Taking the long way home. I was on the way home from dropping Gerry off at the gym one day this week, and needed a prairie fix. I took my usual route across the 9th Avenue bridge, but instead of turning right on Coteau, I kept going. It’s not far before neighbourhoods give way to fields and I felt myself relax. I turned right, and drove across a road running parallel to the city limits. It’s not much farther than my regular route home, but it’s enough to give me a taste of prairie. I think I’ll take the long way home more often.
Peeling onions. I harvested (very) small onions from my garden a week or so ago. They’ve been sitting in a Tupperware bowl on the deck waiting until I had time and inclination to deal with them. Yesterday, I brought the bowl in, peeled them (my eyes burning all the while), chopped, and tucked them in a freezer bag. I was struck, at one point, by how pretty they looked on the cutting board and grabbed my phone to capture an image. What do you think?
An evening out with friends. Dinner and a movie. Well, not quite. Dinner and a musical performance. Gerry and I have commented more than once that there’s so many more opportunities to get out and do things that interest us here in Moose Jaw. The temptation is not to overcrowd our calendars.
Molly’s last puppy shots—and a moment of thanksgiving. Our veterinarian is located not far outside the city limits on the road we took when we drove Makiya to and from school in Caronport. Molly was due for her last set of puppy shots and I looked forward to the familiar drive, but my throat tightened as we got out of the car because the last time we were there we said goodbye to Maya.
Afterward, when we came out I looked out across the field we watched change through the seasons from the time it was covered in snow, through the melt, seeding, and harvest. Life is filled with both beautiful and the terrible and I am still amazed that I got this late-in-life-gift to experience it here in Saskatchewan (where harvest is now 82% complete, by the way).
Do you know what? I can only come up with four things this week and I’m giving myself permission to stop here. It’s not that it wasn’t a good week filled with simple happy joy sparkers, it’s just that another one isn’t coming to mind at the moment and I’m not going to force it.
Happy weekend all! I’m off to Fort Qu’appelle tomorrow to take in the second full day of the InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship fall conference. Looking forward to the drive and time spent with like-minded women.
A Slice of Life 
i think the photo of the onions is very beautiful! as is the countryside 🙂
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It’s nice to have options of things to do. Have fun at the conference–it sounds interesting!
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Onions are often quite photogenic!
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Your week does sound lovely. I like the idea of your taking a relaxing drive in the country/prairie. Sometimes, I take an alternative route to see the countryside around our town.
Your evening out sounds like it was just what you enjoy.
Have a good week!
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Thank you for your Saskatchewan escapes and photos. Our Oklahoma prairie is quite similar to what you are viewing, but our weather is totally different. Thanks to your move to Moose Jaw I have spent some time looking at the map and locating your new home. Maybe over the next few years I will learn how to spell Saskatchewan.
When we studied Canadian geography in fifth grade, I never learned to spell Saskatchewan and the teacher counted my answers wrong because of the misspelling! It’s good to know the wildfires are nearly over. We could even smell and see the smoke in the air when we traveled from Oklahoma to Wisconsin in August.
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Well, that photo of those beautiful onion was, for me, one of those ‘simple happy joy sparkers’. I’m glad you shared! And good for you not trying to find the ‘five’ in Friday Five. Sometimes it is what it is – and we take joy in it, ‘as is’.
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The photo of the onions IS beautiful! I hope we’ll hear about the conference in an upcoming post.
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