It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

Well here we are nearing Christmas once again. What a rollercoaster of a year it has been.  So many of my friends and family have lost loved ones, my parents have battled through illness all while moving forward with the new changes in their lives.  I, myself have been dealing with personal issues I wish could be different yet still, here we are. Even though there may be dark clouds over part of my year I still have so many great memories that help sustain me.  Lots of trips to visit with family and friends, meeting new people and making new friends.  Having the opportunity and privilege to care for such appreciative folks and helping them reach their goals!  I have people that love me near and far that give me support and encouragement, that laugh with me and cry with me, and when the crying is over, laugh with me again.

So onward full steam ahead I go into the Christmas season. Now that my shopping is done I can focus on baking, mailing off some special packages and watching the Christmas specials.

It looks like we are going to have a green Christmas this year, the temperature today, December 13th, is 12 degrees, sweater weather here in St. George, NB!!  So many of my childhood Christmas memories are covered in snow, like building forts, snowmobiling, tobogganing and skating over the holidays.  Thankfully my mom and dad created other traditions that required no snow.  Having Christmas parties, lots of Christmas music playing, attending the Christmas Eve service at Church, bundling up 5 kids and going to Grandmas for Christmas (even though we wanted to stay home and play with our new toys), decorating the house and of course lots of baking.  Even though pinterest gives me every recipe under the sun, I still count on mom's old recipes to make Christmas feel just right to me.  Snowballs which are peanut butter balls dipped in glaze and rolled in coconut, jam tarts and sugar cookies always make the list.

I had a great day baking with Paul's sisters Denise and Claudette.  Together we learned the secret to melt in your mouth shortbread cookies.  So delicious!!!  I am so glad we started up this new tradition and it always brings up memories of past Christmases baking with my kids.  Another tradition we had when the kids were young was  trip to Simcoe to see the lights.  Now I have found a few places out here that have lights to music that we go see.  I am happy that my parents started traditions with me to pass down.

Brooke and I have set up a workshop in her basement and made a few Christmas gifts.  It's nice to have a place to work and not have to clean up and put everything away when we are finished working for the day.  Dad gave me a few tools before they moved so I am learning as I go how to use the power tools and so far I still have all my fingers attached.  We also have an area for painting which inspired me to dig out an old cast iron frying pan I found at Paul's house.  He used it years ago when he took his kids camping.  Now he can hang it by his wood stove as a reminder of good times :)

Brooke found this quote for her boyfriend's mom who recently lost her mother.  We made the sign from scraps of wainscoting and she painted it, I think it turned out very nice.

These are what I call my "Little Scrappers" because they are made from the scraps leftover when we did some renovations at Brooke's house.  The round snowmen sitting on the ends are not attached. They are just some little decorations I made with old cd's and battery operated tea lights for the nose.

Now you know what I've been up to the past couple of months.  Soon the big day will be here and gone and we will move forward into a bright and shiny new year.   I hope this Christmas season you and your families are enjoying traditions old and new.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours, see you in the New Year!!!

Summer Wrap Up

The leaves are turning and summer is ending.  What a fantastic summer I have had!!  So many awesome trips and fun visiting with family and friends, making some new friends along the way.

September brought me back to Ontario for the auction sale of mom and dad's household items.  The sale went well and the house was emptied.  After many trips in and out of the house over the past month, my sister has been working hard to ready it for auction on October 31st.  I was able to bring back a van full of treasures and memories, all of which have been placed throughout my house as loving reminders of my parents and grandparents.

My good friend Elsie came along for the trip providing lots of laughs and great company.

We hope to make this a yearly trip so we can load up on the fresh fruits and vegetables at St. Jacobs.  I bought a half bushel of baby cuc's for half the price I would pay here in New Brunswick.  If I had more room and more time once returning home, I would have bought more things but the dill pickles and pickled pumpkin we made will make a nice addition to our Thanksgiving and Christmas buffets.

I learned that Melody (she lives with Brooke) loves canning and was a great help.

 After the trip to Ontario it was time for Britni's vacation.  We ventured off to Nova Scotia, travelling the coast down to Digby then around to Lunenburg stopping at lots of roadside stands, gift and craft shops and antique stores.  Britni made lots of new friends and got to have lunch at The Salt Shaker restaurant where John Catucci from You Gotta Eat Here (one of her favorite tv shows) filmed.

