Black Sunday I guess for our Stampeders.  I am not a huge football fan but did watch a good part of the game today and even I could see it wasn't their finest moment!  No celebrations in cowtown tonight I'm thinking.

Had our annual Sr. Officers' Christmas party last night.  Getting dressed up a little daunting.  For you ladies who do it on a regular basis I'm sure it's no big deal but keep in mind I'm basically a jeans girl and even all the years I went to work all I ever had to dress up in were track suits.  So when I need to gussie up it is always a bit of a big deal.  Had a few stumbles along the way.  Started with the new shoes I had purchased earlier in the week.  I have a pair that I have worn on many occasions and when I wear them I am suffering big time by the end of the evening.  My feet are just screaming at me!  Decided this year to buy a new pair and turf the old.  The shoes felt fine in the store but last night, almost the instant I put those shoes on my feet I could feel they just weren't going to work!  For once I showed some good sense and put the shoes back in the box for return and dug out my old ones.  Thank goodness I didn't listen to Bill and turf my old ones as soon as I got the new ones home or I would have been in trouble.  Got the shoes sorted out and then had to deal with the hair.  Decided to wear my fake real hair last night but didn't account for the fact I had washed it earlier in the week and it would need some work.  Well, I put it on my head and no matter how many times I did it it just looked weird.  I finally realized I needed to repart it and treat it like my real hair which I have never been good at doing either.  There I am spritzing it with water and trying to blow it dry the way I wanted it to go. It was not cooperating!   I finally came out of the bathroom whining that I was having hair issues.  Kept one eye on the clock as Barry and Wendy were picking us up at six and consoled myself that Wendy was always late so I had some extra time!  Yikes.....for the first time ever, they arrived early!  Well....got it pretty much together and headed out to the Earl Grey Golf Club for a very nice evening. Dinner was great and they even had a band this year so got a few dances in with both Bill and my Dad.  It was really nice to see people we often only see once a year at the party and I was really touched by how many of them came up and wished me well.  So often people just don't know what to say.  You don't have to say anything but know that I always appreciate it when people just talk to me!  It doesn't matter one little bit what you say!   I always wonder who's reading my blog.  I can check the numbers each day if I want to and typically 150-200 people read it each day.  Of those 33 are registered on the blog so I know who some of you are but must confess I'm often curious who the rest are?    Didn't think there were 200 people out there who would be interested in my ramblings.  I did, however, discover a few of my blog friends last night.  I am very touched that people are interested enough to follow along, especially given some of the content.

Today we moved a few things into Mike and Kelli's new place in Marda Loop.  Barry and Wendy gave them a lovely loveseat that looks amazing in their living room.   It is a beautiful place but they are having some frustrations with the property managers.  Here's a good one for you!  When they were signing the lease Mike and Kelli had them write into the lease the TV mount above the fireplace would be provided.  This was written and signed off on.  Today the guy said "Oh no, they wouldn't do that and that they had in fact scratched it off."  I'm no legal eagle but it would seem to me this isn't exactly kosher.  There were many questions asked today and this property manager couldn't answer one question.  He didn't know how the sound system worked, he didn't have the access to the garage (they have never actually been able to go into the garage),  he wasn't concerned about the dirty floors (hardwood floors get dusty you know.....believe me, it was more than just dust), wasn't sure how the security system worked, etc.   Mike was very calm......if it were me dealing with this guy I would have been screaming blue murder.   Most of these things weren't a huge deal in the big scheme of things but still a little frustrating.  When Kelli and Mike moved out of their condo in Vancouver they were required to hire a professional cleaner and a carpet cleaning company to clean as it was expected the place would be spotless for the next tenants.  Not the same standards here obviously!  In any case, it was just the floors and not a big deal to clean, it was just the principal of the matter!  The house is absolutely lovely and once they settle in it is going to be a great spot for them.  They just have to get over these early hurdles and get the move over with.

Had a lovely email from one of my students parents today.  It brought a massive smile to my face.  I'll share it with you!

Hi Leslie,

Abby, Jessica and Julia just made a double batch of your famous chocolate chip cookies as part of their math homework... they made the last cookie especially for you (it started out as a heart but got a little misshaped during baking!). They said they are going to give it to you for Christmas, but I thought I'd send you a photo just in case it doesn't get to you...

Looks good enough to eat!  I better get it for Christmas!  Thanks girls!  I'd give you high marks for this one!