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December 15, 2005

Mick and Heather Attend Their Work Christmas Parties
'Tis the season to get free food and booze from your employers, as they say.

Mick and Heather both had work Christmas parties this week, one classy, one at a bar.

"I always get so excited about a free dinner," Mick explained. "You never know what's going to be on the menu."

Heather's party (she works at Cumulative Environmental Management Association) was held at the Sawridge Hotel. The Sawridge is likely the fanciest joint in town, albeit a buffet restaurant with a high-class facade. There is an excellent menu to order from besides the buffet, but no one ever does.

"I can't believe that Mick traded his secret Santa gift for the gift he'd bought for someone else. You're not supposed to do that, are you?" Heather asked. Mick had traded a playing card set and leather carrying case for the two disk Neil Diamond compilation that he'd brought as a gift..

"Everyone else brought gift baskets from Starbucks. I thought our potato slicer and CD set were the most unique gifts there, so obviously I wanted to take either of them home," Mick replied, adding, "The potato cutter was traded twice, so I knew there was a demand for it. The CDs, though, sat with the same person and I don't think they really understand Neil like I do."

Mick's staff party (he works for Emerson Process Management) was held at Paddy McSwiggins, one of the smoky watering holes in their neighbourhood.

"I liked the randomness of it all- the waitress allowed some people to have appetizers, and others dessert. It was a surprise every time you ordered something as to whether or not you would be allowed to have it, or whether it would ever show up," Heather noted.

Both parties were as good as expected, and offered an opportunity to say goodbye to friends who are switching jobs before the new year (and there are many).

Photo: Little corns are fun to eat.

December 13, 2005

Mick and Heather Send Out Holiday Cards
If you didn't get one, maybe you should provide your mailing address by emailing Mick or Heather.

November 26, 2005

Mick and Heather Buy Into a Mexican Television Station
While rebalancing their investment portfolios this past week, Mick and Heather found out that they are partial owners of Grupo Televisa, a Mexican Television Network.

Grupo Televisa has interests in television production and broadcasting, programming for pay television, international distribution of television programming, direct-to-home satellite services, publishing and publishing distribution, cable television, radio production and broadcasting, professional sports and show business promotions, paging services, feature film production and distribution, dubbing, and the operation of a horizontal Internet portal. Grupo Televisa also has an unconsolidated equity stake in Univisión, the leading Spanish-language television company in the United States.

"I should probably learn Spanish, if we're going to be good shareholders," Mick explained. "I don't even remember buying that."

Heather was excited until she found out that they are behind a number of Spanish telenovelas with thin plots and a lot of skin exposed. "I can't really support the Spanish-speaking world's demand for softcore. It just seems wrong."

Mick didn't really have a problem with it. "If it's tastefully done, I think I can handle supporting their production a little."

They have no further plans on getting into further non-English speaking television networks, despite the positive return on investment in Grupo Televisa.

Photo: Mexican Idol is a major hit.

October 22, 2005

Mick and Heather Start Their Christmas Shopping
When you are flying home for Christmas and have a limited amount of luggage you're allowed, it's a good idea to mail yourself your gifts. If you don't have a lot of faith in Canada Post's delivery times during holidays, October is not too early to start sending your Christmas presents.

Mick and Heather have set a new record for the earliest date that they have bought Christmas gifts. "We are starting before Halloween. The Christmas decorations are out in the stores prior to Halloween, so maybe they are trying to tell us something," explained Mick.

So far most of the gifts have come from one of the local fur trappers that resides in Fort McMurray. "I've always wanted a fur coat, and with the price of beaver pelts falling to less than $9 each, it's really cheap to get a fur coat or matching fur hat. The hats are really neat around here- they leave the beaver's tail, head and paws on, and you sort of pull it down over your head, sticking your head where the stomach used to be. They are so warm, and really stylish, too!" exclaimed Heather.

Other gift sources that Mick and Heather have utilized include Fort McKay Liquor and Books, The Newfoundlander's Club, and Staples.

"A lot of people in this town must shop online, or order from the Sears Catalog," guessed Mick, "or maybe they just drive to Edmonton."

