.

puzzle pieces

Friday, July 30, 2010


So I have a meeting to go to today,
One I DO NOT want to attend.

It's a pretty important meeting, but I go for one reason only:
For the man who wrote me this note above....which i found in my mail box at the end of the driveway.

Miracles do happen.
I believe in them now.
A year ago my husband and i were separated.
And now...
we aren't.
We are together....making one another smile.
Part of this relationship stuff has to be "together times" when you really just don't feel like it.

Which is today.
I'd rather him go alone to this meeting while I sit out and carry on with my happy day.
But I won't. I will go....if only for him.

I'm wishing for luck today....or maybe,
 just another miracle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy weekend to all of you.....
go make someone smile.
It's as simple as telling them, that they make YOU smile:)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Little Boy Dreaming


never thought i would raise my kids in the country.
never dreamt i would hear them talk of gopher hunting and the details.
never supposed i would allow even a plastic gun in the house.

boys have changed me.
country living has made me a tad bit different.
having a husband who grew up on the farm has turned my outlook on things around...almost.

and for now...I am super happy this little boy dream has to stay a dream.


Tuesday, July 27, 2010


{Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.}
~Dr. Laura Schlessinger



Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer Reds








~~~~~~~~

And on that note....I need a camera.
The majority (99%) of the pictures I post are taken with the camera on my cell phone.
All of you out there with picture blogs...what do you use?
Any suggestions? I  NEED to go camera shopping.....


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Day Trip~ to the Mountains and Beyond....

THE TRAVELLERS:   
My Friend and I


THE VIEW:


THE RIDE:


THE FINDS:
(plus: TURTLE andCaramel-Nut Cheesecake Fudge, Lemon Freckle Body Lotion, Silver Earrings, and a Pottery Baking Dish)

EVENTS of The Day included:

~dodging birds while driving (insert squeals of terror here)
~waiting in a line to get into the "famous" Farmers Market
~escaping GIGANTIC bugs during lunch while sitting on the patio (insert squeals of HORROR here)
~browsing and buying in unique shops along the boardwalk
~dodging gravel from impatient drivers while driving home (insert yells of frustration and disbelief here)
~lots of laughter
~consuming bagfuls of candy (confession: yours truly being the main consumer)
~more laughing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
it all made for a pretty good Saturday Adventure
Thanks B!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Prince and his Tad

Meet Tad....
my son raised him from a little slimy black dot of an egg.

He rescued the mass of black from a dugout down the hill, kept him in a 5 gallon pail, and has watched him grow over the past month.

"Lovingly" killing mosquitoes, he's fed it-

Has supplied it with more dirty dugout water-

Watched it grow from the dot of an egg,
to a black swimming tadpole,
to a tad with small sprouts for legs,
and now this Thing with a long tail which now hops quickly through the grass when let out of his bucket.

Me.....being the skeptical mother i am....got dragged out every other day for a visual update on "my Tad".
Truthfully....I don't enjoy science.
I don't like experiments...especially messy or creature related.
Reading about metamorphosis or any life cycle is enough out of a textbook,
and then I'm done.

But day after day, as those globs began to change.....
Well.
I'm kicking myself now for not documenting the entire thing as a good mother should.
The least I could have done was to take pictures every so often...JUST IN CASE
 it really did turn into something.
But I didn't.

Regardless...it DiD change.
And now he almost has his fully grown Tad.


Next time, when the miracle of creation comes knocking on my door to "come look"...
I won't go quite as grudgingly.
Who knows what a blob may turn into.....

Wednesday, July 21, 2010


Can you imagine living here?
What a renovation that must have been!
(Of course, there is the possibility
they may have just built it to be their home:)

I would like my bedroom to be the room at the top of the silo!
~~~~~~

Monday, July 19, 2010

~Cherry Trip Run and Spit Pit Competition~

One of the main reasons for this trip, was to take part in the Cherry Trot Run~
a 4 mile race through the GreenBluff area just outside of Spokane.
It was a beautiful run over rolling hills.
If you managed to work your way out of the throng of the other 2000 runners,
you could take in the scenery surrounding you~ cherry orchards and other fruit farms...(which I am not familiar with....living in the prairies of Alberta). I thought it was beautiful!

