Monday Musings

On Saturday Big C and I spent the morning relaxing indoors with Little C in our air conditioned house. We dressed for the day, tidied the house then packed our car and drove to the next town over for Big C's Grandpa's (we'll call him GB) 80th birthday party.

It was a backyard affair, with 2 tents erected for shade so all of GB's friends and family could visit as pleasantly as possible in the searing heat (+38 C with the humidity). I enjoyed visiting with my sister-in-law, and watching the little cousins play with the sprinkler and the slip n slide. Little C got passed around so often, that besides feeding him indoors and glancing around once in a while to see where he was, I never saw him! Babies have that effect on people ;)

On Sunday, again we relaxed in the morning.The heat wasn't too bad, or at least not as bad as Saturday. We are a bunch that is used to cold weather 6 months out of the year, so when it changes dramatically for the other 6 months, we're not used to it! People talk about the weather here a lot, because it is certainly not constant. Heck, in one day it can go from snow to rain to sunny skies and bathing suits (mostly in the springtime this happens, and I'm not exaggerating). So it is a wonderful ice breaker, because there's so much to talk about!

On Sunday afternoon I packed up Little C and I in the car and we drove to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum (MAM) to help out my mom and sister gather vintage clothes to prepare for the fashion show that they put on during the Threshermen's Reunion. Big C was helping my dad work on the 110 Case steam engine that they run during the Reunion. I used to help operate it as well, before I had Little C. Now I'm not sure when I'll go back to it, as I don't want the baby around all the wood/coal smoke and hot boilers. Maybe once Little C is not dependent on me for food someone else can look after him while I have some fun on the 110. But until then I am trying to find my niche in the Ladies Building.

 
Big C and I in front of the 110.

Sunday was a special day, as it was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! My sister and I walked with my mom to the little chapel where our parents were married, she walked down the aisle and reminisced about her wedding day.  We ate supper in the open shed beside the steam engines and my parents talked about their wedding, which was the first one to take place on the museum grounds.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend!

Happy Canada Day!

Right now the house is quiet. Both Big and Little C are still sleeping and I get a few hours all to myself! I was up late last night preparing for a small dinner party that we're hosting today. My sister and her fiance, and my parents are coming over to help celebrate Canada Day! Not sure if there will be fireworks tonight, as the weather is still wet and rainy, but nevertheless we will have fun together, we always do!

I will post a few pictures of our party tomorrow. It's not super fancy or impressive, but that's not the point of having a party. We're just here for a good time :)

Happy Canada Day! We're so lucky to live here in this diverse, bountiful, peaceful country.

Monday Funday

Whew, we are being Rained. Out. here in what is typically Sunny Manitoba. Since this spring was such a slow melt (ie. the snow took it's time to melt in slow stages) we had minimal flooding and everyone thought they were off the hook. Now we've been deluged with stormy weather and these prairie plains are not equipped to handle this much moisture in one weekend. Between the wind and the rain there's been quite a lot of damage around these parts.

Just outside of Brandon, MB

Cottonwood Campground (Treherne, MB)

Outside of Virden, MB

 (source: Facebook)
 

Although Manitoba does have many freshwater lakes, these areas are nowhere near them. This is all farmland that has been flooded.The wind has been clocked at everything between 74 to 96 km/hour all over the south of the province. Rural homes everywhere have been without power for a few days now, Winnipeg homes are experiencing brown water problems, Brandon is declaring a state of emergency, and it's all just a big wet mess.

However, Big C and I are very lucky compared to some. We are experiencing wind and rain, but it's relatively 'dry' here (our village is located in the hills, not a valley), we have no water in our basement, our power stayed on and we're snuggled in our home, safe.

On Saturday, Big C had plans to help my Dad get the steam engine he adopted ready for the Threshermen's Reunion at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum (this is a whole 'nother blog post) but when the rain started, they decided to postpone until it was dry. We stayed indoors and just hung out for the most part, watching movies and playing with Little C.

