Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

So today we drove up to the Ukrainian Heritage Village. The children won free family passes during the Ukrainian Easter Festival at the Muttart back in the Spring and we finally found the time to use one of them.

I'm glad it didn't cost us to get in, as I was very disappointed in the whole place. We will go back, but ONLY on an occasion when they have a festival or special celebration taking place. Perhaps then it will be fun. We have another pass to use up so plan to go to the Harvest Celebrations there at the end of the season.

What didn't I like about it? The bathrooms were REVOLTING........the insides of the toilert bowls didn't look as though they had ever been cleaned. This had nothing to do with the water coming from the lake....it was due to dirt!

Food.........this made me really angry...I had been sooooo looking forward to trying some Ukrainian food........but the concession stands were closed and the only food they had was revolting. Burgers and fries. Hotdogs and fries. Pepsi or slushies..............I had a pioneer plate which was some horrible pyrohy (sp???) and a tasteless cabbage roll.......I had never had a cabbage roll before so was really excited to finally try one....but I don't think this even counts as a cabbage roll as I'm sure they HAVE to be better than THAT!! Basically I couldn't eat what I was served...Lloyd didn't really touch his either.

For a burger and fries each for the kids and some crappy attemtp at pyrogies and a cabbage roll, it came to $49!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fifty bucks for crappy food????????????? WTH???????????

The whole place seemed very much 'look but don't touch'................it had nothing for children.....My children love history...they adored Fort Edmonton Park.........and the museums but this place had nothing to inspire them and that is so sad. The school was ok but the spelling test they gave was aimed at grade 7 and older...............and was really dull anyway...I expected the teacher to be yelling and making them sing the national anthem or teaching a lesson to liven things up........

Next time we will be prepared. We will take a picnic. We will know what to expect. We will go and enjoy the festivities and enjoy celebrating harvest.....but that is all........I am so disappointed as I had heard great things......I had heard of the awards the place had won.

It just felt as though it could be a FABULOUS museum and centre but it doesn't put that last little bit of effort in.

It just doesn't compare to Fort Edmonton at all. Not at all. I would give it 1 mark out of 5. Such a shame.

What can I say that is good about the centre? It has saved many beautiful old buildings and barns and homesteads...the churches are very pretty and sweet. It was nice talking to the policemans wife and also to the lady living with her mother in law. And the early settler in her tiny mud hut was wonderful to spend time with.

But I didn't really learn anything more than I had learned at Fort Edmonton Park.

Hawk???

We went to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village for the day today. We decided to drive up the range roads to get there, and on the way we saw ths gorgeous bird of prey......we aren't too sure which it is...perhaps a red tailed hawk? Perhaps a Merlin??????

Beautiful and magnificent whatever it is!!

We also saw a young deer, many many other birds of prey and a porcupine (my favourites) that had sadly been hit by a car :(

Saturdays sunset for you....................

Home sweet home today..............

My sweet little house in the country................I love it here!

Sunday afternoon.......Lloyd was lighting the fire bowl - on which we cooked potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner.......................and Sam was pottering about..........I was walking around taking pictures of insects and bugs and grasses and 'stuff'.

The dish on the roof is how I get my high speed internet :) We are too far out from the city for cable....so we have wireless. Luckily its fab!

Yummy............

Cricket for dinner anyone???????????? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

I saw this cricket wrapped in web that a spider is obviously saving for later......yum!

Grrrrrrr.....some people :(

I am so mad! I really want to bang someones head against a wall.....I am so insanely mad at some peoples selfish attitudes towards animals.

Please please please THINK deeply, for ages and ages BEFORE getting a dog. Spend time with people with dogs.......borrow a dog for walks.......visit different breeds...talk about what real life with a dog day in and day out is like......

Think about your lifestyle and how you see it.......does a dog really fit into your life???

They are living creatures and being moved from one home to another is very stressful and heart breaking for them...................

Don't just get one as an 'impulse buy' and then change your mind two days later.....

But what gets me most mad is this person seems more upset about the fact she can't sell the dog and make her money back! This dog comes from a rescue centre...it's already had loss in its life.
Some people are just so dumb and thoughtless. It just makes me so sad. I hope that dog soon finds a loving home for LIFE!!!!

Ok off my soap box now. Going out to hug my girls Amber and Rosie.

