This is Sindy and her friend Dan. Sindy is the cute blonde on the bottom and Dan is the other cute blonde. Why do the boys always get the curls, its not fair. Dan got this new dog and called him Coco, May May wasn't interested in him only Sindy. Coco had a tshirt on saying "Cats Suck" well isn't he a brave new puppy. I invited him in to meet Maggie and she just sat on the top of the couch and stared and stared and stared. Watch out next time Coco, you might be rethinking that tshirt. Just look at his cute face, he's wonderful.

Here is Jeanne and Cokette on a beautiful fall day in the park.

This was the garage sale that we went to, it consisted mostly of costumes and stuff for Halloween. Heather used to own a consignment shop and I used to bring stuff there to sell. Wish she still had it, I did pretty well there but her health was giving her a few problems. The dog that is with her belongs to her mother who is off overseas climbing mountains. Can't remember now if she is in her 70's or 80's but I just wish I had enough energy to climb one flight of stairs. Talk to you soon Heather.

While I was in my hotel May May and I wandered down to garage sale just off Elgin and this lady sat and talked to us and petted May May for a long time. May May as you can see is quite content.

Alissa, May May and Cokette. Alissa is a very strong willed little girl! The day we were in the park her little hands were so cold but she wouldn't let her mom put mitts on her, her mom also wanted to put on a warmer hat but this little pink number is all she will wear. The cold weather is quickly approaching so I hope she gives in a little bit. Good luck to her mom because this is just the beginning. Isn't she just a little sweetie though!

Finding the time to update the blog, since the fire I have been busy.

This is Alissa and her mom, she likes to play with May May and Cokette.

EMERGENGY ON COOPER STREET

Well what an experience I had last week Turned out there was a fire in the generator room and the generator caught on fire and we were left with no hydro at all. It started around the noon hour and we were finally evacuated around 4 p.m. or so. It was amazing to see all the emergency people do their thing. First we had firefighters that knocked on the doors of the people that didn't get out before we lost emergency power and couldn't get down the stairs telling us to pack up for a few days. Then we had the firemen and ambulance crew come up to get us and assorted animals. After getting downstairs we were loaded up on an OC Transpo bus, animals and all and taken to the Jack Purcell building where we received a brown bag lunch for those that hadn't eaten. After that we were assigned emergency shelter if we had no place to go. Some of us were extremely lucky with where we ended up but I am sure all of us were happy to be safe and sound. The only real problem I had was the lack of communication where we were left for days wondering what was happening. Then we would be told it would probably the next day we could come home and then it turned in to the next day and the next day. I am so amazed at how stressful this was when we didn't lose our home or our belongings that I couldn't imagine how that would be.My thanks to everyone who did their job so well, we were so well taken care of. From the firemen to the ambulance crew, the red cross, OC Transpo, the Jack Purcell centre and the city of Ottawa who helped us to be placed in our lodgings. My thanks to everyone, May May and I are very grateful.

Another view of emergency vehicles, they were even parked past Kent street. I was so fortunate to have Shannon around, she came over and took me grocery shopping and out to breakfast then she went up to the apartment to make sure Maggie had enough food and water out. By Tuesday those that could manage the stairs were allowed in with a security escort for five or ten minutes only to pick up stuff. Also very thankful for my friends who took me out for supper during the week, glad it didn't last longer than it did.

Three more firefighters having a conference. It was hard to know what was going on from my balcony. Didn't think it was a fire because there were no flames or smoke that I could see and they didn't move faster to get us out of the building. But after the fire in the generator being put out it meant there was no power to the building whatsoever.

When these guys showed up with this table and all the documents on it I knew we were in trouble! After seeing them I had a feeling we would be evacuated from the building and I wasn't wrong. Shortly after they arrived some firemen knocked at my door and told me to pack up for about 3 days, after getting downstairs and talking to other tenants I learned it might be for as long as 5 days! Turned out to be 8!

Took a close up of these firemen that were on the back of a truck to see what they were doing. Guess they were on the phone waiting for instructions.

Here is the channel 6 news person taking some shots of the action on our street. I was on one of the news casts, they took a picture of me while I was on the balcony and another lady who stayed in the building was on another channel. They probably thought why didn't those dummies get out of their apartment, but we couldn't go down once the emergency power was out as the elevator didn't work. I know I was treated very well, the firemen took down my wheelchair which is extremely heavy and another fireman picked May May up quickly before she had time to protest and the ambulance crew took me down on a emergency seat on wheels. When you get to the steps they lean the chair way back and you go down the steps on rails. Really neat, no bouncing for me and no sore backs for the people helping out. Thank you so much all you people who helped me down. I was really worried about how it would be done.

Some more of the emergency vehicles outside our apartment.

Here I am waiting to get on the bus, the bus had to back up and get a bit closer in order for me to get on the ramp. The bus driver was just excellent, he even went back and got my camera from my friend who took this picture. That is the CBC news guy in the fore front. The police and the Red Cross are also there to assist us.

Here are the dogs going on OC Transpo to the Jack Purcell Centre. Why does anyone question the ability of dogs being on a bus? Look how well behaved they are, you couldn't ask for anything better.

This was part of our welcoming comittee! I think the little girl on the left is in charge of the hotel, I know she lives there and she was carrying around some very important looking papers. Its too bad we didn't see them again but she was busy with school and homework.

This was one of the hotel clerks that just adored May May. Everyone was so kind to us and May May just loved all the new attention.

The living area of the suite, the only bad thing is it did not come with a computer, it did have wireless access but I did not have a laptop. Guess its time to invest in one.

This was the kitchen and dining area of the suite I was in.

A picture of the bed that we slept on while we were away. May May just wandered from corner to corner, she can't do that on the single bed at home. My back had a hard time adjusting to a new bed but we are not complaining. I obviously took this picture before maid service came in!