Garden gets a makeover

We have a small flower garden that we’ve been redoing this year. It was neglected last year due to both hubby and I being sick most of the year. I thought I’d share a few photos of the garden makeover we’ve been working on. I’ll post photos throughout the summer when the different flowers appear. Right now it’s pretty bare but it’s starting to look more like hoped it would.

Hubby and my brother Vic raked, weeded, and added 25 bags of red cedar chips over plastic tarps to help keep the weeds down.

This is the lilac bush that hubby bought me and planted in 2000. The buds are just starting on it but it should be in full bloom soon. I LOVE lilacs and can’t wait to smell their sweetness!

Can you spot the little boy fairy sitting on the wheel? My neighbour down the road owns a gorgeous farm and he had a few of these old wheels laying around. We made a  trade – this worn out old wagon wheel for the swing set my girls had outgrown. I definitely got the better end of that deal!

I took an old rusty wheel barrow wheel and leaned it up against some trees in the back and added the girl fairy to a piece of driftwood. The garden stone is one that Shelby made in school with colourful marbles and stones.

I found this old red water pump at a yard sale last year and fell in love with it but didn’t buy it. When I got home, I told my Mom about it and she handed me the money and told me to go get it for my birthday present. Thanks Mom! You’re the best there is! It looks so perfect in the garden – especially with an old rusty bucket hanging from it.

Now all we need are some warmer days and flowers! I think I might even try my hand at a few vegetables this year. I’ll start small for now and see how that goes. If it goes well and it’s something that we enjoy, I might have to plough up my back yard and make a real vegetable garden for next year! Learning to be more self sufficient is something I’m really taking an interest in lately.

Maple Syrup Festival – A Sweet Success

This was the first year that I’ve ventured to a Maple Syrup Festival in a small town about 20 minutes south of us. It was held this past Saturday and I’ve wanted to go for the past several years but the weather has always kept me away – as well as many others, so much so that the festival wasn’t doing so well. It’s usually cold, raining or snowing, and windy! This year the sun was shining brightly and the little town of  Powassan was as crowded as some of the bigger city’s festivals.  My youngest daughter and I went for a few hours enjoying the sunshine, vendor’s booths, food, and entertainment.

Here are a few photos of our day :)

Shelby fell in love with this little goat that was following it’s mom around town. It’s only 4 days old and oh so cute! I had a hard time talking her into letting the little guy go back to his mama!

Some of the older historical buildings of Powassan

Town Criers in costume

A couple of old tractors

And tons of this…

We went for a wagon ride…I wish they would have had old fashioned carriages but this had to do.

In recent years a few Mennonite families have moved up here and I couldn’t be more pleased! I hope a lot more families move here. They are wonderful craftspeople and entrepreneurs. They have already gained quite a following for their construction and furniture building in an area that was completely void of these wonderful “plain” people. I wish them all the best and will support them every chance I get.

And of course it wouldn’t be a truly wonderful day if I didn’t find some goodies to bring home with me.

I found this wonderful star with grapevine wreath to hang on the outside of my house for only $10.00!  It’s quite big and looks perfect on the house!

and this cute little garden angel to watch over the flowers

and this barn star that is hanging in my living room.

It was a wonderful sunny Saturday. I can’t wait til next year’s festival!

A few party photos

Shelby and her friends by the bonfire on her birthday. She’s the second from the left.

Blowing out the candles in my parents store.

Me and Shelby in her Santa/Elf/Leprechaun disguise.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Hard to believe but my baby is 16 today! Where did the years go? It’s all a blur – like a dream sequence of one photo in my memory blending into another and another.

One day she was tucked safely in my arms…

 
Me and Shelby at 1 week old

and the next she’s preparing for her driver’s license and making plans for her future. She wants to be a Crime Scene Investigator and I know that she will be the best one there is!

Shelby and her niece Hailie

Her smile and laugh are contagious and her kind and generous heart brings joy to those of us who have the privilege of knowing her.

