Prairie Dog Blog

Blog Spot of the Barber Ousey Clan
Hey, this Blogging thing is really catching on. Now Lyn has a blog....and her son Adam too! It is really easy to do and a fun way to keep people posted as to what is going on. It is nice to hear all the news, especially when you can't be there.
Well it is approx. zero degs hefnercandles (not ferengis... what the heck is a ferengi anyway...speak engrish pease!) and sunny today.
Yesterday Catherine and I, and two other couples, went to the Manitoba Theatre Centre to see the play "Diary of Ann Frank". It was really quite good but I was disturbed by an abrupt ending....but i guess that they were making a point... that the ending was abrupt for Ann Frank and her family too. It is the first play that I have ever seen where the whole cast stayed on stage, in character, during the intermission. I gave it 3 nods ( I nodded off three times)
After the play we went to Brannigans. I like Brannigans beacause I have very few standards and besides they have lotsssa sheap taaable whine.....and as you know I AM a WINOCEROS ...you know a big crusty, grey, gallumphing, one-horned Cabernet sipping galoot . Anyways, it was good. We shared "pot-stickers" (expensive egg-rolls) as an appy and then I had a steak (not a heart healthy one but good old Alberta marbled beef!) and french fries....because ....well because.
After dinner we came back to our place and played Trivial Pursuit....you know we have been playing that game (and all the other trivial pursuit games) since it came out....25 years ago! We have our own rules...we never use the board and we play partners, switching all the time. We ask each team in turn 1 question from each catagory and you either get a pie or you don't, then we add up the scores at the end of the night to decide the winner...or whiner as the case may be. The winner has bragging rites until the next game. It is all fun.
This week is a busy week. I have 3 Xmas parties to go to. One for my Creative Retirement Computer club, one for Western Canada Aviation Museum volunteers and one for Health Sciences Centre (diabetes research) 'lab-rats'. I was at the museum Saturday morning and found out that we will be getting an exhibition of the Wright Brother's artifacts, photos, etc., in Feb. 2004. I will be working extra time then because the exhibit is worth an est. $1,000,000. WOOHOO. We will need extra security. I am not sure but I think that when I am on security I will be supplied with a Tazer, a gun, a large cannister of pepper spray, .....or maybe a pencil and a pointed stick...not sure, but looking forward to the exhibit.
I see by Gary's blog that they are having a good time in Tish. Here is a conversation that I had with a convenience store clerk in Tish. "Please, can I have a bag of ice?"......"Ya want a SAC O ASS?" 'Scuse me? do I want a sack of ass?....no a bag of ice s'il vous plait"......jes what I sayd, a sac o' ass"
well better go for now
AVOIR DUPOIS

IT'S NOT LIKE THE ERROR IS SET IN STONE. WELL, MAYBE IT IS: The Canadian
Broadcasting Corp. says a granite map of Canada just installed in the
lobby of its new building in Ottawa, Ont., has several geographical
errors, such as making Vancouver Island a peninsula and annexing
Alaska. The broadcaster says it's up to the building's owner whether to
fix it, but a spokesman for Morguard Corp., who commissioned the
building, claims the map is "not a map of Canada, it's a piece of art"
which is "not representative of Canada, per se." Will they fix it? "Why
would I?" the spokesman asked. "You wouldn't go back to Picasso and say
add another nose over here on this piece. You wouldn't do it. I'm not
going do that. I'm not an artist." (Ottawa Citizen) ...Yes he is. A
spin artist. And a bad one at that.

This is an exerpt from the "This is True " web site. No need for a bridge to the Island now!

