Saskatchewan





Monday, September 15, 2014
Hot Sunny
Mileage 523 429 km
Last night we stayed at Kelly & Joel's
Awesomeness: Well, it is Kelly's home, so very clean and cozy.


We got up early today so we could visit with Kelly before she went to work. It was interesting to see our niece with her "work" clothes on. Odd we have not seen that before so it was unusual for us. She wears scrubs to work. We unfortunately had to say good-bye for now as we are off to Moose Jaw to see my Dad.

Kelly said she would take good care of the dining room suite and the other items we brought her. I have no doubt she will.




Dad and Fern - "Dancing Again"



We drove the long journey from Lethbridge to Moose Jaw in one day. Some days when you are driving, or in my case usually being the passenger, the kilometers seem to go by slowly. I felt like time was standing still. My body wanted to be walking or running, anything but sitting. We made a lengthy stop in Medicine Hat for lunch. We walked around a grocery store, not really the best way to expend excess energy.

As we drove over the border into Saskatchewan we watched our Telus cellular closely to see if we would be able to be continue with our service from BC and Alberta. We were able to get the 3G Cellular in Saskatchewn.

After driving through Swift Current, it was off to Moose Jaw were I mostly grew up. It was odd to hear and see the names of the towns and villages wiz by - Chaplan, Morse, Gull Lake, Mortlac, Boharm, Caronport, etc.- names I'd known for years but had not thought of in like forever.
Going back to Moose Jaw is always emotional because of the length of time I lived there and how long ago it was.









We met Dad at his home. It sure was great to see him again in his little suite, cozy and comfortable. We chat for a while and then were off for a great supper in a little cafe near city hall. When I was a kid the restaurant we went to was a Ruth's notions shop, a place to buy buttons, zippers and all other sewing supplies. After our close to homemade supper we went to Dad's lady friend's home. It was great to see Fern and chat until bedtime.




Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Warm Sunny
Last night we stayed at Fern Cote's wonderful home.
Awesomeness: Fern is a gracious hostess. We helped her make the bed because it hurts her hands to tuck the fitted sheets under the matteress. The bed was cozy.


We woke up at Fern's wonderful home. She lives in what could be classified as a townhouse. The whole block is full of these home with garages in the back. The garage being a great asset in the frosty, cold winter months. Fern, however, not only has a garage she has a big family room attached off her kitchen at the back which is like a bonus room compared to the other townhomes. This room is equipped with a fireplace, too. The home is very well laid out with a laundry room off the kitchen. She has lots of kitchen cupboards with a big walk in pantry. She has two bathrooms and bedrooms. When I get older such a home would be a great thing.

Ken and I went our separate ways for the afternoon. He was off to Regina to sell a computer that we still seem to have with us. I know we sold so many items. It is had to believe we are down to some of the last items, our 21 inch iMac being on of them. Dad drove me around the town. We covered quite a bit of territory, including driving in our old neighborhood that we lived in as a family and passed our elementary school. In the seventies they bricked in some of the windows to defer energy costs. Now they have put in new windows and the building now longer serves it origin function as a school. During the first World War it served as a hospital. Ross School has also lost some of its playground to housing. Not sure what the city has in mind for its future function but has remained a stately building of Moose Jaw. We drove around the east end of the city and back passed the hospital. We also drove over to south hill, also. Even at Dad's age he remains a cautious driver.

When Dad took me out to lunch I met a lady from my childhood. She went to the same church as we did. She remembered me and I her. She was at the great old age of ninety.

Fern made us a wonderful supper of fresh vegetables from her daughters garden. Delicious! In the evening it was so fun to listen to my Dad tell stories of past times.



Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Warm OverCast
Last night we stayed at Fern Cote's wonderful home.


Today was a day of trying to do a few chores, etc. for Dad because we live so far away. I am not sure he really wanted us to do these things so honestly not lots was accomplished. We thought he might want to move to a place that serves meal. We talked to the administrator of the building he lives in. She kept saying that the aim for older folks is to let them be as independent as possible and to live independently as long as they are able. She told us how he could get meals from the assisted living quarters across the street and gave us the phone number. Maybe he will phone for a meal, maybe not. We found out the only other place he would be interested in moving to and found out the logistics of getting a suite there. I do not think he really wants to move.

