Better late than never and a few new hearts for Valentine's Day

I meant to post photos of my Christmas decor - I really did -  but life was busy and hectic and now it's all put away until next year.....sorry!

Here are a few photos of Christmas and our winter wonderland. No photos of New Years as we were all in bed before midnight. You can tell that you're getting older when you could care less about New Year's parties or even watching the festivities on TV :)

Christmas morning.

Hailie asked Santa for a violin and was so excited to find out he brought her one! 

Hailie and Grandpa standing by the snowman we made.

This is our neighbour's tree - it's hard to tell from this photo, but it's about 75 feet tall. New neighbours moved into the house next door this past Fall and I was so happy to see them light up this tree for Christmas...I LOVE it :)

And here are a few of the heart ornies I have for offer on Ebay. You can see them here if you'd like.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I was having a hard time emotionally to get into the Christmas spirit after what happened at Sandy Hook - it hit me harder than anything I've ever watched on the news. God Bless all those families and help them in the new year ahead.

Penny Rugs and some great news

Shelby's school held their Academic awards the other night. We knew she had won a $500 bursary (they mailed us a notice) and she was given a letter from her school saying that she needed to attend. We weren't sure if she had won another one because it was all very hush hush...the students were just told that they had won an award and needed to attend. Well she did win another one! Another $400 bursary! So that's $900 in total towards her tuition which is REALLY going to help! Plus we've applied for this new Ontario Tuition Grant that she will probably recieve too and that's another $770 that doesn't need to be paid back like a student loan! That will cover almost half of her first year in College.

There were only 85 bursaries/scholarships given out and she won 2 of them! We are so proud of her! So I now have 2 girls in College :) and Miss Pearl will be starting JK in another year. 

Santana, my oldest, has gone back to school too. She just started a couple of weeks ago. She's studying to become a Paralegal and she's loving the course! She passed her equivalency test (GED) and enrolled in a business college in the city. We are so proud of her for going back to school...it's hard to go back once you've gotten a taste of the working world and are out on your own!

In other news....hehe, I've just listed a new Halloween Banner and Candle Mat on Ebay.

 My eye is healing nicely. I've only lost one of the stitches so far - 4 or 5 more to go! It's really annoying having those stitches in so I can't wait for them to go away. It's like having a bunch of long eye lashes in your eye that you can't take out! Hailie and I are counting down the days until I can lift her (and other things) again....2 more to go!

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Bursary and Scholarships

My baby girl won a $500.00 bursary yesterday and she was notified from the school that she has to be at the awards ceremony next week to accept a scholarship. They won't tell her which one or how much because it's a surprise to all of the winners. I am SO VERY PROUD of her! I know she will do an amazing job in college. She's been accepted into the Police Foundations course at 4 different colleges but she chose to go to our local college...which makes this Mama bear very happy that she'll still be at home :)

Happy Easter!

Hope you enjoy the day with family and friends! Off to cook Easter Dinner.

Playing Catch Up...

It's been ages since I've posted....I've been super busy...but it's time to catch up. Please know that I've been reading all your blogs and keeping up to date with everyone even if I haven't commented much.

There will be some very random posts in the next couple of days that may or may not be in any particular order so here goes!

I was published in my first Gooseberry Patch Cookbook! How cool is that? I think it's great of them to send you a free book when they use one of your recipes. There are a few in this one that I plan to make.

We've done a bit of this lately....it's been a really easy winter for us compared to others! Hailie loves being out in the snow. We made snow angels and a snowman last week too.

And we even got to go out ice fishing this winter. My brother bought a new hut and my Dad took us out. Hope to get out this weekend as it's the last weekend for pickerel fishing and it's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend with temps in the + and sunny!

My Dad, Miss Pearl, Lynn (my brother's girlfriend) and brother Vic. We didn't catch any fish that time but had a great day on the lake!

Well that's it for now...more random posts to come :)

Huge Christmas Craft Sale!

