An Awesome Day ...

February 19, 2017

It had snowed overnight ... but this wasn't going to stop Mike and Nathan ...

from trying out the clay thrower and firing the shotguns ... before they headed to the shooting range ...

Nathan quickly shovelled off the deck ... while Mike set things up ...

It was a cool morning ... so I didn't last long out there taking pictures and videos ...

of this activity ... 

Alana chose to watch from inside due to the temperature and the loudness of the shots ...

Once the guys had left for the Trap and Skeet Shooting Club ...

Alana and I decided to put on the snowshoes and go for a walk ... in the fresh fallen snow ...

We had walked down the road ... chatting the whole way ... about this area and before we knew it ...

we had traveled almost 2km ... wow ...  it surprised us that we had gone that far ...

We turned around and proceeded to walk back up the road to the house ...

Once we were back at the house ... we walked out into the field and picked up ...

the clay discs that had not been shot ...

So when all was done ... we had walked a total of 4km today ...

I'd say that was a most enjoyable ... great walk ... !!!

Alana and I went inside ... had a quick lunch and started to prepare the food ...

for tonights dinner ...

I was happy to receive these pictures of Mike and Nathan at the shooting range ...

and it looks like Rocko was happy to see Nathan as well ... 

We were delighted that the guys had a great time ...

Oma was going to join us for Mike's birthday dinner ... and spend the night with us ...

so when the guys were on their way home ...

they dropped by Oma's place and brought her out ...

Oma was put to work ... (actually she offered to help out) ... while I prepared the Halibut ... 

and Alana made the salad and dressing  ... (Oma's recipe) ...

We then started cook the pan fry the potatoes ... cook up the stirred veggies ...

and started to fry up the Halibut ...

Table was set and we were ready to eat our dinner ...

We sat down at the table ... with wine and beer for our beverages ...

and dinner was served ... 

We enjoyed every morsel ... of the meal ... 

Just gotta love a Halibut dinner ... !!!

After dinner ... 

coffee was prepared and a fresh Huckleberry pie was served for dessert ...

Oma figured it must be a special occasion ...

for the huckleberries to come out of the freezer ...

And ... it was ... !!!

We had a lovely time visiting ... chatting ... telling stories and lots of laughter ...

Once the kitchen was cleaned up ...

a  round of Martinis or more were made ... 

and we continued our visit ... relaxing in the living room ...

It's Snowing ... Again ...

February 18, 2017

The snow was falling ... and after breakfast ... we all headed outside to play ...

Alana was amazed at how much snow we had in the yard ...

Nathan went to find the snowmobiles ... buried in the snow ... to dig them out ...

for the two of them to go for a ride ...

This was Alana's first time driving a sled ... she did great ...

driving around on the driveway her first few rounds ...

and then ventured off with Nathan ... following him on a few trails ...

Later they went together on one sled ... Nathan heading off thru the field into the crown land ...

touring the back roads but ... they were not able to go very far due to the amount of snow ...

They did stop to enjoy the quietness in the wilderness ...

 

After Alana and Nathan came back from their sledding adventure ...

they popped into the shop to check out the progress on the VW ...

It was getting late and everyone was getting hungry ...

together we made dinner ...

A delicious meal of leftover spatzle ... beans ... fresh salad ...

and fresh cooked breaded beef cutlets ...

 

After dinner ... and the kitchen cleaned up ...

we decided to go out and relax in the hot tub ... after a busy day playing in the snow ...

I had taken the picture of Nathan and Alana ...

and then the kids thought they should take a picture of mom ...

Well ... with standing next to him ... it still surprises me at how tall Nathan is ...

and how short I am ...

Everyone had a good chuckle when they saw the picture ...

It was a lovely evening ... with the deck lights on ... snow falling lightly upon us ...

as we visited ... chatting about our wonderful day together ...

 

 

Mike's Birthday ...

February 17, 2017

 

We decided to go outside to enjoy this warm sunny afternoon ...

putting on our snowshoes and venturing out to the field ...

Even with our snowshoes on ... it was difficult making our way at times ...

there was so much snow covering our earlier tracks ...

It was still a lovely hike ...

and soon Nathan and Alana would arrive to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

 

Mike had received a bottle of Tequila and some mini Cuban Cigars ...

and my gift was a bottle of pure Vanilla Extract ...

from Nathan and Alana from their trip to Mexico ... a few weeks ago ...

This was the perfect opportunity to crack open the Tequila ...

to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

After enjoying a delicious dinner of chicken ... veggies and baked spatzle with cheese ...

it was time to serve Mike a piece of his birthday cake topped with whipped cream ...

it was "Crazy Cake" made with Stevia ... and he was delighted to have chocolate cake ...

all to himself ...

