I’ve put some pictures of the 2009 Walk for ALS in a gallery. Click on the Team Glen picture below for more pictures of the walk and of the time socializing afterwards.
UPDATE: Team Glen raised a total of $6,016.50 for the fight against ALS. A big thanks to the Team Glen members who walked and collected donations, and an equally big thanks to all who donated to the cause.
Many years ago a colleague of mine attended a conference in Alaska, and upon her return, in appreciation for my help on a project, she presented me with a ulu knife.
.
My ulu makes a great pizza cutter.
However, unlike Canada’s Governor General, the lovely Michaelle Jean, I have never used my ulu to skin or gut an animal, nor have I used it to slice off part of an animal’s heart to eat raw.
This simple act of cultural sensitivity has raised a firestorm of controversy, with PETA and similar groups declaring the Governor General a barbarian, and the EU Environment Commissioner declaring her actions “bizarre”.
Ideally it would have been wonderful to see Queen Elizabeth II participating in the ceremony by chowing down on some raw seal heart, but I’m satisfied with having her representative , our Governor General, do the honours (apparently she thinks it tastes like sushi).
Here’s a video clip of the ceremony.
Back in late April I posted about Team Glen, which had just started recruiting members to participate in the Prince Albert Walk for ALS. The response has been overwhelming, with 21 team members/walkers registered. The walk will be happening this Saturday morning, just a couple of days away. If you would like to make a donation to this great cause, there is still time to do so online at the Team Glen Website. Alternatively if you chase down any of the team members listed at that website, I’m sure they would be glad to add your donation to their pledge card.
Last week I drove to Edmonton for a couple of days of meetings, and as usual, I kept my radio tuned to CKUA for the entire time I was in Alberta. Sometime before hitting the border I was able to bring in 580 on the AM dial, and sometime before Vegreville I switched to 94.9 FM.
On Thursday evening as I approached Lloydminster with the bluegrass show Fire on the Mountain playing, and my foot keeping time on the floorboard (my left foot – not the one on the gas pedal), I realized how much I wish Saskatchewan had a similar station. CBC Radio 2 comes closest, with its mix of programs, but for me it doesn’t measure up to the eclectic mix on CKUA; perhaps it’s because of CKUA’s “listener-supported”, “community-based” mandate.
At least when I’m at my computer I can listen to them online, when I actually remember to.
… so today must be Charlotte’s birthday.
I still think it would have been cool if she’d have been born on Norway’s National Day, but she delayed a day.
And 18 years later she still does things her own way.
Over the last few weeks I have been reading only as much as my stomach can handle about the Oliphant inquiry investigating the dealings of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney with German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.
Not a lot of honest answers about the envelopes stuffed with cash.
If polite questions patiently asked by lawyers can’t get at the truth, perhaps waterboarding should be considered for both Mulroney and Schreiber.
(Just kidding – I’ve read Michael Ignatieff)
On Saturday our family went out to our land, and together with co-owners Pastor Glenn & Gloria and family, we pounded in the tree and shrub seedlings that we had ordered from Shand Greenhouse.
Iain Chentunkel dropped by and entertained us for awhile.
It was a good day. I’ve uploaded some photos to a gallery. Click the image below for more.
I mentioned awhile back that Luke and Charlotte will be spending some time in England.
Luke’s departure day is upon us. He will fly out of Calgary on Monday evening, so he will be taking a bus from P.A. to Calgary tonight.
We’ll all be going out for Mother’s Day brunch today, and saying our good-byes.
And our family moves through another stage.
This was the view from our back steps this morning.
A couple of days ago we were eating our supper outside and the kids were jumping on the trampoline.
I do appreciate the precipitation (there weren’t any grass fires or forest fires in the area today), but at the risk of seeming ungrateful, I’d have appreciated rain more than snow.
Cousin Ken emailed me this picture today.
I can’t say that spending the summer of 1978 working on the drop sorter in a sawmill in Upper Fraser, B.C. was a high point of my life. However a couple of weekend trips with guys from the sawmill, including my cousins Dave (holding the “Wanna Party?” sign in this picture) and Ken (he took the picture), gave me some good memories.
This picture was taken on a hiking trip to Berg Lake, one of the most popular hiking trails in the Canadian Rockies, along the flank of Mount Robson. The woman and child were tourists from Germany. As you can tell by their footwear, they didn’t hike the entire trail. The little girl doesn’t seem to know what to think of this motley crew.