Stuff to Share

"two" much going on...

first things first...LOOK AT HER!!!!!
THIS is Melissa. dedicated.committed.determined.compassionate.independent.amazing. She is a mighty little power house!!!!!
She did this 60kmwalk ALONE with her own thoughts. I don't know if I could do it ALONE but she did.  For her Aunties,Breast Cancer Survivors. YOU ROCK MELISSA! We managed to spot her in two areas to cheer her on. The first day was a very wet rainy day but you have to know this girl can always find the bright spot & she did. Like Cameron her feet are a mess...and she thinks next year 8+2 should join her!!!
   And now I'm trying to digest this.
This will be Alex's new home!!!! We moved him in on Thursday so he could register for Football camp. My BFF is also back to university to complete her Education Degree (she will be an AWESOME teacher but I will miss her!!!!!)
Alex wasn't thrilled about "posing" for these pictures, but since I won't have any 1st day of school pics this year he humored me. I can't believe he is 18. I still have to pinch myself because it GOES. SO. FAST. We had a great day moving & kept the tears at bay... We will miss his sense of humor (and appetite!) at the supper table. He really is our "talker"... Reflecting on this monment, here is why we rasie them the best that we can, so they can spread their wings!!! 

swimmin' women....

Ok. I know I've been a dreadful blogger this summer... It's just so hard when we live at the cottage during the evenings & weekends... The funny thing is we feel like we have hardly been there either! Summer is for relaxing & visiting so I guess you might say We've  been living a great summer! I have accomplished NOTHING but I haven't stopped visiting!!! We said goodbye to our dear friends from NL only to pack up the boat & some grub to head for the Confederation Bridge!!! These Swimmin' Women swam from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island with no wet suits!
  My good FRIEND Jill is in the middle (we have so much in common it's scarry!). She swam the Northumberland Straight in 4:33.57 breaking the old record of 5 hours!!!(I am a chicken shit and would NEVER do this. It's not the distance so much as the things that might be in the ocean). Elizabeth & Lyn relayed across the channel in 5 1/2 hours total time... It was really quite a day!!! That's 13km of not knowing what's in the water besides you!!!! Captain Blake did an awesome job keeping Jill on track (you just wouldn't believe how difficult it is to see your swimmer at all times) The day was perfect for us on the boat,warm but enough clouds to keep us from baking to death. The ocean however was not quite so warm,67 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit...  and the water continued to get quite choppy from the half way mark onward... but she forged ahead like she was on a mission! Actually it's been something Jill has wanted to do since she was a little girl... She had Nurse Nancy on the boat to keep an eye on her as well, you really must be prepared in so many ways. In her usual kindness, Jill was even asking us if we were having fun. Can you believe it? Yeah her!!! Josh was her right hand man (and husband) & kept her fed (oh yes, you have to eat, but you're not allowed any closer to the boat then 3 meters!) So, they geared up a rope & baggies with food in them to toss out to her!!! & then there was the drinking... imagine trying to drink water while the salt water is getting in the way... It was incredible!!!  She was incredible!!!! Jill is also the oldest woman to cross this channel!  (she is 11 days younger than I am) !!! The swim was planned for a time the current was it's weakest & not much wind (this only happens once in July & once in August). Unfortunately, in August it's lobster season so "we" (the Boat & Jill) were dodging lots of buoys! There were 5 very excited people on our boat to cheer her on when the event was over. Liz & Lyn weren't far behind with their captain...They had a big celebration dinner planned of champagne & lobster...what could be better???

a perfect day....

It was an incredible ride. This is my first full day home alone since July 15th. After registering Ria & I for Inspired, talking to Bill Downey, and a little chat with sweet adorable Kal, here I am with a little wedding update. I'll post some photos in an album after I'm done ranting! The day was perfect...not too hot, not too cold, not too sunny....we had a ball. Everything was so relaxed, everyone was well fed, and the Bride & Groom looked fantastic...This is about the only photo I have of them together (go figure I'll have to wait for the "real" photos!) There were so many highlights...the arrival of the girls on the tractor...Blake giving her away...Mark's service... Having so many good friends & relatives here to share the experience... the view was so breath taking I can hardly wait to have a home there someday... Jemita & Alex's music... the food... the party... the weather... it was ALL good. Well worth the time & effort, no question. I had the chance to "just be" several times throughout the day to take it all in. I met some incredible friends of Stephens & am grateful for that. It was perfect because SO MANY people helped out & pitched in... I'm not listing because I don't want to miss anyone. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I am so blessed, really I am. In closing the toast to the Bride & Groom was priceless and I have to share that with you.
May your love for each other be as strong as a John Deere
May your understanding for each other be as deep as the Bay of Fundy
May your time together be as sweet as a Honeycrisp
And may your life together last as long as weeding the Nursey! ( Thanks Scott & Brent!)

strawberries, pastry& lets get on with the show...

