Beautiful Blossoms

August 31, 2009 – Day 243

My clematis plants blossomed beautifully this year. Ken is planning to install a better trellis for them next year.

Supper

August 30, 2009 – Day 242

In case you had any doubt, a year is a long time to commit to take a picture a day, every single day! I’ve felt uninspired and lazy to take my picture for the last few days but we’re on the home stretch now and I really want to see this committment through. At the end of the year, I want to be able to say that I did this, even when it didn’t come easy! And I’m hoping my enthusiasm for this project will return very soon.

Tonight for supper Ken roasted (on the barbeque) the last of the potatoes Marilyn gave us from her garden. They were such a treat. We had scallops with shrimp and garlic bread as well.

Finished Basement...Coming Along

August 29, 2009 – Day 241

Ken has made a lot of progress on the basement; he has almost finished the drywalling (other than the crawlspace where the furnace is – that wall is going to take more work and he thinks he’ll probably put closet doors in that area).

Save-The-Date

August 28, 2009 – Day 240

We received this cute save-the-date card from my nephew Shayne and his wife Sandy in the mail yesterday. I was thrilled to see that they used one of the digital scrapbooking kits that I designed to create the card!

Christine threw a family potluck Christmas party/Chinese gift exchange a few years ago and it seems to have become an annual family tradition. With everyone going separate ways for Christmas day, it’s a wonderful way for us to get to spend a day of the season together and the party is so much fun every year. We exchange gifts (and with the Chinese gift exchange, you never know which gift you’ll end up going home with), catch up on what’s been happening with one another, share lots of laughter, take lots of pictures, and eat. There is always more than enough delicious food, with everyone bringing along a dish or two.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already time to start thinking about, and planning for, Christmas events but I’m looking forward to the family Christmas party on December 5th!

"Grapes"

August 27, 2009 – Day 239

On my walk to the bus this morning, I saw these grapes that need to be harvested (my fellow Farm Town farmers will understand)! :-)

Oops!

August 26, 2009 – Day 238

I created a little makeshift “set” in the guest bedroom for my Project 365 picture last night. I covered a small old desk and large heavy mirror that sat propped up on it with black velvet fabric and set my piggybank on the fabric. When I finished taking a few shots and was carrying my piggybank back to where it belonged, I heard a thump, followed by another thump and finally a loud crash. I knew immediately what had happened and my heart sank. The first thought that crossed my mind was…seven years of bad luck! Although I only paid $20 for the mirror at a garage sale several years ago, the replacement value is probably around $200 for another mirror of the same quality – and I really liked that mirror! I closed the door and left the mirror where it fell so I could use it for my P365 picture of the day today – and now I have to go in and clean it up.

And I simply refuse to believe or accept the superstition of seven years bad luck!

My Piggybank

August 25, 2009 – Day 237

Are adults supposed to have piggybanks? I have one – and this is it! I bought it many years ago at a garage sale and I love it as much now as I did when I bought it.

Homemade Borscht

August 24, 2009 – Day 236

I made a large pot of borscht late last week while Christine, Ian and the kids were visiting. Ken and I are just finishing the last of it now.

I don’t follow a recipe for borscht and the ingredients I use sometimes vary. In this batch of borscht I used: ham broth (I boiled a ham bone for about 3 hours to prepare the broth), a bit of cubed cooked ham, beets, beet greens, potatoes, peas, carrots, cabbage, dill, vinegar and sour cream. It was a real treat, especially because most of the ingredients came from my sister Marilyn’s garden.

So Long For Now

August 23, 2009 – Day 235

Another visit has come and gone in seemingly no time at all. I hate goodbyes but I’m happy that we were able to spend the last few days with Christine, Ian and the kids. Adam spent most of the weekend with us and it was nice to have him over as well.

Pancake Breakfast

August 20, 2009 – Day 232

We started our day off with a good old-fashioned homemade pancake breakfast. Hope is my granddaughter (my son-in-law Ian’s daughter from a previous marriage).

A Cute Puppy

August 19, 2009 – Day 231

Christine and Ian went shopping yesterday. One of the things they bought was a new Hallowe’en costume for Austin. He was excited to model it for us this morning.

The scrapes on Austin’s nose are from a tumble he took down the stairs at home last week.

Welcome Home

August 18, 2009 – Day 230

I was surprised to see my son-in-law, Ian, walking down the street to meet me when I got off the bus after work today. It wasn’t the Ian I’m used to though; he was wearing an old hat and wire rimmed glasses (from my collection of antiques) - and he was hobbling on a cane! I told him he was brave to walk down the street like that. He said it was okay because HE doesn’t know anyone in the neighbourhood! I had a good laugh.

Bountiful Harvest

August 17, 2009 – Day 229

I feel like I’ve won a real-life FarmVille lottery! :-)

Christine, Ian and the kids arrived this afternoon and will be staying with us until next Sunday. They stopped in Smoky Lake on their way down and spent a couple hours visiting my sister Marilyn. Marilyn planted a large garden this year and sent a box filled with these wonderful fresh-from-the-garden vegetables for me! I forgot to include the jar of canned beets (also from her garden) she sent along as well – I can’t wait to make a large pot of borscht with part of this bountiful harvest I’ve been blessed with.

