Life Is Like That

When I started this blog 10 years ago it was for a few reasons.  First, was that I enjoyed reading and seeing photos from Catherine’s blog.  I enjoy writing and through this I could keep a diary of events. We were just moving to live on a northern reserve and I wanted my family and friends to be a part of our experiences.

The blog got put aside a few years ago when it felt like more sadness was happening than good things. A few months ago when I decided to sign in again, I did it for healing purposes.  I wrote about my struggles and how I was improving with so much support.

I am now able to be back to sharing about the places we go and the people we see.  Of course, there are times, like today, when I want to share my perspective.

On Friday, we left our house for a road trip.  The weather was quite pleasant and the clouds looked pretty hanging so low on the mountains.  

As we continue, the skies grew darker and the rain came.  The road became busier.  We had packed a lunch with plans to eat at a picnic table.  When we arrived at the Columbia Icefield, the rain stopped and we found a table.  

The temperature had dropped to 7 degrees C and a cool wind came from the glacier.  We ate quickly and got back on the road.  More rain came and we were thankful we were in the car, not like the many bikers that were also travelling.  After 10 plus hours, we arrived in Prince George quite tired.  The next morning, we were on the road bright and early.  

We stopped along the way to check out a side by side that Stephen was interested in.  We continued along our way, taking time to stop and enjoy some sights.

Stephen passed us going the opposite way to pick up his new toy.  It felt kind of strange heading to his house with him going the other direction.  We knew that he would be back later.  We stopped at the lake.

The wind was blowing and a storm was approaching. We drove the rest of the way to Kitimat where we were greeted by 4 dogs, 3 cats and a Salmon dinner made by Kylie.  Stephen arrived home a few hours later.

As I pondered about our road trip, I thought about life.  Things can be going smooth and then storms happen.  Life gets hard and you don’t know how to take a break from it.  The rain clouds disappear long enough to give you strength to keep going.  Circumstances come that cause you to be blown a part but then again, do they? Yesterday, at the lake when the storm was rolling in, people were taking advantage of the wind.  An eagle soared looking so at home in the gusts.

Life happens.  There are trials, struggles and sadness.  I have learned that these times are circumstances with opportunities.  When a storm comes, you have three choices.  You can let the waves crash you on the rocks.  You might just take cover.  The best though, is when you position your sail just right and glide across the water.

Solution To A Hot Day

We had a few very warm days at the beginning of this week.  We don’t have air conditioning so anything that needed to get done had to be accomplished in the morning.  As our house heated up, we decided to hunt for a cooler place to be.  We already had the canoe loaded on the truck.  I packed something for supper and off we went to Waterton.  It was really quite busy but after a little drive around, we found a spot to park and unload the canoe.  We paddled away from the crowds to find our own little beach.  

Ron dipped into the cold water to cool off and just walking along the shore did it for me.  We were able to read and rest and watch the ducks or other paddlers go by.  

The shade kept us cool as we sipped on some cold drinks and nibbled on snacks.

The weather took a quick shift.  The sky got darker and the wind picked up.  We moved our chairs back under some trees when it started to rain and then it poured.  The day went from hot to almost needing a sweater.  When the rain slowed up, we packed up the canoe and headed back towards the dock.  The wind had picked up and there were white caps on the lake.  We paddled hard as the waves pushed us around.  It began to rain a little harder but I hardly noticed as I concentrated on the shore line. When we arrived back at the truck, the sun came out and it warmed up again.

Even with the rain and wind, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

A Year Ago

An interesting feature from smart phones is that it will remind you of photos taken on this day from previous years.  Most of the time these pictures make me smile and even laugh.  They will jog my memory about where we were, what we did and who we were with.  Sometimes, like today, they make me choke back tears.  Last year this time was our “Sister Three” cottage time. Tina wanted this time and we all worked to make it happen.  That week was the last time I saw my baby sister.

