be updating...I will try to do my own dates on this site but feel free to follow along on the team site.

http://argentinabuild.webs.com

See you on the flip side of the world!

In only 6 days I will be stepping foot onto an airplane and heading South. Further south then I have ever been before. Below the equator. Excited doesn't begin to cover the feelings.

I have found someone to come in and take care of the cats. One of the ladies from work is happy to stop in a few times and check up on them. I will be cat proofing the house over the next few days.

Tomorrow I will be doing my practice pack and getting ready to decorate my holiday door at the office. I have this idea for a fireplace on the door with a wreath on the mantle and stockings hung all around.

Tonight I headed out for the lighting ceremony at one of hte local parks to start the holiday season. It was a great light/music show followed by a parade. The parade was pretty good. Lots of great lights and some interesting floats. My favorite was a cement truck with lights all around and a couple of penguins on the 'slide' at the back. There were lots of treats for the kids and people were singing out and shout Merry Christmas. Great atmosphere. My only negative thought was that I was not properly dressed to be out for so long. I knew the parka and my snowpants would be too hot so I didn't wear them. What I did wear was ok for the start of my evening but about a 1/2 hour in I was starting to regret that decision. For the first time in I don't know how many years I was not properly dressed for the cold outdoors. I may need at some point to invest in a pair of snow pants that are not as warm as the ones I presently own which are more made for long days out in -40 temps....not temps hovering around -5. But no rush on the new snowpants, I'm heading to a place where the temperature is hovering around 25+ and by the time I get back the temperatures will be closer to -20.

Someone really needs to come over here and get me off the couch and into action to clean, fold laundry, pack and make my decorations.

Another weekend has come and is almost gone. I need to head out to the library this afternoon and get some more books--and do some returns. Other than the laundry the only major thing left to do today is chill. Chill seems to be the word of the day in town.

We've been hovering around -20 the past week. It really doesn't bother me. You dress for it and that's all there is to it. Of course this winter I am spoiled as I have heated underground parking which means in the morning I climb into a warm vehicle that isn't covered in snow. At the end of the day I get in and drive home which involves a bit of snow removal but still, no complaints from me.

The two fuzzy roommates have finally given up on going outside but are still happy to sit at the door for a few minutes and sniff the air. There isn't snow on the deck yet so I haven't had the joy of tossing them out into the snow for the reaction.

I will do a trial packing run this week to see if I am prepared for the journey south...but I think I have everything I need. I picked up some building pants yesterday and that was all I had on my shopping list. It is a short trip--12 days in total. And that includes the 20+ hours of travel each way.

Here I am still alive and doing well in FMMA. It doesn't seem that long since I posted but apparently it has. We had our first snow fall last Thursday and it is here to stay. The temperature has dipped below the -10 mark and I suspect we are there to stay until Spring. There was frost on everything today...that beautiful white frost that would be perfect for photographing...if one had a camera that worked. Technically the camera works but the battery charger doesn't. I have ordered a new charger and with any luck it will arrive before I leave on December 2.

Last weekend I went very low key and basically locked myself into the apartment and hibernated. I had an emotionally rough week at work and knew that the upcoming week would also be emotionally draining so decided to just avoid people...especially people how suck energy out of me. So, no phone calls, no going out, no library visit. Just me and the cats hanging out together. It was FAB U LUS. It is difficult for people who don't live alone to figure out how people who do live alone could need time away from people but for me it is true. I find my day job working with people and their issues is often mentally drianing and emotionally draining...so having time alone to recharge my personal emotional battery is important. Odd duck...maybe. But I know me. I know what works for me.

My mother has returned from her trip to New York and by all accounts it was a success. In just over 2 weeks I will be heading South for my own adventure. Am looking forward to arriving in Argentina.

Before my mother headed out on her trip she asked what I wanted for my birthday/Christmas. So...this morning I decided to put together a WISH list...this is by no means the actual list but the grandiose if I had a lot of money and was a frivilous person this is what I would buy list...





I'll start with this gorgeous dress from Dolce & Gabbana. An absolute steal at $4,525. That's US so it would be a wee bit cheaper in CDN $.

This shoe is a steal at just under 100 pounds. It doesn't go with the dress, but I'm sure I could find something else to wear with them. I just think they are fabulous.


And that's the end of my list. lol...short and sweet. ah well.

Just got back from the gym and it was awesome. I enjoy going once I get there and we all know the biggest hurdle is the going. It is certainly helping to have a gym buddy. Another 5 sessions before I head out on my holiday...which is only 26 days away!

