tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35206222015104239572012-01-15T17:46:50.340-07:00A scrapbooking grandmother's pictorial journey through life, one day at a time.Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.comBlogger4301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-27119318422120299392010-06-22T20:51:00.012-06:002010-06-25T07:50:48.094-06:00

I've finally managed to get my new blog up and running. You can find me here:http://lloydsgirl.blogspot.com/Sorry. I couldn't get the 'insert link' thingy to work so you'll have to copy my new URL and paste it into your navigation bar to get to the new site.Please visit me there. Thanks.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-90598159415810101292010-06-19T15:35:00.002-06:002010-06-19T15:36:25.778-06:00

I'm planning on closing down this blog and am in the process of creating a new one. Having a few problems with the format and look of the new one. As soon as it's up and running I'll put a link here to it so you won't get lost. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-77820471504248215762010-06-15T19:05:00.009-06:002010-06-15T22:00:24.876-06:00

I love taking pictures and with the advent of digital photography I find I take way, way more than I need. I don't let an occasion, event, baby, grandchild, bird, flower, etc. go by without taking a picture of it. The biggest reason I carry a purse is so that I have someplace to keep my small camera. I've taken a lot of pictures so far this year that haven't made it into print for scrapbooking

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-9788628201837576402010-06-07T19:51:00.004-06:002010-06-07T20:17:30.817-06:00

Amy and Curtis's son Tate was born prematurely on May 14.Now, three weeks later, he's home and doing fine. He doesn't do much yet other than eat and sleep but he's gaining weight and growing and is just as sweet as can be. I had him with me for a sleep-over on Friday night (his parents needed a night of uninterrupted sleep) and during his stay we had a brief photo shoot. Yesterday Emily and I

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-74124880051506731272010-05-26T19:10:00.004-06:002010-05-26T19:33:21.134-06:00

Now normally I wouldn't bother blogging about something as mundane as a car but Lloyd asked me so nicely to blog about his latest acquisition what choice did I have??? He's so cute when he begs!When he was down here a month or so ago he found a car deal he couldn't resist. He had been wanting a cool car for us to drive while we're down here in the sunny south - the van just wasn't cool enough!

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-33094601289619709822010-05-24T23:26:00.005-06:002010-05-24T23:58:20.573-06:00

As usual when we come to Surprise, AZ, I take pictures of plant life. I was particularly excited to come in May because that's when the Saguaro and a few other cacti blossom. Lloyd and I drove out to the nearby saguaro forest to take some pictures of them.And here's the cholla (I think) that Q. planted in our yard.Quincey did an amazing job with the landscaping on his last trip down. He hired

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-53644466312141554522010-05-23T22:26:00.003-06:002010-05-23T22:45:54.798-06:00

Lloyd has this friend who, whenever they're together with the 'guys' on a golf trip or business trip or whatever, makes a nacho platter that according to Lloyd is a work of art...a gastronomic delight of unheard of proportions...a must-have for every nacho lover in the world. Sometimes in his enthusiasm to share this culinary event with me, he'll call me from hundreds of miles away to tell me

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-25725209160597817222010-05-20T23:39:00.004-06:002010-05-20T23:55:35.504-06:00

I had a brief, but interesting and uplifting conversation with 5-year old grandson Max today. Here it is, pretty well word for word. I'll set the stage for you first. It was 12:10 pm and Max and I were heading out to get him to Kindergarten. It was a drizzly, misty day. Max looked down the street and said:Max: It looks fuzzy down there.Me: Yes, it's foggy today.Max: What's fog?Me: It's a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-56304147859302817142010-05-16T17:51:00.004-06:002010-05-16T18:29:27.819-06:00

On Friday, May 14, just before 8 am, we welcomed our 19th grandchild to the family. Tate Curtis Woolf arrived 4 weeks ahead of schedule, weighing a whopping 5 lb 10 oz. Such a tiny little guy, not without a few respiratory problems to make life interesting, if a bit unsettling, for a couple of days.Amy had a chance for a quick cuddle before baby Tate was whisked off to the NICU for some

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-74856923873266214072010-05-12T17:51:00.004-06:002010-05-12T18:19:48.044-06:00

Scraplifting - a wonderful tool for those of us who have a hard time coming up with our own ideas for scrapbook layouts. You look through scrapbook magazines, online galleries, websites, blogs,etc. until you find a layout that you would like to model one of your own after. I scraplift - a lot. When Mickey and I were out the other day we visited a couple of scrapbook stores. My eye was caught by a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-36389431016695528032010-05-09T10:34:00.003-06:002010-05-09T10:58:17.044-06:00

Mum - May 28,2009We just got home from a visit to my sister, BIL, and mother in Winnipeg. It's always fun to see Wendy and Randy, but is getting sadder and sadder to see Mum. She's in late stages of Alzheimer's now, living on a secure unit in an extended care facility where she's safe and is treated very well. Our visits with her only last 15 minutes or so. She has no recollection of us nor of

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-90586139683028052832010-05-04T20:20:00.003-06:002010-05-04T20:31:21.312-06:00

It's hard to imagine global warming when we're hit with a series of spring storms here in Alberta. Don't you just hate these depressing storms?! I'm just glad I haven't taken my snow tires off yet. It's been nice and warm and sunny here - the trees are budding out, tulips are blossoming, grass is green, and then...wham...this morning we awoke to piles of snow and fierce howling winds. It was

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-13657289566584829222010-05-03T19:15:00.004-06:002010-05-03T20:25:37.206-06:00

