Q + A! yet again. Unohoo.

I've reminded myself lately of my gramma morrison. she's in the only framed pic in my place, nicked it from me mom, looks great in my wall display, with cristmas cards from mom and judy, and all the ribbons and bow's that came with, and the our family book my sis deb and her girls put so much work into, bless their hearts, my camera, and 3 pieces of toffifay left from 12 jude gave me for christmas.


I don't have a direct, easy answer question, (on the q+a idea that i'm sure i'll beat into the ground), but, my dear mother, i would like to know more about your thoughts regarding my dear gramma morrison.

Perhaps i do have a direct question, how and why did i came to love her so dearly, and admire everything about her. You've said little of your connection to your Mother, i'd like a few words about that.

btw, i developed a cold in the last few days....blech...first time in years, i'm planning on 12 hours sleep, so, take your time.

Q AND A!!!!DAMMIT!

WOOHOO, look at me, i'm going to play the only BLOG featured offering, 'ask whatever her name is', a question. you know who. so, unohoo, and you know who you are, speak on all you loved about my father?

my list would start with sense of humour.

don't blame me, you must answer, you signed onto this trainwreck yearishes ago.

secrets from the past. don't expect real entertainment.

my mother once made up a song riff for church, don't know the why and wherefore, but it was 'if i were the bishop, i would do my gene-ene-ene-ene-ology'.(two syllables in each ene, for cadence sake), she might remember the rest of the lyrics she 'adapted' from 'if i were a richman' from fiddler on the roof. good movie. bit retro. we also watched the sound of music every christmas on the 12 inch sony in the tiny bedroom not much bigger than a double bed.

she's not writing much currently, blogwise, so here i am for my rare post occurance. like i said, don't expect entertainment from me. i'm on hiatus.

the k-ster...my bud kristy...i call her that cuz i think it's funny, and her dad was the master at making up nicknames for everybody in the family, well, she's said don't delete posts anymore...there's not much to this one, but i will follow her direction. she's a pretty cool niece.

we're posting recipes now. yaay.

For the Blog:

Whoops! just got back from a cooking demo by our Activities Director, and she featured Choco Squigglies from Jean Pare's Company's Coming series (her specialty book on everything chocolate). These are fun to make and a delicious little treat.

Here's the recipe:

1 large egg
7/8 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cooking oil, for deep frying

Icing sugar for garnish

Beat egg in medium bowl, add next 7 ingredients. Beat until smooth. Pour batter into plastic squeeze bottle.
(Empty pancake syprup bottle works fine.) Measure cooking oil into electric fry pan to depth of 1 inch. Heat to 375.
Squeeze batter into hot oil making spiral or zigzag pattern within about 3 inch diameter area. Cook for about 2 minutes, turning once, until puffed and browned. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towel. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve warm. Makes about 12 squigglies.

YUM! This is sort of a mini-donut type of thing, with like one-enth of the calories. I would like to try it without the cocoa, and maybe put in some almond flavoring instead...maybe some nutmeg, but that, of course, would not belong in a chocolate cook book, would it? By the way, it also says not suitable for freezing, best eaten fresh.

Anybody wanna give it a try? Leland???? Have a rest from banana bread?

My brother Sandy

Rooting around in my bookcase today, I came across a fairly lengthy (100 pages, double-spaced) epistle written by my brother Sandy for the edification of his children and grandchildren, entitled "My Early Life: Growing up on the Canadian Prairies During the Great Depression". Written by Alexander B. Morrison, Bountiful, Utah, January 2002. And let me tell you, it is riotously funny, and oh, so well written, as only the author of a number of books can do, I have been giggling to myself, sometimes bursting into outright laughter, at some of the images he portrays, the whole thing is absolutely hilarious. I feel compelled to share with my family his take on cows! Here goes.....read and enjoy.

"As you would expect on a "mixed" farm, we always milked a half dozen cows. They came and they went, but on the whole they were a sorry lot, who didn't give much milk and didn't drop calves that were good beef producers either. Truth to tell, cows are pretty stupid beasts. There was Peggy, a black brute who would suffer some sort of periodic hormonal fever, and take off across country in search of male companionship. Fences were no deterrent to our Peggy, over or through them she went with abandon, and when the fever subsided she would be brought back unrepentant, having cut her teats to pieces. Attempts to put salve on her to ease the pain and encourage healing were rewarded by serious efforts to kick your head off. She was short both on gratitude and brains. Then there were our only three genuine Jerseys, a great milk-producing breed normally. They were bought at a farm sale someplace, and christened (by me) as Boots, Toots and Snoots. (Not one of my more memorable creative efforts!) The latter two were useless creatures, pretty to look at, but producing little milk. Boots was a good milker, and we had her for several years.

"It was the common habit of cows, some more than others, to periodically stretch while standing in the stall being milked. When they did so, their hind feet would slip off the end of the stall, and they would slide into the gutter, with a great splatter of urine and dung. Then, as they lurched to regain their footing, having come down heavily on the knees of the milker, they not uncommonly kicked the milk bucket, put their dirty foot in it, or knocked the poor milker off his or her stool. When such occurred, the aggrieved milker could be expected to belabor the cow over the back with the milk stool, while deploring the unwed ancestry and canine origins of the brute involved.

"A daily occupational hazard of milking was the likelihood of being slapped across the face by the wet tail of a cow seeking relief from flies. Since the tail certainly was not wet with sterile water, the effect of such a lashing was both pungent and painful. One of our most noteworthy cows, named Pansy (what a contradiction in terms that was!) had had her tail half-frozen off before we bought her. When she hit you with her tail it was as though you'd been poleaxed, or at least hit with a cement-filled sock. There were no long line-ups of those who begged to milk Pansy, as I recall.

"Pansy featured in one of our most enduring farm mysteries. One night as Uncle, Bob and I were milking, Pansy suddenly gave out an anguished moan, followed by a long and painful shudder from head to tail. The cause was a mystery and remained so despite earnest discussions for weeks afterward. Uncle opined that perhaps she had swallowed a nail which somehow had found its way into the hay supply. Others thought she had suffered a heart attack of sorts, or perhaps been bitten by a mouse. Bob remained strangely non-committal through it all. It was fully ten years later, when both of us had left home, that he finally made known the cause of Pansy's discomfiture. He had been forking hay into her manger that fateful night and had inadvertantly (or so he claimed) stuck poor Pansy in the nose with the pitchfork! No wonder she moaned!

"Each spring calves were born, not uncommonly with the help of a rope tied to their front legs as they emerged from their mother's womb. It was the task of small boys to pull when ordered to, but only when ordered to, so as not to risk injuring the mother or the infant. Within a couple of hours, having been licked clean by the mother of blood, plancental fragments and amniotic fluid, the calf would first take a few tottering steps , and then be fully mobile, able to keep up with the others, and bawling for nourishment. Calves were soon weaned from the udder to a pail. That could be a traumatic experience for both man and beast. You straddled the calf's body, with its head between your knees, (and hence controllable), and put your fingers in the milk and into the calf's mouth. In theory, as it sucked your fingers it swallowed milk, and learned to drink from the pail. But while some calves learned quickly, i.e. within a couple of days, others would butt the pail with their heads, usually spilling the milk all over the leg of the poor "teacher" or would gag and splutter and nearly drown. Finally, Father, in total frustration, would say "drink or droon (drown)" and by sheer force of character and brute strength, force the calf to be reasonable, give up and just drink, which they always did. Sooner or later."

WELL, THAT'S THE COW STORY! He goes on to do the pigs, the sheep, the horses, the turkeys, and all sorts of other doings on the farm. Perhaps my children and grandchildren will better relate to what it's like growing up on a farm, and the extent of the things we had to deal with. Certainly a different life from the city-raised experiences of our children and grandchildren. But no doubt they had their own challenges, of a different nature certainly, but all these early experiences still contributed to the characters and personalities of these grown-up actors in the Game of Life.

If you enjoyed this story, please let me know, and I may be persuaded to do another excerpt from Sandy's story of growing up in the dirty thirties.

Love to all,

Mom, Granny

first 'update' on BLOG

Just a bit of an update here. It's an exciting busy time here in Diamond Willow, with families coming and going, carrying gifts and cards for their favorite oldies. The activities person finally showed up today and kept herself busy wrapping gifts for some of the residents that can't handle wrapping anymore. They'll all be under the tree for our party tomorrow night, when Santa Claus comes and there's entertainment. I lucked out on the name I drew, a man whom I've never even said a word to, so I know nothing about him. But his daughter works here as a server and evening staff a couple of times a week, so I appealed to her, and danged if she didn't go out and buy my present for him! chocolates and socks. I was very relieved, all I had to do was pay for it and wrap it, I borrowed some wrapping paper from a friend here, made a pretty bow out of some metallic ribbon which gussied it up very nicely. So it's all ready.

