GrannyRant

Granny calling….I woke this morning with a tongue like Ghandi’s flip flop! It was 10.00am and aunty was already pootling about in the kitchen, water, water, I need water! Martin was still snoring and Uncle wasn’t up yet either, we went to bed as the birds started singing, it could be a slow and easy morning of recovery I think. Aunty and I chatted on the deck and I came to life slowly.

Once everyone was up, we ate breakfast of vanilla yogurt, blueberries and toast with butter. Lots of tea and coffee flowed and we all felt a bit better. Aunty was sensible and had ‘left us to it’ with the vodka, therefore she was in much better shape than the rest of us. Kate was still in bed when we left for our visit to ‘The Western Development Museum’ a museum dedicated to the development of Saskatchewan from around 1910 and it holds lots of old farming equipment, cars and buildings set up as they were back in the day. They employ a lot of Senior Citizens who tell you all about how life was in the early years of Saskatchewan’s history and it was very interesting. We got loads of pictures including one of us sat at the Railway station in ‘Bootleg’ I wonder where that name came from?

Afterwards we went for our first fix of Tim Horton’s coffee and headed off to the ‘Taste of Saskatchewan Event in the grounds behind the “Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon. There a stalls from all the local restaurants and you buy tokens to sample the food, we had Pad Thai with chicken (veggie version for Martin), this consists on egg noodles, fried with bamboo shoots and bean sprouts, onions and chicken and topped with peanuts. We also had some ribs and topped it off with ‘Berry Barn’ Saskatoon Berry tart, pancakes and whipped cream. So much food, we failed to eat it all, we were all stuffed!

There was a live band playing a, called ‘September Long’ Kate knew the lead singer from high School and they were great, I will be watching out for an album which they promise is coming soon. We went to see the ‘Ultimate Man shed’ you could buy tickets to win it, what a shed! Inside there was a sauna, 3 TV’s DVD player, shower, bed, beer fridge, oven, dishwasher and a whole pile of tools that went with it, the only thing missing was a woman, I wonder why? It was huge and we all said we wouldn’t be able to fit it in our Garden’s. The atmosphere was lively and happy and we met some friends of Aunty and Uncle’s all nice people who wished us a happy holiday. There was one guy who was slightly odd though, he was called Wes, and wore huge biker boots, a bandana and looked like a throw back to 60’s USA. Nice guy but a bit of a fruit loop I think. Uncle is convinced that since he stopped boozing, he has gone a bit crazy!

From the Taste of Saskatchewan, we went to Kinsmen Park to watch Katy play ball, she played really well and hit a great strike that created a home run, threw a ball in that got a girl knocked of home base and did a great slide into 3rd base which resulted in grazed elbows and mud all over the front of her shirt, more washing for Aunty. It was great to watch, we plastered ourselves with Mozzie cream and weren’t bitten and Kate’s team won 7-5, a great time was had by all.

Back home, we ate toasted cheese and onion sandwiches, crisps and raw vegetables and dip. Drank lots of tea and water (we didn’t need any alcohol we were still recovering) and went to bed by 11.15 absolutely pooped!

Another great day, to be continued….Granny

Granny calling….I am a day or so behind, we have been busy, busy, busy and yesterday I decided I would type up the blog as we were driving to MooseJaw only to find that the netbook batteries were flat and we had no way of charging them up in the van. So first, to take you all back to Sunday.

We had some rain in the night and the deck was quite wet in the morning, the sun was hot though, so the water soon burned away. One by one everyone got up, slowly, after the huge supper and beer etc we all consumed at Joan and Henry’s. Katy had already left for work at Smitty’s restaurant so we had a lazy breakfast. Aunty and me discussed what we needed to buy at the store for supper and Martin and Uncle chatted about the previous night, we had great fun and ‘the boys’ (Henry and Dave) had promised to come round and help Uncle to get rid of a dead tree at the side of the house. It was 11am though and no sign of a phone call yet? I wonder what time they stayed around the fire pit until. This may have a bearing on whether or not they turned up, if they turned up at all. Sure enough at noon, there they were, the tools were out and Dave was up the ladder sawing away like a lumberjack! Henry, Uncle and Martin, holding the ladder, taking bit of wood to the truck (Henry will use the wood for the fire pit) and generally all mucking in to get the job done. It’s nice to see that Aunty and Uncle have such great friends and these people are always ready to help out if needed. Aunty and me pulled some weeds out of the flower beds and swept around a bit and before we knew, the tree was gone and the boys were all out the back on the deck drinking cold beer, which Dave had brought in a cool bag.

