Across the Range

Had to share this. lol!

2012-01-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

2012 New Year

2012-01-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors,

and let each new year find you a better man."

- Benjamin Franklin

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:39:00.000-06:00

Hope you have all been enjoying a wonderful holiday season! I love Christmas - the joy of giving, celebrating Jesus' birth, the lights, the music/carols...and just the warmth of the season. My day didn't end up going quite as planned but it was still nice. I was heading up to church and stopped in to check my neighbour's coal boiler as we've been having water pressure issues with it. This time someone had left the water on so the pressure was too high. I ended up keeping an eye on it for the rest of the morning/early afternoon until the pressure stabilized in the range where we've been trying to keep it. Around 2:30 I was able to make it up to Verena's where I had been invited to have Christmas dinner with her and her family. It was an enjoyable afternoon/evening with delicious food and great fellowship. We were also able to give their new telescope a try. And to make the day even better I got a Bernie Brown travel coffee mug (yes, Verena knows me too well! ;) ) filled with chocolates. My friends are the best! :) I have so much to be thankful for!

How was your Christmas? Favourite moments and memories?

Friends

2011-12-14T14:52:00.000-06:00

Naomi and I on her wedding day - Sept 10th, 2011

Scatter seeds of kindness everywhere you go;
Scatter bits of courtesy - watch them grow and grow.
Gather buds of friendship;
Keep them till full-blown;
You will find more happiness than you have ever known.
- Amy R. Raabe

The Last Thing You Do - High Valley

2011-12-12T20:28:00.001-06:00

This group has become one of my favourites. Love the country style and their songs actually have substance and good messages. They have an interesting background/history and are from Alberta! :) You can read more about them here: High Valley Music

Today's Inspiring Words. lol.

2011-12-12T11:17:00.000-06:00

What every cat should know. haha!

2011-12-11T13:38:00.001-06:00

Hunting Season

2011-12-07T17:17:00.001-06:00

Lost in Canada

2011-11-15T09:33:00.001-06:00

An American and his wife were driving in Canada and got lost on the prairie. After what seemed like forever, they finally came to a city.

When they saw a gentleman on the sidewalk they pulled up to the curb and the lady wound down her window and asked: "Excuse me, sir. Where arewe?"

The gentleman replied, "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan."

The woman rolled up the window, turned to her husband and said,

"We really are lost. They don't even speak English here!"

Remembrance Day - May we never forget their sacrifice

2011-11-11T23:10:00.001-06:00

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.

Lieutenant John McCrae

Newest project - SLC sign

2011-10-24T20:00:00.003-06:00

It has been too long since I last posted. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up over the next while. My latest project was designing a sign for our barn which I made yesterday. Getting ready to ship chicks at 1 AM so my busy schedule will continue on for a while!

My fancy instruments. lol. Used a ruler and then the bowl on the curves to get a uniform, consistent arc.

Taped the template to the diamond shape and then cut it out with the ladybug cutter. I had it from scrapbooking and it came in very handy!

I was planning to use regular paint but seeing there were several cans of spray paint that came with the place I decided it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. It was a tough decision between JD green and black. lol.

To seal off the sign I used three coats of clear weatherproof spray.

I'm pretty happy with how the sign turned out. Not professional by any means but it will work for the time being. :D

River Flows in You

2011-08-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

My sister, Erin, playing Yiruma's "River Flows in You."

Barn Maintenance

2011-07-30T00:48:00.000-06:00

Had to replace another section in the airline. It comes from the boiler shed in the background there and into the shop part of the barn.

The faucet broke off a few days before I was going to place chicks a few cycles back. I didn't have the necessary fittings on hand to replace it at the time so I ended up just screwing an end cap in to stop the water.

Two fittings and a new faucet from the hardware store did the trick. :)

Straightening finned pipe. Not the most fun job I've ever tackled. It took me about 5 or 6 hours and by the time it was done my knees weren't thanking me. :P They are fairly flexible so I pushed them all back into place with a screwdriver.

Before:

After:

And the lovely fogger hose. The braided hose at 84 PSI could not compete with the 200 PSI being run though it. :P

Very awkward to work on the line. You are on a ladder with your head squished into the corner and then you drop the screwdriver into the bucket of water below that was catching the water flowing out when you cut the hose.

I always forget that the hose slides in like a breeze at the top and at the bottom not so. After many unkind thoughts, sore nails, and scraped fingers, I got it pushed into place and the clasps tightened. I picked up this hose from JD and it is good for 300 PSI and it can handle hot oil. So, with just cold water flowing through at 200 PSI I'm hoping this problem is fixed for good.

This was the first time for a feedline cable to snap on me. Thankfully the Co-op in town had the right size cable I need to fix the line.

Connecting the new piece of cable.

The cable went through the the opening into the box at the end. I had to unscrew the box off first and join the cable in there as well.

This Master Craft tool set has been one of the best investments!

Busy times!

2011-07-30T00:15:00.002-06:00

It's been too long since I posted here and it hasn't been because of lack of things happening in my life. :) The past while has consisted mainly of chickens (obviously), barn maintenance, yard work, sewing for Naomi's wedding, helping with cleaning and making tortillas at KLBC, and turning 30 which my neighbour didn't let slip by unnoticed. :) So life is crazy but good. I can't complain. :) I'm going to post pictures of some of what I've been up to and hopefully not too long down the road I'll be able to get back to regular blogging.

After the office flooding incident, I had to go underneath the trailer and put a new waterline in so I would be able to water the garden. Not the funnest job between working in small quarters and the cob webs. It reminded me of Frodo in LOTR getting all wrapped up in the web. lol.

Two trips to the hardware store and then I could finally get started.

After assessing the situation with my neighbour, I figured it would be easiest to "T" off the mainline here.

The faucet is a little lower than the previous one. The copper pipe at the other end is about 1/4" higher so it will drain and help keep it from freezing this winter.

And it worked! :)

Bleeding Heart

Another great year for gardening here.

I had seeded all three flower beds by the house but no flowers came up. :( Just recently Superstore greenhouse had their flowers on a great discount so I was able to fill the whole front for only $25. Adds some nice colour to the yard. :)

Beautiful. Inspiring. Amazing.

2011-06-10T23:07:00.000-06:00

Thomas Jefferson Quote

2011-06-08T08:12:00.000-06:00

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

This is Cranford... :D

2011-06-06T17:41:00.000-06:00

This sign makes me smile every time I pass by it going back to AB. It is about an hour from where I grew up. Though I've never been there I'm determined to turn at the sign next time and see if I end up at a delightfully similar village. lol. :) Until then I'll keep enjoying small town Saskatchewan up here where I feel like I'm living in a Cranford misnamed. :)

Davidson Farm Pics

2011-06-06T15:26:00.000-06:00

Pics from our Davidson farm where I stayed overnight on my way back to AB. Here is the seeding rig.

Graham was hauling something (canola??).

Take me home country roads...

The camper is over here now and Erin is using it as her living quarters for the farming season.

Yes, I had to take another picture of the barn. :D

The jokes about Saskatchewan highways are not unfounded...

Truck Cleaning

2011-06-01T19:22:00.001-06:00

It was too windy to spray for weeds today so I decided to tackle cleaning both trucks-the Ford work truck and the Honda which is my good truck. Last year with their being so much outside work, I never got around to giving the Ford a good cleaning so it was due for one.

I'm back and the adventures continue...

2011-05-31T23:54:00.000-06:00

Since the last post time has flown by and yesterday it was already time to place chicks again! After about a week of barn clean-up, I headed back to AB to work at the dairy for a week and sell trees. I stopped at the Davidson farm on the way there and way back since it is about half way between my place and the AB place. Then it was back home here to do a bit of barn repair and get the barn ready for chicks again. Now yard work has begun so the days are even getting busier. I enjoy being outdoors and am loving how early it gets light out and stays late into the evening.

I'll be uploading some pics of the past few weeks in following posts but leave you with a few from today's adventure. I was watering my flowerbeds and then stepped into the house to see my office carpet and entryway floor soaked with water. The spigot where I was watering from is on the outside of the house right behind the office wall. There must be a leak (maybe the line froze though I did keep it heated under the house during the winter) and for how it was installed the line can't really be accessed to work on so I'll have to put another line in if I want to be able to water the garden and flowers. Right now I'm hoping and praying it will rain. :)

1 year

2011-05-10T21:01:00.003-06:00

Today marks a year since moving here. Shipping our 6th chicken cycle happened to fall on the same day and, yes, it certainly was memorable. I had concerns about the driveway being too soft for the trucks to drive on and had a couple loads of gravel hauled. The gravel truck got stuck but my neighbour arrived shortly after and was able to pull him out. My neighbour spread it around with his one tractor while I moved gravel around in the load out area. We thought we'd have the chicken trucks come in from the south instead of the north this time as the north driveway has remained solid despite all the snow melting and then rain. The only drawback is that the narrowness at the approach isn't very forgiving to big trucks trying to turn in or out. The first truck driver thought he be able to head out the south way ok if he got moving fast enough. Both sides of the road being soft and having a 54' trailer was not a good combination and he ended up coming a little too far to the right and the back of the truck sunk down and he gave stuck a new definition. I called my neighbour around 12:15 AM and he came with his Versatile. The trucker brought a tow strap with him since sometimes one truck will help pull another one around the yard in these muddy spring conditions. My neighbour tried to use it with his tractor but then moved to his longer strap. He pulled him a couple feet ahead and then attempted to pull him out by lunging ahead but not a whole more progress was made. I believe at this time the tow strap bust apart rending it useless. In the meantime the front tires on the chicken truck were miring down and the same thing was starting to happen with the Versatile.

Plan B was to remove the chicken crates to lighten the load with the forklift which is used for loading and unloading. However, considering the angle of the truck it wasn't even possible to remove the back crates. And, now with the truck being moved a little further ahead, it was in the absolute worst spot for the forklift to try and remove the chickens from the front of the truck. The forklift operator tried to drive to the front of the truck and sunk right down on the side. So, my neighbour unhooked his tractor and came and pulled him out. My neighbour's nephew arrived with their other tractor but with the clutch almost gone in it, it didn't end up being used.

Plan C arrived with the discussion to call a tow truck with a winch from Yorkton which is over an hour away but who they call when they run into impossible stuck situations.

