Passport

What a hassle to get a passport! Today I was at the government office which accepts applications for passports. I had attempted to do this last week but was turned away. I was told that it would take at least 1 1/2 hours and that I had to come before 3:00, they would not accept any applicants after this time.

So today I go and get this horrid photo of myself (why must they make me look like a criminal?), then I go back to the office with ten minutes to spare before 3:00pm, only to sit there for over a half an hour. Then I get in and the lady looks at my application, I was told that I need my guarantor to initial my photo AND (get a load of this) I had to ensure that my application was filled out in only one color of ink! What difference does it make? Seriously!

Now I realize that I do not know where my birth certificate is (damn I love moving!) so now I have to go and apply for a new one and begin this entire process all over again! Now who's brilliant idea was it to enforce passports to cross the boarder into our neighboring country? Oh, wait... that would be a government POLICY and we must follow the proper PROCEDURE!

I will try again another day.

Flower Crazed

Now look what I found today! On my way back into the city I stopped off at Home Depot to pick up a few things and spotted fall bulbs. I was thinking of planting these yet I have never planted bulbs before so I am full of anticipation as to what will happen.

I'm so excited to get back out to the farm and plant these bulbs. It is going to be so nice to check on them in the spring and see beautiful beginnings of flowers! I know that these will grow, I am keeping the faith. After all what is the worst that can happen? They don't grow, oh well it's not like there's any beautiful flowers where I intend to plant these beauties at the moment anyways.

If I don't attempt to do this then I will never know just what might have been!

A Warning

This morning the flower bed was planted once again. I had to laugh when Herb came along with a turkey feather and stuck it in the dirt right next to the clematis plants. I asked him what he did that for, his response was "To let other turkeys know that this is all that will be left of them if they get into your flower bed!"

Good thinking! :-)

If At First You Don't Succeed...

I was in Barrhead once again today for an appointment at 9am. Once that was out of the way I decided to go to the local green house and see if they had any perennials left. As it happened today was their last day before they close for the season and all plants that they had left were on sale for one heck of a good price. That's all it took, I came home with a car full of plants! I even had plants in my front seat!

Now that the turkeys are in the deep freeze (yup paybacks a bitch) my second planting this year should be safe. I say should because I still have the darn chickens to contend with! I don't give up easily but as the old saying goes "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again", and that I am going to do!

??

Is there any other way to drive other than with your wheels underneath your vehicle? I drive with my wheels touching the ground so I guess I don't have to worry about traveling these back roads to the farm.

I'm at the farm for a few more days before I am back in college, a final few moments of serenity and silence. I am going to miss it out here, I have really enjoyed the time I have spent out here this summer. Speaking of summer... where has it slipped away? It seems that I should have another month but no such luck. Monday at 10:30 is the orientation with classes beginning Tuesday morning at 8:30am sharp!

OUCH!

Some nights I sit here and ponder, why do I do some of the things that I choose to do? Have you ever done something that you know is for your benefit yet hurts like hell? Today I did just that. I went to get an ingrown toenail cut and man did that hurt!

The doctor put one freezing into the left side of my toe, then he put another freezing into the right side of my toe and left me for a while to allow the freezing to set. He started to work on my toe and it wasn't quite frozen! Immense OUCH! The next freezing was a needle right at the top of my toe, it took all I had in me not to kick my doctor!

Once the toe was mostly frozen, the doctor told me not to look and trust me, I didn't! My imagination works just fine without seeing what the heck was going on. The actual procedure was maybe five minutes and I hobbled out of there, now it's time to sit back, relax and allow my toe some time to heal. I am going to give it until about 9am then back out into the world and carry on my merry little way.

As I sit here tonight I am full of gratitude, grateful that we do have doctors, grateful that it is only my toe and nothing more nor nothing less!

Getting There

It's 3:25am and definitely time to call it a night! I have been painting once again and it's getting there, slowly getting done that is. I decided to go with a deep brown paint (after trying a lighter shade of brown) for the archway and the same color for a built in bookshelf, which is a royal pain in the butt to paint! I rather like the way the living room is coming together, it's becoming home to me, warm, welcoming and inviting.

I am thinking of stenciling something onto the archway but not quite sure what yet, maybe if time permits tomorrow I will go and take a look at what is available for stencils these days. I am thinking of my favorite three words Live, Love and Laugh with possibly some vines running somehow through this, but I'll see.

Longing Heart

Today was a hectic day trying to get both Cheryl and myself ready for classes, yet I still made time for a stop at my favorite tea store. I was in search of a new tea and found these odd looking buds. This particular bud is called "Longing Heart".


I inquired as to exactly what these buds were and the saleslady happened to be enjoying a cup of this particular tea. Interesting I must say but I don't think that I'm quite ready to try this tea, especially at $8.00 a bud! I was shocked and asked if this was per cup and was informed that this one bud will do quite a few cups, I still passed. Maybe one day but not today!

"Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang"

I felt compelled to take another photo of yet another old vehicle on the farm. This car is displayed (or displaced) off the home quarter across the road.

When I really looked at this car I saw so much character in this old relic. The old classic movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" came to mind with the major difference is that this poor old car lost its Bang Bang years ago! I would imagine in it's day it could easily have been the car from the movie, take a look here and see what you think.

Best Muffins This Side of Edmonton

Yesterday I wanted bran muffins. I do not like to purchase these muffins in the grocery store for a few reasons. First off they are loaded with fats and they generally are not too fresh. I will admit that I am a very fussy eater and I do have to follow a rather rigid diet.

I own the cookbook that my favorite bran muffin recipe is in and I didn't want to purchase another copy. I decided while I was browsing through the cookbooks, instead of trying to remember the entire recipe or writing it down I took a photo. This worked and this morning I altered the recipe, as I generally do, and have had the best raisin, pecan, bran muffins (yup had to have two) for breakfast!

Kelty

Every farm needs a good farm dog and this farm has Kelty. She is a Great Pyrenees and an absolutely gorgeous dog. The temperament of this dog is so funny, Kelty tends to stay away from most people, she now comes to me...thanks to pockets full of treats! Her thank you to me for her treat is a sideways walk and a grin from ear to ear. In this photo Kelty was thanking me for a few dog bones.

I adore this dog and her personality, she does an amazing job of keeping the coyotes and other critters away and the farm safe.

Hot Stuff

I don't know about all of you but at times a little hot stuff sure feels good. Tonight I went for my first ever hot rock massage and let me tell you I think I was blessed with a glimpse of heaven! If you have never had a hot rock massage I would highly recommend it!

I am getting to the point where I plain out do not want to go home, back to the hustle and bustle of city life and the essays... ah but that's another three sleeps away. I am going to live in the moment and savor what I have today! Goodnight.

Airing My Clean Laundry

Today, laundry day. I don't mind doing laundry out at the farm one bit, not when I get to climb into bed tonight and smell the freshly laundered sheets. The smell of this reminds me of when I was a young girl; the only dryer we had was a nice gentle breeze and a clothes line.

Ahhhhh , tonight I shall sleep like a baby!

Old Tins

I like to collect a few different things, one being tins. I decorate the tops of the cupboards out here at the farm with these tins and now I have more to add to my collection. Herb was at an auction a while back and he purchased a few antique tobacco tins, ones that now decorate the cupboards. I particularly like these two.

I Googled these tins and found that the Union Leader tobacco tin was produced by the P. Lorillard Company, which was established in 1760. The George Washington tin dates back to 1931.

It's interesting how things change over time, a tin of tobacco today is no longer a tin, it comes in a plastic container... nothing that I'm interested in collecting.

The Age Old Question

As I was cleaning eggs this morning the age old question came to mind, what came first, the chicken or the egg? I have stumbled upon the answer to this uncertainty, it had to be the chicken! There sure wasn't eggs to clean out here at the farm before the chickens arrived!

Popularity Contest

It appears to me that I have entered a popularity contest. I thought that I would take the opportunity to thank the people who have helped me on my journey and lo and behold, like so much in life, this has become a contest. I do not like to lose, who does? So please take the time to read my short blurb about Edmonton and if you feel compelled to vote for my story please do so (You can vote once a day!) Thanking you all in advance for a vote, even if you choose not to vote, thanks for being here and traveling along on my journey. I enjoy reading your blogs and like to share the laughter and moments in our lives.

http://www.edmontonstories.ca/story/i-was-leaving-for-good

Sunola

Sunola and wheat embellish the sides of the highways for miles and miles in Saskatchewan. Before today I had never heard of sunola and me being the inquisitive type had to do a bit of research on it. Anyone interested in this beautiful flower, crop or plant (I'm not sure what to call it now) can follow this link to a short write up by the Government of Alberta http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/crop769?opendocument

I am pleased to say that we made it back to the farm tonight after driving for approximately 14 hours, one ferry ride, plenty of back roads, one turn around to get back on the right road, and one horrible meal in some off the beaten trail restaurant, we're here! I sure am exhausted and I'd best not be hearing those chickens in the morning... if I do there just might be chicken soup in my crock pot tomorrow!

Weyburn Saskatchewan

And here we are in Weyburn, SK...

The wedding we attended today was a nice wedding, the bride was beautiful, the kids danced and had a great time and the family and friends reconnected. It was alright, definitely not what I am accustomed to for a wedding but a nice wedding none the less.

Herb is talking of getting an early start tomorrow morning to head back to the farm, all in one day! Not if I have anything to say about it! That would be about a 16 hour day with maybe one meal stop. I don't think so but tomorrow is another day so we'll see.

