Beginning of a New Phase

I have let my blogging lapse for a couple of weeks while we were doing family time in Calgary. It was a time whereby our grandbaby got to meet all of her greats, her great greats (grandmas and uncles), we celebrated my sweet mother-in-laws 85th birthday, squeezed in a visit to the zoo, and I attended the memorial for my uncle who recently died. Several rounds of salt and pepper fried squid, ginger beef, and Singapore noodles were consumed at the dumpy, but excellent Chinese restaurant, "Golden Inn".   It was an exhausting time for all, extreme heat for Calgary, no air conditioning, late nights visiting and one night of babysitting all had its toll. I am now living in the cute little campground in Okotoks close to where mom lives in assisted living. Dirk and my two daughters flew back to Houston on Monday. Today is a day of transition, my best friend arrives tonight and tomorrow we head back up to Banff so that she can see the breathtaking beauty of Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Johnson's Canyon and the Banff Springs Hotel among the few items. We will be staying in a hotel as it doesn't seem worthwhile to haul Traveling 23 up there for one night. She has gotten a lot of use in the last month. We continued to sleep in her, on the street in Calgary as there were 12 people to accommodate into a three bedroom 1200 square foot townhouse. But she has been given a thorough cleaning, restocking, and is now ready to hit the road again. A little bit of a concern as I found water under the sink last night. I am not sure where it came from but fortunately I had lined the cupboard with heavy, plastic shelf paper. Something to keep an eye on. Today I plan on acquiring some saskatoon berries to smuggle across the border in the freezer. They are similar to a blueberry but a more intense flavor. You will know how generous of a mood I am in if I happen to share a pie with you in the future. Without a doubt they are my favorite pie berry. I am afraid it isn't going to happen though as the crop is late this year. Just a couple of photos of my sweet grandbaby at the zoo and splashing in the wading pool at Riley Park in Calgary (I primarily shot with Big Bertha (Nikon 3x) and Lighter Linda (Nikon D80) which require to much work to supply photos for the blog. Stay tuned for the continuing adventures as I travel back to Houston.