Little Purses ...

These little purses were a joy to make ... and a few of them will be taken to the Log Cabin Studio for this weekends craft display and sale ... Kendall (Rural Roads ... Natures Little Treasures) sent some of her homemade soaps as well ...

I'll be heading over to Bull River and check out some of the treasures ... and spend some time visiting with a few of the local artists ...

Alberta Skies ...

It was a beautiful, sunny but extremely windy day for traveling to Calgary ... I was intrigued watching the Chinook Arch as I drove along Hwy 22 towards Okotoks ...

These photos were taken off the Tongue Creek Road ... heading into Okotoks ... skies wedged between the Chinook Arch and a band of clouds over the mountains ... a beautiful sight ... !!!

Alberta Wind Storm ...

Closes Downtown

Mike may not make it to work today ...

 news is that sections of the downtown core is closed ...

winds up 140km blew thru Calgary ...

causing extensive damage yesterday...

"CALGARY - Commuters in Calgary are being advised to watch for street closures and detours in the downtown as workers clean up debris from a powerful wind storm that tore into the city on Sunday.

Windows were ripped from an office building, power lines were downed and trees toppled onto vehicles when the city was blasted by wind gusts that peaked at well over 100 kilometres an hour across southern Alberta.

Several streets in Calgary were shut down and homeowners were urged to stay inside when the storm roared through, but no one was hurt.

City officials say the downtown core has been reopened to all vehicle and transit traffic and access has been restored to previously restricted buildings, but several streets are still closed for damage assessment.

Bus service with some detours is available through the core and Calgary Transit is working to restore its light-rail train service for the morning commute.

Police say that at the height of the storm, so much debris was coming off buildings that officers were struggling to keep up with all the calls."

Baby's Room Ready ...

A Crib For Nixon

Ian & Kendall have been busy getting the room ready ...

to welcome Nixon into their family ...

Of course ... Big brother Daigen ...

has to help daddy assemble the change table ...

and then check out the crib to make sure ...

 that it is acceptable for Nixon to sleep in ...

A Special Day ...

For Oma
Nov. 25, 2011

Happy Birthday mom (oma) ... !!!

Mike and I went into town to have dinner with mom ...

at the "Resort"

Mom was showered with gifts ...

 and many  phone calls from family & friends ...

We placed the Poinsettia arrangement ...

outside of the apartment ...

A warm and festive greeting ...

for those who pass by her door ...

Mom had a wonderful day with family and friends ...

Wishing you love ... happiness ... joy and laughter ... !!!

Pleasant Surprise ...

From The TransCanada Team

Mike was invited for a Christmas cheer get together after work ...

with his team at TransCanada ...

little did he know that he and another co-worker ...

(who has been with the company for 30 years) ...

were the reason for this event ...

what a wonderful surprise ...

he was showered with gifts from the "guys" 

to wish him well with his Retirement ...

I was just as surprised when I spoke with Mike that evening ...

when he informed me that I had received gifts as well ...

New watches for the both of us ...

I had asked Mike if they had taken any pictures during the evening ...

of course NOT ...

with all the Blackberries and iPhones that have the camera feature ...

no one thought to take pictures ...

I was so upset ... what were they thinking ...????

I explained to Mike that they were going to have to schedule a do-over ... 

so that some photos could be taken ...

he said he would see what he could do ...

His boss was kind enough to take this picture this afternoon ...

after Mike explained the situation ...

that his wife is a "Blogger" and these events mean a lot to her ...

to have memories captured ...!!!

I also talked with Nathan this afternoon and told him about the evenings event ...

and that photos were not taken ...

all he said was "SO" ...

I could have throttled him at that moment ...

It seems the guys figured it would have been a good idea now ...

after the fact ...

hence ... I still think they should have a do-over ... 

and

I'd been more than happy to take photos ... !!!!

Festival of Trees ...

Rural Roads ... Natures Little Treasures

Festival of Trees Christmas Craft Show ...

at the Leduc Recreation Centre ...

which was held on November 18 & 19 ...

Kendall put in a lot of hours preparing for this special event ...

making natural bath products and her special whipped soufflé body creams ...

Kendal took these photos of the products that were placed in the gift baskets ...

displaying them before packaging them up in festive wrapping & bows ...

A wonderful display of colour for the Christmas season ...

These gifts will be treasured ...

(Hope a few of the bath truffles find their way into my Christmas Stocking ... !!!)

We are so proud of you Kendall ...

another successful show for you ...

Our Little Pirate ...

