Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sunday Patty, Ben and I drove down to Goldstream park to meet Mary and Gwen to have a picnic. Yes that's right a picnic. It was a nice sunny day and we wanted to get some fresh air. The park is in the mountains and it was late in the day so it had started getting cool but we went for a nice walk and then sat and had a little lunch. Gwen was having a ball with her uncle Ben. As usual I had my camera so I took one or two photos which I've decided to share on here. I can't believe how many words Gwen can say and so clearly. There are a few that I'm not sure of but for the most part she speaks very clearly. Last year we went to the park and she had to be carried because she was so little but now she just loves to walk and run on her own. We saw some eagles, some spiders, some ravens and lots of dogs! If the weather is nice this Saturday maybe we will go to another park for a picnic. I love Vancouver Island even in the winter!!


























Sunday, February 21, 2010

Ok now I have to tell you I'm really starting to lose my mind. I forget alot of things or mix things up. Like this weekend for instance. I got it in my mind to go over to Vancouver to see the olympic flame and go to a free Blue Rodeo concert. Well I should have checked a little closer into the details. I got the dates all screwed up and thought it was closer to the end of the month than it is. The concert is next weekend. Good thing the flame was there this weekend LOL.

Somehow I crossed 2 things because my friend Myra had her surgery for breast cancer this past thursday and I thought it was next week. So I should have checked the dates of the concert since I had gotten that thing wrong. And my boss was surprised that my surgery was on the 12 because he said I put the 22 down on the request for time off. That one I want to see because I'm positive I put the 12 down but who knows the way I've been recently. I forget names, I forget times and I screw up dates.

Well back to yesterday. I got up early and drove to Nanaimo to catch the ferry to the mainland. The Ferry was the most packed I had ever seen! When I got off the ferry I parked my car in Horseshoe Bay because so many streets are closed and I didn't want to get lost looking for parking. I took my car because I thought I might have to sleep in it because the concert I wanted to see ended at 11pm. By the time I would get back to it the ferry would be gone. The bus to town was there and it was packed like sardines. Then as you drove into town you could start seeing people dressed up in their country colours blocks away from the downtown.

By the time you got as close as you could get to downtown the place was crawling with people. I got off the bus and started heading to the water where the flame was. On the way I was talking to people standing in lines going up and down the street. The one line was waiting to see the Olympic medals up close and they were telling people at the back of the line it was a 6 hour wait. One person near the front of the line was saying he had been in line more than 3 hours and he was still 100 yards from the place. There were other lines coming from all directions waiting to see other things. So it wasn't too bad when I got to the torch area and to go to the upper viewing area it was only a 45 minute wait which seemed to go by very fast. But there are so many people in the line that were friendly so you started chatting with them making the wait easier.

After taking a million photos from many different angles I made my way down town. Slowly but surely the streets were filling up more. A lot of streets were closed off and buskers were entertaining trying to earn a buck or two. I wanted to go to the stadium and then go to the Dog Pound restaurant where I usually eat when I go to football games. The dome is blocked off and to my surprise the Dog Pound was not there! Alberta house stood where it should have been. I should have taken a picture but I was in shock.

Next I made my way to Live City where the concert was going to be. I stood in line again for about 45 minutes before getting in. I fought to get my camera in because I had asked before getting in line and they said there would be no problem. At the gate they told me something different and said I had to check it. That was after going through airport type security and when I went in the buzzer rang but they didn't check me further. When I saw where they wanted me to leave my camera I said no freaking way. two people behind a table with some stuff laying on the ground and a couple of boxes sitting there. I told the guy unless he wanted to give me his credit card info and a lot of other stuff I wasn't leaving my camera with him. They brought over head of security and he said they should get hold of someone from media. The woman came over and when I told her what was going on she let me take the camera in.

After I was in I had a look around and the shortest line was in the food area in the Canada section so I had a bison burger. There were 3 buildings that had huge lines and I have no idea what was inside. Shortly after that I was sitting watching some hockey on one of the biggest tv's I've seen when they posted the concert listings for the day and that's when I realized what an idiot I am. So I thought enough of this crap I'm going for a walk and holy crap where did all the people come from. An obscene amount of people. I'm not claustrophobic but it made it very difficult to get anywhere. So I decided to head toward the flame and get some evening shots and some shots of the Olympic rings lit up. When I got half way there and could see all the late comers heading there I started looking for a bus to get the hell out of there. I got back to my car on the ferry and was home in bed by 10pm.

I did have quite a few offers for my Canada leaf hat. The most interesting one was from a woman sitting with a group at a table and when I told her it was not for sale she offered me a BJ for it. She was pretty good looking but I just smiled and said no thanks. Now if her friend had offered to join her I might have came home hat less LOL. Just kidding love you babe!


















Thursday, February 18, 2010

The other night I had Patty replace the bandage on my back and we took a couple pictures. Patty and Al can't count as they both told me I had 13 staples and as you can see in the photos there are only 12. They both think 13 is a lucky number.




I went in and booked an appointment for Patty to get a tattoo. I told her I'd get her one for her birthday last year but we haven't made it in. Al and Nina both got tattoos the other day and Patty said she wanted hers so I went and booked her in to get it done. It's a Celtic dragonfly that Aunty Irene drew for her. It's very nice looking. I also took in a picture to get started on the dragon that dad had on his arm. I should have it by the end of March but he should have the drawing on March 6 when we go in to get Patty's done. The picture is pretty fuzzy but I told him to get it as close as he can. Some parts are hard to see in the face area but it's an old tattoo that has spread over the years. Of course I'll post a picture of the final outcome.

Today I went to Langford to see Patty and Gwen. We took a walk up to a park to put Gwen on the swing and slide. Then we let her run around a while to tire her out. It was a little cool but nice and sunny. They said 11C on the radio but felt like 5 with the wind. Gwen loves the park and we had a lot of fun.














On my way home I drove along the water at Mill Bay and took a walk on the beach. You never know what your going to see!












Looks like I'm going to Vancouver on Saturday. Not sure of my plans if I'm taking my car or not. If worse comes to worse and I take my car I can at least sleep in it. Jodi says I can stay at her place even though she won't be there but Joan will be. Only thing is by the time the Blue Rodeo concert is over it will be 1:00am before I get to there place and I don't want to wake them up. And I want to get up early the next day.Then I might try to catch a bus to Whistler to have a quick look around then bus back to the ferry and then home. I'm leaning towards taking my car and leaving it at the ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay. Watch for some interesting photos next week!