g'morning everyone.


congrats on the card liz

oh Charles you are the best, I really needed that this morning. Morning to all.

Thanks for the coffee Charles and congrats on the card Liz! Yes, David Cook won which is great

It's raining here right now, just brought my laptop out to the patio, the screen is all fogged up as it's so humid out here and chilly inside.

Sister sent me a note on MSN last night, they are in Rapid City. So I said to Mike last night, how long did it take us to get to Nebbie - he said 5 days. I said we really shouldn't count the 1 day, where we drove to Lethbridge, as that was only 2 hours (for those of you that missed the story, we had to stop there as our cat was very unhappy).

It was funny, driving down here, in a way there was this thing where I thought I was letting the whole crusade down by wanting to stop for the night every 6 hours or so, on the other hand I was road weary. I should also mention that by the time we got to Lethbridge I was ready to turn around and go back home - seriously.

Oh and I don't think I mentioned we almost stayed at the Bates Motel one night, I believe it was in SD somewhere. It was getting late and there were storm clouds on the horizon, so I said, we really need to stop for the night. So we pull in to this little town, which has 1 motel and I tell you this place was spooky. There were 2 gas stations as you pull in, one was closed and there were like 2 houses. So we drive in and Mike keeps driving past the Bates Motel and I say in a calm and melodic tone (ok I snapped) - where are you goingggggggg! He said i'm just driving a bit further to see what's up here. Umm no, let's get out of here.

Well we stopped at the store of the one gas station that was open and the 2 people there were very nice and the one guy said, no, you don't want to stay there, I hate to say it but it's not very nice - I say, it looks like something out of a scary movie and they both laughed (in agreement no doubt!!).

Thanks for the charlescoffee this morning! It's Gene's birthday today and I forgot he was taking the day off! So, we slept in a bit...

Hope everyone has a great day!

Truly a must see:
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/214

Corn for world domination?
Hahaha!

Okay, what the H, one more:

Carl Sagan's take on our tiny blue speck of a planet.
aka how to humble ourselves and our problems

http://www.pangeaday.org/filmDetail.php?id=75

I always thought that people don't realize how important some of the things that we take for granted were or are. I remembering reading about how sugar was a million times worse than cocaine. The whole culture of sugar cane and what is required to grow has caused slavery, the rise of the US and all sorts of things that you might never think of. The Bluenose on our dime was used after its racing days as a ship to run rum, which is just fermented sugar cane. How many billions are being spent on diseases that are caused by sugar, even today? Corn for world domination doesn't sound at all far-fetched.


I've seen that one before but it bears a second or third look. I always liked Carl Sagan.

Happy birthday to Gene!!!! About the motel, Carla, it's under new management. This guy is not working there now,




apparently this guy is now running it.

Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario and the new owner of the Bates motel.

So we have to suffer with no coffee because of his bday and day off!! lol Happy Bday

too funny



no! charles served up a Tim's this morning...didn't you see it?






Here's this mornings brew, nice and steamy!


My daughter is coming from Saskatoon this weekend. She's here just until next Friday but it's still a treat! Gene's taking a few days off as well so that we can do a few things together. Thursday I have reserved for just us "girls", and I'm going to take her to the hairdresser as a treat for a colour and cut, and then we'll go out clothes shopping. I remember my Mom doing this for me when I was a young adult, with no money and two kids. Kiera doesn't have any kids, but you know how it is when you're young and you have no money. I'm hoping this will be as much a treat for her as it will be for me to do this for her.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

g'morning everyone. yes, i found a pic of tim horton's coffee just for ya'll

ty for the coffee today carla

OMG I thought I was going to fall out of my chair laughing on this one, too funny indeed.

That sounds fantastic Carlawarla!
I love that name: Kiera.

I hope you have a wonderful week with your Daughter Carla, i'm sure you will

The premier of Ontario kind of looks like Mr. Rogers.

I second that, Carla enjoy your time with Kiera. OK, I'll admit that sounded a bit ominous. Carla have fun with Kiera. That's much better.

Trailmix, I never thought of the Premier as resembling Mr. Rogers, Norman Bates maybe but not Mr. Rogers.

good morning everyone

Hehehe, I'll keep the Tim's but you can keep the squirrel and the snow! Geeze - it looks like someone else beat me to the timmie's - it's empty! Thanks for the thought, Charles - that is truly a Canadian scene, VBG!

Yes, thanks Charles!

Well my lamp I ordered the other day arrived, very pretty, but not right for this little apartment. When I bought it I had a house in mind and a dark wood table to put it on, not a table that looks like a plant stand

We had a big thunder/lightning/rain storm last night that was very cool, wind and tons of rain coming down, we sat on the patio and watched a lot of it, it was great

Going car shopping today, then on to an auction tonight....yay!

So Cassie what colour Corvette have you selected?

candy apple red, baby!!!