Mick and Heather have 60 days to get their gifts to Regina, and they hope they can make it happen.

Photo: There's lots to choose from in Fort McKay.

October 11, 2005

Heather Takes the Bus to Work
Trying to meet the Kyoto Agreement all on her own, Heather decided to take mass transit to work today.

"I've got a bus pass, so I figured I'd try this whole bus thing out in this town."

The long line-up to get on the bus, compounded by the chain smoker's waiting in line, made for a lovely pre-ride experience. "I can't believe she's going to do it everyday," commented Mick, "I think it's crazy. In this town?"

The bus drove directly downtown from Heather's stop, which made for a quick ride. "I almost didn't get a seat. The aisles were packed. You'd think they'd see this demand and increase the service."

After work Heather took the bus home, as well. "The only thing I didn't really like was having to walk past The Oil Can to catch the bus. It's a scary, scary place, with scary people wandering around outside it, looking for a fix or something."

Despite the wonderful experience Heather had on the bus, she hasn't taken it since. She has been carpooling with a neighbour who works at the same place, but Heather has no plans to take the bus to work again anytime soon.

Photo: Mass transit is always a pleasure and the people standing around you always smell like roses.

October 8, 2005

Mick and Heather Fly Home for Thanksgiving
Rather than prepare their own turkey and fixings, Mick and Heather flew home for the long weekend, and took in some of their mothers' cooking.

"It's not that I wouldn't have made Mick a turkey, it's just that I wanted my mother's cooking, and I think he wanted his," explained Heather. "I cooked him some Cornish Game Hens before, and he really liked them, so I'm sure he didn't buy the tickets because of a distaste for my cooking."

They flew to Edmonton, then Calgary, then Regina. They spent the first day with Mick's family, then the second day they drove to Weyburn and visited with Heather's family. The third day they drove back to Regina, and flew back to Fort McMurray, via Edmonton.

"My favourite part of the trip was grading the yard at our house in Regina," explained Mick, "It's not very often that I get to spend time with my dad and brothers." Mick and Heather's house in Regina had some problems with drainage, which they think they might have temporarily fixed. "It won't be totally fixed until we dig out around our entire foundation."

"I really like seeing our neices," added Heather, "My cousins, too. There were people home from all over. Lots of kids running around, and lots of snacks and pop."

Mick and Heather's next planned visit to Saskatchewan is in December for Christmas.

Photo: Why can't we have turkey everyday?

September 18, 2005

Mick Almost Gets in a Fight at Tim Horton's
While standing in line at Tim Horton's on Saturday morning, Mick almost got into a fist fight.

"Timmy's is always busy. Mick and I were standing in line, with the store lined up to the door, and this guy steps in front of Mick to go to the till," Heather explained.

Mick turned and looked at the lineup, and everyone in line was staring at this guy. "Excuse me?" Mick asked. The guy turned and looked at Mick, then turned back to the till. You could hear a community groan from the line as the budding guy placed his order.

"Did you say something to me?" he asked Mick.

"Yeah, I said excuse me."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't know what was going on." The guy stares up and down at Mick, while his coffee was served.

"That's ignorant," Mick complained, while on his way out to the car. "That guy didn't even see the line-up. What a bad person."

Photo: Tim's is always busy. The IPO is in November, so drink up until then.

September 3, 2005

Mick and Heather Attend a Wedding
Nothing like a good old Saskatchewan wedding; Mick's friend, Miles, married his long-time love, Sherry, in Meadow Lake.

Miles' friend, Linda, is a pastor in Denmark. She flew to Canada to perform the ceremony. Her siblings and parents, who are also spread out around the world, also came to Saskatchewan for the wedding, and to have a big family reunion.

The couple looked great- Sherry looked beautiful and Miles worked the room in his black on black tuxedo. The bridesmaids were not wearing Roughrider green, as Mick has guessed they would be. "I guess Miles made some concessions."

"My favourite part was the recessional. The couple chose Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC, played in a string arrangement. Nice!" commented Mick.

Miles works as a guidance councilor in Peerless, and Sherry is in the process of moving there. Miles and Mick went to college together at Augustana, then university together at the University of Regina.

