Family

Those darned socks!

/ edebock / 10 Comments

Logo by SamWe hadn’t been married very long when hubby was shocked to discover that I had no intention of darning his holey socks. He grew up in poverty and darning socks was something his mother did out of necessity. We were both teaching school, however, and could afford to buy new socks when our old ones wore out. After more than 46 years of marriage, however, I recently darned a pair of sock slippers that he uses when we travel. Not only did I want to extend the lifespan of something that he loves, but mending and darning, once second nature to homemakers, are making a comeback as a way to participate in sustainable fashion.

IMG_5004 2

I’ve done lots of sewing and needlecraft in the past, but since darning was something new for me, I first had to figure out how to do it. You can learn almost anything from YouTube, so I started by watching this very helpful video.

I don’t have a darning egg. In fact, until I decided to tackle this project, I didn’t even know that such a thing existed! Always one to improvise when necessary, I found that an empty olive jar did the trick. Next, I dug into my old crafting supplies and found some yarn. I would have used blue to match the soles of the socks, but I didn’t have any, so I made do with what I had.

After just one false start, I figured out what I was doing and the first part of the process went fairly smoothly. I was even beginning to think that this darning thing was pretty easy.

IMG_5007

The next part was more challenging though and I’m sure the end result isn’t as neat and tidy as it would have been if my late mother-in-law had done it. I’m satisfied though and so is hubby. I just hope he doesn’t think this means that I’m going to start darning all his holey socks because that’s definitely not going to happen!

IMG_5010 2

Beyond King Tut

/ edebock / 4 Comments

Our grandchildren are growing up in an entirely different world than we did. That’s evident by the many devices, unheard of when we were growing up or even when their parents were children, that are part of their everyday lives. I was reminded again today of how vastly different their life experiences are from our own.

The tomb of Tutankhamun, boy king of Egypt some 3300 years ago, was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in November 1922. It quickly became the most famous ancient Egyptian discovery of all time. In 1964-65, the first travelling exhibition of a substantial number of Tutankhamun artifacts visited six venues across Canada including the Vancouver Art Gallery. As a seventh grade student, I toured the Tutankhamun Treasures exhibit while on a school field trip.

Screen Shot 2022-12-27 at 5.58.39 PM

We saw 31 fairly small objects that had been removed from the tomb; objects like a gold dagger and sheath and gold rings and amulets found on the mummified body of the king. We were impressed. In our wildest dreams, we couldn’t have imagined the kind of multi-sensory experience that we took two grandsons (grade 6 and 8) to today. National Geographic’s Beyond KING TUT / The Immersive Experience was our Christmas gift from the boys and their parents.

IMG_4963

There were no artifacts on display. Instead, we wound our way through visual galleries learning about the life and times of Tutankhamun who became king of Egypt at the age of nine and ruled until his death just ten years later. Through the power of photography, we joined the archeologists and entered his tomb.

We also learned about the mummification process and ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife.

In the final room, we watched a soaring 23 minute video projection that took us back in time from modern day Egypt to King Tut’s journey to the afterworld. Beyond KING TUT definitely took us beyond the experience of my childhood!

My one dress Christmas season

/ edebock / 6 Comments

Logo by SamPrior to the pandemic, hubby and I had half a dozen or more Christmas events to attend each December. When we were still working, there were staff parties, of course, but even in retirement there were dinners, dances, and parties. All that seems to have changed and this year we had only one Christmas event to attend together, a catered banquet and program put on by our church.

In 2018 and 2019, I actually sat down in late November and made lists of what I’d wear to each December event, right down to the accessories. It made getting ready so easy, but this year there was no need to do that. Even without all those events, it’s been a busy month and I don’t know how we would have fit in much more, but I do miss all those opportunities to dress up! 

In addition to the church banquet, I did have one other very special event to attend. Last Thursday evening, my daughter-in-law Colleen, granddaughter Harlow, and I had a girls’ night out. We went to see an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved classic, A Christmas Carol, at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre. We even had front row seats. Front row might not actually be the best seats in the house, but for 13-year-old Harlow’s first exposure to professional theatre, being so close to the action was very exciting!

IMG_6082

I saw very few dresses on women in the audience, but I was happy for an opportunity to wear an old favourite of mine, the midnight blue Dream Dress from cabi’s Spring 2019 collection. You first saw it on the blog here. Since it’s winter in Alberta, I wore it over leggings and tall black boots this time. 

After spending the weekend in the city, we got home just in time to get ready for the church banquet on Sunday evening. I pulled the dress out of the suitcase and wore it again, changing only my accessories! That’s one of the things I love about the Dream Dress. The floaty polyester fabric and the underslip take up virtually no space in a suitcase and come out without a wrinkle. 

