Fun in the snow

Well, Jessie and Emily were here since Friday. We did some cool stuff. We went to see Sleeping Beauty at the Playhouse Theatre. It was delightful and the kids laughed through the whole thing. We did 3 Geocaches which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. They took cool trinkets and left cool trinkets in the caches. We sewed pillow cases out of the soft fabric they got for Christmas. And we watched 3 movies, Karate Dog, Happy Feet, and Chestnut. Chestnut was about a dog that 2 adopted girls sneeked into their new home. It was funny, sad, happy all at the same time. Here is a collage that I put together of their weekend in Freddy Beach.

We found our very first Geocache.

Jessica and Emily are here from Moncton. We went out to find our very first GeoCache. It was in the McEvoy softball diamond area. We walked through snow, then up a hill. Grampie was letting the GPS lead him. Then after lots of digging around, and using our clues, we found a Barkless tree and it was in the stump. We took out a blue moon rock and put in a porcelin heart. Then weput it back where we found it. Can you see it in the last picture - it looks like a baseball and it's inside a stump. We learned a couple of things: 1) Decrypt your clue so you have all the info possible; 2) We know that a themed container is not a regular lock and lock. 3) Emily learned to walk slow so you don't tire yourself out. 4) we learned that the cache might be 20 feet away from where the exact coordinates are. It was fun, fun, fun. We all really enjoyed. We'll go find another one tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Mystery Solved

Wow, what a morning. We were busy watching the triplets open their gifts, then came home to open ours. I hope you had as much fun as we did. My sister designed me a beautiful Winter time tablescape. I'm so glad, because I was wanting to have something designer looking but didn't know where to start. And look what she did for me. I love it. Notice the card on the table that came with it. Her gift came with snow, but I had a white feather boa that will be a little less messy, especially with little kids around. Isn't she talented. Thanks Donna.

The mystery. Well, I found out what the mystery card is. It's a gift certficate from my dad for the Running Room. There's a story behind it, but I don't know what it is yet. I spoke to Donna briefly and she said she'd tell me later on today...

And here is a picture of Patience at 6 weeks to go. The next big event will be the arrival of Baby Aurora in early February.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Sunday - a day of rest .... sort of

Well, it's Sunday and we're all prepared for Christmas. This afternoon, I have a bit of wrapping to do, but other than that it's just a resting day. Patience is over at Michele's doing a family of hair. I made gingerbread with the unused dough from the kids gingerbread day earlier this week. I'm anxious for tomorrow to come to see the kids all here for Christmas eve. The weather looks great so we won't worry about the drive for Carrie and Kenny so much. Patience and I drafted the menu for the after church brunch and I'm hungry just looking at the list.

I made Jessica and Emily a Geocache kit. It's not a Christmas gift, so I'll give it to them tomorrow after church. I'll have to explain the concept to their dad who will have to program the GPS for the kids. I think they will really like the hunt and the web aspect of it.

And I'm still waiting for the instruciton from Stephanie....

Gingerbread 101

Well, the triplets came for a visit yesterday and we did Gingerbread. It was fun. Here is a cute video. Mitchell is wearing is new glasses. The glasses must make a difference because he never takes them off. Pictures below are in progress and the final results.

Still waiting for secret instruction from Stephanie.

I love a Mystery!!!

I got my mail this morning and there was a little envelope - about the size of a credit card. I know it's from my niece - Stephanie - because it has her return address on it. Look what it says on the back.. Do not open until instructed. What could it be - a game? Oh, I'm soooo curious. I wonder if it's some sort of virtual Murder Mystery... thinking... thinking.... I feel like I'm in a James Bond movie. (We watched Casino Royal last night).....I'm quietly awaiting further instruction...

Will the cold ever go away!

Well, I can't get over how much whining I'm doing about the cold. I have to force myself to get out and do things. I'd rather stay huddled up on the couch watching TV. Today, I did a bit more Christmas shopping - for P and we did the biggest part of our grocery order. On Christmas eve, we're having all the kids over after church for some snackies. I'm so glad Carrie and Kenny are coming for the day with the kids. It's a long trip just for a day, but I was jumping for joy when Carrie called to say they were coming. So on the menu are Devilled Eggs, Spinich Dip and crackers, bacon wrapped scallops, wings, cheese and veggie tray, hummus and guacamolli and tortilla chips and what ever else strikes my fancy between now and Monday.

