What's Deb been up to?

Well I hate to tell you this but not much of anything except watching curling.  The Scotties Tournament of Hearts (ladies only) was on last week so we tuned in as soon as we got home and stayed glued to the teevee until the broadcast was over (which eats up a whole lot of time I'll tell you).  But it was well worth it. 
The reigning skip of Team Canada had unceremoniously dumped her third (throws third in the team rotation) in April and said third, Cathy Overton-Clapham, was scrambling most of the summer to put a team together.  Cathy O got it done and qualified to showed up at the SToH which is no small feat.  You have to be the best in your province to get there and women's curling has come a long way.  Well they ended up in a game against each other and of course the media made a huge deal out of the match-up and how was it going to end up.  Were there going to be fire-works?  Nope, Cathy O has way too much class for that.  She just handed her her ass on the ice and out curled her with every shot.  Tried to find a video of the last couple of shots, but they're only up on TSN's site, go to the right side of the page and click on MAN 8 CAN 6 to have a look.  Team Canada did make it to the final, but guess what?  They lost to Saskatchewan.  They didn't just lose the game, they also lost the distinction of being Team Canada which comes with a bunch of perks, one of which is $260,000 a year.  OOPS.
The future of women's curling is looking so very bright.  The Ontario team's average age is 22.  Dang puppies!  Their skip, Rachel Homan is one helluva shot and managed a multiple take-out to score 5 in one end.  Now that's a whole lot of precision and talent all rolled into one li'l bundle and I can see a bunch of titles and medals in this young team's future (prob'ly Olympic material).  They made it to the Bronze medal round and were unfortunately defeated but took home a cheque for 75 hundred bucks which isn't a bad pay day as far as I'm concerned.  I looked for a clip of the great shot that I was telling you about but they haven't hit the Tube of U yet and aren't up on TSN's site either.  Maybe they didn't think it was as good a shot as I did.
Looks like we'll be distracted for another week, starting the 5th.  The Tim Horton's Brier is on (men only) and the men can really throw some howitzers down the sheet so it should make for some exciting watching.  Kevin Martin's team took the gold medal at the Olympics last year and he's up against some pretty stiff competition.  Oh, did I mention that I'm in love with his third?  John Morris is a fireman in a little town not too far from here.  I was going to call him up and offer to polish his....  truck.  Ya, that's right, his truck.  Yummy......  Go have a look.

And this was one of the moments that I felt most patriotic during the whole 10 days of the Olympcs.

stuff

I know, gentle reader, I've been away for a while.  No, I haven't forgotten you just seems that life has gotten in the way (or the weather has finally got to me).

First, the weather.  In the 10 years that I've been home, never, not even ONCE, has my spring prognostication gone so horribly off the tracks.  Remember I said a few weeks ago that spring was in the air?  WRONG. As in EPIC FAIL.  Jesu Cristo, last week we were in the deep freeze, more seasonal type temperatures over the weekend, only to end up back in the deep freeze all week.  Saturday and Sunday, seasonable temperatures and then back in the deep freeze starting Monday.  Forecast highs next week of -16*C.  Global warming, my ASS!  Somebody, please make it stop!  Has the weather finally got to me?  Yup, 'bout to go nuts here.

Did myself damage yesterday when I was packing the groceries in to the house.  Instead of taking my boots off with every trip out to the truck, I just left them on and when I was headed across the kitchen to put the last load on the counter, the snow on my boots caused a slip-and-fall.  Both knees blown up and black and the same with my shoulder that hit the corner of the counter on my way down.  Damn it, that hurt.  When I finally caught my breath, I got up and let the girls back in, it was definitely too cold for them to be out for much longer than they were.  Actually, it was a good thing that they were outside; if I had fallen on one of them we'd have been headed to the vet!  Funny how I don't bounce like I used to.  Was sore enough this morning that I didn't go to work (I know, bad girl) but once again, I don't have anything pressing on my desk and the lads were ok with it.  One of them even sent me a text that said "You know, slip-and-falls are a sign of old age."  Cheeky bastage.

