Blogging has been making me happy lately and though I still have loads to learn, I’m enjoying the process.. My little corner of cyberspace is a work in progress and I’ve been exploring blogland lately and picking up tips from others..

Found these lovely little animations on a blog I discovered today.

Thank you Cathe for allowing me to use them to dress up my site My comment on your blog was also the first one I’ve left  on another blog! A lurker I shall be no more! I am going to begin commenting on other peoples blogs more often because you are right, ‘Comments Make Me Happy’!!

Well, didn’t we just have a over 3 hours of fun last night! Myself, the boy and our friends Jesse, Simone and Wobbly headed to the local community centre with bingo markers in hand to try and win the jackpot of more than $27000. We didn’t win a thing but discovered a cheap night out!

We lined up for over half an hour to buy our games and were lucky enough to have some lovely ladies try their best at explaining the rules of each game and how it all worked (luckier still that they sat next to us and continued to help us all night). All we knew was that you mark off numbers when they  get called and yell bingo if you mark them all off.. but there is more to it.. I am not about to explain because as I learnt last night, you have to experience it to get it! But once you get it.. then you can let the excitement of getting close to Bingo seduce you into playing again.. like we will be next week!

After the initial stress and confusion that comes with being ‘virgin bingo players’ we certainly got into it and on discovering that it was after 10pm when we left the bingo hall, we were all amazed at how fast the time went.

Next week, I want the thrill of yelling BINGO!

It was one of the final games for the season that the local ice hockey team would be playing a home game. We went to a few matches last season but had yet to go to a game this year. We didn’t want to pass on what could have been the last chance for us to support the Grizzlies!

We drank the local beer and helped build the pyramid of empty cups with other supporters and waited til (as per tradition) the Grizzlies would deliberately smash an opponent into the glass wall for all the cups to tumble down.. Sure enough, down they went and the crowd went wild!

There were banners up on the walls with such sayings as, “Hear them roar, watch them score” and “Holy Moly look at our Goalie.” It all seemed so cheesy but we had so much fun cheering along!

It was a nice night out with friends and I didn’t miss my chance of a souvenir puck to take home either

Today was an unexpected road trip to a town called Salmon Arm, about 100kms from Revelstoke. The boy and our friend Kelvin needed new SIN numbers and Wobbly (work mate, temporary housemate) and I came along for the ride. We borrowed our friend Ben’s Dodge Caravan to make the journey, and we are  glad it got us home safely as many strange noises came from the ol’ dodge while on the road. The smell inside the van was still distinctly  Skidder, Ben’s beautiful but smelly, smelly dog. We bought a car freshener to hang on the rear view mirror before starting out!

We had our lunch in a micro brewery called The Barley Station Brew Pub.  All but the boy, our designated driver, tried the sample pack of beer, a  glass of  each of the pubs different brews. It was a fun way to learn about beer. My favourite was the Bushwacker Brown Ale! We bought a growler of beer to take home with us.. got that to enjoy later tonight!

The rest of the time in town was spent exploring the thrift stores. Wobbly scored a Foosball table for $10, but the boys were sick of playing it after 5mins once it was home! I scored some reading material on where to road trip around Canada and the USA and The Best of Conway Twitty  on cassette tape to play in the car on the way home.. We certainly got our moneys worth there! Lots of laughter at the lyrics We also bought a baseball in preparation for Summertime activity! Now we are on a hunt for some mitts!

On the drive home we stopped in at the Dutchman Dairy for an ice cream and chat with the friendly farm animals that included a lovely donkey named Pedro!  I was able to pick up some cheese of a normal colour that I am hoping might hold a bit of taste like I’m used to! It’s been so long!

I also saw a few bald eagles flying over the road. My first up close sighting! Such big birds!! It was a great day out.. lots of laughs, food and topped off with a bit of Canadian nature which always makes me feel like I’ve had a good day!