December 29

Glanced out the window yesterday and saw the sky turning blood red.  I remember watching the sunrise in December from my bedroom window on the second floor of my old house.  I had a wonderful view of the sky and mountains from that viewpoint.  Now, although I love my new house, my view is restricted and not so spectacular.  But the colour still shows, even if it is above a fence and the rooftop of houses.  I love the Yukon skies in December!

RIP Joe Cocker

It is with a sad heart that I write this entry.  Joe Cocker passed away on the 22nd and our world is a little bit emptier.  His music takes me back to Andrea, Mary and the old gang.  We had so much fun together - memories to last a lifetime.  First time I saw him was in the Woodstock movie.  Although just a bit too young to have attended Woodstock, I watched that movie I don't know how many times.  I was there in heart if not in person.  The days of Peace, Love and Freedom.  What a time!  Andrea took her mother to see Joe at the CNE stadium many many years ago.  That was in a time before mothers and daughters (or sons) did such things together.  His gravelly voice and unique stage presence will live on.  RIP Joe Cocker.  You sure brightened up our lives!

Winter Solstice - December 21st

Yes it is winter solstice.  A day Yukoners celebrate.  The shortest day ... longest night of the year.  We celebrate it because starting tomorrow, each and every day gets longer and longer and each and every night gets shorter and shorter.  Yeah!!!!

And this year we celebrated Christmas on this very day.  SR and family are travelling south to Vancouver to celebrate Christmas with Brooke's family and will depart tomorrow morning bright and early.  So December 21st is Christmas.

Thanks to Brooke for taking some photos.  I seemed to be busy either opening presents, holding babies (as seen above, sometimes both at the same time), cooking dinner and a number of other things it seems.  

This is the only photo of Brooke.  You can see her nice necklace - a teething necklace for babies.  And they used it too.  Emerson's first tooth broke through yesterday.  His second one isn't too far behind.  And Alanna's were soon to come too.

Alanna was very excited when opening gifts.  Her little legs were bouncing (look at her tights - they are ballet shoes on the bottoms - so cute) and she was grabbing all the paper and bows and immediately eating them.  Who cares what was in the box.  

So, this is my first Christmas with the grand kids.  They looked so cute, Alanna wearing a knit dress and Emerson in his skinny jeans and plaid shirt.  And Lily and curious little Timber were with us as well.  It was great being with a houseful for our celebration.

A Book Club Christmas

Another Book Club Christmas.  Unfortunately Joan was at home with a killer flu - two weeks now and counting.  But the rest of us were healthy, happy and ready for Christmas.  This year we donated children's mittens to Kaushee's Place, the Yukon Women's Transition Home.  Apparently kids lose their mittens all the time in the winter, so it is something that we hope will be appreciated.  Thanks to Nancy for being our elf who delivers this gift.

And we still have one member who is uncomfortable with internet facial recognition, so I am honouring that.

I was trying to life my casted foot in this photo, but did't get it high enough to be in the photo.

Gail n Deb hamming it up.  Yes we did have wine on this night.  

So another Christmas with good friends, good food, great gift exchanges, and fun conversation.  

Merry Christmas to all!

Low Gas Prices

Low gas prices have even hit the Yukon.  Good for me.  Bad for the economy.

Dec 14

Dinner at the Rudolph's tonight.  Babies had just been fed when I arrived.  Alanna was in a very good mood and sat on my lap for a long long time chatting and smiling.

Emerson slept, then woke.  It took him a while to really wake up.

 SR had Emerson while he was waking up.  He is not usually so quiet.  Soon he was awake, put in his jolly jumper and was extremely happy there for quite some time.

But as you can see he is not always happy and when he is not, he shows it.  SR very conveniently snapped a couple of picks with Gramma holding Emerson when he wanted more than being held.

(I'll show these pictures to him when he wants something from me when he has grown!)

P.S.  I did hold them both when they were happy and smiling.  Only I didn't get any picture of that!

Gimpy

December 4th was my Right Foot 1st Proximal Metatarsal Osteotomy and Akin Procedure.  In other words bunion surgery.  I always heard it was a painful surgery (and also heard horror stories, thanks to Dianna) but as mine was performed early I thought it would hurt a little then be OK.  Wrong!  It is now a week and two days and this is the first day I can actually walk on my heel (like the literature says I can do on day 1!) with the aid of my crutches. 

Thanks to my new neighbours Seven, Stacey and their teen age daughters for keeping the snow cleared on my drive and walk way.  They are actually doing a better job than I would do and I really don't know them as I just moved into my new house.  And thanks to all my friends for offering and giving the assistance when I need to get some place or need groceries.  A Great Help!! And thanks to my son and daughter-in-law for providing me with my first real meal last Wednesday, then leaving the leftovers so I could continue to enjoy a real meal all week long.  They are also at my beck and call as need be and never say no.  Hopefully my recovery will progress at a quick pace now.  Of course I have hoped for that since day one and it is not quite as quick as I would like but what will be will be.  

