Bull Riding & Schmitts Arrive

If only this weather would stay for six months! More sun, no wind and a beautiful start to the day. It was shaping up to be another spectacular one.

S made our coffees and watched the Pendleton bull riding clips on his phone, which we didn’t get to see before leaving yesterday. I also started searching for a winter vacation. I walked out with Harley and the cats and turned the trough water on, enjoying the sunshine and thinking this was going to be a pretty great day.

S had his second cup on the deck while I caught up on yesterday’s blog. Then the Pendleton rodeo from yesterday was on repeat, so we finally got to see the crazy bull riding within the PVC pipe fencing. So hilarious! I worked on more ancestry updates at the island while watching.

By noon, we were off to town for the Last Man Standing bull riding event, where we had suite access. It was neat sitting in the Strathmore suites above the chutes, similar to the ones at the Calgary Stampede but different. The format is 27 bull riders start, then 10 top rides then top 5.

Thought this guy looked like one Sheldon could give a go :)

The bulls VS

the boys!

Below our view above the bucking chutes

There was a scary event when one of the pickup horses standing to the side just dropped to the ground and did not move. It seemed like awhile but the pick up man took off his tack, a vet gal jumped over the fence and after a bit he sat up in sternal position 

It was a really nice get-together of our “rodeo” friends, although we did miss out on heading down to the food trucks for lunch.

The weather had been so beautiful at home, but unfortunately the wind picked up just as we got to town. It made for a very windy event, but at least the sun was shining and it reached 23 degrees, so I certainly wasn’t going to complain too much!

In the city, Shanice invited Kaylin and Renn to join her and her niece and nephew at Heritage Park for her company Canadian Pacific Rail days.

Deb and Chuck were crossing the border when we suggested they cancel their Lethbridge hotel room and continue on here. Even though it added another two hours of driving to Deb’s day, it was a go!

We planned to meet at Origin’s, but it turned out they had a beer fest on and were charging a $15-per-person cover. Ah, pass!

After our goodbyes and pulling S out by his arm, we headed home, where they were just ahead of us. We thawed sausage, and S cooked up his favourite KD to go with it and leftover beets, seeing none of us had eaten lunch either! This made it even tastier. :)

We spent the evening visiting and seeing the new quilts Deb had hand-crafted, along with all the other goodies she brought for everyone. XOXO

B was out to ride, feed and trim Switch's feet (THANK YOU) but headed home with plans to come and say hello tomorrow.

After our late night and long days, we all headed to bed after 9:30. I read a chapter and then lights out.

A pretty great Sunday — sunshine, rodeo, a very windy event, good friends and an unexpected visit that made the day even better.

Horse Wrangling, Comedy & the Wrong Golf Bag

Full-on sunshine and another amazing day ahead, looking very much like yesterday. It was a slow get-out-of-bed kind of morning after serving S his coffee in bed while he perused his phone and I continued fixing errors in my family tree on my iPad.

By 10, we were up for the day. S took his second cup out on the deck for a bit while I worked on yesterday’s blog and did some tutorial sharing.

Time for my workout and shower as S posted the church tiles on a few more FREE sites, hoping to get a taker and get them out of here. B was out just as I got in the shower. She fed and checked her horses and was off to work.

I was back to ancestry as S headed out to soak in the hot tub and sunshine.

A simple, easy lunch was had, then S hit the couch to rest his knee and watch TV. I took Harley for a walk to the winter gate opening for the horses, but they apparently did not get the memo. Luckily, I had my housecoat belt and used it as a halter to walk Switch, leading all the horses back to the gate and out. Then it was a race to get back to the yard gate and close it!

It was so amazing out at 22 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. I did a poop-scoop loop, then retrieved Matt’s travel golf bag from the storage trailer and loaded it into the car to take tonight.

Back inside, I worked on ancestry on my iPad at the island with one eye watching the crazy Pendleton Round Up rodeo S has been catching for the last few days. It is crazy, as it is held on a football field on grass!

Last-minute things were done, including feeding Harley, then we were off to town, eating a wrap and fries at our favourite Opa. We arrived at Paetz’s, where they jumped in with us, and I drove us to the city for comedy night.

