In Loving Memory

Eight years ago today my mother was killed prematurely while driving home from work. An elderly gentleman crossed the center line of the highway and killed my mother instantly, she was on her way home from work. I had never even given any thought to it that I was moving on the anniversary of my Mom's passing, my baby sister made mention of this. I feel that Mom's spirit is right here with me, she's encouraging me and helping me keep my sanity throughout this move. 

In loving memory I snapped this photo especially for my Mom, it's the only plant in my backyard... for now!

A special thanks to the guys who helped out with the move, your help is immensely appreciated.

Home Sweet Home

Today was the possession date of my new home, what an exciting day! Right after work I went to pick up the keys and came straight to the house, I had a load to unpack from the trunk of my car. This here is a part of the living room, the pink walls are throughout the entire house but they won't be pink for long.

This is the kitchen, or a part of it.  Naturally I cleaned under the stove and fridge then called it a night. It was a super long, extremely exhausting day... but oh what a glorious wonderful day!

My Desk is Clean... almost

Well I'll be damned, my desk is darn near clean. Most everything is tucked away into boxes and waiting to be moved into the new house. This is the cleanest I've seen my desk in a very long time, well about a year since I last moved. This move I'll have an entire room to set up and organize as a study, now that's exciting! 

See you all next week sometime, I packed tonight for a few hours and still managed to get in my photo of the day and it's not even midnight yet.. hmmm what's going on? :-)

My Humble Abode

What a day! I started work at 7am, around 2pm I traveled across the city to go and take photos of the house for insurance purposes, then I went back to work and worked until 7:30pm. I came home and have been packing all night but looking at this photo gives me the drive I need to keep going. 

This is where I'll be living come Saturday, I love this house...  but will love it more after I'm done with it. I don't need anything larger than this for just me, I'll wait until I'm rich and famous to get the mansion and then I'll be able to afford a cleaning lady to go with it. :-)  Until then I will be without the internet from Friday until Aug. 3rd, Monday is a holiday here. I'll catch up to everyone's blogs when I get back and post my missing days, I still have one more night of the internet but I'm not sure if I'm going to post tomorrow, if time permits I will. 

Take care everyone and until I get back, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Those of you who have been following my blog for some time now know that I do a lot of things so you're safe! lol

On The Go

Lately I've been so busy, it's go, go, go. Today after work I had to run an errand, then I came home and kept on packing. When I finally did get hungry I ran down to the closest place with good food and grabbed me some good old take out. It's going to be so nice once I'm moved and settled and all of this will all be a distant memory, in the meantime a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to survive.

I'm Optimal

I like that word, optimal... now to see exactly what that means according to the dictionary; "more desirable or satisfactory", ya I'm optimal. Now why is it that when we're young we're pretty, gorgeous, sweet, hot, sexy, and from what I recall not optimal?  Then it seems overnight we approach middle age and we become plain old optimal ... more desirable or satisfactory, interesting isn't it?

 Looking at the other choices here I can't be normal, that's a setting on the washing machine, nor can I be high, that too is a word from my youth so yup totally 100% optimal and I'm alright with that. Looking back at my "score" I'm even a low optimal... hmmmm, I wonder what that means.  

(LL lets hear it)  :-)

I almost forgot to post my "Sunset Sunday" on Monday which is inspired by Scott although he might not want me to mention that when you see my sunset for the week! I got a tad bit abstract... 

Family Ties

Today I ventured out with the kids to the dog park, naturally with my camera. The "kids" are my nieces and nephew. I've lived with my nephew for this past year, my niece in the black top lived with me for this past 2 years. The girl in the purple is a sister of my niece and nephew, she lives 5 hours away and is here visiting.  The girl in the blue is my great niece, my nephew's daughter... have I confused you yet? Here is where it gets interesting, my two nieces are auntie to my great niece and they're both younger than my great niece is. 