When the bills started coming in in January I couldn't figure out why I hadn't paid any of them in December and then it struck me.  Duh, I paid over $700.00 for my glasses, no wonder 'the cheque got lost in the mail'.  Do I like them?  Not really.  Searching for my focal point while I'm on the computer not only annoys me but it makes my neck sore by the end of the day (and also makes me look like a snob, looking down the end of my nose).

Moving to the city has kinda turned into prob'ly one of the worst choices I have made in the last few years (aside from my last live-in, who cost me a ton of money).  I've already told you that I don't do well in traffic to begin with, and dealing with it every day, twice a day, is not a whole lot of fun.  It used to be that I had a chance to take my 'work hat' off and put it on the passenger seat on my way home, but now not so much and I find myself leaving it on and taking out my frustrations on the girls.  Even if it took me three hours to mow the lawn wth a riding mower, I miss my great big yard.  The night-time quiet and dark are sorely missed.  If I'm really careful and at the exact right angle, I can look out the window of the ensuite and actually see 3, count 'em 3, stars at night.  The best part?  STARS air ambulance soaring overhead or even better, the cop-chopper flying around in the middle of the night.  I really miss having the little horse around, she was a real card (even if I don't miss the feeding and watering ritual that goes along with it in the winter).

Finally, from the Op/Ed pages this morning:  (regarding public sector workers having a 50% wage increase over the last ten to fifteen years more than private sector workers)

How true (and sad) is that?

from my email inbox this morning

HT to Dad


The Fix



There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg , Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!




Dear Mr. President,


Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.


You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":


There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:



1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.



2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.



3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.



It can't get any easier than that!!



P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes..


Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!



On another note, Obummer is thinking of introducing a head tax of $5.50 on Canadians entering the US to generate money.  Ya gotta be pretty broke to put a tax on your friends coming over for a visit.  Mighty neighborly, mighty neighborly..................  Read more.

Dealing with telemarketers

I don't know how you feel about them, but I find telemarketers to be a royal pain.  I'm fortunate that I don't get too many of them but when I do, I'm not very nice to them.  There was an email that came around saying that cell phone numbers were going to be publicly listed and to get your number on the national 'Do Not Call' list to go to a website, put your number in, and Bob's-yer-uncle, you're not listed.  Ya right.
I'd been running with only a cell phone for quite some time and with air time charges what they are, I didn't want a bunch of unsolicited calls billed to me so I signed up. It turned out to be a mistake to put my number on this list because that's when it started.  At first I'd just say that I wasn't interested and hang up.  It kept up.  Time to change tactics.  Next was to say I'm not interested and do not call this number again.  We have a law here in Canada that if you've been told to put me on your Do Not Call list, you cannot call me again.  Ok, looks good on paper.  Anybody that knows me knows that I will not answer a personal call on my cell during business hours and won't call during work time. 
One day my phone rang and I answered, thinking that maybe there was something wrong with family or friend.  Nope, Bell Mobility calling; we can get you better service at a lower rate than you're paying.  I prob'ly would have been a little nicer if said telemarketer had been able to speak the language and I was able to understand her but she couldn't and I couldn't.  So I told her, "You're calling me on my personal cell phone during business hours?  Do you not realise that you are wasting my time and my employer's money. Do not call this number ever again."  End of that one.
Once I had moved in to the city there was a knock on the door one day from the local cable company (ok, one of them) and they had a smokin' deal on a bundle with cable, internet and land line.  Well, I didn't need the land line but ok, we'll sign on.  There are only a couple of people that know that number and really I should have it disconnected, nobody ever calls on it.  (but then, who ever calls a land line anymore?)  One evening the land line rang and I picked up.  "This is John from Telus and we have a terrific promotion on now for cable, internet and a land line."  "Telus?" says I.  "Yes Ma'am."  "Well, I've dealt with Telus before and as far as I'm concerned, y'all are a bunch of highway-robbin'-bastards and I'll never deal with you again.  Do not ever call this number again." 
For some unknown reason they haven't called back.

from my email inbox this morning

This is so true.  HT to Andy, a some time contributor.

