Karyn's Project 365

Day365 . Monday, January 4

2010-01-05T22:05:00.003-07:00

I drove past these snow covered trees with the sun shining through them at just the right angle. I had to drive a whole mile farther, turn around and drive past them going the opposite direction for a mile, then turn and come back toward them. By that time, the sun was not at the same angle. I tried for the shot anyway......not as impressive as I had hoped.

This is it. The 365th post of photos. (Well, except for the few days that I missed)
This is also the final post on this blog (at least, I think it is). I will be posting more often, with more photos on my other blog. I think I will do a once a week post of a picture from each day of the previous week. That is my plan, anyway. It has been difficult to keep up with two blogs, as is obvious, since I am usually behind on this one....that is why I am going to try incorporate the theme of this blog into my other one.

Please come visit me there - and don't forget to leave a comment!

Thanks for sharing this experiment with me! Have a wonderful 2010!

Day 364.....Sunday, January 3

2010-01-05T21:59:00.003-07:00

Well, Jim left for work today....to Whitecourt, for we do not know how long.
Rather than sit around and mope about my man being gone, I made a trip to town and returned a Christmas gift that was missing parts.
I love the long line of evergreens along the road....they especially looked pretty covered with snow.

Day 363....January 2, Saturday

2010-01-05T21:49:00.002-07:00

We visited at Jim's mom and dad's today where we were happy to have a short time with Auntie Marian as well as with Uncle Dale and Auntie Eneken. After a few hours there, we also visited my mom and Maurice. We enjoyed a nice supper with them. (The photo is of Dad and Auntie Marian)

Day 362. Happy 2010!

2010-01-05T21:17:00.004-07:00

We 'had' Christmas again today so that we could celebrate with the Muyaba's. It was like Dec 25 all over again - with a few fewer gifts.

Taliah enjoyed the toy that was in her stocking.....

Day 361 - New Year's Eve

2010-01-05T21:08:00.003-07:00

We had originally planned to visit our parents today, but because the roads were very icy last night when we brought Vinj and Kath home, we elected instead to postpone our visits to Saturday and use this day to get Jim ready to go to work on Sunday.

I made sure all his laundry was done and folded, ready for him to count out however many shirts and socks he wanted and them pack them into his bag.

Not the most celebratory way to end the year, but we enjoyed having the day and evening together, even if we did not have a party.

Day 360....Wednesday, Dec 30

2010-01-05T21:01:00.002-07:00

We picked Vinjeu and Kathryn up at the Calgary airport this afternoon. They had been in Europe for almost 3 weeks. If Kath looks a little tired and haggard - it is because she was. A ten hour flight with a child on your lap, coupled with jet lag and another 3 hour trip by truck before you get home wears you out! But, in spite of the extreme fatigue, she was still able to flash hat beautiful smile!

Day 359.....Dec 29 Tuesday

2010-01-05T20:47:00.003-07:00

Oyster soup is a Hutchinson Christmas tradition. In Jim's family it is always served on Christmas Eve. At our house, we sometimes make it for the 24th - sometimes it is served on New Year's Eve. This year, Jim made it (for himself, because I do not much care for it) today. The photo is of the recipie - taken from the family cookbook I made a few years ago. Unfortunately, the oysters were bad and the soup had to be flushed. Jim was very disappointed.

Day 358....Monday Dec 28

2009-12-29T18:11:00.002-07:00

Evidence that someone had fun in the snow recently.

Day 357.....Sunday, Dec 27

2009-12-29T18:00:00.002-07:00

A bit of the aftermath.....which we did NOT clean up today - we just layed around all day

Day 356.....Boxing Day

2009-12-29T13:59:00.003-07:00

One of the best gifts of the day......matching Tshirts for Andrew and Kaden. "Tool" is how Kaden says 'cool'

Day 355....Christmas Day

2009-12-29T13:54:00.002-07:00

Of course, there are tons of photos to choose from for Christmas Day....too many, so we go with the candles.

Day 354.....Christmas Eve

2009-12-29T13:49:00.003-07:00

I took no photos Christmas Eve....too busy. This is from Christmas morning...taken by Dan, on my camera. A beautiful, frosty morning.

Day 353......Wednesday, Dec 23

2009-12-29T13:41:00.002-07:00

Yes, there are some ornaments on the tree......a few more each day.

Day 352 Dec 22 - Tuesday

2009-12-29T13:36:00.003-07:00

Our NEW new bathroom clock.....the other new one quit working right away.

Day 351 - Monday, Dec 21

2009-12-29T13:30:00.001-07:00

Started wrapping presents today.....these are the first to be wrapped.

Day 350...Sunday Dec 20

2009-12-29T13:24:00.002-07:00

James Titus (Ty) turned one year old today. We celebrated together at his house.

Day 349....Saturday, Dec 19

2009-12-29T13:23:00.003-07:00

One of the best things about this season is the beautiful lights decorating homes.

Day 348....Friday, Dec 18

2009-12-29T13:18:00.003-07:00

This guy waddled across the road in front of me......it took me awhile to pull my camera out and get a shot off so I almost missed him.

Day 347 - Thursday, Dec 17

2009-12-29T13:15:00.002-07:00

Christmas Preparations all week. Actually, today I shopped all day in Red Deer.

Day 346.....Wednesday, Dec 16

2009-12-29T13:11:00.001-07:00

Day 345.....Dec 15....Tuesday

2009-12-29T13:08:00.001-07:00

Christmas in the bathroom

Day 344.....Monday, Dec 14

2009-12-29T13:06:00.002-07:00

More Christmas ornaments and decorations out.......snowed in today.