It was definitely a "fun run".....not to be taken too seriously.
This is what led all us racers through the 4 miles....it took off before us after a gun was fired.
We followed a minute behind.
I never DID catch up to it though...so it must have been chuggin'!
(or maybe I just wasn't all that quick:)
~
Being Canadian -  we had to show our Home and Native Land roots.
Mom bought us Canadian "gear" before we left.
The band playing before the race even sang a line from our national
anthem as we walked to the Start Line.
We were feeling pretty patriotic :)
It was definitely a run I would do again.
(Made even better by the fact that I got to participate
with my 2 favorite people....)
~~~~~~
Team Canada
Yaaaay Team!
~~~~~~~~~

And the 2nd reason we went on this trip.....
to watch my sister compete in  THE PIT SPIT!
We watched her practice.
We gave tips and tricks we thought would help.
But when it came right down to the competition...she was amazing on her own!:)

Standing in line....we eyed the competition-
who to watch out for,
tricks she could use to Spit Pits farther than last years winner,
and even ways she could "warm up".
(note: the man in the red shirt below is stretching his tongue before his turn...:)
Finally her moment arrived.
She had 3 tries....
SHE HELD 1ST PLACE....
(for one hour and 15 minutes.)
Her distance: 26 feet- 2 inches.

And then....disaster.
Another Spit Contestant was up.....
and beat her distance by a mere 4 inches.
(sigh)
Maybe next year.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(think maybe we're a little too competitive...?)
:)


Sunday, July 18, 2010

~Our Cherry Trip~

Our Cherry Trip was wonderful.
My mom, sister, and I have had this planned for a year and so
we were really looking forward to this adventure.

Here's just some of our Cherry Trip....

(leaving early to start the 9 hour drive)
(stopping for lunch halfway through the day)

(we took turns grocery shopping and cooking each night)

(my favorite day....we stopped at a ton of fruit farms and antique stores.
We even picked ourselves cherris to snack on....)

(my favorite lunch by far...
cherries I picked along with a  Macadamian Nut Chocolate-Fudge Brownie.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's a lot more to share, but will save it for another day.
Now that I see it,
I want to go try creating that brownie I had on the trip....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Lovin' Summer

Flax
Farmers here call it a weed that should be pulled up.
I guess my yard is filled with weeds:)
~~~~

Readers that swing on my Swing
~~~~

Roses around my deck
~~~~~~~

Creatures and their Colors
~~~~~~~

My Strawberry Patch....
I've picked over 100 cups this year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rain ....running in it, and the rainbow.
~~~~~~


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Princess and the Toad



Meet my niece and her new pet, Gerome.
I think it's pretty cool she has a mom who
even LETS her keep a toad in her room.
Very brave.
I keep asking her what she'll do if it gets loose.
She says he isn't that fast.
I think I wouldn't care how fast he was.

My boys are jealous.
They have resorted to collecting "tads" from the dugout down the hill and watching them as they grow.
From  little black eggs....all the way up to the stage
where they are now  sprouting legs.
(Kept in 5 gallon pails. Outside.)
I think my boys should be happy with that.

I am:)

Very cute toad, Arika.
My boys would like to visit.

~~~~

Monday, July 12, 2010

Road Trip

It's HOLIDAY time!

I'm taking off for a week with 2 of my favorite people in the world.
My sister and mom and I have been planning a road trip for a long while now.
Driving down to Washington State in the RV, where we'll shop, rest, visit numerous cherry orchards, and end the week running a 4 mile race through a cherry orchard in the evening.

I never laugh so much as when we're all together.
They say laughter is like medicine....
Hoping to get a big dose of it this week!

~~~~~~

"It is good to have an end to journey towards,
but it is the journey that matters in the end."
~Ursula K. LeGuin

 

Saturday, July 10, 2010

eASy wORK


Trying to figure out if this
is lazy or "inventive"....

~~~~~
Happy Weekend everyone!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Desk Re-done

Isn't it great that all of us like to do different things....and we don't all have the same talents as everyone else?
If that were true, it would have meant I would have had to re-do this old ugly
 desk I bought when I was a teenager.

But I didn't.

My sister  did.
And I am so grateful she has talent in this area!

She turned this desk:



Into this desk:



So happy she has talent in the make-over area and enjoys doing things like this!
I have a lot more old, ugly
furniture sitting in the basement......(hint, hint)

thanks, sis!

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