Day 454 - Dentist, Bank, Luggage, Packing!

Oh my. I’m so far behind I don’t know how I’ll ever catch up. I’m sitting her trying hard to remember what I did on the 20^th of January. The day before I left for West Palm Beach, Florida. Then it hits me!

I had a dental appointment for a cleaning in Black Diamond. I raced over for that. I visited with Lois, my favourite Hygienist, about the past 6 months. Her dog is not doing well. I am very sad for her.

I will see her in a few weeks when I return from Florida. I have to see the Dentist, so I’ll be back into the clinic. My teeth are still very sensitive, despite using special toothpaste for the past 6 months.

I picked up a few boxes of dog food for the girls to last while I’m gone and then headed for Okotoks. I stopped at the TD bank to close my business account & deposit some money. The Teller was so kind. She didn’t ding me for closing the account early. When I had opened it, I was under the impression I would ‘pay as I go’ for transactions, but apparently they were still going to charge me $9/month regardless of my transactions. We started chatting & her Mom had recovered from Breast Cancer last year. She had shaved her head in support of her Mom! That made my day! Shockingly she received a lot of judgment for doing so. She had clients at the bank who refused to be served by her! Some even commented audibly, questioning why the bank would let someone sick work at a bank! The nerve! I tell you!

After the bank, I boogied to the city & picked up my suitcase. It had come back damaged from Cuba & I had it replaced. (Eagle Creek – No Matter What – Best Luggage Ever!) I picked it up & stopped at Mom2’s for a quick visit. I didn’t stay long, as there was still plenty of packing to do! Honestly, I’m amazed at how much stuff is in that room! My goodness!

One more day until I fly away… Wish me luck!

xxxxMaria, Oceana, Valentina & Adios

Adios stretched out

Oceana keeps warm by the Mac

The girls help me pack

Day 217 - Running Around In The Snow

Okay, so last night I fell asleep to the sound of rain. I love to hear the rain & have a nice cool room while I'm snuggled deep under the covers. I have a window right next to the bed, so I opened it up a little bit & listened to the drops come splashing down. 


I woke up to the sound of rain & admired at how green everything looked. I love the miracle of Spring & how quickly things transform. Sadly, my admiration turned to disbelief as I looked out the window a few hours later & saw the rain transforming to SNOW! Ugh! Seriously? Yup.


It snowed all afternoon & through the night. Blah. So not excited about that! Mom & I went to town for the late afternoon & luckily it was only raining in the city. I managed to tick all the things off my list (on my handy iPod!). I picked up my engagement ring, as the stone was loose & luckily it was just a prong & not a chipped stone! Gasp! They polished it up & it looks brand spankin' new! Feels like I'm newly engaged again!! :o) 


I stopped at the bank & the teller was so sweet! We visited about wigs & weaves & she's going to include me in her prayers. How thoughtful! I told her I'm going to come back & show off some of my wigs... :o) I haven't been banking at the TD very long, but they are so friendly! I have yet to have a negative experience there! And they're open late & on Saturdays!!! Is there any question I've found a good bank? Especially after the CIBC omitted a digit on my cheque! Ha ha... That will keep my chuckling for a long time!


Next stop - Chinook. (For those of you reading from overseas, it's actually pronounced 'Shin-ook' (ook as in hook)) (It's a warm dry wind that blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains during winter months.) If you're lucky, it melts MOST of the snow & then refreezes as slippery ice & then it snows again, leaving parking lots & streets a disaster to navigate! One of Calgary's bigger malls is called Chinook Centre. I popped into SportChek to see what kind of stuff they had for the World Cup. It's in South Africa this year & I thought I could find Jaco something with the South African flag on it. All they had was a t-shirt in a hideous shade of yellow. Never mind. Their flag is really pretty...

I was returning a luggage weigh scale that I used once in Mexico & then it broke. The lady wouldn't give me a refund & offered me a credit. I told her I had great luggage & enough handbags & wallets to last a lifetime. (Don't tell Jaco the handbag thing - a gal can NEVER have too many!) :o)  Mom had went to a restaurant to order some supper to go. I left the shop without my refund or credit & also forgot my keys there! I found Mom sitting at Starbucks. The restaurant was closed for renovations! Doh! I realized the keys were missing about now. We walked all the way to the other end of the mall & sure enough, there they were. As we left the shop, Mom pointed out the kiosk outside. They sold wigs. I told Mom, 'Nah, they're not my style & they are fake & they are expensive.' She said, 'No, come here. Look.' She pointed to the name of the kiosk - Oceana. Hah! Imagine that! We made our way back to the car & left the city.


We headed towards Longview. Tonight was Fawna's evening with some spiritual speakers from Australia. Of course we arrived late. I wasn't sure where exactly it was & I phoned Fawna's house to see if her husband was home & could tell us where to go. Her daughter answered the phone & I nearly bust a gut from laughing. Here's a recap of the conversation:
'Hello?'
'Hi, Fawna?'
'No, she's not here.'
'Oh, is your Dad there?'
'No, he's with my Mom.'
'Oh. We're supposed to be going to the event your Mom has arranged this evening, but I'm not sure of the location. Do you know where it is?'
Okay, this is the one that got me. In a totally posh British accent, she says:
'I'm not sure of the specific location of the exact event you are referring to.'
Are you kidding me?? I'm sure she's only about 8 or 10 years old!!! Too funny!


