Day 280 - The Jameses Leave. :o(

Wah. Boo. I'm sad! I didn't want the Jameses to go. I kept hoping they'd decide to stay another day. But, sadly, they had to make there way to BC today. We had a simple breakfast & they were off on their way. Sniff, sniff...


My spirits were rejuvenated from the wonderful visit, but my body was telling me another story. The 0500 bone pain was leaving me feeling like an 80 year old! I had to do my 2nd shot at noon again today & I took another Tylenol right after & did my best to chill out for the afternoon. 


Of course, this was after I helped Mom unload 45 boxes of day planners out of the back of her truck! Minor detail! Good thing we did, as shortly after the rain started pouring down! I decided right then it would be a great day to laze on the couch & watch a movie. I watched It's Complicated, which was quite complicated! It was al-right. I certainly wouldn't zip out & pay to rent it, but it was cute. Both dogs cuddled with me on the couch while the movie played. 


When it was over, I decided to go to bed. At 1900! My earliest yet, I think! Okay, so I laid in bed for a few hours & chatted with my dear friend, Sarah. We hadn't had a long visit for a LONG time, so we were well overdue! She is such a clever girl! Whatever I need to learn more about, I can call Sarah. She is a wealth of information! Perhaps her most exciting information is her upcoming wedding! She's getting married this coming April & I am tickled pink for her! She has her fingers in many pies, but one of her creations is the Vancouver Artists Collective. If you're in the area, check it out!


After I finished chatting with Sarah, I read a few pages in my current book & then it was lights out! Okay, so I only fell asleep around midnight, but hey, even that's early for me! 


See you tomorrow!
xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

The sunrise at 0500 when bone pain kicks in.

The girls & I watching It's Complicated. 

Day 279 - The Jameses Arrive!

Wheeeeee! I haven't been this excited to see somebody in, well, I can't remember when!!!! The Jameses arrived around 1300 & they were as handsome as ever! I was giddy to have them here! Finally!!! I hadn't seen them for 53 weeks! It's about time!


Big James & I worked on a few ships together & spent my best & 2nd last contract sailing around Europe. He is one-in-a-million & I am so happy that he has found his one-in-a-million to spend the rest of his days with! Little James is an incredible Dancer & actually calls Grand Prairie home! He is one of those people that you feel like you've known them forever from the first time you meet them. 


Additionally, Big James' Dad, who is also named James (!), was the Pastor at our wedding in South Africa! I met Jim when he turned 60 & visited his son on the ship for our Egypt cruise. I know where Big James gets his wonderful personality & kind heartedness from! 


The Jameses are on the next leg of their honeymoon, as they just got married in Vancouver! I'm very happy that they will be in Canada more often - hopefully we'll have more get togethers! 


We visited for a bit in the house & then I took them down to Elbow Falls & Forget-Me-Not Pond. The weather was stunning, so it was great for taking a few snaps & showing off the beauty of Eastern Kananaskis. We sat on one of the benches at Forget-Me-Not & caught up on all the happenings in their life for the past year or so. 


One of my favourite things about working on ships is meeting up with people you are never quite sure exactly when you will see them again. It makes the times extra special. They have no idea what their stay means to me! Truly 2 of my most cherished friends. 


After our visit to the tourist attractions, we headed for town. I was treating them to ice cream. Of course, our drive to down was rather wet & cold! It hailed half way & POURED rain the other half of the drive! They were quite excited to see the ice cream choices & I'm pleased to say we all enjoyed a scoop of chocolate peanut butter, among other flavours. Big James is enjoying the truly Canadian flavour of Tiger. :o) Btw, if you're in Bragg Creek, the little ice cream shop on Whyte Ave gives the biggest & best scoops in town! 


We headed home to find Mom whipping up a storm for dinner. We were barbecuing some big ol' steaks, corn on the cob, greek salad, pear & blue cheese salad, mint potatoes, and of course, baked brie with pecans for an appetizer. Oooh & blueberry crisp for dessert! It was a feast! 


The Jameses & I walked down to the barn before dinner to bring the truck back, but as we were driving back, Jim (also a James & owner of the ranch) asked us to give him a hand with some panels to stop the cattle from the park crawling through the fence. We drove out to the field & loaded up the panels. Oh my word. The mosquitos are out in FULL FORCE! I haven't seen them this bad for a VERY LONG TIME! We were all swinging & swatting & itching like crazy! I think I had about 12 new bites in a matter of a few minutes! They are thirsty little critters! UGH! We were moving as quickly as we could! Jim commented on finding a dead calf the other day. I asked him what happened to the calf. Jim replied, 'He stopped living.' He's a funny guy for 86 years of age! I also admired his bailer twine suspenders! :o) Still practical after all these years!


We enjoyed a hearty meal & more wonderful visits. I was surprised to hear about Little James' Champion Mutton Buster & Steer Riding past! I guess I thought I was a rarity in working on ships with a 'western' background! I knew something was up when he was so prompt to get the gates & knew which way to swing it! 


They plan to work a while longer on ships, as Big James has recently been made Manager of the Photo Department. I'm so proud of him! It's difficult for the two of them to snag the same ship together, so say a little prayer they both end up on the same ship. I know what it's like to be away from the one you love & it's NOT FUN. 


Today was also my first Neupogen shot. I was feeling a little rusty, as it's been a month or more since all the fertility shots. But, I managed to get it all in my leg & didn't keel over. I took a Tylenol straight away to keep any bone pain at bay. I didn't feel anything until about 0500 the next morning. I felt like I'd been riding a Clydesdale all day. My hips & lower back ached like crazy! UGH. I hope it passes soon!


Anyhow, what a great day. I can't sing the Jameses praises enough... I love them to bits & can't wait until our next visit... Travel safe & enjoy what's left of you holidays... Sending you love & hugs...