Tina always loved the water and she had hoped that she would have been able to make it into the lake.  Her ALS had progressed too quickly to let this happen.  There were people willing to help her but her anxiety of falling was too much.  My heart ached for her and so I went down and filled a bucket with lake water so that she could put her feet in it.  This way she managed to kind of get into the lake. 😢

This is Tina just six years ago enjoying the lake.  

My mind can’t dwell on the sadness of her not being here so I try hard to remember the good times and try to imagine her floating on the crystal sea with no pain, no anxiety and no worries.

Waterton

I love mountains and parks, and so for me, Waterton Park is a favourite place to go.  It always surprises me when people living in Pincher Creek say that they haven’t been to Waterton in years.  We rarely miss a week of making the short distance south to explore.

This week we made it there twice.  Earlier in the week we went to Lethbridge on the motorcycle and came home the long way to slip into the park.

The Akimina road had been closed for a while due to rock slides after a torrential downpour in June.  Today, it was open and so we drove down to Cameron Lake.  

It’s a beautiful drive in a vehicle but for some reason, I always enjoy it a little more on the motorcycle.

Today, the forecast was a warm day with very little wind.  We took the canoe out of retirement and loaded it on the truck.  I packed snacks, drinks and lunch and off we went.  The lake was calm and the temperature perfect.  

We found private little coves along the way to enjoy a tea, munch on some snacks and eat our lunch.  

We sat across the lake looking back at the town site trying to figure out where certain lookouts where we had ventured to on other days. Our lunch spot had definitely been visited before.  The many inukshuks but for today it was all ours.

Waiting for the RCMP to contact us has given me a little anxiety, but as we canoed or took breaks along the shore, I relaxed and enjoyed my mountains.

wAiTiNg!

Yesterday we had a little visit with Ontario.  Haylee and Josiah had been living in Trail for the past two years.  Whenever we would go that way, we would stop and have a little visit.  

Haylee is the daughter of one of my “kindred spirit” friends.

Yesterday, they started their journey back to live in Ontario.  Her dad and brother had flown out to help with the move.  They stopped in Pincher to gas up and have lunch.  It was so nice to see them.

Penelope, the cat wasn’t too sure about this move but she was on her way to a new adventure.

When we said goodbye we told them we would see them in Ontario.  Saying those words caused a little change in me.  I enjoy the area here but when you know there is a next step coming, you just want to see the process started.  Ron started the retirement process in January.  We were told that we would be contacted in June.  It is now past the middle of July and still no word. 

And so, we WAIT!

10,000 Steps

A few short months ago I had to push myself to go for a walk.  My step count for a week was between 30-50,000.  I didn’t care about goals and exercise just wasn’t happening.  In April, something seem to change.  I had been feeling better mentally but I still had that fear that something bad was going to happen.  We drove to Calgary on a Thursday in April to have my 5 year post cancer check up.  I prepared myself to take whatever came.  My wonderful doctor went through the results with me.  The bloodwork was good, the ultrasound was clear and even the physical exam around my neck was normal.  I burst into tears when she said that after 5 years of good checkups, I should be in the clear.  No cancer, no bad news!  I will still need an annual check with bloodwork but that is it.

That day seemed to be a tipping point.  I felt that life wasn’t always full of bad news.  I started pushing myself to have a goal for exercise.  As I accomplished the 6,000 steps a day for a couple of weeks, I kept working to increase my step count.  I am now back up to 10,000 plus steps a day.  I don’t have to push myself so much anymore because it just feels good to accomplish it.

Ron is usually my walking partner but every once in a while I’m on my own.  This week I noticed how much I am enjoying the walk around town.

We have lived in Pincher Creek for five years now and have walked just about every step of it.  There are nice trails along the creek and only very rarely does a snake wreck the moment.  

We walk a path behind our house that is a little steep but gives us a nice view.  Ron calls this my hiking training.  I always have enough stair count.  That comes from living on a hill.

Lots of times our walks lead to the north hill where a Timmie’s treat gives me the energy to get back to the south hill.  

