Saturday, January 24, 2015

.Helping in the garden !


My husband is always ready to help in the garden , IF it means he can get out one of his noisy machines to play with. !?!    Today is a sunny Sunday , after church this morning we had lunch with friends, then came home .  I found a quiet spot to sit under the trees and read my book...himself decided that he needed some physical activity so got this very noisy edge trimmer out.......  Bless him???      
WE have our DD#1 arriving for a short visit tomorrow. She hasn't been home for two years so not a blade of grass is to be out of place !! (As if she'll notice !).  She arrived in Auckland on Friday and has had the wend with DD#2 and family. Judging by the instant photos that we have received they are having a great time together.  We  last saw her in Scotland Nov 2013 so it will be good to have her here. She is very good at emailing and skyping so we don't feel too out of touch with her and her family. 
Sorry about the large photo.  I can't find any indication on this IPad as to how to reduce the size.  Any clues would be gratefully accepted !

Hope the week goes well for everybody.
 

Thursday, January 22, 2015

This is MaryJo's comment to the posting below..and ignore any comments, I've messed them up...Rosey

When my son was tiny, we lived in a house heated by oil.  He had asthmatic bronchitis for two winters.  My dad was asthmatic so we assumed that he was, also.  We moved to a home heated with wood and the asthmatic bronchitis stopped.  The doctor said he just 'outgrew' his problem.  I never thought so and never again lived in a home heated by oil.  Lots of work, but a problem solved.
MaryJo

Pox removed, Doris, glad you're back down into winter again


I may have posted one of these photos before.  This is NOT taken this year.  Rather, in the fall of one year, thus the green grass.  Today, in late afternoon, we finally took delivery of another two loads of logs.  The bush in Algonquin Park up north was very wet and muddy this past summer and the logs pulled out of the bush were covered in mud.  Not good for chain saw blades.  Today, the laneway is covered in snow, spread with woodstove ashes for traction as the big double pup trailer load made it's way down the laneway.  We heat by wood, although we have an electric forced air furnace.  It was one of the main reasons for buying the house 27 years ago, as I have a dysregulation of my immune system, Multiple Chemical Sensitivites, not recognized by many in the medical field, it is, nevertheless legitimate and been officially recognized now.  I react to oil and gas heating.  The cost of Ontario Hydro has become so expensive that we have heated with wood now for 25 years.  Himself cuts it up into fireplace log lengths, then we get a log splitter and gather whoever is around to help in exchange for a nice hot meal at lunchtime.  (Fran's son, Shannon, helped us one Thanksgiving).  As you can see the length of the laneway means that the truck has to back up and manage to get through the gates at the end of the laneway, all of which the driver did and did well.  It's amazing how anyone can drive these huge trucks and back it up and down a hill on a narrow country laneway.  I packed him a sandwich and thermos of hot chocolate and he was on his way back up north, three hours away.  If we run out of wood this winter, at least we have logs out there to cut instead of throwing in the furniture to heat the house.
And we are both getting old.  I'm amazed at how himself can cut and stack the logs ready for splitting.  Living in the country, there is far more physical activity involved, if you choose.  Friends of ours up the line live very much as they did in the city,  hiring help to manage their 100 acres of land.  I prefer the physical activity.
Rosey P, in Southern Ontario, Canada where it is bitterly cold...but I love it.  I just don't like to see pictures of flowers growing on the west coast of Canada at the moment.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

mid-January . . .

Here in the sunny South, it is finally living up to its name!  After weeks of dreary grey skies, some rain but mostly mist/drizzle, we have a beautiful few days of weather.  DGD was off from her Montessori school yesterday and she spent the day at our house.  We  took a 1.2 mile morning walk and an afternoon walk because we had such warm and pretty weather.  (high was mid-60sF)   I had DGD in the stroller and Sophie on the leash... my "walking team"!

Today is in the low 60sF so I took a 1.2 mile walk with the dog again today.

Of course, this, too, shall pass.  We ARE in the middle of winter, and cold yucky weather with an icy mix  is due to arrive by weekend.   ;-)

Hugs to everyone!


Monday, January 19, 2015

MaryJoG via Rosey's posting service

This is the latest quilt made for a class this month.  About ten years ago, we were traveling through Montana.  I sketched the Bitteroot Mountains planning to make a quilt. Unfortunately, I did not finish the sketch and took no pics.  The mountains were easy but there were many trials followed by sessions with the stitch ripper before settling on a ghost town nestled in the tree line.  Can see that the quilt needs blocked.  Am going to try a method suggested in a new book, using canvas for a backing on art quilts.  Will try that on the Tuscany quilt in progress.  It will not have batting.
We are stuck in a cycle of freezing fog, then snow, freezing rain and more fog.  I'm more than ready for spring.  May help that along with a seed order this evening.  This afternoon will find me at 'Farmer's Wife' to sharpen my piecing skills.
 
I have a treasure to photo and will post it.  My grandmother talked of walking to Sunday School with her Grandma in Missouri.  She (my great, great g'ma) wore a hand made cut velvet cape with jet beads and taffeta sunbonnet.  Will figure out how to get the best pics of them as they are black.  Difficult to see the details.
MaryJo

Sunday, January 18, 2015

A magical sunset..

At the risk of you getting tired of me posting photos...here are two more.   I took them In Friday evening, just on sunset,  The light was amazing. we had a very hot day and then it got cooler and we had a few drops of rain and a clap of thunder.. It came to nothing and was followed by this beautiful display of colour and  movement...