Garden harvest happiness

Tis the season to be gifted wonderful presents from the garden....both grown by me and grown by others.
I used to deliver to this amazing Japanese farmer when I was driving truck, but now that I am in the office I don't get to see him anymore...but he still sends gifts for me along with the other drivers....I often think he is experimenting on me because I am a vegetarian...he's always sending me weird looking vegetables with no names except for some Japanese one's that I cannot pronounce what's so ever lol.

 This however I can pronounce...it's just a huge freakin purple cauliflower! Seriously...I can't even imagine how much genetic crap has happened to this damn thing to make it purple lol....but he was kind enough to give it to me...so who am I to say no lol.
This past weekend I did a lot of the last harvesting of a few things...yellow beans, garlic...and more pickling cukes.

I made some "Bread & Butter" pickles from this small batch I picked on Sunday...and I was able to get 9 jars out of that harvested bunch.

My straw bales are doing FABULOUS...who would have thought that it would be this easy...and my stuff is growing like crazy in them...zucchini's are growing like crazy, and potatoes are still freakin blooming....when I stuff my hand in the bale to see if there were potatoes, I found a few small ones a few weeks back...so I am patiently waiting longer for them.
So as every weekend gets closer to fall...more and more of my garden is being put to sleep...I just keep holding on to every last bit of summer as possible :-)

Shambhala 2015...my treck back "home"

So I can't believe I missed posting a single blog post for the entire month of August.
I was a busy busy month. One of the things that filled part of that month was going to that magical music festival once again...the place I call home...the place were I feel all my peeps are at....the place where I can just breath and feel freely and it revives my soul.
Here is a small taste into my trip back "home"

The trip start off  a lil rough...I was about 50 feet literally from turning off the road into the festival when something went terribly wrong with the vehicle and I had to get towed...so....five hours later...I was FINALLY on the "farm".

However...this was how I adventured home...the hubster came to my rescue 6 days later at the end of it all to bring me home....so so thankful for hubsters :-)

My favorite sign at the ENTIRE music festival...I so badly wanted to bring this home!

BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD....well again since the last time I was there lol. The Green Bastard is pretty much the best thing in my mouth EVER!

Wouldn't be Shambhala without a rickshaw Jesus giving people rides in his version of a rickshaw.

Yup...that's where my bra stayed for the entire festival...no need for ridiculous shit like that....wish it could stay there for life...but bossman at work feels differently :-(

Everyday yoga in the park with a ton of people all starting the day off right...soooooo great!!!!

Just a small view into my many days of costume...it's always so hard to decide what to wear and when...especially when your camp mates also bring a ton of excited things to share and wear too!

Everywhere you look...there is ALWAYS some kind of OWL magic happening!

Wouldn't be a music festival without some kind of drug testing and results happening....I have to say....at least there is such at thing happening for those who do partake in such stuff.

One of my favorite parts of the festival is this giant tree where you can put all your wishes literally upon the tree...it's always so great to read what is up there...this was one that just tore at my Mom heart strings.

Yup...a massage bed in the middle of the forest...for those times where you have been dancing furiously for 5 hours and you just need some pampering!

I will end with this...another one of my favorite....foosball table in the coffee line up that was played EVERY time I was in line for coffee in the morning...I vote that every coffee house have this...what a great way to meet people, start your morning and just to have a great laugh!

So this was my second year, each time I have been I have said...okay, I have done it, no need to do it again...and then after it's over and it's been a month...I start thinking about how I want to go back.
So who knows what will happen next year...maybe a different music adventure will happen somewhere else!

Stubborn as a mule

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in an alley way in Edmonton Alberta, there was a girl driving her car and her brother was with her. They were leaving the alley way when a truck from the road rudely tried to enter this small road and pulled in right in front of her and proceeded to tell this girl with hand gestures and mouthed swear words that were lip read by this girl quite well, that she needed to move and get out of his way.
This girl then turned off her car, proceeded to take out the newspaper she had in her car and pretend to read it. This girl was prepared to sit there and read the paper all day long if she needed.
The brother....well he was in utter shock at how is sister's stubborn side was shown this day. The brother now knows....never piss of his sister, cause she will literally do whatever it takes to get her point across.