...to swing at a pinata for the first time. My 62nd birthday party was as good a time as any to try my hand at batting the super strong saguaro cactus pinata. Since Sara and her family were going to be away on Mother's Day and my birthday, she and Charlie decided to have a small birthday party for me this past weekend. Charlie (6 years old) loves birthday parties and insisted they go to the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-22800373931903654402010-04-28T21:43:00.000-06:002010-04-28T22:01:25.495-06:00

I thought I should work on layouts of baby Hannah before Tate is born in June and Quinn in July. It's so hard to stay ahead, or even caught up, in my scrapbooking. When we were in Lethbridge a couple weeks ago to see Hannah and her family, I was unable to get on the internet. So to fill in time while Mickey was on the internet (could never figure out how she could get on and I couldn't), I used a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-71035491917937881402010-04-24T08:04:00.000-06:002010-04-24T08:42:59.061-06:00

I love birthday cards. I love getting them. I love sending them. I love making them (although once made, I hate sending them away). I love searching for them.A number of years ago (who's counting...I've had many birthdays, after all), while looking for a birthday card to send my sister I couldn't decide between a funny one or a sentimental one...so I sent her both. That started a new tradition. I

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-33668925555434523292010-04-16T17:48:00.001-06:002010-04-16T17:56:48.356-06:00

I love this picture of 6-year old Charlie that Sara took at Easter. She looks so serious sitting on a rock by the lake at her Grandma's place writing in her new notebook. She is excited to be learning to read and write and loves to practice her reading and writing. In case you can't make it out, the story she wrote goes like this: "Charlie is the most specialist girl in the whole wide world.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-44567147080899491902010-04-14T21:51:00.000-06:002010-04-14T22:22:02.079-06:00

The highlight of the trip Mickey and I made last weekend was visiting my new granddaughter, Hannah Rose MacKenzie. She was 12 days old when she finally met her Grammie and she was on her best behaviour. Her mom, Avril, was doing well and the whole family seemed to have adjusted well to the arrival of their daughter/sister. Alex, Mike, Kenny kissing Hannah, Avril Snuggling with Grammie Hannah

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-20788716081545764992010-04-11T19:18:00.000-06:002010-04-11T19:52:49.190-06:00

Mickey and I travelled to Lethbridge on Friday via Vulcan – home of the legendary Mr. Spock. It was an exciting trek through the back roads of the universe, which is Alberta when it can’t make up it’s mind what the weather in April is supposed to be like. We heard dire tales of 34-car pile-ups on the intergalactic nightmare called the Queen Elizabeth II highway so like the clever space

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-23965072374654473892010-04-04T20:19:00.000-06:002010-04-04T20:48:49.445-06:00

For the first time in several years Lloyd and I stayed home at Easter and were able to share it with some of the kids and grands. It was a beautiful day - sunny and dry and the snow melted just in time to make egg hunts workable.Sara hosted the Easter dinner and it was a huge success - so much fun. The kids played on their own on the trampoline, in the back yard, and on the Wii, leaving just

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-48201364507119386362010-04-02T14:50:00.000-06:002010-04-02T16:26:49.948-06:00

My husband is a golfer. He loves all things golf - except international scandals involving some of the game's very best players. Over the years (he's been golfing since 1998) he has shared his passion with anyone who would listen to him. He wanted to create his own private group of golfers who would almost always be available to play with him. To that end he made sure his sons and sons-in-law all

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-66755999239928557052010-03-28T17:31:00.000-06:002010-03-28T21:18:57.598-06:00

Yesterday Lloyd and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary in the peace and quiet of our home, enjoying a good dinner and just spending time reminescing about the events of the past 39 years. Here are some of the highlights:- 1971 - moved to High Level, AB, to start married life together- 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1986 family steadily increased until there were 9 of us. - we made a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-25064086176559430352010-03-26T19:14:00.000-06:002010-03-26T19:47:00.876-06:00

I wasn't going to blog about my laser eye surgery but a couple of people have asked why I haven't done so yet, so here it is. No pictures though.On Wednesday my good friend Mickey drove me to the hospital to have the surgery. I had no idea what to expect except that the opthamologist told me beforehand that the most painful part of the whole process was paying for the parking!I've always been

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-37936679225589682502010-03-21T20:56:00.000-06:002010-03-21T22:02:48.136-06:00

It's been more than a week since my last entry. Guess that happens when my life flows along without any appreciable bumps or turns to write about. Not that I want bumps or misdirections, and I sure enjoy life on an even keel, but it makes for boring blogs. I couldn't even get motivated enough to put together one about past history or general stuff. However, I guess I should start the week right

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-9900594061337760002010-03-14T16:07:00.000-06:002010-03-14T16:25:48.466-06:00

Yesterday Mickey, Emily and I did something we haven't done in well over a year - we attended an all-day crop at our local scrapbooking store. We used to go to these marathon events once a month but gradually got out of the habit. They're great fun - about twenty scrappers set up on large tables in the back of the store and visit, chat, shop, and work on our projects. It was scheduled to run

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-46720832469601378262010-03-09T20:13:00.000-07:002010-03-09T20:35:05.531-07:00

I love little girls playing with baby dolls - not the Barbies that they all have - but real baby dolls. Our Elly is just such a little girl - she loves her baby dolls and has lots of them. At nap time she chooses the lucky ones to take to bed with her. Today she found an empty laundry basket and decided it would make a good bed for her baby-of-the-day. She also found four of her 'gings' (

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-37244067948137902662010-03-04T17:47:00.001-07:002010-03-04T18:21:27.838-07:00

Contrary to what you may think after reading yesterday's entry, a visit to Tombstone isn't all about graveyards and death. It was an interesting, informative, and fun adventure, especially for those of us fortunate enough to have cut our teeth on television shows of the old west in the 1950s and 60s.What made the day more interesting for Lloyd and me was the fact that we had just watched the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-75978815087069443382010-03-03T22:03:00.001-07:002010-03-03T22:53:20.978-07:00

In honor of our trip to historic Tombstone today, I'm posting pictures of some of the restored tombstones at Boot Hill, Tombstone, AZ.This first one was erected fairly recently in honor of a former slave, who was an AZ pioneer.How would you like to be memoralized on a gravestone? "Here lies ..... ...., beloved wife, mother, etc. " How about some of these final resting place markers...

