The Next Best Thing!

I just remembered the other day that I said (many times), that if anything ever happened to Ted, I would get a dog.  Well unfortunately I cannot have pets in my condo, so I have embarked on The Next Best Thing:  I'm doggie sitting!
Yep, my new job. 
It is quite amazing how things come your way when you are at peace.

  I heard of the Yorkie-sitting job through a friend. Well!  I got on with Bella & Roxie's owner like a house on fire.  Bella sat in my lap the whole time . .  which turned out to be most of the afternoon.  In addition to puppy cuddling, I will be house- sitting as well . . . in a mansion on Crescent Road.  My room overlooks the ocean.  Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE IT HERE?????

The CRASH Sisters

This week was a doozy for the Two Pooch-eggs, otherwise known as the Crash Sisters.  I'm the crash-cart sister and Mom, the crash on the floor sister.

Monday afternoon, I found myself in the ER at Peace Arch Hospital in Whiterock, hooked up to all kinds of machines and setting off alarms readily.  Four hours of monotoring revealed I have Bigeminy pvc's, which are quite benign they say.  I feel a " thump thump" in my chest when the abnormality appears

The abnormal rate continues for some time:  I think I counted 62 normal sinus beats in a row during my stay in the ER. 

I was discharged about 9pm and my normal heart rate returned sometime during the night and I finally fell asleep.  Of course I have follow up appointments with a Holter monitor and a cardiologist later on.

Enter Crash Sister #2  with a black eye and stitches. 

It happened at the Golf club house when she caught her foot on a chair (everyone was getting up to leave) and fell & knocked herself unconscious.  She woke up in the ambulance later, on the way to the Peace Arch ER!! She needed monitoring for concussion and stitches. They discharged her at 11pm.

What a pair of Pooch-eggs!  We are so much alike in so many other ways, and now it seems we copy each other!!

Finding Your Passion

It's almost impossible to believe I only started ballroom dancing lessons in April this year.  It has been quite a journey and is FAR from over!

(The MOSTEST fun I've had since riding Goldwing motorcycles on summer trips!!) 

I started out with group lessons once a week, followed by a practice party.  I felt like I had 2 left feet and no brains!  I could hardly remember the steps!

There's a thing called muscle memory and one is supposed to keep at it until it comes naturally . . . like breathing. 

In May, I started private lessons in Whiterock at the Arthur Murray dance studio.  Wow!  One on one attention is so cool!  I got to go over & over a sequence of steps until I "got" it, not to mention getting to dance with a handsome, young man!! 
Too bad that I forgot everything I learned the minute I left the studio!!

 

I also just "happened" to sign up the day before the Spring Festival began!  What a hoot!  Eight weeks of Friday night dance parties, bonus dance lessons and oodles & oodles of fun with the Themed costume parties!  The Fesitval included a bus trip to Harrison Hot Springs for live music & dinner/dancing! 

You would think that after nearly 3 months of all THIS, I would be a great dancer!!  hahaha!  I still feel like I'm half brain dead & have 2 left feet!  The instructors keep assuring me that this will continue . . . like . . . . forever! 

So back to weekly group lessons &  dance parties to practice, practice,
practice!  

It's important to find your passion and keep at it!  Whoohoo!

Game of Thrones Extravaganza of Music

First of all, I drove myself down to Roger's Arena . . . found a parking spot, and found my seat nice & easily. Win #1.

The concert knocked my socks off.  As in any cult favorite, there are those who dress up.  Varis, Kahleesi and Melissandre were sitting right behind me.  Well done!
The musicians & singers were also in costume. 

Getting started, the fog rolled in and filled the floor and guess what emerged??

The Throne, in all its glory!

The audience was made up of fans and it was so much fun to hoot & holler together.  It was so, so, so good!

The violinist came the length of the arena to stand on the stage right 20 feet from where I was sitting.  An  electronic screen projected pictures of the White Oak changing with the seasons. 

The leaves first emerged, then became very large, then the tree shed its leaves and red tissue leaves floated down all around us.  It was magical!

 If you have watched the show, you have noticed the cello music, especially this last season. 

He was incredible.  The score was so forceful at times, that he had to put on an arm brace a bit later to make it through!!

