Hello everyone!
So a quick note from your friendly neighbourhood blogger on this Good Friday while the family is out & I can grab the computer without being harassed. LOL
A big hello to my new followers, Laura (my BFF in Scotland), Jenny DB ( who has an awesome blog, So Say I, that you all should visit cuz her dog Bondi is *adorable* & she's hilarious) & last but not least, Comrade Gen Y ( who's just started blogging here and has some interesting thoughts on social media & digital technology).
I've been home now since Wednesday night and while I quite enjoy visiting the family, I tend to really hate the drive home. Not because it's a hard drive (Alberta is only marginally more hilly than Saskatchewan, so like a lumpy pancake in my neck of the woods) or a particularly long drive (it's just under 3hrs from my house to walking into my mom's house) mainly it's because after a long day at work I'd rather chillax chez moi or with some friends than make the drive down the #1 (aka the TransCanada Highway). If you're getting an inkling that I'm not one of those crazy road trip people, you'd be right. While I am a great passenger & helpful navigator on long trips, I will never be the one penning a song a la Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night". It'd be more like, "I Drove Most Of The Day, Grabbed A Cheap Hotel Room & Got There The Next Day" and I'm alright with that....it just makes me more adorable, right? (Don't ask me how being a wuss of a long distance driver equates to adorability, it just does....just give me that one little thing, ok?)
Anyhoo - I started the day with my Dad, having some breakfast at our usual hangout spot, a diner in the Petro-Canada gas station on the highway into town. Classy eh? LOL Had some lovely eggs & toast while my Dad continued to try and educate me on the way things really are in life. We covered all that was wrong with the NHL (no respect anymore, players make too much money & should just shut up and play), politics (Stephen Harper is the man & to vote any other way than Progressive Conservative is a waste of my intelligence) & general miscellany. Love my Daddy-O but seriously, the man's neck is so red, I'm often surprised that it doesn't rub off on the collars of his shirt. The scary part is he's soon to be online, with his first computer due to arrive at his trailer (yes, I said trailer...again, classy!) shortly. I don't know if the Information Superhighway is quite ready for the old man. After all the problems with teaching my mom & stepdad (who are both fairly computer literate) how to use their iPods, I have this feeling of dread come over me everytime I think about my technophobe of a father getting a computer. I expect my long distance bills are gonna be spiking sharply upward over the next couple months along with my frustration of trying to explain from a distance about how to make things work & why he shouldn't open just any attachments he gets in his email.....*yikes*
Then I went and did some shopping at what is locally known as the "Old Mall" (There are only 2 malls in the whole city and they're within spitting distance of each other. The "New Mall" just celebrated its 25th birthday last year.) The main target there was Michael's as I had a 50% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. I ran into a friend from college while pawing thru the ribbon aisle (did I mention it was a pretty small town?) which is always interesting. It's always strange when I run into people I know. My Dad can't go anywhere in this town without running into people he knows, but I've hardly lived here since I was 12 & I'm awful at keeping in touch with people so when I run into old friends it can be kinda awkward. We had a nice chat about her impending nuptials and the "good ol' days" while promising to get together the next time I'm back here before making the "great escape" and me heading directly for the tills. She probably saved me some dough by showing up when she did....so big thanks to Melissa & her mom on that score! LOL
It's funny how much my hometown has changed since I was a kid. When I was born in the 70's, there were around 50K people here and now 30yrs later the Hat is up to about the 65K mark - most of whom I swear are old people. I think this city has become the retirement mecca for all grey-haired folk in the surrounding areas judging by the number of retirement homes & places that serve 4pm dinners (that are always crowded). I start to think about that South Park episode where the seniors lose their driver's licenses and then go on a militant rampage.....if that happened here, the old folk would have the numbers & most of them had some form of miliatry training, unlike the Baby Boomer children they spawned.
Tomorrow should be another busy day as I think I'll have my cousin's kids for most of the day - with a movie & some playtime scheduled. Should be fun altho I doubt I'll get much time to just veg and watch the NHL playoffs as I would like. Hope you're all having a wonderfully good Friday...enjoy some meatless dinner & I'll catch up with you all again soon!
