Preparing for Christmas

Here we are at the end of November already and Christmas is speeding towards us.  We had our first real snow on Wednesday, November 26th, the night Kristie and Brooke headed out driving to Ontario.  So anxious were they to get there, they couldn't wait until Thursday when the storm would stop and and the roads would be cleared.  Luckily they made it to their destination without incident.  In their absence I have the pleasure of George and Melody's company along with their dog's Zeus and Charlie.  Should be an interesting 10 days!!

This month Paul and I attended the Christmas Craft show in Saint John at Harbour Station.  The place was packed with vendors selling a wide variety of crafts, food, furniture, clothing and so much more.  As usual I look at the crafts and think, "I could make that!" and for once came home and actually did.  I picked up a couple pair of old skates at Value Village and filled them with Christmas decorations, sparkly foliage, baubles and finished them off with red and gold bows.  I'm very happy with the results and love how they look hanging by the wood stove...very nostalgic.

This week to help break up the monotony and to keep all the folks busy, we will be starting some Christmas baking.  Peanut butter balls for the freezer and some sugar cookies are on the agenda.  The second Saturday of December Paul's sisters, Denise and Claudette are coming over to bake and I have a very ambitious list of recipes to accomplish in one day but we will try to get through it.

The majority of my Christmas shopping is complete and I'm hoping by the end of this week it will be all done and ready to wrap.  The house is decorated and looking very festive, snow on the ground and my first fire of the year really help set the mood to get things done.

Time to make breakfast for the troops now.  Enjoy your day and see you back here in December!

Short and Sweet

It appears that October got away from me, such a busy month celebrating all three of our birthdays, Thanksgiving and Halloween!
I had a great birthday with Kristie, Brooke, and all the folks we care for.  After a great supper we headed down to Oven Head beach to take a few pics and then home for cake.  Thanks Kristie and Brooke for the awesome, red Kitchen Aid mixer.  Christmas baking will be a breeze once again!!

What wonderful summer and fall seasons we have enjoyed, lots of new adventures, shopping trips, laughs and overall good times spent together.

Now what is the best thing about Halloween being over with?  Christmas is just around the corner so decorating and baking can commence.  I love this house the most during this time of year, decorated and so cozy feeling with all the evergreen garland draping the stairs and soft candles burning, the warmth of the wood stove and the smells of cinnamon wafting through the rooms.

Today, November 2, we are getting our first taste of the winter to come with a dreary day of freezing rain and a dusting of snow on the ground.  Hopefully the weather is all clear by the end of the month when Kristie and Brooke are planning to drive back to Ontario for a visit and early Christmas celebrations with family and friends.

Take care and I'll see you back here in December :)

Remember The Summer

August is over, today the kids head back to school and the Christmas Wish Book is sitting on my coffee table...all sure signs that summer is coming to an end.  It'a a dreary day so a good one for savoring some homemade cabbage soup and looking back over an amazing summer season.

 The first part of August brought my brother Terry, his girlfriend Fran and their son Martin to visit.  What was supposed to be only a couple days of visiting turned out to be the better part of a week filled with excursions to Deer Island, New River Beach, St. Andrews along with many picnics, barbecues and loads of laughs.

The second week was our girls vacation.  Kristie, Brooke, Britni, Melody and myself headed to The Gentle Island, (PEI) for three fun filled days.  Brooke and I went deep sea fishing catching a ton of Mackerel and a few Cod.  Not being the best fishermen, we were more taken with the sights of seagulls chasing the boat, Gannets dive bombing the water beside the boat to get scraps being thrown overboard and a breathtaking sunset.

The next day Kristie and I took Brit and Melody on a trail ride through the woods and along a beach, very peaceful and picturesque. One of Brit's favorite tv shows is "You Gotta Eat Here" which featured a Charlottetown restaurant called Famous Peppers that Britni wanted to visit.  We had a delicious lunch of Pizza and for added entertainment we were witnesses to a thief running into the restaurant and stealing the tip jar.  Luckily the police were nearby and with the help of the restaurant chef and a few other bystanders the criminal was caught (without the tip jar) and taken into custody.

Once returning home Kristie made the decision to stay here in New Brunswick and so the fun has continued on throughout the remainder of the month.  More day trips, long walks, ferry rides and just good times visiting and laughing here at the house.  It's great having both the girls here, my cup of happiness overflows!

So there it is, August 2014.  Now onward into September and more NB antics.

Love and laughter to all.