And a first for our bishop! He came here last night and again tonight for tithing settlement. Came to all the individual rooms, sat on my couch and from that point on, put my last tithing cheque for 2009 in his pocket, and from then on it was a barrage of questions:

(His eyes circled my room again and again and again, I'm sure he memorized every single thing in it! Maybe he has to report to his wife, I have no idea! Anyway, it was kinda funny....then followed a barrage of questions.....

1. Who took that picture? (deeply impressed by my beautiful picture of Old Chief from Linda & Stuart for Christmas)...answer:
Clayne Steed. When was it taken? answer: last fall, then I told him what Linda told me, how they drove as far as they wanted, then hiked in to where there's a large pond of water and took the picture with the reflection of Old Chief in the still water of the pond. It really is gorgeous and linda framed it all by herself and made a marvellous job.
2. How are you connected to Clayne? .... answer, the Steeds and my Raymond kids are best friends.
3. When did you get two rooms?.... answer, August. I went away for a week to my other kids' cabin near Kalispell and when I got back it was all finished.
4. Where near Kalispell?..... On Ashley Lake. (further comments from him, he was there once, "what a beautiful location", maybe he's looking for a site there, I dunno).

Closing comments, this is really nice! (referring to my room I guess, he only saw my sitting room). Well, I better run along, I have a few more appointments. Thanks, Sister Naylor, see you later. (Noticeably missing, the golden question "Are you a full tithe payer?" So of course, I didn't have to answer! I am, but maybe he just guessed!) so funny. Maybe he's a better dentist than a bishop. Oops! forget I said that, against the law to badmouth the bishop.

I'm hoping to go to Calgary for Christmas, and would like to get there a few days early, so I can do (help with) the baking for Debbie, etc. Coming back with my friends, the Eden's.....their mom lives here in the lodge and they're taking her up to where they live in NW Calgary for Christmas, returning to Magrath on the Monday after Christmas. She is my secretary and good friend.

Last night I watched the whole four hours of Gone With the Wind, nice movie, Atlanta burning scenes are wonderful. And tonight from 8 to 9 was the Tabernacle Choir broadcast, really wonderful, with bell ringers, dancers, a male soloist, songs that are familiar, altogether a great performance thanks to Mack Wilberg, the conductor, who arranged it all. Several fun songs, as well as a couple of traditional carols.

Went to the adult Christmas party at the church, nice food, lots of turkey and ham and stuffing....only thing I thought was kinda stupid was baked potatoes instead of mashed. The night before, we had our bang-up Christmas supper here, and our cooks excelled themselves, it was just wonderful, turkey, ham, sw potato, dressing, etcetc. and following the program, a simply marvellous buffet and punch. A good time was had by all.

So there we are, off to Lethbridge tomorrow with LR, have to see my denturist and do a few little errands, and we are going to the Swiss for the festive special, so looking forward to that in a big way!

Love to all my children, and if I don't talk to you before, have a Merry Christmas, and take pictures to put on the BLOG!

Mom.

G&G Anniversary Weekend?

Especially this one??? This is what we called fun??

This picture brings back memories of my childhood, when one of my jobs was milking the cows, and one of my fun times was feeding the barn cats the product thereof. Mind you, this was supposed to be strictly verboten, we weren't supposed to be wasting the milk by squirting it at the cats....but dang it, the cats had to eat too, didn't they? Not that some of them deserved it exactly, (like the treacherous feline that snatched my pet bunny rabbit, and dispatched him to bunny heaven before I could catch up to him). Nevertheless, this was a favorite pastime, which disturbed Bossy in no way, and was a source of great delight to both milkER and milkEE. And who misses one squirt? Well, maybe two....or more....

Which brings back other bovine memories ("bovine" is cow-related, grandkids). Did I ever tell you about the time I helped my dad birth a calf that was bent on entering the world the wrong way, feet first? I suppose I was maybe 12 or so, and had gone with Pop to check on the cow, and of course, found her in deep trouble, obviously she needed major help. We were able to assist, since there were two of us, and two feet being presented. Both calf and cow survived this unfortunate event...didn't happen very often, in fact, I don't recall any similar births amongst our farm animals, nature usually takes care of herself.

MILK? one of the finest products available to mankind! (Listen to me, preaching about the advantages of drinking milk, when it's my least favorite beverage in the world, second only to gatorade!) But let me tell you about "saps". This was an old Scottish meal in itself, native to generations of Scotsmen before mine, and often a source of comfort and/or delight to my parents, perhaps even a bit of a necessity when there was nothing else in the larder. (Remember, corn flakes and rice krispies, etc. were not yet invented). Anyhow, here's how to make saps in case any of you are interested. Break up a slice or more of bread into a bowl, sprinkle a little sugar overtop, brown or white, no matter. Then pour warm milk overtop, and prepare to choke it down your thrapple. (That's "throat" in Scots dialect, chilluns). I digress.....they loved this stuff! I suspect the name "saps" started out to be "sops".....and I'm sure it was a favorite food in the olden days in many nations, both bread and milk being readily available throughout the ages of time, or since cows were invented. And flour and yeast. By the way, if you don't know about "sops", look it up in your dictionary, if it's old enough it will be there. Maybe some diligent old-timer even put it on wiki.....

Just a few Sunday afternoon meanderings down memory lane....maybe I should go play "K-k-k-katy, beautiful Katy, you're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore, and when the moon shines over the c-c-c-cow-shed, I'll be waitin' at the k-k-k-kitchen door" for my fans....get this out of my system.

me, food, job, work, ergh.

restaurants typically bake potatoes in foil. that's not baked, it's steamed.in it's own water.

i can't cook fried rice. my mother is a genius at it.

in high school, i would come home at lunch, cook salty spaghetti, a good bunch, eat it straight from the strainer. no sauce.


ten foods i remember my mother making, turkey casserole..soft boiled egg mixed with catsup in a cup..salt and peppered tomato slice on a drive to SLC..smoked cod poached in milk every saturday morning.. roast turkey made in the black enamel roasting pan..turkey rice soup from the turkey stock and various bits of turkey off the carcass..campbells tomato soup, she would make it, with a good amount of milk, i would shred a full slice, or more, of wonder bread into the bowl..home grown boiled peas...chinese fried rice...CINAMMON TOAST...not sure if this was her or me, but, room temp white bread, butter and sugar atop (ok, that was me)..creamed mushrooms..cheddared pearl onion..oohh, boston baked beans, slow baked in our brown clay bean pots..mmmhh, hash, made with leftover mash tato and roast beef..mince, ground beef and onion saute, on mash tato..carrot cake tooo rich for me to eat anymore..tuna casserole, with a can of campbells cream of celery, and cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken, tasted just like turkey,(that crafty old girl), OOOOOHHH, holy shizzing, COLESLAW!!!..MMMM, pasta salad...of course cabbage rolls.. even frozen lasagna on the tinfoil pans, though i'm not usually a lasagna fan..hash browns, scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, am i at ten yet?

i've been wanting to talk about food, but i often think i'm thinking nonsense.

my only, and best suggestion, FRESH HERBS!! fresh anything.

the end of 1973 Diary

Don't axe me! I don't know why I quit writing as of March 18, 1973.....and didn't start again until 1981 when I journalled on a weekly basis February to September. From then on, beginning in 1982, a daily full page, which continues to the present day. Grandkids, you will all think this is a dreadful bore, it's mostly written for my children, but if you can stand to read it all, then feel free! And if you sometimes feel like crabbing about the shortage of time, demands of daily life, church jobs, and the like, maybe consider some of the challenges your grandparent(s) had to face. I put that "s" there, because, YES, while Dad was occasionally critical of the church's programs and people, he always, consistently, supported me. He was the best non-member worker in our ward! The only demand he ever made, when I was called to new positions, was that he be contacted by the priesthood to give his consent! (He never failed to give it, I could count on that).

