More grad pictures!

Brent and I and Eric and Becky at the grad banquet. We (Dad and Mom B., Eric and Becky and Brent and I) went bowling after grad in our dress up clothes. Played two rounds., guys against girls. One serious, wherein the guys slaughtered the girls, and the second a very silly game in which Becky won! Becky and Kirstin watching. A couple more bowling pictures.

Grad!

Happy Monday morning all! We had a very busy weekend at home...Jorgen and Kev's grad as well as some family time and we picked up a digital camera (!!). So here are some pictures of the events. Kevin and his friends...three of them with canes and top hats! The three tall boys. Jorgen and Kalie. :)

Brother Kevin

What an interesting weekend it shall be! This morning after Brent reviews a drawing with his dad, and I head to the University to pick up some books, we head out to Banff where we meet my faculty sponsor to do some initial general research at the Whyte Museum. Then we head to Red Deer to pick up our race packages and eat a pasta supper, then to my parents' house to stay overnight. Then up early and to Red Deer to run the Woody's RV Half marathon, then back to my parents' to shower and have a visit, then to Pattersons to visit there and then back to Calgary because I have to write a paper due Tuesday. Wow what a lot of driving! It's going to be fun though! Also, we saw my mum a bit this morning--she stayed overnight so that she could leave first thing this morning for her flight to Kelowna. She's going to visit her mum (my bedstemor) in Westbank for the day. Bedstemor is 95 and at times very lonely. I'm so glad my mum can do this! My main inspiration for writing is the fact that I was perusing the Lacombe Globe website this morning and came across an article about my brother-in-law, Kevin. As the article explains, he got Gold at the Provincial Skills Competition and is now going to Nationals in Halifax. We are very very proud of him! Edited to add: the article won't post correctly, but if you edit out the first http from the address, you should be able to view it...or you can follow the link from the Lacombe Globe homepage. --Female 1/2

Easter and birthdays!

Holy smokes the semester is almost over! Brent's writing two tests today and I'm finishing off one last essay. Then we're leaving for Pattersons to babysit for a week and a half. We're really looking forward to hanging out with the Patterson crew. :) What news, what news. Brent won the Calgary Regional Home Builders Association competition for design! He also placed second for presentation. I am very proud of him! I'm also very glad all his stress and hard work and loooong nights paid off in the long run! I received a research grant from the University for the summer to write about Mary Schaffer, female explorer and travel writer. I'm really excited about it. I'll be spending lots of time at the archives at the Whyte Museum in Banff and some time hiking and lots of reading and writing. We spent Easter in Lacombe, mostly with Brent's family. It was very relaxing and really good to visit. I managed to watch Pride and Prejudice (the new one) twice, also Emma, and Sense and Sensibility--so it was a weekend filled with Jane Austen! CKUA spring fundraiser has begun and we donated early this year so we could be in the early-bird draw. ;) It started this morning at six and already both we and my mum have been mentioned for our donations. :) I know I've done this pitch before, but in case you were wondering, you can listen to Alberta's public radio station at www.ckua.com I HIGHLY recommend it for your musical education. Birthdays! April 19th was Dad Bouwsema's birthday, April 21 is Rachel Olson's birthday and April 24 is my Mum's! Happy birthday all! Last night Brent and I ran 13 Km for the first time this season. We're running the Woody's RV Half Marathon May long weekend, so we've really got to get cracking. Oh--it's the Queen's 80th birthday today!! Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth!! Well I have a TON to do before we leave tonight. We have so many fun plans to do with the Patterson kids! -Female 1/2

Foggy day in Calgary town

Good morning! Today is a foggy day in Calgarytown and the Glenbow museum has lost its charm. That's a line from a jazz song originally sung by Ella Fitzgerald (I think) in case you're wondering. News in the pirate world: This is serious business: if we want global warming to decrease, we've really got to hire some more pirates! Anyone want to volunteer? (Borrowed from another blog) --female 1/2

More music!

