Part 11: autumn means to me

It snowed. 

Making it feel that autumn is over for me. 

Even if it's not officially over, my body can feel it. 

The cold chill of wind across the face. 

The frosted car after an evening shift. 

The mittens warming my hands. 

The thermostat turned up. 

For me it happened on Sunday. 

A nice visit with Mark's grandpa and aunt. 

Warm soup, turkey and buns. 

A quick visit to another neighboring town to see a baby. 

Saw another nursling that I graduated with. 

Back in lougheed headed to get Chinese food. 

Drive back into town in snow. 

White out conditions. 

Yes this is also what autumn means to me.  

Snow. 

Thus ending my fall posts. 

It was a fantastic fall. 

Love

Zombie Invasion

So my husband texted me the other day and told me about a zombie 5km this Saturday. Weird. My husband although in probably the most incredible shape I have ever seen him in, really dislikes running. I should know. 7 years trying to get him to run, I have been successful only twice. What's a girl to think?

Well a girl must go home to get the explanation. Eager to give the rundown, he explained, "it's a zombie invasion, Tracey. You get flags and zombies run after you and take them, symbolic of your life. You can either finish the race as 'dead' or alive."

So, my first initial reaction was probably shock. This, in all honesty is one of my worst fears. I mean running and having people jump out at me screaming. Seriously? It sounded like a recreation of the haunted corn maze where I spent a half an hour shrieking my head off. Plus people that look like zombies kind of freak me out. 

But then my partner looked so excited and his excitement rubbed off on me. I told him I was in. I mean how many silly things have I asked him to do over the years and he never fails to show up and have fun. 

He alerted the facebook network and we got two other people to join in on our zombie adventure.  My lovely friend Melissa and her husband John. Both with incredible outlooks. John: "beautiful day to be outside and have fun."  

Now for the honest truth. I am not and have not been in the greatest shape up to this date. The last run I have done was the colour me rad (I think in June?). Yikes. I have been enjoying my leisure work outs of dog walks, occasional hikes, and cruising on my bike. This is slightly a humbling thing for me to admit as there were times I could beat my partner but with his shape where he is and mine where it is he leaves me in the dust. Hopefully in the coming months I can keep up to his pace. 

The race began. All good except in the beginning my belt was too loose and I lost all my flags. Grr. Luckily we had extras so I ran with one for awhile. Managed to escape the zombies. Melissa and I took a bit of a leisurely run/walk...then the intensity occurred. 

Half way mark, the zombies increased. Melissa spotted cookies and a ribbon on the ground. Saying just that. Then my worst fear occurred as a 'zombie' jumped out from hiding behind a car screaming. There may have been louder ones coming from my mouth, as I ran away in terror. 

Continued on and found a few RN zombies. Tried to talk some sense into them (I mean come on, they were me once)! No takers. But dodged them too. Then it happened I died. Someone took my flag about 3/4 in. It was a sad death. I tried to protect Melissa with her two ribbons but some 'zombie children' caught her 100m to the finish. 

Even though we died it was fun. Our husbands were waiting by the finish line for us and also fell victim to the children. Dang it. We all laughed and reenacted our versions of the race. Add soup and muffins supplied by the race and some dogs to cuddle, it was a great day. 

Love

Happy thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving everyone. 

It's been a windy fall day here. But we managed to sneak in a dog walk in the river valley, rake the leaves, and have a fantastic roast dinner with pumpkin pie. Yum. Really couldn't ask for more. 

Sometimes I think we (people) dwell on the things we don't have rather than focus on all that we do have. So many things to really be thankful for. Opportunities, people, circumstances, etc. It's nice it have a little reminder in a holiday form to give us all a gentle nudge.

Happy thanksgiving.

Love 

Part 10: autumn means to me

Harvesting squash

Preparing and cooking squash

Freezing squash

Gee I sure hope we like squash ;)

Love

ooo animal commericals...i love thee

I had been meaning to post these awhile ago...mostly just cause I love the commercials and they kind of bring an emotional tear to my eye. I guess the advertising worked...sorry Mark. lol

And I guess I am an animal sap.







love

Part 9: autumn means to me

Hot apple cider

On a cool day

With blustering winds

Right before work

Love

Part 8: autumn means to me

Frost in the mornings.