The woodwind player, and that's a very broad term, was out of this world.  He played all sorts of indigenous instruments . . . pipes and hoses and who knows what else.  I've never heard anything like it.

Even though this was a concert, it was a visual feast.  Fire, snow, smoke, huge screens projecting parts of the series that matched the themed score.

The orchestra was at the other end of the arena from my seat. But the soloists made their way to either side of the center and the other end of the bldg as well.

The Vancouver Symphony was included in the orchestra as well as the singers, who were all in costume.  Well done Vancouver!

Ramin Djawadi is the brilliant composer of all the music.  He played the haunting theme of the last episode right there in front of us.  I couldn't capture the wildfire and the heat . . . happened too fast!

All I can say is that I am glad I didn't miss this!  Such a mixture of music, talent, performance, digital imaging, fire, smoke all combined to equal one thrilling experience!

A Little More Salsa Please!

Friday night was the 2nd salsa lesson I participated in: the Merengue, which I found to be much easier than the Cha-Cha;  that's because I made a big effort to remain RELAXED!  Add to that the skilled teacher who goes one easy step at a time, plus the huge circle of people that you navigate as you practice over & over & over!  Such fun!

 The dancers tell me there are at least 5 groups of dedicated dance followers in the Lower Mainland:  Ballroom, Latin, Jazz, Country & Line Dancing.  I'm sure  there are more styles, like Seventies Style wigglers.

Conclusion:  Dance is HUGE on the West Coast!  Count me in!

Blooming and Gloating . . .

 Ever have to eat crow?  I have secretly (and not so secretly) gloated over the better weather here on the West Coast as opposed to the Alberta climes I left behind.
Well, it has been a long winter and the forecast for Spring is cool, wet and late.

Lucky for us, the grocery stores and greenhouses are full of blooming baby daffodils, tulips and other bulbs.  So we can pretend that they are growing outdoors, instead of in our kitchens.  

No matter.  They make me happy.  Inside or out.  I'm loving their bright happy faces and pretty colors.

Nothing we can do about the weather, so might as well enjoy every day!  (And I'm still gloating a little bit that winter in Alberta is at the half way mark . . . )

Cruise Control . . .

My cruise control has been OFF for ten days however I made it through The Common Cold.  I mentioned before that my Word for 2017 is RELAX and that's what I did.  I relaxed and napped and took care of myself.  

 
I'm ready to press RESUME on the cruise control.  Back to circuit training this week.   It will be lovely to go for lunch with my Grannies.  Yes, and dates.  Resume dating. The new phase of my West Coast Adventure.

If the snow would go away, we could soon resume our Facebook Friends Hikes.  Probably need long-johns for that right now!

It GOT ME!!!!!!!!!!

Rats!  Phooey! Phooey! Phooey! I have managed to navigate the winter without getting snared by the cold bug . . .  until now!  I am not impressed!  If any one of you  knows me, I go all in . . . 100% . . . if it's worth doing,   let's do it!

Yup that's me, and that's where I am sitting right now. 100% feeling carpy (thanks Finding Dory for a new expression!) Whaaaaaaaaaaa!  And I was supposed to go on a date today! 

Luckily for me, my intended date called this morning with the same symptoms and kindly expressed his reluctance to pass the germs onto me.  I know you think he just bailed, but I was going to get all medicated up and go anyhow.  He really saved my dignity & my health, no doubt!  I wasn't going to be as gracious.  My bad . . .

I have run out of kleenex and have resorted to using soft, flannel dust cloths, (that have been laundered of course!).  They are much softer and kinder on my already red nose.
*sniff*sniff* honk*honk*


Hopefully I will recover soon!

The Universe Loves a Made Up Mind!

"The universe loves a made up mind!", words I have have heard many times from my life coach.  In other words, if you don't know what you want, your order cannot be filled! 

   


After 4 years, I have made up my mind that I want to have a special someone in my life.  My word for 2017 is RELAX and at first I thought actively pursuing dating online might be more controlling than I should be.  I filled out a profile in the first few days of January, then decided NOT to join.

