Friday, July 29, 2011

JJ getting into things at Amma and Buppa's

While Smudge was in school one morning last week, JJ came over to Amma and Buppa's for the day. He was a good little guy, but he sure did like going up and down the stairs. He would look me right in the eye and say "Now you stay there Amma. I'll be right back." He kept his eye on me the whole way up the stairs to make sure I was still sitting on the couch. He was as good as his word, and did come right back, and held on tightly to the railings all the way up and down.
On one trip up the stairs he brought back a diaper for the stuffed lion I had in the toy box, and he had quite a time trying to get it on the furry beast.
After the lion was all diapered and ready for his nap, JJ was off on another adventure. Clomp, clomp, clomp...great fun was had doing a dance in Amma's Crocs.
Busy, busy, busy little bee is he!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Girl Talk

Sometimes a girl just needs to have a good old session of girl talk with a friend who will keep all her secrets. It looks like Smudge has found the purr-fect partner for just this.


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I loved it!

Smudge was in school every morning last week, so JJ and I spent the mornings together; just the two of us. Seeing as he didn't have his sister to play with he thought I should be his playmate ALL morning. We went out on the porch on this particular morning, and after two hours of stories and songs I convinced him that Amma needed some quiet time, so he went to play in the backyard by himself while I sat in blessed quietness for 10 minutes. Gloryoski! A few minutes later he came up to the deck with this flower/weed for me. Ahhhh, how sweet. We both smelled it numerous times and then he put it on the table and went to gather more for me.
After he had gathered enough flowers it was time for a tea party. He poured cup after cup of imaginary tea...
...enjoyed each cup down to the last drop...
then we went in the house for a real drink of apple juice and snack. It was a good morning in which I made many delightful memories to warm my heart in the years to come.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

New additions to the family

No this is not a new addition to the family, even though it looks like it might be creature from outer space. It is Smudge all dress up to go swimming with Buppa.
The new addition, Asha, came out to inspect the strange looking creature.
Yes the kids have adopted two cats. Asha - 14 years old, and Abby - 3 years old. Asha is very friendly and is making herself right at home. Abby however is very skittery and spends most of her time in the basement under the couch.

When JJ got up from his nap, Asha was just getting ready for hers. JJ thinks having a cat around is fabulous indeed.
Especially when the cat allows him to pet her head.
Amma thought it was time for a nap too, and Asha decided that Amma's lap was the perfect place to curl up in.
Later on that day I went to the basement in search of Abby. She came out to say hello...
and even rolled over for a tummy scritch.
Goodness, Abby looks just like Rocky.

Monday, July 25, 2011

For D2

We started our holidays on Friday, but we are not going on any grand and glorious trips this year. We will stay at home, enjoy lazy mornings on the front porch with the morning paper and a second cup of coffee, take picnic lunches to the park, and maybe go on a day trip or two if the fancy strikes us.

I know that D2 just loves to see pics of us at our various picnic spots so we had to take this pic for her. The sun was hot, but the breezes coming off the river made our shady picnic table the perfect spot for lunch on Saturday.
The Tim's coffee tastes extra special at the park.
The next picture is for Ben. I don't go very far without Roo these days. Yep, I'm lovin' it.
I don't know how faithful I will be posting pics on the blog for the next two weeks as we will be going where the wind takes us each day of our holiday. But I hope to get here most days with a picture or two.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Help,..I'm melting!

Yikes it's hot as blazes out there these days. AC and Smudge have the best idea for handling the heat...go jump in the neighbour's pool.
Smudge is lovin' it, and I think Buppa is too.
Amma was quite happy to sit in the air conditioned house and read a book while JJ napped. I did nip out to take these pics, but quickly headed back into air conditioned comfort. Hope you are finding grand and glorious way to keep cool too.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Congratulations Kiddo!

Our little baby girl who had the wisdom of the ages in her eyes when she first entered the world, has just finished her Master's Degree!!!! Congratulations dear one.
She had a sparkle in her eyes as a toddler...
and such a sweet way about her. What a cutie.
I have always been a proud Momma, standing behind her and cheering her on in all her endeavours.
We have both changed a bit in our style and looks over the years, but...
the love never changes.
Congratulations baby girl on this very special day.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Kids and Trucks

It's always a big event when a noisy truck comes down our street, and an even bigger event when it stops right in front of our house to do some work. What fun! The kids could see it from JJ's bedroom window, so out they went and excitedly ran down to the sidewalk to get a closer look at the guys working on the road drains.
JJ was quite pleased that one of the workmen stopped to talk to him. Don't you just love the way he is standing with his hands on his hips. He seems to be giving the workman his opinion on how the job should be done.
After the truck went on its way, the kids stayed out front to play hopscotch for a while. Up and down...
back and forth...
round and round...
they went with great gusto.
Amma was quite happy to sit on the porch and let them get rid of some energy before going inside for snack time.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

What's cooking?

