Tuesday, 29 May 2012

My Heart is in the Garden

I am afraid I have been neglecting this blog and I do miss it. All I have time for today is to add some pictures from my garden. Actually my garden is the reason I have been so neglectful . I love to garden but I can no longer do it like I use to, so I am in the process of pulling up any plants that are invasive. It really breaks my heart to pull up lovely forget-me-nots and sun-drops etc. but I can't wait till they bloom because it will be to hot then for me to work in the garden. I guess I will just have to buck up cause that is the price I must pay to continue gardening.


Photobucket

Second Year Clamatis....Lovely Sweet Thing
Meet Adrienne a sweet gift from Tehkummah, Manitoulin Island
This is David, is'nt he beautiful?
And this is lovely Margret .   God is good!!!!
All my flowers have a story and are usually named for the friend
who blessed me with them.
I seldom buy a plant because it's just not the same and has no story.
Unless of course it's to remember something or someone by.
I have been so blessed and love to bless others with flowers.

A Cute Story

I once had a yellow loosestrife that grew up under a beautiful lilac bush and every time
I gave some of it away, people would wonder where this lovely lilac came from in their yard.
Sometimes as I drive around town or country I see those big lilacs bushes still prospering
where they hitchicked to.

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Our Trip To Manitoulin Island

Swinging bridge at Little Current
We finally found a piece of time, to visit our favourite place to get away to. Manitoulin Island. A little wedge of land, between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, that , thanks to it's inhabitants, new and old, manages to preserve the good life.

This bridge is very old and swings on it's center support, on the hour, to allow boats to pass through in and out of the North Channel. The only other way on the island, is a one hour, forty-five minute ferry ride from Tobermory.

I could fill pages of reasons why we love this place so much but this time up we decided to take some pictures of some of the old abandoned places that appeal to us. When we started visiting
forty years ago these places were very beautiful in their rustic way. We regret not taking their pictures when we first saw them but we still wanted to capture their charm.



Welcome to Manitoulin
Little House on Hwy. 6
This dear little old house, along Hwy 6, use to have very unusual diamond shaped shingles and lovely cedar shakes. Time has taken it's tole and stolen most of it's charm but we still love it. Notice the antique well driller in front of the barn? I've always wondered if, maybe the inability to find water caused the family to give up and move away. I guess we'll never know.

Anglican Church and Lighthouse at Manitowaning

This beautiful church and  lighthouse are in the lovely town of Manitowaning, and because it's located on a back street one can visit the town and not even see it. If you're ever there be sure to look it up, it's well worth the effort.
The restaurant in the next picture is a great place for a burger and fries and has a friendly staff to make you glad you came.

The Musky Widow

Coming down  highway #6 the next place we come to is the lovely township of Tehkummah. It is blessed with rolling hills, beautiful farmland, framed with cedar trees and cedar rail fences, and meandering through it, is the gentle Blue Jay Creek.


The Blue Jay Creek
The day we took this picture, the rainbow trout were fighting their way up the little rapids and we enjoyed watching them as we sat in the van, eating our picnic lunch.

A Dear Little Empty House

Oh how I would love to open this gate and wander around this dear little place.

One Of The Many Empty Old Houses
A Pair of Sandhill  Cranes
This pair of Sandhill cranes didn't appreciate our watching them. They are ancient birds that call Manitoulin their home. When they fly south, you can seldom see them but if you have very sensitive ears, like my Cliff has, then sometimes, you might hear them.Their call is an eerie sound that can cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand at attention.








Photobucket

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Little Dirt Bag

Little Dirt Bag
                                                                                                                                                           Look what I found at the "Sally Anne"!!!! I just fell in love with it at first sight. My grandaughter looked it up on Google and found out it says in German "little dirt bag". Now how nice is that?
You can see what I use it for but I guess it was ment to be a plant pot. I love, I love it, I love it.

One of the great things about it, is it's size, because it is large enough to hold my rolling pin.This is a very special rolling pin that my dad made for my mom, when they were first married, over 70 years ago. We lived on an island, off the eastern shore of Newfoundland and we didn't have electricity so he would have had to use a foot operated layth. Dad and my grampa use to make windows and coffins.  One of my earliest memories were sitting on the floor of their workshop as they made a coffin.I collected the shavings curls from the big hand plane, that made a wonderful swishing sound  as they used it. After the coffin was made they covered it with purple crepe paper,put in the back of a horse drawn wagon and off they went up the road.It seemed very natural to me. An odd memory but good.
This rolling pin represents the love Dad had for Mom, to make it for her and all the love she put into making good eats for us.How blessed we were.





Photobucket

Thursday, 12 April 2012

The Gingam Dog and The Calico Cat

Barbed Wire Pretty
My Beautiful Tablecloths Blowing in the Wind


Stupid Wind Wouldn't Blow

Spring! Wonderful! Beautiful!Spring!
One might wonder, weather or not I run an Italian restaurant. Not. I just love gingham tablecloths and always have. My first one was the red and white one, third from the house. Many years ago my dear husband bought it for me and it is one of my treasures, somehow it represents our good life together.
The lovely one in the centre is from the forties,covered in fruit and a gift from a lovely girl named Kerri, who with her two little girls, lived with us for a couple of years.

What a beautiful spring day, I'm playing with my tablecloths and my Cliff is in this workshop making  little stools to sell in a lovely shop in Penetanguishene called On Georgian Shores.

Opps!! Now Cliff is taking a little break sitting on the steps, I think he loves my tablecloth's also.

Isn't he cute with his Lee Valley apron and hat and his white beard

Notice the red geraniums in my upstairs window? What you can't see is that, that flower is absolutely huge and covers the whole window and is full of big beautiful blooms. That's my sewing room, how nice is that?

Sunday, 1 April 2012

New Spring Colours


My Lovly Old Pink Dishes

This is my new Spring look for my kitchen cupboard. I usually change these dishes around a couple of times a year but for some reason this will be my third change since Christmas. Some might say "get a life" but all my different dishes are stored in the bottom shelves of my cupboard so it's real easy to change them. Anyways I do have a life, I play with my dishes, how nice is that? 
My New Spring Look

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Who Am I

Who Am I?

I am a Wife
a Mother
a Grandmother


O.K....so maybe a cup of tea was to much....

Truth be told my daughter tweeks my blog and has added this post that I should someday soon get to....
Please do come again, and hopefully there will be something more interesting to read.

Thanks,
Bernice
Another blog design by
Cottage Remnant