Its not the end result of the Superbowl that I found surprising. The game was very good… some really exciting end-to-end drives, that amazing full field run, and that holding-on-by-his-toenails end zone reception! I was always a bit concerned about the Cardinals’ bench strength..It’s not that surprising about who got the MVP, but I still think they got that wrong (shoulda been Fitzgerald!).What really surprised me was how G. got so into the game! She was jumping up and down, and yelling at the TV, while occasionally asking me for clarification on the rules. It was kinda neat to see … Continue reading Superbowl Surprise!

Last weekend I redeemed a gift certificate for a Nintendo Wii that I was given for Christmas, and I am really glad that I did. This thing is a joy! Its not your average computer gaming console, at all.The actual machine, the ‘console’, is small… its actually smaller than some books I have. There are no wires from the console to the controllers, so no wires to constantly be fussing with, rearranging, or tripping over. And while there are bang-bang-shoot-’em-up games available, the real fun for G and I has been with the interactive Wii Sports games. To be fair, … Continue reading A New Toy I Recommend for Everyone!

Over a week ago, Tuesday, January 13, 2009 to be precise, I saw Dr. Groot about the growth on the end of my nose. And, guess what? It was a wart after all! And with a very theatrical flourish, he dispensed a puff of his magic spray (liquid nitrogen)… I’m pretty sure that I was in the same room with him for less than 5 minutes. Very personable guy, but the conversation, the actual consultation was extremely superficial.The wart and surrounding skin behaves as if it has been burned. Within two days the external wart fell off while I was … Continue reading That thing on the end of my nose? Not cancerous!

Today is my mother’s 75th birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!! Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mom!

…that I will spend two hours per week painting, drawing or potting.…that I will spend two hours per week writing.…that I will spend two hours per week reading fiction… good fiction.…that I will see one live theatre piece per month.…that I will get a Wii… my guilty pleasure for the year… Continue reading Be it resolved…

Nothing really important to say today, just to wish everyone a Happy New Year…We spent New Year’s Eve at a small dinner party with friends in West Vancouver, hosted by Scott and Cheryl Swan. In attendance was the lovely and talented Merrilyn Gann, and we were joined later in the evening by the Mayor of the District of North Vancouver, Richard Walton and his wife, Celeste. The accomplishments of some of our friends never fails to amaze and amuse me… Continue reading Happy New Year!

We’ve been in the lower mainland for two days and a bit, now… and I continue to be surprised by the amount of snow that lingers… huge drifts of wet, heavy stuff. It rains a bit, then it freezes a bit, then it snows a bit… nothing out of the ordinary for Ontario, and not that uncommon for parts of Alberta. But to the greater Vancouver area, this is causing major consternation! There just aren’t enough snowplows. Heck, there aren’t enough snow shovels! The sidewalks are not being shovelled. Driveways are not being shovelled. People have simply dropped their vehicles … Continue reading

Our eldest daughter finally made it to Toronto yesterday, and hopefully will be finding her way to Pittsburgh today… but, in her parlance, “What a gong show!”J started out for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Christmas Day… routing from Edmonton to Vancouver to Seattle to Harrisburg. Her flight into Vancouver was cancelled. So, she was re-scheduled and re-routed to fly Edmonton to Toronto to Cleveland to Harrisburg yesterday, which she did, but only part way. She managed to get as far as Toronto before ice fogs cancelled her flight into Cleveland.While standing in line for three and a half hours to get … Continue reading The kid and her air travel woes…

We are supposed to be in BC with friends at this point. We aren’t. Vancouver airport just doesn’t seem to be able to deal with snow and freezing rain. We had arrived at the Edmonton airport on time yesterday afternoon, having checked before we left home that the flight was posted as being ‘on time’, when all of a sudden the gentleman at the gate announced that we would be delayed leaving for a minimum of two hours because Vancouver (YVR) had shut down to deal with the snow and rain. After an hour of waiting, the airline (Westjet) just … Continue reading Delayed…

Its 10:30 pm on Christmas Day evening… G. and my younger sister have retired for the day, leaving me with time to update this blog. And yes, I do know that I haven’t touched it for a couple of weeks… and a few things have happened, not all of which I’ll go into tonight, but I will get to them eventually… like the trip to my aunt’s memorial service in Victoria, with snow (wierd damned weather this year!) and the rental car that I banged up (damn! but I wish there was someone/something to blame that on), visits with my … Continue reading Merry Christmas… Ho Ho Ho… Damn!