Happy

I'm not sure why, really, but I've noticed this past week that I have been deriving pleasure out of the smallest things -- things that have put a smile on my face and cheered my soul.  Here are a few that I managed to take a picture of:

Who could not possibly be thrilled

 by a 30-piece set of Sharpies?

Reminiscent of the 36 pack of Laurentian crayons

 when I was a kid, only better!

(And if any of my children happen to read my blog....

on sale at Walmart for $14.99)

The weather has been amazingly warm

 for our northern neck of the woods!

The next few days promise to be just as nice.

The warm weather even made me happy

 to put up Christmas lights and chip away

 at the ice on the driveway.  

(Okay I realize that it looks like only

 The Mr. was doing any work,

 but I promise I was before I took the picture.)

Our range hood finally matches our stainless steel

 appliances.  It only took 20 minutes to take out

 the old white one and install this little beauty.

Why on earth did we wait for 2 years?? 

I always love the peaceful feeling I get

 when I plug in the Christmas tree.

And... for a mere $3 at Dollarama, this little 

"foot switch" cord has revolutionized my life!!

  No more trying to squeeze into a tight space

 to plug in and unplug the tree each night.

When I saw this, I literally heaved a 

sweet sigh.  Out loud.  In the store.

When I was a pre-teen, "The Partridge Family" 

was my favourite tv show.  I played their record

over and over again each day in my room.

(I was, after all, president of the 5th grade

  David Cassidy Fan Club!)

And lastly, the children in this video are delightful -- they really made me smile.  But more importantly, the message they shared made me truly happy.

A Savior Is Born—Christmas Video

A Savior is born. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlast...

YOUTUBE.COM

Here's hoping we can all find happiness in the many blessings we receive each day!  

Dixie

CFRin' It Up

Last year -- just for fun -- several members of our family decided to attend the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR).  We are far from "cowboys", but discovered it doesn't matter.   You don't have to be a real cowboy to enjoy all the fun that is offered there.

So, armed with nachos, popcorn and mini doughnuts, we huffed and puffed our way up to the cheap seats, and settled in for a good time.  The livestock show, Farmfair International, and the "Smooch Cam" all made for some good memories.  One of the most fun things we did that day, was play a little game called "Take Your Picture With a Random Cowboy Without Getting Caught".

This one cracks me up.! You can hardly see her,

but Daughter #1 is peering through the closed

glass door that the cowboy is leaning up against.

So, that was last year.  We just went for the fun of it.

This year was a little different.  We had a reason for going!

It was six years ago that I submitted this little post, where I predicted that one day we'd see our niece or nephew competing in the CFR.  Well I'm thrilled to say that this was the year it happened!  Because of their high standing in the team roping event throughout the year, Clint and his roping partner qualified to earn a spot at the CFR last weekend.

You know you've made it when you get to wear the official jacket!

Thursday Night

Sitting with Kim and Mel in the expensive seats.  

We were so close I could almost reach out and touch Clint.

(Not to mention the Rodeo Queen's bedazzled cowboy hat.)

Kim and Mel had tickets for all six sessions, and every day Kim would come home with more and more treasures she had purchased from one of the booths at Farmfair.  I never purchase anything at these type of trade shows, but Kim seemed to be having so much fun, that I promised myself I would buy some little thing when I went again.  

By Saturday other family members had arrived, and we headed over to the Expo centre.  As promised I made my purchase -- a big bag of various flavours of fudge.  

And an electric steam mop.  What???   I never do that sort of thing!  It looks pretty cool, though.  Ha!  I suppose I have to actually take it out of the box for it to work, though.

  

We also spent some time looking at the livestock.  I can never get used to the smell, and apparently they can't either.

 Pee-yew!!

Holy Smokes!  Look at the size of that one!

There were lots of people  in working with the livestock to keep them looking clean and pretty for the judging.

Who knew that they fluff up the cows with a vacuum?

Who's that photo-bombing in the background?

Enjoying the show from the nosebleed section.

Clint warming up his rope.

Meeting up after the show.

I'm so proud of Clint.  He did such a great job!   

Now, as I mentioned in that earlier post, I'm not much of a cowgirl, but after spending the weekend supporting Clint, I think I could get the hang of it.  The only thing that would have made it more perfect is if The Mr. could have joined us.  He was out of town again.



Wait a minute.

Dixie

Coincidence?

