Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Love

The ability to love, give love and share love has to be one of the greatest blessings and yet one that is not always appreciated and goes unnoticed so many times. It surrounds us but is often very subtle. I'm reminded daily of how very blessed I am to have a family to love and one that loves me in return. It's an unconditional love, giving and taking, always growing!

Today I watched one of my kids bid a tearful goodbye to their significant other, soon to be spouse. My heart broke for both of them. They will not see each other in person again until mid January. They are waiting for the necessary paperwork so our kid can legally enter the US at which time they will wed. Immigrating to the US is not as easy as it would appear even with the intentions of getting married. So far they have been waiting since July. We've watch their love grow and become stronger despite the obstacles. At the same time our love has grown as we've supported them. We've had the opportunity to get to know the soon to be newest member of our family. We are very blessed that they have allowed us to share this chapter of their lives.

Hot Flashes :)

It's time for a little humour and in case anyone is wondering, I can find a lot of humour in my own life. It's not exactly like I'm a spring chicken but I'm young at heart so that counts and it's not like I'm exactly old neither as I haven't hit that four score and something mark yet. The current source of humour here is known as hot flashes. Hey you had to figure that eventually that topic or some reference to it would come up. I am a little concerned when walking to the car on these chilly mornings surrounded by a cloud of steam of my very own production and that's while wearing a t-shirt and shorts! It's discerning to see our house is surrounded by fog when the neighbouring houses are nice and clear with no fog in sight. Seriously I am just "this close" to becoming a nudist and then I would still be too hot. Yep, I can just see the looks on my kids face when they show up seeing me in my birthday suit, stretch marks and all! They would just roll their eyes and give that look "Mom's on a new kick." while silently wondering how long before it passes. Now that's a good question because I'm wondering how long hot flashes last myself. Seriously they can't last longer than a year or so, can they? Well if they are going to last for any length of time, I'll best make the most of them. They are too good to pass up!

Why I love hot flashes:

• No heat is required in the house ever. Trust me I can produce enough heat to heat the house in a blizzard and then some!
• I now have a beautiful, glistening glow. It comes and goes but hey it is cheaper than make-up.
• Sleeping is simply an option freeing up more time for playing online! Who needs sleep anyway?
  
• I'm saving a lot of time and energy on cooking food by strapping pouches of food to my waist during the day. By dinner time the food is nicely steamed ready to eat!
• They are cheaper than either a sauna or hot tube and just as beneficial.
• Grandma (aka me) makes a good slip and slide :)
  
• I'm my own de-wrinkler - clothes and otherwise and I work reasonably well near curtains too.
  
• My husband is thrilled I can pop corn on my tummy while watching tv.
  
• Border patrol has classified me as a hot spot! They hover over our house to the point I'm going to need a tin foil hat but that would hold the heat in :(
  
• I love saying "Honestly officer, there is only me in the car." as they eye up the steamed windows while I'm sitting in the parking lot.
• They taught me a new game - "Covers on, Covers off".
  
• My husband has to put on the fog lights just to get out of our driveway. Thanks to me, he knows those lights work!

Stay tuned for a wonderful side effect of hot flashes called mood swings. Apparently, mood swings are a bit more noticeable to those other than me. They don't bother me in the least so I'll have to get the opinions of others to post a follow-up.

Buy Nothing Day 2007

Today is Buy Nothing Day in North America. The event is also celebrated in the United Kingdom on November 24 this year. Buy Nothing Day began in 1992 in Canada as an initiative by Ted Dave. He was working in the advertising world and wanted to perform an act against the constant appeal to over consume. His motto was: Enough is enough! Buy Nothing Day highlights the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries constitute 20 % of the world's population yet they are consuming over 80% of the world's natural resources. This causes a disproportion level of environmental damage and an unfair distribution of wealth. Buy Nothing Day is meant to raise the consumer consciousness in the hopes of encouraging a life long commitment to consuming less, recycling more and challenge companies to clean up and be fair. The idea has been adopted by several countries with Buy Nothing Day activities in at least thirteen countries this year. Participation is easy. Simply buy nothing the entire day. You can also organize an event, hang a poster in your window, blog about it and tell others.

