July 1: O Canada

First Sight! The return of our missionary from Guatemala City Central Mission was a highlight for all of us.

I dropped offline for the past 7 weeks but I'm back. May and June had lots of highs and lows both personally and for my family and community. Rather than dwell too much I thought I would add some pictures to capture some of it and move forward instead.

The 35th anniversary concert of Voix Des Rocheuses.

A happy family - glad to have their boy back.

My beautiful Aunt. Found this great picture as I spent much of this month scanning old photo albums. 

Said goodbye with a pink lemonade milkshake at Dave's Drive-in in Cardston.

A stop along the way that provided laughs throughout the weekend. 

The Conrad Mansion in Kalispell. An amazing old home that you can tour.

Took a recommendation from the helpful couple at Herberger's for a Mexican restaurant. A yummy lunch. 

Farmer's Market in Kalispell. Now up by the college.

Flowers at the Farmer's Market.

"The Bungalow" in Whitefish. Gorgeous shop.

A relaxing afternoon in Whitefish.

Last night in Whitefish. An amazing meal sitting at the Chef's table at Latitude 48. 

Sharing a laugh with my sweet niece during a visit at the hospital. She was the undeniable Yahtzee champ.

A pass from the hospital allowed for a walk across the stage as a graduate.

A delightful visit with "Roy" and "Hayley" from Coronation Street.  Fun stories and wonderful to share with my cousin.
Good to reminisce about the shared tradition we have. 

A full day of training at the Family History Library. Worth every minute!

More research in the library. Met (in records) my grandfather's cousin, Clara Rhodes. 

Saw some art, including a piece by Ike Bushman.

Ate from some food trucks.
Managed to pull together a grand meal from 3 different vendors - Waki Paki, Chow Truck and  Rubadue's Saucy Skillet.

Utah Governor's Mansion - we took a tour of this beautiful home.

The girls at the Governor's Mansion. They made the trip so much fun.

First time to Antelope Island.

Enjoyed the Ranch.

...where the buffalo roam.

...and the antelope play.

Saved from the sandblasting from the windstorm inside the Island Buffalo Grill.  

Another buffalo on Antelope Island.

Watched the sunset from the rookery at the end of Ladyfinger Point.

Enjoyed a night of Brazilian Barbeque.

Explored the shops at Gardner's Village. 

Bought funky jewelry at the farmer's market at Gardner's Village.

Got this reaction when he realized I was there!

An action shot.

With the coach.

Being silly and celebrating the end of the soccer season with blizzards and two of my favourite guys as the rains began to fall.

And they didn't stop.  Flood in Calgary (photo by Flickr user, Wayne Stadler)

Flood near the Stampede grounds (photo by Flickr user, Wayne Stadler)

Canada Day Eve wiener roast and folk concert at my sister's. 

Each picture has a much longer story with it but for now, it is a taste of the last two months. Starting fresh for July. Happy Canada Day!

May 6 Photo: Broken

Markerville barn, originally uploaded by whistlepunch.

Too busy to do more for the theme today. I love old barns. This one in Markerville just begged for a picture. And it fits the theme - Broken. Okay - back to work!

May 5 Photo: Celebrate/Paper

After church today, I went over to spend some time with Mom to celebrate her birthday. We didn't have a big family dinner planned since we just had one last week and mom is still under the weather and doesn't quite have her appetite back. She requested plain jello - that says it all.  But I had baked up a batch of coconut macaroons to accompany her birthday gift (wrapped in cheery spring bird paper). So I figured I could cover both themes (Celebrate and Paper) in one photo. I wish now I had taken a picture of the actual gift - it was so pretty. A Jim Shore figurine for the month of May.  

But I found one online. She is carrying Lily of the Valley and has an emerald Swarovski crystal necklace. Perfect for Mom's May birthday and her love of Jim Shore figurines. I was lucky she didn't already have this but so far she has mostly collected Christmas/winter figurines.

It has been a very low-key birthday with her still recovering from her pneumonia but I'm glad I was able to spend some time with her. Love you Mom!

