Time Passes By So Quickly

It has been over three weeks since our precious Cathey passed away.  It has been a sad time for all of us.  DH and I took a week and went back to New Brunswick to clean up the leaves around our place there, along with medical appointments and finally winterizing our place.  Cathey's DH and Junior were also in NB at that time visiting family and friends.  Now we are all back in Nova Scotia trying to go on with our lives.

I want to thank all the bloggers for their very nice comments about Cathey aka Pumpkin.  She was a very special person.  She had a great ability to write, to cross-stitch, but most of all to love.  She fought a great battle with cancer but in the end, she did lose her life.

Between Cathey's DH, her Dad and I, we will try to bring up Junior the way she would have wanted him to grow up.  He, too, is a special little man.

It is a very different world now without Cathey, but with the help of all our families and friends, we will continue on.

Take Care,

Zoe aka Mumzy

My Sweet Daughter's Passing

Cathey, aka Pumpkin, passed away on October 10, 2013.  Last year, shortly after giving birth to her sweet little boy, we realized that her cancer had returned.  DH and I came to Nova Scotia last summer to help she and her DH by taking care of our Grandson while Mommy went for treatments.  We all believed that the cancer was taken care off.  However, it returned and as much as she was a fighter, she did lose her battle.  Last February, DH and I decided to move to NS to help again.  This past Summer, we actually bought a house here and became available to her and her family to be there for them long term.

Cathey was always our pride and joy.  As most of you know, she was an accomplished cross stitcher and photographer.  Above all, she was a wonderful and caring daughter, wife and mother.  She is missed very much already.  I always loved to get a phone call from her, just to hear her voice.  Cathey was very much a perfectionist and excelled in every thing she put her mind to, including getting a wonderful and caring husband.  Even her little boy is perfect - and that is being said by his Nana as he calls me.  We love her so much and have always been so proud of her.

Cathey, you will always be in our hearts and you will never be forgotten.  Love you pumpkin.

Hugs and Love,
Mom

A nice Day Trip

Today we were not needed by our Daughter, and since it was lovely weather, we decided to go to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, about 40 minutes from where we are stationed at the RV Park.  Today and tomorrow, the Tall Ships were there and we were able to get on board and see what these ships are like inside.  They are all quite big and one of them was suited with an all girl crew.  One of the girls was only 14 years old but was very enthusiastic about her job.  All crews were very friendly and very helpful if someone had questions for them.  DH and I were very impressed with all of it.

Then on the way home, we stopped at an ice cream shop for a treat.  I asked for a small and when it came, it was two big scoops.  Boy, was I full!

The RV Park where we are is owned by a wonderful couple and have been so great to us.  Of course, they are aware of why our stay has been so long and after last week, we found out that our Daughter and her Family are going to need us for a while longer.  DH has been helping the owner of the park and in return, they are giving us our spot free of charge.  Then on Friday, they learned about our coming 46th wedding anniversary on July 30th, and they arrived with a gift certificate for a high-end restaurant around here.  We are so impressed with the people in Nova Scotia, all of them are very friendly and very helpful.  Also, our friends at home have been really great  in helping with taking care of our property.  Thank God for all these wonderful people.

Our Grandson is growing so fast and that is the silver lining in all of this.  I still think he is the most gorgeous boy with a big smile and beautiful blue eyes.  Of course,  I'm not prejudice much!!!

Take care everyone and have a great week.

Mumzy

More from Nova Scotia

Yes, we are still in Nova Scotia.  Our Daughter is still in the process of getting treatments for her cancer.  We enjoy taking care of our Grandson when we are needed for her trips to Halifax etc., just feel bad that it has to be under these circumstances.  Junior is so much fun now and he is only 3 1/2 months old but has the most beautiful blue eyes, the greatest smile with big dimples and is now very curious about what is going on around him.  Do I sound like a proud Grammy or what!!!

We are enjoying our time in Nova Scotia.  It is a beautiful Province and the Park where we have parked our 5th wheel is really nice.  The owner and his wife have now become good friends and so much so that DH  and I are taking care of the Park from today until Tuesday afternoon.  We are meeting a lot of new people from all over the world.  This Park seems to be visited by quite a few people from Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and from across Canada.  We have a beautiful view of the Ocean where we are parked and so our daily temperatures are a bit cooler than the mainland.

Since we have been here, we have had friends and family visit us here.  Everyone that came here want to come back next year as they enjoyed it so much here.  I can understand why my Daughter and her husband have settled in Nova Scotia so quickly.

