A Year Has Passed

Last year today we left our beautiful home in a wonderful neighbourhood in High River to move here.....back to the bush!  We have done a lot of work out here but there is still a lot to do.....some of which is on my long Wishful Thinking List for the summer!  There are many good things about this move and there are some things I miss about where we were before.

Good Things:

-  Hubby can come home every night.  He leaves early in the morning and doesn't get home really early in the evening as he has a 45 minute commute each way but I think he loves the fact he is home with us (me and his 4 legged family!) sleeping in his own bed every night of the week.  

-  We LOVE being back in the country.  We can sit outside and not have the dogs bark at everyone who walks by and we don't have to see or have a conversation with everyone either.  😜 (not that we are anti-social people....but sometimes a person needs quiet time...but outside....alone.)  I am sitting on our deck right now and there is no one around me.  Maybe a deer....then the dogs will bark.

-  Smaller house means less housework!  👍

-  Financially a smaller mortgage payment and less property taxes.

- we do have nice 'neighbours' who are close but not too close and we don't look into their backyards.

- The dogs are happier!

-  I am okay with getting my kitten here and she loves it outside....she would never be able to go outside in High River.

- a job at a school I love with staff I love.

Things I Miss:

-  friends (although I am making new ones....they just aren't as close by to pop in for coffee or go for a walk with)  and our stitching nights.

-  Our old neighbourhood filled with amazing people!

- Amenities in High River and Okotoks

- Our spacious home.

Oh but it's ALL good!  Our kids like it here better....more to do when they visit and to be able to have a fire and sit around outside and visit....more comfortably.  The grandkids will make good memories here too.  

Speaking of grandkids, this one was all ready to go dancing at her other grandparents' lake community on Canada Day weekend!  (candy in her mouth from the parade earlier in the day!!)  I guess she wasn't as shy this year and had a great time!!

We go to our grandsons 2nd birthday party on Saturday!  We are bringing the granddaughter too.  Should be fun!!

Sunday I was sitting out here on the deck and heard rumbling to the north.  Black clouds there, blue skies to the south.  Within minutes we had clouds too and then this happened:

DAMN hail!!!!!  The garden looks a bit worse for wear and a few of my flowers are a bit beat up but I was able to get the planters undercover to safety.  Then later on, after we shovelled (yep there was that much!!!!) and it was all basically gone, the rain came and went and I captured this: 

I LOVE rainbows and miss seeing them off the front veranda at our place in High Prairie.  We had the perfect view there.

Look at this sign I bought for the bathroom!!  Prosthetic limbs!!!!  HAHAHAHA 😆

Yesterday morning when I was having my coffee, I looked out and saw this little guy enjoying the bird seed.  We have both squirrels and chipmunks here.  🐿

Hubby has been making me walk....and I am grateful.....but this "incline" is at the halfway point and the first time we did it I almost died....really I'm sure I did!  I thought my heart was going to vacate my chest cavity!!!!  It doesn't look like much until you are doing it.

You could almost roll down the decline!  That would be fun except for the gravel......

I am TRYING to watch what I eat but of course when I was starving yesterday I bought mini Wunderbars and mini Caramilks......damn it!  Along with the walking and all the fruit and vegetables we bought when we got groceries I have no excuse.  I want to feel and look better so here's to will power!!🍻

Summer Vay-Cay Is Here!!!

Thursday was our last day at school......they treated the staff to a great Chinese food lunch and we spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the classroom.  I will miss the people I work with and seeing them everyday.

I did some rearranging in the yard last weekend and moved my red chairs from the back of the house to the front.  I may paint this old metal shed one day .... or not....but I had to get my flag out.

And sit in that egg chair....it's sooooo comfortable!!!  

Someone else thinks it's pretty comfortable too...here she is laughing because I asked her to move!  HAHAHA

I asked for an updated picture after my last post....here she is.....yikes!!!  So cute and I will be so dead when I bring her home!  I haven't committed just yet but I will have to soon.  My girls think I should for sure....of course they would!  They don't have to live with their father!!!

