On Their Way ...

The Wee Little Beasties

Well the "Softies" that Dagmar made for the grandchildren ...

are on their way ...

Mike is delivering them to Calgary ..,.

to give to Nathan ...

and he will take them to their new home ...

with Craig, James, & Ella

Here they are all together ...

Craig with "Frank"...

Ella with "Miss Ella" ...

& 

James with "Henry" ...

Thank you Nathan for taking these photos ...

Dagmar will be really happy to see all of them together ...

Perhaps the next time I see the grandchildren ...

we will call Dagmar to say thank you ...

for 

"The Wee Little Beasties"

'Tis The Season ...

For Christmas Baking 

The first batch of cookie dough is mixed, divided and chilled ...

ready to be rolled out and cut ...

into my

"Gingerbread Men"

 ...

From the work board ... to the cookie sheets ... into the oven ... 

the aroma while they are baking ... lingers in the air ...

the timer has chimed ...

removed the cookies from the oven ...

and transferred them onto the cooling racks ... 

These little guys will be decorated ... 

 in a couple of days ...

after being placed in airtight containers ...

for the spices (cinnamon, cloves and ginger) to blend ...

 to enhance the flavour ...

Slave Driver ...

Need More Wood 

It was time to get outside ...

to cut and stack ...

another load of wood ...

well ...

after we put the first load away ...

I wanted to get another load ...

while the weather was still on our side ...

of course, Mike does not question why ...

he just gets the job done ...

to please me and avoid an "I told you so ...!!!"

Such as slave driver, I am ... !!!!

We had just finished stacking the second load of wood ...

when it started to snow ...

apparently there was a snow advisory in effect ...

guess my hunch was correct ...

to get more firewood this morning ... !!!

Remembrance Day ...

In remembrance to all those men and women who kept our country free...

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
*******************************************************************
Inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”
Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery. (1)

During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2nd May, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and artillery commander Major John McCrae.

As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.

Cooking Ahead ...

For Busy Days

Decided to cook a couple dishes today ...

Spaghetti Sauce and Beef Stew ...

easy to package and freeze ...

so that Mike has easy meals while working away ...

or when we are busy working around here ...

with no time to prepare a meal ...

My dinner for  tonight as well ...

Ready for the freezer ...

I will re-package the stew into Food Saver bags ...

once it solidifies a bit ...

it does take up less room in the freezer ... 

packaged this way ...

"Hear Ye ... Hear Ye ... !!!

Omas' In The Paper

It was National Seniors' Day ...

and the residents of Joseph Creek ...

 enjoyed an afternoon of fun and dancing ...

they had to get up and dance for 90 seconds ...

(a few danced longer than that) ...

little did they know that they were being photographed ...

and would be featured in the paper ...

this is a fun group to be with ...

I enjoy visiting and taking part in their activities when I can ...

Missing Painting Found ...

Sailboats in Gmunden, Austria

Today mom & I spent some time going thru ...

 cupboards and closets at the house ...

cleaning and packing up ...

I had asked mom awhile ago ...

about the whereabouts of this painting ...

mom had forgotten about this one ...

so delighted to have found it ...

at the bottom of a cupboard with games piled on top of it ...

Dad started painting in 1966 ...

he would work all day in the AutoBody Shop

"Ernie's Collision Ltd"

then go to school at night ...

it was a relaxing hobby for dad ...

it wasn't until a couple paintings were created ...

that he started signing them at moms' request ...

This is one of the paintings dad did sign ...

with his initials for ...

"Ernst Aitzetmueller"

I will have more photos to display after Christmas ...

when we all have received our gifts from mom ...

Purple Skies ...

Morning Sunrise

Beautiful coloured sky across the snow-capped Rockies ...

Dump Run ...

 Letting It Go

Well it was time to part with our old sofa and swivel chair ...

we bought this furniture set in 1974 ...

it was purchased in Sarnia, Ontario ...

and has seen many miles as we took it out west when we moved ...

it was defiantly abused with our children and theirs friends ...

but when we flipped it out of the truck ...

it landed upright with a thud ...

still solid as a rock ...

they don't make furniture with that kind of quality anymore ... 

hmmmm ... "after-thought"

maybe we should have had it reupholstered ...

"NOT"

We had a full load of recyclables ... old stuff ...

 broken stuff ... and garbage ...

that went to the landfill site ...

A big job completed ...

First Flakes of Snow ...

So Exciting ...!!!

Woke up early this morning ...

it just felt like a snow day today ...

I was delighted to see the snow ...

when I turned on the outside light ...

couldn't wait for daylight to come ...

to see how beautiful it was out there ...

And there is nothing better ...

than looking out my kitchen window ...

seeing the snow ... and baking ...

Have the oven on ...

cookie dough ready to be baked ...

oh ... the warmth ... the aroma ... in my kitchen ... 

I'm ready to sit down with a cup of tea ...

 and cookies fresh from  the oven ...

mmmmmmmmm

Bath Time ...

For All The Toys

It was time to clean out one of the toy boxes ...

and into the laundry tub they went ...

the other toys ...

like trucks, cars, building blocks, etc...

were put into separate containers ...

Squeaky clean ...

ready to be put into the baby's toy box ...

The toys are ready now for all the babies and little ones to arrive ...

at our house for Christmas ...

All these toys belonged to Nathan and Ian ...

I saved all the Fisher Price toys ...

knowing that someday they would have children of their own ...

as well as their close friends ...

that join us over the holidays ...

this group is getting larger every year ... !!!

All the kids have spent hours playing with these old toys ...

"No Batteries Needed"

A Special Place ...

For Dad

This was dad's favourite place ...

to hike with mom ...

up the hill on the edge of their property ...

to sit down on the rock bench ...

for quiet moments, discussing life ...

 and enjoying the view ...

This special place was chosen to attach the plaque ...
onto the rock ...
with a light to shine ...
forever in his memory ...

New Kitchen ...

In the Basement

Spent my weekend ...

re-organizing the laundry room ..

cleaning, painting cupboards ...

to make room for an extra area for cooking ...

This area was used mainly for preserving & canning ...

we are expecting a large group (14-18 extra) over Christmas this year ...

so I thought having this extra complete kitchen...

would be helpful...

We had the furniture and kitchen items needed ...

 from when we moved back from Alberta ...

(table & chairs are set up in the family room)

all being put to good use I hope ...

it should lessen the load in the main kitchen upstairs ... !!!

Halloween ...

Ian sent me this picture the other day ...

stating that this was his new look ...

(I'm a little worried about that son of mine ... !!!)

Ian & Kendall dressed for an evening out ...

at a private Halloween Party ...

Daigen dressed as a Skunk ...

He is just so "Stinking Cute"...

Ian & Kendall took Daigen into town ...

to go door to door ...

"Trick or Treating" 

Craig dressed as an Army Man ...
he looks pretty scary to me ...
I wouldn't want to mess with him ...

James dressed as a Ninja Turtle ...
he's ready for action ...
those hands are mighty weapons ...
look-out for anyone getting in his way ...

Ella all dressed up as a Princess ...
our precious little grand-daughter ...
ready to go to the "Halloween Ball" ...

Pictures of the grandchildren of their evening out "Trick or Treating" ...