So here goes, the last 18 days of the 1973 attempt to diarize! (made up that word)

March 1: Worked out 3 alternates for E.L.A. (1) Disband immediately. (2) Hire new secretary. (3) Move office to my home, and go on 1/2 time. Getting lots of calls, ELA wondering what meeting is all about. They'll have to be there to find out!
March 2: Made out all accounts and mailed them off. Got my hair cut, shampooed and set. Getting ready to go to Calgary for Regional meetings. Leaving at 3:30 p.m. Dora Bennett going with us, meeting tonight 8 p.m. at Willowpark chapel. Linda phoned, all excited about going to Harrison Hot Springs for weekend. Got away for Calgary about 3:40, went to White Spot for hurried supper, then on to meeting at 8. To Judy and Dave's by 11 p.m. for overnite.
March 3: Regional meetings in Calgary went 8 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dad drove Judy and I, me to my meetings, Jude to work, then he went on to Robbie's with guitar and TV for Rob. I had Sports Camp meeting after Regionals. Back to J's, left for home about quarter to 4. Good trip.
March 4: Fast Sunday today, didn't have a chance to get groceries this weekend, so we didn't have our usual roast for dinner. Debbie at Sefcik's for their Sunday dinner and family hour.
March 5: Randy to Dr. Rossall, then for ecg and x-rays, he doesn't anticipate any changes. Took R. to A@W on the way home. Went to interview Avis Design in the afternoon for a Beacon story. Doris came over and picked it up, gave me $30 for the last 3 stories. Family Hour at night, starting reading and self-improvement projects, everybody chose something different to work on.
March 6: Red Deer visit for MIA. Leaving from Whyte Ave building at 5 p.m. in Anita's car. Wrote long letters to Linda and Granny and Grampa Naylor. Picked up library card at Idylwylde. Took detailed info over to Charlie Clark, president of ELA, for upcoming meeting. Red Deer ward treated us really royally, had a lovely lunch after meeting for us, sandwiches and punch. They expected the whole board, only Anita and I went! (ed.note...this was the day her son Cy Peterson, fell off the bars and broke his neck back in Edmonton, we rushed back home soon as she got the word. He was paralyzed from then on.)
March 7: Went over to the Stake Center and painted the "house" Karl Sommerfeldt built for House Talk. (Certainly isn't very good, in my opinion). Painted it with fluorescent paint. Then while one side dried, we had our very first Aaronic Priesthood MIA committee meeting, church history in the making with women part of the Priesthood!!
March 8: Dress Rehearsal for House Talk tonight. Did office work all day. Anita called after the rehearsal, they had put up the "house" and it was simply terrible. She says we have to do something about it, I told her I will go over there in the morning and rebuild it with a bunch of lath we have in the garage.
March 9: What a job! Took me 3 hours to rebuild the house, started shortly after 9 with hammer and saw. Anita came at noon and helped me with the painting and between us and Peter (Kabel) we got it up stage rear. Made big crepe paper flowers for all along the top and for the window boxes. Looked pretty good. However House Talk performance was perfectly terrible, complete SNAFU.
March 10: Brother Sandy here overnite, also Barbara. Granny, Jack and Jean, Lori, Bruce, Sandy and Barbara here for a big Chinese dinner which I made. Went over really big! Barb, our three boys, Deb, Steve, and I went to House Talk at night, this time it was excellent, thank goodness after last night's fiasco.
March 11: Took A.B. out to the airport to catch the 9:45 a.m. plane back home. Then took Barbara to her house. I missed Sunday School, but everyone else went, except Deb, she had a cold.
March 12: Wrote Linda. She didn't write last week, they must've had a great weekend in Vancouver. Had FHE at nite, made tithing charts. This seems to be a big problem area for the kids. Sent out letters to management inviting them to the emergency meeting on Tuesday night at the Bonaventure.
March 13: Came up with another possible solution to ELA problems. That of me going on a stand-by status, office in my basement, with honorarium of $600 annually. No regular office hours, for first year to take over the office equipment instead of money, charge $50 a month rent. Evaluated equipment at $600, this is plenty high, actually. The mimeograph broke down today, pencil stuck in it. A.B. Dick guy came and repaired it.
March 14: Didn't visit a ward, since we had A.P./MIA committee meeting again. McMurray, Bennett and Davies were all there, plus Pres. Prince and all us MIA bunch. Things are starting to fall into place. Had executive meeting following. to re-hash Parent and Youth (House Talk) and plan Leadership. Sure ticked off the Production Committee!
March 15: I'm in charge MIA board meeting tonight, so pretty well spent the day planning my agenda, making leadership invitations and written ward visit report forms, large calendars for March, April and May. They worked quite well, I think, we had good attendance and I think the meeting was OK.
March 16: Relief Society Anniversary party! Turkey to cook, a whopper, plus extra dressing and gravy. Loretta McMurray borrowed my big pots for turnips, Marie B. my pink plastic tablecloths for the party. It was terrific, such a nice dinner, and Jean Key's skit was really good. Left about 9:30 p.m.
March 17: Left at 4:30 a.m. for Calgary for Regional Basketball at Lord Beaverbrook High School. Got there at 7:00 a.m., had breakfast. A good day, Marjorie and David Smith were there! Our girls won both Jr. and Sr. trophies.
March 18: We had visited Quintons till after midnight last night, then back to Judy and Dave's to sleep. Robbie there for the weekend. Back to Edmonton about 11 a.m. Debbie had dinner all ready for us! Woo hoo!

Heheh! That's all there is, folks. The rest of the book is EMPTY. Aren't you glad. I hope my kids are reading this.

ermmhh.

From: "Marion"
To: "jeffreynaylor"
Subject: Scans of my apartment
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 6:52 PM

Doing a virtual tour of my new apartment for BLOG.

Most of the rest of the 1973 diary.

May as well finish this up, it goes Feb 1 through March 18, already posted the first month (Jan 1973).