In a few more sleeps I'm going to be moving out of this home. I'm moving into a cute little house, one where I will live by myself and no longer pay someone else's mortgage. I need my space if I'm ever going to get through university, college was challenging enough having my niece living with me.  Sometimes I wonder how I made it though this past two years, but I have and unscathed. I must say that it's been nice getting to know my niece and nephew, it's always good to get closer to family, yet on the other hand  it's going to be so nice to have my own space.

All In a Day

The one nice thing about having to be at work by 7am is that there's no traffic.

 

One bad thing about working in a kitchen cooking is when it gets to be this hot outside, it's much hotter over the grills. I felt like I was melting today!

The best part of my day... the drive home. I was stopped at a red light so I pulled out my camera, there were 3 young guys stopped in the next lane. All three looked up then one asked me what I was taking a picture of, I told him the reflection. He thought that was cool and said that he takes photos of odd things all the time too. :-)

Great Friends, Awesome Food

Tonight I finally sat down to a meal, the bonus is that I was with two wonderful friends. We went to out to Chianti's and sat out on the patio, the food was excellent and the service was great. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. 

It was so nice to sit outside, eat and chat without having to rush off someplace. I only have one complaint tonight, the time went way to fast!

1962 Thunderbird

Today at work one of the elderly fellas I've known for quite a few years pulled up in this old car, it's beautiful and he keeps it in mint condition. I love the way the interior glistens, here's a photo of the dashboard.  And here's what the car itself looks like.

It's hard to believe that this car was put together a year before I was even born. :-)

(I'm going to have to catch up another day on all of your wonderful posts, I worked 12 hours today and have to be back up early to work again.)

Telus Tower

The second tallest building in Edmonton is the Telus Plaza, an office complex which was formerly the AGT building (Alberta Government Telephones). Standing 34 stories high, small for some cities, it makes me realize just how small I am in this big picture of life. 

I might be small but as they say: "Dynamite comes in small packages".  :-)

Underground Parking

I think that I've watched too many movies and/or shows where there's someone lurking, waiting for the right moment, to grab, kill, beat or rape someone in parkades, especially underground ones.  I don't like underground parking but what does one do when there's no parking above ground? Makes me wish we had the same laws as they have in Arizona, I could carry a gun to protect myself! Mind you me with a gun... best not happen, I'd most likely have some type of an accident and hurt myself.

(LL I hope you don't mind me sending visitors your way)

Well nothing happened, I came though my underground parking experience today unscathed so all is well in my world, all except that I'm still up at 12:40am and have to be up at 5:30am for work! Good night.

Sunset Sunday

I forgot again this week to post my sunset shot, which is 100% inspired by Scott.   
I captured this photo out on the farm on July 15th; it reminds me of  "The Farmers Song" by Murray Mclauglin 

   I have too much on the go lately and most likely won't be able to capture a sunset this week but who knows, maybe I will and forget again and post it next Monday! :-)

Reflections

It's pretty easy to get reflection shots when it's raining so much lately, if we continue to get rain I'll be a pro at these types of shots! :-)

Powwow

Today on my way home from the farm I stopped off at the place I did my practicum, they were hosting a Powwow this weekend. I took so many photos it's tough  to pick just one so I'm posting a few. The outfits were amazing and the children were adorable.

Selective Hearing

Most of the company we get out at the farm drives here but not one friend of ours, he flies his plane here which is pretty cool.

 Here's what I find rather amusing; we had the TV on and Herb was snoozing through a "chick flick" when all of a sudden he sits up and asked me if I heard someone out there flying. I hadn't heard our friend yet but Herb did. 

Now how is it that we, Herb and myself, can be sitting in the same room and he can't hear me at the best of times but he can hear a plane which is still in the distance while he's sleeping and with the TV going? Hmmm interesting, very interesting. Now I'm comprehending what the term "selective hearing" really means!

