Weddings are celebration gatherings of families and friends.Attended this weekend the wedding of my niece Sheena to Mike. What hit me was not only alot of great photo ops as I am sharing here but also what such gatherings can be! Real life connections between family, friends and others Too often we don't take time to make those connections, which includes The great aunts and uncles  and cousins and best friends...can be both Like this perspective of parents giving away their youngest daughter ...Stunning dress and train. This is my sister Maureen and I...can you tell we are sisters? Aunt Jane who is near 80  takes some great shots!Those quick poses...not always the best lighting but lots of smiles! ..A spiralling entry to dinner.......  Lovely first dance.....some of my favorite shots!      Yummy wedding cupcakes!

The evening is ending well...loud music and lots of movement...left at 11:45 PM but certain dancing went on much beyond!

Let’s face it mother-daughter relationships are never simplistic, no matter what the age, from toddlers to adult women, that link will always be there. With the news of the possible demise of Xanga, become somewhat reflective of also the relationships formed here, and how it was my daughter, Amelia who introduced me to blogging in the first place here on xanga almost 10 years ago.

 Technologies have much in the last 30 years and she reaches her 30^th birthday this year. Here we are on the last trip together in St. George, Utah where she competed in the IronMan in early May.

As the youngest of three, she inherited the “ no television except at Granny’s on the weekend “ policy of her parents. Whether due to the accidental breaking of the television screen by her elder brother, Leigh, who at age 5 popped bubbles with Mr. Rogers with his home made sling shot, or the parental convictions that came from educator’s Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook in 1979, television was banned from the household. Books, puzzles, learning games, soccer, swimming and movie going became some staples of her pre-school upbringing. Convinced that what was good for one daughter, was needed for both “ the girls “ , the summer she was four and her sister, Rebecca, six, I launched into a “paired reading” program, in hopes of enhancing the reading skills of both. Well, my eldest daughter repeated first grade, was diagnosed with a learning disability and the youngest, Amelia learned to read at age four and entered a French Immersion program.

 The parenting journey has been interesting, challenging, with joys, mistakes and learnings, all three of my children taking very different paths. Without my children, I would probably not become as seriously involved in my writing, blogging and journaling as I have.  From initial notations of  “ firsts “ during their childhood, family Christmas newsletters to letters in journals of my hopes and dreams for them in times of troublesome teens, my family has provided me with incentives and stories for writing.

Fast forward…The coming of the blogs. Someone, somewhere created the very first Web log…The term was created to reflect the process of “logging the web”  Xanga was started in 1999. In 2004, both Amelia and I created blogs on xanga… http://that-canadian-rower.xanga.com/….and my blogging here has recorded not only family journeys, but my own work journey to the Canadian arctic and back! Indeed, my Xanga blog, a friend that will be missed!

At the end of April spent a few days in northern California, visiting friends. Here are some of my photos from that trip.

A stop over in the Seattle airport, just at sunset, a local craft beer and garlic shrimp!

Davis, CA, is a lively bicycle friendly university town with a wonderful Farmers Market Wednesday afternoons & Saturday mornings. Several down town bike shops that rent, but I borrowed one to do my exploring ... found a book exchange mailbox type stand...take one and leave one...so I did!...not far from this huge cactus corner plant!

 The Davis Arboretum is a quite a beautiful place, dedicated to the display of native woody plants of the Southeastern United States, and a  3.5 mile loop trail. I have hiked it in the past, but on this hot afternoon, I found a quiet shaded spot to sit underneath palms by the creek, not only the peaceful mallards or other flickering birds but one very determined squirrel  to get my oatmeal cookie crumbs..and visiting a scrub jay.

 Davis is also about 1-1.5 hours from Napa, San Francisco, and Lake Tahoe....a mid week drive to Napa included the Hendry Winery,and Chandon Winery. 

A recent vacation with my youngest daughter Amelia...she is from Vancouver and I from Edmonton. Exposure to the desert country of Utah and Nevada very different from what either of us are familiar with....one highlight was a Sunday afternoon half day, 3 hour trail ride for Amelia and I..saw the Three Patriarchs, the Beehives, a breathtaking trip through beautiful cactus gardens, the Virgin River, the Court of the Patriarchs, a trip around the Sandbench Trail, gradually ascending 500 feet giving a spectacular view of the Southern end of Zion National Park....the head wrangler named Curley gave much of the local history....also did some sort trail hikes on own and saw a pair of wild turkeys.