Today SR is picking me up and taking me to the drug store for a few items, then Sears for my new twin beds which are finally in.  Below is a photo of what this day looks like so I am thrilled to be going outside.  

November 28

The days may be short but that huge fireball, now sitting low in the sky, reflects in dazzling ways.  This is what I saw driving into town yesterday.  Not quite a sundog but it silhouetted the trees against the mountain drawing the eye there again and again.

And it was time for the Seniors' Soiree again.  As part of Festival of Trees, the walls were lined with sponsored Christmas trees, some valued up to $12,000.  I would have bought tree #4, Angelina's Boutique (if I had lots and lots of money).  A near second was the spectacular Snow White Tree which unfortunately I didn't take a picture of.  Anyway, shared a table with my line dancing group and all eyes were on us when we were  strutting out stuff on the dance floor.  It was a great evening of friends, food (a wee bit of wine thanks to Barb) and dancing, all in support of the Whitehorse General Hospital.

Our food store

Not to dwell on this subject, but we have two large grocery stores and 3 small, almost boutique ones (that of course is not counting Riverside Groceries, the tiniest shop that sells almost anything you could possible want - can't find it in any other store, go to Riverside and there it is!!!!).  Now that one of the two large stores is closed, you would think that the only remaining large store would realize this fact and order more food.  Nope.  So they just keep running out of the most popular foods and apparently that is OK.  I had to return the President's Choice Organic Brown Rice that I purchased the other day (it was the only brown rice available that day).  I cooked it up and found that it have lots and lots of husk and some kind of black hard rice that almost breaks your teeth if you bite down on it unsuspectingly.  As I was in the grocery store and as I have been complaining about our choices, I thought I would walk through and take some photos to show that our shelves ARE about 1/3 empty.  So there.

My Beef

We've just recently returned to Standard Time.  Daylight Savings Time is a SUMMER thing, when we already have more daylight that one can almost handle.  I was driving home the other day at around 4:30 PM and the daylight was already waning.  We could have used an hour or so more of daylight ...  and it will only get worse (that is darker and darker) until December 21st (the winter solstice - the shortest day, the longest night) at which point the daylight will start to get longer, but ever so slowly.

Shopping

Went to visit my son on the weekend.  We went out for a stroll with 2 babies and 2 dogs (2 dogs tied up outside the store and busy sniffing and sniffing the poles).  And he had to do grocery shopping so he pushed the stroller around the super market while I pushed the cart to collect the groceries.  People kept stopping him and looking at the "cute" babies...  lots of ooooos and aahhhhhhs.  I, at one point said I wanted to take his picture in the market and he said NO!!, it's too embarrassing.   You can see who won out!  But I had to do it quickly.  No second takes here.

P.S.  I have just been complaining about our supermarkets running out of food.  For example was in The Real Canadian Super Store the other day and they didn't have any cans of pumpkin and about 1/3 of their shelves were bare.  The store we were in was one of 3 small (and more expensive) grocery stores, one of which is located in Porter Creek, a baby stroll away from SR's house.

Hallowe'en, so much fun

Ah, Hallowe'en.  Alanna, the pretty flower and Emerson, the scary lion, all dressed up for this special day.    They were in their costumes all day and went to a kids Hallowe'en party.  I was shown a photo of their party which was held a someone's house.  All the babies (it looked like at least 10 of them, all under the age of one) were sitting on a couch.  They all looked so cute all dressed up, the little angels.  Then I saw the video of all those cute little things sitting on the couch.  With motion and sound the picture was so different - most of them squirming and crying and crying.  I laughed.  

Even the dogs were dressed for this occasion.  Timber the spider and Lily the lion.  Everyone went to the door when the trick or treaters came, lions, flowers, and spiders and of course the artist Brooke was dressed as who I didn't know but she did look good (unibrow, flower in her hair which was braided and tied up around her head and I think south american ... do you know who she was??).

Lily was so brave as people in masks and costumes scares her and then she barks.  Timber is famous for running away when given the chance.  With an open door filled with kids in costumes, the dogs were perfect and the kids loved the fact they were dressed up.

90 or so treaters later, I turned off the lights as all my candies were gone.  And I heard Whitehorse ran out of Hallowe'en candies.  What a town!

Can't wait to see what everyone will dress up as next year!