As the picture indicates ... I think he was surprised that it was really just for him ...

We sang a rendition of "Happy Birthday" and then Mike made a wish ...

and blew out his lone candle ...

Mike was so surprised with all his gifts ...

especially because they were all for his new hobby ... Trap & Skeet Shooting ...

(shotgun shells ... sporting clays ... carrying pouch ... Beretta hearing protectors ...

clay thrower ... and the perfect plaque ...)

 

We had a lovely evening ... celebrating ... talking ... telling stories ... laughing ...

with a few shots of Tequila ... a few Martinis ...

then ... Mike and Nathan went out to the shop for cigars ...

The guys were excited for the morning to arrive ...

so they could shoot a few rounds of their shotguns ...

before they go to the shooting range on Sunday ...

The only issue was that the snow had started to fall again ...

 

 

Valentine's Day ...

February 14, 2017

 

Happy Valentine's Day ...

It's a beautiful ... loving day ... !!!

A special morning ... showered with gifts ...

mainly CHOCOLATE ... !!!

Mike and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast ... and then I made my way into town ...

to spend the afternoon with Oma ...

After running a few errands ... some shopping downtown ...

we decided to go for lunch ...

Oma wanted to go to DQ ... we shared a meal ...

so that we could have our own Sundae as our treat ... !!!

It doesn't take much to please the two of us ...

love spending time with mom ... wherever it is ... !!!

I also received a goody bag from Oma ... special made cookies from Rosa ...

a resident at Joseph Creek Village ...

I knew exactly what my gift was ... from the aroma of anise seed oil from the bag ...

They were homemade ... and are one of my favourite cookies ...

PIZZELLE

 

Pronounced“pit-sel”

"Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie. It isgenerally believed they originated in the Abruzzo region of south-central Italyin ancient times to mark an annual celebration. The name comes from the Italian word Pizze for round and flat. In someparts of Italy, the irons were embossed with family crests and passed down toeach generation. Over time it became tradition to use pizzelles to celebrateany holiday or festive occasion. "

 

 

A New Track ...

February 13, 2017

It was a beautiful day to go cross country skiing ...

the only thing is finding my track ...

as it was buried from all the snowfall ...

I decided to make a new trail around the field ...

guesstimating ... a 1 km distance of old and new tracks combined ...

I was impressed with my calculations ... making the first loop ...

according to my FitBit app it showed that it was just over 1 km ...

Now that the first lap was completed ...

I went around a couple more times ... to pack down this track ...

It was quite the workout ... as skiing around I didn't stay in the same tracks ...

as is visible on the picture ...

those skies had their own path they wanted to follow ...

I had a great time out in the sunshine ...

Early Birthday Gift ...

February 12, 2017

Mike received his birthday gift early ...

A new shotgun for his new hobby ...

of Trap & Skeet Shooting ...

He was so excited when he went into town to pick it up ...

Bringing it home ... and giving it a full inspection ...

hoping if the snow stopped falling ...

that he would be able to go shooting on Sunday ...

 

Guess we'll have to get some Clay Pigeons ...

a thrower and some shotgun shells ... oh and some heavy duty hearing protection ...

for Mike to practice out here at the house ...

He's one happy guy ... !!!

 

 

Still Clearing ...

February 11, 2017

Finally a clear day ...

and we were able to clear snow off the travel trailer ...

and the sheds ...

There was a lot of snow on the trailer ... and with it warming up ...

the snow was melting which made the weight heavy on the roof ...

It was a delicate procedure as not to tear the cover ...

Mike was very careful where he stepped ...

he managed to get all the snow off ...

It was great to see the full moon this evening as well ...

grateful it was not snowing for the time being ...

The weather forecast for the next few days is snow again ...

Awesome Accomplishments ...

February 12, 2017

Congratulations James ...It was an awesome day for him ... Katie had written ... "James received the 'hardest working player' hat!!! So proud of the Flyers!!!"

It's been a few days of awards ... Congratulations Ella ... !!! Katie had written this caption on her post ...

"Ella received 'the bow' for hardest worker ...

at cheerleading today!!!"

 

 

Craig had drawn this awesome Dragon at his art classes ...

We love the detail ... on his drawing ... !!!

We are so proud of each of our grandchildren ...

 

 

 

Day 7 of Snow ...

February 10, 2017

So grateful to see the sunshine and blue skies ...

there was a skiff of snow on the deck this morning ...

After breakfast we cleared off the side deck ... as it was too much to take care of yesterday ...

