70!

October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 / edebock / 29 Comments

Today is the day that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time… my 70th birthday! When I was diagnosed with my first cancer nine years ago, I didn’t expect to live to see this day, but here I am and it feels like a victory!

Months ago, I began to think about what I wanted to do to celebrate this milestone. Being an avid traveler, the first thing that came to mind was a trip. I visualized us packing a suitcase and climbing aboard a plane for the first time in over three years. Where would we go? The possibilities were endless, but Newfoundland was high on my list. We’d explore its rugged landscape, visit isolated coastal villages, and eat our fill of fresh seafood! Yes, Newfoundland was a definite possibility.

Then came hubby’s cancer diagnosis and the all-important consultation with a specialist to determine whether or not he’d be able to have surgery was booked for October 4. So, we’d be in Edmonton, not Newfoundland or some other more exotic location. The iconic “going to Winnipeg” ad that used to air on Canadian TV came to mind.

Oh well, there are lots of things to do in Edmonton. I looked into booking a hot air balloon ride as that’s been on my unwritten bucket list for a long time. We’d enjoy the fall colours in the river valley as we drifted silently over the city and then we’d sip champagne when we came back to earth. Unfortunately, however, the hot air balloon season closed last week! I’d have to think of something else.

Then came Covid and even the long awaited doctor’s appointment had to be postponed. So here we are at home, doing nothing but watching rain fall outside the window! Earlier in the week, I felt pretty depressed about the lack of a plan for celebrating this special day, but we’re both feeling better and we’ve put in our five plus days of isolation. Regardless of where we are (or aren’t) and what we’re doing (or not doing) I’m 70 and I’m excited to be here!

Now, what will I do with the rest of this day?

Date night

February 18, 2022February 16, 2022 / edebock / 3 Comments

In many parts of the world, Monday was Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love and romance. In past years, that might have meant going out for a special dinner for hubby and I, but our province recently lifted the public health restrictions that would have assured us that we were eating in the company of people who have chosen to protect themselves and others by being vaccinated against Covid. As a result, we aren’t eating out these days. Instead, we decided to celebrate with an at-home date night.

Preparing in advance, we ordered a special Valentine’s meal to be picked up at The Wooden Spoon, a local bistro that’s a favourite of ours. We also put a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill. The table was set with tablecloth and candles and we sat down to enjoy a fabulous dinner. Afterward, we enjoyed a romantic comedy in the comfort of our own living room.

Since this was a date, we dressed as though we were going out. I chose a favourite dress from cabi that I haven’t had occasion to wear since the beginning of the pandemic. It was a little snugger than I remember it being, but thankfully, it still fit!

The lighting wasn’t great for getting good photos, but if you want to see some great pictures of the dress, which is a deep midnight blue, check out this post by Dutch blogger, Greetje, who writes No Fear of Fashion. It was fun to discover not too long ago that she has the same dress as I do!

You might also notice that I had my hair cut recently. It’s not quite what I had in mind when I went to the hairdresser, but it was time for a change!

Stop exploiting Holocaust symbols!

August 30, 2021 / edebock / 6 Comments

I’m going to jump into another Covid controversy. Perhaps I shouldn’t, but sometimes there are things that just need to be said!

For several months, people protesting proposed mandatory “vaccine passports” have been comparing them to symbols that the Nazis forced Jews in occupied Europe to wear and to the numbered tattoos forced upon the prisoners who were abused and murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Last Wednesday, US Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted, and then appears to have deleted, a black-and-white image of a clenched fist with a number tattooed on the wrist. “If you have to carry a card on you to gain access to a restaurant, venue or event in your own country, that’s no longer a free country,” the meme stated. That tweet echoed comments made in May by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, a conspiracy theorist and QAnon enthusiast, who compared mask mandates to the Holocaust.

One of Massie’s staffers, Andrew Zirkle, took to Twitter the morning after the objectionable tweet appeared to announce his resignation, citing it as his reason for quitting. “I quit. I wanted to let everyone who knows me personally to know that as soon as I got in to work this morning, I resigned my position in the Office of Congressman Thomas Massie because of his tweet comparing the horrors of the Holocaust to vaccine passports.” Now that’s a position I can respect!

I have since seen the Massie meme reposted on Facebook several times. To put it bluntly, these thoughtless analogies are ignorant and incredibly offensive. They trivialize the deaths of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis. I can only imagine how painful it must be for survivors who are still alive today to see people, including elected officials, making flippant comparisons between what we’re experiencing during this pandemic and the unimaginable atrocities that they witnessed or endured.

What really breaks my heart is when I see Christians posting these things. Though the Bible calls us to unity, to be like-minded, it embarrasses me to be lumped together with those who so casually and thoughtlessly spread such hurtful messages and, while I probably shouldn’t, I feel a need to apologize to my Jewish friends on their behalf!

