John and Betty 2014 Visit

This summer we were blessed by the visit of Nelson's brother, John, and his wife, Betty, from Ottawa, Ontario. It had been ages since we saw them and so it was a special time of catching up. The plan was for them to spend a few days in Regina, then here at Draper's Acres while Nelson was on his days off, then back to Regina before heading home. 

Alice Draper with her kids from L to R - John, Teresa, and Nelson.
Photo taken Aug 2014 in Regina, courtesy of Teresa and Francis Untereiner

Unfortunately, the weather on Nelson's days off were wet and chilly for mid August which kept the farmers out of their field. Most of the time we stayed in the house where JJ hooked my laptop up to our big screen TV via an HDMI cord so everyone could view the genealogy records and old photographs at the same time. This was fantastic because it allowed everyone to contribute to the conversation, sharing memories and correcting misinformation. 

The spattering of rain played havoc with our photo taking sessions though, as you can see by the blotchy photographs.

Both Nick and JJ were working at Circle Square Ranch (CSR) Wolf Creek, and we had to get them back to the ranch right after lunch. In fact, the rest of the staff were inside preparing for a meeting when we were taking these pics, which shows on Jeremiah's face as he's the most logistical one and didn't want to walk in late. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

But as you can see in the above photo, a raindrop is hiding Betty's face, so we went for another one. 

L to R back row - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout, and Nick.
Front row - Grandma Alice, and Betty holding Peanut.
Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

Hmm, nice shot, but Grandma's face is obliterated and others are hazy. So we tried one more. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, Scout, John hiding behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, and Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

And that's a good shot of everyone including the dogs...except John is hiding again, Nelson has lost his smile, and both Nick and Scout are looking to the left where someone has just come out the door to find out what's holding the boys up. *sigh

Since Montmartre is the Paris of the Prairies due to its French history with Montmartre, France on the outsirts of Paris, we stopped at the 1/38 scale model iron Eiffel Tower to give John and Betty some fun pics to take back.

This first one is Nelson telling John and Betty to look wa-a-a-a-a-a-y up so it appears the tower is taller than its actual 30 ft height. 

Nelson taking photo of Betty and John at Eiffel Tower,
Montmartre, SK.

Unfortunately, Nelson never showed me the result of this angle. My version was for John and Betty to move closer to me thus putting space behind them to make the Eiffel Tower look bigger. 

Betty and John at Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

Montmartre is building a real nice park beside the Eiffel Tower and while there, I mentioned that it would be nice to take a photo near the gazebo with the CN Montmartre sign in the background, but after being cooped up while we were in church, and then while we had a big family lunch in Wolseley, Scout and Peanut wanted to go exploring, so the best photo of that excursion is this one of John taking a pic of ME. 

John taking photo of me with Betty and CN Montmartre sign in background.
Taken at the Eiffel Tower Park, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

This last one is cropped from one of Teresa's photos and is kind of grainy so I can't enlarge further, but I thought I'd end this post with these 2 precious members of John and Betty's family, Peanut and Scout. 

Peanut and Scout in Regina, SK, August 2014

It was such a nice visit. I hope you come back soon... and bring the kids and grandkids next time. :)

Calgary Tower: A Family Celebration

Today I'm over at Inkwell Inspirations talking about our adventures in the Calgary Tower, just one of the highlights of our trip to Calgary this past weekend to watch Jessie receive her Bachelor of Arts degree. Yay, Jessie!

Not only did we get a spectacular view from the Observation Deck, but some of us (heh) took that step of faith and stood on the glass floor of the Calgary Tower.

JJ and Nick looking down, Jessie and Nelson looking out.
Calgary Tower Observation Deck , Calgary, Alberta, April 20, 2013.

We then spent 2 hours sharing a fine dining experience in the revolving restaurant. A wonderful memory to share at future family get togethers.

The question up for today is:

What's the most memorable thing you've done to celebrate something special?

We're also discussing glass floors and faith.

So whether you want to look at the photos only, or join in the discussion, come on over to:

Calgary Tower: A Family Celebration

1950-1960 Family Pets at Author Memories

Last week, my Author Memories blog was entitled, Cat, Dog or Pony?

It featured not only my own childhood pets, but those of my Uncle Paul when he was a young boy living in Ryland, Ontario. My mother sent me another photo of her brother when he was real small and standing beside his calf, Valentine and I've added it to the post along with the others.