Special Days

Wow this summer is flying by! What a great summer it's been so far though with perfect weather and great times spent with friends and family.
I got my trip to Montreal over with. That was an experience I won't be needing to repeat anytime soon. The company was fun and the drive there and back was great but Montreal itself was a mess of construction. Thanks to Debra Vincze for telling me about the WAZE app for a GPS so I was able to find my way in and out of there!
I also snuck in a day trip to visit my friend Pat in PEI while she was on vacation there. We didn't stay long as it was so hot there. It was good to return to the cooler temps  of the Fundy coast!
I spent a day out biking the trails with friends and need to do that again soon. Such a great time!!

 Was so glad to have this bandanna...it was a dusty ride!!

Crazy summer hair but Frankie loves me anyway :) 

Next week we head out to Ontario for a week. Can't wait to hug my grandbabies, see my kids, parents, family and friends.  We will be bringing the lawn chairs for evening parking lot parties, always a good time😎! My plan is also to bring back lots of tomatoes, corn and peaches to put up for the winter.
September will bring my sister and brother in law to the area so I also have that to look forward to.
Not much else has been happening. Still loving the good life and trying to stay out of trouble. Some days it's easier than others  hahaha!
See you next month💖

June has been such an exciting month!!  Our trip to Ontario was terrific, a whole week at the cottage in Normandale visiting with family and friends.  An awesome barbeque at mom and dad's and almost the whole family, 35 people to visit, reminisce and laugh with!  Then to end the week perfectly, Brad and Brittany's wedding. Paul and I had a great time dancing and laughing (thanks Kristie...heehee) and a good time was had by all.

During the mother - son dance Brad informed me that he and Britt were coming to New Brunswick for their honeymoon!!  PERFECT!!

So, after returning from Ontario I was blessed with the opportunity to spend even more time with all three (now 4) of my kids, having them in my house all together for the first time in more than 6 years.  Like everyone else that visits me here in NB, Brad and Britt fell in love with the area.  Brad has a ball tournament in Fredericton in September so we are all looking forward to being together again in a few months.
Kristie moved down here with us after the wedding as well.  The past few weeks have been so nice having her here with Brooke and I, just like old times.  I couldn't be more proud of her and the woman she has become.

Vacation over and back to the reality of life...spending long days on the beach, enjoying ferry rides and picnics on Deer Island oh woe is me...LOL!!!  Of course there are still the day to day household chores to do but a small price to pay.  So on we go into July and I'm sure there will be many more fun adventures to come. 

What Are You Waiting For?

I think my 50's have turned out to be the best years of my life so far.  I'm not saying that the best things have happened to me in the last couple years but just that I know more about my own inner peace and acceptance, feeling comfortable being me! 


I have realized more lately than ever before how often I have put things off until, well you know the list...I have more money, when I lose weight, the mortgage is paid off, the kids are grown, and worst of all, , when life isn't so busy!  Looking at some seniors I would say life isn't so busy when you are getting up in age and your body doesn't work the way it used to and you spend most of your time sitting in a chair wishing you could go out and do the things you used to.


In the past month I have lost a good friend to cancer and heard of another getting the news she has a brain tumour and two weeks left to live.  Cancer, along with a plethora of other illnesses seems to be swallowing us up one by one.  All of a sudden it seems life has become more a game of Russian Roulette.  Not that it hasn't always been I suppose, I mean we don't know what tomorrow will bring but recently it just seems that a wake up call is being delivered and it's time to take notice.


What would I do if I was given the news that I had only a year left (heaven forbid)...would I try to pick up extra work to pay off the mortgage faster, dust the cobwebs from every corner of my house, start another crazy diet?  Would I spend my last days regretting so many things left undone because I was waiting?  Waiting for what??  I like to think I would spend that time with the ones that love me, just being with them and knowing words are not necessary because I have told them and showed them everyday that they are loved.  I would like the people I have differed with to know that all has been forgiven and that even the rough times taught me to be a better person.  The last day of my life I hope I can spend it looking at a fully crossed off bucket list and at peace, being thankful for every minute of life I have had and for every person and experience that has been a part of it.


I know it is nearly impossible to live a life with no regrets when your time comes but I think living a life without trying to be positive, without helping others whenever possible, without forgiveness in your heart would be a shame.  So before any bad news comes my way I am going to stop waiting, do the things I have put off, say the things that need to be said and if time allows maybe I'll get after those cobwebs.


Now I ask you...What are you waiting for?


Love and hugs to all

Good bye Dear Friend

Tracey (Rose) Sellars
June 11, 1974 - April 18, 2014

I have such a heavy heart as I write this post.  I learned this weekend that my dear friend Tracey (Rose) Sellars passed away after a brief fight with cancer.  It was such a shock to see the obituary with her young and vibrant picture.  How could someone so happy, young, loving and caring be gone from this earth?  It just doesn't seem real.


