Here's our Christmas Tree! Isn't she lovely? Not bad for the $24.99 Salvation Army special, eh? 

Christmas 2010

**I started writing this post on December 11th...and I'm only finishing it now...on December 20th.  What can I say?  I'm super slow as molasses.**

It's been a long time since I've posted and much has happened since I last posted.  I'm not very good at regular posting.

•  My Mom sold her house and moved to an apartment.  It's been a relief not to have to worry about the house and her being in the house in the winter.
• I am still waiting on that job that I posted about almost a year ago.  The job was posted in December 2009.  I went for the test in April, the interview in July, they checked my references in October and a couple weeks ago I got an email about the position.  It told me that I met all the essential qualifications and that I was placed in a pool that may or may not be used to staff the position, blah, blah.  I can check the job poster to see if the position has been filled and so far it's still open.  So, I guess I'm still in the running?
• My Discernment Committee recommended to my Church Council that I become a Candidate for Diaconal Ministry!  The year long discernment process is over! It's mostly official now.  It still needs to be approved by Presbytery and I have to sit two candidacy interviews, but I am pleased that things are moving along.  If all goes well I can do the first module this May/June.  I hope to post more about the program I am undertaking and what it all involves.
• I applied for another position in a different department and I've gone to write the test for the position. 
• I've been super busy making things for Christmas.  I've got so many pictures to take and upload for everyone to see.  Andrew is super excited about Christmas this year.  He woke Husband and me up at 6:15 AM this morning to tell us that Christmas is coming in 4 days!  lol.

Andrew's first day of Kindergarten was actually last week, but as usual I am slow with this kind of stuff.  I was at work, but Husband reported that Drop Off and Pick Up went very well.  He wasn't all that into getting his picture taken...but humored Daddy. 

I love the uniform.  Not too casual, but not over the top.  I can't believe I have a school-aged child!

I know, I know...I am super late at this.  But, better late then never.  I can't remember what days we did things anymore, but this is all in the right order.

I wanted to go to Bath, but it was very expensive to stay right in Bath so we spent two nights in Newport, Wales.  I really liked Wales and wish that we had got to see more of it.

We stayed at a Premier Inn.  It had a Beefeater Restaurant (pub?) attached to it.

It was at the Beefeater that I had this meal which was awesome! It was a vegetable risotto with grilled chicken. Note the Whole Red Pepper cut in half and grilled.  It was so good I had it twice.
This is what Husband had.  Some kind of Steak And Ale Pie with Peas, Chips, and Gravy.  Typical English Fare.
Here we are in Bath.  They were having some kind of exhibition with Pigs and there were Pigs like this everywhere you turned. They were all decorated differently and popped up all over.
We spent a good 2 hours in the Roman Baths Museum. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

I love this shot because it shows so much history in one snap. you can see the Roman Baths right at the bottom, then the medieval building just above, and the modern building with the window that opens.  Also Bath Abbey is in the background.
This is the square just outside of the Roman Bath Museum.  The people on the other side of the wall are in the Museum.  There were wonderful musicians that would come and play for half an hour and then trade off.  Bath definitely had a very sophisticated and artsy feel to it.
The Royal Crescent, which we had learned was built as private homes for the rich and were mostly rented out for individuals wanting to take part in the Waters.  There was a small museum with very knowledgeable staff.  It's rumored that Nicholas Cage owns one of the apartments.
.
This is a Weir.  I had never seen a Weir before and was not expecting to turn the corner and look over the bridge and see this.  I think I may have gotten a little excited and started shrieking at Husband to come look at this most beautiful and wonderful thing in the water.  He was not all that impressed.  I guess weirs are fairly common in England.  Read about Weirs here.

Here we are the next day at Abbergaveny Castle in Wales.  We mainly picked this castle to visit because it was free, but I'm so glad we choose to do something out of the way because it was gorgeous in Abergavenny.  The sky was so blue and it was such a nice day. 
The castle is in disrepair, but that did not detract from the history of the location.  We got the impression that the castle had been sacked and burned numerous times over the years.

In Wales all the signs were bilingual:  in English and Welsh.  I quite liked this sign.
This is the building that houses the present day museum.  I just loved how ivy and the flowers were growing up the side of the building.  Everything looked so organic.

Here we are back in England.  This is a pub on the way to the Lake District.  The sky was Grey, but it wasn't rainy. 

This is the back side of the pub.  There was a little brook that ran right behind the building.  Another beautiful, lush, green snapshot.

After lunch at the Pub we headed on up to Windemere, the first lake in the Lake District.  Another gorgeous spot in Northern England. 