Take care everyone and have a great week.

Mumzy

Hi from Nova Scotia

We have now been in Nova Scotia for over a month and to tell the truth, both DH and I love it very much.  Not only is this province beautiful but we get to spend time with our new Grandson.  He is growing so fast and is now so aware of things and gives us those beautiful smiles that just melts your heart.  Ah well, I am so proud of him and bragging is what a Grammy is suppose to do.  Right!

When we left home to come here, our dear friends and travelling companions have been taking care of our property making sure all is well there.  We keep in touch several times a week.  About one and one-half week ago, they advised us that they were selling their motor home, so DH and I were kind of sad as we thought we lost our travelling companions.  Last weekend, my DH's brother and his wife had come here to visit with us and our Daughter and her family.  Sunday, we had gone touring with them and when we came back, our travelling companions shocked us by being here at the RV Park with a new 5-th wheel and a new vehicle to tow it with.  It was a very pleasant surprise and very enjoyable.  They just left for home this morning.  We have another couple that we travel with that is coming to park here for the weekend.  So for the last week, we have been very very busy. 

On Monday, DH and I are going to spend the day looking after our Grandson as his Mom and Dad have to go to Halifax for another doctor's appointment.  We are looking forward to spending more time with him.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend.

Mumzy

Meet Our Precious One

As you see, this little one is one reason why I have not blogged in such a long time.  Last September, DH and I were advised that we were going to become grandparents.  This was a big surprise as we were so sure that being grandparents was not in our future.  However, we were ecstatic and started to hope and pray that everything would turn out ok for the rest of the pregnancy.  Our daughter was expecting in April and I swear it felt like years instead of months before the baby came.

When the little pumpkin arrived, he is a gorgeous, handsome boy with big beautiful blue eyes.  Do I sound like a proud grammy - oh, yeah, you better believe it.  In the above picture I think he was about two months old.  I love this picture so much that I have it as my screen saver - that way I can look at it whenever I want.

The only sad part of the little one's birth is that his Mommy has had her breast cancer return and is suppose to find out hopefully this week what kind of treatment it will entail.  She had to be operated on as there was a tumor on an ovary but the pathology report was that it is connected to the breast cancer.  At least, that was a bit of good news as we were hoping and praying that it was not ovarian cancer.

DH and I purchased a new 5th wheel last Fall and so we were able to take it to Nova Scotia and park it at an RV park a short distance from my daughter's home.  That enables us to be able to take care of our precious one when Mommy and Daddy have to go to the hospital or to the doctor's appointments.  That is such a hard job!  Really! 

We went to visit them today.  Daddy and Grampy looked after precious while Mommy and Grammy did some shopping.  Precious is just so much fun already.  He was full of smiles today and is grabbing things now. 

Well, this is enough bragging for one blog but I don't promise to not brag on every blog from now on.

Take care and have a great week everyone.

Zoe

Snow, Snow, Really

We really have had our first snow storm and not just a dusting either. We got 3 plus inches of wet snow and it is still there this morning. It is supposed to be 7 degrees centigrade or around 45 degrees Fahrenheit today so maybe it will go away today. Most of the trees have already lost their leaves but we do have two trees in our yard that have just started to lose their leaves, so that wet snow just laid on them and bent the branches over to almost the ground. Thank heaven it only lasted one day.

DH and I are still over the moon about our grandbaby to be. I already have a baby cheater quilt done and another project on the go. I also want to go to Calais, Maine, to get some baby flannel material to make a couple of baby quilts so DD can have one quilt here and one home to put on the floor to put the baby down. This will also serve as a place for the baby to be put down in front of us so we can just marvel and just enjoy admiring our new bundle of joy. Do I already sound like a grammy? DH and I can hardly contain ourselves.

I have started to read "the Help" and so far I have found it very interesting. The only trouble is I am not finding much time to read anymore. Everyone I have talked to about this book, they have really enjoyed it thoroughly.

Happy Halloween to everyone. We live 2 miles in on a private road and therefore do not get any Trick or Treaters.

BIG BIG NEWS!!!!

OMG!!!! I am so excited and happy! Our daughter and her hubby told us that we are going to be grandparents. Do you believe it? They are both 40 years old and have been married for 16 years. Our daughter has had serious health issues and because of this, we never thought we would ever be grandparents. After two ultrasounds and extremely wonderful medical care, we are told that the baby is fine and all is normal. We are still keeping our fingers crossed and praying that all keeps going well. We can hardly wait until this precious bundle of joy arrives.

