Garden Bridge

Garden Bridge
No matter where you are there's always a bridge to Home

Friday, December 10, 2010

Nothing New.


I was just checking all the family blogs, and realized that I haven't blogged for over a month. Actually nothing much happens around here. We took a couple of photos of Grandma Scott on Saturday to send to her brother Joseph and his wife Betty via my cousin Maureen their daughter who I talked to on the phone the other day for the first time in at least 44 years. It's been a real year for family reunions.

These are my cousins from my Dads side, who live in York, that we contacted a few months ago.
From the left, Janet, Jackie, Lesley and Keith. It's been really great to get back in touch with them.




Pictures of the cute doll dress cake that Tiffany made for Hopes birthday a few weeks ago, that we had to eat fast as they had to head back to her place.
We're almost ready for Christmas. How about you?

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Curtains

Well, to round out the pictures of the living room, to the left, this is a view of the curtains from the living room entrance, with the curtains open. The outer edge of the curtains are about seven or eight inches from the corner of the walls. We think the colors blend really nicely, and the open look is very good.
 To the right is a view from the other side of the room. Still very nice, the fireplace has to be on a slightly different angle than before, but it still works.
 Now to the left, this is the view once again from the room entrance with the curtains closed. This is a rather different look as we have never had solid closed curtains before, and it's taking some getting used to. From floor to ceiling is quite a swath of curtain, and Bev wonders if it looks like the room is getting smaller. Full length curtains like this are in vogue right now, but do you think it over powers the room. We like the curtains mind you. Just are wondering if they should just go to the top of the window instead. Of course that would be old and passe.
 To the right is the view (curtains closed) from the other side of the room. The picture quality is not good, but the look I think is nice. The curtains , the new paint on the walls and the new furniture all blend to give the room a welcoming and warm appeal. (I should write for home magazines).
Finally, to the left, a picture from further back looking in. I think that from here everything seems to blend much better and to be in just the right scale. The curtains don't overpower the rest of the room. Actually after a few days with the curtains up, the feeling is a lot nicer and more inviting, and we're getting used to and are really starting to like the new look. It's growing on us.







We fed the Missionaries tonight and we had a fun time with them. They made us think about Steve and how he would look and act doing the same kinds of things in Ontario. In fact one of the missionaries is from Ontario, just north of Steve's mission home, and from the same Stake as the Temple out there.
well let us know your thoughts and decorating tips. Bye for now.

Monday, November 1, 2010

New Rooms

 Well, blog time again. I haven't figured out yet how to move these pictures to exactly where I want them, or in the order they should be in.
The picture to the left, if this publishes right is the newly painted kitchen. We quite like the look. We are now trying to decide what to put above the cupboards. We are going to lose the bird houses for something more modern. Any ideas? You'll note the pear and the pumpkin, but Mom can't decide if she likes the look.


I threw in the picture to the right with the open cookbook, because it was funny. Mom decided we should have waffles and bacon for supper, and when she started to mix the batter, she couldn't remember all the amounts and etc. Twenty years of making it for all you guys and especially Steve, and we haven't had it hardly since Steve left. They were good though!!!

Above is the corner with the new paint. (picture with no curtains). The before corner has the blue curtains and should be to the right. Same chair of course. Do you think it looks better? We do.
Notice that we also have sanded down and restained and finished all the woodwork around the window and on the half walls.








To the left (I hope) is the couch and the old pink wall. Look how pink it is  next to the couch and new wall below. I guess we didn't quite get the leaves on the wall back in the same place. (Do we live a pretty boring life???). The new paint makes the furniture and picture look a lot better though don't you think?








Wow I snook in a picture of Mom cooking the bacon. She didn't want me to take the picture, but I don't think we take enough pictures of her.