 Valentine's Day, 6 weeks later I again went online and checked out the matches they had for me.  Sounded possible and the way it is set up would require a LOT of patience and active relaxing.  I researched safety issues and read oodles of blog posts on the subject.  Then I joined.  In fact, I got so wound up & excited I couldn't go to sleep that night.  I want to go forward . . .
Forward to today, checking the list of guys who have checked out my profile, sent smiles and asked questions.  Smiled over lots & lots of photos.  (Personally I think grey hair is sexy!!)
But
you have to wait.  Wait for replies and answers to your questions.  I feel like I would rather have all those guys lined up and spend 5 minutes with each of them as in speed dating!  Let's get the show on the road!!

That sounds like a "made up mind" doesn't it? 

There's Still Hope

I think the West Coast is being laughed at right now.  Snow, snow and more snow!

We're not used to this!  It's wet, slushy and icy.  (That's Spring snow for you Albertans.)
Not everyone has a snow shovel or doesn't remember where it is due to the lack of the white stuff.  The City crews can't manage the main roads, let alone the side streets.  Forget about sidewalk clearing!
Around here everyone seems to have a dog, so you can imagine it's a challenge to walk your dog, especially for seniors with cleared sidewalks a rare thing.  So we all carefully try to navigate in the inches and inches of sloppy, slushy snow which freezes overnight. 

But on the brighter side, the kids have had 3 snow days this week and are really getting into  sledding, skating on the pond and snowman building.  Some kids have probably never seen snow before!!

Don't forget though, there is still time for the daffodils this month!!  It's raining right now . . .

Tee Shirt Quilt in Progress

Something new for me . . . a tee shirt quilt.  Personally I don't collect tee shirts, but my Goldwing friend Mariette has done.  So I have a project dear to my heart . . . quilting and Goldwinging!!

So far I have trimmed all the shirts, cut out the squares in varying sizes and fused them onto the backing. 

 I have also decided to use the left over tee shirt bits for making filler squares in various quilting motifs.It's been a lot of fun to dream up what I'm going to do, then doing it!

Mariette also sent me one photo to use as a block, but I think lots of photos would be even better.  Here's one I'm planning to use . . . the rest will have to remain a surprise, just in case she snoops my blog!!

A Day in La Conner, WA

Thursday Jan 26, spent the day with my neighbor Else in La Conner, WA.  We really like day trips and Else seems to know all the good places to go!
I had heard of La Conner as the place with the quilt Museum . . . she didn't have to ask twice!!

We had lunch at the pub on the waterfront, then walked up and down the "promenade" much like one would do in Vegas!  Up one side and down the other.

The town is quaint and touristy, although it is still officially winter so things are a bit quieter.  It is also very artsy with lots of galleries and shops with amazing and unique gifts, jewellery & furniture.  

There was a yarn & wool shop that would have Judy Stiles drooling!  Even I was drooling and I'm not a knitter!!

We had a lovely day of sunshine and warmish temperatures.  Sunglasses were needed.

 The quilt museum is housed in an historical site, (it is not wheel chair friendly!) found us climbing the stairs to the three floors, where the quilters have special showings roughly for 3 months at a time.  

Abstract Quilts in Solids
by Gwen Marsden

Jan 5 - March 26

Three groupings were on display today, which means that we will have to return to see what else is new in the days ahead!

The Nature of Place
Charlotte Bird & Ree Nancarrow
ends Jan 29th

First Floor Main Gallery
Sharon Tucker
Improv Inspiration
Jan 4 - Feb 26

What a lovely day we had . . .

Heartbreak & Grief

Sounds like a sad subject doesn't it?  However, personally I love it when new information comes to me.  It's as if I get an electrical charge!  Learning does that to me!!

 Recently I can across a FB video where the woman explained that heartbreak is the time to examine myself as it actually opens the heart.  It reveals the "crap" in me.  No other word for it.  The ugliness that we all have hidden deep inside finds a way out when the heart cracks open.  It reveals the patterns in my life that caused that person to want to leave.  It doesn't feel like the path to take at the time, but there really is no other way.

