Made Me Smile

The past week in retrospect -- a few things that made me smile. In no particular order....

A few days earlier I saw a crew of safety-vested workman digging in the snow in this same spot and wondered what they were up to. It warmed my heart to think that our county council members thought it was important to have this fun little ice fort and slide for the kids.

Probably not a big deal to most people, but sometimes I have a hard time finding my favorite toothpaste, because all the newer, fancier versions have replaced it. So when I found this big stack of "Colgate Regular", I had to take a picture. And buy several boxes.

Hard to tell, but this is a picture of my dashboard displaying the outside temperature of 11 degrees Celcius (52 Fahrenheit). At 4:29 in the afternoon. In January. In Edmonton!!!

The bananas on the right were an average-sized bunch measuring 7 inches. The ones on the left were a whopping 13 inches!

With all my dejunking this past week, I was also able to get rid of two VERY HEAVY solid wood desks -- university study carrels, actually -- that we have been lugging around with us for the past 17 years. I was ecstatic when the Salvation Army said they would "gratefully accept" our donation. That ecstasy quickly faded when I realized that it would only be me and The Mr. trying to lift them into the back of our truck. (I'll be the first to admit I'm a weakling.) Imagine my delight when a VERY NICE man from our ward showed up at the door. I swallowed my pride and asked for his help. It was the best thing I've done in a long time.

I wish I had taken a picture of him to add to this "happy things" post.

But I do have a picture of a different guy who made me smile.....

The Mr. has been a great help to me this past week. After all these years, he's still my favorite guy in the world. And I think he kinda likes me, too.

Dixie

It's a Dirty Job, But Somebody's Got to Do it!

I've got the cleaning bug. And I've got it bad. No room is off limits!

• Dejunking my costume room Did I really need three rabbit costumes? Although having said that, Daughter #3 and her two friends did have fun with them a few Easters ago delivering treats to unsuspecting children at the park.
• Efficientizing (?) said costume room This idea of knowing where to find something when you need it is great! Hmmm......I wonder if other people know about this.
• Rearranging three bedrooms The new bedspreads, cushions and curtains I purchased months ago are finally getting put to use.
• Downsizing the CD collection Wow! I can see the top of my stereo now!
• Scouring a neglected shower stall Eeeewww! Enough said.
• Revamping my closet layout It's funny how a double-decker closet rod and more shoe shelving can bring such peace of mind. And a cleaner closet floor.
• Arranging food storage It will be nice to stop tripping over the Superstore green bins that had taken over the storage room floor now that the food is put away. Oh, and I can use my bins again instead of paying 5 cents each for bags.
• Cleaning up Christmas I've decided I really have some ugly Christmas decorations, but I'm having a tough time getting rid of them. I guess there's a fine line between "this is ugly" and "but it's a tradition".
• Organizing the storage room Just having the food storage and Christmas stuff put away is a big help, but there's still more to be done! If we haven't used certain camping gear in over 10 years, it should be okay to donate to goodwill, right? Now I just have to convince The Mr. of that.
• Hauling a boatload of stuff to the second-hand store Do other people love this as much as I do? It's so liberating!!

The house is not the only thing I've been dejunking. I'm also doing a liquid cleanse for my body. (Too much junk in there from the holidays.) Good thing I've been at home cleaning all week. I can't be too far away from a bathroom!

Nip, Tuck and a Murder

Everyone has Christmas traditions. Somewhere along the line our family picked up a strange one that has nothing to do with the holiday -- our annual Murder Mystery.

THE CAST:

Dr. Beau Tox

Cosmetic Surgeon

Dr. Den Chures Mae Kittbetter

Orthodontic Surgeon Nurse

Dr. Phil Sleepie

Cosmetic Surgeon

Dr. Fay Slift

Cosmetic Surgeon

Dr. Anna Lyst

Psychologist

Kim Plant Rich Zucker

Patient Patient

Staff and Patients of the Cuttendash Clinic

Note to Daughter #2: We missed you and your Mr. Handsomepants. And yes, those were balloons!