So a quick note from your friendly neighbourhood blogger on this Good Friday while the family is out & I can grab the computer without being harassed. LOL
A big hello to my new followers, Laura (my BFF in Scotland), Jenny DB ( who has an awesome blog, So Say I, that you all should visit cuz her dog Bondi is *adorable* & she's hilarious) & last but not least, Comrade Gen Y ( who's just started blogging here and has some interesting thoughts on social media & digital technology).
I've been home now since Wednesday night and while I quite enjoy visiting the family, I tend to really hate the drive home. Not because it's a hard drive (Alberta is only marginally more hilly than Saskatchewan, so like a lumpy pancake in my neck of the woods) or a particularly long drive (it's just under 3hrs from my house to walking into my mom's house) mainly it's because after a long day at work I'd rather chillax chez moi or with some friends than make the drive down the #1 (aka the TransCanada Highway). If you're getting an inkling that I'm not one of those crazy road trip people, you'd be right. While I am a great passenger & helpful navigator on long trips, I will never be the one penning a song a la Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night". It'd be more like, "I Drove Most Of The Day, Grabbed A Cheap Hotel Room & Got There The Next Day" and I'm alright with that....it just makes me more adorable, right? (Don't ask me how being a wuss of a long distance driver equates to adorability, it just does....just give me that one little thing, ok?)
Anyhoo - I started the day with my Dad, having some breakfast at our usual hangout spot, a diner in the Petro-Canada gas station on the highway into town. Classy eh? LOL Had some lovely eggs & toast while my Dad continued to try and educate me on the way things really are in life. We covered all that was wrong with the NHL (no respect anymore, players make too much money & should just shut up and play), politics (Stephen Harper is the man & to vote any other way than Progressive Conservative is a waste of my intelligence) & general miscellany. Love my Daddy-O but seriously, the man's neck is so red, I'm often surprised that it doesn't rub off on the collars of his shirt. The scary part is he's soon to be online, with his first computer due to arrive at his trailer (yes, I said trailer...again, classy!) shortly. I don't know if the Information Superhighway is quite ready for the old man. After all the problems with teaching my mom & stepdad (who are both fairly computer literate) how to use their iPods, I have this feeling of dread come over me everytime I think about my technophobe of a father getting a computer. I expect my long distance bills are gonna be spiking sharply upward over the next couple months along with my frustration of trying to explain from a distance about how to make things work & why he shouldn't open just any attachments he gets in his email.....*yikes*
Then I went and did some shopping at what is locally known as the "Old Mall" (There are only 2 malls in the whole city and they're within spitting distance of each other. The "New Mall" just celebrated its 25th birthday last year.) The main target there was Michael's as I had a 50% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. I ran into a friend from college while pawing thru the ribbon aisle (did I mention it was a pretty small town?) which is always interesting. It's always strange when I run into people I know. My Dad can't go anywhere in this town without running into people he knows, but I've hardly lived here since I was 12 & I'm awful at keeping in touch with people so when I run into old friends it can be kinda awkward. We had a nice chat about her impending nuptials and the "good ol' days" while promising to get together the next time I'm back here before making the "great escape" and me heading directly for the tills. She probably saved me some dough by showing up when she did....so big thanks to Melissa & her mom on that score! LOL
It's funny how much my hometown has changed since I was a kid. When I was born in the 70's, there were around 50K people here and now 30yrs later the Hat is up to about the 65K mark - most of whom I swear are old people. I think this city has become the retirement mecca for all grey-haired folk in the surrounding areas judging by the number of retirement homes & places that serve 4pm dinners (that are always crowded). I start to think about that South Park episode where the seniors lose their driver's licenses and then go on a militant rampage.....if that happened here, the old folk would have the numbers & most of them had some form of miliatry training, unlike the Baby Boomer children they spawned.
Tomorrow should be another busy day as I think I'll have my cousin's kids for most of the day - with a movie & some playtime scheduled. Should be fun altho I doubt I'll get much time to just veg and watch the NHL playoffs as I would like. Hope you're all having a wonderfully good Friday...enjoy some meatless dinner & I'll catch up with you all again soon!