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-22897401894023587812010-03-02T07:44:00.000-07:002010-03-02T08:06:32.469-07:00

In honor of our baby boy's 38th birthday, here's one of my favorite quotes from him.We had been visiting my parents when Rob was 9 or 10 and as usual he was teasing his younger sisters and brother. After watching this for awhile my mother said to him, "Rob, why do you torment your sisters so much". To which he replied, "Its my job".Happy birthday Rob. I can't believe I've been doing this

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-86437857254932648702010-03-01T08:18:00.000-07:002010-03-01T08:37:43.602-07:00

We have loved coming down to Arizona to bask in the sun and the heat during the not so sunny and warm Alberta winters. This trip we're seeing a different side of Arizona winter. They've had record amounts of rain this winter. It's still warmer than Alberta though so we're enjoying it.The sky was amazing. There were rolling dark thunderclouds interspersed with blue and grey and white sky.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-77814573822456064062010-02-26T22:11:00.000-07:002010-02-26T22:33:54.351-07:00

If you're thinking of saving a few dollars by taking a milk run plane trip someplace, take my advice and don't do it! It's just not worth it. A direct flight from Edmonton to Phoenix takes three hours - nice and easy and you still have over half a day of enjoyment at your destination. Instead, yesterday we left home at 4:30am and arrived in Phoenix, AZ at 5:30 pm. That is a killer day. We

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-51498342575033601742010-02-17T17:16:00.000-07:002010-02-17T17:32:58.532-07:00

While Sara and the kids are away this week, I took Mickey and Percy to the vet (with Sara's permission) to have them spayed and neutered. It's our way of being responsible pet owners and is for the best for all concerned. If left to their own devices the house would be overrun with cute little kittens which the kids would want to keep forever.So today I took them to their early morning

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-10343485567082632452010-02-14T15:31:00.000-07:002010-02-14T16:08:23.513-07:00

Lloyd has lived with a scrapbooker long enough now that some of it has rubbed off on him. He looks through our pictures and suggests themes and ideas for layouts. He came across a picture of me in the train station as I was moving, all by myself, from Halifax NS to Edmonton. I didn't think the picture was scrap-worthy but Lloyd saw in it a pivotal moment in my life - a decision made that brought

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-73969568435042614292010-02-12T14:15:00.000-07:002010-02-12T15:57:36.011-07:00

Hello. My name is Pat and I'm a Scrapbooker.When I started on this wonderful hobby about six years ago, I thought that noone else in my family scrapped...I'm the first. I immediately loved everything about it - the beautiful papers, embellishments, ribbons, brads, buttons, stamps, stickers, glue in all its many forms, rainbows of flowers, photographs, and the list goes on and on.Then, when I was

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-30410956583639988052010-02-05T09:34:00.001-07:002010-02-05T09:51:27.829-07:00

Sara has two beautiful cats both about 8 months old. They're good friends with each other, at least Mickey tolerates Percy in her ladylike way. But they're as different as night and day.They were intended to be indoor cats but right from the start Mickey, the dainty female, demonstrated...vocally...her need to be out in the fresh air and sunshine...no matter what the weather was like. Even in the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-65281822841243313262010-02-02T19:39:00.000-07:002010-02-02T19:58:16.884-07:00

Aidan Woolf - our 2-year old grandson - lives in the house above our basement suite with his mother (our daughter Amy), father, two sisters, and St. Bernard (Bernie) who outweighs him by 100 lbs. He seems to listen at the door for the sound of Lloyd and/or I arriving home and, if we're not quick or quiet enough, he follows us down to our space. He particularly loves coming down when Papa is here.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-42183785401979528532010-01-27T20:47:00.000-07:002010-01-27T21:44:48.447-07:00

Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 95th birthday. Sadly, she passed away a few days before her 89th birthday. Today when I opened my Facebook site, there were five or six status threads about this feisty, much loved woman, some posted by her children and others by some of her grandchildren. Each status thread had many comments, anecdotes, and memories of her over the years. It was great to

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-29565974079571161862010-01-24T20:43:00.000-07:002010-01-24T21:50:28.287-07:00

Finally this weekend I've been able to get back to scrapbooking. Since attending the Scrapbook convention in AZ in October I haven't had a chance to get my stuff out and settle into some good sessions with paper, glue, embellishments, ribbon, buttons, bling....all those things that give me a creative lift.A couple weeks ago I bought a scrapbooking program for my Mac laptop, just so I could do

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-70755479963888226742010-01-22T08:18:00.000-07:002010-01-22T09:35:24.979-07:00

So...2010 is off to a bad start...blogwise. Here it is January 22 and I've only done 5 blog entries this year. Not that I have a host of fans waiting with bated breath for my next entry, but I'm starting to feel guilty about disappointing my most faithful reader. I know he's tired of opening this blog up and seeing some odd looking cacti instead of some funny story of his kids and/or