Dixie

The Resident Entertainer (Part 2)

For the past couple of weeks I've struggled with posting my thoughts, but since this blog has become my only form of journalling, I know I need to do it. I even WANT to do it, but not sure how to pay tribute to the most influential woman in my life -- my dear mother.

Seven months ago I posted about my mom, the resident entertainer. To me she always has been, and always will be an entertainer.

-- She had a knack for rearranging words and music, and always seemed to be working out the details for her latest variety show.

-- She always had a new joke to tell us. Half of the time she couldn't remember the punchline, but that was usually the funniest part of the joke.

-- She could chord to any song on the piano, and always had us kids and grandkids gather around to sing old-time favorites.

-- She had a never-ending supply of costumes and hats, which she loved to dress up in, hoping others would join her.

-- She had a natural gift to tell stories. As my sister once noted, "Mom, it's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it."

-- She could make the FUNNIEST faces. She didn't care how unflattering they made her look -- she was always willing to take one for the team.

-- She had an incredible assortment of musical instruments and loved to play them all, even joining a weekly jam session in her 80's.

-- She could make anything out of cardboard, and created many wonderful props to delight audiences.

-- She was a terrible cook. Okay, I know that doesn't really fit into the "entertainment" category, but because of her many culinary mishaps, she has provided me with tons of humorous stories to tells my friends over the years. Entertaining!

I love this woman! And I'll miss her terribly. As someone mentioned at her funeral, "She hasn't really died, she's just taken her show on the road."

Dixie

Lately

Just a quick list of some of the things that I've been enjoying lately:

*Meeting up with a few high school friends in Lethbridge for lunch and visiting. It was just like a great movie. We laughed, we cried....

*Running Showbiz Kids. I know I've said it before, but I love Tuesdays! And this year I'm lucky enough to get to do it on Wednesdays, too!

[Insert picture of 27 adorable children here.]

*Watching my grandchildren take part in their ward's Primary Presentation. So fun!

*Going for lunch at Cora's with a few women from my ward. When I told The Mr. how great it was he said, "You should do that more often." SWEET! This is one time when I will definitely be obedient to the counsel of my husband. (giggle)

[Insert picture of six incredibly gorgeous women here.]

*Finding a super deal on some costume hats for Showbiz Kids. Who doesn't love 75% off?

I'm hoping the fun keeps coming!

Dixie

Go Home! Go Home!

A while ago The Mr. and I went to a church social. A western-themed church social. (And let me just preface this by saying that The Mr. was so excited to have an excuse to wear his cowboy boots.) Anyway..... after the barbecued beef-on-a-bun and the steer roping demonstration, we were told to form a big circle for square dancing. This is the part I was especially looking forward to.

The professional square dance caller was especially good at his job, and quickly had us learning a few basic tricks. We knew who our partner was, who our corner was, who the side couple was, who the head couple was, and most importantly, where "home" position was. We could soon do-si-do, allemande left and promenade with the best of them.

We apparently surprised the caller with how quickly we had caught on, so he decided to teach us some more advanced steps. He warned us that things might get confusing, but comforted us with this great advice: "Remember where your home position is, because no matter how crazy and mixed up you get, you can always go 'home' until you get your bearings, and then you can start up again when you feel ready."

After a few minutes of success, our little group of eight started falling a little behind and getting tangled. We knew we were in trouble, until one of the ladies in our group yelled, "Go home! Go home!" We all promenaded back home and waited until we were ready to join in again.

I've been thinking about this and how true it really is. When life gets crazy and a little too hectic and confusing, it's so nice to be able to go home and regroup until we feel confident enough to take on life's challenges again. (Of course that only works if our homes are places of peace and happiness.)

Moving on to a different story, but with a related theme, I've noticed how my 86-year-old mother is also longing to go "home" as things here on earth are getting pretty tough for her. As her body weakens with age and leukemia, it's interesting to observe that the things she's concerned about, all have to do with going home to be with loved ones again.