Ok I'll admit it, Brent and I are addicted to music. We decided back in January to spend our GST rebates on music and we finally got around to ordering it. We each got two: mine was 1) the Little Willies CD I mentioned previously and 2) The Soundtrack to Pride and Prejudice (the new one). Brent got Fiona Apple, a slightly depressed-sounding Sarah Harmer-like singer, and Cat Stevens "Catch Bull at Four". We're very happy to have new music! However, if you've had a chance to look at our music lists in the link section on the right, we have looooots more to get! --Female 1/2

First Robin of Spring!

I'm blogging this because Brent's short of time. When we were out running last Saturday, that is, March 25, Brent saw a robin--the first robin we've seen thus far this spring. :)

This morning, in my procrastination from homework, I slipped over to the MEC website and was perusing the catalogue with our trip to Nepal and my summer research in mind. Lo and behold I discovered that I could make a wish list! Consequently, I did. :) If you're interested in perusing mine, here's how to get there Also, I found a really cool thing that I thought I'd show you. MEC sells them. It's called a Filzer Orkoon, apparently a cross between a spork and a foon (according the website). They're on clearance for $5.75.

Blogging, blogging, blogging

Hey all you fine blogg readers It's approximately two minutes to eleven and will, in all likelihood, be eleven or later by the time I quit posting. Tonight we went with Bec and Eric on a much anticipated much needed adventure to Costco. We spent waayyy too much money but got all kinds of good things like...apples...and granola bars and spaghetti... Also, I got a CD--CDs are cheap at Costco!!--by the Little Willies. The Little Willies are a bluegrassy/jazzy group of musicians including Norah Jones. Norah Jones just happens to be one of my alltime favorite female artists. Prayer thought: younger brother Jorgen leave for a mission trip to Mexico in two days and at this point he is passportless and suffering from a foot injury. (That's Jorgen in the skateboarding picture). High moment of the day: 2006 Spring/Summer catalogue from MEC arrived today! I can start dreaming about all the neat things I would buy if we had money. Projects of the day: Brent's working on his house model. "I have three more pieces to put on the roof and then the basic roof shape is done. I just have to add details like dormers and chimneys and and and...soooo I still have a bit of work to do..." (and he made chocolate chip cookies). :) Kirstin's projects: Final exam in Medieval Marriage History...didn't go particularly well. Critique of Rural Western History paper...probably being too hard on the guy. --Female 1/2 Out

First Cut is the Deepest

Lately Brent and I have been listening to a lot of Cat Stevens. What got me back into a Cat mood was when one of the guys on American Idol sang a Cat song called...you guessed it, "The first Cut is the deepest". It's a really good song: pretty melody and thoughtful lyrics. I pulled out all my Cat records tonight (incidentally, I asked Brent for a record player for my birthday as a result) and discovered that I have seven records and two cds of Cat. Pretty impressive, hey? I just wish I could play them!

Marine Biology

Normally forwards are a pet peeve of mine, but this particular one I received from a friend who is also fiercely battling the never-ending school workload and I had to share it. The text that accompanied the picture reads: The photo shows two almost identical dolphins. The photo was used in a study on stress at St. Mary's Hospital. After you've read this, look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins should appear identical; however, the closely monitored scientific study found that people under stress will find differences in the two dolphins. The more differences you see, the greater amount of stress you are probably experiencing. Look carefully at the photograph. If you find more than one or two minor differences between the two dolphins it may be time to consider taking a holiday. So...I don't know about you guys, but I see a hereford cow on the right. Does that qualify me for a holiday?? Female 1/2

