Theresa Sokyrka was here!

I enjoyed an evening out last night at the lovely Prairieland Community center here in Kerrobert. A fundraising dinner was held for the new hospital, and Theresa Sokyrka, runner-up in Canadian Idol a couple of years ago, was the entertainment for the evening. The dinner was yummy - perogies, cabbage rolls, ham - and Theresa was great. I'm not a huge fan of jazz, which she obviously prefers, but I do like listening to her voice and guitar playing. She has such a warm, open personality, which makes for a good rapport with her audience. You can't help falling in love with the sweet girl!

Aunt Margie certainly did. Here she is with Theresa in the center and our neighbor, Carol, on the left.

Derek had his cousin, Wyatt, out for a sleepover this weekend. Wow, is he like his dad was at that age! They had a great time, but didn't get too much sleep! They met up at the pool one day last week, and had a grand time.

Catch you later!
Chandra

Validation

I heard on the Tonight Show last night about a new study showing that the eldest sibling in a family has the highest IQ.

I hate to say I told you so, sibs, but......

No word on whether IQ diminishes with birth order, Rob. Mom, this doesn't bode so well for you, either.

Later.
Chandra

We got a rain gauge!

And 2 inches of rain! It is SOGGY around here. Some people are saying they got 3 inches, so perhaps our rain gauge needs calibrating, or the rain was spotty, or some people are liars. Whatever, it's wet, wet, wet.

My baby turned 15 yesterday.
Sometimes, most times, I can hardly believe he's the same little boy. Usually when I am looking way up at him to ream him out about whatever. But he's a great kid, with a great sense of humor, and he still lights up our lives. He's full of music, too, so we got him his own electric guitar and amp. He was blown away, but took much care to be cool and not let his excitement show.
He's pretty good on it already, but it didn't last long in the house. He was out in the studio last night, after numerous complaints by his mother about the volume.


And of course it was Father's Day, so we lavished Clem with gifts and love. Note the awesome robe. Derek made him a paperweight - a painted stone. It's very nice.


My dad was here, as well. He somehow got wind of the steak supper requested by Clem, and showed up in the afternoon. We showered him with gift (singular) and love, too.

This was one of the tamer scenes around the table.

The evening ended with a rousing game of hockey trivia - it helps with the summer withdrawal - with Adam emerging the victor. Fitting on his special day.

Stop by again soon!
Chandra

Rain again!

We had about 4 tenths of rain this morning - still no rain gauge, just an educated guess! I was glad I got out in the garden last night after returning from Calgary. The potatoes popped through while I was gone, so I could see where to weed!

I took Mom on a mother/daughter retreat at the FCJ Center in Calgary. The center is downtown, behind the cathedral, and right on the river. It is in an old convent, built with sandstone, and the grounds are absolutely gorgeous.


These were the views from the window in our very warm room:



Mom really enjoyed trying out my new "Family Doctor II" massager. (It does feel great - I highly recommend!)



We had a very nice time reminiscing and sharing. Perhaps if Lisa is back in Canada next year, we could all go. It's amazing what two people can talk about when they have uninterrupted time.


Rob and Amber joined us for Mass at the Cathedral on Sunday morning, and then we met Jay and Terri for brunch. It was a great meal and we had lots of laughs, not so unusual when we're with Jay and Rob. The thing about a new camera is remembering to take it out of your pocket and use it. We all looked fabulous, but you'll never get to see that picture!

Hello to Dad's cousin, Roy, who called tonight to say that he's following the blog. It's good to know who is checking in! And hi to Dad, who is out at the farm getting ready to (gasp) spray chemical all over his crops. Wear a mask, Dad.

Bye for now.
Chandra

More rain....and some visitors

We got another nice rain yesterday. We prefer to operate without a rain gauge and just guess as to the amount we receive, so I can't tell you how much it rained. I can tell you that I've heard everything from half an inch to an inch, so it was probably somewhere in there. My garden is pretty mucky, I know that. I got the tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, and celery plants in just as it was starting, so I'm happy about that. If we keep getting these weekly rains, there should be an abundance of good stuff from that garden!