I think I've always known it, but between square dancing and spending time with my mom, I'm realizing just how important home really is. I'm recommitting to placing more emphasis on both of these homes.

Dixie

Room 805

Last weekend The Mr. and I travelled to Banff to attend a Law Society Convention. The activities were being held in the historic Banff Springs Hotel. Several years earlier we stayed there on business, and were put up in a swanky room, which was quite a treat. Since we were paying for our own room this time, I knew it wouldn't be quite as luxurious as the last one, but still expected a fairly nice room. After all, this was The Banff Springs Hotel.

Upon our arrival, we were told they didn't have our reservation. After 20 minutes of waiting, we were finally told we could stay in Room 805. Apparently, in an effort to apologize for the inconvenience they had caused in losing our reservation, this was to be an "upgraded room with a spectacular view of the valley". How exciting! We could hardly believe our luck.

We took the elevator to the top floor and began to wind our way down the corridor towards Room 805. Something struck us as unusual, though, when we realized that the farther we went, the narrower and shorter the hallway became. At one point my claustrophobia started to kick in, and I began to wonder if I would make it.

"You can do this, Dixie. Just think of the end goal -- the upgraded room with the spectacular view."

Finally, at the very end of the hallway, we came to our room and opened the door with anticipation. And immediately began laughing. There it was -- Room 805 -- the tiniest little room we have ever stayed in! It was a triangular-shaped room with the corner cut off. As soon as we stepped into the room we were practically touching the bed. This picture was taken right in front of the door:

And if that wasn't funny enough, we noticed this little door cut right out of the wallpaper:

Here's what it looked like from farther away:

What's that all about?

I do have to say though, the room really did have a spectacular view ...... if you walked over to the very edge of the wall and looked out a small little window.

Dixie

Halloween Candy

True to my nature, it's 2:00 on the afternoon of Halloween, and I still haven't bought any candy yet. Every year I keep hoping that if I ignore Halloween long enough, it will go away. Doesn't look like this will be the year. I better go buy some candy.

I signed up to have the missionaries in for supper tonight seeing as how that was the only day on the calendar that they didn't have a supper invitation. I guess everyone else actually likes to celebrate on this day and had plans. (They're obviously not poor sports like me!)

The missionaries told me that they had to be back to their apartment for the night by 6:00. Apparently the mission president doesn't want them to be out on the streets on Halloween night. Aside from the obvious fact that it would be a tough night to go tracting, I suspect that rule was created so that the missionaries don't get blamed for any bad pranks. Or are the recipients of any.

I kind of feel sorry for them. I wished I had've gotten on the ball sooner to plan a spooky Halloween supper for them, complete with eyeballs, brains, and the like. I think when I go buy my candy, I'll get something extra special just for them. Maybe that will help to get them in the Halloween spirit.

Maybe it will help me, too.

Dixie

Mixed Up

I've decided there was a mix-up in Heaven. I really think I was supposed to have been born 20 years earlier. I would have loved being a teenager in the late 50's. Here's proof:

• I love wearing full, below-the-knee skirts.
• Oldies are so fun to sing along to.
• Jiving is my favorite kind of dancing.
• I would love to own my very own juke box.
• I've always been pretty good with a hula hoop.
• Some of the best toys were invented in the 50's. (Think slinky, silly putty, pez.)
• I've always wanted to wear my hair in a pony tail.
• I love chewing gum.
• I've always enjoyed doing the hokey pokey (after all, that's what it's all about).

With the exception of that last line, I'm quite serious about this. I really do wonder why I was held back for those 20 years? Any thoughts?