Plan D (at which time I was hoping we weren't going to travel through the whole alphabet trying to find a solution) was thankfully the final attempt and successful solution to our problem. My neighbour called another neighbour who is a county councilor and farmer in the area and has a JD tracks tractor. He arrived around 2 AM and pulled the truck out almost effortlessly. And, I finally breathed a sigh of relief that the truck remained upright and intact the whole time.

So, that was enough excitement for today. Another day, another year, another challenge. What can I say? The worst didn't happen, the weather cooperated, I have neighbours that will get up in the wee hours in the morning to come help simply because it is the neighbourly thing to do, and the rest of the trucks made it out the north driveway with no problems.

What can you say about where you live?? Right now I think my area ranks at the top. :D

You can see the tracks on the left where the forklift got stuck and where the truck got stuck on the right.

More truck marks due to the soft ground and heavy trucks but at least they didn't get stuck driving through.

C.S. Lewis Quote

2011-05-04T17:10:00.001-06:00

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
~ C. S. Lewis

Canadian Election 2011

2011-05-02T21:19:00.001-06:00

Wow, what an election! Historical. Conservative majority with major shifts in the NDP, Liberal, and Bloc Parties.

Another week = more farm experience

2011-05-01T20:47:00.001-06:00

Monday started off with my neighbour delivering feed. He noticed the auger making a clicking sound so checked it out after the feed finished unloaded. The problem was with the bearing which was shot causing the flighting to slip down and turn against the container it sits in. I asked my neighbour who I should call to get it looked at and the guy was able to come out the next day. I had about four days until the next load of feed would need to be hauled so wanted to make sure it would be fixed by then though I probably still could have made it work?? The bearing was removed and the flighting ended up slipping down a few more inches. There is a connection part way up and the guy could not get it to slip back in place so it turned into sort of a big ordeal. We ended up having to take the motor off the top of the auger (it was very heavy and awkward to move), pull the whole thing down, get the flighting back in place, secure it, and then get the auger back in place and the motor back on. All I can say is that I hope I never have to do it again. The whole process took about 7-8 hours and for part of it I was sitting on the bin lid 30' up in the air or on the side trying to help get the motor off and then back in place. And an extra pleasant twist was that it was windy the second time working up there. :P Before I used to think that picking sweet clover or picking rocks tied for the worst farm job, however, this topped them both by miles. It could be labelled the most "un-fun" day I've had in my life. I can't tell you how thankful I am that it back and in proper working order.

In the meantime I was doing chores at the neighbour's for a few days since both he and his nephew were gone. So, it seemed all I was doing was going back and forth between both places for a couple days. At the end of one of the evenings I walk into my barn and hear a funny noise...nooooo! The last feed line is merrily running augering feed past the last feed pan with the sensor and on to the ground where the pile has reached the motor. I turned the switch off and then called my neighbour as I couldn't figured out the problem. My electrical problem diagnosis is very limited. :P My neighbour figured it was probably the relay. I called the electrician who was just on the other side of town and said he'd come over. It was 8:30 and I was going to have to go out every few hours and manually turn on the feed line if I couldn't get it fixed. The relay was the problem and I ended up having to go back to my neighbour's (thankfully he only lives about 1/2 mile away as I've made the trip many a time) to find the right one that would work.

I keep thinking (or is it maybe deceiving myself?? :P :D ) after I encounter another problem that not much else can happen or go wrong that hasn't already since I moved here. Maybe one of these times the same thing will go wrong and I'll actually be able to take care of of it myself completely. Until then I'll keep acknowledging every problem as another challenge resulting in more experience and who knows maybe I'll write a book about it all one day. :D

Regardless of the multitude of challenges and problems that have arisen, I love living out in the country here and wouldn't trade it for anything!

Spring is finally here...I think

2011-05-01T20:01:00.000-06:00

The snow finally melted and just the other day I put away my snow shovel. The next day SE Saskatchewan got blasted with a blizzard, icy roads, and rain causing treacherous driving conditions and the closure of several roads. I was jokingly reminded that I shouldn't have put away my snow shovel until June. So, sorry Saskatchewan, I promise not to make the same mistake next year. :) Thankfully my area further north missed getting any snow or rain-just around freezing temps and a strong north wind.

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T23:23:00.000-06:00

I didn't get up in the middle of the night to watch the wedding live but I did watch part of the ceremony today online. Graceful. Spectacular. Impressive. Beautiful. Can't even begin to imagine all the planning that must have gone into the wedding. I absolutely loved Catherine's dress!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T12:32:00.000-06:00

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.

Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu’rors, through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.

Thomas Jefferson

2011-04-19T17:54:00.000-06:00

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan, 1816

Chicken Humour

2011-04-15T22:06:00.002-06:00

Visit Chicken Farmers of Canada

Grandma

2011-04-15T15:14:00.000-06:00

Happy 92nd Birthday, Grandma!

These pics were taken in 2009 when my whole family flew back to Nova Scotia for Grandma's 90th birthday.

Spring is finally coming!

2011-04-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

The past few days with 10*C + weather, spring finally feels like it is on its way. Since these pics even more snow has melted.

The water was pooling here since the snow was blocking it from flowing down along side the barn. I've been having to pump it out a few times throughout the day. Thankfully I've been able to keep it out of the barn so far.

On the board inside the barn. Suggestions for other quotes welcome. :D

10 Reasons to be from Saskatchewan

2011-04-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

You never run out of wheat
Those cool Saskatchewan Wheat Pool hats
Cruise control takes on a whole new meaning
Your province is really easy to draw
You never have to worry about roll-back if you have a standard
It takes you two weeks to walk to your neighbor's house
YOUR Roughriders survived
You can watch the dog run away from home for hours
People will assume you live on a farm
Buying a huge John Deere mower makes sense

Dryer Repair 101

2011-04-06T23:13:00.002-06:00

Since getting my own place I've gained a lot of experience learning how to trouble shoot and fix problems which has been challenging and fun...at least for the most part. :) Recently I had trouble with my dryer. I had noticed it was taking longer to dry and then I had started to notice a burnt smell so I shut it down and went searching online for a solution. The internet is so handy with DIY info! From what I read, it sure sounded like lint build up so I gathered my Shop Vac and a few tools and tackled this problem.

After pulling the dryer out and unplugging it, I started by vacuuming the vents on the back panel.

Then I went outside, removed the vent cap and vacuumed inside the duct/pipe as far as the vacuum hose would reach. After that was done I went back into the house and vacuumed it from the inside. Later I switched the Shop Vac hose to the blow setting to blow any remaining lint to the outside and then went back out and vacuumed once more.

I started the dryer up again but it still had the burnt smell so I decided to take the back panel off and see if there was more lint build up.

I also removed the whole lint tray and gave it a thorough cleaning.

I put it back together and now I have a dryer working again! There is satisfaction in being able to detect and figure out solutions for your problems. So, yeah, I'm happy. :)

The Saskatchewan Experience

2011-04-05T23:24:00.001-06:00

Saskatchewan. Known as the province 50 years behind the rest of the country. It probably is the brunt of most Canadian jokes just trailing behind Newfoundland...but we won't get off on that rabbit trail. Saskatchewan has been progressing and seems to be on an upward trend but once in a while something happens to remind you that it still has a ways to go.

- The Regina Fabricland closes at 5:30 on Friday evenings.
- Up here the Christmas candy goes on the very reduced sale after Valentines.
- When driving on secondary highways you feel like you are playing a video game trying to dodge and miss the potholes without crashing.
- If you don't have the correct right hand turning sign, you just turn a left hand one upside down. I'd have to say that this actually works good for giving directions. "Just turn at the upside down sign..." though I don't believe that that was the intention.

Now for small town humour:

The diced tomatoes were on a good sale the other day (esp for up here) so I decided to stock up a little bit on them. After shopping a little more I came back down the aisle to pick up a few more cans. The employee stocking the shelf with the canned goods stops, looks at me rather solemnly and in a serious tone starts telling me that she listened to some show on tv that was warning about canned goods and how they affect your health and are more or less killing you. Then she points over to the pasta across the aisle and starts talking about the dangers of plastic packaging and how that isn't good for you either and how you also shouldn't freeze stuff in plastic. Thankfully we didn't get around to the dangers of microwaves though I'm sure we would have had the conversation lasted much longer.

Then while waiting to use the ATM machine I couldn't help but hear the conversation taking place in front of me. An ambulance driving was ahead of me and then a middle aged woman came in. She started asking him if you can get into the service (you were in the navy, right??) if you have a record. He started talking about how they would see a criminal record. She said it wasn't that...just fines (which sounded drinking related) and she continued on with a hopeful voice. Well, I'm just thinking this might help get my son on track. Then she starts laughing about how she'd be in trouble if her son T. knew she talking about about him like this, esp with an audience. Wow, just wow. Thankfully I was able to avoid being part of the conversation though it was hard to act like you weren't hearing anything when you could only fit about 6 people in the space where the ATM was.

At the grocery checkout someone thought I was Minnie Zimmerman back to visit her mother. Uh, no, and I don't look like a Mennonite...make up on and no head covering. Funny what groups people label you with just because you are wearing a skirt. lol.

I've almost been living here for a year now and love it. I'm turning into a Saskatchewanian? Saskatchewanite? Well, whatever we are supposed to call ourselves...:) Come visit someday and you just might find yourself liking the province, people, and humour too. :)

Of wedding planning and friends...

2011-03-30T19:32:00.002-06:00

Last week Thursday I headed down to Carlyle to visit Naomi for a few days. We were finally able to work around both our schedules and find a few days that we were free. It ended up only being about a 3 hour drive (once again proof that Google maps is so far off their suggested travel time that it isn't funny...but I'll save that rabbit trail for another time) and the roads were good. A storm had moved through a few days earlier on and some of the roads weren't in great condition according to the SK highway updates but they must have cleared up for me. :)

And as always, even if we haven't seen each other for months, we pick right up where we left off the last time. :) We made a pasta with cheese and a cream sauce and Naomi's fiancé, Jesse, came and joined us. We watched "The Young Victoria" while having dinner and then had some Raspberry and Pomegranate Sherbet which was an awesome flavour combination.

