For those who have learned a bit about me from my page, and/or my "talking" here on The Hill, you will know that I am NOT a gardener. I no longer even pretend that I like to garden. We have so many deer in our neighborhood, and I refuse to grow anything (except rhubarb, which they don't fancy) that will produce a delicious snack for them. There are enough hay fields in our area so they can't be THAT hungry. We now have silk flower in the pots on our front and back patios, which they leave alone.
Today, I received the ultimate act of distain from nature itself. There was some activity outside of our kitchen window, and hubby and I thought it was a dog visiting us from the neighborhood. The drapes were still closed so we didn't see who/what was banging against the window. When it happened the second time, I opened the front door to see who had come calling, only to be confronted by four large black ravens who were busy 'hissing' at each other. I also saw that they had pulled out quite a few of my silk flowers. The nerve! I tried to shoo them toward the rhubarb, but that only made them hiss at me. Apparently, they don't fancy rhubarb. They wouldn't fly away either; just hopped off the patio to the driveway and continued their dispute over whatever was upsetting them. Do you suppose they were fighting over the silk flowers? Why? The flowers look nice, even though the deer continue to ignore them! So what's the problem?
Today I thought I would take you to the Rangeland Derby at the Calgary Stampede, better known as the Chuckwagon Races. It is still my favorite event, even though there are some who want it to be banned. (They are the ones who don't know what they are talking about!)
My interest started when I was very young because a well-known Alberta family in Chuckwagon racing were neighbors of my parents when we lived on the farm. I think it is now the fourth generation who have been racing at the Calgary Stampede and many other rodeos. It is an exciting event, held in the early evening after the infield events, such as bull riding, bucking horses, wild cow milking etc.
Friday was the kickoff of the annual Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. It starts with a huge parade in the downtown core, and turns the city into a crowd of pseudo-cowboys who learn very quickly the YAHOO greeting, and trade their fashion clothes for blue jeans and cowboy hats. Here`s a short video to watch of the parade.
We are home after a wonderful road trip through the Canadian Rockies, and to visit our daughter and family in Washington state. I thought I would share one of our stops, with a bit of an explanation.
I have been a collector of telephone/telegraph insulators for years. If you have read my page, my only explanation of this collection is because they are a part of our history, and many are just pretty glass!
It started when my husband began collecting vintage telephones. We often encountered people who assumed that if we were interested in telephones, we would also be interested in insulators, and gave us boxes full of them. They were happy to get rid of them because they were of no use and just took up space. However, the more I looked into the history, the more fascinated I was with them.
Growing up on a farm, we would often use them for target practice, much to the annoyance of the local telephone man. When I married my "telephone man", he was one of those annoyed guys because he had to climb the telephone poles to replace the smashed insulators, to get the telephones back in service. Now he has to put up with his wife who likes them because they are "pretty glass" objects.
On our trip, I finally had the opportunity to visit The Insulator Ranch, and meet the 'Insulator Bob'. Now THAT'S A COLLECTION! I'll have to get reconnected with more collectors now ... I have a renewed interest now. We are planning to return to the Ranch in September, for the Annual Collectors' Show and Sale.
How did this happen? Or should I ask why did this happen?
We are visiting family in Washington State this week. Two events caused us to pack our bags and hit the road again ... two grandgirls are playing in Championship Little League ball games (we've never had the opportunity to watch them in any of their sports events), and ... the Annual Kiwanas Rummage Sale weekend. We love the adventure of looking for bargains that are so good that we can't afford not to buy them. If we don't need it, we'll find someone else who can use it.
We were at the sale preview today, and an amazing thing happened ...! The gym of the school where the Rummage Sale is held, was the location of books, videos, DVDs, records, and office supplied, and my hubby asks me to keep an eye open for a particular book that he has read many times, and has shared with friends and family. It is out of print and not easy to find because it originally was a gift book, so there is not a specific author, only the publisher is known. Today, I found one, and it was in excellent condition. Hubby was so pleased to find such a good copy. When we returned to our daughter's home this evening, he brought out the book to look at it again, and when he looked at the inside page, he read, "To Olivia, from Nana and Papa, September 2012 ... in his own handwriting. While he was showing it to me, our grand-daughter Olivia came into the room and explaind, "You found my book! I missed it and wondered what had happened to it! Where did you find it?" "At the book sale," we answered, and then learned that Dad and Mom had been 'purging' their home of stuff, and donated to this rummage sale. Apparently, Olivia was meant to still be the owner of a book that was her favorite ... as well as her Papa's favorite.
The title of the book is ... 'In His Own Words; The Words of Jesus".
