Just send my mail to the Kerrobert Arena...

Hola from the Schraefel farm!  Or should I say Gutentag?  Feeling a little international today, for no real reason.
Hockey has hit with a vengeance here.  Derek has started playing again, with no ill effects.  In fact, he looks pretty darn good out there.  As you may recall, his team elected to stay out of the league this year and focus on higher level tournaments and exhibition games.  That has translated into way fewer games (for way more moolah), but they did have a tournament last weekend in Saskatoon.  They won their first game against Red Deer, lost the second against The Pas, which put them in the "C" side.  Two more wins, over Flin Flon and Balgonie, cinched the "C" final.  Not bad for a house team.  They are definitely not used to losing, or even being behind, as evidenced by the poor behaviour of some of our team in the game they lost, but hopefully they will lose a few more and learn how to be better sports!  Bodychecking is allowed again this year, and Derek is taking to it like a duck to water.  I'm so proud...  I was actually a little worried, since he has always concentrated on the puck and never shown much inclination toward physical contact, but something has clicked.  He gives nice clean checks, doesn't seek out the little guys, and stands his ground.  Should be an interesting year.

Since the Pee Wees were done by about 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, I was able to high-tail it back to K-town and take in the Junior B game (good hockey, but lost it in the third period, again!), and the Midgets' home-opener against hockey and football arch rivals, Elrose.  It was a fast, hard-hitting, entertaining game, and the Thunder shut out the visitors with five unanswered goals.

We have so far eluded the swine flu in our house, but have gone a few rounds with other flu bugs.  Clem has remained the healthiest.  I thought I was done for the other day, and feared passing out while playing for a funeral, but managed to stay upright and get myself home to bed, arising the next morning feeling quite well. The funeral was for a local 58-year-old lady who died of lung cancer eleven days after being diagnosed.  It was very sad - her grandchildren took it so hard.  She was originally from God's country, or Luseland as it is sometimes called.  She was the daughter of Jack and Helen Bergen, for those of you who will recognize the name.  I saw many faces from the past - people I rode the bus with, people I babysat, and people who still call me Chandra "Hook".  I consider it a gift to be close enough to reconnect occasionally. To that end, I am traveling once a week to the land of my birth to accompany the community choir there.  They have so much fun getting togther and singing, it is a privilege to be part of that.  Plus I get to see my former music teacher and hero, Val Finley.  What a gal!

And that is about all the news from here.  If you need to contact us, just call the rink in town!

Thanks for checking in!
Chandra

I'm behind again!

 Here it is, nearly a month since my last post.  How do you people put up with me???  I did find a leftover photo from harvest, though.  Thought I'd throw it in because I got a comment on my harvest post from someone in Sweden!  Who'd have thought??

It's been a little crazy around here again.  Shortly after I wrote that last post, I received a phone call saying Derek was being taken to the local hospital by ambulance.  Let me tell you, that is one phone call you don't ever want to get.  It turns out he hit his head again somehow (he doesn't remember what happened - he's lost about three hours of that day), blacked out, and when he came to he ran away from the school.  A wonderful lady (or should I say "angel") found him laying on someone's lawn, and called 911.  When I got to the hospital, he was still very confused and scared, and didn't know where he was or why.  They kept him overnight for observation, but he was coming around to his old self a couple of hours later.  When the nurse asked him if he was allergic to any medications, his reply was that he hadn't tried them all yet!  That's my boy!  He seemed quite a bit better the next morning, although he still had a pretty good headache.  He took it easy for a couple of days, but the headache got worse and the vomiting started again, so we were off to the city for a CT scan. (This Thanksgiving I gave special thanks for our health care system!)  They didn't find anything abnormal on the scan, so he is either suffering the effects of the concussion, or he has a flu, or both.   He hasn't had a headache for about 10 days now, and his eyes look normal again.  All you mothers out there will know what I mean by that.  So if he stays symptom-free for another week or so, he can try skating again.  His team has started without him, and he will have some catching up to do.


Derek came to Weyburn with us to celebrate my dad's cousin's 50th anniversary, and to visit lots of relatives.  We even came across some cousins we had never met before!  And I must say I'm very glad we met, since they are super people and I plan on getting together again sometime.  All of the out-of-town guests stayed at the same hotel, so we had lots of time to visit and laugh.  Dad's nephew lives in Weyburn, as well, and they graciously hosted the crew a couple of times during our stay.  All and all, it was a great weekend.  Here are a few photos.  The first is Dad with his two sisters and their cousin, Oliver.  
 

This is Oliver and his sister, Dolores.  

Then we have Oliver and his two daughters, Cheryl and Susan.  These are the cousins I had never met before, and let me tell you, they are a lot of fun!  I predict more family gatherings in the future!

Here is Dolores with two of her daughters, Shelley and Cindy, more "new" cousins for the tree!  Shelley's grandson is the same age as Derek, and lives in Kindersley.  He and Derek know each other from hockey - small world!

