Usick family Christmas in Winnipeg

Well my mom outdid herself again with Christmas eve dinner. We hardly made a dent in the food, even after we all filled our plates.
It was a wonderful evening spent with family.
Here are some pictures. As you can see my nieces and nephew are beautiful kids. In the picture with the kids in front of the tree, Jessie (age 6) is on the left and Breanna (age 14) in the middle and Jordan (age 14) on the right.
Christmas day David and I returned for pault, a traditional Swedish dish. Dave promptly passed out after eating three piggy helpings.

dec 21 solstice

we had a fire on december 21. Ab had an eye on a wicker chair...
note the 70's hockey dad leather coat and toque.

Streit family Christmas in Mitchell, MB

Sister Desiree flew in from Ottawa. Mum and Dad drove in from the north. The Streit family gathered in Mitchell Manitoba for an early christmas dinner. Emma was star of the show of course. Papa let her be as bossy as she wanted!

dogs dogs dogs

I wanted to show Gody some images of these dogs. Tip is the brother of Hobo son to Vicky.

pre christmas past christmas times

Christmas will be descending with a vengeance upon winnipeg and Mitchell. Aunt Des from Ottawa (Uncle Emile not able to come out this Christmas). grandpa and nana from the north. These are some festive shots to help everyone hit the ground running this season.

i believe i can fly

This is the third post in the Emma Trilogy.

Emma can also fly...though she does not enjoy rides at the fair.

If you watch carefully you will catch a glimpse of a pregnant lady.

enjoy!

wedding rings

Our Goldsmith....friend Michelle sent us these snazzy photos of the rings.

we spoke about this in an earlier post. These photos do the rings justice.

a classic

This is one of emmas earliest little movies.

Off the cuff and with perfect timing.

shot in the kitchen where many many breakfasts are shared.

for aunt des...finally!

this is what this blog is forty percent about.

pleasing aunt des with emma moments.

more about our elopement....weekend activities

Our time in Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) was incredibly relaxing. We were able to indulge in some of our favourite things: antiquing, eating really good meals at fabulous restaurants and walking around exploring.

• Fine Dining - it was completely accidental but our elopement weekend coincided with the gastronomical extravaganza Fabulicious. Many of the best restaurants in town participated which meant 3 course meals for $34 or less. Needless to say we ate very well.
• NOTL -the first capital of Upper Canada is a beautiful town teeming with historical residential homes and buildings. I don't believe I have visited a more quaint town. There are strict bylaws in place with regard to the construction of new buildings and renovations to existing buildings (e.g. you can pass the McDonalds and Shoppers Drug Mart just outside of the town and not notice they are there).
• Antiquing - There are several antique stores and we had fun exploring these.
• Fort George - NOTL is steeped in history so we felt obliged to check out Fort George, a national historical park. We watched a musket firing demonstration, an abbreviated overview of the war of 1812 and a tour of the Fort.
• Niagara Falls - a trip to Niagara would not be complete without a visit to the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls.

There are so many wineries in the region that we could have explored but David wished to wait to visit these when we return at a later date, when I can indulge in the wine tours and tastings.

more about our elopement...the playlist

Music has played an important role in our relationship. During our first year together we were living in different parts of the country (I was in Winnipeg and Dave was in Banff) so there was an intense period of letter writing and mixed tapes were often included in the envelopes. This playlist includes songs that were on some of those mixed tapes as well as a cross section of music we've enjoyed together over the past 12 years.
This playlist was the soundtrack to our elopement weekend - here it is, the songs listed in no particular order