Andrew hanging out at the Pier.  He desperately wanted Ice Cream at this point and did not want me to be taking pictures..  lol
The day before we left we went to Bowland Wild Boar Park.  It was very kid oriented and the animals seemed quite happy in large enclosures.  There were baby chicks that Andrew got to hold and stroke.  (In true English fashion they called it Chick Stroking)  He was having a great time until the baby chick pooped on him.  That didn't go over well.

Anyways, so that is the gist of our trip.  We all had a marvelous time and can't wait to go back.  It was a great idea having Husband and Andrew go ahead of me so they had a longer time with the ILs.  I quite enjoyed visiting all the different attractions.

Next time I would like to make it to France or somewhere on the Mainland.  And maybe visiting London.

Cheers!

My goal for this year is to read 25 books.  I've read 10 so far.

These are them so far:

1.  Mission Shaped Children by Margaret Withers
2.  Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling
3.  Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
4.  Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
5.  Reflecting With God by Abigail Johnson
6.  Little Bee by Chris Cleave (I'm almost done this one, I highly recommend everyone read it as it is a beautifully written book with a compelling story)
7.  Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
8.  Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
9.  Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
10.  Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling 

I've got several books on the go right now...

Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Be The Pack Leader by Cesar Milan
Curly Girl:  It's More The Just Hair by Lorraine Massey
Monk Habits for Everyday People by Dennis Okholm

I also need to read Leadership Can Be Taught by Sharon Dolaz Parks by my meeting on August 24th.

So much to read in so little time...

Today I wish Husband & Andrew a bon voyage as they begin their journey to the UK.  They are going ahead of me to spend extra time with Husbands parents and his friends.  Today they are going to Calgary and then flying out of Calgary on a direct flight to Manchester.

Andrew has been sooooo excited for days.  Husband has been excited as well (even though he wouldn't admit it).  The last few days have been a flurry of packing, making arrangements, and trying to get everything finished before they leave (which might have included making sure we watched the last 8 episodes of LOST and me making sure that the computer is functioning properly before my Computer Tech is not here--hah!).

Now that they are on that plane and on their way, it does feel pretty quiet here at home.  I have so much that I want to tackle while they are gone, but at the same time it feels like there is just wide open space until I leave in June.  So far, and it's only been about 5 hours since they left, I feel quite empty.  I've cleaned the living room, most of the kitchen, had a shower,  phoned my good friend & my mom & my grandma, and now I've settled in to watch TNG and crochet.  But, something doesn't feel as relaxing as I'd expected.  I suppose (& hope) that I will find my groove and count down the days until it's my turn to leave for the UK.  There's not too many to go now.

Since I posted about our recent Yurting trip many people have asked what exactly a Yurt is.  I'm here to give everyone the skinny, the downlow on Yurts and how wonderful they are.

& heck, I don't feel like thinking up a fancy new way of describing what a Yurt is, so I'll just let Wikipedia do the talking for me...

A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. A yurt is more home-like in shape and build, with thicker walls than that of a tent.

Traditional yurts consist of a circular wooden frame carrying a felt cover. The felt is made from the wool of the flocks of sheep that accompany the pastoralists. The timber to make the external structure is not to be found on the treeless steppes, and must be obtained by trade in the valleys below.

Enthusiasts in other countries have taken the visual idea of the yurt—a round, semi-permanent tent—and have adapted it to their cultural needs. Although those structures may be copied to some extent from the originals found in Central Asia, they often have some different features in their design that adapt them to different climate and use.

In the United States and Canada, yurts are made using hi-tech materials. They are highly engineered and built for extreme weather conditions. In addition, erecting one can take days and they are not intended to be moved often. These North American yurts are better named yurt derivations, as they are no longer round felt homes that are easy to mount, dismount and transport

Now that we've go the boring definition out of the way, lets move on to the fun stuff.  Here are some pictures stolen from the internet so you can get an idea of what is out there.

As you can see, they can vary quite a bit.  You can have bathrooms, kitchens, second floors, lofts, the ideas are endless.  The Yurts we stayed in at Camp Morton Provincial Park are really comfort camping.  They about the size of your living room (16 feet in diameter) and have a heater, electricity, a futon, table, 4 chairs, and bunk beds.

I have made a little collage in Picasa with some of our pictures from our last 2 trips.  They are comfy little things.