Aunty and I headed for the store and left them to it, we had guests coming for supper and needed pork chops, potatoes and salad etc. First stop Robertson’s Farm shop, we bought Garden Potatoes, Salad Onions and Baby cucumbers and sat and ate ice cream under the porch until a few too many Mozzies started to gather, a quick exit was called for and we got back in the car to head for the Store, on the way we passed Joan’s House and ‘the boys’ were still there, probably drinking more beer and unloading the wood into Henry’s yard. At the store, we looked for aunties sister, who works there but we couldn’t fine her, so we got the groceries and headed home. When we got there, Helen and Bill, (aunties Mother and her boyfriend) were already waiting, these two are amazing, they’re both 87 years old, still driving and they go dancing at The Legion, whenever they can. They decided as we were later than they expected, to go off dancing for a couple of hours while they waited for supper at around 7pm.

Tom arrived and had a beer on the deck and shortly after Gail (Aunties sister) with Wilbur the Pug; he was a lovely little dog with a great personality. We barbecued the chops, Grandma (Helen) had brought Perogies and Gail had brought ‘Drumstick Cake. Katy and Tom decided to prepare the rainbow Trout and there was much discussion about how to chop off his head’ Grandma knew how to do it and showed them how not to waste the fish. It was stuffed with onion, tomatoes and lemon salt, wrapped in foil and put on the barbecue. It was a feast and we were all suitably stuffed afterwards…by the way, I don’t usually eat desert, but Gail’s Drumstick Cake is to die for!’ she also makes great chocolate chip cookies, good job I don’t see Gail too often, I would not be able to resist!

After a couple of hours on the deck, we couldn’t stick to bugs any more and finished off the evening in the house, we are always going to get an early night, but it hasn’t happened yet! Holidays are great….

Monday morning, we got up earlier than we have been getting up and the plan was to leave for MooseJaw by 10, Katy had to take her car seat to the Garage to get a hole in the upholstery fixed and we got our stuff together to go the see the MooseJaw tunnels. We all piled in the van and I took up my usual perch in the back, I like this seat, I get a panoramic view, room to stretch out and I can snooze without bothering anyone else. It will take 2 hours to get there and we are going to meet Shannon at Smitty’s for lunch. Katy then joined Shannon and we all drove into town to go and visit the tunnels where Al Capone is alleged to have carried out his bootlegging and laid low when he was on the run from the law. We bought tickets for both tours; the second tour was an insight into the life of Chinese Immigrants brought to Canada to work on the railroad. In tour one, we were all bootleggers and actors took us around the tunnels and described how money changed hands, how during prohibition the booze was bought and sold on the black market and how 97% alcohol could kill you and that al Capone once had his tonsils lanced using half a bottle of bootleg whisky as an anaesthetic! The actors were great; Aunty was nicknamed Gidget for the tour and was put in charge of the ‘hush money’! We laughed all through it, it was great fun.

The second tour was led by a lovely lady called Ashley and was set in a Chinese Laundry owned by ‘Mr Burrows’. It was acted out by Ashley and she narrated the story as well as changing voice to the stern lady who dealt with us ‘coolies’, these people earned 35cents a day and paid half of it back to the owners in rent. Life was tough and a lot of people got hooked on opium to escape the misery. It was really informative, totally different from the first tour and really well done.

We got ice cream, Tim Horton’s Coffee, met up with Katy, who couldn’t get a haircut, said Bye to Shannon and Uncle drove us the 2 hours back to Saskatoon. The evening was lazy, we mooched around the kitchen, I trimmed Katy’s hair and at 11.15 it looked like we were having that early night. I said I’m having vodka and tonic before bed, Uncle said I think I’ll join you…OMG, 2 bottles of vodka (50 proof vodka) later and at 04.40 am we went to bed just as the sun came up…the night was a blur, but we laughed, we sang, we drank some more and I have videos and pictures to incriminate everyone at a later date, but not for public viewing so I may have to be choosy what I post! Another fantastic day….even if I am a tad hung-over….to be continued….Granny 

Granny calling….getting out of bed later every day, could it be due to the fact that we were late to bed again? Yesterday went by in a flash, as does every day and by the time we had sat on the deck for the morning, shopped for ‘stuff’ to take to Joan and Henry’s for supper, it was time to shower and get out of the house!

During the day we mooched around, it was quite hot and I got burned on the deck, my arms look like striped tomatoes, red, white and freckles in between. Martin has been eaten by the mozzies and we are trying new lotions and potions all the time to try and fight the bleeder off! Aunty and I have been to Body Shop and found some Satsuma Body Butter that is supposed to deter them but I think they like it!

