I'm in Calgary! I got in on Friday night, picked up my rental car, and drove over to Steve and Grace's. It's great to see them again. Grace is doing very well on new medication and has substantially recovered her mobility, which is great. They now have four cats (Ambrose, Dog, Sabrina and George) and a Belgian Sheepdog (Cal) so their house is well endowed with fur.

Friday evening we went out to Cal's flyball practice. This is a slightly complicated relay/steeplechase/ball hunt for dogs. Teams of four dogs have to run down a course, hit a box at the far end to get a ball, and run back to their owners. Once they pass the start line the next dog can leave. Cal's been swiftly improving over the last year and is now in the #1 team for their club. Flyball is really fun to watch, and the dogs all seem to have a great time, judging by the amount of exstatic barking and prancing going on.

Yesterday we had a late brunch and I spent a bit of time shopping in the afternoon. After getting Steve fitted for a tuxedo (he's best man for a wedding of a friend here in a few weeks) we went over to the Bradt's and headed out together for a greek dinner. Dave and Sue's children, Benjamin (5) and Natalie (3?) are very cute, but didn't come with us to dinner so I didn't get much chance to meet them properly. Sue showed off her bellydancing skills (and yes, I got photos) at the dinner, which was excellent. I'll post pictures tomorrow night once I get settled in.

Today we're having a quiet day so far watching the Olympics. Tomorrow I'm off to Banff for my first skiing in Alberta. My ski trip itinerary is here.

I'm starting to realize how crazy my week back in Toronto at the beginning of March is going to be. Here's a taste of what I need to do:

- Pick up new passport.
- Complete taxes.
- Fill in tax organizer for Andersen to file my U.S. taxes.
- Refinance my mortgage.
- Pack for two months in Europe.
- See my mom to wish her Happy Birthday.
- Read three weeks' mail.
- Book a B&B in Lisbon.

I'm sure there's more that will occur to me over the next couple of weeks. Oh well... The price of leisure!
posted by Tom at 2:06 PM | link |