Heather enjoyed the delicious dainties, as well as the snacks after the meal. "There were big bowls of cheesies and pretzels. It was heaven!"

Photo: Sherry and Miles looked really good.

September 2, 2005

Mick and Heather Go to a Powwow
Part of the Saskatchewan Centennial Celebrations included a powwow at the Flying Dust First Nation. Being staunch Saskatchewanians, Mick and Heather couldn't miss it.

"We were a little nervous at first, apprehensive, even. There were a lot of First Nations people staying at our hotel, so we thought we'd ask about the powwow. The first guy in a headdress we saw, we asked if we'd feel out of place there. He said, 'There will be lots of... er... your relatives there. Don't worry,' so we knew we had to go," described Mick.

Heather was the only blonde at the powwow. There were probably in excess of 2,500 people there, most of them camping on the site.

"I didn't really feel out of place," Heather explained, "everyone was really nice and happy to be there. It was a celebration, that included everyone from small children to senior citizens."

Prime Minister Paul Martin was also in town for the event, although he was gone by the time Mick and Heather arrived. "He had the whole second floor of our hotel booked, the night before us. When we got into our room, there was curly grey hair all over the bathroom floor. Heather cleaned it up, but we can't help but wonder if she cleaned up some of the Prime Minister's hair."

Mick and Heather are now looking forward to future powwows, with Mick looking into pricing for a getup for Heather. "I think it would be really nice if she dressed up and danced for me once in a while."

Photo: There were hundreds of dancers, ranging in size from these little ones to some really, really big guys..

August 26, 2005

Mick and Heather Go to Weyburn
Going home to where you grew up is always full of surprises - who married who, who works where, what'd they do to the Co-Op, etc.

Mick and Heather drove from Fort McMurray to Weyburn so they could wish their niece, Emma, good luck on her first day of school.

"I remember having my mother drop me off at school for Kindergarten, then being offended that I came home at lunch. She didn't believe we only had half a day of school, so I walked a mile home all by myself. I want to make sure this doesn't happen to our niece," Mick explained.

The streets of Weyburn, known for their gangs and prostitution, are a scary place for a young child to be on their own. Despite not being allowed to walk Emma to her first day, they did manage to snap a lot of pictures.

"We were staying at my parents and they were babysitting Ava (Emma's little sister) while her mom took her to school. We got to see Emma, and got to play with Ava," Heather cooed, being the proud auntie she is.

Heather's parents were looking forward to the pancake breakfast coming up at the school. "We can take Emma to school, have some pancakes, then go home," noted Heather's dad, Dave. "Who cares if Emma doesn't have school that day? We can take her to the pancake breakfast at 6 am, have some food, then leave. Nobody's going to complain about that! Really..."

Emma plans on completing kindergarten this year, then perhaps moving on to grade one.

Photo: Emma's first day of school.

August 13, 2005

Mick and Heather Attend a House Warming in Fort McMurray
Saturday evening was full of excitement as Mick and Heather attended a house warming for their friends, Sally and Richie.

Richie, a co-worker and friend that Mick attended NAIT with, is renting a room at his girlfriend's place. They had just moved into the townhouse on the long weekend, and were already looking forward to entertaining and doing some renovations.

"Firebush! We're painting the living room that colour. Firebush!" Richie exclaimed, barely able to hold in his joy at the prospect of painting. Richie is on site at Syncrude for Emerson with Mick, and Sally works for the regional municipality.

A strong attendance added to the night, as well as the oversized-novelty salads that were available. Richie manned the BBQ for much of the evening, although a few guests took their turns.

Heather brought her legendary cheese ball. Mick brought wine and crackers.

"We're really glad for them- the house is nice, and there's lots of room in the garage for Richie to tinker on his motorbike," Mick commented.

Heather's comments were more direct. "This is a great place. It's so much better than the hellhole that my husband is making me live in..."

There are no plans yet for Mick and Heather to buy a place, although their rent has gone up to $2200 a month and they should likely consider buying.

Photo: Richie had a big barbeque.

August 4, 2005

Mick and Heather Volunteer at Folkfest
Mick and Heather spent the weekend in Edmonton, volunteering in the records tent at Folkfest. This was Mick's seventh time, and Heather's fifth.

