donna's world

2008-03-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

something

2008-03-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

something

2008-03-17T18:30:00.001-07:00

something

2008-03-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

something

2008-03-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

soemthing

something

2008-03-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

something

soemthing

2008-03-17T14:44:00.001-07:00

something

2008-03-17T14:40:00.001-07:00

something

The Perils of Traveling in the New Year

2008-03-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Finally arrived in Largo Canyon after a very eventful journey!
First of all the young & zealous, "by-the-book" US Immigration officer asked for my return ticket and was not pleased that I did not have one. Then he asked where I worked, and being honest, I replied: " I'm retired". Well, that didn't go over well either. Next he asked how I planned to support myself while in the United States. I had already told him I was staying with my dearest friends so I showed him my financial plan. He asked how come I was carrying it around with me! I explained that I hadn't had a chance to review it and that as John was a CPA, he could advise me. So, I was sent through the Dreaded Double Doors so someone could interrogate me more in, I expect, a soundproof room.
Signs everywhere noted "please wait till your name is called", so I opened my suitcase to find my old passport to show that I've been to New Mexico every Spring for the past 5 years. Then this deep voice behind me (where I didn't even know there was a door) said: "Donna, come here". I turned around and there was a big guy in uniform standing there. I said: "I've found my old passport". He said, shaking his head: "Donna, Donna, Donna, it's OK, I know you". I said "What?" He went on to explain that he had checked me in before on one of my trips & remembered me, so we stood chatting for awhile. He sort of apologized for the guy outside saying sometimes they are just too keen. I asked if I should always buy a return ticket to avoid feeling like a criminal and he said nothing would help, I would just have to buck-up and deal with what happens.
Next my flight from Vancouver was delayed for a couple of hours as the cabin crew neglected to show up & couldn't be located. I did offer to help, as I am a waitress after all, but apparently there were safety issues involved. The delay passed very quickly as I met a pilot from New Zealand who had been in Vancouver for a job interview with Canadian Helicopters. He was very interesting, having worked in various parts of the world. He volunteered that Denver was known as the "Mile High City" and really you are expected to renew your membership in the Mile High Club every 6 months! I gently and politely declined as I know how tiny the bathrooms are on those commuter jets! And, Matt, if you're reading this, thanks for the invitation!
My connection from Denver to Durango wasn't a problem as I had a 3' layover in Denver. Flying out of Denver into Durango we hit heavy snow but didn't have any trouble landing and Pat was waiting for me! So nice to have someone waiting. I arrived but my luggage did not arrive on the same plane. Apparently had been scanned onto the next flight, arriving in 45 min and we were advised to wait for it, which we did. The pilot flew over the airport, assessed the snow-covered runway and turned back to Denver with my bags! United airport staff said they would deliver the luggage as soon as they arrived from Denver.
With evening approaching and heavy snow falling, Pat and I took off for the Navajo City Roadhouse in John's brand new white truck (without 4 wheel drive). We were fine until we reached the mountain passes between Colorado & New Mexico. When we hit ice on the road we started to slowly slide towards the embankment. We slid ever so slowly because Pat had been cautiously driving at about 15 km per hr, she was able to drive into the slide, the tires gripped the mud and gravel on the side of the highway and we stopped our slide to oblivion. We were the only traffic on the road ever since we had left Ignacio and the truck would have been almost invisible in the snow if we had gone over thein side. It was so scary!
We both dreaded reaching the Navajo Dam with a causeway down the center of the lake and if it was as icy as the road, we could easily slide off into the water! Luckily once we left the foothills the snow turned to rain and we were safe. We arrived at the Roadhouse about 3 hours late but Pat's brother, Phil was waiting with hot tea and even hotter burritos. Refreshed, we started the hour long drive into Largo Canyon, with just a light rain to accompany us. John, the dogs and the cats all seemed very happy to see us. Luckily I had left a suitcase here last year with pj's, jeans, t-shirts, socks, and boots...everything I needed for a few days in the canyon!
Which was just as well, cause now 2 days later my luggage has still not arrived! Durango is snowed in (5-6 feet) with electricity cut off and emergency shelters organized to accommodate stranded travelers. I think my luggage will not be a priority for the airport folks! I've just checked the tracking number via the internet and United now says that they have not located my luggage!
It has been snowing here in the canyon, turning all into a winter wonderland. Feeding the horses is so much easier this year with the new hay barn. I helped Pat with horse training and then I shoveled some horse manure, a very satisfying day! It's good to be back here.

