Sunday Morning at Gramma's

                     

30+ years ago, when I had a little baby, the trainmen at White Pass & Yukon Route together gave me a shower gift of a high chair.  I used that high chair for a few years with a toddler, and kept it.
Then, 30+ years later, it was used for one of the twins ... Alanna to be exact.  That was her chair.  Now they are out of high chairs but I will still keep it for their children.  I have stored it in their bedroom.  It is a good thing that they made high chairs to be super sturdy back in those days as we now not only have one climbing up and down, but two!

And it sometimes turns into a BUS.  Above, they have a Bus Driver (in the front) and a passenger (in the back).

Grand Aunt Debbie gave them a foam road to play on and both unicorns and cars now travel along the streets of the bedroom.

Spring has Sprung - April 9

Finally, finally finally, we are getting above 0°C weather.  So now my neighbour (with whom I share a front yard) is using his snow blower to blow the snow on to the road, otherwise it will be about July before it all melts away.  

You can see how deep our front yard snow is.  Sevn, (yes that is his name, and it is not a typo of Sven) is a big man and the snow is still high deep.

Merry Easter

I'd say Happy Easter but we had such a mini blizzard in the late afternoon, early evening on Easter Sunday, it looked like Christmas.  Last year for my Birthday, my "old" next door neighbour Helen gave me Bunny cookie cutters that she thought would be fun for treats for the kids.  Easter had passed to I put them in a drawer.  Luckily, a year later, I remembered them and the above cookies are the results of using her fun gift.  By the way, she also gave me those bunny salt and pepper shakers pictured above and the kids painted those Easter Eggs at Daycare.

I was doing the Easter Dinner thing as the kids went up to the Summit for a few days to frolic in the mountains and snow.  The weather was beautiful and I do think they had a lot of fun.  I made an Apple Pie for dessert along with the cookies.

Jean and Marie we able to join us for the feast.  That is the result of a small town ... running into them at the grocery store as I was shopping for dinner.  I was so happy to have a table full of hungry people.  My guests brought rose coloured bubbly which is just what was needed to make the celebration complete and the wine on the table had "wine bottle jewelry" on it, looking very sophisticated, thanks to Merv.  

Couldn't decide on which photo, so you get both.

Alanna brought me tulips.  Pink of course, her favourite colour.

Happy Easter everyone!

At Work in 1972

John S posted these photos on the CP Air Employee Facebook page.  I hope he doesn't mind me using them here.  Just looking at these photos makes me feel a bit homesick.  I think it was one of the BEST jobs I have ever had.  The shifts were crazy - 5AM, 6AM, 6:30AM, 7AM, 7:30AM, 8AM, 8:30AM, 9AM, 9:30AM, 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, 2PM 3PM, 4PM, 5PM then the midnight shift.  And, you worked them all.  And you "traded" shifts with people so they could take a flight somewhere.  

Back to the availability board above, we had no computers in the 1972.  All the flights that CP Air flew were listed on boards agains the walls of the reservations office.  Each flight was shown by number, each stop that flight made and 1 to 1-1/2 months of availability.  Each flight segment was marked by a) nothing (was totally available), b) an empty circle that showed restrictions on First Class, or c) solid squares which showed the restrictions on Economy Class.  These circles and squares were coloured white, red, yellow and there were stripes as well.  Red was flight full (closed), white meant only a few seats left so you have to request a seat from Vancouver, and I think yellow meant the flight was waitlisted.  This was an amazing system as you could tell the availability of all of the flights at just one glance.

Above is a section of the reservation office.  The first two rows were specialized and dealt with the Travel Agents only.  The next rows, how many were there?, 8? 10? rows were for general public.  The books at each station held all the information on, flights, fares, all the other necessary airline information.  We also had a giant hotel book and a TIM (Travel Information Manual) that told of visa requirements and other information for each country, and a giant Atlas, at the back of the room.  It was quite the pre-computer information system.  

Fur Fest

A first in Whitehorse.  This Fur Fest was held to showcase local trappers who brought their winter crop to sell to the public.  Most furs were untanned but a few were tanned.  Brooke was on a mission as her mother requested some fur to work with her leather crafts.

I have complained about how cold this winter has been.  For me that is not good.  For the trappers it is excellent as the fur is thicker and (for us) more luxurious.  Above, Emerson is looking at lynx.

There were pelts of all kinds, beaver, wolf, wolverine, mink, ermine ... you name it.

The crafts were beyond superb.  I have NEVER seen such variety and quality as was displayed at this fur fair.  Saw Jean Legare there and he told us that the fur balls on the Team Yukon toques are wolf. There was a culling of wolves and trappers not only got paid for the pelt from the government but the pelts were used to make the decorative balls or pompoms on the top of the Arctic Winter Games Team Yukon toques.

Brooke found a hat that would keep her warm at -60!  The cost was a bit prohibitive though at $850.

