King Arthur - Saturday, Oct 29

I'm bumping this to the top.

I'm very disappointed that we have to miss this performance. I hadn't realized that it would only be on one night in Saskatoon and we've had plans in place for that night for quite some time. Rats!

Not only do I expect it to be an entertaining evening and exciting performance, our nephew, Mikael Steponchev, is part of the cast. He's quite the talented vocalist and is keeping up with his voice studies while attending his first year of University. His sister (and promotor), Alexa, tells us that Mikael is one of the 12 chorus members and one of the only basses.

Here's all you need to know to get tickets ...

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Saskatoon Opera and the University of Saskatchewan Amati Quartet present Henry Purcell’s Baroque Opera Sung in English

King Arthur

Saturday, October 29, 2011

7:30 pm

Third Avenue United Church

Saskatoon, SK

"Enter a world of old magic and legends, romance and deception. Experience the seductive and enthralling beauty of this celebrated baroque opera."

For Tickets, call the Remai Arts Centre Box Office at 384-7727
or purchase tickets online here.

For more information, visit the Saskatoon Opera Website.

$30 Adult · $25 seniors · $15 students
Includes GST and box office fees

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Regina Performance

Saturday, November 5, 2011, 7:30 pm
Knox Metropolitan United Church
Regina, SK

Tickets available from Cobb Swanson Music and Bach and Beyond

Above is Mikael performing at Don and Sylvia's 50th wedding anniversary in 2010.

Toying With Tamoxifen and New Doctors

I do love the Thorvaldson Building on campus. I loved it when I worked in it and I love it still. Here it is on a sunny autumn day.

I felt kind of crappy today. My upset stomach is back and I think it must be because of the Tamoxifen. To tell you the truth, I gave myself an unauthorized Tamoxifen holiday. My upset stomach was so bothersome and when I talked to my oncologist about it he didn't offer any options. He just wrote it down on my chart and asked me some other questions (suggesting that perhaps it wasn't the Tamoxifen causing the problem), which distracted me and after I left, it occurred to me that we didn't actually discuss my upset stomach and whether or not there was some way to minimize it. So, I stopped taking the Tamoxifen and after a week or so, my stomach felt fine. It felt good to feel better. But, on the other hand, it has made me a little nervous NOT taking the medication that is supposed to improve my chances of NOT having breast cancer return somewhere in my body (not necessarily a breast - could be bones, blood, liver, brain ... *shudder*). I try hard to believe none of that will happen but, on the other hand, I have to balance that with knowing it's possible and doing whatever I have to do to prevent it. It's an "Expect the best but prepare for the worst" kind of attitude. Easier said than done.

So a couple of days ago I started taking Tamoxifen again and last night my stomach was upset all night and off and on all day today. I'm now going to try taking it at a different time to see if that makes a difference. Maybe that's all it will take. A colleague suggested this. It hadn't occurred to me and no doctor has talked to me about when I take it. In fact, my colleague pointed out that on the package it says "take with food". And yes it does say that but my first packages of Tamoxifen didn't and so I hadn't noticed the change in the packaging. All along I've been taking it at night because that is the easiest for me in terms of taking it consistently at the same time every day and, for some reason, I remember it better. If I take it in the morning I sometimes can't remember later if I actually took it or not. I know there are ways I can chart this so that's manageable. But before I start taking it in the morning, which is a less consistent time for me than evenings, I'll try taking it at dinner ... with food.

Last Friday night I had another messy and disturbing indication (blood involved and other stuff I really don't want to talk about and you surely don't want to read about) that something isn't quite right. No pain ... just ickiness. I saw my new doctor (yes, a couple of weeks ago I finally started seeing a new doctor) yesterday and she thinks it really is an indication of diverticulosis (the "itis" part is if there's an infection, the "osis" is when there's no infection but just "messiness"). That was reassuring. But, just to be sure, she's going to book me for some further tests.

