Monday, March 31, 2008

Birthday Bash

AC posted lots of weekend pics here, but let me share a few more with you.

I never get tired of looking at these fun shots of The Smudge getting into the party spirit at my Birthday Breakfast. Do you think she was having fun?

The A Team came all the way from Vancouver to help celebrate the big day. What a gift that was. I enjoyed every minute of their visit and gots lots of hugs while they were here. Oh joy!

AC got a few too.

Thesha was enjoying Smudge's antics here.

More birthday snuggles with the kids.
It was grand! Thanks for a fun day guys! Love M

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Getting There

It sure is taking me awhile to get back into the blogging groove after the long weekend hiatus. Slowly but surely I am getting there. First things first though. We still have a ton of snow on the ground, but we were treated to sunshine and blue skies this weekend so we took our coffee to the park and soaked up the sunshine while we watched the geese play on the water.

This is our view of the river from the car window. The snow is still blocking most of the tree trunk, but it IS melting and the ice is retreating too. Yahoo!



AC posted lots of weekend pics on his blog, and I hope to post more tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Talk to you again soon.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Dolls and Dresses

We had lots of fun taking more pictures of The Smudge in the old pink dress the other day. Mommy and Grandpa had their cameras at the ready while Grandma bounced around with dolls and stuffed animals trying to make The Smudge look up and smile for the cameras.

This little bear always brings a smile to her face because it talks to her.

This picture really takes me back. Here is The Smudge, wearing Mommy's dress, playing with Mommy's old doll Saranella. AC posted a picture taken over thirty years ago, of Thesha with her new doll. HERE

She isn't quite sure what she thinks of this new dolly named Maggie.
So, that's the Smudge sunshine for today, and for the next few days. The A Team arrives tonight and will be here until mid-week next week. Lots of wedding plans to take care of, visiting to do, and a birthday party to celebrate so we will be busy, busy, busy for the next few days. I'll talk to you again at the end of next week.

Hope you have a Happy Easter and the sun shines on your corner of the globe wherever you are.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wishing on a star

Smudge's version of wishing on a star is chewing on a star, and wishing her two top front teeth would come in soon.
Mommy had to take the car in for servicing yesterday, so The Smudge came to our house to play for awhile. Doesn't she look cute in her little skirt and leotards?
OK, enough of this quiet chewing and wishing stuff, time to move and explore the new toy box.
This little one doesn't stay in one spot for very long. She did however sit in her highchair chewing on a biscuit while I mixed up at batch of cookies yesterday. I think the secret was that she could see me all of the time, and we "chatted" non-stop. Chatter, chatter, chatter, squeal, giggle, gurgle. I am sure she was telling me a very important story, and I loved every unintelligible word of it.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Shades of pink along Memory Lane

AC added colour to this old black and white photo of Thesha a few months ago, and it is one of my favorite pictures of her. A neighbour of my mom and dad's knitted this dress for Thesha over thirty years ago, and Thesha wore it a lot when she was a baby.

When it came time to clean out closets and give baby clothes away, I tucked this dress away in a box of treasures to pass along to Thesha when she had a baby...

Wk2 Coloring a Photo

You guessed it, the other day when I was babysitting, I hunted up the dress and had a photo shoot with The Smudge.
The Old Pink Dress

The Old Pink Dress

AC and I couldn't quite get The Smudge into the same pose, but you get the idea and now we have a new picture of a most wonderful baby in that pretty dress.

Like mother, like daughter. Cute, cute, cute!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Now!

AC and I "attended" our third "New Earth" class last night, and it was the best one yet. We got a smooth video feed and were able to watch the whole broadcast with only one or two minor hitches. What a treat that was after the trouble I had on my machine during the first two classes.

Discussions on, living in the present moment, death, dying, form, labels, essence and the power of now, brought to mind some of Mary Oliver's poems. So, this seems like the perfect day to share a couple with you.

Long Afternoon at the Edge of Little Sister Pond

As for life,
I'm humbled,
I'm without words
sufficient to say

how it has been hard as flint,
and soft as a spring pond,
both of these
and over and over,

and long pale afternoons besides,
and so many mysteries
beautiful as eggs in a nest,
still unhatched

though warm and watched over
by something I have never seen -
a tree angel, perhaps
or a ghost of holiness.

Every day I walk out into the world
to be dazzled, then to be reflective.

It suffices, it is all comfort -
along with human love,

dog love, water love, little-serpent love,
sunburst love, or love for the smallest of birds
flying among the scarlet flowers.
there is hardly time to think about

stopping, and lying down at last
to the long afterlife, to the tenderness
yet to come, when
time will brim over the singular pond, and become forever,

and we will pretend to melt away into the leaves.
As for death,
I can't wait to be the hummingbird,
can you?


The Leaf and the Cloud
From the Book of Time

For how many years have you gone through the house
shutting the windows,
while the rain was still five miles away

and veering, o plum-coloured, to the north,
away from you

and you did not even know enough to be sorry,

you were glad
those silver sheets, with the occasional golden staple,

were sweeping on, elsewhere,
violent and electric and uncontrollable -

and will you find yourself finally wanting to forget
all enclosures, including

the enclosure of yourself, o lonely leaf, and will you
dash finally frantically,

to the windows and haul them open and lean out
to the dark, silvered sky, to everything

that is beyond capture, shouting
I'm here, I'm here! Now, now, now, now, now.

