A walk through my garden

While we haven't all enjoyed the rainy weather this year, our gardens have certainly flourished. I love to walk through the flowers and enjoy their beauty. God certainly works wonders in the garden and it brings me alot of peace and relaxation enjoying the beauty around me.

The countdown is on

Well it's 39 days until we leave for Myrtle Beach! That's exciting. We're pretty busy leading up to this. This Saturday we have to go and winterize the boat. I had hoped that we could visit with Ron and Anne and see their cottage, but time is just getting away from us. Our next three weekends are booked already. It's not a wonder we can't get things done around the house...

I just hope that the weather warms up a little.

A visit to St. Thomas

This weekend we had the pleasure of visiting Laura and Jay, Jordan and Hailey in St. Thomas. We arrived on Friday night and spent the weekend. It was a great weekend all together although the weather didn't cooperate too much.

Ralph and I went golfing on Saturday morning, compliments of Laura and Jay. We golfed at Fire Rock Golf club. It's a beautiful course and quite challenging.

Unfortunately the weather was cool and wet so we were unable to go to Port Stanley like we had hoped on Saturday afternoon.

The girls have lots of fun. You can certainly see that they are getting older. They have such vivid imaginations which come out as they are playing with their toys. I miss that interaction but thoroughly enjoy it when we're here.

A great day!!

The sun was shining..... it was a perfect day to go golfing. Ralph and I took the afternoon off and headed to the golf course. We both had a good game with Ralph shooting an 87 and I shot a 98. We were happy with our scores.

It was very relaxing... and a nice way to spend the afternoon. The course wasn't busy so we weren't rushed, but we finished our game in about 3.5 hours...

A day out with Jim

On Saturday, Teresa, Ralph, Jim and I went golfing. It was a cloudy overcast day, but the weather held out and we were able to get a nice game in. I played my best round of the year as did Teresa and Jim. It was a fun afternoon.

Our Thai

After an invigorating round of golf, what better way to relax than to sit down and enjoy a nice dinner all together. We met Harry and Marian at Our Thai and enjoyed a nice dinner of Tai food. It was delicious.

A day at Copper Creek

It was sunny and hot. We picked the perfect day to golf at Copper Creek. What a treat! This is an amazing golf course. It is very challenging. We had a great time. It wasn't one of my best games, but I certainly enjoye the company and the course.

Final Coat

Well, I think we've finally found the colour that we're happy with. One final coat of the Dark Walnut has done it. It's a very rich burnt red colour. Matches well with our hardwood floors. On Monday we'll start to put the polyurethane on it and give it it's final finishing touches.

Table Refinishing

Wouldn't you know it....I pick the hottest days of the summer to tackle refinishing my kitchen table. Not to be undaunted by the task, I decided to "go ahead" and sand and sand and sand until I had all the old varnish and stain off the table. It took me about 8 hours. Call it a labour of love!! I love our kitchen table and all the memories surrounding it. I love all the "war wounds" that it has sustained over the years. From Chester using it as a scratching post, to Bare - walking into it and denting the legs, Raley from scratching the table top as he looked for food not to mention the marking that Laura put on it while growing up. These are what make up the character of the table!!

But, we decided it was time to "clean it up" and prepare it for new markings. Jordan and Hailey as they bang their cups, scribble their pictures etc. I'm sure over the next few years, we'll have new stories to tell about the wounds sustained by the pine. It is something to look forward too.

We started staining it on Friday. First we started off with a Sonoma Red.... it was too bright for our liking. So, after two coats, we determined it was time to darken it up a bit. The next colour is Chestnut red. It's getting close, but still too red. We know what we want but we haven't quite succeeded yet in getting it right. Not to be discouraged, we bought our third colour - dark walnut and applied the first coat. Ah - it's almost there!! This is what we're looking for. One more coat and I think we'll have achieved the desired effect. We're happy with the leg colour - we kept it the same - Forest Green. The stain when on very nicely and we've already got our first coat of varnish on them. A little sanding and then another coat and we'll be finished with them.