Dixie

Fourth Sunday

Today was our fourth Sunday family dinner. Everyone from The Mr.'s side of the family who lives in the area comes for a potluck dinner followed by games and visiting. I really enjoy these evenings -- especially the people we share them with:

• The 14-year-old who heads straight for the piano the minute he walks in the door, providing the background music for our evening.
• The sister and brother-in-law who always modify their recipes to provide a healthier alternative.
• The newlyweds who can't keep their hands off each other.
• The 20-something nephews who still give hugs goodbye.
• The various girlfriends of the 20-something nephews who have been good sports and joined right in with the games.
• The 15-year-old who sneaks away from the games to play on the computer and eat the left-over desert.
• The one-year-old who keeps us entertained with her funny antics.
• The niece (and mother of said one-year-old) who is so patient when it's definitely gotten past her baby's bedtime.
• The "occasional attenders" who we'd like to see a little more often. (You know who you are!)

I love these guys -- I feel so lucky to have married into such an awesome family!

Dixie

And It's Not Even Halloween Yet

Today I was scared half to death. Twice.

A month ago I received my driver's license renewal form in the mail telling me I had until my birthday to renew. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the last possible moment to go to the Registry Office. After collecting my proof of identification, the clerk typed up my new paper license, and told me to look it over to make sure everything was correct. To my complete horror -- written in bold print under the word "age" -- it read "50". Whoa! That was the first time I saw it written. It was SCARY!

I was then directed to the room at the back where they told me I needed to have a new picture taken. (Apparently they frown upon pictures that are 10 years old.) After taking my picture, the clerk told me to come to the computer to take a look at it. EEK!! Seeing the two pictures side by side was more than frightening -- it was horrific! It was overly evident that my chin was saggier, my eyes looked baggier, and my hair was definitely more grey. SCARY!

The clerk tried to reassure me by saying that it wouldn't look "that bad" when it's printed in black and white. Hmph. She's probably only in her 30's. Probably 33.

Dixie

Salt Lake City

Last Thursday The Mr. and I got picked up at 5:30 in the morning to head to the airport. Our destination was Salt Lake City. Our travelling companions were these 2 cool couples:

All of our husbands serve in the church together, so they know each other well, but in truth, we women really didn't know each other very well. So that, coupled with the fact that The Mr. and I have never travelled with anyone but our family before, made me more than a little curious as to how the weekend would turn out. I didn't need to worry -- it was tons of fun!

The reason for our trip was to attend General Conference, but we were able to do a bunch of other fun things as well. Things I've always wanted to do before I die. Such as.....

1) Attending a session at the SLC temple.

2) Volunteering at the Humanitarian Center.

We packed 720 school kits in all -- or one full pallet.

3) Taking a carriage ride around downtown SLC.

and...

4) Eating atop the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

in the Garden Restaurant (sorry, no picture)

Some other things we did (although not necessarily on my bucket list) were:

Touring Welfare Square

Shaking hands with M. Russell Ballard

Running into missionaries from home at the Conference Center

Eating at some great restaurants

Watching the film at the Legacy Theatre

Shopping

Enjoying amazing breakfasts at our hotel

Riding the Trax

Seeing John Bytheway in person

Making new friends

On Saturday night the girls attended "Ladies Night" at Deseret Book across from Temple Square. Wow -- it was crazy! Wall to wall women hoping to get a good deal, a coveted door prize, an autograph from their favorite author, or -- in my case -- a free cookie.

This picture is taken outside the window of Deseret Book.

That's Hillary Weeks in the forefront signing CDs.

And as if this wasn't enough fun already, Daughter #3 caught a ride down to SLC and joined us for a day and a half. So good to see her again!

Our flight home on Monday was supposed to be the end of our fun, but we were able to stretch that out to one more day when our connecting flight took off before we got there. We enjoyed one extra night and supper in Denver at the airline's expense. We were even able to share that fun with a young fellow Canadian who lost her passport and was stranded in Denver overnight.

This was definitely one of my favorite trips to SLC -- we may have to do it again sometime!

Dixie

Shopping Made Easy

So, I don't want to make anyone jealous, but I've pretty much got my Christmas shopping all taken care. Okay, I don't exactly have the gifts purchased yet, but I've just discovered a little gem for one-stop shopping.

