Cuttin' and Burnin'

True to the Alberta way, May Long around both Red Deer and Canmore was forecasted to be pretty soggy. So between the unsurprising weather predictions and the fact that the Cooke family cabin needed to be opened up for the season, Chris and I loaded up and headed west, to Shuswap Lake.



Oy, one of us is looking very serious.

I mean really, what's more fun than a road trip!

We drove through a bit of the wet stuff....

...but by the time we got to Sicamous,
the sun was out!

Hmmm... This might be the first indication that
there was going to be a bit of work to do....

Oh boooy.....

There was tree debris everywhere!

So we knew that a few large trees had recently been felled (technical tree cutting term I think!), as preventative maintenance, but neither of us really anticipated the mess that would be left behind. Although, kudos to the guys who did it, because not a single bit of damage was done to any of the structures - super impressive considering the slope of the land and the massive amount of foliage. Aside from the cabins still standing however, the whole place looked a bit like a tornado hit it. Kind of overwhelming at first to say the least, but once we got the boat unloaded and had the token "We're at the lake!" beer, we decided to just get started. So, Thursday afternoon and most of Friday consisted of dragging branches and hauling logs. Chris chain-sawed and I was the grunt of the operation - he chopped it and I moved it. And wouldn't you know it, eventually the stairs and the flowerbed emerged!



The branches were hauled down to the beach.

The logs were lugged up to the woodshed.

Not sure who thought it would be a
good idea to give me the chain-saw.....

Finally! Almost like it never happened.

There is a PLETHORA of firewood now!

Lumberjacks Are Us

Kickin' back after a hard day's work!

We finished up just in time to head to the marina and pick up the rest of the crew who were joining us for the weekend. Say hello to some more of the Cookes!

Lorelee, Randy, Ashley, and the poochies, made it out on Friday evening, and we ate and drank and got all caught up on what everybody did over the winter. Then of course since we were at the beach, and since we had a ton of freshly hacked-up wood, Saturday and Sunday were spent around the fire. Saturday was gorgeous....

That's right... I had some
quality naptime with Gus.
(The above two pics are courtesy of Lorelee - thanks!)

Sunday was a bit rainy, okay very rainy, but still completely enjoyable...

Brilliant idea to bring umbrellas Lorelee!

That's Rebel Randy in the middle.

Look at these two beauties and their lovely grins!
How can you NOT be happy out here!
(Pic courtesy of Lorelee.)



Found a couple of funny beach anomalies....



Love it here!

As always, Monday showed up way too quickly, and the fun had to come to an end. But the place looks great and everyone had a fabulous time! Can't wait to go back! Until we see you guys again....

Cheers!

My token Rockies photo.... *SIGH*
Today - my last day off - was the nicest!
Go figure.

Celebrate!

Happy Birthday to me! A few days ago, that is. And what better way to celebrate another successful trip around the sun - I'm goin' to Iceland! Twenty-seven more sleeps and I'll be in the magical Nordic island country. Visiting the isolated ruggedness of Iceland has been on my hit list for years, and now it is finally materializing. I am so stoked!

Until then, it will continue to be 'head down, a** up' at work, with perhaps a mountain getaway or two in the interim.

Oh, and before I forget: Happy happy HAPPY Mother's Day to all of the brave, strong, wonderful women I know who've given birth, and especially to my own Momma - I am forever grateful that you thought it would be a good idea to bring my 9+ pound carcass into this world, forty seven years ago last Thursday... I love you Elinor!

Cheers.

The Flags are at Half Mast.....

Wow. This is the most incredibly sad day, out of my nearly 17 years working at the Nova Chemicals Joffre Site. You see today, the unthinkable happened. There was a workplace accident at my plant this morning, and a person lost his life.


I am absolutely stunned. This is surreal. I am sitting at my desk (yes, I am blogging from work! and I don't really care who knows about it), and I must admit I am having a hard time focusing on my tasks at hand. This is the type of thing that I often read about in the papers... but it is NOT something that I ever would have imagined I'd encounter at my place of employment. Unbelievable. Wow.


I don't know all of the details of the incident, but what I do know for sure, is that my employer is hands down the most safety-conscious company you will ever find. The well-being of its employees and contractors alike is their top-shelf priority. This was a completely unexpected tragedy, and our amazing Emergency Response crew was phenomenal in how they handled the situation. Thank you to each and every one of them.


Today's events are devastating to all of us, and my heart goes out to the worker's loved ones. Sincerest condolences - your lives have changed forever and I am so very sorry for your loss.

Please, please, PLEASE, people.... Look out for yourselves and for those with whom you work every day. Everybody NEEDS to make it home safely at the end of a shift. And today that didn't happen. What an incredibly sad day.

Be safe my friends!

Birthday weekend!

Not my birthday, mind you. It was Chris's birthday on Saturday the 16th, and by all accounts, I'd say he had a good time....

So much for the shiny new 300XC!

Chris and some buddies went out west for the day, and his new toy made its inaugural ride... Of course the bike (and Chris!) came home a tad muddy, but hey.... he didn't buy it to look at it, right! Then on Sunday, we enjoyed the beauty spring temps out at his Mom and Dad's place.

Mmmmmm, cake!

The birthday boy!

This work week has been a long one for me, as Thursday I zipped to southern Texas for an organometallics conference (google that one!). I've been to Houston a few times already, so I didn't end up doing much sightseeing - it was all work and no play!

 

Interesting Texas landscape!

 

Check it out - an alkyls demonstration.

Don't try this at home friends!

 

My plant is taking a 10-day outage starting next Sunday, so the first part of May is going to be hectic to say the least. But the chaos will be tempered by a quick trip to the Shuswap and then.... Iceland! Did I mention that I am excited??! I love having things to look forward to! Life is good!

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

That's the spirit!

Wow! What an eventful 48 hours this past weekend was!

Canmore hosts a fantastic, 10-day long affair called "Uncorked", which is much too cool to try and describe here (google it!). On Friday, we attended the Whiskey and Spirits Tasting event, and long story short, for $40, a person can get right proper intoxicated! You can sample as many of the varieties of whiskey, scotch, vodka, rum, gin, as there is time for. Smart move on the organizers' part - the lights came on at 10pm and we were all encouraged to continue the evening elsewhere!

Following the night of spirits, we were still able to drag our carcasses out of bed at an impressively early hour and head to Sunshine. Where, unbeknownst to us, the "Thrill of the Hill" was taking place. Now, anything sponsored by Coors Light is just going to be a run-away, you've got to expect that. And it was!

 

Not a lot of skiing happened that day, but we met a ton of great people and thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the sun and fun!

Next up: Work, work, work.... I have a training course to go to in Houston this month, and my plant is taking a major outage next month. So the ol' nose will be to the grindstone until pretty much the end of May. But then.... Iceland! Yup, I booked it. Finally! I've been wanting to go there forever, so I figure there is no better time than the present, right??! I can't wait - it will be a much needed vacation, to an amazing chunk of the planet. So excited to explore more of this beautiful world!

Cheers!