My glamorous life.

I feel so privileged to not have a real job.  Instead, I get to stay home and do fun things like scrub the garbage cans (because my guys have as good an aim there are they do in the bathroom!)  But I also get to be home when my baby leaves for his first day of Grade 8.  I was informed last night that there would be NO pictures taken of his first day of school this year. None.  Nada.  End of discussion.  So you will just have to imagine the idyllic scene - 6 foot, husky 'boy' running out the door, almost forgetting his lunch and book bag, to get on the bus that was waiting in the yard (yep, the one he had heard drive down the road and then remarked "bus is here").  I had to 'lovingly' rouse him from his bed an hour earlier, and then 'lovingly' remind him to not take too long in the shower as the house was filling with steam, and then 'lovingly' ask him to feed his dog (the one that has taken to sleeping in the front flower bed again).  Oh, what glamour.  My spidey sense is telling me that this is going to be another looooong school year.  That, and the talk mail informing us that there will be early dismissal the first Thursday of each month.  You know what tomorrow is?  The second day of school, and THE FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH.  Seriously.  Early dismissal on the second day of school.  I think I will start a pool to see who can guess how soon I will receive the first "Mrs. Schraefel" phone call from the school.  Got to keep this glamorous lifestyle going!

Well, Stephen made it home from Australia - eventually.  My favourite national airline got him from Calgary to Sydney and back to Vancouver before deciding to make my life hell again.   We had gone to Calgary the night before he was to arrive, and knew he had landed in Vancouver at 9 in the morning.  The next text said he missed his connection, that he was on stand-by, and it would probably be 8:30 that night before he could get on a flight.  So, after spending $3000, we spent another $200 and got another, much easier-to-deal-with airline to fly him home.  I think I will start a Westjet fan club.   Just after he got home, he started looking for another place to call his own.  He and a buddy are renting a house in K-town, and he starts his sort-of-new job on Tuesday.  He is going back to work at Fort Nelson, where he had a summer job last year.  He works two weeks in and then has two weeks off, and they now have a charter flight out of Kindersley.  The only thing I'm too worried about is what he'll do with two weeks off!

I've been spending some time at the lake.  Clem graciously got me a laptop (there's that glamorous life again!) so that I could do the farm books while holidaying in the camper!  Actually, I've quite enjoyed it - lots of me time, in the fresh air, no mosquitoes, and hardly any other campers.  And I got the books caught up!

While I was lazing at the lake, Clem and the boys have been attempting to harvest.  It's been swather tag around here - as Clem gets one swather going, the other one breaks down.  He said if we had any money he'd have bought a new one by now.  He probably could have with what he's spent on parts!   The upside is that to keep the operators busy, the summerfallowing is also getting done.  Thanks, Adam!  The peas have been combined and are in the bin awaiting purchase by some lucky buyer.  They are really nice this year.  Derek is the newest combine operator on the Schraefel ranch, and is loving it.  He was just pumped when he got the call from dad to fill his water jug and head out!  Hope that excitement for the job lasts for a few years.

We have been enjoying the bounty from the garden again this year - corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes right now.  The freezer is full of beans, and the cold room will be stuffed with potatoes and carrots.  I grew kohlrabi this year for the first time - it will get planted again next year!  There is absolutely nothing like fresh garden produce!!

That's about all the glamour for now.  Stay tuned for harvest pictures!
Thanks for checking in!
Chandra

Stephen is American???

I just saw on Facebook - herald of all that is true and occurring - that the USA Eagles beat the Central Coast Rhinos in the final game of the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup.   And, lo and behold, there was my son, wearing an American jersey, in the team's victory picture.   Will wonders never cease?  Actually, I need one more wonder, at least.  I need Stephen to be on the plane that lands in Calgary tomorrow morning.  We haven't heard anything at all from him since before the final game, so I really hope he makes his flight!

Hmmm....what's on my camera?

My goodness, what a busy month.  It felt busy, and then when I looked to see what pictures were on the camera, it was confirmed!

Stephen has been having a blast 'down under'.  They played their last game last night, and I imagine they are 'celebrating", to put it mildly.  There are some photos and videos on the website (click here) if you are interested.  Stephen is #15, and you'll see him banging his stick on the ice after allowing the other team to score!  He flies into Calgary Monday morning, so Clem and I will go tomorrow and do a little visiting before we pick him up at the airport.

Derek has been having a wonderful summer.  His good friend's family has invited him twice to go to the lake with them.  He is there now.   He also got to go with Lisa to visit Rob and family at Amber's family cabin for a few days.  It was good for him to get some one-on-one time with his aunts and uncle, and they didn't seem to mind too much!


Lisa was here from Chile for a couple of weeks.  It is 'winter' there, so to speak, so she was happy to enjoy some Saskatchewan/Alberta sunshine.  It was great to see her again, too!

Kerrobert celebrated its Centennial in July.  Clem and I were rather involved with many of the events, so it was somewhat exhausting.  But it was great to see so many people here, especially some of the Schraefel clan.  All of Clem's siblings were home, even Carl!  We had a wonderful visit here at the farm the night before the festivities began.

Chris' son, Brendan, and his partner, Kristy, were here from Toronto.  Some of you will recognize him from "Men With Brooms" or the Trident Splash commercials.   He is just starting his new role as a daddy - yahoo! 

Mark's family visited a couple of weeks prior to the Centennial, although not all at once.  They arrived in shifts, so to speak.  It was so good to see them all again, especially little Sara, Nick's daughter.  I love being an auntie!

I always like to get a shot of these birthday 'twins'.  They are never quite as thrilled! 

Clem was very busy designing and building a portable stage, with the help of many others.  It belongs to our Jr. B hockey team, and was to be used for the Centennial street dance that got rained out.  Like, really rained out - two inches in a very short time.  But we managed to keep the party going in the rink, and the stage worked well the next day for the sod-turning for our new hospital.  

We had fun getting it into town! 

I have been keeping busy in the garden, although this year has been extra fun because a good friend is joining me in the work in exchange for some of the harvest.  There is always more than we can use anyway, so it is a very advantageous arrangement for me!  

Here is what the garden looked like on July 7:

And here it is at the end of July:

It's amazing what some heat and rain will do!  We are so enjoying all the fresh goodies.  Clem always says he feels so good at this time of the year.

I also spend a big of time in the flower gardens.  They are looking quite fine this year, as well!

Found this lupine growing in the back of the garden - not sure how it got there, but it is a welcome addition! 

 The last photo found on the camera is of the infamous Grad barn outside of town.   You can see Stephen's name on the very top left side.  (He calls himself Steve.)  I'm glad I wasn't there to see him do the painting!  Yikes!

And that's it  - you're all caught up!  Feels good, doesn't it?  ;)

Thanks for stopping in!

Chandra