There’s nothing wrong with respectfully expressing your opinion, just stop exploiting Holocaust symbols to do it. Please, people, be a little more creative and a lot more respectful!

At Gram and Grandpa’s house

August 21, 2021August 21, 2021 / edebock / 2 Comments

After more than a year of Covid restrictions, spending time with family was our highest priority for this summer. We’ve been blessed with seven beautiful grandchildren (and one more on the way), so it was a delight to be able to spend the past two weeks enjoying five of them. First, our daughter and her three children spent a weekend with us at Camp Harmattan and then the kids came home with us. The day after they left, we went to Edmonton for a medical appointment and stayed a couple of days with our youngest son’s family. We spent an entire day at Fort Edmonton Park with his two children, and then brought them home for a visit with us.

Our days with the grandkids were filled with afternoons at the beach, fun times on the golf course (driving the golf cart is a highlight), wiener roasts in the backyard, picking raspberries and eating them with ice cream, playing games, and reading stories. We also took both sets of grandchildren to one of our favourite hiking spots, Big Knife Provincial Park. On the way, we stopped at the Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site.

Some enjoyed checking out the enormous machinery…

Can you find our oldest grandson in the photo?

while others had fun on the smaller equipment!

On both occasions, we enjoyed a picnic lunch before hitting the trail. While most of us hiked, this one did cartwheels!

IMG_2926 - Version 2

The best part of the hike for all five children was climbing around the hoodoo area.

Now they’ve all gone home. The laundry is done and the beds remade. Gram and Grandpa are getting back into routine, but the house is very quiet and I’m missing the other two more than ever. We haven’t seen them since before Covid and with case numbers increasing in their province and ours, I don’t know when we’ll be able to. 😦

Rocky Mountain getaway

March 13, 2021 / edebock / 5 Comments

After being cooped up at home and going almost nowhere except to medical appointments for several months, we desperately needed a change of scenery. First thing Wednesday morning, we packed the vehicle and drove almost five hours to Banff National Park where we enjoyed a couple of days surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. One of the things we most wanted to do was some snowshoeing. We’d hardly done any this winter as we’ve had much less snow than usual this year.

Snowshoeing on Lake Louise

We woke to an absolutely perfect day on Thursday. The cloudless sky was a brilliant blue and there wasn’t a breath of wind. After several days of thawing and freezing, the snow around Banff itself was very crusty, but we found powder at Lake Louise. Strapping on our snowshoes, we set off across the surface of the lake toward the majestic Victoria Glacier at the other end.

We made it most of the way to the far end of the lake before turning around, realizing how far we’d come, and deciding that it was time to head back toward the iconic Chateau Lake Louise in the distance.

The Chateau has a special place in our hearts as we were treated like royalty when we stayed there on our honeymoon over 44 years ago.

Marble Canyon Hike

After eating a picnic lunch in front of the Chateau and watching the skaters on a cleared section of the lake, we headed off on another adventure. This time, we crossed the BC border into Kootenay National Park to hike the short, but impressive Marble Canyon trail. Multiple bridges span the narrow gorge and the views were spectacular. My photos don’t really do them justice.

To celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, Parks Canada placed pairs of bright red Adirondack chairs in select National Parks and Historic Sites across the country. “Connect with nature in the country’s most unique and treasured places. Whether it’s a place to rest after a leisurely stroll or to cheer your successful completion of a strenuous hike, our red chairs offer a place to slow down, to relax and to truly discover the best that Parks Canada has to offer,” reads a statement on their website. It’s always a delight to come across these chairs in unexpected places. This set were half buried in snow, but I couldn’t resist sitting in one anyway!

After a wonderful day in the great outdoors, we welcomed a soak in the outdoor hot tub back at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort where we were staying! Due to Covid restrictions, we were able to book 25 minutes each evening and have the 16 person tub all to ourselves! There are definitely a few perks to travel during Covid. Banff, which is usually overrun with tourists, was fairly quiet during the week and affordable accommodations could be booked just a few days in advance. We had a cozy little one bedroom condo with a full kitchen and a living room with a wood burning fireplace for approximately $115/night, much less than it would normally cost.

Hoodoos Trail Hike

Yesterday morning we enjoyed a second hike. This time we accessed the Hoodoos Trail just across the road from the Tunnel Mountain campground. According to the map, it’s a short 10 to 12 minute walk from there to the end of the trail overlooking the pinnacles of weathered sandstone known as hoodoos.

We soon discovered, however, that the trail continued much further along the ridge overlooking the Bow River below. We followed the trail to it’s very end. Out and back took us over an hour.

Again, we were surrounded by beauty in every direction!

And again, we found red chairs!

On the way home today, we stopped in Calgary to help this little cowboy, our youngest grandson, Simon, celebrate a Covid compliant front porch birthday complete with an amazing Minecraft cake from Crumbs Artisinal Bakeshop.