We got Fern and went for a lovely lunch at the Up Town Cafe on Main Street in Moose Jaw. I remember my Mother taking me there even before my Sister was born. The front counter was in a different configuration. In some regards the restaurant has not changed much but in other regards it has changed. The bathrooms are still upstairs at the back as they have always been.

It is odd to go somewhere so familiar in many regards, yet be so unfamiliar in other regards. In a city the size of Moose Jaw, at one point, I could go in a restaurant and even the waitresses were the same as what felt like forever.

While at Dad's doing our wash he received a phone call from a relative. She was passing through Moose Jaw and wanted to stop by for a visit with her husband. It is a lady from Cranbrooke, BC. Kathy R. is someone that Dad use to visit on his travels out to the coast when he visited us. I guess she is a far off cousin and very into geneology. My Dad's Grandfather (Tony Griffith) was the brother of Kathy's Grandmother (Sarah Sullivan, nee Griffith). Hope I have that straight. It was a quick visit. Her and her husband, Joe seemed like lovely people, very friendly. She showed me in the Griffith family, genealogy book where she came from.

After supper we just sat around for awhile and chatted. Fern had been busy knitting baby booties out of white and green yarn - Saskatchewan Roughrider colours. She makes them and sells them.








Thursday, September 18, 2014
Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Fern Cote's wonderful home.


Two goals for the day - taking day to his doctor's appointment and driving to Estevan. Again we found ourselves packing up and leaving one place for the other. We had to say good-bye to Fern.

I forgot to mention that she makes the most wonderful caramel sauce ever. She makes it from brown sugar and whipped cream. It is totally addictive and the best caramel sauce you have ever tasted, bar none. We were able to indulge ourselves in this guilt pleasure each morning we were at her home.

We picked up Dad from his home and whisked him off to the doctor. The building the doctor was located in, the Hammond Building was a restored Art Deco era building. Tall stately entrance way with long period lighting. The bathrooms had dark, oak doors and marble walls. It was a step back in time. It to me was typically Moose Jaw. The Hammond Building is definitely not the only old, stately building lining Moose Jaw's main street.


We went for lunch at the National Cafe another landmark of Moose Jaw. This cafe is near the end of Main Street and has a menu that is strongly Chinese Food. In fact, they had a lunchtime Chinese food buffet. We went there for the yummy egg fu yung. I always thought of the cafe as a fancy restaurant. There use to be, and perhaps still is, an upstairs dining area for special ocassions.



Dad and I drove in one car and Ken drove in our van down to Estevan. I really noticed the single lane traffic consisted of many big trucks coming up from the border. There was construction on the highway as well so the tip was less than wonderful. The scenery although grassland and few trees was covered by the bright, blue sky.





It was wonderful to see my Sister once we arrived out on their farm.



















Friday, September 19, 2014
Warm Sunny
Last night we stayed at Mike and Charlene's wonderful home.

Charlene and Mike had to work today so we fixed ourselves breakfast. Mike is lucky with his job. He can often come home for a brief period of time to bring water that he has hauled or pick up a snack. He only comes by if he is in the area. Often his job finds him work in nearby areas like on this day he had to go up to Weyburn.


I am still very fascinated with all the produce my Sister and Brother-in-law have out in the garden and in the house. I was told they planted sixty-four tomato plants of different varieties. They even have a chocolate, heirloom variety of tomato. One of their grown girl's old bedroom has been converted into a cold room for veggie storage. They have baskets full of squash, potatoes and tomatoes. Along with baskets of sweet peppers. They have two freezers full of supplies. Charlene's freezer is full of frozen veggies and Mike's has wild game that he has hunted. They, of course, have some frozen goods in the top portion of their regular fridge.

Last week I was told it went below freezing. On the prairies this means getting outside in your garden before dark and covering up whatever you want to selvedge before it freezes. This usually means covering up with old blankets or sheets. Some garden produce was just cut off and brought in when a frost was about to come, such as the spaghetti squash. To me this seemed like normal operating procedure for the fall until I moved to west coast of Canada. For one thing there was not usually a frost until November, unheard of in September. I never saw one person do that out in BC.

