CINNAMON ROLL MUG CAKE FAIL

As soon as I started having to mix ingredients outside of the mug, I knew was in trouble. I even had to get the rolling pin out! I was warned not to overcook it, but this ended up as firm as rubber, while tasting undercooked. I do not recommend! Maybe a cinnamon coffee cake recipe next time?

LEGO IS A PUZZLE WITH MANY PIECES!

I am not sure if it was fun or torture, but I needed to see if we could find all the pieces of several sets that had scattered slowly over two houses. It was like doing 10 1000 piece puzzles out of 1 box. There were some late nights, but when the sets started to come together, we could recognize a piece across the table upside down, even if there were three shades of the same colour! Some things were unfortunately a write-off, but unlike a puzzle with a few missing pieces, there is lots of fun to be had when the dust settled. I am glad to have the dining room table back though. Patio weather is pretty much done!

MONARCHS ARE RARE, BUT WE ARE SEEING THEM NOW!

There are imposters to the monarch that we are seeing everywhere, but once in a while, we see the real thing! I find the monarch much more skittish, and that's probably just one more way to survive the 4000 mile migration home this time of year. There is a copycat called the Viceroy that I could mistake it for, but the most common imposter here is called the Painted Lady (even prettier named Vanessa in Latin!). Up close, the body and interior part of the wings is a brown colour, and it's closed wings make it seem like a collage between a monarch butterfly and a moth!

A male in our front yard asters! (Note the black spots)

Other pollinators in the sedum. (Did you know that there are 20,000 species of bees, and that 70 % of them live underground?!)

AFTER SCHOOL CONCOCTIONS FROM THE PANTRY AND GARDEN

It was delicious on toast the next morning!

DRAGONFLY CLOTHESPINS

While we were on holiday in Saskatchewan, we drove by a store window that had upcycled ceiling fan blades that were turned into dragonflies. I had saved the wooden sticks from our last box of Häagen Dazs bars, and with her allowance, Princess Pirate had bought clothes pins for crafting. So, one day after school, the project started. A little hot glue to attach the pieces, and these cuties were made!

Day One

I loved the eyes!

CARAMEL TOFFEE SQUARES RECIPE

Company's Coming 100 Delicious Squares, p. 116

Preheat oven to 350F. Pack into 9x9' pan or mini-muffin tin.

Bottom layer:

1/2 c margarine

1/4 c sugar

1 1/4 c flour (change to nuts to make gluten free)

Crumble three ingredients well and pack into ungreased pan. Use pampered chef tool for the muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes. 

Second layer:

1/2 c margarine

1/2 c packed brown sugar

2 T corn syrup

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk (half a can so can double the batch)

Combine in saucepan. Bring to boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat and pour over bottom layer.

Let cool.

Third Layer:

270 g semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Melt in increments in microwave, stirring frequently after 22 seconds then every 11. Pour over second layer (that has set). Chill. Cut.

Rough - serves 36 and tastes great!

Mini muffin - much neater and sophisticated. Makes 30.

A LITTLE FIBRE IN LIFE IS A GOOD THING

MOLASSES BRAN MUFFINS

Betty Crocker Cookbook p.

230 calories per muffin

3/4 c milk

1 1/2 c wheat bran

1 egg

1/2 c oil

1/3 c molasses

1 1/4 c flour

3 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 cup chopped dates

Heat oven to 400F. Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups. 

Pour milk over bran and let stand 1 minute. Beat in egg, oil, and molasses. Mix in remaining ingredients. Stir into cereal mixture all at once until flour is moistened. Fold in dates. 

Divide evenly into muffin cups. 

Bake 20 minutes. Remove immediately from tin.

Date Bran Muffins

DR. OETKER FOR DESSERT

It's the end of summer, and the beginning of school. Some parts of the day are feeling like fall, and winter is coming. For the first time in months, I feel like making soups and lasagnes, and saving seconds for the freezer. It makes me think of decadent Christmas dinners with cheese and chocolate fondues. Princess Pirate has asked me for years for the pizza equivalent of that day. I usually make my own pizza, but her dad buys her Dr. Oetker Ristorante, and she always asks for the chocolate pizza. Today, they were all on sale, so I bought 6 cheeses for her, mushroom for me, and the chocolate to share. It was quite decadent when warm. PP preferred more white chocolate and less dark. It was a fun way to use the oven after disuse since June!

