Not contrary...but this is how my garden grows.

As you can see, we have a very small front yard, and the grass seemed to be nothing but weeds, so we turned our half of the yard into a flower garden.  

The gardens survived the heat wave better than we did.

The petunias on the deck in the back yard loved the heat too, but they drank gallons of water each day.

Looks pretty, but too hot to sit out there these days. 

This is the way I have been looking at the garden this past week.  From air conditioned comfort only!

Cool breezes and rainbows

We have been under heat-warning alerts for the past week, so have been hiding inside in the a/c for most of the time.  We would rush out and water the plants, and then dash back inside again.  Yesterday the heat and humidity broke, and  cool air swept into the area. Gloriosky! We took advantage of the cool breezes  and when went outside to tend to some garden work after dinner.  Just as AC was finished cutting the grass, we were gifted with a double rainbow in the sky.  I rushed inside to get my camera, but by the time I took this picture the second rainbow had already faded, and this one was fast becoming history. 

Pretty huh? 

Fun the the back yard while Buppa cooks dinner

Once all the condiments were ready for the BBQthe kids joined Buppa in the yard to help with the cooking.

Looks like everyone found a comfy chair while the burgers sizzled on the grill

Helping make dinner

The kids came over one night for dinner, and I asked them if they wanted to help get the food ready for a BBQ.  They both jumped at the chance, so I set them up with plates at the kitchen counter and they went to work.

Danica is chopping onions for the burgers, and JJ is separating lettuce.

Didn't she do a fabulous job.  Lots of tears, but she stuck to it. 

Time to chop the tomatoes

Good job kids.  Thanks for the help

Danica's 8th BD afghan

Danica came over the other day and informed me that she was not happy with me not posting pictures of her with her new afghan.  So, here they are - better late than never.    We had to dig back into the April pictures, but AC found them lickey split, and here is the girl posing with her 8th BD afghan.

Dani matches perfectly doesn't she.

Ah, so nice to snuggle into.

Still adding a few extra rows to the length so it will still keep her toes and nose warm at the same time when she is a teenager. 

Hello again....and other things.

I know I have been absent from this blog for many months, but I finally gave up on trying to post pics to my blog from my iPad, and went back to my camera.

This past weekend we visited family, and enjoyed a delightful day with them in their most beautiful location right on the water.

Doesn't the house look cozy and comfy all nestled in the shade of the big old trees.  It was a welcomed sight when we drove down the street.

This is the view right across the street from the house, and it is perfect for swimming in the summer, skating and skiing in the winter.    Mom and daughter were in the "pool" when we arrived, enjoying a quick dip to cool off before company arrived.

After hugs and hellos, we walked over to the park at the end of their street.  It was a hot humid day, but the breezes off the lake cooled us down nicely and it was a most enjoyable walk.

We were surprised to find an old graveyard in one corner of the park.   First residents of the area, and their stones still stand. 

We ventured away from the water's edge to tour the rest of the neighbourhood, and it was a HOT walk, once we weren't being treated to the lake breezes.

We soon came to the water's edge again, and enjoyed the view and the breeze.

Back to the house for a tour of the back-yard and garden.  It was a lovely mixture of flowers, veggies and fruit trees.   The house blocked the breeze off the lake, and the day was too hot to stay in the yard for long, so we soon made tracks for the cool shade in the house.

Dinner was served, and I don't know which was more delicious....the view or the meal.   Both were amazing.

After dinner coffee and dessert were served on the front deck, and I drank in coffee and view with relish.

View from the front deck.

Matt had a turn with AC's new camera, while we talked late into the evening, and watched the sun set on the lake. 

The kids were in and out of the house, and added a bright spot to the visit.   Lukas was out and about  on his bike with his friends for most of the day, so we didn't get a picture of him.  Sigh.   Rosie was a championship jumper, and we did manage to get many action shots of her doing her thing.  Cute, cute, cute.

Thanks for the warm hospitality and fun visit.  We look forward to seeing you again soon at RW.

JJ's BD afghan

Last fall I decided that my winter project would be to crochet an afghan for each of the kid's beds.  Dani couldn't decide on what colour she would like, and JJ's BD was the first one of the new year, so I decided to start his first.   I am not the speediest crocheter, and neck and back problems slowed me down even more, but on snowy winter afternoons, I am in my chair working with hook and wool.   Slowly but surely I am getting there.

Earlier this winter we took a picture of JJ with the project 1/3 done.   I want him to be able to use it to keep his toes and nose warm when he is a tall lanky teenager, so I will almost triple the length seen here.

It was only half done by his birthday this week, but he liked feeling all snug and warm wrapped up in it for a picture with Amma before he set off for school this morning.

Dani had a snuggle too.   I am thinking I will do hers in shades of purple, pink and mauve.  I'll post a picture when it is done, but don't hold your breath!

