Blast from the Past - A Little Trip - and Summertime Dreamin'!

We took a little quad trip out to Medicine Lake, west of Rimbey, yesterday with our friends, Audrey and Aime'. It was a grey, drizzly kind of day but only actually rained while we were driving out there. While we were on the quads, there were a couple of times we thought it was going to start raining but it just drizzled a bit and then stopped. A provincial recreation area takes up one side of the lake and there is lots of wooded



Our little group, marvelling at how industrious beavers can be! At this spot the dam they had built across the creek must have been nearly 75 feet long and 3 feet high.




When you've the leader, sometimes you get into problems that need a helping hand!




Aime' got stuck in the muskeg - maybe buried is a better way to describe it! - and needed to be winched out.

38 Years

38 years ago I spent a year  (actually 8 months) with these women -
and we can pick up right where we left off in the blink of an eye!

By the numbers we -
are 5 teachers + 1 pharmacist (can you guess which one that is?)
have 14 children
have 12 grandchildren
embraced 1 newlywed!
have survived some health scares and losses
still have 3 go to work regularly
have 1 is a jet-setter (that's what her business card says!)
can still talk up a storm
laugh a lot and have right from the beginning
lived together in residence and later some of us shared an apartment
drank cups and cups of tea years ago
have been bridesmaids for each other
colour our hair - except for 1 brave soul!
think we'd study something different if we went to university again - except for one of us!
have travelled to many places
last had lunch together 8 years ago - how in the world can that be???
need to round up 3 who couldn't join us this time
are still friends!!

The bond of living together in a college residence is a powerful thing.  I grew to know and love these women as if they were my sisters.  And even though we don't see each other or even talk often we are still close, close friends.  Seeing them together yesterday was wonderful!   Thanks, Girls!  Let's do it again next summer :)

Celebrating

A wedding is such a wonderful event and we were lucky enough to celebrate one this weekend!  Brett's mom is a dear friend of mine and I taught Kristen way back in playschool.  Both families live in our community and we enjoyed being part of their special day.  Photos tell the story best :)

And just because I have so few photos of my friends, here are the three of us!  

I am blessed to have these wonderful women with whom to share joys and sorrows.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Our good friends, Audrey and Aime', invited us to join them this afternoon to see a performance of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton.  It was a wonderful musical production with an amazing set, wonderful costumes, beautiful lighting, great singing and superb acting.

(photos by the Edmonton Journal)

Written by Victor Hugo in 1841, this melodrama is set in Notre Dame Cathedral and tells of love gone terribly wrong.

Claude Frollo (seen on the right in this picture), a priest in the cathedral, becomes obsessed with the dancing gypsy girl, Esmeralda.  She is in love with a soldier, Phoebeus, and is wrongfully convicted of his death.  In the dungeons of the cathedral, while awaiting execution, she is rescued by Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer.  The play ends with great pathos and many expired characters.

This version of the play is a world premier by Edmonton's Catalyst Theatre and this is an interesting review.  We came home to do some more research on the author and the story.   I love when a production stimulates discussion and you come home asking lots of questions!

Autumn Quadding Adventure

Sunny September afternoon + temperature of 28 degrees C + good friends + 4 quads + being outdoors = a great time!

We headed to the Brazeau Dam area with our friends, Audrey and Aime' and this is what we did:



someone got stuck in a water hole



surveyed the river and the reservoir



someone else got stuck in the muskeg



drove along grassy trails



enjoyed the leaves changing color, the brilliant blue skies and each other! A very fine way to spend a Saturday :))

Weekend with Friends

It's been a long time since we went up to visit some longtime friends who live about an hour and half from us so this was the weekend to do that.  We had soup and great fresh buns, visited and looked at photos while the guys watched the World Juniors Hockey game (Canada beat Russia 6 - 5 in a shootout!), and then cooked Chinese food together.  That was a first for us - I had the job of dipping chicken pieces in batter and deep frying them to make Chicken Balls.  Bob stirred the Ginger Beef, Don made stirfried vegetables and Darlene oversaw the whole operation while doing fried rice.  All of it tasted delicious and we'd definitely do it again.  We played dominoes (which Bob won), stayed overnight and then went to church together this morning.  It was a great visit except for the fact that I forgot to take the camera!  So I just enjoyed the moments and you'll have to imagine it all!