From my research, a simple Yurt could cost as little as about $6K and a tricked out ones cost around $20K.  I used to think that The Provincial Park put the Yurts up every summer and then took them down for the winter, but after doing quite a bit of reading online, I think they are left there year round.  I wonder how the canvas remains undamaged, but I'm sure the Park has a system.  The Yurts where we stayed are definitely 3 season facilties.  They would do very in the fall and spring.  The little electric heater in them sure packs a punch.  I am definitely feeling a little Yurt crazy after our trip.  It would be wonderful to buy some rural property and instead of putting a cottage/cabin on it put a Yurt there.  Just a simple little Yurt.  :P

Here are some wonderufl websites to check out about Yurts
Pacific Yurts is like Yurt Porn.  Make sure to check out the Photo Gallery
Canadian Company Yurtco.
All sorts of information over at YurtInfo.
WoodlandYurt is a UK company.

Youtube has a few nice videos/slideshows that show the versatility of Yurts and their beauty.  Go to the tube and check out the many other vids.  Tres cool.





Enjoy!  Do some googling and maybe you'll find that a Park/Preserve in your area has Yurts to rent.

I recently downloaded Picasa and have been having enormous fun playing around with it.  Picasa is part of Google and didn't turn my computer all wonky or give me a virus or give me the dreaded blue screen of death.  It went rather smoothly, once I figured out that it was on my desktop and not in an internet tab.

I made the banner for my blog in Picasa.  I followed this tutorial and was pleased to learn how simple it really is.

I have also discovered that with the collage feature I can also make these...

I am so thoroughly impressed!  Picassa also imported all my pictures from my blog, so I didn't tediously have to transfer everything over.

Just a chance to show off my little man who is very nearly 5 in his jammies that nana bought him.

Things have been busy lately. A big whirlwind of life. We are going camping this weekend with good friends and I cannot wait to just sit down and relax. Andrew is super excited to go, although he is worried that the camping trip will somehow interfere with the trip to the UK (which is also fast approaching). I can't wait to be eating smokies over a fire and drinking my tea with bailey's irish cream. bring on the fun!

We are staying in a yurt again, which will be good because they have little heaters & electricity in case it rains or is cold. Our friends are bringing some games in case the great outdoors are not available.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

That's my Mom and I circa 1981 or 1982. I love all these vintage pictures I have now. They all have such emotion in them.

I'm having a great day so far. Slept in, went to church, Andrew made a nice craft for Grandma, got supper started, tidied up and now I'm surfing the net. My Mom and Grandma are coming over for supper tonight. We're having spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, and salad. Grandma made desert too!

I'm working on some crochet bookmarks for them. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

That's it for me this fine day. I hope everyone else is doing just as good as I am today. :)

We watch most of our TV as whole seasons. So far we've watched a ton of stuff. What should we watch next? We don't like shows that are canceled after 1 or 2 seasons and hubby is British so he loves to watch British shows too.

some of the stuff we've watched:

firefly
buffy
angel
er (all 15 seasons)
third watch
sopranos
house
joan of arcadia
northern exposure
life on mars
4400
burn notice
southland
that 70s show
the F word
lost
supernatural
star trek: voyager
outnumbered
dexter (half of season 1--didn't like it all that much)
rome (same thing)

We're just about done watching all of Voyager and I've started to download Star Trek TNG, but we are definitely open to suggestions.

2010 is quickly becoming the year of the funeral for my family.

One of my Father's best friends died last week. He was 64 and just like my Father it was very sudden and unexpected. Although my parents were very close to Bob and his wife, Ilene, I never really knew them. They were always there, but in the background. I wanted to do something nice for Ilene outside of sending a sympathy card. When my Dad died it got kind of silly. My Mother & I got hundreds of sympathy cards and when I did an estimation of how much they all cost it came out to about $1,000. I totally understand people wanting to send something or give us something express their sympathy and sorrow, but at the same time realizing that $1,000 was a lot of money. Especially when my Mother was trying to figure out how she was going to live and survive financially now that she was on her own and without my Dad's income. There is a big stack of sympathy cards sitting on my entertainment unit and I don't know what to do with them all. I don't want to throw them out, but I don't really want to keep them either.

In the end I decided to make a prayer shawl for Ilene. It will be something that, hopefully, she will use and that will give her comfort as she mourns. Ilene is a short small woman, so even though this is barely finger to finger on me, I'm sure on her it will be oversized.

It took me a couple days, but I'm quite pleased how it turned out. I found the the pattern on Ravelry and it was not very hard. Once you learned it it was just the same all the way through. The only part I had problems with was the trim. I tried a few times, but I couldn't understand what the pattern was asking me to do. In the end I just improvised. I think it turned out okay. I used yarn that I already had in my stash. I had found it at Value Village last year for a good price (like 8 skeins for 7 bucks) and snatched it up with no project in mind.
I hope she likes it and understands why a prayer shawl.