Smudge came to me the other morning complaining about a sore in her mouth. I couldn't see into the dark cavern of her mouth, so I put her on the counter and asked her to lay down with her head under the bright light above the stove so I could see better. I still couldn't see the sore in her mouth, but rubbed some Orajel around in the approximate vicinity of the sore and hoped that would do the trick. When I tried to lift Smudge down she asked to stay under the light for a little while longer because she quite liked it up there and it was helping her mouth feel better.
You-know-who didn't have a sore mouth, but he had to have a turn under the light too.
The next day Smudge complained again about her sore mouth and wanted me to look at it under the bright stove light. This time JJ joined her for the exam. I did manage to see a little canker sore so I put more Orajel on it and I didn't hear any more about her sore mouth.
See did however come to me later in the day and said she had a headache and perhaps some time under the light on the stove would help her feel better. I had quite a time convincing her that she didn't need to spend time under the light over the stove just because she had a headache. The only reason I put her up there was so I could see into her mouth.
Around and around and around we went about why the stove wasn't a place to go when you wanted a little rest. The next time I need a bright light I'll go in search of a flashlight.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Celtfest Weekend 2011

It has taken me a week to recuperate and find some time to get some pictures posted, but we had a wonderful time at Celtfest this year. The Tucker's joined us for the weekend, so we started the celebrations at Wheeler's Pancake house for brunch on Friday. AC and I sat in the wooden rockers on the porch outside the museum while we awaited the arrival of the T's. It was a beautiful day and a fabulous spot to sit a while and soak in the atmosphere.
The T's soon arrived, and we shared hugs all around before heading into the restaurant for a delicious pancake feast. After the feast we made tracks for home, but stopped in Lanark to visit the terrific bookstore there, Nature Lover's Bookshop. I could spend hours at this store and still not see everything they have on the shelves. I love it.

The guys stopped at a pretty spot along the river to take some pictures so Heather and I wandered around taking in the sights, gabbing, gabbing, gabbing as we walked along. All of a sudden two deer ran out in front of us and stopped in the middle of the road to look at us and give us the once over as if we were intruding on their territory. I could see a car approaching so I stomped my feet and clapped my hands to get them to move out of the middle of the road. If I hadn't been doing that I might have captured a better pic of them. As it is I only managed to snap this rather blurry one of them as they scampered off into the woods on this property. One is already in the bushes, and the other stopped to turn and look at me again before she disappeared.
The guys soon joined us and went in hunt of the critters with their fancy-shmancy cameras, but no luck. The deer were well hidden in the woods by this time, so we sauntered back to the car and continued on our way home.
We made a stop at Balderson for some cheese and an ice cream cone. Yum! By mid afternoon we made our way home to rest up before we headed out for dinner and a pub-crawl, featuring different celtic musicians at each pub. In the pic below we see AC and Brian deep in conversation at home...
...yes, Brian was all bundled up while the rest of us were hitting the cool button on the air conditioning unit. He looks like a wise old monk doesn't he?
After our short rest at home we were off to Thesha's for dinner and a visit with the kids. Good old Uncle Brian helped the kids assemble a new toy, while the gals relaxed and caught up on all the news.
JJ thought his Uncle did a great job reading the instructions for him.
"What should I do with this piece Uncle Brian?"
The next day it was off to the park for two days full of fiddle music, step dancing and song! It was hot and sunny, but we managed to chase the shade around the field and for the most part...
sat cool and comfy under the branches of the big maple tree. Our view of the stage was a bit obstructed, but the music came through loud and clear.
During some of the step dancing, Brian found a perfect spot in the tree to take some clear pics of the stage.
Lots of people got up and danced on the grass during the afternoon. I think Heather is doing a jig in this picture.
All in all, it was a great weekend, and we look forward to doing it all again next year.

AC has posted pics on his blog here.

Friday, July 15, 2011

So You Think You Can Dance...

Yes I do!
With brother on the keyboard...
and my toes all pointed and ready...
I CAN DANCE!
We're groovin' now.
Break dancin' anyone?
Hey, wait a minute...
I want to groove too.