"L"

And, after all the hype.... a half-century of it to be exact..... it is over. Turning the big 5-0 has come and gone. Celebrating my fiftieth trip around the sun was uneventful. Not even painful really. Except of course the day after the Cinco de Mayo party. But that was my own fault.... LOL!

As always, Michelle is the gracious hostess

with the most-est..... Gracias Amiga!

Never a dull moment in the Simpson Shop!

I was also quite surprised, when invited out for supper by my bestie Toni the other night. Not that I was surprised to go out with her - it was a nice treat to plan a supper date.... the unexpected part was that she gathered together the girls, and got the coolest birthday cake for me.... the evening was awesome! We had lots of laughs and I ate lots of icing.... mmmm....

Thank you THANK YOU Toni!

You are so thoughtful! xxoo

So cool!!! Love the picture!!!

These were mighty big shooters! Thanks Charlotte!

Other than that, it's been a quiet couple of weeks. The Social Club had another rustic sign painting night, so I checked that out, and now I'm impatiently waiting for some patio weather so that I can hang up my new artwork.... 

If Mother Nature could please make up her mind about what season she'd like to be in, that'd be great. The winter tires came off and as Murphy would have it, the snow flurried pretty much the next day. Oy.

May 2nd!

Anyway, I am sure spring will get here eventually, although I do hope it will be sooner rather than later!!

Cheers!

Birthday / Earth Day

Aaaaand….. it's time to trade in the snowshoes for hiking boots.... finally! This past month has zipped by, and oh what a month it has been! The provincial election was an expected sweep - WOOT - while the NHL hockey playoffs started out with some completely unexpected sweeping.... OY.... Well at least those are two fewer things I need to direct any attention to now. Jeesh.

Anyhow…. We did go for a swim in the sea of red one evening - Flames vs Avalanche Game 2, back when Calgary's cup dream was still alive. The tickets were a birthday present, and even though the outcome was less than desirable, the energy in the Saddledome was pretty cool and it was fun to be in the thick of it!

I've also been putting my mad stained glass skills to the test again. This time, I came up with my own design, which isn't super original but of course is one of my favorite views.

I had planned to take the piece to Canmore, however I might end up leaving it in Red Deer.... it is another nice reminder of why I get up and go to work every day - so I can afford to go play!

Speaking of the Three Sisters, here's the real deal....

Best view we got all day!

The skies were kind of murky and the trail up Lady Mac was mucky and sketchy in spots, and one of us had a little wipe-out on the return trip. Not gonna mention any names, but if you have a look at the pics you can probably figure it out.... tee hee....

For the Easter / Earth Day weekend, I put some miles on the 4-Runner and headed to see the Parents. It was a great visit, and as per usual they were gracious hosts and let me win all the card games!

I might be smirking in this pic....

I rounded out my days off in Canmore, where I enjoyed a fabulous Earth Day exploring (bushwhacking!) in the Yamnuska Natural Area. We were on and off trail for about 16km and made our way past three beautiful tiny lakes, with the likes of Loder Peak, Goat Mountain, and the lovely Yam as the backdrop.

All in all, it has been a lovely start to spring. As the saying goes, March was in like a lion and out like a lamb, but April hasn't really had any showers to bring the May flowers... although there is still a week left!

Cheers!