Love

Part 7: autumn means to me

Fall clothes come out

Skirts

Long boots

Warm sweaters

Fuzzy mittens

Tights

Hats

Feelings of being cozy

Love

Part 6: autumn means to me

Raking leaves

Cool breezes

Damp air

Cleaning out flower pots

Cleaning out birds nests

All with my partner

Love

Part 5: autumn means to me

Pickling

Beets

Carrots

Cucumbers

From the garden 

Love

Part 4: autumn means to me

It's not always good. 

Autumn also means fruit flies. 

Thus the apple cider vinegar traps are out. 

But....

Autumn also means the fall decorations come out. 

Quilts, pumpkins, candles. 

Oranges, reds, yellows. 

Love

Part 3: autumn means to me

Visiting old co-workers on a road trip to small town Alberta

Seeing a new little one that is only two weeks old

Getting a tour of the town

Having the best pumpkin pie I have ever tried

Looking at the beautiful fall fields, filled with cows, spotting hawks and deer

Meeting baby kitties, even if one was a little crabby spitting at us

Seeing combining up close and personal

Laughing hysterically at road trip shenanigans 

Good fall day overall with friends

Love

Part 2: autumn means to me

Biking in the river valley.

All the pretty leaves crunching against the tires

Enjoying a beautiful day.

Love

This is what autumn means to me

Warm days with leaves bright yellow and orange.

Markets filled with juicy fruits, sunflowers, and final veggies. 

Pumpkins. 

Crisp night air, winds during the day, sun shining. 

And pies. Lots 8 at this moment to be exact. 

Even if they did get a little toasted. 

Love

Beauty

Sometimes it just takes a moment to be present in a situation and marvel at the beauty around us. 

Love

What I learned about my family

My Great Aunt Elizabeth, who was an RN in the armed forces, delivered a baby all by herself. The doctor's wife, in fact as the doctor wasn't there.

She is also quite hilarious and had me laughing. Not only that but she is fiercely loyal now but even when she was young, it was her and my Grampie against the world. I love that about her and them. But I didn't learn that...I already knew.

My mother, who travelled all around the USA and Canada went on her first trip to Ottawa (along with myself) during this trip. Took a tour of the parliament and visited the pioneer ladies.

My dad with his brother had pet pigeons growing up. Homing pigeons. But when they set them free to get them to "home" back. They left....to their original home. Prior to them being set free, dad also had the pleasure to sell two of them at a local fair for 5$. Apparently that was a big deal. 

Lake Superior is very huge. The birth place of Winnie the Pooh is in Ontario. And in Wawa, ON I found a giant goose (AB isn't the only one with the world's biggest).

My mom's cousins Joanne and Greg seemed destined to bump into famous people all the time. In PEI they met the lead singer of RUSH.

Not only that buy Greg seems to look like famous people (Martin Scorsese and Mike Love...beach boy fame).

My Nan's family owned a mountain prior to the deep depression. 

Card games continue to be loads of fun. Especially with competitive people (cough cough, Great Aunt Elizabeth). Even when you lose. 65 was the game. 

I have some family members with some eerie psychic connections. My Grampie, my aunt, and great aunt.

My Great Aunt Helen smiles with her eyes and has the same smile as my Grampie did. That makes me happy and feel warm inside as I feel him here with us. She also has the same soft voice. I don't have any other family members with that soft voice and it was another gentle reminder of my buddy.

I continue to have a love for kayaking...even if it can involve "bumper kayaks" and I get accused of being a river hog (wink, wink...dad).

My cousin Heidi is a truly hilarious and honest new mom. She and her little one had me laughing quite a bit. It was nice to see her, and I am sorry I couldn't get out to see the others!

Till next time,

Love

Man and dog

So men go out and hike

They bring a dog

I love this dog

But after this hike 

My love is a little bit less

Because this happened 

And after two baths

He still smells

Life with a dog

Kind of glad I only had to see him in the end

Love

The gardener

So I have learned to accept (and love) the fact that I married the gardener and that he loves gardening. Remember this. Well the completed back meant that the side was free to do. And guess what? This is what the gardener loves so much! He loves loves loves growing food. And I have been the lucky partner to reap the rewards!