I have been eating out everyday for a week with so many showers, clubs & functions, I'm starting to think I might need a tent to wear by the 19th!!! This pie for Bookclub was so yummy we could (but won't) eat it every day!!! It had a cream cheese base & just before serving I topped it with REAL whipping cream (honestly, is there any other kind?) and a sprinkle of shaved chocolate. Pies have been such a big part of our life, sometimes you just have to give in to the craving... Honestly though my favourite version of this is raspberry, but they aren't ready yet... soon enough! I am also learning that I really work best with big batches (probably from all of the R & D at Sarsfield Foods...seems weird that Loblaws own it now but it still has our name!!!)  Anyway I make my pastry with lard  sorry, it's just the best & if you only indulge once in awhile, it's not so bad is it? (Don't answer that, I have a degree in dietetics, I am fully aware of the answer!!!) unbleached all purpose flour & lots of salt & sugar...I had to make so many shells because we are eating Quiche on the wedding day for lunch & now I have the messy part done! These shells are 12" in diameter, we like big  here!!! I don't know what it will be like in the fall with Alex at University... I'll have to practice SMALL or have lots of company!!! I actually started this day with another wedding cake... This is an old favourite chocolate zucchini cake & coming into the season, I'll post the recipe soon so you can use up your garden produce! * Emily tells me her zucchini is ready so here is the recipe!*

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

¼ c butter
½ c vegetable oil
1 ¾ c sugar
2 eggs
1 t real vanilla
½ c buttermilk
2½ c sifted all-purpose flour
½ c cocoa powder
½ t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t instant coffee dissolved in 1T hot water
2 good cups grated zucchini
¼ c tiny chocolate chips

Cream together butter, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla & buttermilk.

Sift and mix together all the dry ingredients & add to creamed mixture.

Bake in a greased bundt pan OR a 9” X13” (23cm X33 cm) pan

Bake at 375˚F (160˚C) about 45 minutes.

Frost with whatever suits you!

It is so moist & yummy (secret ingredients include coffee & cinnamon!). I have the two lemon cakes left & then I'll just have to decorate the day before. Nothing too fancy for Melissa...we're all about the YUM factor!
There hasn't been much scrapbooking time these past few days but I am working on a little grad book for Alex & a little book with Heather Bailey paper to put pics of my great neices in while they are here!I am getting excited!!!! Happy day :o)

creative fun & a peak at prom...

Dollarama isn't my favourite place to shop, I hate the smell...I hate the lights... but lots of people love it! It's like Frency's, not my cup of tea...I do like antique stores though, so figure that one out! Anyway, our bookclub challenge from Debbie last month was to alter this little Dollarama tray... Oh, that would be our Scrapbooking Book club called Pages of 8+2: we don't even "do" books any more (& I'll save that story for another day!)  You know how sometimes you just get inspired to create & things start coming together & you really like the finished project? I had THREE of those moments since the Clearly Me album!!! That's always a bonus because you know, sometimes we just get stuck with our creativity... It's not like I don't have  a lot to do but I am loving my creative space & some of the new products are just so darn fun. Our Bookclub is also in the process of creating cirlce journals ( & that will be fun when they are all finished!!) I had Debbies this month & here's what I did for her...  In case you Don't know Debbie, she is obsessed with Butterflies...I used the Tattered Angels on the prima flowers & it is amazing!!! The best part is using them instead of collecting them... I am a collector of things & one thing I like to collect is coffee bags, & I love trying new coffee, so now I have a little spot for them! THIS really excited me (OK I'm crazy but have you seen the artwork on some of these bags?). My plan is to document all the varieties of coffee I try at home right in this little baby! OK!!! I REALLY SHOULD be posting about PROM last night ...The dresses were spectacular & it's such a fairy tale night for the Grads... I took lots of pictures but only a few turned out...I am hoping  my BFF or my daughter has some better ones!!! Here are a couple!
Alex is home safe, so it is a Happy day :o)

Busy Life Good life...