The next day Naomi and I headed off to Regina for wedding shopping since Naomi is getting married in September and I'm going to be her maid of honour. :) It was a full day but we had a great time and we made progress with wedding plans, ideas, and details. A highlight of the day was being able to meet up with Gabi, a mutual friend of ours. She treated us to lunch at a nice restaurant and we had a great time talking and catching up with each other. Later in the afternoon we headed over to Fabricland to look for fabric which was the main stop of the trip to find out that on Friday it closes at 5:30 PM. Lovely. Seriously only in Saskatchewan do stores close at that time on a Friday evening. Ha. :P Just when you think Saskatchewan is finally starting to progress ahead you realize it still has a ways to go.

So, we decided to go back the next day. We left early Saturday morning so we would be there shortly after it opened. After a few hours we were walking out with the perfect fabrics for most the wedding party. I love when that happens. We didn't have to settle for any pieces that we thought were okay. They were exactly what we wanted right down to the colour, texture, and pattern. We were also able to find patterns for my dress, the bridesmaids' dresses, and the little girls' dresses. I had as much fun as Naomi I think. :)

After we arrived back we went and looked at some houses that Jesse had addresses for since they are house shopping and then stopped in at his folks' place and had a candy sampling session which went over quite well. :) Then we headed over to Connie's place where she had a delicious meal prepared: roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, baked beans, apple crisp, and pop and ice cream to make floats. Jesse and her wanted to play a new game and then we watched "Coraline."

Sunday morning was more relaxed and I played both keyboards downstairs for a little while to see how I liked the sound, feel, etc. of them. I'm hoping to purchase one sometime in the future as I really miss not having a piano around. A keyboard is going to be the best option (nothing beats a real piano!) as I can easily move it and don't need to get it tuned. Jesse came over late in the morning and then around 1 we went to the Theatre where the wedding and reception are going to be held. They were also starting theatre practice which I watched for a while and then said goodbye just before Naomi had to go up for her first line.

I had an uneventful trip home. It took a little longer since I stopped in Yorkton for some shopping. And, I got a Tim's which I always enjoy. :)

I've enjoyed having a little more time off between chicken cycles this time. I've been able to go to church a couple times, attend a Ladies Night, and have been able to help with Ladies Time Out (LTO) preparations. I've made one cheesecake and am going to make another one tomorrow and then go help decorate in the afternoon/evening. Friday evening is LTO and then Saturday I'll be busy getting the barn ready for chicks which arrive Monday!

So, how has your week been??

Faithful - Chris Tomlin

2011-03-23T21:15:00.000-06:00

More snow!

2011-03-17T22:02:00.000-06:00

Guess winter isn't ready to leave yet. About another 6" fell between yesterday afternoon and this morning. There was even more by the house since the wind blew more in that direction. At least the temperatures have been fairly nice getting up to at least around freezing.

Irish Saying

2011-03-17T13:06:00.000-06:00

“It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears.” - Irish Saying

One year ago...

2011-03-12T22:17:00.000-06:00

Today marks a year from when we first drove over and looked at this place. Wow, so much has happened since then. It has been a year full of change, experience, challenge, and yes, even discouragement at times. However, I love it up here and am so happy to call it home! :D

Until we got more familiar with the area, this silo (which was the closest neighbour's) was a most convenient land mark when we would be driving down the gravel road trying to locate the farm. :)

Fundamentalists

2011-03-10T17:39:00.001-06:00

Borrowed this from Naomi's blog. http://treasuriesofjoy.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-sense-of-humor.html

This is all humorous and sad at the same time and, unfortunately, sums up most Fundamentalists pretty accurately. I've been guilty of it myself before. Now I just want a relationship with the Lord rather than taking security in countless man made rules that cause division and don't bring any honour to Him. I dislike labels more and more...I'm just a Bible believing Christian. :)

The List So Far -- by Darrell from http://www.stufffundieslike.com/

1. I am right and you are wrong. Always.
2. Unity Means Agreeing With Me That My Pastor Is Right.
3. The less certain something is, the more certain you must appear to be about it.
4. If you cannot win an argument with logic you must simply outlast your opponent. Once he gives up, declare victory.
5. There is no fight that is not worth fighting.
6. The less fun it is the godlier it must be.
7. Women’s primary purpose is to serve as a temptation to men. They are also somewhat useful for housework.
8. All God’s people shall say “amen.” This is never an inappropriate response.
9. If it is new it is bad. If it is old it is good. (with the exception that if it is really, really old then it is likely to be Catholic)
10. There is no situation that a good dose of ministerial yelling can’t fix.
11. Old Testament rules about sex, tattoos, women in pants, and the death penalty still apply. Old Testament rules about lobster don’t. (That is why we call this the Age of Grace)
12. Invitations shall continue until the Spirit is satisfied that enough people have come to the altar as revealed to the pastor. The Spirit shall be extra hard to satisfy on any Superbowl Sunday.
13. ON THE INTERNET, BIBLICAL TRUTH IS BEST COMMUNICATED VIA CAPSLOCK
14. Mormons are considered to be Christians for the following purposes:
a) National Elections
b) Political Talk Shows
c) Songs for God and Country Sunday
15. Neither this nor any other list of rules can be considered exhaustive; a majority shall always be unspoken, arbitrary, and subject to change at the whim of the authority.
16. It’s much better to have an innocent person die than to tell a lie to a Nazi.
17. A man is to be as much of a leader of his own house as his pastor will let him be.
18. Thou shalt not speak out against other fundamentalists on any subject that really matters. Keep disputes as trivial as possible lest you risk having your own dirty laundry exposed.
19. Spare the rod and spoil the child. (A “rod” being defined as a paddle, stick, belt, spatula, wooden spoon, rubber hose, truncheon, flail, or anything else that happens to be handy)
20. A man may not wear glasses connected by a chain for if they should slip off his nose and dangle about his neck, someone may be made to think that he is wearing a necklace and that is the appearance of evil.
21. Pastors should preach as frequently as possible on sin — preferably the sins of other people
22. Gays are responsible for pretty much every bad thing that happens in America. Africans are responsible for the rest.
23. We reject the authority of the Pope to speak ex cathedra on matters of doctrine. That’s what local church pastors are for.
24. We believe in individual soul liberty — although we’ve never seen a good reason for anybody to actually use it.
25. Dancing is an abomination unless it takes place in a classic film or on the stage of a Gilbert & Sullivan musical at a fundamentalist college.
26. The joy, joy, joy, joy must reside down in your heart. (Where? down in your heart!)
27. In movies sex is bad but violence is fine. (The Bible contains both but we’d rather you didn’t mention it)
28. Prayers must be said before all meals, ball games, and road trips. As long as you’re not using the Lord’s Prayer this is not considered vain repetition.
29. When swimming, a woman shall wear enough layers of clothing to double her weight when immersed.
30. A Christian taking government aid is a sure sign they are not trusting God. (Not that our church is going to start paying its employees enough to live on, mind you. )
31. If you send your child to public school you may as well brand 666 on their forehead and get it over with. No child can emerge from that den of liberalism anything other than a Gay Satanist Democrat.
32. There are not two sides to every story. There is only the truth and the lies made up by those liberal compromisers who Satan is using to attack our ministry.
33. We deny the mysticism of the Catholics and the signs and wonders of the charismatics. We do, however, have a litany of strange coincidences to get us totally stoked.
34. When a pastor gets caught doing wrong his job is to deny, deny, deny. Your job is to back him up to the bitter end.
35. “Fellowship” = “Food”
36. In a business meeting all in favor of the pastor’s motion shall signify by saying “aye.” All opposed shall shut up if they know what’s good for them.
37.If there’s hair touching your ears, there’s sin in your heart.
38. Anything that annoys the pastor annoys Jesus too.
39. Any church members who is not “here and in their place” during special meetings will be punished by being used as a sermon illustration.
40. Nobody is allowed to criticize our ministry unless they have gone out and built a ministry of equal size. (Then we’ll ignore them because they’re liberal)
41. Microphone feedback during a sermon is a sure sign of satanic attack against the preacher.
42. The truth shall not be allowed to get in the way of any good sermon illustration.
43. Any growth in our church is a sure sign of God’s blessing on our ceaseless soul winning efforts. Any growth in your church is due to seeker sensitive gimmicks and soft preaching on sin.
44. Alcohol is allowed in your home if 1. It is hidden in cough syrup 2. You pretend not to like it 3. You consume no more than 4 bottles a week.
45. Context? Our proof texts don’t need no stinkin’ context!
46. The moving picture house is a bastion of wickedness. Watching the same (G Rated) movies at home is just fine.
47. If you can’t find a Scripture verse that proves your point, substitute a quote from another fundamentalist instead. It’s practically as good.
48. The only proper color for a man’s Bible is black. Men who choose any other color are likely to be the sort who also part their hair in the middle and enjoy cooking a little too much.
49. Every date is a potential mate. Not that we’re trying to put pressure on you or anything.
50. As much as we dislike Muslims, we do admire the way they keep their women in line.
51. Bad things that happen to me and mine are persecution and attacks of Satan. Bad things that happen to you and yours are God’s judgment for your sinful ways.
52. The King James version was written to bring the Bible into the language of the common man of the 1600′s. If today’s common man can’t understand it that’s his own stupid fault.
53. Adding even one word Bible is sacrilege of the worst kind. Unless, of course, your pastor told you to write it in the margin. Then it’s all good.
54. When you really want to be taken seriously, use lots of Comic Sans. This goes double for your church website.
55. The fact that toddlers will instinctively dance to music with a beat is evidence of their Adamic nature.
56. Rock music is perfectly acceptable to play in church so long as the person doing it is an evangelist who is demonstrating exactly how wrong it is to play rock music in church.
57. All families must have as many children as physically possible. This will only lead to economic hardship if you lack sufficient faith.
58. Halloween is a demonic holiday wherein people dress up in costumes and beg for candy on the 31st of October. Harvest Festival is a God-honoring event wherein people dress up in costumes and beg for candy (by complete coincidence) also on the 31st of October.
59. While we believe that no good Christian should ever go to a godless, atheist, state-run university, that does not stop us from proudly rooting for their godless, atheist football team.
60. Gluttony is barely a sin and only worth mentioning from the pulpit in the context of a joke.
61. Always assume your fellow fundamentalists have the best possible motives for their actions. Always assume everyone else has the worst possible motives for theirs.
62. You talking about my church’s scandal is gossip and backbiting. Me talking about your church’s scandal is instruction and warning.
63. Body piercings, tattoos, and unnatural hair colors are counter-cultural and therefore evil. Culottes and arranged marriages are counter-cultural and therefore required.
64. If something is unfamiliar or difficult to understand, it’s best to take a stand against it by default. Reasons can be invented later.
65. Anything that becomes popular with more than 70% of fundamentalists must both be made obligatory and used as a test of fellowship.
66. The only emotions allowed to be displayed in a church service are anger, guilt, and sorrow. All others are likely to be caused by latent charismatic tendencies.
67. Not only is privacy not a right, it’s strongly discouraged. The only people who have the right to keep secrets are the pastor and his mistress.