That evening the rain had let up and I took Little C with me to a book party. It's like a makeup or jewelry party, but for book nerds! A friend was putting it on for an acquaintance of hers who is selling children's 'Barefoot' books. After ordering 6 books (and winning one more) I had to curb my shopping impulse, chat with the other women who came, thank the hostess, and leave. It was a fun evening and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

On Sunday it was storm day, so Big C and I hung out inside. He parked his bum on the couch to watch an 'Animaniacs' marathon (even 30 year olds need to revisit their childhood!) and I caught up on some blog posts. We played with Little C while he was awake, and while he was napping, brought out our new juicer to learn how to make fresh orange juice (FYI it's really easy). Using the juice, I whipped up 2 different concoctions for us to enjoy! The night ended with us starting to sleep train Little C (which basically involves not rocking him to sleep anymore, just cuddling for a bit then putting him down and letting him go to sleep on his own). We're very lucky with Little C, he's an amazing sleeper and he just talked to himself for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. No crying involved! Still, it tears at my heart that our little baby is not so little anymore. Every step of independence is a step away from me, and I'm not quite ready to give in to that yet!

Hope everyone has an amazing week! I'm off to plan a little Canada Day party for tomorrow!

Monday Musings

This weekend was all about R & R!

On Saturday the day started out warm, as +30 C temps rolled into our village. Big C and I went for a walk in the morning with the baby and the dog to check out what was new around town. We stopped at the local grocery store for weekend ingredients and then made our way back home to do a few indoor chores.

After lunch we all went outside to enjoy a backyard bonfire while relaxing on our canopy swing. As it was the summer solstice, I wanted to commemorate it with a fire. We managed to weed part of our garden in between enjoying the flames and feeding Little C. As we were up so late the night before, watching movies and eating popcorn, and up so early with Little C, this night we were in bed by 10:30pm.

Sunday we all woke up later than usual and enjoyed a lazy morning. Once we were all up and dressed we hopped in the car and drove East to Ma's Drive Inn, located in Elm Creek. The owner is an acquaintance of ours and every year he hosts a fundraiser, where 100% of the weekend's profits are given to a great charity, 'Children's Wish'. This charity raises money to grant children aged 3-17 who are terminally ill a wish they desire. By far the most popular wish is a trip to Disney World.

 Little C enjoying his first Drive Inn experience with his Grandpa C, who drove out from Winnipeg to lunch with us!



After spending a few hours at the drive inn and visiting with friends, we made our way to my parents' house, as they were puppysitting Peggy Sue. We had supper and visit with my family and drove home at about 8pm. By that time the bathtub was calling Little C's name to splish splash, and then hit the hay!

Lovely House

Whew, what a weekend!

Here in Manitoba we have a tradition called socials. It originated with the Ukranian immigrants as way to support an engaged couple by raising funds for their wedding. Usually the wedding party and family host it, although lately the bride and groom are becoming heavily involved as well. It generally involves raffle prizes, alcohol and dancing. It's almost always hosted on a Saturday night from 9pm-1am.

Big C and I got engaged in September of 2011 and had our social a year later in October 2012. It would have been sooner as we wanted a short engagement but Big C's sister was also engaged and was adamant that they have their wedding festivities first. Rather than cause a fuss or rush our engagement further, we chose to prolong it. In the end it was fine, as we were able to save more money to have a big party, which is was Big C wanted.

Our social was held in our local rink, and our families and wedding party did a fantastic job! We had many auction prizes, tons of drinks and a live band. We made quite a bit of money which helped us a lot with our wedding.

My sister (and maid of honour) and I posing before my social. Thunder buddies for life!

Big C and I dancing our first dance at our social at the beginning of the night to kick off the party. It was a 'casual affair' but I chose to dress up as much as I could with sequins!










This past weekend it was my little sister's wedding social! It was held in her fiance's hometown, not far from mine. The whole Saturday was so busy, as her shower was held that afternoon and then my parents hosted a picnic-style supper for 40 people consisting of sandwiches, cheese, salads and for dessert...cookies in pails! Afterward Big C and I rushed home to change and drop off Little C with the babysitters (Big C's mom and step-dad), then drove to the hall. We had every intention of volunteering our time to help out, but each offer with shot down with a friend saying 'go have fun!' So that's exactly what we did!

 Big C and I, getting our fun on.

Me and my sister...She's making a beautiful bride-to-be!










It was a fantastic night full of friends and family, and we finally tiptoed into our house at 3am.

On Sunday morning we woke up late, around 9:30am, which shocked me. Little C was still sleeping so I made coffee and visited with my mother-in-law. When he woke, I fed him and then made a simple brunch for the family of bacon and fried eggs.

