What's happening in YOUR neck of the woods-chat with friends

Susan no fish in the Kananaskis.

These rafts are huge flotation rafts that hold about 8-10 people- you sit on the edge of the raft not in the middle ( which is partly why some people end up in the river!) We were outfitted in wetsuits, boots,life vests helmets and paddles. Lots of lessons on how to paddle etc plus what to do if you end up in the water! We were about 2 1/2 hours on the river. The first section had lots of white water, exciting drops where the river goes over rocks making 15-20 foot drops etc. Then a quieter section where there were lots of waves and a kayak slalom course and then the last 45 minutes a quiet float along the river as it flows down to meet the Bow. There was one spot where they tied up the boats and if you wanted ( I did not) you could 'swim' a section of the river- the guides launched people into the water in a sitting position and you ride down the waves for a short stretch until the 2nd guide tells you to swim and pulls you over. The water temp was 4 degrees and the weather was sunny with some clouds so just right.
No pictures- they do take pictures from shore all along the white water stretch but they just load them on a CD and charge $25 and I was not about to pay that for pics I mostly did not want.

Good fun- one of the 'safer' trips they do. There are a number of companies who do this type of rafting mainly on this stretch of the river.

If you go to this link: http://www.insideoutexperience.com/ there is a short video which has some shots along the river.

Rascal update: Last evening Nancy ( foster mom) called to say he was continuing to show improvement, was eating very small amounts ( first time since Tuesday) and getting up and walking down the steps to the grass to pee. Shaky and sleeping a lot in between of course but that is not surprising - he was very sick!

This message was edited Aug 13, 2011 6:31 AM

Carol, you are a brave woman to try rafting...not sure I would! It's amazing what these places charge for photo's..usually when the kids are with me they want the photo's and how can you say 'no' but when on my own I do nit purchase them.

I'll say Rascal was ill , amazing how he's fighting, no wonder he is sleeping away most of the day, re-energizing!

"M". Do hope the sitting up and sleeping method worked..can't imagine being in so much pain. Must change your daily routine not being able to do much, thank goodness for Lorna being there..Dull kind of day, at least it's not humid, feel I should have a weekend of rest, but you know me, impossible to do..

Did the floors on main floor, took out some scatter rugs for washing..yikes, smells like dog..reminded me why I like the mats I do with linoleum so just might make one for my bedroom, could use it until Sailor is finished shedding and pulling out her hair...how I hate hair all over the place, I would say I sweep at least 4 time as day...next year if the old girl is still with me, having her shaved off.

No call from mom, hate the thoughts of calling her just incase news on Rocky not the best.

What are you all up to?

How could you resist this?

Garage sale house behind me, former owners are moving back in, parents living in basement suite, parents getting rid of stuff that has been in storage several years!

Do I need this? Of course not.
Do I have anyplace to store them? Well down in the basement!
What do I want them for? I see this set as part of Xmas decorations each small bowl filled with a different colored Xmas ball! Can also be used for candy,small cookies, triffle( never made that yet!), salad bowls.

Besides. $1 for big bowl, $0.50 each for 4 small bowls and when she found the other 3 she just gave them to me!

WOW .. quite the find Carol, and, you're so right about filling it with TRIFFLE maybe even Tiramisu ... the ideas are endless .. as long as it's colourful AND decadent, you can't go wrong!

Warm day here loads of sun .. sat out and enjoyed it til just around supper, that's when I realized how EARLY those long shadows were coming to the lawn in the back yard ...

Betty, any word from your Mom ?
Carol, good news re Rascal, but I know he's not out of the woods yet. Thoughts with him and his fosterers.

Best get a shuffle on

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone ^_^

~M~

Adding a Hibiscus pic I kinda 'played with' to enrich the colour .. gotta luv computers !

Well, if you didn't want them I'd have bought them and asked myself same questions...nice find! Haven't been to one garage sale this year, must have been busy.

Got a call from a B &B asking if I had a room for 4 days. House always kept nice and meet just incase..seeing I have a rad to replace this week I thought there is half the $$$ that was until I said I had 2 cats and a dog...I sweep so often I tire myself out so no hair floating and rooms are pretty though small...but, a no because of the animals....oh well!

Gorgeous "M". Was out edging gardens awhile ago, could feel drops so decided to call it a night, see that it may have stopped so might keep edging!

Sounds like everyone is busy with things to do around the country. We had a super day here and it finally feels like summer.
Good to hear that Rascal seems on the mend and is at a home to rest. Carol you are much braver than I , the rafting trip sounds very exciting.
M I do wish you could get that shoulder fixed. Constant pain sure will shorten your patience bone a whole bunch. I will keep my fingers crossed for a good sleep as that will help for sure.
All you girls with the Hibiscus's , here is my "parrot lily", I think that is what it's called.