I have many Mary Oliver books, but The Leaf and the Cloud is the one with the most dog-eared pages. I return to it again, and again, and again.

Run to the window of your life today, throw it open to everything that is beyond capture and shout - I'm here, I'm here, now, now, now, now, now!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Birthday treats

My birthday is fast approaching, so the other day Thesha asked me what I would like. I mentioned that I would like a shelf for my bathroom, but it had to come with installation. She thought she could arrange that, so the other day we set off for Home Depot and found the perfect shelf. She and the family came over on Saturday to visit for the day and install said shelf. I had fun playing with The Smudge while Daddy went to work putting up the shelf for me. I softly sang "Happy Birthday To Me" as we played and he worked.

Here he is taking his "Holmes" pose after the work is all done. Good Job!

While Daddy worked upstairs, The Smudge and I were playing peek-a-boo downstairs. She was having great fun, and so was I. What a joy she is to be around.
WooHoo!!

After the rousing game of Peek-a-book, it was time for a quiet, story break. It is hard to get The Smudge to sit still long enough for a story, but we keep trying. We are helping to raise a reader, so a book is always close at hand. She quite likes this book about busy bunnies. I think it is because it only takes a minute to read it and then she can set off on another adventure again.
Raising a Reader

OK, enough of that "quiet time" stuff. Time to get up and explore. Hmmm, how can I get at that TV???

Well, if I can't get past that fence, I can try to brush Dolly's hair.

Doesn't Dolly look pretty Grandma?
Busy, busy Bunny indeed.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Better late than...

Today is almost history, and I am just now getting around to my blog. Sigh! Some days life just gets in the way, and the blog sits neglected. I know that family in far flung corners of the globe look forward to the Smudge updates though, so before I toddle off to bed, here are a few more picture from this week for you. Enjoy!

I think she has a mouthful of mommy's home made banana bread in this pic. She loves this treat.

Here she is taking a look at her new book about busy, busy, busy bunnies. I thought she could really relate to this book, seeing as she is a very busy bunny herself.

Finished reading the book, so now it is time for a cuddle with mommy.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Fashion Show

Mommy and Grandpa went out for lunch together today, so Grandma got to "play" with The Smudge for the afternoon. Total fun.

The last time I was at Winner's I saw this delightful little dress on sale, and thought it would be the perfect Easter present for The Smudge. I wanted to try it on her today to see how it fit and maybe take a few pictures of her wearing it to surprise mommy with for Easter, so we had a secret fitting session this afternoon.
New Dress
Cute huh?

I tried to stand her up beside the bed so I could get a full length picture of her in the little dress, but she kept flopping down on the floor. I do love this shot of her sitting on the floor beside the bed though. What a cutie.
New Dress
I will try to get more shots of her standing up when I have more people around to help me take the pictures.

When Mommy and Grandpa arrived back home we sat and visited for awhile and I took lots more pictures of The Smudge like I always do. The camera was sitting on the table and Thesha picked it up to see how they turned out and accidentally saw the Easter dress pictures. Drat! Oh well, at least I get to share them with you today, now that Thesha has seen them.

As you can see from this video, The Smudge was feeling much better today and once she was back in her comfy blue jean outfit, she enjoyed showing off her improved skills of climbing the stairs.

Rocky still isn't quite sure what he thinks of this new little being that crawls around on his floor, but he is letting her get closer and closer before he takes off now. He used to high-tail it to the nearest dark corner as soon as she came in the door, but as you can see here, he almost let her get within touching range today.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Now that's better

It is snowing again this morning, but the sun is shining inside because the little one is feeling much better. Can't you see the sunshine in her eyes?
Feeling Better

Yesterday when we stopped in for a short visit to see how she was feeling, we played peek-a-boo with a receiving blanket and she loved it. Yes, there is sunshine in that smile too, and she is looking like her old self again.
Feeling Better

Makes a Grandma's heart feel much better to see her like this. So, let it snow, we have our own sunshine machine.

Hope you can find something to make some inside-sunshine for you on this snowy day too. Sure helps one get through this very long, very snowy winter.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Sick little munchkin

We tried our best, but it just wasn't good enough. The Smudge got mommy's nasty cold and had a rough weekend. We spent lots of time walking, rocking and cuddling the wee lass and it helped a bit, but as you can see from these pics, she wasn't her happy self at all. Poor wee thing.


A cuddle with Grandpa just might help her with that headache. We think it did anyway.
Hope you feel better today Smudgy!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Explorer

Enough of the snow stories and pictures for now. We have a little path cleared to the front door, and we can get the car out of the garage so we are all set. We can hardly see the houses down the street, but spring is coming and will melt the mountains, so it is time to share some of our own sunshine...a video of The Smudge of course.

Thesha was sick with a cold last week, so we sent her to bed, and we watched The Smudge till daddy got home.



