Trip to Edmonton

Yesterday I drove to Edmonton for a Chamber of Commerce event.

Want to save money on your electricity bill?

    

The event I was at was only a couple blocks from where Jacqui and Brent live.  In a comment she complained that she never knew when I was in town so this time I let her know.  I was going to go straight home because I didn't want to get home too late but Jacqui invited me over for pie.   She was so persuasive.

This is the picture I tried to take of the 3 of us by holding the camera up and pointing it towards us.  As you can see I'm not very good at this.   I only got the edge of my glasses.

    

Jacqui thought it was pretty funny and took the camera away from me and showed me how it was done.

    It was a short but nice visit.

     

Then I drove home.   Earl dropped by and stayed the night because he had an early morning flight to catch.   When I got home we had a nice visit.

   

Me and Earl and more pie. 

I forgot what a wonderful voice you have

Today was the Primary Presentation in our Ward.  Sorry I don't have any pictures.  Its the first year that our kids have all graduated from Primary but they asked our family to sing a song so I figured its about the 21st year that we have had at least one daughter in the Primary Presentation.   Our primary is small - only about 12 kids - With teachers they only took 1/3 of the choir seats.  Not like when our older kids were in primary.  Back then for the presentation they had to bring up additional chairs and even then some of the the younger classes had to sit on the first couple rows in the congregation.  But it was nice because every child got to give a short talk.   Mom and Jamie and Jenelle and I same "Home" (#193 in the Children's Songbook).  I didn't know the song but we did sing it about 3 times before I left for meetings this morning.  

It was a busy day for me - I did a closing remarks talk in Sacrament meeting.   I went to Primary and spoke there and then I talked in Relief Society as well.   I must confess something else.   I sang in all three meetings as well.   The theme of the Primary Presentation was "I Am a Child of God".  They kids sang it in English but there was a girl who speaks Spanish who sang "I Am a Child of God" in Spanish.  There are a couple of girls from Korea who sang it in Korean.   So I tried to remember it in Japanese.  Good thing we had Naotaka, the Japanese exchange student in our ward, because I wrote down the words as I remembered them and then he corrected it for me.   When I went into Primary I had this crazy idea to sing it in Japanese for the kids.   I don't know who was more surprised, the kids, the teachers or me.  From there I had to run to Relief Society to talk.  One of the sisters in there came from Primary so she heard me sing and let everyone else know what happened.   They requested that I do it in Relief Society.  I said that I would at the end if they were reverent (hoping that they would forget).   My talk went well - I talked about the Lord answering our prayers and shared some stories with them.   At the end they didn't forget about my promise to sing if they were reverent.  They wouldn't let me leave until I sang "I am a Child of God" in Japanese. (Kami no ko desu).  I hope they recover from hearing that.

On Thursday and Friday I was in Edmonton for work.  Friday morning we did a seminar that seemed to go well.   After it was done I packed up and figured I would go to the temple.  

When I walked in to the room to be seated I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple from my ward in Calgary.   The sister was so shocked to see me walk in.  She asked me if Judy was there.     After the session I met Judy's mom's cousin in the hallway and he asked me if Judy was there and then asked how she was.   Then I saw the Temple Matron (who used to live in our ward in Calgary).  Guess what the first thing she asked me was.... "Is Judy here?"   She went a step further and said with a smile "I don't want to talk to you, I want to talk to Judy".    Then the Temple President came out - Guess what the first thing he asked me was..... no, it wasn't that.  He asked me how I was doing.  The second question was "Is Judy here with you?"  Now I must admit that I'm not offended by this as I don't blame them for asking.  I'd rather talk to Judy as well.  Plus its easier on the eyes to look at her.    Next Friday I have to be in Edmonton again for work.  I've already talked to Judy about the possibility of her coming with me so that we can go to the temple together.

I was tagged

I've never been tagged and I'm not sure about some of the questions but since everyone else has done it I'll make up some answers.


1. Where is your cell phone?  In my phone holster on my belt.  The belt is on a pair of pants that I'm not in - they are laying on my bed.

2. Where is your significant other?  Sitting on the couch

3. Your hair color?  Black with more grey every day

4. Your mother? Grandmabashi

5. Your father?  Grandpa Joey

6. Your favorite thing?   Being together with family

7. Your dream last night?  I dreamed that I was going down a river on pillows.  Like white water rafting but holding onto a big pillow.  I guess it was white water pillowing.

8. Your dream/goal?  To go white water pillowing.  To drive a Zamboni.   Seriously I dream about going to Hawaii to be together with the family.

9. The room you're in?  The family room

10.Your hobby?  I used to go running, now I spend that time eating.   I need a new hobby.

11. Your fear?  I don't get these questions right.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Still alive and kicking

13. Where were you last night?   In St. Albert, Alberta for a Chamber of Commerce Banquet.  Our company was one of the sponsors.  I got to sit at the table with the President of the Chamber. 