We just got back from Moncton tonight. We went there so we could visit my MIL and give my BIL and his wife some relief from caring for my MIL. She is not well and finds it hard to get up and does not want to eat all her meals. So someone tries to be at the Home at least at lunch time to make sure she eats at least one meal. She will eat for us more so than the Home staff.

The weather here has been unusually warm for this time of the year. We are hoping this warm weather will stay for a long while yet. The coloured leaves are just about all down already, but they have been beautiful this year.

Take care until next time!

Irene is Coming

This lovely creature was found very early one morning at my husband's cousin's yard where we had parked our 5th wheel trailer for a few days. Now that was a very peaceful time and as you can see, it was a sunny and very beautiful day. Not what we are supposedly in for tomorrow and Monday. Yes, Irene the Hurrican is on her way and we are in her path. Fortunately if it continues on land, it will become a tropical storm before it reaches us.

This has been a very different summer weatherwise. We have had more than our share of rain or high winds. It has been very muggy too. We have had very few nice camping weekends.

DH and his friend went to Indiana this past week for one of their Flywheel Engine Shows. They have left there this morning to come home hoping that Irene will not give them trouble coming home. My friend S and I have had a few "Girl's Days" which was nice, however, it will be nice to have the Guys back home again.

We did have quite a few visitors this Summer. It has been nice. We enjoyed that immensely. Before DH left for Indiana, we took our RV and parked it in my brother's yard and had a great relaxing time. My brother was operated on about 5 weeks ago, and so is not allowed to do anything and he is bored. By us being there, it helped him with his boredom. We did have fun!

Well, must run as I am invited next door for a potluck supper with lots of people around.

Hopefully, every one will survive Irene without too much damage. Have a safe and great weekend.

Another Quilt

I know it has been a long time since my last blog. As I said in my last blog, I had picked up quite a bit of quilting material. So I got busy and put together another quilt top with some of that material. I really loved putting this quilt top together. The material used in the narrow border is what I will be using for the back of the quilt. I will hand quilt it with the same coloured thread as the backing.



Since my last blog, we did a couple of trips. One to Moncton to visit my MIL and to go to my DH's cousin's interment. The other trip was to Pennsylvania for two weeks. It was a wonderful trip, very relaxing and we did have great weather too.

In between the travelling and quilting, I helped DH to work on our sun room. It is all completed except for the trim around the doors and the windows. We were finally able to put our new furniture in that room, that we had purchased two years ago and we had stored in our garage. I have already started to enjoy that room by having my morning coffee and reading there and enjoying the great view of the lake.

I have also spent some time putting in my flower garden. It was late to put it in but I waited until we came back from Pennsylvania as I was afraid of having a frost while we were away. DH and I moved one of the shrubs and put in a smaller one in its place.

We are planning a couple of more trips both the St. Martins, New Brunswick, one in July and one in August. We always enjoy our camping trips to St. Martins. Century Farms Campground is always a very nice park and it is run by great people.

It has been a great summer so far and I hope every body's summer is going great too. Take care.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Spring is here and I have been very busy trying to get everything that needs to be done done. Thus, the reason for not having been around to blog.

It all started with DH deciding to work on our unfinished sun room. We are putting imitation log covering and since we have had that wood for a long time, it had to be all sanded before he could put it on the walls. I did all of the sanding which was messy and took quite a while. I did do the sanding outside but it blew and landed on the outside siding of the house. Of course, because we got some rain in there as well, it stuck to the siding. Then, the vinyl siding had to be washed and so, I did that.

DH and I had to rake all of the lawn which had a lot of little broken branches from the high winter winds. DH has had to mow twice since then.

We took a couple of trips as well. We went to Moncton to visit my MIL for Mother's Day and wen to visit our Daughter and our Son-in-law after that for a few days. While there, DD and I went to shop at a quilt shop that was closing that week. DD had already purchased some fabric for me before we came to visit, but I couldn't resist going to the shop myself. Of course, I had to get more - it was too good a deal to leave it there.

The first picture shows the fabric I bought that will turn into a quilt. I love those colours together and the solid colour is going to be the backing. I only wish I could spend some time on it but due to other priorities, it will have to wait a while.

The second picture shows some of the other fabrics that was purchased. I still had more that I have already put away. In order to find room for all this fabric, I gave all the flannel fabric I had to my Sister-in-law.

This week has been spent housecleaning the RV getting ready for a trip to Coolsprings, PA in June. After I finished cleaning it, I loaded all the food that can stay in there until late Fall. Now all we need to do is put the everyday food and our clothing and we are ready to go.