And while I went off to make a small purchase, the kids learnt about live traps for lynx from a Yukon biologist.  When I returned they were asking excellent questions and discovered why there were live traps, how tagging worked, what interested the animals in the traps etc.  

It was a great fair and if you are in the market for new moccasins, hats, gloves, pelts etc., put your order in with me.  This fair is scheduled to run every other year in the Capital.

The Artists

Artists at work.

snow snow snow

Did I show you how much snow we have?  I put the shovel in the photo to give you an idea of the size.

In February we had 347% times our average February snowfall.

And to boot, it was colder than our average February temperature.  Hope March comes in like a lamb and departs live a lamb.

Me Being Kinder

Ahh, here is a video that is a bit kinder to little Emerson.  This was my second choice but the first choice was too large for blogger.  For your information, they are 3 years + 8-1/2 months of age.

March 4

Had the kids for a sleep over and the cynic that I am, I still chuckle when I view this.  Hope to insert a kinder video soon.

Academy Awards

Before I start, I haven't seen:

Phantom Thread or Lady Bird, two movies I still wish to see  (I don't like watching war movies although I heard Dunkirk was Exceptional)

Happy:

Best Supporting Actor:  Sam Rockwell; you hated him in the movie Three Billboards, then kinda liked him as you kinda understood him.  His acting was superb.

Best Supporting Actress:  Allison Janney; she played Tonya Haring's mother so well!!!

Not Seen (and won't as it has to do with war):  Best Actor :  Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour

Best Actress:  Francis McDormond for Three Bill Billboards, Loved her in the Movie and glad she won!  Like the fact she doesn't dress and make-up like all those stars which to me proves you don't have to be glitzy in Hollywood to be the best.

It's the 51st Anniversary of Bonnie and Clyde.  That made me feel old, thank you.

Best Picture:  The Shape of Water (I'm not sure I agree) but at least Warren Beatty was given the correct card this year (remember last year he was given the incorrect card and announced the the incorrect Best Picture ... what a mess that was!)

So I watched the whole award ceremony but have to admit I enjoyed watching it more when I had my Academy Award Parties here.  Miss all of you!

Joan's Birthday

This is what you do in the afternoon when you are retired.  Joan is pouring the Prosecco while Deb gets ready to light the candles on the cake.  

I can't remember what was happing in this photo but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So you can look at this picture and find your own story for it!

Joan blows out the candles and hopefully her wish comes true.  Happy Birthday Joan!!

Joan lives in a downtown apartments.  Her windows are large and look out over the downtown area.  

The cliffs you see are really on the other side of the Yukon River.  That is where they set off any fireworks display (ie Rendezvous) so she can cozily sit in her living room and watch the display with a glass of wine.  Now that's living.

The Post

Caught this movie just before it left Whitehorse.  Most of the interest for me was to see two iconic actors together, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.  The movie is nominated for Best Picture and for Best Actress (Streep).  I thought the subject matter, though important, might be a bit dry or too technical to watch and the first portion of the movie proved me right.  There was a lot of newspaper people running around trying to gather top secret information and keep it top secret until printing with two rival newspapers trying to make the front page splash first.  And, I was trying to grasp this important story as, for some reason, I missed it in real life (of course, I was a young pseudo hippy with other things on my mind).  The story revolves around the secret Pentagon Papers, a USA Department of Defence paper describing military and political US involvement in the Vietnam War over the time of (I think it was) 4 presidents.  The papers states that the US cannot pull out of the war without humiliation and therefore must continue to fight until they could find a way out with their heads held high.  In the mean time, young Americans were dying in Vietnam.  It was exposed when Nixon was in office - as if he didn't have enough troubles anyway.  Streep is the first female owner of a large newspaper and Hanks is the editor.  1971 was still a man's world and Streep had to dig deep to find the strength to perform in this arena.   The movie moved quickly during the last 2/3's and at times I wanted to jump up and clap my hands.  The fight that still goes on today - government cover ups v freedom of the press.  I enjoyed this movie and there was a lot to talk about after, over our glass of brandy (it was a cold cold night).  I give it 3.9 Stars out of 5.  

Rendezvous ... Olympics - what a weekend

Trying to keep up with many sports of the Olympics and especially Bobsleigh.  Cousin Joe's son Joey is an alternate so, so far, he hasn't raced, but that doesn't mean he won't yet.  

Also watched the medal rounds of hockey, skating, some speed skating, snowboarding, etc. ect.  TV finally isn't boring.

Even though he isn't racing, we do, every once in a while, get a glimpse of Joey as he assists his teammates while they are unloading.

Then there is Rendezvous this weekend.  Went to Whitehorse Elementary to the Fun Fair and F U N  it was.  The kids gambled (above) at the roulette wheel. That's Alanna sporting a feather in her hair and garter on her leg although you cannot see that in this photo and Emerson with his moustache.  Both decked out to celebrate Rendezvous.  