WOW !! Simply breath taking Ann .. beautiful colours ..
Good to hear your weather has turned for the better.

Going along with this physio regimen, am finding the home exercises a bit much, but the whole idea of doing them is to strengthen the muscles in the area so I have better support .. but ... surgery HAS crossed my mind more than once this weekend .. but .. as mentioned before ... "I am a WUSS"!

Off to sleep I go, I hope !

~M~

Yikes Carol - didn't realize it was whitewater rafting! You're much braver than I!!!
Bob & I are going to Allen Bill Pond again tomorrow, and as it's a nice quiet pond (albeit a large one for rafting and fishing at the same time) we're finally going to "wet the head" of our inflatable!
We got a brook trout (should have been 2, but Bob didn't bag the 2nd one and it flopped back into the water). We met some people there who gave us 3 of theirs - they were catching them every 5 min or less! No sooner would they put their line in the water than they were catching one! The whole large family was doing that. They were using shrimp as bait! Told us we were using too large a hook, so we got 1/2 size smaller ones we'll use tomorrow (along with the shrimp!). We're going after church, so it will still be too hot to fish, so we'll have a picnic and use the dinghy until it cools off, then fish. Bob will have to gut these - I don't mind catching or cooking, but he has to do Something besides catch lol
When we get home tomorrow, I want to wrap these in foil and put them on the BBQ - won't take much, cuz they're only 2-3 lbs! but hope I can do them justice!
Even though the fishing spot is only 1 hour from home, we didn't get home until 10pm, so had pizza for supper lol

good night, wussy Marilyn LOL (that's the one & only time I'd call you that, y'know!!!)

Morning..up off and on all night so this morning/afternoon I'm playing at being lazy..lol

Feels as though it will start raining any time so don't want to just start a project and have to stop. Have to go grocery shopping ..if it weren't for dog/cat food I'd stay home! But, critters need to be fed.

Hahaha ... Susan you can call me 'WUSS' any old time .. cuz, I am ! Am not a big fan of having something wrong with ME .. will do anything and everything for someone else who is in discomfort, but when it's me .. I tend to roll over and go to sleep!!

Hope you got the critters their food Betty .. I see we're going to have to get busy making Lilly and Pipers this week coming ..

Lorna's birthday on Wednesday .. don't have to cook .. going out for dinner
Physio Mon, Tues and Thurs, ultra sound Wed, SUV gets a window tint on Friday .. I think next weekend I should be ready for REST !!! Course .. with the 'SMART METER' I tend to do ALL my laundry on Sat and Sunday now.

Hope everyone has a good upcoming week !!

~M~

Must say even though you are unwell you still keep pretty busy! Do you make your own dog food? Nice to make Lorna's birthday a special event then add in not having to cook, special day all around!

Yes, did get the food, even got all the mixings to make spaghetti sauce. Made it without burning and now in the freezer, saved just enough for me to have dinner to or row,. Am having company from dg a week Monday ( 4 or 5 days) so that will be one day of cooking done!

Sore back today so have been on the couch for all but a few hours, hope pain gone tomorrow. Likely why I didn't sleep much last night.

Still no rain but sky is so heavy.

Sore from being outside in the sun all day
Got into the dinghy, but sure I won't be doing it again..... too awkward and no enough room for more than either Bob or I. Not meant for 2 fully grown adults (and one being 6'3"!)
Here's Bob
We didn't get any fish today......

Drats this not sleeping all night is for the dogs, nope, Sailor sleeping soundly beside my bed..makes for long nights.

Susan, lovely photo, glad you enjoyed the day!

WHOA Susan .. that IS a small Dinghy !! I would have been some worried it'd tip!!

Betty .. welcome to to the world of 'BATS and OWLS' !!! NO, it is awful being up when you;d much rather be asleep .. it's so difficult to be in a good mood the following day. I find I tend to push myself just so I don't have much 'LAG TIME' which would make me want to lay down and sleep! Some days though, I lose that battle.

We buy a product called 'FreshStart' .. a Kennel here buys the flash frozen packages of food in bulk, and you place your order. We have Bison or chicken for the dogs as well as vegetables. Sometimes we go on a vegetable making spree and grind our own for them. Anyway .. dog food making consists of sectioning off the frozen packets and cutting the meat and veggies into meal sized servings (our dogs eat once a day at 5pm, we do have SOME kibble available if they want it) it's about a 1.5 to 2 hour job depending on how many packets we decide to make .. Gord likes going full bore and doing a month or more .. lets just say .. our big chest freezer in the garage has LOTS of dog food in it !!
Sometimes I grouse over the time (and money) spent, but, one look at the dogs coats and overall condition stops that.