Day 343.....Sunday, Dec 13

2009-12-29T13:00:00.002-07:00

The tree got brought upstairs today.......time to get into the Christmas spirit

DAY 342....Saturday, Dec 12

2009-12-13T15:04:00.003-07:00

This is the south wall of what used to be Poplar Books. I was parked right in front of the now empty space (it burned down a couple years ago) so I took a photo of the old painted-on sign for a grocery store called 'Foodland'. The grocery would have been in the building on whose side the sign was painted.....now housing several businesses - including Melanie's shop, 'Nailzz by Mel'.

Day 341. Friday. Dec 11

2009-12-13T14:45:00.003-07:00

The only photos I took of Vinj and Kath getting ready to leave for their European Vacation were of Seth playing on the couch and of Taliah getting Seth's loving. Here, he was tickling her and making her laugh then giving her a kiss.

Day 340 Dec 10 thursday

2009-12-13T14:41:00.002-07:00

Our new bathroom clock.

Day 339. Wednesday, Dec 9

2009-12-13T14:36:00.002-07:00

This is Dan, leaving for work. Notice where he carries his water bottle?

Day 338. Tuesday. Dec 8

2009-12-13T14:31:00.002-07:00

sorry about the poor quality photo.....new shelves in the laundry room which I was working in today.

Day 237...Monday, Dec 7

2009-12-13T14:28:00.002-07:00

In FULL SUN, this is the temp this morning......which is wrong, of course, since the sun is shining on the thermostat.

Day 326. Sunday, Dec 6

2009-12-13T14:24:00.002-07:00

Snowed in.

I cannot get out, no one can get in.

No baby shower today.

Andrew and Daniel came and used the tractor to 'plow' us out.

Day 325. Saturday, Dec 5

2009-12-05T15:10:00.002-07:00

The wind does some weird things with snow.

Day 324. Friday. December 4

2009-12-05T15:03:00.002-07:00

Jim unexpectedly had a day off....waiting for cement to harden. So, in spite of a blizzard, we went into town to do some shopping for him - he needed long underwear and insulated coveralls - as well as quick visits with some of the kids.

Day 323 - Dec 3, Thursday

2009-12-05T14:29:00.002-07:00

Stopped to pick up an order at the local Scrapbooking store to find it is going out of business at that location. They will be selling exclusively online at www.myscrapbookingheaven.com beginning next month. Of course, everything is on sale. Here is what I came home with.....pretty good example of restraint, if you ask me. Of course, I did not venture past the checkout counter - these pens were at the counter.

Day 322. Wednesday Dec 2

2009-12-05T14:22:00.003-07:00

The book I am reading today,...it is good and I'm getting through it very quickly.

Day 321. Tuesday, December 1

2009-12-05T14:17:00.002-07:00

The snow that fell yesterday made my trip to Edmonton today a little 'iffy'. The gravel and the secondary hiways were very icy but the main highways were OK.

FYI....I take a friend to 'the Cross' for radiation treatment on Tuesdays.

Day 319. Monday, November 30

2009-12-05T14:11:00.004-07:00

Daniel has a job! He is working with his Uncle Ken. Notice his jeans have begun to look like Uncle Ken's jeans......more white drywalling mud than denim. LOL. Here, Dan is making his lunch for the day.

DAy 319....Sunday, November 29

2009-12-05T14:02:00.003-07:00

No, I did not take this photo....but it is representative of our activity for the day - Jim and I spent the evening and night at Mom and Dad H's - I watched the Grey Cup game with them (Jim was still at work) and shared the disappointment of most of the population of Alberta and Saskatchewan when our team lost.

Day 318 - Saturday, November 28

2009-12-05T13:55:00.002-07:00

Drawing is one of the main activities that the girls enjoy every day. Being at Gramma's house does not change that. Here is one of Emma's drawings from her visit.

Day 317. Friday. November 27

2009-12-05T13:53:00.003-07:00

The little girls stayed overnight with me tonight so their parents could work hard, packing, moving, and cleaning....transferring their home from the duplex to Andrew's house.

Day 316. November 26. Thursday

2009-12-05T13:45:00.003-07:00

This photo is from yesterday...I didn't take any pictures today (oops). Still, a cute photo of Kath and Seth

Day 315. Wednesday. November. 25

2009-11-25T17:43:00.003-07:00

Kathryn and I (with Seth's 'help') set up the 'Sunday School' room today. Except that church is on Saturday so maybe it is Saturday School.....except that for a reason unknown to me, the children's ministry is called 'Bugs Club'. I call it Sunday School so I don't have to explain to someone that does not go to our church what Bugs Club is. It is Sunday School, OK?

Day 314...tuesday, November 24

2009-11-25T17:38:00.001-07:00

Got a new purse today.

Because I need another purse.

And I couldn't resist the red.

Day 313...Monday, November 23

2009-11-25T17:33:00.004-07:00

Rob and Lana went to the hockey game. I got to spend the evening with their kids (and Seth). Once Ty was asleep and supper gotten out of the way, the girls and I played a game of 'Life'. The girls were in top 'silliness' most of the time.

Day 312 Sunday, November 22

2009-11-23T14:15:00.003-07:00

Sophie takes a chance to cuddle with Grampa while he watches the Western Final Football Game. Riders won! YAY!

Day 311 Saturday, Nov 21

2009-11-23T14:05:00.005-07:00

Jim was home today and Seth came over for the afternoon. You can see by his face that he was painting with him mom that morning. What you cannot see in this photo is all the paint all over his pants and shirt. LOL.

Day 310 Friday November 20

2009-11-23T14:01:00.002-07:00

Dan put foam board insulation into the dog house today....increasing the ability of the lamps to keep the dog house warm.