Last week Wednesday I had to go and get an ultrasound done on my very sore wrist....going on three months now.  I did and had to get a steroid shot....so here's the bruise from the freezing and shot.  😜 I know it doesn't look like much but dang that shot hurt...and he'd squirt some in then move the needle and squirt some more....about 5 or 6 times! I'm not sure it helped.......😞

First day of summer vacation I made a list....I've already thought of a few more things to add!  At this rate I won't have any fun this summer!!!!!  Yesterday, when I wrote the list, it was a beautiful morning, then we had some rain in the afternoon when I went down to my sewing area.  When I came up the sun was shining again!!  I weeded the veggie garden last night...almost died hilling the potatoes!  Whew....out of shape!!  

I will get done what I will get done and the rest I can plug away at and get it done eventually.  This morning, Daughter1, Lyla and I went to the teacher's place that I worked with this year (Daughter1 is doing her makeup next weekend for her wedding) and then into town and went to a children's consignment place and I bought a few things for her and her cousin to play with at our house.  Then we went to the coffee shop, the women's clothing consignment shop next door, lunch at Timmies then out to a greenhouse where I got a beautiful planter basket for the back.  I'll try and remember and picture for my next post.

🍁 Happy Canada Day!  

Almost There!

 Ahhhhhhh this week coming up is the last week of school before summer break.  We will not have kindergarten kids as they were finished Friday....we have cleaning and screenings for next year and parent info sessions to get through.  The week before last was field trip time.....here we are on a bus to a wildlife park where we saw some pretty cool animals!

I made the two boys I work with, tied fleece blankets for an end of the year gift.  They loved them!!!! I asked for pictures of the boys with them and I immediately got this from this guys' grandma (whom he lives with).  He's sound asleep with his stuffed monkey Row-bert.  💙  She said it went on his bed as soon as he got home.  I told them both they were hugs from me and to snuggle when they needed one.  When you do the job I do, all you wish for is that you made a difference in their lives....for the better of course!  I sure hope I did.

Last weekend I sat out on the deck to get some air and relax....I opened the patio umbrella and something landed on my arm....at first I thought a big moth...well.....nope, it was a bat!  Cutie pie but he couldn't stay in my umbrella or on my arm so I tucked him in a dark place and he was gone the next day.  Bats are great to have around to eat bugs!!!!

Yesterday morning I was in our sunroom having my coffee when I looked out to see this.  This little one is not very old and sooooooo cute!  I hope to see them again and watch her/him grow up!

And then there is this little monkey!!!!  That was a whole roll of toilet paper!!!!!  I don't know whether getting another kitten will keep her occupied or I'll have both causing havoc!  I haven't asked for any updated pictures....might do that in a bit.

It is a gloriously beautiful day today.  We've had a couple of days of a nice rain and now it's warm....and humid (not like in Ontario though!)  I have weeded my flowerbeds and am now sitting in the shade with the nice breeze writing this.  All of us girls are outside!  Molly loves it out here!  At least it keeps her out of trouble!  hahaha  I hope to get the motivation to clean later but it can always wait until tomorrow.......  🙋 (not sure who this blonde is but she's voting for tomorrow!  LOLOLOL  We will see.)

Goodbye My Friend

On Friday I received news that my friend Erica was in palliative care and was being kept comfortable.  She fought for a year with cancer...she fought very hard.  I was just texting with her last week...so I was in shock that things had turned so quickly.....but that's the nature of the beast and my friend would never let on how bad things were.  Friday night I had a fire, a drink to her honour and sent her a final text message, knowing she wouldn't see it but it let me say what I needed to say.  Yesterday, after I got the news she passed away, I cried.  

Erica was a GREAT listener.  She helped me through my Mom's battle and when I was having trouble with some friends.  We would talk and talk and talk both when I "worked" at her store helping with displays or even just when I popped in to shop/visit.  We drank a lot of chai lattes together too and we always texted...not daily but we kept in touch.

She had a lot of things she dealt with in her life that were devastating and always stayed calm and steady (in public anyway).  She would say "It is what it is" and I have a small wooden plaque that says that as it always reminded me of her.  

She had an amazing store.....I told her I admired her as she jumped in with two feet to realize her dream, something I never had the nerve to do.  Her store grew and expanded and became a destination for people travelling looking for a great place to shop!  I have MANY items from her store and have also made and sold stuff there.  Here is my prized possession:

This barn painting was destined for her house.  She had posted a picture of one she had for sale but someone else had scooped it up before I got up to visit.  When we were talking about it, she told me she had bought one for her house but she needed to repaint the walls before she could hang it....do I want it and she would order herself another one.  Of course I said YES!!!  She never did get a chance to order another one.....That's the type of person and business woman she was....always making her customers happy.  That's one of the reasons why people loved her and her store!