Quick and Easy

Tonight I decided to do a very quick and simple supper. First I shucked some corn, wrapped it in wet paper towel and placed it on the BBQ. It's delicious done this way, so juicy and delicious. I also cut up some potatoes and put them in foil with some fresh green onions from our garden, added garlic, dill and butter and onto the BBQ they went as well. 

While I was preparing things in the house Herb was getting the fire going for the main course...

The sausage on the bun was delicious but I'm asking myself now if this heartburn is really worth it!

The "Burb"

Today as I pulled into the driveway out at the farm I noticed a "new" Chevy Suburban. This newest, or second newest (yes I noticed yet another antique truck) vehicle out here is another fixer upper. As far as we can deduct this is dated anywhere from 1949 - 1954, I'll do some research and see if I can narrow this down one of these days. 

I think that I'm starting to see what Herb sees, I can see this in a nice shiny black and in running condition. I'm going to check with Herb and see what color he sees it in.

The Alberta Legislative Building

Tonight I went touring around the city taking random photos trying to find "the" photo for my P365. I captured reflections in puddles, stores, birds, squirrels and who knows what else, but at the end of the day this is my favorite photo which I captured this evening. 

This is the Alberta Legislative Building, it was built between 1907 and 1913. The cost of this building is listed at $4 million dollars, this must have been when a dollar was worth a dollar and you could fill up a  rather large brown bag with candy for 25 cents or less.

Currently this building is undergoing minor interior restorations, I've never seen the inside of this building and I bet that there are some amazing photo opportunities which I just might have to check out one of these fine days.

Happy trails! 

Garfield, My Hero

I have always loved Garfield, what's there not to like about a fat orange cat who is egotistical, has control issues and eats lasagna?

Sunset Sunday ... on Monday

I had good intentions to post my "Sunset Sunday" photo (inspired by Scott) last night and got too tired and it slipped my mind. The way I see some things in life is it's better late then never. 

I snapped this photo when I was up in the plane on Saturday evening, the skies were beautiful!

I Love a Rainy Night

"If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmers crop, we are we to say it shouldn't rain?"               

                                                                                                  Tom Barrett

It's been raining hard all day and I'm elated, we need this rain! The crops out in the country were getting so dry the grasshoppers were starting to come out, that's devastation waiting to happen. The weather forecast is calling for three days of rain, bring it on... I love it and can sleep like a baby when I hear the drops hitting the roof.

Before and After

This is what the front flowerbed looked like before I really got to work on it this year, I started pulling the weeds and grass in the center of the bed and that gave me the incentive to get to work on it. It was awesome, Herb seen the effort I was putting into this and quite often came to help me. It's been a whole lot of work and the following are some of the after photos. 

The plants here were already existing amongst the weeds and grass, how they survived I'll never know. I moved a lot of them around and used some rocks and deadwood to decorate the bed. The blue border I don't much care for but it's going to stay for this year, maybe next year I'll paint that too. 

The tiger lilies were in this bed, the Oriental lilies I added as well as many other flowers, shrubs, and a few trees. I just hope that they all grow now, if not I'll try again next year! 

And this is the final project...

Now to keep this watered, well weeded and hope that all the new plants grow. I have a Dogwood in here, a Burning Bush, and a pink lilac as well as tons of other plants, so many that I forget what I all planted. I'll post a photo next year of this to show the progress in this flowerbed... now it's time to rest! 

Right... and the antique I've filled with plants is a Massey Harris Manure Spreader, there might be some good fertilizer left in this one! ;-)

The Farm From Above

Tonight I mustered up the courage to go up for a short ride in Herb's two seater plane. I have this fear of heights but for some odd reason the beauty of what I seen below quashed my fears almost immediately. I was able to get this photo of Herb's farm, the home quarter and I think that it's looking pretty darn fine.

I've always loved aerial photos of the country and now we have one of our own for a fraction of the price of getting one done professionally. I will definitely go up on that wee plane again one day, but not with Herb until he gets much more flying experience. 