Paul Henrekson and Valentine, Ryland, Ontario, c1950

I'd love if you stopped by for a visit, either here or at Author Memories.

Looking Back at Easter 2011

Do you remember Resurrection Day last year? This is what we had to go through to get to church on Easter morning 2011 ...

And this is what we did that Sunday afternoon...

Look under FLOOD WATCH in the sidebar label section for more flood pics.

We didn't want a repeat of last year. But after a mild winter with barely any snow, we enjoyed our early spring.

But it was not to be because we awoke to this yesterday morning...

And then a flock of robins were in a frenzy to eat the last of the Purple Royalty Crabapples - almost as if they were stocking up...

And then the sun came out and the snow melted off the trees. The Juncos basked in the sun and we were left with a yard full of slush.

And this is what our driveway looked like this morning...

The snow is melted on the gravel and pavement portions and despite how it looks, there's only a light covering on the grassy sections.

At 8:15 am, I looked out my window and saw the neighbor's cows had come over to wish us a Happy Easter. So nice of them except for the 'gifts' they left in the driveway.

And I almost missed the male robins in the hedgerow because their red breasts matched some of last year's leaves. After the feeding frenzy yesterday, they certainly look well fed.

What a wonderful, ever-changing world our God created.

Happy Easter!

Mamma's Memoirs Part 3 on Author Memories

This is the 3rd post of the memoirs of Tyyne Henrekson:

Part 1 - Mamma's early years in Finland
Part 2 - Meeting and marrying Pappa and emigrating to Canada
Part 3 - Early Years in Canada until 1950

These memoirs are taken from Mamma's hand-written booklet, Grandma Henrekson (Kakkonen) Memoirs--in English (1992).

However, because Mamma's Memoirs contains mostly photos of Pappa and Mamma's life in Northern Ontario during this 3rd part, I'm letting their eldest daughter, Taimi DisCala, whom we met in Part 2, tell you what it was like back then.

Aimo and Tyyne Kakkonen/Henrekson in front of their new Ryland home, 1950

This was supposed to be the final part, but Taimi sent so much valuable information that I felt should be posted for everyone to read.

Hence, the 4th part will take us through the 50's and 60's and will include the tragic accident - in Mamma's own words - that claimed the life of Billy, the only child of Pappa and Mamma who preceded them to heaven.

Mamma's Memoirs at Author Memories

Since I don't have a guest blogger on my Author Memories blog this week, I posted the second part of the memoirs of Mamma, Tyyne Henrekson. You can find the parts here:

Part 1 - Mamma's early years in Finland

Part 2 - Meeting and marrying Pappa and emigrating to Canada


Since posting Part 1, I received a long email from Aunt Taimi DisCala (nee Henrekson) who is Mamma and Pappa's eldest daughter. She added some neat details which I've included in the post. This helps explain some of the things Mamma shared as we were growing up, but she didn't mention in her memoirs when she wrote them at the age of 84 in 1992.

If anyone has photos they'd like share about Mamma and Pappa, please let me know. I'm especially looking for a photo of the original log building they first moved into. When I was little, Pappa used it as the garage/workshop with all his nuts and bolts. It was beside the house and in front of the woodshed. The only photo I have of it is the one I used in Mamma's Memoirs Part 2 with Taimi and her kids, but I'd like to have a photo with more of the building to add earlier in the post.

Also, if anyone has photos of any of the farm whether it's buildings, yard, garden. People and animals are fine, too. :)

Once the 3rd and final part of Mamma and Pappa's history is posted on Author Memories, I'd like to copy them to a blog specifically for the genealogy of the Kakkonen history here in Canada including references and info about Finland. Anyone with info and/or photos can write a post for the blog to share with the family and our descendents.

Anita.

West Edmonton Mall

Last weekend, the family and I left our farm at 4 am and drove west on the TransCanada Hwy#1 471 miles (758 km) to Calgary, Alberta. Near Swift Current, we encountered slippery roads - emphasized when a pickup pulling a trailer spun off the highway in front of us. As you can see in this photo, the median between the divided highway is quite wide and shallow, so the driver didn't flip or roll.

We arrived in Calgary by mid-afternoon and went straight to Rocky Mountain Bible College to watch our daughter practice her 2 hr choir session. By 7 pm, we were back on the road - our daughter, Jessie included - and headed another 183 miles (295 km) north to Edmonton, the capital of Alberta. Again, halfway there we encountered roads slippery with slush while sleet slowed the heavy traffic, and finally arrived at 10 pm. Even with the 2 bouts of icky weather, we'd been blessed to arrive safely. It was the end of Jan on the prairies, after all.