Grief naturally follows loss and was explained to me as an "irrecoverable loss where I am estranged from myself".  Normal things that brought me comfort & a feeling of security in my life are at once foreign & strange.
When you lose someone you love, 
you are longing for the reassurance they gave you, and longing for something you've lost in yourself:

the way they saw you, 
the way they felt about you, 
the way you understood yourself when you were with them.

No wonder I felt completely lost!  Everything in my life changed.  Not only was I losing my spouse of 35 years, but my family, my home, my job, my province.  Was there anything left of me?
The heartbreak was cracking my existence open, firstly to let the garbage out, but also to let the sun shine in!  To shine the light on who I really was deep inside.  I had to take the time to "find myself" and embrace who I had been all along.  

The good news is, I found her!  I love who I am!  I've become who I was meant to be! My goal now is to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be.

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

A few days ago, a friend from AB posted a FB link which I found so interesting . . . a whole group of young people VERY proud of their heritage, agreed to have their DNA tested and evaluated for their cultural roots. Shocking DNA Results (I've seen this done on Finding Your Roots, PBS) 
 God has a sense of humor, I tell you!  These youngsters found out that there is no such thing  as a PURE race . . . we are all mongrels!

Which brings me to discuss the Dating Pool on the West Coast . . . hehehe!  Kind of like  Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!!

Let me preface this by saying that I discovered that I'm not really looking for a man, just a dancing partner.  In fact, the perfect man would even love to take lessons!  (Try and find one of those!!) In the meantime, I intend to have a lot of fun!
My descriptions will be of the brave souls who risked their toes and their balance by asking me to dance!  First there came The Turk.  Quiet & kind which leaves one to fill in the blanks as to character . . . he wanted a different kind of dancing.  Too bad.
Then a couple of brief numbers with Latino Man, who clearly loved to dance. Also Sailing Dude . . . he was English, posh, rich & loved to sail competitively. However he danced to the beat of his own drum if you get my drift.
More recently, it was  Yada Yada Argentina. He needs a hip replacement!  That will put his dancing skills out of commission for a time, but not his yada yada. He also said he'd love to teach me to Tango . . .    never  going to happen!
 I have learned that Irishmen can talk for hours about nothing and thought perhaps I should hold out for one of those.   So I had to giggle when I met Mr Dublin at the Rec center and in the space of 5 minutes learned all about him, his Baja training,  his injuries and more!  This guy would suit . . . . except he is WAY too young.  Ah well, my Grampies will have to dance with me in the meantime . . . .

More Unforgettable People

Saturday I reconnected with a really old friend from my early teenage years!  We were 13 and 14 when we met.  I was very close with her family, who ended up moving 3 years later, but we wrote letters back & forth for years!

I was her bridesmaid when she got married in 1975, and we stayed in touch years afterwards.  She & her family had moved to the West Coast in the 1990's when Jon's dad entered a care home.  
We met up for coffee in 2001 when my daughter & I were visiting my Mom, who had recently moved to the Lower Mainland as well!





I think it was only in the last 6 years or so that we lost touch . .  one too many moves and my Christmas card/letter was returned.  So when I myself moved out here, I found her FB page, but also noted that she hadn't posted for quite a while.  I PM'd her and waited . . . . until last Friday night when she contacted me!  We met for coffee on Saturday, catching up on all our family news. 

Isn't it wonderful how you can be apart for years then when you get to chatting again it seems like ten minutes?

I really sensed that she wanted a heart-to-heart friend and boy am I excited about that! 
 

Unforgettable People

A long time ago when I was working at Pembina Lodge in Westlock, a resident, named Clara, asked me if I liked grapefruit. 
"One of my favorite things! Especially the Ruby Red! "
She then gave me this little grapefruit spoon and said, "Every time you eat a grapefruit, think of me.


It brings tears to my eyes just to write this because it is true.  I think of little Clara so often.  She was one of those sweet four-foot-nothing ladies with a big heart & such a good sense of humor.  We had quite a good time when I entered her room to assist her.

Thank you Clara for so many lovely moments . . . and for the grapefruit spoon.  I'll never forget you!

(And you know, we weren't even supposed to accept gifts from the residents . . .  so go ahead, track me down.  Try and get that spoon!  Clara would be laughing from Heaven and I'd be laughing right along with her!)