Happy Thanksgiving 2011

What a gorgeous weekend!  The beautiful weather we missed this past summer has been made up for this fall.  We have had a delightful September weather-wise and this Thanksgiving weekend has been amazing!  Saturday, Sunday, and Monday have seen blue skies, sunshine, and mild temperatures (today's high was 16 degrees Celsius) with warm breezes.

I went for a walk today down the road to the pond where the ducks were busy getting ready for their trip south.  There is still a lot of wildlife all over the place, especially flies!  They are all over my house too!  Yesterday morning, I was making pancakes for my family.  I went to pour the first batch of pancakes into the hot frying pan, when I noticed a fly bubbling away in the oil.  That is how plentiful they are.  We use the vacuum cleaner to clear them from the windows (saves on cleaning all the splats later on).  At least they are easy to get rid of.  They are slow and a little dozy at this time of year.  But the reason we have so many of them is because we have not yet had a killing frost.  Very unusual for this time of year, but then, there has not been anything usual (weather-wise) about this year.

The bees and butterflies were really busy today, too.  They were taking advantage of the sunny and mild temperatures trying to get as much nectar from my mums as possible!  The temptation of taking a few pics with my camera was just to hard to withstand!  The colour of the mums is so stunning!  I managed to transplant two trees, too!  I couldn't resist being outside today.  It was just too nice to pass up!

I sure do have a lot to be thankful for.  I have a husband who still loves me after all these years together, two wonderful sons, a great home in the country, an awesome family, a job and career I love waking up for, terrific friends, and much, much more.  I have a few things that I am not thankful for like two mortgages to pay, my husband's brother, a business to run in a sluggish economy, etc., but those are for another blog.  

Yesterday, I had the honour of hosting the annual family Thanksgiving feast.  It was the first time I have done it for the whole entire extended family.  I had 14 people and me to cook for.  It was time for me to give my mom a break.  I know she enjoyed this Thanksgiving much more than usual.  I did have a lot of help with it as well.  I did the turkey and the ham and mashed potatoes and gravy and vegetables.  My sister, Janet, made a Caesar salad, Auntie Annie made her rice and sauerkraut casserole, Uncle Larry brought a bottle of his homemade choke-cherry wine, and Mom made cabbage rolls and brought a pumpkin pie for dessert!  My cousin-in-law, Terri, brought an Asian salad and some great red wine!  Wow, it is so much better when everyone pitches in.  It was a great feast and so great to all be together.  We were even able to do a draw to pick names for Christmas gift giving this year.  That will be better too.  

Well, I managed to take a couple of pictures before everyone came (notice the Sunflower centrepiece, from my own garden) but once everyone was here, I was so busy I didn't even think of taking pictures.  Oh well, the memories are permanently in my head.  It all went off without a hitch (except that I forgot to put the glasses on the table until everyone sat down).

There is one other thing I wanted to mention my thankfulness for and that is my Auntie Ella Oswald.  We learned that she lost her life last weekend.  Apparently, two weeks ago, she suffered an aneurysm.  I guess it was pretty severe and the only option was surgery.  It was done but she never recovered.  She remained in a coma and passed last Saturday morning.  It was quite a shock to learn about as she was only 71 years old.  She was a big part of my childhood.  Our families spent a lot of time together.  Barbara and Sandra (her daughters and my cousins) were like sisters to me, my sister, and brother.  We shared a lot of good times.  But then, around the time I was seventeen years old, she and my uncle divorced and we all grew apart.  But, I remember her as a strong, vibrant woman.  She was very intelligent and a great role model.  She was an important person in a defining part of my life and I am very thankful she was a part of it.  I will definitely not forget her.

Happy Birthday and Happy Memories

            Twenty-one years ago today, I gave birth for the first time.  I remember it being such a surreal experience.  It was so new and happened so quickly (thank God).  And suddenly I had this delicate little creature to look after.  He was so perfect and I thought how lucky I was to have such a beautiful little boy.  And I have felt that way everyday since because that sweet little baby boy turned into quite the young man.