Well .. i have played 6 games of solitaire (won 2) .. think maybe I had best try to get SOME sleep ..

Have a fine day

~M~

Poor Sailor, after what you feed your dogs she gets the bad end os the stick..lordy, takes all my time just to cook for me without burning..kudos to you for taking the time!

Managed to fall back asleep at 4:30 and alarm goes off at 5:30, makes for long day. Paul is back after 2 weeks off so bound to keep me busy.

Best I do check craft room, girls are coming today rather than tomorrow and seeing as I was doing another floor mat and left a mess.

Enjoy your day everyone!

I don't have a dog, but I was given this recipe by a DG friend, and can't remember who - maybe you, Marilyn? She Wussed out, too lol

"'LIVER BROWNIE BITES'
Preheat your oven to 350
Ingredients:
1 pound of beef liver (.454kg)
2 eggs
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 tbsp of honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
optional pinch of salt

Method:
Cut liver into chunks (I wussed out and wore gloves)
In a food processor (blender), pulse the liver until it's finely chopped. Add the eggs, oil and honey and whizz until blended and close to smooth. Don't worry about getting al the small chunks out. (almost looks like a chocolate shake at this point )

Transfer to a bowl and add the flour and baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined.
Spread the batter in an 8x8 pan that's been sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 25-30 minutes (took mine 27 minutes), until the top is springy to the touch.
If you have a small dog you can bake this in a 9x13 pan for 15-20 minutes. This will make thinner brownies that can be cut into smaller pieces. Cool on a wire rack before cutting.
I stored them in a plastic container in the fridge."

LMBO ... I do liver treats as well Susan .. my recipe is SUPER simple.

Boil the liver til the foam appears .. rinse it off .. place on a cookie sheet .. sprinkle with a 'small' amount of garlic powder .. place in a 300 degree oven for about an hour.
Take out .. cool a bit .. and cut into puppy pieces .. simple, and the ONLY 'wuss out is the clothes pin on the nose while the liver boils LoL

Physio was B R U T A L today .. thought it'd be OK .. played with a large beach ball rolling it about on a low table ... worked with some pulleys .. had a massage with a weird wee machine .. and then .. my therapist took my arm and MANIPULATED it .. UGggggggggggggggggggggg ... had shopping to do following physio .. can hardly believe I did it .. came home, walked in the back door .. down the hall and straight to bed .. feel a bit better now .. but .. sore .. and I am back at it tomorrow ...
Fingers crossed this works !!

~M~

Brutal "M"..guess it has to hurt to heal so they say!
My back is killing me, last 2 nights kept waking up, tonight think I'll take pain killers..

Wouldn't do me any good to try and make liver treats, I couldn't even put liver in a pan..yukkkkk

yes, take pain killers, Betty - no point in messing you up with no sleep!!
~M~ I'm with you on the manipulative pain thing!! Here's hoping tomorrow will be easier!

I really like liver ( and onions, french cut green beans and bacon with)! Think I might stop at the store on t he way home ( going to a memorial service) and get some for supper!

Rascal continues to improve slowly.

Sassy on the other hand has lost another pound and also had diarrhea since Saturday so into the vet this morning.Dont know why, AB for 10 days, check a fecal sample and use gastro-intestinal food( which I happen to have) She has been going crazy with a thunder storm and just now was running in circles but it is just more diarrhea so out into the rain until I leave. Poor girl, I have had to wash her bum every day and she hates that!

poor Sassy! How embarassing for the poor girl! Could she have caught something from Rascal? Glad to hear Rascal's still improving!

I really like liver & onions! NOW, that is. My dad used to cook it like shoe leather, and that was just plain nasty! Now that I know how to cook it delicately (like the delicate meat it is) It's ever so much better!

The storm kinda took us by surprise. We thought "maybe a little rain" because the weather forcasters were predicting 5-10 cm LOL

ok I'm having a chuckle cause I too like liver. I like it with lemon juice squeeze on the breaded cooked piece. Don't need gravey or bacon. I really don't like the smell when it's cooking but the taste is just fine.
Betty take some pain killers. M I hope your shoulder gets in the game and gives you a rest.

