ABC Wednesday - F is for French

I can't believe a whole week has gone by and I haven't had time to write anything! But I simply cannot let ABC Wednesday go by without participating.

I thought about telling you all how I had come down with the flu, including a fever. But frankly, I'm so sick of being sick, I just had to come up with something else.

So I've decided to tell you how I became a French teacher. First of all, I wanted to be a teacher ever since I began school at age 6. I fell in love with my teacher and promptly came home and announced to the family that I would be a teacher when I grew up. My future plans never changed, except for the fact that when I started to learn French in Grade 7, I thought perhaps I could be a French teacher.

I'll never forget my first lesson - the teacher, a first-year teacher whom I thought was SO old and was probably about 21, flounced into the classroom (wearing - I will never forget - a belted shirt dress with short sleeves, a collar, and full skirt - anyone else remember that style?) She stood in front of the students and said:

J'entre dans la salle de classe.

Je regarde autour de moi.

Je dis bonjour au professeur.

Je prends ma place.

Well, of course, everyone just looked at each other as if the teacher was fou (crazy). No one understood a word she said. So she just went outside the classroom again, closed the door, and after a moment or two, she repeated her performance. I think it was after the third or fourth performance that a few kids started to get the idea. And we moved on.

In my last year of high school, I had a fantastic French teacher. However, she did intimidate me a bit. She was very strict and formal, insisting on absolutely perfect behaviour, attitude, and performance. However, I still loved the sound of the language and worked hard to get good grades. Towards the end of the year, each student had to give a speech in French to the whole class and after the speech, the teacher would ask questions - yes, in French - and we had to be able to answer in French. I prepared very carefully and I'll never forget that just after Madame asked me her question and I was trying to come up with the answer, the bell rang to end the class. Never have I ever been so relieved - saved by the bell - literally!

Off I went at age 17 to the University of BC and studied for five years to be a French teacher. Along the way, I also studied four years of Spanish and a year of Italian. I can't say I'm fluent, but I must say I love the sounds of these languages and when I was in France, Italy, and Mexico (still have to make it to Spain) I was in my glory and was picking things up very quickly.

Now after teaching for many many moons and being retired, I still enjoy tutoring kids - usually boys - in French as a second language. (I think it's something about the right brain versus left brain thing with boys and second languages.) As it is, I must run since today's student will be here in about five minutes.

Thanks to Denise Nesbitt for hosting ABC Wednesdays. Click here to view participants' posts or to find out how to join in.

ABC Wednesday - E is for Eden Elizabeth

Some of you might remember the momentous occasion almost one year ago (March 3, 2008 to be exact) when I announced the birth of my first granddaughter. My daughter and son-in-law already had a 4-year-old son named Noah Brian and the entire family was thrilled that the new baby was a girl. It's hard for any of us to believe that she's almost a year old!

Eden has been a wonderful baby, but has suffered terribly from teething. Thankfully, her two bottom teeth and her top four front teeth have now emerged and she's in much better spirits.

I know that her Mommy doesn't really like me to put pictures of her kids on here, but I think hope that she won't mind this one more time since it's to honour Eden.

My daughter brought Noah and Eden over to visit on Monday and Eden discovered the "granny walker" that I was using for a while when I came home from the hospital. Here she is after she pulled herself up with it looking pleased as punch at her accomplishment, and giving her Gramma a huge grin.

Thanks to Denise Nesbitt for hosting ABC Wednesday and if you'd like to participate or just see other participants' posts, just click here.

ABC Wednesdays - D is for Doctors

Continuing with my latest theme of being disabled, I decided to honour my doctors today. From the time I saw my general practitioner (or "family doctor") last February to the radiologists who gave me a CT scan and an MRI, to the anaesthesiologist and surgeon who worked on me last month I must say I have had excellent care.

My GP is Dr. M, a friend's uncle and a wonderfully kind and sensitive man. When I arrived in his office last February to tell him that both my legs had gone out on me, he stated emphatically that it was time for another CT scan - the last one was 4 years ago. Dr. M has been there for me through thick and thin during times when I didn't think I could make it through the latest health battle for myself or my children.

When I went for my CT scan and my MRI, I was treated with dignity and respect by everyone, including the receptionists, technicians, and radiologists. About 3/4 of the way through the procedure in the MRI machine, my heart started pounding wildly and I thought for a moment that I'd have to get out of there. But the voice of the radiologist was calming as he spoke through the intercom, reassuring me that we were almost finished.

