Wednesday, January 30, 2008

 

Into the Twenty-first Century, Finally!

It all started back before Christmas when Ron gave us a ten DVD set called "Planet Earth." We watched one episode on his TV and then brought it home to our little set. The tiny picture was half the size and we totally missed the action we were supposed to see. Well, this is the "rest of the story."

I have never been a techno geek. Back home we never had a TV for a long time. Then one day my brother Bill gave us an old black and white TV that he did not want. Ted and I put it in the living room and hooked up to a makeshift antenna. It was barbed wire strung from the upstairs window to a couple of poles. We could get a couple of channels and lots of "snow." With it we watched the Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie, Bonanza, and the Saturday night hockey game. We could tell where the puck was by the way the players were facing!

Over the years I've never gotten into electronic gadgets. Never had a cell phone or iPod or anything like that. My palm pilot was writing notes on my hand!
As for TV, we have had rabbit ears most of the time and an antenna on the roof some times.

But on boxing Day, Brian and I braved the elements to go to Edmonton and wait in Zero degree (F.) weather for an hour and a half to hopefully get a "door crasher" special. No such luck! But I did get a smaller flat screen TV.

After our trip to San Diego I set it up in our rec-room. The first night I watched the hockey game on it, hooked up to (you guessed it) rabbit ears!

That had to change so now we finally have cable TV, some 60 channels. It's great!
But our old couch down there is not very comfortable so in a few days we will be getting a recliner couch and chair we were able to buy on a good sale. Then we will literally be sitting in the lap of luxury.

We have finally arrived, we are now in the twenty-first century! Some day I might even decide to get a cell phone.

Monday, January 07, 2008

 
Roger taking after Grandpa. This was more his style of fun!

Mikayle getting ready to ride the "snow skate" down the hill.


Ron prepares his snowboard for Brian to take down the hill. Later both Thomas and Mikayla would do exceptionally well on this board. (See the previous post below.)


Jon is a handsome young man.
Both Ron and Jon enjoyed helping their niece and nephew enjoy the hill and excel at the sport of snowboarding. Thanks guys!





 

Family Fun


This past weekend we had the wonderful privilege of having our whole family together. Jon was still holidaying at Ron's place in Grande Prairie. Suzanne and Brian brought Thomas, Mikayla, and Roger up for a visit for a few days. On Friday evening we went sledding at a park close to Ron's house.


Thomas shows good form on his second run down the hill.


Neither Thomas nor Mikayla had snow boarder before, but they both took to it quite naturally. Both Ron and Jon were most impressed with how well they did.

Mikayla enjoyed both this sled and the snow board.

Yes, even "Mom" (Suzanne) gave it a try. So did Brian. And Grandpa? He made one run down the hill with Ron in between taking pictures. Then he went with Roger and Suzanne back to Ron's house.

Grandma was in her workshop that night but Sunday evening we had a wonderful time going out for supper with Ron and Jon.

The Dumont family is now back in Camrose and Jon is on his way back ti Simon Frasier University in Vancouver. Life is back to "normal" but the memories--they're awesome.

Thank you Lord for Family.


Tuesday, January 01, 2008

 

I Left MY ***** In San Francisco

Yes, we were in San Diego for the wonderful wedding of Jim and Patricia Dorris!







We had an interesting trip back from San Diego. Larry and Jeannie dropped us off at the airport in good time and we were soon checking in. Flying out over the Pacific Ocean was different for me. A little unnerving for a "landlubber."




Coming into San Francisco we had a great view of the golden gate bridge and much of San Francisco Bay. Back on the ground we had a long wait for our connecting flight on Air Canada. Where we were waiting was in full view of the runway. We could see planes taxiing out to take off and we could also see other jets coming in out of the clouds and landing. I was amazed at the steady stream of air traffic both coming and going on the same runway.

Colleen decided to take a few pictures. That's when I realized that I'd left my ***** in San Francisco. (More about that in a moment.)

When we boarded our Air Canada plane we were back in familiar territory. It was the same model of plane we'd flown down on. And when the flight attendant started announcing things in French, I knew were headed back to Canada.

In Calgary we had the quickest check through customs we had ever had. We were through in a few seconds. On the ground in Calgary, we felt like we were "back home!"

Getting on the plane for the final leg to Edmonton was another experience of Canadian reality. The plane was a small, 50 passenger, Dash 8 turbo prop. The ramp to the plane took us outside onto the tarmac and up a short set of steps into the little airplane, in -15 degree weather. We hadn't boarded a plane that way since some of our first trips in and out of Whitehorse in the Yukon.

Snacks on the short (45 min) flight consisted of a 2 oz. cup of water and an even smaller amount of little cheezies. Fortunately we had some Clodhoppers and Cashews from the previous flight. Half way along we could see the lights of Red Deer below us so I started looking around for other towns I knew were in the area. Then there it was almost below us! My home town of Ponoka was quite distinct and I could identify a number of the streets. Truly a wonderful experience of feeling at home.

We had a gentle landing in Edmonton and were soon stepping out into -20 degree weather. The walk up the long enclosed runway into the terminal spanned two years. I stopped long enough to give Colleen a New Year's kiss.
(Actually the walk was only a couple of minutes, but the timing was perfect!)

A shuttle bus took a full load of passengers and luggage out to the economy parking lot. We found our car under a blanket of four inches of snow. When I opened the door the interior light did not greet me. And when I turned the key in the ignition... nothing! Colleen waited in the check out booth as the parking company's booster truck was coming and I exposed our vehicle. By the time we left the airport an hour of the new year had already become history. Another hour later we were glad to be curling up in a warm bed at Brian and Suzanne's home in Camrose.


Right now Suzanne, Brian, Thomas, Mikayla, and Roger are here in Grande Prairie with us. Last night we went to "Uncle Ron's" house where Jon is right now too. Once again the whole family was together.

What did I leave in San Francisco? When Colleen asked for the camera, I reached down beside me for my carry on bag. No bag! We had moved seats so I looked around a bit to no avail. Then Colleen said: "Check the washroom, maybe you left it there." No such luck. I was sure I hadn't taken it there anyway but I was thinking about where it might be. I knew I had taken it through security. So I went back to security. Sure enough they had it and I was so glad to be back in one piece! I blame it on my cowboy boots, (and maybe my age). It took me a while to my boots back on after going through security and I didn't make sure I picked up the bag. So in the end all I left in San Francisco was "that awful sinking feeling."
Thank you Lord
Happy New Year Everyone!









































































































































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