Sunday, May 31, 2015

Saturday May 30, 2015 Visiting

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Saturday May 30, 2015
In yesterday’s Blog I am not sure if I mentioned that I was up very early and caught the C-Train downtown.  My first order of business was to pick up my Divorce Decree (International) then go to a Post Office to send an original Express Post to the Ecuadorian Consulate in Burnaby, BC.  They have promised turn-around service so that I can register myself as a single person when I return to Ecuador.   Then it was a stop at Tim Horton’s on the next corner to access wi-fi. I caught the train back to the car, zipped into Wal-Mart for passport photos (about $26 for 2 tiny photos within 10 minutes…) then went to the nearby Passport Office to apply for a 10-year renewal.  Then I still had enough time to get back to get Yvette and go for Mom’s 99th Birthday.

That night we slept the sleep of the exhausted, almost around the clock, and didn’t get up until10:20 this morning.  I processed all the previous day’s photos then we headed out to Tim Horton’s for lunch and wi-fi access to upload the Blog and check emails, Facebook, etc.
We made it to see Mom at 3pm and tried to get her to go for a drive in the car but, while she complains about not getting out at all, she is adamant that she is in no shape to go out.  While our dear Mom is shrinking and losing her memory at times, she is still very sharp.  We managed to play 2 games of Tile Rummy which requires a lot of concentration and Mom kicked our cans around the block on one of them, and was one tile away from winning the other.
Then when she needed to get something across the room before supper she quickly zipped by us with her walker without any visible effort.  Considering that she had a fall just weeks ago, this was heartening to see.
Next I had to go visit my daughter’s nieces-in-law who were kind enough to mule all my accumulated mail and my recent eBay purchases from Edmonton.  Maddie and Taylor are always a delight to see because of their tall statures and ready smiles and I had not seen them for maybe 5 years…  I was shocked to hear that they are already 22 and 19 years old respectively…  Time waits for no man…
Next we picked up our hosts Bob & Anne Winter, who used to work in the High River Lions campground years ago with my sister Yvette.  They have been so gracious to us that Yvette was taking them to dinner and she wouldn’t let me share the bill.  I had suggested the Cheesecake CafĂ© and we all had interesting choices of meals and then we split Cheesecake Banana Splits for dessert (one of life’s little delicacies for sure).
We went back to Bob & Anne’s condo and they wanted to see my photos from the Galapagos.  My laptop had been having quite the workout all day but we managed to see them all before the power was giving me warnings.
Included in the package from Edmonton was my new Tamron 18-270 lens so I put it on my Canon T3i and took a couple of shots to try it out.  I must say that I am absolutely thrilled with this purchase and the shots are completely crisp and without annoying noise, even better than my Canon lens…  I am a happy camper again.
Bob & Anne are also keen photographers so we got to see some of the excellent shots that they have taken too.  They have really been so very nice to us.
So far, the days are very full of things to do, which is good….  No time to be bored.

I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al  

Maddie & Taylor #1

Maddie & Taylor #2

Maddie & Taylor #3

Yvette #1

Anne caught unawares

Bob

Yvette #2

My new toy is fantastic

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Friday May 29, 2015 Mom's 99th

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Friday May 29, 2015
Well the big day of Mom’s 99th birthday has finally arrived and the family all gathered in the visiting room at Bonavista, right across from Mom’s suite.  Myself, Yvette and Leonie all arrived a little early and we were joking that Mom would likely peek out soon, and the words were barely out of our mouths when she did indeed peek and then came to join us.
I was not privy to the organization of the gathering so I was pleasantly surprised to see all of the wonderful folks who joined us.  I expected to see all of us 7 children there and was thankful that all of us made it, Fern from Parksville, BC, Laurent (+Cathy) from Redcliff, AB, Leonie from High River, AB, Yvette from Vineland, Myself from Cuenca, Ecuador, Germain (+Billie) from Saskatoon, SK, and Norm from Radville, SK.  Nieces Deanna, Courtney, Kristina, Karen, Leslie, Nicole and Bryna were also on hand with 6 great-nieces and one great-nephew.
One heartwarming surprise was to see Mom’s step-son Brian and his partner BJ to join us.  Several other folks from the facility dropped in to give their best wishes and to oooh n aaah
over the babies, newly-born Elliott and the 11-month-old triplets, Kenna, Drew and Marley.  One visitor who I missed seeing was a gentleman that Mom reportedly has her eye on!!  Even at age 99, and she is still trying to rob the cradle… lol.
And yet, poor Mom was having problems remembering a lot of people.  That was so sad to see because she has always had such a sharp mind until last year.
A bunch of us went to a nearby Ricky’s Restaurant for supper and to mingle a little more because a lot of the family are returning home tomorrow, sadly.
Then Yvette and I accompanied our niece Deanna (another budding photographer) to the Deerfoot Casino.  I just wandered around and watched the hockey game while Yvette lost $20 and Deanna won $46.
It was still way too early to go back to our boring room so Yvette and I went to the cheap theatres at Canyon Meadows but it was still too early for the next movies.  I decided that I needed a beer so we took a chance on getting into the country bar, Ranchman’s, before the cover charge started.  They don’t need a cover charge when it is $11 for a Smirnoff Ice and a Budweiser!  It was fun to watch some of the more accomplished country dancers doing their thing but it was getting warm in there already and it didn’t take long to down the beer so off we went again.
We stopped at a bank for a cash infusion and I was hungry so we stopped for a couple of DQ’s $1.29 burgers, always a treat for me….  Inflation has really hit DQ over the last 3 years.  The burgers used to be 99c.  Heck, even the cheapest cone is around $4 now…
Anyway, it was a great day overall and we will enjoy the rental car while we have it.
I apologize if the photos are not the greatest quality.  I am forced to batch edit them in PhotoScape to one set configuration that normally works for me.  Luckily most of the photos are very similar in focus, etc so the results are pretty uniform.   I find it somewhat difficult to work on a laptop when the clarity and darkness is dictated by the tilt of the screen.
I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al  