             He hasn’t made his mark on the world yet, but that is because he is still working on it.  He is a smart young man who is taking his steps into the world carefully.  He is still finding out what it is all about.  He has a good head on his shoulders and puts it to good use.  On top of it all, he is sensitive and thoughtful and still likes to cuddle with his Mom.

            Those twenty-one years seem to have flown by quickly, but how could they have?  A lot of hard work and dedication had to go into creating such a fine young man.  And it did.  As memories of his childhood and adolescence come back to me, it seems that the time did not fly by and that on occasion it stood still.  But, every memory brings a smile to my face.  I loved being that little boy’s mom and I still do! 

            It occurred to me this morning that we are both having “milestone” birthdays this year.  His is his twenty-first, making him a legal adult in pretty much the whole world.  Wow, I have an adult son.  And his whole life is opening up to him like a book without words, waiting for the writer’s quill.  Mine is my fiftieth, my midlife birthday.  A time to reflect on what has past and to look forward to what has yet to come with a little more wisdom and a whole lot of great memories to look back upon.  And, of course, with some learned lessons to make sure the road ahead is a little less bumpy.

            Happy Birthday, Jonathon Aaron!  Your momma loves you! 

Summer Has Begun (Or Has It?)

Well, according to the date, summer is here.  However, a person would not really know it from judging by the temperature.  The warmest day we have had so far is 26 degrees Celsius, but I don't remember when that was because it was quite a while ago and also because I do not remember the last time I saw the sun.

Wow, have we had rain.  I know I should not complain because our past 10 or so summers have been so dry and now everything outside is coloured in a beautiful mix of lovely green hues.  All the vegetation is denser and plumper than I ever remembered it being (for at least as long as we have lived here).  And something I really can't get over is the number of birds I see and hear every day.  Birds intrigue me.  I love watching them.  Their power of flight and their ability to survive in harsh environments have compelled me to hold them in high esteem.  But this year is the first year that I can remember actually hearing bird songs in the seven summers that we have lived here.  I do remember always hearing the chickadees from far away, but this summer there is all kinds of song birds that I am noticing.  Here I am writing this at 11:00 p.m. at night with my bedroom window open enjoying the songs of a what I believe is a robin.  I've seen them hopping around on the grass and flying over the fields too this year.  There are also swallows and the usual magpies and crows, also hawks and I've heard owls at night this year too.  I wonder if the extra moisture this year has anything to do with it all.

I do know that all this extra moisture has a lot to do with the mosquito explosion this year.  There are so many this year that I have seen swarms of them on the highway at night coming home.  Last Wednesday night, I was driving home from the city between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. at night.  It was very calm because a thunderstorm was on its way and it had been a very warm, humid day.  As I was driving, I would notice these tall columns of what looked like smoke in the distance but they would disappear as I got closer.  When I slowed down, I could see that those columns were actually swarms of mosquitoes that moved!

So, a week of my summer vacation is over already.  I did go back into school to move my belongings from the room I was in because it was being rented out this summer.  I hope that where I put everything is not in the way for our custodians, Nester and Isidro.  They sure work hard all summer with all the cleaning they have to do in the school.  I am glad that the weather is a little on the cooler side for them.  That school gets unbearably warm when the weather is hot.

I also became an Avon Lady last week.  I have been hooked on a few products from Avon for a few years and was able to get them from Angie (a good friend and teacher I have worked with for the past several years).  But now, she is moving to another school to teach and she does not have time to deliver and do all the other work involved, so I thought it was a good opportunity to join and sell it myself.  Maybe I can make a little extra money too.