A Favourite Cleaning Product

August 16, 2009 – Day 228

Christine, Ian and the family are coming for a visit this week so today was housecleaning day. I absolutely love this Vim product for washing my floors; it smells fresh, clean and fruity - and reminds me of the wonderful smell of my Aunt Gladys’s home.

Deck Spider

August 15, 2009 – Day 227

Ken came in from the backyard this morning to tell me he found something for me to take a picture of. What he found was this creepy-crawly spider on our deck. The spider was curled up sleeping in his web when I first saw it. I took a few pictures but Ken suggested we check back on it at different times of the day as the lighting changed. That’s what we did and this shot was taken at 10:15 in the evening. It was dark out but Ken shone a flashlight on the spider for my lighting. It was awake and busy, which led me to wonder if spiders are nocturnal.

Spiders really creep me out, far worse than grasshoppers.

The Best Jam

August 14, 2009 – Day 226

As far as I’m concerned, Kraft Strawberry jam is THE best! It’s the only jam I buy and it’s the only jam I ever remember seeing in Grandma Kunce’s cupboard. It’s one of those things that remind me of her. Dove soap is another – ah…another Project 365 idea! :-)

A Candy Store!

August 13, 2009 – Day 225

The business tower I work in is above the Edmonton City Center West mall. I knew McBain’s Camera store was going to be coming to the mall since I went to their downtown location to check out tripods a couple months ago. They were closed and there was a sign on the door that said they would be relocating to the mall in August. August seemed so far away but there was a new sign up today to announce their arrival. I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to photography equipment - I just wish camera equipment was as inexpensive as candy! It’s going to be hard to stay out of the store, and not spend money when I am drawn in! I’m going to have to try not to spend too much though because I’d like another professional lens - and that’s going to take some saving up.

Old Family Photos

August 12, 2009 – Day 224

A few years ago I did some in-depth research on my Grandfather Leo Kunce’s family history. My search took me out to B.C. in 2004 and again in 2005 to meet several of the current-day families of Leo’s brothers and sisters.

In 2005, I was graciously invited (by Leo’s sister Gladys’s family) to attend a Halldorson family reunion (Gladys Kunce married Joe Halldorson). It was exciting to meet several of my cousins that I never would have met had I not researched the Kunce family history.

Step-by-step and over the course of about 4 years, I was able to trace Leo’s family back to the mid 1700s. A few of the cousins I met along this great adventure shared photographs with me, which I scanned and returned to them. That was the first time I’d seen pictures of my great grandparents – and it was thrilling. It was also the first I knew that Leo’s mother, Ida Alice Kunce, was buried in High Prairie, the town I’d grown up in. Once I’d discovered that she was buried right there in my old home town, I went to visit her grave site and took pictures of her headstone.

I could go on for hours about the things I learned about the Kunce family but I’ve created a private family website where I’ve uploaded many of the photos and other interesting information I discovered along the way. If you’re related to me, haven’t yet been invited to the site, and you’re interested in seeing it, please let me know and I’ll send you an invitation.

I bought this old-style photo album at a garage sale, some old black photo corners at another garage sale and printed many of the old family pictures to add to the album. There are 210 old photos in this album, ranging in dates from 1881 to the mid 1970s. I display it on the coffee table in my living room, as it would perhaps have been displayed in the 1940s or 50s - and it is one of my absolute most-favourite things.

The Marketplace

August 11, 2009 – Day 223

Today at work Laura (my co-worker friend and fellow addicted virtual farmer) clued me in to Farm Town’s Marketplace! It’s a place where Farm Town’s virtual farmers can go to hire other virtual farmers to harvest and plow our crops. When we hire help to harvest and plow our fields, we earn many more coins per harvested crop! We can also hire ourselves out to work on other virtual farmers’ crops and earn even more coins.

I was so excited and couldn’t wait to try it when I got home. My cabbage patch was ready to harvest at 6:00 so I went to the marketplace and hired someone to harvest it for me and plow the fields afterward. Once that was done and I’d replanted the fields (with raspberries which are ready and waiting for me to harvest as I write this), I went back to the marketplace to look for work – and I was hired! My first job was in a large field and the farmer’s instructions were to harvest anything and everything that needed to be harvested. I began, but after harvesting about four things, my computer booted me out of the game.

Back to the marketplace I went and another farmer, named Miss Kittee, hired me shortly after. My task in that field was to plow a small field. I did - and it was very exciting to be working in someone else's field. When I finished the job, Miss Kittee said, “Thanks for being so fast!”, so I guess my first job as hired farm help was a success!

Busy Day in The Kitchen

August 10, 2009 – Day 222

In preparation for an upcoming visit of Christine, Ian and their family, I did some cooking and baking today to have on hand in the freezer. I cooked meatballs, prepared two packages of homemade pancake mix and baked banana/chocolate chip muffins and tried a new Rice Krispie cookie recipe my friend Jen gave me a couple months ago. I tasted the cookies at her place one evening and they were delicious.

