Boxing Day ...

Dec. 26, 2010
Families gather for a play day ...


Nathan is the anchor behind the GT's to slow the kids down as the driveway is quite steep ... didn't want them to get ahead of Ian on the snowmobile ... AND AWAY THEY GO ... !!!!


















James is peeking out of the snow bridge ... the boys spent hours building ... so cute ...!

Another wonderful day playing ... the wind has picked up and we are chilled to the bone ... heading indoors for some refreshments to warm up ... !!! This was our last day visiting with our boys and their families ... leaving for Mayook in the morning to spend the rest of our holidays there ... in the solitude ... until the Robert's family arrive on Jan. 2, 2011 ... !!!

Christmas Day in Carvel, AB

Dec. 25, 2010

Christmas with Nathan, Katie, Craig, James & Ella

We arrived at the Knight household in Carvel after having Christmas morning and breakfast in Millet. The kids were so excited to see us as we were just as excited to see them. It was a crazy time looking at all the gifts the grandchildren received from Santa and everyone else. The boys had their new Nintendo DS's with a camera feature ... oh dear there were some pretty interesting photos being taken ... they also had Lego sets, mechano sets, bakugans, etc. The boys were busy building with dad and grandpa (I think the 2 bigger kids were more involved than they needed to be) and then there was Miss Ella ...


How excited was she at 3 yrs old to get Barbie make-up ...!!! She was busy playing dress-up and applying make-up to whom ever would stand still ... our little Princess ... ! Katie had been busy in the kitchen getting turkey dinner together. Was time now to go out and play in the snow ...!!!

After a few hours of sliding, crashing, wipe outs, lost out in the weeds ... we headed indoors for some hot chocolate and goodies ... Katie was busy with the final preparations for our dinner ... it felt strange not cooking for a large group this year ... a nice change ... spent this time playing games with the grandchildren .

Christmas dinner was absolutely delicious ... we were are all stuffed ... while we were busy on kitchen duty ... the kids decided that Grandpa needed a workout ... their favorite passtime is to be dragged around the house ... the carpeting in the hallway proposed a problem with Craig keeping his pants on ... the kitchen floor allowed them to slide easily and it definitely saved the muscle tension on grandpa's legs ... the laughter was infectious ... what fun they were having ...!!!

Christmas in Millet, AB ...

Dec. 24, 2010
Our Christmas with Ian, Kendall & Daigen

Spending the afternoon outside playing on the snowmobile, sledding on the hills, snowballs, and making snow angels... later preparing our dinner for the Xmas Eve festivities with Kendall's family

What a pleasant surprise that Nathan and the grandchildren came for dinner ... (missing Katie as she was called to work). This was the first time that we were celebrating Xmas Eve here ... normally we would have been in Mayook at Oma's house having a traditional meal (she was on Vancouver Island with Kurt and his family). Ian insisted that we continue with this tradition ... consisting of European wieners, warmed potatoe salad, sauerkraut and fresh bread ... Little did Kendall's family know what they were in for ... it turned out great ... no complaints after they were guided in the traditional way of eating this meal ... that the wieners were not cut but taken whole and dipped in German mustard swirled with Horseradish ... was delicious ... !!

The kitchen was buzzing with the sounds of another tradition of making the "Knight Family Fudge" ... this recipe has been passed down for generations to the MEN ... no women allowed !!! Except, it seems when it's time to clean up the mess and the guys boast about how good it turned out ..!

A night of visiting, singing, playing games, drinking, eating and lots of laughter .... the children now sleepy and families leaving to go home and finish with the last minute preparation for Christmas morning ... making sure that the milk, cookies and carrots were set out for Santa Claus and his Reindeer ... with all the work completed it was our time to sit back and relax ... another tradition before heading off to bed, was to watch "A Christmas Carol"

Dec. 25, 2010

Christmas morning ... Daigen was up bright and early today ... no sleeping in ... Kendall kept him in his room until we were ready with the cameras to capture the surprise in his eyes as he saw the treasures around the tree ... overwhelmed by it all he turned around and went back into his room ... after some coaxing he was excited to venture back and start opening some gifts... planes, trains, automobiles, firetruck and station, GT Racer, games, books, oh my !!!!

