Mom's 80th Birthday Bash

I flew to Ontario this past weekend to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday. Flew out on Friday, April 9th and just before that big stinking storm hit Saskatoon full blast. The flight was late taking off - had to de-ice the plane and sat on the tarmac for about 45 minutes - being buffeted around by the wind, but, the take-off went smooth (I think that wind pushed us into the sky).

My sister picked me up at Pearson. My mother did not know I was coming - as well she did not know that her grandson, Gord was also coming (he lives in Fernie). Gord had arrived before me, and was already at the farm. When I arrived my mom was out in the barn so when she came back into the house, I was just sitting quietly on the couch and waited until she noticed me. It was a nice surprise! We celebrated her birthday that evening (just family) because we also had a surprise party planned for Saturday. My sister blew it though - she started talking about the party spilled the beans. She could have crawled under a rock.

The following morning - my sister told me mom there really was no other party and I guess she believed her. I was assigned the task of getting mom out of the house for a couple of hours so they could prepare. So, my mom and I went shopping at the lovely dress store in Mount Forrest. I got these rocking sparkly jeans, a coral cotton knitted top, and black dress pants. Then to try and kill more time, we drove to Shelburn. I arrived back at the farm at 1 pm - walked into the house and was almost killed by the "glare" my sister shot at me. "Don't you know how to tell time?" she barked. "I told you to bring her back at 2 p.m. - the guests are not arriving until 1:30 pm!"

So, I grabbed my mom and hauled her back into the car and told her we had to go. She is giggling like a school girl because now she knows that there is a party. We tour Dundalk (wow - what fun) and then my sister calls me on my cell phone around 1:30 and tells me I can come home. Now - my mom was surprised because she did not expect all those people - she thought it was just going to be the girls from the barn. It was a great party!

On Sunday, we toured a small retirement community called "Sandy Cove" that sits just off of Lake Simcoe. My sister is looking to a buy a home there. It's a cute little "village" that caters to seniors. That evening my sister drove me back to Toronto - I had a room at the Sheraton at the Airport. We had a wonderful meal at the hotel and then Darlene went home. I had a lovely king-sized room at the hotel, and in the morning simply walked out the door, got on a little shuttle train that took me to Terminal 1. I highly recommend this hotel for the convenience of being right at the airport and not having to worry about finding a shuttle. You can print out your boarding pass the night before. The hotel is sound proof and you don't hear a thing - plus the rooms are very nice.

I got through security at Pearson with no difficulties - unlike when I came was Saskatoon and went through security. They had me put my hands in my pockets and bring them out slowly - palms up. Then they swabbed my palms and checked to see if I had been making explosives. I guess I have that "look". I had a 3 hour layover in Winnipeg, so I spent that time in the Palister Lounge. It costs 15 dollars to go into the lounge, but, it is worth it. The lounge is quiet with lovely leather furniture (very comfortable). Free snacks and beverages. Tvs - magazines, washrooms, and two rooms with computers so you can check your email and surf the web. It also has wireless highspeed if you have your own laptop. You can fall asleep without worry about missing your flight, as the attendant will come a wake you up. It sure makes layovers much more tolerable.

It was a surprise to see all the snow back here in Saskatoon - huge drifts all around the yard. So back to reality again and the daily grind.