Day two of stuck at home. This sucks.

I wasn't feeling 100% on the weekend and Sunday there was definitely something that had upset my body...I did go to work on Monday...I had an interview booked in the afternoon. I didn't make it in yesterday. I was going to go in late but when late arrived I knew I should stay home. Just generally not feeling well. Today I am dizzy. Yep, dizzy. Not ditzy as many have described me...dizzy...hmm, maybe I have been described that way too. Oh well. You know that feeling when you get up to fast that head spin light headed feeling. Yeah, I got that. I got up on time made it to the shower where I washed myself with one hand while holding onto the wall with the other. Dressed and with breakfast inside me I felt the world continue to spin from my couch. Probably not a good idea to drive. I called work and said I wouldn't be in--again.

I really don't like being home sick. It is so different when you want a day at home. I can't do much reading cause I seem to make myself seasick. There is nothing good on day time television and I seem unable to nap.

If it is the flu the symptoms are very mild. If it isn't the flu I don't know what it is. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow I will be up and about. Never fret I am filling up on soup and tea. The cure all for everything...but if I can make it out later I may head to McDonalds for something that would please my taste buds.

The weekend was pretty quiet. Laundry, dishes and some cleaning of the house. Yep...WILD WOMAN!

I headed to the laundromat again Saturday morning with a movie (and my clothes) and a snack. If you haven't seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire I highly recommend it. I watched it in theatre when it came out and rented this weekend...soooooo good. I'm sure you have all seen one episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? well, this show has ties around it. But the Indian version not the US. Trust me well worth a watching.

Sunday evening I went on another forced march of my neighbourhood. I say forced cause I forced myself to get off the couch and outside. I was feeling a bit icky all day so it was a chore to get outside and active. In the end well worth it. No pictures, but I found a new middle east grocery store to check out sometime this week or next. You know me, I love a new grocery store. LOL.

This week should prove to be quiet. My only plans are to buy a new table/desk in the next couple of weeks. I have my sights on one from Ikea but you never know. I may take a look around this week and see what some of the other stores have to offer. Then to figure out if I should re-arrange my living room to accommodate it. Yep...good times.

BTW, the new pic at the top is the controversial elephant making news in Alberta lately. The Calgary Zoo has this wonderful carving outside the elephant exhibit. Some religious groups have issues with this religious symbol being displayed in a publicly funding space. I think that sucks. It is an elephant sculpture and yes, for some it would have religious meaning, for others it would just be a really nice sculpture to look at. Why can't we all just get along?

The results are in...everything is a'ok. Earlier in the month I had another coloscopy. It was the first one since the removal and regrowth of my cervix. I waited the past two weeks for the results and finally...no worries. I have a follow up pap in 6 months and if all is well there I go back to the normal once a year examination.

Phew.

I can't tell you what a load that is off my mind. Yeah.


On a totally unrelated note...how stupid are people? Last week I had potential interviewees asking me "What job?" "Can you send me the ad?" and generally asking a lot of stupid questions. This week I have a no show to a 9am appointment. Yes, she called at 8:50am and said she would be here at 9:20am...that was 20 minutes ago. Grrrr. I almost don't want to do the interview if/when she shows. And I arrange the interviews so we a half hour break in between, if this lady ever does show there will be no break. Grrr. 45 minutes late even with a phone call...not a good sign if you ask me. NEXT!

Photos from the weekend....this should hold you all for a while...

Just outside Entwistle.



Which outhouse pic do you like best? The one with the trees in focus?
Or the one wit the outhouse in focus.

Yes, it is the side of an old barn.

Who left the barn door open?
This barn has definitely seen better days.
Buffalo...lots of them...a whole field of them and hardly any of them posing.
This guy kept giving me dirty looks. I think he was worried about me 'shooting him'. Maybe a bad hair day?

I was here.
River by Entwistle. This is near a camp ground that I am going to try next summer.
Artistic leaf shot.
Dragon fly...isn't he/she pretty?
River I walked along/through/by the other day.
Artistic blurry shot of the leaves changing colour.


No, it isn't mist at the end of the lane, it's dust. But it does look like mist doesn't it?
Old stump in the woods.
Walking the rails in Hinton.
Heading East towards Edmonton.

Nature trail I stumbled upon (literally and figurativly) in Hinton on the weekend.
It's a long way down....from the look out.

View of the mountains from the lookout.
The stars in the sky Saturday night...I swear that's what it is. There was a LOT more stars than shown here. Looks best blown up. The sky was FULL of stars...I even saw a shooting star. Very nice sky...not like in the city.

Photos from the weekend. These are from just a random spot I stopped at on the side of the road. It looked interested I pulled the truck off the road and got out in my bare feet to take a few pics.



Doesn't this sign look like a fun trip just waiting to happen??? Apparently a two day drive would get me there...straight...full, hard on driving...so 4 days in Jennifer time.



And that was my weekend in Hinton.

If you want to know where I am scroll down to the Jasper/Hinton pictures. Yep...there I am. I even requested (and got) the same camp site. I'm being a bit of a sook this morning....the weather man says it is 16 degrees, my fingers and toes say otherwise. I think the HEAVY covering of dew is making it feel colder and damper than it really is. The sleeping bag was terrific. It will definitely take some getting used to. It is mummy style as opposed to the typical barrel style. Mummy style is more fitted, smaller at the feet, wider at the shoulders and you are supposed to put your entire body inside and zip up. Only your face shows. Hands and arms inside. For someone like me who continually flips over and rolls around it is challenging. I'm sure eventually I will get the hang of it. The good news is that even though the temps didn't get anywhere close to 0 I was snug as a bug (and felt literally rolled up in a rug). The dew invaded the inside of the tent...I guess where I touched the end wall with my feet and underneath at some of the pressure points. The good news is...I didn't know the bag was wet or that there was moisture inside the tent until I woke up and inspected it.

