Countdown

Here we are, counting down the last days of 2007, the last few days before Curtis' photo exhibit here in Smithers, the last hours of a long day.

I was up early this morning to work a day shift at the lodge, then came home to do laundry, some baking for Curtis' opening night, made supper... Now it's getting late as I try to write one of the last posts of the year.

It's been a busy and eventful year, and I'm so thankful to God for guiding us through all of the ups and downs. It's been quite difficult at times, but we're still here and taking one day at a time.

A few things I'm thankful for as I reflect on the past year:
- God, who provides so much for us
- a loving husband and son
- family and friends near and far away
- safety in all of our travels
- a spacious home and yard to have fun in
- the sounds of joyful laughter
- this blog site to keep people somewhat updated on our lives
- all of the opportunities for growth we've experienced since moving here
- the mountains in our backyard (practically) - what a view!

As you reflect on the past year and look forward to the next, remember God is always near, and He loves you very much!

Happy New Year!

Exhibition Preparation

I have been busy the past few days getting things in order for my photography exhibition that starts next week. Yesterday in fact seemed to be the most productive. I went out on the town and put up one last poster, and mailed another invitation. Later I gathered most of my prints and completed an item list (required by the gallery) that lists the names of the prints I'm exhibiting, along with the dimensions of each piece and their respective retail price and insurance value. I've still got a few last minute details to take care of, but all in all I'm happy with how things are coming together.

I think that the installation date for my show will be next Wednesday, with the show beginning on Thursday and the reception taking place Friday night at 7PM. I see the posters up around town and I know that dozens and dozens of invitations have gone out. There will be an ad in the paper just before the show starts, so I'm hoping with all of this exposure that there will be a good turnout for the reception next Friday night.

Cunningham Christmas 2007

Well the tryptophan has definitely kicked in, but unfortunately I think we all ate too much and so I think we might be up for a while...

My brother and his family and my mom and dad all came over this afternoon around 4pm. Our family tradition has been to have the big family meal on Christmas Eve with the stockings to come Christmas morning. So the smell of the turkey in the oven, and the laughter of the kids running around, brought back lots of memories of what Christmas was like for me as a child. This Christmas was especially meaningful for us (Bonnie and me that is) as it was the first in our new home. Except for my sister, Linnea, who lives in Edmonton and was unable to make it out, the whole Cunningham family was together tonight for a few hours.





After the turkey and everything else was eaten...


and the stories were read...


and the dishes were done...


and the dessert was eaten (rice pudding with lingonberry sauce)...


then and only then were the gifts opened...after which Isaac and his cousin Josiah and uncle Michael proceeded to have an energetic pillow fight down in our basement.


But it's a lot quieter in the house now that my brother and his family have gone home to sleep. Mom and Dad and Bonnie are playing Scrabble while I'm posting this.

Tomorrow after we open our stockings and have breakfast, we're having our neighbours over for a late breakfast and then we may go out to Mom and Dad's in the afternoon for a while.

One last thing...if you're into funny stories about Christmas, you'll enjoy a story from Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe. Click the following link to go to a page where you can listen to an MP3 of the story ( Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe: Dave Cooks the Turkey ).

Christmas program and cookies

On Sunday morning, Isaac took part in the Sunday School Christmas program at the church we attend. This year he was dressed as a shepherd, as you can see. The first photo was taken just after he got into his costume. He did fairly well, although he got distracted by the microphone in front of him during the first song, as well as a piece of rope, but he did most of the actions and sang along for "Away In a Manger". We were proud of him. Curtis took video, and I took a couple of photos.





Our house is decorated, and I've done several batches of cookies so far, mostly to give away. I feel bad for Curtis, who would like to still be able to eat all of these yummy Christmas treats, but I've been having trouble adapting recipes to the things he can have--they don't seem to work out as well. We plan to host Curtis' family (except Linnea, who is unable to make it) here Christmas Eve for dinner, so I'll be cooking the turkey.





Isaac's been enjoying the snow, although I wonder sometimes if we should make him come in sooner, as he doesn't seem to notice when his feet get cold. This afternoon, about an hour after he came in, he complained of his feet being sore. Thankfully his tantrum didn't last too long.

Fun in the snow

Isaac and I had some fun this afternoon in the snow. We had previously shoveled off the deck and then he wanted to go down and play in/shovel (to him they're the same) the snow on the driveway. So we did that for a while and then I had an idea to make some tunnels through the snow. It turned out pretty well I think.



Here's a short (2 min. 51 sec.) video clip that Bonnie took of the two of us...