    The weekend ended with Father's Day at the shore with our first strawberry shortcake of the season... does it really count when the berries are grown under plastic? I had a class with my Test Team in the barn all day, & we crated an album called Clearly Me (my photo album is on the side if you want to peak!) I have to say things went really well because everyone had their homework done. It's just always a good feeling to FINISH a project while you're in class so you don't have to do it LATER!!! I did sneak a few more embellishments today, a couple more photos &I still want to tie some ribbons on the rings... This book was totally inspired by Tena Sprenger's Clearly Beautiful class. I tried incorporating some fabric because I love the added texture & a few odd sizes & shapes keep it interesting!
    Time flies when your having fun!!! No question about that...Last week I was lucky enough to go to RIVER DANCE with these Gals and we had such a great time tappin' our feet & "ohhhing & ahhhing" over some of the creative stuff that happened on stage. The music was pretty darn good too...no pics allowed so you got suck with us! Sometimes it' s just good to celebrate living.

    Melissa also came home so we could create a few paper crafts for centerpieces& all that jazz so she & Annie Brae got into the giddies & made the arduous task of gluing and pasting quite a bit of fun! We took a little trip up to the "crop circle", I don't think we even got the view as well as we should have! This is where she'll share her vows with Stephen in a very short time!!!  Annie Brae had a shower for Melissa  this weekend & what I thought was the cutest thing were the little veggie packets Beth made, look at this! Yummy too!!! I can't believe it's Monday!!!

He really is 17....

I said to Scott yesterday it's a miracle he's made it this far, to which he replied "It's only been a mircale for 10 years Mom"( yes, His diving board accident was over 10 years ago now, can you believe it?) and yes, He still has to have the last word, usually in a "correcting me" tone! He was complaining at the supper table a few nights before his birthday that he wanted a REAL birthday party...Ha! The joke was on Him, we secretly gathered his friends & I had hats, balloons, horns & treat bags just like LITTLE BOYS have...He was quite surprised to actually have company for Pizza & DQ cake!!! I even tried to get them to play musical chairs..no luck with that though... We have quite the roller coaster relationship, it's not easy being a Mom or a Teenager  through all the push & pull pains, but our love for each other is undeniable. Happy Birthday Scottie!

I wish you could smell the blossoms right NOW...

Words can not describe the aroma floating around the farm right now...It has to be my favourite smell this time of year (way better than the cow smell of days gone by!). It is a stellar year for blossoms. Gravensteins are by far the biggest & prettiest, especially if you happen by a big old tree...we don't see many of those these days but there are still a few! Our beautiful buzzing bumblebees are very busy at work these days, doing what they are supposed to do. Quite frankly I could do without them.I have quite a bee phobia and even though i still spend hours in the garden sharing our space, don't be surprized if you hear me scream every once in awhile... and I do mean SCREAM OUT LOUD IN YOUR EARS!!! We aren't experiencing a shortage of buzzing activity (yet) & this year it seems like there are more bumblebees than worker bees...and Blake tells me Bumblebees pollinate 200X the blossoms as the workers! (sounds like a mother - child relationship to me!!!). The joy of all this beauty is that we actually take time to notice & appreciate it. Our spring would not be complete without a drive though our orchards inspecting & speculating on the size of the crop for the year. You just never know!?! We have blossoms outside every window in our house ...which means in the fall, we have people outside every window in our house!!! What can you do...
    Today is also Scott's Birthday ...17... I'll post more on that later because as usual with Scott, there's always a story to tell!

