ROAD TRIP!!!

Yes, it's time - going to hit the road tomorrow. We're heading to Granby, Massachusetts by way of Syracuse, New York. It's about a 9-1/2 hour trip (460 miles). I'm hoping to have wireless hookup while we are away - got my netbook packed already! So stay tuned!

Got snow!

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. It was snowing last night when we went to bed, trees were covered - everything was beautiful. I thought I'd get some terrific pictures in the morning - but towards morning the temperature rose and everything dropped off the trees. So, it's just another snow fall - probably about eight inches.

Again, Bruce is outside clearing driveways. The snow is heavy and wet, so it's got to be a more difficult job.

Olympics!

Last night, we watched Apolo qualify for the 500m race which will be tomorrow. There will be two Americans, two Canadians and three Koreans in the race. If Apolo doesn't win the gold, I hope he manages to get one of the other two medals. Also tomorrow night is the relay race. After that Bruce is off the hook for watching any more Olympic competitions.

It's snowing; however Bruce is waiting for it to stop before heading out to clear the driveway. He has also brought our suitcases up from the storage room - our vacation is right around the corner. I'm hoping to visit some old friends while we are in Granby - especially my gal pal, Jean. It's been awhile - on previous vacations - she either has had the flu or was sick with a cold.

Thought I'd share another old photo taken about 1996 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Recognize the spot? You can see the Harley in the background on the left!!

Fun at the Dentist!

Not really, but I did get a good laugh out of it. I love having my teeth cleaned and we both go about every 4-1/2 months. I'm not really fond of Dr. Nick and tease Bruce about being an easy target for his hard sell. Over the past year, he's talked Bruce into a new crown and having several teeth refilled. This morning while my hygienist was working on my teeth, I could hear Dr. Nick talking to Bruce. He was telling Bruce that he needs two new crowns. I even lost track of what I was supposed to be doing trying to listen in on their conversation. I heard Bruce tell Dr. Nick on the last crown he had tried to charge him an extra $200. I could hear Dr. Nick trying to explain what happened. Bruce then told him, "Fool me once, shame on me! Fool me twice, shame on you." In the end Bruce told the good doctor that he'd think about the new crowns and Dr. Nick promised Bruce he would give him a discount on the crowns if in the future he decided to have the work done. On the way out, Bruce scheduled an appointment for a tooth filling. While Dr. Nick was checking the hygienist's work, he suddenly found that Bruce had a cracked filling - something the hygienist had missed. He gotcha Bruce!!!

Dr. Nick and his dentist wife really don't spend much time on me - I've told them flat out that I'm not having any work done unless it's a broken tooth or a filling falls out!

One More Week . . .

Now I can start counting the days off. The weather for Massachusetts doesn't sound that great over the next few days, but it doesn't sound that great for this area either. I'm hoping that by the time we hit the road, all the snowy weather is gone and the temperatures start to head upward. I think last week the temperature in the Boston area hit 50F degrees.

Back to the Olympics, USA beat Canada in their hockey game. The Americans are leading in awarded medals. And everywhere you look, there is Apolo Ohno - either being interviewed or in a commercial. I'm looking forward to his next competition on Wednesday. My Calgary friend is in Vancouver and she said the cherry blossoms are out. Here's hoping the slopes don't melt away before the end of the games.

Bruce's kids are either on vacation or heading there in March. All going to warm, sunny climates!

On The Edge of My Seat!

The short track races are so intense - it only takes a few minutes for the race, but a lot happens in those minutes. At the end, Apolo Anton Ohno won the bronze medal. He still has two more races to go - the 500m and the Relay. Will he win more medals? I hope so, I'll be watching.

I'm sure we won't be watching the hockey game tonight - but it's USA vs Canada. I'm for the USA team, of course! Maybe we'll check in on the game every so often to see who is ahead.

As for regular TV, We'll be watching The Amazing Race - wonder where the teams are headed for the next leg of the race. CBS's Survivor - I'm for Boston Rob! If you aren't watching these two shows, you are missing out. And my favorite character on CSI Miami is returning as a regular. I don't know what that situation was all about, but I'm happy he is coming back.

Friday!