Hello Friday.....a workout day.
It is -10 deg C. thats 76.378564 deg Fl. Scruples for those who have none. heh heh
Today Catherine substituted for a woman she knows at Vincent Massey Collegiate. The principal there is Jim Hunt, Catherine's former principal at Nordale School. It was a grade 6 class and Catherine had a bit of trouble with an ADHD student and another who kept telling her that, "Our teacher doesn't do it that way!" at every opportunity. I went to my computer group meeting SIG (special interest group) Internet meeting. A guy was there from Advance telling us all about digital cameras. Suzie stayed home and guarded the house! I taught her how to operate the house alarm in case she needed to go out for any reason. She learned quick, not like Jack....he still can't figure it out! I am currently trying to teach Suzie to shut the door. I have been taping a cookie to the door, at first quite low and gradually higher and higher until she has to pretty well jump up to get the cookie and then as a consequence, closes the door.............I am the man. Afterwards I may try to teach her to open the door...possibly taping a cookie to the door handle heh heh heh
The dog got me up in the night to let her outside and then I could not get back to sleep, but she went back to sleep right away. But.....now if she can operate the alarm and open the door.....and close the door...we may have something.....she could let herself out and in again.
And, I could stay in bed. Good plan, eh wot?
An Englihman gets home to find his wife in bed with three men...what does he say?..............
Allo, Allo, Allo............coiuld be more like a Frenchman the way that sounds! How about Ello, Ello ,Ello.
I see George Dubya is no longer looking for weapons of mass destruction, but he has reassigned the 1400 people looking for them (for the past 6 months!) to look for insurgents/rebels. I think that they wont have to look far.... they are all over the place among the general population that is getting tired of being pushed around by Americans! Let the Iraqis have their election and get out......yea right , like they are ever going to leave. Dubya would not agree with the French in setting a timetable for the turn over of Iraq to Iraqis and then a month later they set a date of June.....sounds better on their terms I guess. Well that is my political rant for the day. Liberate Iraq?!? ...... They can't find Osama and he has an entourage of hundreds, a dozen wives and he is dragging around a dialysis machine!!!!
Boy, Canada better watch out......decriminalizing marijuana, supporting the world court, supporting Kyoto, legalizing marriages between gays........I am sure that there is a deck of cards out there with all our faces in it! Well that is my political rant for the day.
Better go for my work out.
Well mesamis, AVOIR DUPOIS!

Travels of Gary & Carolyn
er ....this is Gary's blog site.....heh heh heh

Hello, Wednesday. The temperature is -10 deg C. that is about q1 on the thermodynamic temperature scale for all you southern dwelling tree huggers out there.
So, Gary and Carol did not want to stay at Toad Suck State park. See their Blog at:
SEE ABOVE
I guess that they did not realize that toad sucking is a great southern US regalement down there. There are professional toad sucks down there and there is even a "Toad Suck Hall of Fame"........Its right near the "Pig Trail Scenic Parkway". Here is the story of Toad suck lifted from a web page.
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Conway, AR - Toad Suck
Yes, that story about rivermen sucking on bottles and swelling up like toads is the story that keeps getting reprinted in the Arkansas history books and keeps getting repeated. The story first appeared in a "history" written by a guy named Alsopp, who had some pretty soft standards, scholastically speaking. In the absence of evidence, he would simply report whatever bogus story he had on hand.
Here's what I do know about the origins of the name Toad Suck: Today there is a park by the Arkansas river named "Toad Suck Park." At this point there was once a ferryboat called the "Toad Suck Ferry" which would carry a couple of cars across the river on each trip. The ferry was named for a public house, a shack of sorts which might have served as a saloon, hotel, storage shed or any number of purposes. The structure was called "Toad Suck," and one or another structure was in that spot at least back into the nineteenth century.
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Yeah, I remember swelling up like a toad once or twice by sucking on bottles. WooHoo.
Catherine went out for lunch with a woman she used to teach with. They went to "Crackers", a restaurant run by students from a High School in Louis Riel SD. Suzie and I stayed home and made Solstice decorations.
Later we are going for a work-out. We were remiss, lax, neglegent for not going for a work-out yesterday, because we were too busy. Yesterday morning I took Mom to the 'Pacemaker Clinic' for her first check-up....a thousand mile check-up, I believe. Her pace-maker is working fine, everything is doing what it should. I went into the room with her and the doctor( just to get the story straight) and Mom surprised me by pulling out a list of questions that she wanted to ask.....now I have told her to do that before but she never does.....this time she did! Amazing. I made sure that the doctor had the right info on Mom's meds and then I left, not wanting to be there for the physical examination; you know what I mean...! She got out earlier than we thought so Mom and I went to Kelekis Restaurant for lunch....do you know that they are the Royal Purveyors of the burger and fries to the Queen? Its true, the Queen and Prince Philip went there for Chili dawgs n' fries when they were in town. I'm pretty sure that it is true...well could be, Eh? Then I had to go to the world famous Western Canada Aviation Museum for the rest of the day to help set up the winter solstice tree and decorate it. But first we had to hunt around the hanger for an hour to find the damn stuff.
Looks like December will be a busy month. There is the WCAM xmas party and the Diabetes research xmas party and the Manitoba Humanist's Solstice party on Dec. 21... and then there is the annual xmas party at Paul and Pat's place on the last Saturday before Xmas on Dec 20. they have a tree decorating party every year, and have had one since we first met Pat about ten years ago. Pat makes these wonderful cherry winks that are irresistible and I have to stop just on the sunny side of Diabetic Shock. I temper my glucose levels by drinking large rums, as you know booze brings down your glucose...so it is a wash....and I am awash. Last year the party was great...all I can remeber is me on the floor, looking up and a guy in a white coat saying CLEAR! CLEAR!...just kidding, I am very careful. Here is a joke:
A guy took an over-dose of pills. He calls the suicide hot-line and says," I just took an over-dose of pills." The woman on the other end says," What kind of pill did you take?" He says, "VIAGRA".......the womans says, "What the hell do you want me to do about that?".............He says," Well, what are you wearing?"
Well mesamis, AVOIR DUPOIS.