Freezing but fun!

Friday was a PD at the kid's school, so we were on duty for childcare.  They went to a party at their sitter's house in the morning, but the afternoon was up to us.  It was a bitter cold day, but we thought we would try some outdoor activity anyway, so we bundled up nice and warm and set off for the tobogganing hill.  

Here we are trekking over to the hill.  As is very typical, Danica is way out in front, and JJ is playing catch-up.  We had two toboggans, and two flying saucers.

The kids were a bit nervous on their first ride down the hill, so Buppa took them on the toboggan.

After that first ride though, they hopped on their flying saucers, and didn't need Buppa's help any more.   They flew down the hill with the greatest of ease, squealing with delight all the way down the hill.

The first couple of slides down the hill they held on tightly to the saucer, but after that they raised their hands in the air to make the ride more exciting.  The look on JJ's face says it all.  TOTAL FUN!

What joy!

Looks like JJ is reaching for something here...

Well he is!  He and Danica tried to High-five each other as they passed on the hill.

It was a very slippery walk up the hill, but they didn't complain a bit, and merrily climbed again and again and again.  Their little faces were bright red with cold and excitement, but they didn't want to leave when Buppa and I were turning into icy statues waiting for them at the bottom of the hill.

One last ride down the hill...

...and...

... it was time to pick up our saucers and go home.

We did stop for hot chocolate at Tim's, and that warmed us up nicely.  I am already looking forward to our next visit to the hill for some winter fun.

Walnuts...who knew?

AC and I were out walking one day, and we passed this house that had a chair sitting out by the sidewalk.  On the chair was a sign reading - FREE - 6 chairs, 1 table, 2 leaves!  We knew that Shauna was looking for a dining room table, so we ripped off the sign, each grabbed a chair and scurried back to our house with them to get the car.  It took us numerous trips to fit the remaining chairs and table in the car, but we managed it, and here it sits in Shauna's dining room/kitchen.  Looks good huh? 

On closer inspection, the finish on the chairs was faded and worn, so I decided to try the "walnut trick" I saw on Facebook.  It really works. 

I had a bag of walnut pieces, I use in my baking, in the cupboard, so I sprinkled a few out on the table, choose a nice big piece and set to rubbing it on the wood.  It works like magic.  Just a few pieces of walnut, and a little elbow grease, and voila...

Here is the before picture. 

This is the work in progress.

Another before picture

Work in progress.

Looks better huh?

They are stilled scratched and dinged in places, but all in all look much better.

JJ thinks the table makes an excellent fort.

I had a few spots on my kitchen cupboards that were dull and worn, so I set to work on them with some walnuts, and now they look like new.  It's amazing!

Love this picture

AC continue his struggle to help me get pictures from my iPad to my blog.  It really shouldn't be this hard though.  I only had to go through about a zillion hoops instead of a kazillion hoops to access the picture below.  Sheesh! 

I used to carry my camera everywhere, then I switched to my iPod, now I carry my iPad mini, and snap pictures freely.  It has been very frustrating not to be able to access these pics for a blog. Sigh!

Onward and forward into this frustrating world of iCloud photos. At least we manage to access a picture here and there.  Here's hoping for and increasing flow in the future.  Wish me luck.

We treated the kids to a trip to Tim's for their after-school snack yesterday, and I managed to snap this pic of a big hug for Buppa.  

Getting the "cold shoulder" from my new iPad

No, I haven't been on Mars, but it feels like that at times when I try to make contact with my new iPad to post some pics on this blog.  My camera has been given a rest since getting my new iPod in May, and now my new iPad mini.  I have been happily snapping pictures all during the holiday season with my new toys, but darned if I can access them on my computer and get them up on the blog.  Groan!

After I got the iPod with a camera, AC figured out a way for my pictures to upload automatically to a file on my PC.  I could easily  access them when it came time to put a blog together, and I was a happy camper. 

Since getting my new iPad, my pictures seem to stay in the cloud up near Mars, and won't come down.  The iPod and iPad share pics, but I can't get them from there to my blog without going through numerous and complicated hoops.  Sigh!

AC worked diligently to access some pics for me, but what a pain that was.  I have over 200 fun pics of the holiday celebrations on my iPad, and I can't get them over here like I used to.  We will continue to work on it though.

In the meantime, here a three pics we took on our icy walk the other day.

Tree on our front lawn.

AC headed out into the snowy/icy cold, but I stayed inside the car at this stop, and took pics from that vantage point.

We spend lots of time on this bench in the summer months, sipping coffee, listening to music, and soaking in the beauty of life on the river.  

So, keep checking back to see if we finally mastered the puzzle of how to get my pics from the iPad to my PC.  If we can't figure it out soon, I'll go back to toting my camera around and leave the iPad at home.