We Have a Winner!

I may have overdone the "building the tension" thing a bit by not posting anything for, oh, about 12 days or so, but if any of you are still hanging on, thanks for your patience.   We have made it through drywall patching and painting in the kitchen, a new cement pad and stairs to the front entrance, a First Nations protest of the pipeline project in town, a birthday (Clem's), an anniversary (ours - 19 years, thank you very much),  the fall supper at the church, work parties at the rink to fix things up, three hockey meetings,  a two-day 3-on-3 hockey tournament in Kindersley, shooting at coyotes to scare them out of the yard, and a Thanksgiving supper with about 40 of our favorite relatives.   For some reason, I just couldn't seem to fit in a bit of blogging.  I have been thinking about all of you, though, and picking the winning title for the blog, and taking pictures to document all of these exciting events.   Unfortunately, Derek needed the camera for something today, and I haven't seen it since.  The camera, I mean.  Derek I've seen.  And heard.  A lot.   You'll have to wait for the pictures, though.

The favorite blog title seems to be...  drum roll, please.... "Scratchings in the Dirt", which, ironically, is one that I dreamt up.  It seems to apply to much of our life here on the prairie, and it just sounds, oh, I don't know, literary or something.  So that's what I chose.  It was hard, though.  There were some excellent entries, and I really appreciate the effort you all put into my little game.  It was fun.  It's over.  I win.  

Thanks for stopping by again.  Good night!

Chandra

Happy Birthday, Carl!

Clem's brother is 50 today.  Yep, 50.  The big five-O.  That's five times on all your fingers, boys and girls.  

Carl is one of the reasons we started this blog.  He travels.  A lot.  And he lives far away.  Very far away.  Saudi Arabia, to be exact.  And United Arab Emirates before that.  And Botswana before that.   And Ottawa before that.  So this is how we keep him up-to-date with what's going on in our lives.  And he is the best commentor.  He must check this thing every day.  (He must be very bored!)     And he almost always leaves a comment.  That's how we know he's still alive and kicking.  And so we want to wish him a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  

I'm a little tired tonight (see previous post), not to mention lazy, and I can't seem to find a picture of Carl.   So I'm going to show you one he took when he was home for a visit.  It is my all-time favorite photograph.  It was taken out at the Smiley stone wall (local oddity, for those of you not from here!)  And my boys are in it, too, so what could be better than that.

Thanks for stopping in.  Good night!

Chandra

Hello?  Hello?  Anybody out there?  (Besides Tina, I mean.   Tina's great and everything, but we're brainstorming here, folks.)  Hello?  This is not a lecture.  If you need to know the difference between brainstorming and a lecture, you can ask my boys.  They've heard lots and lots of lectures.   But I digress.  Since you are too shy to comment with your ideas, could you perhaps vote on some of mine?  Here's what I thought of tonight.  (Please keep in mind that I stayed up too late last night, got up too early this morning, drove two hours to a funeral, visited withtoo many people, drove two hours home again, and then attended a book signing in a very warm library, so the creativity is down just a tad.)

1.  The Queen Bee (personal favorite, dripping with sarcasm)

2.  I Didn't Marry a Farmer (there's a story here that I would post if we go with the title!)

3.  A Little Piece of Quiet (plagiarized somewhat from a book given to me by my dear mother)

4.  The Toilet Seat Stays Up (a husband and three boys - think about it)

5.  Maid's Day Off (again with the sarcasm)

6.  Scratchings in the Dirt 

7.   ?

That's it, guys.   I'm empty.  Your turn!