Buy Nothing Day is a good time to reflect on what you buy and how it impacts the environment and developing countries. We've all heard of brand loyalty but does that company really deserve your loyalty? Sure they might produce the product you want but at what cost? Do they have a firm environmental policy in place? Do they pay their workers a fair salary? How do they treat their workers? How do they produce their goods? Are they producing toxic waste during production? Are they using cheap labour in developing countries where the workers are not protected? What about packaging? Are you buying the product because of advertising or because you really need it? Advertisers want us to believe we have to have the product. After all, that is their job. What aren't they telling us? There are so many questions!

This is a great day to write that letter to telling them why you won't be buying their product because of . So please spread the word. Hang a poster. Write a letter. Blog about it. Talk about it. Participate by not shopping!

Wordless Wednesday - Mallard Duck Visit

Mallard Ducks
Nov. 18, 2007

Monday Funnies - Lemonade

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Many Blessings

To participate in Blog Your Blessings Sunday click here.

Last week was slow paced and pleasant despite a couple of dreary, cold weather days. I busied myself with a couple of winterizing projects. The wind was quite strong a few times but that was a blessing for helping me detect drafts. This house is quite solid so there isn't near as much sealing or winterizing needed as our last house. In fact the house is so well sealed and insulated we have not raised the thermostat higher than 19º C (67ºF) and that was only for a couple of hours as I had a chill. Right now 18ºC (65ºF) is a comfortable setting. This unexpected bonus is a nice, much appreciated blessing as well.

Thursday was busy as I got the call to pick up our half of pig, another blessing that came about from a farmer giving up pig farming so the price was well below market value. Since moving here, my second chest freezer is smaller than what I had at our last house. It is new and energy efficient though and it has forced me to be more conscious of my freezer space, all blessings. That meant I had to do some freezer reorganizing as well as get things ready for the weekend. It also meant I had a few pieces of meat to do a bit of canning with as well but that would have to wait until after the weekend.

Then it happened, every drain in the lower level backed up Friday night! Just perfect when Saturday was my husband's monthly poker game that we host and the kids with grandbaby would be home. We thought we had the problem solved only to discover the furnace room flooded Saturday morning! We figured out the pump was not pumping the water/sewage from the reservoir up and out but if we unplugged the pump and switch then plugged it back in it worked (would need repeating until we could repair), another blessing. So my husband used the some of the kitty litter I had for my door snakes to soak the water and odour and we got on with our entertainment plans.

I watched grandbaby (a real blessing!) while making various appetizers for the crowd. What a little sweetheart! Grandbaby is walking now which is really cute but I have to tell you this little one can climb stairs faster than Grandma can. I'm really tuckered out but in a good way.

My husband cleaned out the furnace room this afternoon preparing for the needed repair. Unfortunately a few things had to be discarded. The rest of the kitty litter was spread out to soak up all the water so that will be scooped up later this afternoon. This was a good reminder (a blessing) to keep a large bag of kitty litter on hand and install a water alarm. It's important for anyone with sump pumps and even more important in cases as ours where sewage water could be involved.

So all in all last week was good and even in the midst of problems there were blessing.

Wordless Wednesday - Geese at Sunset

Geese at Sunset
October 21, 2007

Remembrance Day 2007

My Great Uncle

[updated 12:oo pm]: Did you go to a Remembrance Day Service? If not, why? What could possibly be your excuse for not going? Give me your best shot. I will tell you now that unless you were infirmed or deceased, you as a Canadian have no excuse for not attending! You have no excuse for not showing your respect for our fallen soldiers and those still battling for our freedom. Sorry, you do not have an excuse! It doesn't matter if it is drizzling, snowy, pouring rain, in the midst of a blizzard or so cold your toes freeze while standing at the ceremony.