The Perils of Traveling in the New Year

2008-03-17T02:10:00.000-07:00

I've finally arrived in Largo Canyon after a very eventful journey!
First of all, unfortunately, I ended up in front of a young & zealous, by-the-book US Immigration officer who promptly asked for my return ticket and was not pleased that I did not have one. Then he asked where I worked, and being honest, I replied: " I'm retired". Well, that didn't go over well either. Next he asked how I planned to support myself in the US (I had already told him I was staying with my dearest friends) so I showed him my financial plan from October. Suspiciously, he wanted to know how come I was carrying it around with me! I explained that I rec'd it just before leaving for Thailand and hadn't had a chance to review it & that John was a CPA and could help me. So, I was sent through the Dreaded Double Doors so someone could interrogate me more fully in, I expect, a soundproof room.
Signs everywhere noted "please wait till your name is called", so I opened my suitcase looking for my old passport which showed just how many times I've spent my Spring in New Mexico: 5. Then this deep voice behind me (where I didn't even know there was a door) said: : "Donna, come here". I turned around and there was this big guy in uniform standing there. I said: "I've found my old passport". He said, shaking his head: "Donna, Donna, Donna, it's OK, I know you". I said, of course: "What?" He went on to explain that he had checked me in before on one of my trips & remembered me, so we stood chatting for awhile & he sort of apologized for the guy outside saying sometimes they are just too keen. I asked if I should perhaps always buy a return ticket to avoid feeling like a criminal & he said nothing would help, I would just have to buck-up & deal with it when it happens.
Next my flight from Vancouver was delayed for a couple of hours as the cabin crew neglected to show up & couldn't be located. I did offer to help, as I am a waitress after all, but apparently there were safety issues involved. The delay passed very quickly as I met a New Zealand pilot who had been in Vancouver for a job interview with Canadian Helicopters. He was very interesting having worked in various parts of the world. Then he told me about Denver being called the "mile high city" and how everyone is supposed to renew membership in the Mile High Club every 6 months! But I gently and politely declined as I know how tiny the bathrooms are on those commuter jets! And, Matt, if you're reading this, thanks for the invitation!
Connecting from Denver to Durango was no problem as United had booked me a 3' layover in Denver. Flying out of Denver into Durango we hit heavy snow but didn't have any trouble landing and Pat was waiting for me! So nice to have someone waiting. I arrived but my luggage did not arrive on the same plane. Apparently it had been scanned onto the next flight, arriving in 45" and we were advised to wait for it, which we did. The pilot flew over the airport, assessed the snow-covered runway & turned back to Denver with my bags! United airport staff said they would deliver my luggage as soon as they arrived from Denver.
With evening approaching and heavy snow falling, Pat & I took off for the Navajo City Roadhouse in John's brand new white truck (without 4 wheel drive). We were fine till we reached the mountain passes between Colorado & New Mexico. The truck slid sideways as the tires failed to grip the ice laying under the snow and we started to slide towards the drop off at the side of the road. We did so ever so slowly as Pat had been cautiously driving at about 15 km/hr, she was able to drive into the slide & the tires gripped the mud/earth on the side of the highway & stopped our slide to oblivion...I say oblivion because we were the only traffic on the road as we left Ignacio and the truck would have been invisible in the snow if we had gone over the side..it was so scary!
We were both dreading reaching the Navajo Dam as there is a causeway down the centre of the lake & if it was icy, we could easily slide off into the water! Luckily once we left the foothills the snow turned to rain and we were safe. We arrived at the Roadhouse about 3 hours late, but Phil was waiting with hot tea & even hotter burritos, thanks to cell phones. Refreshed, we started the hour long drive into Largo Canyon, with just a light rain to accompany us. John, the dogs & the cats all seemed very happy to see us. Luckily I had left a suitcase here last year with pj's, jeans, t-shirts, socks, shoes & boots...everything I needed for a few days in the canyon!
Which was just as well, cause now 2 days later my luggage has still not arrived! Durango is snowed in (5-6 feet) with electricity cut off & shelters organized to accommodate stranded travelers. I think my luggage will not be a priority for the airport folks! And I've just checked the tracking number via internet & United now says that they have not located my baggage!! I know it's a mess over there but I'm missing my lotions and I'm wearing Pat's long johns.
It has been snowing here in the canyon, turning all into a winter wonderland. Feeding the horses is so much easier this year with the hay barn that we built last Spring. We did some horse training yesterday and I shoveled some manure, a very satisfying day! It's good to be back here.

