anna doing cat chores

This is what almost every morning last week looked like for us from 6:45am until about 7:30am - Anna was my Dad's shadow - starting with eating her bowl of cereal. She would eat one or two bowls (sometimes three) of cereal with him, she would tip the bowl at the end and drink the milk, just like him. She would put on her boots, just like him and make her way to the barn, just like him. It was the cutest thing. Her chores involved feeding the cats. And boy, did she feed them. The cats on the farm mostly get swill (table scraps that get tossed into the barnyard into the manure pile) but they also get barn cat foot (something my sister and I used to snack on as kids, yum!). Over the course of the week, Anna adopted these cats as her own, and my parents tell me today they miss her. She misses them too, she ate breakfast with her cat magnet and took it to daycare.

the farm spa

Anna has had a bath in the sink almost every night this week, and I'm officially requesting this for our next house - Stew, we need to have a large laundry sink - it is so handy - quick, easy, and Anna still fits! She has soaked her now double scraped knees after a fall on a gravel road....trying to run fast and fell arms and knees into a dried up mud puddle hole.

We have enjoyed a nice slow week on the farm - lots of reading, napping, visiting, eating and a few trips here and there, but mostly just taking it easy. It's nice to do that once and awhile, slow down and take it all in.

this moment

it's summer

And it comes with...

:: fresh clover and learning how to lick the honey out

:: new summer sweaters from Great Nana

:: beautiful moons

:: a new to us playhouse

:: preparing for bikes trips

:: going really high on the swing

:: fresh strawberries after every meal

on the farm...with babies

We have arrived, and to Anna's delight at one of the best times on the farm - when lots of babies are being born. Just in time for our arrival was a new litter of kittens - they are 4 days old, we are still trying to tell her we can't touch them yet, they need their Mama, and they also need their eyes to open so they can see us. And... to our surprise, not 3 or 4 but 5 baby raccoons -these have been hanging around the house so much, Anna now thinks they are cats. And yes, the other cats and cows are not being ignored at all, she is making sure they get equal visits.

this moment

happy farmers' day

Tomorrow in Alberta is a long running holiday - Farmers' Day - the second Friday in June was a holiday established by UFA back in the 1920's, and we are proud to be celebrating this still. It has been a busy week, so we are looking forward to some down time with Grammy and Tompa and everyone on the farm next week. Chat soon friends!

right now

I am...

:: recovering from a flu bug than ran through our entire house on the weekend

:: eating my birthday cake, we finally got to have cake and ice cream tonight - our appetites are back (and so glad I made the fruit pound cake from one of my favourite story/recipe books, yum!)

:: loving this article that I can relate to so very well

:: tackling mount laun-more downstairs and being very thankful that my cleaning fairy comes tomorrow

:: trying to figure out a way to keep hats on Anna's head, she is currently wearing her bike helmet around all the time

:: wondering where her summer hats are from last year?

:: enjoying a new CD of music - The Warblers from Glee

:: preparing to unload a huge bag of soil in our backyard and getting excited about transplanting our seedlings into the ground

:: seeing pencil crayons we bought for Anna in England now being used, a lot

:: thanking Sarah for a thoughtful card, book and package, perfectly timed for a weekend spent partly in bed

this moment

yes, i am now thirty five

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. Thanks to everyone for all the very nice birthday wishes yesterday - it's was great, and very much a blur - celebrating with ice cream at work, my new favourite risotto meal with Stew and Anna, some very nice artwork, special cards and cupcakes! Once this week ends I think I will be able to step back and reflect alittle more - stay tuned for this weekend...