Speaking of suitcases, I’ll soon be packing for our trip to Vancouver where we’ll be spending Christmas with our oldest son and his family. I don’t know that we’ll have any need for dressy outfits, but I’ll tuck in something that would work just in case. 

 

From self-conscious to self-confident

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Logo by SamHere I am more than half way through a Friday and I haven’t written a Fashion Friday post yet. To tell you the truth, I didn’t think there’d be one today. I usually try to write these posts earlier in the week and have them ready to publish on Friday morning, but this week was a hectic one. I was only home for two and a half days between pre Christmas visits with two of our offspring and their families. I didn’t have time to do any research or even a photo shoot.

The first piece of advice that is usually given to an aspiring writer is to write what you know. Thinking about that this morning, I asked myself why I write about fashion. I have no formal training or experience in the industry. It’s not even a topic that interested me until late in life. So, why fashion? Why these weekly posts? 

When I discovered that an item of clothing or an outfit can change how you feel about yourself, I went from self-conscious to self-confident and that’s something that I wanted to share with my readers. 

640306b81f53514565c1386e14c3a91b

If how we look on the outside makes us feel good on the inside, then it’s important to choose what we wear with intention. Think about what you’re wearing right now. How does it make you feel? Fashion is a form of expression and we all deserve to express ourselves in ways that make us feel confident and joyful. Since we’re all unique that will look different for each of us. For specifics on how to dress with confidence check this post from last month. 

With Christmas just around the corner and plans being made to spend the holiday with another branch of the family, time to write and to explore the topic of fashion might be limited, but I’ll do my best to keep up and to have something to share with you each week. For now, though, there’s a grandbaby to play with and a couple more coming home from school in just a little while. 

Gram & Mikayla 2

 

 

The last camping trip

/ edebock / 5 Comments

Every year, as summer winds down and the camping season comes to an end, I yearn for one more outing with the trailer. This year, that last camping trip took us just a little over an hour from home to Black Nugget Lake, so named because the park and the adjacent Coal Creek Golf Resort were built on the site of a former coal mine.

Our youngest son and his family joined us for the weekend and together we enjoyed games of ladder ball, bocce, and tether ball. Nate also got both of his older kids out on the lake in our kayak. If you look closely, you can see him and our grandson, Yari, in this photo.

IMG_4522

Lots of time was also spent relaxing as demonstrated so well by our granddaughter, Harlow!

IMG_4523

After the family left to return to the city for work and school, hubby and I stayed on for an extra day to do some hiking and kayaking. Unfortunately, the trails that were promised on the campground map were unmarked and badly overgrown. We followed one of them as best we could for about twenty minutes before it petered out entirely and we returned to camp.

IMG_4553

Kayaking was much more successful. The long winding lake, a haven for waterfowl, was fun to explore.

IMG_4558

In addition to Canada geese and a variety of ducks, we saw numerous Greater Yellowlegs, a fairly large shorebird, as well as a stately Great Blue Heron. “Hank the Heron”, as Harlow dubbed him when she and Nate spotted him from the kayak, was standing guard on a tiny gravelly island when we first saw him. When we got too close for comfort, he flew off, but landed on the lakeshore where I was able to get close enough for a few more photos.

IMG_4555

Greater Yellowlegs

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron (with a Greater Yellowlegs in the foreground of the first photo) 

We managed to spend a total of thirty-five nights in the trailer since the first week of June this year. Although we don’t expect to take it out again this season, we do hope to do some day trips that will include more hiking and kayaking. Fall is definitely in the air and nights are getting chilly, but I’m hanging onto summer as long as I can!

IMG_4560

First hike of the year

/ edebock / Leave a comment

Here in Canada, tomorrow is a federal holiday known as Victoria Day. Initially, the holiday always fell on Queen Victoria’s birthday (May 24), but since 1952 it’s been celebrated on the Monday preceding May 25. The connection to royalty has been gradually lost over the years and now most people simply refer to it as the May long weekend. It’s the unofficial start of the summer season and the first weekend of the camping season for many. Rather than camping, since the nights are still very cold, we’re visiting my younger brother and his wife in the small village of Irvine in the southeast corner of Alberta. This afternoon, while our sister-in-law was working, the other three of us set out for our first hike of the season.

The 464-acre Chinook conservation site, a native grassland area, lies just 8 kilometres south of Irvine. Very different from the hiking that we do closer to home, there are no trails, just wide open expanses begging to be explored.

IMG_4039

Leaving the vehicle, we set off across the grassy plain toward the hills some distance away.  Of course, once we reached the top of the first bluff, we had to carry on up the next one, and then the third.

IMG_4023

Here’s the view from the top of the third hill with the second one in the foreground and the first, much lower one below it. Can you spot our vehicle in the distance? How about the little bit of cactus at the bottom of the photo?

