Brother Bill home on the farm with his two sidekicks.                .

Christmas Traditions

When I was a little girl, this Santa Claus ornament hung on the cord that wrapped around the trunk of the tree then hooked to the wall and held the Christmas tree in place. Although my Mother always decorated the tree, one of my sisters and I were allowed to hang these two ornaments. This one must now be at least seventy years old.

Christmas was a big deal in our house. Since we lived on a farm, the activities mostly, by necessity, revolved around the animals and their care. The day began with opening the stockings before the obligatory photo op on the stairs. Breakfast was followed by morning barn chores and somehow the prep for the big dinner was accomplished. The turkey was already in the oven long ago. After the animals were looked after, we cooked, ate and cleaned up the usual turkey dinner, then back out to the barn to the animals.

In case you think I have forgotten about opening the presents...I have not. This great event did not occur until after evening barn chores. After the chores, Mom and Dad would have a cup of tea and perhaps one of my Mom's wonderful shortbread cookies. By this time, we kids had poked, prodded and squeezed every single present within reach under the tree.

Finally, we all gathered round the tree for the opening of the gifts. I'm not sure what this event is like in other homes, but in ours it was a very stately and organized event. Before even the first present was opened though was the discussion and sometimes argument of who would sit in what chair. Then, one by one the presents were passed around. Only one person opened a gift at a time and the others watched sometimes impatiently if that person was taking too long. We had a lot of gifts under the tree although most were of a practical nature, socks, underwear, school clothes etc. We always got one bigger, personal gift. One year I received figure skates, another an etch a sketch. The best ever, though, was the year I was seven, I got a horse. He of course was not actually under the tree but waiting at the front door. He was a paint and his name was Ginger and he turned out to be one of the nastier horses known to mankind. He threw me off just about every time I tried to ride him. I stuck with it though. Undaunted in my love of horses. Anyway, I digress. Christmas was fun, exciting and even though most other kids were probably already in bed by the time we opened our gifts...it was still a great event to be well-remembered.

The Beaverton Strand Theater
According to their advertising, it is the longest running theater in Canada.

I remember as a young teen it being one of the few un-parented outings that did not involve horses, swimming or school activities. Twenty-five cents got you in the door and another quarter was good for a popcorn and drink. Far from the current scams of twelve to fifteen dollars for a drink and popcorn at most urban movie centers. What do they do to that popcorn to make it cost that much anyway? There was no super-sizing either drinks or popcorn either.  One time I was so desperate for a ride to the theater which was five miles from where we lived, that I tried to convince my older brother who was going out on a date, that I could ride in the trunk of the car so as not to invade his privacy.

Although I haven't been in the Strand for years, I can imagine that you can probably still smell the mold that was present even back in the day. In earlier times, smoking was allowed there as in many other places. The blue smog was often so thick sometimes the screen was hazy. Hard to imagine with our now strict anti-everything laws.

Oklahoma,Star Wars, Funny Girl, The Pink Panther...the list goes on but a film that remains forever imprinted on my mind is, Old Yeller". For those unfamiliar, it is the story of boy and dog. Dog gets rabies, etc. etc. For years I would never let my arm hang over the edge of my bed for fear that the rabid wolf in the story (and his relatives) were going to get me. Thankfully that fear has abated to be replaced by more realistic ones.

There was an old Scots Lady

When I was a little girl of six or seven, an old Scots lady lived on the farm next door to us. My Mother would send me or my cousin to do chores for this woman who was sometimes hard of hearing and had failing eye sight...sometimes.

One of us would carry in a bit of wood for the old iron wood stove that stood resolute against the kitchen wall and a pail or two of fresh water from the well beside the outdoor kitchen.

We never dared to ask for anything in return for doing these daily tasks. One didn't in those times. However, on a summers' day with a gentle breeze blowing, we would on occasion be invited for afternoon tea. Now this was quite the treat for two young girls. The lady, Mrs. McQuaig, by name, had a beautiful collection of tea cups and saucers of varying sizes and degrees of beauty. We were allowed to choose whichever one from which we wanted to drink. Of course, tea was never served without accompanying cookies or tarts or some such dainty. So there we would sit on the wide, wooden front veranda which now no longer exists, sipping our hot, sweet tea and nibbling dainties. Sometimes a gentle breeze would waft around the stately veranda pillars carrying the sound of crickets in the long grass of the adjacent hay fields and that strange hum you can sometimes hear in summer. Although no one in my family drinks their tea with sugar, thanks to the influence of this dear Scots lady, I love my beverage hot and sweet.
By the end of summer, my cousin and I were allowed to choose a cup and saucer to take home. I well remember my Mother's disappointment at my choosing a small, dainty, black cup and saucer trimmed with gold. She preferred flowers and such and in much later years acquired her own extensive collection of cups and saucers. The little black and gold cup and saucer has long since been broken, no doubt in one of my many moves. But the memories of those summer afternoon teas lingers on.

Paris ready for the Stroller Contest 2011

Paris getting ready for the stroller contest as Mario. He ended up finishing third.

Brent, Sag Midgets vs Portage AA - 2011

Benny, Sag Midgets vs Grunthal - 2011

Nikki Rayne & Cameryn Rayne relaxing at the library

Brent, Bear and Layne - end of season 2011

4 P Road Hockey Winners

Paris

Dallas's 4th birthday

View in Sask, Calgary WHL trip, summer 2010

Alberta - 2010

Alberta - 2010

Banff - 2010

Banff - 2010

This blew in off the lake - May, 2010 (i think)

Near Wendy's place

Manitoba fields

Warren

Outside my living room window

We are so fortunate to have a provincial park within a stone's throw of Winnipeg. Some summers it is actually free to go there. Other times you have to pay a modest fee. It is a gorgeous place, full of biking trails and well-serviced camping sites.

Wild turkey, Bird's Hill Park

Dallas at the Yard Sale 2009

Summer Heat

The heat crawls across the prairie like a snake slithering through the grass. Endless days of it broken only by rain and storms that could bring a breath of cool air but now just add to the humidity. When I step outside the air-conditioned apartment the air smacks me in the face like a wet dish rag that has been left on the top of the stove.

A few nights ago I was caught in a lightning storm while driving to pick up one of the kids. The lightning flashed so blindingly that it was hard to see the already wet and darkened road. I had to pull over more than once and drove ever so slowly with my hazard lights flashing, worried that someone might hit me from behind.

When I got a few miles on to the reserve, all the lights were out. Eerie with no street lights or house lights peering through the darkness. Across the river the lights of the north shore reflected strangely in the river.

Finally I got to the house pulling carefully into the driveway over the potholes and puddles. The house was in darkness, no candles, lit strangely by the glow of cell phones. The only light in the thick, dark night. The storm had passed, gone quickly as if spent too fast. The air felt fresh for the first time in several days.