 










My Niece Shannon and her adorable little daughter Hunter arrived for supper. It was great to see them both again. Hunter was quite shy of Ken and I. She had not seen us since last July so no wonder. Hunter was totally wound up and active. Shannon is a grade eight teacher and had worked all day. Not sure how she keep up with her little one after a long day at work. I had made a different version of cabbage rolls for supper. I made them with Swiss chard that I did not steam first. I just rolled up cooked rice and fried onions which was heavy spiced with salt, pepper and dill. The rolls had a special tomato sauce and milk mix poured overtop. They were well received along with the perogies with fried onion and baked beets from their garden.

My Sister also had another couple over for supper. Ken and I had met them about ten years ago at a pool party at their home and we met them again at Shannon's wedding in the Cancun, Mexico area. Gene and Margaret are world travelers and have land in Belize.

All of us sat and chatted and caught up a bit as we had not seen each other since last February in Bucerius, Nayarit, MX. Shannon we had not seen since last summer.










Saturday, September 20, 2014
Warm Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene & Mike McDavid's Fantastic home.

Today was an extremely windy day. Ken even got out his kite which is brother Larry had given him. It ended up being too windy for the kite adventue. Ken thought is was so windy that he tried to fly a five gallon bucket. Out on the coast it gets windy in November or in around that time of year when a big storm is brewing. Here on the prairies it can be at any time of year and this day it was very windy, even for here. I did not even want to go for a walk.

Charlene and Mike did not have to work today so we were able to rest and relax together for the whole day. Mike bought Charlene a green,wicker set for her front porch as an early birthday gift. He saw it for sale in Weyburn but found out it had already sold. He came home and told Charlene about if, told her all about the set and she wished it was hers. Anyway a few weeks later Charlene asked Mike to go back to where he had seen the wicker set and see if it was picked up. Funnily enough the set was back up for sale as the original purchaser could not fit it in their intended spot. Mike quickly purchased it before it sold again. It is the perfect thing for sitting on our front and having coffee on.




















We had an early supper, a miracle for our little group. Usually late suppers are the norm. Charlene and I drove into Estevan to Shannon and Levi's home to babysit Hunter our two year old grand niece. She was go, go, going even though it was after supper. She showed us lots of her toys. I brought her a ceramic giraffe which I painted many years ago and actually had at my home for many years. Shannon wisely put it up on a tall shelf. Hunter tried to hug her dog Charli. Charli seems like a great pet companion for Hunter. If Charli has had "enough" then she goes under furniture or up on furniture to get away from little girl hands. Once Levi returned home from a week of hunting he continued with the babysitting activities and we were off, back to the farm.











Levi has a huge ice fishing trailor. I think they call it the "ice palace". It has wheels and can be pulled like a trailor. There are indents in the side walls of the trailer where the wheels go up into. That way the trailer rests solely on its foundation for ice fishing. The reason I mention this trailer is because Levi had it up elk hunting for the week and I finally got to see it.













Sunday, September 21, 2014

Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene & Mike McDavid's Fantastic home.

Ken invited Dad to come outside and fly a kite with him. There was a bit of a breeze, as my Dad would say. I thought there was a wind but by Saskatchewan standards "it was a bit of a breeze". I bet it has been a long time since Dad flew a kite, if ever.
























The football game was on TV. It was Saskatchewan Roughriders verses Ottawa Roughriders. When I peeked in on the game Saskatchewan was definitely not winning and was quite far behind. Somehow in the end Saskatchewan miraculously won the game. Shannon, Levi, Hunter and Charli joined us again as did Mike's Mom, Joan and his brother, Doug. Many were garbed in Rider Pride jerseys.
Mike had prepared many ribs in the slow cooker in preparation for barbecuing at supper time. They also made a huge vat of cooked salsa sauce. The salsa was a big hit using up about a bag and a half of nacho chips. The meal was ultra delicious as their cooking seems to always be. The meal included many veggies from the garden.