May 4 Photo: Where I'm from

My home is Calgary. That is Cal-ga-ree. Not Cal-gree. People tell me I can't be from here if I pronounce it with three syllables but I was born and raised here. I use the two-syllabled pronunciation if it takes the role of an adjective. The Cal-gree Tower, The Cal-gree Flames.  But I am from Cal-ga-ry. The best city in the world.

And this is just after driving for 10 minutes from my home.

I was off to the Edge School for Athletes to watch a dance competition that my niece was performing in.  Such a talented sweet girl.  It was fun experiencing a reality show live - such fun performances. The girls from Chestermere who performed the number "Monster" were amazing. My niece was up there with a younger group - all sweet and energetic. So fun to watch. I wasn't backstage so I didn't see the behind the scenes but it all seemed super supportive and positive. No Abby Lee Miller to be seen.  Thanks for inviting me!

A star is born!

May 3 Photo: This is really good!

I took out one of the Young Women from my former ward (okay she was in YW when I was but she's 20 now) for a celebratory lunch as she received her mission call this week!  She is going to Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was great catching up with her as we talked about her process of getting her papers ready to submit and how she was feeling about leaving for the MTC in August.  She chose Montana's for lunch and admitted that the primary motivation for the choice was the dessert.  Shake'n Share mini donuts.  "Go to your happy place with eight warm mini domuts made fresh to order and tossed in powdered sugar right before your eyes.  Served with caramel dipping sauce." That is how the menu described them. I chose this for my 'really good' picture but not solely on the merit of these donuts (which were tasty) and more because hearing how excited she is and ready to go and serve on her mission is REALLY GOOD!

May 3 Photo 2: My Favourite Pastime

When you look at my calendar for May, it is clear that I like a night out. Although by nature, I think I am someone who thrives when I have time alone, I am risking my mental health this month by being EXTREMELY SOCIAL.  In the 31 days of May, excluding the time I leave my home for work and for church, I have a commitment outside of my home 29 days with only 1 evening free to do everything a person needs to do to maintain their life and (for me) sanity. Yikes. I can't complain. Most (not all unfortunately) are things I am tremendously looking forward to and have made the bookings myself.  (Good thing I'm signed up for some Mental Health and Wellness training at MRU this month - I may need it)

This includes lots of theatre (4 different plays), concerts,  a movie premiere (the new Star Trek, can't wait!) and a combo movie/concert (The Fellowship of the Rings on the big screen with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra providing the score).  

I have a lot of favourite pastimes and selecting one was difficult but for the month of May, enjoying the cultural benefits of living in Calgary seems to be the theme!

Photo a Day for May

I agree with my cousin, sometimes the day's photo assignment for the April photo a day from @fatmumslim was less than inspiring. I started noticing that many people on Instagram were using a different schedule than our April calendar that came from @realadampowell .  So for May, I have decided to draw from either of the two calendars that I've come across most.

Here's the alternate schedule I may use instead.

On May 1 I used the #fmsphotoaday theme of "I Bought This" but today I decided to spare you the detail of my morning ritual (nothing to see there) and I went with "Old" and shared some photos from family archives. So I actually didn't even take a picture - I don't follow the rules too closely. A loose interpretation works for me.

If anyone really has a preference of which photo they would like me to use (Mom - that means you), just let me know! And if I'm really inspired, you might get two photos. May is going to be a crazy month (mostly with FUN but some work commitments as well). Hopefully it will provide some great photo opportunities since I won't just be at my computer day and night.

May 2 Photo: Old

Fred holding David, Sheila, Sandra and Hannah.  No DaVeeda but she'll get TWO pictures later!

Not sure about this street scene. It is looking east on 8th avenue around 3rd Street.  Waiting for a Parade?
Everyone is dressed quite warmly for it to be the Stampede Parade. Possibly the Santa Claus Parade then?

I finally got around to pulling out my scanner. Dad wanted me to get the slides scanned but I also had some Puzey albums to scan. So I've been working on both. I want to get the Puzey slides done before my trip to Utah and the slides scanned before the reunion.  It's been fun going through the albums. Some of the images are really faded and others have a horrible yellow scale on top of the picture. I've cleaned up quite a few but there are lots left to do. But for the theme of old, I wanted to share the pictures I've enjoyed every time I find another one.  