Wedding dresses and Winter Olympics

Brent and I caught just a few minutes of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics yesterday...long enough to see Andre Boccelli (spelling?) sing and see all the girls in wedding dresses. They looked very pretty. I think I would definitely have volunteered to wear my wedding dress again and carry a calla lily light. Actually, I would take any opportunity to wear my wedding dress again. It seems like such a shame that wedding dresses are so expensive and so pretty but we only get to wear them once. I really liked mine. Now that I'm thinking about it, I remember when three couples in the Woodynook celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversaries (they had a triple wedding) all three of the wives wore their dresses again. I would like to hope I could possibly fit into my dress in twenty-five years! You never know, it had a corset so there's a lot of room for adjustment. On another dress note, Brent and I watched Pride and Prejucide saturday night. I absolutely love that movie. I could watch it over and over and never tire of it. Anyway, I really love all their dresses also. I wonder how I would look in an empire style dress. I'm not so sure I would like to show quite as much cleavage as they show though--especially Jane. However, Jane and Elizabeth's wedding dresses are especially pretty. I wish lived in a society wherein I could ress like that and live in a castle by a lake. Brent and I have decided that when we have ten million dollars we're going to buy some land west of Calgary and build a castle like Pemberley.

London Fog

Quite possibly, aside from the times when I feel like I desperately need a coffee, my favorite drink from Starbucks, or Second Cup (preferably Second Cup for reasons which I will elaborate at another time...or you can ask me about it) is a London Fog. I was introduced to this delectable treat in my second year at RDC by two fellow students from my Children's Lit class. What is a London Fog, you might ask. A London Fog is merely this: Earl Grey tea (my absolute favorite) steeped in steamed milk rather than water with some vanilla syrup added...and of course, the mandatory foam on top. Two variations include whipping cream on top instead of foam, and caramel syrup delicately overlaid in a lattice on top of the foam or whipped cream. Yum!

Borrowed this picture from the CBC Olympic webpage...which I've been following closely lately seeing as I'm addicted to the Olympics. I think my addiction began in grade eight or nine when the Olympics were in Nagano and I had to do a olympic game scrapbook for Phys. Ed. If I were ever to go to the games, I'd want to do speedskating. I used to want to be a bobsledder but now that I run, I think I could handle speedskating...as long as they don't require me to stop very quickly...but maybe I'd learn to stop in training...

On a more serious note, also related to the cartoon, is the Danish/Muslim situation. Personally, I think the Muslim people involved in the threats and flag burnings etc. merely needed and excuse to get riled up. Why pick on the Danish country as a whole for the printing of a silly cartoon? Jesus is made fun of quite often and I don't go out burning flags and wrecking things. Actually, I've been feeling quite persecuted as a Christian in my university experience right now. That happens every now and again...Christians in the past were not very good people and did a lot of horrible things, but I wish contemporary society would not blame Christianity as a religion for the mistakes made in the past in the name of religion.

But to return again to the cartoon, it seems so strange that Denmark would be picked as the country of choice to persecute. Ok, they printed the cartoon first. But Denmark?? It's smaller than Alberta! In fact, I think you could probably fit five Denmarks into Alberta. Moreover, it's not even close to a world power. The Danish people are pretty peaceful, I'd say.

On an even more serious note, my Auntie Karen is a missionary in Turkey and things are not exactly all peace and happiness there either these days. In addition, she has strong connections with Denmark--she is supported by a church there. Consequently, if you feel like praying for her, please do. These are scary times for her.

That's it for me right now. I've got to go read about the murder of newly-married women in India by their mother-in-laws for a while...

Female 1/2

Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band

Sunday night Brent and I watched Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band, the movie. It was very very silly...you pretty much needed to be smoking something to think the storyline was anything profound. It was a musical of all Beatles music--the Beatles had an album called the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band, which is the first picture. While it was all Beatles music, the four band members were not played by the Beatles, they were played by the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. Peter Frampton is second from the left with blonde hair. We decided that Jorgen's friend Dusty looks a lot like Peter Frampton... This is one of the lead Bee Gees...though I'm not sure which one he is. Bren figured that if he had really long hair, he would look like this guy. Isn't he "dreamy"? And I thought I'd throw in a picture of the Beatles on their Abbey Road album just for the heck of it. Someday I want to go there and get a picture taken of me crossing the street. Note that Paul is barefoot...conspiracists everywhere wonder why he's barefoot....

