Create Kate

Where were you...

10 years ago today? I still remember it vividly. I was studying at University living with Tim, with my roomate Todd, and my sister. The news hit in Canada that night. It was devastating. So sad and such a loss. It was a complete shock and it felt as if most othe country (an the world for that matter) took a step back and held their breath. I think we all believed in some way that if we turned off the t.v. that maybe it wouldn't be real. That maybe it would all be gone once we turned it back on. But, it was real. And so sad.

I remembered my Mom telling me about the day that Kennedy had been shot and how everyone her age always remembered where they were when they heard the news. For my generation, the death of the people's princess was a turning point. I watched a commemorative show this afternoon about Diana and couldn't help but remember that fateful day 10 years ago. How has the time gone by so fast? And now to see those two boys fully grown into men. She would be so proud of them. I also thought back to 1981 when the Royal Wedding was on tv. I was in Saskachewan that summer at my great aunt's place. She was huge Royal follower. Most of my family has British roots and we grew learning about the Royal family. My great-aunt was enamored (as most of the country was at the time) with the wedding and set her clock for 4 am to get up to watch the ceremony. What a magical day that was. It definitely played out like a fairytale come true.

I'm not sure why their is such mystery and intrique with the Royals. That want to know more about them. Princess Diana held that in spades. She was mesmerizing. So, I sit here today reflecting back, shedding a few tears, remembering and thinking of how to turn it all into a positive. Her warmth of spirit and charitable nature are to held in high regard and with that tone, I choose to celebrate all that she brought to us.  Thank-you Diana for touching our hearts and opening us up. Thank-you.

You can go here to see Harry's eloquent speech from today. As i have said before, Diana would be so proud.

I love Oregon

WOW. I haven't been since I was a kid and I was blown away. The coast is so scenic. If it was part of Canada and I didn't have to worry about immigration and all, I'd move there in a heartbeat. it truly felt like home. We are already planning our trip back for next year. This year was for exploring. we spent a lot of time going from place to place and seeing all of the sights. Next time, we want to rent a house and just stay at the beach. Take some wetsuits and bikes with us and we'll be set for a week of relaxing. I am intent on putting together a digi kit or papers to use so I can scrap all my photos. Here are a few pics from our trip.

New stuff

You can find them here. I'm running around in catch-up mode. Had some internet issues the past few days but they are resolved for now. (knock on wood) We signed up for digital tv but it messed with the internet. Urgh. We've got the whole channel line-up for 3 months as trial. goodness. There are a lot of shows out there that I have missed out on. When we moved into our house we pared back on a whole bunch of things and went to basic cable. I am loving HGTV and the Food network. Saw this cool show called the Ace of Cakes twice now. I am cake lady for birthdays etc so that's a fun show. I'm not sure if we will stick with the big channel line-up as it just seems to be too much tv, but I would like to keep the lifestyle shows and Tim has been loving all the sports channels not to mention Mackenzie and Teletoon. Anywho... it will be fun for a few months. We aren't big tv watchers and I can tell already we aren't making the most of it all.

A fun game

Played with my cousins, my aunt, Tim and my cousin's two kids on the ferry back from the wedding. Good times.
The elements here are almost all from Heather Ann designs except the lined paper and circle stamp from me and the stitching by Tia (at TwoPeas) Heather had a sale too good to miss this past month so I picked up a few goodies.

Onto the game. We have played games in my family since I was a kid. My grandma on my Dad's side was a card player and would teach us all kinds of games when we would visit her. My Dad also taught us numerous variations of poker games. Not too mention the countless games of gin rummy with my Mom's Dad as well. Now, my brother and I love to play games when we get together and my sister and her new husband have quickly been added into the mix. So glad she married a fun guy! We've got Kenzie coming along quite well too.

Noses, or spoons or pig or tongues. This game has a lot of names. In a pinch we use noses as they work well and don't need any supplies other than a deck of cards. This game gets fun with about 5-6 people but also works well with only 4. The complete rules are here. We play so that one person is the "caller" each round and calls out the movement pattern. So it may go like this: "One card to the left," or "Two card straight across." or "One card to the right." and so on. It adds a little extra fun and commotion.

To start you count how many people are playing. Say you have 4 people then you take out 4 sets of cards- so 4 Aces, 4 kings, 4 Queens and 4 Jacks.  Mix the cards up and deal them out.  The caller calls out the direction and you pass accordingly. You can never have more than 4 cards so if you grab too many you need to put one back etc..  The goal is to get one full set in your hand first. If you do you QUIETLY do the agreed upon action. in our case it was to grab your nose. the last person to do the action loses. They can then be eliminated if you like but we prefer to just hand them a card from the leftover deck and they count it as a point against them. And then start over with a new caller for the next round. Quick, fun and easy!

And before I go I have to add how excited I was to see that Gina's kit was the member kit this month at DST! Woot woot!  I downloaded that baby speedy quick. Now I need to snap some more summer pics and I'll be good to go, or better yet, scrap the ones left from last year!

Smooches!!

To the best Dad any girl could ever ask for! He's been there for me for so many things and in his quiet way I know he is always thinking about me. I inherited his wacky offbeat and crazy sense of humour and for that I am eternally grateful. being able to laugh off some days helps so much. Thanks Dad! I love ya!