Feb 1: Western Retail Lumbermens Convention, Palliser Hotel, Calgary. Took cab to airport 6:45 a.m. Arrived Calgary 7:35, took airport bus to hotel. Nice room in orange, rust and cream. Mort Shafter seminar in a.m. was fantastic. Canfor lunch of ham, raisin sauce, hashed browns. Luncheon speaker not too hot. Ditto afternoon seminar on credit. Dinner roast beef. Good speaker. Ran into Wilkie Wanless again.
Feb 2: Missing today's seminar by vander Wall, I've heard him three times before. Charlie Clark phoned up to my room about 6, said why not come to the Western reception, so I did, fantastic food. Doug arrived about 8:45, checked in. We attended the dance, good band, with Saunders and Murray and their wives. Lots of fun, left about 12:30 a.m.
Feb 3: Had breakfast at Palliser, then checked out. Got lost trying to find Judy's house. She had all the kids there, incl Robbie, Debbie, Fay (Deb's friend), Steve, and our three boys. What a houseful! They had fun....left for home in a snowstorm at 1 p.m.
Feb. 4: Stake Conference today, 1000 at first session, 800 at second session. Pres Wilde, Prince and Bishop McBride spoke, also of course, the Regional Rep Elder Craven. Institute choir v.g. Rob back to Calgary on 8 a.m. bus.
Feb 5: Wrote Linda Rae. Debbie got her English correspondence course Friday, has to get three textbooks for it. Looks hard, she can't figure out where to work at it, at home or at school.
Feb 6: Made out all the checks today, $50 short again, and that's not even paying Imperial Oil anything! I have to make more money somehow! Visited 4th Ward prayer meeting and opening exercises at night. Sis Reid conducting. Poor attendance at prayer mtg. Two talks, one good with no notes, the other read hers and took 15 minutes! I was the only stake visitor. Talked to Edna Cahoon for quite a while.
Feb 7: 7:30 p.m. Stake MIA executive meeting. My ward is having bake sale Saturday, proceeds to go to contributors for building fund. Talked to John Hender, I have Elders' Quorum banquet (Chinese food), proceeds to me! Get family to help prepare, Helen S. will help dish up. Tom Davies came to our meeting, all were there plus both secretaries! Good meeting, Production Committee responsibilities reviewed.
Feb 8: David's birthday. Bought him a pair of black cowboy boots and a pair of stretch jeans, and assorted small toys, (from the other kids). $2.00 from G and G Naylor.
Feb 9: Appreciation Dinner at Stake Centre. This was quite nice, but I didn't stay for the social afterward. Roast beef dinner, ice cream rolls and strawberries for dessert. The priesthood waited on everybody hand and foot. Weather turning colder and snow forecast for the weekend.
Feb 10: Shopped Queen City, Woodwards and LMart. Linda phoned, wants materials for Primary work. David's birthday party in p.m. Had awful time getting kids to go home.
Feb 11: Went to Sunday School, but stayed home from Sacrament mtg, Randy sick with bad cough. Usual Sunday dinner. Much colder.
Feb 12: 13 below, 2 inches of fresh snow. Did office work pretty well all day. Randy went to school but still has croupy cough. Listened to our new classical recordings most of evening. Sweet & sours and fried rice for supper. Phoned Judy, they're fine, Dave on leave for two weeks, however, can't afford to go anywhere (for two years!).
Feb 13: 20 below this a.m. Went to bank with deposit. Left car running at Stake Centre, no trouble starting it, and wasn't plugged in either. Planned amounts and grocery list for Elders Quorum dinner. Helen S and Joanne Hogg helping (Joanne wants to learn how to cater). Helen and Murray will help with the Labatts' catering on March 31 and April 1.
Feb 14: Did a pile of office work, accounts receivable and two circulars as well. Took it all up to the post office after supper. Then took Randy to MIA, they had a skating party on at Whitemud. I was supposed to have an Aaronic PH committee meeting, but it was cancelled. Anita phoned me at the Stake Centre to tell me there was a production committee mtg at 8:30....too late, I didn't go.
Feb 15: Took Randy to dentist Frank Peterson, $14 poorer, x-rays and cleaning. Says he needs orthodontic treatment, one and possibly two teeth have to come out to make room for permanent teeth. Went to Stake Board meeting at night, inservice was good. Mulloy conducted board mtg. broke into departments after. Over quite early 9:15.
Feb 16: Took Jeff and Randy to optometrist. Jeff getting wires, Randy needs new glasses too. They're to be ready next Thursday. Went shopping at night with Dad at Safeways Ottewell and LMart for our own groceries, plus stuff for Stake Speech Festival tomorrow. Robbie and friend Brian blew in by car at 1:30 a.m.
Feb 17: Up to Queen City by 7:30 a.m. to get meat. Went to 142nd St bldg, made up 200 chiliburgers for lunch. Very good. Home, beat, by 2:30. Just relaxed the rest of the day. Speech Festival was good, only 3 from our ward.
Feb 18: Went to both mtgs, although late for Sacrament. Also went to Relief Society, Jean Key's lesson quite well done. Elders' Quorum gave me check for $240 for dinner Friday. Getting garden plot, Stewart's at Ellerslie.
Feb 19: Went on cleaning spree, did dining room, kitchen and bedroom floors, vacuumed throughout. Starting new cleaning schedule next week to do every room in house every third week. Next week! too busy this week. Letter from Linda today.
Feb 20: Did office work all day, meeting at night at Captains Cabin very poorly attended, only 11 there. Harry Rockett resigned due to leaving A. McBain lumber, what we do from here on is anybody's guess! Doesn't look good, nobody to fill positions on executive.
Feb 21: Office work, plus did 250 programs for Laurel Standards night on Sunday. Went to 3rd Ward Awards Night banquet, roast beef, pie....v.g. Dora Bennett went with me. Anita, Marj and I and Bro. Davies were at the head table.
Eldean, Barton, Dora M. and Martha were also at the banquet. Short program following awards. I thought it was all quite nice, actually.
Feb 22: Wrote Linda. Bank at 10:00, pick up Helen S., go to Canada Packers for button bones and Whipee, then uptown to Chinatown for stuff for Chinese dinner. To Kensington shopping centre at 1:30, interview for Beacon story. Finally meat from Queen City delivered at 10:00 p.m. Shopped in evening for more groceries for Chinese dinner, while Dad and boys at Scout banquet. Teachers' convention today and tomorrow.
Feb 23: Started on dinner prep first thing in a.m. Deb helping me, did 530 chicken balls in 2 hrs. Loaded car and went to Whyte Ave bldg. about 2:00 p.m. Helen came about 4:30 and brought Joyce Holland to help. Doug and Jeff came about the same time, Murray about 6:00. Served 65 plus 40 seconds. Dinner was really good. Huge success.
Feb 24: Robbie here for weekend. Shopped for groceries a.m. Jeff's farewell party for Kenny after Cubs. Sent them bowling, then back here for pizzas, punch and ice cream.
Feb 25: Went to both mtgs plus Laurel Standards night at W.A. bldg. It was nice. I put $110 into Building Fund from Friday night profits. Stringhams put in their $20 too.
Feb 26: Painted the boys bedroom and cleaned up their mess! Now looks fairly presentable. Concocted my resignation from E.L.A. in afternoon, can't hack it any longer. Don't know how we'll manage for money, but it won't hurt family to have to tighten their belts!
Feb 27: Took resignation notice to Charlie Clark. He wants emergency meeting called for next Tuesday night at the Captains' Cabin, switch dates from 3rd Tuesday to 1st Tuesday. Did circular on emergency meeting and sent out. Took mail uptown after supper, then out to World Wide Gifts in Killarney, to do interview for Beacon story. Finished boys room, and got new matching drapes for it from Sears $21.95.
Feb 18: Talked to Judy on phone. She has job in massage parlour! Has been to church and Relief Society this week and quit smoking two weeks ago! Now I'm getting the blessings from paying my tithing. Washed down upper stairway hall and vacuumed stairway thoroughly. Visited 3rd Ward at night, plus had exec mtg following. All but Mulloy Hansen there.

OK, Family! I'm leaving the other coupla weeks to the next time, my back's getting lame from sitting here typing! BIG CHORE! You're probably all bored sick anyway.

Debbi's place. Good time had by all. And then some.

As many of you already know, my sister debbi had a get together friday eve and some part of saturday. A birthday party for my brother steve, and a surprise, in advance, birthday party for mom.
It was great. We all had a wonderful time, it felt very comfortable to have all my siblings there. first time since the 50th anniversary. Also in the mackenzie lake area.
Mom cried like i've never seen before, and i've seen her cry more than a few times, while she read her new favorite book. Bless deb, kris, and dayn for all the work they put into it. The rest of us just had to email messages. They certainly bore the greater share of the task, and will likely treasure doing it for their granny, forever. When kristy starts puttin' up some of them pictures on ANYONE'S blog, you'll see how little we had to do, but all the time we spent on it, lots or less, will please your mother or granny to no end.

And kristy with that big monster cam..what a pro..don't ya love it when people DON'T tell ya you could get paid for something you enjoy doing? Sometimes, for me at least, the money takes the fun out of it. I wonder if there's even a picture of kristy that was taken. It was so funny when she was photo'ing us on the stairs, someone said, "are we in hollywood"?, or some such thing, it was dave, i'm pretty sure. I'm just glad i got to be at the top of the stair picture. As eventually you'll see the same effect on the couch pictures. Jeffy don't like to be in the center of the picture anymore. My how things change.
So i'm thinking kristy could send me some pics to post, or she could post it on her blog. Kris, up to you. And whenev'. Sorry if people don't usually call you kris, i just found myself saying it that way when blathering on to judy and dave on the way back about all that happened. (MAN, they talk a lot. well, they did on the way down. I got a bit blabbymouth on the way back. Must have been in a good mood).

(Now that i think of it, i think that a from your own point of view blog post, with or without pictures, of all the fun would be great from everyone that was there that has a blog. That's me, granny, dayna and kristy. And then everyone else can comment, ad nauseum if you care, on the good times we had. AND, JEFF WAS NOT HIDING IN THE BASEMENT. He was on a time-out.)

I love you all, thank you for everything. (Sorry about the not hugging thing, i don't know why i'm that way. And dave kept touching me. BRAT. lol.)

the new view. just a tree.

we had a blue spruce in the frontyard at the last house our dear mom and we lived in, it came down many a year ago, but i do enjoy the blue spruce, from having one in the frontyard. now there's one in my new view, across the alley, to the north, so, get's much sun, very dense in composition, birds fly in, and disappear into the blue. (more like blue green, don't ya think)? i like to see this one, i suppose which is in my current frontyard, because, blue spruce is pretty, and this is the biggest blue spruce in my new much closer view. and any other view i can remember.don't know if you can see it, but, all from one 3 foot round trunk, 4 early from base-trunk ancilliary trunks, and the two tallest have split this summer into two growth points apeice.
and don't tell granny, but there's several local cats that jump up on the fence and into the tree, looking for sparrow or chickadee, but the resident maggies talk them down and out. so many sounds, the maggies make.

Ancient Gleanings

The other day, while rooting through some of my old stuff, I came across the beginnings of an 8-lines-a-day diary, which I began as a New Year's Resolution on the lst of January 1973. I only carried it out for less than three months, but reading back over that old stuff, was appalled at how much I had to do in those days. Some of my children might be interested to reminisce along with me....

Jan. 1, 1973. New Year's Day! We were at house party at Harvey's until 4:00 a.m. and had lots of fun. Deb and Steve at Chateau Lacombe over the midnight celebration with a bunch of other young people. Spent Monday just lazing around, had roast beef dinner, all very simple. Enjoyed Linda and Nathan's day with us, before leaving to go back to Kitimat.

Jan 2. Terrible storm this day, roads awful. RCMP warning everybody off. Linda tried for a taxi to get to the train station, couldn't, quoting 1-1/2 to 2 hr. wait. I finally braved the alley and treacherous uptown streets and took her and baby Nate to the train. Got home safe and sound, thank goodness. Nathan sick with cold and fever, poor little guy. Doug back to work after 10-day holiday.

