Introducing Winston

Introducing Winston, our 8 month old Yorkiepoo; he is a designer dog (these used to be called mutts) part Yorkie and part Poodle.   His size is more poodle but his colouring is more Yorkie.  Poodle face, yorkie ears and docked tail.  We purchased him, after a very long search which began before we left Edmonton, in Umatilla Florida from Leah who had purchased him for her small sons.  Sadly it did not work out as puppy and sons did not get along; sons are 3 and 1 1/2 years, a little young for a young puppy.  He is so smart and he is so good.  Easy to train. house broken and so friendly.  His fur is very soft.

Took him to the veterinarian Dr Jarod Lazarus in Zephyrhills FL( this is where we had Caper put to sleep) on Wed 27th for a checkup and all his shots.  He was poked from stem to stern and did not appreciate the needles he received.  Boosters will be given Dec 18th. He is healthy although he needed treatment for hook worms.  Nasty things, those.

Oh yes, forgot to tell you.  Winston was my birthday gift, received him Nov 25th.  On the 26th, my birthday, Joan and Blair, Mike and Bill took me to the Olive Garden  and Mike presented me with a dozen roses.  They are beautiful.  Later, I chatted with the kids and Daniel sang "Happy Birthday to you, cha cha cha!" on Skype.  What a wonderful day!

Caper

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Sadly we said "so Long" to our 12 year 9 month old mini schnauzer, Caper.  He was such a good dog, despite his quirks and will be forever missed.  He suffered a stroke in May 2012 which we thought then would be his demise but surprisingly with a "shoe" modification and a harness, he was able to recover. Pancreatitis had been his enemy since 2010 and so food specially cooked, brown rice, chicken and pumpkin, this was somewhat under control. Insulin administered twice a day kept his diabetes under control.  His eyesight failed completely upon Cowboy's passing, so his last year was stressful for him.  He was an amazingly tenacious friend and each time some new illness came along he/we dealt with it and came through.  A severe stroke Nov 13 though was more than his body was able to deal with.  He could no longer stand on his own and hold his head up.  Sadly, Bill and I made the decision to peacefully let him forever sleep.  We know that he and Cowboy along with Sascha are frolicking at the Rainbow Bridge, no longer suffering or in pain. Rest in Peace, Baby Boy. We love you. :-)

The Hologram $10 bill

Congratulations to our son-in-law, Dr. Michael Hendry, who spoke and unveiled the new $10.00 bill introduced Nov 7, 2013.  Michael has done extensive research and study related to the stabilization of soils on the CN/CP Rail both in N Ireland and in W Canada and represented both the University of Alberta and CN.  The same day, the new $5.00 bill was introduced by Chris Hadfield.

The Cowboy

 There is the Cowboy in all of us, but when you are dressed like one, you become, "The Dude"  I love the cowboy hat with the crocs!  One of the playdates Daniel enjoys is going to the park in the schoolyard at the end of his street.  There, one will find a car, complete with steering wheels for all, a couple of slides and steps to raised platforms and lots of sand.  We love to take him here for some fun and he loves to play with us there as well.  He was a little reluctant to try the slide at first, and rode down on my lap, but now he doesn't need Grandma anymore.  He can do it himself!

Here the fashionitsa is showing off his crown that he twisted together out of twist ties.  We took his daddy out to the Burger Bar for his birthday and our final night in Edmonton before hitting the road for ON.  A fun night, but one which he realized how much he will miss us in the next six months.  He was upset and sad...can we keep doing this, leaving him behind???  Not sure about that, but I do know for sure that we don't want to winter in bone chilling Edmonton anytime soon!

JURASSIC FOREST

 In September, we took Daniel to Jurassic Forest, north of Edmonton.  This is a very unique park.  Dinasaurs have bben built in a forest setting; most moved and there was a tape of the specific dinosaur's sounds, activated by a sensor, likely triggered by body movement.  Daniel prefered to play in the sand and was somewhat apprehensive of these very large creatures.  It was a very warm, sunnt day as we meandered along the boardwalk to view each of the dino types. 

This is an example of a dino. a T-Rex which Daniel identified right away.  We completed the tour and then we went for dinner at Mickey D's, a treat for Daniel.  A great day of mostly playing in the sand or on the slide!

Sunsets over St Albert

 This is the West, the land of the most beautiful sunsets.  Many times during the week, we would be treated to these gorgeous reds, yellow and oranges, hues of pink, some vivid, some muted, but each beautiful as the sun sets and reflects off the clouds.  What beauty!  What a privilege to witness this beauty! I hope that heaven is like this!

St Albert Views

 This is the boardwalk to the Lois Hole Provincial Park adjacent to the town of St Albert.  Unlike most provincial parks, this one is a wetland and migratory flight path for birds travelling south in the Fall and north in the Spring.  It is 1000's of acres in size, a shallow lake with lots of food for the birds.  Petrocan has supported this project with a grant to build a boardwalk through the swampy area and hundreds of volunteers from the area have helped to set this up.  This is very close to the Kinsman Campground where we will stay in 2014.

 Close by also is miles of hiking/walking/biking trails that lead to the downtown area of St Albert and beyond.  This is a beautiful area that we have thoroughly enjoyed, walking each day up to 5 miles, which is good for these old bones!

 A railway bridge that could have been in scenes from the Harry Potter books, but indeed it is a railway bridge over the Sturgeon R in St Albert.  Trains travel very slowly over this and the ground beneath tremors.

Another bridge, a footbridge connects both sides of the Sturgeon R and the hiking/biking paths throughout the town; this is in the Lion's Club Park in downtown St Albert.