koh samui

2007-12-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

changes

2007-12-06T01:41:00.000-08:00

November: This has been summer of changes, I've lost a very good friend and big sister; I sold my apartment in Vancouver on the West Coast and bought a house in St. Andrews, New Brunswick on the East Coast.
I fell in love with the property first, for the mature trees, for the many moss-covered deer trails through the woods, for the proximity to my sisters, for the 4.5 acres of privacy.
The house itself is 33 years old and needs some up-dating, I began my renovation program by taking down the interior walls on the main floor, it's all tongue-in-groove cedar. First I removed all hardware and doors from the interior rooms, after investing $50 in tools from Canadian Tire (hammer, screwdriver and crowbar). With the very first wall, I ran into problems as the cedar boards splintered. Discouraged, I waited for my brother-in -law, Brian, to advise me. He helped me by starting the closet removal for me, so I worked on that first. I had Brian inspect my demolition attempts each evening to ensure that I was doing the right thing. I didn't want to have the roof come crashing down on me or to crack the windows by putting too much tension on them.
I think he was amazed, not only by my efforts, but also by the fact that I cleaned up the area each evening. Skills and work ethic that I learned over the past 5 years from Pat in Largo Canyon!

2007-08-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

summer in the city

2007-08-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

I've moved back into the apartment that I left 5 years ago when I started my journey - the apartment that I vowed I would never live in again! Amazing how one's perspective changes with travel. I find that I am happy here in the midst of this city, enjoying anew all the reasons why I originally bought this place.
It's wonderful to be in my own space, albeit only for the next several months till I sell the apartment. Also it was amazing to retrieve all my belongings from storage, where they had been for the past 5 years. Amazing, too, to discover that I had packed up and stored no less than 14 boxes of books! I wonder now what I must have been thinking, did I assume that after my travels I would settle back here once again?
And what about the boxes of cystal and china? I cannot imagine living a life where I could use these again. Accumulating worldly goods no longer has the same appeal for me, I have been content with my meager possessions and simpler life style of recent years.
My brothers do like to point out that, although I have remained fairly unencumbered, I do have stashes of clothes, pictures and books in all major centres: Largo Canyon, St. Andrews, Gibsons, Surrey and Ko Samui!

brothers 3 in Kelowna

2007-06-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Another view of my 3 brothers..I wonder why Marty is always in the middle?

brothers

2007-06-24T17:52:00.001-07:00

The great thing about being back on the West Coast is that I can see all my brothers! Marty has arrived back after wintering on Ko Samui (he's the middle one above) Pat says he looks like George Bush, I'm not so sure. Wayne, the youngest on the right, lives here and Bob (on the left)lives in Kelowna. Last Friday we all spent the night at Wayne's and caught up on events over the past 6 months amidst copious amounts of red wine.
It has rained every day since I arrived back here in BC and today was no exception. I am cleaning the apartment that I've been renting for the past year and moving into my own Yaletown pad. Cleaning is not my favouritte pastime so I'm quite OK with the rain today. I'm certainly hoping for drier & sunnier weather in July so I can enjopy the rooftop deck.
The highlight of my day was a 3-way Google Talk session with Pat & Ra, altho' things did get a little confusing over the Elvis impersonators. Seems we three have all personally known Elvis impersonators: I had to be reminded that Andrea Appolloni, of Rome, was one. I wonder how come he sent Pat a demo and not me!!!!