It seemed us women spend a lot of time doing dishes in the kitchen. Charlene's dishwasher went on the fritz earlier and Ken really tried to patch it up. One load was thankfully completed and water did not leak out of it. Next load, not so lucky. Water was not being pumped out of the old dishwasher so it is going the way of the dump real soon. That is why we did so many dishes and ate off paper plates. It was a good visiting time for us but we could have done that sitting down in the livingroom.







Monday, September 22, 2014
Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene & Mike McDavid's Fantastic home.

I went for a long, at least an hour walk, by myself. The walk started out with Dad, Ken and his kite. They walked to the cairn commemorating a one room prairie school that used to be in the area. Luckily I had the sense to wear a sunhat. It was a lot warmer than I thought. Once I returned I had to check for sunburn, which I did not have. The sun seemed really strong.

I personally needed an off the farm fix. I like it out at my Sister's place but thought it would be nice to go to town - Estevan. Dad wanted to drive in, too so he drove the car. We dropped by a few shops but found little to actually buy. I think Dad bought a book, what is new. He continues to like to read. We knew Ken was at the Estevan library and we tried to join him. Between the two of us, Dad and I, we could not find it. I was told later it is by the water tower. It was a frustrating experience trying to locate something without Google Maps. Sure glad that usually we have them those maps to guide us on our jouneys.






Once back at the farm, we started making supper. Many nights after work Charlene and Mike put up food. Tonight it was long red and green peppers. They cut up dozens of them, cut out the seeds, sealed them in plastic bags and froze them. Then my Sister made an amazing supper out of the long red peppers and quinoa mix with a few other veggies - yum!



Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Hot Sunny
Mileage 524 529 km
Last night we stayed at Charlene & Mike McDavid's Fantastic home.


We again had load up everything and packed up the van. We were off to Moose Jaw. Dad insisted on driving. I volunteered to relieve him from driving but he would have no part of that. He did a great job of driving anyway. Two of his fingers kept going to sleep at the tips. Not bad for someone his age. We had a lovely lunch and drive together back to Moose Jaw.

Ken drove back by himself from Estevan to Moose Jaw. He needed to use the internet at the Estevan library. We had little in the way of cell service and no internet. It was slightly like what I would imagine a mild withdrawal would be like. Both of us are high internet users. For me, e-mail, Facebook, the blogs I read and most of all Duolingo to learn Spanish where all missing from my life. I guess that is what happens if you live close to the US border and live out in the country.








Fern welcomed us back to her home in Moose Jaw for the few nights we will spend there. Dad treated us to a supper out at Joey's Only. I have never been to that chain before. Those two had a two for one coupon for a big fish dinner. They split a dinner and I was given the other whole plate of food. No way could I eat all that food. Well, I could have but would have seriously regretted it.

Our next big deal thing was taking Dad to his lawyer. We tried to do this without too much fanfare as we know he does not really like to go to lawyers, likely because of the expense. Anyway, the lawyer took Dad away for about an hours visit. Dad survived the supposed ordeal quite well, even though the task he went for was unpleasant.













Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene & Mike McDavid's Fantastic home.

This is planned as a rather action packed day, at least it will be from Dad's perspective. Before it all starts Fern treated us to waffles with a fruit compote for breakfast. We sat around and talked for a long time before starting our day. Dad was reluctant but he drove us up to what was the previously names St. Anthony's Home, just south east of Moose Jaw. It is now renamed and very renovated Chateau St. Michael's. A tattooed young woman toured us around the rooms. Each one is different, at least layout wise. You have a south or north facing view - north preferred as you get a bit of a view and it would be cooler in the summer. The rooms were studio, one bedroom or two with small kitchenettes and big bathrooms. The bathrooms come with showers having nonslip floors and seats. She showed us plenty of rooms to get a true perspective of the place. Each floor has a laundry facility or you can pay to have your laundry done ($7.00). There is a nurse on duty for when it is needed. There is a huge dining area with food catering to special food requirements, food served three times a day or served in your room if you are not feeling well. Parking is included with plug-ins when required. Yes, I know you want to know how to get signed up for this sweet deal. Unless you are elderly I am afraid you have to wait until you are.