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-41585374700037547902010-01-12T19:44:00.000-07:002010-01-12T20:04:16.038-07:00

I love saguaro cactus, the State Tree of Arizona....tall stately sentinels of the desert.I've taken pictures of lots of them, but today I found one that was tall but different - not so stately - the bad boy of the family.What's with this guy anyway. Did his arms get tired of standing up for so long - after all, the poor old guy was 100 years old before he grew one of those arms. Maybe he was

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-92086730836861499672010-01-10T22:09:00.000-07:002010-01-10T22:36:37.228-07:00

We took a drive today to the eastern end of the Valley of the Sun and visited Apache Junction and the beautiful Superstition Mountains where the gold mining ghost town of Goldfields is located. It was a very busy day with murder and mayhem, adventuring and gold mining, and hangings, which I'll talk about another time. Superstitious Mountain with Cholla cactus in the foregroundThe highlight of

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-26698722276512813212010-01-08T20:55:00.000-07:002010-01-08T21:39:09.033-07:00

We finally got the water temperature up above 85 degrees - clear up to 90! so there was nothing to do but jump in and have fun.Elly enjoyed the pool much more this year than last year and was able to play independently on the wide submerged steps. There was one incident where she walked off the edge and floundered, but Charlie and I managed to save her. She was right back in again a few minutes

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-8727512373945761692010-01-06T17:37:00.001-07:002010-01-06T17:50:18.391-07:00

We got trees...and not just any trees...lovely tropical trees...six Queen palms, one Pineapple palm, and one Mediterranean palm...all looking so lush and lovely at our Arizona home. We've ordered two more to be delivered next week to round out the yard.These are the six Queens along our back fence...three short and three tall.The gap in the middle where the shadow of our house forms a triangle

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-44865786589480926582010-01-04T22:47:00.001-07:002010-01-04T23:11:00.279-07:00

We travelled by air today for the first time since the Christmas terrorist attempt. It was an interesting experience.We were at the airport a full two hours before our flight was due to leave. Usually this guarantees us a quick processing through the check in counter. Not so today. The line-ups were long and slow moving. An airline employee regularly patrolled the lineup telling people that

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-3480887677335629802010-01-03T19:38:00.000-07:002010-01-03T20:02:49.030-07:00

The best way to start the New Year is with family and friends.Lloyd and I had the opportunity to host a New Year's Eve party in our Lethbridge home this year. Not having any of our own children and grandchildren there was different for us, but we had other family members to share the evening with. Like nieces Gail McCready and Tania Fisher. It's been fun for me to become reacquainted with Gail

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-1094832450584374282009-12-31T13:40:00.000-07:002009-12-31T14:01:16.338-07:00

We've had a couple days of snowfall here in Lethbridge - and it's still coming down. I went out yesterday and took some pictures of the snow on the trees in our front yard.I love the red berries against the superwhite snow. Looks very festive.A little bit of editing turns the trees into works of art.Although nature does a wonderful job of artistry on her own.While we admire the beauty of the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-25148463668452816402009-12-23T20:04:00.000-07:002009-12-23T20:41:10.192-07:00

I decided to let a couple of the granddaughters try their hand at decorating pretzel rods today. I had never done it before so we were all learning by trial and error. Charlie and Kenzie started out very serious, carefully painting their rods with melted white candy wafers.They coated the melted candy with coconut, colored sprinkles, crushed candy canes and red sugar.Elly had to try her hand at

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-5432362153467414422009-12-21T07:34:00.000-07:002009-12-21T07:51:24.058-07:00

The other day I made Lloyd's favorite Christmas cookies - Thimble cookies (or some people call them thumbprint cookies, depending on how they're made).Here's the recipe for those delightful confections.1/4 C. Margarine (I used butter)1/4 C. Shortening1/4 C. brown sugar1 egg, separated1/2 tsp. vanilla1 C. flour1/4 tsp. saltchopped walnutscoconutjellyHeat oven to 350. Mix thoroughly butter,

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-36298134934668597302009-12-19T17:00:00.000-07:002009-12-19T17:20:45.090-07:00

Back in Edmonton in 1969-70 one of my roommates was a girl named Ann Fahner. My other roommate, Cheryl (my soon-to-be sister-in-law) and I decided to help her find a good man to marry. We had a friend in Fredericton, 3000 miles away, named Arthur Murray, who we convinced Ann to begin a mail correspondence with. They seemed to have a lot in common and after a few months Arthur came to Edmonton to

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-49063406070260210532009-12-15T16:53:00.000-07:002009-12-15T17:13:40.104-07:00

Four-year old Syd was playing with my small nativity set last night. (I brought her down today so I could take a picture of her playing with it)I didn't pay much attention to how she set it up. When she left she said "I set it up in a different way than you did", and I just said ok and didn't check it. Until this morning.... And I laughed...and laughed.....Do you see it? There at the right of the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-2915672316554939032009-12-14T18:53:00.001-07:002009-12-14T19:02:01.593-07:00

Edmonton, Alberta, has lots to brag about...our beautiful river valley, our music, heritage and arts festivals all summer, our world-class university, and much much more (not to mention being the home of most of our family ;))However, this past weekend we gained more bragging rights...check this out. For those still on the Fahrenheit temperature scale, keep in mind that 40 below zero F is the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-56433751416103526432009-12-12T21:07:00.000-07:002009-12-12T21:39:16.082-07:00