Lori Seversen stopped in for a visit on Tuesday, along with her two adorable boys and her mom (who's quite adorable, too!). Alex, who is three, got his little hands on my new camera and went crazy. He figured out how to work it right away, and got some pretty good shots. He took some really bad ones, too - necks, arms, and feet - I deleted about 50 pictures! Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Here's Alex now:


This is his self-portrait (must be related to Kelvin!):



And here's happy Andrew, known as "pork chop" by his mom:





If the gravel business doesn't pan out, maybe Alex could be a photographer!



After a busy afternoon of taking pictures, it was time for a bathroom break, minus the bathroom.


Our great neighbor, Carol Wright, also stopped by on Tuesday to deliver a present, a dozen white roses. They are absolutely gorgeous, and I am really enjoying them. Thanks, Carol!
Not only do they look great, they smell wonderful!

Adam and Stephen have been attending the football spring camp. It starts at 7 a.m. They really can get up by themselves in the morning if they want to! Derek is recovering from his sunburn. I think I preferred it when he couldn't move much and didn't feel like talking! He missed another ball game due to the rain, but didn't seem too upset. As he said last week, baseball isn't really his sport.

Wow, two posts in one week. This new laptop and camera make things so easy, I may start to bore you with this trivial news!

Later.
Chandra

I just love computers!

I spent about an hour yesterday trying to publish this post, and got nowhere. And that was without downloading the pictures and resizing them. I'm still trying to figure out how this computer is making my life easier....

It's been very hot here the last few days. Everything is just exploding, all is lush and green (except for the multitude of yellow dandelions, the religious weed that bows down before the mower.) Clem and Adam have spent many hours on the tractor summerfallowing. Hopefully, the weeds will die, even with the humidity.

I had a few visitors last Thursday to help me celebrate my ??th birthday. First to arrive were Cindy Kissick and their latest addition (edition? - she looks just like the rest!), Celeste. Isn't she sweet?


Aunt Lorraine baked me an orange chiffon cake, just like mom used to do, and she and Aunt Linda came out for coffee. Carol Wright joined us, too. Then, after working at the library for the afternoon, I convinced Clem that he should take us to God's country - Luseland - for supper.

We were trying out my birthday present - a new camera for my trip to Scotland.

And here's beautiful main street, Luseland!
We went to the Royal George for supper, and on our way there we saw brother Mark. We invited him to join us, and bought him his birthday supper (a day early).

Then it was off to Dana's greenhouse for some more of my birthday present - bedding plants! Clem was trying out the camera again.
Actually, what I got was a lot more work! I decided to create a little flower garden in front of the house, centered by the pear tree we received in memory of Marj. I think it will turn out quite nicely, when everything grows a bit. There are already pears on the tree, but we've had to fence it to keep the deer from snacking.

You might have noticed the new awnings on the house. I can't believe the difference it makes by keeping the sun - and heat - out of the porch. It is bearable in there now, even when it's 29 degrees like yesterday!



Nothing new here - I just like these old boots!



There's no way we could keep the yard up without the help of our big boys. Stephen cut a whole bunch of grass in just a couple of hours. Of course, he wanted to go to football practice at 7 a.m. this morning!
Adam took a break from summerfallowing to work on his bike. He did eventually get it going, and he seems very happy to have it running again. Happier than he was when I was snapping pictures of him, anyway!
No pictures of Derek from yesterday, although they would be interesting. He looks somewhat like a lobster after three days in the pool and "I don't need sunscreen, Mom". He is in a foul humor, so I didn't even attempt to get a photo. A bit of ibuprofen and some aloe gel and he should be good to go in no time. I can't remember ever seeing a sunburn quite that bad, though!

Well, that's about it for life on the Schraefel farm. Thanks for stopping by, and we'll catch you later!
Chandra