14. What you're not ?  Getting some of these questions.

15. One of your wish-list items?  The economy rebounds quickly.  

16. Where you grew up?  Picture Butte, Alberta 

17. The last thing you ate?   Stir fry

18. What are you wearing?  Running attire (do not conclude that I was running)

19. Your TV?  Toshiba 32" old style tube TV


20. Your pet? Don't need pets - I have kids.

21. Your computer?  iMac - at home.   IBM Laptop - at work.   I wish I had a macbook at work.

22. Your mood?   The ring is black. What does that mean?

23. Missing someone?  Yes - family in Hawaii and Utah.

24. Your car? Has duct tape keeping the rain out.  Check it out here .

25. Something you're not wearing?  Spandex (My kids have forbidden me)

26. Favorite store?   Toss up between Princess Auto and Costco

27. Your summer?  Came and went too quickly.

28. Love someone?  Yes

29. Your favorite color?   Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed?   A few minutes ago when I read Wilma's blog about when she asked me to "Fill up her glass" when I was going to the bathroom.

31. Last time you cried?  Today.  I cry a lot lately but it doesn't mean I'm sad. 

Tyken is looking more Hawaiian

     

I was looking at the pictures in Angie's post from today and zoomed in on one of the pictures of Tyken in the faucet.   It reminded me of someone - especially the nose and mouth.    

    

     

What do you think?
 

    

Addendum to earlier post or "Local Vandals"

I have been asked where I got the "Still Here" picture in my last post.  

     

Here's what I would like to say.

It was done by our local delinquents who graffitied the street in front of our house.  Back in August just before Erika left, the Neilson's came for a visit.  For fun the kids decided to do races with the Plasma Car.   To make it more official, Jamie and Craig found some spray paint and created a START and FINISH line on the street.

Note to Jamie and Craig - DON'T EVER DO THIS AGAIN!!  

(but if you do, do it in front of someone else's house and don't put your initials by your work)

     

The START line.  

(Jamie, why are you finishing here?)

     

There were even spectators.

       

That would be a good story if the "STILL HERE" was really created by them but the truth is that I found the picture doing a Google search.   It has its own story - It was a message found on a building  after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

   

So far I have 5 votes for stories.  3 for "Lost While Hunting" and 2 for "The Crazy Man".   I need to see if I can find pictures to support the stories. There is also interest in "The elephant on the bike" story - thanks Wilma.

Still Here

 

  

Just want everyone to know that I am still here.   In a recent comment Wilma said "Nicole wants to know, "don't you have something to do, like Bishop responsibilities?".  I think she was wondering about how I found time to blog.  Well, Nicole I do have Bishop responsibilities and this last week has probably been the busiest so far in terms of time.  By the time I get home I spend my time doing other things like eating and sleeping instead of blogging .  

   

Plus I really haven't had any bloggable events but Angie gave me a list of things I could blog about when I have nothing else to blog about.  She thinks I should tell the stories I told them when they were little. 3 that she mentioned were:

    

• The lost glove story, 
• The crazy man story and 
• The story about when I got lost when I went hunting with my dad.   

If you are interested in hearing these stories vote for your favorite one and I'll go with the one with the most votes.  You can add requests if you like as well.  If there are no votes or requests, I'll make up a story - maybe about seeing a guy walking his elephant on the bike path in Calgary (No Wilma - not an elephant on a bike).

    

BTW - Grandmabashi now has high speed internet.   Its interesting that it took her awhile to get it even though it has been available.  She thought dial-up was okay - that is until she discovered that she could "borrow" a neighbor's wireless connection.   All she needed was to experience high speed to know what she was missing.   I think there is a lesson to learn here.   Sometimes we are afraid to try new things thinking that we are doing fine.  But sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone.  Who knows, there may be a whole new world out there.  Like Grandmabashi and her internet connection.  It opened up a whole new world for her.

      

(Fun fact: it actually costs her less for high speed than it did for dialup).

(Boring fact: I'm working a tradeshow today and did this post while waiting for the doors to open).

(Sad fact:  I'm working the Edmonton Realtor Association tradeshow - next door is a Golf tradeshow)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving.  Its pretty much the same as American Thanksgiving except its on the 2nd Monday in October instead of the 4th Thursday in November.   We eat turkey and pumpkin pie and we watch football.   (At least I watched football - The Calgary Stampeders beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 42 - 5).

The truth is that we had our turkey dinner yesterday after church.   That way we could take it easy today and eat the leftovers.

It seemed strange to only have 5 around the table for our Thanksgiving Dinner.   That's the smallest number we've had in years.  

This Thanksgiving I've thought of the many things that I am grateful for. 
   

#1 on my list is my family.   

  

I'm so grateful for Judy.  I'm grateful she took a chance on me,

    

I'm grateful for these 6 beautiful daughters

   

   

And for the additions to the family - Mike and Brylie.

     

  

and of course Tyken

      

  

I'm grateful for my grandkids,

I'm grateful that they live in Hawaii and that we are able to visit them.

   

In Wilma's blog she talked about our parents and grandparents.

Both sets of my grandparents left Japan for a better life in Canada.   It wasn't easy for either family but I'm so grateful for the sacrifices that they made so that we could be here today.