It is -6 Celcius.....35 Kafferbooms for you Okies.......or (Physics) Condition with respect to heat or cold, especially as indicated by the sensation produced, or by the thermometer or pyrometer; degree of heat or cold; as the temperature of the air; high temperature; temperature of freezing or of boiling.
here we are tuesday........
Catherine went off to teach this afternoon, and this left me and my faithful doggie Suzie home alone.
Yesterday was a workout day and me and my LBS knee went to complete my usual 555. I will shortly be in shape for the marathon...or was it the triathlon?....can't remember, only that it involves carb loading.
Brother Gary and brotherette Carol are in Brother Jackson's place in the city of brotherly love...Tishomingo (from the Cherokee meaning: those who live without Wal-mart close...'ceptin 30 miles away in Madill) Gary and Carol will be there for the next week or so,. Jack will be off with the two boys for most of it, so it will be a good visit......'ceptin Gary won't be able to nap. BTW Gary, don't go in the bush if you are golfing down there....there are all kinds of creepy, crawly, slitherin' thingys in the bush. I know it will be hard for you to give up on a ball but steel thyself and give it up.... you can always get new balls! FORE!
Don't forget to go to lake Titikaka and go fishing for them Gar fish. Then afterwards you can bar-b-que them....if you can find a grill that is say 4 or 5 feet long and 5 or 6 inches wide....good for snakes too.....they pop reeeeal good.
Well better go and take Suzie for her walkies.
avoir dupois, mesamis.

Saturday...thanks to an unrealistic super being (or not) for this day off. Today it is -8 deg C or, for you TTMs....9083 degs on the Planck curve.
Just this AM I got an e-mail from darling daughter Margot and I shall copy it here:
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"Good, entertaining blogs this past week. Thanks for the shout outs!! I have been shooting at the Riley, and I will be shooting and re-shooting again. (my composition and "artist's eye" were lost on the "Comission" (sp?) Anyway, you can't teach everyone the art of art. hehheh. Here's somethin' else to add to your Blog. I am going to be in another show at Exposure Gallery. It's the annual Winter Salon and my gloriously composed snap of fish in ice at Granville Island will be framed, hung and, dare I say it? SOLD at the show. It opens on Dec. 4th, for you humanists that's 17 days before the Winter Solstice. (I think) ........21 minus 4 right? well, no matter, it certainly won't be the last of my talented endeavors. My goal now?.....Glad you asked, to have a solo show. I just have to develop a strong body of work. ....not so hard,.......it's just a flabby body of work at the moment. hey, cut and Paste this onto the blog, 'cause I have no idea how to add it myself.......it's not one of my goals. Computer ignorance suits me jus' fine. Kisses to all, and be sure to eat some Jeannie's cake for me, dad, oh who am I kidding. "
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Sounds like she is doing well. Too bad she did not bring any pictures when she came. We will have to get some pics to frame. HintHintHint It is a shame that not everyone knows the secrets to blogging........I guess blogging belongs to the Ousey Boys.....kind of like the hole in the wall gang....or hole in the head gang more like bwahahahaha
OPUS IS BACK IN THE COMICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OPUS IS BACK IN THE COMICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah the ole penguin from Bloom county just appeared on the front page of the Freep comics. I guess Berkeley Breathed is back after a 10 year hiatus (no doubt while lying naked amongst the periwinkles!). WOOHOO
George Bush isn't fooling anyone...........going to England with a Canada flag sewn onto to his backpack! Bushy's generals in Iraq have implemented something called operation "Iron hammer" to quell the many attacks by rebels 'againstus'....(as in you are either withus or againstus)....they should implement operation "Arm and hammer" and go door to door in Iraq and deodorize some refridgerators instead!
Today we are taking Nana out for DinDin. We'll go to the Oceana restaurant for a change and have 'dinner for three'. And then..........hmmmmm Jeannies cake...I think I shall partake.
I see by Gary's blog that He and Carol were in Grand ole Opry land on Thursday anyway. I remember watching the grand ole horse opry on Saturday afternoons...those were the days. But Gary and Carol don't like opry and for that matter they don't like horses neither.
Speaking of horses, they will be in Tishomingo, probably today or tomorrow (sunday) visiting brother Jackson and the two little Jacksons....Hey the Jackson three (3).
Well, must go and get ready.
Until later mes amis....avoirdupois!