This year is the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9-14, 1917). At least four of my ancestors fought in WWI and two of them were at Vimy Ridge. I grew up in a home were all family members were involved in one way or another in the military. Just about every one of the male members and some of the female members of my biological family (different from home I grew up in) were in the military. My European ancestors were fighting wars from the time they landed in Quebec, my English ancestors under British rule and my native ancestors well before then. All these efforts have made Canada the country it is today. I know my family stories, how the wars affected our family and yet time over time again, our family has enlisted defending our country. Our chests have been inflated at the honours, deflated at picking up the pieces and our hearts have been broken at burying our dead. Men barely out of their teens, still babies themselves buried. They had no excuse but gave freely with their lives.

What possible reason could you have for not paying respect?

Do You See the Baby?

If you can't see the baby in the picture, don't give up.
It's really cool when it actually appears.
This is not a joke and ~ NO ~ Nothing is going to jump out at you!

You have to have an open mind.
Don't look for a Baby, and you will see the Baby!

Once you see it you won't see anything else!!!

This is so cool. Do you see the baby?

author unknown, image source unknown
If you know the author or image source, please let me know so I can acknowledge accordingly.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset Through the Clouds

Sunset Through the Clouds
November 5, 2007

Monday Funnies - Growth Hormone

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - The Miracle of Life

Grandbaby
ETA April 5, 2008

What better blessing to celebrate than the miracle of life. We are closely watching the development of this little wonder sharing the milestones in vitro and sharing the hopes and dreams. It is a true blessing to share this with our kids as everyone prepares to welcome a new bundle of joy into our lives. Once again our family is growing. This little one like those before him or her will be surrounded with a lot of love and supported unconditionally by family.

Happy Hallowe'en 2007

A Beautiful Day

Boating
Oct 22, 2007

The weather has certainly been unseasonable here, much warmer than it should be. So the kiddies shouldn't have to wear snowsuits for Trick or Treating tomorrow night. We were supposed to go to help hand out candy and grandbaby's house. We were going to leave tonight, babysit tomorrow and head home after the festivities except my husband and son are down with colds. This cold hit my husband quite hard so him driving down tonight was not an option and exposing the kids and grandbaby to the cold . So I did a little Hallowe'en decorating, not much mind you as I only put the decorations up the day before and take them down the day after. It felt good puttering outdoors enjoying the sun's kisses. I even took a break to sit on the dock enjoying the glittering water. What a beautiful day!

Monday Funnies - Tolerance

RIP Dr. Kornberg

Enchantment
October 25, 2007

Dr. Arthur Kornberg died yesterday of respiratory failure at the age of 89. He was an active professor emeritus at Standford's School of Medicine. This genetic pioneer won the Nobel prize in 1959 for the synthesis of DNA in the test tube. He compared the nitrogenous base compositions of the DNA template with those recovered from the DNA product thus demonstrating that the templates were replicated faithfully. He also used the nearest-neighbour frequency test to assay the fidelity of the copying confirming that DNA polymerase I seed to be the likely candidate for DNA synthesis during replication within the cell. Out of necessity Kornberg's experiments were performed in vitro.

I have had the distinct privilege and honour of listing and meeting some of the greats in the field of genetics. Dr. Kornberg was one of those that I had the opportunity to listen to, riveted in my seat hanging to his every word. I can still remember quite vividly the first time I separated a strand of DNA. It was a sheer thrill! Then it got better as I visualized the DNA as bands on a gel and realizing each band represented a nucleotide creating a sequence. I still get a thrill at seeing this. The pioneers of genetics left us this legacy. We are indeed very fortunate!

Rest in Peace, Dr. Kornberg and thank-you.

Thoughts on Autumn

Sunrise on Maple
October 25, 2007

I have a love/hate feeling about autumn. The abundance of the harvest keeps me busy as the days begin to cool and daylight hours get shorter. The sunsets and sunrises can be spectacular. Yesterday the sun peeped just enough above the peak of the house to light up one of the maple trees. The beautiful orange and red leaves just popped against the vivid blue sky! I love the days with blue skies and sunshine but dread the grey days like today. Everything takes on a grey cast including the water. November is my least favourite month because of the grey. It is such a long, dreary month!