Shifting between different worlds...lovely visit to Vancouver on train and some visiting with the daughter, son in law and their lovely puppy, home for about 10 days and now off the California and Utah.

First few days back in Alberta getting grounded...busy weekend including work...signs of a sore throat UGH!

Back yard feeder includes sparrows and pine grosbeaks!

Yard clean up intensive but hey we were shovelling snow a week ago...tulips in one patch of back yard. Dogs think my purpose is to provide them with digging spots! I had a vague recollection of about 6 weeks ago, attempting some yard clean up, pruning, raking and dismantling of the Christmas lights on the cedar tree, But NO must be mistaken as just doing that TODAY!

 Weekend couchsurfing guest...we had German spicy meatballs. Dogs have definite opinions..

Then there was....Oxytocin, c-section, tubes tied, several still born, two fragile newborns, tube feedings...not from work maternity coverage but at the vets ( bills not inexpensive ) but Indie cat has two kittens! our excitement Thursday night - Friday morning...grand daughter ...no longer living at my house but hope all goes well! —

Back in rainy snowy Alberta but happy to see my own dogs again as we they me.....Dysis was groomed and also came to the hairdressers with me!

Went to the coast on Via train through the Rockies and will post some more photos later.

Just finishing a weeks visit up with my daughter in Vancouver BC, and while it snowed on the weekend in Edmonton, all the blossoms and spring flowers are out here...even caught this small bird...it's a bushtit...in a back lane.

Wishing you all a happy spring whenever it arrives in your neck of the woods!

Currently visiting my daughter in Vancouver BC and an adorable 5 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Ilala....love toting twigs and branches at times much larger than she!

It is not over yet!  Nanuq's coat is growing in again and Dysis doesn't mind it!  

Early every year I often peruse the job ads and send out a few resumes, some of which actually end up in interviews. My employment pattern for the past 30 years has been part time or casual work, and has given me a rich variety of work experiences, travel and personal friendships, from remote communities in the Canadian Arctic to brisk discussions with university students.

Just reflecting on my most recent bout of the above process, which involved two interviews and one job offer, and how things have changed in the job market.

A few hints, which may be helpful:

1. Do your research on the job position and job site. Ask others who may work there about the informal relationships and/or expectations. Although you may be qualified as an electrician, welder, administrative assistant, social worker or IT consultant, the above specifics are important. It is a local office, part of a larger company, branch of government, what are the goals, aims, and ethics of the company/employer? How broad a scope does the office/company cover e.g. city, province serve? If you were a client/customer/patient coming to this facility of office, what would you be looking for? Do this role reversal!

In many job interviews, there may be a panel or more than one person interviewing and you might have different scenarios thrown at you with expectations on how would you handle them.

2. Be up to date on the theory and methods of practise in your field. This does NOT mean you have to be a walking encyclopedia but if there are certain methods you commonly use, know them and how they are applied to your position!

Got caught up on this one recently, although my written skills are excellent, naming the finer points of a psycho-social assessment or mental health capacity assessment were a challenge, and did a review before my next interview.

3. Consider past experience where you have been challenged either in job performance or ethics. How did you handle it or how would you? Think out of the box. E.g. if from a social worker perspective, you thought an early discharge of a patient would present a risky home situation, how would you present this to your interdisciplinary team?  In relationships with co-workers, if a conflict, how would you or did you handle it? Confidentiality…do you monitor your elevator conversations?

4. Criminal record checks.  If in smaller communities, stopping in at the local RCMP office may be sufficient (my practise when working in Nunavut) but make certain you have two forms or original govt issued ID and find out the payment method needed. …Here is the site to check…

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/fing-empr2-eng.htm

       in Edmonton abit more complicated..

http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/pics

5. Portability letters. You may also need to provide a letter of portability from your previous employer, indicating dates of employment, final rate of pay, and total hours worked, and/or original educational documents for consideration of an education allowance (ie. Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree, Perioperative Course, Bachelor of Science Degree, etc.) must be provided to your manager or Human Resource Services…site for Covenant Health.. http://www.caritas.ab.ca/Home/Careers/Questions/default.htm

My experience here is find out if your union is compatible between sites, as mine was NOT in one recent situation. Thus a different wage and step level. Currently having to search all my previous employers for portability letters…abit of a pain, but with a detailed resume, it helps!

GOOD LUCK and hope the above is helpful to some of you older and perhaps younger ones in the job search