The Lighting Seminar

I attended a lighting seminar this afternoon that was put on by one of the electrical distributors here in town.  It was pretty interesting and there was quite a bit of information about LED lighting and retrofits for parking lot lighting and parking garage lighting that could be very useful for some of the car dealerships that we have as customers.  Don't go out and buy any yet, the technology isn't quite there yet (for residential use) and the price is coming down.
When it was over I ran into a guy that I worked with at the last contractor's that I was with and we started talking.  It was good to see him, but (big but) he had taken a run at the old cougar when we worked together and I came to the conclusion that if we were in a relationship, I'd have to kill him.  I don't think that I've ever met anyone who had owned their own business that was as disorganized as he was!  As my neice would say 'Oh My Grapes!'.  He spent more time running around the city being unproductive and losing paperwork than you could shake a stick at.  And forgetful?  Oh my.  I had pointed out to him that it really wasn't a good idea to even go out once as we worked together and then had to do it again on  a couple more occasions.  So what to do when he asked me for my number?  EEK.  Being the polite person that I am, I gave it to him, but now what?
On a different note, I realized the other day on my way home that the leaf buds on the trees are thickening.  Even as I look out my dining room window as I type, I can see it and I've seen a couple of flocks of geese coming back (I'm fairly certain that they aren't any of the resident flocks that stay here, though I haven't stopped any of them to ask).  Yes, it's only February and I'll get lots of argument that winter isn't over yet.  You're right.  But spring, she's a-comin'.  YIPPEE!  And no, it's got nothing to do with global warming.  I'm just paying attention, and after the winter we've had I'm glad to see it.  I think that I might even plant some flowers this year now that the truck is paid off and I have a little more jingle in my jeans.

from the OP/ED pages of the paper today

the good old hockey game....

Because Rogers has the rights to the Flames games here in town, they seem to put all of the games on Sportsnet West (which I don't get with the basic cable that I subscribe to) so I had to resign myself to watching the basketball game between the Habs and the Blackhawks.  I know, hockey, but when there are 8 goals scored in the second period it sure seems like basketball.  It was a fairly good game otherwise and the old Original Six rivalry raised its ugly head and tempers flared later on with some all-in fights starting.  At one point, there were 11 players in the penalty box and even the goalies got into it.  EEK!  While I was watching, the scrolling stats at the bottom of the screen showed that my Flames were holding their own against the Senators and that Buck's Red Wings were getting thumped by Dan's Predators (gasp! again!) that's twice in a week.
Final score Hawks over Habs 8-6
Predators over Red Wings 4-1
And best of all?  My flames beat the Senators 5-2.  Yay.  They had a 6 game win streak, lost one and then got back on and won another.  Looks to me like they've pretty much turned things around.

UPDATE 16:40
Uh oh, looks like Buck's Wings are in for more trouble from Dan's Predators!


The Ottawa Senators officially began the team rebuild on Thursday, by trading centre Mike Fisher to the Nashville Predators.


The Senators will receive the Predators' first-round pick in the 2011 National Hockey League entry draft and a conditional pick in 2012.

A 30-year-old native of Peterborough, Ont., Fisher has scored 14 goals and 10 assists in 55 games this season. One of the most popular players in Senators' history, Fisher is in his 11th season with Ottawa.

Fisher, who is married to music star Carrie Underwood, was originally drafted by Ottawa 44th overall in the 1998 draft.

“We were seeking a top-six forward and Mike Fisher was the player we set our sights on,” said Predators president of hockey operations/general manager David Poile. “He plays playoff-style hockey all season long. He plays on the power play, kills penalties, is strong on draws and can match up against any opposing line.”