Happy Day!

the countdown begins

Saturday was fitting day and can you believe the wedding is only 8 weeks away???  Hardly seems possible! In the mean time I had a parcel delivered to my door from this sweet boy of mine :o)  He always seem to come through for his MOM when she's counting on it!
My only wish is that Brent was closer to home... we don't seem to do much in Toronto so I don't see him as much as I'd like...Now he's talking about moving to Calgary...I do seem to get there!!! Anyway he surprised me with THIS!
It's my Favourite Starbucks blend (Guatemalan) & it's even discontinued! I was quite surprised & so many yummy bags of it!!! Please, come have coffee anytime! Last night was Pages of 8+2 bookclub, our circle journals are really getting done & looking spectacular... Debbie stuffed us ( thanks Debbie!) and we had our usual more than a few good laughs... We are so lucky to have each other to lean on... and we've all done a little of that! I'm still waiting for her to get some action figures for the "pool" next door LOL!!!
    Today I had time to scrap  with my BFF, caught a little fresh air, & mowed a 200 ft circle in the hay field for Melissa's wedding... starting now so there is some green in the field for the big day! The real fun was marking the circle with Blake's new John Deere using his GPS! (I sat in the tractor with him while he did all the work!)... The circle is perfect! After that, I picked a little rhubarb to make the base for Aunt Maxines's famous rhubarb lemonade... which we are going to serve at the wedding. And yes, I even made dessert for the family tonight... can't help but enjoy a little rhubarb crisp... while the rhubarb is fresh!...3 out of 4 of us love it!!! Happy day ( and I only looked at the Ladies about 20 times today:o)

I was punked.....

This will go down in my history books as the BIGGEST SCAM I ever fell for...It really doesn't take much, I'm pretty naive but THIS was huge...( get your coffee). As most of you know I am a big Kal fan...When she posted the First Pink Lady on her blog, I wrote to her that I would take a print but I REALLY wanted the original art. I think there had to be thousands of women who felt the same way that I did, who responded to her about this TinyArt... perhaps even inspired the waterfall of ladies that followed. She finally announced she was selling them (even the pink lady) and I knew in the pit of heart, I HAD TO HAVE THEM ALL... (Body Image has honestly been an issue for me for 40 years...ever since I was 12, and EACH of these Ladies was  like a self portrait...no kidding) The problem was with the timing of her sale... I was going to be teaching a class... I mailed her again & then decided to get Blake to do the rest... You can imagine my excitement when she responded that I got them...all five of them!!!!  I waited for her to bill me and it seemed to take forever... I didn't want to say anything to anyone until I knew they were really for me. Soon after that I got an e mail from her saying BAD NEWS... she told me when she went to pick up the prints, the ladies were missing... No one could find them but not to worry, the Owner would be in in a couple of days & she probably knew where they were... I really didn't worry that much because I know how stuff like that happens! Friday am I had another e mail... MORE BAD NEWS..."They are gone" she said. The story went that when someone picked up a box to deliver, the Ladies were underneath it & they must have picked them up too. They went looking for them & found the PINK lady in the alley with tire tracks & the green lady was all bent... my heart sank...for Kal, for me, & for those ladies... especially the Pink Lady... I hadn't said anything to anyone about the paintings & finally though a river of tears told two very close friends what had happened... Life goes on.
    Saturday night we went to the cottage & Melissa & Ria showed up to celebrate my birthday (on Mother's day this year) as a last minute surprise... I had been feeling a little down (OK a lot down) because this would be my first Mothers day without my Mom... it hit me kinda hard... what can I say, I just really miss her. ANYWAY. I was soaking wet in the hot tub when they arrived & they just wanted me to open presents... So I did. Do you see the card? I recognized the hand writing immediately & knew... I had the ladies...all five ladies. in my lap. staring at me. all in one piece. not damaged. not missing. not gone. How did this happen? Amidst the purchase, Melissa had been in touch with Kal  & desperately wanted to get the ladies for me because she knew how much I wanted them (she's also a big fan of Kals). Kal, Melissa & Blake were ALL in on the punk... Blake had paid for the paintings & Kal told Melissa she would come up with something so I would think I wasn't getting them... Really. How frigging creative! What a bunch of cockamamie bull, and I fell for it lock stock & barrel!!! Can  you imagine? So I say to you all, "be careful what you wish for", once again, my wishes have come true. So there you go. I am the proud East Coast Collector & if you ever want to stop by to meet these lovely ladies, do. They just might speak to you too... These treasured ladies have an old window frame to go in & they will pose graciously above my computer where everyday I will be reminded that I am OK just as I am. People really do love me enough to go the extra mile when it counts. Thanks Melissa. Thanks Blake. Thanks Kal. I am so blessed