HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

HAPPY 144TH BIRTHDAY CANADA!!!

We spent today enjoying the holiday at Burnaby Village Museum where large crowds gathered to enjoy a BBQ, celebration cakes and a very fun time. We met up with Robert and Loretta and spent some time eating lunch and visiting. Dakotah and I stayed at the park until after closing. It was her first visit and she can't wait to go back and see more on a quieter day. The museum is celebrating it's 40th birthday and has free admission this year, so we will be going back in the near future!

Loretta, Me and Dakotah

Dakotah and I

A cake artist at work piping on the cream frosting...num...strawberries and blueberries are the decorations.

We ran across an old outhouse and Dakotah had to try it out...pretend style!

Lunch, delicious bbq'd hot dogs for Dakotah and I Loretta and Robert enjoyed sandwiches they brought as they didn't want to fill up to much as they were going out to dinner.
Below are the wonderful decorated cupcakes Loretta brought and shared with us...they were a wonderful treat!

Dakotah in front of the large tables holding the Canada Day cakes

The RCMP all decked out in their red serge uniforms.
Below is the line up for the cake, by the time we came back it had more than doubled and was up and down the hill and snaked all over.

Dakotah held this really large sword which is real but not sharp and called a "practise sword"

Dakotah was very interested in how people got water from wells.

The goods in the bakery window look wonderful but they are faux!

More line ups for cake!

Dakotah and some of the other children rolled down this grassy hill to the side of the cake line up, it helped pass the time and rolling down hills never goes out of style for children it seems!

I think this car is from 1928, someone ran by and knocked over the sign with the details on it so not positive on the year.

Oh my, what a treat this was, cotton candy flavored ice cream! She said it was sooo good!

We ran across this interesting cow complete with a cow bell on our way to the gate at closing, a fun time was had by all, Happy Birthday Canada!

Vancouver 2011 Stanley Cup Riots, SHAME on those involved....

The Vancouver you are currently seeing on CNN and The View and various other shows and programs is not the Vancouver we know and love. Punks, lots of booze and anarchists are what caused the riot here last night. The hockey fans themselves are not to blame from what I have seen on the local news coverage….and that is NOT normal behavior in these parts…sure we all would have loved to win that Stanley Cup but sheesh, it is just a game, Boston played better and they won fair and square and surely their win was not something to spark such serious civil disobedience and to destroy the livelihood of so many businesses etc. (50 something businesses were affected, 17 cars torched) I felt even worse for the merchants who had their property looted and destroyed when I heard that insurance does not cover civil disobedience so the 1 million dollars that the local drug store is out is their problem and the same with all the other merchants, a lot who are struggling in an uncertain economy. However, thanks to Facebook, about 13,000 people showed up with buckets, shovels, garbage bags and gloves etc to help clean up this morning….normal citizens, law abiding ones, all pitched in with the city employees, the business merchants etc to clean up the mess….I feel so bad for the city, for the victims of this crime, and I feel bad for both hockey teams who must be feeling awful about all of this.

Shame, shame on all those people involved in this humiliating display broadcast around the world. What were you thinking??? Do you Think???  Are you going to be our legacy when we are gone? It is a GAME, people, do you not really think that the players feel bad enough watching their dream go up in smoke when almost having it in their hands? My goodness, they did the best they could and I am quite sure they wanted that cup even more than we did, they worked hard all year to get into a position to play for the cup, for that they should be congratulated and instead you erupt into such a disgusting and disgraceful display of civil disobedience. Shame, shame on the hooligans and thugs who did all this damage.

Kudos to our home team, the Vancouver Canucks, Kudos to Boston on their win and their fabulous goalie Tim Thomas who played spectacular games. My deepest sympathy to the merchants, the police from various vicinities who had to put their own life's and safety on the line, to the firefighters who were also out there despite the danger to themselves, to the hospitals who treated casualties many of whom I would have thought twice about helping as they were the makers of their own destiny's,  and many thanks to all the volunteers who turned out to help rebuild what was destroyed and try and show the world the "normal" Vancouverites....