Read more 

sometimes it's not so cool to know things before they happen

I know that some of you will scoff but there are times that I know something is going to happen before it actually does. I like to call it my little voice and I've learned to listen to it over the years.  Mostly I get things like taking a route different than the one I first had in mind and then hearing that traffic was tied up on the original route.  Or just knowing that as well as a new relationship seems to be going, it's not going to last.  Another of the things that I felt more than knew was when I was in town one day running some errands.  My little voice told me to pull in and get the mail and I over-rode it by saying that I'd stop by the next day.  I got about a block past the entrance to the post office and out pulls a cop, chasing me down the road like I'd just robbed a bank.  When he pulled me over he asked me if I knew why I had been pulled over and when I told him no, he responded with "Your registration tag is expired."  CRAP.  It was sitting on the counter at home, waiting to be installed on my plate. Another costly little lesson on listening to my little voice. One of the things that happened that I knew was going to happen turned out to be not so cool.
When I lived on the farm I commuted back and forth along Highway 2 south to Aldersyde, a little community halfway between Calgary and High River. You used to be able to take a short cut through Aldersyde from highway 2A to highway 2 for faster access instead of going down to the overpass that was built for that very purpose.  Well they (whoever they are) decided to cut off the left turn across 3 lanes of southbound traffic, across the median and the left on to the 2 northbound lanes by digging up the median and putting a sign up that said "NO LEFT TURN" in the line of sight on the edge of the 'former' median and one on the right side of the road right beside the STOP sign.
On my way home one day , a vehicle pulled out to turn left, got almost to the median and realized that he couldn't turn through there, slammed on the brakes in the fast lane of the highway (speed limit 110kph or, for my American friends, about 70mph) and then pulled a quick right to continue south to the next place he could get across.  The same thing happened the next day and then the next.
On the third day that I saw this stupidity happen I said out loud "Someone's going to get killed here."  I got home and settled in to my usual routine and not even half hour later on the traffic report, there was a report of a very serious collision at that very place.  Apparently a minivan full of workers from the Cargill plant had pulled out in front of a one ton pickup that was pulling a farm tractor on a flatdeck trailer, wiping out all of the workers and fully destroying both vehicles.
They have resolved the problem by putting locked gates across the road so that things like this don't happen again, but at the cost of 6 lives because they didn't do it right the first time.  Since when does any one pay attention to a 'no left turn' sign?  (except those of us that obey the laws and pay attention)
And that, my friends, is when it's really NOT cool to know these things.

Down and Out

A few weeks ago, after another large dump of snow when the kid that's supposed to show up to shovel (because I pay him to) failed to show up (yet again) there came a knock on the door.  There stood a scruffy looking sort of guy packing a couple of bags of emptys who asked me if he could shovel my walk.  Of course I said "Sure, how much?".  "Six bucks."  Which is less than I pay No-Show-Joe.  "Ok, go nuts."
Chris was done in less than 1/2 hour (NSJ takes at least an hour), collected his money and a garbage bag of empty beer cans ($10 here in Calgary) and I told him to just show up whenever it snowed, I'd make sure that he got paid.  A couple of weeks later we got it again.  I went to work in the morning and on my way home I got a call asking if I wanted to go to the local pub to watch the hockey game and I said sure!  I got home and Chris had been here; the walks were cleared right down to the concrete.  Ok, now what?  I had promised Chris that if he just showed up, I'd make sure that he got paid.  It was quite the dilemma.  Go watch hockey?  Sit around and wait for Chris?  I finally found an envelope, put ten bucks in it and hooked it over the edge of the mail box and went to watch the game.  When I got home, the envelope was gone and there were a couple of flyers in my mailbox.  You know.  The one with the 'NO FLYERS' sign on it?  Yup, that one.  Now I was all concerned that whoever had delivered the flyers had made off with Chris's money and he wouldn't show up again.  CRAP!

Sunday it snowed another 4-6" as I've mentioned before and when I left I had serious thughts that because Chris's money had disappeared the last time, he wouldn't show up.  I was so pleasantly surprised when I got home to find everything cleared, you could have knocked me over.  I sat and had a beer or two and 'round about 6:30 or 7, who comes walking up the sidewalk?  Chris.  Yes.  I asked him if he had gotten the envelope for the last time and he could have lied to me and told me no, but he said that he sure had, and thank you very much.  I told him that he was a good man, to which he replied "No, you're a great lady."  I don't, as a rule, blush easy, but that sure made me color-up.  What honesty.  You know, he could have lied to me and said no and I'd have paid him twice, but he didn't.
NSJ called between the time I got home and when Chris showed up and I let thim know what the situation was.  If I'm counting on you to be here, you'd best be here.  You messed me up last summer when you told me you'd be here every week to mow the lawn and you didn't show up and now you're messing me up by not showing up to shovel (the City of Calgary issues fines for not shovelling if there's a complaint).  He was pretty crestfallen, but that's life.  Ya wanna work, it's here; just come and do it!
My thoughts on Chris are that he's going through a 'rough patch'.  Hair on 'im, he's out looking for something to do to put some food on the table instead of pan-handling or living on government hand outs and I respect that.