Photo Exhibit Poster/Invitation

Here's the poster/invitation that was produced for my upcoming exhibition. You're most welcome to come by for the opening reception on the 4th if you're in the area.



You can go to www.photistry.com to see more of my images.

And the best part about today was?

Two parts to this answer:
1. While Bonnie was at Curves, Isaac and I were outside pushing snow as he likes to call it. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining, and it actually felt a little warm. But the real blessing was just spending time with Isaac, doing something he wanted to do. So the two of us--me with the shovel, and Isaac with his Tonka dump truck--spent about an hour clearing parts of our driveway off. I'd fill his dump truck up with snow and he'd proceed to push it away to the ditch.

Later I split some more wood and Isaac helped stack it in our carport.

I continue to be blessed by how much he enjoys helping out in the various things I try and get done around the house. It's good for my soul.

2. I spent a good portion of the day pursuing some new opportunities for my business. In the morning I spent a couple hours walking around town distributing posters and invitations for my upcoming photography exhibition at the Art Gallery (Jan.3-26, 2008).

Then this afternoon I had another meeting with the town representative for arts, recreation and culture. We've been discussing for a couple days now the possibility of me putting on a series of photography-related workshops in the new year. The thought of teaching is a little intimidating, but I'm encouraged that this town representative feels there's some good possibilities in the ideas we've discussed thus far.

And lastly, after supper I called the owner of a new hotel that's being built here in town. I had spoken with him briefly a few weeks ago, but only followed up tonight. I had the idea to approach this gentleman about selling him some prints of my photography as art/decoration for his new hotel. So tomorrow we're going to meet and I'm going to show him some of my images and see where it goes from there.

Isaac's Christmas Tree

While we were out getting our tree this morning, Isaac decided he wanted one of his own. So we cut one down and after a little deliberation, Isaac decided he wanted it in his bedroom. After decorating it, here's what it looks like:

Christmas Preparations

Last week Isaac's cousins (and parents too) came over for dinner. After which all the kids had quite an enjoyable time destroying the Gingerbread Train that Isaac and Bonnie had put together. Needless too say the sugar intake was probably too high...











Tonight we did a little more decorating around the house. We're planning on having the family Christmas gathering at our house this year. So tomorrow the plan (weather permitting) is to go out with Dad and get a Christmas Tree.



Music listened to while making this post: Monkey Grinder, from Chagall Guevara's self-titled 1991 release

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Wow, to think we will actually have a white Christmas this year is quite exciting! I can't get over how beautiful the trees look with their snowy frosting. In the Lower Mainland it came and went so quickly most of the time that we couldn't enjoy it for long. The temperature is much colder here, though, and I've given up walking to work for the time being, until I become more acclimatized to the cold.

I've been doing some overtime shifts the last couple of days, and, while it's nice to feel needed, I find myself being more tired, and feeling bad when Isaac says, "I want you to stay home and play with me Mommy!" Also, as the Christmas season approaches, I find myself missing my family even more, as well as close friends. People here are friendly for the most part, but nothing beats the tried and true relationships.

So for all my beloved family and friends, know that I'm thinking of you and remembering the good times we've had, while developing new friendships here. I love you! Merry Christmas!

Another saying from Isaac and other things

The other afternoon as I was tending the fire, Isaac came up with another one of his where-do-they-think-of-these-things kind of saying. Daddy, "You should keep the poker dirty and not the hand owee!" I guess he's seen me burn my fingers on the door of the stove a few too many times.

OTHER THINGS
Although it's been cold, we've been enjoying the snow here. Yesterday I had to shovel off the deck as it was accumulating quite a bit. There was just under 12" of fluffy white snow on the deck. It's quite a difference from the wet and heavy snow from the lower mainland. This stuff up here (at least to date) is the lightest snow I can remember experiencing in a long time. It certainly makes shoveling a lot easier.

I've also been renovating (FINALLY) the last room in the basement. This is the room where we have our futon (for guests), as well as our TV where we watch movies. We've done the walls in two colours: Chai Latte, and Charcoal Slate. It's made quite a difference from the pale blue that was originally in the room. I've put up shelves in the closet for our CD's and have just started nailing the new baseboards to the walls. Once the baseboards are in place, I'll be putting some white moulding in the 4 corners of the room as well. It'll look nice once everything is completed.

Cunningham Family Photo

The last night in Kingman (Thursday Nov.22) we gathered in Morfar's living room and took a family photo. I can't remember the last time EVERY member of the family was together like this. I'm glad the photo turned out well.

