Celebration Destination – Moscâstani-sîpiy

Entering the room, Jessica sits down and opens the laptop and blows dust off of the keyboard, waving her hand in the air to clear it and coughs gently.

Well, it has been a long while since I’ve posted anything, but now it’s time for a recounting of our trip to Moose Jaw, which coincided with my birthday. Thus becoming, ‘my birthday getaway’ of sorts – unexpected, but accepted 🤓

We’d thrown about the idea of exploring Moose Jaw many times but usually with life and work and having other places to go, it got tossed to the back of the pile.
Metaphorically speaking of course, as one cannot ‘toss’ a thought of a destination upon a pile of something 😏

Anyways, with Mike having broken his wrist it meant he had a lot of spare time on his ‘hand’ 🤪, plus the restrictions still being what they are, the idea of Moose Jaw resurfaced once again.

We weather watched and finally decided on leaving Friday, at whatever time ended up being Lake’s first nap of the day 😉

We awoke to the expected rain, but that didn’t ‘dampen’ our spirits (full of these puns today… haven’t written in so long I can’t stop them from coming out, my apologies 🤪🙈).

I’d attempted to pack up most of our things the day before, but there’s always those last minute things to grab, cooler bags to fill and tasks to complete and seeing as this was our first real trip with Lake, the supply list felt a bit mind boggling (for me 😜).

Mike asked if we really had so much more stuff than usual JUST because of Lake 😜
Yes, dear… that is indeed why 😅

A quick stop had to be made at the sisters house, where the nieces waited for me with their gifts, instructing me to take the cards with to read on the drive 😉😋
They were not so lengthy as I had expected after that specific instruction but enjoyed nonetheless 😂

We officially headed off around 11:00, Lake fast asleep and head bound in attempts at staving off the awfully uncomfortable neck bend babes incur so often in their car seats 🙈

The start of the drive flew by for me… as I was being showered with birthday messages and wishes and was happily posting the mornings details for others to partake in.
It felt like we were headed off on some huge adventure in some way… I guess that’s what ‘the c o v i d ‘ will do to a person 😜

We passed along a wealthier area of Saskatoon’s outskirts, remarking on the homes and what we liked or did not. Always looking for design ideas to document 😉

2 ish hours in, we made it to Kinder Surprises Antiques, a place I’d always been curious to go explore should the opportunity present itself.
Lake had just awoken, so the timing was impeccable 😉

Mike remarked that it felt almost more like a museum tour of sorts rather than just a place to shop, which is an accurate feel.
Multiple buildings being filled with items of all sorts, being the largest rural antique shop in Saskatchewan.

What we thought to be an old school house, boasted of some beautiful old windows.

The boys got to stretch their legs a little, while I took slightly more time then they to rest my eyes upon all the objects available for perusal 😉

The remainder of the drive went by without anything too documentation worthy occurring, which is not a bad thing, when one is road tripping with a wee little person 🤪

The Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa was checked into at 3:00 and we went up to deposit our bags and let Lake rip around in the room.

30 minutes later we were seated at The Mad Greek for an early dinner.
(Mike had eaten there once as he had quickly passed through the area post car buying, shocker I know 🤪)

We quickly decided upon the Greek platter and delved into it once it came.
Pork souvlaki with their garlic sauce, gyros, sausage, filo wrapped feta and spinach bites, pita bread and a baked eggplant topped with a cream sauce made up our meal and it was very very tasty 👌🏻
Lake happily ate everything as well but we found out as the trip progressed, that he does not like restaurant forks, preferring to be fed by hand or spoon specifically 🙄😜

As a gift from my mother-in-law, I had a massage booked for that evening. Because of that, we didn’t linger long at the restaurant and headed back to the hotel so the boys could test the mineral pool.

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Needing to do so in time for me to get Lake into a fresh diaper, pjs and hopefully bedtime ready, before I left. As dressing Lake isn’t a task Mikes wrist was up for just yet.