Further to my post, July 25, 09 "Over or Under", I have found the solution! I only had to travel 16 hours to the next province and here it is! Everyone is satisfied this way, even if I had to turn the bottom roll around! :-)

Saskatchewan

Today was quite the drive! We left the Fort at 9:30am, almost according to plan. When we got to Edmonton we took the scenic route, in other words we took the wrong highway and lost about half an hour of travel time, I'm embarrassed to say I live in Edmonton!

Once we were on the right highway the drive was interesting, I figured out how to connect to the Internet and got lost on my computer for a while. It seemed to me that it took very little time to cross the boarder. Not too long after the boarder something changed, there's no trees here! It is a beautiful province but it was odd not to see trees! You can see for miles and miles, something I have only heard of! There is a lot of oil activity going on here but nobody is on the highways. I guess that there's not a lot of tourists traveling through Saskatchewan or they all travel on the back roads, if there are back roads!

Another thing I have noticed, none of the towns have signs saying what town you are entering. We booked a room for tonight in Swift Current, we pulled into a town and stopped at a WalMart... yup WalMart is in Saskatchewan... I told Herb that maybe we should ask someone how much further to Swift Current, it was 8:00pm and I was starting to get tired. Thank goodness I spotted a mall before we asked someone how much further to Swift Current, the mall said Swift Current Mall!

Tomorrow it's off to Weyburn and to the wedding we are here for. I am really hoping that this wedding is one of the old fashioned country weddings, I love those kind of weddings!

HFC

Today we toured out to Whitecourt, this is where Herb is literally setting up shop. I was amazed at the way shops are erected today, they come all ready to assemble. The assembly is not an easy feat by no means! HFC Holdings is one step closer to becoming operational, if all goes well the business will be up and running in time for the busy upcoming season. HFC owns and operates two hotoilers, one water truck and a picker.

Next week the office goes up, then a trailer for the guys to stay at when they are away from home and have some down time.

All the best to you Herb on your venture, luck has no part in this. I know how hard you work and you are one heck of a businessman, you will do extremely well.

Exercise On The Farm

Exercise on the farm comes in all forms. Take this homemade bike for instance, the abs, neck, legs, arms and heart all get a workout when riding this bike. It sure isn't like my exercise bike I have now sitting in my living room back home (I put it there because I found that it was becoming a clothes rack in my bedroom). The one thing that this here bike is lacking is brakes! So here I am darn near lying down, trying to steer in an awkward position and I'm getting going pretty good, forgetting about the no brake thing.


This is where my heart got it's workout! Luckily I remembered as I was rounding a corner, which requires some skill I must add, and quit peddling. Nothing was broken, I never had to use my car as my crash pad and all is well here on the farm. I'm sure that I will feel some new muscles tomorrow though!

The Fall Guy

Poor rabbit! Living with chickens and turkeys can come with a hefty price. This flower bed I spent time and energy removing the overgrowth, hauling new topsoil with the wheelbarrow, purchasing new perennials and planting, was completely destroyed by the turkeys. What the turkeys missed, the chickens pecked at until there was nothing left of my flowerbed!

Not a turkey or chicken was anywhere to be found, they left rabbit to take all the blame. Not to worry rabbit, turkeys taste much better at Thanksgiving then rabbit stew!

Best Friends

This is just not normal! Then again in the animal kingdom I suppose that anything goes, much like with the human race.

This rabbit, which was bought from a pet store some months ago, has become best friends with one particular chicken. I watched in amusement while the rabbit followed this particular chicken everywhere it went. No other chicken seemed to catch this rabbits attention yet in discussing this later with Herb I was informed that there are two particular chickens rabbit is friends with. The rabbit even goes to sleep with the chickens... odd but hilarious!

Best friends really do come in all shapes and sizes!

Edmonton in My Rear View Mirror

Today I finally got to see the city in my rear view mirror. I left the hustle and bustle, the rude drivers, and my lack of patience all behind to come to the solitude of the country. I find that the further away I get from the city the more my muscles relax, I find gratitude and peace of mind and I feel free.

After a few weeks I am sure that I will find my positive energies, I will get tons of rest and I will be able to slide into my routine back at home. Look out Edmonton, I'm not gone for good, I am only recharging!

Fish Food and Garage Door Openers

Today I received a call from my eldest son Shayne. He left the city to be with his wife in Calgary and had a wee little dilemma, he forgot to feed the fish. I said that I would go shopping and buy the fish food which lasts a week (I never knew such a thing existed), then I went over to my sons house.

I went up to the garage door, found the keypad, entered the numbers and waited. Nothing happened. I tried again, still nothing. My niece was with me and suggested we might have the wrong house. I insisted we were at the right house and tried one more time. Still nothing so I walked around to the front of the house and realized only then that I was indeed at the wrong house. I looked down the street and had gone two houses too far.