Jan 3. Linda arrived back home OK and Stu met the train in Kitimat. Had a tiring, miserable trip in a coach seat. Baby still sick. Glad to be home.

Jan 4. Traffic still not back to normal. Did six write-ups for Doris Hegedus's "Beacon". Kind of interesting work, although not exactly good pay, only $2.50 each. However, quite good practise at free-lance writing, which, who knows? maybe I'll do some day.

Jan 5. Did a full pre-planning of the upcoming Stake Mutual catering...assignments to all board members. Also did new roster. Mailed out copies to everybody on the board.

Jan 6. Did shopping, went to Acme in a.m. to get Deb's Christmas ring sized.

Jan 7. Didn't get to Sunday School and forgot about it being Fast Sunday, so missed both meetings. Deb was the only one of the kids that stayed, others came home after Sunday School.

Jan 8. Cleaned boys' room thoroughly, what a mess! Two bags of discontinued clothes for Judy . Simply have to do their walls first thing in spring cleaning. Also new curtains for them from somewhere!

Jan 9. Went to Devonian Bldg. to Vermilion course. Advisory Council meeting. Not well, attended, but very good meeting. Boggs and Baranyk came up with new and shorter course proposal which was well received. I felt better about ELA education projects which looked pretty dim before this.

Jan 10. MIA executive meeting. Room 15 at Stake Centre. We (YW) went first to Pers. Achievement program put on by 2nd Ward in Relief Society Room. It was really tremendous, teachers all explained about their booklets and part in the program. Rose did fantastic job, as usual.

Jan 11. Stake Board Meeting this evening. I was in charge for inservice portion (good lesson). Bob in charge of the board meeting. He and Derrel and President Wilde set me apart during meeting in my new stake job. I was really impressed, first time my hearing was ever mentioned in a blessing. Had strawberry shortcake left over from Youth Conference. Building fund assessment and budget arrived today, $240.

Jan 12. This was Dickie Van Bruggen's wedding reception, but didn't go. Dad and I and Deb went out to supper, Chinese food at Waikiki, and to Woolco afterward. I bought black slipperettes to wear to Gold and Green.

Jan 13. Shopped in a.m. for groceries. Had hair done at Ottewell Klip n Curl, then busy all aft preparing for dinner party for Laurels and Rovers before Gold and Green Ball. We went with Harvey's. The Brass Trend is a good band! Lousy punch.

Jan 14. All went to both Sunday School and Sacrament meetings. Had family hour at night, talked about catering possibilities to try earn budget and building fund assessments. Elders' Quorum want a dinner soon.

Jan 15. Talked to Judy. Robby doing well at his job for Jack Quinton's outfit. Jack apparently quite sick, high blood pressure, doctor won't let him out of bed. Judy and Dave drove up from Calgary, Dave has 2 days off. Took Judy to visit her old friend Phyllis at night. Dave went after her and they didn't roll in till 2:00 a.m.

Jan 16, Management Council meeting, Captain's Cabin, 5 p.m. Board Meeting 6:30 p.m. then Management Meeting after. Judy and Dave stayed all day, water pump trouble with their truck, which they had to get fixed. Took the rest of Rob's bed, a bunch of old clothes and the aquarium. Swiss steak at Captain's cabin meetings, not bad. Meeting was excellent, only 20 there, but all interested. My report on Vermilion course went over big. They even clapped. ELA outlook is better!

Jan 17. Stake Executive meeting 8:00 p.m. Whyte Ave bldg. (with Parent and Youth committee). Saturday catering is upped to 175 or 180, roads and weather permitting. Changed amounts and ordering accordingly. Had our meeting with Eileen Young at night, and decided on the tentative casting for House Talk. It will be March 9 and 10 at the Stake Centre. David home sick from school.

Jan 18. Deacons' Basketball Final, Stake Centre. 8 p.m. Jeff and I went and watched, Randy didn't get to play since he's 2nd string and the game was too close. 6th Ward won, 13 to 9, our boys suffering from lack of practise. Dad sick in bed today, flu or cold, David too....looking for rash, Day-Day had chicken pox.

Jan 19. Meat and veggie orders coming today for Saturday catering. Cashed $250 stake cheque to pay for it all. Deb may be voted "Miss Personality" for Bonnie Doon year book. She deserves it and more. Had grad pic taken yesterday. Dad and I went to Woodwards Southgate, had supper there, quite good and cheap. Picked up Deb's ring at Acme. Meat never arrived from Queen City!

Jan 20. Robbie up for weekend. High Priests' dinner catering. Started work and 1 p.m., finished at 11:00. Meat was lovely, 106lbs. for 200 people, not a scrap left. Many compliments on dinner. Stake MIA cleared $259.82.

Jan 21. Kids stayed home, while Dad and I went to Vermilion for the day. Granny's 75th birthday! Nice time, Holtes and John Wilsons, Granny at the farm.

Jan 22. Not much doing this day. Talked to Barb Morrison, invited her over for dinner next Sunday. Linda phoned in a.m. again (phoned Sat too, but we were out). They got 42 inches of snow in 24 hours in Kitimat. Total 8 feet on level. Stuart's shopping centre flooded. Fantastic! they took pictures.

Jan 23. David Fredette signed up for the Airborne last Friday, so if he passes the jump test, they may be transferred here to Griesbach. Uncle Jack, Jean and Granny blew in about 2 p.m. Bob coming here on 4:00 o'clock plane for medical convention, J and J stayed until 11 p.m. hoping Bob would show up. He phoned at midnight, had been tied up all evening. Granny stayed with us.

Jan 24. Visit Spruce Grove ward. (I can't go to this, have Ames Bros training program this nite for ELA). Looks like we'll have good turnout, maybe up to 40. Weather fantastic, has been 40 above each day for 2 weeks or more. Had 26 at training meeting, it was excellent, I did coffee. Roger Pullishy from Ames Bros brought doughnuts.

Jan 25. Spent most of this day shopping for a winter coat for Mother, wants blue with fur collar. But we couldn't find anything under $100. She and I had lunch at Bonnie Doon, then Doug went with us again tonight to Southgate, but still no luck. Guess she'll have to keep her $100! (got $100 from Bob for Christmas, $25 for Sandy, $10 each from Chris and Jack).

Jan 26. Took Mother to the bus at 8:30 a.m. Spent most of the day preparing my department for Leadership. Big ear name tages, heart jig saws, 3 page questionnaire, "Think" signs. Theme will be "Ask and Listen". Dad and I went to Northcote Lounge in McCauley Plaza for supper. Vereeee nice.

Jan 27. Went to Romanof Gallery to do Beacon interview. Leadership, 3:30 to 5:30 at 142 St. building. Shopped in a.m. Queen City, L-Mart and Safeways. Leadership opening exercises so-so. Dept was quite good, 8 there.

Jan 28. Family night after Fast Sunday, all went to both meetings. Randy to Priesthood, me to Relief Society right after. Roast beef dinner, just ourselves for a change. Barb had other company arrive.

Jan 29. Cleared up a lot of odds and ends on my desk. Wrote LRF. Questionnaires from Saturday leadership very interesting, should be helpful in planning future departments. Invited to "Appreciation Dinner" on Feb 9th at church for all ladies who participated in chocolate project!

Jan 30. ELA work, make hair appointment for Wednesday. Made out cheques for ELA, expense money for Calgary trip $85. Wrote two very fast stories for Beacon, one on Joey's Pizza Shop, one on Romanov Gallery. The typesetter wanted them on short notice, leaviong town for a few days. Sure easier to write about places I've seen.....

Jan 31. Strathearn Beauty salon, 2 p.m. Go to bank and mailbox first. Visit MIA at 142 St. bldg. tonight. House Talk meeting after. Visitied 3rd ward MIA, stake visitors were Galbraiths, Bea, Marj, Karen and I, Barton, Derrel, Bob, Eileen came later for stake mtg. I'm in charge of stage props. Derrel asking Karl S. to help, House Talk going to be a Big Production.

OK, that's a whole month. If anybody enjoys this epistle, I will do what's left in the diary (through March 18th when I quit!) sometime......

King Edward School

Many posts back, i remember Linda making some comments about trudging up the hill from our first house by the river to King Edward School. Now that it's a block away from me, i thought i'd take a pic of this beautiful old building.

Another pretty old building a block south of King Edward, an Anglican church, don't remember the name, but i like it because the square piece at the front reminds me of the tower of London.
I'm throwing in this one for the pleasure of my dear Mother...LOOK, PANSIES IN OCTOBER.

