T'was the Month Before Christmas

T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house or perhaps I should say the month before when I had the decorations up and the lights on.

And to add to the Christmas spirit we were off for a Christmas weekend.  Our first stop was to Spruce Meadows for the Calgary Christmas Market.

We searched for some reindeer and found a few along the way and an imposter.  Can you tell the difference?

 



We enjoyed checking out the many displays, sampling a few treats and listening to the Christmas music along the way.  We then headed to Banff and saw this mountain town decorated to the max.

We enjoyed a walk around town, a nice dinner and a few stops in some shops before heading back to our hotel room. 

 

In the morning we headed to the Banff Christmas market where we enjoyed looking at the crafts and the animals.

 



 It was a wonderful weekend.  We enjoyed lots of Christmas memories, some good talks and quite a few laughs.  It would have been wonderful to spend the weekend with my own daughter but since that wasn't possible it was great to spend time with my adopted Alberta girl.

She has helped me so much in settling into the west.  She is a special girl!

A wonderful Christmas weekend!

A Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good night!

150 Days Minus 31.4

I don't know how it happened but on June 22nd of this year I found myself looking down at the scale and finding myself the heaviest I had ever been.  I wanted to blame everything. 

• It might be my thyroid acting up and perhaps I am not on the right medication for it? 
• It might just be the age that I am....everyone gains weight right? 
• Perhaps, it was the isolation of 2 years on the reserve where I couldn't walk outside by myself but really I knew.....

I really like to bake but it had to stop and so I got back onto myfitnesspal.com and documented every single calorie that I consumed.  I exercised regularly and faithfully.  Slowly things started to work in my favour.

It's taken time but by being consistent I started to see a change in the way I look in pictures and feel the difference in my clothes.  I was also feeling so much better inside and out.

I'm not quite done yet.  I had already reached my first goal and now have set a new goal and when I get to that I will re-evaluate and see where to go from there.  My ultimate goal is to feel good, eat healthy and exercise regularly.  Slowly I am getting there.

I can see a difference and I sure can feel one!  So today I am celebrating my 150th day with healthy meals, a nice walk, an extra tea and one little square of chocolate AND knowing that I am now 31.4 pounds lighter. 

Taking the Time

The weeks are flying by now that I am working.  I'm enjoying the job but it keeps interfering with the extra things like ....this blog.  However, with the job being so flexible it means that Ron and I still get most days off together and since we had such a great weekend I thought I should take the time and share some beautiful pictures of our short little time away.


Ron got off last Wednesday night at midnight and Thursday morning we decided that we would go to Radium to see if the big horned sheep were still head banging.  They actually have a festival for this which we missed by one week.

There were lots of potential head bangers but we just didn't catch them in the act.  It was so interesting seeing them prance down the streets of Radium.  Cars mostly just given them the right of way.

They made me a little nervous when they would stop and stare at you but thankfully I was near the truck but lots of people were out walking their dogs along side.  I don't think Tanker and Bentley would have been so quiet with them being so close.


When we were leaving town in the morning we had to go slow up the hill as these guys were headed the same way we were going.

It was a foggy morning but still the landscape around Radium is quite spectacular with the way the road has been cut through the mountain.

We decided to make it a full day of hiking.  Our first stop was Dog Lake.  My hiking book said that this trail is in one of the most temperate valleys in the Canadian Rockies so it can be hiked later in the fall.  It was a cool morning but we were dressed for the weather.  The hike had a number of suspension bridges which took us over the Kootenay River.

The woods that we walked through reminded us of Ontario.  It consisted of Douglas fir, white spruce and the ground had a lot of feather moss.

This was the only time that we have ever hiked and not seen any one else along the way.  We missed the views at Dog Lake because of the heavy fog but it was a nice hike and one that we will have to do again to see what we were missing.

When we came out of the woods and got back to the river a breathtaking view awaited us.

And this is exactly why we like to go for hikes in the mountains.  From Dog Lake we drove to the Paint Pots.  It started out over a bridge as well.  This one over the Vermilion River.

Iron-rich mineral waters have stained the clay along this trail.  A little history lesson about this location:  at one time natives used the coloured clay for body paint.  Early white settlers mined the ochre for a time and shipped it to Calgary for use as a base for paint.

We came out of this walk a little dirtier and I haven't even tried to get it off our hiking shoes.  From there we drove to Marble Canyon where we walked along the most amazing canyon.

There were a number of bridges all along the canyon that you could cross and walk on either side.  Pictures don't do it justice.

It was a nice gentle walk and a beautiful one to do.  The mud on the path soon changed our yellow hiking boots to a muddy colour but it was worth it.

With both cameras going we got lots of pictures, some good exercise and great memories.

At the one end we found the red chairs that are located around the parks and had to stop for a selfie.

