Monday, March 31, 2025

Monday March 31, 2025 Snow!

 

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******

Monday March 31, 2025

Last Friday, the snow came in earnest and we got more snow than the 20cm predicted...  The parking lot seemed almost impassable with about a foot of snow everywhere, including on the cars...

I wrote to the Service Canada website because I could not find anywhere to make an appointment at Canada Place and I expected to need to make the trek Monday afternoon...  I also made a Monday appointment at CIBC to try to find the missing OAS/GIS payments, and to again change bank accounts, this time for the USD account. 

Don came down with a huge roast beef supper to share and we watched TV for a bit together before I read my book until 2am to finish it.

Saturday, I took pity on the Regal and went out with a big street brush and an ergonomic snow shovel.  I was wearing my back brace for sure and plugged away at the heavy snow for over an hour.  I worried about my back and my left arm but I managed to do the Regal and the neighbour's car as well, taking it slow..  I must have easily moved 2 tons of snow because we also had to shovel out room to walk around the cars...  I took some pain killers as a precaution when I got back upstairs and had no ill effects at all!  That really surprised me...!!!  I expected a few aches and pains at age 75....  Morning exercises be praised..

Snow chunks were crashing down from the roof everywhere and one batch broke the top of one of my feeders... Ouch!

Then I ate way too many leftovers and gained too much weight overnight...  Ugh..

Sunday, I began finishing work on the Storyworth book I was gifted Christmas 2023.  I still have a long way to go before publishing these memoirs based on questions posed presumeably by my daughter.

My cousin Jeanne invited me to a lovely chicken supper with her and her friend Meng, and old puppy Suki.  She is always so nice to me so I brought her one of the alpaca hoodies I imported from Ecuador.   She loved it, and then we spent a lot of time looking at my YouTube videos from South America (under "alabca" if you are interested..).  The evening went by quickly.

Today, I went to CIBC and found that the OAS/GIS payments had indeed gone into my old account so I got statement copies to take later to Service Canada.  We also opened the new USD account but left the old one temporarily open because I am still awaiting the full refund from 2 canes I tried to purchase from an ad on Facebook...  Never-ending bank problems since I was scammed.

I was just getting off the elevator at home and "Private Number" called my phone...  It was Service Canada getting back to me (imagine my surprise....) and they confirmed that all is well with the pension payments.  I had brought them the new bank information March 4 which was the cutoff for the CPP, which was caught, but March 3 was the cutoff for the OAS/GIS, so that was just missed....  Mystery and problem solved!

Don came by to watch Canada lose to Scotland in curling then we watched the Blue Jays while dining on a huge bowl of salad I had made.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.  That was the day’s excitement.

Al

******

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.  

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

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


Friday, snow and more snow, all day

My poor Regal is buried

Snow on one of my bird feeders

Fascinating

After shoveling

She loves it

Jeanne in alpaca hoodie

I get my doggie fix with little Suki

Delicious chicken supper!

 

 

 

 

 


Thursday, March 27, 2025

Thursday March 27, 2025 Muttart

 PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.

Older Blog:  https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/ 

Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites:

 http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/

or https://pixels.com/profiles/al-bourassa

******

Thursday March 27, 2025

In around 1965, our parents ordered a pre-built Muttart home which was transported to our new lot behind the Kimball Funeral Home in Radville, Saskatchewan.  It was a lovely 3-bedroom home which Mom had them swap front to back so she could watch the street from the kitchen.... small town stuff...

The owners of Muttart Lumber started a foundation in Edmonton and the four pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory were soon an integral part of Edmonton's river valley landscape.

Info here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muttart_Conservatory

Our social club at the Manoir provided a day trip, costing us $5 each, which included a huge coffee and scone snack.  Entrance was free if we had the Leisure pass, which we did.  We were there almost 3 hours, pretty much double the time we really needed.  

The 4 pyramids had plants from arid, temperate and tropical zones, with the fourth hosting a display on the Planet Mars, very moon-like, but reddish.

I recognized most of the plants from the tropical zone from my time in Ecuador and Colombia.  The day was overcast with snow and the whole place, including the plants, looked a bit dingy and tired, needing a good hose down with water.  We were soon pretty bored.

Our bus drivers from the City's ETS Charter were most uncooperative in parking to let us off and on away from the accumulated snow, staying on the street side and making seniors, 2 with wheelchairs, plow through the snow...  I was not happy with this display of complete ignorance and I let them know!

I had been called by Don that he was making supper for the 2 of us so he arrived with a packaged chicken lasagna and a packaged salad, which surprised me greatly because he takes enormous pride in his cooking abilities.  I liked it, and he didn't...

I just checked my bank account and it appears that part of my CPP/OAS/GIS has not made it to my new account yet....  Sheesh....  If it isn't there by morning I will probably have to run to Canada Place again....

I hope you enjoy the pictures (no captions needed).  Blogger was not wanting to upload any photos this evening, it took 13 tries......

That was the day’s excitement.

Al

******

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.  

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

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