I’ve taken a picture of my banana/chocolate chip muffins for Project 365 earlier this year so the cookies got the attention today.

Grasshopper

August 9, 2009 – Day 221

Normally we see very few, if any, grasshoppers in our area but this year there have been several. This one was clinging to the siding of our house when I was watering my flowers this evening. They give me the creeps but I think it would be even creepier to try to kill them...I imagine they'd make a big crunch. ewwww

Finished Basement...The Beginning

August 8, 2009 – Day 220

After doing some prep in the last couple weeks, Ken started putting up drywall in the basement today. Adam came for coffee this morning and helped a bit while he was here. This is going to be a long term project for Ken but I can’t wait to have a finished basement!

Shorter Days

August 7, 2009 – Day 219

The evenings are getting noticeably shorter. It’s only been about six weeks since our longest day of the year - when it was light out until 11:00 p.m., but now it’s pretty much dark by 9:30. I took this picture at 8:48 this evening.

The Hat

August 6, 2009 – Day 218

Seven of us from the office went to “The Hat” for lunch today. “The Hat” was once “The Silk Hat”. The Silk Hat was my favourite hole-in-the-wall place to get a burger. In my opinion, they made the tastiest burger in the entire city. I loved the place and the burgers so much that I even scrapbooked a page or two of the old Silk Hat! This was my first visit to the restaurant since it changed hands several months ago and I had grand expectations of ordering my usual delicious cheeseburger that compared with none other the city has to offer. I’m not a picky eater so even a reasonable facsimile would have my taste buds dancing.

I ordered The Special, basically a cheeseburger deluxe with all the fixings. When it arrived, I thought I was in for a special treat – it looked delicious! And it was huge; this is a picture of the burger after being assembled but before being squished down! I couldn’t even manage it squished down though; I had to remove the hamburger patty from the bun and cut it in half. Even then it was a large burger.

Unfortunately however, I was disappointed with the meal. The fries were hot, fresh and crunchy but much too salty and the gravy, which was an additional $1 ½ (as they price items on the menu) for a very small bowl, was thick and pasty – not at all tasty. The hamburger had an “off” taste. I thought it was because I’m not used to eating banana peppers on my burger so I picked them off. It still wasn’t quite “right” but I ate it because I was famished and not going to waste $14 ¾. Once I finished my bun, I tasted a piece of the remaining half of my hamburger patty. It was then that I realized it was the meat itself that tasted “off”. Not “off” as in spoiled but one of the girls at the table thought they may have used sage in it. Whatever it was, I didn’t care for it and couldn’t eat the remainder of the meat. The soggy yellow coleslaw wasn’t worthy of more than the cautious first taste.

It was an adventure though and I’m glad I went along. Now I know what I’ve been missing. What I’ve really been missing is The Silk Hat! And I don’t think I’ll be going back to The Hat.

Hey, it's Spiderman!

August 5, 2009 – Day 217

I don’t know why Spiderman, a couple other superheroes and a cameraman were hanging out on top the Sutton Place Hotel today, but there they were! The Sutton Place Hotel is across from the building I work in and was my picture of the day on January 7th if you want to see how tall it is (maybe 28 floors or so).

Rooster-mania

August 4, 2009 – Day 216

I collect roosters – absolutely love them! When Travis, Amanda and the kids came to visit a couple weeks ago, they brought me a box filled with awesome rooster goodies…ornaments, salt and pepper shakers, placemats, a napkin holder, etc. This guy is one of my favourite of the bunch.

Good Intentions

August 3, 2009 – Day 215

The Student Union Ticket Packs (SUTP) are great little coupon books. They cost $20 and more often than not, I buy one in the fall from someone at work. The sales from the coupon books raise money for schools in the city and if you actually use the coupons you can save a great deal of money. Every year my intentions are good. I start out being enthusiastic about the coupon book and determined to faithfully use the coupons - but it doesn’t take long for me to forget about the book altogether.

I’ve kept it at work thinking that if I go out for lunch I could use the coupons - and surely if I have the book on hand, I’ll remember to use them! But I didn’t. So I thought I’d bring it home and make an effort to check the coupons before I go shopping each week! But I haven’t.

Almost all of the coupons expire at the end of this month so I thought Adam might be able to use some of them before they do. When he came for coffee on the weekend, I offered to give him the book. He said he might not remember to use the coupons either but he would take it. When he left, the coupon book was still sitting on the kitchen table. I guess if he can’t even remember to take it with him, he probably isn’t going to remember to use the coupons any better than I am!

This year I am more determined than ever - determined NOT to buy the coupon book again!

Bonus Room View - Summer

August 2, 2009 – Day 214

Truth is, I was uninspired to take pictures today so I thought it was a good time to take an updated photo of the view from our bonus room window (no thinking necessary).

Storm

August 1, 2009 – Day 213

We had a storm come through late this afternoon. When it began, the winds were strong and I thought we may have a repeat of the devastating storm that tore through the city on July 18th. However this storm turned out to be short lived and uneventful. It was actually refreshing after our hot 30C day.