Not too long ago I read in the paper that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be returning home to Alberta after a gruelling 78-day federal election campaign -- the longest in Canadian history.  I imagine he was getting worn out from all that travelling.  Even though he lost the election, he was probably almost glad to be "home" after so many nights on the road.

Wait a minute!  I think I'm getting mixed up with someone else.

The Mr. has also come to the end of an excruciatingly tight travel schedule, and will be returning home to Alberta.  He too has been coming and going for a record number of nights.  For the past couple of months, his suitcase has never made it to the closet.  Whenever he was at home, it just took up residence on the floor beside his bed for a couple of days until he was out the door again.  

Hmmmm.  Coincidence?  

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

Coincidence?

I think not!  Welcome home, honey.

Dixie

The Surprise

For the past few years, The Mr. has been doing a little travelling for his job.  Two or three times each month, he flies to the same city, and is put up for a night or two in the same hotel.  He's become such a regular, that the valet parking attendants and the front desk staff welcome him by name when he walks into the lobby.

One time he was in a shopping mall, and a young woman said hello to him -- calling him by name.  When she realized that he didn't recognize her, the young woman explained that she used to work at the hotel and remembered him as a regular guest.

He seems to take great delight in the fact that they know who he is, and treat him like he's special.

Well, imagine his pleasant surprise when he checked in last week, and was informed that since this was his 50th visit, he would receive an upgrade to a large luxurious suite.  He called me right away to tell me the exciting news.

Last night he checked in again -- his 51st visit -- and had a little surprise waiting for him.  He called me right away:

The Mr.:   Hi Dixie.  You'll never guess what they left for me in my hotel room.
Me:   What?
The Mr.:   A bathrobe with my name stitched on the front.
Me:   Are you kidding me?  That's crazy!
The Mr.:   It's really nice quality -- better than the regular ones they have in the room.  I'm going to take a picture of it and send it to you, so you can see for yourself.
Me:   Too bad it has your name on it.  Otherwise I would have used it in my blog.


So, true to his word, I soon received this picture by email:

Gotta love the guy for being a good sport!

Dixie

P.S.  The more I think of it, the more ridiculous it is.  Why would a person staying in a hotel room wear a robe with their own name on it?  Don't they already know who they are?  And is the guest supposed to take it home with them or leave it to be laundered, and then stored away somewhere for when they come back?

The Runners

runners  (run'nerz)  noun

1) People who run, as for exercise or in a race. 

2) Footwear used while running (Canadian colloquialism).

It's been a little over a year now since The Mr. and I first started using the indoor track to get some exercise.  Although I haven't really lost any weight, or gotten any smaller, my running shoes are proof that we've been working hard.

It's kind of exciting for me -- this is the first time I've ever worn out a pair of runners from the purpose they were intended.  Usually they just become stained from painting or mowing the grass.

My only hope is that "the runners" mentioned in the first definition don't become as warn out as "the runners" in the second definition.

Dixie

What Day Is It?

Every now and then I like to take a peek at the "National Day" calendar to see what special days are coming up.  And then just to be ridiculous, I like to celebrate them.  For example, did you know that yesterday was "National Sandwich Day"?  In its honor I served toasted tomato sandwiches to The Mr. for lunch.

In the past The Mr. and I have had a lot of fun  throwing a few parties based on some of these national days.

"United Nations Day" on October 24th was lots of fun.  Starting off with a potluck supper, each of the guests brought a dish from one of the United Nations.  We followed that up with games and entertainment from around the world.

Learning the dance moves to "Little Brown Girl"

Trying out the Maori Stick Dance

"Defy Superstitions Day" is always on September 13th.  But when it fell on a Friday (13th) I knew I couldn't let it go by without celebrating it.

 "International Bacon Day" also proved to be tons of fun.  An entire potluck meal with every dish containing bacon was a carnivore's delight!  Who knew butterscotch and bacon ice cream could be so tasty?

The winner of one of the bacon-themed games.

The interesting thing about the "National Day" calendar is that there are usually several different options for each day.  Take today for example.  The following are all listed for November 4th:   

          "National Candy Day"  --  I've definitely been celebrating that!

          "National Eating Healthy Day"  --  Well, doesn't that just ruin the whole candy thing?

          "National Skeptics Day"  --  See Previous comment.

          "National Common Sense Day"  --  I guess I really should put the candy away.

But I needn't be disappointed.  After all, tomorrow is "National Doughnut Appreciation Day".

Dixie

P.S.  I see that November 20th is "National Absurdity Day".  If you were going to celebrate that one, how would you do it?