Cowboys

There is a rodeo going on here in Cochrane this weekend. Very accessible and very affordable. Some of the same riders as compete in the big ones, but without the sideshow of a Stampede. I have never been a fan of any Ex in any city, ever. Also enthusiastically avoided winterlude, the tulip festival and all rock concerts and festivals. Must be something about those charming porta-potties....

Still awaiting our furniture, thus bothering our long-suffering daughter and son-in-law by planting our intrusive selves in their home while they are trying to rennovate before the baby arrives. I wish I had control over the guy driving the moving trailer, but of course I don't. Speaking of out-of-control, my sweet little honda civic arrived with the entire back window smashed out. Yep, undriveable. And do you think we have had any help from the moving company? Well, you know that answer to that one. None whatsoever. It was, "You'll have to call the people who shipped the car, I don't know anything about that," from the salesman who pocketed a ton of our money. "But didn't you pick the car shipper? Wasn't that all you?" Sorry, you'll have to call a 1-800 number in Edmonton. Perfect.

So began the saga of getting the car fixed. I played helpless female, so B had to drive around in a beat up car and get two quotes in a city we know nothing about. But, he did it. In the meantime, we have to rent a car..."unfortunately, we don't cover that." That's what they think. I mean, how can they force you to pay for a rental when they have bashed up your jalopy and you can't drive it!!?? More on that file later.

The good news is that we have had the entire place painted and new carpet installed up the stairs and in the bedrooms. The previous owners had decorated in an unfortunate and unsuccessful combination of white plush and pet dog. They had also painted the entire place varying shades of green and lime. Need I say more. The other pleasant part of being homeless is that we have to eat out a lot in Calgary. One place we have settled on is 'Joey Tomato's' -- a charming place staffed exclusively with adorable, gorgeous young women dressed in sexy, tight, black mini-dresses. I don't consider this sexist at all. Making good money, all these girls are getting ahead in their lives. One even wrote out complicated instructions on how to successfully don false eyelashes -- or "falsies", as she called them. They treat us like kindly grandparents, which of course we are.

B bought a couple of lounge chairs in which we sit awaiting various trades to show up and yesterday we put them to good use in our adorable back yard. While dozing, I was entertained by many birds -- including a hawk hunting whatever lives in the tall grass behind our home. Fabulous. Today we are back in Cochrane and plan to take in more rodeo. This time I will wear the new cowboy hat I bought yesterday. Time for a local style update!