We left for Henry and Joan’s house at around 5.30 loaded with beer, vodka and tonic in ice boxes. We also had a box with Katy’s macaroni salad (she made a veggie version for Martin), chicken wings, Caesar salad, veggie sausage and burgers and huge prawns. The boot of the van was chokka block!

Joan’s yard, is her pride and joy and it’s really pretty. She has lots of flowers, solar light everywhere and some of these lights change colour I think Uncle may be getting some of those, he has to ‘keep up with the Jones’! Hanging on the shed is a bird box and pair of sparrows is flying back and forth dutifully feeding their chicks. Joan is also growing tomatoes, peppers and corn and the grass is cut to perfection. Lot’s of talking and banter and more talk of Corrie with Henry as the beer and V&T flowed. Dave arrived and joined us at the table and then Joan got home from work to complete the party. Fire up the Barbecue and wait for supper.

The food was fabulous, the salad, the chicken, more beer and more vodka and tonic. The ‘boys’ go outside for a smoke and light the fire pit. It was difficult at first but once it was going and we all sat around the fire laughing and telling stories, it was great. Katy disappeared quite early as she said in her best ‘Australian Accent’ I’m tai-ud (that’s the best way I can write it as she says it) and she slept on the couch until we were ready to leave. We must have got home about 1ish, but I can’t swear to that having drunk way to much V&T, we ate pretzels and talked for ages and Uncle checked out the golf on ‘Sports desk’ I can’t remember going to bed, but I slept like a log! Another fabulous day full of lovely memories and really great people……..to be continued …Granny 

Good morning, Granny calling….We got up late, around 09.30(we have been waking at 6am), the deck was hot from very early, we guessed at around 27 degrees and the weather forecast on the radio says there’s a huge storm coming in tonight, we have been looking forward to seeing one of the spectacular shows of lightening that everyone is telling us about. Saskatchewan is very flat and the sky just goes on forever, hence when there’s a storm brewing you can see it coming for hours before it actually hits. We have planned to meet Henry, Joan and a few other people tonight at Bugsy’s bar but before that we are going to get Uncle’s Sandals and take a walk along the river.
On the way to the river, we went to the Mendel Art Gallery where they have a great display of tropical plants and paintings and a whole room full of traditional Indian totem Poles. The colours were lovely and Martin and I got told off for taking pictures, although we didn’t see any notices telling us not to. Katy got told off for carrying her drink in, so we were all in hot water! I bought a Totem pole to bring home and was quite embarrassed as my card was declined, although we realised afterwards that it was because the Gallery did not have ‘chip and pin’. I paid with cash and the man who served us was very nice about it.
We went along the river and saw squirrels, chipmunks, fountains and Uncle told us stories about the oldest bridge in Saskatoon and how they have spent a lot of money on new walkways and generally modernising the waterside, Auntie’s Mum thinks this is a waste of taxpayers’ money and that the money could be better spent elsewhere! We walked past the Bessborough Hotel, a really famous Hotel that has been in Saskatoon for donkeys’ years, as long as anyone can remember Uncle says, this weekend Peter Frampton is playing live and they have lots of famous people playing there.
We came back home, after buying Uncle’s sandals and having coffee at Starbucks, Aunty has already got the ribs and vegetables on and the house smells of barbecue food, mmmm can’t wait to eat, the smell is making us all hungry. Aunty and I opened the Penfolds, Rawson’s Retreat Shiraz and Martin and Uncle settled for a Coors Light Beer. Katy’s Friend Rebecca (Reba) arrived, she was such a nice person and very friendly and bubbly, a really easy person to talk to. She joined us for ribs, salad, potatoes and veggie’s with dips, Katy introduced us to Extreme Dill Ranch dressing, nice and the ribs were extra special, I have requested these again before we leave Saskatoon! Martin had Bass fillet with his, I’m glad he doesn’t eat meat, all the more for us!
At the Pub, we met Henry and Joan, Dave and lots of other people to numerous to mention, Joan said “I guess you’re the person causing all the trouble” we all hugged and shook hands and it seemed like we had all been friends forever. Henry wanted to talk about coronation Street! They are about 6months behind us in the story lines here and I had to be careful not to let the cat out of the bag about Sophie Webster’s Lesbian Relationship, Aunty thought this was really funny and Henry and I had a real long “Corrie” chat, he loved it as no-one else in Canada seems to know what he’s talking about, apparently he’s an avid Corrie Fan and watches it for 3 hours every Sunday Morning – Strange?? Henry also has a tattoo of Andy Capp another very British thing which is surprising for a Canadian with Dutch heritage.