Haven't started looking for a cat sitter yet. I'm hopeful I can get someone from work to come in and look at them a couple of times. It is a short trip so I figure they only need three visits (at a minimum) to make sure they have enough water and that they haven't totally destroyed the house. They are being super cuddly today. Earlier we all fell asleep together on the couch which is a super rare occasion. It was delightful...right up until the phone rang and the two of them bolted.

The weather has taken a downward turn and we have been in the below zero temps for the past week....but still no snow. I did notice that the river has ice all around the edges and is looking gorgeous. I can see the river from my deck. And with the downward turn in the temps my two monsters are not as anxious to be outside. Actually, they are anxious to be out but then change their minds when I actually open the door.

I went to a passion party last night. One of the girls from work invited me and I'm glad I went. It was a ton of laughs and a great group of gals. I hope to hang out with some of them again.

Hoping to head to Edmonton the weekend after next for a quick one day trip again. Would like to pick up a couple of items before my trip and hey, a girls day in Edmonton is never a bad thing.

And another short week coming up. I always mark Rememberance day in my own way and will do the same again this year. I hope you do too.

Oh the things one can find on the internet. Today I learned that girls can pee standing up. I saw/heard about it in a tv show and well, had to know. And now I do. There is a knack to it but it could prove a useful trick for the next build. I won't explain it, if you are really interested--google it.

Had a really good day at work today. One of those ones when it wasn't hurried or frantic and nothing major popped up. One of those days when you get stuff done and feel you are master of your desk.

As we get older we generally find that we are becoming more andmore like our parents. In this next case I think my mom is becoming more like me. My mom is heading down to New York city to help out at the Bowery Mission.

"The Bowery Mission has served homeless and hungry New Yorkers since 1879, when its neighborhood came to define the term “skid row.” Our children’s programs, called Kids With A Promise, serve at-risk youth and began in 1894 by giving the children of recent immigrants the chance to escape the tenements in the summer."

"This year, our donors and volunteers helped The Bowery Mission provide more than 356,000 meals, 34,000 bags of groceries, 72,100 nights of shelter and 45,300 articles of clothing, as well as showers, haircuts, 500 professional doctor’s appointments and 100 eye examinations at our in-house clinic."

Mom's heading down with a group from her church, including a very close family friend. Have a great time ladies. Mom, I'm proud of you.

MAIL!!!

Finally. Last night the key was slipped under the apartment door for my mail box. I was able to finally get access to my mail...it's been over a month since it became trapped.

I headed downstairs and picked up my mail...I had parcels and letters and bills oh, and a magazine. It was super exciting.

Remember a couple of months ago when I bought leashes and harnesses for the cats in an effort to keep them on 'our' deck and not wandering over to the neighbours house for a coffee. Here's the pictures from that moment...just before the escape.

And this is from this morning...just before sunrise.

I have the ability to post photos once again...but the charger for my camera is not working properly. Not sure what is going on with it but will hopefully get that figured out soon.

Wednesday...
Isn't it funny how getting off work early can blow your entire schedule. I was happy to walk out the door early. It was a long day in many ways and I knew my brain had shut down...so I left 15 minutes early. Which meant I got home by 15 after 5 with a stop at the grocery store on the way...so when I turned on the tv was surprised by the choices and selection. I finished supper before 6pm where I haven't been home from wrok before 6pm in a long time...so now at 6:45pm I'm tired and the night seems very long.

T and I have had 4 sessions with the personal trainer. It's going quite well. We will have a total of 10 before I leave on holiday. Yeah...holiday!!

Thursday...
I'm staring down the door to Friday and am very much looking forward to it. I have this Friday afternoon off...same as last Friday. With any luck I won't have a ton of work on my mind. I got a ton of stuff done today and felt great when I skipped out the door at 5pm. I waited around for a co-worker and by 5:30pm we were out the door to a wine tasting. YEAH. It was nice and given the opportunity I'd go again except that this was the last one for this year. Oh well.

Weekend plans...to finally vaccuum the living room carpet. I have been avoiding this for a while. It's only the size of a large rug but just hasn't happened the past couple of weekends.llllaaaazzzzyyyyyy

Not much new here in FMMA. No snow yet which surprises some folks. We had snow on the ground in a couple parts of town last weekend but it certainly didn't last beyond the beginning of the day. No expectation of snow this weekend but one never knows at this time of year.

Tuesday was my first trip to my new personal trainer. Yep...I'm going to a trainer. She was great. My arms are a bit of jello today. Not enough to keep my from doing anything, but enough that I know I participated. I'm going with a gal from work so we share the session. We both think that having the other attending will be beneficial. I'm more likely to not cop out if someone else is going. We actually booked our 10 sessions last night and that will keep us going until the end of November.

The cost is a bit more than my bank account wants to take at the moment but will be a good investment in me. Yeah me.