finding my totem

2007-06-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

Three years ago on my annual trip to Largo Canyon, Pat and I had a long discussion on what my totem could be. I'd never felt any attraction or connection to any particular animal so choosing a totem proved to be quite difficult. I tried dreaming of an animal because often Native American Indians had their totems choose them in this fashion. Being a Native Canadian of the Mic Maw tribe of Newfoundland, I thought this would be the best way. Unfortunately, altho' I always have excellent adventuresome dreams whenever I'm in the Largo, this time no animals appeared to me.
Perhaps because she was tired of my constant whining about being totem-less, Pat suggested a "meer cat". (She, of course, is that excellent Jack Rabbit Woman!) I was totally unfamiliar with the meer cat and was actually unaware that they even existed so I proceeded to dismiss it as a possibility. As often happens with Pat's suggestions, I was unable to forget about it and even went so far as to research pictures of meer cats.
I've been using one as my avatar on Google Talk for awhile now. Recently, I came across this advertisement for Telecom Australia on UTube. After watching it, I am convinced that the meer cat must be my totem as I often find myself nodding off to sleep over dinner in exactly the same way, especially after a long work day at Largo Canyon!

meercat

2007-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

january in new brunswick (archived entry)

2007-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

January 25th It's so cold here in Eastern Canada. I'm in St. Andrews, New Brunswick for 6 weeks to visit my sisters. Mostly we stay in the house or bundle up & just run to the car & back to the house. Can't walk anywhere because is 40 below with wind chill factor. I tried to go out for a walk the other day but had to come home because my face was getting frostbitten and my legs were so cold in my cords that they were burning/tingling!

The picture shows the "sea mist" that occurs when the air is colder than the water of the Passmaquoddy Bay, off the North Atlantic Ocean. It is beautiful when it occurs but shows how very cold it is!

It's my birthday! Very strange to be amongst family for my birthday, am usually in Thailand at this time of year. Linda and Sandy invited some of my friends in for lunch & we had a super time...I made my own birthday cake (lemonade) as I wanted something fairly light & not too calorie-ridden.

Cold weather comfort food is the mainstay here but I've taken a membership at the local gym & am trying to workout every couple of days. I'm still following the program for walking the 10K Sun Run in Vancouver in April. It's a battle, though: home cooking (crab bisque, warm gingerbread with whipped cream, banana cream pies, garlic smashed mashed potatoes, moose chili, baked beans, etc.) VS exercise. You can imagine which is winning right now but I'm hopeful that I'll eventually emerge the victor.

low tide st. andrews wharf

2007-06-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

june in st. andrews

2007-06-07T19:16:00.001-07:00

Spent last ten days in NB visiting my sisters, Linda & Sandy. Weather was wet with occasional sunny breaks but that didn't lessen Linda's enthusiasm for shopping. I left there with 6 pairs of shoes and a complete summer wardrobe. Now I only have to find summer as it's wet in BC as well!
Highlights were a sunny afternoon spent in Catherine's garden drinking brandied coffees, nights at Sandy's lakeside cottage listening to the rain on the tin roof,
the nightly glasses of Merlot with Sandy after cleaning the laundromat and sitting in front of the video store, eating ice cream with my sisters.

a jeep experience

2007-05-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

May 15, NM: Driving someone else's jeep through Ice Canyon without headlights was an experience I have no wish to repeat! After our shift at the Roadhouse last Sunday, Pat announced that I had to drive her jeep home: 19 miles down the dirt road called the General American. I usually sleep all the way home! She would be driving the welding truck pulling a trailer load of hay bales for the horses.
Things were fine while we were on the highway but once we hit the rutted dirt road my bladder began to protest all the tea that I had drunk that day. As I wrenched the steering wheel from side to side to avoid the deepest potholes, slowing to first gear over the cattle guards, I kept telling myself that I could hold on till we hit the half-way mark at the pond. When I hit the horn repeatedly with no response from Pat except a speeding up in the fading light, I began to get really concerned. I had to drive faster & more aggressively than I really wanted to just to keep her dust in sight. I couldn't afford to lose sight of her as there are many forks in the road through the mesas and it's easy to get lost.
My bladder concerns were shortly forgotten as I realized that although I could turn the wipers and washer on, I couldn't find the headlight switch. My vision was fading with the daylight. Pat was continuing to drive fairly fast without headlights, I was sure that she was part owl. Just as I was about to stop because I could no longer safely drive in the twilight to keep up with her (or ignore my bladder issue), she pulled to the side of the road and ran over to the Jeep saying "I have no headlights, I've been driving as fast as I can to get home before dark but now I need you to drive first with your lights on to show me the way!" just as I was saying: "I have to go to the toilet and I can't find your headlight switch!"
Well, after answering nature's call and getting Pat to turn the Jeep's headlights on, we were off again with me in the lead, at a much slower pace needless to say. Just as I turned the corner into the steepest & most dangerous part of the drive, Ice Canyon, my headlights went out! I hit the brakes to a complete stop & they came on again! I started forward & they went off again. I felt like they were on an automatic flash mode, on and off every few seconds. Luckily there was moonlight & I could see the road fairly well when the light went out but then I would be momentarily blinded as they continued to flash on & off all the way down into the Largo and home. I could only see Pat's truck as a dark looming shape behind me.
As we hit the final turn into the school driveway, the back window & door opened on the Jeep & swung upwards & outwards respectively. I stopped the Jeep, turned off the engine & refused to drive it any further!