Friday...its -10 deg C...thats 673 hefnercandles for you Vancanouverites on the soggy coast.
Today is a workout day so watchout!...Big Dada comin' to whop ass! Big three ...555... run, cycle , shower. Still getting ready for the triathlon...should be ready by....oooooh NEVER. As I say, I am good at loading up on Carbs though...which is not too good for those of us on the Atkins diet......Hmmmm oh well ...can't do wothout bread, lets see bread has been around for say 5,000 years and now they say it is bad for you ???????? What about beer? Yesterday was Nana's big 85th Birthday. I talked to her last night and she was so happy. She had a bunch of calls (I know she talked to Gary and I know Margot called her) on her answering machine.....and they had the big birthday party at the Manor for November honourees and it just happened to fall on her birthday so they said a special birthday wish just for her. She got a lot of cards too. and she got some flowers from Jack's wife (twice removed) Val.
I talked to Gary & Carol on the phone. they are somewhere around Memphis because when I got the call it said this is 'Long distance Information here in Memphis Tennessee' (sung to the tune of ...well 'long distance...etc.').............CHUCK BERRY for heavens sake! (if there is a heaven that is,.. well if there is no H-E-double LL hockey sticks then there ain't no heaven...even a Tennessee trunk money knows that heehee).
Gary and Carol will be at Jack's place for Jack's birthday and the great American Thanksgiving day Feast. I wonder if Jack is cooking a turkey? Jack is a turkey! BWAHAHAHAHA Well he may surprise youse.
Better go and workout.........later, Gator

Its around minus 5 deg C...thats aboot plus 97.6 deg FU..(Fuerinheit) for you TTM's Tennessee Trunk Monkeys) BWAHAHA
Just paid my 'Lectric bill N my Gas bill...gotta pay for gas 'round here, ushually you R gittin' gas fuh free....lik when youse bin eatin' those franks and beans.
We went to see "Master & Commander" Today and it was rated TWO (2) Thumbs (end o your hand finger...the stubby one) UP! It was good. Russell Crowe was great. I thought he was good in "A Perfect Mind" but I think this movie was made for him...I think he really got into it. Very impressive on the big screen!....you feel that you are right in the picture! Highly recommended. Could have done without the 'amputation' scene but only becsue it was too realistic.
Tomorrow I got computer club in the AM.
Til tomorrow then, Den.

