Leonard goes to the country

I am relieved, but also a little sad, to say that Leonard, the cat, has a new home.

 

Leonard has been with me for almost six years, ever since he was a kitten.  He's been a lot of fun, but unfortunately he has also been getting more and more difficult to have at my place. 

He constantly wanted to be let outside, which I was happy to do when the weather was good.  But, living in Cold-Windy-and/or-Snowy-Most-Months-of-the-Year, Canada, it wasn’t always suitable for him to go outside.  This got particularly problematic at night time.  He would often start off the night asleep on my bed, but then mid-way through the night, he’d be up and wanting to go out or have a snack or what-have-you.  I couldn’t leave his kibble out for him to snack on whenever he wanted because then Sally would get into it, and she wasn’t supposed to eat it because she’d end up sick and throwing up all over the place.  I couldn’t keep Leonard outside my bedroom because my bedroom is one big open loft space with no door.  Having him wake me up in the middle of the night on an ongoing basis just got to be too much.

What he really needed was a place in the country, and I happened to find just the place thanks to a colleague at work.  Lorraine, and her husband, daughter, son-in-law and grandkids live on a 40 acreage property outside of Stony Plain.  They needed a good mouser and Leonard is one of the best.  So yesterday afternoon, I took him out to his new home.  It’s a beautiful property with a little lake and everything.  I wish I could live there!  I know he’ll enjoy his new home once he gets used to it. 

So, in tribute to my pal, Leonard, here are a few of my favourite photos from the past few years.

So long, Leonard!  Enjoy your new home.

**Updated April 29:
I am very happy to report that Leonard is settling in.  Lorraine sent me the following e-mail this morning:

Leonard has come out of his spot under the cupboard by the back door in the garage. He even ventured upstairs last night and slept on K & J's bed and then he visited the girls this morning and was purring and letting them use a cat comb to do his fur - and was still purring.  He is not out for lots of time at a time - but is getting much more comfortable and used to all of us! 

So glad to hear that he is getting comfortable with the family and enjoying being with the kids.  That's not something he has any experience with and I was a bit concerned that he'd be freaked out by them.  Good old Leonard!

Looking for spring

My friend, Annette, and I like to get together for breakfast every now and then, and one of the places we like is a truck stop restaurant on the Yellowhead Hwy just east of Edmonton. I don't even know the name of it but it's a great place for breakfast. We were there on Saturday morning and I had three pieces of French toast with strawberries and whipped cream, along with a pot of Earl Grey tea. Delicious!

After a hearty breakfast and a great visit, we headed over to Greenland Garden Centre to indulge in some spring greenery. There were still several empty spaces on the plant shelves but it was great seeing some of the early bloomers. It was so tempting to buy some of these beauties, but when we saw a sign saying "all purchases prior to May 10 are final sale," we knew what it really meant was "it's still too early!"

A visit to the Muttart

With snow still on the ground here in Edmonton, I decided today was a good day to pay a visit to the Muttart Conservatory. 

As it turned out, many others had the same idea, including a couple having wedding photos taken.

The Muttart has four pyramids representing different climatic zones: the tropical pyramid, temperate pyramid, arid pyramid, and the feature pyramid which is currently featuring daffodils.

 

Another big feature at the Muttart at the moment is the Corpse Flower below.  The native of Sumatra will grow to about 10 feet tall and when it blooms in about a week's time, it will smell ... well, like a corpse!

 

 

 

Love the many orchid varieties!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful begonias

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice warm break from the weather outside!



Snow in the forecast

It's true.  Once again, "they" are forecasting snow for the weekend.  I remember so distinctly when I was a kid, that by the time Sharon's birthday arrived (April 13), chances are the snow would be gone.  Well, this year, not only is the snow not gone, it's still coming down!  Both here in Alberta and in Manitoba too, according to Sharon.

To make myself feel better, I decided to revisit some of the pictures I took on my trip to Greece in September 2010.

The idyllic island of Santorini

Taken from the Santos Winery on Santorini

Taken from the Monastery of the Virgin Mary on the island of Corfu

In the walled town of Monemvasia, one of my favourite places in Greece

 



In Monemvasia, overlooking the Mediterranean

 

Ahhh, memories...



 

 

Adult Education

I've spent the last two weeks (or is it three?) writing my final paper for my evening class.  As you can see, Leonard has been helping me.  Don't be fooled, he's not usually this relaxed.

The class I've been taking, which finished up on April 3rd, is Adult Education Principles and Practice.  It's part of a certificate program called Certificate of Adult and Continuing Education, through the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension.  This was my first course in the program, and is one of three required courses.  The other two are Adult Learning & Development and Planning & Delivery of Adult Education.  And then there are a whole bunch of electives that I can choose from.

 

It feels kind of odd to say I'm studying Adult Education, since I'm an adult and I'm being educated, and what I'm studying is adult education.  See what I mean?  Kind of a circular argument.  Very zen, isn't it? 

 

It's been a really interesting experience going back to school at this age (nearly 50!), and not without its challenges.  Trying to juggle work, choir, exercise class, church responsibilities, etc. etc....  Well, let's just say, I've come to realize I'm not as young as I used to be.