Back in 1978 I found instructions in a magazine for making Christmas tree ornaments out of eggs. It involved carefully blowing the centers out of the eggs, leaving them hollow, painting them, decoupaging pictures onto them and turning them into lovely, and surprizingly strong, christmas ornaments. I made a bunch every year for 8 or 9 years, putting the kids' names on some of them so they'd have

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-24740738896530991982009-12-10T19:41:00.000-07:002009-12-10T20:17:15.968-07:00

These few ingredients make Sara's favorite Christmas treat - Cherry Balls. Every year she asks me to make her a batch of them. So this is what I did today. This recipe is easy enough for the kids to help with, as you'll see. The first step is to drain the cherries on a paper towel covered plate, and cut them in half (each batch makes about 24 cherry balls) 2. Combine the icing sugar, coconut and

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-54250317667922134692009-12-09T21:35:00.000-07:002009-12-09T21:54:47.044-07:00

What happens when you toss these ingredients together with butter in the oven?Just the yummiest snack food ever..........Mum's Nuts 'N' Bolts. Nuts 'n' Bolts 9 cups Cheerios4 cups Shreddies4 cups pretzels (I only use 2)2.5 cups peanuts1.5 cups butter1 tbsp. garlic salt1 tbsp. celery salt2.5 tbsp. Worcestershire sauceMelt butter, add salts and worcestershire. Pour over remaining ingredients which

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-44354510935772620922009-12-08T06:17:00.000-07:002009-12-08T06:22:25.594-07:00

Yesterday 5-year old Max told me he knew what good manners were."You say excuse me when you burp around girls. When you burp around boys you don't need to say it".He's learning.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-47255095147385419322009-12-07T06:35:00.001-07:002009-12-07T07:11:53.068-07:00

Click to enlarge.This is one of those recipes that, when you look at all the ingredients separately, you'd think would taste fairly yucky. But, when they're all chopped, blended and cooked, the result is something you'll find yourself craving throughout the year, not just at Christmas when you make your batch. I got the recipe from the best cook I know, my sister Wendy. She gave me a jar of her

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-5701230778380556602009-12-06T11:47:00.000-07:002009-12-06T12:19:02.278-07:00

For Christmas 2001 I compiled and scrapbooked a selection of my favorite Christmas recipes and made copies for each of the seven kids and gave it to them for Christmas. I don't know if the kids use theirs, but every year I get it out and start making our favorites. I find it very convenient to have my favorite Christmas recipes all together in one place.Now that I've begun my Christmas cooking,

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-44318498131484357882009-12-03T20:36:00.000-07:002009-12-03T22:01:50.068-07:00

On New Year's Day 1979, according to our established custom, we sat down as a family of 7 with kids aged 6, 5, 3, 2 and 9 months, and made our plans and goals for the coming year. Each child was asked what they'd like to have happen or to do in 1979. When it was 6-year old Rob's turn, he sat there holding 9-month old Mike and said, "I think we need a new baby this year". So, always willing to do

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-16308259279120717952009-11-23T21:01:00.001-07:002009-11-23T21:22:11.150-07:00

Sara put her Christmas tree up while I was away this weekend. It looks beautiful standing in their living-room. This morning while I was in the kitchen I heard Max in the living-room saying "The tree is moving. There's something moving in it". So I went to investigate, grabbing my ever-ready camera as I went, and this is what I saw.Mickey, having never seen a Christmas tree before, and being a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-45468472265797366562009-11-19T05:04:00.000-07:002009-11-19T05:36:41.336-07:00

We got home from Arizona on Monday, Lloyd went back in High Level yesterday, and I'm headed to Winnipeg today. When I finally get home again on Sunday, I'm not budging from Edmonton till well after Christmas.I'm going to Winnipeg today to help out for a few days with Mum. She's in a hospital right now awaiting an opening in a nursing home that has the capability of dealing with patients in the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-87017103616120906772009-11-14T11:58:00.000-07:002009-11-14T13:35:57.807-07:00

All good things come to an end and that's what we're facing today - the end of a lovely holiday. Our last day is always spent (partly anyhow) in clean-up and shut-down activities. So far, and it's not yet noon, we've vacuumed all the carpets, washed all the tile floors, packed just about everything (including the extra large suitcase we bought to carry all our Christmas purchases), changed the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-72736830772418809042009-11-11T22:00:00.001-07:002009-11-11T22:14:17.652-07:00

Today, the Quist's last full day here, we decided to not do anything more adventurous than shop and visit Uncle Clyde in Sun City. Jenn and the boys were looking forward to seeing oranges growing on the trees. It'll be another month or so before they're ripe enough for picking but they were still fun to see.This one was trying its best to turn orange for us. We appreciated the effort.Clyde and

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-61172720642454952162009-11-10T22:20:00.000-07:002009-11-10T22:48:27.147-07:00

Today we visited two of my favorite, so far, places here in Arizona - Camp Verde, site of Montezuma's Castle cliff dwellings, and Jerome, a very interesting resurrected ghost town. It was a mining town which had been deserted when the mining operation closed down, then resettled in the late 1960s by hippies. It is down a very artsy place full of old buildings, facades, half fallen down

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-35987925835227917732009-11-09T23:19:00.000-07:002009-11-09T23:34:26.015-07:00

We received an ad here in Arizona that began by saying "Now that swimming season is over..." What are they talking about? Sure, it's November, but the temperature is in the high 20s-low 30s (that's in the 80s for you Farenheit people). That spells swimming season to me...if it's so hot out that you break into a sweat walking across the street, it's hot enough to jump in the pool! Just ask

