Birthdays and Spinsters!

Happy Birthday! and on this auspicious day, my parents are mocking me with a picture of a group of lovely ladies from October 1907, who were a part of the guild of Spinsters... yes, folks, there were guilds of folks like this and they thought it was a great idea! I can't help but think that they weren't alll thinking that! Lovely dresses and hats tho.... truly gorgeous home they are standing in front of... makes you wonder if any of them ended up getting married after all! Then the pic would be a wee bit different, wouldn't it?

Anyhoo..happy birthday to anyone else out there who might be single and over 30... and just think, we barely made it out of a wonderful photo op like this one!

the generation of yesteryear...

This grouping of people who look so handsome and proud, are my relatives. In the back row centre left is my grandfather when he was around 18, and his 5 brothers and sisters flank him....this group of folks are all gone now... and sadly enough, the next generation has started that fateful journey as well.... however, if we can look back and see what dignity and honor they had, we can certainly have hope for our generation as well...!

Happy Fourth of July!

As I am sure you know, this last week was Independance Day in America... as a proud American I was happy as all get out last year when we were able to hit the parades and fireworks in Minnesota on that special day as I had not been in the States for the Fourth for a decade or so... it was wonderful! The patriotism and happiness that surrounds this particular holiday is always so infectious! I wanted to also say Thank you to our military and veterans without whom this holiday is for naught.... Happy Independance Day fellow Americans!

Fort Edmonton Park

Fort Edmonton Park and awful pretty! I am unsure as to when this house was originally built or when it was moved onto this site, but this little farmhouse is a sweet reminder of what we used to enjoy in life....adn just imagine a simpler time and a happierlife with less stress and no cell phones....of course, you had prairie fires, drought and wierd diseases that hit your cattle and you got to see your friends about once a month if you were lucky. No wonder people had 10 kids+ in their familes and then brought in many generations to live on nearby farms and acreages. It had to be awfully lonely sometimes and the howling of the prairie wind must have driven people bonkers. Then there were Indians, stampedes, grasshoppers, floods, chickens that would not lay and one school in 25 kms.
Kinda makes you appreciate rush hour a wee bit more. Not a lot. Just a wee bit. Oh, and look outside at the sky and enjoy a little breeze as you make an ice tea with ice from your freezer and a cookie from the oven in your air conditioned house... THEN. You can swing on your porchswing, and imagine those simpler times a little better....

Remember this?

Hard to believe that this was only 3months ago! and really, in 3 months, it could be here again...argh. But amazingly enough, this was the biggest dump of snow that we got this last winter and yet, it was about -2 degrees C. Beautiful! and a full moon as well... so, as much as I love seeing green grass and pretty flowers, this is truly a gorgeous sight in its own rights... just remind me of this in September when this is what I awake to!

the CRAZY bridal shower gift... :)

when they invite you to a bridal shower.... the best thing to do is is go CRAZY! apparently this was what I was thinking when I started this little gift for my friend and soon to be bride, Stacey... She is a country girl at heart and, as I have knowledge of this genre, I thought, well SURE I can hook her up...and that is when the CRAZY kicked in!! Ah well... here it is in its' entirety, and I am thrilled that she loved it! Congrats Stacey!

Spring in the backyard!

*these lovely petals are part of a wonderful new hybrid of lilacs...if you look closely, you can see that they are not purple; they are ,in fact, BLUE. Wedgewood to be exact. I am catching them at the end of their very short bloom life, but they are spectacular! I wish we hadn't had rain all week or I would have pulled them into the house before now... However, better late than never, and now my kitchen smells divine!