Home again but not for long.  A beautiful Saturday beckoned us out into the sunshine to pick some apples.  We loaded everyone into the van and headed up to Gagetown, Charlotte's orchard to get some nice Courtland and Mac's to make pies, apple dumplings and applesauce with.  With many hands to help it didn't take long to pick a bushel plus another 20 lbs!

Brooke and I volunteered to make apple dumplings with homemade caramel sauce for the Community Living Center Thanksgiving lunch with some of our bounty.  Always nice to give back when we can :)

Brit celebrated her 30th birthday on the first of October, next is Thanksgiving, my birthday, Billy's brithday (big 55) on the 28th and then wrap up the month with Halloween.  Never a dull moment, we are so lucky!!

My mom is going in for her reversal surgery tomorrow.  We will be praying all goes smoothly for her this time and before she knows it she will be healed up and once again moving forward with her life. 

Cheers everyone and Happy Fall!!!!!! 

Loving Life

So here it is, August already.  What a wonderful summer this has been so far.  We enjoyed a successful trip to Ontario in June for my mom's 80th birthday with Paul, Billy, Melody, Brooke and Brandon.  By the time we fly in and fly out, we really only have 5 days to try our very best to see who we can.  It's always a challenge to try and squeeze into peoples busy schedules.  My goal is always to visit mom and dad of course and they are always accommodating.  It's not quite as easy to catch up with the kids and grandchildren as understandably their lives are busier but I always cherish anytime they have for us.

Mom and dad are still waiting for their two bedroom suite to be completed at Leisure Living and in the meantime, Mom remains at Pat and Dave's.  I learned so much during this visit, one thing in particular is the crazy high cost of living in a retirement home.  My dad worked hard his entire life to support his wife and children and now all of us want the best for both him and mom, as I'm sure any children would.  I am happy for them that through the sale of their home, they will have security to stay together and live in the comfort they so deserve.  I think the hardest part for my parents right now, is going through all their possessions and deciding what to do with everything.  So many treasures collected over the years and having lived through tough times they appreciate every little thing so much.  In the end though, material things are just that, things.  I think I will try to keep my house uncluttered as much as possible so if the day should ever come, my kids won't have too much trouble helping me move on into my next phase of life.

Now as for the rest of June and July.  Billy, Melody and George enjoyed a week at bible camp.  George and I had a great trip to Newfoundland, for me it was the last province I had yet to visit so that is now checked off my bucket list.  I couldn't have had a better travelling partner for this trip as I got to meet and visit with the locals and hear all kinds of stories.  Newfoundland is a beautiful province and the people are fantastic, so friendly and helpful. We actually traveled the  entire coast from Port aux Basque to the tip of the North Peninsula to St. Anthony's during our week visit.

This is the lighthouse at Lobster Head Cove.
Upon returning home from Newfoundland, I was blessed with a visit from Christy and Taylor Patterson.  It was so great to be able to spend a few days with them laughing and travelling around.

While I was away Brittany, Brody, Scarlett and Brittany's mom Gillian were in New Brunswick doing some sightseeing.  They picked up Kristie and moved her back to Ontario where she is making another start there.  I wish Kristie the best of luck, lots of happiness and success in whatever path life takes her on.

So now for August.  My lifelong friend Pat Pettitt and her daughter Andrea will be arriving around the 10th.  This will be their first trip down and I can't wait to show them around our beautiful Charlotte County.  More friends, Debra and Randy are coming around the 19th to camp at New River Beach so lots more time for quality visiting.

September brings yet another and my final trip back to Ontario this year.  I am returning only to pick up a few things from mom and dad's house that they want me to have and then quickly drive back home to take Britni on her vacation.

As you can see, life is busy but mostly with doing amazing things with amazing people.  I feel blessed in so many ways for all the wonderful family and friends I have!!!

Let The Summer Fun Begin!!!

