Decoration Day

Well I don't know if it was the 'official' decoration day but yesterday was my decoration day.
That is the time where I pay tribute at the cemetary to my loved ones.
The official resting place of my mom, dad and sister.



Think of you always and loving you still.....

Prom 2010

Well he did it! There were days I wasn't sure it was gonna happen but it looks like James is graduating gr 12 and receiving his OSSD diploma!
Honestly...it was sometimes a challenge but he hung in there!
Last Saturday was prom and for the first time ever I got to see James in a tux! So, never one to miss a photo opportunity, I got some pics of him! Much to his dismay of course...he is not a picture fan!


Just for fun I thought I would post some pics of his last graduation (gr 8) and see what a change has occurred over the last 4 years! I remember at the time how big and grown up I thought he looked then, can't imagine how I feel now when he is age of majority!

The rest of the pics I was able get from James' date for night when she so nicely added me on FB so I could steal what I wanted! 'This' lovely lady below we have known for years. She is the daughter of the ball coach that my kids have had pretty much since t-ball days! Shelby is a sweet girl and I love this picture!

This beautiful girl is Stephanie and she was James' date for the evening! She is not only gorgeous but when James was grumbling about pictures she very quickly put him in his place and told him to stuff it...this was photo opp time so get used to it! And...even more surprisingly he did!!!! Notice the look on his face???? Hmmmm...not impressed right??!!!



This is another look back at the gr 8 graduation of James and Scott. They have been a pair since gr 7 when we moved into this school district. Sometimes not always good for each other and goading each other into doing really really stupid things, they have remained good friends and quite likely will for a long time!

And present day....
From what I heard, prom went off with out a hitch and all the graduates had fun! Congrats to James on his accomplishments thus far and many many well wishes for those in the future!
Oh and just a side note....James made me promise I wouldn't post any pictures on FB which I have honoured but he never said anything about my blog!!!!

Remembering a Birthday...

As some of you may know or may not know that I had 2 sisters. We lost our sister very suddenly at the young age of 32. It is coming up next week to be the 12th anniversary of her passing. Today however would have been her birthday. She would have been 44.

To say that I miss her would be an understatement. I think Linda understood me the most during my teenage years and I valued the friendship that came from that and how close we became in the years following.
I so wish she could have been here to celebrate her birthday, I can imagine how different so many things would be if she hadn't passed away.
Happy Birthday to my sis and remembering her again next week on June 14, the day we tragically lost her.

Tye is a Spazz!!

Caught this video of Tye being a spazz while trying to attack the water dripping from the eves last night while we had quite a heavy rain fall. I have never seen him do this before. He does have a fettish with water when I backwash the pool, he will try and attack that...but the dripping eves was a new one! ENJOY!

On this cool rainy day...

I am tucked inside and toasty warm with my oven going. Have a lovely smoked ham cooking and am preparing scalloped potatoes for supper.
It is odd to have the windows shut as we have been enjoying a heat wave! Temps of 40+ the humidex. I love the hot summer weather!
Today is a modest 20 degrees and is cool enough outside to tempt me to close the windows and opt for something to cook in the oven!


Even have a cake baking for lunches! The smells are wonderful circulating in this kitchen! Plus it is nice to have a breather day where the outside work is just going to have to wait as its too wet out there! Our heat wave was gorgeous but did create some dry conditions so the rain is a welcome sight!

Walkin' for a good cause!

Over the weekend Brittany was asked to walk for the Humane Society Fundraiser. The walk was about 3 hrs along our river and the proceeds of the fundraiser went to fund a new building for our local humane society!

Of course a subject that is near and dear to her heart with her beloved JRT Tye being unwanted before we got him, she willingly agreed!
She and her friend Amanda raised over $70 in sponsors for the walk. The day was beautiful for a walk. The girls along with Tye and Bella on lead, were off!

She packed dog cookies and lots of water. The outing was a fun one for everyone and the canines came back very tired but looking like they had a great time!

Britt said that Tye was very well behaved and greeted everyone which is wonderful for this breed! Bella, well anyone who has met Bella knows that she is just 100 lbs of pure love and would just soak up all the attention she could get!
Very proud of my girl for taking time out to raise money for a great cause and being a wonderful pet owner!

Still workin' at it!

It is a work in progress still!!!

However it is coming! Just worked the weekend and have to go in for short evenings today but am trying to get the second coat of paint on the walls!! Thought I would snap some pics while I had everything off the countertop and bleaching it!

Ended up choosing 'Surrey Beige' which is like a medium taupe with a hint of olive in it! The colour is in line with the 'soft and elegant' cards and that is exactly how it feels! Quite the contrast to the bright golden wheat that it was before. This gives the kitchen a warm feeling but with an aire of elegance too. I am really pleased with it!