"The food is why we do it. They cook for over 2000 volunteers, and it's always amazing food," explained Mick. The food is so good, that Michael
Smith from The Food Network's "Chef at Home" is doing a show on the festival's kitchen.

There was a lot of great shows at the festival, including bands like Fiamma Fumana (link www.fiamma.org), Oscar Lopez, The Weakerthans, Martha Wainwright, Big Jay McNeely, and Loreena McKennitt.

"We had a nice time, but it might not be our cup of tea anymore," explained Heather, "We might have overstayed our welcome there. We'll have to see what next year's lineup looks like, because we haven't seen too many new artists lately."

Volunteers at the festival have great food all weekend, weekend passes to the festival, and passes to the late night parties each night. "No major faux pas this year," explained Mick, alluding to the run-in they had with Sarah Harmer at a prior year's party, "As bad as it got was standing in a stinky elevator at the hotel with Harry Manx."

For more information on the festival, including pictures and artist bios, check out www.edmontonfolkfest.com.

Photo: There was a folking good crowd, despite the rain on Saturday.

July 30, 2005

Mick and Heather Attend a Wedding at Spruce Grove
Mick's old roommate, Fred, was lucky enough to convince a sweet girl named Marianna to marry him.

The two had met at their curling club while going to university, which means that they probably weren't sober around each other that often when they started dating. Fred is a very intelligent person, who probably had all the angles worked out when he got into curling in high school.

People from all over the world were in attendance to celebrate the wedding. The food was excellent, and the location for the reception was a nice little community hall out in the middle of nowhere.

"I really liked the perogies," explained Mick, "I had no idea how much I miss buffets. This was a real eye opener." Mick and Heather sat with Dustin, who was also a roommate of Mick and Fred. Dustin is getting ready to do his Ph. D in entomology, and took a break during the reception to go lay in the grass and get some rest, and inspect the local bugs.

"Marianna, as always, looked so good. They were like a model couple," described Heather. Fred is an engineer, and Marianna is a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Mick and Heather were glad to get back to civilization, as there aren't a lot of places to eat or shop in Fort McMurray. Once Fred and Marianna get back from the honeymoon, Mick and Heather are going to drop in and visit them again in Edmonton..

Photo: What a lovely couple.

June 30, 2005

Mick and Heather Take in the Canada Day Festivities in Fort McMurray
Canada Day celebrations vary from coast to coast, as Mick and Heather quickly found out.

Having attended Canada Day festivities in places like Edmonton, Ottawa, Regina and even Weyburn, the two were not prepared for Canada Day "Fort McMurray" style.

Fort McMurray style celebrations begin on June 30th, the day before Canada Day. The event takes place at Macdonald Island, and includes some speedmetal bands and fireworks at midnight. It's good, clean, family fun. Many people were up on the hill, fighting off the mosquitos, taking in the metal band with their children. Parking is limited, so many people park their 3/4 tonne trucks on the sides of hills and embankments.

For children, on July 1st they have a full day of entertainment including the usual face painting and carnival type games. It's a full day of hotdogs and sugar, not to mention mosquitos.

"The band was awesome. I've never seen a mosh pit on Canada Day before," noted Mick, "and the parking jobs some people did were impressive. I tried to park the Jetta to match the town custom, but had some trouble when I tried to put it in 4-by-4."

Heather was equally impressed. "I hope they have a snow carnival or something. The town really shows up for stuff like this."

Their first taste of the local events was sweet, and Mick and Heather look forward to more community events.

Photo: Are you ready to rock?

June 26, 2005

Mick and Heather Watch Boxing on Pay-Per-View

A most interesting fact about Heather, that no one really knows, is that she is a huge fan of boxing.

“I think my all time favourite pugilist would be J.C.Chavez, Sr.,” noted Heather, “He always delivered the greatest body blows. I doubt he’s eaten as many ribs as he’s broken in his career.”

When the opportunity arose to watch Arturo Gatti take on “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather on Pay Per View, Heather jumped at the chance. Having a J.C.Chavez, Jr. card on the menu as well, had Heather begging Mick to order it.