Never Give In

2011-03-09T07:51:00.001-06:00

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Howdy!

2011-03-07T10:47:00.004-06:00

Where does the time go? I've been planning to post more than just quotes and pictures but the past eight weeks have been packed full with travels, work, and trying to keep on top of problems which seemed to endlessly keep popping up throughout this chicken cycle.

When the last batch of chickens were shipped and the barn cleaned, I headed back for Alberta again. I stayed overnight at our Davidson farm and enjoyed visiting with my awesome brother, Graham, and his family. :)

Graham, Emily, and Abigail

The next day I drove to Alberta to look after Dad and Mom's place and to fill in for Erin at the dairy (where I worked too before I moved up here) while they were on their Hawaii vacation. I worked five doubles and then mornings for the remaining three days. 3:45 AM always comes too early. :P :D It was fun to be around the cows again and their personalities. :) Due to a snow storm moving in, I headed out a day earlier than planned.

My other brother and his family were recovering from the flu when I first came through so I visited with them on the way back. I didn't get any pictures though. :( They had just gotten a new ice maker which fascinated the kids and they were also excited since their dad had been teaching them different ways how to start a fire. I think they can probably start one better than me. lol! Jared is the bookworm and his greeting when you walk in the door is always excitedly jumping around asking you to read a book with him. Kaylea was walking this time. My nephews and nieces are growing up so fast. Maybe it seems even more so since I don't get to see them very often. I ended up staying an extra day since I had to sign something for our company at Viterra Monday morning. So, I had church with them, more reading, visiting, and great food. My sister-in-law, Sherra, is a great cook!

Monday afternoon I got back home here and it was time to start getting the barns ready for chicks again. During clean up we ran into problems with the big barn doors at the south end. Due to all the rain this year, the concrete pad heaved with the frost preventing the doors from being able to opened all the way. So, while I was away my neighbour was able to help a carpenter take the doors down, cut 3 1/2" off, fill them with insulation, and get them back up again. That would have been no small feat and it was good to come home to that project successfully completed.

Unfortunately, that issue turned out to be one of the many problems that continuously popped up throughout the rest of the chicken cycle. I started to fill feedlines and the bearing went out of one of the lines. My neighbour helped me the next morning replace the bearing. I had helped him change one at his place before and think I know how to do it now except that it would be very difficult to pull the auger flighting out and get a clamp in by myself. You do NOT want the flighting to slip into the feedline. If that happened...well, you just don't let that happen. lol!

The chicks arrived a little later than usual around 1 PM. They were very active! I checked them around 3 and then again around 5. As soon as I stepped into the barn entry I could hear water running in the boiler room. I opened the door to find water spewing out all over the wall and floor from the hot loop pump. My neighbour came and looked at it and told me what to do until I was able to get a plumber come replace the seal. I stayed up most the night making sure it didn't get worse...not that I could have done anything if it had. haha. Usually listening to water running makes for a peaceful sleep. That works if you are by the ocean not when it is spewing out of a pump. It was still another day or so before the plumber could come but thankfully things held together then.

My fancy waterproof wallpaper. I'm thinking about getting it patented. haha!

This doesn't look like much water from the pic but trust me it was.

The drain water from the boiler room comes up here at the other part barn entry/garage. Due to the all the water/rain issues we had this past spring we had a pump around which has probably been one of the greatest investments on this place. :) I set up the float again so I didn't have to constantly supervise the pump and keep plugging it in every 7 minutes or so, let it pump all the water out, and then unplug it again.

My neighbour helped make a few changes to the the boiler in the boiler shed separate from the barn. I was going to tighten one of the three doors on the boiler which should have been a fairly simple, quick job. However, I didn't realize that you had to hammer it in so my tap-tap didn't help. At least I know how to do it now. :P :D

Next was a battery issue with the Ridgeline truck. I've had issues with the battery a few times and it was at the point where I had to replace it with a new one. We had an extra battery (backup for the generator one) in the barn so I went to work. Pulling the battery out was a little more of an ordeal since I hadn't done it before. I finally got it out, the new battery in, the strap tightened and I go to connect the terminals to the posts to find out the new battery has the posts along the front of the battery instead of the back and there is practically no give to pull the terminals to the front. I ended up playing musical batteries pulling the battery out of the old Ford (the posts were in the "right" position) and putting it in the Ridgeline and the new battery in the Ford. At least by the end of the day I had two trucks running!

Then the boiler needed a new diaphragm. My neighbour helped me replace the old diaphragm with a new one. It is always a relief to me when a problem is corrected and the system working properly again.

Then the CBC Market Place did their "selective journalism" episode on the supermarket chicken and the industry in which the true facts were mostly irrelevant. That deserves a whole post of it's own. :P

Had to get an electrician out because the motor overload on the bin auger wasn't working and some other work had to be done out there.

And don't laugh, I got stuck for the second time in my driveway. :P If you go off to the left too much it is softer and with all the snow it makes for a perfect getting completely stuck experience. :P

On a balmy -35*C morning, the lovely barn alarms wakes me at 4:15 AM. First I checked the boiler and all the temperatures were fine there so I check the barn computer and it is a low temperature alarm which has never gone off before. I spent the next three hours trying to get the temperature to rise and stablize(I switched the inlets to manual and closed them up partially which helped some but not enough) and then called my neighbour around 7 AM. We made an adjustment in the climate controls and solved that problem almost immediately.

The coal bridged for the first time in the bin causing another temperature alarm to go off. It has happened a couple more times but I've caught it pretty quick and it is an easy fix thankfully.

Then I had the water tested and due to the results showing some bacteria, I was advised not to drink the water. I had been drinking it all along and hadn't experienced any adverse effects but for the time being I am buying my drinking water. It's a lot of fun lugging those big blue jugs around when you go grocery shopping. :P I know bacteria can be a serious issue but the testing is getting more thorough and I wonder if they end up detecting more when all along it was there to some degree but not harmful.

Had an issue with raising the feedlines but it seems to have corrected itself. I did buy belts for both the water and feedlines as it doesn't hurt to have replacements on hand just in case.

My neck started killing me which prompted me to find a chiropractor. I slipped on the ice when back in Alberta and have been dealing with the effects since then and it was getting worse. A friend gave a recommendation to one in Canora so I went last week. He was awesome and isn't the type that wants you coming back three times a week the rest of your life. And his rates were reasonable too so I'm happy about that.

So, that pretty much sums up the past eight weeks! Yeah, it was discouraging at times but at least I gained some more experience and have improved the place which hopefully will help things run smoother. And, I think I've said it every time, but I can't believe it is already time to ship chickens again! They go Wednesday night so I need to do some baking for the chicken catchers (cookies and cinnabons!) and print out the schedule.

Have a great week! :D

Born Country! :)

2011-03-01T21:52:00.001-06:00

Music

2011-02-27T14:18:00.000-06:00

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

~ Victor Hugo

Washington's wisdom on true friendship

2011-02-17T13:58:00.000-06:00

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks and adversity before it is entitled to the appellation." --George Washington, Letter to Bushrod Washington, 1783

Benjamin Franklin Quote

2011-01-18T21:42:00.000-06:00

As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.

~Benjamin Franklin

Trouble in Amish Paradise

2011-01-17T15:15:00.000-06:00

This documentary was mentioned in the last NGJ. It is about two Amish families who question their traditions and way of life. You can listen to all six segments on YouTube.

Einstein Puzzle

2011-01-08T18:12:00.000-06:00

This is a quiz that was written by Einstein. 85% of the population does not possess the logical thinking ability to solve it. Are you among the 15%? If you do the quiz, tell me your answer and how you approached the problem, and I'll compare it to my answer!

(This is not a trick question. The answer can be reached using logic and deductive reasoning.)

THE FACTS:

There are five different houses of five different colors arranged in a straight row. Within each house lives a different owner of a different nationality. Each of the five owners drinks a different beverage, smokes a different brand cigar, and has a different type of pet. You are facing the row of houses and read left to right.

THE HINTS:

The Brit lives in a red house.

The Swede keeps dogs as pets.

The Dane drinks tea.

The green house is on the left on the white house.

The green house owner drinks coffee.

The owner who smokes Pall Mall keeps birds.

The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.

The owner living in the middle (center) house drinks milk.

The Norwegian lives in the first house.

The owner who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.

The owner who keeps horses lives next to the one who smokes Dunhill.

The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.

The German smokes Prince.

The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

THE QUESTION:

Who has fish for pets?

Fisher Ames Quote

2011-01-07T12:30:00.000-06:00

No one ever became, or can become truly eloquent without being a reader of the Bible, and an admirer of the purity and sublimity of its language.
~Fisher Ames

#26

2011-01-06T19:40:00.000-06:00

I thought #26 deserved her own post seeing she was my favourite cow at the dairy. :) She had a unique personality that ranged from sweet to go-jump-in-a-lake to sweet to make-my-day to sweet to snotty to sweet again. We nicknamed her Garfield which fit her aptly.

Trying to photograph animals is a skill in itself. lol. Either they are walking away or have their nose on the camera lens. As you can see from the tag, she is from Outside whose progeny is known for good milk production.

First cow in the parlour. Cows settle into their own routines even in the parlour and you'd begin to notice certain cows coming in at certain times and/or places.

This number (in kg) was lower since it was the evening milking.

I couldn't get her to stand straight so had to settle for this one.

Her trademark tuft of hair and neckband with a curved end that always stuck up in the air.

I was probably trying to get her attention here and she was playing deaf.

Adios!

