Fall Colours

Walking with the dog on a beautiful fall morning. Sun was shining and the temperature wasn't too cool!

Great Blue Heron

A vintage video from Hinterland's Who's Who

Writing in the Sand

What would you write?

This is compliments of my niece.

Fossils and Rocks

I am no geologist and certainly not any type of scientist, but I love rocks. I like the semi precious ones like rose quartz and amethysts, lapis lazul and lepidolite. Many people believe that there are meanings and healing powers in these stones, as well.

I don't know if this is true, but I do know that they are nature in its purest form. They are formed over billions of years, through a variety of ages. They hold history and for me that is their power.

My husband works a lot with granite. This past Christmas my husband took a piece of broken off granite from a countertop. He cut and polished it and mounted it on a piece of marble. The granite holds history and stories that I can only imagine. It is my newest treasure.

At Camp: A Few Special Pictures

No cell phones, no running water, an hour or two of electricity in the evening. Wood stoves to cook on and heat the rooms with. Heaven!

Maybe not everyone's idea of heaven, but it certainly is mine. We just spent a long weekend in the cabin in the woods. It was wonderful!

For me, there is nothing like this break. I forget about work, phone calls, household duties, everything at home and relax.

We snowshoed in almost all 4 miles, in the dark of Friday night. The moon hid behind the clouds, but it was beautiful. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday included lots of naps, snowshoeing, playing cards and relaxing.

Some great pictures, too! I'll write more another day!

The Camp

A slideshow of pictures from our recent trip north of Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan

Digging in the Snow

Cheeky, our dog, is enjoying the winter. She loves bounding through the snow, although sometimes her hips give her some trouble and she finds it difficult to pull herself out of the deep snow.

She also seems to have a great nose or maybe it's ears, as she often hears gophers and mice under the snow. It's not uncommon for her to start digging in the snow in the park by our house, right where I know there is a gopher hole in the summer.

Recently she did some digging when out for a walk with our friend and her dog, Conan.

I don't know what we'll do when she can no longer pull herself out of the drifts, they give her so much pleasure.

Maybe tomorrow she'll find a rabbit to chase. (Don't worry, she'll never catch it.)

Walking home from the park. It's beautiful!

Traditions

Most families have traditions, whether they are created around the holidays, birthdays, or other special events. In some ways I am not actually all that big on traditions...at least that is what I've always thought.

Now that my own children are in their 20s, I think I am singing a different tune. There is one "tradition"....having the kids home for Christmas....that I can't imagine missing.

Last Christmas, for instance, we had our first ever holdiday where we had to share our daughter with her boyfriend's family....and it seemed like they had her with them A LOT. (Although I could be biased.)

What I really want is to have my kids nearby, for at least some of the holiday. AND, that I want those who are important in their lives to join in our festivities just as much as I want my own kids to be around.

I don't seem to have a problem letting them go the other 364 days of the year...

Maybe it's because I've only had one Christmas without my own parents? Yep, I'm a big baby; unapologetically so!

(Pictures are Thomas Kinkade paintings)

Animal Friendships

Animal friendships are simply wonderful.

Our dog, Cheeky is good friends with a number of different dogs in the neighbourhood. Her very best friend is Conan, a beagle. Cheeky and Conan love to run together. When I take Cheeky out and say we are going to get Conan for a walk she immediately turns toward his house.

The family of a former student of mine has a great dog that adopted a baby crow one summer. Their dog found the crow at the edge of their yard. She wouldn't come in the house, but instead stayed by the baby crow guarding it. She 'took care' of the crow for the entire summer. The family taught the crow how to fly and their dog let her go by the end of the summer.

There are many stories of animal friendships out there. This video tells the story of Tarra and Bella, a dog and an elephant.

Dogs who Hug

Does your dog hug?

I think ours does. Take a look at her front legs wrapped around her 'baby.'

This is Cheeky's standard pose for 'nap time.' When she was a new puppy, her toys would be unstuffed within minutes.