Happy Birthday Mozart!

If you thought Robbie Burns day was special... Today is Mozart's 250th Birthday!!He was born on January 27, 1756! Happy Birthday Mozart!

Robbie Burns day!

Happy Robbie Burns day! People everywhere should wear their kilts (namely Brent!). Born on January 25, 1759 in Ayr, Scotland. Robert was the son of a peasant farmer who took to writing poetry as an alternative to working in the fields.As Scotland's national bard, he lived life to the fullest. The 200 year old celebration is a tribute to the life, works and spirit of the great poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796). (stolen from a website about Robbie Burns) So everyone eat some haggis and celebrate Scotland's greatest poet!

Election Night in Canada

We voted. Did you? The Conservatives won! This is the first time in my remembrance that the Conservatives have won, although not the first time in my lifetime. I hope and pray that they can make a difference in our federal government. One thing is for sure, Anne Mclellan (spelling?) is out. Stephen Harper is the new Prime Minister of Canada!

Narnia

We watched The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe over Christmas with Brent's mom and dad, and I absolutely loved it. I would say (can I say this out loud??) that I liked it almost more than Lord of the Rings. It was gorgeous. I actually want to see it again in theatres...now I just have to convince Brent that he also wants to see it again in theatres... Anyway, today we found at Walmart not only the soundtrack but "music inspired by the movie". We ended up buying only the soundtrack because they were each twenty dollars, and that was more than we wanted to spend, but the second cd included songs by Toby Mac, Steven Curtis Chapman and Jars of Clay! I'm thinking we will eventually get it. The soundtrack is quite pretty, though. Not quite as epic sounding as the LOTR soundtrack, but not quite as scary either. More listenable than some of the scary tracks from LOTR. I'm certainly glad we bought it. It even has a song by Alanis Morisette on it--and she sounds quite appropriate, believe it or not.

Street performers, snow and running

We had a very adventurous Friday, Brent and I. After class we took the train down to Kensington to find running shoes for Brent. However, they didn't have the size Brent needed (surprise, surprise) so we walked down the street, across a bridge over the Bow River, and down through Prince's Island Park to Eaue Claire Market where another Running Room DID have the size he needed. Then we took the train to MEC and picked up some running tights for both of us. Mine were on sale for fifteen dollars! As we were waiting on the platform for the train to go home again, there was a street performer singing behind us. He had his guitar and an amplifier and he was lovely. He was like a cross between John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot and my Uncle Pede (Sveistrup). He was selling CDs for seven dollars, but I didn't have enough for that, only two dollars which I threw into his guitar case. He sang "You've Got a Friend in Me", which was written by Carole King (pictured at the bottom) and was made popular by James Taylor(top picture). When you're down and troubled And you need a helping hand And nothing, whoa nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up, even your darkest nights. You just call out my name, And you know wherever I am I'll come running, oh yeah baby To see you again. Winter, spring , summer, or fall, All you have to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. You've got a friend. If the sky above you Should turn dark and full of clouds And that old north wind should begin to blow Keep your head together and call my name out loud And soon I will be knocking upon your door. You just call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again. Winter, Spring, summer or fallAll you got to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you. Well they'll take your soul if you let them. Oh yeah, but don't you let them. You just call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again. Oh babe, don't you know that, Winter Spring summer or fall, Hey now, all you've got to do is call. Lord, I'll be there, yes I will. You've got a friend.You've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. You've got a friend. I'll probably never see the singer again, which makes me a little sad because he created such a magical moment there on the train platform. I wasn't the only one singing along. He was smiling and seemed so joyful that he could provide music to the world. It was lovely. After we got home, we realised we were out of milk so we walked down to the grocery store to get some. By this time it was dark and snowing lightly. It wasn't cold at all, just beautiful. Then we decided to walk the other way and have coffee at a little coffee shop up the road called "Coffee and S'cream"--half of it is a coffee shop and the other half is an indoor playground. Neat place! Then we ran into Becky and Eric who invited us out for supper and a movie. There was a long time between supper and when the movie started, so we went to Second Cup (I had the best London Fog I've ever tasted). We sat and looked at Calgary fancy house magazines. We had a very good evening with Eric and Bec. :) Yesterday morning I convinced Brent to go running with me! We're going to run a half marathon together in the spring, so we've started training. I'm very glad for the company running, it makes it less lonely. Plus, it gets both of us out of the house and doing something active, which is very nice.

It would seem that we have been tagged...

This is a concept I have never before encountered--"Tagging"--a spreading phenomenon very much unlike the Avian Flu. :) I will follow the tagging principles as laid out in Marco and Kristin's blog, and answer for myself, as it would seem the tagging bug has bitten me, not Brent. :) Four Jobs you have had in your life? 1) Lab rat, cloning potato plants...my stint as a scientist (haha) 2) Retail semi-manager, Majak Gardens bedding plant greenhouse 3) Outtrip camp counsellor, Camp Silversides...that reminds me, I dreamt about camp last night 4) Sheep farmer, both on my parents' farm, in the meat end of things, and on my uncle's farm, as a milker in the dairy end of things. Four Movies You Would Watch Over and Over? 1) Mary Poppins...Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, what more needs to be said? 2) Pride and Prejudice, BBC/A&E version, because I wish I could talk like them--got the set for Christmas!! (Thanks Kev!) 3) Fly Away Home. Filmed in Ontario, set in Ontario, beautiful music and lovely story...not to mention the Canada geese! 4) Marx Brothers' Night at the Opera...great witty humor, love that they stick it to the man Four Places That You've Lived? 1) On my parents' quarter section dairy farm 2) On my parents' acreage, about a mile west of the old farm 3) Onsite and offsite Camp Silversides (that counts, it was for three whole summers) 4) Farm near Lindsay Ontario Four TV Shows you love to watch? 1) CSI: Miami--Horatio is my hero 2) Corner Gas--the best comedy show ever 3) ER--well i loved it in high school 4) Survivor--we don't get that channel here, but last year we watched it faithfully Four Places You've Vacationed? 1) Kamloops, BC 2) Staffenbach, Switzerland 3) Jasper, AB 4) Lacombe, AB (I don't get out much) Four Website I visit Daily? 1) FAM message board 2) University electronic blackboard 3) CKUA website 4) Marco and Kristin's blog Four of my favorite foods? Hey I blogged about this recently... 1) Cranberry sauce 2) Curry anything 3) Sandwiches: tuna, ham and cheese, peanut butter and banana (not all on the same sandwich) 4) Anything Brent makes Four places I would rather be right now? 1) Out running 2) In Jasper or generally in the mountains 3) In Nepal 4) At Red Deer College

Brent and I watched March of the Penguins last night. It was a documentary about...you guessed it, penguins. Emperor Penguins to be exact. I highly recommend it. It was so darn cute and the landscape of Antarctica was incredible also. Baby penguins are so darn cute. Also yesterday we went to the Zoo because we wanted to see the new hippo that is visiting from Quebec. He's the grandson of the two hippos that live at the Zoo. We didn't expect this new guy to be so small! He is about the size of an almost full grown pig. Very cute little guy, well worth the visit!

December's Race

Here is some pictures of Rachel and I at the Catch the Elves Race in December. It was a beautiful day and a fun time. We finished in about an hour and two minutes as you can kind of read on the clock over top of the finish line. We're both looking forward to a half-marathon in the spring. Crossing the finish line. Here we are in Eau Claire Market afterwards.