Finally, what can I say about my Dr. McYummy, as I've dubbed him. He is/was my surgeon and he's been the absolute best. Most surgeons don't have very good bedside manner, but Dr. McY made me feel at ease when he gave me the odds of success for my surgery, which was desperately needed for my quality of life. He saw me every morning while I was in the hospital and when I needed to go back into the hospital to go on a regimen of pain control, he was so understanding.

We never really want to need doctors, but we do, and it's wonderful when you can have great doctors with not only education and skill, but also patience and sensitivity to what we must endure. Those with whom I've been in contact this past year have been the best. So here's to them.

Also, here's to Mrs. Nesbitt, our ABC Wednesday hostess. Click here to read more about ABCW.

My World Tuesday - Captain's Cove Marina

Usually I post my "MWT" on my other blog (Photologue), but I thought I'd put it here on my regular blog this week. Some of you might be wondering where I disappeared to (or not), but if you scroll down and read a bit of previous posts, you'll find that I had major (and I mean MAJOR) back surgery on Jan. 6th. Complications caused me to have to return to the hospital for another week and now I'm finally home and trying to get back to real life. Well, actually, that's not gonna happen anytime soon since in the last couple of days I've graduated to walking without the "granny walker." But...yesterday, my sweetie took me for a little drive to one of the local marinas and I hobbled out to take a few photos of a dreary February morning along the river. Hope you enjoy...

ABC Wednesday - C is for Coming Along

Hi everyone! Sorry I missed B is for "better" but I have to say that things were NOT better. In fact, I ended up back in the hospital for another week because the pain was intolerable. As I healed (from the outside inward), the healing must have hit some swelling, bruising, or a bit of internal bleeding and no prescription medication - Demerol or Percocet - would ease the pain. If you missed my previous post about "there's no place like home," just give it a quick read as it explains it all there.

Anyway, I've been home now for 5 days and things are coming along okay now. Of course, I still have to take my pain medications, but sometimes I can go 8 hours between doses and some nights I've been able to go from 11:00 pm until around 8:00 am.

I am now able to sit in the bath chair and give myself a shower, although it takes all my energy and I have to rest afterwards. I can now walk slowly around the house without the "granny walker" and today my sweetie took me for a very short and very slow stroll outside to enjoy the sunshine.

There won't be any carousing or calisthentics for me for quite some time still but it's so wonderful when my sweetie brings coffee and a fresh-baked muffin to me in bed when he gets home from his graveyard shift. He doesn't mind combing my hair for me and doesn't even mind when I'm almost comatose from all the pain meds. He also gives me such comfort when I succumb to crying from frustration and weakness.

As long as things continue to improve, I don't need to see the surgeon until March 2, when he'll take an X-ray then. Hopefully, the bones are melding well and I won't have to wear this brace the entire 3 months. I can hardly wait to get exercising properly again. In the meantime, I guess I need to learn the meaning of patience.

Hope everyone's had a good week and I'll try to get around to visit, but please understand that I can't sit for long spells yet. See y'all next week.

There's No Place Like Home...

...and nothing like being free of pain, or at least pain that registers off the chart! Thanks, everyone, for your good wishes and special thanks to Josie for letting you all know that I had to be readmitted to the hospital. After about 4 days of excruciating pain that even Percocet wouldn't touch, a day in Emergency, and an ambulance ride to get a CT scan to check that everything was okay inside me, I ended up at my surgeon's office actually sobbing my heart out because of the pain. When I reminded him that I have a very high pain tolerance he replied, "I KNOW you have a high pain tolerance. I saw inside you!" So into the hospital I went for another week on a regimen to control the pain while the sciatic nerve settled down and I continued to heal.

I came home yesterday (Thursday) and slept through the night, waking only to take pain meds around 6:00 a.m. My "sweetie" is out washing his Jeep right now because he'd like to take me for a short drive to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. So off I go to have a quick shower and get dressed - quick for me probably means about an hour as I'm still moving veeeeerrrrry slowly.

I'll take my camera with me - you never know when you might get a good shot of something.

ABC Wednesday - Round 4 A is for Aching Back

Oy vey! My aching back! I figured I might as well incorporate an update on my back surgery along with our new Round 4 (already!) of ABC Wednesday, hosted by the lovely Denise Nesbitt.