“I don’t really get it,” explained Mick, “All she talks about is boxing, yet she won’t join the local club. She has this great left hook- that’s something that comes from the cradle, not from training, but she won’t get in the ring.”

The highlight of the matches for Heather, naturally, was the when Chavez Jr. beat the crap out of a sacrificial lamb in front of his father. “Father and son made eye contact, and then the real beating began.”

Perhaps if Mick nags enough, Heather will take up the gloves.

Photo: Gatti took a beating from Mayweather.

June 19, 2005

Mick and Heather Move to Fort McMurray

Looking for a more scenic atmosphere than the concrete in Edmonton, Mick and Heather have moved to lovely Fort McMurray.

“I really love this town,” explained Mick, “They don’t have ‘For Sale’ signs in this town, just ‘For Sold’ signs.” Mick and Heather rent a townhouse in Thickwood Heights, which is one of two “Uppity” neighbourhoods in Fort McMoney.

Heather was excited about the move, until they arrived and she saw the line-ups at the two Tim Horton’s franchises. “You need a reservation if you want tea. This may become a real problem.”

Heather is taking some time off to relax and get to know her surroundings. “I’m not sure I need to find a job, but I’d feel bad if I didn’t work. An unemployed engineer in Fort McMurray is a rare thing,” she went on, “Mick isn’t in a hurry for me to find work, so I might take my time. Maybe I’ll find a nice job at a bank or at a video store.”

In the meantime, Mick continues with his 12 hour workdays, as many days of the month that government legislation allows.

Photo: The Northern Lights over Fort McMurray are awesome.

June 14, 2005

Mick and Heather Move Out of Their Condo and Into Their House
Driving a U-Haul for ten hours is a real joy, especially after spending a day loading it.

Mick and Heather packed up their condo and hit the road by about 5:30am in hopes of getting to Regina in time for supper, stopping only in Killam and Saskatoon.

“It’s always nice to spend a day in a truck with someone you haven’t seen much of,” Heather said, referring to Mick’s being away for work and his flying home for weekends. “It will give us a chance to get caught up on things.”

Mick agreed that it was good to spend some time together. “Man, was I ever happy when she fell asleep. Really happy. I think I disturbed some other drivers who passed, because I was smiling so much.”

After arriving in Regina, they had to wait for a couple of days before moving into their new house. They spent the time visiting family, and buying appliances.

“We’re just so happy with everyone who helped, in their own special way. Our neighbour in Edmonton helped Mick load the U-Haul, and our family in Regina helped us with so many little things, unloading, plus putting us up for a few nights.”

Photo: Bigger isn't always better.

June 3, 2005

Pat Organizes a Housewarming/Going Away Party
In a surprise fashion, Mick and Heather’s friend Patrick organized an impromptu housewarming / going away party for Mick and Heather.

“We never really had a housewarming, because the landscaping wasn’t done yet, but we figured it was our last weekend in the place, so we should probably allow some people to come by,” explained Mick, “It was sort of funny that Pat had everything so organized.”

After spending a combined 13 years in Edmonton, Mick and Heather were saying farewell, and moving on to Regina to be closer to family.

“We’ll come back to visit. Don’t worry,” Heather explained, “I’ll be coming here monthly for the next five years for my yoga training, plus Mick will bring me here to spend some of his money.”

The party featured friends from as far away as Calgary, not to mention those that came down from Fort McMurray, where Mick works.

“We came down because we had heard that Heather was going to make one of her infamous Cheese Balls. Driving 5 hours each way was worth it,” explained Richie, a guest from up north.

“In hindsight, we should’ve thrown more parties. We like people,” noted Mick, “The sad thing is that we may never see some of those people again. Ever. Really, don’t bother calling us.”

Photo: Pat dances on the table for everyone. He tried to get everyone else to dress up as a "1980s drug dealer" for the party, but no one did.

April 30, 2005

Mick and Heather Get Tickets to the Party With the Queen
To celebrate Alberta's Centennial, Queen Elizabeth and Philip are coming to a party at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.