It's been snowing, but not enough to accumulate any significant amount. Although there was about an inch of fresh snow on the ground, Smoky headed out this morning, I guess looking for his arch rival. He got back with little tufts of fur hanging off his body and now he's curled up into a little ball sound asleep.

Our update for weight loss - Bruce lost four pounds this week - me, zero! It must be because of those 12 blueberry muffins I ate over the last seven days. Oh well, I'm not giving up. Back to the same old low carb, boring foods.

Olympics!

Last night's races were awesome. Of course we watched Apolo Ohno and Shaun White. By the time Short Track was over - Bruce had reached Olympic overload! Apolo won't be racing until February 20, so that will give Bruce time to recuperate! After Bruce fell asleep, I watched the snowboarders - Shaun White blew away the competiion. He seems like a really nice young man - love that red hair. He certainly stands out in a crowd.

I should start counting the days off until we leave for Granby, but I think I'll wait until the first of the next week when that leaves just seven days.

Fun Day!

We had a nice day yesterday 'window shopping.' Didn't buy a thing, but it's fun to look. We headed into Ottawa to validate our Costco cards - get our pictures on them, etc. Then we walked around looking at flat screen TVs, laptops, speakers - fun stuff. Even standing in that part of the store, you could smell the muffins in the bakery. How I love muffins, but we managed to strolled right by that area. Back in the truck we headed for IKEA - always fun to walk through that store - you just follow the arrows on the floor. They will take you from the entrance to the exit - on the way you see all sorts of furniture, bedding, bath accessories, dishes, etc. Didn't buy a thing there either. Then we went to a Chinese buffet for a late lunch. Did we keep our diet in mind - not on your life. Indulged in cake, cookies and ice cream.

Although I took my camera, there wasn't much along the way to take pictures of except dirty snow. Ottawa is having their annual Winterlude festivities, but those are on the other side of the city. I did take a picture of Bruce drinking his Tim Horton's coffee.

Olympics tonight - Apolo Anton Ohno skates - will be watching his races.

This Song has been playing on TV!

Featuring Eric Clapton - I couldn't resist! This is a picture of my sister's car back in the good old days! However, the car was in a minor accident when my sister and I were heading into Springfield. The accident happened on Pearl Street when we were stopped for a light. A bus slammed into the rear of the car pushing us into the back of a truck. This seems strange now since I can't remember my sister ever driving into Springfield (too much traffic). Any how, it was a sharp looking car.

How Exciting!

We watched the Olympics last night - short track and some of the women's downhill mogul racing. By far, I believe short track is the most exciting sport. And Apolo Ohno didn't disappoint - he won a silver medal. In the women's Moguls race, a fellow New Englander won gold. How great!

Today, Bruce is settled in front of the TV watching the Daytona 500.

Did You Watch the Olympic Opening?

We watched until about eleven (EST). I caught the interview with my favorite Olympian, Apolo Anton Ohno. He will be skating (short track) twice tonight and we will be watching if it is on TV.

I thought I'd post some pictures of our quick stop into Vancouver. This was a flight from Prince George, to Vancouver, then on to Calgary. Way back in 2005, we flew into Calgary to visit Rob. During that time, he accepted a six week assignment on the Alaskan border, so we rode with him as far north as Prince George, BC - then caught a flight back to Calgary.

Here we are - the weary travelers back in Calgary. That's our good friend, Bob - he is originally from Montreal. Brenda, my Calgary friend, picked us up at the airport.

Gee - What do we have to do?

Stop eating? I weighed the same this morning as last week and Bruce went up a pound. I have been following the low carb diet - with the exception of eating some of the veggies that are higher in carbs - peas, carrots, corn, etc. And I haven't been drinking all that water. Oh well - I'm not about to quit just yet.

It's my sister's birthday today, so I will call her later and wish her a Happy Birthday.

I've also been trying to come up with some differnet pictures - I think I might have a few. These were taken on Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid. You might say I'm showing my Olympic spirit.

To get to the top, Bruce decided to hike it.

This tunnel to the elevator freaked me out - I waited for other people to come along so that I could join them.

Didn't Last Long!