(I'm falling asleep here tonight, it's been a really busy weekend out here at the farm. I'll check all of you photos out as soon as I'm awake enough to read.)

Crocus and a Guess

I had a request from a fellow blogger earlier this year to take a photo of a crocus, I didn't find any growing wild so I planted one. This crocus plant isn't the same color I remember them being when I was young, I remember a bluish purple. So Rick, there you go, here is your crocus even if it's not a wild Alberta one, if I come across a wild one I'll take another photo and post it.  :-)

I took a close up today and I'll let you all guess this next one. I think it's fairly easy but then again it's growing right outside here at the farm. As soon as someone guesses this one I'll post a photo of the entire plant. I won't be online for the better part of tomorrow but will check back here tomorrow night. 

Wishing you all a blessed and happy Saturday!

Precious Prints

Tonight I went over to my son and his wife's home to sit with my granddaughter, I immensely enjoyed my time with my precious little princess. Sandy, my daughter-in-law, showed me this photo frame with Elyssa's foot and hand impressions that they did when she was two months old, a few days ago now that I think of it. I absolutely love these impressions, on the other side of the frame a photo will sit which was taken the same day as the impressions. 

The fun these wee little hands and feet are going to have, the marks they will leave not only on the floors and walls are minor compared to the marks they are already etching forever into the hearts of those who love her.

I also can't resist posting this one!  

Happy 21st Michelle

My youngest child Michelle will be 21 on July 12, she's going to be in Vegas the day before her birthday and she's staying for a week. We went out for dinner tonight to celebrate her birthday, the food was delicious! My oldest son and his wife were there with my granddaughter, as well as my niece, my great niece and a couple of Michelle's friends. It's so awesome to get together with my family, we're going to have to do this more often!

And what does a mother who does a Project 365 buy her daughter for her birthday? 

A new camera to take with her on her trip to Vegas!  

Happy 21st my beautiful daughter, I hope you have an awesome vacation!

Quite the Honor

Today I received this certificate in the mail, it's for a scholarship I received this past year during my studies. This certificate is in recognition of exceptional academic achievement and is signed by our premier Ed Stelmach and by Honorable Doug Horner who is the Deputy Premier and Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. The best part is that is actually signed, it's not one of those stamped signatures and the letter which accompanied this certificate sent to me by Honorable Gene Zwozdesky (Minister of Health and Wellness and MLA) he wished me every success as I continue my learning and acquire the knowledge and skills I need in order to pursue my dreams and passions. The letter further stated "If I can be of any help to you along the way, please let me know." I wonder if they could find the dollars in their budget to pay for my University... hmmm  :-)

In reflecting on all that has transpired throughout this past five years of my life I find that dreams can and do come true if you want them badly enough and are willing to go through the work required to get you there. All I have to say is never, never, never give up on your dreams, they can and do come true.

"I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes..."

" ... but that ain't what it takes to love me, like I wanna be loved by you."
This shot reminds me of that old song by Jim Stafford. I just listened to a part of it and had to laugh, I even remember the words!

I had a different photo taken for my shot of the day and tonight out on the patio I spotted this spider and thought that I'd try to take a photo of it. I'm getting pretty impressed with my RebelXSi and what it can do, even though I detest spiders, I like this photo.

Canola fields and then some

I was so taken aback by the canola fields today on my drive back to the city that I had to stop and take a few photos... more like about 30! I love the yellow fields, they are so beautiful!

And this next photo is my runner up for the day. 

... and last but not least, my Sunday Sunset which is inspired by Scott. I shot this photo on July 1st out at the farm where I can watch the sun rise and set, I miss the farm already and have only been home for a few hours! ;-)

Have a fantastic week everyone!

You Know It's Not a Five Star Restaurant When...

... the legs of the chairs have tennis balls for casters.

This guy has the right idea, a Canadian flag to celebrate Canada Day and an American flag to honor the 4th of July... Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!