Cello Song - Nick Drake

Two Lovers - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

Hit The Ground Running - Smog

I Could Drive Forever - Smog

Suedehead - Morrissey

Raising Arizona Theme - Carter Burwell

Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) - Kd Lang

Helpless (Neil Young) - Kd Lang

Crying - Roy Orbison

On Your Shore - Enya

Shepherd Moons - Enya

Do You Love Me Now? - The Breeders

Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye - Leonard Cohen

Suzanne - Leonard Cohen

I believe in you - Kylie Minogue

Caribou - Pixies

Hey - Pixies

monkey gone to heaven - Pixies

Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf) - Pixies

La La Love You- Pixies

You and I - Wilco

The Calculation - Regina Spektor

Dirty Old Town - The Pogues

One Headlight - Wallflowers

Lovefool - The Cardigans

I feel - The Sundays

Look At Me - John Lennon

Jealous Guy - John Lennon

Gone For Good - The Shins

New Slang - The Shins

Landslide - Smashing Pumpkins

One By One - Billy Bragg & Wilco

California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco

The State I am in - Belle and Sebastian

The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle and Sebastian

Lucky Man - The Verve

Harvest Moon - Neil Young

Viens Mallika Sous Le Dome Edais From Lakme - Howard Blake

You're so cool - Hans Zimmer

Sarah - Ween

Wild Horses - The Sundays

Hasn't hit me yet - Blue Rodeo

Lodestar - Sarah Harmer

Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths

In My Life - Beatles
If I Fell - Beatles

Nantes - Beirut

Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies

This Women's Work - Kate Bush

You're so great - Blur

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic- The Police

So long, Marianne - Leonard Cohen

Hey there little insect - Jonathan Richmond & Modern Lovers

more about our elopement...birds in sync

We noticed the abundance of birds while driving around Niagara, likely due to the vineyards. At times the birds moved as one in the sky, similar to a school of fish in the ocean. We suspect the locals do not appreciate the choreography of the birds as honeymooning/newlywed tourists do. Enjoy the video. p.s. the song in the background was on our elopement playlist.

more about our elopement....the story of the rings

As we mentioned earlier our friend Michelle Lischinsky designed and created our wedding rings for us. After a few consultations over tea, she artfully designed a pair of matching rings that reflected our preferences regarding style, esthetic and material.

While we were at the hotel enjoying the warmth of the hearth, Dave spent some time attempting to capture a shot of the rings.

David and Brandy elope, November 21, 2009, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Their first date was a road trip to a wedding in The Pas, Manitoba. After twelve wonderful years of enjoying and participating in the fine weddings of their family and friends, David and Brandy decided that it was indeed time....to elope.

Planning

They asked their good friend Michelle Lischinsky to design and make their wedding rings. She did a phenomenal job and they are grateful for her creative talent.

The timing of the event was decided by baby.

The month of November was selected because David's season with VIA ended, Brandy had a week of vacation planned and - on a meaningful level - Brandy parent's were married in November.

They threw around ideas for possible destinations and settled for somewhere in Canada and Niagara-on-the-Lake came out the winner.

Brandy reserved a room at the Charles Inn and booked an officiant (Rev Derek) and a professional photographer (Kathy).

They took 6am flight to Toronto on Fri, November 20 and drove to Niagara. Their first stop was the city hall in Niagara Falls to pick up the marriage license. They had a lovely lunch (the first of many exquisite meals to be enjoyed in the region) and headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake to get settled before the big day.

Details

The day of the wedding, the pair stopped by a florists and ordered the perfect floral arrangement, bouquet and boutonniere.

Brandy and David were married at 4:00 pm. Just prior David met with Rev Derek to fill out paperwork and to get assistance pinning the boutonniere. Hugh (professional witness) gave advice on how to properly wear a pocket watch. Brandy did her own hair and makeup and wore a maternity bridal dress ordered from Isabella Oliver. The ceremony was short but meaningful; David and Brandy read their own vows to each other. One half of the couple (David) got misty. Kathy (who was the second witness) took photos of the newly married couple for the next 45 minutes before they climbed into a horse drawn carriage for a one hour ride through the old town of NOTL. David and Brandy then returned to enjoy champagne, compliments of the hotel. (Brandy admits she indulged in a very small glass, which seemed appropriate and forgivable given the occasion). They shared an amazing dinner at the restaurant at the Charles Inn, one of the best - if not the best- restaurant in NOTL.

comments

comments

we request the pleasure of your comments.

please.

don't over think it!

lurkers not allowed.

love david brandy and choo choo

a shave

does blogging get anymore exciting than this?

i think not.

so that emma may laugh

this is ridiculous.

