I just don't know...

As I prepare to take my father to the Veterans Hospital as he can no longer live alone since Mom's passing, I hear of yet another tragic loss... Cpl Nathan Hornburg, a 24 year old reservist with the King's Own regiment, based in Calgary Alberta was killed on Monday when a mortar shell struck as he was attempting to repair a Leopard tank. My everlasting thanks to Cpl. Hornburg for the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. May God grant you peace knowing he died in an effort to help his comrades. The commanding officer of the King's Own Calgary Regiment, Lt.-Col. Rick Coates, released a statement, saying: "He exemplifies courage, dedication to his peers, and a commitment to the mission and to our country for which we are so very proud," Coates said. "He will be sorely missed by all who knew him." Lest we forget... I don't know when I'll write... if I do. Please stay safe, and remember to love the one you're with. Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

hmmm.. this is contagious...

Things will be crazy busy for me this week... so I leave you with this. He has a rather nice toque I must say. Well, ok... This is interesting. Not sure what's crueler (is that a word?)... Forcing inmates to perform this, having one of them cross-dress -where do you think they ushered him to in the end (um... nevermind)? ... or watching it? Or maybe this is more cruel (or crueler? Oh, I give up...) New sports alert!!! A whole new kind of drug scandal 'in the works': Surprise!!! Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Here's your sign... not quite Wordless Wednesday

My dear friend Bond aka Vinny Bond aka Vince aka The Couch aka Boss (to Bruno and Guido) aka Blog God (or he who asks so many questions and attempts to solve all problems in the known universe) wants to know where he can get a certain sign following this post. You know me.. you get what you ask for! - well... my interpretation of it anyway ;p! Here's your sign Vince, hand it to whomever you wish (don't y'all dare start a nasty tag with this!) Here's one for Matt-Man (I know he'd LOVE to put this one up on his property): This one is for Dan... next time sweetie, look for this: This one's for Travis... bro, you were right! Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Mid-week Middle Name MeMe - a tad late...

I was tagged for the Middle Name MeMe (along time ago) by the effervescent Starrlight (and quite a few other people - I forget who and so as not to offend, I'll just say if you still visit me, you know who you are)… I don’t really have a middle name. I’m French Canadian Roman Catholic (well, that’s what it says on census forms) and we don’t do middle names, we have Christening names (yes, you read correctly.. plural)! I’m not about to drag them all out cause then I’d have to tag entirely too many people (apparently those are the rules...) so I picked one of the three. The choice was relatively easy, one is far too common, the other I hate but it was inserted there to appease my step-grandmother Juliette (who was also my Godmother).. so I’m left with one. It’s my daughter’s name. It was my maternal grandmother’s name, a woman I never met but was from what I am told the most gracious hostess and excellent cook. The purpose is, I believe, to share tidbits about oneself... so here we go. Oh, I added a few tunes to match the letters, some have a purpose, others I just enjoy. Alice… A is for Anything… Anytime… Anywhere… That’s friendship. L is for lily of the valley… one of my favourite scents. When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who smelled like lilies of the valley and the classroom smelled like her. She was a sweet and wonderful woman. That was back in the days where it was acceptable for a teacher to give her students a hug if they scraped their knee in the schoolyard, a kiss on the top of the head at Christmas, and a scolding or detention if needed. I wanted to be a teacher then. One hug and she made me forget whatever was upsetting me. I was enveloped in that scent. I is for island. Wouldn’t mind spending time on an island, but there’s not much I’d bring with me. A special someone, a hammock to lay in and be rocked by the gentle breeze of the ocean, and some tunes, maybe something to dance to under the moonlit sky. Oh, my ever thinking Chicklet says.. she’d bring a boat – duh mommy! C is for the Chicklet. She’s the light of my life, the one whose giggles make the whole world right again after a hard day. E is for ... ok I admit it, first thing that popped into my head is Elvis. (Black leather Elvis… not white jumpsuit Elvis). At a very special time in my life, a very special and perfect moment… this song started playing: I apologize to those who have tagged me. I know it took forever. I struggle every day with whether or not I should keep this place going. It’s something I do for me I guess. It’s a very selfish endeavour, but sometimes one needs something that isn’t designed to please others. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every single traveler that comes along on my occasional trips and I cherish the time you make for me. As long as you get something from it. Oh.. and I don’t think there’s anyone left to tag, but if you weren’t and want to give it a whirl, have fun! And please let me know so I can read it… Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

we remember...

Some things touch us in ways we can't explain... In my ears, I can hear a bell... it rings 3 times, then stops, and it repeats this sequence two more times. It's the old signal used when a firefighter has fallen, when the fight is over and the remaining brothers are called back home. In honour of the firefighters who perished on 9/11 "So Others May Live..." Should you wish to see more... please visit this memorial. Love you all more than my luggage! Extra Hugs, smooches and gropes!

Manic Monday - Fishing for birds

I haven't participated in a Manic Monday in a while, and imagine the glee when I saw what the word was... CLUE!!! Some people are just clueless... Enjoy and take comfort! There are folks that are more stupid than you. From the Blue Collar Comedy folks... Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

goodnight sweet prince...

Like so many of my generation, when in comes to opera.. THAT was my first real introduction! I just thought they were geniuses (not the Wile E Coyote kind) for coming up with such marvelous tunes... Imagine my surprise when I discovered a whole world of Opera! It was with a heavy heart that I learned this morning of the passing of Luciano Pavarotti. His voice, arguably one of the most beautiful ever recorded, has been silenced. I wanted to share his voice with you today. Only fair to share Rossini's Figaro... I'm exhausted just listening. Who hasn't lalala'ed to this? hmmm??!!! The Toreador song - we used to sing this in the kitchen my mother and I (of course, we played with the lyrics a bit and there was no powerful chorus in the background, but we had fun!) My mother always cried when she heard his Ave Maria by Schubert... as I do now. I leave you with this... probably the most well known of all the songs he graced us with. And it still gives me chills. Nessun Dorma... the aria from Puccini's Turandot. Grazie Luciano... Grazie Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

WW ... Jonathan said cowBELLS.... sheesh!

Love you all more than my luggage! Hugs, smooches and gropes!

existentialism... blogger style