We plan to hand rub the varnish on the table top. As I said - this is a labour of love, and it deserved the very best that we can do. I'm sure that by mid week we'll be very proud of how our new table looks.

Summer

It's been a while since I have written on my blog... Thanks Anne for the gentle reminder. We've had an interesting summer. It's with sadness that we said good-bye to our trailer. We decided to sell it after 20 years of camping in Buckhorn. It's just too difficult to get up there lately and financially it wasn't worth it for us to keep it in our possession.

We sold our trailer to an elderly couple in the park who we're positive will love it. As a matter of fact, we heard directly from Ed and Christine last week that they spoke with this couple and they were just thrilled. That makes us feel good.

Ed & Christine also sold their trailer. It's time for us to move to something different. I wonder what we'll do next summer?

100 Ways to Live till 100

I was at the doctors office with Ralph's Mom yesterday and this was hanging on the wall. I thought it was pretty inspiring.


1. Enjoy yourself.
2. Stay young at heart.
3. Be honest and open.
4. Look for rainbows.
5. Walk to work.
6. Take the stairs.
7. Keep your curiosity.
8. Stop smoking.
9. Listen to your body.
10. Watch what you eat.
11. Watch what you say.
12. Make time for your children.
13. Don't rest on your laurels.
14. Drink lots of water.
15. Have faith
16. Walk in the park.
17. Forgive.
18. Be an optimist.
19. Make love.
20. Cross-country ski.
21. Discover romance.
22. Exercise regularly.
23. Do Tai Chi.
24. Try Yoga.
25. Plant a garden.
26. Eat plenty of fruit.
27. Golf.
28. Adopt a pet.
29. Laugh often.
30. Be positive.
31. Give, don't take.
32. Marry your sweetheart.
33. Celebrate your marriage.
34. Enjoy being single.
35. Relax.
36. Eat your greens.
37. Take up lawn bowling.
38. Do nothing in excess.
39. Do everything in excess.
40. Serve chicken noodle soup.
41. Practice what you preach.
42. Look before you leap.
43. Make time for your friends.
44. Reduce your cholesterol.
45. Early to bed, early to rise.
46. Don't mope.
47. Try new things.
48. Skinny dip.
49. Write to a friend.
50. Play tennis.
51. Commune with nature.
52. Sing in the car.
53. Write a poem.
54. Whistle while you work.
55. Read a book.
56. Take your medicine as prescribed.
57. Challenge yourself.
58. Count your blessings.
59. Indulge yourself.
60. "Carpe diem" (Seize the day).
61. Take setbacks in stride.
62. If you want to stop taking a medication, ask your doctor.
63. Cuddle.
64. Use olive oil.
65. Eat your Brussel sprouts.
66. Lighten up.
67. Choose a career you love.
68. Be active in your community.
69. Read the paper every day.
70. Sit up straight.
71. Keep your mind active.
72. Travel.
73. Soak in the tub.
74. Don't be jealous.
75. Eat an apple a day.
76. Be generous with hugs.
77. Make time for your partner.
78. Keep in touch with family,
79. Bake a pie.
80. Eat plenty of fish.
81. Get plenty of fresh air.
82. Be yourself.
83. Swim.
84. Make time for your grandchildren.
85. Control your temper.
86. Share.
87. Take nothing for granted.
88. Ask questions when your doctor gives you new medications.
89. Power walk at the mall.
90. Don't procrastinate.
91. Accept those things which you cannot change.
92. Don't drink and drive.
93. Create solutions, not problems.
94. Be sociable.
95. Feed the birds.
96. Pamper yourself once a day.
97. Go fishing.
98. Smile.
99. Smell the flowers.
100. Listen to your doctor.

Happy birthday Claudia

Today, Claudia turned 65!! What a special event to celebrate. We had a wonderful time together with Claudia celebrating this special day!!

God Bless you Pastor Rand and Carole

Today our Pastor got married!! His bride, Carole Leacock was absolutely stunning. It was a beautiful wedding. We were happy that we were able to share in this special occasion.