My New "Toy"

This is my old car. I used to call him Timmy - he was a Ford Tempo. Pretty old car - 1989 - and not terribly reliable. But, a good friend of ours once told us "a bad car is better than a good walk anytime". So, I didn't complain about it -- too much. This past year was hard on Timmy. The winter was so very cold and he just didn't have a good heater. Dale was concerned about me driving him. I think Dale was afraid he would give out on me and I'd be stuck somewhere in the extreme cold. Mind you, I only drove around the city in him, but Winnipeg street can be pretty lonely at 10 p.m. (that's usually when our care group was over). Anyway, it was time for something newer and more reliable. We had the car parked at Jen and Craig's and were planning on donating it to the Kidney Foundation. The gas gauge said there was still a half tank of gas in it, so Dale figured he would siphon it out and put it in his van. He had lots of trouble sucking the gas out of the tube to get it siphoning (major YUCK!!) and ended up burping gas most of the evening - double yuck!! Then, he only got a couple of gallons out (I guess the gauge wasn't quite accurate). Oh well...it helped the van a bit. We ended up just giving the car to a tow truck guy Dale knew and he gave us $20, which we promptly spent on Dairy Queen blizzards, etc. Ha! So, we went out about a month ago and did some car shopping. Well, we didn't do much, as the first (real) used car lot we went to had this perfectly-cute-and-exactly-what-we-wanted 2004 Chevrolet Optra (her name is Suzy). I love the color, I love how she handles and she has a/c and a cd player (yeah!) and I Dale said I would find any excuse to drive her - and I do!!! I was so excited when we "found" her. The salesman asked whose car it would be and Dale said "Robin's", so he barely looked at Dale after that! I even have the registration in my name. Dale said he is just glad he won't have to worry about me, as she is so much more reliable. Dale's dad would be so pleased for us. He was always so worried about our old vehicles and made us drive his car whenever we went anywhere. We drove my car (that still sounds so cool!) out to Terry and Holly's farm on the long weekend Sunday, so I got pictures of Dale checking the oil. It traveled well on the highway, but I made Dale drive it because of the gravel roads and because Craig and Jen went with us and Craig has to sit in the front seat or be sick. All in all, I am terribly pleased with my new toy!!

Been away so long...

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. Seems like other things take over and I forget I should get on here. I enjoy other's posts so should remember that maybe others would like to read mine. I'll try to do better in the future.

This is our beautiful youngest grandchild, Evan. I had to post this picture because it is the best one I've ever gotten of him. He and brother, Xander, were at Jodi's one day and I popped in for a visit. It was nice to have all 5 grandkids together. They play really well together and Evan and I played and had a good time. I was really happy I had gone over.

Dale has been busy helping out the kids, which he really does enjoy doing. He is a hands-on kind of guy and likes doing the fixing and carpentry and all that stuff. He helped over at Jen and Craig's new house to get it liveable and helped Steve with a bathtub tap that was leaking. That was an all-day job (as it usually is), but I was a part of that one, in that I was there and brought a ham and scalloped potatoes over to cook for supper. It was a good day. That was Good Friday and then Dale worked at Jen's while we three girls went out shopping and to lunch. It was fun to be out with my girls.

Sunday was Easter and we went to the middle service at our church and got to sit with Jodi and family. Jason and Sandra and boys went to Manitoba to spend the weekend with her sister and husband. Then, Dale and I went for lunch with Allan and Lynn, Trevor and Kim and their 3 boys and Elaine and Leon. We had a really good time at Montana's and then went over to Elaine's for the afternoon. It had started really raining hard by the time we left the restaurant. I was waiting at the door with Kim and her three for the vehicles to come pick us up. Rhyder, their middle son, asked where Uncle Dale was going. I said he was going to get the van because I was made of sugar and so sweet I would melt if I got wet. He got the funniest look on his face like (yeah, right, Auntie) I hope maybe Kim explained to him after I left. I'm such a tease.

Easter Monday was just a relax day. Dale and I ran a couple of errands and it felt good just to do whatever we wanted and be together. The weather has finally gotten a little more spring-like and we've had rain and some really nice warmer type days. The snow is finally all gone and it is fairly dry. Yea!! This is an Easter card I made with my Cuttlebug. I cut the letters "E" and "B" and printed the rest of the words off the computer. It turned out pretty good. (albeit a bit crooked, right Jen?)

Jen and Craig took us out for supper last Friday night to thank Dale (and me, too) for the help with the house. As we talked, we heard a few stories we didn't know that happened to the guys while the girls were gone. (Ask Dale sometime about the "smoke" in the bathroom.) It was a very good time and we had a wonderful steak dinner. Craig tried to interest in some fried calamari. I knew what it really was and said I'd try one little one and well, it was "rubbery" and "fishy", the one thing I really dislike about seafood. It all just tastes fishy to me. Oh well...Anyway, I tried it and Dale ate his share, as did Jen. (Their shares were smaller than Craig's)

This is how I looked at the tail-end of my Bell's palsy. (taken March 22nd) It is gone now, with only tiny little bits that I don't even notice are not quite right still. This was the last Sunday I wore my patch to church. The eye doctor said he didn't need to see me anymore unless things got really blurry or my eye hurt really badly. He is referring me to a plastic surgeon, as he is concerned my sagging eyelids are causing eye problems. He said when I squeeze my eyes shut, my eyelashes go into my eye and that's how I scratched my cornea at the beginning of the Bell's. So, he is recommending an eyelid lift and it should all be paid for by the government since it is medical. Well, hope you enjoyed the update and I'll try to get back here more often. Now that I've figured out the pictures and can actually put some on, it makes it a little more interesting.