They also went fishing, tossed beanbags in holes, tossed balls in holes, played musical chairs as well as a few other games I am sure I've forgotten.  Above is their first experience at putting.  They won prizes, ate hotdogs and had fun.

Then it was to my house where the kids stayed and the adults (except for me!) left for a Rendezvous adult evening.  Now, as the story goes, as the adults were at dinner, the power went out in downtown Whitehorse but the bar/restaurant continued to whoop it up, ordering food and drinks in the dark.  The revue they then went to see altered its program to play the first half in the dark under flashlight and bicycle light.  Nothing keeps Whitehorse from celebrating.

Snow Snow Go Away

Heard it snowed a lot overnight while listening to the radio this morning.  Went outside to do a quick shovel and found it was well over one foot - in fact my snow banks are so high on the side of the driveway I cannot throw the snow up to the top anymore, it just comes tumbling back down.  After over two hours of shovelling, with the snow still falling, it made me think, "what am I doing living here?"  

I, Tonya

We don't get movies I am interested in for months and months, then they all come at once.  This story of course intrigued me as I remember the scandalous headlines of this incident.  We were all ready to hate Tonya and love Nancy.  But there was always more.

This movie of course tells Tonya's side of the story and how the cards were stacked against her from the beginning of her life.  It tells the story of a strong girl who rises to the top despite the adversities blocking her way, some self inflicted, others not.  She never pretends to be someone she is not.  The acting is superb.  You have "red-neck" Tonya (Margot Robbie), the mother you love to hate (Allison Janney), the pencil moustached wife abusing husband (Sebastian Stan) and the ever eating would-be international counter-terrorism expert (Paul Walter Hauser).  This movie has an interesting format which moves it along quickly and despite the subject, there are many laugh out loud parts. The movie is up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.  I highly recommend it. 

 4 Stars out of 5.

Family Weekend

Had the kids over for the first sleep-over in over two months!  (lots of "overs' in that first sentence!!)  We had a great time together, watching Paw Patrol (I tried to get them to watch one of my favourite movies, Paddington, but they really really didn't want to), eating (sometimes chocolate) and doing crafts.  I wish I had taken a photo of their Valentine's Day cards they made for Mamma and Daddy.  They worked so hard on making them beautiful.  Emerson did make three pictures for me though and above is one of them.  It is an Alien with spikes which helps to protect it from Dinosaurs trying to eat it.  It is now on my wall.

Sunday evening I was invited to their house for a roast beef dinner (which was absolutely delicious) and who was there as well but Auntie Em & Henrik, who is now sitting on his own and eating baby food.  He is still small enough to be sitting on the table. 

The table was set waiting for the Roast to come out while little Henrik was fed.  Emerson and Alanna had trouble waiting for dinner as well so they started early on their veggies.

Yes they were hungry and Emer couldn't even put his head up for a photo.  He was busy gulping down the avocado half he took from his plate.

Was a great weekend with the family even if it was a little cold ... -30C, so too cold for outdoor activities , but lots to do inside.

The Shape of Water

I had to think about my opinion of this movie before putting it on this blog.  I attended the movie really wanting to like it.  It had such positive reviews and was up for so many awards.  I liked the actresses (didn't really know the actors) and loved the title.  When discussing the film over a glass of wine, my two companions absolutely loved it.
The story took place in the early 1960's.  They couldn't have captured the era any better, from the cars to the clothes to the TV shows to the colouring they used while filming.  It was the cold war time and this was reflected in the story line.  This is not defined as a "Horror" movie.  I define it as a Weird Weird movie.  The imagination of the writers must be applauded as they silently weave loose ends into the story.  The Good Guys were very very good and the Bad Guy was very very Bad.  This movie seemed to have all the necessary components and when I think of it like this, I like it.  But I didn't Love it.  I give it 3-1/2 Stars out of 5.

February 04, 2018 ... Home Again, Home Again ...

Look who I found at the Airport!  His mother IS behind him (in the doorway) but he was so far ahead and spotted me immediately.

Then came Alanna entangled in SR.

They came in twos - two adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs and lots of luggage.  And they hit winter head on.  The temperature was about -34°C at the airport.

It was almost like Christmas all over again once at home.  They rediscovered all their toys in each of the rooms.

The dogs also settled in quickly after a two month absence.

Catching Up

Terry was in town this week, and, as we seem to always do when she is here, the three of us got together for food and news.  Boston Pizza was the setting and we got caught up on what we are all doing.  

And it was a cold evening once again.  We have had quite a few spells of -30 to -40 weather this year and we are all TIRED of it!!!  This night was not exception.

When it is colder that -30°C my truck says "forget it, I am not registering the temperature any more.  I'll just show it as ---°C!".  So, on the drive home is was colder than -30!  Ohhh, can't wait for spring.