Knitting Up a Storm

Way, way back in BC time....which is Before Children in this case, I worked at a place where everyone was either knitting or learning to knit.  It was a good time for me to pick up a new hobby.  Since there was just the two of us at home I had lots of time to knit and I knit sweaters for lots of people.  Then kids happened and my knitting got set aside in order to find time to take them to the park or the beach.  I preferred putting my needles down to play with Jennie and Stephen.


Now that I am at a new stage of my life knitting took over again.  When we moved to Deschambault Lake I became a faithful customer to the online shopping of Mary Maxim.  So many colours and types of yarn to choose from that I even bought a shelving unit just for my yarn.

I knit dozens of baby afghans while in DL and I sent them across Canada to lots of precious little babies.  My afghans have landed in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.  I even left one in the Yukon.  Sometimes I get pictures of my blankets with the little precious baby that I made it for.

Isaiah Rising (Charlene & Nick Rising in British Columbia)

Morgan Drinnan (Parents Rachel and Dean Drinnan in Saskatchewan)



New Baby Boy (The Dad works with our son)

The Dad went through classes with our son.

Mae McKenzie (daughter of Spencer who was Stephen's best buddy in school)

Lots of different afghans and so many precious babies but this one has to the best:

Our Beautiful Granddaughter, Abby (who is now 2!)

I've even made lap blankets and full size afghans.  It's what I do when I sit down to watch tv.

Full size blankets sent to Vancouver Island

My sister enjoying her warm afghan on a cool day.

Made for me!

Specially made for my mom.

My regular afghan that I use while watching tv and knitting more blankets.

 I always have one on the go...sometimes by order but most of the time just in case I hear that someone might be having a baby.

I have one ready to go in the mail.  It's a special one!  It's for the newest addition to our family and I'm wondering if the blanket will arrive before he does.

So here it goes....will it or will it not arrive before Baby Boy arrives.

I'm guessing that the baby will come first because Jenn always goes early and Canada Post always arrives late.  Either way this blanket was knit together with love for a new little new addition to our family.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

^{-Psalm 139:13}

Johnston Canyon & Ink Pots

On Ron's days off we like to explore and we decided to try a hike to Johnston Canyon.  "They" say that it is an easy hike.  I'm not sure who "they" are but off we went to attempt it.  The trail head started about 20 km west of Banff.  It was a bit cool as we started but that usually is pretty good when you are hiking.  You are bound to heat up.

We decided that we would plan to at least get to the Upper Falls and then see how we feel at that point.  It was a good time to try this trail as it is known as one of the busiest in the Rockies.  The start of the trail began over a creek with water flowing through ice.

The trail leads through the forest on sturdy catwalks overhanging canyon walls.  It's really quite a unique trail and it leads to some quite spectacular views of falls.

 

 

 

The hike to the Upper Falls was 2.7 km with an elevation of 1565 m. 

Ron enjoying the view.

 We decided that we would keep going.  This is where the walkway changed quite a bit.  The path was less travelled and snow and ice covered.  At some points it felt like it was straight up (a little exaggeration).

At the summit the elevation was 5400 ft. (1645 m).  At this point my heart rate was about 170 and so we stopped for a couple of pictures. 

Amazing!

The view was spectacular.  At this point we started to decline and it was tricky with the icy path but slowly we made it down to the meadow.

And even though I knew that I would have to climb back up the steep slope it was worth the effort.  It was just breath taking scenery.

Notice the ink spots.

We took a little bit of time to relax (catch my breath), have a snack, take some pictures and just enjoy the beauty that surrounded us.

The entire hike took us around 3 and a half hours.  I must admit that I felt very out of shape and took lots of time going up the path.  I had great trail partners who were very patient with my effort.  At the end of the trip I burned almost 1600 calories which was very rewarding.  The total hike was 11.2 kms.  Today, the day after, I am able to move; although, my legs are certainly feeling the work out.  It was much easier going back down the trail but it took effort not to slip and fall.  Definitely a great day.  We bought a book listing many trails to try and I downloaded an app to be knowledgeable on what to expect.


And yes, this was supposed to be an easy hike.  Oh boy, I don't think I am ready for any hard ones then. 

He Did It!

My husband constantly amazes me.  When he completed his training at Depot seven years ago this month he was my hero.  Not only was he the oldest in his troop but he had survived the training while 13 others who had started with him had not made it.