Little Miss Sunshine

Now We're Cooking...
October 6, 2007

Little Miss Sunshine loves to help Grandma in the kitchen! I've been told by her mom that she like helping at home as well. Cupboards and cabinets are kid magnets but she comes by being in the kitchen by nature. Our kids were always in the kitchen and still are because of our love of good food so it is only natural she wants to be in the kitchen as well. We just have to work a little on her technique!

Wordless Wednesday - A Beautiful Sunset Over the Water

Sunset Over the Water
October 23, 2007

Final Boat Ride 2007

Final Boat Ride 2007
October 22, 2007

The weather turned unseasonably warm over the weekend. I wanted to take a final boat ride as our boat was scheduled to be lifted out of the water the week of October 22 to be stored for the winter. Unfortunately the weekend was too busy with preparing and hosting my husband's monthly poker tournament and taking our future daughter-in-law to the airport. I kept my fingers crossed hoping for nice weather yesterday and that they hadn't got to our boat yet.

Yesterday was warm and breezy. My husband called saying he was taking the afternoon off, one of the perks of self employment, to take the boat out for her final ride of 2007. I quickly tidied up my canning anticipating the boat ride. The water was crisp looking in the slip with the bottom and weeds showing clearly through. This is one of the first signs of colder weather coming. As we left the cut the beautiful blue sky with white wispy clouds took on grey tones. The water was a deep bluish green that deepened as we scooted over the choppy waters. The wind was strong going against the current creating some nice sizes swells. The skies continued to darken so we decided to turn around and head towards our slip. I stood for awhile enjoying the wind whip my hair around, drinking in the sights while snapping a lot of pictures. When we arrived back at the marina it was clear that they would reach our boat today ending yet another wonderful boating season. This year is a little bitter sweet as it may be the last year for this boat. We've been looking at buying a bigger boat and already have one possible boat in mind. We'll see what the winter brings. In the meantime we have a lot of great memories and pictures from this boating season!

Monday Funnies - Who Wants Ice Cream

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Focusing on Family and Friends

Last week was filled with many blessings. A scheduled procedure had to be unexpectedly postponed so I busied myself canning beef and pumpkin. Both looked lovely in the jars as they took their place in an almost bulging at the seams pantry. Being able to stock the pantry through canning is always a blessing! The weather turned unseasonably warm so we were able to spend a bit more time outdoors, winterizing the house and simply enjoying the sun's kiss. Our future daughter-in-law came mid-week to spend a few days giving us a chance to visit. Last night my husband hosted his monthly poker game to some 20 gentlemen. I had a wonderful time playing hostess, serving up various snacks and chili as well as making sure things were going smoothly. Once again family, friends and good food were the focus - all true blessings!

Wordless Wednesday - Problem Solved

Problem Solved
October 7, 2007

Blog Action Day - The Environment

Today over fifteen thousand blogs with twelve million readers will be blogging on one topic - The Environment. Each of my blogs are participating, each from a different perspective so be sure to read them all.

Readers of this blog know that each Monday the entry is a funny of some type. Remember in humour there is an element of truth. Today's funny is a very good example of that.

Cirrhosis is caused by chronic liver disease. It is irreversible but treatment could stop or delay further progression. and is life threatening. The liver is responsible for filtering out toxins much like a river in nature. How appropriate to compare the current condition of our waterways due to toxins from factories to cirrhosis. We live on the Great Lakes waterway system. Industrial chemical spills are of concern in our area as well as in other parts of the waterway system. These spills are either accidental or illicit discharges of substances such as oil, hydrocarbons, chemicals and waste. Not only are these spills harmful to humans, they also harm marine life and the environment.

