Today was a busy day...Susannah headed to West Edmonton Mall with two school friends - they went swimming at the water park for the afternoon.  Abigail and I had an appointment downtown, so we got up and drove down.  We stopped in at the Reuse Centre for a few things - although it was a bit too soon after our last visit and they didn't really have anything.  I don't think we will go again until Feb time...

Next we headed to the Bottle Depot.  Abigail wants to start recycling bottles and cartons for money.  We have always just put them into the recycle program where they are collected at the end of the driveway, but Abigail wants to start making some extra money, so I said we would go and find out about it!  I did tell her that she needs to be responsible for it all but I will take her to the bottle depot every few months with the bags.  So she is going to bag everything up and sort it and store it and when we cash it in she will get the money.  We went in and got the information we needed - they were very helpful in there - the guys in there were pleased to have visitors I think and they had a little dog who Abigail fell in love with!!  So Abigail will get 10c per juice box and water bottle and everything under 1 litre, and 25c for anything over 1 litre.  Pretty good going!  More than I was expecting!

After that we had a meeting to go to downtown, so we headed to that, which lasted about 20 minutes or so...not too bad at all.  Then it was off to the Stollery Hospital to visit a friend who was in for surgery on her leg.  While we were there they were given discharge papers which was pretty wonderful!  They needed to borrow some equipment to help in the bathroom getting in and out of the bath and using the toilet etc while the leg is healing.  The equipment loan centre is at the General Hospital on Jasper, and I knew how to get there, so was happy to rush back downtown before they closed.  

So we headed back to Jasper and got there in time to collect the items.  In the picture above you can see the waiting area in the equipment loan room.  It is run by the Canadian Red Cross.  It was quite an interesting 'field trip' for Abigail!!  And for me as I had never been in there either!  

Once we had everything we headed over to our friends house in Sherwood Park to drop the items off.  The dad and sister were there and Abigail and her friend (the sister) decided to get the goat out and have a go at 'goat riding' which was hilarious to watch!  

One mention of us getting one of their kittens though, and I decided it was time to head home ;)

We got home and the house smelled AMAZING - the stew we had made was ready to eat, so we all tucked in!!  Yum! 

I had a migraine, so took some Advil pm which allowed me to sleep all evening.  Thankfully now my head is fine.  Our friends are home form the hospital which is good to hear.  Susannah is back from the waterpark and all is good.

Tomorrow is another day.....and I am looking forward to meeting a new friend and catching up with some old ones :)  

Attitude of Gratitude!!! Day 9

Today I am grateful for the fact that I made todays supper yesterday (with Susannah and Abigail's help) and we had a yummy beef and Guinness stew to come home to tonight.

 I am grateful that I am no longer the person I was 18 months ago, and that I have no fears of driving anywhere - it meant that today I was able to help a friend in a way I wouldn't have been able to back then. 

Today I am grateful for happy and healthy children and that even our friend who was in the hospital is now home and recovering.  

Today I am grateful for my truck, that it gets us everywhere we need to go so safely. 

And I am grateful for Advil pm which helped me nap this evening and get rid of a migraine I had no stronger meds for.

My Beauty :)

Wednesday tag....

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?  My Macbook Pro.  I was going to pick my Iphone which I would have picked as my 'can't live without' gadget...BUT I prefer to USE my macbook.  

2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?  When your child or loved one is sick and you are advocating for them with medical practitioners who aren't listening or taking symptoms seriously enough...when you KNOW or FEEL something is wrong or more serious than they are saying and you want  more done than they are doing...

3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?  It is set to about 67f Not sure what that is in C.  If it gets really cold we turn it up to 68 or 69.  We also have two fireplaces.  They are natural gas but look real.  I love them :)

4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?   I loved all my Grandparents - only my Nan is still alive and she turned 100 years old this year.  She s my dads mom.  

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken? We've never had a professional family portrait done.  Lloyds Dad took a picture of all of us a few years back.  I haven't had one taken since Lloyd left.  I have pictures of all the children together from last Christmas by the tree.  

6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?   Being extremely proud of your Country and willing to stand up for it and protect it.  

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game? Yes I like to play cards.  I loved a game called 'Kings' when I was a child - we used to play it with my dad and used to 'bet' on the Kings with half pennies - we saved them all up in a bottle just for card games - and kept them even after half pennies weren't used in circulation any more.  I don't remember how to play Kings any more but I still love to play cards like Rummy (21's) etc etc.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  I slept all evening after taking Advil pm for a migraine - and now I have no clue how I am going to sleep tonight.