Blizzard Barges In

Weather often rules our lives.  Nasty stuff arrived in SW Manitoba this a.m.  Heavy snow, high winds, dropping temperatures, moving eastward.  Some places already have more than 30 cm.  Winnipeg is supposed to get only a few centimetres tonight, after the rain.  Well, the weather doesn't affect me much, as long as the sump pump keeps running.  All I do lately is take pills, eat, read, and sleep while my body rebuilds.  Beats the alternative ...

Health

Doug Larson once said "life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon".  How true!  There's a lot to be said for eating your greens.  What I want to know is why everything I like is not especially good for me.  Oh, well ... back to the 'everything in moderation' cliche.

I was reminded quite recently that living healthy is sometimes not enough.  Sometimes, something happens and you get knocked on your ass.  Fortunately, there was help and I'm slowly recovering (I think).  Lesson learned?  Appreciate your health and take as good a care of yourself as you can.

Stepping Out

Last night, we dined at Step'n Out, a wonderful restaurant in St. Boniface.  Then, we took in a play at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, called 'The 39 Steps'.  It was quite amusing and imaginative.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening ...

I trust all my readers are having a great Easter long weekend.

CBC Morning

Those of us who 'rise up' before most on a long weekend like to listen to CBC radio over our morning coffee.  It's always interesting, listening to what's happening in the city, the country, and the world on the weekend.  The Morning Show is a great way to start the day.

We're considering going to an advance poll this morning, to cast our ballots.  Unfortunately, for me, it's with little enthusiasm.  I feel the choices are quite limited.  None of the candidates in my riding are very inspiring.  The same was true last election.  I will probably vote for the party of my choice and they will probably come out of this with a bigger minority than the others.  In other words, the status quo.  But, who knows.

This afternoon, I must get my Blackberry checked out.  It suddenly decided not to send or receive emails on Thursday.  Don't you just love technology?  You become somewhat dependent on it over time and then frustrated when it doesn't work right.  Sometimes, I wish things were simpler (and more reliable!).

This evening, we're off to a dinner and show at the Manitoba Theatre Centre downtown.  It's our date night.  I'm looking forward to it.  It'll be a change from our more frequent dinner-show at Celebrations.

I Hate Deer

Especially deer that eat my beautiful crocuses the night before I planned to photograph them.  Yes, I went out front this afternoon to discover the blooms had been eaten off during the night.  Telltale deer prints in the flower bed told me that it wasn't rabbits.  Why don't those deer confine their browsing to the yards of all those silly deer lovers out there?!

Yesterday

Last night, we attended the Kidney Foundation event at Celebrations Dinner Theatre.  We saw the same show, Hard Days Knight, which was great, as usual, plus we heard some speakers talk about their kidney transplants.  The event seemed designed to raise awareness of the need for people donating their organs.  It was very interesting.  However, I think this was my 5th time at this particular show and, thus, I was getting a little tired of it.  I think I'll only go once more, for the closing night.

Out and About

Sunday, Marg and I joined her family in Portage la Prairie, about an hour west of us, to celebrate her brother-in-law's 50th birthday.  We met at Dick's Cafe for a special Chinese dinner.  I know; the name of the cafe doesn't match the type of food.  But, it was made by a Chinese cook, served by his wife, and tasted quite good.

This morning, I drove out to Carman with Holly for an appointment at the Carman Vet Clinic.  Holly needed some shots and a blood test for dog heartworm.  The test was negative so I'll be starting her on heartworm pills on June 1st.

On the way home, I visited with Denis and Gwen McClement.  It's been a few months since we last visited so it was good to see them again.  They're preparing to move into their new home in Carman this summer so they're starting to sort out their stuff.  What to keep and what to give away or sell is always difficult to decide.  I've 'been there, done that'.  And, I'm still doing more of it, nearly 2 years after leaving the Carman area.

This afternoon, I had other errands to run.  It seems there is always something to do.  It keeps me out of trouble (most of the time, anyways).  At least tonight, I don`t have to cook anything for supper.  There are leftovers from Saturday that just need reheating.  Come to think of it, I don`t have to make supper for tomorrow night either because Marg and I are off to another evening at Celebrations Dinner Theatre.

The Power of the Pen

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has been accused of “stealing” a ceremonial pen encrusted with semi-precious stones during an official trade agreement signing ceremony last week in Chile.

Caught red-handed on video, he tried to minimize it by saying 'everyone does it' and he thought it was a gift to him.  A spokesman for the Chilean President said it was just a pen, free to take, possibly to minimize the Czech president's embarrassment.

Unfortunately, theft by elected officials is not uncommon in today's world.  It happens even here in Canada.  Some politicians are just better at hiding it than others.  One quip wrote on the web that, maybe, the president needed it to write a bad Czech.

Winter Wonderland

It's just a couple of inches of snow, covering everything and making the trees sparkle with white.  We foolishly thought spring was here, although it was still fairly cold.  Now, of course, we realize looks can be deceiving.  Winter wasn't over.  Hopefully, the wet snow will melt quickly but it still appears we'll be fairly cool until next Friday when the temperatures return to 'normal'.

The weather didn't keep us from attending Celebrations Dinner Theatre again last night, for another dose of "Hard Days Knight".  This time, Margaret booked two tables, one for the adults in her sister's family and one for Sara and her friends.  Sara was celebrating her birthday.  The show's cast paid a lot of attention to the kids, different costumed cast members and wait staff visiting them whenever possible to make their evening memorable.

And the beat goes on ...

Another Week Goes By!

It seems I have less time than ever to write in this blog.  There are so many things demanding my attention lately.  Same goes for my Flickr page and following my contacts and their images.  I know, I know.  All I can do is promise I'll get back into my routines.  Maybe, I've been distracted by other things lately.  For example, I've spent many, many hours over the past week or so, transferring files from my old desktop computer to my new laptop.  I've also been reading much more than usual.  I think I've read about six books over the past week.  Mostly, by the same author, Lee Child.  Real page turners.  So, now I resolve to readjust my priorities, starting tomorrow.

With a Little Help

Yesterday, I spent the morning trying to solve a problem with my email program, finally contacting the MTS technical services folk who, in a matter of a few minutes, straightened everything out on my desktop.  I, of course, then used my recollection of what the technician did to get Marg's laptop and my cell phone email systems up to speed also.

Later in the day, knowing my desktop PC was on its last legs, I reviewed all the laptops on sale in Winnipeg, boiling my choices down to the best two deals for the money.  With that information in hand, I asked my computer-literate son which of the two would he buy.  He reviewed both of them and suggested the one that I thought was the best deal.

There are so many problems in life that it's good to know you can sometimes turn to more knowledgeable people for their advice when you're uncertain about something.  And, of course, to be ready and willing to reciprocate, when and where you can.

Spring is Here!

I know that now because, today, for the first time this year, I was able to sit out on my deck with a coffee and a book and enjoy the sunshine, wearing only a fleece for warmth.  Before that, I was out on the driveway, breaking up the remaining patches of ice.  Another sign of spring is the frequent sump pump action in the basement. sometimes referred to as "the water feature".  Hopefully, the snow will melt off all the flower beds soon , allowing the early spring blooms to appear.  Yes!

Another Hard Days Knight

Neither rain nor snow nor sleet stopped us from attending this Celebrations show tonight.  That's because Marg and I invited my kids and grand-kids to this dinner/musical comedy this evening.  From what I saw, everyone, especially the two little boys, Matt and Alex, really enjoyed themselves.  Katie was too young to attend so she had a good time with her cousins.  It was a good end to the weekend ...