It has been a busy couple of weeks since getting back from Mexico. Sheena, Moira and Arwyn came to visit for three days. They were at a table tennis clinic. Brian and I helped install cupboards at Jenn and John's place. We also started to work on the reno project on their house. I have also started to add a sun room over part of the back deck and hopefully will soon have this framed in so we can order the windows and doors. Next week will be work at Jenn and John's house renovation project.

Back from Mexico

The group from Saskatoon: Alex Bastian, Mike Parker, Ian MacLeod, Jeff & Sonia & Glenda McCallum.

July 5 I was at the job site and along with Jeff McCallum was responsible for putting up one of the classrooms of the school. Jake Wiebe and Roland Olson were in charge of the other classroom. The two buildings were joined by the roof. We had people from California, Washington, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba with 62 people altogether. The building was erected in a place called Maneadero, Baja California, Mexico. We stayed in a campground about a half hour away at a place called Los Pinos, Baja California, Mexico which means "The Pines" but I didn't see any pine trees.

Definition of a Farmer

Definition of a Farmer: "A man out standing in his field!"

Our whole family is here! (EXCEPT FOR ANDREA!)

Andrew M., Brian Baggett, Ruth MacLeod, Imogen Wallace, Angela B., Emora B., Ivan B.,
Ian M., Dominique B., John W., Jennifer W.

[Missing: Andrea MacLeod who is in Germany finishing her Masters Degree and hopefully will soon be here]

Neil Bailey and Darcy Folk get married

At he Faculty Club at the U of S campus there were six of us that wore kilts. Dan Deyo, Andrew MacLeod, Neil Bailey, a friend from NS, Ian MacLeod, John Wallace.


Bill and Mary Muirhead had all of their family show up: Ian & Janet Muirhead, Michael Koops, Moira K, Andrea M, Bill M, Sheena K, Victoria K, Arwyn K, Lanelle M, Kellen M, Mary Muirhead.


The hand made rings made by the bride and groom were passed around to the audience. Ruth and my hand are holding the rings.





Alice Williams is beside the bouquet of flowers and the box that I made for the couple. Neil and Darcy each wrote a letter explaining why they wanted to marry the other and put it in the box along with a bottle of wine and it is to be opened in 10 years.

John and Jennifer and Imogen Wallace during the outdoor ceremony were basking in the sun after two weeks of rain. It was a comfortable 17 C. Neil's brother Eric officiated at the wedding.

City water is coming/Jennifer's birthday/snow

We have had a crew burrowing in a one inch water line to the house and a three inch line in the ditch to bring us city water hopefully by this fall. Jennifer had her birthday party on May 5 and Yoyo bought her an ice-cream cake. Ruth's sister Joan and her husband George Williamson were able to be here for her birthday party so that was great. And we had a late spring snowfall that brought about an inch of snow unexpectedly.

First day of Spring.

Imogen is sitting on what we were going to make into a quinzy but it was too close to spring and the snow didn't last long enough to hollow it out.










The other picture is of a wonderfully tasty, colourful meal that Ruth (aka: The Best Cook in the World) made for supper. Chicken, carrot salad, purple potatoes, cucumbers, radishes, green beans, and 60% whole wheat bread with orange juice. Mmmm, yummy.

Before we left Phoenix I got to see how they transplant cactus plants with a tree mover apparatus. Also Kamber who is six months old showed her best trick by standing in my hands. Her grandfather Ben Gallaway was proud of her. When we got to Edmonton my brother picked us up from the airport and the next day we both wore black socks, blue jeans and blue checkered shirts. Marj called us the twins. Ruth took this picture of the last day (hopefully) of frost this winter. The cactus is called sagauro.

Yuma AZ

The large rock in the glass case is a petrified dinosaur egg . We stopped to visit Eldon and Kathy Meade on the way to Yuma. (The juxtaposing of these two pictures is entirely accidental.)






















When we got to Yuma we were surprised to find some other visitors there that we knew besides Shirley and Lee Deitz. We met at Norma and Vern Erikson's place Glen and Kay McMillan, and Russell and Glenda Knutson, so there were eight of us that were there for supper. It was good too!

Trip to Phoenix AZ

Leaving snowy Calgary about 11:oo AM on Feb. 15 on Westjet. This is contrasted with a view from above of Phoenix, Arizona where there is no snow and the vegetation is starkly different.
We had a great flight except for the long delay in Calgary getting through US customs and security. It was interesting that they made us do the long line-up in Calgary and when we got to Phoenix it was like you were home free.





The plants are much more suited to a tropical and a desert climate in Phoenix. You can tell from all the cacti and different palm trees that are ubiquitous here. The holes are made by a cactus wren that inhabits them.