Next session is tomorrow night and I'm not looking forward to it but I do know that when I get there I will enjoy it. And I'm only not looking forward to it because I'm tired tonight. It was an early start today and it is an early start tomorrow.

The two monsters are driving me nuts tonight and last night. Not enough kitty attention going on. Hudson walks around meowing all night. All she wants is to go out and when she gets out she just wants to get in again. Sigh. Bring on the snow so I don't need to listen to that anymore. Last night Tundra found a small ball of yarn to play with. She has yarn from the bedroom into the kitchen then into the living room and back again. Her favorite spot lately...in front of the toilet on the mat. Which is fine during the day/evening but once I go to bed it isn't so great. I never bother with lights at night and I step on her on a regular basis. You'd think she'd learn...nope. I don't understand the thrill of the bathroom but what do I know, I sleep in a bed.

SUNDAY
-6. Yep, -6 this morning. It certainly isn't a record but it is the first time since my arrival in FMMA that we have hit this temp. It is a crisp morning and the sun is shining bright and high in the sky. My two furry idiots have yet to understand the joy of sleeping in a sun beam and seem to spend nap time in dark closets or under furniture.

On tap for today is some cooking and baking. I have hopes of making some mini-meatloafs and salmon cakes to freeze and eat at a later date. The freezer is empty and I get lazy in the mornings and can't seem to throw together a lunch. Funny how I am up for 90 minutes before I walk out the door but can't seem to make lunch for myself. Thank goodness for plastic containers and freezers.

MONDAY
How's your Monday? Mine is almost over and that is ok with me. No big issues but it just seemed like a long day...you know?

There is a commercial on tv for optometrists and it freaks me out. The lady has eyes painted onto her eye lids and they look horrid. It totally grosses me out. Yep...you are welcome for that weird share.

Made the final payment for my trip to Argentina...now to buy the plane ticket. UGH. The price keeps going up and my visa has yet to come down....so it won't be a purchase until next month. And in 46 days I will be on that plane heading to Argentina.

And in 68 days it will be Christmas....think about it.

And in 53 days it is my birthday!!! and this year, I celebrate in Argentina....whoooo hoooo

It's Monday...and I'm not at work. :) Don't you just love holiday Mondays? Of course for you retired folks it may not see special in the same way it to to us M-Fer's but I'm sure you know what I mean.

I've been told by a long time FMMA resident (7 years and counting---which in FMMA terms is a long time resident) that in the fall it goes like this: green. yellow. gone. Well folks, that is correct. The leaves have been a gorgeous yellow colour the past few weeks. A very bright vibrant yellow gold that birch trees turn. Wonderful colour to look at in this little valley where I live. Today I notice that the leaves are gone. Not all of them, but when I look at the hills of the valley I notice that there are not grey patches where the leaves once clung. Large patches of soft grey among the yellow which sounds pretty but instead makes the hills look stark and bare. Fall has indeed begun to pass. The evenings are cool and a quick check of the weather shows that we reached negative temperatures over night.

The concrete on the patio during the day when the sun is out warms up to be bare foot friendly but the rest of the day it is cold and requires shoes. The cats are still very much enjoying their outdoor adventures but at night when the temperature drops they are more reluctant to take the initial steps out the door and I seem to be the only one hanging out out to view the Northern lights.

Goals for the day--clean apartment. This reminds me that this was my goal for Saturday but you know, stuff happens. I did manage to get the kitchen clean on Saturday and did some baking. I made apple cobbler muffins and a brownie of sorts. The only real problem with baking is that the kitchen gets dirty--again and must be cleaned--again.

With the help of T, I managed to get my pictures up in the office and I'm pretty happy with how it looks--pictures at some point in the future. Oh, and I got all the laundry cleaned, now to fold and put away. Thank goodness I just have me to look after cause I think if there were more of me I'd never get this place tidy.

I was awoken early Wednesday morning to that very unsettling feeling that overcomes one before they vomit. UGH. Sick. Too sick for work. Too sick to eat, drink, think and watch stupid tv. I wasn't feeling much better on Thursday morning and stayed home for a second day in a row. Friday of the long weekend I headed to the office for a few hours and while I had a few people say to me "You look terrible, should you be at work?" I stayed until early afternoon before heading home. Now I'm camped out on the couch with my kitties watching Coronation Street and hoping that the last bit of naseau goes away before tomorrow morning.

I know, I shouldn't complain. With so many people going through terrible things in the world a few days of flu(?) shouldn't make me grumble.

Other than Thanksgiving dinner at a co-workers on Sunday my only plans for the weekend are to get better and clean the apartment, my clothes, the floors and apparently the top of the ac's as I noticed that there is a pile of cat fur on top of it. ick.I have never been a great house keeper.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Hello Everyone.

