Last minute winter fun

It's pothole season in Edmonton. We don't have spring, we have melting snow and potholes. Then one weekend all the snow is gone, and BAM, everything is green. We took advantage of the remaining snow before it vanished to have a little fun. I have never been on a skidoo before, it is a whole mess of fun. I was a little timid on the machine at first, but then my brother made a comment about feeling more alive when you're almost out of control. I took those words to heart and floored it. I have not had that much fun in awhile. Racing around an open field, warm sun shining, it's a blast. There were a few spots where our tracks in the snow looked a little different. They went from three tracks, two skis and the belt, to just the belt. There was one spot where I had gone that was just the one track for about 60 feet. Dad's biggest concern was not loosing his hat. Don't worry, the rest of us had helmuts, and he was going extra slow. It was kinda cute, puttering around, holding his hat. I might be getting a little flack for that, as dad is becoming more and more computer literate and will probably read this.
Niki spent most of Sunday quilting, she finished a lot and it's looking pretty amazing.
Other than that, the last couple of weeks have been the usual Settlers, seeing friends, and hanging out. Niki did get to see the Circus last weekend. It sounded pretty fun, and there were elephants!

Black Creek

To paraphrase A River Runs Through It, there could have been no better place to live than the Black Creek of my youth. A dairy farm near the end of Endall road was the best place to grow up. Stuart Mclean could have made his career writing about it. Every family was it's own collection of characters. A farming community is usually close knit, but there was something special about Endall in the eighties. It could also be the wagon wheels clouding my memory. The Offersons used to give us wagon wheels when we came over, but only once we got into the house for coffee. As kids we were too polite to ask for them right away, and there was usually farming business to be discussed. Once that was done, we would start to walk toward the house. Anticipation would build, and then Mr Offerson would wink at my dad. He always seemed to have a cow to check on, that was just remembered as he was getting close to the box of marshmallow and chocolaty goodness. I don't remember the winks, but I do remember the agony of being so close, then having to walk to the barns again. Dad tells me that Mr Offerson would be laughing heartily at our agony of wanting the treat, but knowing we could not ask. There are a lot of stories like that. Lots of laughing, visiting and good times around the hard work of trying to make a living on a dairy farm. It helps that I don't remember the bills or the stress of the emergencies. When the cows got out, it was kinda of fun. Though cows escaping at 3am is never a good time.
This last weekend a vital part of that past community was in town for a visit. Drew and Joanne Gailius were here. Drew was the mechanic, and all around saviour during silage/hay time. Joanne was the physio, so while Drew kept the machines running, she kept us running.They currently have a farm near Creston BC, Full Circle Farm. I always thought Joanne should write a book, as she seemed to always see farmers doing the craziest things. Their current farm grows grains, meat, and a lot of other things. Apparently you can even buy shares in the farm, which entitles you to around a hundred pounds of grains and I am not sure what else. If you are into seed saving, organic food, it would be a something to check out. The difficulty would be driving to Creston to pick it up every year. It's something Niki and I might have to do though. Somebody has to go and reorganize the tools in Drews shop. No shop should be that organized. I used to have fun 'reorganizing' his shop, and seeing how long until Drew noticed. It was very good to see them again, I had almost forgotten how much Joanne laughed, and we are looking forward to the next visit.
I could probably spend all day writing Black Creek stories. Just writing about fun times at the Foxes could take a day. If you have some good stories, feel free to share them.
The middle picture is from a neighbourhood party, circa 1984, and Mr Offerson is the man in the middle. It bugs me when kids refer to adults by their first names, when they do that I know 'They wasn't raised proper'. I know I am no longer young, but Henning Offerson passed when I was, so I don't think I will ever be able to refer to him as anything but Mr Offerson.
The bottom picture is our old farm. It's nice to see the Cedar tree is still in 'the cedar tree field'.
Cheers,
Scott

Time of year

It's been a slow week. Niki went curling on the weekend, and I saw Watchmen with my brother Ryan. Oh, and the Allies lost World War II. I know this will come as a shock. I tried my best, but I could not contain the Axis. They were led by Aaron, and I want a rematch:) I was tempted to report that I won, because, how would you know. My honesty won out, and Aaron might read this.
It's been really cold out here, and snowy. I very much dislike March/April in Alberta. It's cold, then warm, then cold again. The roads get all crappy because of the temperature change, and everything is really dirty. The only upside is that it means my favourite time of year is coming.
June is my favourite month. The days are super long, the bugs are not out yet, and the weather is just awesome. There are thunder and lightning storms, it's warm, and the festival season is starting to roll. Edmonton has a lot of festivals, including the largest fringe festival in North America. There is this crazy feeling here, like we all have to get everything done we can, before the snow arrives again. Then Fall hits, which is also amazing. The leaves all turn vibrant colours and the bugs all die. I love Autumn, even though it means winter is just about here again. I just have to survive this month and a half. I realized I have written written almost this exact thing in my first post. I just really love summer and fall out here.
What's your favourite time of year, or season, and why?
Cheers,
Scott
PS The picture is from the Edmonton Folk Fest, 2006. I believe Feist was on stage.

Hockey and Games

It was a fun week around Edmonton, outside of getting whupped in Volleyball on Wednesday night. Our friends Pam and Ryan took us to an Oilers game. The picture of the face-off gives you and idea of how close we were. They were fantastic seats. The Oilers lost, as hockey goes, they played poorly, and the reffing did not help them. The company more than made up for that. I think I want to watch all future hockey games with Ryan, or at least so I can hear him. I am a lazy hockey fan, only really caring if a Canadian team makes it to the finals. Ryan likes to do a running commentary during the game, which makes me seem smart by agreeing with whatever he says. It also helps me understand the nuances of the game little better.
Friday night we enjoyed the hospitality of Rob and Megan. Their son David is always a fun visit, and once he was down for the night we played a little Rook. I don't remember who won, I do remember the winner was AWESOME, but it was a fun time. We also borrowed a book, that is a collection of articles that Megan helped write, about Mental disorders and it's treatment. Very interesting stuff.
Saturday and Sunday we enjoyed a visit from the Micheal, Angela and Patrick. Lots a guitar hero was played, and that awesome person who had won at rook also pulled off a Settlers of Catan victory. As well, Niki and I got a 'new to us' stove, from Mike and Ang. It's all shiny and black. I think it will make good pies!
That's about it for the last week. Today is the first Tuesday of the month, which means it's %15 off at Save-on-Foods. Niki makes me a list, then I spend Tuesday morning shopping. We save about $100 bucks a month, which makes the Mennonite in me all warm and cozy.
Cheers,
Scott