Well we’re back in the sunny climes of Aruba for a short visit. Looks like we timed it perfectly as the weather has reached -20 in Surrey! It’s a chilly +32 today in Noord. Hopefully the water will be fine and we see lots of fishies.
Our flight here was quite nice. We flew a short hop from Vancouver to LA on a smaller commuter plane which is quite nice. Two seats to a side and the flight left on time, and arrived early. We had a short layover and then on to Newark. Flight left on time, and arrived early. The flight to Aruba was very nice. Left on time, arrived early.
Got our rental car in record time, and headed to the resort. We managed to arrive ahead of a horde of people, and we’re in our unit quickly. We took off for the grocery store to load up on pop and coffee.
Had a nice dinner at Barney’s and then came home to crash. As we were driving around all the round-abouts (traffic circles) are decorated with Christmas lights.
So… we’re here in the heat feeling sorry for those who are stuck in the cold and snow. Do think of us, as we think of you!
With the recent purchase of the rights to air all hockey games in Canada, Rogers has altered the landscape of how we will view hockey for the next twelve years. Tim Thompson has been creating the opening montages for Hockey Night In Canada on the CBC for years, but on Saturday, he served up a timeless classic.
Whether or not you are a fan of the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs really doesn’t matter. It’s all about hockey, the fans, and atmosphere that surrounds the game when two great rivals meet. The final shot of the two young fellows arm in arm with a fist, cocked ready to go, is so quintessentially Canadian, so gut-wrenchingly expressive of how it is to be a youngster in Canada, that I doubt you could come up with a better shot that symbolizes Canada, hockey and the Two Solitudes.
Here’s a picture of Karen and Bailey taken when Karen and Dick were out here in Surrey in early September this year. I had forgotten these pictures were on the camera. I was just looking through the disk and here is a kind of goofy picture.
We were going for a walk in Tynehead Park and Pam and Karen were in the backseat of the car. Bailey figures the backseat belongs to her and seemed unwilling to share it with Karen.
On the the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, at eleven hundred hours, the guns will go silent….
November 11 is meant as a day to pay tribute to our soldiers who fought, and died to keep our country safe and free. I hope you will take two minutes to remember those who gave their lives, so that ours would be better.
I offer this video, as a reminder of how simple it is. On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s “two minutes of silence” initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the “two minutes of silence” to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, “A Pittance of Time”. Terry later recorded “A Pittance of Time” and included it on his full-length music CD, “The Power of the Dream”.
On Sunday we went for a long walk in Tynehead Park. There are lots of streams throughout the park, and they are filled with spawning salmon. It’s really amazing how large some of these fish are! The main Serpentine branch is filled with salmon, lots of species, struggling to make their way back up to the spawning grounds.
There are predators looking for an easy meal too. Otters and minks can be seen quickly wrestling a fish out of the water. We didn’t see any bears though I’m sure they are around. Tynehead has had warning signs about bears in the past, but not this weekend.
While walking the upper forest, we saw a family standing perfectly still alongside the path with their hands out. I thought it was as strange place to be looking for spare change, but nope, not that. They had some bird seed in the palm of their hands and the birds would swoop down, briefly land, grab a seed or a nut and flit away. The lady offered Pam a handful, and this little movie is what took place!
Halloween was a buncha fun this year! We did our usual display, with some different touches this year. We did a grave yard, with lots of extras. We lined one side of our walkway with blow ups, so people were kind of funneled in towards Pam in her ghoul outfit, with smoke billowing out at them.
It was really quite cute to see the kids come bravely strutting up, then slamming on the brakes and backing up a few paces when the smoke comes wafting out from under the table Pam uses to keep the candy bowls on…
I’ve got a movie of one little girl who needed to be quite convinced by her dad to continue on. I do apologize for how dark they are; I thought they were coming out very nicely, but no, they are quite dark.
The movie is about five minutes long – maybe too long to watch. But hey, if you’ve got some time, it does really give you a sense of how hectic things can get for Pam. Even though it is a bit dark, you can see some kids react when I give them a “Happy Halloween” shout-out!
We had a couple of “body-less” heads on poles on the opposite side of the walkway from the blowups. I stood in completely black clothes, hidden behind a rather ghoulish mask. The mask was so creepy, one woman said, “Love your display, but that one – (pointing at me, standing still, completely quiet) is just creepy!” I’d let them go get their candy, then as they walked away, I’d shout at them, “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” and people would just freak! The lady mentioned above, shouted, “OMG you’re alive!”
Sometimes after I shouted, the kids would start running and not stop for a long time! One young lad took off like a shot, and his father was laughing so hard, he could barely stand up! We got lots of thank yous, and compliments… One fellow said, “No matter what anyone else does, we can always count on you to give us a scare!”
We had 228 bags of candy, and we ran out by 8:15 PM. That’s earlier than most years. I think it might have to do with us having the display up for quite a few days before Halloween. But also the weather was really terrific – nice and warm, with no rain and next to no wind.
It was a really fun evening – and the kids and parents were having so much fun. I’m sure Pam’s picture is on Facebook a thousand times! You wouldn’t believe how often they were taking her picture. Super gratifying stuff… really really enjoyed the evening. A really BIG Thanks to all of you who came and got scared, and chatted, and laughed.
Well, yesterday we had a jolly good scare. Somehow Bailey got out of the backyard. We were looking at flights for our trek to the Caribbean, and we had put her outside in the back. She was happily chasing birds and squirrels. Around 2:30 or so we went to let her back in and she was gone. Our gate had been broken, the hinges kicked out at the bottom. So at first I thought she had been dognapped. I’d seen her no less than five minutes previously, so figured she couldn’t have gone far.
I ran out front and was calling for her. Lots of kids were wandering around, since the two schools close to our home had let out for the day. She’s so darned friendly, she’d basically go with anyone who paid her the slightest bit of attention.
I came across a fellow walking his dog and when I asked him if he’d seen a golden wandering around he said that he’s seen one with no collar on, off leash, but walking with a young girl! So at least I figured she had not been grabbed, but was out wandering. I jumped in the car and prowled the neighbourhood. No luck.
Lots of our neighbours were sympathetic and promised to keep their eyes open. Some mentioned having seen her. John and Merit jumped in the cars, and on their bikes, to help with the search. So I figured it was looking good for finding her. Pam was beside herself, quite upset.
After two hours of not finding her, or spotting her, I came back to tell Pam to look on craigslist and see if someone had posted a lost and found item. I circled the block one more time.
As I drove up, Pam was waving frantically. When she had gone in the house to check craigslist, there was a flashing light on the phone. It was a message from the Cloverdale Animal Protection Service. Bailey had been turned in to them, and they has scanned her microchip and called!
We quickly rushed over and after paying a small fee, she was back in our arms!
Goofy dog! Big scare, but all is well! And thanks to everyone for helping and caring.
Got our rental car in record time, and headed to the resort. We managed to arrive ahead of a horde of people, and we’re in our unit quickly. We took off for the grocery store to load up on pop and coffee.