Then today I saw a gynecologist as a follow up for the same issue (thanks, Syl, for your initiative) ... just to make sure that when I had that lower left abdominal pain it wasn't anything involving my womanly parts. The gynecologist feels that I'm not presenting for diverticulosis typically and that some additional tests to confirm are necessary. She also did an endometrial biopsy (ouch) while I was there just to make sure all bases are covered. Perhaps all this extra testing is overkill but I think I'll feel better being thorough and certain.

That brings me back to why I finally took the steps to change doctors. If you recall, this doctor ... a very nice man who I genuinely like ... is the one who for almost two years kept telling me that my lump was just a cyst and not to worry about it. He told me this 3 times and only when I asked him about it a 4th time did he send me for the ultrasound that immediately confirmed that it wasn't a cyst at all ... and this despite the several times I had asked my doctor if I shouldn't be getting a mammograms and him telling me to wait until I turned 50 after which I would get a screening letter. Knowing what I know now, I know he was negligent. And I know he felt just horrible about my diagnosis. He said he was shocked. I stuck with him all this time for a couple of reasons. One, because I felt he would bend over backwards for me after that HUGE error in judgment and two, because I didn't have the energy to look for a new doctor ... to start over with someone new ... to find someone I could feel good about who was also taking new patients ... and to try to build a trust relationship with another doctor after such a breach of trust with my previous doctor of 22 years. It takes an energy I haven't had to find the will to build a new doctor/patient relationship. What pushed me to try a new doctor was how disturbed I was when my doctor told me that he was "99% sure that my abdominal pain was diverticulitis". That "99% sure" part just kept playing over and over again in my head and I was scared. He was 100% sure the last time that my lump was a cyst and, as we now know, it wasn't. Is it any wonder I couldn't accept a "99%"? So, as chance would have it, I confided how I was feeling to someone who knew of a very good doctor who had recently moved to the city and was accepting patients. I jumped on the phone immediately and had my first meeting with her a couple of weeks ago. I'm happy to have a woman doctor again and I have a very good feeling about this doctor.

So, I'm being sure and that will, I think, give me peace of mind. But today, between feeling very tired from not sleeping well last night and from having a very upset stomach and some cramping and bleeding from the biopsy, I felt pretty generally crappy. I'm going to skip my Tamoxifen tonight and then start again tomorrow ... at dinner ... with food. Hopefully that will help.

The Saskatoon Quilter's Guild Show 2011

Mom, Lynne, and I sure enjoyed the quilt show. We went Friday night and my idea had been to just peruse the market area and go again on Saturday to see the quilts on display. Well, since Mom was still going strong, we did a quick run through the displays on Friday night and closed the place down. There were so many!

I kind of wish I'd gone back on Saturday to take more time looking at quilts but I didn't. My loss. I didn't enjoy them as much as I could have. It was a lot to take in at once.

Here are just a few of the many beautiful quilts. I didn't get good photos of some others that were favourites.

This poppy quilt by Dorothy Thomson is freakin' amazing!! It's entirely made up of teeny-tiny squares! It's basically a needle point design done with tiny square snippets of fabric. AMAZING! Dorothy was the featured quilter and she was on hand to talk about her many, MANY quilts that were on display. Apparently she grew up around Lacadena. I don't know her maiden name and didn't get an opportunity to speak with her so I'm still curious since Lacadena is a hop-skip from our farm ... and by hop skip I mean it takes no more than 5 minutes to get there.

This yoyo quilt is another one by Dorothy Thomson. My own stash of yoyo's is sitting at about 600. I'm half way there. This gives you some idea of what mine will look like.

I love this yellow and white quilt. Very fresh. The colour combination may be simple but the pattern itself isn't quite so. Molly Jordan made this quilt and named it, "Rolling Waves".

