G & G Trivia

Ok, who knows where Grandpa and Grandma on Fairfield spent the first night of their Honeymoon?

If only laying carpet were as easy as it is in Photoshop...

I finished the subfloor at noon today, and the estimator came by with our carpte sample. His version of "stretching" and mine are vastly different. For one, mine's quicker and easier, and there's not fumes. See the pix of the fully subfloored basement, and the "artist conception" of what it'll look like iwth the carpet in. The burgundy is an excellent choice, I think.

farm fun in august

First
thanks tons for dave and Glenn's great window install
It's tough to go on vacation and then work
but we'll treasure the laddar xmas gift for many years to come. timely, useful and RED!
we didn't take many photos this trip and hope to get a cd from those who did.
Fiona loved playing and visiting with her cousins
the pink and grey track suits are now the BOBBSEY TWINS outfit forever!

we'll get the DVD's on route to cagary soon but not before we return from our western adventure.
we're off to mum's tonight then fly to Vancouver in the AM
6 days on that coast before joining the woolley clan in vegas for a family celebration of retirement, birthdays, anniversaries and all.

more when we return

gone fishin

Here our cousin Terri holds up Fiona's first ever fish.
A lovely sunfish called SUNNY
Fiona then went on to catch all of Sunny's famiy, mum, dad, brothers and sister
then she landed CAROLINE the CATFISH
and it really was quite large!
Terri and the boys were down on Rice Lake for their annual vacation
Fiona was also treated to a full 9 holes of Golf.
Mum was cleaver to skip a ball across the large water hazard and impress the teens as it popped up on the opposite shore!

thanks to Terri and the boys for a fun afternoon and evening out.

back in Calgary, and busy like beaver...

So I'm back, and spend much of today either at the Orthodontist, or scraping lino off the basement floor. That stuff is evil. anyhow, it's as off at it's gonna be, so tomorrow I get to start laying tiles. here's the composite.

Yes they're cousins...

The cousins were all together for the first time at the farm last weekend. They actually stood still long enough for a photo or 2.
Karen and Glenn put on a great meal or 3 as always. Aunt Judy and uncle JJ were missed.

So what's new with everybody?
I'm just picking away at things that accumulated while we were away. We're still planning on driving up to Tobermory tomorrow till Sunday. We were originally going to camp but now we get to stay at the cottage with the Calgary Bradts. We're hoping the good weather holds for the weekend.

Dads Test

Message

In response...Chided by Lorne

"So why didn't you put it on the blog?" Lorne asked.
Okay, here. you go. Gotta run!

JB

Lorne got tired of looking at it sideways so he used his blog god powers and edited the post and reuploaded the pic. :)

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

3 weeks and something and we are on our way home. It's been a very French summer. Simon continues to expand his bilingual vocabulary.
Talk to you all sooooooonnnnnn.

J3 return from camp...

Each of us doing what we like to do best at the beach...

...and now we're home...

NO GOOGLING PERMITTED

Let's see who can come up with anything from the following snippit of lyric:
"... Have a ball... Dream a dream... Be it all! If you want it, you can get it, But to get it, you've got to want it; Anything you want to try, just let go, fly high...and"

and if you get that, I have the real question that I have yet to find an answer for on the web.

And then...

On arrival in Vergt, Simon was doing great and we were pleased he still remembered us. Unlike his dad, he will eat pretty well anything served. He'd eat 5 kinds of cheese 6 times a day if we'd let him! His french is now about on par with his english and he uses them pretty much interchangeably.


The weather has been excellent, cooling off nicely since we arrived. Lunches somewere between 1 and 4 and dinners are usually underway by 9:30 all served in the fresh air on the front balcony.


A few shopping trips and visits with friends in the area. And of course some touristishness.

We went into the department capital Perigeux, 20 min north of here, to see the annual MIME FESTIVAL. Now if that isn't French, I don't know what is...
Simon sat and stared at an act for the entire 40 min in awe of the funny faces and actions.