Carol good to hear that Rascal is on the upswing and sorry to hear that Sassy is struggleing.
Alberta Ann

Well I'll be generous and leave the liver for all of you! Why even seeing it makes me I'll have no idea...I'm the gal that eats half the hamburger raw when cooking it, same with sausages, I know, dangerous but love it and love blood pudding, especially when fil used to make it for me..but liver, head cheese and pigs feet...double yuk. Lol

poor Sassy, know what you are going through with the storm, Sailor all but gets I. Your lap, whines big time..let's hope it rolls through quickly!

Can't believe all my
Mangers, now it did rain a bit on Saturday, but'ust have rained everywhere except where planters were, they sure are looking pretty sas.

Made it through another physio session .. and, as incredible as it may sound, i think I might have just a teeny bit more mov't in the left arm!! Course .. i have been to bed, slept 90 minutes and am now up .. if that part of the physiological problem would take off I;d be fer sure doing a 'happy dance'
But, when I lay down .. the nerve impingement increases despite repeated re positioning.
I'm getting kinda good at sleeping sitting up ^_^

Lorna's BDay today .. bought her a BETA fish (Siamese Fighting Fish) a beautiful blue .. and, named 'BLUE 2' .. the original 'Blue' conked out about 3 weeks ago.
Have dinner out planned as well as a few other things.

WE had Tornado warnings in the area last evening, ended up being one clap of thunder and about half an hours rain .. works for me (and the gardens)

Getting sleepy eyed, best shut'er down ..

Ciao

~M~

Glad your physio went well, Marilyn!
Happy Birthday, Lorna!!!!! I have a blue Beta too - named Sebastian! lol

Lorna thanks ya for the BDay wishes :-) And, Blue 2 sways a tail at Sebastian !!
I 'think' Blue 2' is the youngest Beta we have had .. I hope so because Blue 1 only lasted maybe 8 months, and his predecessor 'Red' (dontcha love the clever names) lasted a year ..

Looks to be another gorgeous day in TBay ^_^

Enjoy wherever you are

~M~

+Well I found the liver yesterday)had to go to 2 stores) and got the onion and the bacon but my hunt for french green beans was fruitless! And in any case I had a strange 'off' day ( lay down and slept for 2 hours in the morning after the routine things were done) so I did not want to cook much. Liver tonight!

Rascal continues to improve.
Sassy has finally had a night without diarrhea and her stool this morning was soft but not liquid so I guess she is on the mend.

The service I went to on Monday was for a lady I trained and worked with for 20 years. She was only 57- breast cancer last year, all treatments fine and then 3 months later came back with a vengeance- all through and over her body. I did not know until after she died, felt bad we had not been in touch past 2-3 years. Lots of colleagues there, many not seen for a long time so it was nice to have a chat.

Marilyn I do hope the physio will help you. And do not ignore the possibility of surgery. Living with chronic pain is so debillitating.

Afternoon, sunshine here as well, almost like a fall day, how I wish I was home, so much I could be doing than just sitting here but back giving me the what for..think phsyiatic nerve (?).
Worked from home yesterday as I got a new rad put into my vehicle, now I'm looking at options for timing belt..might as well save myself a lot of trouble and fix before it lets me down! Yikes, calling for $850..as it's preventive maintenance you got to wonder what you should do??

Happy Birthday Lorna..ohh those beta fish arrangements are so lovely. No can have with my kitties! "M" I'm with Carol, think at some point you will have to consider operation. No fun living as you are doing.

Carol, nice seeing old friends but certainly not under the circumstances..young woman..one of the ladies that paint with me has a daughter mid 40's had cancer and beat it for 3 years, now it's back with a vengence, presently in the hospital and not looking good. so wish they would find a cure..surely if they can go to the moon and when considering all other spectacular achievements that have been made they can find a cure!!! They were saying on the news that they are working on a method of taking cells from an individual, doing some changes and adding them back and so far it's been killing cancerous cells.. wouldn't that be something! Not so sure it will happen in my day though.

Beans sound yummy, mouth watering, roast with all fresh veggies might be in order on the weekend.

Carol - so glad to hear Rascal's continuing to do well, and that Sassy looks better too! yay!
57? That's my age....... yikes! It's too young for her to have gone so quickly. I only hope she was able to say "goodbye" to all her family/friends.
French green beans - saw them yesterday at Freshcos on 5th Ave NE - near 28th St. It's a Veggie/Fruit Wholesale place - a small greek grocery store in a strip mall. I just went there for the first time yesterday and bought 11 lbs of very ripe tomatoes for $6!

