Hello – we’re back to share our summer with you, before getting into our upcoming MDS experiences. We have greatly appreciated all the positive comments about our articles last winter and hope you enjoy coming to Texas with us in two weeks.
Aaah – summer in Saskatchewan. It started out like summer, but we soon wondered what happened to the good old summers we used to have!
I have always thought it would be neat to spend a week in Texas in summer, just to experience some nice HOT weather. It was always windy on the Gulf Coast. The residents informed us that the wind is a tremendous blessing down there; I had never considered that if it were not for the wind, they would not be able to tolerate the heat in summer. After a week, I probably would be plenty ready to go back to a Saskatchewan summer! Recently, we received an e-mail from MDS friends in California advising it was 103 degrees there. We could have used a day or two of that, at least…
After doing renovations to our home, which meant I could not have a garden last year, I was excited to be landscaping and getting ready in spring to plant a small garden again. That included bringing out all of the yard ornaments, and our two water fountains which did not get used last year.
Putting the clothesline back up was first on my agenda and to my great delight, John quickly had that task accomplished.
In May, our very beloved purebred Himalayan cat, Gizmo, insisted on being let outside after dark, never to return. He had been acting a bit strangely and it appears he had gone away to die in peace. We certainly miss his beautiful furry face at our patio door.
My mission this summer was to ensure our three grandchildren have some special holiday memories with Nana and Grampa from their childhood. Our family always spent most of the summer at Madge Lake where we had a cabin. Nowadays, young families have such hectic lives. Both parents are busy with their jobs and barely even get two days off at the same time to enjoy any kind of holiday with their kids.
We offered to take the grandchildren for 10 days to my Mom’s in Langenburg, Sk., as there were two sets of festivities scheduled. First was the goal of my cousin from Tennessee who comes up to his family farm every summer, to have 10 threshing machines running at one time in 2010. John was his “straw boss” for the occasion.
Over the years, Ken and Jaqueline have welcomed and entertained the local residents with a day of threshing, visiting and an old fashioned picnic several times during the summer. This weekend brought over 300 people to the farm to share in the old time festivities. Included in the roster of entertainment, our 12 year old granddaughter, Keely, sang two songs with my accompaniment and everyone said she was wonderful. Dressed in a pretty heritage dress complete with a hat, she sang “In the Highways In the Hedges” and “Let the Sun Shine In”. Bryton, who just turned 9 while we were on holidays, looked just like a young lad out of Wind at My Back, in his pair of overalls, striped T-shirt and a flat, brimmed tweed hat. Five year old Emily charmed all of the old-timers and captured Miss Jacqueline’s heart.
Everyone who attended tremendously enjoyed the day and not only did Ken achieve his goal of “10 in 2010”, but he also was proud to see the full page write up of the occasion in the Western Producer!
We then stayed the following week to take in Laff ‘n Linger Days, which only happens every 5 years in my home town. Great-Nana’s one bedroom senior duplex was hard-pressed to accommodate three extra adults, three children and a dog. John decided this “zoo” would be too much for him and there was work to do at home, so he left and came back for the weekend. The rest of us played “musical beds” with the hideabed and the tent and someone sleeping with Great-Nana. Keely wanted to see what Manitoba looked like, so we made the short trip to Russell. They spent many hours in the town pool and got a taste of living in small town Saskatchewan. Bryton slept over at Uncle Paul’s for a few nights, and would walk the three blocks back to Mom’s in the morning, with his pyjamas slung over his shoulder, just a singing away. It was neat to hear him comment “I love Langenburg”
Laff ‘N Linger Days included a very large heritage parade (for a small town of 1500 people). My cousin’s wife insisted she needed us to help her with the Mack Family Float. It was a large hay wagon pulled by an old tractor. John and I had made them a large sign for the entrance to their farm yard, as they did not have one. We put the sign on the back of the float and it looked wonderful! Miss Jacqueline, a cousin’s wife from B.C., and the children and I were all on the float, dressed in our heritage costumes. We were thrilled to win first prize in the heritage division! John and my Mom were “parade watchers”. All in all, our summer holiday with the kids was all we had hoped it would be and we have the pictures to prove it!!! Needless to say, it was also a summer holiday my 87 year old Mom will always cherish.
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