Lake has become rather an unwilling participant of diapering and clothing of late 🙄

I headed up to the spa at 6:00 and settled in for my pro sleep massage ☺️

It was done mainly with brushes dipped in hot oil, which I’d never had done before.
It was done very nicely and my esthetician was the perfect mix of friendly and conversational but, not so much that you couldn’t relax and really enjoy the treatment ☺️
I personally would have liked a little deeper of a massage but I’m not complaining 😉

I got back to our room around 7:30 and was met by a sleeping baby upon our bed and a husband who said the babe had been very unhappy and unwilling to sleep until a few moments before 🙈
I honestly didn’t feel too badly about it, as when do the dads really every have to deal with an unsettled baby, alone ? 🙈😜

He did end up waking up for an hour or so and I had to get him back to sleep while Mike went out in search of some snacks and my free birthday Starbucks… and some snacks for himself as ‘you didn’t pack any chocolate??’ 🤪

A peach green tea with coconut milk was shared as we relaxed before turning in for the night… I even took a part of a sleeping pill because I rarely sleep well in a hotel and I figured with Mike having more mobility back, he could handle a night waking for the first time in 6 or so weeks if need be, for the last of my birthday wishes 😉😋

Seeking Out Sources Of Delight

Day 4 – July 26th, 2020

We slept in a little bit and decided to forgo the whole ‘breakfast out’ experience, as we had enough snacks to get us going until we needed lunch on our journey from Jasper to Canmore.

The first stop along the route was at Athabasca falls.

The tumultuous water came crashing down, being pounded against the canyon walls below, spraying us with mist and bathing the viewpoints in a coolness only rushing mountain waters like that can bring.

We had beautiful weather and the time passed quickly with the many interesting views to be taken in along the way.

We paused at anything we deemed necessary and after driving past some icy aqua shades of water that ran through a ‘field’ of flat rocks and clay, we turned around to go explore there awhile… because I really wanted to, even though there were no easy pull offs 🤪🙈 Mountains are cool (Hah, get it? ‘cool’🤪) but it’s the water bits with the innumerable shades of blue, that never fail to make my heart pitter patter.

The water was as refreshing as one would imagine, ice cream headache style numbness taking over in seconds, since it was actual run off from the nearby Columbian Icefields 😅
I’m glad I got to dip my toes in it though… even if rocks aren’t as gentle on my aged feet as they once seemed 😜

We may or may not have ended up with two small/medium rocks in the truck cab as natures souvenirs… if one can’t find shells, one can always find rocks and sticks 😉👌🏻

We stopped for lunch at the Glacier Discovery Centre.
It was wonderfully sunny out, so we enjoyed a tasty (and surprisingly affordable) poutine out on the patio, looking out to the Athabasca Glacier.

Enjoying the sunshine but also getting that refreshing breeze off the nearby ice.

Not far from there, we had to get a little splash of gas at the Saskatchewan River Crossing pit stop, the only gas station between Jasper and Banff.

Driving over the North Sask. River bridge, brought with it slightly different coloring and surroundings than the usual Saskatchewan river sidelines we get to see 😉

The wildflowers/weeds that dot the ditches and hills make for such nice little sprinklings of color and this lake was a gorgeous backdrop.

A color I don’t think I could ever tire of seeing.

‘Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight’ – John Ruskin

When we reached Banff area, we were going to attempt to see Lake Louise but that turned out to be a sight we shall have to save for next time.
People and vehicles wreathed all around, parking lots were filled, traffic control directing everyone everywhere and no semi easy way was available to spot the landmark lake.
It was disappointing but we didn’t lack seeing beauty on the drive up till that point, so we continued on, pausing awhile in Banff itself.

We sat by the Bow Falls awhile, enjoying the sunshine and planning out what we wanted to do before heading to our place of rest in Canmore. I wanted at least one souvenir sweater or shirt as I never actually buy those type of things and one was actually immediately found 👍🏻

Mike had gotten us a room at the ‘Creek Side Villa’ and the modern rustic interior immediately charmed us.