Mid May, while I was visiting my parents, a big chunk of dirt was delivered to our driveway (sadly, some still remains, ha ha ha). That was the beginning of the project. 

The gardener was busy away planting little seedlings of lettuce...three kinds, swiss char, corn, radishes, onions, shallots, green beans, peas, beets and potatoes. And under the heat lamp he fostered little cucumbers, squash, watermelons, pumpkins, and cantelope.

And then one warm spring day, we started to see growth. 

And then we went on holidays. While away the brother came by and watered the garden (and thus taking partial credit for the result). Why? Because we came home to this. 

Craziness. Then the days got hotter. The gardener tended to his veggies. Watering. Weeding. And making multiple trips daily to the back to see the progress.  He could even be spotted at night with his headlamp on checking to see the growth progress. 

And so far this is what we have been lucky to receive. 

Fresh salads, raw veggies, cooked veggies and even some to pickle. Exciting. 

And even the dog has been lucky to snag a few veggies. 

Love

Road trip life

This is what road trip life was like for me this summer. 

Open roads with mountains everywhere

Our big old red truck taking us where we wanted to go

Road trip songs blasting through the speakers

Blue skies, little rain

Laughter, lomg talks, few arguments, more laughs after 

Spontaneous stops because we really had no specific destination

Food trucks like tacofino in Kelowna or real authentic tacos in California

Fruit stands, homemade ice cream, chocolate/gas station stops

Remembering your childhood as you passed by mini golf, go carts

You said that we would stop when we saw some amazing water slides...

Those didn't come till 1000 at night on our way home, ha ha ha. 

Stops at campsites in state parks

Meeting some neighbours close by who made homemade fireworks...

One opts out one opts in

I'll let you guess which one is which 

Ordering pizza at a campsite cause they actually delivered and you just can

Learning about Lewis and Clark

Seeing a bear, YIKES, never get used to that

Visiting a lighthouse 

Playing stettlers at night and getting beaten, ugh!

Exploring the towns

Plenty of homemade fudge, salt water taffy and kites galore

Arcade with old fashioned games like a shooting range (toys) and videos

Visiting markets and buying good eats and toys for little ones

Visiting beaches and spontaneously going for a dip

Run, and or play in the sand

Admiring the driftwood

Driftwood houses too

Admiring the surfers and longing to be that good

If only an ocean was in your backyard

Still enjoyable to see

Seeing the majestic redwoods

Having more that a few moments with the trees

Admiring their beauty, stillness, and age

Having wonderment of all that the trees have been around in their lifetime

 

And doing those silly stops like drive through a tree

And noting how humans can mange to make even a tree a commercial entity

Worrying as we were in a one way line if our truck would actually fit

It did

 

 

Driving away as fast as we came

As we had some wine tasting stops that needed attending

And that it was

Yum yum for me as you played driver that day

Thanks!

 

 

Love

What summer means to me

Activities

Bike riding

 To the market

 To the grocery store

 To the mall

 With my partner

 Just to anywhere

Walks

 To the dog park

 Around the neighborhood

 With friends

 With family

 Enjoying the sun

 Enjoying the night sky

 On a mountain

Markets

 Buying fruit

 Doughnuts

 Plants

 Veggies

 Enjoying the atmosphere

Movies

Gardening

 Weeding

 Watching your partner work so hard

 Growing vegetable of plenty

 Enjoying the flowers you plant

 Admiring the hard work at hand

Family

 Hearing stories from the east, central and coast

 Having a special little boy be born smack dab in the middle, welcome baby e

 Having funny stories of magpie attacks

 Having family members take care of your home and pets

 Having a home cooked meal when one comes home from work

 Enjoying summer months with the one you love

Vacations

Hiking

Road tripping 

Seeing new places

Visiting old

Hanging with friends and family

Playing cards

Enjoying the beaches

Creeks

Rivers

All body of water

Food

Green onion cakes

BBQ 

Salads

Fat Franks

Kettle corn

Slushies

Wine (red and white)

Banana boats

Ice cream

Margaritas 

Salt water taffy

Sea food

Restaurants

Food trucks

Snow cones

And knowing it is still going to be here for awhile longer

Love