And between Clarence, his mother, and my lovely sons, the rest of the week flew by.  I went into the shop to do some cleaning before I can actually settle down and get some work done there.  I took my lovely mother-in-law to get some plants and flowers for her yard.  For my sons, I made hair cut appointments (and took one there to have the deed done).  They all have lists of things for me to do, but I have my own and that will come first (I hope).  Anyway, summer has begun ...   Let's enjoy because it will be gone faster than we want it to be!

The May Long Week!

Well, the week after the May long weekend is a short work week, but it certainly didn't feel short!  This was for a variety of reasons.  For one thing, I had a lot to get done at school.  It was deadline week for the school newsletter (which I put together) and I just started my last unit of grade 2 science which meant lots of planning and prep.  It is also the time of year when the kids at school really would rather be somewhere else.  For sure their minds are, or they have just used up all their available brain cells.  It is called Spring Fever and it has hit with a vengeance (ugh!), especially since the weather has improved so much.  As I age, I've noticed that my patience for this behaviour at this time of year has dwindled away.  I've always noticed Spring Fever but now it really gets on my nerves.

Another thing that made this week feel so long is all the "drama" (for lack of a better word) going on at school.  It is really depressing at school right now with all the budget cuts going on within the district and the declining enrollment for our school for the upcoming school year.  Because of that, our staff is being cut to only 6 full time teaching positions.  E. A.'s (educational assistants) are being cut too.  We will be losing 4 of the teachers we have now.  I know that I will have some sort of position but I do not know what it is.  I have been cut down to a 0.2 FTE with the possibility of it becoming more when school starts again.  This is not unusual for me.  I usually do not know what my position will be for the next school year.  It's just really sad to see the school change so much and watch the people you really admire leave.  I know that change is inevitable but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Some positives occurred this week too.  Although they added some cheerfulness to the week, they made the week feel long as well.  I guess I have just gotten too used to my lackluster evenings at home.  Clarence, the boys and I treated ourselves to a concert.  It actually was Clarence's birthday present.  We bought tickets to see Burton Cummings in concert at the Jubilee Auditorium and it really was a treat.  Burton Cummings definitely looks older but his voice is still as great as it was 35 years ago.  He put on a great concert singing all the old "Guess Who" hits (No Sugar Tonight, Clap for the Wofman, Albert Flasher, Running Back to Saskatoon, These Eyes) and lots of his solo hits (Stand Tall, My Own Way to Rock, Break It to Them Gently, I'm Scared).  He even sang a few from his new album.  He is 63 years old now but he still has a flare for entertaining.  Jonathon and Benjamin were thrilled with it.  Jonny said it was the best concert he has ever been to (and he has been to quite a few lately).  I have to admit that I was thrilled too, just as I was back in the early 1980s when Clarence and I saw him (that was at the Jube, too!)  Magnificent both times!

Burton Cummings:  he still ROCKS!

The concert was definitely the highlight of my week however the treats did not stop there.  Friday night was spent with colleagues (past and present) at Melissa Skinner's beautiful new home.  There was tons of food and lots of great company.  It was great to see Anne Marie, Kathleen, Colin, Marci, Fiona, Erin (and baby Sydney), and Melissa again.  They all changed schools as a result of last year's "down-sizing," except for Erin (who had baby Sydney instead).  And Angie received word yesterday that she will be joining their ranks as an ex-Donnan teacher.  I wish her nothing but the best, but I will miss her dearly (as I have all the others).  Change sucks.  Regardless, I enjoyed the evening catching up with everyone.   It was a good ending to a long short week. 


Today I took my frustrations out on my yard.  Well, kind of.  I put a lot of energy into digging holes in the dirt and transplanting plants.  A couple of weeks ago, I received some leftover Arbor Day trees from the grade ones at school.  Actually, I took the leftovers.  There were nine little evergreen seedlings that needed a home or they would just go into the garbage.  So, I rescued them.  I've done this for a number of years now whenever there are leftovers.  Some years, I get quite a few and other years only one or two.  Whatever I can get I will take.  Our acreage is in definite need of trees so I will take all the free ones I can.  Last Sunday, I dug up a new "flower bed" to plant them in.  I made it a little big so I decided I would divide some of my perennials and transplant them in this new bed too.  I have some daylillies and a bergenia that have gotten quite big.  I also wanted to move one of my peonies that was getting crowded out  by my other big plants, so that is what I did.  I also planted some sunflower seeds.  I bought some Sweet Pea seeds, but I couldn't find them.  I will have to take a better look for them tomorrow.    