Friday morning saw the Nelson and Nick head out to the BreakForth Praise and Music Conference which was a short 15 min walk from our hotel, along the park with a view of the river valley.




360 deg photo taken with iPhone. Our hotel is tallest bldg in middle left.


I wanted to visit the History Museum, but Jessie and JJ wanted to check out West Edmonton Mall (WEM). Since this was Jessie's only day to sightsee, I gave in and drove the two teens to North America's largest shopping mall. I mean really, what teen wants to see a stuffy history museum when they can shop in the 5th largest mall in the world. I've been calling it the world's largest mall without realizing it lost that distinction in 2004.

To give you an idea of the size, here's the Wikipedia entry:  West Edmonton Mall covers a gross area of about 570,000 m2 (well over 6 million sq ft). There are over 800 stores and services and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 28.2 million visitors per year; it also attracts between 60,000 and 150,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season. The mall was valued at C$926 million in January 2007.

And then this from the CBC 1985 archives: With eight major department stores, seven amusement parks, a chapel, a bingo hall and a NHL-sized hockey rink, occasionally used by the Edmonton Oilers, the West Edmonton Mall covers the equivalent of 104 football fields.

Mark Messier & Wayne Gretzy celebrate 1 of 4 Stanley Cup Oiler wins

Suffice to say, although I was looking forward to the exercise, I was not looking forward to sharing the experience with 59,999 other shoppers. I needn't have worried. The mall is so spread out, I didn't feel pressed in by people at all. Well, not until 4 pm when school ended and suddenly the mall teemed with kids! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I hadn't been back to WEM since the early 80's when a young Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers and was rumored to be one of the backers for the ambitious project. Back then, WEM ran 7 submarines and for a fee - $8 a person if I remember - you could go down into a sub for a ride around the lagoon and see all the sea creatures - everything from blue fish to nurse sharks. It was quite exciting. I was also looking forward to seeing the Aviary.




The 8 person sub looks small beside the full-size Santa Maria.

 Things changed since my last visit 25 yrs ago. The aviary has been turned into a huge oval kiosk. And only 2 subs remain, neither open to the public. When I look at that little sub now, I can't imagine 8 people used to fit in them. But it sure was fun.

One of the new attractions JJ was quite taken with was RopeQuest. While Jessie went shopping, JJ was challenged by 4 levels of rope rigging. He enjoyed it so much, he wanted to return each day. We didn't as we had other places to see.



JJ walking across the lower level of challenges at RopeQuest at WEM

 We peeked into the 5-football field-size waterpark to see the huge wave simulating the ocean, but it wasn't on the agenda for this trip. Neither was the mini-putt although it was very tempting.



Putt 'n' Glow Mini-putt course

  As mentioned before, we loved the salt-water lagoon and spent most of our time there.

Behind the full-size Santa Maria

This place is huge and rises the full 3 floors of the mall.


Looking toward the Santa Maria. Jessie and JJ are on the bridge.


The sea lion show was great fun. I have some video I'll add if there's interest.

Because we paid to watch the show at Sea Lion's Rock, we were able to go down into the Sea Life Caverns where they had small pools where you could touch skates (rays) and sea anemones.


Jessie allowing a starfish to investigate her palm with sea anemones on the bottom.

Back in the '80s, Glaxayland consisted of a dozen neat rides like the old-fashioned swings that spun you horizontal when it got going, a carousel, and a swinging galleon. My favourite was the balloon ride.



One of the original Galaxyland (Fantasyland) rides.

Everything wasn't so 'puffy' and bright back then, either. And behind/beside the balloon ride was the roller coaster. Now, a new area almost 4 times the size of this old one has been added on and the roller coasters from over there zip over the people on this side...



Tracks from rollercoasters zip from new to old side at Galaxyland.



Instead of 1 rollercoaster, there are now 5 - at least. I was amazed at the engineering expertise that went into fitting so many rides into this area.

I'll close with a sight that awed me from the first moment I saw it 25 yrs ago. I had the same reaction when I saw it again last week... a full size skating rink in the middle of one arm of the mall. This is where Gretzy and the Oilers used to practice and it always grew huge crowds. Today it's used by different organizations, but there's still public skating on the schedule and skates are available for rent.