We ended up with a cobalt blue 2008 Ford Focus. Apparently Ford is having a big sale and we stumbled onto it today. It's a nice car -- we are pleased

Now to come up with a name for it!

The Blue Mule, what else? Now Cassie, remember in your new Focus you must always start every drive by playing Hocus Pocus by Focus for good luck; if you can't have 620hp on your side, you can always have providence.

good morning everyone.

Thanks for the coffee Charles, now where is the Bailey's lol.



Here it is

Yummy

Seven weeks til we are flying home...can't wait to get some Tim's...I've had about all I can take of Maxwell House!

Mmmm...that sounds dreammmmyyy.
I love that kinda thing.

OMG Mumsie!
What a blast from the past.
I love it.
Especially the yodelling.

Hey Cassie, if you like to drive fast you can call it Blue Streak.
It is especially funny due to it is a Focus; opposite of streak.
Congrats on the new wheels.

Morning Peeps!!

I am drinking my Timmy's in my Timmy's mug right now!

My mom and sister had a great time in New Orleans- they especially loved the daily trips to the drive thru daquiri shop and are currently going through withdrawls

I am having a great time in being back in Canada- I am loving the cooler, dry weather. I need to get on the phone to change my ticket- I want to stay a little longer.

My dog Polly has changed so much in the last year- I had to hold back my tears when I first saw her- her age is catching up to her. I won't get upset- I will just enjoy every second I have with her while it lasts. My sweet baby girl. I know she is happy I am home.

Congrats Cass!! I have had 2 Focus's and have to say I really enjoyed them.

Good morning everyone!

Beautiful day here in Florida!

So we went shopping at Albertson's last night and it was good, they have flake bars and maple syrup and custard and all kinds of things we like and the people in the bakery are really friendly for some reason, maybe if you work in a bakery it makes you happy

Anyway, that was all good, we are going through the checkout and the guy in front of us forgot his cheques, so there was a fru fru about 'suspending' his order and him running home to get cheques and the guy was short tempered and a tad rude and the supervisor was getting flustered and - anyway.

So a cashier shows up and the supervisor tells her about the suspended order and she also gets a phone call while she is ringing our stuff through and another supervisor comes by to tell her about the suspended order again - and now the cashier is getting frustrated and mad.

So as she hurls our groceries down the little table thing, someone is bagging them in our Sobey's reusable bags we had brought in. I bought this bowl of watermelon pieces, I kind of look over at her as she tilts it to put it in the bag and watermelon juice runs all down the bag and some in to the bag (not just a few drops, like 1/2 a cup or more), so I say nothing and wait to see what she will do - she makes a face and then puts the bowl in the bag and goes to hand it to the cashier to put in the cart

I then say, 'what about all the watermelon juice that just ran all over that - you are going to have to take everything out of that bag and rebag all the fruit etc'.

So long story short, my Husband didn't hear that part and while ms watermelon spiller is away getting bags he puts the stuff in a bag, we pay and leave.

I kind of felt sorry for the fruit thrower and the fruit juice spiller, so I thanked them before we left What's funnier is that when we were talking about it later in the car, my Husband said he almost apologized lol - as in, sorry this happened - to try to make them feel better.

Anyway, they played some Jann Arden while we were shopping, which was nice

Wow. Wonder what kind of drugs you have to be on to come up with that stuff. Nice hair, too.

I saw this and thought of you, Spirit:




The people in our Albertsons Deli and Bakery are really happy too. But don't trust the cashiers. They've tried to rip me off twice in the last couple of weeks because they're lazy. I mean, seriously.... do I look like the type of person who wouldn't notice that you just charged me $7.50 for a couple of green peppers and $7 for a $3 watermelon? WTH?

I had a really weird shopping trip at Publix the other day.....

As I was unloading my cart onto the conveyor belt there was a woman behind me asking if she could have my cart. I said "Sure" but then realized that I would need it to take my groceries out to the car so I said "Sorry, I'm going to need it to take my groceries out to the car." She continued to ask for the cart "because she really needed it right now." (With the emphasis on RIGHT NOW.) So I said "But where will I put my groceries?" She pointed to the cart section and told me to get another one. So I did. More fool me.

There was an old old lady (and I mean ancient) who was wearing one of those small tight teenie-bopper shirts that don't cover the belly button, and a pair of pink capri sweats with "Princess" written on the bum..... only the "Princess" part was closer to her ankles than her waist. There are times in life when you really do miss having a friend around to share these special moments with. It's just not the same laughing out loud all by yourself in a parking lot full of people looking at you as though YOU'RE the strange one.

I love your description of the old lady, hehehe!

I have noticed that I need to pay attention to the cash register when things are being rung up here a lot more than I did back home. I don't think it is an intent to scam, but a lot of times the price that is marked on the shelf isn't the price that is rung up on the register. A few times they have someone go and check the shelf, but a lot of times if I just point out that the price isn't the one advertised, they just change it which makes me wonder that maybe they do know that the prices don't always match. I haven't found one store to be worse about it than another - they all seem to be about the same.

