Darkly Colored Felines of Fury » family

A White Christmas and Teeth

Patrick Audley — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:13:41 +0000

I flew to Vancouver to visit family for the holidays and this time I carted my cat Lana with me. Christmas itself went off without a hitch and was joined with the usual huge turkey dinner, assorted gifts, a few rounds of good wine and general merriment. Though I love getting together with family, travel during the holidays continues to worsen and given my lack of religious lock-down to specific dates has become something I think I shall avoid in the future. A story of teeth, gypsies, blizzards and cheer follows. Well... perhaps not gypsies.

A White ChristmasTravel Nightmare

I normally eschew traveling on Air Canada and I have never been more thankful of that choice. I had a very surreal moment when I was in the Calgary airport and overheard an Air Canada minion telling a traveler that no planes were taking off because the runways were closed. I could see this was a tough sell because behind the man, perfectly framed in the huge window facing the tarmac were several Westjet planes taxiing out and in the far distance a plane just lifting off. I can almost imagine the scene in the Air Canada employee lounge hours before where disgruntled workers probably drew straws to see who was going to go out and tell bald-faced lies to weary travelers whose flights have been canceled while all the other airlines somehow managed. I understand why, in most cases, Air Canada just didn't show up to say anything. My own Westjet flight was half an hour late but Lana (who can travel in the cabin with me) and I made it to snowy Vancouver eventually.

Family Christmas

My mother has been collecting ornaments and bits for the family Christmas tree since before I was born and it's always formed a comforting part of the season for us. That and turkey dinner. Lots of turkey. Heaps even. This year was no exception and we had a great dinner with family on Christmas Eve. The next day was followed by gift opening and generally lazing about in post turkey lethargy. We also went to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway at the Vancouver Orpheum - a wonderful fusion of symphony orchestra and Merry Melodies. All together it was a nice and fairly standard Christmas though the addition of huge amounts of snow in Vancouver made it mildly bizarre (as well as adding that little edge to driving as you are surrounded by others with summer tires trying to pretend they can drive normally on ice). I managed to get together with my best-friend, Danielle, too which is always a great time. We're planning a party trip to Vegas in the Spring - it will be a hoot!

Cat Tooth Fairies

Lana spent this holiday at the vets being boarded and generally checked out. The checkup revealed very badly inflamed gums and required surgery to extract a few teeth. I'm a little ashamed that I hadn't peered into her mouth more regularly because I certainly would have seen the very sore gums. *sigh* She had contracted a mycoplasma infection in her gums which thankfully is treatable with antibiotics. We also have a fun new fish-tasting toothbrush game to play that I'm sure will bring hours of ... joy... to both of us when she heals up. I picked her up today and she's perfectly happy and seems in much better spirits now that her mouth isn't sore. If you're looking for an excellent cat veterinarian/kennel in Vancouver, I've included Cat Care's information at the bottom of the post.

A Night at the Movies: Gran Torino

Gran Torino
Excellent movie, a clash of cultures and generations. I got a chance to see this with my family last week and it's on my must see recommmendations list now. The trailers were a little misleading with their portrayal of a typical Eastwood Dirty Harry persona. Eastwood's character, Walt, is amazing and deep - filled with racism and a product the American Dream (with all that entails, including war) he finds peace at the end of his life by reaching out to a young Hmong boy. Stunning acting and classic cinematography make Eastwoods last film incredible. Go see it. You'll have tears in your eyes at the end - we all did.
My rating: 4.5 stars

Comments

January 12, 2009, Brenda May (Audley) writes: For the first several years of Patrick's life, I made Christmas decorations for our yearly tree. Ceramic, crocheted, stained glass, sewn - all reflected Christmas from a child's perspective. When Patrick has children, all of these decorations will be given to them, and hopefully, passed on again. Every year I wear my Christmas apron and oven mitts from Patrick's first Christmas too. We always celebrate Christmas morning with a champagne brunch. This year, we had a huge snowfall - what a surprise! Christmas is peaceful, and we try never to rush:) Lana is a real trooper! She seems to overcome evey obstacle put in her path. What a sweet kitty. Mom

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Moving to Calgary I

Patrick Audley — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:24:49 +0000

The Big Move to Calgary has begun! Kathy and I just couldn't take being in different cities anymore so I'm mashing (no really, see the pictures of the storeroom!) all my possessions into storage and moving in with the family until the 15th of July when the moving truck, the [LANA001, cat] and I are abandoning Vancouver. This move was very cathartic -- I donated all my un-wearable clothes, old books, and unneeded household things. I converted all my paper items into scanned PDF's (huge job, thanks go out to PrintPlus in Vancouver for their Herculean effort). And finally, much was just thrown out or recycled. The Digital Conversion(tm) along was worth all the effort of the move! Stay tuned for the actual move into Calgary.

Comments

August 23, 2008, Brenda May (Audley) writes: You never know how much stuff you really have until you move! I could not believe the amount of boxes we packed for Patrick's move to Calgary. He has moved before, but this time, almost everything was kept because Patrick bought everything new and of excellent quality. It was a very nice apartment with a great location, but moving on.............. I must say that I won't miss the hour commute from Richmond to Vancouver!

Kathy in Vancouver Part 2

Patrick Audley — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 04:38:22 +0000

Kathy came to visit for thanksgiving. It was a really relaxing visit during an otherwise very hectic time - a pool of quiet familiness (if there is such a word). We walked all the way from [lifelinelink: 930seymour, my place] downtown to the The Havana, a cool Cuban styled restaurant on Commerical street, for lunch. Kathy introduced my to "Dead Like Me" and we watched a bunch of the first season curled up lazily on the couch after the long walk. For Thanksgiving dinner we went to my [lifelinelink: mom, Mom's] for a traditional turkey dinner and spent most of the night wallowing about in stuffed happiness. We even managed to make it to the pool for a swim and hot tub. Beautiful way to spend thanksgiving!