After supper we painted the back entrance (first coat) and put up the new curtains in the living room. No picture of them yet as we are letting the look be soaked up for a while to see how we feel. We got 96 inch curtains, so they go from ceiling to floor. A new look in our house. Actually I think they look great. Picture to follow on next blog.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

FISH

 Well, I do believe it's going to be colder one of these days. Last night it went down to -6, and Friday night it was a low of -3. After last night I would assume that most of the flowers will be history. Although I thought that after the -3, but the roses and other plants still looked viable yesterday. Guess we'll see when it warms up. However, with the colder weather, I decided to move the fish to "winter quarters" yesterday before it got really to cold to be playing in the water.
We got a 30 gallon clear plastic tub, and I filled it with water out of the pond. I bought an air bubbler, so I can keep the water aerated, and I may have to buy a filter system.
                                                                                                      
I spent a couple of hours catching the fish and hauling them by bucket to the tub in the garage. It was amazing how big and fat the fish were. I got 17 of them, but we're sure there were 18, but I couldn't find another one any where. I'll check the pond for a day or so. (Editorial: found the 18th Sunday after church, and he's now in the tub).
So here's hoping we can keep them alive till next spring. Anyone an expert and have any thoughts. Maybe Jen knows a story about keeping fish that she can remember and write for us. I love her stories, and hope she keeps writing them.
Anyway, according to the fish guy at the pet shop, in an unheated garage that doesn't freeze, it will still get cold enough for the fish to go into a hibernation state for the winter (below 10 degrees celcius). So they won't eat much, and the water should stay fairly clean. I guess we'll see.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Linguine

Here is a dish Dad and I tried for supper tonight. It was excellent!

Philly Florentine Linguine

220 g  linguine, uncooked           1/2 c. Philadelphia Spinach Light Cr. Cheese
1 Tblsp. olive oil                          1/2 c. chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped                1/2 c. milk
1 clove garlic (optional)

Cook pasta according to package. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.  Add onions and garlic: cook and stir until crisp-tender. Add Philly; cook and stir until melted. Whisk in broth and milk; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until slightly thickened (do not boil). Drain pasta. Serve topped with sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Dad and I ate pretty much all of this, so 4 servings may be stretching a bit. It was very flavorful. Mom

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Fall Yard Blog





The above photos are fall views of our yard. Mom and I think there are some beautiful colors in the yard this year. Notice especially the Amur Maple next to the waterfall hill. What a beautiful red. We like it so much we went out yesterday and bought another one. They are both Amur Maple bushes. We want an Amur Maple tree for the front yard, and we have begun the search.

Well if you can imagine this as one page, then this is the article from the Westwind Weekly. Unfortunately it was almost 14 MB and I couldn't download it onto the blog without chopping the page in half. But as you can read they made it sound way better than it probably is. We were awarded a plaque and $25.00 from the Town of Raymond and a $25.00 gift certificate from the Raymond Pharmacy. Not bad for a couple of "Do it as you go" gardeners who most likely had no clue what they were doing or what the end result would be most of the time.
Now for all the goldfish fans out there. We bought a large clear plastic tub yesterday and talked to the fish guy at our favorite pet store, and we are now seriously prepared to try and save the goldfish this year. If we can do this, they just keep getting bigger each year. Now we're safe from all the animal rights activists.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Famous Yards.