Carol
I agree with Susan, 57 is too soon. I will let my friend in the business know , she may have know this lady too.
My sympathies to you.
Happy to hear that Rascal is doing better and that Sassy is getting more comfortable. Must be easier for you too!
Yum Liver.
"M" Living with constant pain removes many moments of joy, I'm casting a spell to make you better! Shazzammm!!!. ......did it work?
Betty vehicles can be expensive, its a gamble to fix or replace, tough choice.
We are into cooler weather here, some yellow leaves are falling, Slugs are out in full force so off I go to hunt them,
Alberta Ann

Yikes, Ann - falling leaves already? I know we're sometimes going down to 8c during the night, but still get high ones in the daytime (what am I saying..... that's Calgary anytime!!)
Slugs? yuck!
~M~ did her spell work, huh? huh? huh? .......

Alberta Ann .. thank you for the 'SHAZAMmmmmmmmmm :-) I sort of felt a bit of relief, but, am now up after having just 90 minutes sleep ..
Had mt ultra sound today .. quick procedure .. looked at what was being scanned and thought it looked curious .. tech said it basically was showing soft tissue and tendons and muscle .. she didn't say much more than that though.
The 'report' will be at the physio clinic and my docs office next week.

Birthday dinner was good, usually I say GREAT, but, for some reason things were just not as good as in previous visits to this particular Chinese restaurant. Found the food a bit too greasy for my lining, and not that piping hot .. however, we still all enjoyed it.
Lorna is in 7th heaven as she has a new Echo gas trimmer with a pruning attachment .. she plans to prune several of the fruit trees as well as shrubs ... her upper body strength is a force to be reckoned with I gotta tell ya. She prunes and trims from her riding mower .. where there's a will, there's a way !!

Physio again in the morning, then none til next week again (3x) .. had to give my head a shake when the receptionist asked me re appts in SEPTEMBER .. it was like 'OH MY, September already'!
Then I realized how many fall fairs are happening in the area .. local corn is just coming online as well this weekend.
Like your area Betty, our nights dip down, but our days see temps in the high 20s and low 30s still.

Best get comfortable .. looks like I'll be sitting up to sleep for the next couple of hours. Have a dog on either side of me for company though, always makes me feel better ^_^

TTFN

~M~

~M~ Glad you got some relief.....
Well, at least the B-Day dinner wasn't BAD!
Was the Echo trimmer a b-day pressie for Lorna? So happy she's continuing gardening - I know it's a love of hers!!
Yes, SEPTEMBER is coming....... 8c during the night, but only back to 17c during some days. It's going to be 28c next Monday, but in the meantime only 18c tomorrow.
Sure wish you could get some sleep Marilyn - however, you DO have company, so that's nice, eh?

Morning all, fall is in the air..are any of you pleased?

I have DG friend Barb and her hubby coming for the week, willl be arriving on Monday, feel badly that my gardens are as flowerful as June/July...a lot of phlox though..was thinking of going to $$$ store and buying plastic ones and setting them in the garden for a laugh!!!

"M" we could have been chatting all night, sorry you aren't getting much sleep..I've been up due to severe back pain..sitting here wondering how I'll make it through today..should have brought pain meds in!

Ohhh goodness, women and their tools, I also would have been thrilled to receive such a birthday present! Thank goodness she can still do what she loves...sorry the meal wasn't the best, but, you didn't have to cook!!!

Sorry to hear your back is doing so poorly, Betty - sounds like you're at the office?

Yesssssssss - women and their tools! My dad was a "toolman" and I got my love of tools from him - he was a plumber, too! s'funny though - I prefer hand tools, and I married a Power Tool Man! One that needs 3 of everything (or 4...) One for him, and a spare, one for house, and a spare AND if he has someone working with him, That Person has to have one, too (use Bob's spare if needed) LOL

you know me, LOVE my tools

men in he neighborhood borrow from me!!! lol

LOL and men, where I worked last, used to come to me for tools, too - even the Maintenance Men lol

Suffice to say, Lorna will likely be a hurtin unit in the morning!!!
She was out pruning the shrubs and trees with her 'new toys' today .. WOW .. our 2 Cedars never looked so good, as do the Lilacs and Spirea and apple trees .. whooda thought that she would ever be able to do what she is doing with a leg missing !? I sometimes have to bite my tongue as I hold my breath so that I don't tell her 'NO NO NO do NOT do that'!! She knows her limitations and is seldom out of eye shot and always carries her cell phone ..
ME .. well .. tools boggle my mind, heavy and smelly and dangerous LoL I kinda go for pots and pans and wooden spoons ^_^

Gorgeous day here .. so much sun this summer .. rain would be nice ..

Take the SUV in for a window tint tomorrow .. takes 5 hours ... my last vehicle came with tinted windows, I got used to the benefits of that option !

Betty, good luck with you DG company .. and I think you should go with the plastic flowers :-)

Toodles

~M~