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Holidays Life Uncategorized

Happy Anniversary

Back in July my husband and I celebrated our 21st Anniversary. This year we ordered a pizza and watched a movie at home. It wasn’t a fancy evening out but that’s not what we like anyway. He likes going to restaurants and we have a really great one about 30 minutes away called Turtle Grove, which is where we usually end up going. This year though we both had to work early and the kids were spending time with Grandma and Grandpa so we took the opportunity and decided to watch tv! We ate what we wanted and watched what we wanted…nothing can top that haha! Hopefully next year we can get back to our yearly vacations.

The following adventure was from a 2017 in Drumheller, Alberta. It was so hot the entire time we were there (above 30). The year before we went there as well and we took the kids. We all had a blast and I’m pretty sure they sat on 98% of the dinosaurs around town. We didn’t have the chance to do any of the grown up things. Once we decided to do the Drumheller trip again with just us, I got straight to work with finding all the things that I wanted to accomplish.

We took a tour of the Atlas Coal Mine, had supper at The Last Chance Saloon in Rosedale, took a stroll across the suspension bridge, watched a spectacular sunset at Horsethief Canyon, explored the Hoodoos, had a history lesson during the Guided Ghost Walk and so much more! With the kids in 2016 we went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, visited the World’s Largest Dinosaur, went to the parks, and enjoyed some amazing short walks around the neighborhood.

Drumheller is such a beautiful place and if you have the chance you should be sure to visit. It has something for everyone to do, this isn’t just a dinosaur town 😀

Hope you’re having a great week so far!

-Ang

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Life Uncategorized

Physio

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

I finally had my first physio appointment last week. I was on the wait list for 10 months due to Covid and I was very surprised to hear from them.

I’ll just go through really quick as to what happened. Last October, my husband and I were out hunting and we were on the quad to go on a tiny trail that a couple of other hunters had gone down and recommended. The trail led across a small stream and up a hill on the other side. We made it to the top but because of the slope we had to take, I was worried about going back down. I was worried that the quad was going to roll. None-the-less, we headed back and as I was getting myself comfortable and ready to brace for the ride down, we started on our way. I wasn’t quite ready though and the quad jumped a bit as we went over a (small) tree root. It was enough of a jump that my foot came down harder than I was ready for and with the impact of the foot rest thing combined with the force of my foot…

It was so painful. More painful than anything I had experienced in my life. I’m so grateful my kids weren’t there! They would’ve been so scared. I was in so much pain I passed out and I nearly threw up.

So the physiotherapist couldn’t get access to my ultrasound results but she could see the x-ray results. She told me that she is almost positive that I have a tear in the medial meniscus in my left knee. I was worried that the exercises I was doing was doing more harm than good since it was always hurting so much. She also informed that I have arthritis in my knee.

Ligaments like to be pushed but she said that the ligaments were assisting the meniscus which is why the ligaments on the side of my calf were bubbled up so much. SO…

New set of exercises, back on anti-inflammatories and icing it regularly.

I’m worried about telling my new job because I need to unload 2 trucks a week and I don’t want them to think I don’t want to do it.

Yesterday my leg hurt so bad I couldn’t even straighten in and I could barely put any weight on it. Today it still hurts so I’ll skip the exercises and hope for the best.

***Also, on an unrelated side note… We have kittens that need to go. If you know anyone that would like a new kitten, please let me know! If they’re in Sask and not too far away then delivery could even be figured out. There are 2 calicos and 2 tabbies. They are already great little hunters and would make fabulous farm cats.***

-Ang

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Life Uncategorized

Lake Day

I can’t believe how fast the time is going. My youngest just turned six and is about to start grade 1 in a couple of weeks. We celebrated his birthday at the lake where my husband’s family has a cabin. It was my first time there this year and it was so relaxing. All the cousins got to spend time in the water and they had so much fun just being kids.

Not a whole lot else got done that weekend. I worked until 9:30 Saturday night and then we got things packed up to go Sunday morning. Myself and 5 kids stayed over until Monday which was an interesting experience to say the least.

