I FOUND IT!

Funny thing is, I didn't even know I was looking for it...

It's hard to believe that, until today, it had been 16 years since I've laid eyes on the above culvert.

I know, I know...hard to believe, isn't it? Don't we all have a favourite culvert or ditch or swail out there somewhere? Don't we? Ok, well perhaps I'm alone on this one.

I took the above photo in my first year of college for a photography assignment and something about it has stuck with me and in all my travels in the years since, I've never been by the spot again until today.

Not that I was looking for it, but whenever my travels took me down any of the side roads in Manvers, I would kind of subconsciously keep an eye out for it as I had long forgotten the exact location the photo was taken.

Imagine my suprise and delight today when I came upon this...

What word is dirtier than the dreaded "S" word?

And by "S" word, I am, of course, referring to SNOW.

The only word in our house that's worse this time of year is MUD. As the snow recedes, all manner of ugly things are slowly revealed in our back yard...this is the one element of spring I could live without.

Having three dogs means I have almost as much mud and dirt INSIDE my house as OUTSIDE.

Ah... Spring is in the air...


While it may not LOOK like it outside, it is beginning to smell, sound and feel like spring outside.

The thermometer may still be reading below 0, but the sun is stronger and the snow melts and receeds, albeit slowly.

I've heard robins and redwing blackbirds already (haven't yet seen them, but I know they are there). I spent some time last weekend at the McLaughlin Conservation area with Jane taking photos. We didn't quite get there in time for sun rise, but there was a lovely fog hanging over the bay as the sun came up through the clouds.


Jane is not what I would call an early riser, but I think even she was glad (eventually!) that she got up early that morning. We had a very fruitful (birdful??) day, as you can see from the photos.


Today, Darryl and I drove to visit his mom and my parents and it's a whole other world there - just a short half hours drive to the north. On either side of my parents driveway were 5' deep snow drifts...and it was the same in every other yard. There was 3-4' on the level still...yet the same sun shone strongly and you could see water undercutting the drifts at the road edge. It won't be long now...

Canadian Geographic

Before I left for Las Vegas at the first of this month, a friend had emailed me a link to the Canadian Geographic website, insisting that "there are some really great shots on here, but I think we take some just as good or better!"...so I filed the link away for further investigation and promptly forgot all about it (Sorry Jane...but I was going to Vegas!).

Upon my return, she reminded me about the site and I finally checked it out. Indeed, there are some truly astonishing shots on the site and an equal, if not greater, number of not-so-much.

I just joined last night and I submitted a couple of photos to their "Shoot This" gallery - where they give you ideas & guidelines and you post photos of such and are critiqued and rated by other site members. It's a tool to get the creative juices flowing when you're stuck for ideas. The current subject is "3-D Curves" - any curve of any kind, but it must have depth. Here's my entry. This is the facade of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas.

They also feature a "photo of the week" selected from member galleries - the two samples that were on the site blew me away. Credit where credit is due - clicking on these two photos will take you to the photographers own page on Canadian Geographic.

I'm excited about being a member of this site and will post some of my (in my opinion) best shots here in the future.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Owww...again.

I should know better by now,but no, I walked the strip again - further this time than last Sunday.

I was up early - 6am here - and down in the casino by 7 - it's quiet that early in the morning and you have your pick of the slot machines. I played until 9:30 when I met Dianna and Ron for breakfast at the Grand buffet.

After which, we took a cab to the Fashion Mall, where I was finally able to pick up some souvenirs to take home. Not much else in the mall caught my eye, so I wandered over to Treasure Island to check it out.






A custom motorcycle in the Treasure Island Casino, the Siren:






After donating some money there, I came back to meet Dianna and Ron in Neiman Markus. While Dianna and I waited for Ron, I had my first celebrity sighting - if you can call it that. Carrot Top was shopping in Neiman Markus. I managed to take a covert snapshot of him and although it's not a great shot (I didn't want to be too obvious!), it is clear that it is him.

We spent the next 2 hours making our way back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped for supper at a patio restaurant outside Planet Hollywood, where I had something that I suspect may have been sushi...although I didn't realize it until it arrived at the table and I started eating it...it wasn't bad, but I'm not in a hurry to try it again.








The restaurant (I don't recall the name) overlooked Las Vegas Blvd, and while we were eating, we could watch the traffic hustling up and down the strip. The majority of the vehicles were taxis and limos - but even amid the thousands of others, this one stood out above the crowd - I've done a little research since getting back to the hotel. Curious about Big Blue?