The Eye Patch

 It doesn't seem to bother Daigen ...

having to wear his eye patch a couple hours a day ...

to strengthen his left eye ...

to keep it from turning inward ...

He also loves to have his picture taken ...

and he makes sure you get the close-up shots ...

It just makes me smile ... !!!

Daigen loves playing outside ...

in any kind of weather ...

after a few days of snowfall ...

Ian had to clear the snow from the driveway and parking area ...

 it was perfect to make piles of snow ...

 for Daigen to play on ...

Oh happy day for him ... !!!!

Last Purse Finished ...

So Cute ... !!!

This little girls purse pattern was a delight to whip up ...

only took a couple of hours to complete ...

(because it was the first time I made it)

The next one shouldn't take as long ...

It's been snowing all day ...

so lots of time to whip up a couple more ...

just for something to do ... !!!

Extra Yarn ...

Creations

Since I have time on my hands ...

decided to use up some of the extra yarn ...

Crocheted a child's clutch purse or wallet and a card holder ...

Making these a little smaller ...

 would make cute change purses as well ...

Going to pick up some clasps or buttons to finish with these little items ...

the next time I head into town ...

Work ... Play ... Day ...

Clearing Snow

A beautiful clear ... sunny ... -17 ... cold  ... day ... !!!

Mike had his work cut out for him today ...

removing snow at moms and around our place ...

while I was still taking it easy ...

 being cooped up inside ...

(supposed to continue being a Princess)

I did however manage to hobble out onto the deck ...

to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine ...

Love the view and all the snow ... !!!!

Plenty Of Time ...

For Crocheting

Well,  I have lots of time on my hands right now ...

after having my surgery ...

to take the time to crochet ...

I found a little girls purse pattern ...

thought I would try it out ...

adapted it to what I wanted it to look like ...

really simple pattern ...

two pieces just sewn together ...

This was the  first time I had made a button hole and button ...

had no idea it would be this easy ...

"Little Girls Purse" completed ...

this was my prototype  ...

now that I have it figured out ...

I will make another one ...

Post-Op Day ...

At The Clinic

An x-ray was taken on Wednesday ...

I was to bring it to the clinic for review ...

Dr. Bulanda was pleased with the results ...

I was surprised at the size of the incision ...

when the dressing was removed ...

I had forgotten that I was covered in the iodine solution ... 

hence the yellow brown colouring ...

goes well with the black and blue colour as well ...

healing really well ... no swelling ... no sign of any infection ...

on the road to recovery ...

another couple of weeks before I have the stitches removed ...

and I still get to wear my stylish shoe for another month at least ...

Fall In Western BC ...

Buchart Gardens

Kurt sent these pictures from Brentwood Bay ...

Buchart Gardens are just down the hill from his place ...

the photos were taken a couple weeks ago ...

while we were covered in a blanket of white ...

Absolutely a beautiful sight ...

Surgery Day ...

Yesterday
Nov. 14, 2011

This is a picture of the River View Surgical Centre ...

on Bowwood Drive in Calgary ...

It was a great facility ...

very pleasant experience ...

and I would not hesitate to have further surgeries there if needed ...

I have had a persistent annoying Ganglion cyst for a couple of years now ...

on my second toe of my left foot ...

injured from my steel-toed work boots ...

It took over a year to finally have surgery...

 get this cyst removed ...

"ganglion cyst, also known as a bible cyst, is a swellingthat often appears on or around joints and tendons in the hand or foot. The size of the ganglion or cyst can vary overtime. It is most frequently located around the dorsum of the wrist and on the fingers. The term "Bible bump" comes from a common treatment in the past that consisted of hitting the cyst with a Bible or another large book.^[1] Rupture of the cyst is rarely curative - which means, trying to pop it probably won't fix it and might make it worse".^{[citation needed]}

I was feeling well enough after dinner...

 to visit the Nathan, Katie and the grandchildren ...

Nathan is currently working in Calgary ...

and has a two bedroom fully furnished apartment ...

Craig, James and Ella are still on school break ...

so they spent a couple days with dad in Calgary ...

they are heading home today...

It was great to all of them ...

and they wanted to see grandmas' foot ...

had lots of hugs & kisses ...

As I was not able to play any games with them ...

other than on the iPod touch ...

grandpa spent time on the floor  ...

playing a build a Snake game ...

After a few hours ...

I was getting tired and my foot was starting to ache ...

we said our goodbyes ...

and headed back to the house (Calgary Cottage) ...

but not until the kidlets ...

had us purchase a few (10) chocolate bars ...

they were selling for a fund raiser ...