A special gift from my mom ... a collection of photos of her life ... from Austria to Canada ... I was given an album of my dads life last year for Christmas ... I will treasure them dearly ...!!

Mike's Gift

created by Christa

I was excited for Mike to receive this gift. In memory of his Uncle Coo ...

Flying Officer Wilfred Lesley Knight

who was killed in action in WWII in a plane crash
He was a Belly Gunner in a Bomber Crew.

Mike never knew his Uncle, and this picture of his grave meant alot to him as his middle name is "Wilfred"

Thank you to Dagmar and her family, for taking the time go to the Cemetery to take this photo while they were vacationing in Sri Lanka

A gift for Christa....

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I made this header for Christa some time ago to celebrate her wonderful winter photos...
however
I have been unable upload this header for her..but I wanted to share with you,

her exceptional pictures and the love she has for her and Mike's home in

Mayook.
xox
Dagmar

Country Christmas ...

Christmas in Mayook

Dec. 19, 2010

"Christmas in Mayook" held at the community School House ...
a time for neighbours, family and friends to gather ...
celebrating this wonderful festive season ...
visiting, singing, indulging in a variety of goodies, refreshments and good cheer ...

Santa arrives bearing gifts for the little children ... and yes for the "Big Kids" too ...!!!

A joyous night of singing Christmas Carols ...
lots of laughter, hugs & kisses ...
now quieting the room ... as we end singing
"Silent Night"


COMMENT

Dagmar said...
How well you are doing on this blog...I am so proud of you and the beauty of your photos and how you put them together. Bravo! It looks like you had a really good time..did they know you were the Marquesa of Mayook? The old schoolhouse looks wonderful..you did a great job!
December 21, 2010 8:46 AM

Christmas in Mayook ...

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Traditional Tree

Since 1986 when we moved into our log house ...
we have gone out and found the perfect Xmas tree for the living room.
We would venture out all bundled up ... trudge thru the snow ...
find the tree ... cut it down
and then stop for a well deserved break of hot chocolate and cookies
to gather our strength to drag it back to the house.
Today, as the boys are on their own with their families,
Mike and I do this task ourselves ... notice the truck is doing the hauling now, we have enough strength to pack it out of the bush ... and that's all...!!
Getting it into the house and in the stand is enough work for us ... where are the kids when you need them ... ??
It takes us one day to find and bring the tree in and then another whole day to decorate ...

Beginning stages of decorating ...

Almost finished as night draws near ...

Pleased with the end result ... Sitting back enjoying the lights ...
watching the "White Christmas" movie ...

Stockings were hung ....

Monday, December 13, 2010

Stockings were hung by the staircase with care ... this year I only put up 10 stockings ... normally we have up to 20 ...!! It's going to be a quiet Christmas in Mayook ... we are heading to Alberta to spend the holidays with the kids ... will be strange not cooking for a mob !!!

I was invited to an open house at the Log Cabin Studios in Bull River on Saturday ... spent a couple hours visiting with Caroline and these are some of the treasures I took home ... beautiful display of art, crafts and goodies ...


A couple of cookie plates done up for our neighbours in Okotoks ... spent the morning baking "No Sugar Added" cookies for the Diabetics ... so one plate with sugar and one without ... also added my homemade Anitpasto as well ... Hope they will like them ...!!!


2 comments:

Log Cabin Studio said...
Thanks for the lovely visit and the great cookies..Merry ChristmasLove Caroline
December 13, 2010 11:27 PM

Dagmar said...
Love the stockings..I am sure your daughter in laws will love looking after you for a change.XoxDagmar
December 15, 2010 3:25 PM

Nestled in the woods ....

Monday, November 29, 2010

My Winter Wonderland

Snow, snow and more snow ... spent the weekend clearing the driveway and around the house. So beautiful, crisp and fresh. I love it .... !!!!Christmas lights are up, glistening in the dark, warmth of the fire ...

just doesn't get any better then this.

1 comments:

Log Cabin Studio said...
Love these photos...
November 29, 2010 9:47 PM

Christmas Cookies ...