  

I had make this wallhanging for her after we had a conversation where I was trying to motivate her to get back to living....she was having a hard time wanting to get off the couch and do anything after she returned from her long stint in Calgary.  She loved her yard and flowers and the river that ran close by and would take a picture of the river in the same place every month.  I challenged her to get up and take a picture of her river....she did it a couple of days later.  I never did get this wallhanging quilted.......which makes me sad but it will be another reminder of my good friend.  I added a crow to the bottom because she loved crows.  

Erica spent her dash well.  I will miss her dearly and going back to my old hometown will be so much different as there will be a huge void that will never be filled.  

Rest in peace my friend.....until we meet again.👼

JUNE!!!!

Well here it is...June already!  I really am trying not to think about it...being the end of the school year this month...but it's so very hard not to do a countdown!!!  I am so ready for not having to set an alarm and getting stuff done around this place.  I should start to make a list.

Remember I mentioned health issues in my last post.  Anti inflammatories have helped tremendously but they are done now.  I am going to try just regular Ibuprofen and if it doesn't work I will call the Dr again.  My wrist (left, thank goodness) has been really sore....picking up Molly hurts and she weighs nothing!  I am going for an ultrasound on June 27th and anticipate getting a "shot" then.  I am assuming it means I have arthritis??  I don't know.  My boob issue is pain in my "cancer" boob.  Apparently the scar tissue has decided to do all sorts of weird stuff and now that hurts.  The anti inflammatories have helped that too but maybe it was the pain relief part?  Now it is back to giving me grief.  I see my Brachy therapy Dr in July.  I hope he can give me answers.

Enough whining!  (I'm sure Hubby is about ready to bop me on the head and bury me somewhere!  HAHAHA)  I spent the day planting some perennials in the front flowerbeds and cleaning out the side one.  I think I am going to order/buy new perennials for that area too...get rid of some of the ones I don't like (the ones you can't clean the grass out of or spread like wild fire where you don't want them).  I cleaned out the garden shed too.....the previous owners had left a ton of plastic flowerpots, an old chair cushion, etc so they all went and I reorganized the shelves.

Among other things, I planted a YELLOW peony!  I have never, ever seen a yellow peony plant...that doesn't mean they haven't existed!  lol  I hope it survives and produces flowers in a year or two.  I can't wait!!!!!!!

I am sitting outside away from my lilac bush but can still smell that Heavenly scent.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE lilacs!!!  Today is was buzzing and this girl has got herself some pollen!  Look at those sexy yellow legs!!  

This little girl (I can never get a good picture of her....she is either asleep or ready to pounce on my face!!) is 10 weeks old!  Where did that time go....we've had her a month??  I must get her into a vet for shots and see about getting her spayed.  She loves it outside!  I need a cat-io for her although I doubt she would be happy with that....she likes to roam.  Not far...yet.  🙄

And last week I got new pics of this little girl:

Eyes are opening and here she is with her Momma.  Oh man, can I handle two kittens??????  Molly is getting to be such a brat!  😂😸 I moved two plants today....why try and fight it??

I received this in the mail last week....I LOVE KIM DIEHL and I want to make EVERYTHING in this book!!!!!!!!!  I did start a baby quilt (not from this book) and had to get some fabric for a border and the backing....I have no excuses not to finish it now.....the main body is done....easy peasy one!  I'll take a picture when the top is done.

Here's hoping the month flies by, but not too fast, and goes very smoothly!!!!

May Long....

Life has been good since my last post.  Other than some health things (nothing serious! Sore wrist, sore boob....all are being dealt with) things have been smooth sailing!

Molly is growing up and is a pretty good kitten.  She does get into a bit of mischief...what kitten doesn't?  I have tried to kitten-proof the place as much as possible (tin foil in the plants, putting things up where she can't get them, etc).  Here are some Molly pics....she is playing/sleeping with the dogs and her favourite napping place is on my chest tucked up under my chin!  But the other night I saw a head peeking out from under the dog blanket on the back of the chair in front of the window...she had crawled under and tucked herself in for a snooze!

Now crazy me has my eye on another one......Hubby will KILL me but he gets over it and this one was only born May 17th so she won't be coming here for awhile.

The calico I have wanted.........am I crazy to have two here???????  YEP, likely!!!!

