I have a sister. She is eight years older than I am. As children, it was a big difference. While I was interested in dolls, she was interested in boys. So my memories of those early years are sketchy. I do remember how she saved foil wrappers from candy (of which we had very little) for months so that at Easter she wrapped our Easter candy in gold and silver foil and hid it outside. It was a year that was sunny, warm, and dry and it was such fun to find the little treasures.
As we became adults, the age difference meant less and less. We found we had much in common, not the least is shared family memories. She was the one who helped me move my parents into a seniors facility. We went through their belongings and dealt with a lifetime of stuff. It was like a trip into our childhood. She helped with their care as well, even to living with my dad for a period of time after my mom was placed in a nursing home.
We also did a number of trips together–Paris, London and research trips to Montana and the Dakotas. Such fun we had. So many memories.
My sister lives a 12-hour drive away. A long way. I see her so seldom and often in busy family situations. But I am about to change that. I am going to visit her. I’m not driving but taking an airplane.
We won’t be wrapping candy, taking care of parents, or traveling for either pleasure or research. But we will be making more memories and rehashing the old ones. It will be our own sister act.
A Thanksgiving Thought
There are so many things to be thankful for.
Family, friends, good health, food, clothing and a warm house. So many things than we don’t acknowledge until they are taken away. Let’s remember them this weekend.
I am especially grateful for the freedom we have, the good land we live in and God’s eternal, unfailing, unchanging love.
Blessings to each of you.
I’ve been robbed.
I work hard all summer anticipating fall when I can relax and enjoy the beautiful colors and moderate temperatures. Instead, I get this.
The leaves are still on the trees which means if the snow gets heavy there could be some serious damage.
Not that there isn’t a certain beauty about it.
Yes, I feel like I’ve been robbed of my favorite season.
But for the farmers, they are seeing their annual income in the fields under snow.
I hope there is good weather in store.
In the meantime, I am busy working on a new series of stories. More about that later.
That’s My Excuse
Seen recently on Facebook:
Mother Nature: You can’t get four seasons into one week.
Alberta: Watch me.
So that explains it. I am Albertan from beginning to present so it’s in my DNA to try and pack too much into a week. My to-do list is often ridiculous in length. Sometimes I succeed in completing it. Sometimes I don’t. But I keep on trying.
Aren’t pithy sayings great? They say something we are thinking and hadn’t put into words or something we hadn’t thought of but as soon as we read them we nod and go, uh huh. That’s right.
Here are a couple of pithy sayings I have in my picture file. Read, think and enjoy.
HARVEST
‘All hard work yields a profit.’ This was the motto at school for my children one year. It’s also a Proverb in the Bible.
This week, our hard work did indeed yield a profit. A bountiful one. Carrots and potatoes that are more than enough to last us for the winter.
It got me thinking about other kinds of harvest. Such as ‘A gentle answer turns away wrath.’ ‘Those who sow with tears shall reap with joy.’ ‘As you sow, also shall you reap.’
I want to be more mindful of what I sow whether it is hard work in the garden that yields our food, kind words that make life more pleasant for everyone or even days spent writing a book so it might go out and be read by many.
Go, plant good deeds, good words and hard work.
A PET PEEVE
I have a pet peeve. Well, actually, many of them but I only want to mention one today.
Hay. Yes, hay. Dried grass, alfalfa or a mix used to feed cows and horses. Hay can be sweet or dusty and musty. It can be put up as small square bales under 100 pounds that can be handled by a man or large squares and round bales weighing several hundred pounds which require a tractor or truck to move.
Why, you may well ask, is hay a peeve for me? I will tell you. It isn’t exactly hay but rather, how it is portrayed in historical movies and stories. How often have I read that someone tossed a bale of hay to the horses or have I seen cowboys perched on bales as they sit and chat or sing? In the 1800s. Where, I wonder, is the baler to make those bales? Or the tractor to power the baler?
