A Calgary Day, Farmer Return & Dice Games

I had coffee on the go this morning while B was out feeding the horses after 9 and getting ready to head to Fernie for a visit with Stephanie. Safe travels, B!

After coffees and toast, the Schmitts and I loaded up and headed to Calgary at 10:30. I dropped them at Chinook Mall to visit a friend before making my way to my teeth cleaning. The Karma cleaning was awesome, with the bonus of teeth whitening—thanks to Lace, the gal Shaina house-sat for one summer in the Mission area.

I picked the Schmitts up afterward and we headed to the Boysis house, where more visiting and entertainment awaited. I had brought frozen pizzas along for lunch, and Renn was given an adorable handmade quilt from Auntie Debby, which was such a sweet gift. <3

Renn was just back from her first dance lesson this morning.

Uncle Chuck's alien potato head was a hit so she warmed up to him to create her own so they could be friends.

We picked up Shaina at her apartment on the way home with the rain coming down, although it stopped once we got outside the city.

Sheldon had been rained out the night before harvesting in Acadia Valley, so he packed up the trailer today and was back at the ranch by 2. He managed a nap and was cleaning out the fridge when we pulled in around 4. Time for a cold drink and a big visit to catch up on everything that had happened during the week. I made a pot of chili and let it simmer.

Shaina was gifted her hand crafted quilt; the largest Debby has done other than her own. So pretty <3

Shaina attempted to catch Mac, but Mac was being a little shit, so she finally gave up and came back inside. With the cool, blustery weather, I couldn’t really blame her! 

Rain sprinkled down during supper as we played dice and enjoyed a bowl of chili. Shaina headed off to her party in the VW, while the rest of us continued with another round of dice. The Schmitts are loving the new game we taught them!

Mom arrived before 8 and joined us for a visit, but by 8:30 everyone was ready to hit the sheets. S was asleep before his head even hit the pillow, while I read for another hour before calling it a night.

Shaina made it home around 12:30, but somehow managed to come in without anyone hearing her. Definitely a full day, but a good one filled with family, visiting, a little rain and plenty of laughs.

Nail Day, KFC & a Hurricane Picking Tomatoes

The day was overcast and dreary, so bring on the coffee and toast! More visiting with Deb and Chuck filled the morning, with a shower for me fitting in somewhere along the way.

Harley enjoying her time with Auntie and Uncle who she missed

At 11:30, Deb and I ran to town while Chuck stayed behind to relax. We dropped the trash off on the way and made our first stop at the nail shop. Deb enjoyed what she declared the best pedicure of her life, while I settled for a colour change.

pedicure essentials

Next up was Deb’s favourite hobby—quilting. I had forgotten about a local quilt store, but she remembered it! She found a Canadian kit to add to her to-do list, and then we tackled the groceries before rounding out our town trip with KFC for a very late lunch.

Back at the ranch after 2, we all thoroughly enjoyed the long-thought-about KFC with a couple of cold beers. Chuck had made good use of his quiet time while we were gone, fitting in some reading, a walk (Harley opted out) and even a nap.

The wind, however, had other plans for the afternoon. It kicked into high gear before 3, completely changing our plans for a walk. After our full tummies and even more visiting, Deb and Chuck headed off for a nap while I caught up today’s blog.

With the forecast calling for a cool and yucky week ahead, I decided today was the day to get all the remaining tomatoes picked. I kept hoping the wind would settle down, but instead it seemed determined to get even worse. Harley stood guard while I cut and boxed everything up—four full boxes of tomatoes brought into the garage. Mission accomplished in what felt like hurricane winds!

I fed Harley and sent her out with a frozen treat for all her help before coming back in around 5 to work on the family tree. The Schmitts were up from their refreshing nap by then, so we settled into the evening together.

Rather than bother with a big supper, we opted for snacks and games, with plenty of rounds and each of us winning our share. A pretty perfect way to finish a dreary, windy day.

Yesterday when they arrived 

Family History Finds & An Evening of Catching Up

I awoke to glorious sunshine before 8, but sadly it didn’t last long. After a couple cups of coffee, I got yesterday’s blog completed and, of course, slipped down another Ancestry hole. It took a while to pull myself back out and get on with some cleaning before tackling my workout.