Comments

October 8, 2006, Brenda May writes: Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for family and friends - not what you have or where you live. Patrick and Kathy joined Rick and I for a pleasant and peaceful Thanksgiving dinner. The food was good but the conversation was the best part of the evening. We shared stories and and lots of laughter. Truly, a very satisfying evening for all....
October 30, 2006, Bruce Audley aka Dad writes: I agree although you must admit, nothing beats a Bentley parked in a five car garage in Southlands. Second to that, I agree that what you have and where you live means nothing!

Kathy in Vancouver Part 1

Patrick Audley — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:18:33 +0000

Kathy, the intrepid geologist comes to Vancouver to visit for a weekend. Family dinners, hanging out and much walking ensued. All rejoiced.

Comments

October 8, 2006, Brenda May writes: I really enjoyed meeting Kathy. She is a sweet and charming girl - very likeable and "down to earth." Her laugh is infectious!

Mom’s Day at the Owl Rescue Centre

Patrick Audley — Sat, 19 Jul 2003 07:00:00 +0000

This past Saturday, Rick joined several members of my company for at volunteer day at Orphaned Wildlife Preservation Centre to do cleaning of cages, mowing lawns inside cages, and general maintenance at the Centre. I organized the event and we had a wonderful day, culminating with helicopter rides from a patron of the centre. We were able to make a very obvious change in the cages of several eagles, hawks and owls. The highlight of the day for me was that I was asked to help in the rescue of a red tailed hawk which was injured on an Indian reservation in Tsawwassen. Rob, the wildlife rescue officer, came zipping down the road in the rescue truck and said he wanted whoever organized the event to join him on a real rescue - that was me! We trekked about 40 feet down a steep embankment and into a dense forest. I was the net person, he was the flusher. It was hard work but very rewarding as after about 45 minutes, we were able to net the very large hawk. My legs and arms were bleeding from blackberry nettles and my lip was cut from a branch whacking me in the head, but the end result was that the injured bird was caught and caged to take back for treatment. Did you know that a bird will act immediately docile if his legs are pinned and he is flipped on his back? Sound familiar - just like a cat! Anyways, I have included 2 pictures of the hawk. Rick had a wonderful time with the “power trimmer from hell” which roared like a lion and blew up billows of exhaust. Hmmmmm.. men and their toys. Anyways, this was a very satisfying day.

Northern Lights near Edmonton

Patrick Audley — Sun, 28 Oct 2001 19:19:29 +0000

I took these pictures with my Dad in Sherwood Park. I love the norther lights and look forward to see some really great ones from Europe.

George Audley

Patrick Audley — Sun, 19 Aug 2001 21:16:46 +0000

When I was in grade 7 I moved in to my Grampa's house where my [lifelinelink: DAD, father] was living. I feel that my life was greatly enriched by having the chance to live with my grampa; North American values usually leave everyone more than one generation removed living elsewhere. He gave me a lot of my perspective on life and he was a large influence during my early teens. Some of my ethics came from him, as do much of my manners.

When he passed away, I was very sad until I saw the body in the hospital... I remember thinking, "That's not him," and the sadness lifted. It's taken me years to realize that even back then I saw that he would live on forever in the ever expanding circle of people and events that he'd touched. He was truly a great man: he was the head civil architect of Edmonton for many years, he won the Alberta Achievement Award for community service, he was constantly involved with his church, he won both the Silver Wolf and the 50yr Service Pin from the Boy Scouts (two of their highest honours), and most importantly to me, he was my grandfather.

I will always cherish his memory and feel it proding me on to become more than I am.

Grampa and Grammas 50th Anniversary

Patrick Audley — Mon, 07 Jan 1991 05:59:33 +0000

[lifelinelink: GRAMPAB, Grampa] and [lifelinelink: GRAMMAB, Gramma's] last wedding anniversary together. It was held in Kelowna in a small restaurant that they went to often. This was the last time that our my mother's side of the family was together in the same room. Aside from the usual family frictions, it was a nice time.

Danielle Doucette

Patrick Audley — Sun, 15 May 1977 00:00:00 +0000

I lack a word for Danielle. I've tried sister, confidante, best-friend, comrade in arms, trip friend. All are inadequate and cover so few of the facets that adorn our relationship. So I'll borrow a word from Sumerian: nin - oneself repeated, sister, one's own but subtly different. That's about as close as I can come to describing how she fits into my life. She has been a part of so much of my early adult years. We were engaged for a period of time, we've tripped together many times, we've been each other's confidant, and so much more. Danielle has always been on the grounding forces in my life; someone to deflate my ego and hold my hand.

Family Klondike Days from 1963

Patrick Audley — Fri, 30 Nov 1962 00:00:00 +0000

Klondike Days are an Edmonton tradition dating back to the Gold Rush when Edmonton as Fort Edmonton. It later became a huge affair with a week long carnival and a massive parade. Everyone would dress up in clothes from the Klondike era as you see below. This makes it four generations and over 60 years of Klondike Days for my family - amazing to think that I was swindled happily as a kid by the same games that my grandfather likely played.

Darkly Colored Felines of Fury » family

A White Christmas and Teeth

A White ChristmasTravel Nightmare

Family Christmas

Cat Tooth Fairies

A Night at the Movies: Gran Torino

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