The only issue was that it was warming up ...

and therefore the snow was heavier ... to toss over the railing ... for Mike to haul away ...

I was so happy to see that last shovel full of snow ...

to be thrown over the railing for this day ...

It was so beautiful ... and the warmth from the sun felt good ...

It's still hard to believe how much snow had fallen ... in a week ...

The garden is buried ... the potato boxes disappeared under the snow ...

The snow is high up on the fence ...

I think it would be difficult to open up the gate right now ...

We'll have to wait until the snow melts ...

These pictures were taken of Joseph Creek Village ...

Oma sent them out to all of our family in Europe as well ... they were surprised at how much snow there was ...

The residents were held captive ... no way to get out ...

It was difficult to try and go for a walk with the sidewalks pretty well buried ...

There was so much snow ...

that Joseph Creek and Cranbrook ...

were featured on the Global News Calgary station ... on the evening news ...

Mike and I managed to make our way into town ...

to enjoy a lovely evening with Oma ... Joe ... Mike and Shauna ...

at the Valentine's Day Buffet ...

Day 6 of Snow ...

February 9, 2017

We couldn't believe the amount of snow that had fallen overnight ... again ... !!!

After breakfast we made our way outside ...

to start with this days activities ... clearing snow ... 

The snow kept falling as we were shovelling ... 

I had the first round  pushed into a pile ...

at the end of the deck ...

When Mike had finished hauling the first pile away ...

I had started to shovel off the next round of snow on the deck ...

The Jeep is completely covered with snow ... it won't be going anywhere ...

for quite awhile ...

The next job to be done was helping Mike clear snow ... down to the boiler ...

and then off the shelters ... 

The snow on the shop roof ... was almost up to the top of the hydro service connection ...

I was concerned about the amount of snow on the grandchildren's fort ...
I hope that when they built it ... it would be strong enough for this weight ...
The snow at the barbwire fence ... 
by the field ...
was up to the second string ...
It's still snowing ...
guess the deck should be checked ...
to see if it needs to be cleared again ...

Music Break ...

February 8, 2017

Yes it had snowed again this morning ...

and yes it was cleared again ...

No pictures of this activities ... it was the same ...

I had decided to go to the next on the list ...

"Home Routes" ... concert series ...

  The concert series consists of bands from all over ... they have a scheduled circuit (Red Square, AB) ... traveling from town to town performing and staying in host homes.  The group from last night were from Nashville.  It is quite enjoyable being in a small group setting with friends.  You can get info on the website ... HERE

Mike had gone to a meeting ...

so I decided to call our neighbour to see if they were going to the concert ...

as I wasn't sure my car would make it down the host family's driveway ...

And boy ... was I glad to have gotten a ride ...

our road had not been plowed thru all this snowfall ...

And ... the driveway to the concert was treacherous as well ... People were having to leave their vehicles at the clearing ... and hitch a ride with others ...

We made it to the house ... enjoyed a lovely evening of music ...

When we left the concert ... 

Don decided to put the chains on to get out ... 

it was still snowing and blowing ...

Thank you Don for bringing us back home safely ...

Day 4 of Snow ...

February 7, 2017

Well ... another day with snowfall thru the night ... Today we are going to tackle the side and front deck ... There was an extreme amount of snow ... It was going to take me and Mike ... a few hours ... to toss this snow ... over the railing for Mike to haul away ... It was nice to see the sunshine and blue sky ... makes it all worth while to be outdoors ...

Still clearing the snow ...

Next on the agenda ... was trying to find the front stairs ...

they were off the deck somewhere ... 

I started from down at the driveway ... working my up the stairs ...

the snow on the landing was as high up on my hip ...

Digging my way thru ... I finally found the bottom step ... up to the deck ... 

Unbelievable ... !!!

Wow ...  We never get tired of looking ... at this view ...

Day 3 of Snow ...

February 6, 2017

Oh my ... this was unbelievable ... so much snow fell thru the night ...

this is Day 3 ... of fallen snow ... we could hardly get out the back door ...

It feels like we are living like the movie "Groundhog Day" ...

we wake up ... have breakfast ... clear snow all day ... have dinner ... then fall into bed ...

What will tomorrow bring ... ???

Mike digging his way out to stoke the boiler ...

after breakfast ... Mike started plowing ...

I had started to clear the deck ... and pile it off the edge ...

for Mike to haul away ... it's just too much snow to pile it by the house ...

It was a beautiful site though ... love the look of the untouched snow ...

Our driveway was closing in on us ...

Mike was having difficulty pushing all this snow ...

Grateful for our neighbour Don ...

to come and use the snowblower on his tractor ...

to open up some more room ...

just in case we get another dump of snow ...