She hasn't unstuffed a toy for  years. Now she hugs them and eventually when she gets tired her head will drift down to rest on her toy. She may also take its snout in her mouth and fall asleep with it in her mouth....you'd almost think it was a soother.

Pet Therapy

Pets are the absolute BEST! I've written about my dog before, and I can't say enough about having a great dog. Our dog, Cheeky, is beautiful and generally well-mannered. She is a mutt, a lab cross, and probably not every one's 'beauty.' But she's ours.

The summer she turned one, our other dog, Lady, broke her hip and became paralized. She could not be healed and we had to let her go. Lady was a super smart dog. She was a gentle, well-mannered border collie cross, a pure bred farm dog. We could let Lady off leash anywhere, in the middle of lots of dogs or a supermarket of raw meat and she still would have come when we called.

Lady was the alpha of the Cheeky and Lady pair. So much so, that when we lost her we were very surprised to learn how much she influenced Cheeky. All along through her first year, we'd thought that Cheeky was listening to us. However, within days of losing Lady we discovered that Cheeky didn't have a clue about what we were saying. Sit, stay, come, even her name meant nothing. She'd taken all of her clues from Lady.

At  first, before we figured this out, we started to wonder if Cheeky was actually a bit stupid. Luckily we didn't write her off and make that judgment hastily. Within a few weeks she was able to obey all of the commands that Lady had, plus more. The funny thing is that since we're now a one dog family we tend to talk to her a lot more. I talk to her as if she should understand everything I say. 

What that has translated to is a dog who understands more words than we could have ever imagined. Even when I spell the word walk she understands. Her vocabulary has really gotten quite large.

Cheeky is also a stubborn dog. She's getting older and has arthritis. She knows exactly how far she'd like to walk and when we get to her limit she turns around and won't go any further. She isn't fond of small dogs who are yappy, although there are a few neighbour dogs who are very good friends of hers. She is always very happy to see them. Those small yappy dogs are ones she used to be ones she'd be patient for, but now she just turns up her nose and walks away. If they keep on following her she barks at them.

Cheeky also loves kids. Even though she does have pain in her hip she always lets kids pet her and hug her. She doesn't seem to mind them at all. There are a few that catch a school bus right on our corner. She loves to watch them out our living room window and if one of us is home during the day, she seems to know the right time to be out on the front steps so that she can be there for pets from the kids.

Even though she has a limit as to how far she'll walk these days, Cheeky is also great for me. With her arthritis we always make sure that she gets two walks a day. We usually take her for at least a half hour walk in the morning and after work. That way I get out for at least a half an hour a day, minimum, too. When it isn't too hot out, she's comfortable walking farther. When she can't walk too far I often bring her home and then I take a longer walk without her.

Cheeky doesn't let her arthritis stop her from stalking squirrels, either. She's never caught one, but she loves to chase them and if we let her she'd sit at the base of a tree staring up at one for the whole day if we let her. She also likes to sniff out gophers and dig in their holes until her head has disappeared into the gigantic hole she's made.

She also doesn't mind if I write a post about her, or put her picture up, even if her eyes look kind of funny in the one picture. :-)

Dad

I wrote about my mom a few posts ago. My dad is just as great. Dad is 6'2" and a bit, so he's always been the big guy. My son, however, made it his goal to be bigger than grandpa, a feat he "managed" in his late teens. (not that it really was in his control)
For my sisters and I, his height meant we had to take two steps to his one, and when we were small it wasn't uncommon to see us running to keep up with him, which caused a few tears of frustration!

All three of us swam and played ball in the summer. In the winter we played ringette. Dad was very involved with our sports. He was always the coach for one of our ringette teams and then he refereed for the other two teams, so he rarely missed any of our games. Considering I played for 10 years, and my younger sisters at least 12 or more years, he was very busy with the sport. He also organized the league and many tournaments as well as our participation in many other tournaments.