  
Shelby at Christmas – 2 yrs old

She is a true gift from God and I thank Him for her daily.
Shelby on large Muskoka chair in South River Ontario

She’s the best road trip partner there is! Who else would think to name all their fingers using road signs and states to kill the boredom? She had us in stitches all the way to South Carolina and back!

Shelby at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina

She’s always willing to help if anyone needs a hand and she’s the person to go to when you need some real muscle power.

She’s always calm and cool in a crisis and has a way of calming others around her and she has a natural ability to comfort people.

She’s having a Sweet 16 party tonight and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun and the weather is nice so we’re going to have a bonfire in the back yard too! I’ll try to take a lot of pictures and post some tomorrow.

I love you Shelby and I’m so proud to call you my Daughter. Happy Birthday!

Vintage Salt & Pepper Shakers

For those of you who collect Vintage Salt & Pepper shakers, I've listed a few on ebay here and I will be listing a lot more over the next couple of days. My Mom purchased a huge lot of them a few summers ago at an estate sale and I thought I had sold them all but I found another box. There are some really cute ones in this batch too!

PRIMITIVE Patriotic Stocking RED WHITE BLUE 1776

New stocking added to ebay. You can check it out here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390183916848

Tonight's Forcast - A Freeze on Blackflies and Mosquitos

Tonight

Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this evening changing to periods of snow after midnight. Snowfall amount 2 cm. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light late this evening. Low minus 1 C.

This happened to us last year - a snowfall in April and one at the end of May. It slowed down our growing season by 2 - 3 weeks. Things still grew - just took a little longer. 

What makes me happy about getting snow this time of year you ask? That's easy! We hardly had any blackflies or mosquitos because of it!

 This photo was last May 31st

So if we get one or two cool nights and wake up to a beautiful winter wonderland a couple of times throughout the spring, it's ok with me! I actually enjoy the beauty of white snow on the green buds of spring and being able to sit outside in the evenings without being completely miserable because of the bugs! - That's a huge bonus for a little cold if you ask me! 

Shopper in Training and Drivers Ed!

We start them young in Canada eh?

A few weeks ago I had to take a trip to our local Canadian Tire store to pick up a few things and I took these photos of my Granddaughter driving the shopping cart. She thought it was the coolest thing ever! She smiled and kicked her legs through the whole shopping trip. I think she’s going to love shopping AND driving!

Free Country Mouse Drawn Graphics

Some of you may know this about me but some may not. I’m a Graphic Artist that draws with only a computer mouse. I started about 12 or 13 years ago and now it’s hard for me to draw with anything but a mouse.  I’ve had a graphic site online – WyldCountry Graphics,  for about 10 years and have sold hundreds of  my images worldwide. 

It took some ‘ learnin’ and a lot of patience but once I got the hang of it, I was addicted! Hubby bought me a Wacom tablet but I never could get the hang of it so I kept on with the mouse. I’ve been picking up a pencil and charcoals lately, but I still prefer the mouse.

I also do Photo Restorations – I LOVE doing these! To be able to take an old photo that’s been folded or worn and bring it back to life is so fulfilling to me.  Here is one I did for a customer that wanted the photo restored and colorized.

Since I don’t have as much time as I’d like to devote to drawing anymore as I’m busy with new hobbies and of course, my little Grandbaby fills up most of my day, I decided to make some changes on my graphic site. I will offer some of my images for free personal use and I’ve reduced the cost of a commercial licence for those who wish to make a profit using my artwork. I’ve just started making the changes to my site today and it will take some time but I hope to offer some new images daily.

If you’re interested pop on over to www.wyldcountry.com and take a peek.

Spring Flowers

I love lilacs. I love the color and the way the fill the house with their amazing aroma - I just wish they would last longer. My hubby bought me a lilac bush about 8 years ago and I've been enjoying it's beautiful flowers since. This was a photo I took last year as I still have a while to wait for this year's blossums.