Since I forgot to bring along a book to read on the plane the other day, boredom forced me to read those magazines that were located in the seat pocket in front of me. And there it was -- the answer to my gift-giving woes. SkyMall.com. If you haven't had the chance to browse the magazine, please take advantage of the website. You'll be sure to find a gift for everyone on your Christmas gift list.

For example who couldn't use a stainless steel wallet?

Or a pair of Monet cowboy boots?

Everyone has to use toilet paper. How about making the whole experience a little more fun?

Do you have a budding hostess on your list? Why not give her this lovely "Bob" ice cube tray.

And here's a great idea for the pet lovers in your life.

Do you have a lazy person on your list? Here's the perfect holiday gift. This "pop-up" tree will have their house transformed in less than five minutes.

And finally, my personal favorite, this sun visor with built-in wig is sure to be a hit with the bald-headed man on your list.

So there you have it. Your shopping could be done in no time at all.

Oh, and if you happen to be on my Christmas list, just pretend you didn't see this and try to act surprised.

Dixie

C'est Fini

I'm done!

After 44 panels (352 linear feet -- 2250 square feet), I'm finally finished staining our fence that we built last year. Can I hear a woot?

I guess I can't take all the credit. Daughter #1 helped me with three of those panels, and Daughter #3 helped with 8. I also have to give props to one of my neighbors. Just when I was coming down the home stretch, with a bad knee and definitely losing momentum, they turned on some music. It was loud. And I liked it. It helped me get through those last 25 feet. I even found myself dancing as a I painted.

With only six feet to go, I heard some other neighbor yell, "TURN IT DOWN!" And I thought to myself, "No, please don't. I really need it." Luckily the force was with me and the music kept going as I danced my way to the finish line.

Okay, so I didn't exactly have the moves like Jagger, but I'm blaming that on the bad knee.

Dixie

Thirty-three

My son-in-law just turned 33. When I wished him a happy birthday, he didn't seem overly thrilled about getting older. I informed him that 33 was going to be the best year of his life. He looked at me skeptically, so I proceeded to explain.

When I was a young girl I remember my mother always telling me that 33 was the prime of life. According to her, that's when your body and mind are at their peak -- apparently, you'll never feel better. She was even convinced that in the resurrection, we'll all be 33!!

So, I grew up with the idea that when I turned 33 it was going to be the best year of my life. And you know what? It was. Probably just because I had told myself for so many years that it would be, so at some point I began to believe it. I think if we believe something long enough, we start acting like it's true, whether it is or not.

Well, the point is.....next month I turn 50. YIKES! I have been dreading this for a long time. But according to what I believe, I'm going about it all the wrong way. I should be telling myself that 50 is going to be the best year of my life. Since I'm getting such a late start, I'm going to have to do some pretty serious convincing to actually start believing it. So I've done what every sane person does. I've put a poster on my fridge with my latest positive affirmation.

Here's hoping it works!

Dixie

She's All Grown Up

Well, the deed is done. The Mr. and I just got back from taking Daughter #3 to Idaho to attend Brigham Young University.

How could something so exciting be so sad all at the same time? Of course by "sad" I mean sad for me. I'm really gonna miss that girl. But.....

First time to move in to your own apartment.

First time to have roommates.

First time to take a university class.

First time to cook all your own meals.

First time to do all your own grocery shopping.

First time to date college boys.

First time to purchase textbooks.

First time to..... Well, you get the idea.

How could that not be so exciting?

Obviously by the smile, this picture was taken at the beginning of the trip.

Thanks to these two for providing our "bed and breakfast" on the way down. The egg mcmuffins were delicious!

Experiencing our first IHOP meal.

Day 2: Not quite so perky.

Checking out my old apartment from 31 years ago. I think it's hilarious that once it became dilapidated, they turned it into an apartment for guys instead of girls.

Waving goodbye from her apartment door. (This picture makes her body look really funny. Actually she was holding a pillow in front of her.)

So all in all, it was pretty exciting. And a little bit sad. But mostly exciting.