Wednesday........Sunny and around 0 deg C.... Cold enough to freeze the balls off a Tennessee trunk monkey, for all you Tennesseeans, tennesseeonians.....tennesseeites,....Tennis anyone?
Yesterday I went to get laser surgery on my eyes. BUT, I was really disappointed today when I could not shoot lasers from my eyes.....I held a piece of bread out in front of me and stared at it a lot and it did not turn to toast! I want my money back. Kidding, I didn't get eye surgery, my eyes are perfect. I only need glasses for reading and driving and stuff.
Yesterday, I spent most of the day figuring how to merge letters with contact information. I made a contact list of publishers for Catherine to enable her to send out some stories that she has done. Now she can write a letter once on the computer and add new addresses at the top and insert the contacts name in the body. FANCY SHMANSY She can also do labels too!
Today, I went to the WCAM in the afternoon, while Catherine went to Staples tomake copies of her stories and get some other supplies. She also went shopping....Which reminds me, Value Village has a 50% off sale!......time to do the Christmas, er, Winter Solstice shopping!
Margot phoned tonight. She phones at least once, maybe twice a week. It is nice to hear from her and hear what Joel and she are doing. And Catherine loves to talk to her on the phone. Margot just got a commision to take pictures of the owner of the Kettle O'Fish's other restaurant. She is quite happy about that and we are quite proud.
We plan on taking in a movie mattinee tomorrow....."Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe. Who knows, I might even spring for dinner for Catherine and I ...nothing fancy...burgers and fries...I don't want to spoil her! Boy burgers and a movie How romantic is that?
Tomorrow is Nana's birhtday and on Saturday, we are taking her out for dinner and we ordered a Jeannie's cake too.
Better get to bed and rest up...tomorrow is a big day!

Not much doin' today. Its raining and about 6 deg c. That's about 257 deg Kelvin for you 'Mericans.
Catherine put the finishing touches on some cover letters for some short stories that she is submitting to publishers. Afterwards we went over to the "Who Dunnit" store, a used book store that caters to, well you can imagine, mystery readers. Catherine was in heaven...and came back with 6 or so novels that should keep her happy for a while...or a couple of days anyway! Then we went for a workout.........555........my regimen for the triathlon next summer. Yup, this year I practiced for the triathlon ...I got to about mile 2 and got so tired I turned off the TV!.........loaded up on carbs though...I did real good at that. So it should not come as a shock that I will be running in the triathlon next year.......well, I could, except for my knee, the LBS you know. Damn fate...what cards have you dealt me?!? Maybe the marathon? Yeah, better go and get me some carbs....woohaa

Sunday...Grey Cup Day! Edmonton vs. Montreal. It is taking place at Taylor Field in Regina and the temperature is supposed to be around 4 degs. C at game time (for you 'Mericans that's 64 degs F.). Hee-Hee...you can fool them aaaalll the time. Montreal should win or at least come in second.
Gald to see that Jack has come to his senses and is blogging more. Teach-sleep-eat, sleep-teach-eat, eat-sleep-teach-pee-pee, pee-pee-poop-eat-sleep..........date ;).... And Jamie has his own e-mail address! Wasn't that long ago that he wuz jus an emoticon in his Daddy's e-mail of life! I have had the privilege of corresponding with the aformentioned nephew this very AM. I passed on his address to my wife who will also be corresponding to him shortly.
Last night we went over to Al and Janine's house and played Trivial Pursuit (for a change). It was foggy as hell last night, although...I guess that fog would burn off quickly in hell, ...if there was a hell, and I'm not saying that there is, you see....hell that is , not fog. We did not stay too late because the dog was home all by herself and we don't trust her not to have friends in and party down. But she was fine, and like her uncle Jack went poopy-pee-pee-eat-sleep but she is modest and doesn't brag about it like her uncle Jack.
Well, better go and watch the game. Got a couple of tickets on it....could win maybe $25.00, maybe......... 'Til Tomorrow, then