I've been home just one week and it's only been two weeks since the actual surgery. In some ways it seems longer and in some ways it seems like yesterday I was coming out of the anaesthetic with pain levels at 9+....now the pain seems to hover around 5 or 6 and if I'm really really lucky I can actually sleep for 5 or 6 hours without waking up craving pain meds. I'm still using the "granny walker" but did manage to do the stairs yesterday. I had no choice, since my surgeon was expecting me at 1:15 pm to remove all 28 staples. The incision has healed nicely, so they say, but it will be a lot longer for all the insides to heal up and be strong.

Inside me, I now have 7 screws and 3 fusions! Dr. McYummy showed me my post-op X-ray and I think I look a lot better on the inside than on the outside right now. hah Last night around 11:00 pm, just as I was settling for the night, excuciating pain began in my legs. Legs? Yes, my legs! I think I walked too far or too much or maybe it was doing the stairs, but.... all night long, my legs were screaming with pain resulting in no real sleep until around 4:00 pm this afternoon. Tomorrow I plan on going up and down the stairs once and then I'll stay upstairs for the rest of the day. Hopefully, I'll be okay.

So there you have it - A is for aching back. Hopefully, next week B will be for better. I'll try to visit you all, but please understand that as much as I love to visit, it's still really hard for me to sit up for very long at a time. Happy Wednesday, everyone, and let's hear it for Round 4.

I'm Home

Hi everyone! This will be very brief as it's still extremely difficult for me to sit up for long. I still also have a lot of pain and am on vert strong painkillers. So just to let you know, I'm home and will give more details of my "advenuture" at another time. It was bad. More and more forceful pain that I could ever imagine. I lost a lot of blood causing the surgery to go on an extra hour and a half. My blood pressure plummeted and is still quite low. Thanks for all the well wishes and you'll be hearing from me more often again quite soon.

Gotta



go




take











pain meds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Daughter #2 posting an update

Mom's not going to be home until at least wednesday. Her blood pressure is a bit wonky still, so they are keeping her until it settles down and also until she can do the stairs with the physiotherapist.

She appreciates all your well wishes, and assures you she is doing just fine and will post here herself when she gets home :)

The Big Day

If you've been following this blog for at least a year, you'll know that I've been having a lot of trouble with my lower back. For more information, you can read my previous posts about it here or here or here.
Briefly, I have spinal stenosis, two more discs that are herniated, and something called spondylolisthesis which happens when the spine, which interconnects to one another, slips forward onto the vertebrae below. I can feel and hear the grating and once a friend even heard it when she was standing about six feet away from me at the time.
So tomorrow is the big day when I arrive at the hospital at 7:00 am (PST) to prep for my surgery which is scheduled for 9:00 am. I've had all the pre-op stuff done (5 vials of blood taken, an ECG, chest x-ray, meetings with a nurse and the anaesthetist) and phoned the surgeon's office today to confirm all is a go. My daughter is coming to get me tonight and I'll sleep over there because she's only 5 minutes from the hospital and she's driving me there in the morning and will keep my belongings until the next day.
I'm hoping to be home by Saturday - as long as everything proceeds smoothly, I've been told I'll stay 4 days in the hospital. I personally think that's not long considering the actual operation takes 4 hours and then I'm in recovery for another 4 hours. But then, I'll probably rest better in my own home. The total recovery time is 3 months in a brace so after that I'll be getting back to the gym and the pool and get out walking more and more. I'm actually considering myself lucky to have the surgery done at this time of year because when I get to take that brace off, it'll be spring and I'll be all ready to romp.
Now don't think I'm not scared! Well, not scared actually, but rather very anxious. At the back of my mind is that niggly little worry that something bad might happen, but I refuse to allow it access to the front of my mind. I'll leave it up to all you, my faithful readers, to send up a little prayer, think good thoughts for me, or even just cross your fingers and toes. Now that I'm so happy having found love again, I have so much to live for.
Maybe Josie will put something on her blog to let you all know I made it through but I'll be sure to post when I get home and I'll tell you all the gory details....just kidding. Have a great week everyone!

Holiday Fun

Scroll down for ABC Wednesday X

I haven't had a chance to share with you about my wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve started out with a candlelight service at my church, accompanied by the new man in my life. I introduced him to many of my friends there and one couple actually said to him, "You two look good together." Who'da thunk it? *big grin* We opened our gifts to each other and were delighted with them. I cooked a nice dinner for us as I felt it wasn't fair that he should cook and then have to go to work graveyard shift. Normally, he cooks (gourmet, I should add) and I'm just the queen awaiting service. lol

My son-in-law picked me up Christmas Day afternoon and I spent the rest of the day with my two daughters and son-in-law, along with his parents and the two grandchildren. What a wonderful time watching Noah open his gifts. He was even thrilled with his new pyjamas that I gave him - they're WallE pjs that he can wear while he watches his new WallE dvd. He also loved his new doctor kit and the board game Operation - he had to put on his new ID pin and went around checking us out to make sure we're all healthy. Eden loved her musical ball and her soft little barn with four animals that "talk" when you squeeze them. And she looked adorable in her Christmas outfit.

