OPA!

Have you ever wanted to break good dishes?  I mean just heave a plate across the room?  Well, I have!  I finally got my chance last weekend.  You're probably thinking the old gal has finally lost it, or more likely you're thinking, "Jim has finally driven Candy off the deep end."  No, no, nothing like that.  Here's a little background to the plate throwing episode.......Our good friends John and Marie Norgaard are moving to Vancouver.  Very sad for us. :(   We have really enjoyed spending time with them and their daughter McKenna since moving to Calgary.  They have embraced us with true Canadian friendship and we will not forget that!  I know good karma will follow them to Vancouver, and Jim and I won't be far behind.  Just kidding John and Marie!  We'll wait until at least next summer!  :)  Their daughter, McKenna, moved to Toronto in September to attend university.  Jim and I plan to visit McKenna whenever we are in her "neck of the woods."

Back to the plate throwing.....One of John and Marie's favorite places in Calgary is a Greek restaurant named "The Broken Plate."  I'll bet you're starting to get the picture.....Any way, we had the chance to celebrate Greek style one more time before John leaves for Vancouver.  The dinner was wonderful, and at the end of the meal, we all threw dinner plates into the fireplace and yelled "OPA!"  What fun!  (I promise never to do this if any of you invite me to your house for dinner.)  Marie is so thoughtful.  She gave me a lovely scarf to (in her words), "Help me endure my first winter in Calgary!"  What a sweetie!  Thanks, Marie!

Marie getting instruction from our waiter, Mr. Borat, on how to throw a plate.

John is still hungry.

Look ma, this is just like throwing a frisbee...

Singing Christmas Caroles?.....Nope, we're saying "OPA!"

Marie, John, and I outside the Broken Plate.  Notice the beautiful scarf that Marie gave me.

Dinner with the Norgaards this past summer.

Yours truly, Marie, and McKenna.

Winter Has Arrived!

Winter has arrived in Calgary!  This past week, the high was 25 F degrees and the low was 10 F degrees.  Just so you know the F stands for "Fahrenheit," not "friggin."

This week has brought snow and low, low temperatures to the "Land of Enchantment"......no wait, New Mexico is the land of enchantment......Alberta is the "Land of  the Strong and Free."  And let me tell ya folks, these people are strong!  They walk and ride their bikes to work year round.....seriously year round!  There are even snow tires for bikes!  The city budgets $37.5 million in city funds for snow removal every year!  This winter there are gonna be days that you just will not be able to drive your car to work.  OMG!  What would we do in Houston if we couldn't drive our cars to work?!  Well, we would call in with some lame excuse, of course!  Not the Canadians!  They just put on all the clothes they own and start hoofing it to the nearest bus stop.  

Since I have no snow tires on my car as of yet (we ordered them over 2 weeks ago, but so did everyone else), I have been doing a fair amount of walking myself.  I walk about 20 minutes each way to yoga every morning (yes, I said yoga).  So last Monday was the first really cold day...about 24 F if I remember correctly, and hoo-ee, I was definitely overdressed.  Not in a good way, like I was "struttin' it", but in a bad way, like I had two of everything on.  Well, by the time I got there, I was sweating like a pig headed for you-know-where.  I will learn.....I will learn

Now that I have given you the run down on the snow and temps, I want you to know that Jim and I plan to embrace this first winter in Calgary.  We went to a ski swap last weekend and bought second-hand skis and boots.  In order to get the really great deals, you have to sacrifice a bit of your time.  We stood in line to pay for over an hour, but we are ready to hit the slopes now!  (Pray for us)

No more beers on the back deck. :(

Jim and I both shovelled the front walk, twice!  It's a loosing battle but beautiful.

More steps to shovel.....

Gearing up for our next great adventure...stay tuned for ski pics

Canadian Thanksgiving in Houston

Sorry, no pictures this post.  Just me, waxing poetic (cough-cough).  So if you need to do something more important, now's your chance to click the little "x" at the top right hand corner of your screen.  

Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays!  I love the anticipation of gobblin' up all that good food, which takes several hours of preparation and Herculean strength just to lift the damn turkey out of the oven...AND then laying around watching football or playing a rousing game of Yahtzee while grazing on leftovers.  What fun!  Well, since we won't be with the kids on Thanksgiving this year, we decided to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving on October 8th while we were in Houston.  No turkey this time.  Just a big ol' ham and lots of cobbler! What?  No dressing?  No pumpkin pie?  No sweet potatoes?  What is this world coming to, eh!?  I think I have lost the desire to cook even one more turkey after thirty-two years of traditional Thanksgiving feasts.  I call them feasts.......but the family may have another name for them.  Good thing the kids and Jim are open to eating almost anything.  And Cindy, bless her heart, goes along with whatever I whip up, so who knows? Maybe next year we'll have curry!  The best part is just being together, right?  No matter what comes out of the oven!

Now, the real reason we were in Houston was the yearly Breakbulk Conference.  Casey, Jim, and I enjoyed attending a few of the parties thrown by the ocean carriers.  Whooee!  They pulled out all the stops!  Lavish buffets, exciting entertainment, and lots of booze.  I think I may have been "over served" at one or two of those events. :)  I tend to forget how dynamic and charismatic my daughter and my husband are until I see them in action at these functions.  Talk about the "networking duo!"   They had the old schmooze control set on high!  

Ryan and Cindy are wrapping up wedding preparations.  It is going to be a beautiful wedding!  Those two kids are BUSY!  Along with planning a wedding, they are both hard at work at their day jobs and starting their own business.  I wish I had that much energy.....I wish I had any energy. :)  At some point, I will be including their website link in a blog post for all to enjoy, but I have to wait until they give me the "thumbs up".  It won't be long.

I want to give a  "Shout Out" to some very special birthday ladies.  First, my wonderful mother, Daisy, turned ninety-years-old on October 12.  What a milestone!  My mom is a great inspiration to myself and my brothers.  She has been the "glue" in our family and has always been there for her hard headed kids.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!  WE LOVE YOU!  

We celebrated my good friend, Bev's, 29th birthday  (again) while we were in Houston.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEVERLAAAAY!!!!

Last, but not least, Jim's Aunt Ginny turns eighty this month.  Her wonderful daughters are throwing a "Prom" theme birthday party because it was a wish of hers to attend prom many years ago that was never fulfilled.  Since we won't be able to attend, we recorded a "birthday wish" video and Anthony edited it.  (I hope he remembered to brush out all my wrinkles.)  Thanks, Anthony!  And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT GINNY!!!!!  

More Golf!

I finally got to play golf at Kananaskis, which is apparently the most famous golf course in Alberta!  Whenever I tell someone in Calgary that I play golf they immediately ask me if I have played at Kananaskis.  I guess even the non-golfers know of this course.  The course is set literally at the base of Mount Lorette and Mount Kidd, two mountains that tower above the course at 10,000 feet.  The views are amazing!  Heck they should pay me to market this stuff!  The kids gave Jim a "golf score card" album for his birthday, and we have stuffed that thing full of score cards from the Canadian courses we have played since moving here.  We've accumulated eighteen score cards in the sixteen weeks we have lived here!  

We have met some great people since moving to Canada. One of our favorite couples is Murray and Christina who have two young sons that Jim and I have taken quite a shine to.  We had a wonderful Peruvian dinner at their house while watching UT "squeak by" a victory over OSU last weekend.  Christina is a OSU alum, but we like her anyway. :)  The boys, Tyler and Blake, are great fun and keep their mom and dad busy!

We head down to H-town, tomorrow, to attend the "Breakbulk Conference".  Ask Jim and Casey about it....they're the logistic specialists in the family.  I'm just tagging along for the chance to cook an early Thanksgiving dinner for the kids.  This will be the first time in thirty years we haven't been together on Thanksgiving.  :(   Makes me a little teary eyed (sniff sniff) when I think about it.  We will all be together at Christmas, so all's good! 

Blake and Tyler (in the middle)

On our way to Kananaskis.

Our fellow golf enthusiasts, John and Daryl, who we played golf with at Kananaskis.

Yours truly teeing off.

Another beautiful fairway at Kananaskis.  They're all pretty spectacular.

Mount Lorette......