It's going to be a long week. You know how you can just tell its going to be a long week when the first two days make you feel like you've been at work for a full week already.

On the very plus side of things I have an invite to Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Yeah, I'm pretty happy about that. She's new to FMMA and new to the company. Her BF is from PEI! I don't think we know each other or have common friends but you never know. I said I'd bring dessert...so now I need to figure out what to bring.

The weather has defintely taken the turn for cool fall temperatures and I'm enjoying the crisp air. The cats not so much. They still beg to go out but the time outside is getting shorter. I think their little paws find the concrete cold--or I did and I'm putting my feelings onto her.

I'm off to Walmart in a few minutes to pick up the pictures I ordered for the office. Fingers crossed that they turn out with a good enough resolution for hanging in my office. The office decoration continues. I got the new Ikea things in place and once the photos are framed and ready for hanging it will be complete! The pops of orange accessories look great against the yellow beige walls and the dark walnut desks. When you think of how much time you would spend in your office it only makes sense to have it looking nice and reflect your style.

Paid my deposit for Argentina last night and got some additional information on the trip. We will be staying in Buenos Aires the whole time and will be helping out in the city--not a remote village. It also sounds like some of my team members are interested in learning to Tango...so I think dance lessons are in my future. Yeah!

The trip to Edmonton was successful and we came back with a truck full of 'stuff.' Up at 5am and picked up T at 6am and on the road South shortly after that. We arrived in Edmonton just after 11am and the shopping began. First stop was to pick up something that another pal from work had requested and then off to the South side for Ikea...after a stop for lunch. We spent several hours wandering around in Ikea and I picked up some great things for my office makeover. Hit up a few other stores, spent some money and then hit the road again around 7:30pm. Arrived back just after midnight and I was hitting the sheets at 1am. Considing I had been up for 20 hours I was surprised I wasn't more tired.

It was nice to be back on some familiar roads and see some familiar sites.

Today I am having a very lazy day. I have piles of bags to put away and need to go to the office to put my new stuff away, but I don't feel like it yet...maybe later today. It's only 2pm after all so I still have lots of day left.

Besides, who doesn't deserve some down time after a day with 10 hours of driving?

It's Friday morning...almost noon. Thanks to the help of a little pill last night I slept in until almost 11am this morning. It was glorious. Today is my earned day off from work. And boy have I earned it.

The trip to Edmonton as you know was cancelled and I was kinda totally bummed out about it. On Thursday I took a friend out to lunch, she was having one of those days and needed to get away. At lunch she got a text from one of her friends saying she couldn't make it Saturday for their trip to Edmonton, well she could still make it but she wasn't going to take her own vehicle and could they take my friends. So...this person wants to go shopping and wanted someone to go with her. She asks my friend T to go. She agrees to go knowing that none of the stores they visit will have anything that fits her. (What a good friend!) Then the friend says I still want to go but we need to take your vehicle....so T says thanks but no thanks. The other person across the table from us was in need of having a cot picked up in Edmonton and wondered if we knew anyone driving down. Suddenly I go "We should go to Edmonton on Saturday. We can take my truck we will pick up M's cot, go to Ikea and come back that night.

And so we are.

Today is my lazy day cause tomorrow is gonna be great but tiring. It's about a 4.5-5hour drive each way...yeah...each way. But with some good music and a friend in the passenger seat I know I'll be able to do it. And who wouldn't drive 10 hours to go to Ikea???

I'm in the middle of bleaching my hair so I can redye it. The last look of chocolate brown and fushia was great but I'm not willing to spend $200 every 4 weeks to keep it up. So fingers crossed that this experiment will work out. I may need to wear a hat for a while if it doesn't work out. LOL

The girls are enjoying my presence at home today and have been spending a good part of it on the deck watching traffic. If I get up some energy this afternoon I was thinking of doing some baking. But you know it isn't critical at this point in time. I love long weekends...and we have another one coming soon October 10 is just around the corner!

I have moved offices at work. Just across the hall. It's a step down...I lost my window office for an interior hall one...but whatever it's just an office and I have plans for it. Not only are we stopping at Ikea tomorrow where I will pick up some frames I am stopping at Walmart to pick up a few photos that I am having printed off to hang in my office. Then I hope to pick up a few office accessories to complete the look. It will be famulous when I'm done and I won't remember that I don't have windows. My inspiration for the office is T (who is going to Edmonton with me), her BF bought her this huge awesome print of Paris that hangs in her office. It must be 3 or 4 feet wide. Looks great and gives her a view.

So, how's your Friday?