One of the things that Ron and I have tried to do is to enjoy the area where we live.  We enjoyed Ontario for its lakes and trees.  Swift Current gave us a taste of prairie life and the beautiful coloured fields ready for harvest.  A creek was almost in our back yard and we could watch the July 1st fireworks from our balcony. Deschambault Lake took us back to trees and lakes.  Our canoe was back in service. In Three Hills, we were back on the prairies with beautiful skies and flat places to bike and oh, a track that was like an S that we could watch the trains from our livingroom window.  Here, in Pincher Creek, we have mountains, wind turbines, wildlife, saskatoon berries and of course a creek and I can watch the fireworks from our front window.

So where am I going with this blog…it is to say that I’m enjoying the area again.  My eyes seem to be open to the beautiful place where we live.  Each walk brings some more enjoyment and it feels good.

We still haven’t heard from the RCMP.  We aren’t sure where exactly our next home will be.  I know that we will enjoy that area too because that is what we do.  For now, we will take in the views, pick the berries , enjoy the wildlife and get my 10,000 steps.  Waiting isn’t so bad.

Spruce Meadows

One of my favourite places to be is Spruce Meadows.

I think I first discovered it when we had moved to Three Hills and I was googling information about Christmas Markets. We then realized that there were many horse jumping competitions held through the year. It’s really quite impressive watching horse and rider run through a course and sail over the rails.  

It can also stop your breath when a horse decides that he isn’t jumping and the rider goes over the rail by themselves. On Thursday, we drove to Calgary and spent the afternoon watching the competition.  It was nice to be there to hear the Canadian anthem play when Tiffany Foster won.

We stayed overnight in Airdrie and did something unusual.  We walked around a mall.  The next morning, we were back in the stands watching another round of competitors.  

We did take a couple of breaks to walk the grounds.  There was a Celtic group from Scotland that danced.

 We also watched a dog show.  It was interesting and quite comical.  

We then made our way back to watch the final competition before driving home.  I’m not sure how many more we will get to before we move so it was nice to be there for this one.

Ripe for Picking

Ron and I have been walking more and along the paths we noticed that the saskatoon berries were ripening and plentiful.  

We would grab a handful and enjoy a little snack along the way.  Monday was a cooler day and so we decided we would go berry picking.  My thoughts were that we would get enough to add to our own strawberries.

Fresh from our own garden

We started off in one place and there were a lot of bushes and the berries looking perfect. Ron and I were picking in the same area and chatting with another lady.  There was a rustle at our feet and I looked down to see some light brown fur.  I thought it was a cat and since I talk to animals, I said “hello.”  It startled the little creature and it ran right by Ron’s foot.  We were both amazed to see the tiniest little fawn run out of the bush.  This little guy was moving too fast for a picture and I was too shocked to even try.  Our next thought was where was mama?  Mother deer can actually be quite vicious.  There weren’t any more rustlings but we did keep on alert just in case.

We drove from there and found a little guy but not sure if this was the one that startled us or we him.

We went to another area in town and picked until our bowls were almost full. I now had my work cut out for me.  I washed all of the berries and drained them.  

I made pie crust and then found a Recipe for saskatoon berry pie.  The pie took 5 cups of our fresh berries.  I mixed the ingredients and popped the pie in the oven.  While it was cooking I measured out the rest of our harvest.  I put three bags of berries in the freezer all measured out for some tasty treats…..another pie, a patch of muffins and a crisp.  There were still some left to mix with our strawberries for a tasty snack.

It was time to let the pie cool.  

I cleaned the kitchen and then made some tea.  While the pie was still quite warm, I cut two slices and topped with icecream.  We sat on the deck enjoying the “fruit” of our labour.  Sooo delicious.

We have lived here for five years and have never picked the berries like this.  They are everywhere around town, free for the taking.  Retirement gives you the time to stop and smell the roses and pick ripe berries.  It also gives you the time to exercise more which you have to do after making desserts.

And just another little thing about saskatoon berries..they are a super fruit.

From Prairie Berries.com

Does a super fruit count if you put it between two pie crusts?  It does for me!