 I had some pictures of my handiwork outside but for some reason, my computer doesn't recognize the file when I try to download them.  I guess I will have to try that again tomorrow as well.  

The May Long Weekend!

Well, here it is... the May Long Weekend!  The official start to summer in Canada.  I am so happy that it is finally here.  After this winter, it is welcomed with open arms.  And what a beautiful start to it too!  Today was gorgeous.  The sky was cloudy off and on, but the temperature was awesome.  It must have reached 27 degrees Celsius out here at our place.  On the news, the official temperature in Edmonton was 25.  Last year for the May Long Weekend, it was snowing and the high temperature was 6 degrees.  If that was to be repeated this year, I think I would have just cried.

Too bad I did not spend any time outside today.  I did go out on the deck for about 5 minutes this early afternoon but that was the extent of my time outside.  I had grandiose plans to be outside today and do a lot of dirt digging, but my best laid plans were sidelined by this lovely cold I have.  It just does not want to be rid of me.  I was feeling better yesterday, but today I felt very weighed down by it again.  It seems I have one good day, then a bad one.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  It sure is hanging on though.  It is really in my chest.  When I breathe, I can feel and hear gurgling.  My lungs are full of "stuff" and when I cough, I bring a lot of that stuff up.  Today, my sinuses were really acting up too, I felt like I was constantly blowing my nose.  And to top it all off, a nose bleed!  I don't remember the last time I had a nose bleed.

Maybe I will sleep better tonight.  I was interrupted so many times last night.  The first time was when Clarence came to bed.  He is sick with this cold too, so when he came to bed there was coughing and nose blowing and whatever else.  By the time he finally settled down and got quiet, the phone rang - yes, at 2:42 in the morning!  It was our eldest calling for directions.  You see, he decided to take a trip to Saskatchewan.  His buddy wanted to go to Saskatoon to meet up with his girlfriend, so Jonny thought why not take a trip to the farm in the Yorkton area.  Well, they left late and got there late.  He hasn't been to the farm for a number of years and so was a little directionally challenged when he got there.  Of course, he had to call home to get some reassurance (no matter what the time).  Oh well, anything for the kids, right?  After settling from that, my love had to get up once again to hack and sneeze and blow his nose, etc., etc., etc.  Then, just before 9:00 a.m., my lovely mother-in-law called to let us know she was going to church.  I should have got up to start my day then, but I just did not have the energy.  I fell back to sleep and did not wake up until 11:12 a.m. and by then I had to get up because my back was aching from being in bed for so long.

And so continued my day (at a very slow pace).  I did manage to get dishes washed and the kitchen tidied up, but I had no energy to cook (which I rarely do even when I do feel well).  Thank goodness for leftovers and the microwave.  I feel like I have completely wasted a beautiful day.  I hope tomorrow will be more productive, but just as beautiful.  Please!!!!

The Wisdom of Birthdays and Gophers

I have come to the conclusion that it is much easier to fit in a blog when a person is on holidays.  I haven't quite figured out how to do this on a daily basis when I am back at work.  The only reason I am writing now is because I am on a 4 day break from work for the Easter long weekend.  I will have to make an effort to try to do this at least on a "once every few days" basis.  We will see how that goes.