SCOTT JUREK AND HIS BOOK, EAT AND RUN

Scott Jurek is one the most well-known ultimate racer back when the field was so new they just ran for themselves and didn't even have a name. He ran in the race I became obsessed with, written about by the brilliant author Christopher McDougall in his historic book Born to Run. He wasn't a great runner at short distances (take that with a grain of salt) but he just kept increasing the distance until he found himself outrunning the competition. He wrote an autobiographical book called Eat and Run that includes a lot of his favourite vegetarian recipes. He eats a lot of calories, so there are a lot of recipes! I always loved reports that, even as the winner of a race, he would wrap himself up in a sleeping bag and keep cheering the field of racers that were finishing behind him. That's a rare sportmanship that I adore.

Here is some of the quotes and sage advice from his book:

The best way out is through. --Robert Frost

Racing ultras requires absolute confidence tempered with humility. To be a champion, you have to believe that you can destroy your competition. But you also have to realize that winning requires total commitment, and a wavering of focus, a lack of drive, a single misstep, might lead to defeat or worse.

Scott's mom, Lynn, "You don't have to be a chef to cook great food".

His dad, Gordy, in answer to the question why? "Sometimes you just do things".

Why suffering may be important:
"He tempered his discipline with compassion and a sense of fun...he  [Scotts's dad]  was teaching me that competition could turn the most mundane task into a thrill, and that successfully completing a job - no matter how onerous - made me unaccountably happy... I don't think they knew it at the time - and I certainly didn't - but my parents were training me to be an endurance athlete. By the time I started running, I knew how to suffer. "

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." Anon.

Coach Sorensen 1. Be in shape. 2. Work hard. 3. Have fun.

Pain only hurts.

Not all pain is significant.

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." Kurt Cobain

Existentialists "did not believe in living life from the neck up. They challenged me to reject artifice and the expectations of others, to create a meaningful life."

Hippy Dan: "Simplicity and a connection to the land made us happy and granted us freedom."

"Always do what you are afraid to do." George Bernard Shaw

"What we eat is a matter of life and death. Food is who we are."

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi

Ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills of South Dakota

When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever.

"Storms" philosophy- hardness, toughness

"If you are not on the edge, you are taking up too much room. " Randy "Macho Man" Savage

"If you could walk a mile in my shoes you'd be crazy too." Tupac Shakur

Death as a motivator to keep running!
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei 
Tendai  Buddhism Kaihogyo
Most run a 25 mile run every day for 1000 days with a knife at their waist, used to kill themselves should they fail to continue!
Kyoto. 9 day fast. Great Marathon on the 7th year of 52.5 miles a day, stopping to bless the people of Kyoto.

"Don't work towards freedom, but allow the work itself to be freedom."Dogen Roshi

American Journal of Epidemiology
Men sitting more than 6 hours 17% more likely to die than men sitting 3 per day. Women 34%! (Regardless of smoking status, obesity or regular exercise)

"All it takes is all you got-" Marc Davis

FOUR STEPS TO DEALING WITH ANXIETY:
    1.    Let yourself worry a little
    2.    Take stock
    3.    Ask what you can do to remedy the situation.
    4.    Separate the negative feelings from the situation.

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Ernest Hemingway

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Hippocrates

"Injuries are our best teachers. "Scott's yoga teacher

"Let the beauty we love be what we do. " Rumi

RUNNING BOOKS BIBLIOGRAPHY
Running with the Whole Body - Jack Heggie
Running Wild- John Annerino
The Man Who Walked Through Time- Colin Fletcher
Mad Cowboy: Plain truth from the cattle rancher that won't eat meat-Howard Lyman
Surviving Extremes: a doctor's journey to the limits of human endurance -Kenneth Kamler
Exercise and fluid replacement- position paper Amer Coll Sports Med 2007 Are you peeing?
The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei -John Stevens
The food revolution: how your diet can help ace your life- John Robbins( Dr Frederick Stare Eat right for your own blood type, sugar conflict of interest?)
Leisure Time Spent Sitting Amer J Epidemiology 2010
Why we run- Bernd Heinrich
What is ultra running? Yiannis Kouros

Doaism - wu wei "doing without doing "

EPILOGUE

We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterwards.