Safe return

Thanks to those who prayed for our safe travels, as your prayers(and ours) were answered. We left Tuesday morning, traveling in tandem with Curtis' brother and family to Hinton,AB, where we spent the night at a bed & breakfast owned by friends of Curtis' uncle & aunt. We arrived in Kingman on Wednesday afternoon.

The graveside service was Thursday morning at 11 at the Kingman cemetery, attended mostly by family. It was very cold and windy. The memorial service was held in a church in Camrose at 2 pm, and was well attended, as Mormor was well loved and respected. It was a beautiful service.

Friday was spent with family, and I also got a chance to meet up with my friend Tracey for an hour or two in the afternoon.

Saturday morning Curtis, Isaac and I, joined by Curtis' dad, left for home. Curtis' brother and family stayed until Sunday morning. This time we traveled straight through, arriving home around 10 pm. We encountered some snow on the roads on the return trip, mostly between McBride and home. Sunday was our day of rest.

Travelling Mercies

Well we're off tomorrow morning to drive back to Alberta for the funeral. The plan is to meet my brother and his family at around 9 or so and then drive in tandem back to Alberta in two days. Right now we're getting last minute packing taken care of while Isaac's asleep. I think we're going to drive to Hinton tomorrow night and then go the rest of the way to Kingman on Wednesday.

If you could pray energy and alertness while driving, I would appreciate it. My fatigue has been quite bad the last few days and I've been having bad headaches again, so I'm not looking forward to the drive.

Thanks.

Going home to glory

I just wanted to let you know that Curtis' grandmother,"Mormor", has finally gone to be with her Lord. She passed away yesterday afternoon after a brave battle with cancer. We are planning to attend her funeral in Alberta, which we believe will be held sometime next week. Please pray for safety in traveling, and a time of celebration of a life well lived. We're not sure how long we'll be away, but will try to keep you informed.

Christmas Cards

For those of you who are already looking for cards to send to friends and family for Christmas, I've put together a list of images that are available to be made into customized greeting cards. Click here to download the list, and then send me an email if you would like to order any.

Thanks.

Another moose sighting

Here's what I saw this morning (~7:30) from the deck at the front of our house. It was peaceful as the snow fell softly.

bone weary

It was a long week, and I'm glad to be starting a new one. Basically, I worked every day from last Sunday until yesterday - most of them full shifts - and by the time I got home last night, I was, as the title indicates, bone weary. Even today, after returning from church, I felt weary(as Curtis would say "welcome to my world!"), and was very grateful that Curtis allowed me to take an afternoon nap, despite being weary himself. Talk about self-sacrifice! He also made dinner tonight. I am very blessed!!!

When I wasn't working outside the house, I was trying to get some work done inside, while still trying to spend some quality time with my guys. With the snowfall this week, some of that time was spent shoveling snow or building snow people in the front yard. We also had our nephew over for a few hours on Thursday, which Isaac enjoyed. Most of the snow has disappeared again, but the weather has been cold enough to cause a layer of ice over the puddles. I had to scrape my windshield yesterday morning as I prepared to return home from a night shift, too.

Isaac got to spend some time helping Farmor in her kitchen yesterday, as he and Curtis went there while I slept through the morning and part of the afternoon after the night shift. They brought me some samples of the baking - yum!

Well, I don't know what this week will bring as far as work is concerned, but I hope it won't be quite as tiring. I'll start by trying to get a good night's sleep tonight. Good night all!

recent photographs

Bonnie and Isaac reviewing some of the pictures on Isaac's new camera


Isaac obeying the law of the land (not!)


Isaac buried in the snow


...and then escaping

Untitled

I'm too tired to be creative with a title tonight.

Isaac and I spent a good portion of the afternoon with my Dad, brother and nephew gathering some more wood for the winter. We drove out a couple km's from my brother's place on quads to a place where we could fall some trees. So at the end of the day my body is telling me that I put more strain on it by cutting, lifting and stacking wood that normal everyday work would have done. I know it's good to get this kind of exercise, but it's not so fun paying the price. But I know I'll enjoy the heat the wood in my fireplace will provide once the weather really turns cold.

Maybe tomorrow I can post some pictures from the past few days. I'll try and do that in the afternoon.

Would you trust this caregiver?

Out on the town exploring

Isaac and I went out yesterday afternoon for a short while. As Bonnie mentioned in her post yesterday, Isaac's got his first digital camera and I wanted to go shooting with him. Kind of a proud father/son thing. It lasted not quite as long as I thought, but nonetheless it was fun. Anyways, here's a couple pictures from our brief outing.

healthy again

Well, Isaac seems to be over his flu bug at last, and I am, too. Thankfully it hasn't hit Curtis. It's good to be able to eat whatever I want to again!

