When I’m sat at my desk looking out the windows in front of me and I can’t see much really, a few industrial buildings, I can see the jagged Foothills of the Rocky Mountains if I crane my neck to see “around” one of the buildings and lots of sky.  Lots and lots of sky.   I am struck at the minute of how I have never, until now, lived in an area that has been as flat. I grew up on the mountains of the Fraser Valley in BC, I lived in Toronto for a while and okay while there are no mountains there, it is not flat (not including the tall buildings!). Even in Ireland, there were always borders on the sky. There was always a small mountain range to frame the area around me.

Now it seems not so. I look ahead of me and I see no limits (even if you know you can cross them), there is just sky. Not even the sense or knowledge of something there to hold you in if you wanted. As I drive to and from work I see almost limitless fields of crops dotted with the odd silo or “grasshopper” oil derrick, I will often catch myself thinking, “where are the mountains?”

Sunday ~ The Husband had to work not only to catch up, but also make up for the lost day last week due to rain.  So the monsters and I entertained ourselves at home until he arrived and then we just hung about the house and had an easy day.

Monday ~ a fairly normal day with the fam getting back in to the swing of things back to work, off to the minder, you know family stuff.

Tuesday ~ The Husband ended up with another rain day so he took the monsters to the minder and collected them as well as made supper (he’s so good I think I’ll keep him!).  I got to go to the dentist to have a couple fillings replaced ~ lucky me!  My mouth was frozen from 6:30pm until well after I went to bed at 11pm.

Wednesday ~ terrible terrible pain!  OUCHIE!!!!! okay in an earlier conversation with my hairdresser-cousin, I said I would rather go to the dentist than the hairdresser as I have had to live with some really bad hair cuts and well at least with the dentist you don’t have to look like an idiot for however long it takes to grow your hair out!  And at least with the dentist, you pop some pain killers and keep your mouth shut!  Yeah I swear the man left razor blades on the side of my tooth!  My poor tongue was getting ripped to shreds!  AND I couldn’t eat and if you need to know one thing about me… you need to know I like my food!  Another trip to the dentist and I can eat again and he removed the razor blade from the side of my tooth (apparently there was a bit of bonding from the filling they were replacing that once it was hit with the ultra violet light, it became clear and therefore it was missed coz he couldn’t see it!!!).  Hairdressers and dentists …. Not fun places to go.  Now to try to convince my dentist that my 20 year old fillings can just stay put …..

Thursday ~ this was a much better day than Wednesday.  Booked girls in to get haircuts with my hairdresser-cousin for Friday night and amazingly I could eat!

Friday ~  Well the day has not started well.  I was later for work and then got caught behind a train which made me later for work and to top that I off the battery died in my phone so I couldn’t even ring ahead and tell them why I was late and get someone to cover my desk until I got there!  At this point my thought is can I go home now?!?!!

okay I’ll admit it and no one tell The Husband!  I really really really miss living in Ireland.  I know that I made TH choose and he chose Canada,

This morning the weather is very much like I know Ireland to be.  Cloudy, but not dark.  Rolling, puffed and shaped ceiling clouds.  The kind you can actually see the shapes of the clouds and doesn’t threaten rain.  Its cool this morning too and very much like the typical Irish weather.  My husband must be in his element this morning!  The only thing missing is the green rolling hills.  The jagged peaks of the Rockies in the distance aren’t quite the same.

today I am sad.

My Jenny has to go home to her house.

Maybe I’ll fit in her suitcase….

Okay so Jenn is here and sitting at my house all day while I am at work.  In an effort to try to spend some quality tie together, we plan to go to see the Global Fest fire works with our friend Lana and my cousin Jeannie.  So we meet Lana at her house (beauty wee thing that it is!) then head over to meet Jeannie and off to watch the fire works from the seating at the ball fields beside Forrest Lawn Library.

