SK Trip - Part II

Blog alert:  Long post ahead - and it's heavy on both photos AND sarcasm.  Consider yourself forewarned.

Did I mention what a GREAT time I had in SK?

> Sure, I missed my family:

Photo credit:  Gary Sykes

> Sure, I ate wayyyyy too many cupcakes:

(No, I didn't eat them ALL... These are the leftovers from the batch I bought for our table!  And then I forgot them at Janet's place - hope Ken is enjoying them, Janet! :))

> Sure, I drank REAL coffee for the first time (iced cappuccinos don't count)...

(Two cups, actually - and was bouncing off the walls all day...)

> Sure, the Saskie girls made fun of me for being an Eastern city girl...

But I learned a lot in five days:

1)  The "ferry" that they decided to take me on (since the lake wasn't frozen enough to DRIVE across) is not really a ferry.

Not like a REAL ferry, anyways, like the MV Jiiman.

It's more of a dock.  That travels back and forth from bank to bank.  And can fit only four cars at a time.  Or is it six?

Amanda and Janet were so tickled by my naivété that they insisted on taking my photo with Mr. Neudorf:

Yep.  Me in all my jet-lagged glory.  And the ferryman.

Don't worry - I didn't pay him.  (I've listened to Chris Deburgh before).

2)  Strange conversations occur around a kitchen table at 8:00 pm on a Thursday night whilst pedicures à la Kate go 'round... 

And Kate can turn a very pretty shade of red when you mention Santa... :D

3)  My Blackberry takes crappy photos.

This is even prettier IRL!  The necklace, not my turkey wattle... :s

4)  My lovely friend, Kate, in addition to creating the prettiest toes around (my daughter was very jealous, K!!), is also an accomplished jewelry artist.  She made me that gorgeous necklace above at SK Scraps:

I left it with her to tighten up some loose links... and I miss it (and her!) already. :( 

5)  Eastern vs. Western vocabulary:

A "dugout", in the prairies, is where the cows drink.  A "slough" (a.k.a. slew or slue) is where the cows pee.

"Dainties", in the prairies, are not panties, as they are sometimes referred to in the Eastern provinces.  They are tiny desserts.  So if a SK man invites you over for dainties after dinner, don't be offended - he's not a perv... he's just a gentleman.  Who probably likes to bake.

And lastly, a "bunnyhug" in the prairies, is identical to what the rest of the world* refers to as a hoodie.

*okay, maybe not the world, but at least in Ontario...  and I already knew this one!

Many thanks to transplanted Westerner, RhuBarbRiley Pie, for sharing those little tidbits with me.

6)  Them Albertan girls can SING!!

Well done on the Madonna table theme, ladies!  Brought back lots of high school memories...  some not all that flattering for me!  Can you say "cut-off gloves and asymmetrical earrings"?

7)  Amanda is a pot head*.  And Linda likes to show everyone her red bra**.

And she rubbed my bum a lot too, come to think of it... If I hadn't have liked it so much, I may have been offended. ;)

*Not really. ** Kind of. :)

8)  My SK friends and I may look normal in photos...

(L to R, starting at back left:  Janet, Kate, Amanda, Andrea (or Ahn-drea, according Amanda), Corinne, me, Melissa)

But when we think the camera is off...

Ha.  Busted. :)

So, I should probably write this trip off, just for the sheer educational value.  Hmmm...

And not only did I learn a lot, but I got to meet some new friends that I have met through this wonderful scrapbooking industry!  I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones of whom I have photos...

Lizette (pictured above, far right, in the Madonna-wanna-bees photo)

Linda (the bum-toucher...LOL!)

Jess  I was happy to meet Jess at SK Scraps this year - we met online several years ago, so it was nice to finally meet in person!

And it was nice to finally meet fellow Canadian Scrapbooker teammate, the very talented and beautiful Christy Riopel!

I felt like I've known Christy for years - don't you love when you meet online friends like that?

Christy has some great photos from SK Scraps up on her blog here... I HAVE to remember to send her an email, requesting that awesome photo of Amanda and I!!

And if you've made it this far, thank you!  I hope I haven't offended anyone by this post - I'm naturally sarcastic and it sometimes comes across as quite b!tchy in text! LOL!