new home

Hi!

Please update your links and head over to http://www.livejournal.com/users/prettykerry/ and see my new blog.

Thanks!

Kerry

Country Fairs and Funeral Homes

I had so, so much fun is Swift Current! I don't know where to begin. One of my best friends, Mr. C, was born and bred there and knew just what to do with me to make sure I had a great mini break from work, packing, etc. We went to a country fair, "Frontier Days." We eat far too much greasy food, fudge, mini donuts, wandered around looking at the bright lights and sketchy rides. The people watching was amazing. Later in the evening, we watched stock car racing. You have to imagine this. Old, beat up cars, painted in bright colour with large numbers on their sides racing a round a dirt oval, very muddy from a huge thunderstorm earlier in the day. The mayor of Swift Current, a woman in her sixties, known as "Mayor Sandy" was waving the flags, calling all the shorts. Somewhere behind us an announcer was entertaining us with his colourful commentary. My favourite was, "Mike's havin' some problems, his car is out there barking like an old hound dog!" I know no idea what was meant by the comment. I guessed Mike was having some engine problems?!

We also met a lovely old lady, named Maria. She was giving spinning demos at the fair. She was so sweet. She spoke with a German accent and told us all about that she uses to dye her wool (carrot tops, sage, marigold flowers, moss). She was very happy to hear that both Mr. C and I were knitting, she said, " That's wonderful! You are so young!" She asked what we liked to knit and when we said good bye, she said "Goodbye, Sweeties." I wanted to take her home.

After watching three seasons of Six Feet Under in about as many weeks, Mr. C and I had to go an investigate the old funeral home in Swift Current. It looks so much like the Fisher & Diaz home, it's spooky.

I have more to tell you, but it's craft night tonight and I have a few things to get ready before I go.

Enjoy the picture, I hope to add more very soon.

Love,
Kerry

Study Break

In 28 hours I will have written my last final exam and will have officially completed my undergrad. What a scary thought! I don't feel as though I have a degree's worth of knowledge. I feel like I have read many books, written many papers, and sat through many exams, but am not an expert on anything!

I am supposed to be studying, but wanted to take a break and read a few blogs. It seems like everyone had a good (expensive!) time at Renegade Craft Fair. I can only imagine what it would be like to meet and see all that craftiness in person. Maybe next year, while I'll be so close, I will go. Calgary is really lacking anything like Renegade.

We are mere days away from the famous Calgary Stampede. So, seemingly overnight hay bales are appearing everywhere. Men who wear stuffy business suits year around are strolling around in jeans (Wranglers, of course) and Cowboy hats. Soccer moms are trading in their Gap flares for denim dresses and "cute" cowboy boots. The words "Yee Haw" are painted in every store and business window. It is all a bit much for me. I always wonder what people who only visit Calgary during the Stampede must think of our city.

The boyfriend left me alone for a few hours this morning so I could study without distraction. When He came home, he disappeared into the kitchen for a bit and asked me not to come in. I asked him what he was doing, and all he would say was that it was a surprise. Twenty minutes later, he emerged, smiling from ear to ear with homemade fruit salad, served in a hollowed out mini watermelon. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen. He used all my favorite fruits including fresh pineapple, pear, peaches, oranges, and the watermelon. It was so, so good. I wish I had a camera so I could show you. He doesn't really like doing things in the kitchen. He makes the best scrambled eggs, and can toast bread, but that is about it. So for him to take himself into the kitchen and make something like fruit salad was a little surprising. I'm still happy thinking about it.

Okay...I really need to get back to my very exciting text book. I still need to review the chapter on how we sleep, which I'm hoping doesn't cause to me to drift off.

I'm going to Swift Current, Saskatchewan on Friday for the weekend. I'll try to post before I go, but if I don't, I'll write when I get back.

Love,

Kerry

My Dad

On January 28th 1982, I came into the world and made my dad a father. A lot of events have impacted our relationship but I can firmly say that my relationship with my dad is better today than it has ever been. There have been ups and downs, highs and lows, but also much love and laughter. I love the fingerprints my dad has left on me. I have his eyes, his smile and sense of humor. He gave me my creative side, and my love for all things furry. He gave me my sensitive outlook on the world and my love of Indian food. He continues to inspire me to take risks and find my passion in life, just has he has.

This weekend has been a long one and I am happy to see it come to and end. August is creeping up very quickly, along with "the move." I am getting more and more nervous about leaving Calgary. On one hand, it is very exciting. It is a change, a new place, new people, new experiences. But on the other hand, I feel as though I am giving up a lot here in Calgary. I am so, so sad to leave my friends and family. I have lived in Calgary for 15 years. Calgary has shaped who I am. We dropped the boyfriend's mum off at the airport today (she was visiting from Victoria for the weekend) and I got quite sad. I hate airport good byes, and realized there would be many more in my future. But that is normal, right? Toronto isn't that far away. Only 3450 km from Calgary. 33 hour drive, 4.5 hour flight.

I'm sorry, I'm having an emotional day. Just ask the boyfriend. (He has to put up with a lot sometimes.)

Why don't we talk about something Pretty? (My links are wonky, sorry!) Loobylu.com has some beautiful prints for sale. Her works makes me happy. I could look at it for ages. I would love to spend a day with her in her studio. So inspiring.

My goodness, I'm a sleepy girl. The boyfriend went to bed an hour ago, and I should have followed him. So I will say goodnight and write more tomorrow. I feel like I have a lot to say and don't know where to start.