Day 309.....19/11/09

2009-11-20T11:42:00.003-07:00

I began to move bins from the back entry down to the new shelves at the bottom of the stairs today.

Day 308~Wednesday, Nov 18

2009-11-18T23:41:00.003-07:00

Jim's truck broke last night. Donny A fixed it this morning. I drove it out to him at work this afternoon.

Day 307 tuesday nov 17

2009-11-18T23:38:00.002-07:00

A boy after my own heart....

Day 306 - Monday, November 16

2009-11-18T23:34:00.004-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised to run into my cousin and girlhood best friend, Ruth at Safeway this afternoon. We sat down for a quick visit.

Day 305....sunday, november 15

2009-11-18T23:31:00.002-07:00

We had special guests this afternoon and overnight......

Day 304 Saturday, Nov 14

2009-11-18T23:28:00.001-07:00

My supper veggies.....

Day 303....Friday, Nov 13

2009-11-18T23:25:00.001-07:00

Dan has begun building shelves in the laundry room now.

Day 302 .... Thursday, Nov 12

2009-11-18T23:21:00.002-07:00

Day 301. Wednesday, November 11

2009-11-12T20:00:00.004-07:00

Since it was a stat holiday, Jim had the day off. Mom and Dad H, Andrew, and Vinj and Kath came out for lunch and a chance to visit with Jim.

Day 300 Tuesday, November 10

2009-11-12T19:53:00.002-07:00

I took my truck to Jim at his worksite today.....he moved his office into my truck then I took his truck to our mechanic friend to have the front end replaced. This is most of what I saw of my hubby while I was at his site......while he was getting all his paraphanalia out of his truck.

Day 299 Monday, November 9

2009-11-12T19:50:00.001-07:00

Came home this afternoon to this handsome young man keeping my son company.

Day 298 - Sunday, Nov 8

2009-11-08T16:43:00.003-07:00

"Church Service" at the retreat......We all wondered why Vinj got up and started loading himself down with all their bags and baby paraphanalia. Turns out, he was giving us an illustration of how we carry things with us on our journey that really have nothing to do with our final destination - Heaven.

Day 297 - Saturday, Nov 7

2009-11-08T16:39:00.004-07:00

Full day of the Retreat......The young men started a game of fooseball, making LOTS of noise and Taliah startled, throwing her hands up to her face and head. She would not take them down, either....was she trying to cover her ears?

Daya 296 - Friday, Nov 6

2009-11-08T16:23:00.002-07:00

First evening of LifeGate's Retreat Weekend. I went for a few hours - before Jim came home. Here, Jon C is teaching Seth how to play airhockey.

Day 295 - Thursday, November 5

2009-11-06T07:24:00.003-07:00

Day 2 on building me some shelves. Dan is doing a good job....he is very meticulous.

Day 294 - Wednesday, November 4

2009-11-05T09:59:00.004-07:00

Daniel is building me some shelves at the bottom of the stairs. This is the beginning.

Day 293 - Tuesday, November 3

2009-11-05T09:54:00.003-07:00

This is what I had for supper tonight....one of my favorites. Spaghetti squash topped with lean ground beef in spaghetti sauce and a big side of roasted veggies....parsnips, turnips, carrots, and squash (Delicta, in this case).

Yummy.

Day 292....Monday, November 2

2009-11-05T09:48:00.002-07:00

Jim went to work early this morning but found that his wellhead was leaking. He could not get the services out to fix it today so he was home at about noon.

He worked all day from home.

Day 291 - Sunday, November 1

2009-11-01T23:19:00.004-07:00

Emma....such a good big sister......snuggling Titus and softly humming "Brahm's Lullaby" to her sick baby brother.

Day 290 - Saturday, Oct 31

2009-11-01T11:51:00.002-07:00

Jim was able to meet Ava this morning......

Day 289 - Friday, October 30

2009-11-01T10:00:00.002-07:00

Jim could not work this morning due to the wet snow that had fallen overnight and the rain that was falling in the morning. So, we returned home together (well, in 2 vehicles). We stopped to visit Vinj and Kath and the kids.

Seth likes to wipe Taliahs mouth when she spits up....

Day 288 Thursday Oct 29

2009-10-31T17:42:00.003-06:00

Drove out to DV this morning since Jim would be back in town by 1 pm then going out to check a new location. A perfect opportunity to spend the afternoon/evening together.

Jim had to stop and fuel up from his slip tank on the way out to the new location......

Day 287....Wednesday, October 28

2009-10-31T17:35:00.002-06:00

A carpet of leaves ....... seen on my travels to Camrose where I went to the bank since I forgot that it was Wednesday and the bank in NN closed at just past noon.

Day 286 - Tuesday, October 27

2009-10-27T20:26:00.003-06:00

A little out of focus, but you get the idea......going to town to get my nails done.

Day 285. Monday, October 26

2009-10-27T01:28:00.002-06:00

On the road between my house and Wetaskiwin. (Not that I drove by it today....I'm cheating and taking the photo from another day)

Day 284...Sunday, October 25

2009-10-25T20:46:00.002-06:00

One photo....of Daniel coming down out of the attic after patching the hole that is where the chimney goes through the ceiling.

He did not want me to take this photo because he didn't want anyone to see him wearing cowboy boots.

Then why did he 'buy' them?

Day 283 Saturday, October 24

2009-10-25T11:48:00.002-06:00

Remember the hole in our basement wall? Well, Jim put a temporary 'plug' in it and then we sort of forgot about it over our busy summer.

It is fall now, and the rodents are attracted to the warmth of the house. We remembered the hole but unfortunately, Jim was away at work.

