Year Ending

29th - Ending, because it has not quite ended. It has been a long year, and I shall not be sad to leave it behind, although I probably will not see much difference in the new year.
I took down the Christmas decorations and now have to put them away in their tubs and put them in the attic. Oh, my aching back.

30th - Christmas day ended with a power outage. Actually the power went off just as we were eating, so we finished by lantern light. We were one of the lucky ones, considering some Nova Scotians didn't get their power back till Wednesday evening. Ours was only out four hours. This week had continued to be extremely cold, and I haven't driven since last Sunday. I managed to get down to Dawn's for a few hours on Thursday, but Heather came to pick me up. It was a fun time with my girls, and Heather and I even won a game. Rae's special friend was there as well, and didn't seem to mind being one male with four females.
Aslan took a few steps out on the porch this afternoon, onto the snow and ice, looked around at all the white stuff and immediately turned around. We have been having snow flurries all week, and there is about three or four inches in places.

31st - This year is ending with extremely cold weather. There has not been a real break this past week. All or most of Canada is suffering from this polar vortex. I would like it to warm up but that of course would mean a snow storm. I shall have to take the bull by the horns and go shopping Tuesday, as Aslan requires his food and litter, which is very important.
My dear daughter Dawn picked me up for church this morning and when she brought me home she proceeded to shovel out my driveway, bless her heart. We tend to get flurries "off the bay" and it seems that we have had snow every day. Some people are lucky.......hah! I suppose it is great for all those who enjoy winter sports and activities, but with the cold, it can't have been too much fun.
And so, I shall end the year, as I do most years, by going to bed at my usual time and trying to get to sleep and stay asleep until the new year.
I did get all the decorations etc. put away in the attic, and only had to rest my poor aching back for about twenty minutes. Done for another year.
I shall leave you with a few pictures, mostly of Aslan of course. Since I have finished the Christmas crafts, I haven't taken as many pictures as I did when I/we were working on decorations.

Aslan helping with my felting

Checking on my painted decorations

Deciding that I didn't need to felt right then

The chief inspector

And now checking out the poor little tree.

He broke about 3 branches.

Good thing I could put them back on

At least the tree wasn't decorated

Rae and Colton

Lindsay

Dawn and Aslan

The Christmas Card I painted for this year.

I'm not sure what it says about the state of my mind.....

And so I bid farewell to 2017, 

not knowing what 2018 will bring,

but as I ponder that I think

Not knowing is a really good thing.

A Very Happy New Year

to all my readers.

Perhaps in the new year 

I will settle down and

do more posts.

Carrying On

I am being very quiet right now, as Aslan is somewhere else in the house, and it gives me a chance to at least begin a post.
The days, as usual, are going by much too fast, and I feel the pressure to get things done, NOW! I thought I was doing well, and had my Christmas Card painted and off to the printers. I got them back this week, and now I have to get them written and mailed. November marches on, with no interest in what I need to do. I make some Christmas gifts, painted or felted, so it is a test of wills between Aslan and myself to see if I can get my paints or my wool out and accomplish something without being surprised by a furry, four-footed friend, who must see, must help, must destroy.......well, you get the idea.

No real explanation is needed for the above pictures. I matters not what I am doing, he has to be a part of it.  He is definitely an attention seeker. He loves to be loved, and held as in the last picture.

What can I do? He is a precious little guy, but he drives me crazy some days, and it doesn't take much since I am always half way to crazy anyhow. 

He tried to get on the keyboard just a few minutes ago, but I put him down and for once he took the clue and departed. Ah, freedom from fur for a few minutes. I don't want to push my luck, so I will sign off for today. Wish me luck! 😉😼Oh oh, here he comes. Toodles. He's here.......

,.;lllll./;        bgbvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvxz.

Slow Coming....

🙀🙍Look what I just discovered......I don't know how long these things have been available to me on this blog, but I just noticed them.......(not the brightest bulb in the bag).

Oh my head is spinning with so many thoughts....things I want to do, or need to do and how to find the right time to do them. I so much want to get back to painting and felting. I seem to waste a lot of time just sitting and thinking. This is not a good thing, considering how the thoughts I have are defeatist thoughts. It bugs me to no end, but how do I convince myself that I can do better. It is like my direction forward is out of control, and I don't know when the next obstacle or tight curve will appear out of nowhere, and I stall out.

Ramble, ramble....I should be content, I tell myself. With all the horrible things that are going on in the world I should be thankful that I have a life and a home, freedom and peace.....but...... there is always the old 'but'.

