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Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal Weddings


(Pictures are grainy because they were taken off the TV)

I woke up around 3:30 and watched the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. I didn't purposely set the clock or anything, but I was in time to see her and her father in the car going to Westminster Abbey.  I am somewhat of a royalist--and I come by it honestly as my Polish grandmother was a big royalty fan.  Back in her day she was especially interested in Princess Marina of Greece who married George, Duke of Kent.  He was killed in an airplane crash during the WWII, so she raised their 2 children on her own.

From about the time I was in Grade 3, I started keeping scrapbooks of the royal family--British primarily, but occasionally some articles from the Scandinavian countries too.  Back then we didn't have all the magazines there are now, nor were the media so intrusive and constantly lurking for stories and photos, so one could keep up with the articles and pictures. I have slacked off in the last decade or 2, but I still save articles of the really important events and once in a while I buy the Majesty or Royalty mags from England.

And then we come to royal weddings--I have been watching them since the wedding of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones in 1960.  That was the first televised royal wedding. They got married on May 6--our wedding anniversary!! I watched Princess Alexandra (daughter of Princess Marina) get married to Angus Ogilvy, Princess Anne marry Mark Phillips, Diana marry Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson marry Prince Andrew, Prince Edward marry Sophie, Prince Charles wed Camilla, and now William and Kate. Marriages of the lesser royals aren't televised, but I saved the commemorative magazine issues from the Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly wedding--after all she's Canadian!!

William and Catherine's wedding was lovely and sweet. Despite the British pageantry of carriages, horse guards, Westminster Abbey, etc., the wedding seemed almost understated, much like Kate's gown. It wasn't a big flashy affair and I think it represented the personalities of the bride and groom. They both seem down to earth people and believers in the 'less is more' philosophy. I hope they have a long and happy marriage.



Now I am going to lay down and have a nap!!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is enjoying this long weekend, taking it easy, spending time with loved ones, and having good weather!! Happy Easter!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

It was one hell of a Winter...

And it's quickly shaping up to be one hell of a Spring!! Until today, there was some reason to be hopeful for a reasonable Spring.  While the temps were still on the cool side, I hadn't had to pump out water for 2 days!! Whoo Hoo! One side of the lawn was almost bare of snow and Duffy and I had played with the beach ball yesterday afternoon and had a great time.  Duffy was so happy to be able to sit on grass again. This is what it looked like 2 days ago.


This is what it looked like this afternoon--after 6 inches of snow and it was still coming down along with winds gusting to 50 kph. It might stop by midnight, but flurries are still expected.  Just when you thought you didn't have to drive around in 4 wheel drive any more!!

Snowy, wet Duffy--I think he's kind of done with snow, having seen grass again for a little while!!

Little snowballs attached to Duffy's legs!


This is really the winter without end! :((

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Odds and ends

So, the bake sale was a big success--beyond our wildest dreams!! People bought whole cakes for Pete's sake!!! And the guy that won the 50/50 draw who works in the STD clinic in the EG, donated the money back to us!! How cool is that!! And to think that he and his fellow workers hadn't even heard of us until that day!!! Over all, between the baking and the 50/50, we made $565!! No pix, because although I brought my camera, we were so busy, I didn't think about pictures until it quieted down and by that time there were hardly any baked goods left.  We need Doreen back--she's our picture taker!! But she wintering in Texas--hope she's back for the June BBQ!! I did take one picture at home, of one of my boxes of baking.

4 1/2 dozen muffins, 9 dozen cookies, and 18 jam-filled biscuits!

I didn't get to Red Deer to see Jolene and Kort and the Scenthurdlers after all.  One of those wonderful Spring snow storms blew in for Red Deer and south, Dave had had to work on Friday, so was stuck in Olds on Saturday.  I looked into taking the bus--I have partial night blindness (blinded by headlights) and as the scenthurdle was on late, I wouldn't be able to drive.  But it would have been a lot of hassle and it turns out the scent hurdle heats went on until 11 PM and I would have had to leave at 9:15 to get the bus back to Edmonton, putting me into Edmonton just before midnight. The bus would cost $60, then add the taxis in Red Deer and Edmonton, and having to ask the neighbor to feed Duffy and let him out, and knowing she would stay up until I was home, it just wasn't worth it.  Sorry Jolene :(  But I'm sure there will be other shows that I can see them all in action!  I sure have enjoyed the videos!!

April 3, 2011
I have spent that last 3 days in my rubber boots, bailing the water out of the backyard, specifically the area Duffy has to walk through to get to his 'business place'. For 2 of the days I used a bucket and it rubbed my fingers raw!  Then Dave suggested I borrow the neighbor's pump--I went one better than that--I used the one from my basement!! Works way better than the bucket brigade!! And I can run the hose out to the lane and send all the water on its way to the sewer system, not back on the yard!! I suspect I will be doing this everyday for the month of April--as there sure is a heck of a lot of snow out there, the ground is frozen of course, and the water has no where to go.  I have never seen so much snow on the ground at this point in April.  At this rate we will be lucky to be planting at garden by the Victoria Day weekend--which is May 23!!

Cute little pump!
Better--for awhile.  It fills in again, quite quickly. I taught Duffy to walk on the plywood to get to his place!

After one year of looking out the living room window and seeing the crane over at the Shepherd's Care facility, it came down yesterday!! It was interesting to watch it in action all this year, but I sure won't miss the blinding spotlight that glared into the living room at night!! Bye bye crane!!


There goes the last section!

Signs of Spring--the Peregrine Falcons have been back for about 3-4 weeks now--must have been a shock for them to see so much snow on the ground yet!! Good thing there are lots of pigeons in the city for them to eat! The crows are back too, I thought I heard a robin a few days ago, but I bet it packed its bags and went south again, and there's a pair of blue jays building a nest across the street.  Spring is trying to arrive!!

And last but not least SNOW MOLD!!!!!! The worst ever amount--I guess the amount of snow mold is in direct proportion to the amount of snow.  Everyone is complaining of sneezing, drippy noses, coughing, smarting eyes--fun, fun, fun!! And just for Diana, who has never seen or experienced snow mold--a picture of the ugly stuff!!

Nice eh? Imagine all the lawns covered with this!!

Happy Spring! Achoo!!!Oh and Duffy is shedding like crazy!!! Hope that's a sign of lots of warm weather ahead!!