This is my cousin, Mike, and his wife, Korryn, who live in Weyburn and let us invade their home.  They are good sports!  You'll also note Derek  in the background, on his phone, as usual!

Here are a few shots from the more casual gathering at the hotel.

 

 

 

 And now I can't get the text to align to the left again!   Adam and Stephen are still playing football; their first play-off game is on Saturday versus Central Butte.  Their hockey has also started, although many of the players are hurting from football.  Could be an  interesting couple of games to start with.

Clem has been busy winterizing the machinery and yard.  He is also cleaning wheat while the weather holds.   Then it will be hockey, hockey, hockey, I guess.  The cold room is full of potatoes, carrots, and onions, and the freezer is full of peas, beans, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and beets.  My cousin got a couple of moose that had been frequenting our yard, so I will have a couple of moose roasts to add to the inventory, as well.

All in all, a good year!

Thanks for stopping by!

Chandra

We're Done!!

We're done, we're done, we're done!  Another harvest finished on the Schraefel farm.  Yahoo!  It is always such a relief when those machines pull into the yard for the last time.  Although now the fun begins - trying to sell all this good grain.  But at least it is dry and safe in the bins.  It's raining this morning, and I feel for the farmers who still have crop out, but wow, it feels good to be done!

In other news, Stephen is now legally driving.  Those of you in the area may want to steer clear of a black Dodge truck for a while.  He is quickly learning that gas is not cheap, though, and may soon go back to hitching a ride on the big yellow bus that he now follows into town each school day!  Of course that would entail actually getting out of bed in time to catch the big yellow bus, so we'll see how that goes.

Adam and Stephen are in the middle of a very successful football season.  The Rebels are 4 and 0, and looking at a good run in the playoffs.  Stephen even made the front page of the local rag, after intercepting a pass and making a "spectacular" 60-yard run for a touchdown.  He and Adam are both on the defensive line this year, and do very well.  Adam was a human wrecking machine the last game, with at least two quarterback sacks. It scares me a little how much they enjoy tackling and pounding other humans into the ground!

Derek has begun his hockey season with a five-day power skating course in town.  He is, of course, enjoying himself, since he is 1) off the farm, 2) with his friends, 3) playing sports, and 4) in close proximity to the local convenience store.  Life is good!  He is presently trying to decide whether he will come with us to Weyburn on the Thanksgiving weekend, or beg for room and board with a friend so he can play the first two hockey games of the season.  Time will tell - either Clem and I will have a nice get-away to celebrate our 20th anniversary (yes, I said 20, folks - ugh), or we will get to stock the vehicle with electronics and listen to our youngest asking "how much longer" for the six-hour drive.  Wish us luck!  And please send some positive energy this way to help ensure our farm is still intact after a weekend of being inhabited solely by two teen-age boys...

 And that's about it around here.  Thanks for checking in!
Chandra

There's an owl in our yard!

I went out to bring in the clothes from the line this evening, and saw what I thought was a big old crow in the trees.  On closer inspection, I found it was an owl.  A gorgeous, big owl, just sitting there taking in the lovely

evening!

It sat, perched on the very tip of a long dead branch, long enough for me to walk around to the other side of the trees to get a better view.  It didn't even mind that Roxy the dog was sniffing around.

After a little computer manipulation of the photo file, here is what I saw:  

Oh the joys of living in the country.  That, and the sunsets:

 

Good night, all!  Thanks for checking in!

Chandra

PS:  This blog site has a new editing feature, which I obviously haven't figured out yet.  One day soon I hope to have the text aligned to the left again!!!

Happy Birthday, Stephen!

My favorite middle son turned 16 today.  It often overwhelms me how fast these boys are growing up!  Older and up, I guess.  Although Stephen seems to have levelled off at 6'2".  Now he just has to put a little meat on those long bones.  He looks like such a toothpick on the football field.  But looks can be deceiving, as some of the opposing team members can attest.  He swung one poor quarterback around and threw him about three yards!  Today's QB was a little more slippery, so Stephen took a more offensive approach, intercepted a pass, and ran about 70 yards for a touchdown.  I wonder if the coach is rethinking his decision to put him on the defensive line....

Anyway, the Rebels are 3 and 0 after today's home opener. And they are having a blast.  I was a little worried that those big heads wouldn't fit in the door when they got home after the big team supper celebration, but both Adam and Stephen are safely in bed.  They have been burning the candle at both ends, trying to harvest and still make most of the football practices.   Stephen was cut from the AAA team he was trying out for, and I think that is a good thing.  He wasn't really sure he wanted to play on that team, or if he wanted to move away to do so.  And he and I were both having second thoughts about the coaching there.  So he will stay home and play on the Midget team here, and will be affiliated with the new Junior B team that is starting here this year.   No pressure - he can just coast.  And that's just how he likes it.