One of the benefits of having Daniel at home is that he is pretty handy at things like fixing holes in basement walls......it was the first thing he did after settling himself in the house.

As for me.....my temperature is normal today. I feel better but now am coughing and sniffling - not alot, but ......

This evening was the more 'public' celebration of Jessica and Brock's marriage. I'm glad I was feeling well enough to go.

How many brides get to get all 'dooed up' and wear their wedding gown TWICE?

I think Brock looked happier and certainly less nervous than he did on October 3....their actual wedding day.

One of the many relatives I was able to touch base with tonight was newborn Rebecca Jayne....great granddaughter of my Aunt Mavis....granddaughter of my cousin Gail........daughter of Crystal, who is the same age as Kathryn. Rebecca was born the same day as Ava.

It was good to see so many rellies and long time family friendss in one place. Here, my cousin Jodi greets my mom.....

All my kids were also there, all looking handsome or beautiful. My grandkids provided much entertainment for the baby loving ladies of my family and the older girls played hard with Seth, Donny and Luca and Jessica`s friend`s little ones.

There are plenty of other photos, but I`m going to try end the year by fulfilling the original goal of this blog ...... ONE photo a day. I already did not accomplish this goal today.

As to that goal......I have felt that this blog has taken away from my original blog. I don`t think it would have if I had stuck to the original purpose. I was supposed to post ONE photo with very limited journalling. Since I`ve not done that, obviously, the posts on this blog have become what would have been on my original blog and since everyone that visits this blog also visits the other blog, I did not want to repeat info on the original.

For this reason (the fact that 365 is taking away from Musings) I am going to focus on the photo aspect of this blog. If I cannot keep myself from posting multiple photos and journalling about them, I will discontinue this blog at the end of the year. If I can actually take or choose ONE photo to give a pictoral history of my life, I will continue next year.

Now you have fair warning.

Day 282 - Friday, October 23

2009-10-24T23:21:00.002-06:00

Still 'sick'. Still have a fever, although it is a little lower. Actually, I feel a little better.

I went to town to get some groceries for Daniel to eat.

On the way home, I tried to capture the beauty of the setting sun through the bare branches of the trees.....

Day 281 - Thursday, October 22

2009-10-24T23:09:00.005-06:00

Still 'sick'. Still have a fever.

I was supposed to go to Edmonton to spend a couple days with Victoria, Kaden and Ava but we all decided that would not be such a good idea when I am sick.

So, I stayed home.

Unfortunately, I did not feel well enough to really accomplish much - every time I went to

do anything, my mind would not work.

Daniel moved home tonight - late. He had gone to the city wide worship service first.

He is still without a job and although he was enjoying living with Mike and Tor, he could no longer pay the 'rent'. I welcome the company.

Day 280....Wednesday October 21

2009-10-24T22:53:00.002-06:00

You may have noticed....I missed a few days.....didn't even think of pulling out my camera. tsk. tsk.

Sorry.

Last night I drove out to DV to spend the evening with my man. Although our time was short, it was nice to just be together - even if it was in a hotel room.

So, my day today started at 5 a.m. There was a fog warning for a the morning so I left as soon as Jim did in order to beat the fog. It was clear until I got to Falun, so most of the way home.

Later on, I went in to NN for the mail....a flock of swans had stopped for a rest in the field across from the village. I slowed down to take the photo, but couldn't actually stop because after all, I was on a highway.

Been fighting some kind of flu the last few days....today it seemed to be more than a threat. I was very tired (not sleepy because I got up early - but the flu-y tired) I woke up after my second nap with a bit of a fever.

Day 278....Sunday, October 18

2009-10-19T00:55:00.004-06:00

It has been 2 whole days since I saw my granddaughter so I spent the afternoon and early evening at Michael and Victoria's.

Andrew came up to meet Ava as well, but first, Kaden wanted to show his uncle his new toy.....

Kaden satisfied, Andrew said hello to his newest niece....

She is so pretty.

Kaden found Ava's socks on Mommy and Daddy's bed and tried to put them on.....

Even holding Ava, Uncle Joo still played with Kaden......

Tickle Time over, Kaden requested to hold his baby sister.....

He is very gentle with her.

We had a nice visit, I had lots of cuddle time with Baby Ava, and we shared supper.....after Mike and Tor made 2 mattress sales - the customers coming to the house to pick up their new beds.

Mike will be home for the next few days.

Ava had a good night last night....hopefully she sleeps as well tonight.

Day 277....Saturday, October 17

2009-10-19T00:35:00.004-06:00

Obviously, since I had Seth overnight, I also had him for the day today.

When he woke up, I brought him into bed with me for a morning cuddle. When we got up, I turned to make my bed. He ran over to where my flipflops, slippers, and shoes are sitting in the bedroom. He picked up one of my flipflops, ran back over to me, set it on the floor beside me and said "shoes". He then ran back and got the other one.

As I was getting dressed, he explored Papa's side of the bed. After being told he was not allowed to play with the things on Papa's bedside table, he turned to come toward me. Jim's cowboy boots distracted him.

"Papa" he said as he stepped into the boots, which come up to the tops of his legs. He did not try to walk in Papa's boots, but stood there grinning for a minute or two.

Thankfully the weather has warmed up and the snow is melted so Seth could play outside for awhile. He loves being outside.

Here are just some of the things he did in the yard:

Jumped on the trampoline.....he can actually JUMP on it now.

His favorite outside toy is hands down Papa's tractor.....

He also discoved he could climb onto the snowmachine and pretend to drive it.....

He took a turn on the swing......

