Good morning all.  Just a heads up that I am off to Gull Lake for a couple of days and am going to leave my computer at home, thus no blogging for a couple of days.  Good news is that I should have some good stories when I get back.  Cheers.
Leslie

It has been soooo hot that I find I’m not doing a whole heck of a lot!  Today did a little running around and went to Rona and got a new “beer can chicken” holder.  Mine seems to have gone walking.  With my luck I will find the old one kicking around here somewhere but I have searched high and low and cannot seem to find it anywhere.  If you’ve never tried beer can chicken you should.  It is a fantastic way to cook chicken.  I can’t stand beer but I love beer can chicken.  It can be cooked without the pan, however, there is less likelihood of a spill if you do use the pan. The recipe is simply this......drink half of the beer out of the can.  Invert the chicken over the can and sprinkle the outside of the bird with some sort of seasoning mix.  Place in your barbecue.  Light one half of the barbecue on high and leave the other side off.  A small chicken will cook in a little more than an hour and is wonderfully moist and delicious.  The chicken does require some supervision.  A while back I was making it and lit both sides of the barbecue to speed up the process a bit.  Then I decided to take Boomer for a walk in the ravine while the chicken  was cooking.  I went down to the tennis courts and back and when I came within viewing distance of our house I was shocked to see smoke pouring off our deck.  And I’m not talking a little smoke but rather huge billowing clouds of smoke!  I broke into a run and sure enough arrived home to find a very blackened, charred, dried up chicken smoking on the grill.  Lesson to be learned:  Do not light both sides of the barbecue to speed things up and whatever you do do not go for a walk and leave the bird unattended.  I’m lucky I didn’t burn our house down that day! Another cooking disaster in the life of Leslie!

That was pretty much it for productivity today!  Came home, did a few odds and sods around the house then went outside to find some shade and read my book.  Even had a little siesta which is something I rarely do!  Had a short walk....short is enough for both Boomer and I in this heat!

Tomorrow I head out to Gull Lake to meet up with my pals!  Can hardly wait!  We always have lots of laughs.  Funny how some friendships are like that.  You can go months without seeing people and pick up exactly where you left off.  These friends are like that!  We have no problem resuming our silliness and enjoy reminiscing about the “good old days” when were wild and crazy.  There are certainly some stories that one would like to see disappear but never do! 

Bill is heading out to Windermere on Wednesday.  He is going to install some sinks for Dad and then Kelli and Mike are going to take Dad and Bill for supper.  Wednesday is Dad’s birthday.  He share’s his day with Roger Federer which I am sure suits him just fine being the tennis buff he is!  Happy birthday to Dad and Roger and of course to my friend Diane Murray!  Birthdays abound this week!

It’s a hot one out there.  Bill off working on Geoff and Lindsey’s landscaping project today.  I decided to hit the Farmer’s Market out by Callaway Park for something to do.  Nice little market and reasonably priced for the most part.  Wandered around for a bit and bought some lovely produce.  From there we headed to the Bow River and Boomer had a refreshing swim.  That boy really loves his swimming.  We were down there for about an hour, he swimming constantly which has got to be exhausting in the current, yet when I called him to go he gave me this look like “seriously, we have to leave?”  Just like a little kid.  From there we picked up a couple of sandwiches and dropped in on the yard labourer.  Hot work out there in the sun today.  That is definitely a labour of love!  Thank goodness Lindsey bought him some beer and put it in the fridge!

I’m home now and debating what to do.  Am finding I do not enjoy the heat as much as I used to so sitting outside, unless in the shade, is not something I want to do.  On the other hand who wants to waste a beautiful day such as this sitting indoors.  For those of you sitting at lakeside....lucky you!  It is the perfect weekend for that!  Will be heading that way shortly myself so hope that the weather continues.  I can almost see my garden growing on a daily basis.  Amazing what a little sun and heat can do for the growing season.

A quiet couple of days this week.  Am heading out to Gull Lake for a girls golf get together and I am determined not to have a repeat of last months little episode where I was sick after my chemo because of too much Stampeding and birthday celebration.  So... erring on the side of caution I am having a totally laid back couple of days so that I will be ready to kick the girls’ butts on the golf course!  Now if that isn’t the kiss of death to my game!

Had to head down to the passport office today to renew my passport.  They sent it back to me, reason being that I had not included payment.  I know for a fact I submitted my credit card information so don’t know what happened there.  In any case went downtown fully expecting to wait forever and was in and out of there in five minutes!  It was awesome.  Came home and collected Boomer and we headed over to Nose Hill for a walk.  I think everyone has left town.  Hardly any dog walkers out there today, although I did run into a couple who stopped and exclaimed “Leslie!”  I looked at this couple and I did not have a clue who they were and I’m sure it showed on my face.  I really hate it when that happens.  In any case I think they saw my blank look and she told me who they were.  Old neighbours from way back who moved away about 15 years ago.  We had a little chit chat and then went on our way.  Its funny, if you go up there at your regular time you will always run into the same people but alter the time and you get a whole new set of people and dogs.  People are really set in their habits.

So, answer to last blogs trivia question.....There are no bad fruits but the best fruits you can eat are...
Avocado, cherries, coconut, guava, kiwi, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.

Not much else new....that’s the problem with low key days....nothing exciting to report.  Should have more exiting stuff after I get back from Gull Lake!

Yesterday had my IV chemo at the Tom Baker.  I got lucky.....got a nurse who knew how to do an IV. The poor woman next to me got poked 12 times before they got a line into her.  Another nurse came over and asked my nurse to try because she couldn’t seem to get it.  My nurse got it on the first poke.
Twelve times!!!  Yahoo....no Ivy yesterday!

Left the Tom Baker and headed over to Earl’s for dinner with the badminton Mom’s.  It was so great to see everyone.  The poor waiter kept coming over to ask if we were ready to order and none of us had even looked at the menu.  We managed to make dinner last 4 hours and then Brenda brought out a special treat!  A cake made from cupcakes in the shape of “A WHITE RABBIT.”  Now we are actually eating white rabbits!  August should be an amazing month I’m thinking!

Those of us who love badminton are a little shame faced at the Olympic antics of some of the countries!  What a total disgrace that was!  I have actually personally witnessed the Chinese to exactly this.  They are told to throw certain games.  When Kelli was playing in a World Junior Tournament a number of years ago, two Chinese teams came up against each other.  I can’t remember if it was for ranking purposes or if they just didn’t want the weaker team to beat the stronger team by some chance but it was painfully obvious that one team was throwing the game on purpose.  Kelli says she has seen this exact behaviour from these countries many times.

Today, I’m feeling a little flat so had a pretty quiet day.  My walking partner, Boomer, also not well today.  We suspect he found something tasty (by his perspective only) in the ravine that has given him a bug.  So the cure....no food for 24 hours and then rice with a little food mixed in.  He certainly wolfed that down tonight so it would appear he is on the mend.  There was not a single grain of rice left in his bowl at the end of his dinner.

Will probably take it easy tomorrow as well.  Really want to be in good form for our girl’s golf get together up at Gull Lake next week.  Should be a great couple of days!  Just hoping the weather holds in there for us.