JJ seeing the Ice Palace for the first time.

So, have you ever been to West Edmonton Mall? What about another mall the same Canadian owners have built... the Mall of America in Minnesota?

This post is cross-posted at Inkwell Inspirations today - Feb 6th.

Christmas in January

December was a quiet month for the Draper Family. Sure we made and decorated Christmas cookies...

We observed the beautiful sunrise on December 25th, gleeful at the lack of snow after an inspiring Candlelight service at church the night before. Yes, Christmas is beautiful with lightly falling snow, but usually we're knee deep in the stuff and tired from shoveling. This year we shared a quiet celebration of the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago and commemorated the occasion by opening 'Santa' gifts, crazy as it sounds. The gifts were to keep everyone busy until our real Christmas celebration when the girls came home in January. 

We picked  Jessica up on January 1st after she flew in from a relief mission in Vietnam. It'd been July when we last saw her on our Thunder Bay trip. She looked great and was all excited about her trip. When she sat at the table drinking coffee and reading Rachelle McCalla's Love Inspired Suspense, it seemed like she'd never left home.

 

On Jan 10th, Crystal flew in from rainy Vancouver - or was it snowing this year on the west coast? With her arrival, our family of 6 was complete once more.

January 11th dawned as our day of delayed Christmas gift-giving. The sunrise wasn't as colorful as it had been on Dec 25th, neither had there been a huge snowfall.

While I worked in my office garage during the days, Jessie had joined me to practice her piano and from that, we found out she was still composing, but needed a new keyboard - one with the ability to use headphones so she could block out her roommates when needed. So in the photo below, the huge present on the left is a new keyboard with tracks for composing, a headphone jack, and a slot for a 32GB memory card.

One thing about setting up the tree this year... when our basement flooded last summer, the water didn't reach the 'Christmas closet' beneath the basement statirs, but it did get damp. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but when we set up our pre-lit tree, 80% of the lights didn't work. Nelson spent 2 hrs looking for the 'bad' light, yet couldn't find it. Later, at a Canadian Tire store where we went to buy more lights, I mentioned to the clerk that we had hoped the Christmas trees would be on sale and yet the stores didn't have any left. She said everyone was having trouble with their pre-lit trees.

So, I ask you... is the problem because of the damp year? Or because pre-lit trees are made to only work for 10-12 years before burning out? Since all the lights go out if one burns out and they make them without the capability of replacing the bulbs, only two options remain: buy a new tree, or buy new lights. We chose the latter because we couldn't find a cheap enough tree to replace our 10 yr old one. Instead, we bought new LED lights. As you can see from the photo, the new lights don't give off the light that the old ones do except for the blue which outshines the rest.

I also have to give credit to Nelson and the boys who contributed a huge amount of effort to this year's tree and decorations.

Although it was the middle of January, when it came to being with each other and sharing our laughter, the calendar date didn't really matter.

I realized something as I posted the above photo...it's strikingly similar to a photo taken in 2009:

Nick was more laid back this year. Possibly because of maturity now that he has his driver's license.

But probably because he's waiting for JJ to finish hamming around with his Reese's Peanut Butter Cup which weighed in at a hefty half pound.

Would we do another Christmas in January? While it isn't our preference, yes we would, if it means we can all be together. After all, we don't need a calendar to remember Christ's birthday. We can - and should - celebrate it any day.

Have you ever had a Christmas on a day other than December 25th?

Christmas

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted here. I have to blame it in part on my other blogs here on my new website. Under the Blogs tab you'll find 4 of them including this one, but there's the Book Review blog under the Books tab and the Recipe blog under the Fun tab. My latest recipe is for sugar cookies and I have one of Nick from last year decorating a delightful Christmas tree sugar cookie. :)

I've also posted a whole page of Christmas theme jigsaw puzzles under the Fun tab.

Meanwhile, I've been busy at church taping all the worship sessions including this one with Nick and Nelson leading with O Little Town of Bethlehem. You can find more videos of Nick and Nelson on the Glenavon Church on the Hill YouTube Channel.

And if you're wondering what our weather is these days, this photo is a fairly good representation. Lots of frost, but not much snow with temperatures averaging 5 below freezing.

I'm really missing Jessie this year because she would be coming home right about now to help with last minute preparations. Instead, she flew out at noon today to Vietnam where she's a relief worker for the orphanage missionaries so they can come back to their families for the season.