Road to Avonlea Christmas

I watch Christmas movies all year long - I love them all! I’ve decided that I will randomly share some of my favourites from time to time. Some of them you will probably know, some you may not. The first one may not be too well known other than in Canada.
The Road to Avonlea is a Canadian film produced by Sullivan Entertainment. They are same people who do the Anne of Green Gables movies and Road to Avonlea, the TV series, is a spin off of Anne of Green Gables. They also produce another great Canadian TV series called Wind at my Back. If you click on the image below, it will take you to the official web site which has a video clip of it.

Synopsis:
(also known as “Happy Christmas, Miss King”)
The award-winning cast of Road to Avonlea returns for this touching King Family reunion. As they prepare for their traditional Christmas dinner, their gathering is marred by the news that one of their youngest members, Felix, is missing in action on the battlefields of Europe. To make matters worse, the indomitable Hetty King collapses with an unexpected health emergency. “An Avonlea Christmas” is an uplifting drama that reinforces the power of family love in times of crisis. This classic family holiday movie is now available to own on DVD.

I purchased this DVD many years ago and have seen it at least 50 times. I enjoy it for the snow, the antiques, the old cutters, one room schoolhouse,  and so much more.

Homemade Bread

I've wanted to make my own bread for as long as I can remember. I even considered the idea of a bread maker for a couple of years and would stop to look at them in the store every so often, but never brought one home. Well the other day I was reading Suzanne’s Blog (Chickens in the Road), and found her recipe for her Grandmother bread! I read through a few of the posts and it sounded like it was easy to make. Then I saw the post of her daughter making bread and that really motivated me. If a young girl can make bread, so can I, right? So I did it. Right then and there and it turned out delicious! It was so easy too! I don't know why I've been so scared of making my own for so many years but it might have something to do with all the complicated recipes that I've seen in my cookbooks and online.

I like the idea of this recipe being handed down for so many generations too. It makes me feel like I'm part of the past in some small way. Thanks for sharing it with us Suzanne :)

P.S. If you’re scared of making homemade bread like I was, try this! You will be amazed at how easy it is and how wonderful your home smells!

Patriotic Banners

With hubby being an American, I have the best of both worlds as far as decorating goes. I can do both! I’ve been seeing a lot of these banners everywhere online and I decided to try my hand at a couple. Click on the images for description and a closer look.

My little Easter Blessing

Aren’t first holidays the very best?

Of course they mean nothing to the babies, but they’re a big deal to us! All of their firsts are.

They just know that everyone is together and making a fuss over them, and there might be a few new things to play with.

And a lot of pictures are taken…

so when baby gets older, she will have wonderful keepsakes to cherish.

Summer weather in April???

Today we hit 27C which is 80F. It was a good thing it was cloudy because if the sun had been out it would have been a lot hotter! This is not normal for April, not even close – We usually still have melting snow banks and have to wear coats. Today, we were out in shorts and T- shirts. We haven’t had any precipitation since February and the whole month of March with no snow must be a record! There is a fire ban across most of our district and our water level for the lake is extremely low – even with the ice melting. In fact, I’ve never seen it this bad in all my 40 some years. This is not good for the quality of the lake, the fish, or the tourism industry in which most of the city relies on.

My daughter and I had to run a few errands today in town and we drove by one of the popular beaches to check out the situation. Here are a few photos we took – click on them to see larger versions.

The sand area is usually under water.

She said it wasn’t cold. I didn’t believe her…LOL  That’s ice in the background! I should point out that my daughter is NEVER EVER cold. She goes most of the winter with only a small jacket or sweatshirt because she finds it too hot! She’s been like this all her life and I know a few others that are like that too. I’ve noticed the older I get the colder I get in winter so I’m usually bundled right up and I freeze just looking at her playing hockey on our outdoor rink with only a T-shirt on!

I asked if I could take her picture on one of the kiddie toys in the park and after much begging and pleading on my part she agreed. I told her I wanted to put it on my blog just as I clicked this picture…you can tell by the look on her face that if she had known that before she agreed to it, she probably wouldn’t have done it!  I love you Shelby :)

She’s a very good sport and a ton of fun to be around!

Hope it’s nice and warm where you are and you have a wonderful happy Easter weekend.