The Alberta Centennial Kick-off Party is slated for May 23rd, 2005 (Victoria Day). Artists scheduled to perform include: Ian Tyson, Oscar Lopez, Tommy Banks, Jens Lindemann, Corb Lund, White Chocolate, Maren Ord, The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and many more. Hosted by Paul Gross, Lorne Cardinal, Colin MacLean and Renelle Fagnan-Roy.

"I’m going to wear my Tiara, so I can get close to the Royal Family," Heather explained. "If they see my Royal Bling-Bling I’m a shoe-in for backstage passes."

Mick scored 8 tickets to the event. "I don’t even like any of the performers. I got the tickets because they were free, and I knew if we don’t go we can scalp them outside the event for big bucks. Lots of royalists will be looking to snap them up, as they were only available from Ticketmaster."

Despite wishing they could see the Queen when she’s in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, Mick and Heather are excited nonetheless. "We’ve got our oversized, novelty foam fingers ready," explained Mick, "The Queen’s Number One!"

Photo: The Queen is very excited to hear Ian Tyson play.

April 24, 2005

Mick and Heather Have and Open House
Since listing their home in Edmonton, Mick and Heather have had a number of prospective buyers through their home. The peak of these visits came on Sunday afternoon, when their realtor had an open house for the property. Advertising in the Real Estate Weekly worked well, as there was a line-up to get into the place before the open house started..

"It was nuts," explained their neighbour, "There were people waiting on the front steps. It was like a Boxing Day Sale or something."

Out of the fifty-some couples that strolled through, there were seven couples who were fairly serious about it. "I have to call other people once an offer comes in on the house- that’s how interested people are. There are people waiting to see what offers they will need to beat," explained their realtor.

"I hope someone takes it soon, so I can start cooking curry again,” Heather noted. “I feel like it won’t be my house again until we sell it."

Mick has other plans. "I sort of hope it won’t sell, and we’ll have to rent it out, then try to sell it again next year."

Photo: This woman checked to see if they let their milk expire. "You can tell a lot about people by this."

April 24, 2005

Heather's Parents Come to Visit
Heather's parents stopped in on their Alberta Break to visit Mick and Heather.

"We wanted to see their house one more time before it sells," explained Heather's father, Dave. "We figure that once they move to Regina, we'll never see them. We only live an hour from there, but we won't go visit them."

The weekend events included visiting the Muttart, a walk through the river valley, lots of wine, and meals at Cafe de Ville, Barb and Ernie's, as well as Mongolie Grill. "We come here to eat," explained Donna, Heather's mom.

After Heather's parents left, Mick and Heather spent the rest of the weekend spying on people who their house was being shown to. "We really like to watch,” Heather explained. "People do funny things on a front step."

Photo: There are lots of neat plants in the Muttart Conservatory.

April 9, 2005

Mick and Heather List Their Home
After living in their townhouse for two years, Mick and Heather are ready to move on.

"I'm already living in another city, and we plan on buying a house in a third city, so it only makes sense that we sell one place," Mick explained, from his office in Fort McMurray.

The Listing was added to MLS and is viewable from anywhere the internet goes. "I hope that some rich businessman in Hong Kong buys it," Heather noted. "We've got servants quarters and everything for him."

The house next door to Mick and Heather just sold, so the neighbourhood will be seeing some new faces. "I'm going to miss the tree-lined streets and the closeness to everything. We moved here because of the location, and we'll definitely miss it."

Photo: The trees are starting to bud, and the grass is coming.

April 7, 2005

Mick and Heather Buy a Laptop
Tired of having a big desktop computer cluttering up space, Mick and Heather decided to purchase a notebook computer.

After shopping around for several months, reading opinions and bothering computer salespeople, they decided to buy an eMachines 6811, featuring the AMD Athlon 64.

"It’s got a really big screen- extra wide," Heather described, "so when I play Spider Solitaire the cards are way bigger." Mick is currently using the laptop in Fort McMurray, where he has set up a wireless network for himself and his roommates. "I like watching DVDs on it. It’s good for doing our on-line banking, and all the other stuff we use computers for. It also makes me look important when I check through airport security every couple of weeks."

Their current desktop is currently taking up space in the third floor of their home, and will sit there until they decommission it.

