Cdn Bachelorette - its a wrap

Of the final 2 guys she had, she picked the correct one...although, he is the one that left and came back....so who knows if he'll just continue to be married to his job & drive her away.

The other guy was more of a free spirit, but I think he has a commitment problem, so she's better off with this guy for stability - although, I'm not to sure if that's a trait she'd be overly interested in.

There was a twist in that the 3rd place guy came back to propose. I really liked him, they seemed to get along really well, but he was really scared of committment and showing emotion, so I think she'd lose it with him and all his qwerks (he'd make a great accountant).

Tonight is the "After the rose" show in which sometimes they are already broken up since the taping of the final episode, so we shall see!

The people we knew at the wedding

Here are all the camp people & spouses - GJA's friends.





Dean, Cara, Raelene, Bob, Amery, Ken, GJA, Jim & Me

See how dark these photos were....

Here's the before and after of 2 photos - there were some that were darker than these 2 to begin with, but I overrode all of them.

Ken & Amery's Wedding

July 25, 2009 - Calgary

This is the venue for the wedding ceremony. It was beautiful - creams and pale yellow. The bridesmaids and bride had to make it down this staircase. I would have fallen, but they had no problems at all!

These are the best men - Dean & Jim. Dean is from Regina & Jim lives in Victoria. GJA has known them since university (I think...I could be wrong) and they met whilst working at a YMCA summer camp. Jim was in our wedding party and Dean was one of our ushers. GJA met Ken (the groom) through these two fellows and they did so many things together that the "camp" stories sometime include Ken because he's a part of the camp group even though he was lucky enough to NOT go to camp (HEE HEE...I'm not a camp person...so that's why I call it lucky).

The bridesmaids were in burgundy/maroon and looked great. The bouquets had stargazer lilies & red roses.

I didn't realize, until Amery walked past us down the aisle, that she was so petite - there's someone shorter than me...who knew.

It was really hard to take photos because of all the windows. Each picture looked black on the camera's screen/monitor, so you never knew if it was blurry or everyone had their eyes shut. It took me this entitre afternoon to lighten them up - they are still a little dark - the walls were paler than you see here.

For the reception, it was at a beautiful Chinese restaurant. There was a 10 course meal - so we had to pace ourselves. All the food was very yummy! At some point, Amery left and changed into a magnificent red dress - not sure how she escaped unnoticed - all of a sudden, there she was in a different gown.

We're home

GJA & I went to Calgary for a wedding on the weekend (sans PJ) - left Friday noon-ish and back Sunday around 5pm. It was smoking hot in Calgary (31C of 88F) as it was in Edmonton.

Its always hot in Edmonton the weekend of the Indy race - so the spectators have to sit on unshaded bleacher seats that's on concrete and watch cars race around in circles for 3 days - serves them right.

I'll be back with photos from the wedding....hopefully today, but who knows. We had a nice visit with some of Graeme's closest friends (whom, unfortunately, we really only see at weddings)

GJA seems to think that I've had a vacation now...ummmm....not!

Joy of Summer

I was just reminded of how nice it is in the summer.

Today it was about 28C (or ~82F) and when I went to Safeway at 9pm (not sure what the temp was at 9pm)...I had a flashback to winter and was so very glad to be in my shorts, walking in & out of the Safeway and it was nice and warm....and not dealing with shopping at -32C (~-22F) and trudging through snow & freezing air.

Unfortunately...the yucky weather will be returning soon enough...boo hoo.

So...I'll enjoy the little things about summer...no coats and nice warm air ... even in the evening.

AND...I'll forget the fact that I'm rarely outside in the day time (any time of year)

Taste of Edmonton 2009

We went to Taste of Edmonton on Saturday - YUMMY! It was the 25 anniversary of it. It started with 25 resturants & lasting 3 days...now its 40 resturants and lasts 10 days. I've been to several, but not them all.

We had GJA's mom over to baby-sit PJ and off we went. We were only there for a couple of hours. It was 28C that day and thankfully the buildings block most of the sun when there around 5 pm. It was still hot though, with the concrete soaking up the sun all day...but not as hot as it is at noon with the sun beaming down. Since they're re-done Sir Winston Churchill Square, there is alot of places to sit - which is great!


I had my usual Beef Lemongrass Skewer (well, more than one!). I also had Chicken Caesar Pita (more than one), Raspberry Chocolate Mousse w/ Cocoa Crisp & Deep Fried Mars Bar. I didn't get to have my chocolate dipped strawberries because they only had white chocolate...and white chocolate isn't chocolate, so I passed on it (boo hoo).