And with hockey draft season just around the corner, Go Canucks Go...hold your heads high and hopefully next year will be your year!!

Pictures of this terrible display can be seen at the link below from the Globe and Mail, if you are local and recognize any of the faces, please call the Vancouver Police tip line, these people need to be punished

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/photos-of-vancouver-rioting/article2062983/?from=2063729

SAYING GOODBYE....

RIP Emily November 19, 2000 - May 21, 2011

May was an awful month in our family. On May 17th my Mom (above with Emily) was admitted to hospital for low blood pressure, I was with her at the hospital until late in the evening. The next morning I was woken by her doctor calling my cell phone to tell me she had had a stroke.....

We spent the next few days at her bedside not knowing if she would make it or not and if she did what would the damage be. Her speech was severely impaired but she seemed to be able to move OK. Her speech is still not good but she is ambulatory and is now in a rehab facility and the doctors, nurses and therapists are working with her to try and recover some of what the stroke caused her to lose. Hopefully she will continue to recover and get well.

Meanwhile little Emily hadn't been feeling well that week and I took her to the Vet on Friday expecting her to have a stomach upset and need antibiotics. Well, he felt around and said her spleen was enlarged. He took xrays and blood work and he could see the spleen was very swollen and she also had a bladder stone. The poor little girl had to be suffering but she did it in silence which the vet assistant said is common as dogs don't like to upset their owners. She never complained of anything hurting but was off her food and every now and then would upchuck bile. Then she would be fine for a day or two.
So the Vet said depending on the blood work, he would like to remove the spleen, he felt there was probably a tumor there but he wouldn't know what kind until he opened her. He felt her odds were very good at a complete recovery. Saturday morning he called me and said he wanted to do surgery in the afternoon, the tests were back and he still felt she would be OK with the surgery. So I dropped her off and he said he would call when he had completed her. At about 2:10 in the afternoon my other dog Max, who is Emily's biological brother sat up straight on the couch and put his head right back. When the phone ran a couple of minutes later I just knew it was bad.

The Vet did the surgery, got the spleen out (there was a tumor but not as big as I had expected) and there was a bladder stone. I saw both later in the day. He said the operation was a success but as he was closing her little heart gave out. The Vet's assistant said he made a valiant effort to try and revive her but she was gone. I was and I remain heartbroken about my little Buddie's passing. She was my little shadow, she followed me everywhere and never let me out of her sight and at night her bed is on the floor beside my bed. I am the last one to bed around here and she always stayed with me and kept me company. I really miss her a lot. I had her cremated and I brought her home. The crematorium took a cast of her paw print and that is the plaque at the back right of the photo. Her ashes are in the urn. Very sad times.

Here Emily is in happier times.
And with the odd looking Santa below she is on the right front with her brother Max behind her and our other dog Molly on the left.

THE END OF AN ERA...TOO BIG TO BE A PRINCESS ANYMORE......

It is with great sadness that I report the "Little Princess" has grown up...peer pressure etc has her not wanting to wear anything Princess related anymore...it just isn't cool at the ripe old age of seven. However, she still loves the Disney Store and hadn't yet been to ours that recently reopened. The other night while one of the Stanley Cup hockey games was on, she and I hit the mall as most everyone else in the province was in front of the TV or watching hockey somewhere. The quietness of the evening allowed her to explore the entire store and ooh and aah over all the lovely things, without the risk of anyone she goes to school with or plays with seeing her. You can see in her eyes she wishes she was little again. The longer we were in the store the more fun she was having. When we came home she put on her favorite Ariel T-shirt and pj bottoms and crawled into bed...you see even if you are too big for Princesses in public, at home under the cover of darkness, Princess clothing brings sweet dreams!