(left: Auntie Jaclyn plays with her niece and nephew)

(right: Jamie with her darling daughter)

Dinner was traditional with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pineapple rice salad and green salad with cranberries and nuts, plus a corn casserole. For dessert, my younger daughter made rum balls from scratch and served them with a bit of vanilla ice-cream. No one here likes Christmas pudding - far too heavy after a big meal. I enjoyed my annual Bailey's on ice before dinner and white wine with dinner. Oh - and we also wore our silly little paper crowns, too. Notice that Jason fell asleep after dinner with his still on.

On Boxing Day, L and I braved the blizzard and drove all the way to Horseshoe Bay to spend time with his best friends and watch the first Junior Hockey League championship game - Canada against *oh jeez, I don't remember!* Too much champagne that night! heh heh Then Saturday we met another of his best friends and wife for lunch - apparently I passed the test. The wife and I hit it off immediately! Then Sunday, L and I went shopping at Toys R Us for Noah's birthday present (he was a New Year's Day baby and is turning 5). After that, we went to a beautiful secluded spot along the river and watched the colours of the sky as the sun went behind the clouds and set. Unfortunately, neither of us had thought to bring our camera but we'll go back another time and get some good shots. And before heading home, we stopped at Speed's Neighbourhood Pub for a drink, sitting at a table overlooking the river with boats all lit up with Christmas lights - very romantic.
Back to reality Monday, and this weekend will be the last one for me to go out and have fun - at least for a while. The big day is next Tuesday, when I'll finally get the surgery to fix my lower spine. I'll be in the hospital for at least 4 days but as soon as I get home, I'll let you all know how much better I already feel - yeah right! heh heh Seriously, though, I can hardly wait until it's all over and on April 6 I'll be able to remove the brace. Life will begin again in earnest that day!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and may 2009 be the best ever!

ABC Wednesday - X is for eXtremely lucky in love

As you can tell, I haven't been online very much lately. That's because all my spare time is spent with my eX-boyfriend who is now my current boyfriend (and I use the term "boy" very loosely). When we were together all those years ago, we were really just kids, even though we were in our early to mid-20s, and we didn't know how to deal with difficulties or intrusions into our relationship. Now with the passage of time and having become mature in body, mind, and spirit, we find that we truly were meant to be together. That "je ne sais quoi" is still there and is even stronger than before. We don't worry about the fact that the hair may be whiter, the skin a bit saggy, and the eyesight weaker. We can see beyond that all the way to the heart and soul. Now that we've been given a second chance at love, we're going to make each day count. Every time we look into each other's eyes, we know how eXtremely lucky we are. As I took this photo, we joked about being at the crossroads of a new life together.
Thanks to Denise Nesbitt for hosting this weekly ABC Wednesday. As we approach the end of the alphabet for the third time, I am hoping that she'll continue to host it because it's fun and challenging to me to try to come up with something unique. Be sure to pop over to the special site for ABC Wednesday to see more photos and stories from people all over the world. You won't be disappointed.