Before he "retired" he worked in the areas of Parks, Sports and Recreation and with Provincial, Western Canada and Canada Games. Within his employment and as a volunteer, Dad's ideas have allowed him to help raise thousands and thousands of dollars for a number of charities and organizations over the years. He is a mayor now and he continues to raise money for the community.

My dad has a number of loves in his life: his family, my mom, his grandchildren, each of our families' dogs, the cabin up north...and... well, I don't know if I've put them in the right order, but I'm sure you've got the idea!  :)

Love you dad.

Almost 23 Years

Last night was my cousin's wedding. I met a lady who is 92 years old. We sat and visited on a couch while she ate a cupcake and she asked me questions about my family and made the connection between me and the bride. When she discovered we are a month from our 23rd anniversary, she was delighted.
My husband eventually found his way to a chair near us, so she said she wanted ask him what our secret was. How have we stayed together for almost 23 years, when so many marriages don't last that long anymore. She said "What do you do to hold her close? What does she do to hold you close? What are those special things that you do that keep you together?"
Mostly we laughed and said it was hard work, making sure we communicated, but really, a wedding reception with many people milling around it isn't the time to reflect, but today there is more time to think.
In retrospect that was actually a tough question. It's not that we take each other for granted. It's just that there are so many things that we just do, that we don't necessarily think of then as special. I guess the important thing to remember, or to ask ourselves, is are we taking those extra things granted?

Thinking about it, today, one thing I can say is that one of the special things my husband does is anticipate. (I try to do this, as well) Anticipating what someone else will need is one way that really shows you don't take them for granted.
I'm not talking about someone who anticipates your every need like a waiter or a high paid servant. I'm talking about somone who is living his own life and as he does so, notices things that you would like, too. Notices because he knows enough about me to recognize things that I would like or appreciate. I am in his awareness, not perfectly and not always (nor should I be), but enough so that I feel valued and respected.
For each of us it is different, because our character and of course our likes and dislikes are not the same. It's the noticing that is what is important.
There are many other things we do, and there are many other things we probably should do. We are, after all, a work in progress.

Mom

My mom is a very interesting person. We're currently on a trip in New York city. She's the kind of person who can talk about bible study on the subway, and then switch to a story about a movie she's seen in the next breath. She is widely read, super intelligent, and always learning and growing.

When I was a kid, we often disagreed, about a number of things. We are both quite opinionated, and sometimes about different things. Disagreeing, when I was a teen was difficult. Was I doing it out of disrespect? Who knows? In any case, now we listen to each other, better. In fact, I think I could still learn a lot about listening better from my mom!

I guess the one unique and truly wonderful gift I've received from my mom is to recognize and appreciate that we are all works in progress. We all have the capacity to continue to learn and to grow, to become who we are by learning from our experiences. And, to accept who we are, rather than step into that negative self-talk zone that sucks us in and spits out, worse than we were... Instead she requires me to be positive about who I am, and to rethink how I see myself. When I do reframe, I am always better for it.

One thing, though. She still cuts our heads off when she takes our pictures.... 

Cheeky

Cheeky is 8 years old and is a special part of our lives. One of her favourite things to do is to settle in front of the tv and catch a show. She's not big on sitcoms or action, preferring nature shows and just about anything that has animals.

Tonight it's America's Funniest Home Videos. Dogs behaving badly really make her mad. She is our great protector from all things animal...on the tv.
Cheeky is also a big softy. She usually falls asleep with one of her stuffed toys in her mouth...she has a few. We believe she has some Lab in her, hence the need to have things in her mouth.
Cheeky is a good judge of character............she is always happy to see us.
I want to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Bo Johnson

Prince Edward Island

When I was 8 years old my parents loaded my sisters and I into our school bus, that had been converted into a camper and took us on an epic journey of 40 days and 39 nights. My sisters and I each had $10 for spending money and we were off on our big adventure.