Today, I wrote a number of security certifications to maintain my credentials for xwave. I wrote a number of tests yesterday, only to find out that I had done a couple of the wrong tests. So, this afternoon, I spent 3 hours, reviewing, and writing the correct practice tests before taking the official online certifications. I passed. So, I'm done for another 365 days.. or in other words... Forever.

Tomorrow, the triplets and I have some important work to do. After school, we're making gingerbread, some to hang on the tree as a decoration and of course, some to eat. I'm trying a new Kraft recipe that is not so spicy for the kids to eat. It has butterscotch pudding powder in it.

Today, I finished putting the 12 large Burgoyne surrounded quilt blocks together for the St. Dunstan's quilt. Now I just need to put a small border, then a big white border that will feature fantastic hand quilting by the St. Dunstan's ladies. Another couple of hours and it'll be done. I made a mistake and made 20 blocks, instead of just 12. I think I'll make one more block and have a 9 x 9 square lap quilt.

So, all in all, in an attempt to avoid thinking about how cold it was out side, I did have a productive day.

A Blizzard in Freddy Beach

Well, the weatherman is right on today. He called for a "System" and we got one. We went to Nova Scotia to visit my sister (who was having her 49th birthday) and my Dad on Friday. It was snowing lightly on Friday morning and we knew the weatherman said there was going to be snow on Sunday, but we went anyway. We had a very difficult first hour on Friday, but it was tolerable, just dirty the rest of the way. We stopped at the Truro SMT bus station to drop off Stephanie who was headed to Antigonish to visit with her sister Michele. It was her 21st birthday on Friday. Then we're on our way again, and we stopped in Windsor for lunch.

The Avonport discount fabric store is gaining repulation for being a great place to shop, so we stopped there too. It was easy to find. I bought 30 yards of quilting fabric.... for $75. I left the building saying to Mert "Start the Car, Start the Car". What a find. I think they must have been going to do inventory, because all the $4.00 discounted stuff was down to $2.00. I bought some of their famous bulk chocolates too. They taste like Gannongs. After that , we were on our way and landed in Greenwood about 2:30. It was nice to just sit and relax and chat with Dad until Donna got home. She had made my favorite - cabbage rolls - for supper... yum...

After supper went to the Greenwood mall, where I got a very nice Jim Shore Christmas Angel oranament for our Friday girls gift exchange this Friday.

Early Saturday morning, we went on a little hike in the woods with Donna's friend Jill. It's good to get your excercise even when away on a little trip. When we got back, Mert had viewed, reviewed and analysed the weather radar and sattelites.. and was really disturbed by what he saw, so we decided to leave for NB after lunch rather than waiting for the morning. Donna and I made a quick trip to the maternity/baby consignment store and I picked up a few things for P. We came home and had a nice lunch and then we were off on the highway. We had a nice relaxing drive home. Stopped at McD's for a chocolate sundae in Sackville and decided to head right home rather than stopping for supper.

So, with our free Sunday morning, I finished my Habitat Sunflowers wallhanging, and went with Mert to Marysville for my run. We came out of the gym and the snow had begun, and within 15 minutes, it was a Blizzard. I'm glad we came home yesterday..


Happy 49th Birthday Donna.

Kindergarden Concert

The triplets had their Christmas concert today. They sang a beautiful opening number for 37 seconds. I was tempted to shout out "Encore, Encore". I wanted more. We watched the rest of the concert and it was cute. I was hoping that the kids would come back out again..

The girls wore their concert dresses that Aunt Mae and I made for them last year. I'm so pleased they got another year out of them. Michele said the teachers all raved over them. They twirl so nice...and Grace and Caitlin are happy to oblige when somebody says "Twirl".

Here they are in the top row on the very end.


Tomorrow, I go to the kindergarden class to read a Christmas story to them. Thursday, Mert and I are helping to do dishes in the kitchen as it's the very special turkey dinner in the school cafeteria.