So April and May were a couple of difficult months this year.  Mom and dad had their world turned upside down but have both managed to come out smiling.  Yesterday mom was finally released from the nursing home where she had been recovering from her surgery in April.  She is now temporarily living with my sister Pat and her husband Dave until a double room is available at Leisure Living.  Dad has settled into his new home there but is still anxiously waiting for mom to join him.  Everyone will be together for the celebration of mom's 80th birthday on June 20th. Our cousin Rob is even flying in from BC to join us, can't wait to see him too!

Back here in New Brunswick it has also been a busy couple of months. Billy was recognized by the Town of St. George for all his hard work and dedication to keeping the town clean. He received a nice certificate which he is very proud of.   Both Brit and Billy finished up another year of Special Olympic bowling and are now planning their summer vacations.  We have numerous visitors coming this summer during the months of July and August which is always so much fun and the highlight of my summer.  Also stuffed into our summer is a trip to Newfoundland for George and I, a week of camp for Billy, Melody and George, a weekend stay in the treehouses in Miramichi for Billy and a vacation for Britni, destination still undetermined.

Kristie and Brooke are both doing well here and I'm so thankful to have them close.  We have so many laughs together.  Brooke has registered for school in April 2016 for makeup and nails so I'm sure Kristie and I will get to be her guinea pigs.

Now it's time to get my bags packed.  Paul and I will be arriving in Hagersville June 19th and then heading back here on the 26th.  Brooke and her friend Brandon are driving up and bringing Billy and Melody with them.  I expect it will be a fun filled week spending time visiting Brad, Brittany and all my grandbabies, family and friends. So shine up the marble board dad....see you soon!!!

You Just Never Know

April 9th mom was rushed into emergency surgery with a perforated bowel.  After a 3 hour surgery she spent time in the Simcoe General Hospital recovering.  So far it has been a long, hard recovery process for her.  She was finally able to leave the hospital and go into Cedarland Garden nursing home where she is currently receiving excellent care.  She is still battling some infections, bad reactions to some of her medication and now gall stones.  This woman just can't seem to catch a break!!!

Meanwhile back on the Martin homestead my dad was left on his own.  At 86 years old he is still very sharp in many ways but does have bouts of forgetfulness which didn't leave him the option of living at the house on his own.  I spent a couple of weeks with him discussing mom's situation and the prospect of him moving to Leisure Living where he has lots of friends.  Of course this decision didn't come easily for dad, he didn't know what would happen to the house or what mom's long term prognosis would be.  After the better part of the two weeks, lots of talking and a visit to Leisure Living he decided it would be best for him to move.

I can't imagine the loneliness and worry both mom and dad have at this point.  After being married for 60 years to now be separated, living in different towns must weigh heavy on their hearts.  I know dad wishes mom was living with him to take care of him and I'm sure mom wishes she was well enough to do that but as we have discovered, life happens and your life can change in an instant.  You just never know.

So once again I have lessons to learn from my parents.  I watched them struggle while I was there and now that I am home I continue to call them every other day or so to check in.  Even though their worlds have been turned upside down both of them still have their senses of humor and never fail to ask how everyone else is doing.  They really are selfless when it comes to their family.

I must also give them credit for the family they have raised.  My oldest sister is basically on her own taking care of both mom and dad, making sure their medical and financial needs are met.  She has a loving family of her own that have her back and us four brothers and sisters that appreciate her dedication and we help out when whenever possible.

I am looking forward to returning to Ontario on June 19th to celebrate mom's 80th birthday on the 20th.  I hope and pray that she will have regained some strength by then but we will meet her wherever she is to help her ring in this milestone.

In closing I will just say, kids...be good to your parents, visit them, call them and show them you care.  You just never know....

Just Before We Spring Ahead

Here's hoping the worst of winter is now over and we are on the other side heading into Spring.  Snow is still piled high here in St. George, NB, but the temperature is on the upswing and soon the fog rolling in off the salty sea will start melting it away.