A tour, by request.

huge kitchen, don't what to do with all the dining space, not like i feed a table of 8 in my own place. about 9' by 18'.

i like to travel on the fly, these are the few memorabilia i have, dad's echo harp, and a gilt frame photo of my grandma, that i did NOT abscond with from mother's old house, when she wasn't looking.


bathroom very retro, probably contemporary to the building's age, from 1969. i love the turquoise. tub's the same, enamel on cast iron, and HUGE. i can float in it, with legs crossed.
nice curio cabinet built in, not many curios to display. sticks, and stones, and a handfull of beets. next one of the two best bathtubs i've lived with. also turquoise.

movin' on up. to the south side. deluxe apartment, six feet off the ground.

Some pics of the recent move..night sky from the old place, with Venus at top of frame, next, the Lacombe, i liked the next one of the two shiny manulife buildings with the very old CIBC building at Jasper and 101, an old brick house in the new neighbourhood, a plain type house i felt like photo'ing, and the back of King Edward school. two blocks away.

Q's. With back yard slide repeats.

Since She's been gallivanting all about Alberta, and I'm bored silly, I'm going to play one of BLOG's least familiar features, Q+A WITH GRANNY.
So here's my FIVE questions about ONE topic, the back yard, at 9257-86 Street. Where I grew up. Well, sort of.

I remember these things about the back yard, in part also the front yard, My only question, (which might seem like five), is, GRANNY, what can you clarify, about my fading memories?

Ice rink, I was very young, couldn't skate yet, but I remember at least a few years where Dad flooded the main part of the back yard to build an ice rink. I would guess it as being before '65. I can only see the image, but it was our back yard.

This one is very easy to remember, for Me at least, because the images are much easier to see...there was a toy in the Seventies called a 'Slip and Slide', Dad made a cheaper version for the back yard, a long strip of yellow heavy plastic, down the back slope of the back yard, and the hose running at the head of the strip, and We (My Brothers and others) would take running starts to slip down the homemade water slide. Was good fun.

The sandbox. I remember the swing set Dad put up, and the sandbox before it had swings. (Two swings, one rocking horse). When We still had the clothesline. On the subject of the clothesline, I remember stepping on a nail, in a loose board at the space near the clothesline, nail went all the way through my foot, I stumbled into the kitchen, My wonderful Granny Morrison, who was looking after us while M and D were somewhere travelling, pulled out the board and nail, washed it out with soap and water, and bandaged it up. No tetanus shots. And I'm still alive. I miss her.


The tent trailer. The two Bros and I would sleep in it all summer long, because our room upstairs was hot as hoot. Even maintained the usual habit of the nightly bowl of vanilla ice cream in bed. Both tent trailers, the soft top, and the hard top, had a zip out screen window facing into the alley, and We loved the clean air coming through the plum, and the apple tree.

NO, I'm not going over there to take any pictures, GRANNY has seen it already, and She's not pleased, but, the two large pines in the front yard, also, I'm not sure, but perhaps also the blue spruce in the front yard, and a few smaller pines in the back yard neighbour side garden, the little seedlings each of us got in elementary school, I think perhaps for graduating from grade whatever....I wonder whose seedlings were the ones to grow big. I know i got one, i don't think it survived the lack of space.


Does any of this make any sense, to anyone? Anyone?


(I haven't moved into my new neighbourhood yet, the lovely old region of Edmonton known as Strathcona, (also went to Strathearn elementary and junior high, coincidence, yes), I move in on Saturday, but I think there might be posts someday on beautiful old houses, gardens, squirrels, and a pleasing lack of squawking magpies, or whatever. Rabbits too. And people walking or biking by seem to smile as they pass. Weird eh?)

My brother Sandy tells stories...

A few years back, my brother Alexander Baillie Morrison, known as Sandy by his immediate family (parents and siblings), decided to write a history of his early days on the farm. This story was for the benefit of his children and grandchildren, who had heard some of his stories about the good old days, and wanted more, more! Well, I was fortunate, as his older sister, to wheedle a copy of it out of him, and there it lies in my bookcase resplendent in its youthful vigor and innocence, largely unread more than once or twice. But this afternoon, having exhausted the local paper and the Church News, I found myself with nothing to read....and somehow my hands grabbed hold of Sandy's story, and I have spent the rest of my free time since 3 o'clock this afternoon, laughing fit to kill myself. What splendid writing, so funny, his depiction of the colorful life we led on the farm is largely tongue-in-cheek humour, it brings to mind many more of the happenings from the Morrison kids' childhood days than I've been remembering and writing about on BLOG over the last 9 months or so. I feel like sharing one story that is famous in our family, the tale of Lind's dogs. This story has been told. embellished upon, over and over and over, whenever my siblings and I got together for any purpose....now sadly reduced to just four of us, since Jack's demise this summer. And still this story will live on. Here's Sandy's version.... ( so the truth has now been told!). I quote from his memoirs:

"One of our neighbors in the Bowtell district was an Englishman named George Lind. He was a "remittance man", one of the thousands of the English well-to-do who got into some sort of trouble at home (usually over debts or a woman), and were sent by their families out to "the colonies" with a monthly "remittance" of funds to keep them financially solvent, out of sight and hopefully out of further trouble. Lind married an uppity Englishwoman (known as "Lady Lind" by my disapproving family), had a number of children, and didn't ever accomplish very much, though he was a man of some culture and good manners. He raised huge Newfoundland dogs, the scourge of the neighborhood for miles around. They chased cattle, ate poisoned gophers with impunity, stole Jack's coat from the fencepost where he'd hung it, knocked Bob off his bike, and generally terrorized anyone foolish enough to come into the Lind's yard, or even walk by on the road. Appeals to lock up the dogs fell on deaf ears.

"That sets the stage for the recounting of one of the deepest, darkest, and most closely-held Morrison family secrets. Since it is now half a century old, I can probably tell it with impunity. One Sunday morning in the late forties, Lind's dogs were heard frantically barking about 2-3 miles south of our house. Father and Jack jumped in the truck and went to investigate. (I was not at home that day; I was working at the University Farm at Edmonton during the summer recess from University). Jack found the two dogs had treed a porcupine and were barking furiously, trying to get the "porky" to come down and be eaten by them. One of the dogs had a faceful of porcupine quills. Jack promptly shot him, an act of mercy, since porcupine quills , if not quickly and painfully removed with a pair of pliers, almost always killed the poor creature in which they were embedded, but only after long suffering.

"The other dog took off, running towards its home, several miles to the north. My brother Bob, then a teenager, was trailing the two men on foot. He saw the dog emerge out of the woods, and begin to cross over a slough by the railroad tracks. Bob quickly hunkered down in the grass, took careful aim with his .22 and shot the dog through the head, killing it instantly. I came home the next day, and helped move the two corpses to a final resting place in the middle of a dense brush about fifteen miles from home. I'm sure the bones are still there to this day. Not a word was ever said to the Linds or anyone else. The absence of the dogs was widely noted, of course, and rumours abounded about their fate. Everyone agreed that whoever had done whatever had been done to the dogs deserved a medal. The dogs were a serious menace to both man and beast, were running loose totally out of control, and deserved killing. Ironically, suspicion fell on another neighbor, who we knew was totally innocent, but we were all sworn to secrecy and could say nothing.

"Linds may not have suspected we had had a hand in the demise of their dogs, but a few months later somebody tried to poison our beloved dog, Walter, with poisoned meat. He was dreadfully sick, but recovered. There were dark intimations of who might have done the deed, but of course, no proof, and the affair died there." End of quote.

Well, that's the story as recounted by Sandy, one of many tales that are simply hilarious. Sandy, if you are reading, PLEASE PLEASE give me permission to retype some of your Tales From the Morrison Woods for our family BLOG! I know my kids and grandkids would enjoy them so much, as I'm sure your family already has. Enjoy, everybody!

dad loved to play Jim Reeves, this is one of his favorites. though he's not around anymore to ask.

one of dad's favorite statler brother songs, would play it often, on the big ole sterio 33onethird player, precious memories was another favorite.

The Holy City, requested.

best thing paul mcartney ever did. though the beatles were good too. mull of kintyre.

Why Some People Shouldn't Drive:

I remember a happening 'way back when I was a child that seems pretty funny now, but at the time, it was BAD NEWS! My mother was delighted when a neighbor lady, Alice Titus, with delusions of grandeur, decided it was time to gird up her loins and DO SOMETHING about the lack of religious instruction for the families in our neck of the woods. The nearest church of any denomination was many miles distant, and most folks had no means of getting there, so ,,,,yes, Mrs. Titus decided to become a lay minister, and preach a little sermon on Sundays in our schoolhouse. Scripture reading, a few hymns, words of wisdom from whatever sources this indomitable lady could draw upon. My mother was all for this, thinking her children would benefit greatly from the experience ( as undoubtedly they would). But the question, of course, was how to get there? Two miles away, too far to walk with a baby to carry, she could not drive the newly purchased 1930 vehicle that was my father's pride and joy. And he, who felt no need for religious instruction of any kind, was adament about NOT wasting his Sunday afternoons listening to Mrs. Alice Patterson Titus rambling on and on.