And discovered the pail of charcoal beside the fire pit.....

He filled his little hands with burned wood and made little piles on the fire pit wall......

He threw the miniscule pieces of black wood......

Put handsful on the picnic table and then spread them around......

Oh yes, and he tasted it, too!

He was also quite interested in the dog's pen......he even got brave enough to go inside.....

He checked out what was in that blue bowl that the puppies were drinking from.....

So much for a busy boy to do at Papa and Mama's house!

Day 276 Friday, October 16

2009-10-19T00:13:00.002-06:00

I was not feeling too good today....maybe I'm getting Jim's cold. Nevertheless, I agreed to take Seth for the night and next day so Kath could get some studying and housework done. They had had an extremely busy week - out most every day and evening - so she hadn't had time to keep things picked up and in their small apartment, it doesn't take much to become quite untidy.

Anyway, I went in for Seth but had to wait for him to wake from his nap, which afforded me a visit with my daughter and Taliah.

At home, Seth and I had fun.

Supper....chicken nuggets and apples for him. He dipped the apples in the ketchup!

After supper, he played in the kitchen....jumping, climbing on the stool, and playing with Papa's magnets on the fridge.

Then, Seth led me to the piano where he serenaded me for awhile.....

After awhile, he pulled me over to sit at the piano and motioned for me to play. In spite of the fact that my piano (oops, I mean Lana's piano) is dreadfully out of tune, I played for him. He laughed and pulled out one of the chairs from the child-sized table that sits beside the piano. Seated, he began to use the table as a drum. We had a fun jam session.

The toy box was our next stop where he pulled out a ball. It was a small one that his little hand just fit around. He held it in his hand, reached his arm way over his head, and kind of jumped as he pushed his arm forward. It took several trys before he figured out how to let go of the ball. So funny.

We played 'catch' for quite awhile, then, when I figured he was tired out from all the playing, I put him to bed.

Day 275...Thursday, October 15

2009-10-16T14:17:00.002-06:00

Ava Grace was born today at 7:55 p.m

She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

I spent the day with Kaden until his Grampa and Gramma Mauer arrived at about 5 pm. After that, I waited at the hospital until after Ava had made her debut.

Victoria did a great job - especially considering she went from 4 cm to 10 in about 20 minutes and was not even really aware she was in transition at the time. (Similar to Kathrynès experience a few months ago)

Anyway, here is Ava, my 8th grandchild......

She is so cute.....and even though she resembles her brother quite strongly, she is certainly daintier than he was! All girl, for sure.

Day 273. Tuesday, October 13

2009-10-16T13:51:00.002-06:00

I had several errands in Camrose today....a trip to the lawyer and a trip to the bank to pay our year end taxes began my list.

I also returned the shoes I bought last week - after wearing them for a day and a half, the ends of my toes were aching. I surmised they were actually too short so I exchanged them for a half size larger. They did not give me an opportunity to try on the new size so I hope they will work. At any rate, I will not be wearing them outside at all until I am sure they are the right size. I was amazed that the store let me return them, actually.

As well, I was on a mission to find some photo corners - which I did not find. But I ran across a sale at the scrapbook store and took advantage of that. I also tried to buy a new blade for my cutter and then finally gave in and just bought a new cutter....one that is popular enough that I can easily find replacement blades.

Then, I returned the universal headset I had purchased a few days before for my cell phone. I guess my phone is not included in the term universal. I went to a couple places searching for a headset that will work with my phone - to no avail.

Here is a photo of the snow covered fields between my home and Camrose.....

At home, I actually used my new computer for the first time for something other than internet... I edited some photos and was excited and amazed at how much more quickly the Dell does the same tasks....my other computer gave me wait time between each click of the mouse - sometimes long enough wait time to play a whole game of solitaire. This comupter works so fast I could hardly keep up with it! NO wait time at all! I am still amazed at this.

Day 272. Monday Oct 12

2009-10-16T12:37:00.006-06:00

Jim had to go back to work tonight by 6 pm.

We had a turkey that had to be cooked.

Jim also had several jobs he wanted done before he left for work.

So.....Rob and Andrew came out to clear the old mattresses from the basement and take the foozeball table down and store it out of the way. This left some room in the basement to begin working on cleaning it out.

Jim, in spite of feeling pretty rough because of the cold he had, worked all day getting the yard ready for winter. He spent most of the time working on the dog pen-house.

The ill fitting doors needed to be repaired so the wind would not whistle through the openings around them.....

He also pulled out the old couch that had been in there for the dogs bed and swept all the accumulated shredded dog food bags out, leaving the dogs with a nice, clean house, furnished with plush, cedar filled beds.......

......and kept warm with 2 heat lamps.....

Here are Rob and Andrew - they were supposed to be just taking the foozeball table, but they got involved in going through some boxes, finding treasures from the past.

Rob and Lana were cooking a turkey at their house (pre-planned) and Andrew joined them so he could also watch the hockey game. Vinj and Kath had previous plans. Mike and Tor, of course, were sticking close to home - still having contractions. Daniel was advised to stay in Edmonton because of the roads and weather.

So it was that our Turkey was cooked and enjoyed by only 6.....Mel and Ken, Scott and Chelsea (Suzanne has been sick) and us.......

It was a comparitavely quiet meal and Jim left almost as soon as we had eaten.

I packed up all the leftovers for Daniel (who provides his own food at Mike and Victoriaès) and for Vinj and Kath who had been bitterly disappointed not to be able to partake in turkey and dressing.

Day 271 ~ Sunday, October 11

2009-10-16T12:09:00.002-06:00

Turkey Day......or at least, that was the plan.