Wonderful

So, we got slammed with 4-6" of new snow over night and I knew the commute to work was going to be slow but this was ridiculous!  I left at my usual time and traffic was heavier than normal but that was to be expected, there had been warnings on the radio all day yesterday.  Took my usual route; Stoney Trail to 17th Ave, over to 84th Street, and then south-bound to 114th Ave.  Moving along pretty good on 114th and then it was all stop.  There were 4 or 5 vehicles behind a semi and something going on in front of the semi that I couldn't see except for the flasing lights of a fire truck and what looked to be a mini van in the ditch with its flashers on.  That was at 06:40.  At 06:45 I called the office to leave a message with a co-worker that I was stuck in traffic (I'm usually the only one here until shortly after 7) and she answered the phone (I guess she had the same thoughts that I did about the commute) and I told her what was going on and that as soon as they cleared whatever was the hold up, I'd be in. 
Well, we drank the coffee that's usually reserved for once I get to work, smoked a couple of cigarettes, and SAT.  114th at the point of the accident is a single lane in each direction.  Can't go forward, can't go backward, and with the length of my truck, can't turn around.  The fire truck left, the police seemed to leave but then appeared behind me at an intersection, redirecting traffic around the block, and still, we SAT.  By 07:45 the 2 cups of tea that I had had before leaving for work and then the coffee in the truck were not looking like such a good idea.  I really had to pee.  A tow truck finally showed up and hauled what looked like a Dodge 1/2 ton away and I thought 'perfect'!  Nope.  Wait some more.  They finally got one lane cleared and we finally got moving.  When we went by, it looked like Mr. Dodge and a Toyota 4-Runner had hit head-on and I'm not sure what caused Mr. Mini Van to hit the ditch. 
I finally made it to work at 08:15, and when I came in the first thing I did was hit the W/C.  Phewf!  2 hours for a 1/2 hour commute is a little much.
I so don't understand what it is with drivers in this weather.  Just because you have 4 wheel drive, doesn't mean that you are invincible or can stop any faster than anyone else out there.  For God's sake, people, shake yer heads and grab a brain!

New Stamp, HT to sister Cindy a sometime contributor to my inbox

The Postal Services created a stamp with a picture of President Obama on it. The Postal Service noticed that the stamp was not sticking to envelopes. This enraged the President, who demanded a full investigation. After a month of testing and $1.73 million in congressional spending, a special Presidential commission presented the following findings:



1.     The stamp is in perfect order.

2.     There is nothing wrong with the glue.

3.     People are spitting on the wrong side.

from today's editorial pages

Ronald Reagan's real achievement


Today marks the 100th anniversary of former American president Ronald Reagan's birth.


It's a time to remember Reagan and to celebrate his legacy.

And what a legacy.

Reagan helped turn a sour U.S. economy around, he helped win the Cold War, he assembled a winning political coalition, he restored American pride.

Many, in fact, consider him to be one of America's greatest all time presidents. (At least, conservatives view him that way.)

For me however, "The Gipper's" real success was not his economic policies or his foreign policy achievements.

For me it was how Reagan rebranded conservatism.

What do I mean?

Well before Reagan, conservatives were basically a dour lot.

And why not, everywhere they looked conservatism was losing ground.

Roosevelt's "New Deal" of the 1930s had ushered in the American welfare state, communism was on the march, taking over country after country, right-wing Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater got crushed in the 1964 election, the '60s Cultural Revolution was seemingly undermining America's morality and strength.

For conservatives, it was obvious -- the unstoppable trend toward "liberalism", was causing a slow, steady and inevitable American decline.

Hope was lost.

How could the U.S., with its "Age of Aquarius" generation ever hope to compete with the disciplined Soviets?

