Happy Birthdaty Kelli!  I must confess I felt extreme relief when Geoff told me it was raining in Vancouver and you did not go skydiving!!!

We were home all day today.  I continue to struggle with fatigue issues which they did warn me of when I was started on these new drugs.  Hopefully over time these will moderate somewhat because I am not used to feeling dragged out like this all of the time.

Brian and Brenda dropped by and we had a great visit!  They had just come from Phils where they had taken Brenda's 94 year old aunt to celebrate her birthday!

As I was sitting on my deck today swatting mosquitos the size of small sparrows I could't help but think that just mere kilometers away from our grassy, green ravine, people and businesses continue to battle a state of Emergency as they attempt to pump out homes and basements.  We have actually not even seen any of the after effects of the flood as it has been asked time and time again for people to remain away from those areas.  Brian and Brenda said as they were going out for breakfast this morning they couldn't help but not shake their heads at the number of people who continue to drive down towards the Center Street Bridge.  Unbelievable!  Seeing it on the news is enough for me!  I feel so bad for those people.  The sad truth however, is that many will rebuild again in the same locations on the same flood planes and we will be faced with this tragedy again.  Yes, it does seem harsh that insurance companies do not cover such acts of God when built on flood planes but common sense has to prevail.  To simply rebuild is foolish.  It is my opionion that communities in these low lying areas need to seriously look at preventative measures such as building burms that would help divert the flow of water.  Expensive in the short term for sure but so is rebuilding!   In the meantime it is heartbreaking to watch people trying to salvage things from their homes, many having lost everything.  On the flip side one feels a certain degree of pride in the manner by which so many Calgarians are throwing their support behind these work measures and relief efforts!  There are so many good people out there!  So often you watch the news and it is depressing story after depressing story of the cruel and sick things supposed human beings do to each other.  Yes, this news is also sad and depressing, yet at the same time somewhat uplifting when you realize there is a real sense of humanity and community out there....people wanting to help out in any way they can!