WHAT HAPPENED TO APRIL? TO SPRING?

After Easter in Peace River with Jarl and Aina and families, our granddaughter Madison came home with me to spend her Easter holiday. We enjoyed a few special days together. Madison enjoys spending time outdoors with her Granddad looking after the llama, goats, chickens, and dogs. She enjoys games, reading, and shopping with Grandma. On March 28th we took off for Laurel's place as Madison was going to spend time with her cousin Kayli while my sisters Alice and Laurel, and sister-in-law Michelle accompanied me to the Jubilee for the Los Lobos concert. On our way through Calmar I stated that I should stop at the bank for some cash in case I wanted to buy a CD at the concert. Madison replied, "Grandma, is that a want or a need? You don't really need a CD! What you need is to get to Laurel's place on time.....(not exact wording)" I asked her how she knew about wants and needs. She said that she often gets to go to the grade 3 classroom when she finishes her Grade 2 Math. (She is a top math student, and completes her math with ease.) She learned about wants and needs with the Grade 3 class in Social Studies.

On March 30th Alice and I headed for a week's holiday in Kelowna via the Yellowhead route. We had planned to stop at the family's favorite restaurant in Edson for breakfast but could not find it, so we motored on to Hinton. We fueled up at an Esso station there and enjoyed a tasty and economical breakfast at the adjoining restaurant. Our next stop was at Blue River in B.C. This community caters to the heli-skiing crowd. We found a great restaurant that is open to the public at mealtimes. We enjoyed an excellent smorg. Our drive was very picturesque, and we enjoyed the changing seasons along the way, and each others companionship. We stayed at the Lake Okanagan Resort which was available to Alice through her time share. We were in new accommodation along the lake, and especially enjoyed the beautiful, functional, and cozy decor. Our first day was really cool so we enjoyed staying inside lounging, and enjoying satellite TV especially the home decorating and real estate shows. Alice's daughter Vanessa and grandson Zechariah came to visit. We enjoyed spending time throughout the week with Vanessa, John, and Zechariah. Vanessa took us to a favorite family coffee shop right along the beach in Penticton, and took us to Summerland so we could see Mom and Dad's old place and look for the popular dollar store and convenience store that we all enjoyed. She also took us to the Mission Hill winery for a tasting tour. The facility and its location are impressive. I didn't enjoy any of the sample wines, and didn't buy any at $25.00/bottle! John took us on a tour of the Coral Beach area where he grew up, and also took us to the popular lookout from where we could get the birds eye view of Kelowna. As the Okanagan appears to be so urbanized it was hard to imagine any rural areas. Thus I very much enjoyed that country drive. Alice and I each received gift certificates from the resort when we attended an introductory/information session. I used mine towards a lovely mauve vest from the resort. Alice bought a beautiful locket at Posh on Pandosy St. Kelowna offered some wonderful shopping. I especially enjoyed Coco Boutique and the Marmalade Cat Cafe in the Mission area of Pandosy as well as the ?? Art Gallery. One evening of our holiday we enjoyed a lovely meal and visit with John's parents; another evening we drove to Vernon and enjoyed home cooking and visiting with Ken and Brenda. We returned to AB on April 6th via Roger's Pass. Vincen picked up Alice at my place which saved me 5 to 6 hours of driving. I was very thankful for this as I had to work the next day.

April 12th was a grand day. Sonja drove us to Willow Creek for Melanie's Baby Shower. ( My vehicle was parked waiting for the installment of a new alternator. My vehicle just stopped one day at Spruce View on my way home from work. Thankfully this did not happen on our BC trip!!) It is always fun to spend time with family, particularly in welcoming a brand new babe, in this case Jonas Quinn. We also enjoyed getting to see Vanessa and family again.

April 21st and 22nd(Earth Day) were the only two days in April that I was not booked for work. This was fortunate, as these were snow days with extremely cold temperatures for April. Helge and I both enjoyed staying inside with a warm, cosy fire. I am so thankful that Helge enjoys accumulating good firewood!

May 4th I enjoyed dinner with my siblings at Monte Carlo Restaurant in Camrose. This was one of my Mom's favorite restaurants. Sadly, we lost her a year ago already on May 13th. After dinner we all went with Glenn to Viking to Earl and Rose Mae Kjelland's to decide on a headstone for Mom. We want the same granite and font style and placement as on Dad's headstone. We have yet to make a decision on graphics and epitaph, and plan to do so when we get together for Helge's birthday. We also enjoyed coffee and a visit with Earl and Rose Mae. Over the years we had heard so much about them but had never met. (Rose Mae is Uncle Norm's younger sister.) We gals admired Rose Mae' beautiful petite point, and her painting and decorating of the garage for the red Corvette. The guys, of course, enjoyed the vintage cars!

May 8th we had a major dump of snow (8 -10 inches) Apparently there was nearly 2 feet west of Rocky Mountain House. I could not drive my car up the driveway Thursday evening. Helge shovelled just enough snow for me to park my car at the end of the driveway. I did not go to work on Friday until the afternoon when weather and driving conditions had improved. I could not believe how balmy and snow-free Innisfail was! I went to Extra Foods after work for a few groceries. I was excited to see major supplies of bedding plants, hanging baskets, and potted perennials coming in. I decided to purchase many of my faves. I usually miss out because I wait too long to do my shopping. I always wanted osteospermum(daisy-like) flower and now at last I have some in two beautiful colors. I also bought a flowering crab tree and a deep pink/red peony. Grandma Hanson always had peonies, and I believe Aunty Janet still has a piece of that so I must try to get a piece from her and perpetuate it. As I write this the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the temperature has reached 10 degrees C on the plus side. Hopefully it won't be long until my snow-covered yard is green. I am so anxious to beautify the place with herbs and flowers! Helge has prepared his garden for veges.

Two of my colleagues attended a Knowledge and Employability seminar last week. They shared their info and resources. I have enjoyed the website of curriculum developer, Roger Taylor (www. rogertaylor.com), finding support and motivation for my own ideas. And the good news is that I will be returning to full-time work at Bowden at the beginning of June so I am very much looking forward to that!

Here is a parting thought:

From the day your child is born you must teach him to do things. Children today love luxury too much. They have detestable manners, flout authority, have no respect for their elders. They no longer rise when their parents and teachers enter the room. What kind of awful creatures will they be when they grow up? -Socrates, 399 B.C.