Pessimism reigned supreme.

Conservative thinkers were turning out books with uplifting titles like Suicide of the West.

Even those defying American liberalism did so defensively -- famed intellectual William F. Buckley, for instance, launched the conservative National Review saying the magazine would stand "athwart history, yelling stop."

Hardly a rallying cry.

By the 1970s things were only getting worse: the Watergate scandal, the military loss in Vietnam, Jimmy Carter spreading his own malaise in the White House.

Then at what seemed conservatism's darkest hour, came Reagan.

Reagan, the former Hollywood actor, the former Democrat, did things that were unusual for conservatives in those days.

He actually smiled! He used humour! He reached to Americans with a conservative message that was positive.

Rather than bemoaning America's "decline", Reagan made the case that America was still great.

America, he said, just had to remember that its greatness rested on freedom, including economic freedom.

If government was made smaller and less intrusive, he argued, it would free up the individual to create prosperity and growth. Government, in other words, wasn't part of the solution, it was part of the problem.

As Reagan himself put it, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Suddenly, thanks to Reagan, conservatism went from being a philosophy for Captain Killjoys to a force for optimism.

Reagan's brand of conservatism didn't look back, it looked forward; it promised better things and a brighter future.

Not surprisingly, it was an outlook that resonated with the American people.

Not only did it propel Reagan to the White House, but it changed the dynamics of the American political scene.

Reagan put liberalism on the defensive.

But more importantly, his message inspired not only his American countrymen, but conservatives around the globe.

That's a lesson today's conservative leaders should remember.

Gerry Nicholls is a political consultant and writer.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Ronald+Reagan+real+achievement/4232402/story.html#ixzz1DBlDmVSD

I created a monster

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned that I was married when I came home to Alberta, but if I didn't, now you know.  No big, it happened 6 years ago and I'm sure that he's doing just as fine as I am.  Anyway, Ian (or the Former Husband-Unit) is BC bred and born (grapefruit-growing-kiwi-eating-tree-hugging variety that they are) and had rarely been to a rodeo, never mind to a chuckwagon race. 
The spring after we moved home I heard that there was a rodeo and 'wagon races in High River a few short miles down the road and threw it out there with "Do you want to go to the rodeo and wagon races this weekend?".  To which he responded "What's a wagon race?"  Oh my, a wagon virgin!
Wagon racing originated in the days of the very large ranch with no fences.  Every spring (some ranches did it in the fall as well) the ranches would send an 'outfit' to the agreed upon gather spot and set up camp.  After the hands had gathered the cattle in the vicinity and sorted out whose cattle were whose and branded the babies, it was on to the next rendezvous.  Well one thing led to another, and one cookie said to the other,"Beat you there!".  And so, there you have it, wagon racing is born.
Picture this, Gentle Reader, 4 chuckwagons hitched to 4 horses each.  Each wagon has 4 outriders associated with it for a total of 32 horses involved in each race.  There are 2 barrels for each team set up in the arena and each team lines up at their assigned barrel and waits for the horn to blow.  The driver is in the wagon of course, one outrider holding the lead team of his outfit, 2 holding simulated 'tent pegs' getting ready to throw them in the back of the wagon, and 1 holding a simulated 'camp stove' ready to throw it too in to the back of the wagon.  You have to keep in mind that all of the outriders are on the ground and holding their own horses while waiting for the horn to go. 
As soon as the horn goes, all hell breaks loose.  The driver slaps the reins across the rumps of his team, the outrider in the front gets the hell out of the way and tries to mount his own horse, who is by now trying to take off because all of the horses are off the flat track and once one goes, they all go; the 3 guys in the back have loaded their associated gear and are trying to mount their respective horses and once they do, they have to complete the figure 8 pattern that the wagon has already completed and head out to the track.  And now the race is on. Most often the guy who hits the track first is in the lead and the others are playing catch-up but it gets pretty exciting when they're battling for position down the backstretch and positioning changes.  By the time they hit the top of the turn for home sometimes they end up being 2 or 3 abreast coming down to the wire.  I've seen races where there are 3 across at the finish line and that's what would be called a Great Race.  Outfits are penalized for not completing the barrel pattern, for late outriders, or even for outriders finishing in front of the wagon.  In High River you get a whole lot closer to the action than you do in Calgary at the Stampede so you end up really hearing the thunder of hooves as they head for home and the clink of harness chains as they go by and the FHU was hooked.  I think we spent every weekend that summer 'chasing wagons'.  But what fun!