Graeme had Chicken Caesar Pita, Alberta Beef Mini Cheddar Burger, Sweet Potato Fries, Raspberry Chocolate Mousse w/ Cocoa Crisp, Maple Devine Cake & Cappuccino Chocolate Shooter Cup.


We had 2 drops of rain on us as we walked to the car. We talked about the CN Tower (not sure why) and got about 1/2 way home and it started raining. The real storm didn't hit us until after 10...but it got really dark, really quick and there was some hail and heavy winds! The power flickered on and off for a couple of seconds, a few times...just enough to make us fix all the clocks. Some areas of Edmonton had power out for almost 24 hr!

It was odd that the hardest hit building was the CN tower, and we had just talked about it on the way home. It was just the front/entrance that was damaged, so it should be fixable. Its always sad to see broken trees.

Making long lost connection on Facebook

A few months ago, I got a friend request from my best friend (Sheila) from Grade 1. We haven't seen each other since we finished Grade 1. When we showed up for Grade 2 - she was gone - their family moved to the USA. We did send letters to each other for awhile, then we lost touch. Sheila sent me a letter when we were in highschool - but we didn't keep up the letters. I had always wondered what happened to Sheila.

Here we are, in the only photo we have from when we were in grade 1. I'm on the far left in the red dress and white tights and black shoes (what was my mother thinking?). Sheila is 3rd from the right in the navy dress and navy tights.



I couldn't believe that we hooked up on facebook - wow - I must have talked about it for a long time. She kidded that she knew a couple of people in Edmonton so maybe she'd come for a visit. HA HA...who comes to Edmonton for a visit when you live in California.

Then...we got a note that she was actually going to come in July and bring her mother. WOW. No time to lose 20-30 lbs...but, oh well...what can you do. So, this past weekend, she arrived! We met them at WEM for a nice brunch.


Then we went to the old neighbourhood, visited Denise's father and then to my parents house for a visit.


After that, I drove our California visitors to the university area and to downtown - alot has changed in Edmonton since 1971!




I had such a great time visiting with them for the day. I was surprised at how easy it was to chit chat, considering I'm not a chit-chatty person and am typically really quiet and shy. Thankfully, they were both outgoing and chatty!

One funny thing is that both Sheila and I became professional accountants - hilarious!

It was great to see her after all these years!

Nothing...

I probably shouldn't even put in a post because I have nothing to say. PJ had a cold last Thursday and then I ended up with it on Friday. GJA was conveniently away in Saskatoon for the weekend...so I struggled through with my head pounding and nose running whilst entertaining the toddler. Just when I thought I was getting over it, I woke up today with a migraine. Must be the change in air pressure since it was raining for a few days and today it was sunny - that always does a number on my brain.

See...nothing...I just didn't want to leave my blog unattended for too long

He would have been 45 today

Brian was born on July 1, 1964 and would have been 45 today. Canada Day always meant Brian's birthday - and he loved the fact that Princess Diana's birthday was also on Canada Day. This photo was on the program for his celebration of life. It was taken in Europe.

I've been dreaming alot about him this week. Last night I passed him in a mall and I was so sure that it was him that I had to stop and talk to him - how often do I run into Brian, he lives in Saskatoon? The person looked just like this photo (except different clothes), but as I approached him, I realized he was shorter than Brian and I re-remembered that he had died.

Here are some photos of Brian over the years - I wish that we had more - his family rarely took pictures, and my father did some, but not alot.

Here he is with his big brother - they were all big - Brian was 6'2"and his brother is 6'7" - I didn't get any of the height! They visited us many times and we always spent a ton of time playing cards.

We took a trip to Toronto and here we are at Casa Loma (with his mother) and Niagara Falls (with his father) and also to Vancouver & Victoria - here he is on the road to Vancouver.

I never got to stand beside him in group shots...I always had to stand in front because I'm vertically challenged.

These were taken the last time I saw Brian - July 2007. At least he smiled for me (with my brother in the picture).


I can't believe that he's gone and left me without another cynical, smart-mouthed person to talk to and laugh with. I'm so sad today and I must get out of here so maybe I can stop crying. I just can't imagine what your mother is going through today - it breaks my heart.

I would be leaving tomorrow to visit him in Saskatoon - now GJA is going on his own.

Happy Birthday Brian....

RIP - I miss you.

(See more about Brian here)