A bundling/binding machine was invented in 1872. But not until 1936 was an automatic baler developed. Even then, one needed a tractor and money to buy both machines. No, my dear reader, back then hay was put up by hand. Stacked in haystacsk. Put loose into a hayloft or stored in well packed stacks.
Typical, the work was done by a man with a wagon and pitchfork but there were men who came up with creative ways to make the work easier.
I guess it comes down to paying attention to the details of the era in which we write.
How about you? Do you have a pet peeve about inaccurate historical details?
My Work Here is Done
I have a nine-year-old granddaughter staying with me. Entertaining her has included many things–the splash park, the library, Discovery Park where we watched an entertaining bear show teaching about bear safety and protecting bears in the wild. Sort of protecting humans and bears at the same time.
We also visited Fort Normandeau historic site. Once known as The Crossing because it was the best place to cross the Red Deer River when traveling north or south. The fort is gone but it is marked out with paving stones and a small replica has been built. There was a large tipi, some buffalo bones and a very nice visitors center. The place was calm and peaceful–even the granddaughter commented on that.
Granddaughter enjoyed the museum so much she wants to go to more of them. It’s on the agenda for this coming week.
Yup. My work here is done.
SUMMER IS….
Summer is …
SHORT: A time to do all the outdoor maintenance, repairs and building. A time to enjoy the flowers and the lawn (weeding and mowing) How is it that days that start so early, end too soon as we try to pack in every summer activity?
BUSY: Trying to pack everything into the few summer weeks creates a sometimes-hectic pace. All of the above plus a huge vegetable garden keeps us busy. But when the cold winter weather comes, I am so grateful to be able to use the produce from my freezer or root cellar.
Throughout the summer we are busy trying to do everything we’ve dreamed of all winter.
EXTREME WEATHER:
Vicious storms boil in. We’ve managed to escape anything damaging but there has been damaging hail in other places. There’s been extreme heat, recently followed by a 20 degree drop in temperature the next day. Extremes!
A TIME FOR MAKING MEMORIES –.
Trips to the lake, picnics, berry picking, lazing in the sun (or more likely, the shade), the splash park.
So much to do. So little time. It will soon be over.
I hope each and every one of you is enjoying your best summer ever.
WELCOME TO BENT’S FORT
You have been traveling via wagon train for months. You have faced challenges beyond imagination including delivering a baby and caring for her. But finally, a fort appears on the horizon.
You know that here you will find a respite from the constant dust and the never-ending travel.
Come on in and enjoy yourself. You’ll find everything you need. Even a bed.
With winter coming on, this might be where you will spend the next few months.
Read Donna Grace’s story of the trip she made and the adventures she experienced on her trip along the Santa Fe Trail.
Available now
Right here:
https://tinyurl.com/y9op6u5g
SOME THINGS ARE WORTH THE EFFORT
Welcome to my flower garden. Be warned, I don’t spend a lot of time on it. In fact, every year I say this will be the last year for flowers. With a huge vegetable garden and acres of lawn and yard, who has time for flowers? But every year I enjoy them so much I continue.
Here are some red roses–an unexpected treat. One year my husband gave me one of those tiny rosebushes. Probably for mother’s day. Come spring and it was beyond it’s best before date, I decided to stick it in the ground. And now, years later, it is thriving. It is about 2 feet tall and covered in red roses all summer. 
Here is my brick planter in front of my big picture window. And yes, that is red chard forming the backdrop. It looks nice and tastes good.
I have sunflowers right outside my office window. I leave them up for the winter and they attract birds to eat the seeds.
I’ve come to the conclusion that flowers are worth the effort they take.
It’s much the same with life. Some things take a lot of effort and I wonder if they are worth it. A trip to the lake with the grandkids, for instance. Or taking time to visit friends or even sit outside and enjoy the summer evening. But in the end, these things are worth the effort. At least I think so.