Heart to Heart

My dad had been surrounded by women all his married life!!

Tannis, Dad, Mom, Larissa and Christa

We are one lucky family.....in a lot of ways.

My dad had a motor bike accident last January in Yuma.

He broke some ribs and was badly bruised.

He had a CT scan
but
 some how it was never pointed out to him that there was a major issue.

They were heading south when the insurance company asked if Dad's heart was fixed.

That is when we discovered that he had an aneurysm 

on his aorta of his heart.

He has been a ticking time bomb for 10 months now!!

We are also so lucky to live in a country with free health care.

I can't imagine what open heart surgery would cost in United Stated.

When dad was in for 6 hours in Yuma and had the scan,

they said it was 25,000!!

Dad in Pre-op

We were blessed with how quickly this was dealt with.

On Thursday, he was at the heart surgeon

and

Monday.... he was on the operating table!

 Arnold brought mom and I some drinks while we waited in ICU.

  Thought it was pretty fitting…. 

Saddle up, Mr and Mrs, Missing you

 We waited patiently for hours. 

 We even tried the adult coloring books. 

This was moms picture…Yuma….. there will always be next year!!

Finally we got to see dad after 9 hours of waiting. 

   He was still under but doing good. 

As I held his hand, his thumb would quiver every time Mom and I talked so we knew he heard us!!

 When he finally was awake they tried to move him

  and

 his heart stopped so CPR was performed.   

 That set him back a bit but he slowly recovered.

     When we saw this pain scale in his room,

 I thought how we have been from 10 to 1 and back again.

    Emotionally for us and physically for dad.

It has been equally hard on Mom.

While hanging out at the hospital yesterday I took a pic...

Christa, Mom, Larissa

We even tried it twice but Mom's poker face says it all!!

Let's get out of here.....I think that's a 10 on the scale

I am happy to report that dad is getting stronger every day.

He should be home this week.

Dad on day 4

One week has felt like a lifetime.

  If it gives us more years with dad, it was all worth it! 

 We knew dad was on the mend when we gave him a tooth brush.

   

 He didn't want that one.....he wanted his ELECTRIC one. 

 It does a better job…..he’s back!! 

 Love you dad!  

 Christa 

Bring 'em Up Little Doggie!

I have been having trouble with the program for blogging so trying a new one...

Bear with me....

Scout and I headed to Herding School this week

It was a miserable cold first day...

The winds were rated at hurricane catagory 1 speeds

That makes for quite the wind chill! 

Just what you want to stand outside in all day.

Scout was pretty cute when she discovered she could spy on the other sessions......

But none the less Scout did amazing.  

It's really me that needs the training!! 

Now to apply what 'I' learned!! 

Still warming up....

Christa 

The Eagles Have Landed

We had the honour of being invited

 to

 the Grand Opening 

of 

Prairie Winds: The Sculptor and The Poet

This was a joint effort

between 

Ken Frederickson and  Ovide Mercredi.

We got to know Ken and Heather when we went to Quebec together in 2015.

I often tease him that I get the honour of 'knowing him when....'

Ken's sculptures were paired with poems written by Ovide.

This is Ken's first Gallery Show held at the Shurniak Art Gallery

Ovide Mercredi , Bill Shurniak, and Ken Frederickson

This Gallery is an amazing venue tucked in the heart of Assiniboia, Sk

Bill Shurniak has collected works of art from all over the world

and 

 created a fabulous home for his collection.

He purchased Ken's  'Fly Fishing' 

They will be on permanent display at their new home!!

Ken has had a whirlwind experience in his short time of sculpting.

All the stars alined in only a couple of years 

and

 was touching to see, how much this day meant to Ken and his family!!

These are some of Ken's other sculptures on display till November 25,2017

'Fancy Dancer '

 

'Lone Wolf'

'Buffalo Chaser'

 

'Bear Soul'

'Cat Tales'

 

'Treaty'

 

If the Gallery is ever looking for a fund raiser.....

What I wouldn't do........

 For a private tour with Bill Shurniak 

as

 he talks about where, when and how he acquired his fabulous collection.

He is rich with knowledge!!

I wanted to take pictures to show you all of his works 

but

you are just going to have to make the trek yourself!!

It was a great day for a drive. 

The fall colors were fabulous.

There were so many old homesteads tucked in the rolling hills.

If those houses could talk....

Such history!!

Our area has demolished most old farmsites....such a shame.

Just before heading home.....

Vern and Karen asked to sit at our table.

There were 120 people in attendance and what luck to have these two bless our table!

In about 3 sentences, we were talking about Bali!!

These adventurers had cycled Indonesia for a month 

and 

were a wealth of knowledge!

Thank you, Vern and Karen!!

NOW I am excited....29 days to go!!

I ordered the book on the way home!!

Thanks for making a great day even better...

Christa 

 

 

Reaping in the Bounty

It was a fabulous fall day yesterday

Perfect temperature to harvest the garden 

Despite the drought, 

We watered enough to get more than we needed out of the garden 

A bucket of squash and pumpkins...

A truck box of potatoes, carrots, and beets...

Chantel and the grandsons came to help

Jaxon went to the field with grandpa 

Brayden helped us in the garden 

Brayden loved this little furry friend...

 

On the quilting side of life....

A friend was working on Antelope Canyon so I thought I would give it a try..

 I gathered scraps out of my stash...

(notice the cat proof ice tea...)

 Add a sewing machine that does 5000 stitches/minute....

One free afternoon....

This quilt was created!! 

 There are two settings and I liked the half moon version....

I also was quite impressed with the three commision quilts I finshed up 

These are clothing from their loved one.

I was a little scared of the stretch

but 

took the most firm blouses to start with...

 

I had never tried a Shadowbox Quilt...

All packed off to the longarmer!!

Two more quilts to work on!! 

Happy harvest!!

Christa