The prominent scream you hear is not mine. The very female shriek belongs to Natasha. Natasha and Collin had some trees removed and pruned. i popped by and trouble ensued.

Collin did a fine job of filming the shame.

NOT my screaming. enjoy the dismount.

polar bear moment in churchill

The video was taken from a "taxi van" we were not able to get to the actual polar bear grounds. Which was sad. Then a big friendly (we'll say) male polar bear ambled over.

the other videos i took were horrible. this is as good as it gets. sorry.

Breakfast visit and pregnancy update

Gody and Emma came over early this morning for breakfast. Nana Shirley and then Auntie Des called to talk to Miss Emms but unfortunately she really wasn't too interested in talking on the phone. Here are two pics and one video of the morning.

We've added a new feature to the blog, a poll, where you can cast your vote on whether you think we'll be having a boy or a girl. Desiree told us today that she thinks we'll be having a boy, so I'll expect her vote the next time she visits the blog.

On Monday I will either be 21 or 23 weeks pregnant. I am positive about my dates which would mean a due date of March 21 but the ultrasound technician was as certain about her dates based on the ultrasound, which would mean my due date could be as early as March 9. I spoke to my midwife and I shared with her my "evidence" (my charts etc) so she's ready when/if she has to call an obstetrician for a mandatory consult once/if I exceed 40 weeks according to the early due date. This past Thursday I got the H1N1 vaccine. I did my research, spoke to my midwife, weighed the potential pros and cons and decided to get poked in the arm. The poll counts down to the earlier due date just in case baby comes "early".

End of October beginning of November visits

Last weekend Ab and Shirley blew in from the north and visited the Mitchell household for the first time. I'm sure there are pics to be viewed on Emma's picture site http://www.godystreit.myphotoalbum.com/
Shirley and Ab then spent the night at our house with Shirley tucking in for a few days in the city while Ab went back home. We had Breanna over Tuesday to attend work with me the next day (Take our kids to work program) and David whisked her away to see Zombieland. Unfortunately Miss Beans was sick and was only able to take in the opening program the next day.

Feathering the Nest

In my typical spirit of doing research and looking for inspiration before tackling a home renovation/design project, I picked up a book to help me with planning the nursery. Feathering the Nest is a beautifully designed and written book that has already been a source of ideas for the space soon to be occupied by the babe formally known as choo choo.

The colour will be gender neutral (of course) and I want to incorporate chalkboard, either a wall painted with chalkboard paint or have a chalkboard featured somewhere in the room.

I have also been (surprise surprise) researching baby gear, specifically infant seats, baby seats, strollers, baby slings and cloth diapers. I understand that it is highly recommended that one buys a new infant/baby seat as well as a crib and avoid the second hand route... And yes we are going to use cloth diapers.

I have not bought a thing for baby (it was hard enough coming to terms that I require maternity clothes- although it's partly a budget trick; once I buy one item it will be a quick downward spiral to out of control spending). I think I have narrowed down the choices with regard to the seats. I am contemplating the options for baby slings and strollers - or should it be baby sling Or stroller? Dave and I recently watched the timely (for us) movie entitled "Away we go" There is a scene where a radical mom (the fabulous Maggie Gyllenhaal) explains the child rearing philosophy of the Three Ss (no separation, no sugar and no strollers). I know a group of women who are passionate about baby wearing and who rarely if ever use their stroller. This summer Dave had fun spotting all of the men wearing their babies (surprisingly there are many). My neighbour offered to give me a lesson on baby wearing and will let me try out a few options before I select which type will work for me (very cool).

