Hospital Gala will take you to the Sea

I just met with Alex over at the Bonnyville Health Centre ( I wished they would call it a hospital. The name is just confusing us older folks.) Anyway, I was just talking with Alex Smyl and he tells me that things are well under way for their annual spring Hospital Foundation Gala. The theme this year is "Under the Sea" and if the decorations are anything like the past several years it will be Spectacular!

One year they featured the Academy Awards, the next it was a Roman Holiday, then the Black Gold celebration and last year we were all whisked away to the dark continent of Africa. Volunteers and staff outdid themselves with huge murals depicting the African plains teeming with wildlife and table decor to match.  What ever will they do to surpass that reception?

You will have a chance to see if you get your tickets for the event which takes place on Saturday, February 20th at the Bonnyville Centennial Centre in the Flint Energy Field House. Tickets to the event are $50 each or you can buy a table for eight people for $400. You can pick them up from long time committee members Vic Sadlowski or Ray Prevost or Ann Chislett at the Foundation office in the Bonnyville Health Centre. 

Just imagine - King Neptune and his Mermaids and Mermen or perhaps its the lost sunken city of Atlantis. Anyway you slice it the event will be a great celebration featuring lots of sea food so don't miss it. Proceeds from this year's event will be directed toward equipment needs in the OBS/GYN unit. Last years event raised around $150,000 so lets see if we can push it over the top.  Oh and by the way, just because the theme is "Under the Sea" doesn't mean you get to wear your Speedo.

Oh, one other thing, the same group is conducting a raffle as part of the fund raising and tickets just went on sale today. There are two prizes, the first being a Caribbean Cruise for two courtesy of Gala Travel and the second prize is a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV and Blue Ray video player courtesy of the folks at Tellier's Value Drug Mart, Peter Davey's Pharmasave and The Clinic Dispensary.

The tickets are only $10 each and there are only 1,000 available. The draw will be held the night of the Gala on February 20, 2010. For tickets you can get them from Vic, Ray, Ann or any of the committee members. Heck if you see me wandering down the street catch me. I've got some and I'm already half way through the first book. DH

So Danielle Smith is coming?

I'm guessing its sometime in January when the weather is at its best. It will be interesting how a neophite expects to solve all the problems of our current economic situation and correct all the evils of the current administration. So far efforts at communication have been a little thin. If nothing else, we should all attend and grill her even more than our previous candidates.

It's Christmas Eve and all is well.

It's nice to see the town grow quite as everyone gathers at home to prepare for the night ahead... wrapping presents, put together toys with strange instructions that never quite make sense. Finishing the toy to find a few dozen extra nuts, bolts or strange pieces that look like they should fit but never quite do.  Or, my favourite, wrapping that special toy that has been pleaded for throughout the entire year and then wondering if there were batteries included or were you supposed to pick some up just in case. You know you're going to have to search every flashlight in the place so you might as well start now. Why? because when junior opens that gift tomorrow morning and it doesn't work when he or she hits the switch, you'll be willing to take apart the smoke detector or your electric toothbrush. Hope it all works out for you. It works great for me. All the grandchildren live in other parts of the country and the toys have been sent. I'll leave the batteries up to the kids. Merry Christmas Everyone.

Nice little snow we had last night.

Its always great to get snow this time of year as the clock ticks toward Christmas. The benefits of snow are myriad. Snow provides a ground cover to keep the earth from drying out. It provides a haven for little ground dwelling creatures who scurry about beneath its mantle gathering food to keep them warm and their bellies full. It covers the earth with a pristine blanket and best of all, it covers up the dog turds left by hapless owners who think we enjoy little poopsy's visit. Hah! I bet you thought I'd gone all Currier & Ives on you didn't you. I love small animals but if you're going to be an owner, take responsibility. Nuff said.

I've noticed around town that a number of businesses are shutting down over the holidays and not coming back in until January 4th. Some folks are even shutting down for the full day on the 24th so if you don't have your stuff done, you might have to wait. I was over visiting with Trent and Joyce at Sign Solutions and that's what they are doing. If you know of anyone else that's doing that, let me know.

Oh here's a little story the missus sent me the other day from work. Hope you don't mind, its a little risque and it scores one for the ladies. Enjoy.

ONIONS and CHRISTMAS TREES

A family is at the dinner table. The son asks his father, 'Dad, how
many kinds of boobs are there?

The father, surprised, answers, 'Well, son, there are three kinds of
Boobs:

In her 20's, a woman's are like melons, round and firm.

In her 30's to 40's, they are like pears, still nice but hanging a bit.

After 50,
they are like onions'.

'Onions?'

'Yes, you see them and they make you cry.'

This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said,

'Mum, how many kinds of 'willies' are there?.

The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, 'Well dear,
a man goes through three phases.

In his 20's, his willy is like an oak
tree, mighty and hard.

In his 30's and 40's, it is like a birch,
flexible but reliable.

After his 50's, it is like a Christmas Tree.'

'A Christmas tree?'

'Yes - the root's dead and the balls are just for decoration.'
HO HO HO! Merry Christmas Everyone.

Something Funny for our farming friends.

I heard this at the liquor store the other night. I was just in for a little arthritis medicine when a feller stopped me to share this old gem. Here goes!

A fellow had been working for the government as a research scientist for about 20 years and he decided to retire and take up farming.

Well, he bought a quarter section and fixed fences and the well and picked rocks and cut down the weeds and worked the soil up ready for seeding. The only thing was he couldn't decide what to plant. After a couple of cool ones on the back porch he decided that since he liked chicken thats what he'd raise so he went to the hatchery and bought 400 dandy leghorns. (wait folks, this gets better)

Upon getting them home he proceeded to plant them by hand in his newly worked soil feet down and just their necks sticking out of the ground. Well of course within a few days, most of them were dead and the ones that weren't should have been. He was of course a little puzzled so back to the hatchery he went and this time bought 400 Rhode Island Reds.