SCOTT JUREK RECIPES FROM EAT AND RUN

RICE BALLS (ONIGIRI)
2 cups sushi rice
4 cups water
2 tsp miso (or pickled ginger or umeboshi paste)
3-4 sheets nori

Cook rice in the water in a rice cooker. Cool.
Fill a small bowl with water adn wet both hands so the rice does not stick. Form 1/4 cup rice into a triangle. Spread 1/4 tsp miso evenly on one side. Cover with another 1/4 cup rice. Shape into one triangle, making sure the miso is covered. Fold the nori sheets in half, and tear them apart. Wrap the rice triangle in half of one nori sheet, completely covering the rice. Repeat. Makes 8.

Purported to be great food to cool your body. Looking for images, I found this blog with a rich collection of recipes to look at on another day! Coach Dean's blog, Run Dean Run, has the best explanations and image, and some great links for running resources.

MINNESOTA MASHED POTATOES
5-6 medium red or yellow potatoes
1 cup rice milk (RECIPE BELOW)
2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t crushed black pepper
paprika (optional)

Wash potatoes. Peel if preferred. Place in pot and cover completely with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until tender with a fork.
Drain and mash with masher. Add the remaining ingredients, until smooth and fluffy.

RICE MILK
1 cup cooked rice
4 cups water
1/8 t salt
1 T sunflower oil (optional)
Blend on high 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Oil makes it creamier. Refrigerate. Keeps for 4-5 days.

Makes 4-6 servings.

THE SPARTATHLON

From Scott Jurek's Eat and Run:

    "The most famous long-distance race with a Greek origin is the marathon, which celebrates the arduous journey of the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26.2 miles, to announce Greece's victory over the Persians in 490 BC; he then dropped deat from exhaustion. Though Pheidippides is the messenger most often credited with noble and fatal trip, the runner was probably named Eucles, according to the ancient writer Plutarch.
   The real story of Pheidippides, according to those same historicans, is much better and has a happier ending. It also inspired the modern Spartathlon.
   The Persian fleet was on a roll. They had plundered their way through the Greek islands, sacked the city-state of Eritrea, and then had their sights set on Athens. The Athenians sent a small force, commanded by General Miltiades, to seal off the exits from the Bay of Marathon, named after the ancient Greek word for the fennel that probably grew wild there. The ancient historian Herodotus writes that the Athenian generals dispatched Pheidippides to the great city of Sparta to ask for reinforcements in holding off the much larger invading force.
   Pheidippides reached Sparta the day after he left Athens, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Although sympathetic to their fellow Greeks' plight, the religious Spartans were in the middle of a festival to Apollo and could not wage war until the full moon. It must have been a long 152.4 miles back home with the bad news, but luckily Pheidippides had something else to report.
   While running through the mountains above the ancient city of Tegea (checkpoint 60 of the modern Spartathlon), he had a vision of the nature god, Pan. The son of Hermes, the divine messenger, Pan ruled over shepherds, nymphs, and rustic places. He was a great guy to have on your side in a big battle, because he could induce a wild fear in mortals called "panic." This god called Pheidippides by name, "and bade him ask the Athenians why they paid him no attention, though he was of goodwill to the Athenians, had often been of service oto them, and would be in the future."
   If we read it closely, everything we need to know about running is in Pheidippides' story. He ran over 300 miles- the first half in a little over one day - and he didn't even get what he wanted! If you run long enough, that tends to happen. Whatever quantitative measure of success you set out to achieve becomes either unattainable or meaningless. The reward of running - of anything - lies within us. As I sought bigger rewards and more victories in my sport, it was a lesson I learned over and over again. We focus on something external to motivate us, but we need to remember that it's the process of reaching for that prize - not the prize itself - that can bring us peace and joy. Life, as countless posters and bumper stickers rightly attest, is a journey, not a destination. Pheidippides kept going, and he ended up getting something even better, something outside the normal realm of human experience. Nature itself called out his name - Pan is nature incarnate - and it gave the great runner a sacred message to bring home to his people. The message was pretty much what nature's message always is: Pay more attention to me, and I will help you the way I've always helped you in the past.
   Pheidippides recounted his vision to the Athenian generals, who took it seriously and erected a new temple to Pan after the war. Unable to wait until the Spartans arrived, the Athenians charged the Persians. The Athenians fought with legendary courage, dividing and conquering the Persian force. Their underdog victory at Marathon is considered the tipping point in the Persian Wars, heralding the golden age of Greece.
   The Spartathlon, first run in 1983, was the brainchild of Wing Commander John Foden, a native Australian on the verge of retirement from the British Royal Air Force. Foden's forty-year military career included service in the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Brunei Revolt, and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, but he was also an avid amateur athlete and a student of the classics. One day, whle rereading Herodotus, he started wondering if Pheidippides' legendary run was somehting within a modern runner's power.
   John and four buddies from the RAF decided to make the attempt. In the words of the Irishman John McCarthy," We established a credible and historically correct route using ancient military roads, pilgrim ways, dry river beds and goat tracks, taking into consideration the ancient political alighments and enemy states to be skirted." The five runers set off from Athens on October 8, 1982, and the "three Johns" succeeded, arriving in Sparta in front of the statue of Leonidas on October 9: John Scholten in 35.5  hours, John Foeden in 36 hours, and John McCarhty in just under 40 hours.
   They decided to establish a yearly run that, in the Olympic vein, would offer no prize money or commercial gain but would instead promote a spirit of international cooperation and fellowship. Indeed, the Spartathlon is one of the best values in the world of ultra running. The entry fee of $525 gets you lodging and meals for six days as well as two of the best awards ceremonies you'll ever attend, museum tours, bus transportation, and ample food and water at the aid stations.
   In 1983, 4 runers from 11 countries competed. In 1984, the International Spartathlon Association was founded to manage the race.
   After he retired, Foden stayed active in the ultra community, promoting races all over the world. I found his booklet, "Preparing for & Competing in Your First Spartathlon," very helpful my first year. He continued to break age group records into his seventies, and in 2005 he was the oldes participan in the 300-km Haervejsvandring Walk from Schleswig in Germany to Viborg in North Denmark in seven days.