This quilt interests me not just because it's cheery and bright but because I have a jelly roll of this very fabric waiting for some inspiration. I can't make this with a jelly roll (the strips are too narrow), but I like seeing how the fabrics works together. This quilt is titled, "Summer Lattice" and was made by Patti Erikson-Reynolds.

It was a fabulous show and so well done thanks to a large number of volunteers. Thank you, quilters! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Saskatoon Quilt Show This Weekend!

I'm pretty excited about this. I need to rest up tonight so I'll be good to go tomorrow.

Darrel is bringing Mom into the city so she can go with me. I can't wait! I haven't been to a quilt show since I started making "all by myself quilts" so I know I'll look at things with a more informed eye.

I hear there are going to be LOTS AND LOTS of quilts so if you're interested in quilts, you might want to take in the show. Click on the photo of the poster and it should open up in a bigger, more readable size. Or, here's the link to the Saskatoon Quilters' Guild website for more information.

I Wish I Were Doing More Of This ...

... but I've been a little too busy.

It's Co-op Week so there have been lots of events and throw a few extra duties, appointments, and responsibilities into the mix and you've got a recipe for trouble.

I've felt off and on sick this week, too. Really weird. I got home around midnight after the Co-op Merit Awards in Regina on Monday and I felt good. The next day I felt like crap. I had chills off and on all day and prepared for things to go downhill. Then on Wednesday morning I felt pretty good and so I went with people from work to Melfort for the reception to launch the Building Communities Exhibit there. In the late afternoon I started to feel crappy again ... sore throat, sore ears, headache ... and again I prepared for the worst. When I got home just before midnight last night I took some Tylenol Cold (the night time ones) and went straight to bed. Lo and behold, I slept like a rock (which rarely happens these days) and woke up feeling pretty good this morning and not bad all day. I really hope I dodged a bullet. I'm taking more drugs tonight to ensure another good night's sleep, that being the answer I think. Tomorrow is the Saskatoon Co-op Network lunch and then Co-op Week is done for me.

The C95 Radio Marathon ...

... raises money for breast cancer research (right here in Saskatchewan) in memory of Lisa Rendall and everyone impacted by breast cancer ... which is a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE!

Two years ago I was asked to participate in the radio marathon and that's where I met Lisa for the first time.  I sent Lisa a copy of the photo I had of us and the other C95 people together and after that, every now and then, I would get an email from Lisa asking how I was doing. She was so thoughtful and generous with her time. I would check in on her regularly and comment on her blog or just send a short email. I was sad for her when her cancer came back and then beat her. If a good attitude and a fighting spirit was all it took to beat cancer, Lisa would still be here.

Two years ago when I went to the Centre mall to take part in the radio marathon, I was very nervous. I had already started crying while I drove down 8th street which made me all the more nervous because if I get to blubbering, sometimes I can't even talk. Not good radio material. Anyway, the c95 people were very sensitive and so good and even though I cried through most of the interview, I was still able to talk.  At the time I had only finished my last chemo 3 weeks prior and I could hardly walk from the edema (swelling) I was suffering and from what I would later learn was a bad side effect from the Arimidex, which made my joints, muscles, and tendons want to seize up. Getting to the radio marathon was a physical struggle at that time and pretty much did me in that day.

Today all those feelings came rushing back as I drove to the Centre mall and talked to the staff and the social worker (from the Cancer Centre) before it was time for me to hang out with Rob and Shauna who do an amazing job of holding themselves together even while I'm blubbering and while they're remembering Lisa who only died from her breast cancer in spring of this year.

Please consider sending in a donation.  Here's the link to donate online: http://www.c95.com/.

To donate by Phone:

Regina and area, please all 306-791-2763
Saskatoon and area, please call 306-655-0698

To donate by cheque, please mail to:

Saskatchewan Cancer Agency
204-3775 Pasqua Street
Regina, SK S4S 6W8

If you are making a donation in memory of a loved one, please include the acknowledgement information with your cheque.


A tax receipt will be issued for gifts of $20 or more.