This post was a procrastination post - I must get work done before Monday morning but creating this post was a lot more fun.

choo choo

David decided it would be a good idea to give the baby a prenatal name and he settled on the name "choo choo", and then told me about it. I am not sure about the name choo choo but he's using it quite liberally, including with our neighbour down the street who brought over yesterday bannock and fried pickerel cheeks "for choo choo and you" she said! David had made the arrangements and the trade (he gave her grape jelly, jar of pickles and some elk meat) before he left for Churchill.

Our ultrasound at the beginning of last week went very well. The ultrasound technician ensured the baby had all of its major organs and that the heart was functioning as it should (check and check) Dave asked her (on behalf of Abby) whether the baby had all of its fingers and toes (check). The baby was moving around and it was amazing to watch it on the screen. This past week I have just begun to detect some movement, it feels like the baby is softly nudging the inside of my belly.

For those who are wondering about the sex of the baby, it is to be determined....in March when the baby is due.

We have some ultrasound shots but the quality deteriorates when I attempt to scan, so sorry I cannot share any pics online.

I have included a baby bump picture. For some reason, of the few pictures David has taken of my belly, I have a body but no head...

pregnancy update

under construction....

.........teaser post


your calls (demands) for pictures of my ever expanding belly bump have been duly noted. at least one picture will be added along with some updates on what's going on with the babe.


in the meantime, here is the absolute latest...we have an ultrasound (2nd one) tomorrow morning. dave is quite excited. he is currently outside tending a fire with his soon to be daddy buddy Colin. Apparently they have spent the last couple of hours talking about babies and fatherhood puncuated with discussions about home renovations and their partners pregnancies (both successfully missed out on the first trimester - david was away on the train the majority of the time and colin's girl was out of town working)

our first visit to Mitchell

This past Sunday David and I (and copper) made the trek to Mitchell, Manitoba to have brunch with Gody and Miss Emms (unfortunately Naomi was at work). It took us approximately 1/2 hour to go from door to door, which really wasn't that long at all and we enjoyed the mini road trip.
Mitchell appears to be a great community and Gody and Naomi's new house is new and quite lovely. They have already made the space their own and the backyard is huge!
Emma was quite pleased to have us over and was very proud to give me a tour of the house and to show off her room, adjacent playroom and where she rides her bike downstairs. After a lovely brunch, we all checked out the backyard, and as Gody's pictures demonstrate on Emma's picture website, there was much running about. David captured some shots and videos as well. Uncle David captured miss emma's crocodile tears when we were leaving.

Miss Beans and Jessie and "Where the wild things are"

David and I took Breanna (aka Beans) and Jessie to the movie "Where the wild things are" are at the Towne Cinema downtown (where I worked in high school, best job ever to have at that age).

Breanna enjoyed the film but I think the movie themes were a bit too mature for Jessie and I think she lost interest. I had a feeling they would be but I wanted an outing that included both of them. David is pumped about taking teen Beans to the movie Zombieland and apparently I am not invited to this future outing.

It was nice to see both girls and to hear what's going on with both of them.
Breanna started grade at Glenlawn collegiate this year and despite her initial concerns about jr high, she appears to be doing quite well (team captain for volleyball and was selected early for soccer in the spring).

Miss homebody Jessie is grudgingly warming up this full day school thing and is settling into grade 1.

David's new thing - knitting

David has taken up a new hobby - for those who know him well know that David has many hobbies including typewriter hoarding, instrument collecting and playing (the violin has been recently added to his repertoire), YouTube searching/viewing, hunting and and gathering large rocks and stones, fire starter, "safe league" hockey player etc....