Food

Three food items I cannot do without: Peanut butter (peanut butter and banana sandwiches and peanut butter on toast) Tuna (tuna and pickle sandwiches NOT tuna casseroles) Cranberries (cranberry sauce makes a very good breakfast) Potentially, I think if I was put on an isolated desert island, I could survive with these three things for a very long time...maybe with some bread and fresh fruit and milk thrown in there from time to time). Female 1/2

Newsy News

Happy second semester! Classes for me are as follows: HTST593--History of Violence Against Women HTST 439--Canadian Western History post-1886 HTST 423--Marriage in Feudal Society ENGL 444--Continuation of first semester's Victorian Lit. GLGY--Intro Geology It's going to be another challenging term to say the least! Yesterday, Brent and I took a trip out to Nanton to visit my friend Rachel and her husband Tyler. They live in an ooooold ranchhouse on an acreage in beautiful southern Alberta. I gained a whole new appreciation for the southern prairies and ranchland yesterday. There is an incredible amount of history there. Rachel's great grandparents started a huuuge ranch there and large parts of it are still in the family including a piece on which the family's summer house and sometimes dude ranch dwelling is situated--which we got a tour of. I am really looking forward to spending more time exploring that country. Rachel and Tyler were most hospitable as well, and I learned how to trim a horse's hooves. We were around horses quite a bit yesterday and I didn't get sick (praise God!!) Maybe I'm growing out of my allergies?? Yoga starts tonight for Becky and I. We're taking a beginner's Hatha class for the next thirteen weeks--as long as it's not booked up entirely by the time we get there tonight. Also, I started running again today. I don't start school eleven on M/W/F and at two on T/R so I've got a fair amount of time in the mornings. I'm going to start training for a half-marathon for the spring. There's on in April here in Calgary, one in May in Red Deer and another in July here in Calgary, so I'm hoping to participate in at least one of them. That's all the news for today I think. Except, we bought a kitchen cart thingmabob at Ikea the other day and it is wonderful to utilize it for our microwave(thanks Mom and Dad)/toaster(thanks Tim and Amanda)/coffee maker(thanks Jorgen and Kalie). We feel very blessed with everything we have and relieved for the organization that is beginning to appear in our home. Female 1/2

New Year!

its january 4th and i haven't posted since december 1st! this time has flewn by so very fast. where did i leave off? i think after my last post i got terribly sick, with a sore throat. so very wierd too, it felt at times like i had a knife in my throat, and almost like i had a cut in a very specific spot. wasn't fun, and i'm sure it made me very cranky :) to make matters worse my sickness came just before my exam week, but i made it through very well, with many prayers and lots of salt water! exams went very well. i just wanted them to be over so that we could go "home" for the holidays. in a way it seemed like i flew through them, and i had second thoughts for a while until i found out my final grades. as of this point i've got a 4.00 gpa. not sure how that is possible, but i got an a+ in ever one of my classes. i blame it on easy classes, and my prior knowledge, so we'll see how my second semester goes here. we made it through our exams, and then packed up and went "home" for the past couple weeks here. its been great, i've been able to work, and Kirstin has been able to do homework and see quite a few friends. we both had a list of things and people we wanted to see, but as the past two weeks have gone by our lists remain. we had so many things planned, but got to lacombe and just needed to relax i think. we feel so blessed by our parents on both sides of our new family. they just love us and care for us, its been an awsome visit. but by the end here things seem to be dragging and we're ready to head back to school! gasp, never thought, two weeks ago, that i would be saying that, but its true. monday we took two brothers and headed out to nordegg to do a day hiking trip on coliseum mountain. it was great, the weather was awesome, and with little snow it wasn't so hard to climb the mountain. me and kirstin had attempted an ascent last december, but only made it part way up cause of a blizzard coming in through the mountains. it was so much easier this time around, for the first time brought a foot and a half of snow, but now with only a few inches, most wind packed, we made it up in great time. the youngest brother had a harder time than the rest, but he made with it some encouragement, and was glad he did when we made it. the hike is quite easy. we barely were out of the tree line on the top of the mountain. here are a few pics from the day: view from part way up the mountain the men looking out over the mountain (the summit can be seen behind us) four of us on top of the mountain silly brothers running off the edge me doing a little bit of boot skiing heading back down the trail my lovely wife!