Dairy Pics

2011-01-04T00:21:00.004-06:00

After our last bird cycle was shipped and barns were cleaned, I took a quick trip back home to Alberta. I hadn't been back since moving to Saskatchewan seven months earlier. It was fun to be back and visit with family again, especially my sister, Erin. :)

While back I worked three shifts ( a double and an afternoon) at the dairy with Erin. I loved being around the cows again since I had worked there for over a year before moving so it was all very familiar to me. The cows have so much more personality than chickens! New parlour equipment had been installed about a month before finishing there and it was almost disappointing to leave because the new system worked so much better and smoother than the old one. Nothing like losing air and having about 30 seconds to stop milk from draining from the jars into the milk line where it would then flood the two end jars and start spewing milk out everywhere. Hey, I gained a variety of experience there. :) Anyways, off that rabbit trail... According to Erin, I kept up with the milking in the parlour so obviously hadn't lost my milking touch. :)

The only downside was getting up just before 4 AM for the morning shift. I was reminded of how that time always came too early, regardless of the time you went to bed.

#92 Franz had just pulled her calf before we arrived. She is a Blitz cow which you can tell from her coat pattern.

High Group

#57 was a heifer that had just freshened before I left.

#48 I believe this cow could have made a nun swear when she freshened. No, don't worry, I didn't swear. lol! Ooohh, she could ruin a whole milking. Even as a second calver she is sensitive and can be miserable in the parlour.

This cow was also miserable when she first freshened. You wanted her to come in at the start so you could just get her milked and out of your sight and mind. haha. :P She has actually quieted down a lot and doesn't declare war when in the parlour anymore.

#20 A sweet heifer. Yes, cows can be sweet. If you don't agree, work around them for a while and you'll understand exactly what I mean. I remember this heifer when she was just a calf. It was fun to come back and see she had calved and was with the other big cows in the high group.

Low group

Milk Room

Parlour

Erin milking

Calf Barn

#40 Nicknamed Fuzz or Fuzzy Face. One of my favourite cows with a friendly personality. Erin and I were labeled responsible for turning several cows into pets. :) After getting milked she'd sometimes come back and stand at the end of the return alley and not let any cows get by.

#67 a.k.a The Freight Train which obviously describes her size.

Another Blitz. :)

#7 One of the cows with the most dairy characteristics.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T07:34:00.002-06:00

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.

-Benjamin Franklin

Friends

2010-12-27T15:56:00.000-06:00

Enjoyed a visit with Naomi and her boyfriend, Jesse T. this afternoon. Thanks guys for stopping by! :)

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T08:56:00.000-06:00

Peanut Butter Cups

2010-12-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

1 C peanut butter
1/2 C icing sugar
1/4 t salt
milk chocolate discs, melted

Mix first three ingredients together in a bowl for filling.

I put a heaping tsp of chocolate in the muffin liner and pull it up the sides to create the cup shape. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.

Add peanut butter filling.

Cover with a thin layer of chocolate and refrigerate. Enjoy! :)

Pretzel Turtles

2010-12-23T13:08:00.002-06:00

Recently came across this simple, quick treat online.
Pretzel Turtles

Pretzels
Rolos
Pecans

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place pretzels on foil.

I could only find mini rolos so placed a milk chocolate disc on the pretzels first and then the rolos.

Bake at 250* for about 4 minutes until chocolate becomes soft. Place a pecan half on top upon removing from oven. Cool in fridge. Enjoy! :)

Winter Wonderland

2010-12-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

Smile for today

2010-12-19T11:05:00.000-06:00

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia. ~ Charles Schulz

Borrowed from Treasuries of Joy :D

2010-12-14T20:33:00.001-06:00

It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song,

but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong.

For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with the years,

and the smile that worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears.

(Irish saying)

Brief update

2010-12-09T00:24:00.001-06:00

Hope to be back posting more regularly after my temporary absence these past few weeks. What I've been up to: shipping chickens, cleaning barns, traveling back to AB to visit my family, preparing barns, and placing chicks! Tomorrow I'll be helping my neighbour get the barns there ready in the morning and help place chicks later on.

And a random tip:

I recently came across a tip to get the diesel smell out of clothing that actually works. Pour Pinesol over the affected spot and let sit 1 to 2 hours before washing. The diesel being a heavier oil needs a product that will dissolve it out. The Pinesol is part oil (mixes with the diesel) and part soap (mixes with the water) so I guess that is why it works. My jacket has a bit of the lavender Pinesol scent but I prefer that over diesel. :)

Canadian Wheat Board

2010-11-22T22:15:00.002-06:00

Check out this video my brother just created about the Canadian Wheat Board.

A year (and one day! :)) gone by...

2010-11-21T17:25:00.001-06:00

Happy 1st Anniversary Graham & Emily!

Potatoes

2010-11-14T14:16:00.000-06:00

My potatoes did fairly well this year considering how wet the conditions were. My family always looked forward to the new baby potatoes which usually were ready by mid July. We'd just boil them and season with butter and salt. In my opinion, potatoes don't get better than that! Too bad you couldn't keep them that size all season. :) They also make delicious potato salad which I enjoyed making a few times this summer.

Not having very dependable storage/cellar this year I was trying to decide how I wanted to preserve the remainder of my potatoes for winter. I ended up making Twice Baked Potatoes, fries, and hashbrowns.
I saved the med-large potatoes for fries and the small ones for hashbrowns.

I mixed flour, paprika, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and salt in a zip lock bag and then coated the fries before cooking them in olive oil. Some batches I omitted the flour and just sprinkled the seasonings on top of the potatoes while they were cooking in the frying pan.

I cooked them until just about done and then placed them on a cookie rack that was set inside a cookie sheet so any excess oil could drip off. I stuck the whole tray in the freezer and after they were hard removed them from the rack and placed them in a ziplock bag to freeze.

Hashbrowns

I cook them in olive oil and sprinkle salt over top a few times.

I spread a paper towel over the cookie rack to absorb any excess oil and also keep the hashbrowns from falling through. I let them cool like this on the counter, put them right into a zip lock bag, and then into the freezer. To cook I heat them up in the frying pan with a little bit of butter and then add rosemary and garlic powder.

From the summer...

2010-11-11T08:40:00.000-06:00

I loved having my garden right next to the house this summer! Back in Alberta it was about a mile away and usually required opening and closing two or three gates each way if we had cattle out grazing.

Tackled the garden shed while Mom was here. We pulled everything out, washed it down, and then I sorted through the contents.

I like before and after pictures so here is the result. :)

6 months

2010-11-10T07:59:00.000-06:00

Today marks six months since I moved way up here to NE Saskatchewan. Can hardly believe how much has happened this year and at times it has felt like somewhat of a whirlwind. Graham, Emily, and I first looked at the barn the middle of March and a week later made an offer. The whole process ended up being a bit of an ordeal but everything finally fell into place and we took possession the end of June.

I came up in May and took a 6 week crash course in raising chickens. : ) I had cattle experience so this chicken stuff was new. The operation was actually fairly simple to run but didn't quite feel that way when I wasn't familiar with all the ins and outs of it.

And then we had another element to deal with...rain. Our area along with many others across the prairie provinces had record setting levels of rain this spring. Growing up in the arid southern Alberta climate where, when it rained you pulled out your chair and sat in awe, I thought it wouldn't be possible to ever get tired of rain. Wrong! When the 8" average turned into 22" it gave a whole new outlook on rain. I was beginning to wonder if we shouldn't have bought an ark instead of a barn! Despite water issues in the barn and a thriving mosquito population, it still turned into a nice summer. I only had to water my garden a couple times and the yard stayed beautiful.

I spent a lot of the summer with yard care (mowing, weeding, flowers) and cleaning up around the yard and barn (whippersnipping, taking several loads to the dump, etc.) The well collapsed due to the rain so that had to be filled in and it seemsed as soon as you accomplished one thing, three others popped up. Now the yard is pretty much in order and all the yard work done for the year which a very satisfying feeling.

However, despite the challenges, it has been an awesome experience to run a place on my own. I love the area here and am quite happy to call it home. : )

Optometrists

2010-11-09T20:08:00.001-06:00

Optometrists just moved another step down on my list.

Recently I went to order contacts online to find that Ciba has quite manufacturing the contact I’ve used since I started wearing contacts. So, I was going to need a new prescription and contact trial fitting with an optometrist and then the company would be able to find a new contact that would work for me. Not quite as easy as it sounds though due to living a ways from civilization and finding an optometrist that doesn’t have a cow when you say that you want to take care of ordering your own contacts.

The closest Wal-Mart doesn’t have an optometrist come in so the associate gave me a couple numbers of optometrists in town there. Both were booked for two to three weeks and the one charged $110 for a regular appt. I thought $88 was bad enough! I pulled out the phone book and called another optometrist who was booked for a couple weeks but had a cancellation the following afternoon and could fit me in.

I’m usually not thrilled to go to optometrists due to past experience. Back in AB the office we grew up getting eye appointments at and buying our glasses and then contacts through turned miserable to deal with when we started ordering our contacts online. They were difficult to get information from and more or less told us how they’d help if we were getting the contacts through them. By ordering contacts online we were paying half the price that we were through their office! It seemed a lot of other folks were figuring that out too and so I think the optometrists were feeling the pinch and trying to intimidate their customers from ordering contacts online.

So, anyways, I went to my appointment and, while the assistants were friendly, I could already tell I didn’t care for the optometrist herself. She was a bit high strung and the type that thinks the care of your God-given eyes belongs to them. The appt went okay and then we were discussing eye health, contacts, trial fittings and all that kind of exciting info. I brought up the unacceptable question of ordering contacts online because it would be cheaper. That was more than she could handle and proceeded to tell me that “It made no difference to order them online and that I should just order them through her.” I told her that I could order the exact same contact for half the price of her charge. She came out and said that, “she was FRUSTRATED with me!” I felt like saying, “Hey, lady, the feeling is mutual” but I remained cool, calm, and collected almost somewhat enjoying it. Haha. She was perturbed and acted like I was saying there was no difference between an optometrist and the internet, of which she continued throughout the rest of the conversation to draw an outline of a computer whenever ordering online came up.

I asked her if I could get a fitting without ordering contacts and she said “No, and then quoted me $400 for the fitting and contacts for a year which would also include “having her on contract for a year.” Whoop-dee-doo, I guess that was supposed to seal the deal but, seriously, I don’t need someone to hold my hand through this “process.” Yes, I can read the prescription just as well as her to the contact company and save myself $200. Thank you very much!