Now before you go all animal-rights activist on me, these horses are very well cared for and well loved by their owners.  They are purchased off the track where they spend up to 23 hours a day in a stall to go live in an enviroment where they spend a whole lot of time turned out with, you'll never guess, other horses.  Being the herd animals that they are, that's the best psychological environment for them.  I've seen places where an electric fence is set up in the middle of a field at an event and 8 to 10 horses are all turned out together, just hangin'.  When an accident happens, and they do, the owners and their families are just as saddened as we would be if our saddle horse was involved.  These people pay BIG BUCKS for their horses and look after them the same way that you and I would.  There was one horse that was retired last year at the age of 19, which is an admirable age for a horse that works as hard as a wagon horse does (and he was still very healthy and hardy and ready to work, they just figgered that he'd paid his dues).
In case my description fell short, I'll leave you with a video that does a good job of showing the action in the infield and one that shows a whole race (both, BTW, called by Joe Carbury who retired last year at the age of 79).

Has anyone else noticed..............

That Canada is the true mongrel (or should that be mangler?) of weights and measures?  The only thing that we're truly metric on is temperatures. 
We buy butter by the pound (only it's marked as 454 grams), coffee by the pound (907 grams), but milk by the liter.  Safeway advertises frozen chicken breasts at $2.99 a pound and then lulls the listener into thinking that's a smokin' deal because it comes in a 4 kilogram box.  $3X4=$12, right?  Nope, $3/lb X 4 kilos = $26 and change!
The  construction industry has got to be the absolute worst.  A 2x4 is still a 2x4 but conduit is still sold and measured by the foot (10' lengths, approximately 3 meters) and wire is sold by the meter.  In this one you truly have to be bi-measural! (and no, that is not bi-sexual!)

So

I've been given this:

and because I've been seeing them all over the blogosphere lately I'm thinking that I'm really late to this party.  Although there are rules attached, one of the first things I'm supposed to do is to acknowledge the awarder.  So a big thank you to BR over at A Tale Of Two Buckskins, a regular read, to think that I'm worthy.  I was going to decline, but I can't; I really am flattered.
First I need to share 7 things about myself.
1.  I'm still able to fit in to clothes that I was wearing in high school (tho' who would want to?)
2.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't had a leg over a horse for 6 years.
3.  I don't walk my dogs every day.
4.  Part Time is back.....
Gawd, this list is gettin' to be an extremely embarrassing list of shortcomings!
5.  When I was on the tools, I never asked for help, but if I saw someone struggling with something, I always offered a hand.
6.  Someone once told me that I'd be a hoot to party with, to which I replied "No, I'd be the guy in the corner, waiting for someone to come over and talk to me!"
7.  If someone had told me 5 years ago that I'd be living in the city, I would have told them that they'd been sniffing glue.
I'm also supposed to pass this award along to 15 other bloggers, but I seriously can't do 15.  I have enough trouble keeping up with the 9 that are currently on my reading list and most of them have this award already.
Ed Note: 06:45, 02/04/11
Any of my faithful 7 readers that would like to help themselves to this award, please go ahead and help yourself.  Just put up your link so I can see who you are!  :)

This one is absolutely unbelievable and sickening

Words cannot describe how shocked, saddened, and sickened I was when I heard about the sled dogs that were culled in Whistler, the owner stating it was due to the tourism downturn after the Olympics.  I seriously can't think of anything else to say about what has happened to these animals who give everything to their owners and ask nothing in return.  People on Face Book have been calling for vigilante action and the FB has pulled several posting already.
I'll let you read the rest on your own because words evade me.

Word of the day, HT to Dad, a regular contributor to my in box

                                                                       OMELETTE

                                                         Let's use it in a sentence:

     'I should pop yo ass fo what you jus did, but omelette dis one slide.'