The photo is of me with Rob, Sheri (the producer), and Shauna of the Rob and Shauna Show on C95.

See my photo two years ago (with Lisa Rendall and Ramblin' Dave, too) here. I remember looking like that ... all puffy and hardly able to walk ... not a good memory. Not good at all.

48 Charm Squares That Will Be A Quilt One Day

I won these scrumptious fabrics in September but haven't had time to show them off until now. I'm especially tickled because they are Denyse Schmidt fabrics ... she's the designer ... and I've been admiring all the projects I've seen made with them.

I won them from Debbie who has a blog called A Quilter's Table. You should check out Debbie's blog. I've been especially admiring the blocks she's been making using the Swoon pattern. The intended purpose for these particular fabrics is that they be made into a quilt to be given to needy child in my own community as per the 100 Quilts for Kids project initiated by Kate at the Swim Bike Quilt blog. Kate even posted an easy Quilt-A-Long, which is what I thought I would use these charm squares for. It's pretty cute and simple and would be good practice for me. I plan to try my first machine quilting on this one.

I'll give the finished quilt to the Cancer Centre knowing it will go to someone who will appreciate their own cozy blanket while they're going through a difficult time.

This quilting project was supposed to be done by October 15. I can tell you right now that I will not be getting this done in the next 3 days! AS IF!! Still, I do plan to work on it this fall and/or winter and get it to the Cancer Centre then. I'll keep you posted. My intention is for it to be the first of an annual quilt I'll make for someone ... a child or adult ... who is going through cancer treatments.

Click here and scroll down to see all the quilts being completed for this project. And, if you're interested, check out Kate's Summer Quilt. It's my favourite of her quilts.

Thanks, Debbie, for these sweet charm squares and thanks, Kate, for all the work you've put into this charitable work.

Forever Gratitude ... You are all my Heroes!

I give thanks for friends and family who have really given me strength, support, care, help, and hope ... and fun and laughs ... over the past couple of years. You can never really know the difference you've made to me.

It was 2 years ago on October 3 that I had my last chemo treatment. It doesn't feel so long ago. And I wish my lousy memory would make it a fading memory. It's still all a little too fresh for my liking. And while I wish I wasn't still so tired, and that my joints felt normal again, and that I could feel my toes, and that my feet didn't hurt, and that my shoulders worked normally again, and that my memory wasn't eaten up, and that my left boob wasn't mangled, and that I had proper eyebrows and hair again, and that I didn't have the fear of cancer returning hanging over my head ... while all that is a bit of a drag (quite a litany, I know, but I'm not whining) ... mostly I'm happy to be here and I'm grateful that my quality of life is really very good, especially compared to when I was having those really awful side effects from the drug I took after chemo (that being Arimidex). I'm grateful for the friends and family who have seen me through my worst of days, and for the hopes and prayers of people I don't even know.

This year I couldn't fit the "Walk for the Cure" into my schedule. Kayla and Mike's wedding was the day before and I chose to dance the night away, which meant I would need to sleep in. I had a fleeting thought that I might do an in-person registration if I woke up in time but I pretty much knew that wouldn't happen. Hannah said she'd go with me if I thought I could swing it but, what I hadn't counted on was how sore the bottoms of my feet would be after being on them so much the night before. I couldn't have walked very far even if I had woken up in time. My feet needed a little more recovery time. Next year. The whole way.

Luke has done the Run for the Cure for the past two years in Louisville, Kentucky with the rest of his lacrosse team and this year they played at a fall ball tournament in Ohio to raise money for breast cancer research. He told me about the woman who spoke and I could tell he was touched by her story. It would surely resonate with him after his seeing his own Mom go through that grief.