However I am looking forward to getting my kitchen put back together! I can only live with clutter so long before it really starts to irritate me!
So today's project before work is to get the 2nd coat of paint on and put everything back in its place. We have the crown molding to put up and the kick plate to put along the floor.
Some where down the line there will be a new counter top and back splash and the kitchen will be fini!

This does not even feel like the same room! I have done some purging of clutter that was on the top of the cupboards and will do some more. Looking for a clean non clutter environment!
I will continue to post pics as the progess happens!

A work in progress......

Still at it!!!
The process has been slow but it is getting there! In the past few weeks, the cupboard doors have been painted and the border has come off!

Still a ways to go but I am super thrilled with the kitchen so far! I still have not chosen a paint colour...I am undecided between 2. One is called Surrey Beige...which is more of a brown/olive colour and the other is called Golden Rice which is a gold/olive colour....still, still undecided!!!
We have the back splash chosen and bought...a mosiac natural beige stone. It is going to look great!

Going to change the window treatments as well. We need something to keep the rays of the sun out in the summer so am thinking of some roman shades to update the look a bit...I am so over the mini blinds!!! GONE!

The hardware is coming! So for now we have this classic but functional screws to open the doors!

Overall I am thrilled with how it is coming together! I hope to get the pain this week and get the walls done! Will post updated pics as it happens! Any thoughts on paint colour, would love another opinion??? Let me know! I am over the golden yellow colour...want it GONE too! Was happy to have the sunflower border come down. I liked it at the time, and still like sunflowers but they will look nicer in a vase not on the walls!

Happy Birthday!

No pics with this post but wanted to wish James a Very Happy 18th Birthday! My boy has become a man!
He is camera shy so wasn't able to get pics of him. He has just gotten himself a job at a landscape company and is almost finished his hours for his 4 credit co-op thus completing his high school diploma. He will graduate in June!
Many congrats!!!

What I've been up to....

This....

A complete kitchen revamp.
I have pulled off all the cupboard doors, washed them with TSP. Sanded them down to prepare them for spraying.
This is one room in the house that has remained pretty much untouched since we moved here, yes the floor is redone and the walls have been painted but.... Tired of the oak cupboards that were here but still ok with the layout and functionality of the kitchen I wanted an updated look but still in keeping with original doors that we had!
This is the kitchen as it was.....


This is what I am hoping it will look like!!!

The sunflower border is coming off, a fresh coat of paint going on. Also done with the golden wheat colour that was on the walls, this time around I am opting for a sage to olive green to tone things down a bit.
We are shopping this weekend for a backsplash. I am looking for the smaller mirrored squares and eventually we will replace the counter top. I would LOVE marble or granite but we will see how the budget goes for that one! I am hoping that the new freshly painted doors will add the look I am seeking!
I am also changing windows treatments as well....perhaps some roman shades???
Lots of things to do! It is getting there! The doors are at my wonderful B-I-L's furniture factory waiting to be lacquered. All we need to do is remove the pantry for spraying as soon as I can get it up there! Been a little busy with puppies!!! :)
I will keep you updated on my progress! It is certainly gratifying to do this very cost effectively!!! With what we saved recycling the cupboard doors, may go into an upgrade counter top OR an island!!! The measurement have been taken so when we do decide to go ahead with the counter top, will get an island made too! I cannot wait!
It should all come together...at least I hope it will!

Announcing.....

Our latest babies with Sienna and Cole!!!

This litter arrived without incident on Apr. 27 and are a healthy vibrant week old already!
In just an hour and a half my power house Sienna delivered these babies. 3 boys and 1 girl!
I am so proud of this girl! She was massive for the last 3-4 weeks to the point I was carrying her down the steps and not allowing her to walk much at all.
All went well however and Sienna is a wonderful attentive mom. Babies are doing great and are thriving!
Will keep you posted on their progress!

Gettin' at Gardening!

Spring Fever must be in the Air! We started ( and finished ) a project this weekend that had been on the 'Hunny Do List' for probably 3 years!!!
The Job??
Organizing the raspberry canes!
Doesn't sound like much right??? This was a 2 man - 2 day operation with heavy equipment involved!
Basically the canes were in a big clump in the garden. When we moved here the grass was so overgrown that we didn't even realize there had been a garden and we found the raspberry patch! So for 5 years we have tried to pick the berries in this clump and for about 3 of those years I have want to dig them ALL up and put them into rows!

So finally this weekend - its DONE! I am really pleased! Doesn't look like much but it is 100% better than it was a couple of days ago!
To the right of the canes, is my strawberry patch which should be a bounty crop this year as I did all the transplanting last year!
Call me a hick but there is something just so natural about going out to your own garden for your produce! With all the big hype on for natural and organic...I tell you folks this is the way to go. With a little hard work and some time it is so much cheaper this way!