Today should prove exciting--not. I hope to wander around some of Hinton and read my book. Relaxing is at the top of the list for this weekend. There are some very dark clouds rolling in over the hills and I hope the sun dries the dew before the rain starts. I don't want to put the tarp on the tent before the moisture drys.

It's Thursday morning. I'm sitting in my living room drinking my tea, surfing the internet and watching the sunrise. There is something nice about watching a sunrise, but then it is also a bit depressing to know you need to be up before the sun to get to work on time. Come on....time change.

My bags are packed for the big camping trip...whoo hoo....or I guess I should say little camping trip. Either way...it will be fun. Likely the last weekend of camping for this year unless this incredible weather holds. It has been 25+ degrees all week. I love, love 25 degrees...if I don't need to work. No, the office isn't too hot. It's too cold. Stupid air conditioning and stupid office mates. We have one lady who is going through some hormonal changes and since she gets hot we all must suffer. The AC is on bust. We are wearing sweaters, pants and socks to work on days when the outside temps are 25+ and she is walking around in short pants and sleeveless tops. I'm sympathetic to a point, but when the rest of us are literally freezing and wearing jackets when we need to spend any amount of time in our boardroom with the door closed something must be done. Sigh.

On the plus side, we are looking at new office space. It is kind of fun. Yesterday we viewed a few sites and fell in love with one. It is ready to go tomorrow if we really wanted and while SS and I do want, there is a bit more to it than that. Start with the $$. It is a significant amount more then we are currently paying. It is also considerably more space. Everyone would have an outside window and there is even a small deck for enjoying lunch outside if one chooses. Fingers crossed.

Other than trying new routes to work...gotta keep the old brain stimulated in the morning there isn't much new and exciting going on. Counting down the minutes until I break free tomorrow afternoon for another weekend of camping.

Booked my campsite for this coming weekend. With temperatures expected to hover around 20 degrees I figured another weekend of camping wouldn't hurt...and it will be SOOOO much fun. I also went and purchased a new sleeping bag. I'm super excited about the new sleeping bag, it is rated for -12. Yep, -12. I was looking for -18 but settled for this one. It was significantly cheaper and at 25% off an even better deal. If/when I do get to go camping in the winter I will have purchased a better tent and sleeping pad so that the combined ratings will keep me snugly and warm.

I'm headed back to the KOA campground in Hinton. It had a fabulous view of the mountains and was nice and clean. It also lets me book ahead of time and guarantees my spot. In fact, I asked for the same spot as last time. The location was good. Close to the kitchen, just far enough away from the washrooms/showers that I am not bothered by the slamming of doors all night and no ugly yellow lights around to keep me awake.

I'm planning my menu and looking forward to the weekend.

One quick update...to go along with the other slightly longer updates I posted earlier today.

My gift has arrived. Dandelion syrup! Kara over at http://wenttofaro.blogspot.com/ had a contest on a while ago and I was one of the lucky winners. The idea is to pass along a home made gift of some kind. Pay it forward sort of thing. Now that my yummy gift has arrived it is time for me to play the game.

Email me at northofnain@hotmail.com and I will pick three lucky winners for a homemade gift. The only catch is that you must be willing to then pass along three homemade gifts to three other people. Don't blog? No worries. Just find three worthy people in your life to pass your wonder creation on to.

Let the contest begin. I will accept emails until September 30 and will let the lucky winners know on October 1.

Ok...moving on to last weekend (not this past weekend....can anyone keep any of this straight?)...my trip to Jasper/Hinton.


The KOA campground in Hinton.

Yes, I know you already saw pictures of my tent...this is more about the box in the photo. This is my electricity/cable box. Yep, cable tv at the tent site. I didn't bring my tv, but it was tempting. I did though enjoy the wireless internet at the campsite though. I know how to rough it.


























And now all my pics are caught up....scroll down to see the rest of Drumheller...

The one problem with blogging is that as I add things over the weekend they post over top of the previous posts and unless you are like my mother and read the magazine from back to front you will ready from last to first. No difference...the Drumheller news does not require any sort of order. That was just an interesting point of reference for you...

Drumheller continued....


I found these old buildings at the top of the hill from the ferry. I made a quick u-turn and had to take a few pictures...I'm only posting a couple...but I have a great idea for a collage. You know those frames where there are spots for a ton of pictures. One could be the main shot of the buildings and then the individual images would be the close ups and certain parts of each building. Not that I have the wall space for it...but it is what I think would look nice.


These signs marked the second hike I went on...very informative...now you can learn about the badlands.





And the next part of my day was the helicopter ride...as previously posted.

Here's a few weeds that were growing along the side of the road.




This is the view going into Drumheller...the photo is certainly not the best, but it was taken through a very dirty window while driving at about 80km/hr.



And a few pics from my fire...nothing like a good fire to warm the soul....and your toes.



And finally...Sunday. Drove down the road to see the hoodoos...after I had a terrific breakfast at a little road side dinner. The food was good and the company was interesting. The diner had about 8 stools around a counter. I took an empty stool and listened to the locals chat over their morning coffee. I think I may have been sitting on someones stool but it was never mentioned. It was the kind of place where a new visitor is noticed and commented on only after the person leaves the room.





Not as amazing as the hoodoos of my mind from Writing on Stone but still very nice. Definitely well worth the trip.



And a final dinosaur from Drumheller...the end.