Hot sex scene!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope they didn't mind me invading their privacy ;)

Dragonflies on parade......................

Damselfly Delight...............

Earth to Jane

We went to Staples today also and I found a diary I just HAD to get!!!! It has 'Earth To Jane' written on the front :) and as I was feeling spaced out at the time on those drugs it just 'spoke to me' lol! Its actually a school diary for teens but is actually ideal for a homeschooling Mom as it has educational facts etc in the back like periodic tables and maths formulas!!!! And also a list of the most commonly spelt wrong words. Don't you think I just look sooooo much like the Jane on the front of the book??????? hehehehehe!

I also bought some really nice pens, sharpener and a few other bits and pieces for the kids to inspire them to write......but NO spiral notebooks as they just weren't inspirational enough! I'll keep looking!

The best thing about everything I bought????? I can claim it all back on homeschool funds! It was so nice being able to buy school supplies just because we like them and wnat them rather than having to buy boring duotangs and back packs and folders etc etc.

Have I said lately that I LOVE homeschooling?

Hummingbird feeders......

We went out today and bought two Hummingbird feeders for the porch.....after seeing that amazingly tiny but beautiful Hummingbird yesterday, I am determined to encourage them here.........we wnated a really nice feeder though to suit the house. We saw this one back in the Spring and loved it (especially as its called The English Garden Feeder!!!) so we went back to get it and were thrilled to find it was half the price!!!

We also bought the little plastic one to go in the flower pot on the steps...but it won't stand up so Lloyd put a hook in the pillar instead.....

I made a nectar of 4 parts water to one part sugar which I boiled for 2 minutes and then left to cool. Now the feeders are hung and ready. I have to clean them out every 3 or 4 days.

They don't recommend using food colouring at all, but instead they recommend tying red ribbons to the feeder to attract the bird.....

We will see how it goes!

Drugged......................

So yesterday at Costco I bought some tablets that are supposed to help with pms. I didn't take my calcium this month and I really noticed the difference. So these tablets are supposed to help with pain relief, bloating, irritability etc etc.................

Well they work great for all of that......you know how???? By making you feel so smashed out of your brain that you couldn't care less about anything :(

I took some this morning and 30 minutes later started to feel weird. Now my arms feel very odd and my fingers are all tingly. I feel drunk. I struggle to focus. I want to sleep. I keep finding myself staring into space and going blank.

I have to phone my sister and think of interesting things to say. It's her 38th birthday. But I feel brain dead.

What the hell is in these tablets?????????????????????

Lloyd has gone to pick up the boys from their sleepovers. He's taken Sam with him thankfully and is picking me upa very big coffee in the hope that it helps and we can salvage something from this day.

Ha I just realised I have been sat here trying to figure out how to click the mouse for the last two minutes. NEVER buy the pms tablets they sell in Costco!!!!

studying the hummingbird

Fun Facts about hummingbirds

• They do perch.

• They have very weak feet and do not use them for transportation.

• They fly forward, backward, shift sideways, stop in midair.

• They can beat their wings 60 to 200 times per second.

• They lap nectar with their tongues.

• They can fly up to 60 miles per hour.

• They can live 5-6 years in the wild.

• They are the smallest bird in the world.

• They consume, on average, half their weight in sugar each day.

Abigail's been busy............

Abigail has been busy outside as always.....she is still very much into hopscotch....as she has been for weeks now! But today she was also into running again....this was a BIG thing last year too when she was obsessed with Dash from the Incredibles! So today she was running from fence to fence and object to object.....

Lloyd lit a bonfire to burn some more of the wood and things......

Abigail caught a cricket.......but this Cricket isn't in our bugs of Alberta book so we aren't sure what kind it is (anyone?????) Abigail loves bugs........

Lloyd is making us all toasted cheese sandwiches now. No one is very hungry so thats fine.......

Christie emailed me a few times today...in one of her emails she talked about how boring it is with just one child and asked what parents of one child do all day........so funny! I know exactly shat she means. Today I only have three of my children here yet it seems so quiet.....boring at times....and like something is missing (well it is lol).........its a strange feeling. We still have three children here but that doesn't seem like many.....and I even said to Lloyd,.......because there aren't many of us maybe we should eat out......but to some people 3 children would be a LOT!!!!!

Sam with Daddy....................