"I think we’ll format the two hard drives and clean it up before disposing of it," noted Mick, "If anyone wants it, they can let us know."

Photo: This computer hums.

March 26, 2005

Mick and Heather Go to an Easter Potluck
In keeping with their holiday tradition of not visiting family under any circumstances, Mick and Heather attended an Easter potluck with a number of displaced friends.

Eric, from Nova Scotia, made a spicy pesto for his pasta. "I was trying to keep Easter the spicy holiday that it is."

Other dishes included Patrick's Prince Albert Asian Coleslaw, Tammy's Ontario Pork Pie, Dawn's Nova Scotian Potatoes, Tina's Red Deer Stuffing, and Heather's Southeast Saskatchewan Broccoli Casserole.

The evening included some exciting card tricks, as well as a few rounds of Balderdash.

"I feel that it's important to have a potluck to celebrate Jesus," explained Patrick, upon completing his Easter Eggs, "I just hope that there are other people elsewhere playing Balderdash at Easter."

Mick and Heather enjoyed the four courses of dessert as well, which included cheesecake, homemade buttermilk sorbet, pie, and red wine.

Photo: Ukrainian as he is, Patrick's Easter Eggs were not.

March 24, 2005

Mick and Heather Go to Cafe de Ville for Heather's Birthday
Heather had a big birthday this month, and to celebrate Mick took her out for dinner at Cafe de Ville, just a couple of blocks away from the couple's home in Edmonton.

The meal started with appetizers- Heather had a pumpkin curry soup and Mick had the Baked Brie.

For her main course, Heather tried the smoked salmon, which was delightful. "This salmon is really delightful," explained Heather, "I really like it. It's so good I can't eat it all."

Mick had the chicken stuffed with wild boar bacon and feta. "This is awesome. It was the best chicken I've ever had. Ever."

Heather wasn't too happy about how much Mick liked his chicken. "He would actually stop eating and close his eyes. It was really weird. He was really into that chicken."

Despite Heather being full, they had some tea and coffee and creme brulee for desert, then made a note to find more excuses to visit Cafe de Ville again soon.

Photo: Cafe de Ville is the same colour as Mick and Heather's livingroom.

March 14, 2005

Mick and Heather Get Their Income Tax Refunds
Mick and Heather filed their taxes as quickly as possible this year, in an attempt to get their refunds before Heather's birthday.

"I was hoping he would spend his $6K plus refund on some bling-bling for me. This was certainly not the case," Heather explained, "He hardly spent any of it on me."

Because of the large RRSP contributions that Mick and Heather make throughout the year, they look forward to getting some of their money back at tax time.

"This year we're going to try to max out our RRSPs once and for all," Mick explained," considering that we have over $50K in room to buy RRSPs this year, it should prove difficult, but we'll try."

Current plans for maximizing their RRSP contributions this year include selling their home, one of their cars, a kidney each, or perhaps volunteering for some medical research at the University of Alberta Hospital. The most likely plan is a combination of any of these, or moving Heather to Fort McMurray.

Photo: Pennies a day add up.

February 26, 2005

Mick and Heather Go to Dinner at a "Vegetarian" Restaurant
When words are in quotation marks, it generally indicates that there is doubt as to whether or not the word should really be used.

For example, if you went to a vegetarian restaurant and had a tough time believing that the fake meat wasn't real meat, you might want to use quotation marks.

Heather and Mick went to Padmanadi Restaurant on 97th Street this evening, with their friends Peri and Sean.

"I can't believe that these fish balls aren't fish," noted Sean, "sometimes this stuff is so real you can't tell it's fake." There lies the problem. It is difficult to enjoy a meal when you are suspicious of the cook's claims as to what you are eating.

Heather enjoyed the meal, but would've liked a plate rather than a tiny desert bowl to eat out of. "The food was great. The textures were like the real meats I remember. Even the fake bones looked real," Heather explained.

"I don't know who I am anymore," Mick explained, "I thought I knew what food looked and felt like. I'm lost. I can't tell what's meat and what's not anymore."

Despite the suspicion and small serving dishes, Mick and Heather will likely return to Padmanadi. The "food" was good, afterall.

Photo: Some of these items are real, some are not. Which are which?