Okay, so backing up to Mother's Day weekend.  I usually wallow in self pity and miss my Mom like crazy but this weekend I got to see both grand babies and their parents!!  Son2 was also here....only missing Daughter2  😞  Once again feeling so very very blessed!

The weather was fantastic and we even took the kids down to the river and just had a great time.

Last Friday I had my final course at the college and looked closer at the trophy case and found a picture from my first year there:

Yep the shortest, of course!!  hahahahahahaha!  Gosh time FLIES!!!!

Friday my Lyla and her Mommy came and slept over.  When they left the next morning I got ready and headed to St Albert where I got in some Jude cuddles:

Then I was off the Spruce Grove where I met up with my Dad to surprise this girl:

My cousin Wanda from Ontario.  She was out visiting her nephew (my second cousin) as he and his fiancé had twins 10 months ago (more baby cuddles for me!!!!!).  Wanda knew my Dad was coming for a visit but didn't know I was coming and I was sneaky and was texting her earlier making out like I was at home.  She had no idea!!!!  LOVED IT!  We had a great visit!!!!  Not near long enough but I am thankful for the time we did have.  

School is still in session....we are all counting down!  I think 5 more weeks with the kids and another few days of cleaning up and stuff.  I am looking forward to the summer and I hope LOTS of grandkid visits!!!  

Molly

Sooooooooooo I went in to Red Deer to have supper with my Dad, who was there for a few days for something work related.  I had asked him earlier if he minded going to LOOK at the kittens and he said okay.  So after supper we found the place where these kittens were.........now I have lived in a trailer in a trailer park as a kid growing up and then after we were married.  I have not one thing against anyone living in the "Parks" but the place we went to gave the trailer park their reputation.  The people were super nice, a mom and her two daughters and a granddaughter living there with 2 Momma cats and 9 kittens.....the smell almost knocked you over when we entered the home (once we got through the broken gate and garbage ALL over the yard and deck.  Mom, the one I was communicating with, greeted us in a housecoat (before 7 pm) and the granddaughter wearing a Pull-up who was long past the potty training age.  ANYWAY, they said they were having trouble with litter box training but it was likely because the 2 mommas and 9 babies had to use ONE cat box....I smiled and thought "YA THINK????"  The one daughter, who seemed to be more in charge of the kittens said she looked it up and kittens could go at 6 weeks so I could take her home today!  A) I did not bring a kennel with me, B) I had not broke it to Hubby that I was going to be bringing home a cat and C) I had pictures of swerving around on the QE II highway with a freaking out cat attached to my face!!  But I had to rescue her from that place....full of love but also full of filth.  :(  It was all I could do to not take another home with me too but I have lived through the chaos of two kittens at the same time and didn't want to revisit that experience...yet!  So Molly (I had already named her from the picture on FB) sat on the back of Dad's neck while I popped into Walmart to get kitten food, a small litter box and some toys.  

After dropping Dad off at his hotel, this little girl snuggled my hand for awhile then laid on my lap and slept the whole way home.  Once home, I brought her in, plopped her on Hubby's lap, explained the situation and well, we now have a kitten.  She rules the roost here....hisses and spits at the dogs (but is getting much better).  Don't be fooled as this cat does not sleep all the time as these pictures might suggest.  Today I found a squirt bottle.......and she's already got a couple of squirts while she was playing with the plants!  She will get more when she scratches the furniture too!  LOL  But she's doing really well!!!!!!!  

I re-did the letters on this wallhanging.....I couldn't erase them so added them to a piece of wool and appliquéd the wool on to it.  I have also added a bird to the bottom right corner now....it's all ready for quilting!

We had a day off yesterday so I took a trip to High River.  I really miss that place.....I visited with Sue and we went to the quilt shop and then for lunch.  I popped into the Sally Ann to look for treasures then off to visit our old neighbours Ted and Maureen.  It made me really miss the house and the neighbourhood........after that I was off to Calgary to see my former neighbour Deb and her daughter Christy and her new daughter Lilly.  Deb made us a yummy pizza for supper.  I arrived home at 9:45 pm...it was a great day.  Too short of visits but maybe this summer I can go for longer and/or they can come here.  

Laundry today and the house is gross but that might be tomorrows job.  I have a few things I want to do including another assignment due next week.  Grrrr, I think I will respectfully decline these courses next year......

Off to embrace the day and enjoy the sunshine!!!!