Friday....we took over to Nana's ....to the Lion's Manor House Born, some socks, tangerines, pillows, and medicines (her new metformin prescription). We also got her a new blood glucose monitor......Heh, Heh...one that can be downloaded to a computer...my computer. It will chart her readings and in doing so her doctor can adjust her meds. I do it too and it seems that everytime I take my doctor a report he bumps up my insulin. I take NPH insulin; the kind that is supposed to work for 24 hours and I am up to 15 to 20 units per day. I take it in the evening because I am one of those people whose glucose goes up through the night. I have been having problems controlling my blood sugars since I got a flu shot at the beginning of November. I don't know what it was but I felt sick for a few days after I got my shot.
It sounds like Gary has found a nice spot in Virginia...or else he doesn't know where to go next. And he bought another digital camera and Carol is using it??? Has he gone mad? Introduce Carol to technology and God (or some other irrational supreme life-like force) only knows where it will lead! She'll be on the internet next!
Got this problem with my knee.....now I am not one to complain, but I am sure that it happened at birth......You see, my legs have always been rather short; not in proportion to my body, you see. They are kind of bowl-legged from the knees down. Jack is kind of the same way too...short ass to the ground and long body. Gary is the tallest because he doesn't have bowl-legs. Anyway, I figure that because of my LBS (lower bow-leg syndrome) a vastly higher pressure than normal is put on my knees...especially my right one because I dress on that side (nudge nudge wink wink). I contemplated suing the doctor that assisted in my birth because he may have "HELD ME BACK" in the birth canal you see, that could have been the initial cause of my LBS, but Mom says that he is dead already. I think that she is just covering for him! It is a conspiracy and I have the arthritic knee as a result! This is bigger than the Kennedy conspiracy! Anyhow, after taking something to reduce the inflamation, we went over for a workout ( Catherine can't miss her Hip-Hop class!) and I did my usual 555...(that is 5 kms walking 5 miles cycling and 5 minutes in the shower) which is as near a triathalon as I get, and I felt fine but I am paying for it today! And today is the day I promised to put up the 'Winter Solstice' lights ( or as you lay people call them Christmas lights). Up and down the ladder, up and down the ladder.....damn Doctor....maybe I can sue his estate!.....hmmmmm.....got to go call my lawyer, Smucker, Smucker, Smucker and Squeezem. More later.................

Hiya, Thursday.
Brother Jack finally updated his blog...woohoo, 'happy days are here again....' sung brightly and fortisimo! Jack is busy, but seriously, all he has to do is blog: MONDAY: Busy, TUESDAY: busy, WEDNESDAY: busy.........what is the problem? Then at least we would all know that Jack has been, well, busy.
This AM I kept an appointment with my Research team at the Diabetes research group. I am a human lab rat ( is that an oxymoron or am I just wishful thinking?) . The research is going well, I am testing a new drug for treating high blood pressure....before I started the study my BP was 130 over 78 and now, after having taken this new BP medication for 3 months, my BP is 144 over 88.......CRAP. Believe me, I lost no time in pointing out the
anomally, I said, "Hey, What is with this anomaly?" "I mean BP was good, now bad?" they said "OOOH, yes we should look into that" (or words to that effect). Yeah, get back to me.
Anyways, my knee and upper thigh have been hurtin' for the last 2 weeks, so much so that it is affecting my personal quality of life. I have been missing the odd workout. I finally went to the doctor this morning and had it x-rayed. No news yet on the thigh (feels like an inflammed tendon?) but my knee is arthritic...almost bone on bone. Here is my theory, my knee is hurtin'... so I favour it and by doing so it has inflammed my tendon in my thigh. Just gettin' old...56 years of rough livin' all those years of hi-rolling and hootenannying have paid off in pain. Should have laid offn' those Quayluuds.
Got Nana a new glucose monitor...one like mine that can track progress through a computer. It requires little blood and therefore can be use on the arm (like BB king!). Got her new medication too; she is taking metformin now instead of glyburide.
Well got to go over to the store and buy Nana some provisions she'll be wantin for winter. It gets real bad here in the winter what with the wolves pickin off the stragglers at rush hour and all. Tommorow is another day........

Hello, Wednesday. It is cool at about -5 deg C but very sunny. Today is Aviation museum day and I will be off soon. I will be picked up in a Limousine and rushed off to meet and greet all my fans at the museum. I will entertain many children by regaling them with stories of airplanes and flying that will make the little hairs on the backs of their necks stand up, assuming that they have not passed out from the excitment already! All kidding aside, I will eat a cheese sangy and go to the museum in my old Tyota and wrestle with the little unruly bas***** (children) and keep them from stealing the wig off the poor old mannequin of a Trans Canada Airlines Stewardess standing sentinel in front of the old Viscount!
Anyhow, yesterday we picked up Nana and took her for a ride out to Gimli for the day. We took the dog too, and in the back-seat Nana and Suzie were great companions, taking turns napping. The day was beautiful and sunny and the scenery was (to say the least) stunning. Lucky shall be the person or persons able to camp near that bustling mecca of delight next summer. Oh my goodness, it could be...nay will be Us! We shall park our 'Land Yacht', our ' Conestoga Wagon of the 21st Century', our, 'luxurious pop-up, fold down, Viking camper-of-the-year, at the Gimli campground and recreation complex, next summer. Can't hardly wait..........