Fern fed us an awesome lunch at her place. Dad and Ken had chicken is gravy with dumplings on top.

As if that was not an action packed day for someone my Dad's age, well there is more. All of us piled in the car and drove the two blocks to The Bentley for supper, another sweet deal. This facility sends out invitations to seniors inviting them to a free supper. They make special suppers which feed many people in a sort of buffet style. Today it was a turkey supper, likely as a pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

Fern and Dad asked us to come along. Dad and Fern seemed like some of the younger seniors, along with Fern's friend Joan. They connected with many buddies during the time we were there. At the end of this tasty meal I get Ken and I hocked up with one of the staff members that took us to look at one of the studio rooms and some of the common spaces. Ken and I left thinking how do we get signed up for this gig. Beautiful, modern, sophisticated place for those who can afford to spend their later years in luxury. Why my father is not in there I do not know. That is the place I would really love to seem him live in. It is so close to his best buddy Fern, too. I must mention that Dad and Fern stayed after we left to dance to a one man band. Meanwhile we went for a walk downtown.





We went into the Grant Hall Hotel. Wow, what a place! It is fixed up like a Victorian era hotel in total luxury. Little did all of us know who used to go to this hotel for drinks and dancing in the seventies that under the facade with all this beauty. What was the thinking behind covering up the elegance in the first place?



Thursday, September 25, 2014
Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Fern's Home

Awesomeness: She does not seem to mind that we take a shower every morning.
Fern made us a wonderful breakfast of eggs and toast. The eggs were done perfectly. The toast had wonderful accompaniments. Her Sister from Vernon brought apricots and made jam. Fern again had the addicting carmel sauce out for the toast, oh that is so good.

We had Dad drive us on a few errands throughout the city. It is very hot today, especially for a fall day at the end of September. Almost seems like summer. We went out to Timothy Eaton's for lunch which is located in the old Moose Jaw Eaton's store. The food does not seem to be as good as I remember it, maybe it was just what I ordered.

Unfortunately we had to be moving on, back to Estevan. Not that going to Estevan is bad, just that we have to leave Dad and Fern. It is always so emotional for me to leave my Father, even more so now that he is the age he is. We did get some important things done for him and that only my Sister or I could really do.

We were invited to Levi and Shannon's for supper. Levi made brisket (like pulled pork) for all the carnivores and made me a portabelo mushroom burger. It was very considerate of them to make me something different. They even grilled a red pepper for my burger. They put bacon the the potato salad but removed lots of salad just for me. It made me feel rather special.







Hunter modeled Halloween costume for us - a skunk or "cunk" as she refers to it as. She was so wound up from her costume experience I do not know how she ever got to sleep.

Back at Charlene and Mike's we talked some more, drank ginger tea, watched TV and drifted off to bed. Those two have to work tomorrow. We did not, retirement definitely has its perks.
This is a very warm day for fall. Estevan is the hot spot of Canada at 35 degrees C.


















Friday, September 26, 2014
Hot Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's wonderful home
Awesomeness: We got to stay upstairs in the room Dad had stayed in last week. It is more temperature regulated. The room also lets in a little light in the morning so hopefully we will be up a little earlier.


It was lovely weather out today - almost summer like. We did notice that the leave are really falling off the trees in their front yard, especially compared to last week.






Once Charlene and Mike arrived home from work we took advantage of the wonderul, fall weather. We went for a boat ride. Snacks and drinks were loaded up, ready for a relaxing boat ride. We donned our sun hats even though the sun was sinking slowly in the west. That way our hair could be slightly spared by the wind from the boat ride. We went and saw the power plant and the new carbon capture building. We stopped by the shore to see if we could get to view some turtles. We did not see any real amount of wild life. At this time of year we were lucky to even be able to go out in the boat. Charlene and I sat at the back of the boat and Ken and Mike, who drove the boat, sat at the front. As we were speeding along I was thinking that this could potentially be the last time the boat is out this year. Cold weather is likely on the way.