Embarrassed, I backed up my car and parked this time in the proper driveway. I tried the pad and lo and behold the door opened! I then went to open the door, the key didn't fit! I walked to the front door and tried the key there and it still didn't fit. I gave up and called my son. Shayne asked me what color the key was, I told him silver. Oops, the locks had been changed! I left the fish food (which I had purchased ample of) and left the poor starving fish to fend for themselves.

Shayne was going to Fedex me a key but as it turned out my daughter-in-laws mother will be home from her holiday tomorrow and will go over and feed the fish. The fish will be saved by their other Gramma!

The Desk

Everybody needs enough space to compute, study and play around in. My area has grown and I'm very pleased with the new set up. I now have enough space to hold a few books, two printers (one will be going soon), I have a larger screen to work on and both the PC and laptop fit nicely on my desk. I have drawer space, shelf space and a few areas up top to store books which are needed on hand while writing the many essays that go along with being a student.

Right now I'm thinking I'm going to have enough space, yet come fall and writing time I know that there's no such thing as enough space!

WalMart Hair

Today I was passing by the hairdressers in WalMart (of all places) and decided on the spur of the moment to stop in and get a trim. The first question I ask any hairdresser before they touch my hair is if they know how to cut curly hair, I've learned this one the hard way! Most say that they can and end up making a real mess, today was ok. Really what can I expect for $17? I didn't let her take too much off, I know that Brit (our hairdresser) will be able to fix me right up before I head back to school at the end of the month.

I must say though that this lady who cut my hair liked to chat, heck she talked more than I did! I suppose some hairdressers don't know everyone's secrets, how can they when they aren't quiet long enough to listen for them?

Company's Coming

Company's Coming cookbooks have been on the market since 1981. Jean Pare was the founder of the flourishing Alberta company and her company now has in excess of 100 cookbooks. I absolutely love these cookbooks! Often I will browse through one and find a new idea and incorporate some of Jean's ideas into my own cooking.

I think what really gets my attention with these cookbooks is that I generally have on hand what a recipe calls for, I don't ever have to go way out of my way to pick up a thing when using Jean's recipes. If you have never picked up a Company's Coming cookbook, I highly recommend it!

Farmville Comes to the City

I have started playing this silly game on facebook called Farmville. The object of the game is to build a bigger farm then your neighbor yet you help your neighbor for experience (points). Today amongst my travels I spotted this particular lawn which reminded me of my game, potatoes planted on the front lawn! Not a bit of property is wasted if one wants to "win" in Farmville, this person has done the same thing with thier lawn! Their payoff, fresh potatoes and for a pittance of what they would pay at the local grocers.

I personally woundn't want to weed the front lawn, mowing it works fine by me. I would put my potatoes in the back yard where gardens naturally are found, but hey... if it works for these people who am I to knock it!

So Sweet!

Cheryl, my niece who lives with me, was gone for three weeks out to BC to spend time with her Nana. Although this was a very nice holiday for Cheryl I missed her here with me into about the second week. She came home Saturday night, all chatty and excited to be home and shared her experiences with me. It has been a great couple of days with her! As it turns out she missed me as well. Cheryl brought me home this gift which I find so very sweet of her, I did get her to transplant them though... too prickly for me! :-)

Welcome home Cheryl!

WHEW!

This morning I couldn't stand the itching anymore! I am having an allergic reaction to the dye they gave me on Friday for the CT Scan. So first thing this morning off I went to the Medi Center where my doctor works out of, thankfully he was there today. I have been prescribed three days of Prednisone BUT the good news is the scan results were in and it's looking good! I might have a hemangioma
(abnormal lumps made up of blood vessels). My doctor is confident that this is NOT cancer... happy dance time! The next test will be an MRI and then we'll take it from there.

Although this itching is driving me crazier than I already am, tonight I am going to be on my knees thanking the Good Lord above for answered prayers. Thank you all for your prayers, they have been heard!

Does anyone have any home remedies for taking itchiness away? In the past I think that I have tried everything I could buy and various home remedies, I've tried vinegar and all that does is sting like crazy and tonight I'm willing to try almost anything! LL... note I said almost! lol

Calling it a Day

Today I have hung my apron at work for the last time. I have booked off the month of August after filling in for my boss for this past two weeks. While she was gone I oversaw the daily duties of running the restaurant; I did the books, managed the staff, shopped for groceries, handled any issues or concerns, and I cooked as well.

I feel that after two and a half years I have proved to myself that I still have what it takes in the service industry and today I no longer have to prove anything to anyone, not even myself. I am going to inform my boss (who is also a close friend) that I will not be returning, it is time to call it a day and look after myself, after all my health right now is my major concern. It is time to close the chapter on this one, onward and upward and back to classes on the 31st ....