We arrive get our seats, have a bit of craic amongst us, and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Then about 9:45pm my cousin’s friend rings someone else she knows that was going to the fireworks, only she was graced with tickets and could go in to watch them at Ellingston Park, and she tells my cousins friend no the fireworks were cancelled due to inclement weather.

We were sat under a cloudless sky.  Apparently in Calgary that is inclement weather.  Guess those officials have never been to Ireland.

okay so today was the first day of my new job as receptionist at Standard Genreral Inc Calgary without my co-hort in crime Laura, the girl I am replacing.  We only had two days together last week and both of those were a blur. So sink or swim time! 

oh yeah we also went to collect the truck we got for The Husband.  *** sigh *** I want a new car too   maybe one day…. soon??

Jenny Jenny Jenn Jenn came to visit us and arrived last night.

I’m stho’ exthited!  The kids are too!! Someone who brings them pressies and and shows them attention and gives great hugs and doesn’t shout like Mam & Da.

don’t start me.

too late I started my self. 

So  last Saturday I am happily doing my blog and website rounds and when I am finished and about to leave the computer and this advert starts popping up on our lap top.  I look in to trying to get it to stop and find it weird that I can’t and why has this started we have enough anti spy ware stuff to stop the CIA if we needed to.  So anyhow I ring my brother who is not only excellent but works for a government agency protecting their computers, and unfortunately he can’t help me.  So we go about the rest of our day and hope that it will have resolved it self by the next day.

Sunday.  Talk to my brother again and he is still unable to help.  I ring Microsoft.  After being on hold (thank GOD for toll free numbers! esp when you get put through to the philippines!!!)  so I let the customer support agent take remote control of our machine.  After much searching and sorting out what has happened, she down loads a malware removal programme and sets it running.  As it was taking a while and was going to take longer she advises me of what to do when the programme finished running its scan.  So we go about our merry way and do the things we had already set out to do for the day (we went to see about buying a new truck as I had a job interview on Monday with a company that was not accessible by transit and if I got the job we would need two vehicular structures) and when we come back, the scan has stopped running and I do the steps I was told to follow when it was complete.  Yea.  Or not.

our computer would not turn back on.  it would “get stuck” at the “windows error recovery page”  I tired several different options to get it to boot to windows aahhhhnnndd, no.  So back on to Microsoft to get.  another couple hours later, they can not help I am going to have to ring Windows Vista the next morning.  To say I am not happy is an understatement.  Sooooooo not impressed.

Monday. Get up early (as in 7am when I don’t normally get up for another hour to an hour and a half later) and get on the phone with windows Vista.  Well that phone call was far shorter and still no joy.  I am going to have to contact the manufacturer of the computer. So I get on the phone with Acer.  This is when I find out.

WE WERE SOLD A USED MACHINE!  When The Husband bought the machine the box looked a bit rough.  He questioned this and was told that the machine probably just taken out to sit in the display cabinet or show a potential customer.  But it was a new machine and there was no bother with it.  yeeeeaaahhhh ~ NO!

So I go to my job interview (nailed it BTW) and then go about contacting the shop TH bought the machine from.  I do have to say that the manager of The Source (by Circuit City) was very gracious and very apologetic and only for him will I shop there again.  If you are in Calgary go see Henning at The Source in Chinook Centre.

So we live for Monday and Tuesday with no computer and we actually survived.  Wednesday I have another interview for the place I now work and after that I went and collected our new computer.  We are once again on the internet.  Aren’t you sooooo glad?!

yesterday was the opening of the Olympics in China and I will admit, I did not watch it on the telly.  I have three children, a husband, a house to run and am in the height of job searching including interviews ~ I’m busy.  But I saw these pictures here and they are so beautiful and oddly intense.  Thanks blurbomat for sharing so I can do the same.

I was told they had a bit of an assembly line going, one put the soap on the hands, one washed and one dried…

but somehow I’m not so sure about that… they look too cute and therefore too innocent so they MUST be guilty…