Granny calling….
Today we leave Calgary and head to Uncle’s house in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, where I have been warned that the mosquitoes are large enough to carry away small children. Before we leave, we are going to eat at the Mall and visit Calgary Zoo. As usual, it takes us until 11 to all get showered and ready to leave the house.
My mozzie bite finger blister, which is now starting to recover due to the antibiotics, now is the same colour as the paint in our very regal looking purple painted bedroom, with matching covers. I love this room and the colour makes it feel warm and welcoming.
Pack the bags ready for when we get back from the Zoo as we will be heading straight off for Uncle’s house when we get back. The Zoo was great, we saw Tigers, Grizzly Bears, Elephants and Gorillas, it was a nice day, we got slightly burned and we had a lovely time just wandering, which was great as would be sat for a long time, the drive to Saskatoon is six and a half hours.
After the Zoo, we went for ice cream, we had crushed raspberries, chocolate sauce and crushed nuts, it was so hot it dripped everywhere, we got covered, finger licking good.
We got back to Robyn’s, threw our stuff in the Dodge and said our cheerio’s to Robyn, (we will be back in a week) and headed out for the long drive. After an hour we stopped at Tim Horton’s for coffee for the journey (Uncle is an addict I think)!
We drove through the Badlands near Drumheller where they dig up lots of dinosaur bones, what strange land formations and rock structures but it’s pretty in a sort of pre-historic way. On the journey we saw fields of Rapeseed, which glowed bright yellow in the sun and caught sight of some deer and gofers as we hurtled along the highway towards Saskatoon.
Two hours before the end of the journey (or 4 hours in) here’s Tim’s again and we stop for a BLT Toasty, Martin had a veggie cheese toasty and we all had another coffee, God this caffeine gives you a buzz! We refuelled and set off again, as it got dark, the bugs really started to appear and within half an hour of last light, you couldn’t see through the windscreen and Uncle had to pull in and clean the screen, while fighting off the mozzies! I have never seen so many bugs in my life but they soon cleared as the lights of the city appeared and we left the country side behind.

The house is all lit up and Uncle said…oh shit, why did Katy leave the lights on in the garage, the bugs will be everywhere and will swarm in the house as soon as we open the door….he wasn’t wrong, we had to pile the bags in and in the 30 seconds the door was open, in they went and we had high-jinks trying to swat them with electronic bug zapper. Katy and her friend had made nachos and salad, it really hit the spot and we caught up on family news etc and Katy’s work news and how her job interviews had gone. We sat up until 2am chatting to Katy and her friend, zapping bugs and drinking beer and wine. A long journey but we had another great day. Martin and I are having a great time, the family are all so helpful and we are so happy that we made the effort to come to Canada……to be continued 

I have recently been trying to sort out my rather overweight body (5st overweight to be exact), in an effort to be fit for a trip to Canada in the summer. You know how it is, I had visitors from Canada staying at my house last year and we decided to take them up on the offer of a return trip! Fabulous, they live in Calgary, we can visit all the tourist areas, as well as catching up with family in Saskatchewan and not paying out a years salary on accomodation.

Whoopee, all systems go then. It was then that I looked in the mirror and listened to my chest playing tunes as I went up the stairs and thought…I need to lose weight and get fit for this! My cousin, who is putting us up for the first part of the holiday, is organising the trip and she’s in her late 20′s so it’s not likely to be a ‘stroll in the park’ for me and my significant other who are the wrong side of 50!

My dilemma now is how to do it? First, I thought, I need to drop 2 dress sizes, so I joined a slimming club, started walking more and generally tried to eat healthily, in the 7 months that followed the weight came off steadily and I have now lost 31lbs, 3 dress sizes and I feel far better. This is not enough though and being a person who finds the gym worse than chewing tin foil, I am still trying to find ways to tone up and build some muscle, which I am reliably informed will help me burn calories quicker.

So here I am, everything going south, cellulite in places I never knew existed and unfit. Walking is great, I am getting better and can comfortably walk 7 miles in one go, not bad. However, it does next to nothing for this lumpy bumpy body that now makes me look like a pile of rubber rings in my smaller clothes!

I have also hit a plateau in my weight loss plan and have stood still or only lost half a pound in the last 6 weeks gggrrrr, it really is hard to stay motivated and in the past (I’ve been ‘dieting’ most of my adult life), this is the point where I say, stuff the diet and order a take-away……

HELP, I think I’m falling off the wagon……Does my fat look like a bum in this?