IMG_4025

Here’s a closer look at some of the ground cover. This is snake country, but fortunately, we didn’t see any of those!

IMG_4024

After returning to the vehicle, we crossed the road and made our way across more rough grassland and through the bush to Ross Creek where we saw lots of evidence of beaver activity.

IMG_4031

In the final photo, you can see one of the peaks that we climbed way in the background.

IMG_4037

Along the way, we also saw clear signs of the deer and pronghorn antelope that inhabit the area and were reminded of the old western song, Home on the Range. “Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play!”

If the weather cooperates, tomorrow will be another adventure.

Which house was it?

/ edebock / 2 Comments

On our way to the coast we stopped in Jasper for a few hours to visit my 98-year-old aunt who lives there. When I told her that we were coming to Victoria, she reminded me that she and my mother lived here for a year when they were young children. It was the beginning of the Great Depression and, like so many other men at that time, my grandfather was out of work. His brother had found employment at the paper mill in Powell River, so he went there to apply for a job and then proceeded to build a small house for his young family. In the meantime, my grandmother and her two little girls shared a single room in a boarding house here in Victoria not far from where his parents lived. Curious, I asked Auntie Norma if she remembered what part of the city they lived in. I could hardly believe it when she told me that they lived on Government Street within a block or two of the BC Legislative Building. That’s less than a kilometre from our hotel! 

I decided that when we got to Victoria, we’d go for a walk down Government Street. I didn’t expect to find a trace of what was there 90+ years ago when two little girls walked down the street and across the parking lot behind the Legislative Building on their way to school. I thought I’d find modern apartment or office buildings or perhaps stores and hotels. Instead, I found a street lined with heritage houses! Was one of them the boarding house where Nana, Mom, and Auntie Norma lived? 

IMG_3764

IMG_3755

IMG_3754

I was enthralled as I walked up and down the street taking photos of house after house and wondering if Auntie Norma will recognize one of them when I show her the pictures. Of course, they’ve probably undergone many changes since she was here, but I’m hoping that something looks familiar.  

IMG_3765

IMG_3767

I love the contrast of old and new in this photo…

IMG_3757

Even if Auntie Norma doesn’t recognize any of the houses, this little confectionary should bring back memories. It’s been standing on the corner of Government and Michigan Streets since 1915! 

IMG_3762

This building, now the Rosewood Inn, is located kitty-corner from the little store. Could it have been a boarding house at one time? 

IMG_3753

What must it have been like for my grandmother and her little girls to spend a year sharing a single room in a house full of boarders? Auntie Norma did say that it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Apparently, the woman who ran the boarding house befriended my grandmother and became like an another grandma to the two little girls while they lived under her roof, but I’m sure that they were all very glad when the little house in Powell River was ready and the family could be together again!  

What I wore for a walk by the sea

/ edebock / Leave a comment

Logo by SamWhether you like to read about travel or fashion, there’s something in today’s post for you. I seldom write “what I wore” posts, but I figured that that was the best way to squeeze in a Fashion Friday post this week!

For the past eight and a half years, since being diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, I’ve had an injection of Sandostatin every 28 days. Until two months ago, a nurse came to the house to administer theScreen Shot 2022-04-06 at 9.35.43 PM jab, but that service has been discontinued. Now, I get my monthly injection at my doctor’s office, but I can still easily arrange to have it done anywhere in Canada. Yesterday’s appointment, for injection #110, was at a clinic in West Vancouver.

One end of the popular 1.7 km West Vancouver Centennial Seawalk is just 3 blocks from the clinic. The weather was beautiful, so as soon as I was done, we went for a walk.

IMG_3688 2

Along the way, we saw a couple of harbour seals poking their heads out of the water some distance offshore and this long-legged heron standing guard closer in.

IMG_3689

At the end of the Seawalk, we made an unexpected discovery, The Beach House restaurant. The restaurant’s beachfront patio opened for the season yesterday and we were the first to sit at our table for two overlooking the shore. The service was impeccable and the food delicious!

IMG_3695

IMG_3696

And now for what I wore…

IMG_3701

IMG_3704 2

Everything I’m wearing has been in my wardrobe for quite awhile. The olive chinos were purchased almost two years ago at Mark’s. They’re a nice alternative to jeans and perfect weight for spring and fall. I’ve had the short-sleeved animal print top from Laura for so long that I don’t actually remember when I bought it. In spite of the fact that it’s been in my closet for a long time, I haven’t actually worn it a lot, but it’s been coming out more often lately. I added the anorak from Reitmans to my spring/fall wardrobe three years ago. It’s wind and rain resistant making it a perfect jacket to wear here at the coast, but it gets lots of use at home too. My white leather sneakers, also from Mark’s, are two years old and still like new. They’re super comfortable for long walks like yesterday’s.

