This is for Tim and Kaleb

A common sight back in about 1990/91. The guys could answer any question that could be raised about Tintin. Check out Tim's blog for the reason for this posting (Thoughts of a Theophile).

Easter

Juanita and 6-month-old Kaleb

Papa Tim and Kaleb

Brunch at Darrell and Jess's. Great waffles, Jess!

We were just missing Jon and Magan and Jack.

Mal was teaching Kaleb a new song:

"Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble

when you're perfect in every way!"

The men.

The Granddogs

Tim and Daisy

Darrell and Venom

The dogs see a fair bit of each other, but are related only by adoption!

More Birds!

We spent the weekend on a ranch near Slave Lake. Their birdfeeder brought a constant supply of birds. Needless to say, my camera appeared pretty quickly! This is an Evening Grosbeak, a very large bird.

This is a Black-capped Chickadee. They are such cute, friendly birds.

A common Redpoll. They come down from the north for the winter. Slave Lake is balmy weather for them! When it's cold they puff up their feathers and look so light and fluffy.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch. They were the hardest to photograph. They flew in to the feeder, grabbed a seed, and rushed off elsewhere to eat it. They are famous for their acrobatics, often foraging on tree trunks upside down.

This Hairy Woodpecker has a longer beak than Downy Woodpeckers and has some hair just above his beak. He ate the seeds voraciously, spilling them all over the ground. Notice how he uses his tail to balance himself.

Joanna's Spa

Joanna has spa parties and she invited me over to get a taste of it. We soaked our feet in something that made them very soft, and covered our lips and eyes with other stuff and then relaxed. The neck pillows had been warmed in the microwave and felt so-o-o good.

This picture of me is embarrassingly uncomplimentary, but it gives you the idea.

Then we put plastic bags on our feet and slipped over cotton socks that had been warmed in the microwave.

Our feet were so soft and warm when we were done!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Mal is missing his right kidney! That's right, he's 59 years old and has just discovered he was born with only one kidney. He figures he better give his mother a phone call! It's called renal agenesis and occurs in 1 in 750 people, more common in males. It was discovered in an ultrasound today. However, it doesn't affect him and "most people" with only 1 kidney function normally....
Hi people, this is me, the one kidney kid.
So there I am this morning in a Calgary clinic having an ultrasound, relax, I'm not pregnant. And the Tech man/guy says, "oh, oh", as he is trying to find my kidneys. He asks me if I have 2 kidneys. So like I say of course I got 2 kidneys. Everybody's got 2 kidneys, right. And he pokes his finger at me and says like how do you know for sure you got 2 of'em? I just say that I'm assumin'. He brings in his expert sidekick from the other room, and they both try to find a right kidney, but seems it ain't there. Inferior genes, I 'spose. Today I am feeling a little insecure, what with not having a backup and all. All kidneying aside, apparently I only need one-in fact in 59 years I haven't missed the missing kid, so I guess I'm ok. I'm planning to milk this deficit to explain many other deficits. So be prepared to hear this story again, and again, and again... "Did I ever tell you about my one kidney? Hey, don't run away, I just got started".

After the ultrasound we stopped in to see Kristen. She has started a daycare, and the middle girl is her first. Next week she gets another. It'll be a busy household! Keep smiling, Kristen!

Then we met Jon and Magan and Jack at a mall for lunch. It's so nice to be close enough to be able to do that. So all in all, it was an interesting day.

Gathering of the Girls!

We had a fun sisters time. We shopped...

We went to a Beth Moore convention...

We did lunches out.

Of course some flowers were blooming.

And it was all over quickly and time to go home!