Jan in Banff

Two weeks ago I was in Banff. That's hard to believe. Tonight I am one of the co-hostesses at a wedding shower for a friend of my oldest son DC and the best friend of DC's wife. (This couple met each other at DC and AA's wedding two years ago, and now they're getting married!) DC and AA are in town, though not right now at home--their huge and snuffling (sweet) bull dog, Sampson, is lying on the floor next to the desk.

I haven't posted my trip pictures yet, but here's one of me taken at Banff that I've put on my Facebook page:

Church banners I endorse

I saw these banners on the front of the University (of Washington) Temple United Methodist Church in Seattle. Perhaps I would have stayed in the Methodist Church if these were endorsed at my former church.

Happily at home!

I'm home! I was very pleased to cancel my flights from Austin to Houston to Corpus Christi, because daughter MJ drove from San Antonio to pick me up at the Austin Airport and then husband CB met us in San Antonio for dinner! It was wonderful to be with both of them and to get back home about an hour ago.

I was lucky enough to have friend JJ drive me to the airport very early this morning. Instead of Pacific time, I hope that I will quickly adjust to Texas time again, because I had to awaken this morning at 4:15 am! Amazingly (for me!), I learned how to use my cell phone as an alarm clock on this trip. I'd only "heard" of such a thing before but now can finally use it.

With easy access to my own computer at home, I look forward to blogging again and visiting my blogging friends. Tomorrow.

Trip almost over

My trip north is almost over. Friend DJ continues to loan me his car, so today daughter AE drove her partner KA and me to Bellingham for my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary! It was a happy coincidence that my husband's family decided to celebrate the anniversary on the one weekend I would be in the northwest. It was a happy day with much laughter, talking, and eating. Three-month-old Hayley, the first great-grandchild, was also there--the center of everyone's attention as only a baby can be. And I was happy that I could be there with my two daughters.

Last night we went to a play in Capit0l Hill in Seattle called "God's Ear." Our prime reason for going was that the daughter of friend NM (who was one of my bridesmaids long ago) had a part in it. It was funny and thought-provoking and was about a couple whose son accidently drowned and how they coped afterwards with their surviving daughter. Libby was wonderful in her part. We got to see her after the play, and she was surprised that we had come to this small, bare theater. That was a happy moment for AE, KA, and me to greeted by Libby, a star!

Capitol Hill was also where husband CB and I first lived when we had graduated from college. Until he got a chemistry job, he painted houses and I was a substitute teacher. We moved there because I had a long-term sub job while the teacher I'd student with went on maternity leave. Soon after, CB was trained in Oregon, and later we moved to VA!

Seattle!

I am in Seattle, which is much warmer than Calgary. My good friend DJ picked me up at the airport and now has taken his two dogs for a walk, leaving me with a computer that allows me to log on to my blog--yay! The one that I got to use sometimes in Calgary usually did not let me log on to blog or to make comments, but then there wasn't that much time to spend on the computer, either.

It is much warmer here than it was in Calgary, though not as warm as it currently is in Texas (80s F.). The weather was quite nice for most of my stay in Calgary. What was interesting was that when I arrived the trees were full of bright yellow leaves, but by the time I left, most of the leaves had fallen. Temperatures drastically fell yesterday so that it even lightly snowed, with nothing sticking. Last night it got down to -3 degrees C. (26.6 degrees F.) and was expected to stay around 5-7 degrees C. (41-45 degrees F.) for the rest of the week.

I had a wonderful time and will write about my trip when I return home on October 14 when I can also download some pictures.

DJ and wife TFJ (my friend since high school and who accompanied me to our 40th high school reunion in August) are always gracious and hospitable. DJ is retired, and TFJ still works. DJ has offered his car to me for my entire four days. Although when I told him how much I dislike Palin (when he proudly showed me McCain/Palin posters in his house windows), he teased me and said he didn't know if he'd let me use his car. . . .

So I am driving over to Ballard around noon to meet my daughter AE at her apartment. We'll go out to lunch and spend the day together. I've brought her a book about Canada (Canadians: a Portrait of a Country and Its People by Roy MacGregor, because she is always talking about emigrating there. Though I'm supposed to have dinner with TFJ tonight, I am enticed by a lecture AE told me about that will be at the University of Washington tonight--how religion is affecting this presidential election!

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But now at 5 pm, it's 50 degrees, and I'm cold. Maybe I've turned into a "Texan" after all. No lecture for me tonight, so the book may be added to my reading list for the future: The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America.

Calgary!

This is my third beautiful day in Calgary, where they are experiencing a sudden Indian Summer. The fall leaves, mainly yellow, are magnificent, and it is wonderful to be outside! It has been in the high 70s each day, with cool, cool mornings. I am having a difficult time converting Celsius to Farenheit--husband CB always quickly calculates temps with a complicated formula that I never can remember. Don't tell me here; I don't really want to know. So cousin Margaret has a broken thermometer that has both ways of reading the temperature, and I can cheat by going to look at the scale and choose the corresponding temp.

Being her reminds me of living in RI and NJ, with the fall leaves, tall trees, and two-story houses (not new). The University of Calgary is only a few blocks away, so students with backpacks are always walking by. There are many rooms rented in this neighborhood. In fact, my cousin rents out the basement to a college student.

Margaret's daughter NF, who is living with her while finishing her master's in engineering, left her laptop out on the kitchen table for me this morning. I get up before everyone else, so I am using it while Margaret and NF are still in bed. (I also go to bed much earlier than they do.)

This laptop has been iffy about logging on. I hadn't been able to comment on any blogger blogs or sign in here, until just a few minutes ago. So I thought I'd better grab the chance.

The Canadian Premier debates were on last night at the same time as the v-p debates from the US. So we had two tvs going, so we could each watch our respective country's shows. Go read Fran, the Quaker Agitator, and Angry African, among others for good observations about the debates. All I can say is that Biden convinced me overwhelmingly to vote for him and Obama, even though that was my original intention.

My trip begins today!

Here's a map of Air Canada routes. If you look way down in Texas for the one red line going northwest, that's the route I'll be flying to Calgary today. I'll be visiting Cousin Margaret and her family for the next nine days; then on October 9, I will fly one of those red paths from Calgary to Seattle! I will be seeing daughter AE and partner KA in Ballard.

I am not sure if Cousin Margaret has a computer at her house; I know she does not communicate via email at all. So I may not be on a computer until I get to Seattle. . . so no blogging until then.

I will return to Corpus Christi, TX on October 14.

Trip coming up!

On Tuesday I am flying from TX north to AB, Canada!


My cousin (really my mother's cousin) Margaret just called me from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where I am traveling to on Tuesday, September 30. She is graciously planning events for us to attend and was asking how well I can walk and/or climb stairs after my knee arthroscopy. What's also exciting is that she asked her family to celebrate her birthday on October 2 in Bannf! I have always wanted to go to that beautiful area of the Rocky Mountains!

Bannf, Alberta, Canada

My underlying urge to visit Cousin Margaret was to get her to tell me family stories--I even bought a digital voice recorder for that purpose. I am realizing she is welcoming me into her family so as to help me know that they are all my family, too. I'll be meeting her children and grandchildren, too, whom I've only seen pictures of.

I will visit in Calgary until October 9 when I will fly to Seattle to see daughter AE and her partner KA. This way I'll spend the weekend with them there, when they are off work. This lonely only child suddenly has a lot of family to visit up north.

It will be a shock to return to hot weather again on October 14!