I got up early because we figured the turkey should be in the oven by 10 a.m. but before I could make the stuffing, etc, I'd have to finish another project I had started the day before.....I was drying beet greens in my dehydrator. The leaves were dry but I needed to remove them from the racks, crumble and store them before I could put the machine away, thus clearing my counter space. The greens crumbled easily but the stems were another story. After trying to crush them manually for about 15 minutes, I got the bright idea to put it all through the VitaMix. That made quick work of them, for sure, but now I was left with powder instead of crumbled leaves and stems.

Well, at least the job was done....I will use the powdered beet greens in soups, etc. over the winter......they add a large amount of vitamins and nutrients.

Just when I was about to start to make the stuffing (10 a.m.) Michael called and asked if we could all come there to have Thanksgiving since Tor had been having contractions all night and morning.

Of course, we did not want her way out here if she needed to go to the hospital, so we agreed and began calling everyone. I decided that taking an unstuffed turkey to Edmonton was not an option unless we wanted to eat very late, so I loaded up all the veggies and trimmings and we stopped at Safeway to buy a couple roasts instead.

Victoria was, indeed, having fairly regular contractions, and she spent most of the day resting and relaxing - only coming to the kitchen to show me where to find something....until after supper, that is - then she washed what dishes did not go in to the dishwasher.

The substance of the meal is not as important as the company we eat it with so no one complained about the lack of Turkey.

As always, we enjoyed being together.

Toward the end of the afternoon, it began to snow. Big, fluffy flakes that looked beautiful....

Andrew left first and soon after he was calling to inform us that the roads were pure ice. We all made plans to travel back together so no one would go off the road and be stuck alone on the side of the highway.

Andrew did call a bit later to say that after Nisku the roads began to get better. We still planned to leave together. Since Rob and Lana had their kids in the van and were waiting when Taliah decided she wanted to eat, we sent Mel and Ken and Rob and Lana off together and then Vinj and Kath followed us after Taliah was settled.

The roads to just past Beaumont were absolutely glare ice but they gradually got better the farther south we went.

And no baby tonight.

Day 270...Saturday, Oct 10

2009-10-16T11:59:00.002-06:00

Since it is Thanksgiving weekend, Jim is not working - YAY! Two weekends in a row that he has been able to be home.

However, he came home feeling quite sick and our weekend was pretty full of plans.

Today, he had to get to the lab in Edmonton to drop off the soil sample kits from the last 2 abandonments he had done.

We made a stop at Costco to pick up some dog beds for the shed which Jim was planning to work on tomorrow. We also picked up some new jeans for Jim - in a size smaller than he has been wearing!

He also had some reports to write and paper work to do today but we wanted to attend the birthday celebration of our twin nephews in Sylvan Lake. So.....I drove and Jim worked.....

We spent an hour and a half or so at the birthday party for Joey and Titus.......

Then went home to regroup before heading out to church for the evening.

Day 269 - Friday Oct 9

2009-10-16T11:52:00.002-06:00

I pulled the Brussel Sprouts today. You are supposed to leave them in the garden for several hard frosts but we went from light frost to one hard frost to all day below freezing over night.

I was amazed that after a day and a half of below freezing weather they were not spoiled.

Three plants yielded enough for 2 family meals.

It was so cool to see how these vegetables grow.

Day 268. Thursday, October 8

2009-10-16T11:44:00.004-06:00

I woke up this morning to SNOW!

How`d we go from beautiful almost summer weather to a few frosty nights to WINTER so quickly?

Day 267....Thursday, Oct 7

2009-10-16T11:14:00.003-06:00

I did some errands in town today....including another pickup at Purolator. Besides the computer, Jim bought me a sound system for the computer - and the speakers are red to match the laptop.

One of my other errands was to get myself some good walking shoes.......

I was quite cold today so I was very thankful for my nice warm house.

Day 266 - Tuesday, October 6

2009-10-07T00:29:00.004-06:00

Victoria had a doctor's appointment today (no surprise, since she is due tomorrow) so I went to Edmonton to sit with Kaden while she was gone.

Kaden was asleep when I got there and did not wake up until a few minutes before Tor got home so I did not have much time with him.

I did get to read for more than an hour, though - something I do not get to do often.

As I was sitting in Tor's rocker, reading my book, I heard sweet little baby talking from upstairs. I peeked in Kaden's bedroom and found him getting a book out of his bookcase.

"Book" he said with a big grin as he ran over to the crib and threw the book over the side before climbing in after it.

He looked for a long time at this page - about David and Goliath, pointing to the giant and saying something I did not understand.

When he finished reading his book to me, he started to do gymnastics for me.....

He actually completed 3 sommersaults in his crib before his mommy came in.

What a happy boy!

For more news (and photos) of the excitement of today, go to my other blog

Day 265....Monday, October 5

2009-10-06T09:57:00.002-06:00

Another day which had a long list of things to get done.

We began by meeting Michael at his in-law's place....they had an old 'iron eater' water conditioner to give away and since our water is full of iron.......

We made a couple stops in Edmonton.....pick up soil sample kits for Jim's job.....pick up power steering fluid for my truck......lunch.....then back to Wetaskiwin to pick up the part for Jim's truck.....a relay switch for his truck......a package from Conoco at the bus station.......

And finally, dog food.......

At home, Jim put his parts on the truck and re installed the garage door (the hinges were backward). I made supper and loaded photos from my camera to my computer.

Day 264 ~ Sunday, October 4

2009-10-06T09:23:00.009-06:00

We had breakfast with Mom and Melanie in our little apartment/hotel and were on the road quite early. Jim had a list of things the length of his arm that he wanted to accomplish before he goes back to work on Tuesday.