ABC Wednesday - W is for Wassail

Wassail is a hot, spiced punch associated with Christmas. While the beverage typically served as "wassail" at modern holiday feasts with a medieval theme most closely resembles mulled cider, historical wassail was completely different, more likely to be mulled beer or mead. Sugar, ale, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon would be placed in a bowl, heated, and topped with slices of toast as sops. This drink would be the equivalent to beer or wine in many of the more prominent and better-known cultures of today. People drank it at parties and it was the main ale of the day. "Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best/... please god send our master a good cask of ale..." sang throughout the towns of the germanic nations, sending good luck to even one's own master in the new year.
For recipes, click here. I couldn't believe how many recipes there are on the internet but frankly, I still prefer my traditional dark rum and coke (with a twist of lime) on Christmas Eve.
So I'm raising my cup to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We still have snow snow and more snow! It's snowing as I write this and the roads are absolutely treacherous now. But Friday afternoon was so sunny and beautiful that we went for a walk along the river, boots crunching in the frozen snow. No one else was around and it was almost eerie being able to hear our own footsteps. We saw tracks from rabbits and birds and some other animal that had dragged its tail in the snow. The light was beautiful with the setting sun peeking through the trees to create magnificent reflections in icy spots.
Back in the cosy warmth of my place, I was treated like a princess with gifts of flowers, champagne, bubble bath, and a scrumptious dinner of shrimp and clam sauce over spaghetti accompanied by a tasty merlot. Oh yes, for an added treat I received a giant bottle of window washer fluid and a special type of antifreeze for the gas in my car.
The roads were clear on Saturday, so I headed up the mountain to my sister's for our annual pre-Christmas luncheon. She's the real cook of the family and always treats us to some special homemade soup. This year it was chock full of vegies and clams. Also provided were pate, smoked salmon spread, a variety of specialty crackers and a fabulous sourdough from Cobbs Bakery. Dessert was her own baking - "from scratch" lemon squares and brownies. I was so full I didn't make my mother's famous mac & cheese for L and me until 9:00 pm that night.
Now I'm waiting for a call from my daughter who accidently cut off the tip of her finger just after L left to go to work. I skidded and slid my way over to her place and took her to Emergency at the local hospital - an absolute zoo tonight! There were already two trauma cases (heart attacks) being taken care of and the waiting room was packed! So...here I wait and pray that I'll be able to get her home at whatever time she calls.
It's a winter wonderland out there and it can be fun and romantic but also a very dangerous place to be out in a car. Enjoy the photos (click to enlarge) and please send some good vibes for my daughter. Thanks!
Update: Daughter isn't in pain anymore but she's having to be very careful not to bump her finger on anything. And my road is being plowed so I can get my car out. I'll have to be very careful driving, though!

Iced Lotusland

The city of Vancouver is nicknamed "Lotusland" because of its remarkable beauty and its remarkable weather patterns that keep the city and the surrounding areas very temperate. It seldoms goes below 8 or 9 degrees Celsius or in the 40s Fahrenheit.

However, *sigh,* we are currently experiencing extremely unusual weather in that it's very cold (below zero C) and it's been snowing since around midnight last night. It snowed last Saturday and that snow had not had a chance to dissipate so this snowfall is on top of that. I phoned the school early this morning to check if it was open - it was, so I gingerly made my way over - but their Christmas concert this evening will probably be cancelled. Weather reports predict it's going to continue to snow until Friday when the sun will shine for two days before another snowfall on Sunday. But our two days of sunshine will be in the minus 17C range and if it's windy, it'll feel more like in the minus 20-30C range. Yikes!

I know that lots of people like snow for Christmas, but when it snows in Vancouver everything stops. People stay home instead of driving to work. The transit system slows down to a crawl and schools close. Snow brings an inordinate amount of stress to workers, parents who need to find alternate daycare for their kids, and seniors who can't get out for groceries. I hate going out in it for fear of falling and making things even worse for my poor back (which is SO looking forward to getting fixed in less 3 weeks).

Ah well, I'll stay inside and look out at the pure white of the neighbourhood. I'll make myself some hot chocolate, put on some music, and read my book. Then I'll snuggle down in my flannel sheets and try to dream of a warm beach somewhere.

Here are a few shots of my neighbourhood and garden. I must say I think the heather looks rather pretty peeking out from under the fallen snow. (Click to enlarge)

ABC Wednesday - V is for Virgin Mary

I think it's appropriate at this time of year to point out the true meaning of Christmas. These days, we're living in a world where Christmas is about the tree, Santa Claus, gifts, and the turkey dinner. However, Christmas is not about the tree, Santa Claus, gifts, and the turkey dinner.

Through immaculate conception, a baby was born to the Virgin Mary. His name was Jesus.

CHRISTmas...celebrating the birth of God's son to the Virgin Mary.

Jesus is the reason for the season.

Above right is a photo I took through a jeweler's window in Taormina, Sicily, back in 2006 when I was visiting there. (Click to enlarge) It was the most beautiful nativity I'd ever seen and just had to capture it with my camera.

When my older daughter was 2 years old, I bought a little nativity scene at the old Woodward's store in downtown Vancouver. (Anyone in Canada remember Woodward's?) It cost $26.00 and I was afraid to tell my husband how expensive it was. I'd always lift my daughters up to see the baby Jesus every night before they went to bed and made sure that they understood that Christmas was a birthday party for Jesus.