IMG_3707

Though you can’t see it in the previous two photos, I wore my Shirttail Cardigan from cabi under the jacket. Layering is key to staying warm at this time of year. The sweater is over five years old and still going strong. It has been an absolute workhorse in my wardrobe and has appeared on the blog many times before. I don’t know what I’ll do if it ever wears out!

Before I go, did you notice my new Fashion Friday logo? It was designed especially for me by my 12-year-old grandson, Sam! He’s one of the young artists in our family. Thank you, Sam!

Sunshine, flowers, and a successful surgery

/ edebock / 12 Comments

As we approached the Rocky Mountains of western Alberta last week, the sun was shining and the views spectacular. These shots were taken at Talbot Lake, just east of Jasper.

IMG_3685

IMG_3683

Though conditions were wintery when we crested the Coquihalla Summit the following day, driving conditions were excellent most of the way to the coast and we were thankful not to have to dig into the “just in case” bag that I mentioned in my last post. Immediately after arriving in Vancouver, however, we started to hear of winter storm warnings that were expected to drop an estimated 20 to 40 cm of snow in that area over the weekend! Motorists were advised to consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improved. We were very thankful to have made it through safely before that hit!

The primary purpose of this trip was to be with my brother who had surgery yesterday. I’m happy to report that it went well and he’s on the mend. Donald was a real trouper, patiently enduring everything that went on. I was very impressed that the surgeon arranged for myself and one of his primary caregivers to be with him in the recovery room immediately after surgery and we were able to stay with him until late into the evening. As Donald is non-verbal, I think it was reassuring to him and helpful to the hospital staff to have us there. I know it was definitely where I needed to be! Donald was released from hospital this afternoon and we were at his house to greet him when he arrived. It was a relief to see him looking and feeling so well.

277419332_1349953098813316_4599929961705375207_n 2

Our first few days in Vancouver were rainy, but today the sun shone and reminded me why April is one of my favourite months at the coast. Cherry blossoms and spring flowers abound.

277572490_10159649976405915_7018905728953021841_n

These first two photos remind me of our time in Japan!

277554556_10159649976510915_7991603493793714920_n

277780982_10159649976315915_2193511163792426864_n

277806123_10159649976140915_7416136951240551014_n

Soft pink rhododendron bushes were in bloom around the Vancouver City Hall when I walked by on my way from the Skytrain station to the hospital yesterday.

277579516_10159649995305915_741463671610771280_n

Now that Donald is clearly on the mend, we’ll spend a couple more days visiting with him as well as with our son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons. Then on Friday morning, we’ll catch a ferry and cross the Strait of Georgia to Victoria for a few days of actual holiday before we head back to Alberta.

Packing for the in-between season

/ edebock / 5 Comments

LogoLast year at exactly this time, I wrote a post about deciding what to wear for a day away from home during this in-between season when the weather is so unpredictable. This year, my challenge was much greater as it involved packing a suitcase!

At home on the prairie, the geese are returning and the gophers have come out of hibernation, but there are still patches of snow on the ground. We’re travelling through high mountain passes where winter conditions are still a distinct possibility, but our destination is the coast where flowers will be blooming and rain showers are likely. Daytime high temperatures there are likely to be around 10ºC (50ºF). How do you pack for all of that?

There’s a “just in case” bag in the back of the vehicle with heavy coats, toques, scarves, and gloves, and we each brought along a pair of winter boots. I’m seriously hoping that we don’t need any of those things, but as they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Layering is always the key to coping with varying temperatures and weather conditions, so I packed accordingly. I want to be able to add or subtract layers as the days warm up or cool off. For the most part, the clothes in the suitcase came from my fall/winter wardrobe, but I did go into storage and pull out a couple of the warmer items from my spring/summer collection. The majority of what I packed was neutral in colour allowing me to mix and match, creating a variety of different looks with a limited number of pieces.

The main purpose of our trip is to be with my special brother who is having surgery on Monday, but since that’s taking us to the coast at such a beautiful time of year and since it feels like forever since we’ve had a real holiday, we’ve added a few days in Victoria to our plans. Casual outfits will work well for most of what we plan to do, but I’ll probably want to dress up a bit for a couple of events. Accessories take up very little space and easily add polish to an outfit when that’s what’s needed.

A change of shoes can also give an outfit a lift. That’s one area where I can indulge myself on a trip like this one. When we fly, the number of pairs of shoes I can take is limited by suitcase space, but when we travel by vehicle I can fit in many more! Comfort is key, however. We plan to do a lot of walking, especially when we’re in Victoria, so I made sure to bring more than one pair of comfortable, supportive walking shoes. That way if one pair gets wet, I’ll have another to change into. We also packed umbrellas!

I’m not sure if I’ll be posting anything for Fashion Friday the next two weeks, but it will be a treat to be able to write some travel posts instead! Do stay tuned!