Two years ago when I had only just had my last chemo treatment and wasn't in any shape for walking or even staying awake, my Splurge Pals and so many other family and friends walked the "Walk for the Cure" for me. I was so touched and honoured. I still am. I still feel that all the time. And I also appreciate so much the many people who sponsored both me and the many people who walked for and with me. Money raised will, I hope, eventually lead to some real breakthroughs. Last year most of those same people walked WITH me. We only did the "half walk" but for me it felt triumphant. Next year ... ALL THE WAY! And maybe someday ... the whole way ... IN PEGGY'S KILLER BOOTS! Okay, maybe not ever that. 

This year, though, my sweet friend Norma, her husband Foster and their friend, Krista, walked the walk in Regina. They walk for other people who have been impacted by cancer but I know they walk for me, too. Norma sent me the above photo of Foster and Krista. I can't thank them enough ... for me and for everyone. Foster looks so great in pink, don't ya think?!

Chantelle and Brett. Married!

We have had a rich year in terms of weddings! After years of nothing, this year ... THREE!! We've loved them all. We haven't danced so much in years!

Chantelle and Brett's wedding was just before we left for Halifax and it was an awesome good time! It was also a beautiful and touching wedding ceremony in a bright church on a beautiful day! I thought the oranges and yellows with the grey were very pretty. But not as pretty as Chantelle! Isn't she beautiful?

Ron and Patty, the proud parents of the bride. They wanted everyone to have a really good time and, believe me, we did!

Matty is one of Luke's best buds! They've played hockey and lacrosse together over the years. In fact Hannah's bedroom is often dubbed, "Matty's Room" or "Arden's Room" ... depending. Here he is, a handsome brother of the bride with his lovely girlfriend, Julia.

And we danced. And danced! And DANCED!

Christopher and Matty, brothers of the bride. Pretty much danced out by this point, I think. If that's possible.

And here's my best photo of the wedding party. It's a little hazy because of the bright light streaming through the windows at the front of the church. That's okay. All that light was beautiful.

A Last Tour of Halifax

These are the last photos I'll post of our trip to Halifax.

I loved the long, wide boardwalk along the harbour. Out hotel - the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront - right alongside the "Historic Properties" anchored one end of the harbour so it was perfect starting location for exploring the harbour and downtown by foot. In fact, everything I really wanted to see was within reasonable walking distance.

Even the Citadel. Up a very steep hill but not too far. I didn't get any good photos of the citadel because I didn't have time to actually walk and explore there. I just drove around it as part of the Harbour Hopper tour I went on.

These hungry little scavenger birds were everywhere. I don't know what they are but they were abundant and not shy. The gulls, too, were bold.

This very old gull shared a some fresh fish with me. The younger gulls gave him a wide berth. I don't know if it was out of respect or fear. I don't know much about gull culture. He either had arthritis or an injury and his feathers were a bit greyed. He just looked really old compared to the other gulls that were hanging around. And BIG! We almost mistook the gulls for small turkeys at first! I've never seen gulls so big!

Bob and Jo (who had a nasty cold) declined the whale watching trip but they saw us off at the dock. Bob volunteered to monitor the recycling bins, like a good Sarcan representative.

This is the view from Salty's, a restaurant only a hop skip from our hotel and, obviously, overlooking the harbour and Dartmouth. Amy, Dan, Bob, Jo, Kevin and I had a lovely meal. I must say, though, that the portions were on the skimpy side. This wasn't a problem for me but the guys were left a little hungry. Needless to say, the restaurant makes a good portion of its money on deserts because we sure all had room for some, that's for sure!

This is just a piece of St. Matthew's United Church on Spring Garden Road, the oldest church in Canada. It opened in 1850 but its congregation's history dates back to 1749. It's a beauty!

The Bicycle Thief, also along the harbour, is another restaurant we dined at. It was very good. Italian with a twist. Good food, good wine/beer/cocktails, good service, and fun environment. We really enjoyed it! It's undoubtedly named for the critically acclaimed Italian movie of the same name. Amy ... funny girl ... pretended to steal one of the bike props. Ha!