After years of selling crafts online, I finally made the decision to stop making crafts for sale. I will only be making items that I want to keep for myself. Being a full time Grandma and having limited space in my home as well as poor online sales, it just made sense to stop.  I will be clearing out all my items that are already made and a ton of craft supplies that I won't be needing anymore.The decision was a hard one but it's the best one for me now . I will have more room in my home and won't feel stressed out to keep things posted on Ebay, Etsy, and my website.

Soooo with that said, I will be having a huge sale on Ebay. Most items at less than it cost for the materials....but they must go. I'll be adding items whenever time permits until everything is gone. I've already added quite a few today and will list more after Miss Pearl is sleeping tonight. I have a ton of hand stitched pillows to go through and so much more.

You can visit my Ebay store here if you'd like to take a peek.

Also if anyone is into making their own Christmas cards or does any kind of paper crafting or scrapbooking, I have and will continue to stock wonderful vintage Christmas card image CDs on Ebay. I spent years collecting old scrapbooks and boxes of cards and scanning all the images to create the CDs and I've had only the best comments from them.

God Bless :)

Happy Halloween!

 

Our Little Hobo :)

Cutest Little Pumpkin in the Patch

Miss Pearl deciding on which pumpkin to bring home! 

Boy, I've been gone a while....been super busy this fall and have much to share. Now I just need to sit down and sort through the gazillion photos I've taken. We had a gorgeous 2-3 weeks of beautiful sunshine and summer-like temps so we did a lot of outside stuff - Now we're into the cold rainy part of Fall and almost all the leaves are laying on the ground. This is the part of Fall I'm not fussy about - too wet and damp and nothing really pretty to look at....so I start thinking about how pretty the snow will make everything look

 ( don't throw things at me) LOL... I'm one of those people who loves snow - not the cold - just the beauty of snow.

Last weekend we took Miss Pearl, Shelby, and her friend Erin to "The Pumpkin Patch" which is really called Leisure Farms, but the Pumpkin Patch sounds cuter.

We saw turkeys.

The pet pig.

The girls just loved this bale maze. I thought Miss Pearl would be scared but once she was inside she loved it! It was like a big ole fort to play in.

There was a nice playground for the kids to enjoy.

And of course, mountains and mountains of pumpkins.

And what Fall Farm would be complete without a corn maze to get lost in? 

Happy Fall!

Back to School

Shelby started her final year of High School yesterday and so far no complaints about her classes or teachers...in fact I think she's going to love her senior year. This year will be a busy one with filling out college applications and graduation stuff to get ready for. Her spare is right after her lunch which gives her over 2 hours of free time each day... sure wish I had that...hehe.

 

The house is quiet now as it's just Miss Pearl, myself and Koko. I already miss my road trip buddy (Shelby)! I guess I'll have to save the road trips for Saturdays and Sundays.

I was planning on getting some much needed housework done and start my Fall decorating but I've been hit with a nasty sore throat and cold. I don't mind letting the cleaning wait, but I'm so anxious to get my Fall stuff out. 

It's funny....when I was younger and before I had children I was a clean freak - the whole house got a going over every single Friday - it would take me ALL day. Now that I'm older, having a spic and span house has become less important. I'm more interested in spending every minute I can with the kids and grand-kids as I've learned over the years that time is way more precious than a sparkling home.

Fresh local corn and more photos

Yesterday we went for another road trip to our small Amish community and I was so happy to see that some of them are now selling produce from the end of their driveways and homes.

We stopped at one homestead that had a "Sweet Corn" sign at the road and drove down the long winding driveway to see a beautiful large barn and house that can't be seen from the road at all.  I was greeted at the door by this young Amish woman and when I asked if she had corn available she said "Yes, but I'll have to go to the garden to pick it". I almost jumped for joy - I've never had corn that fresh before!
As she headed to the garden, I went to the car to get Miss Pearl and Shelby as they had both spotted the horses in the field and wanted to take a closer look. It just happened to be right beside the garden where the woman was snapping the corn off the stalks. I was almost drooling with every snap I heard - couldn't wait to get home to taste it....and Boy. Was. It. GOOD!

