I have so many different things going on in my life so I thought this might be a good way to keep family & friends caught up on all of our activities.
 |
Goodbye "Mama"
2007 to July 9, 2018
Our hearts ache at the loss of "Mama", aka "Sweet Mama" and "Funny Mama"
She was a wild cat that lived around our place. When she had her kittens and they came closer to us, so did she. We ended up rescuing her and her 2 kittens, domesticating all of them. "Mama" spent the next 9 years with us and gave us all of her love (and mice & gophers) in exchange for all of our love.
Oh my Sweet Mama, I miss you so much. Your pawprints on my heart will be erased.....
Enjoy the full story about "Mama".
 |
 |
|
R.I.P. Henriette Widmann
March 2 to March 1, 2015
Our hearts ache at the loss of our friend, Henriette.
You were such a beautiful and sweet woman, and we will so miss you.
Our condolences go out to her family - it will no doubt be very difficult to adjust to life without her.
I will always keep the image in my mind of you dancing. You will never be forgotten.
 |
|
|
AWBA Board Development Training
February 20 & 21, 2015
AWBA (Airdrie Women In Business Association) put on a Board Development Training workshop for their board of directors. I'm an honorary member of the board and was thrilled for this opportunity!
It was well facilitated with lots of great information and tools provided on 6 modules - Ethical & Legal Responsibilities; Roles & Responsibilities of Board Members; Policy Development; Committees; Managing the Work; and Building a Better Board.
Even though the information was focused on our non-profit organization, I feel these principles can be applied directly to any business as well.
Great personal and professional development as well as relationship building with my fellow AWBA members!
 |
|
|
|
Off The Clock
February 18, 2015
I belong to Think Airdrie Networking (TAN) who hosted their first "Off The Clock" event, an evening mixer for business owners.
Alan & I enjoyed ourselves, meeting many new people and catching up with others that we know.
No doubt TAN will put more of these events and we look forward to them!
 |
|
| |
Judging 4H Public Speaking
February 7, 2015
I was thrilled that JoJo asked me to be one of the judges for her daughter, Jacklyn's 4H club's public speaking event!
My first time judging 4H public speaking was when I was 19 and in my year of Toeastmasters. It was an exhilarating experience then and it certainly was today too!
It is so nice to watch these young people really step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves. Oh what great futures they have!
I was also so pleased that Jayne Kirby, President of Airdrie Women in Business, joined us as a judge too.
 |
|
| |
First 4 Egg Day!
February 1, 2015
Have 4 laying hens means there is a possibility of collecting 4 eggs in one day. With the "chicklets", , now laying, we knew that day had to come soon, and here it is!
Thanks Henrietta, Mrytle, Betty & Veronica!
Do I have OCD (Obcessive Chicken Disorder)?
 |
|
 |
Chicklets Starting Laying!
January 25, 2015
It has been a very, very, long wait for our "chicklets", Betty and Verronica, to start laying eggs but the day has finally arrived!
I have to admit that it isn't the prettiest of green eggs, more of an olive egg, but it didn't take us long to get used to the color.!
Although Betty (the light grey colored hen) was to be a purebred Ameracuana and should have laid a blue egg, it turns out that she is a cross and lays a green egg. That means we get 2 green eggs from both of the 'chicklets'.
 |
|
 |
Home Expo
January 17, 2015
Alan and I enjoyed a wonderful day together at the Calgary Home Expo!
Neither of us have ever gone and with all our house building and plans, it was a perfect opportunity for checking into what is out there, what is new, and dream!
We also took the time to listen to Scott McGillivray's presentation (Income Property).  This idea was born out of a Christmas gift that I had given Alan - 12 dates in a box. We work so hard and rarely have any time for a 'date' so the idea was born. I put together 12 different dates in a binder (with an accompaning gift) and Alan gets to chose one each month. This month he chose "Dovercourt Day", a day spent on house stuff. I had expected perhaps time at a kitchen cabinet place, looking at appliances for example, but Alan surprised me by Home Expo. It was absolutely perfect!
|
|
 |
Our Traditional New Years Day Morning!
January 1, 2015
After a great night of dancing at the Keoma New Year's Eve Dance with our friends Janet & Shane (what a great way to welcome a new year), we enjoyed our usual tradition of cavier and mimosas in bed. Welcome 2015!
|
|
| |
A Special Christmas Gift!
December 25, 2014
What a great surprise to do chores Christmas morning and find a Christmas Egg!
It had been a long 2 months without any eggs from our "Ladies". They went through a molting - losing feathers and then regrowing feathers - so egg production stopped completely. Our "Chicklets" had not started laying yet. I had to break down and buy grocery store eggs, and I have to admit that there is no flavor in these eggs.
 |
|
|
Not Getting Stuck This Year!
November 15, 2014
After last year's brutal winter and wrecking the plough on our truck due to the horrendous drifts plus getting the 4x4 stuck more than once trying to plough ourselves out (thanks to Adam for saving us), we decided to invest in a snow blower this year for our little John Deere riding tractor. "JD" might be small, but he sure packs a powerful punch!
We don't have much snow yet and today's temperature was reasonable so a perfect day to test out our new snow blower.
Alan had a lot of fun and more importantly, "JD" and the attached snow blower worked perfectly! NO getting stuck again!
|
|
|
Arlene Dickinson Presentation!
November 12, 2014
I was thrilled to join my fellow AWBA (Airdrie Women In Business) members to Arlene Dickinson luncheon presentation, presesnted by Women Of Incluence.
Arlene presented a very powerful message, titled Power2Speak, to approximately 1,000 poople. We were all expecting a different topic, more business related, but Arlene shared and encouraged us to speak out, especially about sexual harrasement or even worse. Speak out for ourselves as well as those who can not speak for themselves. "Silence will not protect you"
In addition to enjoying Arlene's presentaton, it was awesome to share the day with fellow AWBA members, getting to know everyone better and deepening our relationships. To your continued success ladies!
|
|
|
Welcome Roux!
October 9, 2014
We are thrilled to welcome Roux (aka Rudy) into our family!
We felt our hearts had healed enough after losing Parker so we were quite excited when Parker's breeder, Kim, contacted us about another a Doberman she had bred who needed to be re-homed.
Roux is out the same bitch as Parker but a different sire. He is a beautiful red Doberman who turns 6 years old the end of October.
Roux was raised in the country and is good with cats, horses, and even chickens so he is absolutely perfect for us!
Thank you Linda for allowing Roux to become part of our family!
|
|
|
Our 1st Second Cut!
September / October, 2014
We were thrilled to get our very first second cut of alfalfa hay. We had a great cut and with the amount of rain we received plus sunshine our alfalfa grass grew back nicely.
Thanks to Mike Barkman, Mike and Austin Bailey for their great job and helping ensure we got all of the bales in and under cover before it rained.
Now we have enough hay for all the horses (ours and our boarding horses) for the winter! |
|
| |
Sweet Reunion!
September 2014
We have fostering Frani since mid-January and her owner, Rebecca, managed to come by for a visit. Alan recorded the very sweet reunion!
|
|
|
|
Windows!
August / September 2014
A HUGE step in our house construction was the delivery and installation of the windows. Only 15 out of the 17 windows were delivered, with the final 2 windows, and the largest, expected at a later date.
Alan and I were able to put 10 of the windows in ourselves. We were thrilled with the products we used, including Flex Wrap (amazing prduct).
The other 5 windows were too heavy for us to install by ourselves so a small 'window installation party' was set up. THANK YOU to Trevor, Robert, Barb, Michael, and Catherine for helping us out and making such a difference!
It is starting to look like a house now!
FRUSTRATION! After numerous delivery dates promised but then changed again and again, the final 2 windows were finally delivered, ...... and they were wrong. So the waiting continued, with more delivery dates promised and changed again and again. FINALLY, the correct ones arrived on November 8th, the day before the snow and winter hit.
 
Our goal was to get to the lock-up stage by the end of this year but the final windows being delivered so late and running out of weather prevents us from achieving that goal. Next spring it is.
|
|
| |
Gudrun and George's Wedding!
August 16, 2014
We were thrilled to be the witnesses when Gudrun and George exchanged their vows at Storm Mountain Lodge!
It was an absolutely beautiful setting for a wedding! After the ceremoney, they spoiled us with the great cuisine offerd by the lodge.
 |
|
|
Roger Falk
June 5 1950 - July 25, 2014
The world weeps at the loss of our friend, Roger.....
It was a shock when Andi let us know that Roger was in a coma in the hospital. He had taken a fall down the stairs, hitting the back of his head. Although seemingly fine at the time, it turned out he had a large blood clot. He never regained consciousness.
Our memories of Roger never fail to make us chuckle. He had such wit and always had the most amazing stories to tell!
My favorite is the time Roger had been down in California for a bike race. His bike had been stolen but a buddy gave him a ride back home. Roger had long hair at the time and you can only imagine what a sight it was to see with him riding on the back of his buddy's bike, his long locks flowing behind in the wind. There were quite a number of people who passed them, turning to check out the 'hot biker chick' on the back of the bike only to then see a full bearded man! Oh, I still laugh hard!
Among Roger's many interests was photography. Below is my favorite picture of Roger's - Andi's horse, Bar, while driving.
Rest in peace Roger. YOU will never be forgotten....
|
|
A close up of "Ronnie", the Amerucan / Brahma cross
|
New Chicklets!
July 19, 2014
We are very excited about our 2 new chickens - 2 month old chicks - who we refer to as the 'chicklets'!
Betty, the light gray, is a purebred Amerucana who will lay a blue colored egg. Veronica (aka Ronnie), the dark gray, is an Ameraucana / Brahma cross. That means she will lay a green colored egg. They won't start laying until they are about 6 months old but blue & green colored egggs are worth waiting for!
Our 'ladies' were not happy with the new additions to the coop and were quite vocal about it the first day! We kept the 'chicklets' seperate from the ladies for the first week, but all are slowly adjusting to their new normal.
Thank you to breeder Kurt for our 'chicklets' along with his helpful advice!
|
|
 |
Garden is Flourishing!
July 18, 2014
After last years desvastation and total loss of our garden due to 'hail from hell', we are so excited to see our garden flourishing!
We don't have our permanent gardens built yet (that will be after we move into the house) but we are using containers, a picnic table converted to a garden, and a fish pond (thank you Janet and Shane) converted to a garden for our needs.
We are also trying some new plants - fennel, cauliflower, pumpkin, cucumbers (english and pickling)and leeks.
We have already been enjoying our fresh veggies and no doubt it will be an amazing harvest this year! |
|
A close up of the EuroSlate rubber shingle. |
The Roof is Completed!
July 12, 2014
A HUGE step towards achieving our goal of getting to the lock-up stage on our house by the end of year!
We went with a EuroSlate rubber shingle. It is a product manufactured by Euroshield in Calgary from recycled tires and looks like extra thick chiselled-edge slate. It comes with a 50 year guarantee. Wind nor hail will damage it and this so works with our philosphy of 'do it right the first time'. The price tag was a tad hefty, but well worth it since we will never have to replace our roof.
Thank you to Orla from Lite Tile Roofing and his great crew, Dave, Dale, Shane, Troy and Gord.
|
|
| |
Austin Goodbrand's Grad!
May 30, 2014
We are so proud of Alan's oldest grandson, Austin Tylor Douglas Goodbrand, on his graduation from high school!
Now he is off to the University of Lethbridge and a great future!
|
|
Henrietta
 Our Very First Egg
 The first meal - scrambled eggs
|
The First Chickens at Steeldust Meadows!
May 11, 2014
We have been thinking about chickens (layers) for a few years now, but the building of the coop and chicken pen has been a much lower priority than our house construction. Until this year when friends, who live in Airdrie, were forced to get rid of their 3 chickens.
THANK YOU to Janet and Dave for gifting us their chickens along with the sturdy coop Dave had built, feed, shavings, feed dishes, egg holders, and much needed advice!
Chickens in their new pen
They are New Hampshire Reds and so much fun! In addition to providing us with 1 to 2 eggs each day, they are also such fun to watch. We can be found on many an evening with a glass of wine watching the "chicken channel". Yes, they are more entertaining than TV!
We have named them "Henrietta", "Myrtle", and "Betsy". They seem like appropriate chicken names don't they? We just had to name one "Henrietta" based on the cartoon below. Our "Henrietta" is the largest, darkest in color, and the bravest.
The "ladies", as we affectionaly call them, grew up with a cat so they had no fear of our 4 cats. Our cats, however, had never seen a chicken before and were not too sure what to make of them. Shadow got pecked once on the head and thought that was just enough - these were 'beasts' to be avoided!
Shawdow staring the Chickens trying to figure them out
I have to admit that I'm surprised more people don't have them - chickens are so easy to take care of and there is nothing more rewarding than collecting eggs in the morning!
|
|
|
Dancing to the tunes by Glen Brown & Spur Crazy
At the Century Casino, May 2, 2014
One of my website clients, Glen Brown, is a fantastic western musician and he has put together a band called Spur Crazy.
Alan & I were thrilled by Glen's invitation to attend his performance at the Century Casino in Calgary. What a great night!
Thanks to Pam Bexson for taking some videos with her phone. Below is one of those videos and we are even caught dancing!
|
|
 |
Scribing for the Canadian Cowboy Challenge at the Mane Event!
April 27, 2014
After the wonderful experience I had at the CCC Judges Clinic, I decided to jump on board and volunteer at the next challenge being held during the Mane Event in Red Deer, Alberta.
"What does a scribe do?", you may ask. This is a fast paced event and scribes are used during the judging. The judge verbally gives the scribe the score which allows the judge to never take their eyes off the competitor.
Scribing is a great way to learn more about the judging aspect of the event, and you know that I have a high standard of excellence and want to do the best job I can.
I look forward to seeing you there and cheering loudly for the competitors!
|
|
 |
Alan Gets A New Horse!
April 18, 2014
Ever since the loss of Buddy, Alan's usual riding horse, 2 years ago, I have been keeping an eye out for the perfect mount for Alan to enjoy.
The sun shone brightly when Joey entered our lives on April 18! Registered as Joes Two Eyed Storm, Joey is a 17 year old chestunt AQHA gelding who is very well broke and absolutely perfect for Alan.
He was a ranch horse prior to Anne buying him 6 years ago. Since then, he has been her trail partner covering many, many miles and adventures together.
Unfortunately, Joey has developed arthritis in his knees and he can not longer handle those long trail rides so Anne started looking for a suitable home for him.
Joey is well trained, light mouthed and sided, neck-reins like a pro-reiner, has no vices, and an ideal riding horse for Alan, as well as novice riders. He is so loves the foals we have here too and has become "Uncle Joey" to them.
Thank you so much Anne for leasing us Joey! He is such a sweet & gentle boy and will always have a home with us!
|
|
 |
Canadian Cowboy Challenge Judges Clinic
April 11 to 13, 2014
I was fortunate to participate in the Canadian Cowboy Challenge Judges Clinic! I had wanted to attend their previous judges clinic 2 years ago, but I was already booked for that same weekend. Oh, I was so disappointed! The moment I heard about this 2014 clinic, I signed up immediately and marked it in my calendar! Fortunately, all the stars lined up, no mares foaled, no-one was sick, and Alan was willing to handle ALL the chores for the whole weekend so I was able attend.
If you haven't heard of this awesome event, I hope you check it out. I'm so pleased to see people doing something worthwhile with their horses, instead of going around and 'round, bored out of their brains; and I LOVE to see a well broke horse. Horses that are exposed to this kind of training become well broke!
Throughout this clinic, safety and proper horsemanship skills was imparative and I was thrilled to see that! The horse was also considered first, which is my motto!
I met so many highly skill horsemen, plus renewed a few acquaintances of fellow judges too. I hope you will consider getting involved with the new sport which I predict will catch on like fire!
|
|
| |
First Foal of 2014!
March 30, 2014
For those of you who know that some of the horses we are boarding were pregnant. It has been long wait for their foal's arrivals!
Unfotunately, with Mother Nature's crabby nature this winter and spring and us not having a barn available for a mare to foal inside, all four mares were moved so they could foal inside if needed.
The first mare due to foal was Venus. She was due March 15th, but she decided to wait, and wait, and wait some more. Finally, Kasper made his entrance into the world! What a cutie pie he is!
Alan saw him when he was 9 hours old and was so taken with him! I finally manged to see him later that same day. Alan took a video (see below) - oh we laughed when Kasper went right under his Mama!
|
|
   
|
A Tribute To Parker
April 20, 2010 to February 26, 2014
With a very heavy heart and tears rolling down my face, I announce the passing of our Doberman Pinscher, Parker.
Parker seemed to touch the heart of anyone who had met her. She had such a sweet disposition and certainly gave the doberman breed a good name!
Video of Parker & the 'gopher trap'
Oh, "Poo" - you will never be forgotten....
|
|
|
With not being able to dance on New Year' Eve (because of Alan's recovery from surgery), I CAN'T WAIT until the annual Valentine's Day Dance at the Irricana Community Hall on February 8, 2014!
This is always such an amazing time! The hall is transformed into a romanatic setting; every woman is given a flower upon arriving; and they serve a whole lobster and steak dinner with all the fixings. Top off the evening with a fabulous dance and what more can one want for?
Alan & I went to this dance the first year we moved out here and plan on attending every year. It is such a fun time! Over the years, we have gotten to know more people who live in the area, including Klaus & Henriette who also love to dance. Now, it is a great social event as well as a romantic evening of dancing with my husband.
Damcing at the Irricana Valentine's Day Dance - 2008 |
|
January 2014
 |
We now have a second dog we are taking care of for a past boarding client. Frani is a 9 year old Great Pyrenees bitch who is a real sweetie. We are not sure how long we will have Frani for, but at least until her owner's life situation improves.
Parker is enjoying someone to play with every day and they have quickly become good buddies. Even the cats took to Frani, figuring out very quickly that this 'big polar bear' was not going to hurt them.
I knew Frani had settled in when she started to bark at someone coming up the driveway. Perhaps she can teach Parker that 'trick'!
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
