WREATHMAKER

Each autumn the 5 ladies in our family celebrate our birthdays together…not  that our actual birthdays are the same date, but it’s just what we have decided to do. Yesterday was the day….we picked a special restaurant for lunch….Red River College’s Culinary Institute, now located in the Union building, the former Royal Bank location. This college has turned out some very successful chefs, and the restaurant is the training center for hospitality and food preparation. For me, the food was not the major attraction. When I was 18,  I worked across the street from this building, right next door to City Hall. After 6 months with the company I was with, I was so delighted when I was offered a position in the accounting department, which incidentally became my much loved life work. Every day I would run across the street to deposit our daily cash. I loved that bank!..the ornate ceilings, the marble counters, the wrought iron cages…all of it! So to see the renovated building as ...

Our day yesterday seemed to center around music. In the morning I accompanied our daughter while she dropped off eldest grandson at his orchestra practice, a Winnipeg strings group. In the afternoon our other two grandchildren performed at their violin recital. (Usually those events take place in June, but it was refreshing to have it earlier.) The two of them did their first duet. We were so impressed by their solos and the duet. Those kids are very diligent about practising every week day, and it shows! All three grandchildren, our son, and my hubby all play the violin. It is not often that they play together, but I thought back to our special wedding anniversary when they got together to play "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". This photo was taken then. We had the celebration in a big white tent at our son's home. I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of family, and the blessing they are to us. I am very thankful for each one.

Just a few photos of our Japanese themed meal on New Years Day, 2009. It was lovely, and our family(4 generations) had a great time. After dinner, the kids went outside and set off a few fireworks...not quite Mount Rushmore on July 4th, but fun anyway!