according.to.kim

Daily scan: 30 Apr 1994

"Installed May 7 1965 Creek was running 3" of rain H.F.B."

My grandpa, Howard Fredrick Byrns, wrote this message on a chalkboard in the old one-room schoolhouse on my parents' farm. Isn't it marvelous that now, 43 years later, I can still see my grandpa's note? I wonder if it's still there on the chalkboard 14 years after I took this photo. I'll have to check sometime.

The schoolhouse served as a shop on my grandparents' and parents' farm for many decades. I remember spending time in there as a child while my dad was working. My brother and I would sort cans of nuts and bolts or something like that.

I'm not sure what was installed on May 7, 1965. I think my grandpa was referring to something that was placed in front of the chalkboard. Perhaps some cupboards or a furnace (was there a furnace?) Or perhaps he meant the schoolhouse was moved that day. It did sit in a location not far from the creek.

My dad moved the building again before this photo was taken and I think that's when this message was revealed; I don't recall seeing it during my childhood anyway -- and can you imagine how long a chalk message would last with children around? It must have been completely inaccessible! The old school/shop remains in the farmyard next to the new shop which was built in the 80s. I'm glad it's still standing. I've always liked having an old schoolhouse on our farm.

I think this school was from the Rocky Bluff School District which would have been on or near the present-day farm of my parents'. I actually have some very old books in my house that are stamped "Rocky Bluff School District". They had been left behind in the house on "The Walsh Farm"... Well, that's another story for another day!

Daily scan: 11 Jul 2004

We took this photo as soon as we finished building this play structure. If I recall correctly, it took the two of us a full 10 hours to build (and, thankfully, Sophia and Madeline were in Avonlea while we worked). It was a lot of work, but so worth it. This thing is rock solid and all three girls can swing at the same time. We have some different attachments that we've used often as well -- another regular swing seat, trapeze bar, and double see-saw thingy. They're easy to change. So glad we invested in this! It's been very well used, and I know it'll be used for many years to come. Hmmm, can't wait for summer!

Daily scan: ~15 Nov 1988

Other than my high school grad photos, I have very few photos from 1988. I'm glad I have this one though. This was my wall in the room I shared in Voyageur Place residence (first floor: Pond) at the U of S. I lived there one year. I think it was a great experience and excellent way to make the transition from a small town to the city and university community. It was great for getting to know lots of people quickly. I was the only one from my class to go to that university directly from high school, so I didn't know anyone at U of S, except a couple of guys who were a year ahead of me and I didn't see them much that first year. I'm still in touch with a few people who lived in rez that year (but not my roommate).

On my wall: Beatles, Def Leppard (love!), beer labels (why?), SKOF (Some Kind of Fantasy) playing at the Sibling Exchange Dance, Godiva's Gallop, Ag Bag Drag (my first of six), a photo from The Weyburn Review (of the new YG Communiplex, I think), a couple calendars, and more. Oh my. How funny to see those things now -- and to share them with you!

Daily scan: 25 Dec 2001

How could I have forgotten about this photo?! Sophia, 11 mos.

Daily scan: 14 Nov 1998

At the wedding of good friends of ours. Neil was the best man. It was fun to look through these photos again because there are several people in the photos whom I didn't know then, but know quite well now.

Daily scan: 04 Jun 1999

These are the plants my mom grew for our wedding favours. The day before the wedding, Mom hauled them from her home to ours and we set them here on our patio for the night (the patio, fence, and garden shed in this photo are all long gone, thank goodness). We gave our wedding guests some herbs and flowering annuals. Mom grew most of them from seed, but also purchased a few young bedding plants -- the impatiens, I think. I know this was a lot of work for her and she did an excellent job. (Thanks Mom!) Neil and I visited her a few weeks before the wedding and helped transplant all of the seedlings into little individual pots. On the day of our wedding, at the reception venue, we created table centre pieces using the plants. I had purchased clear round plant pot trays, 10 or 12 inches in diameter. In the centre of each tray, we placed a rose bowl with a candle inside (nestled in some of that clear gel stuff) and then surrounded it with eight plants. Each plant had a little flag sticking out of it. The front had a "thank you for sharing our day" type of message and the back had a label with the plant name and care instructions. I think the centre pieces looked good and I don't believe any plants were left behind, so I guess they were well received!

Daily scan: ~01 Sep 1987

Yellow Grass School: Home of the Blue Devils.

Hmmm, why did I take this photo? (one of only two I could post from my small 1986-87 album) I can only guess it was because this was a brand new floor in the gym. I deduce that it was installed over the summer since my photos from Grad '87 clearly show a different floor. The photo itself isn't terribly important but it does represent something that is meaningful for me: I played sports in high school. Every sport available, basically. I especially loved practicing and playing volleyball on this very floor and I was proud to be on the Blue Devils team. We were a pretty good team through all my years of playing, despite the very small pool of girls to draw from. I have quite a few medals anyway! I don't have many photos from those days -- in fact I can only think of a few team photos (I don't even know where they are right now) and one shot of us playing (printed in a yearbook, I think) -- so I guess this photo IS kind of important to me. I just didn't know it until now.

I wonder about the origin of Blue Devils... I see that Duke University sports teams are know as Blue Devils. So too are the teams of University of Wisconsin and Central Connecticut State. There is also a Blue Devil superhero from DC Comics, and there's a long-running music and dance organization for youth called The Blue Devils. Interesting. Still, I have no idea why this name was chosen in Yellow Grass!

Daily scan: 28 Jun 2002

Sophia at 17 months. I love how summery this photo feels!