It is unseasonably cold. But, warmer weather will prevail today and tomorrow...streaking up to at least ZERO!...Woo-hoo.
Yesterday Catherine and I attended a dinner meeting of the Manitoba Humanist Association

The meal was not too great but the price was reasonable. The table talk was good as we sat with the future president Barrie Webster and his wife Phyllis and a white-bearded long-haired 'Winocerous' by the name of Barry hammond. We were also joined at the table by the evenings speaker, Leslie Hughes. Leslie is a famous, local, free-lance current affairs writer. After Leslie's speech she opened the floor to questions. She fielded questions on journalism, spirituality, and gossiped about media people that she knew. She is a great story teller, and very intelligent too.
The association showed it's intelligence by electing me a 'large member'...er, a 'member-at-large'. I get to sit on the executive and go to more meetings. Wonderful thing, that...you get to make decisions that nobody else wants. Oh well, here we go.
We were gone for about six hours and the dog was patiently waiting at the door was soon as we got home. She must have peed for a solid two minutes. Here is a wee joke before I go:
Murphy's Laws of Computing:
-When computing, whatever happens, behave as though you meant it to happen.

-When you get to the point where you really understand your computer, it's probably obsolete.

-The first place to look for information is in the section of the manual where you least expect to find it.

-When the going gets tough, upgrade.

-For every action, there is an equal and opposite malfunction.

-He who laughs last probably made a back-up.

-A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

-The number one cause of computer problems is computer solutions.

-A computer program will always do what you tell it to do, but rarely what you want to do.

It's cool outside approx/ -5deg c. but warm in our hearts!
We took all of Nana's flowers over to her place. By the way she wanted to say thanks again to all who sent her flowers, she says that it was a real "pick me up". We also took over some groceries, since she was away from home for 2 weeks ( and I threw out her milk, etc.). We made periodic visits to her place whilst she was here in order to feed Oscar the fish and pick up the mail. Mother said that last night she went downstairs (at the manor) to play cards and she was getting hugs from everyone,as they were so glad to see her. The sad truth is that when most of the older ladies have to go to the hospital for an extended period, they do not come back. They either graduate to a nursing home or, well, they just don't come back. The manager at the manor is having Mom's meals delivered to her door, so she doesn't have to go to the dining-room. The girl who cleans her palatial suite comes Saturday morning and the woman who gives Mom a bath was there this afternoon. Mom is really doing well at the manor and has lots of friends there and HELLO, HELLO, she is not ready for a nursing home yet! I figure that if she has her wits about her and is in as good health (as good as possible for 85) she should stay there. She will talk once in a while of wanting to go to a nursing home but I know she will not be happy there....not yet anyway.
After we dropped off the stuff at Nana's, we went to the Museum of Man & Nature. This is a fabulous museum, placed in the very heart of downtown metropolitan Winnipeg, serving Winnipeg and its environs for over 25 years. It truly is a "must see" for every traveller, from the nubie tourist to the veteran wanderer. They have woderful dioramas from "Buffalo hunting" to "urban galleries" to "The Non-such" to the newest gallery...."The Grasslands". From there we travelled down the picturesque Water street across the new bridge to the French Quarter and onto a woderful little parkway called St. Mary's Road.......and back to our little house on the prairie........the vast wonderful prairie where.....well you get the picture......we went to the museum and then came home.
the dog was here...we went for a workout...Catherine went for her Hip-Hop class...we ate...watched TV for a while....we went to bed ...after we let the dog out.
Yawn, ....good-night

Here it is Thursday already.
Mother had a good rest last night and the night before so she says that she is ready to go back to the manor. She seems a lot better and more relaxed now. It has been two weeks since the ordeal began. Seems like a blur. "Alls well that ends well"...didn't Pogo say that? She'll be glad to get back with her friends.
Catherine recieved her "COMEAU 2004" t-shirt yesterday. The Acadian celebrations begin in August next year. And we shall be there. Not sure how we are going to go yet... probably camp...I wonder if there is a Wal-mart.....? Anyhow, Catherine is really looking forward to it.
well, time to get Nana home........later.