Love,
Kerry

No More Excuses

Guess what I got yesterday?? My new computer. So, I am sitting in my apartment in my PJs and writing to you. I have no excuse for not posting more often. Someone who lives near us has wireless internet, so we have wireless internet in our apartment! It's very convienient.

My computer is lovely! So pretty. It is an iBook. I love it. I'm sure you are all aware of what it is, so I won't go into it all. I do have one question, if anyone knows the answer, feel free to email me, or comment. I have an iPod, and want to transfer songs from my iPod into my new iBook. Anyone know how to do this? A lot of the songs on my iPod came from my friend Mr. C's iTunes, so I can't just load the CD's into iTunes. Thanks!

What else to tell you? It has been raining in Calgary for days and days. In the last 24 hours we have had 100 mm of rain. My hair is freaking out with all the humidity. A lot of the areas around Calgary have flooded, including where my Dad and Sister live, In Millarville. My Dad's house is high up, but his land is low in places and the creek that runs through it has flowed over its banks. I'm a little worried, but I'm sure it will be okay. My Sister's high school graduation in on June 30th and I'm hoping the golf course where it is schedules to take place is okay. I have more to say on this subject, so stay tuned.

I tried to post a picture in my blog, but it didn't work. I'll have to play around a bit more and see what I'm doing wrong. I have a scanner so I will try to scan a few photos and see what happens. Wish me luck! (Can I remind you that I am an English major, and know very little about computers??)

I have been spending a lot of time watching "Six Feet Under" at the moment. I adore this show. It is so, so good. Do you watch it? What do you think? Claire is amazing. What I wouldn't give to have that hair.

Well, this is all I have time to write this time. I need to have a shower and make my way through the lakes and streams to work. I think It's going to be a Chai Latte/Hot Chocolate kind of day today.

Love,
Kerry

No More Excuses

Guess what I got yesterday?? My new computer. So, I am sitting in my apartment in my PJs and writing to you. I have no excuse for not posting more often. Someone who lives near us has wireless internet, so we have wireless internet in our apartment! It's very convienient.

My computer is lovely! So pretty. It is an iBook. I love it. I'm sure you are all aware of what it is, so I won't go into it all. I do have one question, if anyone knows the answer, feel free to email me, or comment. I have an iPod, and want to transfer songs from my iPod into my new iBook. Anyone know how to do this? A lot of the songs on my iPod came from my friend Mr. C's iTunes, so I can't just load the CD's into iTunes. Thanks!

What else to tell you? It has been raining in Calgary for days and days. In the last 24 hours we have had 100 mm of rain. My hair is freaking out with all the humidity. A lot of the areas around Calgary have flooded, including where my Dad and Sister live, In Millarville. My Dad's house is high up, but his land is low in places and the creek that runs through it has flowed over its banks. I'm a little worried, but I'm sure it will be okay. My Sister's high school graduation in on June 30th and I'm hoping the golf course where it is schedules to take place is okay. I have more to say on this subject, so stay tuned.

I tried to post a picture in my blog, but it didn't work. I'll have to play around a bit more and see what I'm doing wrong. I have a scanner so I will try to scan a few photos and see what happens. Wish me luck! (Can I remind you that I am an English major, and know very little about computers??)

I have been spending a lot of time watching "Six Feet Under" at the moment. I adore this show. It is so, so good. Do you watch it? What do you think? Claire is amazing. What I wouldn't give to have that hair.

Well, this is all I have time to write this time. I need to have a shower and make my way through the lakes and streams to work. I think It's going to be a Chai Latte/Hot Chocolate kind of day today.

Love,
Kerry

Yikes! I am feeling Immense Guilt

Please forgive me. I can't quite believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post. When I started this blog I did not want to be a part time blogger. To be fair, I don't have internet access at home, and I am only on campus twice a week, from 6pm-9pm and the library closes at 8pm during the summer. I am often coming straight from work to class, so the opportunity to blog doesn't arise that often. Anyway, not that I am actually writing a post I will move on to more pressing matters.

I am moving to Toronto in September.

The boy and I worked out our "issues" (I hate that word and cannot believe I just used it! ekk!) with the help of a wonderful therapist and a lot of long, long talks. I won't go into too many details, to be fair to him and his privacy (this is my blog after all). The summary of events lead us to conclude that we really, really love each other and although the lives of a struggling artist (him) and a future writer (me) will be challenging, we will be happier together than apart. So, as the boy has been giving a job at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, we will be backing up our hand-me-downs, books, pottery, and Ikea collection and moving to Toronto. I am excited, nervous, (well, terrified really), and happy. It feels like such a gown up thing to be doing. My parents are excited for us, and will miss us terribly. I see much time spent on planes in our future!

I received 9 postcards in the postcard swap. They were all lovely, creative and very interesting. I am hoping to figure out how to work my scanner soon so that I can shard them with you. I also have a wonderful photograph of my sister riding her horse that I want to post on here. Photos soon, I hope!

Well, my class is starting soon and I have a 10 minute walk in the pouring rain to survive before I can settle into my seat. Wish me luck!

Love,
Kerry

P.S. I just finished watching the 1st season on "Six Feet Under." Wow.

Bad, Bad Blogger

I am so, so sorry I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks! I have so much to write about, and not much time right now. But I promise to write a proper post on Thursday. I'll be telling you about:
1) The postcard exchange
2) The relationship update
3) The Move
4) The Graduation

Write to you soon,

Love,
Kerry