On the 17th of this month, my hubby celebrated his 52nd birthday.  Wow, when we met he was 19 and I was 17.  His first birthday we celebrated together was his 20th!  That seems like yesterday.  But, when you sit down and think about it, we've gone through an awful lot together and I know there is no other person that I know better than him (or he, whichever is the correct grammar).  We went on a date to Lingnan Restaurant for his 20th birthday.  It was just the two of us which was different because we usually always went out with the crowd in those days.  I remember I wore a white blouse that evening and because I was as graceful back then as I am today, it did not stay that way.  When I was eating my deep fried shrimp smothered with shrimp sauce, the knife slipped on the plate as I was cutting it and shrimp plus sauce met my white blouse.  Needless to say, I avoid wearing anything white anymore.  Anyway, going to the Lingnan has become the tradition for birthday celebrations in our family now.  We had made plans to go last Sunday, too, but cancelled because of financial committments elsewhere.  You can't do everything.  We'll make up for it next month.  He was just as happy to stay home and celebrate with an angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream!

Yes, he is in his pj's!

This past work week was a short one which was good because I was very tired.  I also seemed to be very scattered this week and unable to concentrate or focus on any one particular thing.  Part of the reason for this is because planning for the next school year is starting but so much is indefinite.  Changes are happening at our school again and within the district itself because of issues with government funding.  I've been told that I will probably be able to stay, but the status of my probationary contract will be put on hold until things are a little more definite and no one is really sure when that will be.  Probably October.  Oh well, que sera, sera.  I should be used to this already.

We took Benj to the dentist this week.  His wisdom teeth have developed and have to come out.  One of them is in his gum on its side.  Jonny had one like that too.  His dentist left it in.  They said it would probably cause him more trauma to have it out.  Benjamin's dentist is going to take all of his out (even the one on its side) but he is going to have an oral surgeon do it.  Funny how different professional opinions can be.  Mind you, in Benj's case, it is probably good that they are all coming out.  He has a very small jaw and I have really noticed how his teeth in front have gotten crowded and crooked this past year.  Dr. McLean said that getting those wisdom teeth out of his mouth will definitely help that situation.  So, we just sit and wait for a call from the oral surgeon as to when that will happen.

Mr. B (my pet name for him) doing his fave thing!

Jonny's big news this week was that he got his gun license.  He took his course and applied for it about 2 or 3 months ago.  So, of course, off he went to the gun shop to purchase a .22 caliber rifle and all the fixings. He is now a mighty hunter, ready to take on all the vermin around our country estate.  Look out gophers!!  He and his buddy were out on our property practicing their shooting yesterday.  The gophers out here have become pretty accustomed to us because we haven't had a dog for 3 years.  So, they are always running about when we are outside.  They are pretty brave.  They were even running around when the boys were doing their target practice so they decided to do some target practice on them.  Jonny and Will got four of them in the couple of hours they were out there.  When Jonny and I got home from Tofield today, there was a big one poking his head out of a hole under our back deck.  Jon-boy grabbed his rifle from the house, took two shots and got him.  This may work well.  So far, this year, the count is 5.  Last year, we used a trap and the pellet gun to get rid of them.  In the month of June, we killed 92 gophers.  So, I believe it is good that we are getting an early start on them this year in a much easier fashion than we had to last spring.  Our yard and my flower garden are so full of mounds and holes.  It really looks terrible.  Those cute little critters can really do a lot of damage.

Look out, Mr. Gopher!

The Geese are Back!!

A sure sign of Spring on the Great Canadian Prairies in the return of the Canada Geese.  On Friday (which happened to be April Fool’s Day, but this was no joke), I saw five of them!  When we were driving into Edmonton, two of them were perched majestically on a snowbank right on the corner of Wye Road and Range Road 222, while another 3 flew over us.  Oh, and when we arrived home on Thursday evening, we were greeted by one flying overhead, squawking away as if to stay, “We’re back, we’re back!!”  

