Hoodoos and Coulees

A few years ago Lloyd and I accompanied our daughter, Jenny, her husband and four sons to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta, not far from where we'll be retiring in Lethbridge.  I came across the pictures I took at that time when I was searching through my stack of pictures this morning and thought you might be interested in seeing the hoodoo cliffs that we climbed and explored.

The hoodoos are made of sandstone and get their defiitive shape from the erosion of wind and water.

Our first stop was at this really cool live tree that is somehow growing sideways.  It makes a perfect place for the boys to sit and eat their lunch.

Sam, Jonah, Nate and Micah

Resting beside and on top of one of the hoodoos

The beginning of the trail

Time for a rest and water break - it's a long steep climb and although she hadn't yet told us,
Jenny was pregnant with son #5.

Sam and Nate on top of a hoodoo across from the photographer who
was on a higher one. That's the Milk River in the middle of the picture

Jonah andNate tucked into a wind-formed cave

Jonah sitting on top of the world

Sam, hanging onto the mushroom-like top of the hoodoo.

Sam and Jonah running, carefully, along the top edge of the cliff

Following the leader down the trail

Bye for now.

It's a beautiful place to spend a day.  Next time we go we'll explore other parts of the park and see the pictographs that the park is named for.  Just a word of advice though if you're planning to go with a very active 2-year old - DON'T!  We were constantly pulling this little guy

Micah

back from the edge. He just ran and climbed like he was born to it and did not want to be restrained in any way.  To my knowledge, his parents have never taken him back there.

Pat

What's On My Mind?

I've seen this done before on other blogs so thought I'd do it today since I don't have much to blog about.

Outside My Window

It's a quiet Sunday morning.

The air is cool and fresh coming in through the open window

in front of me. It smells fresh and clean.

The sky is soft blue with fluffy white clouds.

It promises to be a pleasant cool day.

I hear traffic in the distance, reminding me that I'm not alone.

I also hear one of my neighbours playing the piano,

it sounds so mystical in the distance.

I Am Wearing

Blue jeans and t-shirt and bare feet

I Am Remembering

This day 15 years ago, in the wee hours of the morning

after many hours of labor

I became a grandmother and my

oldest daughter became a mother.

I was in the delivery room with her and her husband

while four other daughters waited in the waiting room.

I will never, ever forget the feelings I had at that time -

the fear that Jenny might not be able to push that big baby out -

the weariness of a long labor,

and the intense joy of finally holding my first grandson and

hearing his name for the first time -

Jonah MacKenzie Quist.

Tears come easily as I remember that morning.

And, too, I am remembering how his fifth birthday

was marred by the terrorist events unfolding

in New York and elsewhere and how we watched

television for hours in horror and grief.

I Am Reading

I've been catching up on the Eve Dallas murder

mysteries by J. D. Robb (Norah Roberts).

I finished reading Immortal in Death yesterday

and will start another one today.

Before that I read The Help.

I always have a book to read.  I've loved reading

forever, following the example set by my Dad.

I Am Hoping

That the rest of September brings cool pleasant

days - a respite from the heat of the past week, and

breathing space before the cold and snow of our long winter.

On My Mind

My mother.  I've just booked a flight to Winnipeg for

the last week in September.  I'll be staying with my sister there and visiting

Mum in the care facility she now lives in. 

She is 90 years old, with a healthy body and a mind

destroyed by Alzheimer's. It's been well over a

year since she's known me - even longer since she's

forgotten Dad.  I can't imagine a life with no memories.

It's so sad.  Four other of Mum's siblings have had this

horrible disease.  We think, we hope, it has environmental

roots for them, not genetic. 

Her parents lived to their mid 90s with no diminished mental capacity.

From the Kitchen

When I go downstairs for breakfast I'm going to have

two pieces of toast with fresh peach jam

that my daughter, Amy, made.  It's delicious.

I bought a bunch of beets yesterday that I'll cook up and

eat with butter for my supper, along with

a piece of salmon and corn on the cob.

I don't fuss with meals and baking when Lloyd's not

home, but I wanted to have something tasty and

fresh today.

Around the House

My scrapbook room is in a bit of disarray since working

in it the other day.  No, I'm not going to organize it today.

I'm going to spend several hours working on layouts

using pictures from our family reunion in August.

I suppose I could spend some time in this office too,

filing the stack of papers currently sitting on top of the filing

cabinet, and loading programs onto the new computer that replaces

the one that died.

Plans For The Week

I really don't have any.

