Still no snow

Yes I am doing the happy dance because we still have no snow. The weather here has been incredible! The sun is shinning and it's a gorgeous day. Last year by this time it was snowy and icy and I remember a day that my car wouldn't make it up the hill. I remember sliding down the hill, not able to stop and almost landing in the ditch. I remember getting out of the car to walk up the hill that cold November day. I remember slipping on the ice and falling down the hill. I remember I stopped sliding when I was under the car. I remember how thankful I was to have my cell phone on me. I remember calling Sean at work and he left early to come rescue me. I remember the pain I was in from the fall for many days after that. I remember why winter isn't my favorite season, or at least the snow part of it and the cold weather. So, yes I am very happy we still have no snow. Perhaps next year at this time I'll be living in a warmer climate or wishing I was in a warmer climate. You know those places that when it snows, the kids get to have a snow day and they don't have to go to school. Our schools here only have "too cold" days and usually it has to be close to -40 before they declare that! I wonder what this season will bring for us all.

Firebug Vandals hit Lakecity

Williams Lake Boys and Girls Club executive director Monica Johnson and youth services worker Troy Forcier survey the damage to the organization’s bus Monday morning. The bus was completely destroyed by arsonists
By Erin Hitchcock - Williams Lake Tribune

Published: November 25, 2008 8:00 AM
City fire department called to five different fires Sunday night and early Monday morning

Kids at the Boys and Girls Club have lost their bus after it was completely destroyed in a fire believed to have been caused by arsonists.

A string of suspicious fires kept the Williams Lake Fire Department busy Sunday night and early Monday morning when they attended five separate fires, most of which involved molotov cocktails.

Williams Lake Fire Department chief Randy Isfeld says the first suspicious fire began at 5:26 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 on the hill by Barnard Street and Seventh Avenue.

“That one didn’t go very far. A passerby, in fact, stamped it out,” Isfeld says, adding that a beer bottle with a wick, a molotov cocktail, was found at the scene.

“We’ve had a series of fires that are suspicious, to say the least.”

Just after midnight, a witness reported that he saw what he thought was a fire flash up between two vehicles in the 400 block of Mackenzie Avenue South.

“That was also a beer bottle, a molotov cocktail thrown between two trucks,” he says. “No damage done there at all, just the molotov cocktail itself.”

Then at 2:33 a.m., the fire department was called to the Boys and Girls Club where its van, which was parked in a secured and gated back parking lot, was on fire.

“That is suspicious as well,” he says, adding that unlike the other fires, a jerry can, instead of a beer bottle, was found nearby.

While the fire department was extinguishing that fire, it received another call at 2:56 a.m. that there was a grass fire on a small hillside by Town Taxi on MacKenzie Avenue.

While still attending the fire at the Boys and Girls Club, the department received another call, at about 3:47 a.m. In that incident, someone had used a molotov cocktail at the Cariboo Memorial Complex parking lot entrance off of Proctor Street.

“Somebody had busted a beer bottle there with what appeared to be gasoline or something in it,” Isfeld said, adding that it’s still unknown what type of material was used in the molotov cocktails.

No suspect has yet been caught and police are still investigating, Isfeld says.

“One can assume that they may be related,” he says, adding that aside from the burned bus at the Boys and Girls Club, little property sustained fire damage in the other incidents.

The Boys and Girls Club bus still sat in the back lot, torched, Monday afternoon.

Monica Johnson, the executive director for the Boys and Girls Club, says watching the bus burn while the Williams Lake Fire Department extinguished the flames was disheartening.

“We’re just really happy no one was hurt,” Johnson says, adding that the 139 Children’s Charity donated the bus to the Boys and Girls Club last March.

She believes the arsonists used fuel to set the bus on fire, as a jerry can was found at the scene.

Troy Forcier, youth services worker for the Boys and Girls Club, says he received a call at about 3 a.m. that the bus was on fire.

“It was one of five arsons from last night,” he says.

“We have no idea who could have done it or anything like that. It’s completely destroyed. We can’t even tow it. It has no tires. They’re just melted.”

He says while insurance will cover the damage, the bus will be hard to replace.

“I know some of the kids are going to be devastated because they loved that bus,” he says, adding that the bus used to be able to transport about 20 kids and made the club’s biking program much better this year.

“We hadn’t had a bus before, so we were able to do some of the trails that were further out,” he says. “We did trips to Barkerville and Farwell Canyon.”

Fortunately, there are few trips to be made at this time of year, but there are plans to take the kids to the ski hills later this year.

“I’m just glad it didn’t burn our building,” he says.

“It still sucks because we spent $3,000 last week on the engine, and $1,000 a couple weeks before that.”

The van was parked in the far corner of the secured lot, where it’s normally kept in case someone ever tried to set it on fire.

“We thought, ‘Well, if anybody ever torches it, at least it will be away from the building,’” he says. “I didn’t think that would ever materialize.”

In addition to Town Taxi’s hillside being set on fire, one of the company’s taxis was also damaged. Its windshield was hit with what is believed to have been a beer bottle, says Mona Nieber, co-owner of Town Taxi.

“They burned our banks and they hit one of our taxis,” she says. “They burned all the grass and stuff. It’s a fair good chunk of the property. It’s all burnt.”