Hopefully, I will not be as long this time before my next blog. Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

Finally Finished

I finally finished this queen sized quilt. It has been a long process as I have had many interruptions on this one. We had visitors and had to go away a few times as well and of course, Christmas holidays came in there as well. However, I wanted to do a bright blue and bright yellow quilt for quite some time so here it is. I had done one with those colors before but somehow it ended up with my daughter. Once she saw it, it was gone. I hand quilted this

quilt with white thread and I am pleased with the contrast.

I have also been busy walking almost every day for a couple of weeks now. I have progressed my walk to 7 km (4.2 m) now and that will probably stay. Today, however, it is raining here and I will have to use my treadmill which I don't like as well. The 7 km takes me to our post office mailboxes so I am able to pick up our mail the days I walk that distance.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Calais, Maine, and we went shopping at Wal-Mart. I found some Monk's cloth at a really good price so I bought 2 yards of white to start another afghan done in swedish weaving. I like to have something like that to do when we are travelling or camping. Now I have to find some yarn in colours that I like and I also have to sew the ends of the cloth and wash and dry it. Then I can start. I am also thinking about my next quilt - I am sort of leaning on making a scrap quilt like the old fashioned ones that our elders used to make. I do have enough materials here to do more than a dozen quilts, so I have to use some of it up before I dare buy any more materials.

Our snow is going quite fast now, especially yesterday when the temperatures reached 14C (about 58F). It was a beautiful day, so much so that after supper DH and I went for a bike ride. The hills were a killer on the legs but if we keep going every fine day, we should build up our legs in no time. When we were in Florida last year, we biked a lot. We have friends there that love to bike and lots of days, the four of us would go biking for the whole afternoons. It was fun.

Must go as I have a date with the treadmill soon. Have a great week everyone.

How Nature Works

When we got up this morning, we looked out the front windows looking onto the lake which is frozen right now and we saw a beautiful bushy tailed coyote walking across the lake. We watched him come fairly close to our shore where he stopped to feast on the carcass of a deer. We believe that he must have killed that deer last night. He stayed there for a while then proceeded to walk away. After a short while, the crows and ravens landed to have their turn to eat. They kept coming back all day. The coyote came back a couple of times, have a few bites and off again. To top it all off, a mature bald eagle came in for his turn to feast twice. He is one big bird and what a beautiful sight too.

We have had fairly decent weather the last two weeks. Actually, last week we did have above average temperatures and it was so nice. We have gotten rid of a lot of our snow but still have some more to get rid off.

In the last week, I have been quilting quite a bit and have been able to roll twice. I have 4 large blocks and their borders left to quilt. I will be so happy to get it done. Because of the size of this quilt - queen size - it has taken a long time to hand quilt. Of course, there has been many interruptions too, so that did not help on the time frame. The other day, someone asked me what I was going to do next. Well, I kind of think that maybe an old fashioned quilt with scraps of materials would be fun. I also have a lot of mauve and purple fabrics and someday, I want to make a quilt in those colours. The planning and assembling is always fun too.

This past week, I have been doing some genealogy as well. I always find that exciting, especially when I find some of my older relatives.

Take care and have a great end of the week.

How Could I Forget?

On Friday and Saturday nights, we usually get together with friends to play cards. So, as usual, on Saturday night, we did play cards at our friends' home and of course, munchies were served. Some of those munchies were nuts and bolts which I just love. Of course, I ate my share of them and forgot to ask if there was garlic added to these. Since they were homemade, I didn't give it a second thought. By the time we got home I was starting to feel sick and went right to bed only to get up an hour later to be sick to my stomach. At first, I thought I was coming down with the flu. I spent Sunday sleeping. Sunday night, these friends called to see how I was and that is when I asked and got the answer to the garlic question. Since I am allergic to garlic, I now know why I was sick. Lesson learned.

Today I feel so much better. The sun is shining, the temperatures are above freezing and I have done a lot of housework, including some quilting. Because of the cold nights and warmer days, the maple trees are already being taped and so, it won't be long before maple syrup and maple sugar will be for sale in the stores. I just love, love, love maple sugar. Thank heaven, it is only out for a short time - that way, I can have it and not have to worry about how much weight I will put on.

Around our area, there has been some people that have been asked to evacuate their homes for fear of flooding. Apparently, the Nashwaak River has developed ice jams and has caused the river to overflow its banks. It has not flooded homes yet and luckily, the weather is being predicted as sunny for a couple of days, so it has slowed down the snow melting. Hopefully, it will be enough to keep the major flooding away.