Last night Mom slept throughout the whole night. She took a tylenol3 before she went to bed.....just in case. I think the anxiety of having the pace-maker was making her more upset than anything and this may have been contributing to the pain?...or at least making it seem more real. Anyhow she seems to be happier today and adjusting to the new situation better. I think we did the right thing by taking her back to the emergency at Victoria hospital because this made her feel like she had lots of support....we could tell her that she would be supported but this made it more believable to her. Does that make sense? Even though she never said that she was worried about it ....she was. Funny Mommy.
Today, she wanted to get her hair done but worried that it was too soon to be oot and aboot. We convinced her otherwise and I cranked up the power to her bionic unit and we jogged over to the hairdressers on St. Annes Road......well, we actually drove over there...but the thing is that she went and everything was OKAY. Catherine and I went shopping to the Super-duper store while Mom was gittin' rinsed and dried. Later, Catherine and I are goin' to the Workout centre and we R gonna work it out, Baby!
Got an e-mail from Brother Jackson, who says he bin busy with recruitin' students for his faculty. He sent Mom a get-well card featurin' the Brooder Brothers...cute. He also thanked us for doin' what we do for Mom...nice to hear...nice to be appreciated.
Anywho.....until tomorrow, then.

Well, Mom is back at our place. She spent the night in the hospital. She had pain a few times during the night and as a result slept fitfully. This morning she was seen by the cardiologist. He ran blood tests, x-rays and examined her. To our relief he found that all was well with her heart and, by the look of it, her pace-maker too. The only thing they could come up with was possilbe heartburn. Anxiety & worry about the pace-maker could also have been a factor. While we were there a nurse came and talked to us/her and explained the whole thing and answered all of our questions...even the dumb ones. Like does kumadin and a pace-maker work at cross purposes in the body? NO. Will she be allowed to stop kumadin? No, she will be taking it for the rest of her life? Should she be elevated when she is lying down? Yes, that would help. Are you sure that the pace-maker is working properly? YES. Can she play the piano now? Yes. Could she play the piano before? No. Will her fish (Oscar) live through this ordeal?...is a duck's ass watertight? Yes. All those questions.....and Yes, little girl there is a Virginia....I know because Gary & Carol are in it. ( Oh yeah, and Chuffer too!)
We also went to Mom's apartment and threw out the fish and fed the milk. We also spread the word that Mom is back fro the hospital again and with a little luck she will be back playing cribbage with them before too long. We are being selfish and want to keep her here and keep an eye on her until she is alllllllll better.
jusqu'à demain

update: Mom is going to have to spend the might in the hospital. The blood tests were inconclusive. They got in touch with the doctor that did the pace-maker and he said to keep her in overnight. She will be seen by the cardiologist on Monday.

Well, we took Mom back to Victoria hospital. She has been having heart pains at night. Mom said that the pain is rather severe and happens after she goes to bed. The pains are sharp and she took tylenol and a couple of puffs of nitro and the pain subsided. The pains occured 5 or 6 times in the night. During the day she is quite fine. The doctor in emergency says that it may be just angina pains but they are doing some blood tests to investigate further. We are still waiting on the results of those tests and will advise further when we have them. She had pains on Friday night but they were not as severe as Saturday night. She may be having too stay in the hospital again for a few days, we don't know yet.
When I first took her to the hospital on Friday, she only talked to me and to the doctors of feeling weak...and it is true that her heart rate was fluctuating between 35 and 65, but she never told the doctors of any sharp pains in her chest. Now she says that she was having sharp pains before too! I don't know, maybe she was thinking that when she went into the hospital in Feb 2001, they told her that she may need a pace-maker and maybe she thought that that was the panacea to her problems. Or, maybe her heart is having a problem adjusting to the pace? The pace-maker is set such that it kicks in when her heart rate goes below 60.
I was so elated when she came home Friday and this is a bit of a set back. I feel a kind of desperation now. More...when we know...