Of course, Santa did come to our house and always left lovely gifts for everyone under our beautifully decorated tree. And we always have a great turkey dinner, too. I hope that however you celebrate the CHRISTmas season you will all have a wonderful and memorable time.

Do you have a nativity scene that you display every Christmas? I'd love to hear about your special traditions for this season.

Coming Up for Air

I just had a glorious weekend and I know now L's a keeper. He cooks, cleans up as he goes, gives great back rubs, and holds me up when we're out walking in the snow. Friday night, after a Christmas concert, I was treated to homemade Italian spaghetti sauce over spaghetti with a fresh baguette to dip in the extra sauce. L put all the leftover sauce (five large containers) in the freezer for me to use when I come home from the hospital and totally cleaned the kitchen for me.
Saturday we took a drive down to Centennial Beach, mainly to go for a brisk walk, but it was SO cold and windy that we ended up driving around Tsawwassen and Ladner looking at the sights. Then we had an early dinner at a local Japanese restaurant where L got me to try raw tuna! I didn't want to disappoint, so I tasted it, but frankly it tasted like nothing to me. I didn't care for the texture so I don't think I'd order it for myself. I did enjoy the raw salmon, though. After dinner, we watched a movie, "Black Book," that I'd already seen but just knew he's like - he did. It started to snow while we were watching the movie, so we decided to go for a walk in the snow - so romantic - to check out the Christmas lights on a neighbouring street. When we came back, we watched 2 episodes of Boston Legal from Season 2. L had not followed the show when it was on TV, so is now renting all the episodes. He roars with laughter at Denny Crane.
So then today, he took me out for Chinese food and I sampled "hot and sour soup" which was something new to me - it sure would clear the sinuses if you had a bad cold! Also, after our beef and vegetables in black bean sauce, we had fun reading our fortunes to each other, adding "in bed" at the end of the fortune. No late night tonight as L has to be at work by 10 pm but there's always next weekend.

Who says there's no romance after age 60?

ABC Wednesday - U is for Unforgettable

To understand why this song means so much to me, you have to read the previous few posts. It is unbelieveable to me that an unforgettable romance can become fresh and new again - and perhaps even better.

There's nothing sexier than a man in the kitchen...

I've heard it said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomache. However, I can guarantee that it's also one of the best way to a woman's heart. Friday night, after the movie "Australia," (which, by the way I thoroughly enjoyed) we came back to my place and L cooked dinner for us. Oh my gosh! It was so much fun to just sit back with my glass of Shiraz and watch him go at it. He was having a lot of fun, too, guaranteeing that I was going to go out of my mind after tasting it all. All I had to do was set the table ( I threw two place mats on the table and a knife and fork each and we carried our wine glasses in when dinner was served.)

So what was so good? Well, saliva is building up just from the memory! We had rack of lamb - done in his own, made-from-scratch marinade. He did roasted potatoes with some sort of whatsit drizzled on top (oh yes, extra virgin olive oil) and spices, and asparagus sauteed in the frying pan with butter, freshly chopped garlic and ginger and a drizzle of lemon juice. He also made a great salad, but we didn't even get to that.

L loves to cook and watches all the cooking shows, including "Restaurant Makeover" on TV. I think that's just perfect as I hate to cook but love all the home renovations and interior design shows. Naturally, I showed him my appreciation for the movie and dinner and told him he's welcome to cook for me any time.

He did remind me, though, that I made my mother's recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese for him years ago, and he'd love it if I made it for him again. So I guess it's my turn next.

Oh, L cleaned everything up, too.

Life is Good

It's a beautiful sunny day and I've put up a few Christmas decorations and started to wrap parcels. Tomorrow evening I have a date to see "Australia" and go to dinner afterwards with my old/new fiance. Life has not been this good for a long time, so I'm simply savouring every moment. Right now I'm happy. Life is good.

ABC Wednesday - T is for Tractors, Totems, Trees, and Tugboats

To start off today, I'm bringing you T is for tractors, both old and new. On the left, is an antique tractor I found at the side of the road along an old farm road and on the right is a newer version that was on display during Rivermania last summer. (click to enlarge) Ladner was created as a fishing village but then developed as a center for farming as well.

You'll also see totem poles in Ladner. There are a few outside of the village's museum in honour of the First Nations people of the area. For thousands of years First Nations people lived along the Fraser River, turning to the sea and the river for salmon and shellfish, the mainstay of their diet.

Finally, T is for trees and tugboats because fishing and forestry are two major industries in this area on the western coast of Canada.