*this tale is based upon a true story*

Inuksuk's in my happy place

For as long as I can remember, where ever I have lived, I have always been collecting random rocks from where ever I go.
Fun little reminders of the random adventure I have taken here and there or times I have spent with family and friends.
They are now in my happy place, my garden, so I have a constant reminder of good memories and good times while I am weeding or watering or just admiring my hard work.

Summer love affair with a pool

We had this pool up last time 7 years ago, since then we have had it in storage, not being used. Never needed to when we were living in BC cause we were so close to so many magnificent lakes...why bother with a pool.
Well now that we are back in Alberta and the lakes are NOT.....well....I shouldn't say not...they are just not really lakes like what I am used to from BC.
So a few weeks ago we put up the pool and I have been in it pretty much every chance I get. I have especially been in the pool for the last three days with temps reaching 38 degree's here on our deck...IN THE SHADE.
Plus my mouth has been aching beyond belief....so I drug up and lay on the floaty in the pool and try to pretend that it doesn't feel like someone is stomping on my jaw 24/7. I have had other teeth removed before, but I have never suffered like this so many days later. So this pool has been my saving grace for the last few days....the floating helps meditate and the water helps with the heat and humidity.
I look forward to many more days like this, maybe just less painful :-)

Mouth malfunction

I love the specs of blood all over my face...another reason I keep my eyes shut the whole time...from flying tooth bits and blood.

Dream team selfie pics once it was all out!!! Thank you Able Dental!!!

10 years ago I had a root canal...I have only ever had one..and that experience was HORRIBLE! 3 years ago...that same tooth broke when I was at work...but because of my fear of dentists and it wasn't hurting I just dealt with the broken tooth...until last night...it got infected or something and it was just so painful....it's been "acting" up for the last 6 months, but it was tolerable. So I went to work this morning....asked the co workers for their idea or dentists names and found one...he took me 20 min after I called them.
I thinking he wishes he hadn't lol.
He told me today I was the hardest extraction he has ever had...he spent an hour and half on this one tooth trying to get all of it out. He finally had to call on a older senior doctor....who then struggled for another 40 min on it.
In the end, I got stitches in my mouth and crap load of prescription drugs.
The original root canal was HALF done...hence all the problems and pain I had with it...he showed me the xrays before the wrenching in my mouth began...and I could see it was half done....he told me that the dentist that did this was should be ashamed of himself and was a very shady person.
So I now know who I will be seeing from now on in Lethbridge...highly recommended, great team of people there who dealt very well with this nervous patient....I did not go back to work after...my boss told me I could go home...I was pretty wiped from all the adrenaline and then the adrenaline dump that happens after you calm down.
Now...next story...I was two blocks from the dentist....I was turning left at an intersection....a pedestrian was crossing...he was not all the way across when I turned left...cops lights come on...I also happened to be right in front of the rcmp head office too....so I just pulled into their parking lot.....he comes up to my window like he's about to freak out on me...see's the bloody gauze hanging out of my mouth, asks me for my drivers license and registration....goes to his truck for 10 seconds...comes back....asks me if I know why he has stopped me....I just stared blankly at him and started crying....gave him all my prescriptions that I was trying to get another 4 blocks to so I could get some pain management....he then told me he was letting me off today, but showed me that my fine would have been $750 bucks today.
The lesson I learned here today...always carry gauze and ketchup in the car in case you get pulled over and have old prescription papers on hand....and you will be set free!!!!! Not sure I can fake the glazed trauma look I had from just leaving the dentist though lol.

Little free library

So our little village library has started putting these up everywhere...mostly other small villages that don't have libraries, but also in ours....there are lots of people who for some reason or another do not have library cards, but love going to these and seeing what's in them.
You can take anything from these boxes....you can leave other books you have already read, it's always changing, you never know what book treasure you will find. I am responsible for reorganizing a couple of them in a village that's on my way to work, and it's fun to see what missing from the last time I was there or what's been added. I have seen this done in other cities and countries, and I just think it's so great we have started it out here.
Happy book treasure seeking!