"

MOVIE REVIEW: YESTERDAY

I watched a movie in the theater this summer and it turned out to be a really fun romcom. It was the premise that drew me. A struggling songwriter musician has a bike accident, and finds that the word has forgotten that the Beatles every existed. So he recreates as many songs as he can, and becomes a big star. It's a Danny Boyle film, which helped get me out to an actual theatre, even when no one could join me on a cheap Tuesday. I have not watched all his work, and I suspect I wouldn't like Trainspotting and several others, but I adored Slumdog Millionaire, another rare theater outing, and found true stories 127 hours and Battle of the Sexes to be well done.

I would recommend this film for a general audience. It was really a sweet, well thought out film.

HAPPINESS IS A SUMMER POOL

Princess Pirate had a long summer vacation. Her last exam was June 10th, and for the first time since she began school in Quebec, she is returning after the Labour Day weekend. The one constant, that was almost the same luxurious length of her break, was the open season of the neighbourhood outdoor pool.

For many years she took lessons. Last year was the first time she didn't take any at all. This year, I gave her the choice between lessons and swim team, because she doesn't do any other sport. She took Silver, which I didn't find valuable because it includes the butterfly arms, but it got her in the pool swimming half an hour, four times a week, and I think she finds her animal spirit in the stroke! Her lessons were at 8, and she didn't like to be late. She got herself there on her own pretty early on, and went without complaint.

It was a hot summer, and the pool was definitely heated for parts, so the water was warmer than I ever remember. This last week, however, have had cool nights, some rain, and no extrinsic heating to speak of, so the pool water has been cool. That being said, my warm blooded kid loves it as much as anything. I have to will myself to jump in, as though it was a polar swim, steeling myself for the cold. I do a couple laps to warm up, and sometimes have to interrupt a game to warm myself up again. But PP never notices. She wants to go everyday. So we go often, and have made up a word that describes my inertia most days: swangry. Hungry and angry is known as hangry. Swangry describes me at the idea of going to the pool again. Swimming and angry. However, there has never been a swim that I left unhappy about. Sure, my hair is dry and frizzy, and my skin faintly gives off a chlorine smell, but there is something joyous about floating in water in the the last days of summer with your kid that makes it an amazing day.

I don't know if I swim any better this year than I did last year, but my capacity to float gets better every year, and I had a blast swimming with my beluga daughter every time.

I had hoped that she would find playmates her age that would be her companions, especially as the pool water cools, but I have seen her try, and some kids are such snobs, even at 12 and 13. So I am grateful for another year that I can be her companion, blocking shots from a rubber ball, chasing each other under water, and swimming like only mermaids and belugas can!

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS MUSE ON ART

Apollo sighed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to explair his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."

