A Weekend to Remember

When I arrived home from work and shopping in Innisfail on Friday my granddaughter Madison was here. She had travelled from Peace River with Rebecca and grandsons Spencer and Parker. Aina arrived later with Jarl. ( They both worked on Friday so left at a later time. ) I enjoyed visiting Friday evening with Madison and Aina. They both stayed here overnight. Saturday morning we all went to the Caroline Rodeo Parade. We met Jarl, Rebecca, Rebecca's Dad Ron, and grandsons in town. It was an especially wonderful parade this year. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny. The parade was longer than usual. I visited with neighbour Carol, who tragically lost her husband to pancreatic cancer nearly two years ago. She is doing well and has a wonderfully positive attitude. I also enjoyed a visit with Sharon Hamilton, her daughter Mandy and Mandy's husband Morgan. Mandy was Jarl's first girlfriend. I had not seen her for a long time. She and her husband live in Coaldale. She does books for a company out of her home. Her husband is a geologist/grain farmer. We also caught up with Shane Nafziger (former classmate of Jarl) , his wife Lorissa Peterson and their two beautiful daughters, Jolie and Madelynne. The parade is a wonderful opportunity to visit with neighbours and former Caroline residents!

A proud Canadian

Scrambling for candy

A rare site in Caroline

A Marching Band - a Personal Favorite
The Old Firetruck

Ma and Pa and a bit o' Moonshine

Horses - common in the Caroline Parade and Area

Got everyone's attention; new restaurant Bucky's in background

The way it was

A proud horse and rider

Leonard Kanten, perfectly color coordinated

A bookworm from Caroline Library

After the parade, Helge, Madison, and I went home. We spent the remainder of the day cleaning the yard and flower pots in preparation for the party. We planted some flowers, and just sat the remainder in planters to provide some colorful decoration for the birthday celebration. Madison loves to help, and I surely appreciated her company and extra help. Aina met Trevor in Caroline. They camped at the Caroline RV Park and went to the rodeo cabaret on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning the place was a-buzz with continued party preparations and phone calls from family and friends confirming their attendance and checking directions. The surprise call was from Aunt Bea and Uncle Norm. They had delivered cars to Red Deer and Rocky Mtn House and would be attending the party!! Other guests included : Jarl, Rebecca, Spencer, Parker, Kai, Aina, Madison, Sonja, Ben, Alice, Laurel, Tamara, Kayli, Keith, Theresa, Nadine, Franco, Aolani, Rita, Glen, Jaia, Liana, Mike, Glenn, Michell, Tyler, Braden, and friends Judie and Darrel. We had a great time! The weather cooperated for the most part. The day was mostly sunny with only the odd, short-lived shower. Everyone contributed to the very tasty menu. I decided I would attempt to make a potato salad, and decided to try something different to see if I could approach anything as tasty as Rueben's potato salad. The attempt was very successful. We cut about 4 pounds of potatoes into bite-size cubes, brought to the boil over medium-high heat, reduced to simmer for about 10 minutes. We then drained the potatoes and poured about 1/2 cup of pickle juice over the warm potatoes. We let this sit for about 20 minutes. Then we added the chopped hard-boiled eggs, celery, green onion, and a dressing of Miracle Whip, sour cream, and mustard. The salad was garnished with eggs, parsley, and freshly-ground pepper. Aunt Bea assembled the salad for me so I was happy for her magic touch. I also enjoyed the marinade I purchased from Innisfail Meats - the Mad Butcher Hickory BBQ Sauce. I marinated some sirloin steak in this sauce which I found to be very tasty. Trevor did an excellent job of BBQing. It was a fun family get-together! Aunt Bea and Uncle Norm stayed overnight in their truck sleeper. Here are a couple of photos from the party. Unfortunately we did not think of the camera soon enough to get pics of all of our guests. Laurel clicked quite a few, though.

Can you spot our surprise guests?

Monday Morning we had coffee with Aunt Bea and Uncle Norm before they left. At 2 pm we attended the joint funeral of Peggy Oliver and her mother-in-law Audrey Oliver. (Audrey Oliver was married to Rebecca's Grandmother's brother Hugh.) The Caroline Complex was overflowing. The ceremony was heartfelt but long. In addition to an eulogy and slide show for each, there were several personal tributes. (Crystal Oliver (nee Anger) and MC (Marie-Claude, Peggy's daughter-in-law, prepared the slide show. They used software from www. muvee.com . I enjoyed the vintage album with page-turning transitions.) The complex was warm, and I was rather worried about the babies and elderly, in particular the diabetics. Parker coped really well but Rebecca said it took a while to settle him last night. Mary Hare, a diabetic in her 80s, sat in front of me and managed well. However, there was one person who fainted at the end of the service. Hopefully she is okay. I sat next to Norene and Urbam Fortin whom I had not seen since they left Caroline. Norene taught Aina in elementary school. Claire and Jarl were roommates in their first year of uni. I also enjoyed visiting with Denise Dean, her daughter Monique and granddaughter Sidney. And, of course, there were many others. Lunch was well-organized. The Church of the Nazarene, the Scouts, and the Royal Purple all contributed. The lunch and coffee were set up in all four corners of the complex which really assisted with managing the large crowd, making it easy for us to munch, mix, and mingle.

What a treat it was to have quality family time, and renew old friendships over the weekend!