Curtis bought Isaac his own digital camera yesterday, as we were frustrated with the disposable cameras we had that weren't working. As Curtis puts it, "It's an investment in something that we can do together". It's been so much fun watching Isaac's joy of discovery as he takes pictures of things around the house - sometimes many pictures of the same thing from slightly different angles - and his eagerness to show us the results. Another budding photographer in the works! From flu bug to shutter bug...(I know, I can hear most of you groaning already)

We had the Welcome Wagon representative visit this morning, and Isaac enjoyed showing her some of his toys. I'm looking forward to using some of the coupons and certificates she brought.

I worked this afternoon, and had a pleasant surprise after supper when Curtis and Isaac stopped by. As they were leaving, having brought me a bottle of Gatorade, Isaac said, "Mommy wait, I have to give you an 'I love you kiss'". What a way to melt a mother's heart!

counter update

For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the results of my foray into bathroom/countertop replacement, here's where things are at right now. I ended up just scraping the old laminate off the existing countertop and just putting the new counter on top. It saved a whole lot of work and besides, now the new sink is a little higher up which is a good thing.

So all that's left is to put up a backsplash. I think we're going to use some of the tile that was left by the previous owners of our home. We'll see how it goes.

BEFORE


AFTER


My only question at this point is how best to prepare the walls for the new tiles I want to put up. You can see above that there's still some of the glue/adhesive left on the walls that didn't come off with the laminate. So I'm not sure if I can just sand the walls with rough sandpaper or if there's some other technique I should employ. Suggestions?

How the trip went

My trip down south as Bonnie mentioned the other day went well. For the calendar we're going to make this year, I photographed 4 different vehicles and various aspects of a greenhouse (a few exterior shots, 2 different boiler rooms, peppers themselves and the packroom). Quite an operation. The client is now in the process of deciding which images go where on the template we used for last year's calendar. Once he decides this he'll let me know and I can get to work on an initial mockup for his approval.

This is a shot I got just as we were leaving the farm yesterday morning on the way to the airport in Vancouver. The view was spectacular and I absolutely HAD to stop. I hope you like it.

Just the two of us

Well, Isaac and I are on our own again for a couple of days. Curtis has flown back to the Fraser Valley to take some photos for a client, and will return on Saturday. It's just a quick trip this time.

After dropping Curtis off at the airport and saying our goodbyes, Isaac and I headed into town for some errands. I was sure thankful for Isaac's size and willingness to help at one point - I had a raincheck for some floor mats that were on sale at Zellers last week, and so decided to check if they had any in. Sure enough, they did have a selection of the size that I wanted, but I couldn't reach them due to the two pallets of boxed merchandise parked right in front of them. This is where Isaac's size comes in - he was able to squeeze between the shelves and the pallets and reach the aforementioned mats. Not only did he retrieve a couple for me, he was even gracious enough to go back when I wasn't happy with the colour mix in one of the mats.

When grocery shopping at Extra Foods, Isaac likes to use the kid sized cart - but he's very particular about what he will or won't carry in it. Today he only wanted 'teeny tiny' stuff. Funny boy!

When we got home, after unloading our purchases and putting most of them in their rightful places, we decided to make some bread. I've been meaning to make some for awhile, but somehow hadn't got to it yet. Isaac enjoys helping mix and punching the dough. After that we took a break before I started to get supper ready. Meals were long drawn out affairs today - Isaac didn't seem as interested in eating as he usually is - perhaps still the after effects of Tuesday night, when everything he'd eaten that day came back to haunt him all night. His energy level seems normal, though.

I watched a sad movie tonight, about one couple's experience with Alzheimer's disease. It was called "Away From Her". I thought it was well done. A couple of nights ago Curtis and I watched "We Are Marshall", which, at times, is quite sad, too. That one was worth watching, too, and was based on a true story.

Snow update

For those who may be interested, it stopped snowing. As the day went on it got warmer and warmer, and so much of the snow is gone already. Just thought you should know...

Fun in the snow / A moose sighting

Well it kept on coming down all afternoon. In fact, it's still snowing now as I type this.

Isaac got dropped off at about 3 o'clock and he and his cousins has a little fun in the snow as Geralyn chatted for a while.



Later after they all left we had some fun making snowmen and smashing them down with the snow shovel (that was Isaac's contribution).