So in a good news sad news story. The good news is the cats won't be alone this weekend. The sad news is I'm not going to Edmonton. I'm disappointed but there is nothing I can do but pout about it and be upset...I'm trying not to take that road. Instead I am trying to see the positive side of it...I won't be spending a ton of money on hotels, meals and shoes.

Since I hadn't mentioned the trip to the cats they don't seem to have any sympathy for my cancelled trip. On the other plus side one of my co-workers who had to sit through the pouty J when I first got the news on Friday offered to have me drive to Edmonton with her at the end of October. Which is truly very sweet of her and I'm debating taking her up on the offer.

Another forest fire yesterday just south of FMMA had us on high alert at the office yesterday in case of evacuation. With only one highway in/out of the community and the fire blocking that exit I'm not sure what evacuation would have meant but I didn't worry about it. It was 10km away from town and I was confident that they would do something to keep it away. Reports this morning are that the highway is open so I think the worst is over.

If this is my dad...stop reading now. It's another cat story.

My kitties are growing up. The other night I was laying on the couch reading and suddenly I had two cats with me on the couch taking cat naps. One cat on each side of my legs. They were quite content and if wasn't for the end of the book I'm not sure how long we would have cuddled. They are not really cuddly kitties--at least not with me. It was a great step forward in our life.

So, Friday night I come home with some take out food and there is a plastic fork in the bag that is wrapped in a plastic bag. I drop it on the floor with the intent of picking it up later. I never got the chance. Tundra decided that it would make a great toy and has been playing with it ever since. She picks it up, carries it around and comes running if I pick it up and make noise with the bag. It's so funny and cute and free!

Ok Dad you can start reading again.

Went to a trade show today here in FMMA. It was fun. Another gal from work and I went and almost 4 hours after we arrived we left with bags of stuff in hand and a few of those mini donuts in my tummy. I purchased a new pair of mitts, some Dr. Watkins vanilla and a bottle of roasted red pepper and onion relish. Plus 6 reusable shopping bags which are a necssity here in FMMA where plastic bags are banned and only available from take out restaurants and clothing stores--but only some of them. I also came back with a few pens and squeezie toys. With a ton of luck I will win a couple nights stay in a hotel in Edmonton. I'm hoping for that or that I win on my Lotto Max ticket I bought. LOL

The girls and I survived the fire alarm from Saturday night. They have likely long forgotten the incident--nice to have a brain the size of a pea.

Whipped up a HUGE batch of chocolate chip banana muffins. It was a disaster and the muffins are all still sitting on the counter waiting for me to take them to the garbage. I'm not sure what happened to them they seem very tough. Oh well. At least i did a quality control check on them yesterday and didn't bring them into the office.

The pool at the fantastic amazing multi-complex thingy here in town should be open again tomorrow so I hope to get back into a semi-routine and go swimming again. And the added bonus is that most of the construction that was in my way there is over now...most, but not all. I will now need to get on the highway to pass an intersection they are working on downtown--it isn't as out of the way as you might think cause the highway is close to downtown. Anyway, I'm excited about the pool being open again. It's big enough that I've always managed to get my own lane when I go to do laps.

Working on my list of things to buy when I head to Edmonton at the end of the month. I guess a trip to Value Village will be in order to pick up some clothes for my upcoming trip to Argentina. I'll need some new work clothes for the build site.

And my team from India is looking for some direction for another build sometime in 2012. I'm all for it but am not sure if we need to aim for the right month of the right country. We will see. Guess I should do some research and send off an email to Habitat to see what might be available.

The leaves are changing colour but according to a long term resident they go green, yellow, gone. Apparently there won't be many other colours besides yellow to look at then then suddenly one day they will be gone.

I know it sounds wrong and considering we will hit 25 again this week unlikely to happen soon but I am looking forward to the crisp days of fall.

Where were you at 3:30am? Probably tucked in your bed sleeping. I was until that time then I was woken up by a loud beeping noise and a white light flashing in my apartment--the building fire alarm. The cats started freaking out and I stumbled around for a few minutes wondering what was going on. It finally clicked and I was able to shut off the alarm in my apartment--the sound is turned off but the strobe light continues to flash. You can though still hear the sounds coming from the hallway.

I pull on a pair of jeans, sweatshirt and shoes, grab my keys and start for the door. I stop unsure what to do about the cats. Is it really a fire? If so I need to take them with me. If it's not a fire then they will be ok. I head out the door and make it to the top of the first set of steps when I decide to turn around and go back to the apartment.

I grab a backpack and stuff Hudson into it cause she is closest to me. As I'm trying to stuff her into the bag I find another bag inside it and take it out to put Tundra into. Hudson is in the bag and the bag is moving around as I try to find Tundra. She's terrified and hiding under the bed. She doesn't like to be held at the best of times and by the time I finally drag her out from under the bed she is frantic with panic. Try stuffing a large cat into a small bag in the dark. Not fun.