Then off we went to Swift Current where he learned on the street how to be a real constable.  I use to smile when he got dressed for work because it looked like he was just playing cops.  It had been much more normal for me to see him heading out the door with his bible to go to church or a prayer meeting.  Yes, life changed quite a bit.

When staffing talked to Ron and asked him to consider a limited duration isolated post in northern Saskatchewan he jumped at the idea and I went along for the adventure and that is what it was. After two years we moved to another province with a town that had a grocery store.

A few months ago Ron started studying for his corporal exam and he just found out that he passed!  What does that mean?  Well, he can start applying for a promotion which means we could be going anywhere in Canada.   When?  Who knows?  Life is an adventure and I'm glad I'm doing it with Ron.  He certainly keeps life exciting and I'm very proud of him!

Biking in April

The weather looked great for Saturday and so we decided it would be great to get the bike out and go for a little cruise.  Our first thought was to head to Swift Current.  It would be great to see our friends there and go to church but it was hard to pass up the idea of heading to the mountains especially when we could have company if we went that way.


Ron and I dressed in our full motorcycle gear as it was still a little chilly in the morning when we left home.  

We headed into the park at Saskatchewan River Crossing.  The winds were quite strong but it still felt nice and warm.

As we travelled on we could see that ahead of us it looked like there was a snow storm up in the mountains and the temperature was dropping.  We realized that Stephen was not dressed for mountain riding.

When we turned south on the Icefield Parkway we could see that the snow that was in the mountains was right with us and both bikes were in need of a fill up which meant we needed to get to Lake Louise which was about 45 minutes away.  I was praying that we could make it because it would not be pleasant being in the cold temperature waiting for help.

Ron motioned for me to try and take some pictures of the snow banks and snow falling.  This was a first for us to be caught in snow.  I took my glove off and got the camera out of my pocket and held it carefully to take a few pictures.  My hand was freezing.  I knew that Stephen was cold and I realized that even though we were dressed a lot warmer it was getting colder all the time.  I managed to take a shaking picture of the temperature over Ron's shoulder.That's a 3 degrees Celsius.

I watched the road signs for the distance to Lake Louise and was so relieved when we finally turned off and made it to the gas station.  We were all pretty cold and we enjoyed a hot chocolate after filling up with gas.  Reluctantly we got back on the bikes and headed to Banff.  It was warming up a bit by then but we were pretty chilled. We did a little walk around to get the blood going.

And we got a beavertail and some Starbucks tea and hot chocolate to warm up our insides.

We still had to go a little further but we were feeling a little better and ready for the last of the trip. 

So perhaps riding in the mountain in April is not the best idea but we've done it now.  We will let it warm up a bit before we try that again.  Perhaps going east might have been a better idea.

Hiking

Moving to Alberta opens up more opportunities for adventure.  While in southern Saskatchewan we took many trips west to the mountains but now we are just that much closer and are hoping to take advantage of many excursions.  One of the things that I would like to do is a bit of hiking and since our son has done a lot of hikes we asked him to be our tour guide.

First on the agenda is load up your vehicle with all of the animals.

Eagerly they watch out the window wondering where this adventure might lead them and this one took us to Grotto Creek Trail.

The day was gorgeous for April.  I soon shed my jacket as we walked carefully on the path.



In some places it was picking through rocks and other places it was snow covered or even ice covered.  I was very careful in these areas as I am just recovering from a fractured tailbone (that was another day out with our son!)The dogs had a great time especially once we got away from people and Bentley was able to be off leash.

The dogs probably did twice the hike that we did by running from side to side, up cliffs and down again and way ahead and back to us.  The views were beautiful and we took time to sit and relax...and catch my breath.

Of course we had to stop and take pictures of just that perfect spot.

And there are always those that have to take the adventure to a new level like climbing up a cliff or to a cave.

All and all it was a perfect hike day.

When we got back to the vehicle the dogs were eager to get in and try and find their space to lay down.

And when I did my review I discovered that we had been hiking for three hours and I had burned 1199 calories.

And you know what that means...if you burn them, you can reward yourself.

And now to work up to my dream hike....to a Tea Room!

http://www.banfflakelouise.com/Things-To-Do/Summer-Adventures/Hiking-in-Banff-and-Lake-Louise/Unique-Experiences/Tea-Houses