Ooh la la

Recognize this trio?




Yes, that's moi on the left, Debbie in the middle, and Cheryl on the right. The three of us go waaay back. And as far back as we go, we've been talking about doing this together. (Except without the crappy photoshop stuff.)




Every time we get together, which isn't nearly often enough given our geographical differences, we talk endlessly about our trip to France...(insert heavy sigh here)
We toss the idea around and around until it fizzles out in a mire of logistical obstructions, and we have to reluctantly put it back in the box for safekeeping until the next time.

But the stars and the planets have finally aligned favourably! This is the year we make it happen!

I'm still a little in shock to tell the truth, it hasn't quite sunk in yet. We're going to France! Woohoo!




I just have to memorize this phrase book, and lose 25 lbs, so I can order and enjoy the croissants and the cheeses. Oh, and the crepes, and the sauces, and the tarts, and...
Oops, drooling a bit here.


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Bowness Park :(

I'd been looking forward to today's outing all week. We were going to Bowness Park for the first time in Donkeys years. Well, for me, anyway. Dan finds himself there for work occasionally, but I probably haven't been there in more than 20 years.
Dan said that they were doing a lot of work on it last year, so he was interested to see what was new.
Looks to me like the only thing they did last year was to erect miles and miles of that blue temporary fencing.




Not much to see except construction equipment,




and signs telling us to keep out. At least they're polite about it.




We wandered along the path by the lagoon, which was quite pretty.




After a week of rain everything is SO green!




And what isn't green is very yellow!




Of course, it would've been a lot nicer if there was actually water in the lagoon...that must happen later in the season.




On the river side of the park, we watched some canoes set off for a paddle, and the fire department launch a rescue boat. There didn't appear to be any urgency in the process, so I'm guessing it was just a training run.




Taz, of course, is always up for a dip in the water. Nice drool string, eh?








Thanks to my zoomy little camera, we were able to spy on a wedding taking place on the other side of the river. Grainy, but there was a whole park, and a river between us.








So, Bowness Park wasn't one of our better outings. Maybe we'll go back when they finish it.
A few days ago, while searching in the garage for his rain gear, Dan came across a box of old photos. What a hoot!
Me, Cindy, and the Pink Panther at the 1983 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. (That's where Dan & I met.)




Me, Ronnie, and Cindy after a winter balloon flight circa 1982-ish.




My motorbike/coffee table. There's a story...




And of course, the giant pink flamingo. Another good story...
Look how tiny those evergreens are!




" The Spirit" This was Dan & Dave's balloon.




Dan & Dave. Aka Father Guido Sarducci, and Cactus Dave! About a million stories there!




Oh, I've been playing with a great little app - Diptic. Fun!











Did you watch the video? Betcha didn't know that about nuns...
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Crafting on a rainy day

I saw this idea on Pinterest.




And I thought, hey, I have tons of old vases, jars, and craft paint around the house, I should try that.
Well it turns out that some of my vessels were occupied already,




and the rest were too large for the tiny bottles of paint that I have.








In the end, I managed to scrounge up only 2 small vases.
One of the photos on the Pinterest tutorial showed transferring the paint using a syringe, and that gave me the idea that I could use some of my calligraphy ink, because the bottles have a built-in dropper.




Brilliant, right?
If I'd stopped to think it through, (not my style) I would've realized that it was a bad plan, and could've saved myself a LOT of trouble.
The calligraphy inks are transparent pigments, and I wanted the finished products to be opaque.
Also, it's been a long time since I've done any calligraphy, so I'm not used to handling the ink. Turns out that rounded dropper end is a bit awkward to hold, and I'm a bit clumsy...

Yes, it slipped out of my grasp, skittered along the kitchen counter, bounced off the fridge, then off the dishwasher, and landed on the hardwood floor, merrily splashing and spraying permanent, violet ink as it went.

Aaaacckkk!

I didn't stop to take photos.

After I cleaned up the horrific mess, and changed my clothes, (it got me, too) I started again.
Ta daaa!












All in all, not worth the trouble, but we've had a week of non-stop rain, and I was bored.
The sun is shining today though, so I'm off to play in the dirt. Got some clean up to do too. Our patio looks like we're in the middle of a spring snow storm, but it's just the blossoms from the May tree. The rain beat it to crap before we really got to enjoy it this year.




Oh, and lots of rain = wet dog :)




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Visitors from Mexico

I know, I know - it's been a long time between posts. What can I say? I'm a lazy blogger.

Carl & Melody came for a quick visit, and we picked them up at the airport.
It was a rush hour arrival time and the traffic was crazy, so we just made it in the nick of time.



I have very few photos of their visit because we were, well, busy visiting.
The weather forecast was for rain and more rain for the entire time they were here, but we got nary a drop. (Phew!)
They managed to see quite a few old friends, we joined them for an evening of live theatre - ATP's Red.




And we squeezed in as many different ethnic meals as we could. (Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Greek), anything BUT Mexican! We did a bit of thrift store shopping, a lot of chatting, but what we didn't do? I can't believe it, but we didn't have time for a single game of Mexican train :(




Oh well, I guess we have all winter to do that.

Went for a stroll after dinner one evening and played tourist in our own town. I've only seen our controversial 25 million dollar Peace Bridge from a distance, so it was a treat to actually walk across it.




Pretty cool, actually. Maybe not worth 25 big ones, but I do like it.




Dan, Melody, and Carl.







Downtown from the bridge.







Aw, look at the baby tower.




Meanwhile, in the garden...
The May tree is finally blooming.




We eventually got the rain that was supposed to fall during C & M's visit, so everything is looking fresh and green.




The lilacs are almost there...




...but not quite. Just another few days though, and the garden will smell heavenly!




The bird bath has been unusually busy this year. I love watching these guys splash around while I'm eating breakfast.




We had Muñeca, the Mexi-mutt staying with us for the weekend. (Old photo)



It was a pretty nice day on Saturday, so we headed off to explore a different park.
I've never been to Griffith Woods before, and I really wanted to see it.




It's beautiful!




And huge! There's no way I can go there by myself. If I hadn't had "Map Guy" with me, I'd still be wandering around trying to find my way out.
Lots of these pretty little wild flowers. I believe they're bog orchids, but I could be wrong.




Anyway, we walked the dogs' paws off, and had a great afternoon.
Next week, Bowness Park. Apparently there have been a lot of changes in the 20+ years since I was last there.