How could I miss it?

I don't know if you can see it from this picture or not, but this is a rather deep and wide hole. I would say it is about 3 feet wide and almost as deep.
On the night of the wedding reception, after a few glasses of wine, and all dressed in my party finery, I went for a walk outside the tent to take in the cool night air. I wandered over to a dark corner of the yard, and yep, I fell kerplop in this hole. I didn't do it daintily either. I dipped my right foot in, slipped down the edge, tried to catch my balance, over corrected, nosed forward, rolled over and ended up on my back staring up at the stars. AC was walking beside me and didn't know what the heck was happening when I dipped out of sight. He tried to grab me, but each time he tried, I lurched off in another direction, and both of us ended up doing this rather hilarious dance. If I had seen me fall I would have been doubled over in gales of laughter I am sure. To his credit, AC didn't laugh at all. I sure did though.

In the dark I couldn't see what I had fallen into, so we went out the next morning and took this picture. On seeing how big the hole was, I was amazed that both of us didn't fall into it never to be seen again. Luckily I escaped without a twisted or broken anything. Thank goodness! A sore hip and nasty bruise on my knee were the only gifts of the fall. Oh, and plenty of laughter even after the fact. I am giggling about it again now. It was a spectacular fall, it really was. Chortle, guffaw, gasp.

Doctor on Duty

Grandpa had an appointment at the mall today, so Grandma and Smudge got to saunter around finding fun things to do while waiting for Grandpa. After toddling around the food court and making friends with a number of store owners, Little Miss Personality found this Pet Ambulance Ride and apparently...
...thought it was the cat's _ _ _


She had so much fun in this little truck. I think there was a slot to put money in the ride, but Smudge had a blast without me putting a penny in it. She laughed and giggled, tooted the horn, pushed lots of buttons that didn't do a thing, and climbed in and out, and in and out, and in and out, and...well you get the picture.

Smudge had lots of fun and so did Grandma. What a little joy she is to be around. She brought a smile to lots of faces in the mall today. Hope she brings one to your face too.

View from the Playner Mill

I still don't have my balance back after the push to get ready for the Wedding Weekend, but last weekend helped me take a big step in the right direction. AC and I headed to Riverwood to pick up a load of stuff left at the farm after the wedding, and we stayed for a couple of days to rest and relax. It was soooo nice.
AC wrote a blog about our magical afternoons and evenings spent in the Playner Mill, but I thought I would post a couple of pictures I took of the view too.
I can't begin to describe the beauty to be seen from every window.
The breezes blew in, but the bugs had to stay out! Oh joy!

Wedding pictures are being sorted out and made ready for posting. Stay tuned we should have some more ready to post real soon.

The Family

The girls come home today, so I should get my hands on lots of pics over the weekend, so I can post a ton next week. In the meantime let me share this one last one I have of the family with you.


We are heading to RW for the weekend. Talk to you all again on Tuesday.

The Happy Couple

D2 and D3 under the chuppah. David ( the officiant) is singing one of the seven blessings during the ceremony. Every part of the ceremony was full of meaning and most beautiful. The chuppah the girls are standing under consisted of two parts. The green cloth was made and decorated in Vancouver by their circle of friends there. On top of that was D3's dad's prayer shawl.

The Happy Couple on the way to the Playner Mill after the ceremony

Dancing the hora in the Playner Mill. What fun.
As the happy couple spun in the centre of the circle, friends and relatives danced in circles around them. Total, total, fun! After all that gaiety, the wedding party went off for official pictures and the guests stayed at the Playner Mill to relax, sip a cool drink, and munch on a delicious tidbit of food.

Smudge before the ceremony

The ceremony took place beside a beautiful Willow tree in Bridgesward, and Smudge loved playing in the leaves.
Then it was time for a hug from Auntie before her walk down the aisle...

...and a picture with Mommy and Daddy too.

Smiles all around

Oh, found a shot taken before the ceremony. We were not allowed to see D3 at this point, so someone took this shot of Mom with D1 and D2.
It was the most beautiful and amazing day. Very hot, but not a speck of rain fell, and the bugs went somewhere else to play, so we weren't swatting at the pesky blighters at all.

First of many

We are home and are now enjoying the after-glow of a most marvelous weekend. We took hundreds of great pictures, but left them all with the girls this week, so I only have a few shots on my camera that were taken after the last upload. I thought you would want to see them anyway, so here they are - the first of many.

This is Sunday morning in the Playner Mill. We all gathered to watch the happy couple open gifts before we set off for home.

One of Uncle Brian's photos of the farm brought squeals of delight from both girls.

What a funky toaster!

Chillin' with a cold beer, in Ben's cool chairs. Wish you guys could have been there Benmar and Sare. We REALLY missed you.

View from the Playner Mill window.

The morning after.


Smudge was one tired Pumpkin at the end of a very busy day, and enjoyed having a dance with Auntie before being trundled off to bed.

The Art Gallery of Northern Ontario.