So, what to do? In those days, few people had a vehicle beyond the horse and buggy style, so the roads were empty of traffic....a brief lesson on how to start and stop the car, and how to steer it, followed and he decided to trust my mother to take the kids to the Sunday meeting, if that's what she wanted! dang her anyway. So he settled down for his afternoon nap, and we all got to clean up and put on our best bibs and tuckers, and off we went, with just a bit of gear clashing and jerking. Not too bad! Mother was flushed with success when we got to the school yard, remembered how to stop the car, and even to pull on the hand brake before exiting. And we filed into the building in short order, to join the few families who had heeded the call to worship. (Alice Patterson Titus was a very pushy lady, to say the least!).

Well, the "service" went fine, Mother played the school piano somewhat haltingly, we sang the hymns, and joined in the Lord's Prayer, (at least we knew that) and Mrs. Titus performed beyond her wildest dreams. It was soon over, and the congregation was dispersing, as we loaded ourselves into the car, Mother started it, and we were off for home. But for some reason, we weren't making much speed, the car seemed to be just dragging itself along....hopefully, it would straighten itself out, so she kept on a-driving! oh oh, what's this, smoke pouring up in our faces! what can be the matter, this never happened before! is the car about to go on fire? Trembling and anxious, Mother managed to turn the motor off, and there we sat! What to do? A family conference ensued, and Jack, being the fastest runner, was sent off to fetch Father, one and three-quarter miles away. Very worried interlude of probably an hour, in which we all trembled in our boots waiting for Doomsday.

Enter Father and Jack....you wouldn't want to view the rage my Dad was in, (probably why I've remembered this incident all these years). And it got worse when he got in the car and immediately discovered the cause of the problem, Mother had forgotten to release the hand brake. This brought an abrupt end to our church-going by car, I must say, and Mother never ever got behind the wheel of a car again. AMEN!

Never trust a Cat.

Just remembered another episode from an earlier life: I don't necessarily remember even the traumatic events, although this was one of the most horrifying, to my small sensitivities at the time. I was perhaps six or seven, and deeply deeply attached to my tiny pet rabbit. Uncle Hugh had been working on the binder, driving the horses as they pulled the big machine, when they ran over a mother rabbit and several baby bunnies....yes, sadly, road kill (only not on the road, in a field of wheat). But he was able to stop the operation, and rescue one of the babies, which he settled into his jacket pocket and SURPRISE! presented to me when he came in for dinner. I was thrilled to death to have my very own tiny, cuddly little pet! fed him milk with an eye dropper, fixed a little comfy bed for him on my cot and just enjoyed him so much (maybe the reason I was never a "doll" person).

One warm summer day, I took a walk up onto the little hill just west of the barn, sat down in the sunshine, took Bunny out of my pocket and was petting him and I suppose talking bunny talk to him, when who should appear on the scene but Tom, one of the barn cats, anxious to be included in the petting session, and full of purrs and good natured catty fiefdom. Twining himself around me, paying no attention to the little furry bundle in my lap, he was apparently in his seventh heaven of delight, as I stroked his back and twiddled his ears, he was purring up a storm. When, in the space of ONE SECOND, he grabbed the baby rabbit in his mouth and took off for the barn, baby squealing blue murder, and me, transfixed by shock, just coming to my senses and overwhelmingly ANGRY. speeding after him. I can still see the tragedy unfolding in my mind's eye, Tom would stop briefly every 50 yards or so, chow down a bit more on that poor little body, more painful squeals, gradually dying off to silence, as my dear tiny Bunny expired.

Well, to make a long tragic story short, I caught up to Tom in the barn, cornered him with no resistance on his part (he could have clawed me half to death, but he knew he was in the wrong!). Took the bunny away from him, (I was in a terrible rage! I could've cheerfully murdered him), held him by the scruff of the neck and whapped him as hard as I could with my free hand, over and over until he meowed pitifully, as though it was really punishment to the max. I think he realized in his clever catty mind there would be no squirts of milk into his mouth from any of the cows I would be milking in the not-too-distant future!

I guess the moral of this story is just what I said, NEVER TRUST A CAT. They are sneaky, manipulative of their humans, exist entirely for their own comfort and well-being, and most of all UNTRUSTWORTHY! They will turn on you in a flash and before your very eyes destroy the delight of your life, simply because of the nature of the species. Killers, all.....small tigers in disguise.

Now you may think because of this traumatic event in my early life, that I would develop a life-long aversion to the feline species....OH OH, what happened? Instead, I love cats, their independence,their haughtiness, their demand for full service if you happen to choose them as your No. 1 pet. They will always be so, (hang the dog) the cat will rule the household. And they will pretend to love you for your willingness to be their slave forever.

So....if you choose a cat to live with you and your family, just be aware! They are by their very nature, destined to be the rulers, they may profess their deep love and respect for you at all times, but don't ever forget that they are entirely capable of the utmost treachery at the most unexpected of times. BE PREPARED! And if you choose a dog rather than a cat to be your cherished companion, I will understand.

Marion goes to Edmonton.

After a delightful three days in my old town Edmonton....well, not entirely three, the first and the last entailed some 6 hours of travel thereto and back. For the purpose of attending my cousin's funeral in St. Albert, where he lived in a seniors' residence this last 8 or 9 years. Since I had been asked to say a few words at the funeral, (that is, deliver 1/2 the eulogy, the first half at that!) I had to get there, know what I mean, familial responsibility, etc. So I first of all checked out the possibility of flying there, and when I picked my shattered self up off the floor (600 smackers there and back, Lethbridge to Edmonton.....duh...), I appealed as always to my dear daughter Linda Rae. Fortunately, she is strong on familial loyalty too, and very helpful to her mother, because she readily said YES, she would drive me up to Edm to take in the whole works. And that we did, going on six hours each way.....Linda is an indestructible driver, full speed ahead no matter what the conditions. Well, it was beautiful weather actually, couldn't complain.

The first night, we met up with sons Dave and Jeff at the Swiss Chalet on 51 Avenue and had a lovely time together, pigging out on their new menu with vast amounts of food, and chatting it up. I bedded and breakfasted at my dear friend Ruth's house just four doors up the street from our old home in Strathearn area where we lived for 54 years. And that was pure pleasure, to catch up with our mutual friends and acquaintances' doings, and to partake of the Behr's truly wonderful hospitality. I was able to snatch a half hour to visit another neighbor, across the alley from where we lived, my Greek friend Mersa, and she and I paid a brief visit to hang over the back fence of our old house. I tell you, the sight about turned my stomach.....but then I moaned about it on Facebook, so have a look there. Tragic. We tried so hard to keep our house and yard up, it makes me feel bad to see it neglected so thoroughly.

The next day was the funeral, so most of it was taken up. Bail had been cremated, so the "internment" was into a beautiful urn, and thence into one of those vaulted walls in the cemetery which are designed to hold just the ashes of the departed one. There was a very small gathering for this ceremony, while a piper played "Amazing Grace", about ten family and really close friends gathered about while the United Church minister said a few words according to the rites of that church. Short period of socializing.....then on to the memorial funeral service itself.

The funeral was organized by my first cousin once removed, Rob Holte, who lives and works in Edmonton, and let me tell you, he is the epitome of graciousness and good taste. I can truthfully say the funeral was one of the nicest I have ever attended. Contrary to what I expected, there was a sizeable crowd, about a hundred, I'd think. Baillie was a dedicated church-goer, so there were many friends from the church, and popular with his fellow residents at Ironwood Estates, where he lived. Although the family group was small, (Baillie had no siblings except brother Ken who died a number of years ago), he was a bachelor, so no kids.....just three nephews, and cousins left to mourn his passing. The church choir was present to lead the singing, they looked so fine in their white and blue robes. And a local group of singers also performed....what was amazing to me was their pianist, a little old white haired lady who was just marvellous to listen to, trills up and down the piano, those agile fingers on the keys moving with the speed of light! I didn't find out until afterward that she is TOTALLY BLIND! I was fated to be the first speaker, and was a bit tremulous thinking "Oh don't let me hash this up, Lord!" I wanted to share with the audience a feeling of the heritage Baillie and the rest of our family inherited from our Wilson ancestors. And also to tell them of Baillie's life, the many jobs he worked at as a radio operator with the Department of Transport, the kind of person he was, a kind and goodly man who made life just a little better for my mother and his mother when they lived together at the Vermilion Valley Lodge. I guess it went OK, because a number of people lined up afterwards to talk to me and share their memories.
The second half of the eulogy was capably handled by close friend Hu Puffer, who told all about Baillie's popularity with the Trekkers, a group of hikers and travellers he belonged to, and were such an important part of his declining years. The rest of the service was according to the rites of the United Church, of course, and conducted by lay minister Nancy, a personable and very nice lady who added the personal touch, since she knew Baillie quite well.