We also noticed that part of the Paris Casino's balloon sign was missing. One of the restaurant's employees said that it is being taken down!! I understand there is a place, acres in the desert, where old Vegas signs go to die. It's called the Neon Graveyard. Also, more info here. Here too, will the Paris balloon eventually come to rest.





Much to the delight of my abused feet, we made it back to the hotel. I couldn't walk another step, but rather than admit it, I instead said I was going to play the slots for a bit before going upstairs. Well, I should have forced myself to
crawl upstairs instead. I was, at one point, up $200 overall...now I'm down almost $500. I've saved a little bit for tomorrow morning, if I have time.


Right now, I'm uploading photos and starting to pack - although by the sounds of the weather back home, we may not be going anywhere tomorrow!!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

We were in classes or lectures most of the day today and didn't really get out and about too much. We went for dinner at "Craftsteak"' - it was phenomenal. We had the surf and turf sampling menu between the 3 of us. I have had kobe beef before, but never this good... boneless spare ribs cooked for 18 hours. They just melted in your mouth. The lobster was tender and sweet in a saffron butter sauce. Everything was excellent (with the exception of the tab!). Afterwards, we hopped in a cab and drove up the strip to the Wynn - Ron had been wanting us to see it the whole time we''ve been here and it lived up to
expectations.







We watched the free show before spending several hours in the casino. I ended the evening up about $150. I actually had a $600 voucher from earlier in the evening on the $1 Wheel of Fortune.


I'm glad I took a photo of this, because it's looooong gone now. :o(

(We got in really late so I'm actually posting this entry on Friday)

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Not much to blog about today - spent the majority of the day in lectures or courses - from 8:00am this morning until 3:30 this after noon, with a fashion show luncheon from 12-1 benefiting the Koman Breast Cancer Foundation.

I had about an hour to get all gussied up for the big awards show, at which Dianna accepted her Diamond Award.

I didn't have time to get out with the camera today, so all I have to post are a few a took at the awards this evening.

The lady of the hour herself, Dianna!

Dianna and her Broker, John

Although I realy don't like this photo, I'm including it to prove I was actually here. This is John, Dianna and myself at the RE/Max Night of Stars, Las Vegas, NV, March 5, 2008.

March 4, 2008

Whoa...what a day!!!

I was awakened at 7:50 am this morning by a phone call from Ron announcing that we were moving rooms and I needed to be packed AND dressed for my day in a little over an hour.

After a furious flurry of activity, I was showered, dressed and packed in 1 hour. We schlepped our belongings to the Signature suites where we each now had our own suite. Well, for the 2 minutes I had to check out the suite, I was floored. There was no comparison. Our previous rooms were akin to highway motor hotel rooms compared to these. A full kitchen, complete with pots, pans, dishes, blender...even measuring cups! The bathroom has a separate room for the toilet, a glass shower, Jacuzzi tub, double sinks and a TV. The suite itself has a bar, the bed area and a separate living room and office area. I could spend the rest of my week here and be quite content...well, no, that's not 100% true!! There's still a lot of Vegas I want to see!



This mornings functions started out with the opening general session from 9:30-12:00, which was a nostalgic trip through the last 35 years with RE/Max and into the future. The highlight for me was without a doubt Terry Fader - I have been a fan since seeing him win America's Got Talent. I can't be the only person who thinks he's phenomenal, can I? I know Dianna wasn't impressed with him at first, but I think by the time he was done, he'd won her over - I think it was the Sonny & Cher impersonation. How does one man sing two parts at the same time so that you can distinguish two vocals??



I did get a little video of his performance before my camera batteries died. :o( He did about 6 songs - I got his intro and 2 songs.





At 1, my courses for the day started. I did 1 hour on contact management, 1 hour on digital marketing and 1 hour on changes in the real estate market.



This was followed by an "Ice Cream" social at the marquee ballroom featuring hagendaus ice cream and free drinks which led up to the Children's Miracle Network action. I watched some of the auction and bought myself a little bit of Las Vegas bling.

From there, I made my way to the Canadian Happy Hour reception where met a lovely couple from BC before finally meeting up with Dianna and Ron again.

Made my way back to my "suite" for a leisurely soak in the jacuzzi - which does wonders for abused tootsies - dried off with a HUGE snuggle soft towel and I'm now writing this blog while enjoying a cup of berry tea I brewed in my kitchen while listening to American Idol. Time to upload multimedia and call it a night - another big day ahead tomorrow. Courses until 3:30, then getting ready for the big awards night!!

Bon soir!