{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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Absentee Blogger

Sorry for my absence. I have been working whenever I can and it has made me quite tired. Tired and grouchy. Working 72 hours in seven days will do that to you! None of which was overtime because I had 24 hours off between the first four shifts and the last two. Ugh!

Tomorrow we are going on a hiking trip for a friends birthday. We are heading up to Valemount where we will be hiking to a cabin in the bush. I can't wait though I am fairly certain I will freeze my backside off!

I have recently started knitting again and it feels so good. Even though I have had to restart my project four (yes, I did just say four) times. I also think I might have arthritis or something because my hands can only handle knitting for an hour before they are too cramped to continue. And they burn. It's quite painful. That may be because I am knitting something itty bitty.

Other than that, I still have a couple blogs in the making. Still re-capping Minnesota and a couple other things in the past couple weeks. I know late blogging is so lame, but my blog is more for me than it is for you and I want a little record of what we've done so they will appear sometime in the near future.

Have a good weekend!

Music Monday

Hello Music Monday enthusiasts  (and everyone else that looks at this). Last week I posted a song by Sage Francis and told you that he had someone that he collaborated with on his song "The Best of Times". Someone special. This week I will be posting a song by this special individual. He is not particularly famous though I daresay that a few of his songs are used frequently. His name is Yann Tiersenn and he is a French composer/songwriter. His most widespread fame came from doing the soundtrack to the film "Amelie" which is where the song I am posting today is from.

The simple, beautiful, and innocent qualities of the song fit perfectly with the title "Comptine d'un autre été l'après midi" or "Rhyme of another summer afternoon" as translated by our friends at google. I particularly like the video that someone put this song to. It reminds me of sitting and thinking under trees somewhere with a summer breeze gently blowing over me.



Thus concludes another music Monday. Keep your afternoons rhymy.

EO

how thoughtful

Erik had plans this evening so I was expecting to come home to an empty house with no dinner made.  Erik won't he home until long after I am asleep so I was dreading my evening almost as much as I dread returning to work tomorrow.

My thoughtful husband decided to give me a little surprise though and he invited three of my favourite people to come and wait at my house to welcome me home from work. As I approached my house I saw all the lights on and the front door open. I thought my wonderful husband had cancelled his plans to hang out with me. Wouldn't that be nice?

Then I saw a little blonde head bobble past the screen door.  I only know two little people with blonde heads attached to them and this particular head was topped with blonde curls.

My Little Miss.

I was practically in tears when I got in the door and her grinning face was there to greet me. Oh how I have missed her! She lives 10 blocks away and it has been over a month since I last saw her. A month. Ridiculous, I know.

Erik had asked Sam and Milena to come over and make me dinner. What a thoughtful husband.

I haven't seen Milena in over a month so it was so wonderful to catch up and to see her lovely face. And to be taken care of after running around all day. And to eat a home-cooked meal cooked by someone else. And to snuggle with Little Miss.

So, instead of spending the evening pouting and eating salad, I enjoyed delicious turkey soup, homemade bread, and the company of three of my favourite people. It made my day.

Did I mention that I love my husband?

around the farm

I have worked almost every day we have been home from our trip and I have been dreaming of returning to this lovely little farm. I've also been dreaming of sunshine and sandals. And adorable little boys.

Our holiday was so very relaxing. I throughly enjoyed having to think about nothing but the present. There was no stress, no responsibility, no schedule, no expectations. All we had to think about was enjoying ourselves and our family. What a relief!!

And what a place to relax! My SIL and her husband have a beautiful property. I've already introduced you to their incredible garden, but their place also provides ample opportunities to roam and explore. There is so much space and so much sky. Yesssss.

And there is something about being in the country. I don't know how to put it into words... it's just something. Something kind of wonderful.

Erik and I have been talking about where we want to "end up". You know, where we want to settle down, create a home, and raise a family. We're very much undecided, but I like the idea of the country. Country-ish at least. It's going to need to be near a hospital, or a clinic, or some facility I can work in. Unless I become a midwife - then it doesn't really matter, but I still like partial country at the very least.

I always dreamed of marrying a farmer -- have I ever mentioned that? I think I'd make a good farm wife. What do you think the chances are of Erik every becoming a farmer? Non-existant, I know.  A girl can dream though, can't she???