Last Sunday we went to an airshow in the countryside a couple hours north of here and saw the Patrouille de France (the french snowbirds) perform.


After the show we watched about 15 hot air ballons take off for a "race" which is really more of an accuracy competition. That was quite a site but then as we were driving away we turned to see about 50 balloons launched from other sites all on their way across the countryside.


Pretty amazing and a great intro to my birthday present from Corinne, Marie-Laure and Francis. They sent me on a Balloon ride over the Dordogne river and country side past the castles in the area (they sent me away, but I came back anyway :) ). pictures in next blog entry...

Lorne's car: Tape or CD?

Lorne, what do you have in your Mazda: a tape deck or a cd player? we wnat to bring the right media!

Passing the test

This was taken at the swallowing test yesterday at St. Mike's. They were tracking the swallowing reflex, and the results will assist doctors in working with stroke patients, so they'll know what happens while swallowing happens. I do find some interesting things to do, and sure don't get bored. Strawberry Study next, I think.

skype new name

Hi Lorne
i'm now
woolleyones
on Skype

skype

I'd skype you Lorne but lost all my settings
if you know how to find me we are both online now!
me

fun for kids next week

Fiona went to meet Trudy today, This is the horse owned by Steph McQuaid.
Fiona helped groom her, then watched her warm up in the sand ring before going for a ride.
Natlie and Benjamin get the privilege next week sometime!
Lots of fun things happening around the farm zone when you get here!
hugs

great great

Here is Simon with is newest cousin Thomas and his Great Great Aunts, Marie and Guillemette, in Vergt.

marg and Ed Johansen's 25th

The first of our gang to marry, Marg and Ed celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the weekend.
Marg was laid up with syatica, siatica, siyatika, .... a bad back
but it was a blessing in disguise as she directed from her lounge chair and her family and friends made things happen.
here is Dave Komel, his son Joel, Marg lying down, Donna Komel and Joe Szekers

Fiona also had her first marshmallow roast, in prep for the Calgary visit!

The Hills Are Alive

Joan Peck was an awesome teacher and a driving influence in many of our lives.
her determination to leave the sisterhood yet come back to teach at Dwyer showed me that you can do what you love no
matter what the corporation may think. She did love teaching. I had her for English. She made Romeo And Julliet come alive for me. I passed along the obit, but her spunk will be remembered in my heart.
I also remember her niece coming to play Gretel in the Sound Of Music. the Hills Are Alive with her songs today!

"Thanking you, I remain..."

Sr. Joan Peck passes away today, and it gives pause. Miss Peck (for she was no longer a "Sister" when she taught me) taught me Grade 12 Math, and Grade 13 Relations. Concurrently. OK, different classes, but during the same Term in Grade 12. Lord knows how I managed to get into Relations without Grade 12, but they let me do it. Considering Relations is basically an extension of the 12 course, it was a stretch. But I got a far better mark in the 13 course. I have no Idea.

Miss Peck would finish with the phrase "Thanking you, I remain." Her trademark, as far as I'm concerned.

May she rest in peace.

Now where were we?

oh yes, Austria. went simming. Visited the Freud Museum (his house while living in Vienna). Walked, a lot. Went to schloss shonbrun ( the castle in the earlier pic). we were in a really cool ultra modern hotel room which they messed up on a bit the first night so after a word with the manager, we were upgraded to the REALLY cool suite room with free minibar and internet.


Went to the hot tub almost every night before dinner. Ahhhhh....
We arrived back in France Friday evening and Francis picked us up and took us to Lolo's (a good friend of Corinne's) for dinner with her family. Saturday morning we set out from Melun down south to here in Vergt (google map it).

A Birthday Greeting From Calgary

Edit: now the N is the right way around.

