Archive for the ‘Happiness’ Category

After many years of pursuing her artistic side as a painter, knitter, crocheter, quilter, and all-round artistic person, my wife Marilyn has turned her artistic ability to the field of photography.

Of course she didn’t just start taking pictures yesterday. For over a year now I’ve watched her gradually hone her skills and apply her artistic talents to the camera lens.  Of course no one is a tougher critic on an artist than the artist herself. However, she has gladly accepted help and advice from many people who’s opinion she valued.

Now finally I have managed to build her a website which I feel is worthy of her craft.  A venue to display her work in it’s best light, and allow us to share her art with friends, family and strangers alike.

Please take time to browse though some of the beautiful photos Marilyn has added recently and will continue to add in the days ahead.  (You should see the thousands she rejected)  If you like what you see, please vote for your favorites. Click “more” on the thumbnail,  then click the appropriate ratings star above the photo.

By all means leave a comment or question if you wish, or a criticism if you must.  All comments are welcome.  Bookmark the site and come back often, I’m sure you will find something delightful every time.

Click Here to Visit    Marilyn’s Photo Shoppe

As mentioned in a previous post Marilyn and I made it out to Alberta at the beginning of July. One of the many highlights of our trip was a chance to visit with my sister Rose and her husband Bill, the Texan. Among his many talents Bill played drums in bands for years and is a very entertaining magician. Check out his website at http://wackyworldofmagic.com

From a very early age Rose was an animal lover. She got her first cat at age 3 and her first horse at 8. Heck I think she may even have had a horse before she got a bicycle. For as long as I can remember Rose has been a rescuer of animals. She was forever bringing home the birds with broken wings and every critter that looked like it hadn’t eaten in days.

Old habits die hard I guess because Rose is still an animal rescuer, only on a much larger scale. Bill and Rose live on a small farm near Spirit River, Alberta and have made it a haven for every abandoned, abused, unloved or unwanted animal in a hundred mile radius and beyond. Often people just want to dispose of an animal because they’re no longer convenient.

Now Rose also raises and trains horses of her own but at the time of our visit the list of livestock included: 32 horses, 14 dogs, 50+ cats, 4 guinea pigs, a rabbit, 4 doves, 2 cockatiels, 5 budgies, 31 chickens, and a Spanish goat.
Bill travels 80 kms each way to his job at a building supply store in Grande Prairie. Rose works night shifts in a nursing home, cleans a bank 5 days a week, does upholstery work at home and still finds time to take care of the daily chores. Just feeding and watering that many animals alone is a big job.
To my knowledge Bill and Rose have never asked for financial assistance to provide for feed, fencing, or veterinarian bills. To make matters worse they lost their home to fire a couple of years ago with no insurance and are still recovering from that.
Now if you have a dog or cat to feed you’ve likely noticed how much it costs to feed them. Try multiplying that cost by one of the numbers above and you’ll begin to grasp the enormity of the problem. Add to that the shortage of rain in Northern Alberta this year has adversely affected pasture and hay supplies. Being a farm boy myself nobody has to spell out the implications of that to me.
As usual there are people willing to criticize the rescue efforts. Few seem inclined to offer help in any way, or even an encouraging word in support.

Bill and Rose have dubbed their operation TexAlta Rescue and I know some of you animal lovers out there would like to be involved in their heroic efforts.
The best way you can do that is make a donation to the cause of whatever size you can manage.

Thanks to the internet It’s now easier than ever to make a donation. Either through your online banking or via PayPal you can send donations to:

texaltarescue@gmail.com care of Rose Salyers.

Or if you have questions or comments you can direct them to that email address as well.
You can make a difference with even a small donation to this humanitarian effort. In the months ahead I will be following up with articles about some of the individual rescued animals and their stories. Stay tuned.

We are also talking over the idea of offering to let folks foster individual animals for a month or a year.  More details on that in a later post.

To put my money where my mouth is I will make a $1 donation in your name for each positive comment to this post between now and the end of August 2010.  (One per person please.)

Once again I have been far too lax about posting to this blog.  Maybe I can beg off with the excuse that I’ve been out gathering new material.  Anybody buy that?

Well it’s partly true.  Marilyn and I decided that in order to afford a holiday this year and spend some time together we would have to combine business with pleasure.  So on the 21st of June she threw her kit bag in the truck with mine and we headed off on our great summer getaway.

Hartland Covered Bridge

First stop Florenceville, NB where Marilyn met some of the Fastrax office staff for the first time, including the lady who was in charge of my orientation, and my dispatcher.  From there we went to Grand Falls where we picked up a load of frozen pizzas destined for Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. (Marilyn says “Don’t forget the garlic fingers”).

Northern Ontario

Marilyn kept the camera clicking all across New Brunswick, Quebec, and Northern Ontario into Manitoba.  Sure glad we got the 16 GB memory stick.  Of course, the wildlife I’ve seen on previous trips decided not to appear this time, but she did manage to snag a lot of scenery and at least one deer.

After delivering our load in Portage we had time to visit the Fort la Reine Museum, and she was able to get many interesting photos.  It just so happened that they were holding  Heritage Day celebrations and we had the opportunity to sample cinnamon rolls baked in an authentic outdoor clay oven.  A little burnt on top but tasty nonetheless.