I have been working a lot since coming home from Minnesota. It has been so good, especially considering that summer is now over and shifts are going to be less and less available. I have have nothing booked after Sunday -- ugh! As of Sunday I will have worked 9 shifts in 11 days. I'm currently doing the 24 hour switch over from nights back to days -- the worst kind of switchover. I miss my friends, but I know there will be a time when shifts or sparse so I am capitalizing on everything offered to me now. There will be time to live later.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a pleasant weekend!

*** *** ***

and all was right in the world...

Music Monday!

Summer is almost over here. It is almost time to look back and see what has been. It is almost time to wind down for the fall and winter. It is funny how the seasons of life change, especially once school is no longer in the picture. Working full time changes life from short sprints of ever changing terrain to marathons of slower changing but still changing terrain.

Here is a man who has done some looking back on not just a summer but his entire life. This is Sage Francis with "Best of Times"



Something else which is interesting about this song is who it is co-written with. Twenty points if you know already, if not then you'll have to wait until next week.

Until next time.

Keep the good times rollin'

E

Visiting Dordt

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this but my parents attended Dordt College.
They actually met there.
My oldest sister was born in Sioux Centre, Iowa.
She attended Dordt as well.
And now Jessie Bessie is there making a name for herself.

Visiting her was one of the many highlights of the trip. We began our visit with a little tour of Dordt College. The campus ended up being much larger than I have anticipated -- I was definitely impressed. It was beautiful! I loved all the brick, with the lush green grass, the beautiful blue sky, and the pillowy clouds. Very picturesque.

My cousin, Jeremy, also attends Dordt College. He's in his second year. He had warned me that he would be at cross country practice until around 6:30pm. We met at his dorm just a few minutes after he came back from practice and then skyped with his family while he showered.

We took the young'ns out for dinner to one of the few food establishments in Iowa. The food was tolerable. It was fun to catch up though as I haven't seen Jessica or Jeremy in months. I think I last saw Jessica in early June and Jeremy would have been.... in early July when his family was camping in Kelowna. I thoroughly enjoy both of them -- they're good kids.

After dinner we went bowling on campus. Yes, Dordt has a bowling alley on campus. It's free. Those four letters are very important when you are a college student. Heck, those four letters are always important.      f.r.e.e.       What more could you want?? And it was even really nice. I was definitely impressed. 

Wait! Back to our tour. Dordt also has a sweet gym  complete with an indoor track, a huge weight room, a huge running room, and classes. Fitness Classes.  How awesome is that? I would have been all over that at UBCO, but we sadly had a crappy gym, with an itty bitty weight room, and a couple treadmills. It was pathetic. I should have gone to Dordt.

Bowling was followed by Dutch Blitz (Erik and I got our asses kicked. Royally) and chatting. And then we had to say goodbye much too soon. It was a very short visit, but it was well worth it. Very well worth it.

I Spy With My Little Eye...

NOPE!

Simply amazing.

Surprising Little J

When we were visiting Erik's sister in Western Minnesota we were less than two hours from Sioux Centre, Iowa.

Jessica Hailley, my beautiful niece, is currently in her freshman year at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. E and I decided to make the short trek down to surprise Jessica with a little visit. We left in the early afternoon assuming that she would have afternoon classes.

We arrived in Sioux Center at around 3:30pm and went to purchase flowers for J. We rolled into Dordt at around 4:00pm and J's dorm happened to be the first building we saw. Her room also happened to be the first door we walked passed, but her room as empty.

We somehow ran into one of her roommates who informed us that she had class until 5:00pm. So we sat outside and wasted time until her class was supposed to be finished. J didn't end up coming back to her dorm until around 5:30 -- by that time I was fairly antsy.

I saw her walking toward her dorm and were were a couple hundred meters away so I started speed-walking/half running towards her. I called her name and she turned around completely confused. She was squinting and said, "did you just say Jess?" and I just kept excitedly walking towards her.

She finally recognized me and screeched "what?!?!?" and started running towards me with open arms. We were both in tears before we reached each other and then we laughed and cried and cried some more. It was wonderful.

I was struck by how beautiful and grown up Jessica is. I still can't believe my niece is old enough to be in college. And old enough to move halfway across another country. Not just old enough, but independent enough. But she is.