Spinning

Things are spinning faster than the speed of light around here these days as we head into the last week before the wedding. Laptops gather dust while AC and I race around chasing loose ends, then struggle to tie them down.

For all the Smudge fans in the group, here are a few pictures from her trip to Parliament Hill with mommy and daddy last week.





She is so sweet. When I get frazzled from all the running around, I just go to her for a hug and somehow that refreshes and revives me.

Stay tuned for pictures of our Girl's Night Out last weekend, and Wedding pictures to be taken this weekend. We hope to post lots and lots of them next week.

Talk to you all next week sometime.

More Ent Encounters

"Hey Grandma, this is really cool."
Do you hear the sound the tree is making?
These leaves are amazing.
Here, do you want to feel one too?

Smudge Lesson for the Week - Don't stay on the sidelines of life. Get right into the middle of things, touch, feel, smell, listen - enjoy the whole experience.

Up close and personal with an Ent

On our walk to the park one day, Smudge was quite taken with the sound the wind was making in the trees. She squealed with delight when we walked under one large tree, just as the wind dashed through the branches and swished them around over our heads.
I found a smaller tree with branches close to the ground and wheeled her stroller right into the middle of the leaves.
Smudge thought that was grand, thank you very much.

I love going for walks with this little one. She listens to every little sound, finds great delight in many things that most of us pass right by without even noticing, and teaches me to stop and look at the beauty all around me.

What a little Zen Master she is.

Fun with Skylar

Smudge likes Skylar, a neighbour's dog. I think it is because she is just Smudge size, comes to visit often and is very gentle with Smudge.

Skylar waits for a cookie at the gate while Smudge gets a head start down the ramp. Grandma caught Smudge at the end of the ramp and..

...now Smudge finds herself on the other side of the gate and Skylar has gone home.
"Come back Skylar. Let's play some more."

More fun with bridal veil

This is a very busy week with all the last minute loose ends needing to be grasped and tied down before the girls arrived from Vancouver for the wedding next weekend. Don't know how many blogs I will get too, but will try to post a picture or two for the Smudge fans that need their daily fix.

She quite liked playing in the bridal veil.
She thought it was funny when Grandma wore one too.
A thoughtful moment.

Surprise

We had a surprise virtual Bridal Shower for the A Team yesterday. Smudge was our stand-in Bride here in Ontario while the girls celebrated in Vancouver.
As you can see from these pictures, Smudge was having a great time prancing around in the bridal veil.

Grandma got into the act with Smudge later in the day.
What fun we had. Hope you had fun in Vancouver too. We love you guys and miss you.

See you real soon. Hugs and love from all of us here in this corner of the country.

Sunny Spot

Smudge has her own little reading chair in a sunny spot right beside her bookshelf. By the look on her face, I do believe that she thinks it is pretty neat to have a chair that is just the right size for her. No climbing to get in and out of it is a real treat I am sure.

Smudge Lesson for the Week - Set up a comfy chair in a sunny spot, make sure a good book is close at hand, then plop yourself down and relax.

Calm Day

Yesterday Grandpa was away at one of his violin sessions so Smudge and Grandma enjoyed the day together. I must say it was much nicer than the last time - Poor Baby.

We walked to the park and I didn't once have to think about rising temps, swelling face, or spreading infection. Ahhhh, a much better day by far.

I had to plan my route carefully to avoid the dock area because Grandpa wasn't there to hold onto the Smudge, and be ready to jump in if Smudge toppled in. He is a strong swimmer. I am NOT! I wasn't going anywhere near the water's edge without Grandpa that was for sure! I don't mind watching a baby paddle around the beach, but the dock area has deeper water and makes me nervous, to say the least.

I didn't go near the dock end of the park and we had a very pleasant walk. Smudge was distracted by her dandelions, and held onto them tightly for the whole walk. I drank in the beauty of this most calm and peaceful day, and thanked the powers that be, once again, that we avoided that speeding car the other night.

Enjoy your day, I know I will.

Newest Game

This is the latest game. Playing under the "tent" with Grandpa.

They are having the most amazing conversation under there.

Smudge thinks this is the best game ever.

Riverwood

In spite of hungry mosquitoes and rain, we donned hats, coats, long pants, and boots to go for a walk at the farm on the weekend. We braved the deep woods along the Old Logging Road, Maple Lane and Riverside Ramble, and the bugs swarmed. We had sprayed hats, coats and pants with bug spray, so I escaped with only one bite on my hand. Not bad for the number of biting blighters that clouded around us on the walk

Here Farmer Tuck and I are walking towards Bridge Sward. What a sweet relief to be out of the woods and leave most of the bugs behind. They didn't bother us too much out in the open.
When we walked over to the bank of the river this is what we saw. The high spring water had washed the old bridge out. The new bridge survived the high water just fine though. You can see it faintly in the background.
From our spot near the old bridge this is the view behind us. The beautiful old red barn.


Deep in the woods I was surprised to see these red leaves already. Yes, summer is zooming by, and autumn is just around the corner.