Birthday and anniversary cards were written too, as just four days from now Kaylin and Nathan will celebrate their first anniversary, and not long after that K will turn 35! Hard to believe how quickly both milestones have come around.

By noon the overcast, dreary day was sitting at only 14°, which felt rather depressing, although we did eventually reach the forecast high of 19° in the middle of the afternoon.

After a quick sandwich, I washed out the chest freezer that had finished defrosting. B had also asked me to fill the tubs in the horse shelter with fresh mineral, so Harley and I headed out for that. Hank wasn’t too sure about this new powdery stuff at first, but he decided to give it a try.

Then another Ancestry discovery landed in my inbox. One of Mom’s cousins I had contacted sent me an entire family history report. Whew! I’m going to be busy with that family for quite some time. They had 14 children, with information carrying right down through the great-grandchildren, and the report is already 14 years old. That means there are going to be plenty of new updates I can find and add to Ancestry.

Debby and Chuck arrived before 5, and we enjoyed a spaghetti supper and lots of visiting. Brittany stopped in to eat with us too before heading out to feed her horses as the evening settled in. She also trimmed Beibs’ feet before popping back in to say goodbye and heading home.

We had a lovely evening catching up over beverages and plenty of laughs. I even showed Debby how she can update her own Ancestry tree, which should hopefully make her family-history tree making a little easier.

We wrapped things up around 10:30, and I settled in with my book for another hour before finally calling it a day. A pretty full day, but a really nice one with good family connections both old and new.

Ancestry Discoveries, Fall Chores & another Golden Hour Ride

Today didn’t start out sunny and beautiful, but rather overcast and gloomy for most of the day. I stuck with my usual morning routine, publishing yesterday’s blog and doing a bit of marketing before settling into my Ancestry tree. My cousin in Sweden had sent some information, so I had plenty to work through.

There was a break around 11 when customers came to look at a table I have in stock. It turned out to be exactly what they were looking for, so I’ll be refinishing it for them over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, garage laundry was underway with towels, horse blankets and rugs all getting their turn.

After a quick sandwich, I was back at the family tree, this time working with information Mom had received from her cousins. Surprisingly, I found a few more errors, which I think I managed to get corrected. There always seems to be another little mystery hiding in that tree! I was also adding photos to relatives, and I included this one on my granddad’s page. It’s a picture of him and me from 1967. <3

as well as uncles Ken and Ron

The sun made a brief appearance after three, so I took advantage of the 22° weather and got Harley out for her walk before turning my attention to the garden. With the forecast looking like another change for the worse come the weekend, I’m watering and pruning and hoping the rest of my tomatoes—and my one little pepper—get a few more days to grow and ripen.

I also attempted to finish aerating the laneway, but quickly learned that bone-dry ground does not aerate easily. Instead, the machine was jumping all over the place, so I gave up and decided that job could wait for another day.

Back to Ancestry.

By supper time I had nothing planned, so I contacted Brittany, who was on her way home from hiking with Shaina, and ordered some Korean food. She arrived with it after six, although she opted not to eat hers claiming my house was too hot. I certainly made up for it and chowed down the whole bowl! LOL. I remembered afterward why I don’t really like ordering from there—the food is just a little too greasy and heavy for me, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be feeling that choice for the rest of the evening.

Luckily, the evening had a much better finish. We caught our horses and headed out for another golden-hour ride through the winery. Tonight we spotted Mama Moose and her two twins around the slough, although they didn’t stick around for long and soon took off. As we made our way back toward the barn, we and the horses heard the Mom calling.

In the city, Renn and Kaylin were out and about again.  Nathan is in Las Vegas this week for a work conference, which unfortunately coincides with Debby and Chuck’s visit up here.

Back at the barn, we unpacked, groomed and got Switch settled back into the pasture while I let Bird out for Britt coming with the feed tubs. I came back in and resumed my Ancestry work on the iPad at the island. Brittany headed home after eight, and I finally settled in with my book, shutting things down around 9:30.

A pretty full day of family history, fall chores and horses—with a moose family making a very memorable appearance in the middle of our evening ride.