 
The birthday girl, 99 years young

Marley, Drew & Kenna.  Kristina's triplets


It is easy to see why they draw so much attention

3 Generations, Norm, Kristina and the triplets

4 Generations, Norm, Kristina, Mom, and the triplets


Kenna

Drew

Marley

I love baby tootsies....

Yvette, Mom, Courtney, Kristina and the triplets

Courtney and Kristina with their hands full

Cathy, Norm, Al & Laurent

Cathy, Norm, Al, Laurent & Fern

Yvette, Mom, Courtney & Kristina and girls

The ladies of the family, Yvette, Mom & Leonie

The boys, Laurent, Norm, Germain, Al & Fern


Yvette, BJ, Brian,Mom

The new great-nephew, Elliott

Fern, Elliott, & proud Mom Bryna

Karen, Courtney, Deanna, Cathy & girls

Leslie & Mom

3 of 4 generations, Bryna, Mom, & Leonie


Karen practicing motherhood

Mom's whole family in attendance

Yvette, Al, Mom, Leonie, Germain, Norm, Laurent, Fern

Another shot, taken by Deanna

Can't have too many photos of family

OK, this is the last one...

Norm, Marley, Mom, Courtney, Drew, Kristina, Kenna

The big birthday cake with 99 (-98) candles

Proud new Mom Bryna with Elliott

Courtney is always happy

I am a sucker for tiny hands

Lots of great-grandchildren

It was so sweet that everyone came

Some of the great-grandkids in attendance

My photography protegee, Deanna

Some of us at supper

Friday, May 29, 2015

Thursday May 28, 2015 Go West Young Man

Please see more of my artworks for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com
© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.

Welcome…..  Please note that you may SUBSCRIBE below to this Blog.
Comments or purchase requests are graciously accepted at souvenirphotostudio@gmail.com.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Thursday May 28, 2015
Catching a jet In Hamilton with WestJet was a pleasure, however they swabbed me and my laptop which was both a novelty and an annoyance (to be thought of as a possible terrorist..).  The 4-hour flight was mostly over heavy cloud but I did manage to get a couple of shots through the porthole..
We picked up a Hyundai Elantra which Yvette and I will use for a couple of days.  It serves the purpose although I find it noisy for a new car.
My first order of business was to get my cel phone charged up with time.  They forced me to get a new SIM card and a new phone number 587-890-4823.  Then I tried to go to the nearest place with wi-fi, but could not access it at all and nobody there was any help.   Then I tried using their phone and it would not let me do the press 1, press 4, etc that was required.   By this time I was getting upset at all the wasted time.
We went for supper and went to our temporary residence where I was able to use Bob & Anne's phone to finally get my cel operational.
Exhausted, we crashed early because I had to be up early to get downtown on the C-Train to do a whack of errands.
I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al  

Yvette is gaga over cardinals

Her house is covered in cardinals of all sorts

These plaques are especially pretty

What a lovely family

Planes lined up on the tarmac at Hamilton airport

A nice view leaving Hamilton, but too hazy to see Toronto

Clouds look so fluffy and soft

Looking down on a lake

Possibly the edge of Lake Erie??

Alberta formations

More fluffy stuff

Hazy downtown Calgary

The rental car