The learning and exploring never stops.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Enough Already

AC and I spent most of the day inside yesterday, but did have to go out from time to time to clear a path to the front door. Our dear neighbour cleared the driveway with her snowblower, but we had to contend with the walk. This was my third outing of the day!!!! Yes, I shoveled this patch three times yesterday and this morning we have a drift in front of the door that covers the mailbox and half the screen door you see in this pic.
I tried to take pics from inside the porch this morning because I can't get the door open to take pics from the outside. These might give you an idea of what this storm dumped on our heads yesterday. Sheesh!



Don't know if you can see the depth in these pictures, but there are three levels of snow in front of the window and door. The highest drift is the third furthest from the window.




One last shot of the backyard. BBQ is completely buried and the snow is past the halfway mark on the fence.
So, that's it folks. Actually it is quite pretty. Mother Nature is quite the artist and created beautiful sculptures in the windswept snow.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Little Drummer Girl

The Smudge is getting her French lesson for the day and seems to be enjoying it thoroughly. She has a French book in one hand, and French A,B,C's playing on her drum. This little charmer will certainly be bilingual.



Daddy speaks French to her all the time, and Grandpa and Mommy do a good job too, but Grandma is a rookie with this second language and has to stick to English most of the time. Maybe I'll pick up some words and phrases from The Smudge's toys too, and we will learn together.

Children and grandchildren can teach us many things, and I am excited to be in this classroom of life right now. My thinking-cap is on and my notebook is ready. Let the lessons begin.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Lions, Bunnies and Hyacinths

Oh dear, we were walloped with another huge snow storm yesterday. Sigh! When we looked out the window first thing in the morning, we saw we had such a gigantic snow drift outside the front door we couldn't get the door open. Thank goodness we could exit through the garage and tackle the drift from the outside. Problem with that was, AC is still suffering the after effects of a back spasm so shouldn't go anywhere near a snow shovel. Nice Neighbour Lady came to the rescue once again and cleared walk and drive for us. What an angel she is.

The Lion is roaring so loudly these days, I needed to add some ammunition to my arsenal to fight his assault on my spirit. The Smudge's smile is my first line of defense, but this is my second...

If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a hyacinth to fed your soul.

I cannot recommend doing this highly enough. In the middle of a huge March snowstorm the fragrance of Spring that these little beauties bring into the house is priceless.

And this is my third...
A few little items from the Dollar Store add the feeling and colour of Spring to nook and crannies inside while the snow fills nooks and crannies outside.

The Lion is on the prowl right now, but I hear the faint bleating of the Lamb off in the distance, and his gentle spirit will win in the end. Spring IS just around the corner. It is! Hang on!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Sunshine on a snowy day

Thesha put in a full day at work yesterday so AC and I were called on for babysitting duty. What fun!

The Smudge is on the move all the time now, so she led Grandpa and I on a merry chase all day. You can't take your eyes off her for a second because she is quick as a bunny, and into everything that isn't nailed down. I took her into her room to change her diaper, and left her on the changing pad on the floor while I went to wash my hands before dressing her. I turned around and there she was right behind me. Crawling like a pro now.
Areas of the house that are off limits have to be safely secured behind closed doors or baby-gates, and any places she is allowed to explore have baby-locks on every door and drawer. Oh so necessary, but oh such a bother.

I still remember the sense of freedom I experienced the day all the baby-locks came off the doors and drawers in my house. I felt like I had arrived when I could open the cutlery drawer without fidgeting with the baby lock. How neat it was to be able to reach under the sink for soap without going through hoops with the contraption on the door first. The locks are necessary when babies are at this stage, and give parents peace of mind knowing the babies are locked out of dangerous areas, but they are a pain on a drawer or door you are in and out of hundreds of time every day.

She is making a bee-line for me here to try to get her hands on the camera.

Climbing toys galore festoon the living room carpet and she enjoys them all. She would rather stand and play with something than sit. So lots of climbing and standing toys are strategically placed around the room for her to use.

And use them she does with great joy and enthusiasm. What a little ray of sunshine she is.


Here she is having a conflab with Grandpa. Makes me smile each time I watch it.


Hope it brings some sunshine your way on the this snowy day too. Enjoy.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Something new every day

Yes, every day is full of new and exciting discoveries for The Smudgeroo. On this particular one it was the zipper on Grandpa's sweatshirt. What a marvelous and unique contraption. Gives a baby unlimited hours of fun, fun, fun!
We are babysitting today and I hear her in the bedroom squealing with delight. Only problem is, she is supposed to be sleeping. Guess I had better go settle her down - again!!!!!!

Talk to you later

Monday, March 03, 2008

Flowering

AC gave me a wonderful new poetry book for Valentine's day, Ten Poems to Open Your Heart. I found this gem in it this morning, and it brightened my day and touched my heart, so I thought I would share it with you too.

Saint Francis and the Sow

by Galway Kinnell

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, or self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on the brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of the earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking
and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.

In the commentary section of the book Housden says "we too are buds, you and I, full of a life unfolding into flower... The flower of our life is already in bud even now, precisely in our present circumstances. "
Whatever your circumstances today, let this poem be the "hand upon your brow" reminding you of your loveliness just as you are.