She says the building and the cars weren’t set on fire, but the one car sustained minor damage from being hit with the bottle.

“It hit the windshield and it hit another part of it too, but it’s just minor. Nobody was hurt.”

Judy's back!

It was nice to see Judy today. She went to New York with her daughter on a little holiday. It sounds like it was an awesome trip. I'm hoping to go for coffee with her and see pictures and catch up. I sure missed her when she was gone. She is so sweet. She brought me back a souvenir. It's a zipper pull. One side says New York and the other side says Sandra (because they didn't have Sandi). I am thankful for her thoughtfulness and the gift(:

I'm still here and what a week.

I've been trying to post regularily, but I blew it this week. I can say I've been busy, but what have I done? I've just been thinking about life and family and friends and missing you all. It felt like my parents were on holidays for the past 12 days. Reality has set in, darn it they moved and I miss them! I didn't realize how lucky we were to have my parents so close by. I guess I'm thinking more about it because this will be the first time I can remember not being with my mom on her birthday. So, when I'm sad....I go shopping. Not always a good idea when one has spent so much money on vehicle repairs!

So this is what I bought...new glasses. They are Italian made by Emporio Armani. So far everyone seems to like them. They are a big change from the style I used to wear. But I felt a change was needed after having the same glasses for the past 10 years!

I stayed home today with the kids. Kels and I crimped our hair. Now I remember why I don't do crimp. My hair looked like a giant puff ball when I was done. So we straightened it. I think I'll leave my crimping days back to the 80's.It does bring back some memories of when I was in high school. Missy Tammy and I and a very expensive hotel in Vancouver we stayed at for our grade 10 trip. It was fun though. Then we watched a movie and had popcorn. Poor Mike didn't get any popcorn because of his braces.

The dryer went on the fritz this week, so laundry has been a challenge. I've got clothes drying all over the house. Luckily the part we need will be in on Monday. It was not very expensive at all to fix. Thank goodness, because we've had enough money forked out on repairs in the last month to last us....well a very long time. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Miss you all!

Lots of unpacking to do....

My sister brought the car back to my parents in Nanaimo yesterday. They didn't miss it because they had soooo much unpacking to do. If they needed to go to the store, it's only a 5min. walk from their house to the Mall. Pretty cool!

Goodbye to our childhood home....

We moved into this mobile home when I was only 4yrs old. There are a lot of memories of my childhood home. My parents lived there for 32 years. Mom did a really good job cleaning it up. I think it looks great. I'm not saying goodbye to the place quite yet though because I will be checking on it until it sells. Hopefully it sells soon.

The last night

We had a nice dinner at my house for my parents' last night in Williams Lake. I made my mom an early birthday cake and gave her the gift we bought her. They are now on their way to Maple Ridge to drop off the car and then are heading to Nanaimo. There were lots of tears this morning after they left and a few hidden tears when we were hugging goodbye. It's going to really strange not having them around and we are going to miss them. We hope to one day move, but it'll have to wait until the economy here is better. I'm going to post some pictures of the move and the empty house when my mom sends them to me from my sister's computer.

A new site I stumbled across

I was intrigued when I read of a blog out there called typing with one hand.
I was curious to read Peter's blog because my mom is one handed.
If you have time, go read it. I enjoyed reading it and will probably read it on a regular basis.
http://www.typingwithonehand.blogspot.com/

A fairy Tale

Once upon a time there lived a king.
The king had a beautiful daughter,


The PRINCESS.


But there was a problem. Everything the princess touched would melt.


No matter what;



Metal,



Wood,



Stone,



Anything she touched would melt.



Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her.


The king despaired. What could he do to help his daughter?



He consulted his wizards and magicians. One wizard told the king,


"If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured."




The king was overjoyed and came up with a plan.








The next day, he held a competition. Any man that could bring his daughter an object that would not melt would marry her and inherit the king's wealth.

THREE YOUNG PRINCES TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE.

The first brought a sword of the finest steel.





But alas, when the princess touched it, it melted.


The prince went away sadly.




The second prince brought diamonds.






He thought diamonds are the hardest substance in the world and would not melt.
But alas,
Once the princess touched them, they melted.


He too was sent away disappointed.

:-[


The third prince approached. He told the princess,
"Put your hand in my pocket and feel what is in there."

The princess did as she was told, though she turned red.





She felt something hard. She held it in her hand.


And it did not melt!!!



The king was overjoyed. Everybody in the kingdom was overjoyed.


And the third prince married the princess and they both lived happily ever after.





Question: What was in the prince's pants?
(Scroll down for the answer)








M&M's of course. They melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
What were you thinking??

Lots going on between the move and snow

We are experiencing some early winter conditions in the puddle. My dad is freaking out because they are moving to Nanaimo next week and was hoping to have moved before the snow flies. Both our winter vehicles are in the shop, so that makes driving in the snow challenging. So far my car is doing OK. Hopefully we get the 4X4's back soon because it looks like the snow is going to stay. I always loved the first snow fall of the season, but this year I am having mixed emotions about it. Probably because it came too early and winter will seem extra long this year.
I am having a hard time keeping focused these days. Probably because I am sad my parents are moving. It's going to hard for my kids too. It will be weird not going to their place for coffee. I am sure we will miss going to our childhood home. So many memories....