Winter is here...already!

It is white outside today.  There is still quite a bit of snow left from the big dump we received a few days ago, and it is snowing/raining again.  Not sure if I'll be making my weekly trip to God's country today or not.  I'm sure the choir would manage quite well without me, but I would miss seeing them!  We sang for a St.Patrick's Day tea on Saturday.  What fun!  The room was all decked out in green, and everyone wore green, as well.  So festive.  And the ladies put on a fabulous spread, complete with freshly baked biscuits and Cathy Fischer's shortbread - yum!  I really miss that place sometimes...

Our hockey season came to an abrupt end the other night.  Battleford came from a two-goal deficit and beat us on home ice.  They were definitely the hungrier team.  Shocked a lot of our parents, though, as this team has claimed the title every year they have entered the league.  Another of my predictions was proved false, as well, as Spiritwood fell to Melville in the provincial B final.  They got spanked, and as Derek said, "Glad it wasn't us"!   Besides, he's into badminton now. 

I didn't have to get to go to Esterhazy, as Clem had a friend volunteer for the 15-hour journey, but Clem is tickled with his "new" tractor tires.  As soon as the yard dries up, I'm sure he'll have the local tire guy busy out here.  Adam has expressed an interest in doing some farming again this year, so that will definitely help with the work load.  Stephen is still waiting for a date for surgery, so not sure when or even if he'll be able to run a tractor this spring.  Looks like Derek will be getting a few more hours this year!

Since we don't have to worry about any more hockey games being scheduled here, we are hoping to get away to watch a friend's boy play in the Saskatchewan AAA Midget final series.  Taylor, who played Midget with Stephen for two years, plays for Prince Albert, and they are playing the fourth of five games tomorrow in Saskatoon.   From there we hope to get to Outlook for a 90th birthday party for Clem's mom's cousin.  I know - we really know how to whoop it up, don't we? 

Well, best get moving here this morning - no rest for the wicked!
Thanks for stopping by!
Chandra

A birthday party for the perogie!

My cute little nephew turns one in a few days, so his mom and dad invited some extended family over for a little party.  I had a blast.  Hope he did, too!!  I'll let the photos tell the story.

First taste of chocolate.  He liked it - a true Huck! 

 

Telling Auntie Lisa on Skype about his birthday party.

                                                                           

Want some, Auntie??

It was a great day.  On the way home, we stopped at Aunt Margie and Uncle Jack's, where some of the clan had gathered to visit Andrew and Adam Schwab who are in town doing some work for their dad.  They are such nice friendly young gentlemen, and we enjoyed chatting with them.   And laughing with them - they both have a great sense of humour.  Good times.

Thanks for stopping in!

Chandra

Good for the soul

A friend and I tried a new restaurant in Saskatoon on Thursday.  I had read a very good review about a place that serves local, organic food, but I couldn't remember the name of it.  Luckily a very helpful clerk was able to jog my memory, and we headed over for an early lunch.  I could have stayed there all day!  It is a bistro/bakery/grocery store all rolled into one, and it is amazing.  It is called Souleio, and if you are ever near 265-3rd Ave S you must go in!!!  You will not be disappointed.  The only bad thing about our visit is that we were walking and I could not carry all that I wanted to buy!!

Souleio is in a nicely renovated older building, and has oodles of character and charm.  It has an authentic 'general store' feel to it. There is an eclectic collection of old vintage tables and chairs, with help-yourself water crocks and many windows.  You order your meal at the counter, and they bring it to your table when it's ready.  In the meantime, you can browse their huge assortment of groceries - meat, dairy, dried grains and legumes, pastas, wines, baked goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, oils and vinegars, spices - or watch them create your culinery masterpiece.  I'm pretty sure they were growing their own herbs on the windowsill, too.  We tried the creamy beet and dill soup (superb), the roasted beet salad with chevre and balsamic dressing (amazing), the lentil salad with feta and creamy dressing (wonderful), the apple maple bacon pie (omg), and the dulce de leche banana cream torte (too sweet for me, but oh so good!)  Every bite was a treat.  I would have stayed longer, and probably eaten more, but many customers were coming in for lunch, and I felt bad that they might not get to eat as well as we did!!  So we shopped.  I came home with key lime chili penne, flax seed oil, saffron (you might not believe this, but you can't find saffron in Kerrobert!), a jar of ground horseradish, and a jar of strawberry and haskap jam.  I really wanted some of the fresh homemade bread, but didn't think it would survive the two-hour walk around Midtown plaza.  All in all, a wonderful experience.  I will be going back!!