Anyhow, we found the place & of course, we were only 40 minutes late. The couple that were speaking were most talking about the Course In Miracles & how it had changed their life. The wife had just wrote a book & the husband did most of the talking. He was quite entertaining! We finished up about 2230 (!) & then headed home.


Before we left, we let the dogs out for a wee. While they were sniffing around, I hear this REALLY LOUD 'CRACK'! behind me. I turn around to see that someone has just SMASHED into my car!!! Oh no!!!! Poor Contemplate!!! I go over to inspect the damage & sure enough there is a big dent in the back bumper & there were bits of shattered plastic lying on top of the bumper from the license plate area. The trunk was also open. I tried to close it. Nope. Again. Nope. Again. Repeat 60 times. Nope. Oh dear. I know it gives me hassle from time to time, but NEVER this much!!! Finally it closes. The lady gives me her address & phone number & I am to call her with the cost of repairing the damages.


We drive home. It's a freaking blizzard. The slush is lying on the road & splashes up over the car, pulling it all over the road & making visibility zero. Add in the falling snow & the visibility is less than zero. (Negative visibility?) We drove about 60km/h the whole way home. I chatted with Jaco for a large chunk of it.


I just don't think he gets it. I tell him it's snowing (on the 27th of May) & he says, 'Oh, cool. That must be beautiful. You must enjoy it!' Are you kidding me? Does he have any idea how stressful driving in this 'stuff' is?!? Pretty? It's dark out & you can't see a bloody thing!!! And this is why I don't want to live in Canada!!!! I'll take an Australian dust storm any day!!!! And the debate goes on...


We arrived home about midnight, with a fair bit of organizing to do before the 0530 wake up call for tomorrow... Wish me luck, it's going to be a short sleep! xxxxx


Maria & Valentina

Oh so pretty.

Blah.

Not cool for the end of May!

Day 158 - Holy Cow! What A Day!

Phew! Today was a LONG day! I had planned on heading out early, but as usual, the morning got away from me... Then dear ol' Contemplate wouldn't start! My last day to drive my lovely car for many months to come & it was no go. Mom was already gone with NeverLate, so I was left with the truck. I don't mind driving the truck, but it's a gas hog & a bit of a tank to drive in the city. Regardless, I headed out around 1100 for Cochrane.


First up was the TD bank for the $25 Barbados Import Permit. $25 Barbados dollars is equal to about $13 Canadian. It cost $50 (!) to post to Barbados. Ouch! 


I stopped in to see Jenn on her first day of her new job. She looked like a supermodel!!! Wow!!! I couldn't help but stare! She is such a beautiful woman! With those big eyes & perfect smile, no wonder Mike was so swiftly enamoured with this gorgeous Canadian gal! :o) I hope the job goes well for her.


I will admit. Today was a weepy day. I cried on my way to Cochrane, I cried on my way to Calgary & I cried on my way home from the city. I cried at songs on the radio, I cried when  I couldn't find the courts office... Yeah, I was a bit of a wreck. I'm sad to be leaving all my friends & Mom & happy to be leaving to get healthy. I'm sad I'm not already healthy, I miss my husband & I'm sad we're not already living somewhere together... And pretty much anything else made me cry.


I stopped at GAP Adventures to say goodbye to Michael - he was busy as usual! Then it was downtown to sort out the speeding ticket I got in September. I was caught doing 102 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. I was 3 hours late leaving for the wedding weekend, with a million things on my mind. It is my first speeding ticket in Alberta. Grrr. Anyhow, it had gone to trial so I had to see a Prosecutor about it. I phoned & was given the wrong directions. I went to 5 different places & couldn't find the right floor when I finally found the right building. Needless to say, I was getting close to losing it! I ended up having to buy a Jugo Juice just to get more change & pay for parking. My luck I'd get a parking ticket while paying for my speeding ticket! Hmpf!


The Prosecutor was actually human! He was very much unlike the Judge I visited in January - thank goodness! He reduced my ticket & I received 2 demerits instead of 3. 


I motored over to Meyers Norris Penny with minutes to spare on the parking meter. I paid my last payment & hugged my Bankruptcy Consultant goodbye. I was very excited to have made my last payment... Just another 3 weeks of receipts to submit & I am free & clear! Yahoo!


I boogied through the rest of the afternoon trying to get the rest of my to-do list accomplished. Community Natural Foods, then I tried to get a roll of slide film cross-processed. I was rejected at Vistek, Costco & Black's. I'll just take it to California with me & have it done there. I stopped at PetSmart, the Luggage Shop, Chapters, Jugo Juice (again), and then I stopped at Mom2's. She'd been away all weekend & I was quite worried, as I didn't know she was gone & I couldn't get ahold of her! She hadn't checked her email recently, so she didn't know I was leaving - for 4 months! 


It was nearly 2000 & I was pretty pooped. I decided to pick up some veggies for Mom & head home. Hungry as a horse, I decided to have some sushi. I chose a chai tea & sushi over a burger & fries. I thought that was a wise choice! Sushi Ginza was delish!


It had been quite windy all day & I swear in a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped by 10 degrees! It was freezing cold!!! Yuck! Of course, I arrived home to find a lovely blanket of fresh snow! Oh the joys of living in the mountains! 


Tomorrow it the last chance to pack & hit the skies enroute for health & happiness... Sleep well & I'll see you soon! 
xxxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Jenn on her first day!

Yahoo! Last payment!

Great Sushi!

Great service!

Great times!