February 12, 2005

Mick Celebrates a Birthday Early
When people are in their early thirties, they often say that they are 29. Now, Mick can say that he is 29, too.

"I can't believe how old Mick is," explained his lovely and much younger wife, "I remember when we were children. I can't believe how old he's gotten."

To celebrate the birthday, Heather helped Mick get his slippers on, put a cardigan over his shoulders to keep him warm, and got him his reading glasses so he could read "A Senior Citizens Survival Guide."

The celebration did not take place on his actual birthday, as he was away working. Since his birthday, Mick has spent a lot more time discussing the problems with the Canadian Pension Plan as well as the Old Age Pension.

"I can't wait until Heather turns 29 next month. Then we'll see who is mocking who. When men get old, they become dignified. When women get old, they get sags and wrinkles. We'll see who gets the last laugh," laughed Mick.

Mick and Heather were both overwhelmed by the number of cards and gifts arrived, and wanted to send out a specific thank you to Mick's Grandma Rhoda who got him a Wayne Gretzky workout video cassette. "I am whipping myself into shape, the Wayne Gretzky way. Thanks, Grandma."

Photo: This is Mick twenty-five years ago. His mother still has the bowl she used to cut his hair.

January 24, 2005

Mick Heads North for Work
In order to move to Regina, Heather has decided to send Mick away for work.

The plan includes Mick working at the world's largest oilsands site, selling the house in Edmonton, then buying a house in Regina.

"I'm really happy that Heather has taken the bull by the horns on this one. We're going to be living in Regina in 2005, which is what we want to do," explained Mick.

Heather isn't sure if she's going to work after the move, and she may join Mick in Fort McMurray. "We probably won't be in Regina that much, with Mick's work and travelling, but we're going to live closer to family."

The date of the slated move to Regina has not been set yet, but there is a deadline of December in place.

Photo: Heading northeast to end up southeast makes a lot of sense.

January 20, 2005

Mick Goes "Debbie Travis" on Heather
Mick has taken a week off work to sort out some details of his recent unemployment, and with all this spare time on his hands he got bored and gave the house a Facelift.

"I began by removing some clutter, then moving around some important pieces of furniture. I got the fella from next door give me a hand with some of the heavier stuff," Mick explained.

When Heather got home from work, the TV had been taken out of the great room on the main floor. The shelving in the kitchen was removed and relocated in the living room, and the living room furniture was re-arranged to facilitate better board game play. The third floor den had been reconfigured to be a second living room, with a couch, TV and chair. Mick was in the process of refinishing the kitchen table and chairs, and building two buffets for the great room. He was also working on a new mantle for the fireplace.

"I was in shock, but then I realised how much I like it. The TV is really far away from the kitchen now, so we probably won't be sitting on the couch eating snacks anymore. Even if we are, we'll get some exercise walking up and down the stairs in the process," Heather noted.

Mick leaves for work on Monday, and he has been told that he better be done by then.

Photo: If you host a show called Facelift, perhaps you should work on you personal appearance more.

January 15, 2005

Mick and Heather Run Into the Annoying City Ford Ad Lady
Besides the Mattress Mattress Goldilocks girl, and perhaps Christine Magee from Sleep Country Canada, there is only one woman in advertising who is more annoying than either of them- the City Ford ad lady.

Mick and Heather's neighbourhood pub and karaoke bar, Rosario's, is where the City Ford lady likes to hang out. She is always there shooting pool, so it should really be no surprise that Mick and Heather ran into her.

"I want to ask her if they tell her to be annoying for those commercials. You remember the ad, but I'm not sure it's for the right reasons. Maybe that's the strategy," suggested Heather, who has a keen eye for understanding the various approaches advertisers take.

Mick has other concerns. "I want to ask her why she doesn't wear her tight jeans on the commercials. They dress her up horrible for the ads, but when she's out with her friends playing pool, she's wearing some fine outfits. She's in really good shape for an old broad."

As long as there will be karaoke, Mick and Heather will continue to visit Rosario's and will continue seeing the City Ford ad lady.

Photo: This photo is from today's advertisement, but was taken about ten years ago. At least ten year's ago.