Daniel had stayed at our house Saturday night in order to take care of the dogs. He got up when we came in and had something to eat before he went outside to work on the root cellar......

I chose to finish harvesting the root vegetables in the garden......I had already pulled up all the beets a couple days ago.

The Rutabagas included some giants!

The first thing Jim did when we got home was to hook up the trailer and go into town to pick up our dog pen which Andrew had been using. He won't be putting his dogs outside all day over the winter, so we reclaimed it........

Jim's next priority was to figure out what was wrong with his truck's turbo (which was just replaced last summer).....

Dan went to work building a door covering for the bottom of the cellar stairs.......

AhHa! Here's the problem......the hose has a hole in it! An easy fix, fortunately.....

By this time, I had stored the beets in layers of peat moss in the cellar, pulled all the rutabagas, and the carrots......

There weren't as many carrots as we had hoped, but what there is are nice and straight......

I stored the rutabagas and carrots in the same manner as the beets and I pulled all the frozen squash and tomatoe plants. The other day I had taken all the onions and cabbage out when I pulled the beets so all that is left are the broccoli and brussels sprouts. Well, I cut all the broccoli that was ready....these plants apparently benefit from several hard frosts so I'll not be harvesting them quite yet.

The problem with his truck diagnosed, Jim set to work tearing down the old dog pen......

Daniel completed the bottom of the stairs door and then rushed off to work in Edmonton.......

Jim set up the new pen walls.....

The dogs are a little uncertain about this.......I think they can smell Andrew's dogs on the walls - they are not too comfortable in there, yet.

But it looks much better than the old pen, that is for sure.

Jim finished up our busy day by hanging the door on the garage......hopefully, the pigeons were not at home at the time and they will go find somewhere else to build a nest.

Overall, a busy, productive day.

Day 263 Saturday, October 3

2009-10-06T08:17:00.020-06:00

We were up early....met Melanie and Mom at Mom and Dad's in Red Deer at 7:30 a.m. Mom and Melanie were going for a 'Mother/Daughter overnight trip' to Canmore and Jim and I were going to Jessica and Brock's wedding - also in Canmore. Melanie had booked a 3 bedroom 'condo' so we could all stay together.

Here's Mom looking out the window at the cloud covered mountains.....

A shot of our 'living room'.......

We had about an hour and a half to relax before we got ready for the wedding.

We arrived a little early, but since everyone else was staying at the bed and breakfast where the wedding would take place, it did not matter. We visited with Chris for awhile and also Ben Johnson, who was there to perform the ceremony, then went into the dining room to find a seat in the second row.

My brothers.....

My mom.......

My Great nephew, Luca.....

The mother of the bride arrives, and everyone becomes quiet and expectant.......

The groom and his fellows came up from downstairs.......

My niece, Janice........

My niece, Sarah.......

The music changed to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I smiled......Jessica has ALWAYS been in love with 'The Wizard of Oz'.....since she was tiny, it has been her favorite movie. I focused my camera on the back of the stairs down which she would be coming.......When I saw her feet, I teared up......

It seemed so appropriate that she would be wearing 'Ruby Slippers'.....you know, the ones with the power to take her home. Brock is now her 'home'.

She looked lovely as she entered the room on her handsome daddy's arm.....

Jessica's 4 yr old son, Donovan, was the ring bearer. He got a little tired soon after he got to the front so Brock's dad (the best man) told him to just sit down.......

After the ceremony, my mom took advantage of having all 4 of her kids in one place and commissioned a photo to be taken. It seemed like hundreds of photos were taken........

Jim and I returned to our little house after the ceremony. Melanie and Mom had been out shopping and having lunch but returned soon after we did.

Jim helped Melanie with something on her computer.....

Back at the wedding........

The room had been transformed and looked lovely! Jessica's colors were orange and brown and gold. Very pretty.

I really liked the decoration on the front of the head table:

We sat with my brother Kevin and his wife, Angela. When Kevin went to pull the cork out of the top of the wine bottle, it broke, leaving half a cork stuck in the neck of the bottle. Jim went into the kitchen and found him a corkscrew and Kevin then spent the next several minutes carefully extracting the half cork - without pushing it all the way in or breaking it apart into a hundred tiny pieces of cork......

Cake serving time.......

The 'first dance' was to 'Earth Angel'..........

We left soon after the 'official' dances were over......Jim had been up at 3 a.m. the day before, after all, and was accustomed to a bedtime of about 10 p.m.

It was a nice day.

Day 262. Friday, October 2

2009-10-06T08:05:00.003-06:00

In the midst of my running around today, I took a bin of winter clothes to the Muyabas. They had packed all their winter things up when they moved at the end of February because they were expecting to be moving to Zambia this month and wouldn't need the winter things for a few years. Well, they are here for winter - which we are very happy about - and are needing some warmer outdoor clothes.

Here, Kath is trying a pair of boots on Seth to see if they will be usable this year.

They fit, but I think Seth found them a little awkward to walk in.

Seth showed me the new addition to his bedroom.......someone had given them a large slide so Seth has a playground in his room!

Sweet little Taliah slept the entire time I was visiting.

The Muyabas were leaving within the hour for a weekend retreat at Crow's Nest Pass. I had several errands to take care of before going home to get supper ready for my husband who is coming home this evening. Therefore, my visit was quite short.

Day 261. October 1. Thursday

2009-10-06T05:52:00.004-06:00

I was blessed by a surprise lunch visit by Michael. He was cleaning in the area so took his lunch break with me.

While he was here, he fixed my toilet and sprayed mold killer down the basement where dampness was causing some mold growth.

