Boomer to GenY

At my ACDS board conference this month,l I sat on a panel to discuss differences in inter-generational values in the workplace. With a Traditional, Boomer, GenX and GenY on the panel, we all changed places. This required a crash course for me on what Generation Ys are all about - that's roughly age 24 and younger. They are different! fortunately friend Cynthia's daughter Lauren (age 15) took me in hand, see results left. Note iPod in ear, cell phone in hand, lots of eye, big bag on shoulder, long blonde hair(?). I don't think I'll be mistaken for a GenY any time soon! HaHaHa

Wedding Plans

As we are invited to nephew Neil's wedding to Jo in England July 24, we are busy planning a trip to Europe around that. I have weekened and bought a new outfit, complete with Fascinator - a feathered frisson for my head, since I don't have much hair any more. I also found a black/beige outfit with a long skirt, perfect for excessive eating and drinking with an elastic-waisted skirt!

Mar 24/09 - My new motto

Enjoyed sushi yesterday with my pal from IABC and president of Fuzzy Logic, Micky Gulless. She is a cross stitcher. She made me a nice gift while waiting for husband Gary to recover from brain tumor surgery. I love it. It may offend the odd one but...It's my new motto.
Happy Birthday today to my big sis Liz in Cambridge.

Feb 23 - Five Buck Pals: End Breast Cancer July 25/26

My good friend Ali Francis has signed on to get fit and walk the 60kms for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer July 25 & 26 in my name. I shall be in UK for my nephew's Neil's wedding July 24. I am encouraging everyone I know to support Ali.
$5 each from 20,000 people in Calgary - less than two coffees at Starbucks - would repay my estimated $100,000 treatment costs. Wow! If you want to be one of my Five Buck Pals, take a look at Ali's message. Her goal is $5,000. Thanks. Sheila

A MESSAGE FROM ALISON FRANCIS
twojackcorp@shaw.ca.

1 in 9 will battle Breast Cancer.
The women in my life are not meeting this statistic. I know that this will sadly change and the numbers will be staggering! My good friend Sheila did not beat these odds, and unfortunately has been on an incredibly difficult journey these past two years. I am happy to say there has been a positive outcome thanks to treatment partially funded through the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Sheila’s positive outlook and sense of humor also went a long way! Please check out her 2 year journey at http://ittybittysheila.blogspot.com
For All the Women in My Life and Yours
July 25 & 26, I will join thousands of others in the 60 km walk the “Weekend to End Breast Cancer”.
Walking is easy, Breast Cancer is Hard.
Provide the gift of HOPE for all the women in your life. Please help support my fundraising efforts for this cause. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Visit my Personal Page:
http://www.endcancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Calgary2009?px=2654038&pg=personal&fr_id=1321&fl=en_US&et=td40Ye_OaiMH-U9zsl_cWw..&s_tafId=219314

Jan 8/09 - Two years down!

I celebrate today two years since my BC surgery. The tough stuff is over. Last night I had my first outpatient meeting with my oncologist, Dr. Tara Pickering. She went over my PET scan results and will monitor me every 6 months. Everything looks superduper. So - no tests, no treatment, no nothing! Yippee.
Tomorrow I leave for 3 days in the mountains at quaint little Baker Creek Cabins near Lake Louise. I will ski with about 36 other Norseman club friends. And party with them too.
I can now drink most things without my mouth talking back at me. High alcohol is still a problem, as is spicy and salty food. So no Thai pigouts or jars of olives, but everything in moderation I guess.
Our plans to spend the winter somewhere warm and south have been abandoned in this financial fallout. Hopefully we can get the RV out in spring and start to travel again.
This blog has served me well so I am going offline now to LIVE BIG. Starting yesterday I bought two pairs of shoes...Adios amigos..

The salmon run..

We were fortunate to be back in Victoria when the salmon return to spawn in the Goldstream river. Although a small run this year, we found the rivers jumping with big Chum, Cohoe and Chinook fighting for spawning space in the fast flowing river. It's always amazing to see the determination of these fish to jump rapids to return to their own spawning grounds. Gulls, eagles, bears and other smaller predators gather at the rivers and it's a smorg for them all. About half way through the run, there are already dead salmon everywhere on the banks and in the river.

Over to the out-islands...

There are lots of lovely islands off the main Vancouver Island. No wonder people out there are great sailors. We enjoyed our various ferry rides but prices have skyrocketed since our last trip 4 years ago. We drove north of Victoria, camping on the ocean at Nanaimo, then took two ferries to first Denman Island then Horby Island, to stay at Gloria's glorious cabin at the far end of Hornby. Although they had had a lot of rain, we had two good days, tide-pooling on the beach and watching the sea birds, seals, and huge California sea lions coming to round up their harems of lady seals and barking at anything that came near. They are huge, bossy buggers. Hornby has two lovely provincial parks, one of which is Tribune Bay, known as Hawaii of the north, and deserted this time of year.