December

Well here I am at the end of the year, almost. What a year it has been. Some ups and lots of downs along the way.  Today, the middle of December finds me not ready for Christmas, no decorations up, not all gifts brought, and wondering if it's worth getting all the stuff out of the attic, or putting a tree up, and facing the antics of Aslan.

I am dragging myself around, with little energy and a great dislike of our weather, which runs the gamut of rain, freezing rain, snow flurries, snow, and back to rain, which is what it's doing today. I'm convinced that my poor old body and head are affected by the changes in the weather.

I decided I really had to go out today, and get a few things for Christmas gifts for family. Well, I was so glad to get home. I only managed 3 hours, getting in and out of the car 6 times. I am done....done in...that's all I can do. I hate this fibro. It is always worse when it's cold, or I'm stressed, or both.

And now it is 4 days before Christmas. The tree is up such as it is. Aslan has made a nuisance of himself..as usual. Gifts are bought and a bit of decorating done. In the midst of this preparation, I had to move furniture in the Captain's room so he had enough space to use the walker. Well, you can't move furniture and not vacuum so a good part of yesterday was spent getting that done.

Managed a bit of felting, mostly snow people.

Well, it is now the 27th and it has taken me this long to get this done. My progress is slow, to say the least. Perhaps the new year will bring with it energy, initiative, and perseverance.

My Christmas card this year.

Wishing you all the 

peace and joy this 

season has to offer.

Merry Christmas

and 

Happy New Year

Zipppp....the summer went fast

Here it is, the last day of September. I haven't written since June and wonder if I should bother any more. My days are the same, one after the other, with not much different, so that through the summer, I had a hard time keeping the days straight. I didn't go anywhere, or do anything special, except a birthday meal out with my girls.
The real excitement here on my mountain was getting hit with a hurricane on the first weekend of September. We were without power for 50+ hours. We don't have a generator, so we have lost everything in the big freezer, and the fridge freezer.
It was quite a job, but managed to get all the stuff out of the freezer, separate each item in order to recycle, and get the food into the green bin. I did it the night before garbage pickup. to keep from getting a visit from a wild animal. Fun and games. Not really, but it's done and the big freezer is thawed out. Leaving door ajar for a few days, then I'll give it a good once over with soda and vinegar. Such a waste though, such a waste.
I've begun Choir practices again, and started to prepare and choose music for the Fall. The community Ukulele group has started as well, and I'm glad of that. I need the time to just enjoy, without being in charge.
The mornings are crisp now for the most part. Leaves are changing colour, and falling. My poor flowering crab tree is not going to last much longer. The leaves start falling in August, some branches are dead and most are covered with moss. I can't even remember if it had many blossoms this year.
........It is now 5 days into October so I will post this today, otherwise it will be November before it gets posted.

Hope you all have a great fall.

I don't know when I'll get back to this. 

June is here....

So the whole month of May has passed, most days overcast, rainy, or drizzly with one or two days of sun thrown in haphazardly. Dreary, my friend dreary. The bloom on the magnolia was welcomed, though it took a while to become full bloom, and the leaves are just filling out now on the trees.
Today was sunny and warm, and guess what is coming tomorrow......rain. We get one day of sun at a time it seems.

I have missed posting for two months now. It seems to beckon me and then something gets in the way and I put it off. I almost did that today, and I may have to leave the rest of this until tomorrow. Nothing much happened in April, so you didn't miss anything. Same old, same old. One day runs into the next, and before you can turn around and count to ten, the month has whizzed by, leaving me in the dust, or the mud, considering the rain that has fallen.

In May I was able to spend one afternoon at Ironwood Farm, and saw the little lambs. It was a chilly day, but it was great to get to Heather's and I really enjoyed it. We went out to lunch at the Flying Apron, and had great food as usual. Dawn and Lindsay went too. Those little lambs are so cute.

This one had unusual black markings

Our eldest granddaughter Rae graduated from University on the 17th. Four years of study, one trip to the Gambia, and lots of hard work got her to this place in her life. I must say, I was extremely proud of her. I was able to watch the proceedings on line and I had a few tears watching. It was a special day.  She will continue living in Halifax, working at a few things. Job hunting is on the agenda during the summer after her present work ends in July. She has become a "city girl."  Lindsay will be graduating from high school in June. Where or where have the years gone?

I have been enjoying the uke group. It's a time for just pushing everything aside, and just playing. Great fun. My fingers don't work as well as I would like, but I push on, faking a few chords along the way. It doesn't matter, because there are others who carry the song along.

I shall end this here, so I can post it. I see the sun is trying to break through the clouds, but it isn't working too well.

Until next time here's a picture of Aslan...the book/knee loving kitty.

Mid March

Oh dear, I had a partial blog written, and just erased it all, since I had started it in February.  So far, 2019 has not been great for the communities up around here.  We have had 3 deaths of seniors, and an accidental death of an eight year old boy.  It does seem as though sorrow walks among us.

Mid March and there is snow still on the ground, though it is gradually disappearing. With rain expected tonight, it will probably be gone by morning. The bare ground is a mess when the temp gets above zero. My driveway is a series of ruts and puddles.

