Golden Year

It's time for my annual look back at the year that was.

2014 

Boy did I ever underestimate it!

When 2014 dawned, I thought - 'We don't have any major events to mark the calendar.  It's time to take a break - have a quiet year- coast for a bit.
Why did I think that, you ask?  Well, 2013 had been a year of milestones - big birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries.  We had run the gamut of celebrations.  As I said, it was a big year.

I couldn't have been more wrong about 2014.  Sure, we coasted, but it was more like a Roller Coaster. It was a year of celebrations.  It was a year of new beginnings.  It was a year of the unexpected. And so, in no particular order - here it is....(cue orchestra).....



                                  2014



One of my favourite things about 2014 was the unexpected suggestion from my husband that we plan to do some kind of road trip once a month.  We had so much fun going to different places, exploring, and experiencing new adventures.  We went to the beach, and the tunnels, and more beaches.  This picture was taken at the PNE where street entertainment abounded.  These kids put a new spin on marching bands and raced around in crazy choreography.

Another day, we went to the Agrifair, where we saw this show.  It was a terribly hot day, and I did feel sorry for the victim veteran who held the place of 'honour' sitting in the front with his wife for the ride by.  There was no shade for them at all.  But the show was spectacular.  Sunny Day Amusements

A NEW CHAPTER PARTY

2014 was also a year of some major parties.  One of them I blogged about already here.  There were a few other ones in which I was involved for planning and implementation.

Some of the parties were very involved - almost like having a wedding reception. Others were more casual and needed just a few touches.  

One of the parties was for a dear friend of mine who reached a milestone birthday.  We had fun planning a surprise party for her.  She didn't really want a big 'to-do' but we took a vote and decided she needed to feel celebrated.

U.R. LOVED PARTY

One of the ideas we came up with was to think of her attributes and spell them out for her on rocks. Since I went on several day trips with my husband and other friends, I gathered rocks from each place to use for the project.  That way, each rock had a little sentimental meaning for me.  At the party, we presented her with a journal filled with letters from different people in her life and capped it off with her unwrapping each of the rocks and then placing them in a decorative bowl, half-filled with sand.

It was a simple idea, but one that she can look at in the days to come, and know how valued she is to each of us.

ALL READY TO PARTY LIKE IT WAS 1984

THE DAY AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE

Another party was one for a gal at work, who also had a milestone birthday.  It was fun researching what happened in 1984 and highlighting events of the year of her birth.  We made up a silly song about aging (and since most of us have already long passed THAT milestone birthday ourselves, we made no jokes about the not-so-great parts of getting older..).  We also created a poster of events of her birthday year, and even downloaded songs from 1984 on a little USB - oh and just for good measure, we included the audio version of "1984" by George Orwell, just in case she wanted to listen to it.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1984 USB

Another fun day was watching the Canada Day parade.  Anyone who knows me a little bit, knows that I love a parade.  Usually, my in-laws indulge me by attending alongside, so I don't have to whoop and holler on my own. This year was no exception.  One of the attractions at the parade is always the fire trucks.  Everyone watched as the ladder was raised and the stream of water was sprayed over the crowd.  It cooled off some very hot parade-goers.  After the parade, we opted for fish and chips and de-briefed about our favourite parts of the show.

A FLORAL DESIGN FOR THE RECEPTION TABLE

My husband and I had a chance to do something we hadn't done before, by taking a trip in the middle of September.  We had no school obligations, no soccer duties, and so we hopped in the vehicle and went to attend a reception for a very special young man and his new bride.  We are forever friends with his parents and our kids began their growing up years together.  In fact, our kids consider them to be honorary cousins. It was such a beautiful time of year to travel.  The Rockies were spectacular.  The fall colours rose to the occasion and dazzled us.  There was no snow on the roads.  And to top it off, it was so lovely to be with our friends again.  Although many miles separate us, we never let it stand in our way when we see each other again.

mmm, I want to linger, mmm a little longer...

The day after the reception  we took a little trip to a lake and spent a wonderful afternoon together. It was just warm enough to be cool, and sunny enough to instill a sense of longing to preserve the summer hours just a little longer.









2014 was also a year of the experiment.  We decided to raise a pig. The deal was that the trial of the borrowed rototiller did not work, and our garden was both overgrown, and very difficult to till.  Enter "TILLER" the pig.  He kept us amused by thinking he was a dog. He would race around the fence trying to outdo Henrik.  Henrik was happy for a new companion and would run out to beckon Tiller every morning to tussle.  Tiller and Henrik both welcomed us home when we arrived by barking and squealing.  Yes, we live in a very quiet neighbourhood.   We had no compost at all while he lived with us.  He loved pears, and apples and our neighbours would stop by to feed him on their way home.  He would pull himself up on the fence and squeal his pleasure at their company.








As all experiments go, this one had to come to an end.  So in the latest possible week of fall, we took Tiller to "The HOTEL CALIFORNIA" .

Lyrics:  “Welcome to the Hotel California…
We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!.... "

Farewell Tiller.  Thanks for the fun summer.

Another joy for me was a late-fall visit with my sister who lives the closest to me.  We had a fun break, doing little bits of nothing.  One of the shopping trips netted me some flowers which I arranged for her to enjoy as a momento of my visit. 

We went on walks, and talked, and shopped and helped out at the community dinner (where I confused everyone by pretending that I had been part of their community all along).  We got our hair done, and got our toes pampered.

It was exactly what the Dr. ordered.

Of all the events and new beginnings that happened in 2014, I would have to say, the most monumental one, was the birth of our first grand dolly. My heart has been completely captured by this little girl.  Being a grandmother at my young-ish age was not on my radar. And yet, there is something so precious about holding this baby who has started her own branch of the family tree.  

As you can see, it's been an EPIC year.  And as I bid farewell to 2014 and welcome  2015 I don't think I will ever again think that I will simply coast through a year.  Every year has its epic events.  Why should    2015 be  any different? After all, it is my 'golden year' this year!