Barbeque Blizzard

I apologize for the lack of "Barbeque Blizzard"post.  So frustrating when words and pictures disappear somewhere into cyberspace.  Back when I originally wrote the post on March 31, I was talking about the crazy weather here.  One day warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt.  The next day, cold and snowy.  About a week ago, my good friend A invited us to go to the rivervalley for our first barbeque of the season for her birthday.



Nice barbeque weather, eh?  In the morning when I saw the fluffy white stuff I phoned my dear friend to ask about plan B.  No plan B.  She was determined that we were going to keep the plans for the barbeque and who am I to argue with the birthday girl?



It was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g.  The kids were pretty excited though.  We dressed warm.  We packed the toboggans.



Do you see the baby car seat on the sled at the top of the picture?  My friend has a baby, 6 months old.  Boy, I can see an adventurous life ahead for this little one!  Did I mention it was so, so cold?  Our raw veggies froze on the table they were on.  The fire was awesome though.  Beautiful, cozy and comforting.



The deer sausage on a bun was most delicious...



...as was the popcorn cake.  This yummy stuff has oodles of butter, bits of gummy candies and chocolate in it.  (I think it's sitting upside down in the container....you can't see near enough of its yumminess from this vantage point!).



Here's the gift I prepared for A - quite the contrast to our barbeque blizzard.  I had to save it and give it to her when there was no chance it would freeze in my vehicle!











My friend loves tulips and spring.  Her sunny disposition matches the season.   Since our winter barbeque happened, the snow has melted then come again.  I should be used to this weather by now, but the changes always catch me by surprise.  Come, Spring, for real, please!

Dresser Revival

A friend gave me her daughter's old dresser.  Old and ugly, yet sturdy.  I could see lots of possibilities for this well loved piece of furniture.  6 melamine drawers in an off white beigey color...



...and a big mirror on top of the dresser in a brown-oak finish.  The body of the dresser was the same finish as the mirror.  I didn't take a before picture of the main dresser piece. 



I primed everything then got serious with the spray paint.  Are you ready for the reveal?

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Ta-daaahhhh!!!!!!!



Here's some close ups of the knobs.





I purchased some cheap plain wooden knobs at Canadian Tire, primed them, and painted then stamped them in 3 Urban Monkeys style.  They were finished off with a water based sealer.  I love, love, looooooove how they turned out.  So do my girls who are the proud owners of this new piece of furniture!



Piggy likes his new home.





I was surprised at how much spray paint I had to use.  5 cans.  Smelly and more waste in the landfill than I'd like.  Next time I may roll on the paint instead.  Overall though, I'm thrilled!

 

 

Big Changes

It has been a long while since I've written.  I've missed it.  Everything has been unbelievably busy both in my thoughts and in my environment.  My family and I took a road trip to Victoria, British Columbia last week.  We left Wednesday after school and hit the open road.  The kids travel well at their ages.  We are the proud owners of a mini van with no dvd player.  We don't have any mp3 players or personal electronic devices.  We have a cd player, each other, and windows all around us to enjoy the view. 



Beautiful, isn't it? (except for the big crack in the windshield - gulp.).   You see, G and I have always talked about moving out of the province of Alberta.  Experiencing a different part of Canada.  Last summer while on a road trip to the Okanagan we talked and talked and talked about our dreams, our life, our happinesses, our sorrows.  It became somewhat clear that we'd like to take an adventure, you know, make that dream of moving somewhere else a reality.  And what better place than Victoria, British Columbia.



Breathtaking.



The flowers are blooming when it's the dead of winter in our city.



Everything is green, green, green.



Then there's the matter of the ocean.







The kids had a hoot collecting shells, crab skeletons, smooth beach glass and rocks.  We like Victoria because should we choose to stay there, the kids can go to university while living at home.  It doesn't make sense.  Our families are in Alberta.  The people we know and love live in Edmonton, our home city.  But there is a sense of excitement in going to the unknown.  In starting over.  And so we will embrace it, that part of our hearts which  beat with wild ecstasy over this upcoming move.

On the way home we drove from spring to winter.



Heaps of snow.  Horrible roads.





It made me miss the Springtime that has already arrived on the coast.  But there is something comforting about coming home too.  So now being home, we will step by step get ourselves ready to move to a new home.  Not a better home, just a different home and another opportunity for personal growth.