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Baking & Decorating Complete

Well, a very productive day ... completed decorating the last of the cookies, snowflakes and shortbread ...! Yeah ...!!
Now in packages, vacuumed sealed and hidden away until needed. Less tempting that way for nibbling ... !! This week I hope to find the perfect Xmas tins, fill them and send them off to a few of my friends and family.
Next on the Christmas to do list ... writing and mailing out the Christmas cards ...

Happy 75th Birthday ...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Birthday Celebration !
Love you mom !

The family (except for Ian who was working out of town) were home for

Thanksgiving weekend. We decided to celebrate this special birthday at the Heritage Inn for Sunday Brunch on Oct 10, 2010.

Joining us were a few neighbours and friends. It was wonderful to see the great-grandchildren gathered around Oma ... with a little more help than I think Oma expected with her gift opening ... funny ... the children were disappointed for Oma that out of all her Birthday Cards no one had given her any MONEY ... !!! They think that money is the best gift ever to go buy whatever they want ... !!

After a few hours, (the children were getting bored as you can see them rolling out on the hallway floor) of feasting on the buffet, visiting, laughing we all headed home.

Wishing you love, peace, health and happiness always ...!!!

Now living on Vancouver Island to avoid the harsh winter in the Kootenays.

Oh dear ... what was that I heard ? That it is a winter wonderland there ... laughing out loud ... thought you could get away without the white stuff ... hope you have a great day trudging thru the SNOW ... !!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

1 comments:

Dagmar said...
Happy Birthday to your Mom, Christa..how wonderful to be able to celebrate with so many of the family there...love the money comment!Xox
November 25, 2010 8:08 PM

Rural Roads ....

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Gingerbread & Glitter Christmas Craft Fair

in

Westaskewan

On display products from Rural Roads (Natures Little Treasures)

Bath Salts, Bath Bombs, Bubble Bath and Bath Scrubs

Kendall has started a new business of natural bath products. This was her first experience of displaying her products. It was a successful weekend and we are so proud of her new venture. Wish her all the best as she travels down this "Rural Road"


And yes, this was her little helper ... Daigen ... we went to check out the fair and he decided it was better for him to monitor the situation from behind he table. What a charmer ...!!!



There was a silent auction of Christmas Trees and decorations with in the hall.

This wreath is from Daigens school, and somewhere on the wreath is a

Gingerbread man that he created.


1 comments:

Dagmar said...
Wow...wonderful photos..great name for Kendall's business..great photos...love the little D.Xox
November 25, 2010 8:06 PM

Lots of Snow ...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Well, what a surprise when I awoke this morning ... !! It started snowing yesterday and is still coming down. I was to leave for Alberta today ... but because of the poor winter driving conditions I decided to stay out here in beautiful BC ... darn it ... such is life ...!I was already out early clearing snow so that I would be able to at least get down the driveway. Have shovelled the decks and now I think I'll wait until the snow stops before I venture out again. I'm getting tired ... time to cozy up with a book and a Chai Tea Latte ... mmmmmm sounds good to me!

1 comments:
Dagmar said...
Can't believe all that snow...did it keep snowing? Great photos!Xo
November 18, 2010 7:14 PM

Tis the Season ...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

To Start Baking ...

It's hard to believe it's that time of year again.

Spent the last few days with the Gingerbread Men.

They are usually the first cookies to be baked and decorated.

I find these cookies taste better, when they have had a few weeks to

mellow before Christmas...

Next batch ready and waiting ......

Preparing for winter ...

Friday, November 12, 2010

We spent the last few weeks preparing for the winter season. We cleared

trees around the house and the boiler wood pile area. Dragged the trees out into the field to be able to work on them out in the open,

took us a day to de-limb, stack the logs in the back corner to dry for firewood

then had a fire to burn the slash pile.

In the meantime, Mike decided to install a new boiler heating system.

That was another days work and with the help of our neighbour, we did manage to remove the old boiler and place the new one.

Took Mike a few more hours to hook up the system before we had heat again.

Job well done ... !!!!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...
Mmmm Cookies... Love the Blog page, its like having a little visit with you every morning:) Keep it up it looks great. Love Kendall
December 3, 2010 9:44 AM

Birthdays ... !

Monday, November 8, 2010

Grandchildren's Birthdays

Daigen age 3 - June 29th






Ella age 3 - Sept 9th






















James age 5 - Nov 5t

Craig age 7 - Nov 24th

We had a wonderful time with the kids at their Birthday Parties. Great to have the families together.

