ME AND MY CAR

This is one of the photos I took the same day my daughter and I went walking in Bear Creek Park. I really like this one. Also, here I am with my car.

AUTUMN PHOTOS & ALASKA CRUISE

Photos are ones metalxmonkey took at Bear Creek Park on a beautiful autumn Sunday last weekend. She has a knack for photography, I think.

Finally, I got my computer up and running again! Plus finally managed to get through all the emails that were waiting. So, I'm wondering who is interested in going on the Aug. 20-27 Alaska cruise and would be interested in being a room mate. The reason I chose this particular cruise is because it goes further North than the other one, which I did summer of '04 on Norwegian Cruise Lines. I do want to see what the cost is going to be, though, before I "book." So, if anyone is interested in rooming together, let me know. I would want a stateroom with balcony because I found that it is great to watch the scenery go by in the comfort of your own room. Out on deck, it can get very windy and cold. The rooms on NCL were much bigger than I had anticipated, which was a pleasant surprise for someone who'd never cruised before. Feel free to post here or get in touch via email. Thanks. Have a great day, everyone!

YOUNG WIDOWS

This is what I posted on clickgirl (Brenda's) site about my dream of writing an inspirational book about women who became widows far too young.

Brenda and Jackie! This is absolutely amazing! You can definitely count me in on whatever comes from this. I have always wanted to travel, but like Chandra, couldn't find friends who had the either the time and/or the money to join me. Also, I've always been afraid that if I gave up the security of my teaching position to do what I really wanted, I'd end up homeless.

This whole adventure has been so eye opening to me. I realize now that life is too short to not try to realize our dreams. Besides travel, my dream has been to write. From meeting so many wonderful women through Richard's search, I am now working on making my dream come true.

I am going to spend the next few months working on the financial aspects of ending my teaching career and beginning a new one writing. I have been thinking of all the women I met who became widows very young in life (between the ages of 40ish and 60ish) and I would like to write an inspirational book of surviving one of the worst tragedies a woman can imagine. Losing your husband at an age where you are too young to be relegated to the back pew of the church but too old to easily meet suitable or available men is more than difficult. No, we do not NEED a man, but most of us really do want to have someone to love and someone to love us. It is just simply in our nature.

We are all survivors. Most of us have had to raise our children alone. Most of us have had to work full time while doing so. Some of us have had support (financial and/or emotional) and some of us not.

All these years, I thought I was one of a very few young widows and in a category of my own. Now I realize that is not true. If I can help one young widow through my dream of writing about "our" survival, it will all have been worth it.

I've never done this before, but am willing to learn all aspects of writing and publishing in order to realize this dream. Maybe you, Brenda, have some ideas of how to go about this (since you're in the media environment). Maybe we could eventually do a documentary. Something. Anything. We need to get this story out.

Regarding divorcees. I know that they have gone through or do go through a lot of the same grieving processes that widows do. But I have no experience of that. Let me try to do this one project and if it's successful, maybe I could do something similar for you.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has lost her husband from accident, illness, violence, or suicide (like I did), was in the age range I mentioned above, and would like to take part in this venture. I would use pseudonyms so as to make it easier to tell your story fully. Please contact me through my blog. Thanks to all.

10/22/2005 11:05 PM

Bear Creek Park

On Wednesday, October 19th, my Grade 4s participated in a cross-country run at Bear Creek Park near to our school. Our school won the overall trophy and my Grade 4 boys won the trophy for all the Grade 4 boys who participated (a lot of schools). I am so proud of them all. I would love to post a photo of "my kids" but it wouldn't be appropriate, so I thought I'd just post a couple of shots of the creek in the area where they ran - along the trail around the park and through the trees with all the changing colours of Fall. It is a beautiful location.

Also, here's a photo of me and my Dad on my birthday. Notice at almost 85, there's not a grey hair on his head, although his forehead has grown a bit higher over the years.

PUMPKIN LOAF

Mix the following ingredients - IN ORDER - and then fold into a well-greased 9 X 5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 80 minutes.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup oil (Crisco or Mazola)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans

BON APPETIT!

Oh Baby!

Guess Who?

Heaven

An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the world.

For his first chapter he decided to write about American churches. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to Orlando, thinking that he would work his way across the country from South to North.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read $10,000.00 per call. The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000.00 one could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went along his way.

Next stop was in Atlanta, there, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in Orlando and asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000.00 he could talk to God. "O.K. thanks" said the American

He then traveled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and New York, then on to Portland and north to Seattle. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same $10,000.00 per call sign under it.

Upon leaving Seattle, the American saw a sign saying "Route 5 North to Vancouver CANADA" and decided to see if Canadians had the same golden telephone.

He drove for awhile and finally arrived in Ladner, BC. Sure enough, there again in the local church was the same golden telephone, only this time the sign under it read 25 cents per call.

The American was surprised and so intrigued that he asked the church's pastor about the sign.

"Father, I've traveled all over America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches, I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in every state the price was $10,000.00 per call. Why is it so cheap here?"

The priest smiled and answered: "You're in Canada now son, it's a local call."

My Mom - My Age (about)

This is especially for Willemina because I told her that she reminded me of my Mom when my Mom was around our age. I remember her as always being so beautiful, even just before she passed away at age 82 in 2002. She was a very intelligent woman, social and chatty. I really miss her as we were very close.