Well, as you can see by the sign, it's official. We are the "Yard of the Week". Pictures will be in the Westwind Weekly this week. We usually get it on Fridays in the mail. Guess now we're famous. They put up the sign so people can find the yard of the week when they go looking for it. But I highly doubt that anyone will drive out here just to see a yard. The women who came and took the pictures a couple of weeks ago are coming tomorrow to give us a plaque or something. We'll put it in a prominent place of course. Unfortunately with the wet and cold weather we've had for the last three weeks or so since the wedding, the lawns are long and unkempt, and the yard really doesn't look stellar. Oh well!!!
We got the phone call today and OUR PILLOWS ARE IN LETHBRIDGE!!!! We'll probably try to go get them tomorrow. They'd better be the right ones this time. Actually the lady who helped Mom pick them out from a different company the last time we were in Bowdens is the person who left the message on the answering machine. So that fact alone makes it more promising that they are actually the right pillows.
Of course with the new pillows here, nothing will be looking right, so Mom will be even more motivated to want to start painting walls and replacing drapes. All the carpets in the house are being cleaned this Friday. So it has begun!!!
Just to let everyone know, I have been re-elected as a Trustee for another three year term. Of course it was by acclamation, But surely that means that everyone thinks I'm doing a great job. (That or no one cares). But I would hate to think that people are that apathetic about something so important. Lance Miller from Magrath got in by acclamation also, but all the other Trustees are being challenged, so there will be elections in Stirling, Raymond, Cardston and the Tri-Towns out west.
I'm looking forward to this new term as it will have many challenges and changes as Alberta Education is trying to redesign and revitalize the education process in Alberta. Stay tuned. I'm also in the middle of setting up and starting a Trustee Blog that will be accessible to all the Westwind constituents to see if I can get a dialogue going with the parents and students or whom ever in Westwinds. We got technology and we should be using it. There are a few Trustees in other divisions especially in the bigger cities who have done this, and I have followed a few of them. It's just another way to engage the public.
It looks like the weather is going to be really nice for a few days. Thank you for all the notes, blogs, phone calls and etc for Mom for her Birthday, she loved and appreciated them all.
Well that's all for now.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Thought I should write a few words today, after all it is a special day. We can't believe we've been together for 35 years. Lots and lots of wonderful memories. Can't ever remember being single. Can't believe how fast the years have gone by. Mostly can't believe our children are all grown up, and are doing so well with their own lives. Grandpa Wilde said to me just a few weeks ago when we were getting ready for the wedding; "You and Bev have such a beautiful family and all doing so well and staying so strong, and no ones gone astray yet." I laughed at the time, but I've thought about what he said many times since. I think Welling was a great place to raise a family. And I hope it will be a place the grandchildren will want to come back to often and that they will think of it as a great place to visit and to enjoy.
When the Westwinds Paper people were here yesterday taking pictures and asking questions, one question they asked was "Do your grandchildren like to come and play in this yard?". I thought about how empty our beautiful yard looked without children running around in it. I hope I'm not to overly protective of the yard when the kids are playing here, I realize I need to chill out sometimes when they're playing near the stream and pond. After all things can be fixed and put back together.
But they did ask an interesting question; "Who's the force behind all this, and who's idea was it?" We thought about this and decided that it's been a very joint venture. Something we both have enjoyed doing over the years. I highly recommend that all my children and their spouses find something that they enjoy doing together, and then immerse yourselves in it and see how much growth, enjoyment and pleasure you can deride from it. It really does help you grow together.
Well today was cold, overcast and rainy at times. Quite a bit different from September 13, 1975, when it was very warm and sunny and really a perfect summer day. I talked about this with a fellow at Ag Steel today, and he told me that he was celebrating his 54th wedding anniversary on the twenty something this month, (he remembered but I've forgotten the exact date he said), and he said it was a beautiful warm sunny day for them too. So... so much for global warming.
We went out to dinner at the Firestone restaurant to celebrate tonight and got home at about 8:00 or so and Mal said " Ooh, you stayed out late tonight". Happy 35th To us.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Haven't heard much from anyone since the Reunion. Madisson and Clayton phoned to let us know they had all arrived safely in Port Moody and we were grateful to them for calling us. We were a little concerned about the power steering pump on the Grand Caravan and had prayed it would not give them any troubles during the trip home. I think everyone in the family was very excited and happy to have had the Port Moody Coopers come and spend such a wonderful if short few days with us. We wish them all every success and happiness as they go back to their wonderful life experience out west. How about a post on the CoopSoup blog eh???
Thank you to all for coming to the reunion and having such a great time. I've thought a lot about how wonderful a time we had. Who knew that feeding ducks could be such a fabulous highlight at a family reunion? Aren't we glad that Chad insisted that we go to the Birds of Prey?
And aren't we happy at how fabulous a day it turned out to be for Mal and Cody's wedding. It was so threatening in the morning. Thanks to all of you for helping to make their day so wonderful.
I've had several people in the family comment that I don't post enough blogs on Warm Chinooks, but I don't always have pictures or anything that interesting to say. But maybe blogs can be more about just keeping everyone informed and involved. That's just a rambling thought. I've thought for a week that I should post something about the wedding and reunion, but didn't really know what to write. Anyway thanks once more for coming and making the week so much fun.
We're back to normal almost. Yard work (which we have seemed to put off a little more since the reunion) has recommenced. There are still lots of flowers blooming and the roses have all put out a bunch of new buds. If the frost will just hold off for a while yet, our gardens should look nice for another month or so. And we have started the newest project, fixing up the rickety old play house. About time eh? Mom envisions slides, fireman poles etc. (We're starting with a new coat of paint and a new lower level floor. Oh and a new ladder onto said floor and steps up to the upper floor). Better stop before we rebuild the whole thing.

Monday, August 23, 2010