Sunday was hot. It was above 30 and mostly uncomfortable. Even down by the water was hot when there is usually a cooler breeze to be enjoyed. It started to get smoky in the late afternoon and smokier still as the evening wore on. I love to get sunset pictures down on the beach but they will have to be done another time.

The kids were up past midnight and out of bed by 5:30 so they were pretty worn out. My 11 year old insisted he was not tired but almost fell asleep on the way home and by 7 he had passed out on the couch while he siblings were fighting. We left him alone because it was much quieter LOL!

I remember fighting with my sister while we were growing up but I don’t think it was as bad as my kids do. Or maybe it was and I just don’t remember? Apparently sibling rivalry has been around since the beginning of time.

Hope you are having a great summer so far!

-Ang

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Life Uncategorized

Hello August

Jackfish Lake, SK- The sun is about to set in the smoky sky

I sit here sipping my coffee which is now starting to get cold. I’m not outside this morning because I have have a bunch of computer work to catch up on and it’s drizzling enough to not have my laptop outside. We need the rain but I know it won’t add up to be much. They’re saying less than a millimeter. Over the last couple of months I have watched our marshes dry up and the ditches go brown. My rainwater reserves ran dry long ago. I’m grateful we have a good sand point so we can still water the garden without fear of running our well dry.

The fires this year are horrendous. They always are but the dry conditions are making it more dangerous for everyone. We’ve had a couple of fires within 25-30 minutes of our home but they were small and easily contained. We have been lucky in our area. The families further north have many more fires to worry about!

Are there any fires that are close to where you are?

A group of elk is commonly known as a herd but may also be referred to as a gang

It’s so hard to believe that August is here. We were finally able to spend a day at the lake as a family 🙂 I worked my very last shift at my job this past Saturday and so we just filled the next coupe of days with a little much needed r&r! We headed to my sister’s place for a quick little visit and got to see some wildlife on the way home. We also went past an elk farm and though they aren’t wild elk, the kids still really enjoyed seeing them.

Making ripples of fun in the water

We headed back home afterwards and got things ready to spend a couple of hours down at the lake. The two oldest kids went fishing while the youngest wanted nothing more than to play in the water so that’s what we did. We all had a great day. After the sun set, the big dragonflies all came out to show off their flying skills while they had their bedtime snacks. We set off for home after enjoying the show for awhile to get the kids to bed so we could go back the next day for more fun, fishing and sun.

In the slideshow below I have an adorable chipmunk that took me a million tries to get just one photo that was acceptable. My daughter out swimming where it shows the smoke over the lake. Normally we can see the other side of the lake quite clearly. The next one is my oldest with the 3 pound Jack (otherwise known as a northern pike) he caught. And lastly is another shot of the lake showing how thick the smoke was. We have had thicker smoke but we stay inside whenever possible.

I have a few photos from my drives into work from my last couple of shifts. I am going to miss those early morning drives watching the sunrises ❤ I won’t miss the 4am alarm though LOL.

Foggy mornings are always so beautiful and my camera just doesn’t do these images justice. The fog was dancing gleefully in the low ditches, swirling happily through the trees and fence posts. If only I had time to get out and listen, I’m sure I would’ve heard playful laughter before it all began to lift as the sun got higher in the sky. The cemetery is just on the other side of the highway from my little village. I’m forever in awe in the beauty there. I used the noir filter for this shot, of course because of the fog. The reality was a different feeling all together. It was mysterious as the orange hues of morning shone through the fog, instead of the spooky feeling I tried to create here.

What did you do for the long weekend?

Have a beautiful week everyone!

-Ang

Categories
Life

Daily Gratitude

Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com

Today I am grateful for the little bit of much needed rain in our area and the coolness of the air as a storm tried to develop.

I am grateful for the opportunity for a job change and the energy to get me through until the change can be in full swing.

I am grateful for the wonderful people that I have worked with and made friends with over the last 8 years and a few that have been over the last 22 years at my last place of employment. I will sure miss many of the people I worked with.

I am grateful for a new boss who has already shown the respect and consideration that lacked at every job previous to this one.

I am grateful for all the amazing WP bloggers that I consider my friends here and for all the support you all show.

Today I am also grateful for a few quiet moments to be able to sit down and write 🙂

-Ang