Before and After

On Sept. 11/05 Robbie went in for his shave and a haircut, etc. What a difference!

Manhattan Beach Pictures

Here are some photos from the weekend at Manhattan Beach. Wednesday evening, some of us went to the Pier to meet Richard and then over to the RockNFish for dinner. My roommate was Connie from Georgia (also a teacher)and we've become fast friends. Check out that shark!

Have I changed much??

Please Don't Pick My Mommy!

Dear Mr. Roe,

Please don't pick my Mommy to go on a trip with you! I would miss her SO much 'cuz she's such a great cuddler. Sometimes she lets me sleep with her. She gives me lots of love and kisses and pets and when I give her a "high five" she gives me cookies. I understand you're a "Cookie Monster" so you know how much I'd miss my cookies! But, if you find her irresistible (like I do), I guess I'll just have to make do without her for a while. Just make sure you bring her back safe and sound.

Sincerely,

Robbie

You know you're a teacher when...

* you grade papers in the car, during commercials, in faculty meetings, in the bathroom, and have even been seen grading in church.

* you cheer when you hear April 1 does not fall on a school day.

* you can't walk past a crowd of kids without straightening up the line.

* you can gulp down a full lunch in 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

* you know the best end of semester lesson plans can come from Blockbuster.

* you know the shortest distance and length of travel time from the classroom to the office.

* you have never heard an original excuse.

* you know the best places to find used gum.

* you feel the urge to snap your fingers in public at children you do not know to correct their behaviour.

* you want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free."

* you hear the heartbeats of crisis; you always have time to listen; you know you teach students, not subjects; and you know you are absolutely non-expendable.

It's Great to be a Woman

We got off the Titanic first.
We can scare male bosses with the mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
Taxis stop for us.
We don't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.
No fashion faux pas we make could ever rival the Speedo.
We don't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.
If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
We can congratulate our team mate without ever touching her rear end.
We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.
We have the ability to dress ourselves.
We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.
If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot.
We will never regret piercing our ears.
There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.
We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway.

Manhattan Beach Meet and Greet

Hi everyone! I'd love some input about the LA (and Chicago) meet & greets. Who is thinking about going and who is definitely going? Do you think we go to BOTH nights or just one? What are you planning to wear? What else could we do while in the area (e.g. during the day/s)? Feel free to put in comments, questions, suggestions, etc. Thanks.

BRAS

A man walked into the Women's Department of Macy's in New York City.
He told the Sales lady, "I would like a Baptist bra for my wife, size
36B".

With a quizzical look, the saleslady asked, "What kind of bra?"

He repeated, "A Baptist bra. She said to tell you that she wanted a
Baptist bra and that you would know what she wanted."

"Ah, now I remember," Said the saleslady, "we don't get as many
requests for them as we used to. Mostly our customers lately want the
Catholic bra or the Salvation Army bra, or the Presbyterian type".

Confused and a little flustered, the man asked, "So what are the
differences?"

The lady responded, "Well, it's really quite simple.

The Catholic type supports the masses,

The Salvation Army lifts up the fallen,

The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright."

He mused at that for a moment and then asked, "So, what is the
Baptist type for?"

"They", she replied, "make mountains out of molehills".

And, if you need more information here's some more:

Have you ever wandered why bras are lettered A, B, C, D, DD, E, F,
G, H and how the letters are actually used to define bra sizes? Well,
if you have ever wondered, but couldn't figure it out, here's the code:

A. Almost Boobs

B. Barely Boobs

C. Can't Complain

D. Dang!

DD. Double Dang!

E. Enormous

F. Fake

G. Get a reduction

H. Help Me, I've fallen and can't get up.....

SOMETHING FISHY

A woman is in bed with her lover, who also happens to be her husband's best friend.
They make love for hours, and afterwards, while they're just lying there, the phone rings.
The woman picks up the receiver.
Her lover looks over at her and listens, only hearing her side of the conversation...
She is speaking in a cheery voice:
"Hello? Oh, hi. I'm so glad that you called. Really? That's wonderful.
I am so happy for you. That sounds terrific. Great! Thanks. Okay. Bye bye."
She hangs up the telephone and her lover asks, "Who was that?"
"Oh" she replies,
"That was my husband telling me all about the wonderful time he's
having on his fishing trip with you."

BEACHES

The first picture is the Pier at White Rock, which is on the east side of Boundary Bay. Doesn't the pier remind you of the picture we've seen on SB's blog (Manhattan Beach)? The second picture is my grandson Noah playing on "my" beach on the west side of the bay. Vancouver and environs have some of the most beautiful beaches ever.

JELLYFISH

If you don't laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma!
This is even funnier when you realize it's real! Next time you have a
bad day at work...think of this guy.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He
performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an
E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2
on FM dial in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job
experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

Hi Sue,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a
bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work,
so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's
not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first
must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to
the office. It's a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial
water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the
sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to
the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now
this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with
no complaints.

What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose
and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with
warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi.
Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to
itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within
a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my
back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.
The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my
suit.

Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't
stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I
scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the
jellyfish into the crack of my butt. I informed the dive supervisor of
my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to
the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing
hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to
make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five
minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression.

When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass
helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter
running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it
on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out,
but I couldn't poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut.

So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY :)!!!!!