Then she also recommended that I might want to update my glasses like she was enlightening me that they were out of style. Don’t you love when people point out the obvious?! I know they are but I rarely wear them and I’ve been easy on my glasses so that the only time I’ve needed a new pair was when I outgrew them. Anyhow, I probably will be getting a new pair since my prescription has changed and I will be wearing them a little more to give my eyes a little more of a break from contacts.

So, I’ll be going back to AB, getting a $15 fitting at Walmart so I can order my contacts online, and then heading over to Xenon’s who has given great service over the years to look for a new, more stylish frame plus save myself the PST. :D A money saving venture in every aspect. :D

I’m not anti-optometrist and they certainly have their place but you won’t see me looking for a “Have you hugged your optometrist today?” bumper sticker any time soon.

Now I'm curious what your experience has been with optometrists and contacts? Please share.

Fall pics

2010-11-08T09:41:00.000-06:00

Never got around to posting fall pics back when I took them but wanted to share them still. Enjoy! :)

Glimpse into my holiday

2010-11-02T23:07:00.001-06:00

The beginning of October I went on a 2 week vacation. First I went over and helped on our other farm where harvest was in full swing. Was only there for a little over a day but I finally had the opportunity to drive a combine...and a JD at that! Wish I could have spent more time there but it was time for me to fly down to IA to attend a good friend's wedding. Enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. The day after the wedding I flew over to VT where I spent the rest of the week with another great friend and her family. So many great memories! Will post a few pics and more will follow in a later post.

Perogies

2010-11-01T10:53:00.000-06:00

Per…what?? Yes, perogies. There are about 15 different spellings of this word and it just depends on what country you are from. They basically are a dough/dumpling filled with potatoes, onions, cheese, and seasonings. Usually they are boiled and served with sautéed with onions and sour cream on the side. I first tasted home-made perogies while visiting friends in Saskatchewan a few years back. They were very good especially since I had only tasted store-bought ones once which you shouldn’t even compare to the real home-made ones! :)

Many of the small Saskatchewan towns have a strong Ukrainian influence-the people, accents, churches, cooking, etc. If a conversation comes around to cooking, you can almost guarantee that perogies and sauerkraut will be discussed at some point. Recently I was served perogies when having dinner at a neighbour’s. I asked for the recipe and not long after she stopped by with the recipe and a bag of frozen perogies! Just last week I finally got around to making perogies which gave me two things: a sense of accomplishment and that I am on track to becoming a real Saskatchewanite. :) Now for the sauerkraut…well, let’s just stick to perogies for the time being. :)

Perogie Dough:

10 C flour

1 T salt

¼ t baking powder

1 C lard

3 C warm water

1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients; cut in lard. Add in water and egg. Mix all together to form dough.

Roll out dough to about an 1/8” thickness. Cut out circles 3” in diameter. My drinking glass rims were too small so I used my ½ C measuring cup. Place about 1 T of filling (recipe below) on center of dough, fold over, and pinch edges.

Note #1: The original recipe called for 4 C of water but I started with 3 and only ended up needing a little more than that.

Note #2: If you want to make the dough ahead of time it will keep in the fridge for a couple days. Just wrap dough in saran wrap so it doesn’t dry out

Filling:

Potatoes
Cheese
Onion
Garlic

Boil about 7 or 8 med-large potatoes. Mash with butter, milk, salt and pepper. Add grated or small chunks of cheddar cheese while potato mixture is still warm so it will melt.

Caramelize or sauté onions and garlic. I used 3 large onions and 4 cloves of garlic and thought at the start I had taken the “tons of onions” recommendation from friends too seriously. The amount seemed a little excessive but after tasting one from the first cooked batch had I knew I had used the right amount. :)

For more flavour you can also add bacon bits, chives, dill, or parsley to the filling.

I place the perogies on a cookie rack set inside a cookie sheet and freeze them. This will keep them from sticking to each other when you bag them. Perogies freeze very well so, while this recipe makes a big batch of dough, it is great to make several dozen at once rather than having to make smaller batches more often.

Cooking Instructions:

Place frozen perogies in boiling water. Perogies will float when they are done (about 6-8 min.) You can add them to additionally sautéed onions with sour creams served on the side, if desired.

If you try this recipe I’d love to hear your results and opinions! :)

Few more snow pics from around the yard

2010-11-01T07:16:00.000-06:00

First snow!

2010-10-29T12:52:00.003-06:00

So, I welcomed the unofficial beginning of my first Saskatchewan winter.

Winter made her abrupt appearance earlier on this week. 6" arrived in less than 24 hours followed by 60 kph wind gusts. An inch of rain had arrived a day before before the snow, the snow itself was wet and then the temperature dipped several degrees below freezing, so that created a rough, icy surface practically over the whole yard. No it didn't give the same effect as the small homemade skating pond that you and your friends grew up playing hockey on dreaming about how you were going to make it to the NHL.

Now it is time to stock up on hot chocolate, apple cider, good books and a calendar to start marking the days down until spring! :) I actually don't mind winter minus the extreme cold temperatures but then I don't know anyone who actually enjoys -40C except for story-telling purposes. You can garner much more sympathy telling a story that took place in frigid temperatures with bone chilling winds.

Anyways, I intend to enjoy winter as much as possible though it might be mostly admiring it from the inside kitchen window. There is something refreshing about seeing the yard covered with a fresh, clean blanket of snow, snow capped roofs, wildlife tracks, and watching the snow flakes gently fall and sparkle in the sun.

And with that, I wish you all a happy winter!

Pearls of Wisdom - Protecting Your Personal Space

2010-10-24T11:49:00.000-06:00

Captain Steve Pearl has been doing a video series on self defense techniques for women. He creates situations women may find themselves in and gives simple, common sense reactions or responses that work and keep them from becoming victims. I highly recommend you watch them!

For your Saturday smile...

2010-09-25T18:35:00.001-06:00

Wildlife pastime on the prairies...

2010-09-23T12:41:00.001-06:00

Ever wonder what deer do during hunting season when they aren't dodging bullets??

Well...it's a deep subject...:D

2010-09-22T14:53:00.000-06:00

The lid of the well which I had to dig out so I could fill the inside with pit run.

These lines and wires were difficult to work around.

Borrowed my neighbour's tractor so I could move the pit run closer to shovel in.

Dad came over to help. There were several important wires in this spot so he put a stryofoam barrier around them and filled in the area with sand rather than the pit run.

Making progress...

Filled in at last!

Insulating the outside.

The other well is underneath the corner of the pumphouse. It is covered with stryofoam to help keep it insulated. The wires for the barn and house water travel through here so it is very important to keep it from freezing. There is a heater down inside hooked up to a temp sensor which regulates the temperature.

Completely finished...yay!

The sensor is hooked up here and keeps the well temperature between 8*C and 9*C.

Brief Update

2010-09-21T19:09:00.000-06:00

Can't believe four months has already passed since I've moved up here. I love it up here and am happy to call this cozy little place home.

Summer is over...the little we had of it! Overall the weather has been cool with an excessive amount of rainfall. The yard kept me busy with the lawn and grass around yard needing to be mowed about every 5 days. The flowers thrived and the yard looked beautiful all summer. My garden did great and the produce was abundant. Mom came over for a couple weeks and canned the purple beans with her pressure canner (and also tended my flowers and washed the trailer windows...thanks, Mom!) I've been canning pickled carrots and making and freezing fries and hashbrowns. The herbs did well and I dried parsley, oregano, basil and chives which hopefully should last me through until next summer.

The well below the pumphouse collapsed not long after I moved into the trailer. Thankfully it wasn't the water source for our house and chickens but the water we use does travel there from the other well and then into the barn so it needed to get filled in to prevent any further possible damage. It was a big job and Dad was able to come over and help with part of it. Last week I finally finished insulating around the outside so the project is complete. My neighbour was able to come over and get the temp sensor set up for the well since it had snapped when the well collapsed. That was a big relief as now I don't have to worry about the well water for the barn and house freezing.

Sure is starting to feel like fall with high temps in the single digits (*C). The area here is so pretty with the leaves changing and beginning to fall.

Now we are heading into the last week of our second chicken cycle and things are going good so far. :) I'm really happy with how this cycle has gone and chickens are doing well. Tomorrow we are going to weigh chickens by hand again to see the adjustments we need to make in the computer for the scale. The scale wasn't working the last cycle so I ended up having to buy a new one from Mackay's in Saskatoon. We weighed them at two weeks and made the necessary adjustments so we'll find out if the percentage is still set right.

There is more to post about but this will have to do for now as I need to go check the chickens! :)

Growing Up Speaking English

2010-09-18T08:35:00.000-06:00

Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.

Sisters! :)

2010-09-05T16:26:00.000-06:00

Friends! :D

2010-08-30T19:02:00.000-06:00

Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life!

Hannah, Naomi, and I

Who's there??

2010-07-03T13:07:00.000-06:00

Recently I realized that I have missed some blog comments over the past several posts. I switched my settings to notify me of comments so it won't look like I'm ignoring anyone. :)

Anyways, now, I'm curious of how many blog readers I have? If you have a blog, let me know about it too!

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-01T12:44:00.000-06:00

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Refrain

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow,
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow,
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea;
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years,
From East to Western Sea.
Our own beloved native land,
Our True North, strong and free!

Ruler Supreme, Who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within Thy loving care.
Help us to find, O God, in Thee,
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day
We ever stand on guard.

An Old Farmer's Advice

2010-06-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. *

* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.*

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.*

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.*

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.*

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.*

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.*

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.*

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.*

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.*

* Every path has a few puddles.*

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.*

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.*

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.*

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.*

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.*

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.*

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.*

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.*

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.*

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.*

* Always drink upstream from the herd.*

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.*

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.*

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.*

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.*

* Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.*

Home, Sweet Home

2010-06-26T22:37:00.000-06:00

My new home! :)

Beautiful, big yard.

The barn.

From the back.

Coal boiler shed.

Why Farm Trucks Never Get Stolen

2010-06-16T11:37:00.000-06:00

I think ours qualifies! :)

The guys at the mechanic shop had some fun adding another special farm truck touch. :)

- They have a range of about 20 miles before they overheat, break down or run out of gas.

