Kara

I have had the opportunity this weekend to visit little Kara and her parents. It has been fun. Here are some pictures.

Too bad I have to go home.

my love affair with chili

Mackenzie Hall

My love affair with chili began when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Alberta. I lived in residence my first two years and, as part of the meal plan, we were given phoney money called "script" (it looked kinda like Canadian Tire Money).

We could use this money in the main cafeteria in the residence or we could use it in any approved cafeteria on campus. This was handy because you really didn't want to trek back to the residence during the day just to have lunch, especially when it was -30C.

Most of my lectures in my first year were located on campus in either the Central Academic Building (CAB) or one of the adjoining buildings (Physics, Chemistry and Biology). CAB had a large cafeteria, probably the largest on campus, and that's where I ate my lunch most days.

Central Academic Building

The CAB cafeteria made an awesome chili. It was warm, tasty, came with a bun and hit the spot on a cold winter day (which was most days in Edmonton). It was also inexpensive, so fit the budget just right. It got to the point that I would have chili almost everyday. I did this for the better part of two years and afterwards I was hooked.

Since then, if I am in a cafeteria/restaurant for lunch, and it has chili as a menu option, I chose the chili.

When the kids were younger I use to make dinner every Sunday as a way of giving Lorri a break. Since I am not what you would call a culinary expert, I had to make something simple. Over time I perfected what I called "Dad's Famous Chili." I played with different spices until I got the recipe just right. I even used my recipe in a ward chili cook-off and won!

The chili love affair continues. As most of you know, my office is located in a building that has a Grandma Lee's Restaurant.

I have come to love their chill as a staple for lunch. I eat there so often that the staff start preparing my chili lunch as soon as they see me walking in. How predictable is that. Every once in a while I purposely order an egg salad sandwich, just to throw them off.

I guess my love of chill is hard to conceal, because for Christmas Sara gave me gift certificates to Grandma Lee's.

the year of travel

I got an email form Air Canada last week indicating that I had qualified for their "Prestige level" status for 2012 based on my travel for 2011. Apparently I had flown over 25 flight segments with Air Canada in 2011. I started to think about it and I guess I have traveled quite a bit.

There was 2 trips to Montreal, 

2 trips to Calgary, 

3 trips to Portland,

(to see my favourite grandson)

(one trip to Portland included a side trip to Victoria), 

and 1 trip to Vancouver. 

Add to those a West Jet trip to Ottawa 

 

another West jet trip to Hawaii 

and an Allegiant Air trip to Las Vegas 

and I guess I really have flown a lot this year! 

Hopefully my "prestige level" will provide me with some perks, like use of the Maple Leaf Lounge. Waiting for a flight in the Maple Leaf Lounge is like driving an Infiniti, once you've done it, you're ruined, you can never go back. 

hmm, maybe its time to fly again!

VEGAS II

When we were checking into our hotel (The Venetian) last week in Las Vegas the clerk at the counter said we were booked into one of the resorts "smallest" rooms and would we like to up-grade for an extra $40.00 a night. We said no, figuring we could "slum" it in a regular room. Besides the savings ($200.00 over the 5 nights) would help finance some of our entertainment plans.

I thought I would share some pictures of this "small room" so that I could garner some sympathy for having to slum it for 5 days.

king size bed

sunken living room

full sectional sofa

separate work station with printer/fax

three T.V.'s

4 piece marble bath

We tried our best to cope...all the while wondering what the upgrade would have been like.

VEGAS

As most of you know, Lorri and I spent most of last week in Las Vegas. I was attending the U.S. Psychiatric Congress which was held at The Venetian Hotel. It has been 18 years since we were last in Vegas (for another medical conference) and I anticipated some changes, but I was amazed at the transformation. The Venetian, Palazzo, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Paris, New York New York, Planet Hollywood, Wynn and others have been constructed since our last visit and Treasure Island and MGM were under construction. So, basically, half or more of "The Strip" has changed.  For the most part it was clean, bright and buzzing with energy.

Our accommodations at The Venetian were amazing and the weather was nice.

The conference sessions were informative, even if the sessions were large.

I went to sessions during the day and Lorri explored all the shopping options (of which there were many). I was grateful that she only bought two pairs of shoes, it could have been a lot worse. In the evenings, since we do not gamble, we decided to take advantage of the amazing entertainment options.

On Monday we went to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. We decided to walk from The Venetian to Mandalay Bay. You know how the passenger side mirror on your car says, "objects are closer than they appear" well that was true walking the strip. We thought it would would only take a few minutes to walk from one resort to another, because we could easily see the next resort on the horizon. However, we failed to realize how BIG these resorts are and how long it would take. What looked like a building that was one block away turned out to be 3-4 blocks away. That's because these resorts are 40 stories high! It took us 1 1/2 hours to walk from The Venetian to The Excalibur. Thank goodness there was a tram from The Excalibur to Mandalay Bay.

The show was wonderful. I was impressed by the costumes and the multifunctional stage. On the way back to The Venetian, we took the monorail; much easier on the feet.

On Tuesday, we took in the Phantom at the Venetian. The theatre was right next to the elevators that lead up to our hotel room, so the walk was much shorter. The Theatre was amazing. It was build especially for The Phantom and the inside was constructed to look like the interior of the Paris opera house. The sound system was incredible.

On Wednesday we saw Jersey Boys at the Palazzo. The Palazzo is right next to The Venetian, so again the walk was short. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The music was great, although the language was a bit crude.

And on Thursday we topped off the week with The Beatles "LOVE" from Cirque du Soleil. This was playing across the street at The Mirage. It was performing in a theatre designed specially for the show. I read somewhere that the construction cost was 140 million dollars. This production was my favourite of the week. The music, choreography and acrobatics were outstanding. I definitely would recommend this to anyone.

Lorri would have liked to have seen Donny and Marie, but they were all sold out.

I guess we'll just have to go back...

I love Fall

I really enjoy this time of year. The days are cooler, the bugs are almost gone and the grass doesn't need to be cut every 2nd day. It's the time of year for football. I can remember all the fun I had playing intra-mural flag football at U of A...

It's the time of year when hockey starts up again. Maybe this year my team will finally achieve their potential.

But it's the colours I enjoy the most.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Infiniti advantage

Today I stopped by one of Lethbridge's iconic stores to rent some DIY equipment to help with my latest renovation project. I have rented from Wards many, many times in the past and have always found their service and advice excellent.

As I was completing the paper work at the counter, I pulled out my credit card to leave a deposit. (You usually have to leave a deposit to rent expensive equipment). It was 7:30 am, raining outside and I was the only customer in the store. The very helpful clerk, who had seen me pull up in my car, looked up from completing the paperwork and said,

"No need for a deposit, you drive an Infiniti. Now, if you had pulled up in a '73 chevy pickup that was rusting out, hadn't showered in 3 days and smelled of dope, I would ask for a deposit. See you later..."

Infiniti ownership has some advantages!!!