Cat Cat

Another Birthday here in Vergt. Corinne and I took Simon shopping, had a lovely lunch of something that wasn't served with it's head, opened presents,spent a couple of hours at the pool, went to check out a little lake nearby, relax back at the house till sunset and as soon as Simon is in bed, it will be dark and dinner time. And so it goes in France...
No pictures to upload from today yet so I'll dump in some from last week for now. they are of a Palace in Vienna, the swimming place on the Danube tributary and we 2.

up the creek

Glenn may be up the creek without a paddle
but he and Fiona send Birthday Wishes to YOU
Happy Birthday UNCLE LORNE!
hugs from the woods and lakes up north ontario
woolley oens

Don't Look NOW

In a dramatic way
I send you Birthday Greetings!
Happy Birthday Bro
hope you're enjoying the time in France
we're looking forward to photos and all
hugs from karen

VBS of the summer 06 going into last day

FINALLY a moment to show you some of the VBS fun
there will be a slide movie to show you when you come that captures some of the mments

There were over 60 kids that came plus the youth helpers and adults.
The group shot is from Wednesday.
Fiona's on stage going through the actions for our theme song
and you can see me in action as I lead the kids every day in music and worship

it's been quite the adventure for kids and adults
more when I see you live
hugs from the farm
PS daddy was in the skits every morning! he was great

Dynamic Duo Does Dallas

While out of sequence, these pix are from the eWomenNetwork conference at which I spoke in Dallas. Meet my Virtual Assistant, Dawn Middlestead! She's in Fort Worth, Texas, and helps me manage my business. We met at this conference last year.

This year, 2000 businesswomen attended, and I did short coaching sessions with 45 people in addition to making a panel presentation. I discovered that in less than 10 minutes, I can tell someone whether or not the US government might buy what they've got, and open up a broader discussion of whether that business might be good business for their business.

This will come in useful when I'm in New York in late September for the National Publicity Summit, learning how to connect with publishers, editors and producers for print, radio and TV...

J3 in Summer

It's hot, and we're getting ready for vacation (www.psvresort.com) ...but summer has been good!

JJ's news: "As of August 14, I will be running the defense policy shop at the Aerospace Industries Association. Not as a lobbyist, but working with the member companies (and they're all the ones you think they are) to figure out how to approach the future -- how to recruit enough engineers, what the defense budget portends for the industry, how (and whether) to grow, shrink, or maintain the industrial base. Lots of fun stuff, including running meetings of COOs with a whip and a chair.

"I won't be in the press as much, or publishing in my own name. That was part of my reluctance in leaving CSIS. But having made a career in the government and think tanks, I'm very conscious of not having been exposed to the incentives and imperatives of the private sector. So this is a chance to see, to learn, and to fill in that hole in the CV. Where it goes, who knows?

"So I am still a defense wonk. Just one with a little less certainty about whether I'm in the right place. But I'll know better once the job starts!

"Also, I get an employee discount on Boeings.

"Here's the official word: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060724/dcm048.html?.v=51"

It's curtains for us! (Or, "The First Shall Be Last")

Mom pointed out that, after this visit, she can say she has made curtains for all her kids. We re-did the master bath recently (big reno project that, despite David's astonishment that we PAID OTHER PEOPLE to do this instead of DIY), including a heated tile floor, and the old top ruffle curtains from the early 80's had to go. Mom and I spent most of Saturday, after our long road trip, combing BedBath, Target and finally K-Mart (the Martha Stewart Aisle, of course) hunting for the Right Thing. We found the right thing, but 90 degrees off, so we spend the rest of Saturday, and Mom most of Sunday, stitch ripping, pressing and sewing/hemming the new sheers. I love the look!

Mom Rocks On!

MOM ROCKS! Mom asked to come to SportRock with me on my regular Women's Climbing night while she was visiting us in DC. While I did my regular climbs (I'm not an instructor), she took the basic course -- just look at her handsome posse! -- donned a helmet, and up she went!

Are we proud of her, or what? Yay, Mom!