Saturday, May 24, 2008

Our First Visitor

This guy, the red-winged blackbird, has been at our feeder today, and received with much excitement from the kids. I must admit, myself as well, he's very pretty to watch. The female is with him I am sure, she is a bland brown bird, and we have had about 3-4 that could be her today as well.

Have I mentioned that I need a better camera. I swear...one of these days..... then I can zoom in and take a picture of him instead of posting a drawing.....

Garden Patch

We finally got to the back beside the parking pad where I wanted to get a garden in. If I can't live in the country I'll just fill every available space I can with plants :)

So we took all the rocks (and weeds and grass, I HATE decorative rocks, what a pain) then rototilled it, put in peat,manure and soil and then planted. (That took ALL day, sounds so easy to type it out)

I have netting along the fence for my red runner beans again, snap peas (the ones you eat whole, they get about 6 feet tall too) and my yellow beans. I need one more section of netting, I'll get that next weekend.


So we planted squash....a spaghetti type I think lol...I wish I had found pumpkins....anyone know where to buy a plant? I have SOOO much room for them back there!

Broccoli and brussell sprouts... (Mr K is SO excited about those brussell sprouts, hope they grow)

Corn in the back, cauliflower and celery on the right.


Me, proving to my dad that I DID and WILL make use of the Telus hat he gave me :)


Here's hoping everything grows!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Officer breast-feeds quake orphans

JIANGYOU, China (CNN) -- A Chinese police officer is being hailed as a hero after taking it upon herself to breast-feed several infants who were separated from their mothers or orphaned by China's devastating earthquake.

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Police officer Jiang Xiaojuan, 29, was feeding nine babies at one point.

Officer Jiang Xiaojuan, 29, the mother of a 6-month-old boy, responded to the call of duty and the instincts of motherhood when the magnitude-7.9 quake struck on May 12.

"I am breast-feeding, so I can feed babies. I didn't think of it much," she said. "It is a mother's reaction and a basic duty as a police officer to help."

The death toll in the earthquake jumped Thursday to more than 51,000, and more than 29,000 are missing, according to government figures. Thousands of children have been orphaned; many others have mothers who simply can't feed them.

At one point, Jiang was feeding nine babies.

"Some of the moms were injured; their fathers were dead ... five of them were orphans. They've gone away to an orphanage now," she said.

She still feeds two babies, including Zhao Lyuyang, son of a woman who survived the quake but whose breast milk stopped flowing because of the traumatic conditions.

"We walked out of the mountains for a long time. I hadn't eaten in days when I got here, and my milk was not enough," said that mother, Zhao Zong Jun. "She saved my baby. I thank her so much. I can't express how I feel."

Liu Rong, another mother whose breast milk stopped in the trauma, was awed by Jiang's kindness.

"I am so touched because she has her own baby, but she fed the disaster babies first," Liu said. "If she hadn't fed my son, he wouldn't have had enough to eat."

Jiang has became a celebrity, followed by local media and proclaimed on a newspaper front page as "China's Mother No. 1."

She's embarrassed by the fuss.

"I think what I did was normal," she said. "In a quake zone, many people do things for others. This was a small thing, not worth mentioning." See the quake zone »

There has been a huge outpouring of support from families who want to adopt babies orphaned by the quake. But that process takes time, and there are mouths to feed.

Jiang misses her own son, who's being cared for through the emergency by in-laws in another town, but she is aware of the new connections she's made. "I feel about these kids I fed just like my own. I have a special feeling for them. They are babies in a disaster."

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Yah, I'm With The Band

Hahah we had these last night too, and Karami and I had too much fun joking about them. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet Ms Ross, but we did get to see some of the workings backstage and meet everyone who's behind the scene.

Diana Ross

I had a lovely surprise this week, my mom's cousin plays lead guitar for Diana Ross, and he happened to give my mom a call the other night and said hey, we're in town, come visit and here's some tickets to the Calgary show. So off we went last night, girls night out, my mom, my sister and I.




She is an amazing singer, with extraordinary Diva clothes (I asked her dresser who made her clothes, and its Bob Mackie, of course, look at those sequins!) . I was surprised how many songs I knew, and I loved that the performance was short and sweet, about 80 minutes.



Then we took mom's cousin back to the Palliser, had drinks and an $18 clubhouse and fries (hahaha I kid you not!) , took some pics, and then home we went.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

It Could Happen....

This....

..COULD turn into this...it could, you know!


I picked up a northern Hi-Lights Azalea at Superstore as well, along with my Saskatoon bush. I couldn't resist for $5.99... never can resist a plant bargain! I am awaiting that ONE measly flower impatiently, to see if it resembles the ones above LOL! However, its does get to 5' x 5' and that is a perfect size to fill the area I had in mind in the front...might take a few years to get there tho!

I Am Intrigued......

Perhaps my sister would like to take a trip to Okotoks with me if I come down this coming week???




I have wanted to go HERE
(the Saskatoon farm in the video) for quite a while now.....but its south of Calgary and I never have time to go...I am VERY interested in the 3 year old Saskatoon bushes, (the year they start producing) and have yet to find anywhere up here where I can buy them....Blackbird Pie if you are interested in a couple bushes I can let you know the prices and perhaps pick some up.