A Young Canadian's Perspective on the US National Anthem

During our visit down south, we heard a group singing the National Anthem on tv. As soon as she heard, "Oh say can you see...." Hannah jerked her head toward me and said, "Are they saying, 'oh Satan you stink?'"

A Flu Bug

While in Arkansas, a bug visited the family. It was a short-lived bug (for most of us anyway), but present none-the-less. I didn't realize how little my Hannah knew about flu bugs until one evening when we discussed Pabob's fever and throwing up caused by the "bug."

Hannah was aghast and asked, "He got it from a fly?"

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. The family has outgrown my mom's living room, so she rented a small community hall for our official Thanksgiving meal. It was a glorious day. My nephew Randy and his family and my Gordon and Deborah were the only ones not there. It was awesome. There were around 50 there.

Michael and Lawana carried most of the food work, but we all pitched in. We had enough food for 100 people. It was amazing how much food there was. Michael and Lawana excelled in the organization of the whole thing and I personally am voting for them to be in charge every time we do anything like this.

The highlight of the day for me was seeing my dad so happy. I could tell he was near giddy with excitement over having all of us together. It was a wonderful wonderful day.

We Are Home

Rachael, Hannah, and I are home from Arkansas. We went for US Thanksgiving. There wasn't enough moola to go around for Deborah and Daddy, so Deborah offered, yes, she really volunteered, to stay behind. She was totally into the idea of having her daddy all to herself. It was pretty precious. In my ideal world, Gordon and Deborah would have been with us. But it worked out very well. They had a good time in Edmonton while the other girls and I had a good time in Arkansas.

The weather in Arkansas was thrilling and invigorating. It was around 60 degrees (I think). My brother and I stay pretty warm. He said Mama's living room was auditioning for hell, which explained why it was so hot. I found myself a couple of times in shorts and a t-shirt, lying on Mama's front lawn, looking up at the sky enjoying the weather I grew up in.

Meanwhile in Edmonton, my beloved husband and youngest daughter were valiantly carrying on as usual, but in unusually cold weather. Evidently the mercury dropped to its lowest in weather-recording-history for the month of November. That would be -27 with a windchill of -33 degrees Celsius. (I think that translates around -20 Fahrenheit.)

Imagine the shock to our systems when we arrived to Edmonton's chilly temperatures. It took my breath away. Lucky for us, a heat wave rode in last night and now it's just -17 and forecasted to keep climbing this week. I'm glad. By the end of the week, -10 will feel near balmy.

My aunt chides me when I talk weather. "There are innumerable stimulating topics to be discussed. Let's not waste our time on the weather," she'll say. So with the reminder of how boring some find weather to be, I shall shut my trap about it. But it's cold here and I wanted you folk to know it.

I love going to Arkansas. Coming home is nice too, even if my dogs' pee freezes mid-stream.

Figure This Out

Every time I think of this little riddle, I think of Lawana and see her laughing. Can you figure it out?

M r dux
M r not dux
S m r, c m bd iz
L i b, m r dux

Spirit Week

It's spirit week at school. My girls have donned some really weird stuff this week. Wacky hair day had Hannah wearing plastic spoons all over her head. Very very weird.

Today was pajama day. I made the girls new pajamas for the occasion. Rachael got leopard print, Hannah got cheetah print, Deborah had very bright stripes on. They were cute I must say.

This afternoon they burst in the back door yelling, "Mom we won! All three of us!" Deborah added, "And it's all because of you. We won because our pajamas were the best AND they were homemade!" She was so excited.

Their prizes were McDonald's coupons. They gave me credit for the win, but they never offered me any of their coupons. :-)

Aircraft Problems and Solutions

It takes a college degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one.
After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells the mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics then correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before their next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots
(marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget

Goodbye

Well it's that time again. You remember, when I stop blogging for a while. Someday I'll return, -- when you least expect me. :-)