Then I went for a ride on my bike to get a flashing red LED light for the back of Bonnie's bike. I only got a little ways down the road when I had to come back to get Bonnie and Isaac and the camera. For there on the side of the road was a big rack-less moose. So by the time Bonnie and Isaac got back to the point where I saw the moose, it had crossed the street and was now eating off a tree in someone's back yard. The people in the house we were standing in front of came out and asked what we were doing. It turns out that the moose had been coming over and doing it's thing there for the past three days. I guess the long-time residents get used to this sort of thing.



One last thing about the snow: last year the first snow came on October 27th, and I don't think it stopped for three days. By the time it was over, about THREE FEET of the white stuff were there on the ground. And it didn't go away. It stayed. Now I don't know if that'll be the case this year. But I'll let you know in three days.

First Snow

Here's a visual tease of the months to come. It just started falling a couple hours ago.









Isaac's spending some time with his cousins today, so it will be fun to see his reaction when he comes back home later.

Happenings

Well Bonnie just got to sleep after working a night shift and Isaac and I are down here in the office trying to keep quiet. Bonnie was working a scheduled 5-9 last night but got asked to stay for the night because someone called in sick. I know it's a lot of work for her, but I'm grateful she has the energy. I'm also grateful for the extra hours because I've had some opportunities of late with my business that I've taken advantage of (which meant Bonnie couldn't work as much as she would have liked).

Last weekend I was in Prince George for a PPABC (Professional Photographers Association of BC) meeting. It was a two-day meeting from the 14th to the 15th. I enjoyed going because I got to meet some of the other photographers in the area, and also got to listen to some excellent speakers. One was a fine-art print maker from Vancouver Island, and the other was a commercial photographer from Saskatchewan. Both had excellent things to say as was reflected in the copious amount of notes I took.

Then the past few days this week I was at the Northern BC Tourism Conference here in Smithers. Thursday night, and Friday and yesterday mornings, I was the official photographer. It was an excellent opportunity to pass out some business cards and get some good exposure. I talked with quite a few people about some possible opportunities that are coming up, so I'm very encouraged by that. You can view the images here (click on the event button from the drop-down list under the PHOTOGRAPHY link).

Later this week, I'm flying down to Vancouver to do some work for a client I worked with last year. I'll be gone from Thursday to Saturday.

So there's lots of things happening for which I am very grateful. And getting back to the point of Bonnie working extra shifts, basically any extra work she can get now will help to make up for the days she wasn't able to work while I've been and will be away on business.

Another beautiful sky

This is what was awaiting us this morning as we looked out towards the mountain behind our house.

What's new?

Here I am, half asleep, contemplating how to update you on my life lately. Curtis is in Prince George for a photography seminar this weekend, having left this afternoon. Isaac is sleeping peacefully, and I've been trying to catch up on things that I haven't had time to do lately, like update my blog.

I just finished a set of four night shifts at the Lodge this morning, and could have done a double shift if I'd wanted to, but since Curtis would be leaving this afternoon and I'd have sole responsibility over Isaac, I figured I'd better come home and get some sleep.

We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Curtis' brother's place on Monday, and Isaac enjoyed playing with his cousins and their friends who had joined us for dinner. On Thursday, after having a good sleep at my in-laws place (they're away), I met Curtis and Isaac at their rendezvous spot with Michael, Josiah , and Randy to go wood hunting. After watching them leave, I came home and decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and spend some time attending to my gardens. There's lots of work left to do, but it felt good to get a start, since I haven't been out there for weeks, it seems.

The last couple of days, once I woke up in the early afternoon, were spent taking care of some indoor chores, like laundry. Speaking of laundry, I think I hear my freshly laundered sheets calling me...

Getting ready for winter

This afternoon, Isaac and I met my brother, his son and another friend, and we went 20 minutes or so out of town to try and find some wood. Our supply of fireplace fuel is rapidly dwindling as the weather continues to get colder. We were going to go yesterday, but thankfully our little trek got postponed until today. I say thankfully because it was raining and miserable yesterday, and sunny and relatively warm today. A perfect day for chainsaws and axes as it turned out.

I didn't get any pictures on-site as we felled a tree and cleaned and chopped it up with a chainsaw, and then loaded up the back of my brother's truck. It's just a little tricky to manage a camera whilst carrying thick chunks of trees. But when we got back home, I was able to get a few. Hopefully the wood we got will last for a few weeks. We'll probably have to go out several more times this winter, but that's OK. It's great exercise and it really brings back fond memories of growing up. The smell of fresh-cut wood and chainsaw fumes. Ahhhh......

Today's sunrise

Here at the end of the day, I thought it would be a nice contrast to show you how the day began. Once again the sky was alight with colour.

7:21 am


7:51 am