Shel and Miss Pearl getting ready to peel corn and of course Koko had to inspect! LOL

Miss Pearl choosing which cob she wanted for herself.

 Here are a few more photos to enjoy of the beautiful countryside around us in Northern Ontario.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Still hot enough in the daytime and the wonderful cooler nights that come with Fall. No bugs bothering you at night by the bonfire, fresh produce popping up everywhere, and the anticipation of the upcoming Fall Fairs!

I took these photos yesterday of Miss Pearl and some sunflowers.

Although it doesn't look like Fall yet, I know it won't be long before the beauty of the season is upon us. Can you tell Fall is my favorite time of the year?  If I had it my way, it would be Fall all the time!

New addition to the family

Last weekend we got a new puppy. He was a birthday present from my parents. Our last dog Chanel had to be put down from old age a couple of years ago. She was 14, blind, toothless, and could barely walk anymore. IT WAS HARD...and I didn't think I'd want another dog again, but this little guy is growing on me. I mostly agreed to having another dog because my youngest Shelby is a real animal lover, like myself, and I knew Miss Pearl would enjoy it too. Every kid needs a dog to grow up with :)

 He's a Shih tzu, yorkie, toy poodle mix and he's so cute! Hard to get him to sit still for a photo shoot though...hehe

His name is Coco Koko - we named him when we thought he was a girl. The name stuck so we just changed the spelling of it. 

He's pretty small and I don't think he'll get too much bigger. He can fit inside Shelby's shoe!

Between him and Miss Pearl who's only 2....I've been a busy Grandma!

Santa's Village Trip

This week was a busy one. Tuesday was a beautiful day so we decided to head to Bracebridge to take Hailie to Santa's Village. The last time we were there Shelby was pretty young and I think she enjoyed going back too. This is where Santa relaxes in the summer months :)

She wasn't too fussy about meeting Santa so she was holding pretty tight to Grandpa.

Miss Pearl got to meet Dora but she was a bit shy!

Hailie flying her first plane.

Hailie and Shelby on carousel.

We got to feed Donner and Blizten and the gang.

We even took a ride on Santa's Summer Sleigh!

Wednesday was my birthday and the day was filled with family, friends, and a wonderful night by a bonfire. I was too busy having fun to take any photos though.

Have a great weekend!

Company from BC and Hockey Night in Canada...Redneck Style

This past week my beautiful Niece Monique and her Husband Dylan came from British Columbia for a visit. Monique's family and Dylan's family all live in Ontario so they got to see everyone when they came down. Now we just need to convince them to move back here - they love the west coast though so it may not happen for a while. Monique is pregnant with their first child and she is going to be a GREAT Mom!.

Monique, Dylan, and her Dad (my brother) Vic.

Miss Pearl took to her like a bee to honey! This was the first time they'd met and Hailie would not let her out of her sight!

We went fishing, swimming, and enjoyed the Waterfront park in North Bay. The weather was perfect! 

On Wednesday night we enjoyed the Hockey Game - redneck style! We decided to bring my brother's big screen TV outside to watch the game and have a bonfire. Some friends came over too so it's a good thing we had it outside - none of our living rooms were big enough to hold everyone.

As a side note, I was and still am very ashamed at how terrible some of the people in Vancouver rioted after the game. Shame on you! Canadians are more sportsmanlike than that! The sad thing is, they probably would have done the same thing if Vancouver had won the cup. There are always a few bad apples in a crowd that size that seem to get the others going. The VPD have made several arrests thanks to digital photos that everyone took with their cell phones, ipods, etc. I think they should be made to pay for the damage they did as well - but they'll probably get a slap on the wrist and probation! 

I am very proud of the volunteers that went out the next day to start the clean up and help shop owners get back to some kind of normalcy. Now, that's the Canadian way - helping each other! 

 Monique and Dylan live in Vancouver and I think they were thankful they were in Ontario when that happened.

Congrats to Boston for playing a great series and winning the cup!