Billy, Britni and I had a fabulous trip to Ontario for my parents 60th wedding anniversary.  We had clear roads with no traffic snags all the way there and back.  As always it was so nice to see family and friends.  We all enjoyed our stay at Debra and Randy Vincze's home as well as our few nights at the Days Inn in Brantford and a couple nights camping out in mom and dad's basement.  Devine's restaurant in Jarvis was host to the Anniversary dinner and I'm sure all the locals will agree with me saying it was a top notch meal.  I was thrilled to be asked to drive the Maid of Honor and after 64 years still the best friend to the bride along with her husband to the festivities.  Just spending time with Dorothy and Oakie brought back so many great memories of visiting their home for vacations when I was a kid.  Lucky for me their daughter Kim came to their house before I got there to pick them up so I had the chance to visit with her as well.  Kim and I had so many fun times together growing up.  I would spend a week in the summer at their home in the city and then she would spend a week with me on our farm.  A real life Country Mouse City Mouse story!!  Even though life has led us down different paths over the years it was so good to fall back into that easy laughter and friendship.


Brit's favorite part of the trip was line dancing at the Army Navy Club in Brantford.  She made lots of new friends, especially one named Mark and danced her butt off.  She had a blast!!

Billy enjoyed shovelling some snow for everyone, the big meal at the Burger Barn and spending some time with his little buddy (my grandson) Jaxx. (That was my favorite time too!!)

So there are a few of the highlights of our first winter vacation together. 


See you next month!!!

Brrrrrr.....

Happy belated New Year everyone!!  What a winter we have been having so far.  Wasn't it weird to have no snow and such warm temperatures in December?  I believe it was 12 or 13 degrees on Christmas day.  Too bad it had to end in January, we have seen temps of -35 on more than a few days so far.  Today it's mild though and what little snow we have is melting away again.

So how was your Christmas??  Mine was absolutely great.  It was so much fun to have Brooke, Brandon, Paul, Billy, George and Melody here Christmas morning for breakfast and to open presents. Everyone bought for each other so there were a ton of gifts under the tree but it didn't take long for everyone to dive in to see what "Santa" brought them.

Kristie left us to return to Ontario just before Christmas, we all wish her well but I am selfishly sad because I'm going to miss her.  My daughter in law Brittany called days later to say she and my grandbaby Jaxx are coming for a visit in January so that cheered me up...can't wait to see them both!!

Wow!!!!  Sorry but time seems to have gotten away from me!  Where did January and now half of February go???  This has been one crazy winter.  The mild temperatures in December sure spoiled us for what we have now received.  We have had more snow this month alone than this area has seen in years and the temperature has held between minus 20 to minus 35 all month so none of the snow has had a chance to melt.  Saint John declared a state of emergency and well over 9000 dump trucks of snow had to be removed from the downtown.

My heat pump went on the fritz and we are running low on wood for the woodstove so we had to hunker down at Brooke's house for a week until I could remedy the issues in order to keep everyone warm and safe.  We called it our "Staycation" and everyone had a great time together.  Just as we were gearing up to come back to our house I received a phone call from our social worker.  She had received an email from a someone (she couldn't say who it was from, although it wasn't hard to figure out...lol) saying there was a concern that Brooke and I had moved in together with all 4 people we support and were running an illegal Special Care home!!!  We both had a laugh over that when I explained the situation and I understood she was just doing her job following up on the email.  It made me a little sad to think that some people always want to think the worst of others even when they are looking out for the best interests of the people they care for.  I believe that this person in particular has screwed the system so many times that she is always trying to shine a bad light on others to take the eyes of herself.  Oh well, I will carry on as usual and have peace knowing that what goes around always comes around.

Now, if the snow ever stops I am heading back to Ontario this Thursday for my parents 60th wedding anniversary.  I have been looking forward to and planning for this since the fall, I hope the weather doesn't interfere with our plans.  My good friend Christy Patterson is flying out tomorrow to drive back with me, Billy and Britni.  I can't wait to see her and have some girl visiting time. She is also driving back out with me when we return for a little vacation.  Once in Ontario we will be staying with other good friends Debra and Randy Vince.  Here's hoping the weather is good so we can get around to visit people and also have the chance to take in the Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto.  That may have to wait until summer though.

Paul was down for Valentine's Day.  He took me out for a beautiful supper at the Mediterranean Restaurant in Saint John and spoiled me with flowers and a teddy bear,  What a sweet man he is!!

So that is what's happening in my happy little world.  Stay warm and safe everyone!!! Cheers til next time.