Once safely on shore we headed up to the house to enjoy the weather up on the new deck. We were actually breaking in the new deck. We did need jackets as the sun dropped out of sight. Earlier in the day I had prepared a wonderful butternut squash, red pepper, Swiss card and wheat gluten, coconut milk, green Thai curry. We ate it on a bed of quinoa. Everyone liked it, no one complained about the wheat glutens, maybe too polite. All of the curry was eaten so I think that says it all.

We actually sat up and enjoyed drinks and music until after twelve o'clock. We had lots of fun, laughed lots and enjoyed each others company as we do not get to see each other often enough.








Saturday, September 27, 2014
Warm Sunny
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's wonderful home

Charlene and Mike went to Ogema for a train ride and museum tour. Shannon, Levi and Hunter went as did Mike's brother Doug and his grown daughters, son-in-laws and their children. It started out as a wonderful weather day, a bit overcast. By the time they arrived in Ogema it had started raining and was cold. Some dressed for inclement weather and some did not. They had to tour a walkabout museum and ride in an open air train. I think they enjoyed it somewhat, but really the weather must have decrease the enjoyment level a lot.

I was having a fitness day or so I thought. I got up and did yoga then went for a long walk. It was more than breezy out, it was down right windy. I had on a sun hat because I had needed it as a sun block last time I went for a prairie walk. This time I used the hat brim as a wind block for one side of my face. The only time the wind appeared to relent was when I came to a clump of bushes where I turned around to walk back. Wow, was it windy. I walked to the carron to see what it was about. It marked the spot of an old country school and where the RCMP had rode on horses. I am sure it was windy then, too.








I got back to the house and felt a bit after staying up so late last night. Well, I fell asleep for hours, I did not wake when Ken tried to wake me before he went to town. I was out for about four hours.
Meanwhile, Ken vacuumed the van trying to get ready for our departure. He also felt really sick and thought a good supper might help. He drove to town for some goodies for supper, quick, easy food. It was delicious but no where as good as the food Charlene and Mike have been serving up. We went to bed early and were not even up when those two returned from their adventure.



Sunday, September 28, 2014
Cool OverCast
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's wonderful home

Today the weather had obviously turned to fall like conditions - cool, cloudy and windy - ugh!
Mike and Ken worked out in the yard. They picked tomatoes and apples. Then if that was not enough, they raked leaves. A regular Sunday of toil.





Shannon and Hunter came over for the afternoon. Hunter kept us entertained, her Ruby and Charli (Golden lab and Welch Terrier). We managed only about half of a House Hunters show. All of us like that show, especially the International House Hunters version. As I contemplate the show, I am curious what the real appeal is of the show. Perhaps it is the dream aspect of the show, you dream of the perfect house. One with the perfect gourmet kitchen and spa like master bath, with the dream deck and perfectly manicured yard. Perhaps we watch it to get ideas for our homes or perhaps secretly our homes are better than the ones shown. At any rate the three of us love the show and watch it without question.

Shannon brought over completed cookie dough and made us cookies. They had M&Ms in them - yum! I had not been getting any responses from e-mails I sent Shannon this year. I did not know what to think because she does not seem like an "ignoring your e-mail" type of niece. I decided to ask her about this. Turns out I had the wrong e-mail address and snail mail address. I felt so much better after find this out. I even gave her a hug.







Mike and Charlene grow lots of produce such as tomatoes, squash, green beans, corn, peppers, etc. Both her and Mike much like gardening and putting up food as they have an extreme amount of veggies for two people.













Monday, September 29, 2014
Cold OverCast
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's wonderful home

Today I walked in the wind. This is one reason I moved from the prairies, I dislike wind and find it objectionable. Walking in it is maddening and cold. I only walked a couple of kilometers but it was enough. It is harder to walk by yourself when the scenery does not change much.

Mike made prairie chicken for supper. Charlene made pepper corn gravy. I readied the carrots which they made in a very delicious yet unusual way. The carrots were put in a covered casserole dish with added onions and butter. Then they put them in the oven and baked them. I baked cut up Bindy potatoes. I had left over salmon. Wow, what a great supper! Can't speak for the chicken but Ken thought it was great, took a few helpings.