There are times when the most common of occurrences turns out to be the beginning of an unexpected delight. That was my experience last weekend, when we were visiting friends in our hometown, and attending the annual Show & Shine Vintage Car Rally. From my point of view, I can only kick a few tires before I’ve had enough. So, what else could we do for the afternoon?
I’m sure it’s no surprise for those who have read my page, or know me through our correspondence, that the first thing that came to mind was to look for any Garage/Yard Sales. With so many visitors in town for the weekend, I thought it would be a perfect time to set up some tables and get rid of some “stuff”! Would you believe it … our guys decided they were coming with us! Not looking for anything specific … just a bargain or two that was so cheap that they couldn’t afford not to buy it! We managed to visit only ONE yard sale … the owners were certainly trying to get rid of ‘stuff’, and we were a big help! Between the two of us, we purchased an unused carry-on suitcase, a digital picture frame, a bedside iPod recharger with a digital clock radio, a VCR/DVD recorder and player, a folding sports chair, and several music CDs … and not one item was more than $5.00. So … where does the “unexpected delight” come into this story?
In the mid-70s, we purchased a video camera the year they came on the market. It was a huge camera, with a separate battery pack, and I (being the ‘picture-taker’ in our family) was thrilled with this amazing camera. The battery pack was too heavy to carry on my shoulder, as well as carry the camera and my handbag, so I used a luggage cart to transport the battery. We had just moved to our rural location with our two pre-teenage children, and we recorded many of the activities and family adventures that occupied our time. As the photography equipment and formats changed over the years, and the children became independent adults and on their own, the tapes were packed away in the storage room, and we obtained new equipment for our entertainment. Occasionally, when in a nostalgic frame of mind, I would wish that we had kept a video player so that we could watch those old movies and videos, and/or show them to our grandkids. Now I have a $5.00 machine that will not only play the VCR tapes but can record them to a DVD disc. Guess what our families are getting as “just because, no special occasion” gifts this year? It’s going to be a lot of fun! In my mind, I can already hear the giggles of our grandkids when they see what their parents did for entertainment.
Two things that I watched today will bring loud comments for “this” generation … riding motor dirt bikes with no helmets, and a crowd of kids on our trampoline with no spotters and no safety net. It’s a wonder that our kids even survived their teen years!
I was travelling to a small Alberta town and my first job interview as a graduate nurse from the Calgary General Hospital School of Nursing. Well, it wasn't quite official ...I was still waiting for my marks, and our graduation ceremonies, but I decided to start looking for work in the area where I had grown up. I wanted to get out of the city, and close to where a friend of mine was attending college. After the initial interview by the Matron of the hospital, I was assured that a job would be waiting for me when I received my passing grades, and I would get time off for graduation and any additional celebrations connected with the end of our three years of training and dorm living. On that trip, I also found a tiny basement suite on Main Street, and with a reasonable deposit, it would be clean and ready for me when I arrived to start my job. It was only about five blocks from the hospital, and I could handle that, even on cold or rainy days.
My first day of work was September 1, 1961, starting at 8 a.m. After the report from the night staff, half of the day staff went to the basement of the hospital for breakfast, while the other half served breakfast to the patients. There were 19 beds, including 3 cribs, so it didn't take very long to prepare the trays and serve them.
I was not only the newest member of the staff but also the youngest. It didn't take long for me to realize that I had a lot to learn, the least of which was to remember the names of my new co-workers. There was the pharmacy in the closet at the end of the hall, near the Matron's office, to prepare the morning med tray. Someone needed to prepare the operating room for the scheduled surgery, and the delivery room needed to be ready for the woman in the two-bed labor room. Oh ... and where was the orderly when you need him? WHAT ... there was no orderly on staff? Well, who's going to ... ME? You've got to be kidding! How am I going to do that procedure with a blindfold on?
I loved working the night shift, midnight to 8 a.m. I could sleep anywhere, any time, and the routine was perfect for a single girl. I ate breakfast with the day staff, slept soundly during the day, and then enjoyed supper with the afternoon staff before enjoying the social life in the evening. We worked 14 nights, and then had seven days off. The only thing that would improve my situation would be to give up my suite on Main Street and move into the nurses' residence in the basement of the hospital, across the hall from the kitchen. The cooks prepared wonderful meals for the patients and staff, and on my starting salary of $249.00 per month, I could have a bit of money left at the end of the pay period for some extra treats, like travel and clothes.