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-81525787526753275362009-11-04T18:13:00.001-07:002009-11-04T19:41:49.485-07:00

When I was 19 years old I bought a blue steamer trunk, packed all my earthly possessions in it, and boarded a train in Halifax, NS and after three days and nights, arrived in Edmonton, AB. The trunk at that time contained all my clothes, some books, record albums, and a set of dishes Dad had been collecting for me. Strange to think that everything I owned fit into the trunk. My best friend,

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-68805767985701717122009-10-31T10:09:00.000-06:002009-10-31T10:48:36.337-06:00

Although Hallowe'en has never been my favorite holiday, I always like the costumes that kids are dressed up in. I remember when we were kids very few people bought ready made costumes. Instead we'd rummage through closets looking for something that could make an improvised costume - sheets for ghosts, parts of Dad's army uniform, home made masks, etc. My favorite thing to be was a gypsy. All it

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-40543056513177270162009-10-27T21:25:00.000-06:002009-10-27T22:01:25.370-06:00

The tradition lives on. Fifty years ago I sold my first box of Girl Guide (Canada's version of Girl Scouts) cookies. It was very simple back then...we each got a carton of cookies and went door to door with a partner in our uniforms to sell them. I did this for the three years I was in Guides, including the year we lived in Germany when I was 12. We didn't have any official cookies so the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-62761413481393524432009-10-25T18:00:00.001-06:002009-10-25T18:33:27.324-06:00

Do you have fussy eaters in your family? Ones who won't eat cooked carrots, like some of mine? Maybe this recipe will help. I wish I had it when the kids were growing up. When Lloyd and I went to Winnipeg in May, Wendy served this delicious carrot casserole. I couldn't get enough of it. As soon as we got home I went out and bought a package of Velveeta so I'd have it on hand when I felt like

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-9673371665360864792009-10-24T22:17:00.001-06:002009-10-24T22:52:32.613-06:00

What does a 60-year old man do to celebrate his birthday? I don't know about other men, but Lloyd and I spent a lovely day hanging out together. We went out for an early lunch and then spent a couple hours shopping. We ended up with a nice collection of birthday presents for him. At 4:00 the family (the 21 local ones anyway) met at Lloyd's favorite buffet restaurant where I had reserved a party

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-61092921281015023722009-10-22T21:19:00.001-06:002009-10-22T21:40:34.141-06:00

Are you one of those women who carry everything you think you'll ever need with you when you leave the house? Is your purse bulging at the seams with things you never use from one month to another, yet when it comes time to change purses, you just transfer everything into the new one? Or are you a minimalist and just carry the bare essentials? I think I fall somewhere in between.Here's what I

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-11499627029856787702009-10-18T23:10:00.001-06:002009-10-18T23:40:10.285-06:00

We went to Gardner Springs this afternoon to visit with our family members who live out there - Lloyd's sister Joyce and her husband Duane and two of their children, Noah and Heidi, Rachel and Kirk, and their families. It's way out in the country - the three families living in separate homes on the large parcel of land - very peaceful - no neighbours in sight, but not so isolated that they feel

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-36052308347863486492009-10-17T13:33:00.001-06:002009-10-17T14:00:28.038-06:00

Lloyd and I are down in Lethbridge again this weekend...mainly because he has a meeting here on Monday...and also because it's warm and snow-free after last weekend's weather disaster and he's able to get another golf game in...and also because last night our nephew Mark was in a country western program in Raymond and we wanted to see him perform.As I've mentioned here before, Mark is in the

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-2610163175534446752009-10-12T08:19:00.001-06:002009-10-12T09:33:02.618-06:00

The morning after arriving home from sunny Arizona, Lloyd and I headed to our home in Lethbridge for the long weekend. The weather here is unseasonably cold, which has everybody grumbling. We stopped in Lacombe on our way down and had lunch with Jenny and her two pre-schoolers. We were sorry to miss seeing the other three boys, but we'll save that for another time. It was amazing to see how

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-72443399131656053442009-10-08T08:51:00.001-06:002009-10-08T09:04:47.808-06:00

Mickey and I got home last night and today Lloyd and I are heading 5 hrs. south to Lethbridge today for the Thanksgiving weekend.Mickey and I thoroughly enjoyed our week in Arizona. From the first day we were there, whenever we were in the back yard or at the pool, we heard a new birdsong in our tree. We would occasionally see the birds but whenever I tried to get a picture of one of them they

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-2161240681285262282009-10-06T20:45:00.000-06:002009-10-06T21:04:47.237-06:00

I guess it was inevitable...we've had our final swim (water temp. 74F - air temp 89F)...gone to our final restaurant...taken our final pictures of sunsets and cacti...and are packing up to go home. It's been a busy six days but we've had fun.Just so you won't think I haven't accomplished anything, I'm going to show you some of the layouts I did at the convention and at home in AZ.Are you ready?.

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-4159405672288696282009-10-05T22:12:00.000-06:002009-10-05T22:45:45.195-06:00

Today was to be a quiet day spent at home relaxing and of course scrapbooking. When I came out of my room and sat at the computer at 8 this morning, I was pleased to see that Mickey was just getting up too. When I commented on this to her (she had been getting up early every morning and this was a nice change), she said "Oh, I'm just going back to bed. I've been up scrapping since 3:30).