I grab my computer hard drive, put the backpack with Hudson on, pick up the bag with Tundra in it and head for the door. Everything else can burn. I walk down the 4 flights of stairs and out into the night. Just as I hit the last flight of stairs that pityful mourn that only cats can make comes from Tundra. It sounds horrible. I find a quiet(?) spot in between a couple of trucks and sit to comfort the cats and wait for the fire trucks that have yet to arrive.

There is no visible sign of smoke or fire so I assume it is some sort of false alarm that is attached to the power outage we are experiencing. The fire trucks finally show up and the firefighters go in to check out the building. I sit on the curb and allow one cat at a time to poke her head out of her bag while I pet and try to comfort. Hudson is taking it much better and I opt to, once she seems ok with whats going on, focus my energy on Tundra who has started the mewling again. I open her bag again and the head and a couple paws come out. She was ready to make an escape given the opportunity. I'm watching the firefighters go in and out of the building and notice eventually that the power has come back on. We eventually get the all clear and no matter how hard I push and shove can not get Tundra's head back in the bag. I give up and allow her to watch as I walk back up the stairs to the apartment.

Had it of been a fire I would feel ok with my actions. I saved the cats and my computer. Everything else wouldn't have mattered. My flashlight that stays plugged in all the time in the bathroom was fully charged and able to help me find my way around in the dark. I was also fully dressed and able to be outside in the weather we were having--unlike the lady in the bathrobe and slippers.

When we got back inside the apartment they seemed quite happy and after a quick snack settled down again to sleep. But, let's hope this isn't a regular thing in the building cause I don't think the cats could handle it again. (I'm sure they could but they were pretty scared at the time) Me, I wasn't scared just set in my mind about what I needed to do.

Friday night and I feel alright. Actually I have a small headache starting but I'm sure that will end once I get out of the apartment. Heading to a movie tonight--The Help. It looks interesting.

Saturday night I'm headed to an event here in town. The company bought a table and then we had some extra tickets so I grabbed one and am looking forward to attending. It's cocktail attire so I get to get dressed up. Now to go through the closet and see what I have with me that might be acceptable for the event.

Banana muffins are on the menu for this weekend and the folks at work will get the fruit of my labour on Monday. Other than that no plans for the weekend but I suspect after two nights out and some baking I'll be tired and ready for the next weekend.

At the end of the month I'm off to Edmonton for a couple of days. Work for two and then one for me! Looking forward to that short trip. I will get to catch up with a former co-worker. Should be a good time.

The Northern Lights were out and about on Sunday night. It was so great to see them again. I sat out on the deck and watched for about 20 minutes--until Hudson managed to get past me and jumped over the balconey railing to go and visit the neighbour. I went inside and closed the door until she returned. Last night we three went outside again to see if there was a show going on and the minute my door opened the neighbours closed....guess he wasn't in the mood for a kitty visit.

My summer herbs have died. We had a frost warning one night a week or so ago and some of them took a hit that night. The rest have browned and shriveled in the days since. My not watering them for a while likely didn't help but it is hard to compete with temperatures during the day in the 30's and zero at night. Now I will need to figure out what to do with them during the winter months. I'll keep them out on the deck--no room inside the apartment but do I need to pull the dead plants out now? Or can I leave them until spring? Anyone know if I could plant tulips in them and have them grow in the spring? Now that's an idea!

I had planned on an update last night but ended up having to go to work for a while and wasn't really in the mood by the time I got home. This morning also kind of went away as I was at the office for the whole morning and then had lunch with a co-worker...Monday will be arriving way to soon.

As a quick note for the day I remember being in Corner Brook at work when the first word of the towers came out. I went around looking for our US students to let them know what was going on. There was a lot of disbelief going around and concern. I watched HOURS of the news footage and couldn't really understand why this war had started. To this day I still don't understand war. In the days that followed I began to wonder what would become of me and my travels to the US. Was I safe travelling on a plane and would I be safe travelling in the US. I was and it was fine. Best to get right back up on the horse.

To those of you who lost loved ones that day there are no words to express our feelings but you should know we are here for you.

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FMM is a 24/7 kind of town. The work at sites never stops and people are coming and going at all hours...but it does get quiet at night at least here in town. The stores understand the 24/7 shift work way of life and while none of the grocery stores are open 24 hours they do retain the same hours every day of the week...most of the stores do actually. There is no short hours on Sunday. It makes life easier for those employees who work so many days in a row followed by a few off and it makes life easier for me because I don't need to time my shopping around their hours on the weekend. On Sunday I can start my grocery shopping as early as 8am and finish as late as 10pm. At least at the store across the street.