What I have noticed though that the problem is not caused just industrial spills. Littering and illegal dumping are common in our waters. The dump may be as small as pour the left-over contents of an herbicide into the water or releasing waste water into natural waterways. Some residents living along the waterways think nothing of dumping their yard clippings into the water. These are the very same people who would be very vocal over industrial spills. How are their actions any different other than being on a smaller scale? Farm chemicals enter the waterways through run-off as does the salt we use on the roads in the winter. Things like Tylenol and estrogen are showing up in our water supplies as well. Compounding the problem is the introduction of nonindiginous species into the waterways disrupting the natural balance.

It is time we as citizens of this earth stand up and say enough is enough! We need action and personal accountability for how we use water. If we don't our water will reach the point of suffering irreversible damage. Each of us has a responsibility to protect our water for ourselves, for future generations and for the environment.

Garden Gnome
©2007

Misty Sunrise

Misty Sunrise
October 5, 2007

It's that time of the year with cooling weather and foggy skies. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of this beautiful misty sunrise. What a photo opportunity!

Blog Action Day 2007

October 15 is Blog Action Day. This year's theme is the environment. Imagine 9,898 blogs, the number of registered bloggers when I signed up my blogs, uniting to blog about a common theme. Each of my blogs will participate in this worthy cause. It will be interesting coming up with four very different entries that combine the topic of each blog with the theme of Blog Action Day. Please join the cause, register your blog and blog about the environment on October 15. You can blog about any topic relating to the environment.

Weather Turning

Sunrise
October 7, 2007

The days are turning grey with foggy mornings. The clouds reflected nicely off the crisping of the water giving what I thought was a pretty effect. I really don't enjoy this time of year, not with the grey. I love the fall colours but not the greying of the days. The only saving grace is being kept busy with preserving as much as possible. It seems the sun just disappears while the temperatures drop. It signals the end to the warm weather along with needing to get things ready for winter but it also triggers a negative mood swing for me that lasts for most of the month of November. I seriously need every light in the house on! The only things I really enjoy are seeing a full pantry and turning to genealogy.

We haven't had a frost yet even though our ADFF was October 8. Tomatoes ended last week so I'm working on apples and squashes along with canning a few meats to free up room in the freezer. At the same time with the cooling temperatures I'm busy sealing up the house. I'm scheduled for surgery on Tuesday so am working frantically to get everything finished before then. The timing is not the best given our boat comes out of the water the week of the 22nd and I doubt I will feel up to boating before then but if things go well I will be healed nicely before Christmas.

I'm aiming for going to our daughter's on Oct 31 to see our grandbaby's first Hallowe'en and help hand out candy because we have at most one or two little goblin visitors. We are going to babysit her for the day so that will be a real treat and I'm making dinner! I don't think they are planning doing the trick or treat routine with her this year because she is pretty small and they only know a very few people in their neighbourhood. They are going to be dressing her up for the occasion but I'm not sure as what yet. My husband is going to be dressed in his monk's outfit. Now if you know him you would laugh! I'm bringing my witch's costume so if I feel like dressing up I can. We are planning on coming home that night but it should be a lot of family fun!

Thanksgiving 2007

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - Thanksgiving Weekend

Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving and while we officially celebrated our last weekend the kids were home this weekend so it was still a food fest filled with a lot of love, laughter and good feelings. This time of year reminds me to always be thankful for very family and good friends. They are what really makes our life experiences. Both should always be treasured! They are true blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday - Grandpa's Love

Grandpa's Love
September 28, 2007

A Rainbow Spotted on Our Road Trip

Rainbow
September 28, 2007

We left the house late Friday afternoon heading in an easterly direction towards our daughter and son-in-law's home. Safely tucked in the trunk was shredded barbeque pork for dinner and the turkey for Saturday's early Thanksgiving feast. The Canadian Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated the second Monday in October. We had tentative plans for that weekend so an earlier date fit everyone's schedule and it meant that at least two of our married kid's would not have to eat two Thanksgiving dinners in one weekend.

We travelled north then directly east, made a couple of jiggs finally arriving at Hwy 401. Continuing on our journey, I spotted a rainbow. I took several pictures as the car was speeding towards its destination. My theory is the posted speed limit is the speed to be going but my husband's idea is as long as you are within 20 km of the speed limit, it's ok. Anyway, there were no signs of rain and the rainbow just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Somehow it just seemed so fitting. Here we were heading towards a family get together with the promise of a wonderful time. The rainbow echoed that promise.