- Only the owner knows how to operate the door to get in or out.

- It is difficult to drive fast with all the fence tools, grease rags, ropes, chains, buckets, boots and loose papers in the cab.

- It takes too long to start and the smoke coming up through the rusted-out floorboard clouds your vision.

- The Border Collie on the toolbox looks mean.

- They're too easy to spot. The description might go something like this: The driver's side door is red, the passenger side door is green, the right front fender is yellow, etc.

- The large round bale in the back makes it hard to see if you're being chased. You could use the mirrors if they weren't cracked and covered with duct tape.

- Top speed is only about 45 mph.

- Who wants a truck that needs a year's worth of maintenance, u-joints, $3,000 in bodywork, taillights and a windshield.

- It's hard to commit a crime with everyone waving at you.

Rain

2010-06-14T13:06:00.001-06:00

This was the rain that came over Monday and Tuesday.

This is the rest of the rainfall we had by Saturday evening.

Thankfully the sun has been out the past few days and finally starting to dry things up!

Interview from Tammy of tammysrecipes.com

2010-06-12T18:07:00.000-06:00

1. How did you first start sewing? (Did your mom teach/help you, did you teach yourself, or...??)

I started to sew when I was around 11. I don’t remember what prompted me to pick a project and start but I did and found myself enjoying it very much and continued on from there. I pretty much taught myself by just following the pattern instructions. For quilting in more recent years I’ve taken a few courses to learn specific quilting techniques.

2. Would you rather be indoors doing inside stuff (cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, etc.) or outdoors (gardening, working with animals, etc.)?

I have hobbies I enjoy both indoors and outdoors but outdoors would be my favourite-going for walks, hiking, camping, gardening, hotdog and marshmallow roasts, playing volleyball, etc. and would love to go hunting. I do have indoor hobbies I enjoy for when the weather isn’t cooperating , during winter, or later in the evenings when it is too dark to do anything outside.

3. What's the best thing about being an aunt? The worst thing?

Seeing how thrilled my nephews get when I make time to play, read, or build something with them. They think you are amazing. : ) It also reminds me of what kind of an impact I can have on them. Can’t think of a worst with being an aunt. : )

4. What are your favorite kinds of gifts to receive?

Homemade gifts are certainly a favourite knowing that someone has put the time, thought, and energy into something specifically for me. Though I also enjoy when someone gives a gift (clothing, treat, etc.) they know I really like.

5. How is your weight loss going? Any special tips or encouragement to share with me along those lines? :)

It has slowed down the past several weeks due to moving and the weather not being conducive to outdoor exercise. :P The sun finally came out today so I was able to finally go for a walk again-yay! As for tips-don’t get discouraged! You can always start again and continue working at it.

If you want to play along:

1 - Leave a comment with your blog URL, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your blog with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

June 8, Tuesday

2010-06-09T09:08:00.000-06:00

Today was one of those days. First woke up to find out that the propane had run out. Had to start my morning without coffee…:P I was out of milk so had toast instead of cereal. Popped the toaster on and then plugged in the heater since it was a little cooler inside the camper. Half way through toasting the electrical outlets stop working. It has happened a few times before but I wasn’t sure which breaker it was so I just left it.

So then I head out to chore at the barn at 7 AM to find water at the north end with more seeping in due to the rain. (It has happened a couple times this cycle but not to this extent.) We’ve had 2 ½ “ over the past two days not to mention the endless rain we’ve had the past several weeks. The ground is completely saturated and land fairly flat here so the water has decided to reroute itself up through the barn. Spent the morning bucketing water out. Darryl’s dad and cousin come over (yay for great neighbours! : )) to see the situation and what they can do to help.

I try and use a wheelbarrow to bring some gravel over to find out the wheel needs to be replaced. Back to using a 5 gallon bucket (what would I do without them! :D) to bring in gravel to build a dam in the barn around the opening where the most water is filling in. Beavers are not well-liked in this area but it sure would have been handy to hire one. Haha.

Anyways, the water finally slows down a bit so I’m able to leave for a quick trip to town to pick up a sump pump and also am going to get my propane tanks filled. Find pretty much the last sump pump in town at the CO-OP. Phone calls asking about sump pumps were coming in while I was there due to many basements in the area being flooded. I get the necessary fittings and hose and head off to get my propane tanks filled. The two girls at the ESSO spend a while finding trying to find the engraved dates on both tanks. They inform me both are past expiration and cannot be filled. I think one probably could have been filled but they were more scared of the $10,000 fine than me. Haha. They are a taller tank so I’m not sure if I should pick up a smaller 20 LB tank as it might not fit. I call three different numbers back at our other farm and cannot get a hold of anyone so head home as I need to check the water situation again in the barn.

That brings us around to about 5 this evening. Yeah, it has been a full day. It is still raining, water is still seeping in, and more rain is in the forecast. Dad and Mom have decided to come over since they can’t get any more seeding done due to the weather. I’m going to wait to use the pump until Dad gets here as I’m not sure that the float will kick the pump in at the low level we need. The guy at the CO-OP said it would but I’m not counting on anything seeing how this day has gone. LOL! Dad looks at the pump after arriving to find out that it won’t work.

So this is just one of those days that makes you appreciate the days when every thing goes smoothly and as planned. Wouldn’t life be boring though if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened?! We’ll have some vivid and amusing memories of our beginnings in this new adventure. :D

That all said, I am looking forward to some uneventful days ahead! :)

I'm back...

2010-06-07T19:05:00.000-06:00

I’m back with a determination to revive this blog as it has been sadly neglected for too long. So much has happened over the past several months! I’m not quite sure where to start so I’ll give a quick recap since the beginning of 2009. Erin and I started working at a dairy, sold the last of my feeder calves, Graham sold his farm in AB and then he, Erin, and I started a company and bought land in SK, our whole family flew back to NS for Grandma’s 90th birthday, our family started farming in SK, attended the HSA reunion in CO and travelled back to IA with the Pauls for a week long visit, Graham and I drove down to FL for Graham’s wedding, travelled to Europe with a friend, had my first niece arrive, and now have moved to Eastern Saskatchewan and am buying a chicken barn with Graham and Erin.

I’ve been living here for a month now. Dad brought our travel trailer over so I’d have a place to live until we take possession which is the end of June. This current cycle of birds is not ours but I’m here getting a six week crash course in raising chickens. : )

With the barn under new ownership, we are required to comply immediately with new rules and regulations set out by the CFS (Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan). All of our inlet openings on the barn needed screens so I bought some chicken wire and screws, cut some lathe and went to work. Using power tools is fun! : )

Walk In The Woods Quilt

2010-05-04T09:36:00.001-06:00

A couple months ago I was able to get the applique done on my quilt thus completing this project! The was one of my more challenging quilts to make but certainly worth every moment after seeing the finished look. It is totally my style and I love how the pattern and fabrics compliment each other.

Bear's Paw

Pine Tree

Center

Top

Bottom

Back-The quilter did a beautiful job using several different designs and varigated thread.

The end result! :D

Cinnabons

2009-11-09T11:52:00.000-06:00

This recipe is delicious and tastes very similar to the original Cinnabon.

1 cup milk - heat in microwave for 1 minute
1 egg, beaten
1/4 C melted butter
7 TBSP water
1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding powder
4 C bread or white flour
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp traditional yeast

Filling
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C chopped walnuts, optional
1/4 C raisins, optional

Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp milk (Add more milk to desired consistency)
3 TBSP real maple syrup

Dough can either be made in bread maker or by hand in traditional manner. Let rise for an hour. Punch down. Roll dough to 17" x 10".
Combine first three filling ingredients and mix well. Heat in microwave 10 seconds to make it spreadable. Spread over rolled out dough getting as close to the edges as possible. Sprinkle nuts or raisins over dough. Starting with the widest end, roll the dough into a tight log. Cut into 1/2" - 1" pieces. Place in a lightly greased 9" x 13" baking dish with sides. Note: I use two pans this size and the second one ends up about half-filled.
Put in draft-free place and allow to rise until double, approx. 45 minutes. Bake at 350* for 15 - 20 minutes. Frost when rolls are done.
Yield: 20 rolls

Thanksgiving

2009-10-12T13:02:00.000-06:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway
Thanksgiving comes again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whoever fails, Thou dost not fail;
Whoever sleeps, Thou dost not sleep;
With fattening shower, and fostering gale,
They mercy brings the time to reap;
Man marks each season and its sign,
And sows the seed and plants the tree,
But form, growth, fullness, all are Thine, --
Lord of the harvest, praise to Thee!

O God! it is a pleasant thing
To see the precious grain expand,
And the broad hands of Plenty fling
Her golden largess o'er the land;
To see the fruitage swell and glow,
And bow with wealth the parent tree;
To see the purple vintage flow --
Lord of abundance, praise to Thee!

Praise for the glorious harvest days,
And all the blessings that we share;
For the unbounded sunlight praise
And for the free and vital air;
Praise for the faith that looks above;
The hope of immortality;
For life, health, virtue, truth and love,
Maker and Giver, praise to Thee!

~~John Critchley Prince (1808-1866)

House Front Pics

2009-03-29T19:07:00.000-06:00

My brothers have been working on the front of our house. We've planned to build a western front like this for a while and I love how it has turned out.

Religious Objects

2009-03-06T13:08:00.000-06:00

A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion.

The first student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David."

The second student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Mary. I'm a Catholic and this is a Rosary."

The third student got in up front of the class and said, "My name is Tommy. I am a Baptist and this is a casserole.