What have I been doing lately? A lot of nothing. I haven't been camping because the bears have scared me away. When the bears are willing to walk around the very busy Walmart parking lot I can't see how my tent will protect me from their need for a snack. Most people have agreed with me and a lot of the runners and walkers are no longer out and about on their own. I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I haven't read a book in a long time. Yes, while travelling I read but not a Sunday afternoon dive into a book kind of read. That has changed in the past month. I'm starting off with easy read books. Novels about nonsense that I don't need to pay a lot of attention to the plot. Not romance novels but definitely some chick lit in my apartment lately. One book was so good that I stayed up late one night reading it. Sometimes its good to read books that aren't good for you.

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Work is good but incredibly busy. My boss left a month after I started and I've been doing double duty ever since. She didn't leave the company but has been pulled away for a special assignment and has left FMMA. She sees it as a badge of honor that she went months without extra help and that I should see it that way. I don't. But I guess that isn't surprising. I like the people I work with and am very happy to be where I am. But it sure would be nice to have some extra help. I have about 500ish employees to look after.

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I'm still a baking machine and I don't think a week has gone by that I haven't brought something in for my co-workers to munch on. This week will be banana muffins. I'm just waiting for the bananas to over ripen.
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The girls are doing fine. I bought some diet food for them a couple of weeks ago and poor Tundra has had dandruff ever since. I'm hoping that a couple weeks back on the regular food will clear up that problem. Hudson who has no weight problems--skinny minny was getting extra treats during this time to make up for the diet food she clearly doesn't need to be on. But they are both off the diet and we will just live with the chubby kitty for now.

They are changing their personalities a bit. Hudson has been rubbing her face up against my feet a lot and the she lays on her back and lets me rub her belly. This is very new behaviour for her. The belly rubbing is nice for both of us--I love her soft fur.

I bought them one of those scratching things you see on tv. It's an arc shape. Cardboard covered with a small bit of grit and that sits in a plastic holder. I have thrown out the plastic holder and turned the arc upside down. Tundra sits on it and rocks a bit now and then before she tears it apart with her claws. The little bits of cardboard over the living room carpet show me how much she enjoys it. Funny how they don't like it the way it was designed.

We are one big happy family most days.

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I think (and am hoping) that I need to go to Edmonton at the end of the month for work for 2 days...and will hopefully be able to spend a day shopping.

I'm on track for my trip to Argentina in December. My vacation has been approved and now I just need to do some more research and book my ticket. Lots of time for that yet....it seems like a LONG time to go but I know it isn't.

This week will be the end of my 3 month probation at work. 3 months already--imagine that.

So...I'm hoping to do this again on a regular basis...I think I'm back.

I'm back....or I will be by the end of the day.

Hi. I'm not totally back but here's a quick update.

I'm not doing a whole heck of a lot at the moment. Work, reading, hanging with the cats.

The cats do not like the harnesses I bought and put on them this morning. In fact, Hudson got out of hers in under one minute flat. Since the appearance of a neighbour out on the deck and his claim that Hudson keeps going into his apartment to visit--she's nothing if not friendly--I have been unable to let them out on their own. One possible solution is to put them on a harness and tie them out on the deck. I guess that isn't going to work so well...or will take a lot of practice and patience on my part.

I've done some more baking for work. Today I made walnut brownies with a caramel sauce on top. They look yummy and gooey...hope they taste good.

I finally decided on a vacation destination....Argentina. Yep, South America here I come. I will be going down to do a GV build with Habitat. I'm pretty excited about the trip even though as usual it is MONTHS away. I'll be celebrating my birthday in Argentina this year--how cool is that. (December)

Yes, I'm still alive...I'm still not quite ready to blog FT...but that will come. Oh, and I'm an Aunt. Again. My sister had her baby today...a bouncing baby boy. Mother and son are apparently doing fine.

Thanks for the nice notes everyone, its nice to be missed.

Thunder and lightening storms seem to be an almost daily occurence here in FMMA. They never seem to last for long but they are very regular events. Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, Sunday noon and by the looks of the sky I'd say we are getting another one this evening. I've never seen to many thunder storms in all my life.

The cats are for the most part not bothered by them, I guess the noise is just another noise in the long line of noises they hear everyday. Although the storm at noon today was directly above us and the thunder and lightening were coming in quick succession and the noise was unbelievably loud. They cowered at one point but I coaxed them out and we played some ball...all was good.

The lack of blogging isn't over the money but I'm not posting any pictures because of it...it isn't the money, its the principle of the whole thing. When I go to add a photo it tells me I'm over my limit and then when you click on the link you get this...