Grandpa and Grandma Takahashi

   

  Grandpa and Grandma Shimbashi

Front:  George, Helen, May, Edward

Wilma mentioned how our parents grew up when it was not easy for Japanese Canadians.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese Canadians (and Japanese Americans) who lived on the Pacific coast were moved inland to internment camps or in my dad's case, moved to Southern Alberta to work on the farms down there.   My mom's family was already living in Alberta so they didn't have to move but they still encountered the prejudice towards the Japanese.   Fortunately they lived in Welling, an LDS town in Southern Alberta.   The members of the Church treated them well and that has sure effected my life.   My mom and her siblings joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  My dad's family was moved to Magrath, another LDS town a few miles down the road from Welling.   My dad joined the Church later when he went to University in Edmonton, but I'm sure growing up in a Mormon town had influenced that decision.  I'm grateful that they both accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful for their hard work and example for all of us.   Thank you.  

I'm grateful that dad and mom found each other

And got married.

   

 

I'm grateful for my sisters 

(Wilma doesn't look as grateful as I do in this picture)

    

 

And their families.

I'm grateful for the times we are able to get together as family.  

     

I'm grateful that we could help Mom and Dad 

celebrate their 50th Anniverary

   

And that we could all be there.

    

I'm so grateful that we all have each other.

  

I'm also grateful for Judy's parents. 

      

  I'm grateful to them for raising such a wonderful daughter who has enriched my life so much.

Grandpa Anderson passed away last November.  We all miss him.  I am so grateful that he accepted me into his family and for the many things I learned from him through the years.   The two things that stand out to me are his example of hard work and his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

  

I'm grateful we were able to celebrate his birthday last August.

   

I'm grateful for all my brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws (and this isn't even all of them)

    

and their families.

 I'm grateful that his legacy will continue on. 

(This is just a small part of the total family)

     

Grandma Anderson had some health concerns earlier in the year.  I'm grateful for her and that she's doing so much better and that she was able to stay will us in Calgary while she recuperated.  This is after we took her back home.

   

I'm grateful that families can be together forever.   

  

Related?

Angie has posted some pictures of her and her kids comparing how they look like their parents.  You can check it out by clicking here .

  

I don't want to steal Wilma's thunder but here are two pictures that she has that have found there way to me today.   She posted the first one on her blog because Chay thought I was grandma.

Then just today Alana sent the following picture to Candi that she found at Wilma's this week.  

Just wanted to post it so Chay could compare Grandma and me.  

    

Okay - even I must admit that I do look somewhat like my mom in these pictures.  
Right down to the permed hair and the windshield glasses.
 

Brylie sometimes calls me grandma and thinks it funny.

The Calgary Temple Site

The Calgary Temple Site

    

We now know where the Calgary Temple will be built.   I read about the exact location in the Calgary Herald yesterday.   Today I got official confirmation that the article is correct.   Its in NW Calgary.

AK also found a link to the Deseret News today that names the location.

     

Today if we want to go to the temple we travel about 3 hours south to Cardston.  We also have the option of going about the same distance to the north to Edmonton.  It pretty much takes most of a day and with gas prices its close to $100 a trip by the time its all said and done.

How far will it be?   Well, I must admit for an FHE activity last night Jenelle, Jamie, Candi and I decided to time how long it took to drive to the temple site.

    

According to Google maps it said it would take 15 minutes.  The actual time from when I put the van in reverse to back out of the driveway to when we parked in front of the Royal Oak Chapel was 12 minutes and 38 seconds.   We figured that when the construction is all done on Crowchild it will be closer to 10 minutes.   Can you believe it?

   

It was dark when we went so we couldn't take pictures.  Today Candi and I drove home a different way so we could drive by to take some pictures of the site for all of my readers.

    

 Approaching Royal Oak Chapel from Stoney Trail

Stoney Trail is part of the Ring Road that will eventually go all around the city.   The northwest and northeast portions should be completed by 2009.    The Temple site is only a couple blocks off of Stoney Trail.

   

This will be a Park & Ride for the C-Train station that will be built here.  

Only 2 blocks from the temple.   

    

Interesting note:  The station was initially planned for completion after 2023, but in November, 2007 Calgary city council called a special meeting and approved and funded a 2011 completion date.    The temple is expected to be ready in 3 years.   As Jamie said "Coincidence?  I think not."   

   

Just 2 blocks up this street.

    

The site is on top of a hill.  That's the steeple of the Chapel. 

     

Driving into the Royal Oak Chapel lot.  

There is an open area about 100 yards between the street and the parking lot.

   

We went to the south end of this parking lot and took the following pictures.

     

 To the south east.  You can see downtown Calgary.  

All the open space you see is part of the church property.  

     

View to the south.  The property goes out over 100 yards past the parking lot.

   

A mountain view on a clear day.

   

Royal Oak Chapel

  

View from the street below. 

 Ironically there is another church at the bottom of the hill that doesn't agree with our teachings.   This is their parking lot.  

Arial view of the site.  The red lines outline the property.  

Its about 200m x 200m.  That works out to about 654 feet x 654 feet or just under 10 acres (my calculations using google maps to measure).

  

I can't wait to see plans and drawings for the temple.