Our trip took us from Saskatchewan to Prince Edward Island. Places my 8 year old memory remembers visiting are Kakabeka Falls, the Sudbury nickle factory (or whatever it is called, I'll look it up for a future post) and cobble stoned streets in Quebec city. It was in Quebec city that my sisters were moved to fits of giggles as a waitress tied a bib on our dad when we sat down to a meal of spaghetti.

I also remember Magnetic Hill, New Brunswick, where our bus was magically drawn up the hill, without my dad pressing the gas pedal. We drove through clouds on the Cape Breton trail (very exciting to an 8 year old). We also feasted on lobster in a town hall in a Nova Scotian community and visited lighthouses. Peggy's Cove was also amazing.

Then there was Prince Edward Island. We visited Anne of Green Gable's house. We toured Charlottetown and we marvelled over the red earth that grew beautiful potatoes.

One day, during our travels, my mom cooked a roast, wrapped in layers and layers of tin foil and placed on the engine manifold while we drove during the day.

I also remember sitting in a folding chair, beside my dad as he drove, or leaning over the edge of the bench of the kitchen table, and placing my head beside my dad's and singing to the radio. One song has drifted off to obscurity, but had some sort of line about a motorcycle mama. And...I just found it: "Motorcyle Mama" by the Sailcats. (I know, I've never heard of them either) There's another with the same title, by Neil Young and a couple more by other artists, (who knew it was such a popular title) but this is the one! Lyrics and music. I'm going to have to show my dad how to bring that song up and see if he remembers it! Ok, so these memories have definitely made me smile...finding the lyrics, well now I'm humming the silly song...and remembering a happy time in my childhood. (If you listen to it...well remember I was 8 when I fell in love with it...don't know if I understood it all, but it is a great travelling song, with lyrics that are easy to learn. The best kind of song for me, at any time!)

Maybe I'll write more about our trip another time....haven't talked about our way home, relatives visited, or what I bought with my $10...and still had change left over!
Thanks, mom and dad....

Kids moving away....

These past few months have seen our daughter move two provinces away, and our son move out to live with friends while he attends university.
I know that a lot of people speak about empty nesters...I guess that's us. Mostly, it's not so bad. I miss talking to them, and I miss seeing them. It is also nice to have some freedom. Don't get me wrong, I love them and would have them back anytime, it's just that I also enjoy the quiet and the space.

Maybe it's not as tough as it could have been because of who they are. They have really grown to be great people.
I don't get to talk to them every day. But, they're figuring out their lives in wonderful ways. I also like those times when we do get to talk and they are genuinely interested in our lives. It's like we've graduated into a new life, too...and that they see us as people with lives separate from their own.
Here's to my kids!

The Cabin

One of my favourite places to visit is the hunting cabin north of Tobin Lake. Not a large fan of mosquitoes and black flies, I prefer going in the winter. When I tell others that I`m going on our winter holiday, everyone assumes it is a trip south. While the warmer places can be fun, too, there is nothing quite like getting toasty warm in front of the wood burning stove, snowmobiling or snow-shoeing through the forest.

This year when we travelled north, I saw more wildlife then ever before. White tail deers, rabbits, and deer mice were plentiful. There were especially lots of blue jays and gray jays.

The gray jays, also known as whiskey jacks, are the bosses of the bird feeder. No blue jays are allowed until the whiskey jacks have puffed out with lots of food.
My mom and dad keep the birds supplied with the seed filled centres of the sunflowers they grow in their garden, when we are there.Another favourite of the birds, is leftover pancakes and sausages from breakfasts cooked by dad.

I think the cabin is my dad’s most favourite place in the world. Tucked into the woods, we have to hike/snowmobile/snow shoe about 6 miles through the trees. No electricity and no running water are then norm, which also means there are no cell phones, no computers, no TV, nothing to distract you. It is a complete escape.

The cabin was originally a log home, the birthplace of one of the hunters. They took the house a part log by log, numbered them and transported them to the camp. Then they rebuilt the cabin. Since it was hand hewn, there were no nails to pull when they dismantled it. Putting it back to gether would be kind of like a LEGO lover’s dream!!!