"Images and photos that are uploaded through Blogger get stored in your Picasa Web Albums, which are part of your Google Account. The number of images you can upload is therefore dependent on the amount of space you are using on Picasa Web Albums. To find out how much space you have available, please see these instructions.

If you would like to purchase more storage space, the Picasa Web Albums help center can tell you how.

Note: If you have recently upgraded your quota limit, you may have to login to your PWA account in order for the new storage quota to be reflected on Blogger."

It's a tad confusing cause it doesn't seem that all my photos are on picaso. I dunno. I'm still thinking about the whole thing.

I made these last week:
http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2009/01/cranberry-orange-cupcakes.html

They were well received at the office. This week I'm hoping to make red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. My office mates are spoiled.

Any other bloggers out there who have reached their max amount for photos? I need to buy more space before I can post more photos. Don't like that idea. Thoughts?

Survived the quick 24 hour turn around in Edmonton. I've been back in town and trying to get caught up on the laundry and dishes that were left since last weekend when I was out camping.

Not really in the mood lately for blogging. I'm sure that won't last long.

This time tomorrow night I will be at the airport. Yep, I'm outta here. For 24 hours. I am attending a one day training session in Edmonton on Thursday. I'm looking forward to meeting some more of my co-workers and to learning something new.

I had hoped to have an extra day to meet people and spend time with them, but that isn't possible given the staffing shortage we are under going--anyone want a job? So I fly in Wednesday night and back Thursday night. Just in time for the long weekend!! WHOO HOO!!

No time for shopping in Edmonton...boo. Guess I will have to wait until the next trip--September.

This picture will explain my weekend...

I left the office Friday night to sunshine and blue skies. I stopped at Walmart and picked up the cooler and by 6pm I was on the road to the Gregoire Provincial Park. It is about 20ish km from FMMA. Close enough to home if you forget something but far enough away that you no longer feel that you are in the city. And you aren't. The campground is off the highway and the whole park has trees, trees and more trees. They are 30+ feet tall and provide some wonderful shade. My campsite was a great size and I was very impressed with the amount of coverage between sites. What's the point of getting away if you can look out the front of your tent and into your neighbours.

I quickly set up camp, collected my fire wood and the weekend was off to a great start. I cooked my steak--which I must say tastes so awesome cooked over charcoal. After supper I managed to get my campfire going and enjoyed the evening in front of the crackling logs. Around sunset I headed to bed and read a bit before finally falling asleep. Without the cats to get me up I was able to sleep in until around 9am. Record breaking. It had rained during the night which I found very peaceful and relaxing. It was still raining when I got up so I was a bit damp when I returned from my little walk around the campground. It wasn't a downpour  but a light sprinkle yet enough to discourage sitting on any of the furniture at the site. I made my tea and oatmeal and was then trying to decide if I should pack it in and head back to FMMA or stay and see if the weather would improve. I wanted to stay and so decided to set up rain camp.

The back was high enough that I could comfortably stand and the front was low enough that the rain didn't pelt me. Basically it was a good shelter considering I tried to put it up by myself with out help of chair or ladder. And my shelter went up much faster with my one woman team than the one at the next campsite with two guys and two ladies attemping to set it up...and their wasn't any taller than mine.

I happily set up my little kitchen and my book, radio, etc and happily spent most of the day in my shelter. It was quite nice actually. The putting up the shelter part left me wet and dirty but a change of clothes and I was dry for the remainder of the day.

Lunch time...chunky soup and some delish french bread with melted cheese on top.

My chair got wet over night in the rain so I put my rain coat over the back to keep me dry and a bag from Ikea on the seat. It worked.

One of the holes in the roof of my shelter. The tarp is recycled from my trip across Canada so it has a few holes in it. This is by far the biggest one and it didn't really seem to leak much so it's ok. I can't see me investing in a new tarp this year when this one will do.

So the first picture of this post...is one of the sides that helped to hold up the tarp.

The rain let up late in the afternoon and I spent about 90 minutes wandering up and down the roads and paths at Gregoire. It's quite nice and I'm hopeful that I can head there again--soon.

 Saskatoon berries...they were a big attraction for not only the people camping but also for bears. I was warned when I checked in that there had been some bear sightings prior to my arrival. No bear viewing for me which is quite fortunate as far as I'm concerned.

 A picture of Gregoire Lake...or as much as I could see of it given the overcast skies.

 Berries of some sort. They look like they have wings on them.

Good weekend all around. Looking forward to the next camping trip. Maybe next time Lac La Biche.

The cats were good as gold and didn't destroy anything in the apartment...nothing was even out of place. I think Tundra my little stress eater managed to put on a couple of pounds but other than that no damage to anyone or anything. Way to go girls!