Lloyd will be coming home on Tuesday,  that's always

good.  He's a fun guy to hang out with.

I also have to pot my outdoor geraniums and

bring them inside before the frost gets them.  I'm

a terrible gardener but I don't like to deliberately let

plants die.

One Of My Favorite Things

Blogging.  It's therapeutic. It expands my horizons.

It allows me to meet and share with and learn from many people from around

the world that I would never have the opportunity to do otherwise.

It provides me a forum to share my life and ideas. 

It gives my children a window into my life now that they're

grown up and not as involved in my daily comings and goings.

I'm not a particularly good writer, but I like the practice

blogging gives me.

I'm quiet, shy, and not good at small talk, but I like the way

blogging allows me to come out of myself and share

in a non-threatening environment.

And I learn from reading of the experiences of

my bloggy friends.

Thank you for that.

Pat 



Summer's Fading Fast

I've been fading as fast as summer this week.  It's taking me longer than usual to get back ito gear after our Arizona holiday. 

It's been unusually hot here in Edmonton this week - 32C yesterday.  I think that translates to somewhere in the 80sF.    Not so bad if you have AC but up here very few homes have AC because it's only useful for two weeks of the year.  But boy do we have great super-duper furnaces, which run for 9 months of the year!

Mickey and I got together for scrapbooking yesterday and by 2:00 my brain was fried.  I couldn't put a picture on a piece of paper to save my life.  I did manage to get a couple of layouts done of my granddaughter, Quinn's, first birthday party though.

So Mickey went home and I had a nap. Bad idea.  The one-hour sleep revitalized me enough to make sleep impossible until after 2 am.  So I sat up doing exciting things like paying bills on-line and searching for apps for my iPad.  Blogging at that time of night was out of the question - it would have been even more incoherent and rambling than it is now.

The nail polish on my toes, which I keep nicely painted during the summer because I've been living in sandals, is all chipped and cracked now but I don't care any more because after today it'll be shoes and socks weather and nobody will see my toes anymore.  The polish will fade and disappear like the summer.

And speaking of nails, just before we left Arizona I had a manicure - the first since my daughter, Sara's, wedding in 2002.  The manicurist said I have 'pretty nails'.  They were unusually long for me as I tend to give them a good tooth trimming every day or so and hadn't been doing that for a couple of weeks.  So she filed them nicely and put some pretty polish on them.  It made me feel pretty and feminine - for a few days - then one chipped and I had to peel the polish off.  Then once I started on one, I kept going.  The polish is almost all gone now and today I'll finish it off, trim the nails down to a manageable length and get back to normal.  It's been hard to type with my longer fingernails anyway so I'm back to being practical.

Enough rambling.  I'm going to go downstairs now and do something with my day.  It's just past lunch time now and I still haven't had breakfast since I slept in till after nine - unheard of for me.

 I'm looking forward to Autumn.  The fresh cool crisp air is so invigorating - I love it.  After being faded out by the summer heat, there's nothing better than cool fall days.  And it's such a beautiful, if short, season here.

Edmonton - Fall 2010

What Lloyd Does

We're home from our Arizona travels and as we speak (or write, or read) Lloyd is making his 8-hour drive north to High Level, where he works.  Quite a commute, eh!

Ever since we've been married (except for a ten year stretch when we lived in Nova Scotia) Lloyd has worked with and for the First Nations of Canada (Indians), first with the federal government and then for the Bands (tribes) themselves.  Currently he is an Executive working with the North Peace Tribal Council, which is an association that provides professional services to the Dene, Beaver and Cree tribes located in Northwestern Alberta.   It's a challenging job and a rewarding one, and one he enjoys very much.  

A few weeks ago the Tribal Council hosted a cultural camp up north for the youth.  The  chiefs of the various tribes participated, as well as senior people from the Tribal Council, including Lloyd.  Although his cultural roots are based in Great Britian for the most part,  Lloyd was invited to speak to the youth on the importance of remembering and preserving their culture and traditions.  Lloyd described his own heritage and background and how it is important to him and encouraged the youth to value theirs as well.

Lloyd, delivering his address.

Chief Henry.  The headdress is worn only for ceremonial events now.

Lloyd, far right, with the Chiefs and representatives of the five bands that make up the Tribal Council

It was interesting to learn that the Dene 'Tha  are closely related to the Navajo of Arizona, thousands of miles away.  They share the same root language, stories and histories.  It seems that the Dene' Tha (which means 'the people') broke off from the Navajo (who call themselves Dine - the people) thousands of years ago - one group going north and the other going south.  Lloyd has met with the leaders of the Navajo a few times and  arranged several retreats, bringing the northern Dene 'Tha down to Phoenix to meet with their 'brothers', the Navajo, having seminars and gatherings that have been beneficial to both groups and which have helped to broaden their understanding of their history. 