Poor Clem was left combining all by himself today while Derek and I went to watch the game. He and the boys licked up three small fields of barley last night, and it busheled really well.  Imagine having to worry about bin space in the dry year that we've had!  So there is about 150 acres of barley left to go, and then the wheat.  The peas and lentils are safely in the bin, except for a few spots that are still ripening.  They will get cleaned up when the cereal grains are finished.  If it hasn't snowed by then!

We are still enjoying fresh vegetables from the garden, although the variety is more limited!  We had the last few cobs of corn last night for supper.  The tomatoes are starting to slow down.  And then there are just the potatoes, carrots, and onions to bring in.  Not as many as last year, but that is a good thing.  I ended up giving away potatoes and carrots this spring as we wouldn't have been able to finish them before they went bad.  

Derek gave us a scare the other day when he ended up with a concussion after hitting heads with another boy while playing touch football at recess.  Only Derek can have an accident like that.  He was pretty groggy for a couple of days, with a good headache and nausea.  But he seems to be getting over it.  In fact, when I got to the school for the football game today, he was playing touch football with his friends.  Yep.  He was told no physical activity for a week, and the next day he's playing football.  This child will be the end of me, I swear.

And the end sometimes doesn't seem that far away!  Today I received my new BIFOCALS!!!! Talk about feeling old!  The really sad thing is that they work, so I must have really needed them.  I had been trying to convince myself that the optometrist was out to lunch, but no, I need bifocals.  Enjoy your youth while it lasts, kiddies!

Well, the house is quiet, and as much as I enjoy visiting with you, I best be off to bed, to rest before the start of a new day here at the zoo.

Thanks for stopping by!
Chandra

A September evening walk

We had a little shower around supper time this evening, which put the kibosh on any more combining (although Clem said the peas were still a little tough) and swathing (which Clem had stopped doing anyway because the lentils are still on the green side).  But it made for a beautiful evening for a walk - not too warm, and a bit of a breeze to keep (most of) the mosquitoes away.  I took the dog and my camera and a desire for a bit of alone time.

This was the view over the west trees.  Talk about "land of living skies"!

And this was the view as I headed out of the yard.

I thought I would check out some of the trees up close, too.  Here's our crabapple tree right behind the house - loaded with apples that need to be picked and sauced!

 Here are some over-ripe chokecherries, which also didn't get picked.  But just check out Mother Nature's color show!

These are buffalo berries, which I don't believe are edible.  Purely for the birds.  And our eyes.

Then I headed down the trail to check out the crops up close.  The barley is coming in nicely.  (Make sure you tell Clem you didn't even notice the weeds!!)

More beautiful sky:

This is my favorite view of the farm, coming up from the south.

The wheat is turning that gorgeous golden hue, and this crop is looking very nice considering the little moisture we've had this year.

Here's proof that crickets take care of grasshoppers.

How can anyone not like the prairies??

And that was my walk in a nutshell.  I must go now and put some Benadryl cream on the mosquito bites on my wrists!!

Good night, and thanks for checking in!
Chandra

Let the games begin!

Harvest has begun.  The guys got two fields, or 280 acres, for you farming types, of peas cleaned up.  The peas look great, and they busheled quite well, considering we haven't had much moisture again this year.  Clem and I had a little get-away last night - in the grain truck.  I decided that if I want to see him during harvest, the mountain will have to go to Mohammed.  So I interrupted the harvest baking (four batches of cookies, don't you know), grabbed my camera, and headed for the field.  It was a gorgeous evening, fantastic for taking photos.  And we got to catch up on the happenings in each other's world.  And swat mosquitos.  Can't forget the mosquitos.  

I am off to North Battleford for hockey right away, so instead of dazzling you with my witty comments, I will just show you some of yesterday's photos!

That's all for now!  Thanks for stopping by!
Chandra

Our boy

Today is the first day of school.  It is Adam's last first day of school.  That is probably a good thing, but that's a whole other blog.  He and Stephen were up early and off to football practice.  They were up late last night, too, finishing the second field of peas.  And there is football practice after school, as well, which Stephen has to miss because he has hockey practice in North Battleford.  Still with me?  

With so much going on, is it any wonder that I heard a (relatively) small voice coming from Derek's bedroom last night, long after it should have been quiet?  "Mom, is it too late to have a birthday party?"  Yep.  He turned 11 two weeks ago, and no party.  Not even a cake.  I will never, never, never win the Mother of the Year Award.   Perhaps I'll set my sights on the Grandmother of the Year Award, and get a head start.  Or not.  In the meantime, here is a little photo montage of our youngest.

Is it just me, or did anyone notice a bit of a theme in these photos?  You're right - wheels, sports, and the great outdoors.   That's our boy!

Happy Birthday, Derek.  Even if there was no cake, we love you very much, and celebrate you every day!

Thanks for checking in, everyone.  I'm off to bake a cake!
Chandra