Street photographers captured life in many cities including Calgary. They would take photos of people walking down the street and then hand them a numbered card.  Later, a person could drop by their shop and order a print of the photo.  

I found six of these kinds of  candid photos in our family archives. I'm glad that Fred and Hannah purchased the snapshots for us to enjoy!

A young Sheila and Hannah

Sandra and Hannah

Hannah and DaVeeda

DaVeeda and Hannah with a change of season.

Hannah and Fred on a night out. I wonder where they were going to. 

May 1 Photo: I Bought This

I enjoyed a night out with 2 friends from school days. It was great to reconnect after much too long! We met for a meal at Diner Deluxe. A retro interior that I loved and a Monte Cristo sandwich on the menu. It's been a favourite since Grandma Rhodes used to make them when I was a little girl. I ordered a root beer that is locally sourced from the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company in Canmore. Yum! We talked and ate and talked some more and vowed to do this again.

April 30 Photo: Glasses

My glasses, which seem to spend a lot more time off of my face whenever I need to do close work, like functioning at a desk or with a book or using my phone.  Time for a new prescription!!

(Mom- there they are - all 30 days completed! I never knew when I started that it would become a homework assignment from you.  Glad you enjoy reading these.)

April 29 Photo: I Wore This Today

One of my Christmas presents was a gift card for the Bay.  I finally took the time to go shopping when I drove down to Lethbridge a few weeks back. I dislike malls and shopping but when I am out of town, it just seems easier. This was one of the tops I picked up. Thanks Mom!

April 28 Photo: My Sunday

A familiar path on Sunday

 My family typically gets together over Sunday dinner. So I make the trek on Sarcee Trail north and then back again south. This week, Sunday was a get together for my nephew's fiancee, Jazz's birthday. Mom wasn't feeling well enough to join us (and no appetite) so we let her rest. (Hope you get well soon Mom!! We missed you!)  The birthday girl picked the meal and it was BLTs, sweet potato fries and chocolate milkshakes. Crave cupcakes for dessert.

The Birthday Girl!

Rob was a rock star with the bacon. 

After dinner, everyone flopped down in the living room. Sam, Jazz and I went through the amazing book my sister put together about my nephew Tanner who is on a mission for the LDS church in Guatemala.  They are going in just a few weeks to pick him up at the end of his mission and will be visiting the areas he served and the people he taught.  The book covers all of these and is a great review of an amazing experience over the past two years.

It's always good to get together on Sunday. It was a short visit this time but we have Mom's birthday, Mother's Day and then Tanner coming home all in May! Lots of family time to come.

April 27 Photo: Earth

I spent my Saturday at the Roots and Branches Family History Conference.  What a fantastic day.  22 different classes to choose from which was hard to narrow down to five choices. I attended England- Advanced, Ireland, Organizing Digital Media, Sweden and Descendancy Research.  Thank goodness for the 82 page syllabus with notes from these and all the workshops I wasn't able to attend.  And would you believe the entire day was free.  I have gotten used to the high price tags on conference registrations so the fact that this and the RootsTech conference in January were both provided without cost is amazing.  I have a lot of ideas and resources I need to follow up on now!








It also provided for a great "earth" picture - well - not artistically - but at least it fits the theme. I always park in the back when I come to this building, the LDS Stake Centre on 17th Avenue SW.  And I guess I never look out the front window. I had no idea that the front lawn was ripped out.  There used to be grass and steps leading up to the building but I found out that the front doors were going to be replaced with windows and the front landscaped without the stairs.  But for now, it is an open construction site (repairs were needed to the foundation so the project wasn't as simple as first expected).

LDS Stake Centre on 17th Avenue.

Flickr Friday: The Morris House

Wandering around Halifax, originally uploaded by whistlepunch.

It was a free day on my trip east for TESL Canada 2011 and I spent it visiting the Pier 21 museum and wandering the streets snapping photos and soaking in the misty Nova Scotia air.