Yes, it does sound like all we did was cook and enjoy the fruits of our efforts. Well sort of but what the heck we are on holidays and visiting family. What are we supposed to do, be productive? No way, we are to enjoy each others company. Another thing we did was dishes, yes washing, drying, you know, all that stuff you had to do before dishwashers. My Sister's dishwasher was on the fritz so we did dishes the old fashioned way. It just gave us more time to visit. It was ok. Mike and Ken did haul the old junker outside. Mike hauled it to the dump, even had to pay $10 to give it its final boot out of the truck and out of his life.



Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Cold Cloudy
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's wonderful home
Once up I looked out the front window and saw the van. I thought I saw frost on the windows. I was fooled, it was humidity or rain.

I woke up in the night (what is new:) and felt strangely like I had neglected to do all the tasks we planned to do at Charlene's. It sort of haunted my for awhile until I resolved to accomplish at least something when I got up in the morning. Yes, I did actually did something important, I compiled all our receipts for the month of September and registered them in this journal. It took longer than two hours. I think I had better do the receipt thing at least every day or so. It would be so much more efficient. Ken was out in the cold picking apples off the lawn. It is a little hard to mow, running over big apples.

When Mike got home he started getting Roma tomatoes ready to be processed. I asked how I could help. We cut tomatoes in thirds in preparation for his Cabela's dehydrator. We both cut, placed in wire racks. Then Mike brushed olive oil on each slice and added Italian spice. He will dehydrate the toms at 140 degrees F. overnight and for part of tomorrow. We did four racks at about 24" X18" in size. If that was not enough we also filled a big crockpot with less than desirable tomatoes for either sauce or paste. That will cook all day tomorrow.

Then Mike and I cut up veggies for pizza. They cook their veggies so Ken was put in- charge of that. Ken was also in-charge of making apple crisp, a specialty of his. Those guys had thawed out some tomato paste to use as a base for the pizza. The crust was naan bread. So naan bread, home-made tomato paste, fried onions and red peppers, black olives with sliced mozzarella cheese placed on top. Bake in the oven until bubbly cheese appears. Oh, was it good! Between the pizza and the apple crisp we were pretty full. But it was all so delicious!!!





Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Cold OverCast
Last night we stayed at Charlene and Mike's prairie home
Awesomeness: We could also do the laundry because when I asked if they would mind they were fine with us doing our wash.

October, wow, I could not believe it! I thought it was still hovering around the end of September. This is what happens when you do not constantly look at a calendar.

We were in prep mode for leaving tomorrow. Not looking forward to leaving my family but this is a plan we have been looking forward to for awhile, months in fact. My Sister and Brother-in-law are getting more company on Friday or Thursday evening. I decided I should vacuum the house and do a bit of cleaning so Charlene does not have to rush around like crazy after we leave, Thursday after having worked all day. It was not really a big deal to me but it might really help her. I also did our final load of laundry in preparation for the long journey ahead.

Charlene and Mike had a great idea for my birthday. She booked an appointment for a massage and so today was the day I drove into Estevan for the massage. She was not as good as my regular massage therapist, Tammy. It was interesting to see that this young therapist's style still helped my low back. The appointment was in a very interesting place, an old stone church. Actually in the basement of the old church. Good gift idea.

I wanted to find purple or pink sandals for our Mexico adventure. I actually found some today in a reputable brand, Teva.


All four of us were invited to Shannon and Levi's home for supper.









Levi had gone hunting the week before and, dare I say it, killed an elk. He is a marvelous cook and made everyone elk stew. The thoughtful people that they are, they made me something I could eat because elk was definitely not it. Levi made salmon on a cedar slab with a dill type of sauce overtop. Wow, it was so good, I could not stop eating it. Plus there was salad and mashed potatoes. These were not regular mashed potatoes. They had bulbs of roasted garlic in them and a slab of cream cheese, so good. Unfortunately Levi did not get to stick around to hear the accolades of his cooking because he had to work a night shift.








Once back at Charlene and Mike's we watch a TV special on Alice Cooper. "Eighteen" and "Schools Out" the anthems of our generation, is now drifting in and out of my mind.






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