We didn’t make it last year as we were in Las Vegas prepping for Kaylin’s wedding. They changed venues this year and now have supper, charcuterie, desserts and beverages all comped. Sheldon missed this part of the details, hence why we ate before picking AJ & C up. 😂

Shaina and Matt met us there too, and the evening was full of laughs, and minimal heckling even though we were seated in the very front row! Sadly, this may be the last comedy night, but perhaps some other event will replace it.

Then came the discovery that I had grabbed the wrong bag for Matt — I had brought his snowboard instead of his golf bag!! Perhaps they will pop out Sunday to visit Mac, Schmitt’s and get the golf bag.

Sheldon drove us home, with a stop at the Langdon Firehouse Bar where we found a live band in action. But they wanted a $25-per-person cover, so nope, no thanks! We headed off to Paetz’s for card games instead, which lasted until 1:30.

THANKS for the fun night, guys!

At home, I read a bit while S perused his phone, then lights out on an entertaining day.

Sunshine, Apples & Gmail Cleanup

Spectacular day full of sunshine and not a breath of wind today at my usual early wake. I made a coffee after doing the daily pet care, then some bonus plant care. Second cup for me, and I made one for the slow-waking Sheldon.

Gmail was our focus this morning. I showed S how to clean out his inbox, which was packed and full of “trash.” I worked on mine as well as my Creative Moments account too. I published Shaina’s knife block tutorial and got it shared on some sites.

He ventured out into the sunshine before 11 to continue his laptop work on the deck. B was out after 11, so I ventured out in my housecoat, taking the horses apples picked off the ground. The dang magpies continue to damage so many apples, so I best pick what I want soon. I also pulled some more sunflower plants and gave them to the horses, which amazed Britt — that they actually love them!

Time to get the sesame ginger beef into the slow cooker. I called S in off the deck to cut the meat into pieces for it while I added the ingredients. He made sandwiches for lunch as I ordered coffee pods.

Time for sunshine for me as I moved to the deck to work on the ancestry tree. Did I mention how much I <3 my iPad and its portability for tasks??

S set off for town around 2 to meet his hockey buddies for their coffee get-together at McDonald’s. He also did a couple of tasks, dumping off trash and grabbing more milk and filling my growler. :)

My garden has been neglected, so more tomatoes were picked and watered, as were the planters that are super slow growing. The remaining apples the magpies haven’t gotten were picked too. S drove in as I was putting the box in the garage fridge.

The slow cooker meal was completed and rice made to go with it, along with the usual veggies. The soy sauce made it too salty even for a salt lover like me, so I won’t make it again. S washed up the pots while I took Harley for a well-needed walk.

It was still no wind and full sun, and we had hit 22 today. Oddly, there were 100’s of gulls flying randomly above us, which felt a little eerie. But oh, so nice out!

Back at the house, I finished yesterday’s blog, we had a hot tub soak and rinse then we watched two movies, making for a late night. In the Grey was action-packed, but Wild Cat was way over the top.

Fog Gives Way to Sunshine & a Busy Day in the Family Tree

Today we awoke once again to a fogged-in world that was very cool and very damp when you looked out everywhere. It was the same usual start to the day.

Sheldon made coffees, then chatted on the phone and perused ChatGPT about knee solutions, while I updated my phone to the new iOS 27.

I worked on ancestry and the blog, and eventually the sun burned through the fog and made for a beautiful, sunny day.

Britt was out around 11:30 and quickly fed everyone, but found Hank had gone under the fence where the rail had gone down. She put him back in before heading off.

Sheldon made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, then headed to town for yet another rodeo task while I continued with the tree building. Today’s focus was going through the 3,200 people on my tree, looking for duplicates. Definitely a job that takes some patience!

Harley and I ventured out to put the rail back in before I did my workout and hopped in the shower.

S was home around 4, so we ventured out onto the deck in the 19-degree weather for a cold beverage — notice the zero beers that have been enjoyed all week. S was deleting things on his iPhone in hopes of doing the iOS update too.

I popped in to get supper on, which once again was so delicious and featured home-grown veggies, along with some imitation crab sushi S had picked up and leftover salmon.

The evening wrapped up with us finishing the season of The Better Sister with a bowl of ice cream.

Night night!