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-63027772688814284202009-10-04T21:22:00.000-06:002009-10-04T21:40:56.615-06:00

Mickey and I were up early this morning scrapbooking. Actually Mickey was up at the crack of dawn - I stumbled downstairs at 8 to find her already well into her layouts. We scrapped until early afternoon.This afternoon our non-scrapbooking friend Penny came over with Pauline to see what the fuss was all about. Penny just happened to bring along a box of photos and a scrapbooking kit that

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-23750932167241738682009-10-03T22:19:00.000-06:002009-10-03T22:56:00.221-06:00

Day 2 of our scrapbooking convention dawned bright and sunny and so did Mickey as she celebrated turning another year better. To celebrate, she cooked scrambled eggs and toast and as we sat down to eat, she had fun opening her birthday gifts. You probably think it's mean of me to make Mickey cook her own eggs, but you don't know Mickey. She's not one to sit by while someone else is working so

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-44257682419903665132009-10-02T21:07:00.000-06:002009-10-02T23:11:16.237-06:00

Well here we are in Sunny Hot Arizona - and none too soon apparently according to the reports of snow up in Sunny Frigid Alberta. But we won't gloat because we're all too aware that in less than a week we'll be leaving this balmy paradise to brave our familiar cold Alberta fall and winter.We've been here (Mickey and me) for a few days now and today was actually the first full day of our

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-13580369127653316682009-09-29T19:53:00.000-06:002009-09-29T21:22:02.431-06:00

After we finished raising our seven kids, Lloyd and I discovered the joys of grandchildren. It's such a rewarding feeling interacting with your babies' babies...spoiling them, playing with them, teaching them, and then giving them back to their parents. We both love the little critters and over the years Lloyd has become a loving and involved Papa to the 17 we have so far. This is Baron, #17 in

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-22203392982224332702009-09-24T19:36:00.000-06:002009-09-24T20:06:35.013-06:00

Isn't it pretty... I've wanted to take pictures of this for quite a while now.The colors are so bright and vibrant......ever changing......the pinks......the greens, blues, and purples.You weren't fooled were you. You knew what it was all along.When I picked Max and Charlie up after school we stopped at the local car wash on the way home. It's always a fun time. I had stopped at the entrance

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-7021842989147060032009-09-22T19:22:00.001-06:002009-09-22T19:51:08.770-06:00

Lloyd and I had dinner and fun at Rob and Cindy's place last weekend and during the course of the evening, 5-year old Brooklyn got out her Dora the Explorer Candyland game. (that's not a tattoo on her arm - she was at a birthday party earlier in the day and the face painter panted ladybugs climbing on leaves on her arm)...anyway, back to Candyland...I hear this game has been around for many

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-4482776715823622362009-09-21T19:17:00.000-06:002009-09-21T20:00:49.658-06:00

I guess this is a sequel to Sara's blog entry from yesterday when she introduced us to Mickey's newfound skill. I've chronicled the young cat's hunting prowess over the summer, starting with moths, then graduating to grasshoppers and then dragonflies as prey. She's a very good hunter.Yesterday she graduated to catching one of the mice that live under the back deck. Today she proved it was not a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-48898879243923847472009-09-18T19:16:00.000-06:002009-09-18T19:33:18.919-06:00

I love blogging. I love the interesting people I 'meet' through blogs - theirs and mine. Although I don't claim to be a good creative writer (there's enough of those in the family already) I enjoy putting some thoughts together and creating a word picture (with photos) of my life.One of the extra benefits of blogging came to me on Wednesday when the author of one of my favorite blogs drew my

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-60219488892231361372009-09-14T22:06:00.000-06:002009-09-14T22:25:32.692-06:00

Today I spent some quality time with Jenny's two youngest boys, Jammers and Micah. Jenn had to go to the passport office and that is certainly no place for two active little guys who wouldn't take kindly to standing in long lines.The little guys were a pleasure to have. Micah disappeared downstairs to play video games with Max until Max had to go to school. Jammers was happy just to explore all

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-10352743377306601362009-09-13T21:57:00.001-06:002009-09-13T22:30:54.326-06:00

On our last day in Osoyoos last month Mary and Greg brought Layla and Baron to our hotel so Layla could play in the pool there. The child is absolutely fearless and loves the water. She floats...She swims...She jumps...She swims underwater...And she especially loved going on the water slide...with her dad......by herself...... and with her mom.Meanwhile, Lloyd and I sat on the sidelines keeping

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-63408192971718135712009-09-10T20:46:00.001-06:002009-09-10T21:56:04.956-06:00

Cindy and Rob had a small family birthday party for Anson's 8th birthday on Saturday. They rented a big bouncing structure for entertainment. The kids loved it. They took balloons in it and bounced till all the balloons were broken.Then there was cake, of course. Chocolate...with ice cream.Anson always plugs his ears when we sing "Happy Birthday" - too much sensory input for him, or maybe our

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-55914300462687326032009-09-08T18:25:00.001-06:002009-09-08T19:38:44.625-06:00

All of my children and their spouses are dear to me, each in their own individual way. In these blog entries I've featured all of them at one time or another. My SIL Curtis and I have a running joke about how I slight him in my entries, and although it's been inadvertent and accidental, nevertheless he has a valid point. Take the Brides blog for example. I showcased each of the brides we've had

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-1652113979478679692009-09-07T16:03:00.000-06:002009-09-07T16:47:35.585-06:00

Today was our annual Labor Day MacKenzie Family Golf Tournament. We've been doing this for about 7 years now and it generates quite a high level of competition among the golf playing family members. We had the smallest turn-out ever this year because two of our daughters and their husbands who live out-of-town were unable to attend, and we decided this year not to invite the non-family members