I got my greencard (2 yr) in the mail yesterday!

So does this seriously mean I have nothing USCIS related to do for just under 2 years now????

I used to notice the advertised price and the price at the register were always off in Canada, but not so much here in FLA. Last month the Publix had their haddock on sale so I bought some. When the cash register rung it through it came up as the regular price so I questioned it. The cashier called her manager over and he went to check the price. He came back with the sale sign and said "Sorry, somebody left the sign up. This sale ended yesterday." Then he told the cashier to give it to me for free because that is their policy.



Yep! Weird, isn't it? All you have to do now is remember to file to lift your conditions in 2 years minus 3 months. Which might be a challenge for me because I can't even remember what I had intended to do when walking from one room to the next. Congratulations!

Thanks a lot Krikit.
Now you've gone and done it; I have tears streaming down my face.
Mostly because you thought of me with that video, and also because of my inability to get organized and create videos like that.
Friends (from Vancouver) and I have talked and talked about it and who we'd like to get involved etc.
People like Michael Stipe, Bono, Leonardo DiCaprio, and others.
Yes, we think big.

I looked at the website: liveearth.org
Some really cool stuff.
I wonder how close we are getting to a critical mass.
Isn't the percentage 15% or is it 12%?
(awaiting Mumsie to come back with something...)

I loved the song and images.
They rattle my being.



What funny stories about your shopping experiences Trailmix and Krikit.




A mega huge congrats sweet Liz!
Two years and no paperwork, except if you move, ha.

Ok, everyone gather around the campfire for a 'crossing the Canadian border' story!



So my Sister and co crossed the border at 1:00 on Friday morning, they had to wait in line around 45 minutes so my BIL moved to the passenger seat so he could have a nap.

The Border guy asks my Sister where they are going - Calgary - then he raises his voice "Is he asleep!" - she says yes, at this point my BIL wakes up because the guy is so loud, then the guys says "I need to have a look at him, he needs to be awake!". Fine. Then he says how many of you are there - they say the three of us and 2 dogs.

He then says, roll down that back window I need to see him (my nephew) - oh I should also mention it's windy and raining at this point as well. So she rolls my nephew's window down and the guy looks at him then starts to ask her something else, so she rolls up the back window.

The guy turns to my Nephew and yells - 'roll down that window and don't roll it up until I tell you to'!! Well my Sister gets mad at this point - so she tells him in a firm voice that her son hadn't rolled up the window, she had, as she thought he was finished with it and tells him not to yell at her!

The guy was so taken aback at her talking to him like that he just kind of stood there looking shocked.

Then he says, why are you going to Canada - she tells him, to paint their house. How long have you owned the house? Etc etc - he now knows all about their house.

Anyway, I think it's horrible that border persons are rude to people coming in to the country - any country - it's so totally uncalled for.

Best part is, in his 'flustered-ness' he never bothered to ask for their names or their passports.

Oh Trailmix, sometimes coming home is the worst experience with CBSA. What a jacka$$ to yell at a child. Thank you for the smore, it took some of the sting out of the story.

I seriously nearly peed myself laughing as I watched this, seriously. It has everything you could want: yodelling, the 70s mullet, the rock flute, and bug-eyed whistling. I am going to have to download that somewhere and play it when my husband is nowhere near, because he's still over in the corner in the fetal position crying "make it stop".

oh pooo... what happens if we move??
cuz we fore sure aren't going to be living here in 2 years!!!
i don't like this place THAT much!

What an a s s. I'm glad your sister said something.



It's easy peasy. You fill out the AR-11 and your husband fills out the I-865. You won't get a response but your husband will. At least that was my experience.

I was going to use a slightly different argot to comment on this incident but this will do just fine, talk about a stupid orifice.
The advice about the AR-11 and I-865 is sound but sometimes if you phone you local office they will do it without the forms, it depends on who answers the phone and if they are willing to do it..

Ditto. Congrats Liz!

Spirit, I agree with you, that was a great video. I had no idea that Madonna still had the pipes. I don't know about critical mass but I'm on a diet, if it helps. Seriously I don't know how much longer the current agrarian model can go on, rice blight and the sigatoka fungi (yellow and black) of bananas have me concerned and potato blight is making a comeback.

Ovaltine?

OMG that was Len.

I have news for you Krikit...

Poor Krikit you're much too nice a person. You need to enrol in Mumsie's assertiveness training classes, a few weeks under my tutelage and you'll be so assertive that people will get you a shopping cart. Furniture may be upset, local law enforcement may become involved but someone will get you a shopping cart.

BTW, nice video, but where's the yodelling.

Maybe she hadn't had her ovaltine.

Just stopping by to write "Hello" to everybody because I have not visited in awhile.

Cheers!!!

Sheriff Uling

Sit down, take a load off.