OH! I forgot to mention... Big James' little brother is a professional Wrestler - Leo Kruger. He's just started in the US, but next season he'll be on the reality tv show, NXT. If you're into that scene, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for him!


Maria & Valentina
xxxxxxx

There were a bunch of artists painting at the falls today.

Always time for a touristy pic!

A James Sandwich

Forget-Me-Not Pond with Nihahi Ridge in the background. Apparently it's the ridge that Christopher Reeves flies over in Superman.

Forget-Me-Not's famous reflections

I'm so happy you guys made it here!

Uh-oh! Storm clouds are coming!

Oceana gets a lift!

Shufly & the Jameses.

The old truck in evening light.

Day 278 - Something to blog about...

So yesterday I was pretty much out of words, which is rare for me. I can talk about pretty much anything... (Guess I should dig out my Table Topics to play by myself!) But last night, I was empty. Little did I know that I would have such crazy dreams... I could give Tim Burton (not Tim Horton) a run for his money when in comes to creativity. If I could only control this creativity, I'm sure I could find a way to use it to my advantage. Before I tell you about the dream, don't get excited, it's nothing big, just crazy, I will reassure you that I am NOT on any drugs at the moment. I've always had lucid dreams for whatever reason. Additionally, they tend to jump from scene to scene, so it may be a little confusing to follow.


Okay, so the first part I can recollect was the 'High School Reunion' scene. I was back in Maple Creek & all the kids from school were there. We were chilling out in the pool & socializing - catching up on 13 (!!!!) years of life. Pretty much every girl I went to school with was expecting twins! Yup, Bree, Jolene, Tammy... Way too many twins!!! Jump to the next scene - still at the reunion - we're going into the gym for some ceremony or something. I'm wearing my afro wig & there's Clay - a little tipsy (some things don't change!) & he says, 'WOW! Great afro! Can I try it on?' and before I can stop him (or anyone else for that matter), he rips the wig off my head, exposing my very bald noggin. There was a simultaneous 'GASP!' moment as he realized what he'd done & felt foolish. 


Skip to the next scene - I'm on the ship traveling with Jaco & he has 'hired' me to help him in the office for a few hours a night to give the Nurses a bit of a break. I help from 6-8 each night. Only tonight I was late & the Nurse I was to be relieving was a bit upset! I ran down with my dinner plate in hand & settled in to doing, well, nothing really! I just chatted with whoever was there. Can't remember names or faces. 


Skip to the next scene - I'm visiting with a bunch of ladies - Granny, Mom, Mom2, & Dad's girlfriend. We don't really get along (in real life) & in my dream, I went off on her! I started yelling & screaming all the reasons why we don't get along & in the end, we hugged & everything was fine. Then Granny was getting a back massage from one of the other gals. 


Skip to the next scene - I'm at home in Maple Creek & these 'bad guys' have put up a three story house in the horse pasture (close to the house). They have a fire in their lower level, unbeknownst to them, & it's dry & windy. I'm worried the fire will spread & start our house on fire. I want to put it out, but myself & ???? (one other friend) only have 2 ice cream buckets! We sneak over to the fence corner, but they have snipers out on each corner of the balcony. We can't yell, because they'll hear just a noise & shoot us. We can't approach the house either, they'll shoot us! Oh the drama! 


Skip to the next scene - my Mom, Unka Jer, my brother & I are riding horses. We're galloping through a hilly pasture when Mom does a hard stop on Shufly. He slides nice. Mom says, 'Hey! Did you see that!? Pretty nice!' Jeff says, 'Oh yeah? Watch this!' He kicks his horse into a gallop & just as they reach top speed, he rides through a snow bank that is melting. His horse sinks straight into it & falls over. The horse breaks his leg & when he gets up, his entire back end is paralyzed. The bones from one leg came right out, so it's just the hide. The other leg is snapped in half. Jeff says, 'Oh well, guess that's the end of him.' I freak out & say, 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN? You just took his life! You ruined him! He will never experience life! He's done!' I was very upset. About this time I also realized that Jeff's horse looked more like an elk than a horse.


This is all I can remember for the time being. Perhaps this is why I'm so tired all the time! It's not chemo, it's just crazy dreams!!!


As for the actual day, I really didn't do too much. I visited Nathan & Shauna at EVIC, chatted with a few girlfriends, missed my husband (both on the phone & in my heart), and cleaned the house. I've decided I don't like clotheslines. I love the way bedding smells when it's been on the line, but as for drying clothes... I know, it's green. BUT! I hang up one load & it takes all day to dry. We don't have a big enough line, nor enough clothespins. Half of my clothes fall on the ground every time a breeze comes along, so they end up dirty & still wet by the end of the day! Argh! NO MORE CLOTHESLINES!!!!


I prepared the house for the Jameses arrival tomorrow. I'm so excited to see them!!! It's been a year & I can't wait to hear how they've been! And they just got married, so I'm happy for their hearts as well!!! 


I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, tidied, reorganized & gosh darn it... I'm beat! Thank goodness I didn't have to cook! I think I'll need Culinary Bootcamp before Jaco & I go too much further!!! 


Lastly... I'm super excited for Step Up 3D to come out in a week (yes, I'm 31 & I STILL love the cheesy teen dance flicks) & even MORE excited for EAT, PRAY, LOVE to come out!!! If you haven't read the book, DO IT!!!!!! I can't wait to see Julia Roberts! I haven't had a repeat theatre experience since Titanic... I could be due! :o)


Have a great night & see you tomorra!
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxx

Do you think she's trying to tell me she wants to go camping?

Mom asked me to help with dishes, but I was busy, so she asked Oceana instead.

Mom & her 'other kids'

Oceana hitches a ride to the house.