The weekend was amazing. We enjoyed being with our kids and grandbaby. We even took a trip to a neat apple orchard, did a bit of grocery shopping but more importantly we spent the time with our family. On the way home I realized one of the dishes I brought needed to be used up so called my daughter. Then when we arrived home she called to say she got the message and they will be home this Friday for the weekend. So we are going to be having a second Thanksgiving dinner but lower scaled.

Monday Funnies - Barney Creature

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - A Early Thanksgiving Gathering

My blessings this week were centred around family and food. During the week I stocked the pantry with a lot of home canned foods then Friday we headed out to celebrate an early Thanksgiving feast with our kids at their home. Traditionally the Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated the second Monday of October. All of our kids gathered there as well. We brought the turkey that was roasted in our traditional manner starting in the oven just before 10 am. Once the turkey was in the oven, we headed to an amazing apple orchard then after a short stop at the grocery store we headed back to their house. The grandbaby in true form was the centre of attention. Her favourite spot is in the kitchen so was underfoot for most of the food prep but in a good way. At nine months of age, she scoots up the stairs and gets into everything. She's perfecting her evil eye look that is just hilarious to watch! Our son and daughter-in-law arrived with the first pictures of their soon to be little one aka our second grandbaby. After a very filling meal of turkey with all the fixings we settled in for an evening of simply enjoying being together. Life as always is very good when surrounded by those you love!

Wordless Wednesday - In Memory There is Hope, In Hope There is Survival

Carnations
(breast cancer)
September 2007

Breast Cancer Awareness

Monday Funnies - Experts

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - A Wonderful Week

Last week was one where everything just seemed to meld together in a glorious blur of blessings. Some of my blessing highlights were:

1. family as always provided love, strength, support and laughter
2. video of grandbaby now 9 months old climbing the stairs
3. excited news from DS and DDIL over hearing their baby's heartbeat for the very first time
4. being able to take advantage of a couple of very good meat sales
5. an abundance of local, in-season produce
   
6. several successful canning sessions - my pantry is beginning to burst at the seams
   
7. numerous photo opportunities
8. a visit from a spider with a leg span of almost 3" - the blessings were we identified him to find he wasn't harmful to humans (barring my instant heart attack) and he was outside
9. quiet reflective time
10. two gnew gnomes joined my gnome empire
    

In the Beauty of the Day

Mute Swans
September 19, 2007

Yesterday I took a little more me time. I'm not sure why but I need it right now. The pork shoulder was defatting in the oven and I knew the hamper of tomatoes would wait so I went and sat by the water again. The swan family visited yesterday. The cygnets have really grown so likely are closer to yearlings now. I fed them a little so I could get a few nice pictures. They stayed around the dock until after sunset. As the sun went down I snapped this picture of the mother with cygnet. It was a perfect ending to a bit of a relaxing day.

Wordless Wednesday - The Rose

Simple Beauty
September 18, 2007

Me Time

Clouds While Boating
August 17, 2007

I'm into the heavier canning season so spent much of the weekend cooking and canning. Keeping the motivation at a high level can sometimes be a problem this time of year at the best of times but I'm still tired from our move and settling in so fighting procrastination is a daily thing. One of the grocery stores have a sale on pork shoulder roasts at $1 per pound so that has been a good motivator. I canned up five test jars on Sunday (picture and method here) after a slow cook. It was a nice break from canning tomatoes. We are taking advantage of this sale so my husband brought home 16.4 lbs for $16.40 regular price of $53.96, a substantial savings. It's in the oven now slow cooking for canning later this evening.

With no tomatoes to process today and having no one home, I've decided on a little "me" time while I wait for the roast to cook. After filling the bird feeders, I'll do a walk-about the gardens, camera in hand. Then I'm going to settle in on the dock for an hour or two flipping through a couple of home improvement and scrapbooking magazines listening to the sounds of the water and pausing to catch the sights. It should be a very relaxing and reflective afternoon.