I  make home made cards for friends, birthday, sympathy, etc. A friend has kept hers and was going through them. She showed them to me, and there was one that I couldn't believe it had painted. I am using it as a header.

(A week later)...... Here are a few more cards that I did.......

Don't know how to turn this one

or this one

The first day of Spring has come and gone and brought with it lots of rain so that most of the snow has gone. Hopefully now the days will begin to warm. Orchard pruning has begun, and I know that lots of folks are planning their gardens. It is the end of March break here and my #2 granddaughter will be coming home tomorrow, from a school trip to France and Italy. We never had trips like that when I was in school. My big trip was by train from Windsor, Ontario to Stratford, Ontario to see a play. It was a day trip. Of course the kids have to spend a lot of time fundraising as a group. I saved all my recyclables for her. 

I guess I can't finish this off until I put a picture of dear Aslan..........

I was trying to read......

This is all for now.  It only took me a couple of weeks to finish this up.

Hope everyone is ready for some nice weather.

Have a good one.

My Goodness.......

It is cold, very cold! The weather is driving me nuts. First there is snow, then it changes to rain, then the temperature rises, and water pours into the basement, then the next day it is freezing cold again....
I am procrastinating because I have to go and get the mail, which means cleaning off the car, because it snowed again, and the wind is blowing, and it is -11C. I don't want to go out. Brrrrrrrrrrr. And, guess what? We are going to get.......more rain tomorrow or Thursday. Can't wait to see where the water will go this time.

Church was cancelled on Sunday because of the miserable weather, and I miss that time of worship. The weather was really messy. I was supposed to play at the local Manor, at their Church service,but of course that was cancelled as well. The roads were treacherous.

My driveway is an ice rink, because of the freezing temperature following the rain. It wouldn't be so bad if the snow would come, and stay, because the temperature stayed cold, instead of this up and down thing that is going on. At least then I could get used to it. Oh well, it is what it is.

I decided to join a local ukulele group that has just started up, and meets at the community hall, Sunday afternoons. We had one meeting, and then the 2nd one was cancelled (of course). I'm not sure if I am to play at the Manor next Sunday, but if not, I hope to get to the uke group. They are at the same time. I was surprised how many people came to the first meeting. Probably twenty, made up of beginners, who wanted to learn, and various other stages of ability. I figured it would be a time for "me" which I am having trouble accomplishing.  Getting out 2 times a week is not working that well. Usually if the weather is decent, I get out to get groceries, or other errands that I have to make. Me time is hard to get to. I haven't done very well at it.

I managed to steel myself, and ventured out to clean off the car and get the mail. It was bitter with the wind blowing. It looks nice out, with a bit of blue sky and if I didn't know better I would think it was pleasant out.  But, I know better.

Aslan, doing one of his 'let's drop right in the middle of mom's work'.

I don't know who is going to dry me bonkers first.

The Captain or Aslan?

Or perhaps it will be the weather,

or cabin fever,

or the water in the basement.

It won't take much.

A New Year

Ah yes, the old year passes and with it all the things, good and bad that happened during it. 2018 was definitely not one to write home about. In fact it wasn't one to write a blog about, apparently....
With the Captain getting weaker, and using the walker all the time, the death of my son-in-law, and also my friend Kathy, it just seemed that I couldn't pick myself up, and that's the awful truth.
So, I'm not jumping up and down and celebrating the new year, but rather, continuing to take one day at a time, and hoping for the best.

One thing I have to do (doctor's orders), is to make time for me at least twice a week, and that doesn't include choir practice or church. I can't believe how difficult it is to do that, but I am trying.......but I will probably have to try harder.

Thinking about Kathy....I still find it hard to believe that she is gone. Until she had problems with her heart she sang in the choir. In fact she was in the choir since she was a teen. Her soprano voice was so beautiful, and even now I can hear her when we sing some songs, or if I play one hymn in particular where she sang the descant. Kathy had a unique sense of humour and an infectious laugh, and choir practice was a hoot sometimes, with Kathy leading the laughter. She was a sweetheart and a beautiful person, but she was stubborn too. She knew her own mind and there was no changing it. Though she had problems the last few years, and had to stop singing, her death was still a major shock. She was 59 I think. Sad, sad, too sad.

Christmas and New Years were very low key here. The Captain is not into celebrating in any way, shape or form. He has never been, so it is hard to get up any enthusiasm for decorating, or gathering with family. Now that the granddaughters are grown, there is little incentive. I did manage to put up and decorate a table top tree, and Aslan quite enjoyed it.

Of course Aslan 'helped' take the tree down.

My Christmas card this year

Granddaughter Lindsay, singing carols and playing her uke

at the local mall. Her travel group was raising funds for their

trip to Europe in the spring. 

One of Aslan's crazy sleeping positions

So I will end this here

as we enter the new year.

Life goes on,

even if,

it's direction is unclear.

Perhaps that's a good thing.

Now if I can just get these legs

to move forward.

These fingers to move over the keys

to write more posts.

To take me time.

To be thankful for what I have.