Thinking Hallowe'en

Last Hallowe'en, when I lived at my old house on the cul de sac, I had about 30 kids come to my door Trick or Treating.  There seemed to be fewer and fewer kids around every year.  This year I moved.  Taking a walk around my street, it seems every other house is getting decked out for the spooky eve.  I have a feeling I am going to have many many many many more than 30 kids at my door this year.  Better stock up on candy - the kind I like - just in case in wrong.

Here is the graveyard house.

And the pumpkin house.

And my next door neighbour who has a skeleton falling out of a broken coffin.

Wednesday Again

Yes, it's Wednesday once again.  When SR is out of town, I twinsit.  When SR is in town, he invites me over to play with my grand kids.  They ARE becoming cuter each day I must admit.  Although when I was trying to play with Alanna, Timber was right there.  I think the dogs are being neglected as both of them stuck to me like glue.  Finally Lily did "go lay down" but Timber would lay right in front of me.  Alanna didn't mind though.  She was full of smiles tonight and spent quite some time batting the toys that were hanging from the bar on her chair.  She also laughed out loud for the first time tonight although I am afraid I missed that.

She is now an excellent thumb sucker.  No pacifier for her tonight.  She preferred to do it herself, and even put herself to sleep.

Emerson, on the other hand ...  He was talking tonight and smiling too.  And he has taught us that if we pick him up and walk around the house with him, he will stop fussing.  Isn't it the adults who are suppose to be teaching the little ones - not the other way around???

October 11, 2014

Happy Birthday SR.  This is his first birthday as a Father.  And today, before they came for dinner, they went, as a family, to family swim day at the pool.  Another first, this time for the wee ones.  Apparently all went well and everyone enjoyed their swim.  And another first, Lily and Timber got to scout out my new completely fenced back yard.  And another first, my first big meal prepared in my new house.  A day full of firsts!!!!!

Sorry I didn't get a photo of Alanna in her pretty little dress but did get Emerson with his checkered shirt and dungarees.  They were so cute.  As the evening went on there was a necessary costume change for both of them.

Then came the cake.  Between Emerson and me, I had to make a gluten free, dairy free dessert.  Whew!    But the wee ones apparently liked the cake, or at least the candles.  They both couldn't take their eyes off the flames.

!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SR !!

! Whitehorse !

OK, gotta stop posting pics of the two little ones, but they are so darned cute.  Here they are with their new bibs, a gift which arrived just in time as the drool is now a steady stream, plus at least one of them is learning how to blow bubbles - guess which one!  

Here is a view from my kitchen window.  It has taken me a long time to post this as for almost two weeks there has been inclement weather with the clouds sitting on the top of the mountain.

A close up of the wind turbines on the top of Haeckel Hill.  Yes that white stuff is snow and today, the top is all white.

Now for my reason for writing.  Found out today that I will have the birthday boy here for dinner on Saturday with a dinner request, so went out tonight to pick up the majority of the food.  First of all, Extra Foods is closed as the building was built with asbestos and they are now removing it.  The second food store (and 2nd Loblaws related store) is the Real Canadian Super Store, which is huge and busy but usually has a bit more food than the remaining food stores - Super A (one in Porter Creek and one in Riverdale) and Bigway (in Granger).  I think all three remaining stores have all the same owners.  So, I went to the largest store so I could get everything at one stop.  It is now Thursday night, and Thanksgiving weekend is Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Usually families will have their turkey dinners on one of those three days.  The largest supermarket had 4 half thawed utility turkeys and about 10 frozen utility turkeys, the largest of which was about 12 pounds.  Most were much smaller.  That's all they had!  For Thanksgiving!  When asked in the meat department, the response was "I think we may be getting more in".  Gee, thanks.  I don't need a big turkey so picked up one of those (I believe sans a leg, oh well drumsticks are over-rated anyway).  Now I needed bread crumbs for stuffing.  "We haven't had any for a while" was the response in the bakery section.   Oh man, only in Whitehorse.  

Saturday

Went to Shoppers to pick up my parcel today only to find everyone in all the shops in the mall evacuating the stores.  Apparently the fire alarm went off - the 2nd time this week - and apparently set off by the contractors that are removing the asbestos from Extra Foods on the corner of the mall.  Oh well, it gave me time to talk to my old friend Sandy who works in Coffee Tea and Spice.  She is the one who told me this was a regular occurrence.  

I received an extra large parcel and as it is not my Birthday nor is it Christmas, I thought it probably contained gifts for the little ones so I went into Porter Creek to open my parcel.  Sure enough it contained many little gifts for the new borns and surprisingly enough, one gift for ME!  SR was working and Brooke was just about to take the little ones out for a walk so I helped change, dress (and make smile) the wee ones then off she went with two babies and two dogs and iTunes.  It was a lovely day so I hope they had a lovely walk.  I went home and opened my gift which was a house warming throw from my sister.  I used it right way.