Enjoy your day!

Monday Funnies - Genetic Engineering 101

Fruit Bowl

Perpetual Fruit Bowl
September 13, 2007

I had a dentist's appointment this morning so stopped at the nearby grocery store to pick up a few things. As always a healthy part of the purchase was fruit and vegetables. While most of my produce purchases is from a wonderful little market with locally grown produce, I have to buy things like exotic fruits, citrus and bananas at the grocery store. For some reason today's shopping stop jogged a small memory tucked away.

Food plays a huge part in our family and always has. Everyone who knows us, knows that and they know how insulted I would be to think anyone ever left our home hungry. I always have two large bowls of fruit, one on the kitchen/dining table and the other on the coffee table. I also always has a huge bowl of vegetables on the kitchen counter. Both are repeated in the form of chopped fruits and vegetables in the fridge. The contents vary but they are always there. The rule in our house is any food is fair game meaning even when the kids were toddlers they were free to help themselves. My philosophy was and still is emphasizing good, wholesome foods. Kids will eat what is available and in our house heavily processed, preservative laden foods full of excess salt and sugar was just simply not available. So back to this little memory.

One day our youngest, then a precocious pre-schooler climbed up onto a chair and sat looking very perplexed at the fruit bowl. Thinking he was trying to choose a piece of fruit, I continued about my kitchen activities. Finally he sighed and asked me if the fruit bowl ever got empty. I said, well sure but because we keep eating it the bowl keeps being refilled. Satisfied he grabbed an apple and went off to find his brothers and sister. A few minutes later it was just a bit too quiet so I went to investigate. He was munching on his apple telling them that the bowl was magic so it would never get empty. We heard the night time raids and did find evidence of them trying to empty the fruit bowl by eating one piece at a time but true to his then their belief the bowl was always filled.

Over the years I've added new fruit bowls like the one in the photo but that one bowl is always out. Our kids are now grown with fruit bowls of their own. I have to smile when I see the bowls heaped full available for anyone to snack on. One of our traditions has been passed onto the next generation :)

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset at the Marina

Sunset at the Marina
September 8, 2007

The Marina

The Marina
Sep 9, 2007

We stayed overnight on the boat Saturday night despite the forecast for rain. The marina we docked at is one we've stayed at several times. It's within walking distance of a few restaurants and grocery store but the marina provides a shuttle service to larger shopping centres. We opted to walk to the near by sports bar for a quiet meal while watching the football game. After dinner we went for a nice walk before settling down on the boat. It's always quite relaxing just sitting on the boat as it rocks gently in the water while taking in the sights and sounds of the marina.

I awoke to the sound of a gentle rain in the early morning hours and of course couldn't get back to sleep. I couldn't go and sit outside because of the rain so finally turned on one of the cabin lights to read through a magazine while my husband slept to the sounds of rain drops increasing in numbers and boat rocked a little stronger. Being rained out when boating much the same as being rained out in a tent when camping but photo opportunities always present themselves.

Not to miss any photo opportunities, the camera was beside me on the cabin's ledge. Looking out one of the port holes, I spotted the lighted palm trees a few feet from our well. I took a few pictures from inside hoping for at least one good one. It's had to tell how good the picture will be from the LED display sometimes. I was rather pleased with what I thought was the best picture from the group. The palm trees sit on each side of the dock ramp. What looks like golden shimmering water is actually the dock beside our boat. The empty well beside us adds to the illusion of shimmering water forming a mirage effect.

Monday Funnies - He's a Rebel

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Boating

I thought it was about time to change my Blog Your Blessings Sunday banner so I hope you like the new design.