We used our room as a menu searching location before heading out for dinner at ‘Blake’.

I wasn’t really impressed with my meal (which aside from pretty much being fancy bacon, was also missing the sauce) or the service, so it felt like a bit of a let down and after making mention of it to our server, she casually said she’d let the management know and just handed us our bill 😏

We drove to a little parking lot to look at an advertised ‘Quarry Lake’ and immediately left it… as it was the least attractive/most people packed little body of water we’d yet to see 😜
There were many elk grazing all around the area though, being thoroughly adjusted to the presence of humans and not at all perturbed by the many people ‘taking pictures of the deers’ as one man behind us stated 🤪

I was feeling pretty sore and we were tired of being on the go, so we decided to relax at the hotel the rest of the evening.
Enjoying our room, AC and a king size bed to watch movies in until we got sleepy 😋👍🏻

Top 5 Travel Destinations

Well, as we get ready to start another year, plans are made and perhaps, vacations booked 😉
Thus, I decided to write up a little post about our top favourite places.
It’s so hard to narrow a list like this down with weather, location and overall experience playing such a big part in how a person remembers a place but I’ve tried my best and would love to also hear some of YOUR favourite places or, least favourites🤪

Also if you’ve been to any of these places, what your experience was!

Also, for almost all of our accommodations, my husband has booked us places using Airbnb.
We’ve gotten great deals, helpful service via Airbnb customer service and stayed at places that give off such a different vibe then the classic hotel room. I highly recommend 👍🏻🏘

Continue reading “Top 5 Travel Destinations”

A Gift For The Sask. Men In Your Life – Mens Prairie Apparel

Currently unavailable for purchase 

 

I’m excited to finally share a slice of a project with you all, which I’ve been working on for the last couple months ☺️

 

A Saskatchewan themed, long sleeve shirt… just in time for the season of obsessive giving and gifting might I add 😉

 

I’ve wracked my brain and wrecked my posture while working on designs, but now I’m finally able to show one of the finished products and offer it to you ☺️

Continue reading “A Gift For The Sask. Men In Your Life – Mens Prairie Apparel”

Grand Guests

A rather delayed (and rather lengthy) recounting of our Opa and Oma’s visit back in August/September.

 

 

 

 Friday, Aug 24th –

The weather changed from summer to fall, almost overnight and we also drove to the airport to pick up some special guests.
Michiel’s Oma and Opa arrived at 11:40 pm to stay with us for 2.5 weeks 🙂

After a dark and rainy drive, we made it to our house by 2:00 am and Mike being excited, gave the whole house tour and renovation information then 😉

Saturday Aug 25th –

Saturday morning came earlier then I desired, as it usually does after a late night, but that only gave a good chance for a guaranteed nap 🤪
Oma and Opa deal with their age, better than I do mine 😂

We sipped coffees, put out some breakfast and joyously accepted their gifts of cheese and chocolate, a homemade herb mix from Opa and a couple other goodies 🤩👌🏻😋 Continue reading “Grand Guests”

Piqued Interests And Peaked People

Sunday, Jan 15th

(Winnipeg day #5 recap)

Breakfast was once again a macaroon and coffee.
A fare I could easily adjust to, daily 💁🏻‍♀️

We parted ways with two of the aunts that morning and our other aunt toured us around until we had to be at the airport later that afternoon.

We went to The Forks and sat down for lunch, beginning with some truffle oil and parmesan fries that came with a basil dip and a garlic aioli dip.

I’d had similar dish while in South Africa and this was the first time I’d seen it listed on a menu anywhere else ☺️

Mom and I shared a peach, orange and chicken stir fry dish and it was alright but we’d had much better throughout the trip 😉👌🏻

We wandered around the stores, and walked over to another building to do the same there.
Tired of shopping but also having too much time to just spend at the airport. Continue reading “Piqued Interests And Peaked People”

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