October 12 of 12

October 12th came and went and I didn't even register it. In fact it was almost a week later when I realized that it had passed and now it's a full ten days later that I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. Luckily this year in Canada, October 12th was Thanksgiving so I have lots of pictures to chose from (more than 12 but I'm just sharing that many here).

I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Alberta at my Uncle Tim and Aunt Candace's house. I drove up on Friday with Mom, Dad and Aaron. On Monday we were joined by my brothers Seth and Robert and Seth's girlfriend Brittany. Grandpa B and Aunty Liz (Mom's dad and sister) and my cousin Sharon and her two boys drove down from Edmonton for the day. Candace's Grandma Violet was there as well. So, along with Tim and Candace's four boys, we had a housefull!!!

So, on to the pictures. We start with a view of the "appetizer table". Part of what's there is actually dessert but we didn't worry too much about what was eaten when.

This is Candace and Grandma Violet. Awesome woman. Very sharp and funny. It was great to have her with us.

The Wii got quite a workout. Here Robert and Seth are playing Mario Cart while Brandin and Brittany watch. Later in the day I even got roped into a round of bowling. (foreground is Grandpa B and my dad)

Mom and Candace get the credit for our wonderful turkey dinner...of course the only people I actually got pictures of were Tim when he carved the turkey, (and not pictured) Dad when he carved the ham and Robert making gravy.

Grandpa is very hard of hearing so it's difficult to have a conversation with him. Here he is showing Aaron the watch he received after 25 years of service at his job...of course he got the watch in 1987 which is way before Aaron was even born! I was sitting on the couch playing paparazzi during this exchange and I have a whole series of photos as Aaron listens intently to what Granpa is telling him.

Just before Grandpa, Aunty Liz, Sharon and the boys headed home I made everyone pose for a series of "formal" shots. I'll spare you all of them but I'll show the one of us four kids with Grandpa.
Xander has taken a real shine to Brittany and Seth keeps teasing him that she's now his girlfriend. Seth found a long blonde hair on his shirt and he told Xander "your girlfriend is shedding on me again!" :)

Tim and Candace both have laptops and the boys spent a fair bit of time on them during the weekend. I love this shot of Xander because I captured his cute little toes curled up under his bum :)

Joshua Levi is just three months old and weighs less than the turkey we cooked. I thought a picture of him in the roasting pan (after we did dishes) was seasonally appropriate :D

Candace and I, just to prove I was actually there and not behind the camera the WHOLE day.

More Joshua. He's just too cute to resist! And, my favourite family activity, Settlers of Catan. We played a few games over the weekend but because people had to work the next day we finished by about 11. Still, I've had my "fix" for a little while.

So, that's Thanksgiving, Canadian style. And another "12 of 12" in the bag :)

This post brought to you by the letter “L”

Do you have a favourite letter of the alphabet? One that makes you happy to write? Mine is “L”. The capital version, in handwriting. I love forming it. I used to wish my mom had named me after her because her name started with L and when I was 13ish I had a crush on a guy, pretty much only because his last name started with L and I used to dream about being Mrs. L.

Now my new boss’s name starts with L so I get to write it LOTS. I still get pleasure out of forming that letter. Weird maybe but at least I’m consistent :)

Member #524

I’m probably fooling myself by thinking I have time for this but I am excited to announce that I am the newest member of our local Genealogical Society. I attended a meeting back in January but then I never went back. The regular meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month which is awkward because my board meetings are typically scheduled that day too. Yesterday I went straight from work to the meeting and then I left the meeting early…which still meant I didn’t get home until after 8pm.

It’s only $20 for a one year membership in the Society and joining means I have access to their archives in the library whenever they are open. I’m hoping to take some time to review everything that I’ve collected over the past few years and start doing some digging to find more. I know that doing genealogy can be addictive but I still want to pursue it. Wish me luck!

I am regressing technologically

I’ve always been woefully behind when it comes to technology. I listen to music on the radio and from cd’s (no digital files for me!), I still have a cell phone (instead of a Blackberry or other equally as addicting device) and I don’t even have internet at home.

Lately I’ve been going backwards even more. I listen to cd’s at home but my “cd player” was a unit from Seth’s ex-girlfriend. Horribly beat up on and a few months ago the cd part stopped functioning so I was listening to music via my dvd player. Pathetic I know. Anyways, Mere took pity on me and loaned me her old stereo system. It’s a really nice unit with a three disk changer and…(drum roll…) a double tape deck!

Yes. That’s what I’m most excited about. LOL The thing is I have tapes that I haven’t listened to so it’s been fun to rediscover them…even if they are old technology.

Speak of tapes, guess what I bought last Friday? It seems like everyone is moving on to Blu-Ray and I bought a VHS player! LOL I set it up in my scrap room along with a small tv that I got off a friend who was cleaning house. Then I went over to my parents and raided their video collection.

I know it’s “old” technology but I’m excited!!!

Thursday Thunks

Again lifted from Toe-Ami :)

1. What color is your mouthwash?
I have green mouthwash left over from the last time I stayed at a hotel but I rarely use it.

2. Do you remember your first phone number? Have you called it recently?
First in BC (where I moved when I was 3) was my parents number. It's #2 on my speed dial and I easily call it once a day. Often more. And yes, I could dial it if I need to.

3. BPD in OKC's question- Do you have a super-secret hiding place and what's in it?
My whole craft room is a super secret hiding place LOL The most "secret" is where my passport is. But it's not hidden if you know where to look.

4. When was the last time you used a pay phone? How much did it cost to make the call?
Oh man. I don't remember! I feel like it hasn't been that long but I can't tell you where I was...

5. What was that noise?
Me silently screaming and attempting to resist strangling my boss.

6. Stef H's question-how long is a woodpecker's pecker?
LOL peckerwood?

7. How many comments did you receive on your last Thursday's Thunk?
None. But that's okay :)