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.

Wednesday

Wednesday seems to be my twin sitting night.  Last Wednesday they had new seats to sit in.  Very luxurious.

Had them both smiling for about half an hour.  Caught a bit of a smile from Emerson but didn't quite catch Alanna's big smiles on the camera.

For short periods of time they focus on you now.  It is so much fun to watch their development.

First Snow (Storm)

Our first snow falls.  And fall it did.  It was almost white-out conditions driving downtown.  Snow plows were not yet on the road and the snow was coming down heavily, sometime being driven sideways by the wind.  Yuk.

It was a heavy water laden snow and stuck to everything.  It was bending the smaller trees down to the ground and dropping the branches of the larges trees down low.

Nearing my destination, I let a pedestrian cross the road to get them on their way.  I picked up the dogs and they were ecstatic when they left the house to find the ground filled with white stuff.

Now I am hoping this blog works as yesterday afternoon  a "third party" dug up the NorthwesTel communications line and cut off all phone, cell phone and internet connections to the north.  By midnight we had phone services and about 1/3 power on internet as NWTel connected to a now defunct line until repairs on their fibre optics line were done.

Friday, September 26

Now, almost two weeks later, I am still cleaning and unpacking but alas, am almost finished unpacking inside the house.  Still have the garage to organize.  And am having a fence built which is not quite finished so when I looked after Timber and Lily on Friday, they stayed inside the house.  They did have fun exploring and sniffing the new surroundings though and as you can see Lily had just awoken from a nap and was having a big stretch when this photo was taken.

Moving Day

If you wondered why I have been lax in keeping up this blog ... think no more.  Moving day was September 15th.  Prior to that date it was rain rain rain.  Moving day was magnificent sunny skies.  What luck.  I had forgotten what a big job moving was.  Luckily I had expert movers that did it with a smile and with very little instructions (although I had written where each box was to go, so they didn't need very much instruction). 

Boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes, boxes ...  well you get the picture.  For someone who had downsized on my last move, I couldn't believe how many boxes I had.  Filling them was enough for me.  I then had to empty them on the other end and was NOT looking forward to that job.  You know, we collect too much "stuff".  I kept thinking, do we really need all this stuff?????  The answer is no.  Unfortunately, I am a bit of a pack rat.

So, around supper time, the Twins came by (with Mom) with a beautiful colourful bouquet of flowers for the new house.  They also brought gluten-free pizza and some bubbly which was also much appreciated as I had very little food in the house and anyway, even if I did, was much too tired to cook anything that day.  I had a lovely visit with the grandkids and their mom, then it was early to bed so I could get up early the next morning and start unpacking.

The flowers were so colourful and bright.  They really did light up the room.

Thanks "twins"!

Delayed Update

Last week I twinsat while Brooke went to her appointment.  We tried tummy-time but they weren't happy with that so I put them in their chairs and read them a story.  They quickly fell asleep.

Here's Lily keeping an eye on her favourite, Alanna.

And interestingly enough, Timber kept vigil over Emerson.  They were the perfect little babies until they got hungry and mom was not yet home.  Then it took a lot to pacify them.

As you've probably noticed I take photos of sleeping babies.  During the awake times, I am kept busy with other things!

Slowly but surely my rooms' contents are being put into boxes.  I love walking through empty rooms as I then know I don't have anything further to do with them.  My garage is FULL of boxed "stuff".  Do I really need that much stuff?????  The answer is NO.  I am going to re-think all that I have once I am moved into my new place.  Too late now to do anything but look at all those boxes and sigh.

                          

One week to go till moving day.  I have been waiting a long time for that day to come.  And don't expect too much in the way of updates after the 15th.  The internet people can't come till the end of the week, my satellite man cannot come till the next week (it's hunting season in the Yukon!) but as of today my phone is now working perfectly.  I have made the LEAP from land-line to cell phone only, kept my land-line number (ported the number to my cell) and am getting a pretty good deal on monthly fees from Bell.  So That worked out OK.