25 Random Things

2009-02-17T14:27:00.001-06:00

1. My sister and I are about to be given the world’s ugliest cat… not that there is such a thing as a pretty cat. LOL!
2. I have a very nice sister…(Erin helped me out with this one. :))
3. I share my birthday with my twin sister and oldest brother.
4. I like to crochet but knitting is another story. I started a simple scarf 13 years ago and still haven’t finished it.
5. I rarely use my cell phone and have never sent a text message.
6. I do not like bananas.
7. I cannot draw to save my life. I don’t do justice to stick people.
8. I’ve owned cattle, sheep, buffalo, and horses.
9. I love deep, rich colors. My least favourite color is yellow.
10. I’d rather drive a truck than a car. I really like Toyota Tundras. :)
11. I’ve worn glasses since I was seven and then contacts since 14.
12. My dream place is a log cabin nestled back in the mountains.
13. I’ve lived in three different houses but it was always on our property here. That is going to change soon though with us buying a farm in SK.
14. Whenever I make a scrapbook I always have one page that is a total dud.
15. I operated a certified organic market garden with my brother and sister for two years. We sold at two Farmer’s Markets and delivered vegetables twice a week to a few stores in Calgary.
16. Though I live in Canada I have more friends in the States.
17. I’ve been to the RCMP riding stables in ON. My uncle, who was the head of the Musical Ride for years, showed us around.
18. The past year or so I’ve started liking asparagus, mushrooms, and bacon. I still don’t like tomatoes though!
19. We spell our last name two different ways. One a for personal and double a for business. I really like the double a but it would be a hassle and expense to get all my personal id and documents changed.
20. I hate moths.
21. I rarely dream and if I do can’t remember five minutes later what even happened.
22. Boyds Bears are adorable!
23. I agree with Naomi on #23 of her Random Thing note.
24. I get cold easy. My winter boots are good until – 40 C but my feet start getting cold in them at -20C.
25. I like coffee and chocolate but don’t care for mochas.

Winter Pics

2009-01-12T14:55:00.000-06:00

Stereotype Meme

2009-01-08T12:19:00.000-06:00

British
[] You drink a lot of tea.
[] You know what a brolly is.
[] Deal or No Deal has taken over your life. (Hate that show!)
[] You wanted Ben to win X Factor.
[] You use the word "bugger" or the phrase "bloody hell."
[X] Fish and Chips are yummy.
[] You can eat a Full English Breakfast.
[] You dislike emos almost as much as you dislike chavs.
[] It's football...not soccer. (YES YES YES)
Total: 1

Australian
[] you wear flip flops all year.
[X] You call flip flops "thongs", not flip flops.
[X] You love a backyard Barbie.
[X] You know a Barbie is not a doll.
[X] You love the beach.
[] Sometimes you swear without realizing.
[] You're a sports fanatic.
[] You are tanned.
[] You're a bit of a bogan.
[X] You have an Australian something.
Total: 5

Italian
[] The Sopranos is a great show.
[] Your last name ends in a vowel.
[] Your grandmother makes her own sauces.
[] You know how a real meatball tastes.
[] You know Italian songs.
[] You have dark hair and dark eye color.
[] You speak some Italian.
[X] You are under 5'10"
[] You know what an Italian horn is.
[] Pizza/spaghetti is the best food in the world!
[X] You talk with your hands.
Total: 2

Spanish
[] You say member instead of Remember.
[] You speak Spanish or some.
[X] You like tacos.
[] YoU TyPe lIkE ThIs On Da CoMpUtEr.
[] You are dark skinned.
[] You know what a Puta is.
[X] You talk fast occasionally.
[] You have had highlights or have dyed your hair.
[] You know what platanos are.
Total: 2

Russian
[] You say villain as: Vee-lon.
[] You get short tempered.
[X] You know of somebody named Natasha.
[X] You get cold easily.
[] Rain is fun for you.
[] You get into contests all the time.
[X] You can easily make do with the cold weather.
Total: 3

Irish
[] You think beer is the best.
[] You have a bad temper.
[] Your last name starts with a Mc, Murph, O', Fitz or ends with a ley, on, un, an, in, ry, ly, y or L.
[] You have blue or green eyes.
[X] You like the colour green.
[] You have been to a St. Patty’s day party.
[] You have a family member from Ireland.
[] You have red hair.
[X] You have/had freckles.
[] Your family get-togethers always include drinking and singing.
Total: 2

African American
[] You say *****/***** casually.
[] You have nappy hair.
[] You like rap.
[X] You know how to shoot a gun.
[] You think President George Walker Bush is racist.
[X] You like chicken.
[X] You like watermelon.
[] You can dance.
[] You can 'sing' gospel.
Total: 3

Asian
[] You like rice a lot.
[] You are good at math.
[X] You have played the piano.
[] You have family from Asia.
[X] You laugh sometimes covering your mouth.
[] Most people think you're Chinese.
[] You call hurricanes typhoons.
[] You go to Baulko.
Total: 2

German
[X] You like bread.
[] You think German Chocolate is good.
[] You speak some German.
[] You know what Schnitzel is.
[X] You hate it when stupid people call you.
[] You went to Pre-school.
[X] You're over 5'2.
Total: 3

Canadian
[X] You like/play/played hockey.
[] You love beer.
[X] You say eh
[X] You know what poutine is.
[X] You speak some French.
[X] You love Tim Horton's.
[X] At one point you lived in a farm house.
[] You watch/watched Degrassi.
Total: 6

American[] You hate foreigners
[] You hate non - Christians
[] You're lazy.
[] You have had an abortion
[] But love the penalty.
[] You don't read.
[X] You shop at Wal-mart
[] You think this survey is rather biased.
Total: 1

Belgian:
[X] you grow some small vegetables in the yard.
[X] you like french fries.
[X] you think Belgian (or Hungarian) chocolate rules.
[] you know that the 'official best beer in the world' is Belgian.
[] you speak both Dutch and French
[X] you like Belgian waffles.
[] you call a pub or bar a café.
[] you fully realize and acknowledge that your football team stinks
[] you drive/own a French or German car.
[] you have a lot of comments on your government.
Total: 4

Dutch
[] you like the color orange.
[] you are a football enthusiast.
[] you often go to 'coffee shops'.
[] you know what is meant by 'coffee shops'.
[] you tend to overreact and show your emotions.
[X] you have a cheerful nature.
[X] you like the sea.
[] you are good at building/handwork/projects.
[] you tend to favor the megalomania.
Total: 2

An interesting and eventful New Year so far...

2009-01-03T00:31:00.000-06:00

The start of the New Year has been active to say the least. Well, it actually first started on New Year's Eve.

My parents went to check my oldest brother's trailer(in our yard) since my brother and family had headed out to South Carolina. Some time after their departure the furnace quit resulting in the pipes freezing. After a visit from Lee's Plumbing and Heating (who found the problem to be with the igniter) and several heaters placed through the trailer, we were able to get things back to working order.

The 1st Erin started working for a dairy. Mom is trying to figure out how to get the dairy smell out of her work clothes. Usually a rinse cycle would be done first before the regular wash but our new washer doesn't have a rinse cycle. So, Mom read somewhere that Scope is supposed to help remove odors and has been applying it generously to any and every object which has been in contact with the dairy. I can't decide which is worse, the overpowering scent of Scope or dairy.

Late this morning when Erin got back, her jacket went into the washer immediately. Unfortunately after the wash was part way through, Erin remembered the cell phone was still in her inside pocket. Not a good feeling...Some situations you can hope for a good outcome but everyone knows how long a cell phone lasts doused in soap and water.

This evening my brother ended up getting his truck stuck in the snow. The gravel roads aren't in the greatest condition in some places with all the snow we've had coupled with the blustery winds. *Update* I just heard that Dad got stuck on his way over to help. So, it could be a looong night.

On a more cheeful note, a missionary from Norway called this evening wanting to stop by and visit with us the middle of this month. Last time they came through was almost 10 years ago so we are looking forward to visiting with them again.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

WALKING WITH GOD IN THE NEW YEAR

He does not lead me year by year,
Nor even day by day,
But step by step my path unfolds;
My Lord directs my way.

Tomorrow's plans I do not know,
I only know this minute:
But He will say, "This is the way,
By faith now walk ye in it."

And I am glad that it is so;
Today's enough to bear;
And when tomorrow comes, His grace
Shall far exceed its care.

What need to worry then, or fret?
The God who gave His Son
Holds all my moments in His hand
And gives them one by one.

-Selected

Winter pics at Graham's

2008-12-06T14:58:00.000-06:00

SK pics

2008-11-26T15:03:00.000-06:00

Our barn...I love it! I've liked hiproof barns for quite a while and was excited to see there was a nice red one with a newly refinished roof on the place we were interested in. There is something about a hiproof barn that makes a farmyard complete.

The loft

Old granary beside the barn

Grain bins

More grain bins...

Quonsets

The main house...there are two in the yard

Looking towards the farmyard

Saskatchewan prairie...

This is exciting as the landscape gets...LOL!

Grain storage on one of our furthest quarters

Across the Range

Had to share this. lol!

2012 New Year

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors,

and let each new year find you a better man." - Benjamin Franklin

Merry Christmas!

Friends

The Last Thing You Do - High Valley

Today's Inspiring Words. lol.

What every cat should know. haha!

Hunting Season

Lost in Canada

Remembrance Day - May we never forget their sacrifice

Newest project - SLC sign

River Flows in You

Barn Maintenance

Busy times!

Beautiful. Inspiring. Amazing.

Thomas Jefferson Quote

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.Thomas Jefferson

This is Cranford... :D

Davidson Farm Pics

Truck Cleaning

I'm back and the adventures continue...

1 year

C.S. Lewis Quote

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."~ C. S. Lewis

Canadian Election 2011

Another week = more farm experience

Spring is finally here...I think

Royal Wedding

Happy Easter!

Thomas Jefferson

Chicken Humour

Grandma

Spring is finally coming!

10 Reasons to be from Saskatchewan

Dryer Repair 101

The Saskatchewan Experience

Of wedding planning and friends...

Faithful - Chris Tomlin

More snow!

Irish Saying

One year ago...

Fundamentalists

The List So Far -- by Darrell from http://www.stufffundieslike.com/

Never Give In

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Howdy!

Born Country! :)

Music

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

~ Victor Hugo

Washington's wisdom on true friendship

Benjamin Franklin Quote

Trouble in Amish Paradise

Einstein Puzzle

Fisher Ames Quote

#26

Dairy Pics

Happy New Year!

Friends

Merry Christmas!

Peanut Butter Cups

Pretzel Turtles

Winter Wonderland

Smile for today

Borrowed from Treasuries of Joy :D

Brief update

Canadian Wheat Board

A year (and one day! :)) gone by...

Potatoes

From the summer...

6 months

Optometrists

Fall pics

Glimpse into my holiday

Perogies

Few more snow pics from around the yard

and let each new year find you a better man."

- Benjamin Franklin

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
~ C. S. Lewis