But she'll be home at the beginning of January to spend a couple weeks with us. Meanwhile, please pray for her.

Crystal won't be home for Christmas this year, either as she'll be coming home when Jessie comes in January.

Bonnie and Magnar are our other Christmas regulars but they won't be here this year either because they're helping Sonya Rose move to Fort McMurray, Alberta during the holidays. However, we'll get to see them this coming week when we meet them in Regina so it won't be too bad.
I've got a big weekend coming up because I'm baking tomorrow and decorating (finally) on Sat/Sun. I am in the minority here with all these men/boys around and for some reason, they don't want to sit around listening to Christmas carols or even decorate. But I intend to get them moving this weekend. I'll let you see how it goes. :)

Anita.

Nick's Mission to South Africa

This summer my son, Nick Draper, is heading to South Africa on a mission trip with Street Invaders, so I’m dedicating this post to him.

Nick’s main claim to fame is due to his 2006 TV appearance when he appeared in the Kid’s Stuff episode on Corner Gas (Season 4, Episode 11). That and other experiences in the TV and film industry taught him patience and teamwork among other things.

Here’s a portion of that Corner Gas episode where we first see Nick. His segment starts at 1:40 as Davis and Karen (the 2 RCMP officers) are walking down the sidewalk. Nick is the young boy that pops out of nowhere.

http://youtu.be/OMgjVKw6U6Y



Those work attributes helped in 2009 when Nick signed up for his first Street Invaders mission trip at the age of 14. His team worked with childrens' summer camps in Saskatchewan and Alberta where Nick found he had an affinity for that type of work.

Nick went homeless for part of the 2010 Easter Break while being a participant of Project Aware. This Regina-run project shows teens what it’s like to be homeless. They learn the scary truth about what it means to be homeless as well as how to interact, help and empathize with kids and adults in that situation.

Fifteen year old Nick started the 2010 summer by counseling kids at the Springside Apostolic Bible Camp here in Saskatchewan. He followed that week with a second Street Invaders mission trip which took him all the way to Australia.

Again this past Easter Break, Nick volunteered and was accepted into the Project Aware program in Regina. He came home more determined than ever to keep working with kids whether homeless or not.

This year, Nick was invited to join the Street Invaders mission trip to South Africa and it wasn’t a surprise when he said he wanted to go. The Street Invaders website says, 'Imagine! Flying to Capetown, South Africa and working in schools, prisons, on the streets, and in the feeding stations. Your entire 2 weeks will be absolutely full of opportunities to live the Gospel! This continues to be one of Street Invaders greatest mission outreaches ever!’

One thing he’s doing before he goes halfway around the world is taking a 2-week Leaders in Training (LIT) course at the local Circle Square Ranch. This Christian based summer ranch camp really needs workers otherwise they have to turn campers/ranchers away. More often than not that means disadvantaged kids from the city who look forward to the experience all year.

The LIT course will enable Nick to become a ranch counselor when he’s not on the Street Invaders team. It also means a full summer of work without pay, but it’s one of Nick’s choosing.

Nick does most things kids his age like to do such as playing video games, chatting on the internet and driving the family car. Musically inclined, Nick plays the snare drum and other percussion instruments in the school band. He also leads worship one Sunday a month with his dad who is the source of his music talent.

And for all those friends and relatives who read my blog and have inquired about supporting Nick in his missions (especially the airfare), the best way you can help is to send a donation to Nick’s AYMI (Apostolic Youth Ministries International) account over in their Calgary office.

It’s real easy to do online. Just go to the AYMI website http://www.aymi.ca/ and click ‘Donate’ at the bottom of the page. It will take you through the PayPal site. To ensure the donation goes to Nick’s account, please follow up with an email to office@aymi.ca.

Or, you could send a check/cheque made out to AYMI and designate that it's for Nick to:

AYMI, #8 3530 11A St. NE Calgary AB Canada T2E 6M7

The AYMI’s contact numbers are 1-877-356-0707 (toll free), 403-717-0707 (Calgary area), or 403-717-0709 (Fax).


Although I’m a tad worried about Nick going so far away, I’m proud of his willingness to serve God by spreading the Gospel and working with the poor – in spirit and otherwise.

Whether you make a donation or not, I want to thank you for taking an interest in Nick’s mission by reading this post. God bless you.

Anita Mae.