Gody, Naomi and Emma's spent their last night in the city before the big move at our house. During the visit, Dave demonstrated his first attempts at knitting. Apparently (as told to me by Dave) Gody quietly watched Dave knit and then decided to ask to try it himself and to perhaps show Dave a few things to help him improve his technique. Apparently while knitting Gody commented that knitting is very similar to tying knots for Hydro work. David said Gody became so engrossed with knitting (see picture) that he ceased to watch the hockey game that was on tv. Gody, please feel free to use the comments section to correct my second hand telling of the story.

When I arrived home from work today, Dave was excited to show me that he taught himself how to cast off.

Fall Harvest

Despite our unusually cold and wet summer our garden grew, as did our grapes. Unfortunately the Italian plum and crab apple trees did not produce this year.
We managed to can some cucumbers to make dill pickles (Dave is counting down the days until he can open up a jar) and I managed to make some tomato sauce to freeze. We still have carrots sweetening in the garden soil and last night Dave and I made some grape jelly with plans to make juice with the remaining grapes (if we can muster up the energy sometime this week).

Dave was impressed with the amount of work required to make 8 little jars of jelly.

summer catch up post #3 - our big news

This summer was significant for us because I became pregnant! We found out in July and shared the news with family the first week of September and with friends shortly after. The summer months were a bit rough for me as I was terribly fatigued and queasy and Dave was on the the train (lucky him, as he missed most of the first trimester).

It was interesting attempting to hide a pregnancy at all of the weddings we attended. My lack of drinking at Gody and Naomi's wedding was noted and got the tongues wagging!

summer catch up post #2 - weddings weddings and more weddings

It was the summer of many weddings. well it started in the spring with our friends Michelle and Andreas' wedding in April (our city wedding in a nice old building that we got to explore). It was a very sweet and personalized affair (the bride wore a billowing blue dress!).
this was followed by our friends Jacquie and Herve's wedding in July. They live in France but they had the full on Manitoba wedding experience. David was a groomsmen and I was the marriage commissioner. It was held out of town and the weekend was beautiful, lots of sun and good times. David also dj'd in between the band's sets. It was great because we got to meet Herve's family as well as some fabulous girl friends who stayed at our house in the days leading up to the weekend extravaganza.
The next wedding was a very important one for the Streit family- Gody and Naomi's wedding which really deserves a separate post. David was the best man and I was the marriage commissioner. Shirley was in heaven planning and implementing the growth of the wedding from "just a simple ceremony at the lake" to a larger production that required a small army of volunteers. Who knew that the airport hall could be transformed into such a lovely venue! David was dj at the wedding and had a great time interspersing songs with call outs to the crowd. It was a beautiful night enjoyed by all. Miss Emma and Jessie were fast friends and danced many songs together.
The last wedding of the summer was Meaghan and Steven's. Miss megs and the teven planned a very personalized and lovely wedding that reflected their love and life together. The wedding transitioned into a fabulous outdoor party with dancing under the stars with music supplied by the now much experienced David at the DJ helm.

Copper (summer catch up post #1)

At the end of June David and I became the proud owners of a very handsome 7 year old golden retriever named Copper. We will be his third family. My sister's partner owned him just previously but he could no longer could take care of a large dog and wanted him to go to a good home, so we offered. Dave has long wanted a dog and the fact that copper was a golder retriever was just too much.

Copper quickly became part of our family. He was slowly introduced to the "girls" (our cats Miss Mineu and her daughter Miss Hibou) by being crated for the first week or so. It didn't take long for everyone to get along and Copper is very good with cats. Mineu tends to keeps her distance but Hibou is quite curious and likes to get very close and sniff Copper's nose, which he enjoys.