Another wonderful restaurant we dined at was The Wooden Monkey. Delish and we loved the concept. The menu is based on organic, macrobiotic, and locally grown fresh ingredients. A restaurant with a conscience. Loved it.

These twin buildings are called Purdy's Wharf. I understand them to be offices and they are directly beside the hotel we stayed at. That's our hotel to the left of the towers. What interested me about Purdy's Wharf  ... and what I learned on my Harbour Hopper tour ... is that those tall, round supports that are featured in the design of the building aren't, as I would have guessed, supports. They are straws! They draw water up to be used for heating and cooling saving them tons in energy costs. Cool!

It only makes sense that I, being a flatlander, wouldn't know about "pilot boats". When a vessel being captained by someone who isn't familiar with the harbour approaches, they put a call in to the Harbour Master who then sends out a Pilot Boat to pilot them in. Kind of like valet parking for giant ocean-going vessels. At least that's how I understand it.

The Historic Properties are old. Really old. Well, old by our new world standards. Not so old by European standards. Still ... pretty old in my world! I love them ... all that stone.

The Lower Deck is a huge, multi-level group of restaurants and bars right across from our hotel. We had a SUPER good time there one night. Live music. A good band that played covers of songs we all new and could sing along to. Loudly. And we did. The place was packed with people ... shoulder to shoulder! So FUN! It was our last stop on a mini pub crawl. We started by meeting Grace (Luke's friend who is attending Dalhousie) at The Pogue ... a happenin' pub. We then moved to an Irish pub where a live band was playing Irish music. And then ... to the rockin' Lower Deck. A great time! They have whole streets of nothing but pubs in Halifax (and in St. John's as I recall). We don't have anything like that here. It's against our bylaws to have pubs in such close proximity of each other. Or at least I think it's a bylaw. Don't quote me.

We spent some time one evening at The Split Crow, a pub near our hotel. We enjoyed the live music - a band playing covers of mostly seventies music. The place has a lot of character.

It was interesting to see how the old buildings had been repaired and renovated over the years. I expect there was a lot of damage after "the explosion" and a lot of necessary repair work done after that.

If you had been a teenager in the early 1900's, this is where you would have gone to school. It was from here, on the morning of the explosion that students had gathered at the upper windows to see the French ship on fire in the harbour. A teacher insisted they return to their seats and she pulled the heavy drapes, covering the windows which, I'm told, probably saved the lives of the students because when the ships exploded every glass window in Halifax shattered. The force most certainly would have injured or even killed students who had been standing there.

The coolest thing that happened to me in Halifax, though, involves a certain West Jet employee. A one "Michelle". When we were checking in to fly out of Halifax we found that our seats weren't together. We had to abandon the self check-in and see an attendant. I was busy messing around with luggage while Kevin was speaking to the attendant. Her voice really caught my attention. I knew that voice. I could visualize Diane Gunn clear as day right there in front of me. And then I looked up. And there was Diane! Just as she looked in high school. But it wasn't really Diane, of course. I noted her name tag, which read "Michelle", which I knew to be the name of one of Diane's daughters. It had to be. When I asked if her Mom happened to be named Diane, she looked pretty startled! It was kind of freaky considering the size of Halifax and just the improbability of running into someone like that. I hadn't seen Michelle since she was about 12 years old ... years ago ... and if she hadn't looked so much like her Mom I wouldn't have known her. She's really the spitting image. Amazing! And the same voice, too. Crazy! So we had a nice little chat. It was pretty special. Diane and I grew up together in White Bear and went to school together from kindergarten right through grade 12. And while I knew Diane was living in Halifax, I also knew she had other things going on while I would be there and, additionally, I didn't know for sure what my schedule would be like. It can be a lot of responsibility being a trophy wife, you know! *wink wink*

I hope I get back to Halifax again. There's something about Atlantic Canada that just feels right to me. Love it!