If you're too far away, you can check it out here.  Their website is well done, too!

Something else good for my soul, and my head, is a book I'm currently reading.  I first heard Ken Robinson speak on a TED talk on youtube.  I googled his name, and found that he has written some books.  One, "The Element", deals with creativity and innovation and types of intelligence.  So very interesting, and apparently when I'm done, I'll be able to find my passion and change my life!  Look out world!

Thanks for checking in!
Chandra

Procrastinating...again

My house looks like a tornado went through it, I am behind on the farm books, I need to due a current financial statement for the junior hockey team, and my to-do list is a mile long.  So....I am going to blog.  I may even iron. Procrastination, friends.  My dominant personality trait.  And I wonder why no one wants to hire me???  (Well, that, and I haven't really applied for any jobs.  But we'll try not to be too picky here. I can really only work on one flaw at a time.  Perfection is a LONG way off!) 

I got to watch a great game of basketball yesterday, and it was back at my old school.  What memories!  Derek's team lost to their arch-rivals, the Lords (it is SO hard to cheer for the Rebels in my old gym...) but it was a neck-in-neck game that included two over-time periods for the price of admission (which was extremely affordable - nada).  Some of the players from both teams play on the same hockey team, and it was fun to watch them ribbing each other.  Pure competition, with no politics.  Beautiful.  Then I took the long way home and stopped at the farm where I grew up, because Mom and Dad were there, and I knew she would have some supper for me!!  Plus, it was nice to visit.

Hockey is winding way down.  The Bantams are awaiting news of further play-off game scheduling.  They won the first round, and can hopefully have more success with the next two rounds than they did with provincials.  They had a really good second game against Spiritwood at home, but they couldn't climb out of the three-goal hole.  Derek played better than I've ever seen him play, I think - he assisted all three goals - but they just couldn't stop Spiritwood's scoring power, or get by their goalie often enough.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Spiritwood take the title.

I can't believe I'm actually going to say write this, but I'm kinda ready for hockey to over this season.  Some recent news items have left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, this one especially, and this one, too, since I've seen similar instances so often, and closer to home.  (You may remember our own little episode a few years ago!!)  What bothered me the most, though, were some of the comments defending abusive coaches and saying the kids need to grow up.  I don't care how old you are, humiliation and degradation are not good motivators!!!  One of the comments stated my thoughts exactly: "This foolishness about toughening up 12 year olds, or 'getting results' through rough methods, is thankfully disappearing from sport and society. Looking back on my own sport experience, I would say that the ridiculous spectacle of grown men intimidating and humilitating minors has no place there at all. It is dishonourable and unnecessary, and anyway we have had a good reminder this week how naive it is to assume that coaches act in the best interests of kids. I don't want a coach who thinks he can strike my kid under any circumstances, and I marvel at those of you who do." Yay on you!!

Clem is taking me on a trip next week.  Yep, we get to go all the way to Esterhazy to pick up some tractor tires!  Yay me!!  I've been thinking I should renew my passport, but I won't need it for this trip, so I can procrastinate a while longer on that one.

My new washer and dryer are to die for - anything that is not nailed down has been washed and dried.  And I can't believe how much less water a front-load machine uses.  Clem has been wanting one of these for a long time, since we have our own filtering system.  He used to almost cry watching all that water go down the drain.  He's much happier now.  Plus, he's getting new tires!  What more can a man want??

Brother Carl is still being creative.  Check out his new blog!  

Well, my mom just phoned and they're stopping in on their way to see the cutest little boy ever (he lives in Saskatoon with my brother and his wife).  I have to do a bit of straightening, so to speak!

Thanks for stopping by!
Chandra