I met Tracey when working in a group home where we shared many laughs and where I learned she was afraid of mice.  Over the years I got to know her husband Fred and soon after became smitten with her first born, Owen.  What a handsome little baby he was, I'm not often fond of babies but Owen was different.  He looked like a little old man, wise beyond his years, an old soul in a tiny body.  A few years later Emma came along looking so much like her mommy.  Tracey's life was full of love and laughter and contentment with her family, they were her world. 


I moved away a few years after Emma's birth and as life happens Tracey and I lost touch but there were and still are many moments when she would slip into my thoughts and bring a smile to my face as I remember Christmas baking together and wondering how the peanut butter ended up on the ceiling!!


You will be missed my dear friend Tracey.  I am blessed and happy to have known you and even though we were miles apart you and your family have been and will always be in my heart.
Until we meet again.

Marching Forward

“With vision there is no room to be frightened., No reason for intimidation. It's time to march forward! Let's be confident and positive!”

~~Charles R. Swindoll ~~ What an extraordinary month March has turned out to be!  Our new friend George remains in my care for the time being but that is soon to change.  As my home is deemed an Alternate Family Living Arrangement (AFLA), policies say I am allowed no more than two people to live here (not including family).  Since George was placed here under emergency circumstances it was inevitable that his stay would be short, only until a permanent placement could be found.  Unfortunately there are no openings in the St. George area where George's family live and it was being recommended that he take a spot in a St. Stephen home.  Neither George, nor his family wanted to see this happen and they stood firm in their decision that he be placed here in town.  I received a call from Social Development asking if Brooke (my daughter) would be interested in getting her own place and having George live with her, starting up her own AFLA.  This is an important step for Brooke not to mention a huge responsibility so much thought and consideration must be taken before accepting or declining.  Since Brooke has been living here and assisting me for over a year the concept of AFLA is not new to her.  After great deliberation and thoughts of the future she has decided to go on this great new adventure, I am so excited for her!!  We have found a nice house to invest in and hope to have everything in place for the end of April if not before. Now, having said all of this I refer you back to the quote at the beginning of my post.  Since moving here I have worked in 3 different areas of caring for people with some form of disability.  One in particular I witnessed a type of abuse that can be worse than physical abuse because it is the invisible abuse.  Demeaning people, squelching their dreams until they no longer have any, ignoring their rights and forcing them to live in oppressed circumstances.  Being only one person it is difficult to change the lives of everyone but I have realized the fulfilment that comes with changing even the lives of few.  Having a vision has allowed me to let my life spread out before me in a way that working day to day and pay check to pay check never can.  I am not afraid to speak out and go for what I believe in because it's not really about me.  It's for the people that need my help and for that I have to be confident and not be intimidated by policy pressures and political agendas.  Peoples lives and dreams are hanging in the balance so I must March on!!! I am very proud of Brooke as well as my other daughter Kristie, (who also works in the field of Developmental Disabilities) for seeing the value in supporting others to reach their dreams and in doing so I am sure that they will find dreams of their   own will start coming true right along with them.

Quick Update

Here we are in February already.  January brought some warmer than normal temperatures giving me some perfect weather for a quick trip home to visit mom and dad.  Dad had some health concerns and I thought a shot of "Peggy" might cheer him up.  Mission was accomplished and he has turned the corner and is holding his own once again.  It was also great to see my kids and grandbaby Jaxx too.  He changes his looks so much between visits!




With the warmer weather there have been many deer out along the roads, luckily the majority of them behind the deer fencing.  As Ontario has been blasted with lots of snow this winter Charlotte County hasn't received much at all in my opinion.  We have only had to shovel the door yard 3 times so far but having said that a storm is being called for tomorrow and Friday. 
January brought a new visitor to our home.  A great man by the name of George needed a place to stay temporarily and was placed in my care.  He hails from Newfoundland and has lived in NB for a number of years now.  We are so glad he is here, bringing lots of laughs and friendship to everyone.  We are still not sure how long he will be staying but he is already wanting to redecorate his room and get a queen size bed!!  Everyone in the house is hoping he gets to stay, fits in with our special family just great.
As for February, so far the only negative thing that has happened is Britni and I had the flu.  After two days of being down and out we both bounced back into our routines as normal.  Paul and I enjoyed a night in Fredericton taking in the Dean Brody concert...great show and really nice for just the two of us to get away.
Today is crazy hat day at the program that Billy, Brit, and George attend so I'm posting a pic of Brit and Billy (aka Thing 1 and Thing 2) geared up and ready to go.

Things to look forward to - Dinner theater with Paul for Valentine's day this month and maple syrup season starting next month!!  My goodness, Spring will be here before we know it!!!

That's life in my happy home for another month.  Warm wishes and kind thoughts to all who read this.