February 4 - Keys of the Kingdom

This is where we keep our keys - house, cars, truck. Also, the little girls like to make necklaces for me with their bead sets, so after I wear them for a few hours, I hang them on the key holder so Charlie and Kenzie can see them when they come to visit. I also hang any necklaces they leave around on their visits. What is it with little girls and jewellery. They love it.

Sara made the key holder, putting pictures of Charlie and and Max on it.

February 3 - Sara's Kids at the Muttart

I didn't have a chance to take a picture today so instead I'm posting one that Emily took at the Muttart the other day - Sara's kids, Eloise, Charlie and Max. Sara is using some of the pictures taken that day in a project so she has faded out most of the color. But, in color or black and white, my grandkids look beautiful to me.

February 2 - Cleaning Day

Every once in awhile these tools need to come out and play, and today is one of those days. But first I had to change the vacuum cleaner bag. Somehow it had become way overfull and the dirt and dust when I opened the canister up completely hid the full bag. What a mess! I got it cleaned up though and vaccuumed and swept all the floors, scrubbed tub and toilet and finished up by cooking my favorite comfort food - beef stew with dumplings. Greg and I ate our fill and I left the pot on the stove for Lloyd, who should be home from Victoria (by car) around 8 tonight.

I like a day like this once in awhile. It was beautiful and sunny outside. This morning Greg (a pretty cool son-in-law) took me out to a new diner that he and his work buddies frequent, and I had the best BLT I've ever had. It's nice how simple things can make us happy.

February 1 - Fixed

Thanks to Sara, this is how the Muttart actually looked - without all the blue snow and sky. She's going to have to give me lessons.

February 1 - Paradise in a Winter City

What do you do when it's -25, cold and snowy in Edmonton? This afternoon Sara, Emily and I took Charlie, Max and Eloise to the Muttart Conservatory for a photoshoot. The Muttart is a 4-pyramid grouping of ecosystems, featuring a show pyramid where they feature different floral shows through the year, a desert landscape featuring cacti and succulents, a temperate zone and a tropical zone. The trees and plants are beautifully arranged, growing from season to season in a climate controlled greenhouse pyramid -a beautiful place to visit at any season, but particularly comforting during a record cold spell like we've been having. These two pictures are a few of the ones that actually turned out. I was switching between my two lenses and didn't alter my settings so a lot (most of them) are blurry and out of focus. I need to practice a lot more. Fortunately the professionals (Sara and Emily) had their studio camera and I'm sure they got some lovely pictures. The top one is one of the pyramids from the outside. The bottom is me on a bridge in the tropical zone holding Eloise, with Max's little head in the lower corner.

January 31, 2008, First Month Down

In honor of the first month of pictures finished, I'm posting two not-so-good pictures. The first is the condiment grouping on a table in the new restaurant SIL Greg introduced me to last night. I had never heard of WokBox before, but after my first experience there, I'm sure I'll be going again. Have to introduce Lloyd to it.

The second picture is three of the cards I made during my enforced snow day on Tuesday.

January 30 - Her Favorite Toy

His nephew gave this animated golf lamp to Lloyd for Christmas - press a button and the golfer swings, hits the ball which goes in the hole, and the crowd cheers. Sydney has loved it since she first saw it and every time she comes over she wants to play with it. She knows I'm taking her picture here so she's looking kind of self aware wondering if she's doing something wrong. Cute.

I'm feeling better today - It's still cold (has warmed up to -28) but I'm mobile - both vehicles are running. What a difference it makes to know that I can go out if I want.