I hope your first week of January is full of peace and happy days!

Friends and Phones

Telephones are absolutely amazing and computers even more so!! Let me explain.

The phone rang this morning and the call display showed a private call. Our neighbor's calls show up this way so I answered, thinking it would be David. (Is that coincidence, L?!!!)

It was a female voice asking for Crystal.
I said it was me and she said "This is Linds."
Blank - my mind is absolutely blank. I don't know a Linds, I'm thinking so I said "I need more information than that."
And the reply is "This is Linds - from blogging."
And my heart raced and I was immediately ecstatic!! Linds - oh, LInds!!!!
Of course, I know you - even though we've never spoken in person - even though you live in England!
But I know your thoughts, and your dreams, and your heartaches, and your home, and your garden, and your job, and your textile arts, and your friends, and your children and - I KNOW YOU and now we've spoken too!!!!!!!

We talked for nearly an hour, our words sometimes tumbling over the other's, so eager to share so much. She found my number via the internet (thank you, computer technology) and dialed and made my day so very, very happy. I cannot wait until we meet in person someday and can spend hours together. We are kindred spirits and friends of the heart.

Thank you, my friend, for finding my number and for dialing and for chatting up a storm with me. It was marvelous! And I look forward to many more calls. I am amazed and I am blessed!

A Very Good Day

One of my absolute favourite educational conferences is the International Reading Association's spring gathering. So yesterday I had a chance to hang out with other teachers and learn more about reading. Several speakers shared ideas on the best ways to teach reading and writing and how to encourage a love of reading in kids. Good stuff!!



One of the best things about this conference is the book display area and the opportunity to buy the newest and best children's books!! I got some great new titles for Meadow and Helayna :))



My good friends DonaMae and Audrey. The three of us have sat together in many professional development sessions over the years and we've added good ideas and strategies to our teaching repertoire.



And this was the menu cover at Earl's where our visiting continued after the conference. I loved it!!

National Friendship Day

This is a day to send wishes of sunshine, happiness and God's blessings to all of my dear, dear friends! Whether I know you in person, you are family or we are online friends, I am so glad that you are each a part of my life. Your words of encouragement, your hugs, your smiles and your laughter enrich each of my days and I always look forward to seeing or hearing from you. Have a wonderful summer day!!

Friends

When I was in Calgary, we dropped by to see Heather's friend (and former band teacher), Kim and her precious little girl. Oh, and her husband was there too! I think it's so amazing that a teacher student relationship has developed into a friend to friend and mother to mother relationship now. They only live a few minutes away from each other and are a mutual support team. A woman can never have too many friends!



Helayna and Amyah - only 7 weeks apart in age and so, so cute together!




They were so excited to see each other - talking and laughing - just so sweet to see!!!




These two are going to be quite the pair together as they get bigger, I think!




I love the look between Helayna and I that Heather captured here! I was amazed at how much Amyah has grown up! I think it was all her blond hair that struck me the most. Thanks for the visit, Kim!

Appetizers for Christmas

Along with 2 of my good friends, I learnt how to make some new and interesting appetizers tonight. A lady who owns a successful catering company did a cooking class in the community hall and we had a great time chopping, stirring, baking, and tasting! Brie Cheese with Almonds or Cranberry Sauce was a definite hit as was the Hot Buttered Rum!







Other items included Nacho Dip, Crab Rangoons, Salsa Cruda, Garlic Pita Chips, Maple Sausage Bites, and Chili Con Queso. Definitely was fun creating and tasting together!