CONNAUGHT HEIGHTS SCHOOL CARNIVAL

Last Thursday night June 2, Connaught Heights neighborhood school held their annual carnival. It was a huge success thanks to the organizing skills and hard work of Nicci and James and a small handful of volunteers. Thanks goes out to our local Best Buy who not only sent some of their employees up to help man the different games stations, but they also sent the wonderful Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean look a like...gosh he was realistic!  The kids all had a wonderful time and money was raised to support the schools PAC which funds things like field trips, May Day outfits for the school representatives and buys equipment the school needs to function efficiently and make the children's school experience a better thing! I am sure you can tell by the bottom of the kids pants in the pictures it poured rain for the entire day and evening....and like Murphy's Law dictates, the sun has been shining every since....Spring arrived to the West Coast finally on Friday!!! Would have been nice had it come a day earlier but.....

THE STANLEY CUP!!!

For the first time in 17 years the Vancouver Canucks are in the final round for the Stanley Cup! Hockey mania is at work in our city, the excitment is palpable, the final round of the playoffs starts Wednesday at 5 pm Pacific daylight savings time and it is safe to say that most of the residents of our city will be in front of their TV's for it. Tickets to the event are a horrific price if you can even find some. The Canucks will face off against the Boston Bruins. My little Bleuette Madeline is dressed in her team jersey and is anxiously awaiting the big game and hopes that the Canucks will bring Lord Stanley's cup home to Canada. Go Canucks Go!!

Here is a little story that appeared on Yahoo News:

Just over a year ago, Vancouver erupted in celebration when Canada beat the United States for the gold medal in the men's ice hockey competition at the Winter Olympics.

It was great source of pride for British Columbia to play host to the victory for the hockey-mad country, but now the city of Vancouver has the chance to celebrate winning its own coveted prize.

The Vancouver Canucks face off on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins in the opening game for the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup championship.

The Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup in their 40 years in the NHL, and have only made it to the final round twice before. The last time was 17 years ago.

But the Canucks have emerged as a real contender in recent years, slowly adding players to fill lineup gaps. They finished the regular season with the NHL's best record and the Olympics could be an omen.

On the two previous occassions Canada hosted an Olympics, the host city won the Stanley Cup the next year.

In 1976, the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, and in 1977 the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup. In 1988, the Winter Olympics were held in Calgary. Sure enough, in 1989, the Calggary Flames with the Stanley Cup.

"It's been a long time coming," coach Alain Vignault said after Vancouver beat San Jose to win the Western Conference title.

COUPON SHOPPING

Inspired by the awesome couponers and tips provided by very savy shoppers on the Canadian website "Smart Canucks" I headed out today to see how I could do. I have been collecting these coupons for a few weeks via Procter and Gamble, Websavers and newspaper inserts. Not everything in the pictures had a coupon for it but it was on sale. First I headed to London Drugs who allows coupon stacking and I managed to find two 3.00 coupons for the Pantene if I bought two of them and as it was on sale for 3.99 that meant each was .99. I had a buy 2 get 2 free Ceaser dog food, also on sale for .79 so I bought 4 tins for 1.58. I had 2 - 50 cent coupons for Herbal Essence shampoo so at the sale price I paid .99.

Next I headed to Walmart to try out their new coupon policy...not all there are aware but never fear, I had it printed out in my purse and produced it for the supervisor. The Dempster baguettes retailed at 3.87, I had a coupon so they were free, the Glade Sense and Spray was on sale for 6.00 but I had a coupon and it was free also, the Ziplock bags were 1.48 each but I had coupons for 4.00 off of each 2 purchases so the over amount was applied to my total (new policy) making the bags free and change left over, the ice cream was 5.67 but I had a cereal coupon for 5.00 so that was .67, The Pringles chips are on special if you buy 2, they are 3.00 but I had coupons for .50 for each tin making them 1.00 each, the Olay wipes are 2.00 but I had a coupon for 5.00 so the over amount was applied to the cart. I price matched the Herbal Essence at Walmart as London Drugs didn't have the kind I am very fond of and again I used .50 cent coupons so it was 1.50. The cereal is on sale for 2.97 but wait, there is a coupon on it to get free Activia yoghurt....the Teryaki marinade had a 3.00 off coupon if I bought 2 zip locks so the total on that was .57. The total for everything you see in the picture is 27.00 and that includes the 12% sales tax that applied to the precoupon prices of everything. I am very happy with my morning!