Working nights had advantages and disadvantages. Most nights were quiet, making rounds once an hour, restocking supplies, and learning handcrafts from our nurses' aide 'housemother'. However, we often admitted expectant mothers in labor, which was quite a challenge, in a way you may not have thought about. Routinely, our night staff was one registered nurse to tend to special cases, and one nurses' aide to cover the main patient area. Occasionally, when nursing aide trainees came to our hospital for their sixteen-week probation, one would have some night shift rotation. On occasion, she would be our saving grace when we needed to have the doctor come to the hospital. The night telephone operator was well-known to enjoy too many matinees in the evening, and sleep too soundly during the night, not hearing our call to request a connection to the doctor’s home. The third person was able to take a staff car In the parking lot, and drive to the doctor's house, while the patients in the main part of the hospital and the patient in the labor room were well attended. With two on duty, we were on our own, with the help of another staff nurse in the basement residence, who would come upstairs (sometimes in bathrobe and slippers) to help out.
In 1962, rumors started to circulate around town that a crew of installers from Alberta Government Telephones were coming to our town to convert the old central operator system to the new modern dial telephone system. In the city, we were familiar with dial phones, but not in our town. To us, that meant no more trouble with a sleeping telephone operator when we needed her. It was the best news, and the crew’s arrival was highly anticipated. Old telephones, such as woodbox wall phones and candlestick desk phones in homes and businesses were removed and replace by new black bakelite telephones with chrome dials and ringing bells.
Social life in a small town is different than in the city. Those who could afford a car, were able to venture out of the community for entertainment, but most of the time, we were our own entertainment. Skating and tobogganing in the winter, wiener roasts and dancing at the lake in the summer, or any time late night coffee dates at the local café. On days off, I would take the train or the Greyhound bus to Calgary to visit family and friends.
I loved the experience at the small town hospital and the special farming community. It is where I met many of my lifelong friends. Nursing took on a whole new face for me, and I was privileged to call that community my home for a number of years. Oh … did I mention that I married the plant inspector of the telephone crew? After fifty-two years, he’s still my best friend!
Sometimes we need to have a dramatic experience in our own backyard, to help us understand (in part) of what other people are going through. We had such an experience this last month, while we were vacationing in Great Britain.
I was having a sleepless night in a hotel in England, so I decided to get comfortable on the sofa in our room with my tablet, and do some reading. I didn't want to wake my husband because we had had a busy day of touring in London. But first ... I wondered if there were any emails that I had not read. The most recent one was our nephew (posted 7 mins before I logged in), telling us that the house we built in 1974, and which is next door to our present home is fully engulfed in flames. He's joking, I thought ... and that is not a good thing to joke about. Considering the time difference, his message came about 5 p.m. (home time), so if he was not joking, there may be something on the local news. Sure enough ... there was live reporting, and I recognized the house.
Our neighbors, who had purchased the house about 2 years ago, lost everything. We were just getting to know them, and they were beginning to feel right at home in our rural setting. The cause has not been determined, but they were having renovations done to the kitchen.
It took about a week after we returned home to have any communication with them ... they are so devastated. It is their retirement home, and they still can't bring themselves to come out and see what is left. I keep thinking ... no toothbrush, no dishes, nothing to cook a meal with, so photos, no clothes ... NOTHING!
Our neighbors put out an appeal for donations ... and the response was overwhelming. It was a demonstration of the caring of neighbors, many who had not met them or even live near their place. Sometimes, gestures of kindness can be very healing, even though we don't really understand what they are going through.
We are hoping that when they rebuild the house, they will be able to live in it ... and still be our neighbors.
This is what we see when we look out of our kitchen window. There were a lot of happy memories in that house, where we raised our children.
Our long awaited travel destination is only weeks away now. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I NEED to pack and what I WANT to pack. Our mode of transportation is different and I no longer want to wrestle with heavy luggage. When we take road trips, we can throw everything (including the kitchen sink) in the back of the van, but this trip will be different. Size and weight of luggage has become a huge issue.
The first item off the list of "want" to take is my computer. Only the tablet gets to travel on the plane, and I haven't been a real fan of tablets. Now I'm spending time with it, so that it is familiar to me when we're away from home. As long as I learn how to backup the pictures that I take (in case I lose my camera), the other stuff to do on the tablet will take the "second fiddle" position. I'm still trying to figure out how to post on NOTH.
We have recently learned that our accommodations will have laundry facilities, so won't need to take half of my wardrobe with me ... just a reasonable number of 'washable' items. Do the color coordinating at home, and then don't worry about it. Other vacationers won't care what I'm wearing, and if there are food stains on the front of my tee, just zip up my jacket until I get back to the cottage!
If you don't hear from me for several days, enjoy the silence!