Friday, depending on the weather, we're heading to Nova Scota for a Christmas visit with my dad and sister and brother in law. Back on Sunday.

A sweater for Baby A.

I'm almost done Baby Aurora's little aran sweater. It's so small at about 10 inches tall. It's like a doll sweater. I have to sew up the sleeves and sides and put little buttons on the back raglin sleeve. It's adorable.

It's going to be a busy week. Tomorrow, we have the triplets school concert first thing tomorrow morning. I'm the videographer. And then my FQG Quilt guild Christmas luncheon at 11:30. It's nice to get together with the girls one last time before Christmas. I'm trying to get my Sunflowers for Habitat wallhanging done, but there's still about 2 hours worth of work to do on it, so I'm not sure it'll get done for tomorrow's show and tell. I did get the 2 Juicebags done; one for my God-daughter and one for the kindergarden teacher of the triplets. I'm writing instructions for the juicebags at the same time as I'm sewing. These are to go on the Canadian Living website when the green issue comes out. The editor emailed me today to say she got my bags. She loves, loves loves them. :)

Michele is 38 on Sunday.

I can't believe Michele is 38 tomorrow. Man, how time flies. We had the triplets over to make her a very special cake today. So early this morning, I used my new Wilton cake pan that Carrie and Kenny and kids got me for my birthday. I absolutely love it. The sides of the cake were perfect for icing. I tried an experiment that I read about on the web. I made a cake pan cozy that fits around the cake. This cozy slows down the cooking on the sides and allows the cake to rise more evenly. I think it worked quite nicely. I whipped up the cozy out of potholder material that I've had in my stash for years.

Well the kids came over after hockey practice, and after I squeezed in a run at Marysville. We started to decorate the cake right away. No matter how hard you try, chocolate icing always gets on your fingers when putting sprinkles on. We washed their little hands each 3 times... Those little sprinkles get everywhere... Grampie grumbles all day long because the little balls get stuck in his socks. The kids were pretty pleased with themselves for how it turned out. Isn't it great to have a birthday around Christmas time. You can decorate with candy canes.

Then we made Mom each a personalized birthday card on the computer and the kids made up the poems and then signed and sealed. Then we had big homemade waffles for lunch with banana pudding for desert. When that was done, we started to make Mom's Birthday present. Time was getting short, so Grampie helped with that while Grammie went into her sewing room to work on the kindergarden teacher, Miss Donovan's, Juicebag that the triplets are giving to her for a Christmas present. Well, we just got done Mom's gift in time to put in a box and wrap with a special bow.

The juicebag will get done tomorrow or next week. We had a fun day today. We'll go see Michele to deliver more presents tomorrow, but not until after the noon hour. The other grandmother is keeping the kids overnight and Wade is taking Michele out for breakfast.

Nano, Nano - 500km

Well, Paula somebody (Radcliffe I think) came on my ipod yesterday and congratulated me for achieving 500 kms. (since the purchase of my Nike running kit, November 2006). Then I synched my nano to see how much over 500 I was. I'm at 504. Nike sent me a message, that I'm well on my way to 1000 kms. So I'm going to set that as my goal for next year. It took 13.5 months to get 504 km, so I should be able to get 496kms before December 31, 2008.


Today at the Friday Girls coffee, Jen brought a bunch of placemats for Meals on Wheels that we worked on last week. She now has over 50 so far, including the ones from the guild. The guild has a luncheon on Tuesday and I expect we'll have many more. They are so nice and whimsical.

Presents, Presents, Presents

I'm so excited that I have my sisters family all bought for including my dad. On our way home from New York, the bus stopped at LLBean for 2 hours. So my goal was to have all 5 done and I had a few others on the list too. With only 2 hours, I now realize how lucky I was to find gifts for 5. It's a busy, busy store. So now I have them all wrapped and ready for our gift-delivery trip to Nova Scotia on December 14th. I just left them in the Bean boxes and put a nice ribbon. I think they look so nice.

He Shoots, He Scores

Well, it's so cute to see Mitchell play hockey. We went to his practice today. He's just been in a Timbits Hockey for about 2 months now. They are playing little 15 minute games now at the end of their practices. He got 2 shifts today.