Daily pic: ~20 Sep 1991

What can I say? I had decided I needed to scan a photo from 1991 because that year was unrepresented so far... It turns out there are very few photos from 1991 that I can post given my family-only rule! Only a handful of usable photos in this entire album, and they're almost all of me.

This is me at the beginning of my fourth year of university. Some friends and I were getting ready for the "Cowboy's Cabaret". (I had captioned the photo, otherwise I'd have no idea.) I don't recall that event specifically, but I'm sure it was lots of fun. This was during my Wranglers, boots, and country music phase. Man, I had big hair! I'm quite certain I wasn't trying to have big hair; it was just too easy to achieve (i.e., unavoidable) due to my curls.

Just let me know if you're laughing your butt off!

Daily scan: 19 May 2003

Madeline at four months; her first time in the exer-saucer.

Daily scan: ~01 Aug 1989

This is from an album with absolutely no dates or captions. So, I'm glad I'm here to provide an explanation of this photo, as I suspect no one else would know why I took it! I took it because I had worked at this gas station in Yellow Grass, along busy highway 39, in the summer of 1988. I actually took the photo in '89, but I know I worked there in '88 -- the two months between high school and university. I also know the price of gas was 49.9 the entire summer I worked there and not 53.5 as in this photo. If only the prices were like that now!

You know what? This was a good job. I was on my own most of the time, but I never felt alone because there was usually a mechanic or two in the shop on one side of the station and always people in Bonnie's Cafe on the other side of the station. I enjoyed pumping gas, washing windows, and checking oil... meeting people from all over the place... stocking the chip stand and pop machine... organizing the VHS rentals... cashing out at the end of the day... having friends come by to chat... ordering food from the cafe anytime I wanted... Yep, I liked it! I think the only drawbacks were having to clean the restroom and occasionally smelling Raid (there were a lot of flies in the office and it had to be done), and those were pretty minor. Sometimes I wish I could go back to a simple job like that. Ah, yes, those were the days!

Note: I couldn't exactly follow the rules for this photo selection, otherwise a few of my readers might have been surprised to see their photo here! I opened the album right in the middle of a 1990 Agro ski trip, but I couldn't use any of those photos due to my policy against posting pics of people who aren't in my family. Well, there was one picture of a shopping cart full of beer -- but it wasn't a great photo. It would have required far less explanation though...

Daily scan: 17 Jun 2001

Sophia at almost five months. She had nice big cheeks, heh? Neil's great aunt Elsie knit that lovely sweater for her. It's one of the articles of baby clothing I will keep for Sophia.

Daily scan: 24 Nov 1994

In November 1994 (while I was enjoying a regular pay cheque and hanging out with hometown friends; see Nov 19), Neil went to South America with two friends. They were there for four and a half months visiting various countries. This photo shows a house in the jungle near Tena, Ecuador where Neil and his friends stayed for a few days. While there, they hiked, swam in the river (a tributary of the Amazon), learned to shoot darts, and were entertained by the host family with music and dance in their traditional attire. The clothes hanging from the house belonged to Neil and his friends.

Daily scan: 31 Oct 2000

Back when I did not have children to dress up for Halloween! I had dressed up for work, along with three co-workers who went as the scarecrow, the lion, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. After work, I popped over to Laurel's to see my niece in her li'l pumpkin costume. Bronwyn was four months old, and I was six months pregnant at the time.

Daily scan: 19 Nov 1994

This was at a wedding in my home town. Just seven weeks earlier, I had finished my masters degree, moved from Saskatoon to Regina, and started my job at SaskTel Mobility. Big changes. I wasn't dating anyone at the time, and I didn't start seeing Neil until eight months later. For the first time in over six years, I lived relatively close to my home town and saw my family and friends who lived there more often. It was a fun, care-free time in my life.

Daily scan: 16 Jan 2004

Madeline, with her teddy bear cake in the oven, the evening before her first birthday party.

Daily scan: ~20 Jul 1992

Whenever I need a healthy dose of perspective, all I need to do is think about the people and places I saw when I visited Tanzania in 1992. I had captioned this photo, "Women filling gourds with water. The only source of water in 100,000 acres." These women would walk for hours just to fill their gourd with dirty water for their family. It's practically unimaginable, and yet it's the reality for so many. This was in Mureru village, a name which I believe applies to the whole area, not just a small community where people live close together. [Edit: These are Barabaig people.]

I went to Tanzania with my friend, Leeann, whose parents and younger siblings were living there at the time. They knew other Canadians in the area who worked for CUSO, and only through the CUSO couple were we able to visit a rural village like this one. What an incredible experience this was. I'm still amazed that I was there. When I opened this album, it was hard to choose just one photo to scan today. So many of my photos from Tanzania speak volumes.

Daily scan: 01 Dec 2002

Just an everyday moment with Sophia (22 mos) and her dad.

Daily scan: 05 Jun 1999

I'm sure this needs no explanation. But I will note that we had our wedding photos taken in the afternoon, a few hours before the ceremony which was at 7:30 p.m. This photo was taken on the grounds of the Legislative Building. We also had some photos taken outside Government House. Our photographer was Roger B. at Rhea Photography. He was awesome! I love our wedding photos. I was very happy to purchase all of the negatives and full copyright from him when he went digital a few years ago.

Daily scan: 20 Oct 2003

This is Sophia at two and a half. She had fallen asleep shortly before 6:00 p.m. on the floor under a window at Shauna's house in Edmonton. I think she was also behind the sofa! I guess she was tuckered out from all the fun she'd had earlier in the day at the water park in the West Edmonton Mall. We were in Edmonton for the wedding of Neil's cousin, Jordan.