This is a picture of some Canada Geese feeding just outside my window in the Spring of 2007.                                                  

I went for a walk this afternoon hoping to see some more but I had no such luck.  In fact, I did not see any animal life except for the neighbour’s horses in their corrals, enjoying the sun and munching away on their hay.  I could hear the playful chirp of sparrows in the distance, but I did not see them.  What I did see was lots of water sitting in puddles.  The snow is melting quickly in the beautiful sunshine today.  The ground is still frozen so the water sits on top waiting for the wind to lick it away.  There was a bit of a breeze so I am sure that much of the moisture is evaporating.  But, there is so much more snow yet to go.  The forecast for the new week is for lots of sunshine but there is so much snow and as much as I would like to see it all melt, I would just as soon see it go slowly so we can avoid possible flooding.  Our house is high so that would not apply to us, but that is not the case for everyone.  I remember one spring we had about three years ago when we had a lot of melting and then hard spring rains.  Highways were flooded over as well as farmers’ fields and our power was out for three days because of power lines that went down in the winds and crews not being able to get to them because of all the water everywhere.  That was not fun and so I will be patient this year.

Mucky road leading to the house.  Lots of snow still to go!

Well, one week of my Spring Break is over and it sure went by fast.  But then, there was a lot of running around to do.  I try to get as many appointments done and over with during this week so I do not have to miss work.  So, on Monday, I went with Clarence for his follow up appointment with his doctor.  He had his yearly physical two weeks prior to that and did all his tests.  Also, during his physical, his doctor discovered he had very high blood pressure.  He put Clarence on medication immediately.  He also told him that he has to change his diet and get much more exercise.  Now, if you know my husband, his reaction would come as no surprise.  Basically, he took it as a death sentence, looking to lay blame wherever he could.  But, once he got over the initial shock, he took it to heart to take the doctor’s advice.  He went on the medication and started exercising on our elliptical trainer thirty minutes a day.  We (because I do the cooking) also looked closely at our eating habits and are cutting out as much sodium from our diet as we can.  Unfortunately, this means no more pizza once a week and much more emphasis on fresh foods.  I know that this will be good for me too but we get home so late every night.  My food preparation habits were practically nil.  I would usually stuff something frozen in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes so we could eat quickly and get on with our evening.  I knew this wasn’t good for us, but my time and sanity had to count for something.  Well, now time and sanity is going to have to come after health.  Without that you really don’t have anything.  So, we are (I am) going to have to re-prioritize a few things.  The few changes that we have made are working well so far.  At Clarence’s follow up appointment, his doctor took his blood pressure again.  It went from 176/97 (at his physical appointment) to 134/86 at this appointment.  Dr. Toal was pleased.  He said that he had visions of doubling Clarence’s medication this visit.  But he said that as long as he continues on this track, that won’t have to happen.  Clarence has to go back for another follow up appointment in a month, so we will see what happens.  As a fringe benefit, Clarence weighed himself last weekend and he had already lost 6 pounds!  Why do men always lose it so fast?  I wish I could say that, but then the elliptical trainer and I are not very good friends.

That evening, we all (Clarence, Jonny, Benj, and I) went to see Jackson Browne sing at the Jubilee Auditorium.  I really enjoyed his performance.  It was almost exactly what I was expecting.  After all, he is not a young man anymore.  I knew we would not see him with his band (because that wasn’t ever really his style anyway) and a lot of the artists of his time are coming back out of the wood work to do one man shows.  So, that’s what I was expecting to see.  What I was surprised to see was that on stage with him were 18 guitars (yes, 18) and his keyboard.  He looked much like I remembered him (from where I was sitting) and he sounded great.  His voice was a little deeper (I detected a bit of a growl) and not quite as smooth as it used to be, but he still did a great job.  He sang many of his old songs, like “Running on Empty” and “Take It Easy” (but not “The Load Up and Stay” which I really wanted to hear) and he sang until 11:00 p.m. and came back for one encore.

Picture from March 29, 2011 Edmonton Journal

www.edmontonjournal.com/Jackson+Browne+enthralls+Edmonton+audience/4518383/story.html