channeling Rita-Mae

2007-05-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

May 07, NM: John & Pat bought a cafe last year, The Navajo City Roadhouse, which is about 1&1/2 hour drive from here. Pat works there on Sundays & I go to help her & keep her company. When I was here last year and first worked at the cafe, I wrote on Pat's blog as Rita-Mae, the waitress with a heart of gold and a chest to carry it. So, I've felt like a Rita-Mae ever since.
I have worked as a waitress before, all during high school, & it quickly comes back. I'm a little slow on the cash register but all the customers (99.9% male) are very patient with me. I've had one proposal, not sure of what but he kept saying: "I'm single & I own my own house, a really nice house". He never actually asked me out on a date, sounded more like he was asking me to move in with him! Not sure what a date might comprise of as I live 30 miles off the main road down a bumpy,often impassable and always impossible, dirt road! Apparently single Caucasian women weighing less than 200 lbs are a rarity in these parts and clean ones without facial hair are even rarer.
We serve mostly New Mexican cuisine - everything with chiles on it. The NM State question is red or green, meaning how do you want your chile sauce? The special is a huge hamburger called the "Roadkill" and it takes a big man to order one & a bigger one to actually eat it. Our best seller is the take-out burrito with salsa sauce, I sell a lot of them at under $4.00 a piece. Everyone down here drinks gallons of iced tea with scoopfuls of sugar in their glasses. Very little coffee or hot tea!
The customers are oil field workers who spend all day in their truck driving from rig to rig to service them or they stay on-site for 10-14 hours at a time with no one else around so they really appreciate having someone to talk to. The shy ones are my favourite, they act like no one has ever been interested enough in them before to ask them what they are doing out there on the rig. They act all embarrassed and mumble their replies. But I love it here!

April in Largo Canyon

2007-05-15T20:17:00.001-07:00

April 07, NM: Back in the Largo again.... Weather hot and sunny, cold at night. Learning new skills like spreading compost over a 2500 sq' area, levelling it by pulling a section of chain link fence over it, seeding it by handfuls tossed into the wind, then covering seeds by pulling afore-mentioned fence piece again. Front area looks great & just as we finished seeding (after 3 days of moving compost and spreading with a rake), it rained. Perfect, we should have little green grass shoots coming up in a few days, if we can keep the donkeys off the area.
There is a mule here called Chester & he is quite ornery but incredibly clever-he opens the stall gates with his lips/nose/teeth and escapes, often taking the rest of the herd with him. Luckily the perimeter of the property is fenced. Chester has managed to escape his pen every day I've been here. Today I was able to close his gate behind him, keeping the rest inside as I was in the stalls mucking them out. Not as bad as it sounds, the horses and donkeys find me quite fascinating and it's more of a problem trying to work around them than anything else.
Paisley is not quite ready for me to practice riding on, so I've been practicing mounting and emergency dis-mounting and rein controls on a really sweet little Hinny (donkey mother,/horse father) named Cracker Jo. He is more my size as Paisley is so huge, I'd have to climb to the top rung of the fence to mount her and I'm sure I'd break a leg trying to dis-mount she's so far off the ground.
Sunday was my first stint as a waitress but as it was Easter Sunday there was very little custom. And everyone who did come in said: "Oh, You're the Canadian!" Guess it's good to be remembered. Getting used to "Yes, Ma'am" again.
Today weather is brisk with a totally wicked wind from the north running down the canyon...it's difficult to work outside but the sky is a brilliant blue with sunshine. I saw a blue heron at the pond yesterday, hoping it is nesting. The red-winged blackbirds aren't here, yet. The cowboy, Clay, has moved on to Arizona...guess there is some reason why his email address is "lostcowboy".