It was a wonderful little reunion and I am so glad we made the little trip down. I have said it before and I will say it again, I love surprises -- both surprising and being surprised.

More on our little visit later.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

*** *** ***

the boyz

Man, I miss these little guys. They make me smile. 

E and T making each other laugh.

Big Brother Trubies holding Baby Brother Jamie

Seriously, how cute is he?

Snugglin Bros

Me and Mr J.

In the Garden

We spent a little bit of time in my SIL's garden this weekend. I just asked Erik to describe the garden and he used the term "crunchy" then laughed. He was joking. He then described it as a "bastion of edible plants in an ocean of horrible, terrifying, awful weeds. Beautiful weeds, actually." When I didn't know what bastion meant he said an "island" would be a better description for the garden... I still don't know what bastion means.

There were some weeds, but the garden was big. Big and beautiful. Big, beautiful and bountiful.

There is just something about gardens. They are tranquil, hearty, earthy, organic, crunchy, delicious, peaceful, and lovely. And they are also a lot of work. A lot of work. Yummmm... but they are yummy! So so yummy. What is better than eating food straight from the garden? I can imagine that eating food straight from your garden may feel better. There is something about knowing you participated in coaxing those plants to grow from seed that would give a feeling of satisfaction. And that satisfaction is bound to improve the overall experience of eating said food. Especially when most of (dare I say all??) the fruits and vegetables your family consumes were grown in your very own backyard. That, my friends, is how amazing my BIL and SIL are. Pretty freaking amazing.

Truen really enjoyed helping in the garden. And it actually held his attention for a little bit. He taught me how to pick tomatillos. I had never even heard of them (am I the only one??). He was actually the first one to notice they were ripe -- what a smart little boy.

Mr. Jamie just sat in the garden while we picked tomatoes, peppers, herbs, beans, tomatillos, okra, celery, melons, cabbage, squash, and a little bit of broccoli. I never knew what to do with summer squash before but Shawna would fry it up with butter and garlic for breakfast and it was delicious! Butter and garlic can make most things delicious, but this squash was yummy.

I was inspired to expand on our garden next year. I don't want it to get overwhelming, but I would love to grow some more vegetables next year. This year we only did herbs, tomatoes and squash -- not very impressive. I want cinderella pumpkins, string beans, peas, and some different varieties of tomatoes next year. And more! We'll just have to see how much inspiration I am feeling come spring. To be honest, I think I will need the inspiration come July when Erik is in Alaska. That is usually the time our garden falls apart. Though I must say that our garden did well until this last week when we were in Minnesota. It was much warmer than we expected while we were gone. In general though, I'm not very good at working full-time and weeding the garden. I need my partner to hold me accountable (read: do it for me). I'm good at gardening if I have someone to chat with. I'm bad at gardening when I feel as though I am fighting a losing battle against the weeds. I hate weeding the same patch of garden only to find the weeds have returned in full force within two days. That is discouraging. Regardless, I will do better next year.

Stillwater

Well, we are almost home so I thought I would start documenting our trip a little bit. Last Sunday we attended the wedding of Erik's cousin -- the reason for our grand adventure. The wedding was absolutely lovely. Erik's cousin looked stunning and Erik danced the night away.

There was a family brunch the day after the wedding. What a great idea!!! It provided an opportunity for the family to see each other, catch up a bit more, and just relax and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Nobody had to worry about anything wedding and we could just enjoy each others company. Like I said, what a great idea!

the extended olson crew

I especially loved it because it gave me a chance to get to know the family a little better. I didn't have to yell over the music or stress about who I didn't have a chance to talk to yet -- there was ample time to casually chat with everyone there. It was wonderful! And, we got to enjoy the sunshine, the river, and fresh air. Wonderful!

with the bride and groom

Erik and I decided to explore Stillwater a little bit. It's an adorable little town(?) right along a river(?). We perused antique stores, bookstores, and other little shops. I bought a little bit of fabric (of course) and we bought a couple books for Erik to read out loud on the way home.

teaching Jamie Sterling to clap

We decided to stay after the extended family left. Erik's dad had flown in for the wedding and could only stay a few days so we had a picnic in the park with my FIL, SIL and her three boys (who live in Minnesota), and BIL (from Colorado). It was probably the highlight of the entire trip for me.

