Old dogs, new tricks

This is a twist in the saying "you can't teach an old dog a new trick":
how about the old dog teaching the baby a new trick?

Bailey, Bev and Nestor's dog, taught Aleta how to play tug-of-war last weekend when we were passing through on our way to Edmonton. (Pamela supervised).

Okay, I don't know how old Bailey really is, but he's been around a lot longer than Aleta.

A swingin' babe

We went to the park for a picnic with other parents and babies (the year's wrap-up for Healthy Beginnings). Aleta tried out a real swing for the first time.

Prairie skies, take two

On Saturday, when I saw these skies, I thought we were in for it. I had not seen clouds like this.

But then, we watched the thunderstorm pass by to the north, and the drama was over. Still, I thought the clouds were mighty impressive

Romina and Arman's wedding

On 16 June, Romina Bahrami and Arman Imani tied the knot in Edmonton. They both served at the Bahá’í World Centre with me (I actually recruited Romina while visiting Edmonton one visit home). It was a lovely wedding and a lot of fun to also see former staff members Lou and Lorna Bergner, Farzin and Mitra Shakibanejad, and also Bahiyyih Tabrizi (a current staff member) who was on holiday in Canada.

The Leftwiches

Aleta took Lorna for a walk over every inch of the wedding venue

We stayed with Shar and Ridvan, our matchmakers, and were so happy to have a chance to visit with them.

The prairie sky

CBC radio recently did a segment on Sounds Like Canada that found "The Seven Wonders of Canada". I was so happy to see that the prairie sky was one of the winners: http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/wonder_prairie_skies.html

When I have lived away from the prairies I have missed its sky so much. At one point a friend from southern Ontario visited Alberta and said "The sky is so big, I felt naked"; not my sentiment at all. I always felt that I felt free under the prairie sky, and coupled with a good strong wind, a sense of release and detachment from anything that might have been troubling me. And seven summers in northwestern Ontario, surrounded by trees, was claustraphobic (but I managed). In Vancouver, I missed interesting clouds. In Israel, I missed gorgeous sunsets. In Toronto, I missed crisp, clear blue skies contrasted with strong white clouds. Not that any of these things were impossible in any of those places, but they were not the norm.

So any prairie people who find themselves living away, check the link above, and feel homesick. :)

11 months old ... and walking!!!

Aleta just mastered crawling in the last couple of weeks (see previous post) and now, having practiced pulling herself up to furniture, and sitting down, she has started walking. Yesterday, she walked halfway across the living room for her grandma, and today, she walked all the way across the living room and kitchen. This video shows the next trip after that one.

Aleta crawling

Aleta started crawling AFTER she took her first steps. She actually took several steps about 6 weeks ago, but then proceeded to practice pulling herself up on to furniture (or any standing object) and cruising (walking along furniture).

About 2 weeks ago she started to crawl. This video was taken in Eleanor's kitchen a couple of days ago.

Seeding the crop

This is the seeding unit that Dale and Ken use to seed the crops. A tractor, followed by the cultivator, followed by the seed cart, followed by the fertilizer tank. One of them drives the tractor and the other does all the other tasks needed to keep the seeding unit going: get seed, blend fertilizer and deliver it, pick stones, and if something goes wrong with a piece of equipment, get parts or work on fixing the equipment.































Aleta and I sometimes go out and see them, to deliver some lunch to Dale. Once in awhile if Ken is seeding and Dale has a few minutes, we stay to visit. Even if the weather is too cool to be outside, Aleta finds a lot to amuse herself inside our "new" van, while we wait.