We are still thankful for where we live, especially since the awful disasters happening in Japan. It is hard to imagine the way those tsunamis and earthquakes happening to anyone. Those poor people! Our prayers are with them!

Must go as I rambled long enough. Take care everyone!

Dreaming

If one wants to dream, one may as well dream in technicolor. Right? Well, in Canada, we have a lotto that happens each Friday night. It is called Max Lotto. The jackpot climbs each week it is not won until it reaches $50 millions, and on top of that there is a draw for 20 tickets each worth $1 million. Well, guess what? Tonight is such a night.

DH and I often talk out loud as to what would we do if our ticket won the $50 millions. We like to think that we would not move from our present home as we love it here but it would be fun to change other things. We often say that our priorities would be in helping our relatives - yes, Cathey, you would be first on the list. LOL Actually, DH and I would not refuse the $1 million winning ticket either. It is fun to dream BIG!!!

Well we did get more snow this past week and it is getting ridiculous. The snow banks are so high and it makes it dangerous when people come out of their driveways as they cannot see what traffic is coming. They are calling for rain on Sunday with a +6 C for a temperature. Last night, it was a clear night but with a -26 C - that was cold. No wonder so many people are sick around here. The changes in temperatures are so great. I am feeling much better myself but I am still coughing. DH did catch my cold but he has not been as sick as me with it. With his health issues, I am happy that he was not that sick with his cold.

Have a Great Weekend everyone!

Not A Good Month

Usually February is a pretty good month for me. However, this February has not been fun at all. I started off the month by having to go to the doctor for a really bad cold which he put me on antibiotics to clear up the infection caused by this cold. Then, of course, we have had a snow storm after another after another with another big storm coming today. We have had so much snow that there is no place left to put what comes. DH even had to shovel off the roof of both the house and the garages. I don't think he ever had to do that before.

While I thought that this was the end of a bad month, on February 13th, we received a call from a dear friend that her husband D, who is DH's cousin and a close friend as well, had passed away early that morning. So, we packed up and went to Moncton for the funeral which happened on the 16th, a very sad day. February 16th is also my birthday - I know at my age I try to forget the birthdays, but I still wish the funeral could have been on a different day.

We came home on Thursday being very tired and emotionally drained. Guess what? On Friday, I came down with another nasty cold. Argggh! I am starting to feel better today so hopefully, things will not get as bad as the first one. I hate this February. The only good part of having to go to Moncton was that we did get to meet up and stay with my daughter and her hubby.

Enough of my woes for today. Last week, before I got sick, I bought myself a pair of Shape-Up sneakers. They are supposed to be the latest in sneakers and you have to wear them for short periods of time at first as they are supposed to correct your posture, tone your muscles and walk in a better form. Today, I am wearing them for a while in the house. They do feel really different on, I can see why they suggest wearing them for short periods at first. I do need to shape up so hopefully this will help.

The skies are getting dark and it looks like we are in for the start of our latest snow storm. It is supposed to start with rain, freezing rain and then a good amount of snow. I guess I will be doing my walking on my treadmill for a few days.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Snow Go Away

This is unreal. We just got another snow storm last night and they are calling for another one on Tuesday. The picture is that of a neighbour's cottage before last night's storm. The deck rails are four feet high and the snow is at least 3 feet high on the deck. Do you believe this? DH just gets the driveways cleared with his tractor, and here it comes again within a couple of days. Now I wish we had gone South for the winter. To top it all, we have had high winds with most of the storms. Last year, we did go South and in this area, they never had any more that four or five inches of snow after we left. Ah well, I guess we can't do anything about it.

I started walking last Tuesday. The road we live on is 4 km. long and is gravelled. Right now, it is snow covered but the plow has been keeping it clean and it makes it fairly good for walking. A bit slippery if one is not careful. Yesterday, I walked 3.6 km as I increase it everyday. Today it will have to be the treadmill. I don't enjoy it as much as outdoors as even with the TV there, I find it a bit boring. As I write this, the sun has just come out but we are one of the last roads to be plowed so it will still be the treadmill today.

I am back to working on my quilt that I have on the quilt frames. I really do enjoy hand quilting and find it relaxing especially since DH has set me up with the TV, receiver, and a hard drive that acts like a PVR. I have taped a couple of good movies and put them on while I'm quilting. I must say, that is one good thing about staying in the North for the winter. My quilt is queen size and so it does take a lot of time and a lot of quilting to get it done.

