Suitcase update...and Calgary shopping

My suitcase was finally delivered last night, well, actually early this morning at about 1:00am. It will be nice to go to bed in my own jammies tonight.

We're having a nice time in Calgary. I went to Southcentre with Tamara and Roxanne (my niece) this morning. She (Roxanne, not Tamara) is getting so big! Dave and I then took the train downtown and met Karmen for lunch. Then we got lost in the maze of +15s and malls, trying to finish our Christmas shopping. There was a movie made several years ago that took place in Calgary, showing that people could live there and never have to go outside. Dave and I would be walking for what seemed a mile (I forgot how big it all is), and we'd look at each other and say, "where are we? Have we come to 7th Ave. yet?" You may be able to live there, but darned if you can find something for your father for Christmas.

Suitcase-less

Our adventure to Calgary yesterday began with a cancelled flight from Des Moines to Dallas. We weren't notified (apparently it's our responsibility to double check these things...) that our flight no longer existed, so when we showed up at the airport, we discovered the flight they'd moved us to was an hour and a half earlier than ours. Luckily that was IN THE PROCESS OF BOARDING. We got up to the gate, and it had closed. The plane was still there, so they reopened the gate for us, and we were "those people" that hold up the plane from leaving. Evil eyes everywhere.

We then thought, "wouldn't it be nice if our luggage arrived in Calgary?" We had 4 hours in Dallas instead of 2.5, then after our long flight to Calgary, we jumped for joy when two of our suitcases came through. There were three. 24 hours later, we still don't have our third suitcase. Luckily, Dave has all his clothes, toiletries, etc. Unfortunately, I don't have any of mine. There also may be some disappointed people come Christmas morning. It should all work out. It's just a mystery to us that two suitcases made it. :(

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Camwells

Sparky the Piano

We have a piano! After convincing Dave that it wasn't a good idea to attempt rolling the piano three blocks from the music building to our house, we had it delivered this afternoon. The piano was willed to Simpson College, but it had been sitting in a storage room for many years. As it was a gift to the school, it made sense to have a faculty member have it in their home rather than let it sit unused. So, it has been loaned to us indefinitely, and all we needed to do was have it moved and get it tuned. We were at the school earlier today, and there happened to be some piano movers there moving two grands! Dave asked them if they'd have time to move a piano three blocks, and he paid them $50. The best part will be having piano students come to my house instead of going to theirs. I'm looking forward to never teaching at the Indianola Super 8 again!

Flash from the past

Who here remembers Niagara Falls? Not that largish waterfall in Ontario, but the great piece for wind ensemble by Michael Daugherty. The University of Calgary Wind Ensemble played it during our WASBE year of 1998-99. We recorded the piece, and it was definitely one I thought I'd never play again.
Are you with me?

Well, here are two interesting (I think) tidbits:

1) Michael Daugherty is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The CRSO plays quite a few of his pieces.
2) I was paid (I won't say how much; it will just make it look like I make a lot of money) to play "Niagara Falls" for one rehearsal and the concert with the Simpson College Wind Ensemble!

The rehearsal was yesterday, and as the conductor gave the downbeat, I flashed back to the good times we had with GDP. I played oboe at WASBE and English horn for this performance (tonight). Shaun, remember playing this part? I remember our synthesized organ (played by John MORGAN ... coincidence?), the cheesy haunted house vibrato of the saxes (intentional), and my inability to count in certain sections (unintentional). It was nice to be able to redeem myself. Next year we should all get together and play the Maslanka!

It's funny how things like this pop up when you least expect them! I think I'll get out the recording and revisit my 20-year-old self.

Last chance to cook!

I'm closing my Pampered Chef show today, so if you'd like to order anything, please follow the link to the right!

Have fun!!

Firsts

We've experienced many firsts this year, but I wanted to share a particularly important first that happened this week. Get ready for it: Dave and I are happy to announce the arrival of our first...snow shovel!

Yes, it was a momentous day. I must admit, I've been pretty selfish with it so far. I know couples normally set their alarms 5 minutes earlier than the other half just to race out of bed and get to that shoveling first. Lucky for me, it snowed while Dave was at work! Score!!! If I wanted to get out of the house, I needed to shovel my way out! So I gleefully shoveled for half an hour on Wednesday. I shoveled our long walk from the street to the front door, and since it was warming up, I didn't want the snow to melt before I had a chance to shovel it, so I did our entire yard! Just kidding! Who could ever be that lucky?

Dave left yesterday morning at about 5:45am to head to "upstate" Iowa, and the poor guy left before it started snowing again in Indianola. He didn't get to shovel. It started at about 10am and snowed solidly until around 3:30pm. This time, I got to shovel for an entire hour!! About 6 inches of snow was on the ground, the sidewalk, on my car, around my car... My trusty (and might I add spiffy) yellow and black snow shovel saved the day again! I even shoveled the entire driveway so Dave would be able to get in when he got home.

When the sad time came to stop, all I could think was, "Please, please, please let it snow again tomorrow." So far it hasn't, but that's probably because Dave is home and would want to steal my glory.

And now for my second-most favourite activity: eating methocarbamol pills.