From The Titan's Curse (Book 3)

PITA

I found myself one night this week making curry, and the rice container was empty! Curried lentils alone are not quite right, so I added a generous amount of frozen corn the first night, with good effect. The next night, I still didn't think to buy rice on the way home, so I was looking for a naan recipe and found this pita recipe instead, from Australian Women's Weekly Middle Eastern Easy Style Cookery p 78. It didn't end up with the pocket, like pita is meant to have, so Paul Hollywood would classify it as flatbread. I think the electric skillet wasn't hot enough for that purpose.

It took a while to make, with two breaks to let the dough rise, but it turned out to be perfect for curry and a picnic with chickpea salad and tzaziki yesterday too.

I made 16 instead of 12 because it was easier to divide, but I should have left more space for them to rise the second time, because I ended up having to separate some of them twice. The size was perfect; smaller than the Suraj commercial brand we buy of naan. There was little difference, although they weren't as greasy or caloric since I fried them in an electric griddle with just a little oil. Highest heat, and covering them while they cooked, was essential.

Pita recipe

1 T yeast

1 T honey (sugar was fine)

1/2 cup warm water (body temp)

Combine and cover in warm place for 10 minutes, until frothy. Discard if not frothy and use new dried yeast.

Sift 3 cups white flour and 1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour with 2 tsp salt, or 4 1/2 cups plus enough flour necessary to form a soft dough. Need for 10 minutes. Rest in oiled glass container with cover until doubles, about an hour. 

Divide into same size quantities. 2 by 2 by 2 makes 16. Leave to rise another 30 minutes to double. 

Preheat griddle at top temperature. Roll out into rounds, and fry in  pan brushed with oil. Cover and leave for 2 minutes each side. They should puff up and brown. 

Delicious while warm. Trying them frozen. Good for dipping for a couple days, but dry alone.

SUMMER VACATION : DESTINATION REGINA

When people asked me where I am going for summer vacation, and I answer Regina, there are generally no follow up questions. For me, though, Saskatchewan has become my favourite vacation destination, and I love every minute of it.

We arrived early afternoon , and our plane was a little late. My parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew were waiting for us, and when they paid the parking, it was only $2 and $4 dollars !

We went to DQ and had novel treats: an orange flavoured Dreamsicle and Reese’s blizzard. We sat outside in these round picnic tables made of cement and stone, that remind me of my youth, and are repeated in the garbage cans and drive ways. In the posted history of the business my new favourite adjective was listed to describe the Peanut Buster Parfait, Scrumpdillyiscious!

Wascana park is in full bloom and there are Canada Geese and enormous pelicans and even cormorants catching fish in the lake. You have to watch where you step, but it becomes second nature very quickly.

The Victoria Street Bridge is the longest bridge over the shortest body of water.

The garden bordering the lake is at the foot of the legislature building. It is a tribute to QEII. Her favourite horse was a Burmese mare,  trained at Fort Walsh in Saskatchewan, and given to her. I think she once credited her safety to it, when, because of its training, it did not rear up when she was shot at. You can read the story here.

These pebble studded garbage cans have been there as long as I can remember. The same surface can be found at the A and W patio table and surrounding benches.

Each visit to her namesake Regina was documented along the garden, 6 in all. The benches and Legislative building are built from familiar Tyndall limestone, full of cephalopods and sunflower coral. My mom recalled seeing Queen Elizabeth in a car turning from Victoria to College with her crown on while celebrating my parents 20th anniversary in 1987. My sister-in-law remembered her waving from a parade in Brandon.

I thought I would just use the bathroom at the Legislative Building, but we were invited in for a tour. It was the first time I remember making it past the rotunda, and I enjoyed it completely. There are many types of marble in the grand space that sits under the dome, lit not by sunlight but electricity. The stairs are Quebec marble, the balustrade around the rotunda Swedish. The floor in two tones is from Vermont, the bases of the pillars Irish, and the most stunning was a truly marbled green type from Cyprus that made up all the pillars.

We were treated to several galleries, with premiers painted by the artist of their choosing. Lorne Calvert was done by a hyperrealist. Allan Blakeney by an impressionist, well posed. Some were less well done or poorly posed.

The Qu’appele Gallery had the lieutenant governors, and included a portrait of Tommy Douglas by Lilas Torrence Newton of Beaver Hall fame, and Sylvia Fedorak, who taught my mom physics in her radiology technician school.