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Since I wrote the above, I have taken the Captain to the camp again. Perhaps that will be the last time for a while. The weather has taken a turn and following quite a bit of rain yesterday, cooler temperatures have come and perhaps real fall weather. In the early days of this week the temperatures were more like summer, and with the humidity, it was not a comfortable time for the pickers in the orchard. Today will be much better. The crop looks very good this year and Dawn, once again has done well with her orchard.

Choir has gotten started, but our Bible Study has not met yet. Hopefully we can start on Monday. We shall be slogging our way through 2 Kings.......

I am still having a hard job settling on things. This is a new day, and I am not sure how many days have passed since I started this post. Anyhow, I think I will post a few pictures and call it done.

A stop on one of the camp trips

Aslan doing one of his crazy flips

                                   

Such a sweetheart

Always on the desk, covering what I am working on.

Thanks to those who read these posts.

They may be few and far between,

But I will continue to keep at it.

Perhaps things will improve.

🙀

Interesting???

June, Bonnie. You haven't written since June....... I give myself a hard time for disregarding this blog. Writing this was something that would take your mind off some things, and give you a chance to explore......
"Be quiet"  I say to myself. I don't need this little voice in my head to be giving me a hard time. I have a zillion excuses for not posting, I just can't remember them. I think someone has running stitched the days together and gathered them up into a few days. Surely 55+ days have not passed....... oh dear. I'm fooling myself.

This summer has been interesting. Yes, that's a good word. Interesting. All encompassing. It has been the Captain's summer. I have taken him to the camp, and at least 10 museums and even a Graveyard Walk, which was more difficult than he thought. It was difficult to run the walker over the rough ground around the old grave stones. We were both tired the next day.

The early mornings are getting crisp, showing that the end of summer is near. This morning, the air was still, and I looked across the hay field, and noticed, standing out against a green background, a maple tree with leaves already turning red.

I decided the other day to use a gift card given to me by daughter #1, to a local coffee house. When she first gave it to me, I thought that I would never use it, that the opportunity to go sit and have a coffee just wouldn't exist. Then I came to the conclusion that I would have to make the time to go, and spend even a short while in the quiet, that I needed it for my own mental health. Of course, this was the reason my daughter gave it to me in the first place. I am just a little slow.....

This is being written on different days, because life gets in the way. The desire to write ebbs and wains and the result is a hodgepodge of this and that.

Saying that, I think I will give up on trying to write anymore. It has taken me days to get this much done. I will add a few pictures and call it a day. I will start fresh soon, I hope.

Granddaughter Lindsay. Gala Days Princess

She was named Miss Spirit 

which she has lots of.

Aslan and I having a bit of a cuddle.

Can you tell by the bags under the eyes that I needed it

more than he did.

Life has been a bit rough of late. Looking forward to better days

Camp, Bugs and Museum Visits

Hello friends. I have a couple of things to write about this time, and a few pictures to share. I took the Captain away last week, to spend a few days at the camp, and to go to Shelburne for museum visits. It was......an interesting.....week.

I have mentioned the camp in a previous post from last year. It is not my favourite place to stay at this point in my life,but the Captain likes to go, and so we went. The black flies, mosquitoes and wood ticks were there in abundance, and just about drove me crazy. Swat, swat, slap, slap and swat again. I was always checking my pant legs for ticks. The first time, after walking the path to the outhouse, I had at least 5 ticks on each leg. It was hot, and because of the bugs, I spent most of the time in the camp. There was no sitting out under the big pine. We stayed for two nights, then headed to Shelburne, where we stayed in a lovely cottage in town. It was the complete opposite to the camp, and very comfortable.

We used to live in Birchtown, a community very near Shelburne, and we were keen to see the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, as well as the museum complex in Shelburne itself. I had been to the Centre once before, with my daughter, Heather. It is a fascinating place, and one would need to go several times in order to get through all the information they have accumulated, and it is dedicated to the Black Loyalists who came to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. The largest Black Community was in Birchtown. If you have read or heard of The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, it was here that he got lots of information as he was researching for the book.

The interpreters were very knowledgeable, and extremely friendly. I felt as if I had known these folks, as they made us feel so welcome and comfortable. We were fortunate enough to hear The Storyteller, dressed in period costume tell a story. She captured you the minute she began and it was truly a great experience.

The Story Teller - Louise Delisle

I wish I had taken more pictures of the Centre, but I just didn't think of it. There was just so much to read and see.

The School House Museum, built in the1830's

We also visited the Museum complex right in Shelburne. There was the museum, the Dory Shop and the Ross Thompson House. Again, no pictures except for this one of a very old fire engine....and I'm not sure which museum I saw this in.