Back home and he's out in the field again but this time he plants them upside down with just their feet sticking out of the dirt. This batch didn't even last as long as the first. He was really puzzled now so he decided to consult with his compatriots back at the government lab. Surely these geniouses would be able to figure it out. So he sent them a letter explaining what had happened and about nine weeks later his old friends at the lab sent back a response with one short comment. "please send sample of soil"

See I knew if you  stuck around, you'd get a giggle. Talk to you all real soon. If you like what I put up here, let your friends know by sharing this url: www.outandabout-hutty.blogspot.com
Thanks a bunch.

What's up with the cell phone service?

Gee Telus Mobility you're supposed to be some kind of super supplier what the hell is wrong with your system. Over the past couple of weeks an especially today your signal has been dropping in the middle of calls and then momentarily coming back to tell us we have voice mails and then being unable to connect to our own voice mail because it drops the call right away.

You're starting to cost me money because my clients can't reach me so I think I'll start sending you folks an invoice for the down time. Get it fixed and pronto. Our home phone is even a cell so right now we're cut off from friends and family. Oh, that's maybe what that last package was about - must have forgot to read the really teeny tiny small print that Superman would have trouble deciphering.

Telus your cell service makes me Hork!

Lets get out of this cold weather

Can you believe how cold its been the last few days. Everything is frozen solid, its hard on vehicles, its hard on me and I'm yearning for warmer southern climes. The missus and I have been contemplating taking an RV south for the winter and have heard and talked to a few people that have done it but we've been hesitant to leave the comforts and familiarity of home. And, there's the unknown expenses on the road. We like to see new things but where to camp, when do we go and what the heck is all this going to cost. I was scouting around on the internet trying to find all this information when I happened across a story about this lady and her husband who have been doing this for nine years. They have found scads of free camping or reasonable cost locations in the southwestern US and have created a series of travel guides to show where these places are. There's also lots of information on boondocking or dry camping that will save you travel money as well. The great thing is that she's Canadian and explain's how to make the border crossings without any hassle.

If you are thinking of heading south even if you are an experienced snowbird then you need to look at this first!

Have you ever wanted to go to Disney World?

I just heard about a former employee who has all the answers to help you get the most and save the most during your trip. The savings are incredible and the tips and hints will help you enjoy the world's greatest fun park. Big or small, everyone can enjoy a trip to the magic kingdom without breaking the bank. Just click here to see how: Visit Mickey now!
Enjoy your trip.
Dave

Have you been right sized?

If you've been laid off and are lacking the skills to seek work elsewhere, maybe this will help. I've never seen anything like this before so I thought I'd spread the word.

If you've ever watched in envy while the guy sits in his nice back hoe warm cab while you're outside doing all the dirty work maybe it's time for a change.

Why don't you trade places or a least get a place of your own inside that cab. What? You don't know how to operate one and those controls look too confusing. Then you have to at least look at this. It costs nothing to look and you may .... if you aren't afraid of a little work learn some extremely valuable skills that will last you the rest of your life. You can even pass this skill on to your kids and they .... well, you're a smart person so I'll let you figure out the rest.

Just click on this link to see what I mean. Backhoe Training
Here's to a new future for you.
Regards,
Dave

The roof is coming along nicely.

I see they've started putting the roof over the new grandstand at the rodeo grounds. This cool weather has slowed them down a little I'm sure but at least its started. That means cover from the sun or the rain depending on what mother nature hands out next spring and summer. Not only will the roof protect the audience during the annual pro rodeo come the end of May and the World Pro Chuck Wagons in Mid July but maybe there are other events we could put on out there!
Maybe an outdoor concert or two. How about a Saturday night movie presentation on a huge inflatable screen with surround sound or maybe snowmobile races. The possibilities are limited only by our imagination!

How cold was it?

It was so freeking cold that a Raven was jump starting a squirrel just to get him going. I know, its an old joke but I'm not kidding. At last look, it was minus 35 C and with another 5 degrees, thats 40 and it doesn't matter whether it's celsius or farenheit. 40 degrees is where the two scales meet and that's just cold. For our friends south of the 49th parallel, that's cold enough to make brass monkeys sing suprano.  I don't know if I'm misspelling the words here but the autospeller keeps underlining in red. Maybe its just never seen those words before. Anyway, the point of all this rambling is Hey Al Gore where the heck is your global warming now.  I don't think we should be worried about global warming as much as we should be about global freezing. A week and a half ago it was plus 10 now the temp has dropped nearly 50 degrees. It's going to take a lot longer than that to warm back up. Sure there are a few countries that fail to control pollution but they aren't the ones that are going to change. North America is at least looking at the science of change and the technology costs billions. Don't expect changes over night.
This debate is not done yet so here's a little thought for you to ponder. The CO2 content was much higher than present in Roman times i.e.: the 6 & 700s AD. Those chariot horses must have let off a lot of gas for the content to get that high. Check back tomorrow and I'll provide the facts. In the mean time, bundle up.!

Only one person showed up

Well, the Town council held their budget meeting last night and it was open to the public and only one person showed up and they didn't even ask questions. This likely means a couple of things. Number one might be that no one cares which is highly unlikely because if its not right we'll be hearing about it for weeks around the coffee shops if there is an increase to your taxes.
Number two is that every rate payer in the town of Bonnyville believes that council is doing an excellent job and that taxpayers don't mind paying a little extra each year to keep things rolling along.

What's your read on it or do you care. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say, good or bad. Oh and if you don't mind, no strong language like swearing it doesn't add to the story.
DH