Here's a little video. His skating has improved so much. He's only 5 years old compared to some of the other kids who are bigger and older. Today, the coaches did drills to skate on one foot and other drills to shoot the puck to the boards. They also do drills to help the kids get up quicker after they take a dive. It's hard to get up with all that padding and with all that equipment on. After practice, I told Mitchell a secret and he's not to tell his mother. See, after the hockey practice on Saturday, he and his 2 sisters are coming over to our place to make a birthday cake and a crafty gift for their mother's birthday which is on Sunday. The kids love a secret and even more, they love to bake and make crafts. I don't know who will have the better birthday, Mom or the triplets.

A storm day in Freddy Beach

Well, the weather man predicted right. We had about 18 - 20 inches of snow in our driveway this morning when we got up. It took Mert almost an hour to clean out the driveway. Heavy, deep snow. It's so white. Look at how deep it is.. it's up to his knees.


Well I got an exciting phone call this afternoon. Canadian Living magazine called me and want post the Juicebag story in their April 2008 issue. It's their "Green" issue. They love the juicebag, but love the direct message it sends to kids regarding repurposing our resources. A lot of the products we use today are made from recycled products, and the quality is so good, that you'd never know it was recycled. Napkins, grocery bags etc. Kids understand the idea of recycling when they see the totebags. So, I'm sending a few bags to the magazine in Toronto to be photographed. In the article, they will put a reference in to contact me if anyone wants to buy them. Now, I'm on a mission to see if I can find somebody who will sew them and manage the sales part. I learned my lesson after the Sept. Daily Gleaner article. I had orders for more than a dozen bags. I got them done, but I felt pressure... I think it would make a nice home based business project for the right person.

It's exciting just the same.

Kitchen Update - almost final

Well, I really like the look of the wallpaper. Coffee themes seem to be in season for me. This is called Comfort Cafe. I don't have the border up, because I'm being wishy washy about it now. It seems to make it to busy. I need to get fabric for the curtain, so I'll make my final decision later about the border. Notice the new black dishwasher, the new countertop, the new toaster, the new knobs. I'm liking the new look. Off to fabricville this afternoon.

Yummy Pumpkin Latte

My dad, we call him Grampa, turns 78 today. I gave him a Tim Hortons gift set with a can of coffee, a new TH mug, and a gift card.

Speaking of Coffee - while in New York the week before last, we were waiting to board the SMT tour bus to get our 5 hour Manhattan tour. At the same time and place, - in front of Starbucks, they happened to be outside giving out small coffee samples. The drink was in a paper cup about half the size of the small Tim Hortons paper cup - so, maybe 4 oz. I couldn't tell what it looked like because the top of the cup was completely covered with swirly whipped topping. I asked what it was... and the Starbucks girl said, our holiday flavor - Pumpkin Spice Latte. So, I took two, one for me and one for Mert. As I was boarding the bus, the bus driver said, "Where's mine?" I said "right here" and gave him one of the samples. I went to my seat on the bus to join Mert and we shared the other one. So.. was it ever good!! Not the taste of pumpkin, but the nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. It was sweet, smooth. So the next day - the day of the Macy's parade, we stopped into Starbucks and we each got one. Not the Tall 10 oz one, but the Grande 16 oz one of course. That turned out to be a little too big because it's so sweet. It's a great thing to either have a very small one once in a while, or a Grande one once a year. It was delicious.

Well, back to the reality of Freddy Beach, today I went for a half hour run on the treadmill at the YMCA this morning. I hadn't run for 5 days..I was trying to get to Christmas before I had to move to an indoor method of running, but it looks like old man winter is here. The roads are snowpacked today. It's -7 and blustery. My fall on the ice the other day reminded me, that if I'm not smart, I might fall and really hurt myself if I keep trying to do the outdoor thing. I'm scheduled to go for an official tour of the YMCA on Tuesday and it looks like that's going to be my running home for the next 4 or 5 months. I can hardly wait for spring already to start running outdoors again. Isn't that sad!

I watched Oprah yesterday. Is she putting her weight back on? Oh the poor thing. She must be devistated. That's my nightmare.