The little birds are coming in groves today. We have the white breasted nuthatch, the rose breasted nuthatch, the chickadees, the goldfinches, the redpoles, the downy woodpeckers and the hairy woodpeckers here today. They chased each other off the feeders. It is nice to see them though. At night, we still get the flying squirrels coming by every so often. It is a great life living in the country.

Must go as I have to go do the treadmill thing. Have a great week everyone. Stay warm.

Sunny but Cooooold

Yes, we did get a storm this week - the worst this winter so far. Not only did we get a lot of snow but we also had high winds during and after the storm. Now the snow is done but we are getting hit with freezing temperatures. Right now at noon time, it is -14 C or +6 F. On top of that, with the wind, the forecaster said it could get to a wind chill factor of -37 C. That is cold and therefore, I'm not planning on going outside today. From the inside looking out, it doesn't look that bad as the sun is shining. We have two feeders on the front windows of our house and the poor birds are there continually today. It is hard to believe that those little things can stay warm and not freeze to death.

I am feeling so much better. On Friday, I did a lot of laundry and did some of the ironing. Then yesterday, I housecleaned. That dust on the furniture was driving me crazy, so to work I go. Now, I feel even better as I'm caught up on my laundry and my housecleaning.

I want to get back to my quilting, with a little luck, it may happen today. With the Holiday Season, with visitors during the holidays and with my being sick, I have not touched my quilt since the middle of December.

Have a great week everyone!

Finally on the Mend

Sorry I have not been blogging of late. If I have any excuse, it is that the Holiday Season came around. Before I had a chance to blog, we were happy to have my daughter and her hubby come and visit with us. The only sad part of that was that they were here to go to a funeral of a family friend. And, the day they were leaving to go home, I came down with a terrible cold. The cold got bad enough that last Friday, I went to see our family doctor. He had me go for chest X-rays to make sure my lungs were clear. He did give me a prescription for antibiotics which are finally working. Today, I still have a bit of a cough but feel much better.

We seem to be getting an inch or two of snow every second day or so. On Tuesday evening, it got so mild, we even had rain. However, we are back to much colder weather and a promise of a bigger snow storm tomorrow. It is snowing now but has not caused any accumulation yet.

We have had a visitor in the form of a flying squirrel. We have feeders by our livingroom windows and after dark, he seems to come and feed there. Being nocturnal, he only travels after dark. He is so cute and looks like he would be soft to the touch. We love having him visit.

DH got me a book about Corn Flower Crystal. I love my new book as it tells how to recognize the true Corn Flower and even has a lot of pictures. My crystal is Corn Flower and in the last few years, I have added some nice pieces to my collection. This book even states from what decade pieces have been made, the price it was sold at the time, and the current prices. Love my book.

Must get going as I should go get lunch. Have a great week everyone and please be careful if you have to shovel that white stuff.

We Are Ready!!!

I just can't believe it but this year, for some unknown reason, I have my Christmas cards done and mailed, I have all my Christmas baking done, my shopping is all done, and my decorations including having put up and decorating the Christmas tree is done. I am never that ready for Christmas by December 15th in other years. The only thing left to do is to go to Moncton on the 23rd to pick up my MIL and bring her here for a one-week stay at Christmas. She says she is looking forward to coming so unless she gets sick or changes her mind, she will join us for Christmas.

This coming Saturday, my brother, our spouses and I have arranged for the paraplegic bus to pick up my Mom at her nursing home and bring her to my brother's house to have our Christmas time with her. We are hoping that Mom will have a good day mentally on Saturday and will be able to enjoy her day with her family.

DH has had his CTscan last week but nothing new was found and so he still has his chest pains without knowing what the cause or the remedy is. And so, we are still on hold for our Florida trip. However, we heard on the news this week that Florida was having temperatures of 5 degrees centigrade with snow flurries in some areas. As it turns out, here we had +11C for Monday and Tuesday. It cooled off last night and we are supposed to have -11C tonight. The only draw back about the warm temperatures is that it came with almost 7 inches of rain in about 30 hours or so. We live about 2 miles off the main highway with 11 permanent homes and 20+ cottages on our shore. It is a dirt road and because of all the rain, part of our road was flooded and damaged. DH and another resident went out after the water receded and fixed up that section of the road. Most of the southern part of our Province had a lot of flood damage, losing bridges and part of roads. It was a bad one. We do love living here but once in a while, we do have to deal with weather problems.

In case I don't get a chance to blog again before Christmas, I want to take this opportunity to wish all my fellow bloggers and their families, a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.