Last week was quite busy and filled with many blessings. We decided to end the week by taking the boat out overnight yesterday. Apparently the rain predictions didn't scare off my husband. We had an uneventful trip there and ate dinner at a lovely little sports bar with great food and likely more importantly the football game on. We took a nice walk after dinner then sat on the boat chatting while the sun set. In the wee hours of the morning it began to rain so despite the rhythm of the falling rain and gentle lapping of the waves, I couldn't sleep. This morning promised more rain so we headed back to our slip. All of our clothes were wet. What wasn't wet was damp so it was a chilly ride home but we arrived safe and sound getting the boat unloaded just in time for more rain. A safe boating journey is always a blessing!

Other blessings last week included:

1. quiet time with my husband - talking and laughing while discussing what we need to do in the house
2. quiet self reflective time
   
3. family and friends
4. a bit of good luck at a casino
   
5. excellent produce availability
6. knowledge and ability for several successful canning sessions
7. mastering another Photoshop technique
   
8. an encouraging physio report
9. blogging friends
10. just being
    

Have a great week filled with many blessings,

Fiery Sunset

Fiery Sunset
September 5, 2007

The days have been quite busy with traveling and canning so last night I decided to sit on the dock and finish reading the final pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The evening was quite fitting and as the sun set I closed the book. The cool air enveloped me as the sky turned a beautiful orangy red. I sat for quite sometime digesting what I had read knowing full well that I would be re-reading the last hundred pages before going to bed.

Wordless Wednesday - Boat Ripples

Boat Ripples
June 17, 2007

IKEA Sweetheart

IKEA Sweetheart
Sep 1, 2007

Sorry everyone but I wasn't home to post my Sunday blessings and yesterday was so busy trying to get back into routine, well blogging was a bit on the back burner. I spent Thursday canning and packing. We left Thursday night to travel to my daughter and son-in-laws full of anticipation and excitement. We were going to have the grandbaby to ourselves for the whole day!

Friday, they were ready to go out the door about 8 am while grandbaby played with grandpa aka my dear hubby while I rolled over for a couple of extra z's (that's zed's not zee's). I woke with a start because everything was so quiet to discover both of them snuggled up sleeping on the couch. The noise from the camera caused her to stir enough to open her eyes but she wasn't ready to wake fully yet so she drifted off to sleep again. Grandpa carefully put her on the love seat so I could watch her while he got ready for our big day. She finally woke with a beautiful smile and twinkle in her eye signaling time to roll. I quickly got ready and we started loading everything into our car. Do you have any idea how much stuff kids need today?

We headed to IKEA at Burlington. IKEA is one of our favourite places to shop. First we stopped for lunch with the grandbaby sitting in a cart eating off of our plates. At only 8 months old she doesn't do the baby food routine but prefers to eat what adults are eating. Her parents are doing a remarkable job of introducing her to as many foods as possible so she will eat most foods. Then we were off shopping. Grandpa picked up a hippo he just thought she needed that turned out to be a good call. She is a very quiet and content baby so it was a few minutes before we noticed she had fallen asleep on her new hippo. Gosh, we have so many pictures from this outing! We decided to surprise the kids with a steak barbeque with all the fixings so after IKEA we stopped at Fortino's then headed back to their place. We enjoyed a lovely meal then played Joker as the grandbaby slept happy to be at home and the sleepy fairies fluttered about beckoning sleep. Babies sure can tucker out grandparents!

Saturday, we headed to Burlington for Canada's largest ribfest. This is a wonderful family event that we all look forward to. It was the grandbaby's first ribfest and she ate with all the gusto of the rest of us. If you would like more details on the ribfest check out the latest entry on my cooking blog. Sufficiently stuffed and tired everyone headed to our son and daughter-in-law's for the night. Eventually the sleepy fairies fluttered about :)

Sunday, we went out for breakfast at Cora's. It was a nice, filling breakfast with wonderfully cooked food and fruits. Then we did a little shopping finally stopping at Whole Foods. I loved this supermarket from the get go. It was bright, airy and filled with lots of culinary eye candy! After dropping thing kids off and collecting our overnight things, we headed home stopping in Brantford at the casino where we had an interesting experience along with making money. Then we pointed the car towards home to enjoy the comforts of our own bed :)