Last one of the year..

     I wanted to end the year with a short post, to wish all who may read this a very Happy New Year. We all have hopes of how the new year will roll out, and that all will be well, and so I hope that for you, this will be so.
     I had a very enjoyable visit with Heather, Rupert, Dawn and the girls, on Friday. That was great!
I wanted to get a picture of Heather, Dawn, Rae and Lindsay, but, I forgot to do it. I'm really good at forgetting to do things.
     I am going to try to do a better job of keeping up to date with this blog. We'll see what happens.
God bless.

Drawing to a close...

     Christmas day has come and gone, and with it all the rush and preparation of the season.  It is good to hear from old friends and family at this time of year, though I feel that the number of people sending cards through the mail has dwindled. 
    We had a white Christmas, with a fair amount of snow. I think about 15 cm fell on Thursday/Friday which provided the white Christmas.
     Dawn, Joe, Rae and Lindsay were here for Christmas dinner, and gift opening. The girls are growing so fast, that it is hard to know what to buy them.  A gift of money seems to be well accepted.
     We had a heavy rain, and the snow rapidly disappeared, and today it is blustery and cold. Hopefully the roads won't be too bad, as I am hoping for a visit from Heather and Rupert.
     I find it difficult to believe that 2011 is coming to a close. I'm sure there were only 6 months in the year; it went by so fast it seems.
     Now, I must think of some things to accomplish in the coming year. I need to have some goals. I think I will do some painting. It's been a while. Needle felting seemed to have taken over for a while, but painting the Christmas card awakened the need to get the brush dabbing.
     The Youth Group at our church put on an amazing evening, on the  23rd.  I am so impressed with these young people, a gifted, sensitive and caring group.  Our church is certainly blessed by them.

My thankyou card from the Youth

Big Snow

     Well, take that November 23rd!
     We had quite a big dump of snow yesterday, and I am snowed in.  Eventually, Bob will get the tractor out, (hopefully), and we will return to normal, such as it is.  I really don't mind not being able to "get out." I really have no place to go right now, though exercise class is this afternoon, and my youngest granddaughter only has a half day of school, and I'm not sure she could plow through the driveway as it is now.
     The poor birds are having a hard time finding the seeds through the snow, and I can't get to the feeder right now to replenish their supply. Be patient little ones.

     Christmas is bearing down on me, but I seem to have accomplished what I wanted to do. My painting for our Christmas card is at the printers, so I shall soon have them, and can start the addressing and stamping of them.  I have finished several of my felted Christmas decorations for friends and family.

I have such a good time making these little guys. Everyone is different. I never know how they are going to turn out.

I also finished a big project. It turned out ok, but I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, now that it is done.

I had written some Christmas poems over the last twenty years or so, for special Candle Light Services at the church.  It was suggested, by a friend that I put them together in a little booklet, which could be used for a bit of a fundraiser for the building fund. I am anxious to see it the finished product. I'll be a "published poet".  Well, sort of........

     As much as the snow caused problems for driving, as I look out the window, it is beautiful, so crisp, so clean. There goes Bob, off to the barn with shovel in hand. I won't be snowed in for very long now.



     Fall is here and winter is not far behind. The wind is causing the trees to wave and shed their remaining leaves, the ones that didn't blow off during the last wind and rain/ice pellet/snow storm.  The winter power outages begin as well. It was off several hours this past week. It is only the beginning.
     The harvest, (if you can call it that), is over. Drops, drops, drops, that have gone for juice, and that's it. It has been a strange fall, without all the busyness and planning and picking of the crop. Perhaps next year will be better, but you never know, with the weather, what you are going to get.  Who would have thought that a small hail storm in June would have such a devastating effect on the orchard.
     I did make a tour around the orchard a couple of weeks ago, taking pictures.

Just one of the ponds on the farm. My favourite.

Drop pickers. Apples on ground not on trees.

Another pond.

View from top of hill, looking toward the valley below

Sadie enjoying her walk around the orchard.



     I'll be turning the clock back an hour tonight, but that does not mean an extra hour of sleep. Most likely it will mean an extra hour of trying to get to sleep. Some nights sleep can be so evasive. I should have a button of some sort that I can put in the "off" position, and it will stop all the thoughts that run through my head, and allow sleep to come.

     I've been going to Yoga for seniors for the past 7 weeks, and am finding the breathing tecniques quite helpful. It is just so difficult for me to totally relax, but I am trying. The walking exercise is also helpful, but I've found that nothing is going to take away the ache in my limbs when fibro digs in its claws. I can live with that......I have been living with it, and I guess in the long run, I'm doing ok.

    

Get at it, girl!

The number of times I have sat here, and told myself to put something together for the blog, can't be counted. Why is it, that I start a blog, and then go weeks without posting? Sometimes, perhaps, it is because I feel I have nothing important to say.  I have read other blogs, with such wise words, and I think I can never write like that. I always have a tendency, no matter what I am doing to compare it with others, and I always come away feeling very critical of my own work. This is not a good trait, and I have to talk to myself and point out that comparing oneself with others is a waste of time and energy. I can only be who I am, and do what I can, the best that I can.......

So from now on, I will write what I feel, whether it makes sense to anyone else or not. That is why I started this in the first place, as an outlet for thoughts, feelings, and pictures that I want to share, like this little guy, doing his/her own thing, not mindful at all of the one watching and clicking.

I guess it's about time....

     I am behind in reading the blogs I follow, and thus, have a lot of reading ahead, though I probably won't catch up.  My daughter tells me it is time to get some of the things I've been doing in the past few weeks up on this blog.  I know this won't be done in one sitting but here goes....

     I enjoyed a wonderful time on a camping trip with both daughters, and granddaughters. We went to Dunvegan, and it was beautiful.  The car was absolutely packed. Here, we had just arrived and getting ready to put up the tent.

     Dawn is an expert in putting up the tent, but Heather and I did try to help.

    
     When the tent was up we visited the beach. What a sight. Pictures don't do it justice. One needs to see the whole wide expanse of beach and cliffs.

Another beach view. The little stream ran parallel to the shore line.

Campfire, toasting marshmallows, warming pears with chocolate mints, and just enjoying this special time together.  The weather was beautiful, and I really hated to leave. Memories made....
   

Another Rainy Day

     It is raining again, and the raspberries are just hanging, begging to be picked. It doesn't sound like much picking will get done in the next couple of days.  However yesterday was a good day.
     Sadie had a good day yesterday too, as her friends, both human and canine came to the patch. She was thrilled.

Lindsay got to dog sit while others picked. The dogs appreciated the shade of the apple tree, as the sun made the afternoon very hot.

     The berries are coming along quite well, and Dawn is busy filling orders.  We now have a facebook page for the farm.   www.facebook.com/JohnsonsStonehengeFarm

     I've done a little needle felting, but no painting since the berries started. These are my latest creations.