After the in-laws left, I proceeded to bake a chocolate cake (which later my dad was shocked to learn meant 'from scratch') and around 4:30 we left to go to my parents' home for Sunday supper. This was an extra special supper because we had friends from Fargo who came up for the shower and social, and it was Father's Day!

We arrived home after a long weekend around quarter after 11pm, put the baby to bed, and proceeded to get ourselves ready for bed to prepare for another week! 

Here's the thing...

I read a lot of blogs. Like, a LOT of blogs. I've got a good 20 on my roster and I try and read each article the day it's posted. And sometimes a blog will lead me to another blog and I spend a day or two catching up on the last 6 months of their stuff, and so on and so forth. I love to read, I'm fairly quick at it, so it's something that doesn't take up a lot of my time and I enjoy it. But there is one thing that annoys me.

Out of all these beautiful blogs, there is only one that is even remotely close to where I am geographically. All these other blogs are based in California or Texas or Alabama or New York. Big places that are totally different from what I experience everyday. I don't have a guide for experiencing my area. And I feel like this is something that people need to be aware of. Manitoba is considered back-country, basically boring. We're not cosmopolitan like Toronto, Ontario or terrifyingly unique like Vancouver, B.C...But it's not! I mean, it can be, but boring is a state of mind, rather than a social death sentence.

Being on Mat Leave until next February means I have quite a bit of time to spend with Little C. I'd like to show myself and the world that there are fun things to do and pretty things to look at here in Manitoba. This will most likely be a slow and arduous journey for those who are way more technologically advanced than me, but be patient, because I'm going to learn the ropes!

I think this will help create momentum for myself to become the person I want to be, so I'm thinking this will be an educational journey as well as a personal one!

Thoughts on Glamour

About a week after I gave birth to Little C I developed a blood clot in my thigh. It's a risk of pregnancy and was brought on by the trauma of delivery. I was more prone to the risk because I have one copy of factor V, which is a blood clotting disorder. I had gotten phlebitis about 7 years ago when a friend of mine died and a bunch of us drove out to Alberta for the funeral.
(I live in the MB part, basically where the blue dot is)
 Being stuck in the back of a truck for 19 hours there and 19 hours back brought it on. With the drama of that experience, I learned what to look for in case it ever happened again.

Ta-daaa.

Ok, so when I saw the red circle and felt the sore leg, I called the Dr's office immediately and was brought in same day to get an ultrasound done. It was a bit of a runaround, 20 minutes there, an hour and a half here, an hour back, but the long story short is the clot was 1 cm away from being a DVT and I was put on warfarin pills and fragmin shots. It was very dramatic at the time but things have settled down now. I go to the hospital and get my blood INR tested monthly to make sure my blood is therapeutic (ie. not too thin and not too thick).

Today I hadn't showered, I wore pants that hadn't been washed in quite some time, a shirt that 'fit' (although it feels too short) and a teal sweater. I only have one pair of black flats that feel comfy so I wore those (carrying a baby around is hard work). My hair was down except for the front part being pinned back. I felt frumpy but I was in a hurry.

After my blood was taken, I walked down to the nurses station to say hi to my mom (she's a nurse there), and one of the nurses complimented me on my outfit. Something 'are going somewhere fancy? You're all dressed up' came out of her mouth. I kinda didn't know what to say, so what came out of my mouth is "umm, these pants fit. And this shirt is clean. I don't know why I'm wearing a sweater, it's hot outside har har har...but thanks for the compliment!".

So I guess it just goes to show that glamour is in the eye of the beholder. She thought I was dressed up fancy and I thought I was dressed 'ok'. I made a conscious effort to wear makeup (which I will try to do more often) and that's just a confidence booster.

Glamour in Manitoba is almost laughable. Canada is such a multicultural world that it has no place for a one size fits all, pigeonhole 'glamorous' model. Manitoba, especially, seems like a big fashion drought. We're not Parisian, we're not beach babes, we're not boho-chic, we're not exotic. But... somehow we take a smidgen of this and a dash of that and accept everyone's style with a grain of salt. I imagine most of our style is 'American' but even that's not entirely true. Canada, especially the Prairies, should, and does, have it's own unique brand of style and I hope I can find it.