The court chamber was designed full of symbolism. The room had curves in the corners to replicate the shape of the queen’s crown, and the ceiling was decorated with as many rosettes as there were jewels in the crown. The detailed woodwork was done by a 17 year old master woodworker!

Even the red carpet leading up to the rotunda, when changed, as upgraded for a green colour to represent the prairies. The pillars were labelled with Roman numerals from 1910, when Georgeos Rex died and Edward Rex began his reign.

Walter Scott, the first premier, had a vision, and it was that vision that had the building erected, at a significant cost of 1.8 million dollars!

In a speech at the laying of the cornerstone of the Legislative Building on October 4, 1909:
"I may say with pardonable pride that examination of the plans and design shows that, while it will be by no means huge or extravagant, it will be in appearance, stability and durability, such a building as any person may be willing without any hesitation to have his name associated with and inscribed upon - such a building as will appropriately represent the character and ambitions of the people of the province."
Walter Scott

Tommy Douglas was honoured with his actual glasses dipped in bronze and added to his bust, as was Diefenbaker, the only PM to reside in Saskatchewan, and bearer of good luck if you rub his nose, as remembered to be shiny bronze by my mom, but very much patinated now.

There was even the table from the Quebec summit that was recalled in the painting of the Fathers of Confederation. The library contained the local papers of all the small communities that have a printing press, and serves as a reference library even today.

On the home front, we watched lightening storm before the rain, and played a rousing game of Pandemic where we worked together to save the world, were instructed on the LEGO game my niece was inventing, ate tacos, trampolined,  read Wings of Fire, "played" with Josie,  ate oerogies, curry,  relaxed in playhouses, drank tea with the ever plentiful Tollhouse cookies, and laughed a lot.

Humor of the day: from Jeff Gaffigan, "To call it diarrhea would be an insult to the word."

My new favorite mantra: My goal is that my next failure isn’t as bad as the last.

Science Centre, Frisbee (Disc) Golf, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Lucy, Santorini, Milky Way, Bats, S'mores and a Fire, Kayak and Canoe, Pelicans and Cormorants, BBQ, Rhubarb Crisp, Crafting, Climbing, Reading Certificates, Titles from Childhood.

Bro crashed into the trees facetiming with oblivious mom on the shore. Lucy bit the branches and wouldn't let go. Cormarants wobbled in the trees with their ill-suited webbed feet in the wind. It took a while for PP to cede the steering to the back of the boat, but we found our rhythm!

The New York Natural History Museum has nothing on the Royal Saskatchewan Museum!

These are the scenes I always think of. Fantastic paintings with taxodermy wildlife.

Even after fire damage, they remain as I remembered.

December 2, 1751 14:30
An early winter allied Cree and Assiniboin camp in the Assiniboine River Valley. Three families  have been here for a couple of weeks. A fourth family arrives. Mother and sister put up the tipis. Daughter is in search of wood. Father and brother-in-laws arrive with freshly killed elf. Grandfather tells stories to his grandsons that are only told in winter.
European trade had been happening for almost a century. Horses were starting to be obtained by the Assiniboin from the North Dakota Mandan people. The Cree from the North were moving South and had guns. The allied Assiniboin and Cree were the dominant force on the Saskatchewan plains for the next century.

A trickster called Wi-se-ke-cahk caused a great flood, and there were three animals left with him after: a beaver, an otter and a muskrat. The muskrat retrieved a piece of earth under the waters, and the land was restored at the cost of his life.
Others tell a tale of a wolf and a raven. The raven flies to the four corners of the world, but fails to locate land. The worlf succeeds. On the southern plains, the swan, goose and loon help. Grandmother turtle also helps form the earth.

"This is the world's only known coprolite from a Tyrannosaurus rex."

This is a generous scoop of homemade rhubarb crisp.

This a perfect piece of pie.

I am not sure if I should be proud or disturbed that I read 347 books that year!

My favourite book in Grade 3.

I remember this series, at Regent Park Library. 

Saskatoon, Hawks, Prairies, Vallies, Waffles and Saskatoons, Forestry Farm, Calico Critters, Friends.

Qu'appelle Valley at Chamberlain on the Louis Riel Trail (ie Highway 11)

Black tailed Prairie Dogs in captivity. In the wild, they only survive in Grasslands Provincial Park.

The Lumsden Hill and its magical Valley.