Batty Natty

I woke up to some wonderful news this morning....an email from my old school friend N......her and her other half are coming to stay in Kelowna and Calgary.....to see if they like it here and if they do then they are moving here!!!!! How cool is that??? Her fella has an uncle in Kelowna they are staying with......

Of course I would love it if they moved closer and N could teach us all to ride the horses and how to look after them properly.....but I have to admit that Calgary would probably suit her perfectly.........but it would be so neat to have a such an old friend live so close.....

You know I can't think of anyone who suits Canadian life MORE than N....it's perfect for her!

Every cloud has a silver lining.....

After the storm there was a beautiful full rainbow across the back fields........

Storm watchers.....

We just had quite the little storm here.....it didn't last long but seemed to blow up out of nowhere.....funnel clouds reported in downtown Edmonton too.....we went out onto the porch and watched the storm arrive.........wow!

The Carousel

We have been watching the creation of this carousel via news reports and tv shows...it was wonderful to finally ride it......so beautiful....and each section of the carousel has a different scene of Edmonton life painted at the top....the horses were stunning.......very impressed!

http://www.fortedmontonfoundation.org/carousel.htm

Susie is finally 'put away'.......

Lovely old barn

Gorgeous Harley with sidecar

Stagecoach

Susie in jail

Beautiful old cars

Lloyd the moose

no comment ;)

Moving forward

Moving from 1885 towards 1920's........we stopped at the bakery for some cookies, had lunch in a saloon and listened to some salesmen trying to sell us an elixir.......past the tram......into the post office......the general store......the telephone exchange.....

...............we thought the fire in the bakery was cute as its called 'fatso'..... ;)

Homesteaders

Chatting with the Homesteader was fascinating....she has just arrived from Winnipeg with her husband.....they sleep beneath the wagon at night because it is too narrow for them to sleep in.....they have brought very little with them.....and have Ox to pull the wagon as they will be of more use on the homestead...she hopes to have a wonderful homestead set up within 3 years......she was telling me how she was one of very few women to come along with her husband...often the men would come alone to buy land and build a simple homestead before returning to Ontario or Winnipeg or wherever...to bring their family with them.....How awful to be away from your husband for years like that! I just can't imagine! What a life!

Land was cheap!!! $10 for 160 acres!! If only........Lloyd says he plans to build a time machine and go back in time to buy land!! Then come back to now :)

The children enjoyed pony rides on the homestead....

The Fort.......

Susie by the train that took us to the Fort

Waiting for the train

Susie by the animal hides

Chris in the Rowand's House

Inside a teepee

Inside the Rundle Chapel with Father Laurence.....

Care to join me for a poo?

I am just sooooo glad that we have advanced from having to share the toilet with others......uh sorry but I really like my privacy...its bad enough being a Mom and having to have Abigail and Sam walking in constantly......but at least they don't sit down beside me and poo at the same time........

And I daresay that back then it wasn't just family you had to sit beside......can you imagine having to sit and poo with your neighbour????? How delightful would THAT be?????

Fort Edmonton - at last!!!!

After living here for 4 years we finally made it to Fort Edmonton Park......it seems every time in the past that we have tried to get there, something happened to cancel the plans!

Well it was definitely worth the wait...whata wonderful place! We had such a fab day. I think we all learnt so much more about Edmontons history and the fur trade....and homesteading......

The actual Fort was fascinating......the courtyard would have been filled with rotting carcasses....the smell must have been so dreadful! There was a huge fur press to one side where the furs would be bundled together into bales for trading......the workers housing was amazing....the married mens quarters would have up to 20 people living in one house...usually three couples and their children....as the children were old enough to climb the stairs they would move into the bedrooms up there.....these quarters for so many people were just one room downstairs that was a kitchen, bedroom and living area in one....

John Rowands house on the other hand, was 8,000 sq ft and housed just himself, his wife and his three younger children.....and the Parson who homeschooled the children.....yet in winter perhaps it would be better to be crowded into the one room with 20 people as it was much warmer than the big house.....John Rowand was the HBC's Chief Factor for almost all of Western Canada.

The glass for the Rowands House was imported from England as there were no glass producers in Canada then. The poorer homes had animal skins for glass!!!

Everything back then was moved across country by river so boat making was important.