Ten days ago, Bruce bought a little B&D one cup coffee maker. No mess, no extra coffee to throw away. And he didn't even use it every day! This morning after putting in his coffee and water, he pressed the button - NOTHING! I don't know if he had a sixth sense about the appliance, but he hadn't thrown away the box or the receipt. After getting it all back together, off we went to Canadian Tire. They took the return without question. I wonder how many others were returned. We then stopped at Wal-Mart - nothing caught his eye, although I saw a unit that I thought looked promising. Bruce said it was too big for what he wanted. We then stopped at No Frills (the grocery/department store). Their prices were quite a bit more than Wal-Mart for the same coffee make. Thank goodness for the internet. Bruce found one that he likes - $50; however for the same coffeemaker in the States - $27. Guess what we are buying when we visit Massachusetts in March!

Found another old picture in my stash. This was a present from the kids at least eight years ago. It turned out to be too complicated for us - I think we did get it focused once to view the moon.

New Do!

Finally went to the hairdresser to get my haircut. I hadn't had it cut since October when the beautician cut it so sort it looked terrible. If the same woman had been there this morning, I went have bolted out the door. I was in luck - she wasn't anywhere around. The beautician I had asked me how I wanted my hair cut and I explained what I wanted in detail. Back home, I curled it, then checked it out in the mirror. Perfect. Thank goodness! Now I can face the world.

What's Up?

Not much going on. We did watch the Super Bowl game last night; however, we only saw one US commercial - the Clydesdale horses. This morning, I found them online and watched every one!!! I don't understand why the Canadian networks won't air them. Most of the commercials aired during the game were about the upcoming Olympics.

A couple of my favorite pictures - 2003 - Columbia Icefield in Alberta.

Rob, Dot (me), Bruce and Jeff!

Was It Fun Yesterday?

No, it was a very bad day for Bruce. After I finished snapping pictures, he slipped off the tailgate and fell on the driveway - landing on his side. Coming back into the house, he assured me that he wasn't hurt. Off he went! When he arrived at Jeff's, everyone noticed the seat on the ATV was missing obviously blown off when he reached the highway and accelerated his speed. And on the back of the truck inspecting what might have happened, he fell off the truck again.

He got back in the truck and traced his route - nothing. In order to enjoy the rest of his day with the 'boys,' he used a pillow and blanket as a seat. Now - that isn't the end of it, when he was putting the ATV back onto the truck, the ramps fell off and he ended up in a vertical position, bending the truck's tailgate. He should have stayed home.

Bruce is a bit sore this morning, Shortly, we are off to go back over the route - four eyes are better than two. I hope we find it. Wonder how much a new seat costs????

Update to the morning!

We drove out to Jeff's turned around and came back! Nothing. Bruce had a thought that maybe someone had turned the seat in at the two local OPP stations. Boh offices were closed! HUH?

Picture is blurry, but it gives you an idea what we were dealing with!



Bruce walking to the front door of the OPP station.

Back home - Bruce has put his order in for a new seat. It was a costly day, at least we don't have to buy a new truck because of the dented tailgate.

Still Cold!

Doesn't seem to be warming up any. At least we aren't getting the snow storm that is working its way up the east coast. Earlier today, Jeff called Bruce and asked him if he wanted to go ATVing. Why do men think it's fun to head out in 12F degree weather. A warm fire is much more appealing to me! While he was loading the ATV on the truck, I snapped a few pictures. Now tell me, does that look like fun? But I do love the hat!

Weigh-In Day . . .

The scale wasn't so kind this morning. In spite of staying away from carbs and sugar all week - I was down one pound yesterday, up a pound today. So for the week, zero pounds lost. Bruce on the other hand, was down three. I thought I had found something great tasting to drink which was low in calories and carbs - chicken broth. For breakfast and lunch, I made egg-drop soup or throw in some cooked veggies. I read the label this morning and saw that the broth has 40% sodium. When I finish the box, I'm crossing that off my list.

In March, Bruce and I plan to head to Granby to visit my sister. For a side trip, we've booked a room for three nights at a hotel in Boston. We've never spent any time in the city other than visiting Old Ironsides, then getting lost when trying to find our way out.

Since days have been pretty quiet, I thought I'd throw in another old picture. This is one of my favorites - I took it with my first digital camera. Do you recognize the hotel? Clue - it's in New Hampshire.