Hannah Was Home

Hannah was home for Kayla's wedding. Because we were in Vancouver to see her in June and because she'd been home for Josh and Noelene's wedding in April, she didn't come this summer. This is the first year she hasn't been home in the summer. I missed having her here. So I was especially excited to have her home for 5 days at the beginning of October. I took a couple of days off work to hang out with her ... loving every minute!

This is the table on the night she got home. She and Matt had been in New York for a couple of weeks (Matt had a show in a gallery there). It was less costly for her to fly back to Vancouver on a return flight and then fly here from there. She was only in Vancouver for about 5 hours before getting on the plane to come to Saskatoon. She was running on fumes on Friday night. "The girls" came by for drinks before going to see Kayla after the wedding rehearsal. Martinis were the order of the evening. The wedding was on October 1. That's how far behind I am in blogging.

If you check in regularly, you might have noticed my blog silence. It's because I've been so busy. And exhausted. Even if Hannah hadn't been here, I probably would have had to take at least one day off work. I was wasted. Between weddings and travel and health scares and hot flashes and leg cramps and company, I have to say I was totally wasted. How I got through any days of work last week, I don't know. Fumes. Running on fumes. I NEEDED this long weekend to sleep. And sleep I did. And rest.

It wasn't until Saturday that I decided I felt I had it in me to cook a Thanksgiving dinner so we invited a bunch over at the last minute and had a lovely evening. I tried a few new recipes to make it interesting and, of course, made the annual "stuffing balls" ... a family favourite. The highlight of the evening by far, though, was Kevin's Uncle Reg who told us about some of his World War II experiences and showed us some of the photos of himself and his crew from that time. He flew with the RCAF and has amazing stories ... stories I've never had the privilege of hearing. It was fascinating and I'm so grateful. It was an incredible gift just to be able to listen. Uncle Reg brought Kevin a book to read, in which Uncle Reg is included. It is "A Yorkshire Squadron: The History of 431 R.C.A.F. Squadron & More, 1942-1945", by W. E. Heron [Renfrew, ON : General Store Publishing House, 2009]. Here's a link to a bit about the book. Kevin has always been a war history nut ... we have a rather large collection of books on the topic ... so this was very special to Kev.

You can tell I've been a little overwhelmed with the amount of activity over the past while because I haven't even had it in me to pull my camera out of my purse! I've also realized that it's easier to blog every day than sporadically. Leaving several days between posts makes the idea a little overwhelming with so much having happened. So here I am ... in bits and pieces. Playing catch up with myself. Honest to God, my memory is so crappy still that I NEED to blog my life. For myself.

And ... oh ... I'm so sad for our Riders! I'm feeling their pain along with so many others.

Kayla and Mike. Married!

And what a beautiful and heartfelt wedding it was! Truly. The ceremony was really special, touching, honest, sincere. And the reception was relaxed with many interesting taste sensations and beautifully presented food. There were macarons on the dessert table. I've never seen a macaron in Saskatoon before and it just reminded me of how much I want to set aside some time to try making them. The recipe suggests they can be a bit tricky to make. The dance was a really good time!

Doesn't Kayla look beautiful?! Her dress was stunning and the bouquets and arrangements of succulents were beautiful, too. Mike looked classy and they both looked so calm and happy.

The bridesmaids. Elegant. That's Janie and Gillian. Not so many pregnant woman could pull of dresses like these so glamorously. Janie and her bump looked fabulous.

And it was great to have "the girls" all together. Taynah, Katelyn, Hannah, Kayla, Gillian, and Marissa.

Every bridesmaid needs should have a foot massage during the dance.

Here are some Moms. Marrissa's, Kayla's, Hannah's, and Gillians's. Kayla's Mom had such a gorgeous dress. I wish I had a good photo of Mike's Mom, too. She, too, had an amazing gown!

We danced. A lot. We got home quite late. Kevin definitely needed me to drive. We slept in. Happy, Happy event!