Dixie

Change of Heart

I've never really cared for my mailman.

There. I said it. There's just something about him that has always bothered me. Maybe it's the fact that he walks across our lawn when he thinks I'm not watching. Maybe it's because he used a bad word in front of my daughters 15 years ago when they were delivering flyers. Maybe it's because he insinuated to said daughters that delivering flyers was beneath his dignity. Whatever it is, I decided years ago that he wasn't a likeable person.

But today something changed.

Today I heard him singing. At the top of his lungs. How could I not like that about a person? I do that myself. Okay, maybe not at the top of my lungs, but I sing in public. Often. And I like it when other people do.

So I guess I'm gonna have to give him a second chance. (I wonder if he likes show tunes.)

Dixie

Bittersweet

A while back I walked in to my local Walmart. To my immediate left were shelves packed with all the school supplies. My first thought was, "Hallelujah! I never have to go school supply shopping again!" And then almost immediately I heard myself thinking, "Oh dear. I'll never get to go school supply shopping again!"

I didn't realize that something that I once dreaded every year would actually be missed when I no longer had to do it. And today was the first day of school. Living on a street with three schools, I felt a little weird this morning -- like I was missing out on the real action.

Luckily Daughter #3 told me I could buy her a new backpack for University. She's so thoughtful that way!

Dixie

On Being a Grandma -- Round 2

One day after Daughter #2 left with her kiddies, Daughter #1 arrived with hers. It has always amazed me how much these kids look like The Mr.'s side of the family. ;)

Seriously, though, we did have a little fun with the costumes.

One day while baking with the five-year-old, we were discussing all sorts of important things. He confided in me that he could hardly wait to go to "the love center". Somewhat baffled, I asked him what "the love centre" was. He said it was a place where you do grown-up things. Not really sure whether or not I wanted to hear the answer, I heard myself asking, "What kind of grown-up things?" He matter-of-factly responded, "Like baking cookies."

Phew! That was too close for comfort!

Dixie

On Being a Grandma

This morning I kissed these sweet faces goodbye.

They were here for a few days with their mother - Daughter #2. We played at the park, went to the farmer's market, had a movie night party in our pj's, watched a play, shopped, played games, baked goodies, had some girl time, and stayed up way too late.

Relief Society Pot Luck Activity

Showing their wares from the Farmers' Market

I love how little kids are so honest. It's always fun to "interview" them and see what they come up with. Here's a small portion of one of our conversations:

Me: When does a girl turn into a woman?

Them: When her hair turns white.

Me: So, is your mom a girl or a woman?

Them: A girl.

Me: Am I a girl or a woman?

Them: A girl.

Needless to say, I was feeling pretty good about that. My head (with the non-white hair) was starting to swell.

It was only 20 minutes later when my granddaughter came snuggling up to me, gave me a cuddle, and then asked, "Grandma, why are you so old?"

Ouch! Nothing hurts more than being brought back to reality.

Dixie

The Past Couple of Weeks

So, it appears that the picture of the man in the drunken stupor featured on my last post, seems to have taken up permanent residence. I'm getting tired of seeing him, so I figure it's time to post again, even if it's just a quick summary of our past couple of weeks.

Here's what we've been up to:

1) Staining the fence we built last year.

2) Breaking in our new fire pit.

3) Attending "Taste of Edmonton" for the first time.

Sampling quail. (Tastes like chicken :))

Sampling deep-fried Mars Bar

4) Loving every minute of "Wicked".

And yes, by the clothes we're wearing, you can tell that we went directly to Wicked from the previous activity.

5) Reunioning at "Ol' MacDonald's Farm" .

6) Looking forward to a visit from Daughter #2 and her kidlets today, and a visit from Daughter #1 and her family at the end of the week.

And that's about it. Not much, but now I won't have to look at the drunk man anymore!

Dixie

FindYourBeach.ca

The Mr. was in Calgary on business yesterday and came across this sight:

Somehow we doubt this man is helping Corona's campaign.

Dixie