Covered Wagon Fort la Reine Museum

After spending the morning at the museum we picked up our load at McCain’s and headed west for Edmonton.  With a bit of time to spare we stopped in at Ste. Rose du Lac, Manitoba for a visit with my aunt and uncle.  We enjoyed a delicious supper and a nice visit which included a couple of cousins of mine and their families.

We arrived in Edmonton Sunday evening and met up with a whole herd of family at the Yellowhead Truckstop.  My brother and his wife and one of their sons, two cousins and their husbands, and a nephew with his wife and children whom we had never met before as they came on the scene after we last left Alberta 23 years ago.  Sure doesn’t seem that long.

We delivered our load in Edmonton early Monday morning then dropped the trailer in the yard, and with the companies kind permission headed off bobtail for the north country.  First stop Grande Prairie where we had a nice visit with an old family friend and his recent bride and adopted son.

Come and get it!

Then, on to Spirit River to spend a few days on the farm with my sister and her husband.  First on the agenda was supper at a niece’s home in Wanham where we met her family for the first time, as well as another niece and her family and a nephew now 19 whom we had never met due to our move back to Nova Scotia.  A total of 13 of us at table including three grand nephews and one grand niece.

On Wednesday we accepted an invitation to the home of another cousin of mine on their farm near Woking.  Her husband had build an outdoor brick oven and we enjoyed a feast of home made pizza cooked to perfection in five minutes flat.  Since he had built it some distance from the house and at the bottom of a hill, he also got his exercise between pizzas.  It’s not every day one gets pizza delivered by scoop shovel, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Pizza on a shovel

Thursday morning, Canada Day, saw us bidding a sad farewell and starting on our return to Edmonton to go back to work.  A short visit in Wanham to allow the young ones a visit inside the truck and get a couple of treats to remember us by and then on the road again.  We stopped for a visit and supper with a cousin and her husband in Spruce Grove then on to the truck stop in Edmonton to await a load assignment in the morning.

More of our working holiday adventures to come ,and more details of our farm visit for you animal lovers out there.

I was crossing back into Canada this morning from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario via the Ambassador Bridge. This bridge, as usual is undergoing repairs, with the accompanying lane restrictions. I was struck by the thought that life is a series of bridges.

Birth is a bridge between wherever we were waiting, to the beginning of our life on planet earth. Education is a bridge from our childhood into the responsibilities of adulthood.

Marriage is a bridge between the selfishness of ourselves, to building a cohesive family unit. Employment is the bridge which carries us from depending on others to self sufficiency and the pride of accomplishment.

Retirement is the bridge that takes us from a life of productivity and experience, through a period of reflection and self evaluation into a time for reaping the rewards of our efforts. Boy am I ever looking forward to that one.

And the final bridge carries us into the great unknown. Possibly the next great adventure in the ongoing saga that is our souls existence. Some folks agonize over this one or try to avoid thinking about it. I view it as just another great bridge I haven’t had a chance to drive on yet. I’m just hoping its not under construction when I get to it.

Another Transportation Route

On Tuesday the 18th of May, my mother Florence Parker (who is 84 and visually impaired) and I, spent the day out shopping together. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had already made several stops around town, working through our list of errands. 

Everything went well until we stopped at Staples in the middle of the afternoon. When we came out of the store, the van wouldn’t start.  My first thank you goes to the staff at Staples for the assistance they provided, enabling me to get in touch with CAA.   MacKenzie’s Towing would be there in about a half an hour…Fantastic!

No Go!!

So mother and I waited, hoping it was perhaps just a dead battery. A quick boost, and we’d be on our way. But such was not to be.  Glen put the battery pack on, and found the battery was fully charged. After checking around under the hood for a any visible problems, he informed me we’d have to take it to a garage. 

The battery wasn't to blame.

Glen let me use his cell phone, to call our son James to come and get Grannie.  Glen then helped us carry her purchases into the Staples store where there was a bench just inside the doors and it was cooler than out in the parking lot. He then went and had a chat with the cashier, I assume explaining why the little old lady was waiting on the bench. 

He then loaded the van on  the tow truck and I got in. He made a circle around the parking lot and then stopped facing the Staples door. He looked at me and said, “We’re not leaving until your son gets here. I could not thank him enough. Soon James drove in, I had a quick word with him, then ran to let Mother know he had arrived.  She could not see us, but had heard the motor of the tow truck running, so felt relieved we were still in the parking lot, hoping we would be there until James showed up, which we were.

Then with me back in the tow truck, off we went to the Debert garage where we dropped the van, and then Glen, though it was out of his way, drove me home to Belmont. No doubt this was just a typical day in Glen’s  life as a tow truck driver, but for me and my Mom, his caring and concern turned a stressfull afternoon into a much more positive one. He took the time not only to assist us with the van, but went out of his way to look out for both of us.  A true gentleman indeed who deserves far more than this small recognition. Both Mother and I extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for all that he did.  Should I ever be faced with a break down again, I just pray it will be Glen who comes to my rescue.

A big wave of thanks from Florence Parker.

Thank you CAA for calling MacKenzie’s Towing, and thank you to the MacKenzie dispatcher for sending out your top notch driver. Last but not least, thanks to the GrumpyOldTrucker blog for giving me this opportunity to let others know there are still people in this world who care, and who go beyond the call of duty in the work place.

Our sincere  thanks to everyone… from Marilyn Gould and her mother Florence Parker.

PS. A note to the curious.  The problem was the starter. $309 later and mother and I are set for more adventures together.