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-719643949081474942009-09-05T20:53:00.001-06:002009-09-05T21:46:53.292-06:00

We had a family barbeque today as a prelude to Monday's annual MacKenzie Family Labor Day Golf Tournament. Five of our kids and their spouses were there, and 12 of our grandkids. The other two kids/spouses and 5 grandsons will put in an appearance on Monday.I went around taking candid pictures of the kids and groups during the evening. Kenzie and Max played hide and seek with Layla, Sydney and

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-22260028751900407042009-09-01T18:54:00.000-06:002009-09-01T19:17:19.138-06:00

Tomorrow the kids go back to school. My granddaughters Kenzie (6) and Charlie (5) spent today together hanging out, although Kenzie actually started homeschooling in grade 2 with her Mom, Amy, this morning. She's looking forward to being home with her Mom and siblings all day while 'going to school'.Charlie, on the other hand, is entering grade 1 at the local elementary school tomorrow. Last year

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-28331356247884640072009-08-31T21:54:00.000-06:002009-08-31T22:18:15.424-06:00

Mickey loves playing outside and spends hours chasing the flying moths and whatever other insects she can see. We watched her today as she ran and leapt and jumped at a huge dragon fly that was exploring the back yard in search of mosquitos and whatever else dragonflies eat. After awhile her persistence paid off and she captured the beautiful insect and ran inside with it. In typical cat

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-81388956341409542672009-08-28T06:56:00.000-06:002009-08-28T08:01:41.353-06:00

Lloyd and I spent a beautiful half day exploring around the off-roads in the Osoyoos/Oliver area. It really pays to get off the main road and see what treasures of nature you can find.Like these apples. I love seeing fruit on the trees - don't know why, but it pleases me in a very basic earthy way.And these apricots...I had noticed the trees with the long slender leaves but couldn't identify

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-82192791217490782442009-08-26T22:29:00.000-06:002009-08-26T23:03:00.635-06:00

It's been a good day here in Osoyoos/Oliver. Lloyd and I spent the morning exploring, taking pictures of scenery and fruit on trees, which I'll post another time. Today was about spending time with Mary, Greg and the kids.Lloyd, Mary and Greg went golfing this afternoon while I stayed home with Layla and Baron. We all had an enjoyable time. Mary took pictures of the golfing and will publish

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-28172907672894799592009-08-26T08:50:00.001-06:002009-08-26T09:13:23.671-06:00

We arrived in Osoyoos early yesterday afternoon and spent a few hours wandering around town. It's a very busy resort town filled with tourists taking advantage of the last week to play before school starts. It's beautiful drive down the mountains and into the Okanagan Valley. The desert landscape was mixed with the acres and acres of vineyards and orchards. Fresh fruit stands line the roads

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-401406449831028672009-08-24T22:57:00.000-06:002009-08-24T23:17:40.788-06:00

After a lateish start this morning Lloyd and I enjoyed a peaceful drive from Lethbridge through the mountains to Grand Forks, BC. Tomorrow we'll finish the drive to Osoyoos to visit Mary, Greg and kids.Driving through the mountains is always an adventure. I drove for the first 4 hours and quite enjoyed the changing sights. It's really a beautiful drive, although some of the roads seem to be

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-52114725532447517112009-08-23T10:02:00.000-06:002009-08-23T10:16:09.815-06:00

The reason we came to Lethbridge this weekend was to get the patio extension built. Rob joined us here and did an amazing job of laying the patio and levelling the stones. It was a heavy, hard job but we're very pleased with the result. Now we can put the patio furniture on it instead of on the grass, and the barbeque remains on it's portion of the original patio.After using the sod cutter to

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-38519062515947016502009-08-18T21:22:00.000-06:002009-08-18T21:34:07.089-06:00

It's been several months since we've been to Arizona so I thought the kids and I could make cactus cookies as a sweet reminder of our fun times there in the colder Canadian weather. Charlie very carefully sprinkled decorations on the freshly frosted saguaro cactus cookies.Then she 'supervised' Max as he tried his hand at decorating. So far, so good.Max tries it solo.And Charlie beams with

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-90709671592761316542009-08-17T20:56:00.000-06:002009-08-17T21:56:06.758-06:00

No matter how often I think of him during the year, I always think of Ken on his birthday, August 17. My parents adopted him in May 1952 when he was 9 months old. Wendy and I were so excited to have a baby brother. I was four and Wendy was five when we got him and we enjoyed being able to be little mothers to this new brother.I remember when he was 'delivered' to us. Wendy and I were playing at a

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-42506840019273760332009-08-15T19:38:00.000-06:002009-08-15T19:52:26.919-06:00

They say that if you live with a person long enough you'll eventually look alike. Well, Lloyd and I have been married for 38.5 years - is that long enough to qualify?I'm thinking 'not really' but I like to think that we look like we belong together.Lloyd got home from High Level today about half an hour before I got home from the hair salon where I had my grey wiped out and ends trimmed. He

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520622201510423957.post-16872070580518455942009-08-13T19:05:00.000-06:002009-08-13T19:37:54.515-06:00

OK. As I threatened yesterday, here are a few more family look-alikes.I'll start with our first son, Rob. When the TV sitcom, Family Ties, was popular, we were struck by the resemblance between Rob and Michael J. Fox. The resemblance has diminished somewhat as they've grown older, but it's fun to remember their teen-age similarities.Here's Rob at 30.And here he is at 19. Here's a young Michael

Pat MacKenzienoreply@blogger.com11