Under this dirt (I hope) will be my aparagus. We all love this veggie although it is deathly expensive but a treat for us! We transplanted this as well to have all the permanent crops in one area of the garden.

At the far end is rhubarb and over more left are blueberry plants. We hope to add more of those plants too.

This was the perfect time to do it! The canes are just budding and I imagine they will look fabulous once they start to grow their leaves. Even thing else is just starting grow from the winter too.

So I am extremely pleased that the task is finished. With that job off the list there are several more to follow as the list seems to never be clear around here!

I am tired and scratched and sore but its ALL good knowing that it was a team effort that got the job done!

Upcoming Arrivals!!!

Also coming up in 3 short weeks (or less) is the arrivals of a new litter of puppies!
This is a repeat breeding that resulted in Cruiser a little more than 19 months ago!
Cole is dad to be again and Sienna is the proud mama!

"Cole"

"Sienna"

Maybe you don't recall (I do) but about a year ago Sienna suffered an anaphalatic reaction to a bee sting outdoors (we think) so I hope I have given her enough time to recover and be strong for this litter.
Sienna is huge, absolutely huge already! Her wee belly cannot expand anymore!
I hope for a healthy delivery and healthy babies! My hope too is to retain a female for an eventual show baby! Time will tell what mother nature has chosen to give us!
Good luck sweet Sienna! Will keep you posted!

The Goats are arriving!!!

"Peanut"

I vividly recall a year ago how excited we were researching and putting ourselves on a couple of waiting lists, checking websites and selecting kids that would hopefully one day be ours. Well this year we are doing all that in addition to having our very own kids! This past week has been a busy one with several new additions to our little goat family!
Peanut (shown above) was born April 1, a full week sooner than I had calculated. She is tiny but she makes up for it in spunk!

"Chaos"

"Winston"

"

"Romeo"

"Mocha"

"Cleo"

We still have 3 mama's left to kid! We are pretty excited about the wee ones we do have! In turn we are hoping for the addition of a few more new babies this year as well from other farms. These guys are amazingly cool (never thought I would be so excited about goats) and what is even cooler is the way Dave and I are pouring over pictures and talking about who we like and where we'd like to take this venture!
I already have a small waiting list for kids and once all are born we will decide on who we are retaining and who will move on to start someone else's venture!
I love spring with the birth of New Life!!
Will keep you posted on the arrival of the remaining kids!

Cruiser hits the show circuit a Blazin'!!!

2 weeks ago I met my handler Pete at a commuter lot along hwy 400 for him to take my boy Cruiser up to Sudbury for a 6 show series. I would have never dreamed how successful my boy would be!
I honestly had hoped he would pick up some points. There was a total of 4 dogs entered each show and to explain it quickly if Cruiser won best male he would win 1 point, if he then beat the best female he would win another point = 2 points per show (if he did that!)
2 shows per day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.....
To sum in up quickly Cruiser did win 4 points per day finishing off the weekend as champion with 12 points!
I am amazed and thrilled for my young boy of just 18 months who I was just going to enter here and there until he cleared in the head. I never dreamed he would finish in one weekend! NEVER!!

Cruiser did win a Toy Group 4 as well and I am so proud of this! ANY group placing is terrific! His mom Sienna won a group 4 at the same show 3 years earlier!~
This is the epitome of doing what we do. Love the breed, love the puppies and certainly love when your very own breeding results in such a successful weekend! That is the ultimate satisfaction when 6 judges all agree that your dog is Best of Breed!
I picked Cruiser up late that Sunday evening, I got the greeting of a champion! He was tired but non the worse for wear! I'm sure he did not realize what he had just done!
Pete enjoyed handling him and said he was a 'cool dog to show'.
Cruiser is back in wraps and will stay at home for a while until he clears some. I am told our National Specialty is being held in our town this year so I perhaps will keep the show coat and see how he does there in October!
So SO proud of my boy and his accomplishments!! Way to go buddy!

The Dress!!!

Brittany has found her grad dress!!! We had done some shopping around for one and she kept coming back to this one after trying several dresses on!


It is cute and perky just like her! She feels like a million bucks in it! Can't believe my baby is graduating this year! High School bound for the fall....geeesh!!!

The new 'do'!

Feeling the need for a change I decided last week to chop my hair and give it a boost of colour.

This is a chop for me! I have never had my hair this short in many many MANY years! However wanted to step outside my comfort zone and see if this would be something I would actually like I went for it! Then I got a super colour put on. My only requirements to the hair stylist was, "I didn't want black and I didn't want red"!
She chose this perfect chocolate brown.
I have to say I am loving it!

This is the shot of the back. I wanted one of those styles that tapers longer to the front.


Maybe its a spring thing or something but I am really happy with the cut, the style, the colour! I think now and again its good to change it up a bit and step outside the box of our security blanket! Surprisingly you might find something out that you really like!