Afterward, a lovely catered lunch was served of sandwiches, squares, cheese slices, pickles, the usual.....punch and coffee. And lots of socializing! I was totally taken aback when a fellow came up to me and introduced himself as Alan Waldie, his family was the "missing link" from my husband's genealogy and I had discovered them after working on every possible method of research, finally resorting to phoning all the Waldies in the Edmonton phone book. This was years ago, he and his wife had come to our house and I was able to tell him more about his ancestors than he ever knew in his life before. And of course, he was able to provide the information I was missing. Total coincidence, turns out he's a member of the St. Albert United church too, and knew my cousin Baillie well. Nice chap....he remembered my name, I wouldn't have recognized him nor he. me.

So, that was the funeral, very, very nice. Big congratulations and thanks to cousin Rob, he's the mostest and the bestest. My siblings and I went in together on a nice floral arrangement to add to the beautiful ones already on display.....along with a special display stand where Bail's violin stood, a reminder of how much it meant to him, and to all those he entertained with it.

Our last day in Edmonton, yesterday, Thursday, after breakfast at Behr's, Linda and I set off to visit Dad's grave in West Edmonton, to pay our respects and to view the stone, which I had arranged for in 2006, but had never had an opportunity to view. Jeff had taken pictures, and that was great, but I wanted to see it (hey, after all, there IS room for me there too, just needs the date filled in, better be in the summertime, d'ya think?). We continued on to find Ted and Shirl's house (Doug's sister and husband) out in Mayfield district, had a nice visit with them, looked at pictures of their kids and grandkids, then followed them to the Cheesecake Cafe for lunch. YUM! And then goodbye, "we'll come to see you".....and we were off down 170th Street past the big mall and out onto the Calgary highway. Hit Calgary just at rush hour of course, so that was a bit of a drag, slowed our journey a bit, but eventually pulled up to my lodge in Magrath. I missed my friends here, and I guess they missed me too from all appearances! They clapped when I came into the dining room.....goofy!

Wonderful three days and good to see Edmonton once again. Special, special thanks to Linda! who made it possible.

Music, Music, Music.

Last night as I was entertaining the troops with some vintage songs from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, someone said to me (not one of our residents, this person just happened to be visiting someone and stopped by to listen)...."I suppose you've been teaching music your whole life!" Well, this was SO RIDICULOUS, I really had to laugh! "I'm afraid not", I said, "I had about ten lessons when I was a child, but I don't think that qualifies me as a music teacher". But, you know, I got to thinking about what a wonderful effect music has had on my life, and I recalled my First Musical Instrument that I could play a tune on....yes, even before the harmonica appeared in our house, which was a godsend to me. I wanted to make music so badly I could taste it.

So here's the tale of my very first instrument, made by my very own self when I was about six or eight, I suppose. I discovered that the green logs in the woodpile (cut to about maybe 18 inches long to fit in the firebox of the kitchen stove) rendered a distinct musical note if you struck them with a piece of metal, like a big spike or something. And the logs of varying sizes would ring out different tones. So I searched out the whole woodpile for logs that gave me the notes of the scale, you know....doh, re, me, fa, sol, la, ti, doh. And then arranged them on the ground in the appropriate row in front of me, and picked out HOME ON THE RANGE, just like a xylophone. I couldn't do much more than the one octave, but you could tell what the song was, believe it or not!

I think that was the first impetus that my parents felt that maybe here they had a child that could have some talent hidden away, and maybe...just maybe....they might have to provide some musical stimulus to further that talent. Of course, we didn't have any money, so the first instrument that was actually store-bought was a simple harmonica. Well, that was a breeze for me, I mastered it in no time, and my mother could play a few simple tunes on it, as well. The great day came when my dad, after practising for many months, rendered THE RED RIVER VALLEY on that mouthorgan....that was the only song he ever mastered. I guess we passed our germs onto each other, but we never developed any kind of dire disease, so It all worked out OK.

I rejoiced greatly when we bought an old pump organ at an auction sale, that was the one I had the 10 lessons on. My mom could play quite a number of the old hymns she had been raised with, and I too, simply delighted in picking out the tunes I knew that were played on the radio. Eventually, I was presented with a second-hand button accordeon....hey, same principle as the mouth organ, so soon I could play quite credibly on that. Then, when I reached my teens and went away to Kitscoty for high school, my folks bought me a piano accordeon. Ah, JOY TO MY WORLD! Can't remember if it was 12 bass or 24. But enough keys that allowed me much greater scope, so about then I started to play for country dances in the local school house, good old country-western music, mostly called "cowboy" songs in those days.

All during high school I played in our KHS band (I'll attach a picture of us all), we played for all the school dances, and we were OK I guess, but then our audience was pretty well a captive one, they couldn't get rid of us. In following years, when the war was on, I lived in Edmonton and was going to business school, still playing my accordeon along with the cook at the girls' home I lived at, she was a demon on the guitar and we entertained all the time, mostly ourselves! But we loved to make music and had a great time doing it. I remember her very well, her name was Norma. And about that time, somebody "discovered" me! (LOL) and I was recruited to entertain the soldiers and airmen at the local live theatre on Jasper Avenue, where lovely musical shows were put on every Sunday evening, and nobody had to be really professional, they didn't care. They would clap and whistle anyway.

And sometime during those years, I remember somebody phoning me from the University, some group was practising Ukrainian dancing, somebody could sing the tune of the song they wanted to use (I still remember it, it had a name that sounded like O HAHRA CARPATTA (Katya will know!...it meant the hills and valleys of the Carpathian Mountains or something like that. Anyway, they couldn't find the music to it and notbody was expert enough to write the notes out, they desperately needed somebody who played by ear, preferably an accordeon, to learn it by listening to it sung a couple of times. So I played for their practises and performance....that's all I remember about that.

Then I went north to Dawson Creek to work for 6 months for the U.S. Army. Most of the civilian personnel spent Sundays getting sloshed (sorry, not me, I wasn't into that stuff, Kristy), and then I would be called on to play for them to dance, sing, whatever. I remember one time I played a whole bunch of Scottish music for them, which I knew well, and could play quite adequately, and some so-called friend decided I needed to be wearing a tartan skirt since I was obviously a SCOT....and they took up a collection for me, (I was so embarrassed, but I couldn't stop them.) I was presented with $72 to buy a skirt for the next Sunday's performance. That was the first time I was ever paid for playing in public.

My next musical memory was pretty funny.....I had just joined the church and the music was mostly all new to me, and I fell in love with High On The Mountain Top. Jack and Jean were getting married in the United Church in Vermilion, and nothing would do but Sister Marion would play the organ. So I decided to play my new Mormon hymn (HOTMT) for the prelude music, 'cause if I got nervous and flubbed it up, nobody would know the difference. Well, so Jean was 10 minutes late coming up the aisle, and I played that blasted song OVER AND OVER AND OVER again, slow, faster, faster, slower, variations, ad infinitum. I'm sure everybody in the place knew that tune backwards and forwards by the time the wedding itself got underway.

Music definitely took a back seat when I was raising my kids, I don't think any of them appreciated me making music during all that long period of my life, they'd much rather listen to various musical curiosities like Def Leopard, Leonard Cohen (Linda was hooked on him for years), I can't remember much of the insane music my kids listened to and made such a fuss over, to me it was just a racket to be endured 24/7. So I didn't do much, except on occasion some kind of musical stuff at the church. It's only been the last few years of retirement that I have finally come into all the keyboard music, bringing to life again the old songs from my younger days....only to discover the seniors out there all know the same songs, if not the words, certainly the tunes. More than enough to feed my ego, and increase my skills immeasureably. And let's face it, I love to entertain my fans! both here in my lodge in Magrath, and in my last place at Evergreen in Calgary, I have experienced the joy of serving my fellow inmates by playing THEIR music for them and literally feeding on their praise and appreciation. My greatest fear is that my deafness will finally get the better of me, and I won't be able to hear the notes.....that will be a sad day for me. Meanwhile, MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC!

(jeff here, here's another band, with Mother on the harmonica).