In order to make it easier for the Captain to get around these various museums, he took his walker. It certainly helped me to understand how difficult it can be for people with disabilities to get around. There is usually an upstairs in these old museums, and I carried the walker up and down stairs, as the Captain was able to walk up and down, with some difficulty, but he and I made it. I was a little weary at the end of the museum days. It was nice to be able to rest at the cottage, where I could sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.

HOWEVER....this creature was at the camp....I was not impressed!!!!!!!

I do not know anything about this house but it caught my eye

as it seemed to be totally engulfed with ivy.

We headed back to the camp for one more night, then back home, where little Aslan was very happy to see me. It was a long week, but I'm doing okay.

I guess this is all for this time.

Summer has finally arrived.

I hope it will be a good one.

Cheers!

Finally...

...something to write about, but it has taken over a week to get to it.
Last Sunday, after Church,I went with Dawn, Rae and Lindsay to visit Ironwood Farm, and Heather. I love it when we can all get together, especially at Heather and Rupert's. It was a bit cool, but we had a wonderful visit with the ewes and lambs, and there sure were lots of lambs. Other friends from Halifax, Eva and Dave, were there too, and I consider Eva one of my 'girls' as well.

I couldn't get enough of the little ones. I could have pulled up a chair and sat there all day, but we were on a rather tight schedule, so I could get home by supper time for the Captain. Still, it was an excellent day. I will share some pictures of them.

Rupert's Greenhouse is thriving.

I have many more, but I will leave it here. Well, perhaps I will post another picture of Aslan.  Let's see...........

Always a little helper?

Guess that is it for now.

Be back soon, I hope.

Cheers

Really????

.....the first day of Spring.  The 1st day of Spring came with snow, freezing rain, rain, wind and school closures. Ah Spring, you disappoint. Perhaps if I wasn't so impatient for the change of the seasons, I wouldn't be so disappointed. Just when it gets a bit warmer and dryer, the weather changes and voila.... cold and snow.....

I have been very lax in posting, and it isn't the first time this has happened. I could blame it all on Aslan, well maybe not all of it, but he does take over the laptop as soon as it is turned on.

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Here it is a week later, and it is about time I finished this 'draft'. I honestly can't seem to get done what I want to do. This is my 3rd week with a cold. I can't seem to get rid of it. I am functioning at a low level, but I wish that it would leave and I would get more energy. It seems I am always wishing for more energy. Perhaps Aslan would share some of his with me. The little rascal is a going concern.

Except when someone comes to the door and he runs and hides, or he is having a nap, he follows me around, checking on everything that I am doing. It is like he needs the attention and wants to be a part of what is going on. I was trying to get a card painted, and as he was sleeping somewhere, I thought I would have no problem.......I get my paints, water and brush out, and begin.......suddenly out of no where, in the blink of an eye, Aslan pounces......on the paint tin (thank heaven it was water colour), grabs the brush in my hand and here we go again. It put him on the floor and as quickly as I can, I put the things away. It matters not that I keep putting him down when her interferes....he certainly does not take NO as a threat.  I feel that I shall have to lock him in the bathroom, or in the basement, but I really wouldn't feel right about doing that.....time will tell. If I stand still for a minute he will jump straight up to my chest and expect me to catch him, then he purrs and rubs up against my face as though this is what I am meant to do. He is a riot, and one good thing about his antics is that he makes the Captain laugh. 

Ah well, he is still a kitten, and I hope that as he matures he will be less of a pest. He is in hiding right now which enables me to write this without interruption, because someone came to the door.

And so I bring this post to an end.

We had more snow last night.

Spring is dragging her feet,

though she will soon have to make an appearance,

Soon....let it be soon.

Cheers

The Day After

Well, we had quite a winter storm Sunday night through all day yesterday. The snow fell and the wind blew, and the snow fell faster and the wind blew harder and, well you get the idea. A blizzard is what the weather folks called it. Who am I to disagree? It definitely left a great mound of snow in my driveway, especially where the wind whipped up great drifts. The power flickered twice but didn't go off, through all the mayhem. I am very thankful for that.

Front yard

Kitchen window last night

The front door step

The Captain is out tidying the drive after Dawn sent her driveway plow man down. She then came down and shoveled.  There was just too much snow for me to handle. Oh yes, we are expecting about 15 cm on Thursday.

A strange kitty pose

Checking out the curtains

Laid back Aslan

I do believe that's it for now

Cheers, till next time

Stay warm