I saw this very old home looking very out of place and so I snapped a picture as I passed by. I had no idea I had captured such a historic treasure. This home is 249 years old! It was built in 1764, 15 years after the city of Halifax was founded. (This is over 100 years before any of my ancestors would immigrate to what later became Canada.)  It was slated for demolition but in 2013 after being saved by the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, the home was on the move to its new location to shelter young people who are experiencing housing challenges.

Thanks for Steve-23 who shared this information with me on Flickr.
He also included a link to the news story this past January.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/26/morris-house-move_n_2557759.html

April 26 Photo: Childhood

Like lots of kids in the seventies, I enjoyed Cracker Jack as a kid. One of the attractions was that when you opened a box of Cracker Jack, it came with a surprise toy inside and for awhile, that was a card from a small wildlife set with an optical illusion.  When tilted back and forth, the camel would walk, the blue whale would breach (bottom card in the page above), or the Canada goose would fly.  These "flicker cards" came as a set of 18 and you could send away for a small book to hold the set you collected. I still have my collection and keep it in the small toy box I pull out for special young guests.

April 25 Photo: Life is...

The only picture I took on Thursday.

Life is....

I started the day with this assignment and had no clear plan of how I was going to capture a resolution to this sentence in a picture.  As I drove to work, I considered "Life is what you make it" and was determined to make it a productive and successful day. Within minutes of arriving at work, I had changed to "Life is full of surprises" when the first "surprise" of the day was delivered via email. After spending the next 2 hours dealing with this first diversion (not that 2 hours covered it - it will involve multiple hours/days over the next 2-3 weeks to set this right), number two occurred as I began a task I had scheduled as my main "to do" of the day. And it all went sideways. Somewhere an error had been made and it had had a cascading effect that unraveled my entire work plan. Unraveled but I keep remembering that my job is to take what comes - I can't rely on my workplan being the agenda of the day and that always makes these side roads more palatable.

The day continued on along this vein and my "Life is full of sweetness and light" opportunities were not  appearing on the horizon, so I decided to salvage a bit of this and arranged to meet a friend for Korean food for dinner. Aah, "Life is good. and at times (when I am not cooking) delicious." I should have snapped a picture for the day then but I thought I had done enough food photo shoots.

The night appeared to be redeeming itself and a visit with my hometeaching couple continued to uplift my spirit. I love hearing about how someone found the gospel and their story was wonderful.

After that, I went in to the office full of optimism that I could get much of my marking and personal work completed and after creating a short screencast, I went in to listen to some student audio files but my speakers no longer would work. I didn't panic - just need to reset my default, right? But after 15 minutes of checking connections and fiddling around with the control panel settings nothing was going to work.  I was feeling a bit panicked - I had used up my limited bag of tricks. So at this point I took the one and only image of the day - a screenshot of my audio devices and messaged it to my nephew - who was out celebrating his last exam of his educational career.  He made a quick suggestion by text and while it wasn't the solution exactly, it did unlock one last option I had not tried and when I did - all was well with the world.

So in the end, Life is an adventure - ups and downs come and go. It helps to let go of expectations (both in the immediate and in the long term). By the end, I could say I had a good day. (I don't think I would have said that at 11:00 am) Instead of my initial "Life is what you make it" I'll say "Life is how you take it!"

April 24 Photo: I Saw This Person Today

I saw "these people" today. I left work early to drive up to Red Deer and present a workshop for the Central Alberta chapter of ATESL. It was a tour of the new atesl.ca website and how social media is integrated.

It was strange leaving without any handouts, notes, digital files etc. I put the content of my presentation on Prezi and didn't prepare a contingency plan if the tech failed.It all worked out and I even had the fun of using a Smartboard. You can see the presentation here.

We had a small turnout but I was happy to meet with them. And thank goodness for clear driving conditions and my favourite tunes. It was a good night.

April 23 Photo: Time

Time, quitting time. At least for today. I've not been as successful as I would like to work my 7 hours between 8:30 and 4:30. Not too late today and the sun is still shining. It feels good to have more of the day left when I leave the office. (Even if I use it to just trade my work computer for my home computer. Tonight it is preparing for a workshop tomorrow in Red Deer.)