1 comments:

Dagmar said...
Wow...they all look like they had as much fun as you did! Good job sweetie!Ox
November 8, 2010 7:28 PM

Trick or Treat !

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Knight Family
Craig, James and Ella having fun trick or treating with their cousins in Edmonton.

1 comments:

Dagmar said...
How sweet and monster like they look..what a great photo college.Xox
November 7, 2010 7:08 PM

I miss you

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A boat at the jetty in Kuredu Island...Maldives...I am sending this boat to come and get you so we can soak up the sun and swim in the really warm waters!!! Pool boy photos later on! Xoxo, miss you!

Daigen ...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Daigen and Kendall dressed for Halloween

Pumpkin carving done by the whole family ...

Ian's speciality ...!!!

Boo ....!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Thanksgiving !

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Together with Our FamilyCelebrated on October 9, 2010It was a beautiful weekend for our family to spend together (except for one,our son Ian who was away working). It ended up being the perfect day to put everyone to work getting firewood. Mike and Nathan kept busy with the chainsaws and running the log-splitter. The grandchildren were there as well to help load logs into the truck, as you can see they spent some of their time in the cab of the truck playing ...!!! Katie, Nathan & Mike loaded all the wood. I was busy at the house preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

Closing in on lunchtime, I decided to venture down to Oma's woodpile to check if they were going to stop for lunch. The kids wanted to go up to Oma's house for a visit and have some hot chocolate (oma didn't have any so I went home to bring her some) It was great, because in the meantime Oma made lunch for everyone ... !!! Lucky for me , one meal was enough for this group. Called the guys up for a bite to eat and had an enjoyable time eating, chatting and lots of laughing.

I went back to the house to continue with dinner and the guys loaded and unloaded a couple more truck & trailer full of firewood. Kendall & Daigen arrived to help me set up for dinner, bringing me a fall arrangement for the centre of the table ... absolutely beautiful ...!!!

Firewood stacked, tools put away, everyone showered and dressed to sit down to a well-deserved dinner.
Grateful to have celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with our family, friends and those who are dear to our hearts always in our thoughts. What a beautiful life....!!!

1 comments:

Dagmar said...
Wow...I am totally impressed..love the photos as well as how you colored the borders..The blog looks really great..I am very proud of you Christa. Xox
October 30, 2010 10:07 PM

Qualicum Beach,BC

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Left Mayook on August 15, 2010 for Qualicum Beach to visit our friends Rob & Cindy. We spent 5 wonderful days touring the area, fishing, crabbing, eating, drinking, etc ... little sleeping ...!! We went to the Old Country Market in Coombs where the goats graze on the rooftops, did some shopping and then went for dinner to a little restaurant for fish & chips ... mmmm ... halibut !

On August 18 we were all ready to go out to do some salmon fishing and trap us some prawns ... we took the boat to French Creek Harbour, launched it and away we went ... NOT ... tried to get out to the open water and had to turn around and head back ... the weather turned on us ... nasty, wind, huge waves ... whitecaps ... ! So disappointed that we were not able to go out on the ocean.
Rob & Cindy decided that we would travel to Nanaimo to catch some crabs off the wharf. We were delighted ... lot's of crab ... yeah, dinner for that night. Enjoyed our time with our dear friends, lot's of fun, hugs & kisses ....!
We left the next day for Port Alberni for our fishing adventure in Bamfield.

2 comments:

Dagmar said...
Fantastic...you did a great job..I am so proud of you....I am looking forward to reading your blog while I am away...Xox
October 28, 2010 9:39 PM

Log Cabin Studio said...
I am impressed!!!Thanks for the cookies today and the hug..LoveCaroline
October 29, 2010 5:06 PM

Fishing in Bamfield

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Here we are in Bamfield with friends.

3 comments:

Dagmar said...
Now this is a great photo to my fisher woman friend!xox
September 5, 2010 3:44 PM

Dagmar said...
This post has been removed by the author.
September 6, 2010 8:51 PM

Dagmar said...
Great photos, can't wait until to see what other photos you will be posting. ox
September 6, 2010 8:53 PM