I don't often get time alone with this son.

Day 260 - Wednesday, Sept 30

2009-10-06T05:38:00.003-06:00

The day started with a call from my accountant......he had been looking into some confusing information from CRA for me. The news was frustrating....they had taken some of our payment for 2008 and applied it to 2010!

That makes a lot of sense, actually.....now they can charge interest and penalties on the amount 'still owing' for 2008.

Did you know income tax is actually illegal?

The interest they charge alone is immoral....the Bible calls it 'usary'.

The result of that phone call was that I needed to find a reciept for the interim payments we had made already for the 2009 year end. I could not immediately find them and it was by then 10:00. I had an appointment with Melanie for 10:30 so I raced out of the house as I was and set myself down for a nice, relaxing visit with my sister while she made my nails look pretty.

I did find the reciept I was looking for, after I got home.

I did not actually take a photo today, but here is one I haven't posted yet.

There is something about the consistency of railroad tracks........

Day 259...Tuesday, Sept 29

2009-10-06T05:31:00.003-06:00

I spent most of the day making a Christmas gift for the little girls.

Here's a hint as to what the gift is:

Don't tell!

Day 258 Monday Sept 28

2009-09-29T01:34:00.004-06:00

It has been more than 2 months since 'the girls' and I met for Bible Study. It was good to get back 'to it'.

We talked about 1 Cor ch 7 - but we had to stop before we were through with the chapter...there was just so much to talk about in that portion of scripture!

Melanie and Suzanne cuddled on the love seat while we waited for everyone to arrive...

After we wrapped up, we visited casually for about half an hour - Ada came and sat on Kathryn's lap to read a book. Guess she thought Seth looked comfy there.

Taliah is growing very fast!

Liam came in sporting a new 'cool' hat that his Uncle Joshua bought for him. Doesn't he look cute?

Seth thought he needed a hat, too - so he grabbed Sophia's bike helmet.

I am already looking forward to our next meeting! Two weeks from today, Ladies!

Day 257 - Sunday, September 27

2009-09-28T20:50:00.005-06:00

28 years ago today, our lives were blessed by the birth of our 2nd son...Michael Cameron. (To read my tribute to him, go to this link) The family gathered at Mike and Victoria's home to honor him and to celebrate.

Of course, some of my favorite subjects for photos are my grandbabies....

James Titus (aka Ty) is the epitome of cute little boy baby:

These are Victoria's 4 yr old twin brothers....Luke on the left and Joshua on the right. They are typical little boys - delightful.

My oldest grandbaby is not much of a baby anymore....she is growing up so fast - becoming prettier every day, it seems....

Elizabeth - whose newest nickname, bestowed by Seth, is "Bif" - makes a beautiful subject for photos:

Supper time, and some of the kids got their 'own' table.....Kaden was delighted to eat with his older cousins.

Mmmm.....Spaghetti and meat sauce.

Michael wisely removed Kaden's clothing before giving him a plate of spaghetti.

Kaden knows how to 'say cheese' for the camera - whether you ask him to or not.

Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday dear Michael....Happy Birthday to you......

Many of the gifts were wrapped in paper adorned with Santas, reigndeer, and SNOWFLAKES. We warned Victoria that if it snows in the next few days - we're blaming HER!

This could be the last photo of Ava inutero.....

I'm sure Victoria hopes so.

Day 256 Saturday, Sept 26

2009-09-26T23:11:00.003-06:00

This is the day we harvested our potatoe crop - or most of it, anyway.

Rob and Lana, their girls, Daniel, Vinj and Kath and I worked from 10 a.m. till about 3 p.m to dig 6 1/2 rows of about 50 hills/row.

The potatoes are beautiful! Not a single one with 'scabs' or blemishes of any sort.

The potatoes started out in this same tractor bucket, as cut up seed potatoes. This is but one row of harvested tubers:

To see a photo of the seed potatoes in the tractor bucket, go to this post.

Daniel did a great job cleaning up the cellar in preparation for storing our harvest:

Just compare this photo with the one from yesterday!

Day 255 - Friday, September 25

2009-09-26T23:02:00.002-06:00

I went to town today to buy a couple potatoe forks (got the wrong kind of fork, though), some shovels, and some plastic crates. On the way to town, I decided to make note of how many of the sloughs of the area are now nothing but dry ground, surrounded by forlorn water plants.

Evidence that we are experiencing a drought.

Daniel's task for today, regarding the root cellar, was to clean out all the dried up vegetables and get the junk out of it. He also leveled the floor and completely cleaned the steps, making the following scene a distant memory.

DAy 254 - Thursday Sept 24

2009-09-25T13:02:00.004-06:00

A busy day.....lining up boxes, crates, potatoe forks and shovels for the 'big harvest' planned for Saturday.

Lana was feeling quite poorly today and by the end of the day was ready for Rob to come home and relieve her. BUT he wasn't coming home! He was going to Edmonton to get the couches Mike and Victoria were giving them since they, themselves had purchased new seating for their family room. Rob had to go pick them up today so that they could get their new couches in.

SO.....I went over to give Lana a little break. I folded some laundry for her, with Ty's help, as you can see by the diapers behind him instead of inside the basket.....

The little girls each pulled a carrot from their tiny back door garden to eat with their supper hot dogs......

Emma has gotten to the age where she likes to make faces for the camera.....

Rob arrived home, with Andrew coming closely behind, at shortly after 7 p.m. They wasted no time in getting the two couches in the house and down the basement where the TV was needing some comfortable seating.

They didn't dawdle because the Oilers' game was on TV and had already begun!

Mercy Me! You don't want to miss a minute of the exhibition hockey game! :D