Is the world passing me by

I don`t own a cell phone.  Every so often I think I should get one, especially when I am driving to Moncton or Fredericton by myself.   But then I stop and remember it would just be another way for people to annoy me.  I like the quietness of driving along the highway, lost in my own thoughts.  Mind you other drivers  aren`t too sure about that, especially when I drift over the yellow line lost in thought.

What would be so important in my life that my family needs to be able to contact me every minute of the day.  I don`t m ind them reaching out and touching me, but for God sakes, my every moment is not so exciting, I need to share it.    When DH and I are home together, we can go for hours without speaking.   Not because we are mad and WW3 is ready to break out, but both of us knew what peace there is in silence.

Texting is just beyond my comprehensive.  Every where you look, people are texting.  What would be so important at the grocery store, that you need to text your friends?   Is their life complete because  they just found out Sobeys reduced the price on bananas?

The local variety store has posted a sign for its employees, `We pay you to work, not to text your friends.  Cell phones and blackberries not allowed during working hours.` Well said.

August’s Crown

”Whilst August yet wears her golden crown, Ripening fields lush- bright with promise; Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.” – Michelle L. Thieme,

Picture of sunflowers by my very talented grand-daughter Meaghan.

I felt the love

Yesterday was a wonderful birthday! Just after noon I received a phone call from my DH to go out to the parking lot as a parcel was waiting for me.  And there he was!  My DH, who has been away for the past 22 days. Standing there with his signature rose and a birthday card.   I thought it could not get any better.

I was mistaken.  Not only had he left the job site to drive 4 hours, just to spend my birthday with me, he brought presents too!  One package of high-end Lee Valley clothes pins, a small flashlight and wait for it…..a Lee Valley Hardware catalogue.   Nothing says I love you, like your very own Lee Valley catalogue.

Needless to say, I did not stay at work for the rest of the day.   DH and I had a delicious barbecue chicken supper at home, as he eats at a restaurant three times a day.   Instead of birthday cake, we had my favourite chocolate cream pie. The evening was topped off by a visit to the Bulk Barn for kitty litter.  Yes, I have a life to be envied.

Throughout the day I received Facebook wishes, cards, birthday comments and my horoscope (thanks San).   My children and grandchildren even remembered it was my day.  In fact, my grandson Addison, tore himself away from  Star Craft 11 long enough to call and wish me a happy birthday!

My DH left at 5:00 this morning to return to the job site.  Hopefully the job will be done within a week.

Tonight everything is back to normal…….. me, the kitty and leftovers.   But life is still good!

Flower fairy

THE SONG OF*THE CANTERBURY BELL FAIRY

Bells that ring from ancient towers  -Canterbury Bells
Give their name to summer flowers Canterbury Bells!
Do the flower-fairies, playing,
Know what those great bells are saying?
Fairy, in your purple hat,
Little fairy, tell us that!

“Naught I know of bells in towers–Canterbury Bells!
Mine are pink or purple flowers–Canterbury Bells!
When I set them all a-swaying,
Something, too, my bells are saying;
Can’t you hear them–ding-dong-ding–
Calling fairy-folk to sing?”

Aprons

My Nanny always wore an apron.   The apron might have been butcher style with a full bib but it was always a pretty  cotton trimmed with colour binding.  I remember shopping with my Mom for apron fabric.  My Mom would sew aprons for Nanny as Christmas, her birthday and Mother`s Day gifts.  After all what would you give a woman who has everything including me as a grandchild.

Nanny preferred small floral prints in soft colours.   An apron was practical.  It was where you wiped your hands after making pie dough, or what you used to wipe the tears of a child who just skinned her knee.   The pocket was a great place to keep the money for the milk man or a handful of cloves, to chew on.

I found this beauty at the local thrift shop.   At first I thought the trim was plastic but a closer look revealed it was cross stitching over cotton rick rack worked on the 
gingham.  Can you imagine the amount of hours spent on making this  apron.  This technique is also called chicken scratch, depression embroidery, tenneriffe lace, snowflake embroidery or lace, gingham lace, or Amish embroidery.  With three or four types of stitches – the running stitch, the cross stitch, the double cross stitch, the threaded running stitch, talented hands could make beautiful patterns on simple gingham.

Thinking of making a chicken scratch apron, check out this site.   Need more pictures, go here.

Put your hands in the air like you really don`t care!

The amazing Isabella and my wonderful grandson Addison.  I  borrow pics from Addison`s and Katelyn`s Facebook almost daily.  Keep posting kids!

A whole lot of growing going on

My sweet DH is still in Nova Scotia on a job site, so he is missing quite a bit of the growing season. The showiest flowers so far have been the irises in the side yard. I love the combination of blue and yellow in the house, and it works in the garden as well.  Due to the hopeful sale of the house this year, DH did not plant a garden other than snow peas and the rogue lettuce from last year.

While watering the mushroom stumps this morning I was very pleased to see the first mushroom this year on the logs from two years ago. The log in the back with the white round dots is one of those that we set up a month ago. The new logs may or may not produce this year, it depends on a lot of factors, including my DH being home to look after it.

And of course, this little munchkin is growing leaps and bounds. She is already 8 weeks old.

Walk-about

My middle grand-daughter and I both love to walk, we get that from my Mom.  When Andrea mentioned to the neighbour that we would be visiting, she commented, “At least your Mom takes the girls on walks. Not something I see you do.”

Meaghan has been reading up on the cross Canada trail and had a selection of routes picked out for our visit.   Each day we did a part of  the Upper St. John River  Irving Trail which runs from Woodstock to Grand Falls.    This was quite fitting as Saturday was  the Founders International Trails Day celebration.

On the first day, as the girls loaded themselves into our new to us van,  Meghan announced it was official, we are now truly old.  As evidenced by the van.  They didn’t mind the leg room though, and had a great time talking back to “Martha”, the female voice on our G.P.S.

Despite the drizzle and the mosquitoes it was a wonderful way to spend time with the grand-daughters.   The scenery was beautiful.

The next day we walked half of the Hartland Bridge, while listening to my DH’s story of how he did the same thing 50 years ago with his aunt when visiting his cousins in Hartland.   After our walk, we drove through this pretty little town of red brick building.  Unfortunately the Scotty Potato chips factory no longer exists.   My DH and his cousins would end their walkabout there, sampling potato chips fresh from the fryer.

Emma, the Egyptologist

We are spending time   with out two grand-daughters this weekend and learning  a lot  about ancient Egyptians.  Thanks in part to the Playmobil, Pharaoh’s tomb set.  Our youngest grand-daughter, the resident Egyptologist  has told us all about the  various gods, how they lived, what they ate, and their belief in the afterlife.

My DH saved the day by installing the doors on the temple and showing us how the little buttons worked to make the doors swing open.   Emma, royally proclaimed him, the god of strength and the god of good deeds.

When I asked her what goddess I was, she did not miss a beat and said, “the goddess of shopping of course”.

I wonder if the ancient Eygptians had wise ass grandchildren?

Happy Victoria Day

I hope your Victoria Day weekend was as happy as this little munchkin.  According to a recent poll, Isabella is the cutest baby ever.  The totally unbiased voting members consisted of myself, her maternal grandmother, her paternal grandmother  and my sister Wanda.