Dave requested that I share two videos on this post. One is Copper at Clearwater Lake (for Gody and Naomi's wedding in August, which will be a subject for a future post). Copper LOVES the water and when we were at the lake he spent most of the time in the water

The second video is Dave's recent homecoming after being away for a few days. Perhaps it's because Copper is a boy but he has a much stronger preference for males. He likes me but absolutely adores Dave. I try not to take it personally.

long overdue post

It's been a long time since we added a post to our blog, the last one was dated June 6th and now we're already at the end of September! So i guess you could say we took a break over the summer. Lots happened over those summer months so we'll try to catch up over the next few posts. i chatted with dave this morning when I drove him to the VIA station and got some direction on what to share in the first summer catch up post.

best brother ever

Brother Gody gave me the greatest gift of all for my birthday (which seems to be dragging along nicely). This gift was the last installment: "the weed hound" which pulls 'em out by the roots! Lined up on the sidewalk are my greatest hits.

Dan (of Dan and Renee) has some brewery hops growing in our front yard. This morning Gody popped by for breakfast with emma and brought along a trellace for the hops! Dan was quite pleased, as was I. (Gody knows where the best beer is brewed).

I'll post a progress shot of the hops growth in a week; they grow so fast.

-dave

summer???

We're impatient for summer weather but have proceeded to plant the garden and work on the yard despite the cold weather. Our lilacs and our neighbour's cherry tree normally bloom in May and are finished by June. We're still waiting for our lilacs to finish blooming but our neighbour's tree looks beautiful!

Emma was growing impatient waiting for a ride in a uncles dave's wagon. Last thursday we had gody and fam over for dinner and miss ems got her wish.

Last weekend my mom and I went to Sage Garden herbs. We had a lovely time looking, smelling, and touching all of the different herbs and plants. We carefully selected our plants and on the way home stopped by St. Leon's to check out their stock (it is becoming a tradition of mine to buy my porch planter there).

hosting mother's day + brunch = new room!

It's 10:00 on Sunday night and David and I are feeling particularly satisfied with our accomplishments of the day. We had my family over and we enjoyed pancakes (grandma's recipe), whipped cream and strawberries (a favourite of my mom's), dave's fabulous pouched eggs and sausages. yum. before breakfast dave and I tackled our old bedroom which had become one large dressing room and junk dump.

Leonard Cohen concert, April 30, 2009

Leonard Cohen played the MTS centre in Winnipeg, likely for the last time. Dave and I had tickets and were eagerly anticipating the concert. Mr Cohen did not disappoint. He was a class act, his voice was perfect, and the musicians and back up singers were simply phenomenal.

Although I don't have any pictures or video to share of the concert I thought I would post a link to the Juno awards when they were hosted in Winnipeg (I went with Tamara and Sheryl). kd lang covered Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah. (I read somewhere that although his song has been covered by many artists over the year, Cohen believes kd lang has covered it the best).

I think my top three concerts are (in no particular order): Leonard Cohen (2009), Neil Young (2008) and the Pixies in Saskatoon (2004). And I suppose I should add Depeche Mode who I saw in Calgary, the summer before grade 10. That was a big deal back then! I have been to many concerts over the years so I'm sure I could have several "best of" lists based on different criteria but I think at this moment, those are the top three. Reading over my shoulder Dave said Lollapalooza in 1992 would be at the top of his list (jealous, that would have been amazing). And that got me thinking about Pearl Jam in '93 at the long defunct SunFest in Gimli...okay I better stop while I'm ahead!

birthday boy

It was David's birthday on May 6th. He was on the train (and I was battling a particularly treacherous work week). He got home Thursday and was quite pleased to share that his colleagues marked the occasion by buying him an ice cream cake, signing a card and singing happy birthday while on the train back from Toronto. Apparently this never happens; birthdays come and go uncelebrated.

We had a fabulous birthday dinner tonight (grilled salmon and asparagus, parmesan and lemon risotto, cupcakes from the cupcakery in the village). Earlier today we went to Canadian Tire to pick up his gift: a garden cart. He is quite excited to cruise around with this cart in tow and pick up large rocks that he has noticed in the area. I think he should do this accompanied by a child or people may be concerned (he is becoming more eccentric each year, I must admit). We also picked up a new reel mower (the one that was found in the basement is just too heavy). The mower was 50% off so both felt completely justified in the purchase.