It was perfect. The weather was awesome -- not too hot, but definitely warm enough. There was plenty of food to munch on. There were bodies for the little guys to wrestle. There was a guitar and six-year-old-song-writing. There was a baby learning to crawl. And we had not a care in the world. What more could we ask for?

Our picnic

While we were picnicking I couldn't help but feel as though we were taken straight out of Full House. Remember the opening credits when they are all in the park laughing and eating and just being a family??? I kept having flash backs and deja vu.

Here Truen is pretending to be a worm with his grandpa's shoe. He's inching along with some help from his mama.

And, of course, a family shot. It was a good day. A very good day.

Music Monday

Today I have a special song from a very long time ago. We listened to it throughout our travels and I thought it would be a good fit for this Monday. I think we may have spent about a half hour trying to count the rhythm as it played. Ten points goes to anyone who can tell me the correct time signature(s) of this song.

This song to me is enchanting. Not in the lose-track-of-time-looking-out-the-window sort of way but more in the this-song-is-much-too-interesting sort of way. The rhythm and melody keep my attention the whole time even though it is really just the same thing over and over again. I also love the smoothness of the song. The transitions happen before you realize it and the vocals join in without so much as a ripple.

This is The Stranglers with "Golden Brown"



Until next time. Keep your tires rollin'.

E

Music Monday

Good day.

It is again time for Music Monday, the day that I post music which makes me happy. It is also subsequently the day that other people  listen to music that makes me happy.

Recently I have been enjoying the dance floor and our wedding adventure last night was no exception. This song makes my feet move no matter where I'm at. I really enjoy the music video for it because of the humor but also some of the dance moves which I really want to learn.

To be honest I don't even know this group at all. I think they are called LMFAO but I could be wrong. Either way this is Party Rock Anthem by the group that does it.



The video would be much better without the "sexy lady" in the middle of it. She puts the breaks on the fun; luckily its redeemed by fun and timely appearances of robots and even Jesus.

Until next time, keep the beats fresh and moves stylin'?

EO

Safe and Sound

We had a rather uneventful trip and made it to Minnesota safe and sound. The unspoken plan was to switch drivers every ank of gas and it worked well for the first two fill-ups. When we were in Kalispell, Montana (about 9 hours into the trip) Erik ordered a beer and the waitress kindly told him his license was expired. Woops.

So, I had the pleasure of driving the rest of the way to Minnesota. The weather was simply gorgeous! Beautiful puffy clouds and bright blue skies. What more could you want?We ended up driving 16 hours on day one and 14 hours on day two. I had just come off a night shift when we left Kelowna so I was t.i.r.e.d. Especially because I had only slept for 2 hours between my two night shifts. Not the safest scenario.

I had to pull over on the side of the road once and take a 15 minute cat nap because I was so tired. As I was turning the car on to proceed with our trip a cop came up behind me with his lights flashing. He just wanted to see what was going on and to make sure we were ok. What a nice guy.

We ended up rolling into Minneapolis at 11:30pm and spent about an hour and a half catching up with Erik's sister before getting some much needed sleep. In the morning we got to see these rug rats, our adorable nephews.

And this below is a very common scene. Erik loves playing with the boys especially because they think he is hilarious. And he is.

We decided to make the trip to Minneapolis because Erik's cousin was getting married. The wedding was yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful! I got to meet some of Erik's aunts, uncles and cousins for the first time too which was nice. I finally get to put some faces and personalities to some names. We are all having brunch in a few hours so I will get to spend a little bit more time getting to know them.

Erik only has five cousins on this side of the family. Actually, he only has five cousins on the other side of the family too. That's something I'm just not used to. Let's put it this way, I have more brothers than he has cousins (on one side). It's nice though because I feel as though I actually have a chance to talk to each one of them.

I also love being here because my father-in-law gets to share some of his history with me. He grew up here and all of his family is here so he has plenty of stories for me.

We are only in leaving Minneapolis sometime later today for Erik's sisters house in south-west Minnesota. We will be there for a few days and then we'll make the long trek home. I think we're going to take at least three days to make our way back -- especially since I'm the only one driving. I want o break it up a little bit more. We'll see. I may be pretty busy in the coming days so there may be an onslaught of posts when I get home, but I will try sneak away for a little bit each day to keep you updated.

Hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend!