Stripped Bare

Well, it is done! In the photo, you can see the base of the shower in the location it will be when the barthroom is redone. Everything is taken down and taken out with a comprehensive clean up done as well. I even vacuumed. Why? I know that Wayne will only make a huge mess taking out concrete for the drainage systems for the new sink and the new shower, but it makes me feel good to know that for now, it is as clean as it can possibly be.

Well, as all know now, Ottawa won last night. I guess that this means some jobs are saved for the moment. My guess is that Gerber will get the next start now that he is playing better than Auld. I still think they need to get rid of the GM and one or two players such as Vermette and Fisher so that there is salary space for a good defenceman.

What about tonight? Well, it will be a supper at our home for some friends followed by a few games. Who is coming? I guess we will find out when the time comes as some would need to travel and the weather is not great with strong winds and high wind chill values. So what's new - winter in Saskatchewan.

Quiet and Cold

Another day in the basement and it looks even more empty at this point. I will be ready for Wayne to do his part by noon tomorrow. Besides working on the basement, mom and I also spent time organizing our stuff for packing. I think we have reduced enough now.

We went out for supper to Wayne and Denise's followed by a few rounds of Tee Wars. Then, it was back home to watch Ottawa play Edmonton on SNET-W. So far, it is a 1-1 game with Gerber in the net for Ottawa. Here's hoping. ... Yay! Ottawa won 3-2 with Talan in net. Woohoo!

Making Changes

It is cooler out today making it a good day to work on gutting the downstairs bathroom in order to get it ready for Wayne to do his work of cutting out the cement so that I can put in a shower and a new sink. Today Wayne put in two new shutoff valves so that I could take out the old sink. I now have all the walls and ceiling down in the old bathroom as well as most of the stuff done in the area which will be part of the new bathroom.

Last night we went out to watch the town senior hockey team win a rare game. We decided that the Canadian Juniors were too boring to watch playing Kazakstan. Tonight, we ended up going out for supper at Bernie's with Don and Darlene. And now, we are home watching the Canadian Juniors play Germany, a good game to watch with the score a lot closer.

Post Christmas Stuff

And now, the clean up has begun ... Yes, we are alone in our house once again. First thing on the agenda was to take down the tree and get ready for the New Year. All that is left is the outside decorations to take care of before we are done with that task. Not long into this, we decided to go out for our long country walk, something we have not done since Christmas. Given the choice, playing with grandchildren wins hands down, no contest.

As you can see, we watched hockey last night, a game taped from a week or so ago when Ottawa played Tampa Bay and won. Needless to say, there was a lot of cheering as Gerber (Talan) won with a shutout. Talan had his Gerber sippy cup busy in order to help Ottawa win. The game against Calgary was on too late for the boys, a good thing as the Sens lost quite badly with Auld (Griffin) in net. Oh well, perhaps Ottawa will win the Tavares Cup in June. There's another game tonight when the Sens travel to Vancouver.

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas morning and the first Christmas presents have been opened. Wheat with poppy seed and honey, a Ukranian tradition, was breakfast for the adults while the young ones enjoyed their usual breakfast. Now, the turkey has just been cleaned and is being prepared for roasting. In a few hours, another one of our children will be coming with her family to enjoy a family Christmas. Only our youngest is unable to come as he is stuck at work for a portion of the day. This post is for you, Dustin and Robyn. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Street Lights

We are back home from visiting Dustin and Robyn and their dogs. It was a good visit as we got to teach them Tee Wars. Like our visits to Tasha's and Noelle's, the game saw a lot of action. Hat's off to Uncle Bill for teaching us this new game. Even Craig and Christie had a good go at the game. Sad to say, but in all instances, the women dominated the winning circles.

Here in Elrose, it is still in the -30 territory even though it is mid afternoon. This morning it was -37C on our deck. Cold and clear. That is basically our weather forecast for the next few days.

Well, some great news. Mom is going to make me tourtiere for Christmas Eve! Yep, another tradition lives on. I imagine there might be a slice or two left for anyone who might be interested. Okay, so there will be a second tourtiere that I am supposed to save for company.

Christmas at Dustin's

It's Sunday morning in Alberta. The drive to Dustin's was basically a pleasant ride through sunshine with good road conditions even though the warmest it got outside was -28C. We arrived around 1:00pm Alberta time. The afternoon was spent in pleasant conversation just catching up with both Robyn and Dustin.

Later in the afternoon, friends of Dustin and Robyn came over to be part of our supper and evening games. They brought their little baby boy who seemed to enjoy the whole evening. It didn't seem too long before it was late and bed time. A side note, Ottawa won its game against Dallas with Gerber in net.

Christmas Front Window

It is still snowing, a gentle soft snow. This morning was busy enough with my doing some sanding on a stool for Mom. She is taking the stool to one of her friends who will be doing some painting on it while we are away in Mexico. While I was sanding, Mom was out shovelling snow in the driveway, not that it was all that deep, but simply because it was something to do outside. She loves winter when it is like this, a rare kind of weather in Saskatchewan. I cleaned out a number of books from the computer room and have set aside a number of small boxes for trips into the city where we will trade them in on new reading material, at least new to us.

Now that the first of the morning chores are done, I am back in the computer room ready to do more work on my Spanish as well as on photos. Ottawa plays tonight so I will take time out to listen to the game on Internet radio. Likely Mom and I will go to the arena after that in time to watch the town Midget team play a game. It's a good way to spend the day while waiting for family at Christmas.

Christmas Trio

It's late afternoon in Elrose and we are just back home from a walk into the countryside and around town. Most of the afternoon we played bridge with the seniors, the last time until sometime late next spring or next fall. It has warmed up as Mom says. It is now only -25C with only a small breeze while a very light snow is falling. The falling snow makes it seem warmer than -25, go figure.

What else did we do? Not much and it doesn't appear as we will do anything else worth mentioning. The next Senators hockey game is tomorrow and Griffin is starting in net against Sheldon Brookbank's team, the New Jersey Devils. It would be a great surprise if the Sens even come close as the Devils are a strong team.

In one more day, we are off to Dustin and Robyn's for a few days before Tasha and family make it to our place. The good days are getting closer and closer.

Christmas Frosty

Happy Birthday, Cameron!

Okay, that was worth a line all by itself. Today it is cloudy and cold. Thought the temperature is supposed to get to -18 this afternoon, the lack of sunshine means it feels colder, especially in the house. Ottawa lost last night and it doesn't look good. Expect some changes to the team in the New Year. I don't know if it will mean a trade or two of "big name" players, or the sacking of a GM and/or coach. I would bet on a trade happening, either Heatley or Spezza is my guess.

On the home front, it is more of the same. Mom is baking buns and keeping busy with her projects and I am back at scanning negatives. I am also fitting in some time for learning Spanish vocabulary. There is no time for being bored around our house.

Christmas Santa

It's a beautiful sunny day in Elrose with the temperature a bit warmer, now in the -20C range. I got out for a walk with Mom yesterday afternoon. Of course I was bundled up with a scarf around my mouth and nose so that I wouldn't cough myself to death. Aside from the biting wind when we walked west and north, the walk around town was refreshing.

Today, it is just another day with me again working on scanning black and white negatives. One section of the work involves those photos I took in 1978 and 79 which were more about art that substance. I was busy taking photography classes, both from the Education College and the College of Fine Arts. Needless to say, I am tossing out most of the photos as there are often ten shots of the same thing using different lenses or exposure settings, part of the learning process. Still, I am going to have a lot of black and white digital photos to add to our family archives.

Tonight the Ottawa Senators are again playing and Talan is again in net because of his stellar performance on Saturday night when he earned a shutout. Oops, I was supposed to say Gerber. Here's hoping that he wins another game tonight.

Christmas Welcome

Another cold day in Paradise. Verrrry colllldddd! I am still working on scanning black and white negatives. It seems that I was "click happy" for more than thirty years. Most of the photos are from 1975 to 1980. From that point on, it seems that I switched to colour prints except for a trip to France in 1988.

It is hard to believe that in less than a week we are busy with family for Christmas beginning with a trip to Dustin's on Saturday. In all seriousness, I can hardly wait until the real Christmas season begins.

We had Wayne and Denise over for supper last night followed by several games of Tee Wars which saw Wayne and Mom emerge as champions. Today, it is bread baking day as we want all to be ready for when Tasha and her crew, as well as Noelle and her crew, come for Christmas here in Elrose.

Christmas Craft

Cold! Very cold! It's -32C as I write and the forecast high for today ... -32C. Wind chill takes this into the -40 and worse territory for the next three or four days. It's a good day to stay indoors. Not that I have been going outside for the past week with this flu/cold combination.

Ottawa finally won a game last night because of Gerber. Yes, he got a shut out! I've taped the show for Talan, Griffin and Cameron to watch. If possible, I will tape a second game with Auld playing so that Griffin gets equal time in the spotlight.

So, what else is new? Well, I have been busy scanning old black and white negatives. Some of them are actually not bad at all. It will be interesting to see how it all sorts itself out and the stories that will grow out of the photos.

Christmas Hockey

Well, I am still a Senators fan even though they are struggling as a team. They lost again last night in a game that no one seemed to play well. They play again tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Ottawa. The game is on televison, so I will be taping it so that I can watch the game with the grandkids when they come. It will be quality time spent together, that's for sure.

It's cold outside! It's almost noon and the temperature has risen to -25 C. And, it is supposed to get colder and very windy. Yes, we have windchill warnings out for the next few days. I'm glad that we are sitting still for the next week.

This morning I packed up a bunch of books to be sold to secondhand book stores. The computer room is now less crowded as I took out the homemade shelving under the windows and moved Mom's sewing machine back there in its place. This afternoon I will return to scanning black and white negatives, a process I started yesterday. I am impressed on how well they are scanning. Again, the negatives are from pictures of the 1970s, many of which I had never printed. Of course, I have a lot that never will be printed. Once they are all scanned, I will then have to cull them as it is all too much. When that is done, then the real work can begin, the work of putting them together in a way that makes them more valuable to you and the grandkids. Well, time to get back to work.

Christmas Presents

Friday morning, another wintery day and it is getting colder almost by the minute. In the next few days we are going to get even colder with lows in the -30s and highs around -27 C. This is what is normal for a prairie winter - brutal cold spells alternating with very mild spells. Nothing just plain and simple or predictable.

As you can see, the presents are under the tree for our grandchildren. What about the older folk? Our children and their partners? Well, that must remain a mystery. Let's just say that it's been busy in the kitchen.

My cold/flu is getting better, but the cough and the sweats are still hanging in there. I have more energy now so that is good. However, whatever is bothering the Senators isn't better yet as they have been showing less energy than me. Tonight they play again. Let's hope they are getting better as well.

Christmas Cards

Well, we got our first and only Christmas card so I thought that I would share it with you guys. Of course, a great letter came with the card. I can remember how we would always create an annual Christmas letter to let our respective families know how life had been experienced by us. In these "modern" times, everyone already seems to know everything because of Facebook. I mean, we even know what they are thinking! And of course, they post pictures, even the bad ones, to let us know what and who and how for each major and minor event. I'm not complaining, in fact, I am as guilty as all the rest, maybe more so. Tasha, thanks for sending the card. It was one of my favourite family photos.

Today has been a better day for me with a lot less hacking. Temperature is down and I managed to be of some help with a few chores. I even finished scanning our slides, even those from the first France trip in 1988. Now, I have started on scanning the colour negatives. So far, not too many done, but they seem to be better in quality than some of the slides were, less whiteout (less exposed I imagine - or else time hasn't hurt the negatives as much as it has hurt the slides).

Mom has been out this afternoon playing bridge with the seniors while I stayed at home where I wouldn't give my flu to the old fogies. Oh, I guess I am officially one of the old fogies too. Ottawa lost last night, but not because of goal tending. Gerber played and outstanding game only allowing one goal while the rest of the Senators stood back and watched to see how well he would perform. Maybe next game the Sens will find the will to play a decent hockey game.

Christmas Snow II

Yes, there is some real snow now in Elrose. It begins to be more and more certain that this will be a White Christmas after all.

I am glad to say that I am feeling better today, a bit better is good. I actually did something besides occasionally surfing the 'Net today. A few Christmas presents got wrapped and are now under the tree (this will make it into a future blog photo).

We got our first Christmas card of the year! Thanks Tasha and family for the great card. Ottawa plays again this evening with Gerber in the net - make sure that Talan knows that I am cheering for him - Gerber - to lead his Ottawa Senators to victory.

Christmas Preparations

In this photo, Mom is cutting up the dough for potato perogies. Once we had these perogies in the deep freeze, we used the leftover dough for cabbage perogies. Needless to say we have already done a taste test to ensure that everything is as it should be for our children and grandchildern. It's called quality control.


I am busy folding the bun dough around potatoes for perishke. I realise that most of our children don't really care for these things, but it is tradition after all. And, as usual, there has been a quality control experiment which took place last night. They are now ready for family at Christmas.

On a different front, Ottawa Senators managed to find a way to loose last night against a team that lives near the bottom of the league and has at least a half-dozen key players injured. If I wasn't already feeling a bit under the weather, it would have made me sick.

It is snowing today in Elrose and the world looks white. It looks like we will have a white Christmas after all.

Christmas Hanging Cinnamon

I'd have to say that many of the things we've collected over the years are not up this year as we were hesitant about which ones to put up and which one's to store. I imagine that this problem will only get worse as time goes by, either that or we say put them all up even if it meands building another wall or two.

I am slightly under the weather with either a flu or cold making life less pleasant for Mom. I have spent most of the day trying to stay warm under a quilt in my chair in the living room. For the most part, I didn't even bother turning on the computer for most of the day. Not enough interest or energy. At least there is a Senator's hockey game to listen to this evening.

Christmas Tree

An angel sits on top of the tree as it always has in our home for Chrtismas. Traditions are important as they give a sense of comfort and ease. The tree may be small, but it does hold the creative efforts of all of our children and grandchildren. In a way, it is holds years and years of memories in which we have worked together to create each ornament, each decoration. Like most families, we have created our version of Christmas.

Well, it's Sunday and the boys are still sleeping after staying up a bit later than usual as we played games. Collin has gone out in the early morning for another hunt as the recent snow will make tracking a deer that much easier. Mom and Noelle are chatting away while in the background, Christmas music is playing. Soon, the boys will be up and the energy levels will be ramped up as we get ready to head to the hockey arena for Devon's game.

Christmas Hearth

We are just back from watching Hunter play hockey. His team won convincingly due to a solid defence. While he was playing, Ottawa was able to defeat the Pens. It has been a good day for hockey. It is snowing in Provost and looking very much like Christmas.

Our time here has been spent so far playing a lot of the Tee Wars game. So far we haven't been able to declare anyone champion as the games are always split. We still have quite a few games left to play. Tomorrow, we get to watch Devon play defence on his team.

Christmas Snow

Well, it isn't much, but we do have snow! Will it stay? I don't think so as it is already +2 C outside. More snow is in the forecast for Sunday along with a temperature of 0 C. I do think we will have snow on the ground for Christmas as there is still some snow in the long term forecast along with much cooler weather.

Yesterday's bridge with the seniors went well as usual. Afterwards I helped them set up tables and chairs for their annual Christmas pot luck dinner. Not long after we were home, we got invited out for supper, a good thing as nothing had been planned. We got home a decent hour and got busy with the making of perishke (baked potato filled buns) before relaxing knowing that we had a productive day. No moss growing on us!

In a few hours we are off to Provost for a weekend of minor hockey and visiting. Hopefully the roads will be in good shape for travelling in both directions.

Christmas on the Fridge

Our grandchildren are responsible for making sure our refrigerator is always suitably covered with their art. And for the Christmas season, their crafts find a place of honour on the fridge.

It's a cold and windy day that is rather gloomy as far as weather is concerned. More work in the basement now that I have the base for the shower. It is time to plan where the new wall will be positioned so that the shower drain can be properly prepared. With this well underway, we spent the afternoon at the senior centre playing bridge with then others. This evening we are out for supper at neighbour Darlene's. It has been a day well spent.

Christmas Snowmen

I'm up a bit earlier this morning and decided that I need to write this so that I can post today's Christmas picture before we head of to Saskatoon. Today I pick out and pick up the new sink and shower for the downstairs bathroom. Likely we will also do a little bit of shopping for paperback books to take with us as reading material to Mexico which is now less than five weeks away.

Last night we had perogies for supper. Mmmmmm, good! We only ate the gibbled ones, ones that weren't in the right shape, those which we didn't want to place in front of special company such as our children. Regardless of the shape, they were soooo good. I'm sure that we will save some for you.

Christmas Basket

Another Christmas scene from our house which sticks to the heart being at home for Christmas. It amazes me to realise that almost everything we have has been made by one of you at some point as a reminder of all the Christmas seasons we have spent together as a family.

It's December and it appears to be a warm one so far. The coldest daytime high for the next week looks as though it will be -6 C. Not bad. As for snow, it isn't too promising so far. A few little snow showers are in the forecast for the weekend. Hopefully there will be snow for Christmas so that we can play some good old-fashioned road hockey in front of the house.

Today, Mom and I are into perogy making. I am an important part of the process as every one that I make is one less for Mom to make. Great news from Cameron as he has his first point of the hockey season - woohoo! And this morning, Talan sang the alphabet song for me over Skype. A good morning so far.

Wayne was over checking out the progress in the basement and helping me plan on what can be done by him while we are in Mexico. There is no doubt that we are making this house a better home. I can hardly wait to see the finished product sometime in April when I finish the walls in our new bathroom.

Christmas Hearts

There is no doubt that we are looking forward to "hearts come home for Christmas" as the photo says. Mom cooked up some potatoes for another Christmas baking project this morning while I was busy taking down an inner wall in order to get ready for a basement bathroom upgrade. We will be taking four feet of space from the unused room at the bottom of the stairs for the bathroom enlargement in order to install a shower as well as replace the airplane sink with one that is normal sized.

On a differnt topic, our trip to the city yesterday with Annabelle and Derek turned out to be time well spent. The play was incredible. It was a realistic look at rural Saskatchewan in modern times with a sense of humour. Dinner out afterwards was a great way to finish out the event. We haven't laughes so much in a long time, especially so much that all of us had laughter tears in our eyes.

Sadly, Canadian politics is again in the news in a very negative way. Our Prime Minister is taking a page out of former US President Richard Nixon with illegal recording of telephone conversations. Read the Globe and Mail article (here) to get the story. Needless to say, the opposition parties are all ready to replace the Conservative minority government if and when the Governor-General approves. Constitutionaly speaking, it is legal and ethical here in Canada. As well, it is a normal state of governing for a number of countries around the world including Israel. You can read another Globe and Mail story (here) to see just how this coalition government is being put together.

Well, so much for that. It's time to listen and see how this will all play out.

Christmas Time

Well, as promised, here is today's Christmas photo from a series that I took yesterday while getting decorations put up. As usual, the angel sits on top of the tree. You will have to wait to see what the tree looks like with all of its homemade ornaments and decorations. I think we saved everything each of you made over the years and decades.

Last night we were lucky that the weather stayed nice allowing us to travel to Rosetown for an evening of dancing with a few other couples from Elrose. Of course, it was old-time dancing and as a result, a bit slower. I don't know if this dance club will last many more years as most of the people going are in their late 70s as well as 80s. Nothing lasts forever. On a sad note, Ottawa lost to the lowly NY Islanders again, this makes three times in a row.

Later this morning, we are heading to Saskatoon with Annabelle and Derek to see a prairie play called Pull of the Land: The Sequel. We saw the original play as a desert theatre in Harris, the town where the plays were written. I will let you all know more when we are back home.

Christmas Clock

It is beginning to look a bit like Christmas in the house. I will try to have a different photo each day with this theme so that you can enjoy that "at home" Christmas feeling.

The clock still isn't working and that is okay as it is old. We don't throw away something treasured because it doesn't work. This used to be Grandma and Grandpa Kohuch's clock. I think they got it for their 25th anniversary in 1954.

So, I guess you know what is in store for today, Christmas decorations will be put up. While I will be doing this, Mom isn't around as she has gone to Swift Current with Darlene and Bernie for an interesting day out together.

Beginnings in Black & White

Take a look at the girl, the young woman here. She is just twenty-one. With a small cross on a necklace to protect her in a strange new world. Her eyes tell us everything, a bit of fear, of wonder and surprise. Just days previous, she got married to a young man of twenty-two. Where would this man take her? What would life be like with him? Would she be happy? Only time would tell.

And this young man, her new husband with his own amulet to ward off the evils of the world, a St. Christopher medal. His eyes tell a different story, one that says he is not so young in spite of his age. There is a hint of stubborness and defiance as though to say that he will travel his own path through the rest of his life, even if it is a path that most would not choose.

Well, as you can see, I am still busy with photos from the past. These two were from August, 1971. I only have three slides from that time and they are in very poor shape as colour slides. This is the result of trying to save them. Okay, I realise that I might have stretched it a bit with the photo captions, but it likely wasn't far from the truth. Looking back at the time now, I can see just how young and naive we were.

Today has been a busy one for us with Mom in the kitchen making poppycock for Christmas. It appears as there should now be enough for everyone to get a good taste. Who knows, maybe we will eat it all before anyone comes to our home for Christmas. Besides working on slides, I have taken down part of the wall in the spare room beside the downstairs bathroom in order to find out exactly where the moisture was coming from. The problem was located and a plan is now in place to have the problem resolved before we return from our vacation in Mexico thanks to our neighbour, Wayne.

A final note: Ottawa won last night in a shoot out.

Thanksgiving, October 1974

Late add on: We spent the afternoon playing bridge with the local seniors. Okay, so how does this work? Well today with twelve of us at the seniors' hall, we got to play seven rounds of four hands, each time with a different partner. It costs each person twenty-five cents to play with the winner getting two-thirds of the total pot and the lowest score wins the leftover third. Mom finished in second place and I finished fourth - no money for us. We did get a choice of tea or coffee and some cookies.

Once we got home, I went over to help Denise with her accounting program. An hour and a half later, all was repaired and she was back in business doing the business accounts. And now, I'm busy listening to the Senators play the Leafs. The game is already tied at 1-1.

- - - - -

Well, it's American Thanksgiving Day today. Since I have been busy working on scanning the slides from the 70s, I thought that it would be a good day to show some photos from a Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, October 1974. Though we were living in Camsell Portage at the time, we had time off so that I could attend my first teacher's conference being held in Saskatoon. It was natural that we would travel to Wynyard to spend time with the family, especially since Mike was getting married.

Maureen and her mother were enjoying a post-wedding gathering on the family farm. Mother and daughter, both strong women, both great cooks. One was a grandmother and one was expecting a first child. One was and still is trying to be like the other. I realise that this wasn't an October photo, it was from July, just before we left for Camsell and the wedding was Emil and Marilyn's.

Well, July is also the time to use the garden produce to make soup, borscht or creamed vegetable soups. Grandma Kohuch is always glad to have a helping hand with the task of cutting up veggies for soup.

On the right, is a picture of Grandpa Kohuch, or Tut as we called him. He is dressed for Mike's wedding standing tall and soldierly for the camera. There is no doubt that he was a proud man.

He had good reason to be proud. He raised fourteen kids somehow on his small pioneer farm in the scrub hills southwest of Wynyard.

And then there is a photo of me in my finest, a new suit made by Maureen. I don' know if the suit fits the "bush" dweller that I had become. I guess in a way, I had become a modern day version of the old 'coureur de bois'.

In this Ukranian family, I guess I looked more like a mad Rasputin than a French-Canadian voyageur. It must be the beard and the black wavy hair.

And the masterpiece - Maureen and Mike, brother and sister. What can I say? Well, they still are two of the best people I have ever known. And for all of this, I am thankful.

Photo History: Part 4

When we returned to Camsell after taking time to go to teachers' convention in Saskatoon, then attend Mike and Sharon's wedding in Wynyard, we got to experience our first snowfall of the year. It didn't stay, so we were still able to use float planes for travel to Uranium City.

However, later in the month, ice started to form on our bay of Lake Athabasca. Freeze up was definitely an event that changed travel habits. For three to six weeks, all travel was suspended, even receiving mail, until the ice was strong enough for the small planes using skis. Of course, some travelled sooner using dog teams and snow machines.

Yesterday we travelled to Humboldt in order to pick up a table and set of chairs that we will eventually haul to the States for Tasha and family. On the drive down, we got to watch the sunrise. Before the sun actually made it all the way clear of the horizon, we spotted a number of deer and two coyotes. The ride to Humboldt was interesting enough as we passed through the hilly and sparse bluffs. It was a ride through memory lane as we recalled a number of cross-country skiing events including a 20 km loppet that took us to Mount Carmel from Dixon.

While in Humboldt after we picked up the table and chairs, M. got to meet her second cousin, Debbie and her new partner. We had a good visit over lunch before heading back home. Again, deer were moving making us drive with extra caution as the sun was setting. We didn't want to end the day with an accident because of hitting a deer crossing the highway. Back at home, it was time to relax and enjoy a few hands of on-line bridge before calling it a day.

Today? Well, it has been back to scanning slides as well as searching the Internet for possible teaching jobs for next year. Tonight we will play bridge with a neighbour couple rather than on-line bridge. It should be a good evening.

Grey Cup Weekend

Believe it or not, this photo was taken in June, 1975 in Saskatoon at Uncle Bill's house on East Heights. We had just returned to the south for our summer vacation from Camsell Portage, a vacation that would be highlighted by Uncle Robert's wedding and a Kohuch family reunion. This is the scene before a huge storm that did a lot of flooding in the city.

Monday morning and I am back at the task of copying slides into digital format such as the photo above. The weekend has been fairly normal with us watching minor hockey on both Saturday and Sunday. As usual, the same people were typically there, grandparents and parents for the most part. One of the dads was pleased and surprised that a former school principal would be there to watch his daughters play. This is all part of the plan to make sure that we continue to be accepted in the community. Since the community is a rural one with roots going back at least four generations for many of the families, it is hard, if not impossible, to be ever considered as 'one of them'. However, we are finding that we can be accepted in a different way, as people who 'choose' to be here because of them.

Yesterday evening we went out to one of our neighbour's to watch the Grey Cup CFL football game and for supper. The game ended up with a surprise come back for the western team, the Stampeders. That is the trouble with championship games. Even though both teams are good, one of them is relegated to the dust bin of history and the other is celebrated. As I watched, I commented to my neighbour about so much hype and fame for those who contribute so little to world by playing games. Can you imagine your claim to fame being simply one of being a football player who tries hard to hurt opponent football players? Still, there is entertainment value. They will continue to play while normal people will sink into debt during the coming economic recession-depression. A hard working ordinary person has less value ... ?

Here is another photo from the past. We moved to Ile-a-la-Crosse in October, 1975 in order to cover for a senior high school teacher who had left in the middle of the October convention in Saskatoon. Since the principal of the school in la-Crosse was the brother of my superintendent, the arrangements were made and we moved by plane taking everything with us. We left Camsell moving closer to the south and to a larger community.

The setting sun here was incredible. In a way, it is almost like a painting rather than a photo. Strange what effects scanning has on a slide.

Christmas Baking

Yep! We are busy with some of our Christmas baking. As you can see, poppy seed buns and prune buns are on the menu. Yesterday it was the baking of Saskatoon berry pies. Okay, so I didn't have anything to do with the pies but I did do my part with the buns. There is no question that we both had to sample the finished product.

On another front, I have finished the fourth section of the India story which now is just over 3,000 words. I have taken the story all the way to mid-morning of our first full day. Each section deals with a theme, not a day. I am also selecting a number of photos to illustrate each section. How big will this get? I haven't got a clue. I do know that it will focus on the north of India and not about our time in Goa.

As usual, I am listening to a hockey game as I write this journal entry. Winchester has just scored Ottawa's second goal of the game against the Rangers. It's looking good so far with two minutes left in the second period. Maybe today the Sens will win. Whoa! Alfredsson has just scored Ottawa's third goal.

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Well, the final score was 4-1. Finally a win and four points from the last three games. We went for a late afternoon walk into the countryside following the game. It was a very pleasant walk with the temperature around 0 C. and only a light breeze blowing. By the time we turned around, we were able to watch the sunset colour a few bands of clouds into a kaleidescope of pinks and blues. Beautiful!

Photo History: Part 3

The date is September 20, 1974, an important date as it was the day that the barge from Fort McMurray came in with our bulk stuff. We had sent our wheat, books and other heavy items such as canned goods by barge as we were only allowed so much weight when we flew into Camsell to begin our new live. The day the barge comes in is a big day in the north as it also brings in the drums of oil which are needd to keep the local electrical plant in operation.

In early October, we got our first taste of snow. Of course, it didn't last but it did warn us that soon it would be cold and that we wouldn't have access to the outside world for a while. It's called freeze up. Float planes would be grounded until the lake was frozen enough for the floats to be changed to skis.

With freeze up in process by the middle of October, emergency access was by helicopter. Of course, one could charter a helicopter for personal or business reasons if one was wealthy enough. For a few weeks we stayed still without taking the journey to Uranium City for fresh groceries. No mail, no National Film Board movies for our weekly movie night at the school when all came to enjoy popcorn with their evening's films.

Our neighbours, the Stennes had beached their commercial fishing boat for the season. The ice was thickening even though the early snow had melted leaving the ground bare.

The skies are gray here today. Like the photo above, we don't have any noticeable snow though there is ice on the lagoons outside of town. More work was done on scanning old slides. Sadly, some of them can't be saved. Why? When I processed them, I didn't have the best conditions or the best skills. Some slides are overexposed and some are etched with contaminants. It was interesting trying to develop slides in our small house using well water that came out of our taps. Of course, time has also had an impact on the quality of the slides. Thankfully, the most important photos are saved. The photo quality is another matter as it still depended on both the photographer's skill and the camera used.

I wasn't too upset at another Sens loss as the team actually played well. The only real difference was in the overtime shoot out where the Sens often failed to get off a decent shot to challenge the Habs goalie. Perhaps the team is turning a corner and will become a better team for all the changes.

Photo History: Part 2

In Camsell Portage, it wasn't all about fishing and hunting. We also got into the picking of wild berries, especially ground cranberries which made an incredible jam and pancake syrup. The berries were quite tart. Our neighbour and friend, Mary, taughts us how to make a bannock using the berries for added flavour.

As a city kid, the move north was an opportunity to discover all kinds of hidden talents. Even the hat I wore was one of my creative attempts. There is no doubt that it appeared as if I was born in the bush and belonged there.

This is Misty, our dog who made the journey to Camsell with us. He stayed only for part of the year. Though there were many dogs in the village, Misty looked scary to the local children because of his colour as well as his size. So, he went back to live in the south with another family member.

Last night we went to watch the girls' hockey team play. It was surprising to see them hold their own against an older and bigger team from Swift Current. Tonight, I am listening to the Sens play the Habs on Internet radio. It is winter and it is cold like winter. This morning it actually dropped to -20° C. Good thing there wasn't the same wind as we had yesterday. We have all of our winter wear out and being used even though there still isn't any snow.

Another day working on a number of different projects including more work with these older photos. I have been busy working on revising the story of our time spent in India. I'll let all know when it is ready for reading. This afternoon, we went to the senior centre where we played bridge. It's official, I am a senior, a paying member of the senior club.

Photo History: Part 1

In the fall of 1974, we flew to the northern most community of Saskatchewan, a place called Camsell Portage, where I was to take on the role of teacher-principal of a small two-room school. The town had a population of less than a hundred people with thirty-one of them students in the school. The community is north west of Uranium City where we had to fly out every two to three weeks in order to get our groceries and propane for our stove. Often, we flew in a Cessna such as this one.

Camsell Portage is located on a bay off of Lake Athabasca. In this photo you can see a roadway of sorts paralleling the beach. Our house was the first house to the right of this path, a white house with reddish shingles. The school is the low modern looking building on the extreme top left.

It didn't take much for us to walk a trail up through the hills to the north of the village where we found a peaceful lake filled with lake trout. We enjoyed many meals of fresh fish while also preparing for the long winter. We were true outdoors people learning how to live in the northern wilderness.

This was a land that was peaceful, a land of eagles, grouse, ducks, and fish. We travelled many trails carrying both rifles and fishing rods, ready to add to our winter stores. This was a land where we learned to be independent and strong as a couple, ready to start building our family.

As you can see, the work of capturing images of the past from our collection of slides is continuing. I just thought it would make for interesting viewing to share these with you. While I have been working on these photos and taking time out for more practice with Spanish, it has begun to snow, a gentle snow with little wind. Though we are both busy in the house, we are beginning to relax again.