History is fascinating and it's been an interesting experience having Lloyd work so close to the descendants Canada's original inhabitants.  As much as he has enjoyed his work, we're looking forward to his retirement in the next year or so.  We have places to go, people to see, and things to do before we become too old and decrepit to enjoy ourselves any more.

Pat

Downtown Phoenix

Today Lloyd and I did what he has been wanting to do ever since we started coming down here to the Valley of the Sun almost three years ago - we drove to Phoenix and explored some of it's historic and beautiful downtown.  We found that Saturday morning is a perfect time for exploring downtown.  There was no traffic, very few people, and we were able to stop and take pictures wherever we wanted to.

Just ignore the Wells Fargo building rising above the old Maricopa County Court House.

The new Phoenix City Hall

Old Phoenix City Hall

Luhr's Tower

This Abbey is on the corner of 3rd and Munroe is built on the site of the original one dating from the mid 1800s.

The First Presbyterian Church dating from 1869.  As I was taking pictures outside, the caretaker came out and invited us to come into the Sacristy and look around. Isn't the sky beautiful.

This stained glass window isn't on a outside wall, there's five feet of space behind it but the lighting makes it stand out beautifully.

These two windows remind me of Frank Lloyd Wright's work.  His home and museum are not far from here in Phoenix.

The side of the high rise has a mural painted on it.

The overpasses and bridge abutments have lovely colorful artwork worked into them.

Chase Field - home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball team

Part of Arizona State University

St. Mary's Basilica.  I love how the old churches have the look of adobe rather than stone and brick - very bright and clean looking.

US Airways Center - home of the Phoenix Suns NBA team

Phoenix Convention Center, spanning either side of the street - a very busy place in the winter as northerners come to conventions in the sunny south.

I forget what this building is, but it's quite beautiful.

And down the road from Phoenix we came to a lovely large oasis in Tempe.  This beautiful area has boats for rent, water parks and picnic areas for special events and is a welcome respite from the dryness of the desert.  I believe it's part of the Tempe reservoir - my Arizona readers can correct me on that.

Then home again.  When I was in the pool l noticed the sun shining off this huge spider web strung between two Queen Palms in the back yard.  I don't know what kind of spider made it but it looks quite messy compared to other smaller ones I'm used to seeing.

And that rounds out today's adventure.  We only have one more full day here before heading home on an early morning flight on Monday.

Hope your long weekend is a good one.

Pat

Like a Duck to Water...

We've been home bodies while in Arizona this week - venturing out of our air conditioned comfort only to shop or do chores like taking the car in for servicing, etc.

On one such outing we discovered a lovely duck pond in one of the retirement communities nearby so we stopped to take pictures.  Well, that lasted 5 minutes - maybe 7 - until the oppressive heat sent us back to the cool comfort of the car.  I did manage to get a few pictures though.

Ducks are such fun to watch.  They were at the other end of the pond when we walked down to the water but when they saw us they all jumped in and started swimming toward us.  I was bemoaning the fact that I hadn't brought any bread for them to eat when I saw the sign forbidding any such feeding of waterfowl.  I guess the ducks saw us reading the sign because they immediately veered off away from us - smart creatures.

The white one seems to be grooming the feathers of the brown one

My 'duckie'

I've been having a bit of a problem with pictures lately.  Some don't post right away but show up later as HUGE pictures in the middle of the post.  My apologies if this is what you're getting.  I'm still trying to sort the problem out.

Pat

The Best Time of Day

Lloyd and I have found that the best time of day here in the summer is late afternoon and evening.  We stay in the air conditioned comfort of home, car, stores and restaurants until around 3:00 when the shade hits our swimming pool and we can enjoy it without risk of instant sunburn.  We spend an hour or so in the pool at that time, get out for a few hours, and then when it's dark we go back in.  It hasn't gone down below 90F at night since we've been here so the swimming is lovely at night.

 We turn the pool lights on as well as the landscaping lights behind the palm trees for a lovely atmosphere - very peaceful and calm.  The in-pool lights turn the water from blue to green to red as you can see from the pictures.

View from the room

Lloyd relaxing after swimming

Me - enjoying the night swimming

Playing Scrabble on his iPad

A wonderful way to spend the hot summer nights.  We'll miss the pool the most when we go home.