It was a great couple of days away and when you live this close to the mountains you just have to go!  Now its back to work for us but we've been there, took the pictures and we will be going back again!

October??? Where Did It Go?

This month has flown by.  It's hard to believe that I'm going to soon turn the page on the calendar and have November facing out at me.  Ron and I both worked quite a bit and sometimes crossed paths just at meal times.

Thanksgiving was earlier in the month and we are very thankful for our family and friends that are all across Canada.

We were happy to have a full table for our late Thanksgiving Dinner.  When you have to work around so many schedules it sometimes means you change the day to celebrate.  When we finally all were all able to make it I had the dinner on the table for 4:00 p.m. so that Andrew, Brianne and Ron could all get to work for nights.  My boy and I were the only ones that didn't have to rush off.

The next day we were left with the boy's pets while he went to visit a friend from the Yukon who had flown down to Edmonton.

They are such sucky boys when the leader of their pack leaves them.

The next week, Ron and I went to Kananaskis to go for a hike.  It was a cooler day but nice and sunny and we dressed for the weather. 

The path led us along the Upper Kananaskis Lake.

The trail wasn't too busy but there were still quite a few people who were taking advantage of such a beautiful day to enjoy a nice hike.

I was recently asked if the "awe" ever leaves from seeing the mountains and it never does.  It always brings a smile to my face and an urge to take just one more picture.

The trail quickly went from a gentle walk by the lake to a steep incline up the mountain.  Our hearts beat rapidly as we slowly made our way up the path.  The higher we went, the icier the path became.

At one point we were holding on to trees to try and get up the slope.  We watched a young family come towards us and have to slide down the path on their hands and feet.  We didn't have our cleats for this kind of terrain and so we decided that we would have to turn around and finish this hike another day.  We still managed to have an hour and a half walk and half of it was straight up hill.  The walk down was much easier once we slid over the icy areas.

I guess it's that time for ice to form on the lakes.  The days are getting shorter and colder.  Winter will be here before we know it and in the mountains it comes even quicker.

It was a beautiful day and I loved the scenery and being able to spend a day off with my hiking partner.

Halloween is in two nights and then October will draw to close.  November will be here and that means I can soon get my Christmas decorations up!!!  Yeah!  Every month has its beautiful and its important to take time to enjoy it.



BIrthday + Tea + Hike = Perfect Day

I've planned, researched, anticipated and watched the weather for weeks.  The Lake Louise Double Tea House hike has been something that I've been interested in since last year.  Finally, the time arrived. Ron and I left on Sunday afternoon and headed to Canmore where we would spend the night.  We went into Banff since our granddaughter, Sarah, told me that if I was going on to Lake Louise I should go to Banff too.

We had a delicious dinner at a wonderful Greek restaurant and sampled some chocolate at one of the homemade candy stores along the beautiful city of Banff.  Ron and I enjoyed a relaxing evening and then headed back to our hotel in Canmore with tea in hand.

Ron had watched too many tourists posing!

The next morning we travelled to Lake Louise and did lots of people watching while we waited for our hiking partners to arrive.   We were asked to take pictures for the many tourists enjoying the beautiful morning along this beautiful lake.

Once our hiking team showed up, we were off.  

The 3.5 km trek up to Lake Agnes Tea House was definitely a good work out but the views along the way were well worth my heart rate of 170.

 I got to enjoy a tea and a hot chocolate while the dogs cooled off in the lake.

No electricity.  Supplies are brought in by horse back.

We stopped along the path and ate our lunch while we soaked in the scenery and sun.

The trail between the two tea houses was a good work out again and not as busy.  I think we had the nicest day of the fall to enjoy the hike.

Slowly we made the last steep steps to the Six Glacier Tea House and found a picnic table where I enjoyed my birthday cake.  Ron and I shared a delicious piece of an old family recipe from the tea house.  It was a great stop.

The baker for the cake...an old family recipe.

 


We continued up the path another 1.3 km to get a good view of the Victoria Glacer.  The sun shone bright and warm and we could hear the rumble of avalanches.

Since Ron was taking most of the pictures for the day he decided he should do a selfie.

We headed back to the tea house and then began our 6.1 km hike down to Lake Louise.  Careful steps were important due to the steep decline and it was important to stop once in awhile and take a good look around at the beauty from where we had been to where we were headed.

Our hike took us close to 6 hours and I burned 2304 calories.  It was a wonderful day and a great work out.

We concluded the day with a pizza dinner in Canmore.  I figured I deserved it after a 16.1 km hike!  We stopped at our son's house on the way home.  We were too full to even sample the cake which meant I got to enjoy it today instead.

A wonderful birthday hike...fantastic weather, good hiking partners, amazing views and tea!  

Today....I've soaked in the tub and am moving slowly.  So glad we are going to Andrew and Brianne's for supper.  The hard part will be getting there.