Week 2 of January 2011

it seems that 2 out of 3 days this week Lyle has spent shoveling snow...the problem is not so much the shoveling but where to put the snow...we have more snow already this year than we had all last year....the entire town is piled high with snow...the problem is where to put the snow Lyle is pushing it over into the hedge....the other problem with the weather these days is no sunshine...(making for a lot of crabby folk to say the least)......

this week Lyle had a birthday....we went up to Yorkton and had brunch Sunday with our daughter and family...Lyle was quite a taken back by the balloons and banner that the grandchildren hung not to mention his present from them...although it was a cold day it was a GOOD day .........

this is one project that I finished up this week...friends of ours are having a new baby in March so I decided to make their 2 little ones monkies and 1 for the new baby and for Dad and Mom I made socks...I think they will like them....

this is my other project I finished up this week...I made these thrummed mittens for Lyle when he is outside shoveling snow...thrummed mittens are knitted adding bits of wool so the mitten becomes quite bulky until it is worn a bit and then the wool inside begins to felt...each whit stitch has a bit of wool knitted into stitch......they are very warm...was something I wanted to try and now have a second pair on the go for my daughter and requests for 3 more pairs......

the seed catalogues are starting to arrive...in fact I got 2 different ones this week....I always enjoy getting them to see what is new .....it reminds one of the fact that soon it will be warmer and spring will be along soon..........

this week has been a real January week...snow and cold temperatures with very little sunshine....the GOOD thing is that we have not had a lot of wind thankfully....we have had a busy week been out for supper twice to celebrate birthday....seems everyone is coping by staying warm and busy doing whatever it is we do reading knitting puzzles and such....

my crazy Maizy bird has laid 2 more eggs giving her 4 eggs apparently she will likely lay 5 eggs and then quit(I sure hope so)...we have been working with the birds to get them to mimic us..the male will do a cat whistle and they both do a warbling sound when we warble to them...they get real wound up when they hear lively music and prance back and forth on their perches chirpping like crazy....
the dogs have not been to impressed with the weather as it puts a damper on their runs...we only run then for 10-20 minutes when it is cold and they are used to 30-45 minutes and they are still not to sure what to make of the birds....I think they wonder why we allow them to stay indoors when they are so noisy.....


both Lyle and I have managed to avoid flus and colds so feel fortunate....as many are suffering with the like....aside from my regular aches and pains I have been quite well so far...needle days are not so GOOD but such is life......week 2 is come and gone and life is GOOOOD!!!!!!!!

Week 1 of 2011

my female cockatiel,Maizey decided to lay eggs...so far she has 2 eggs and here she is sitting on them....not only does she sit on them but the male Spikes comes and takes a turn sitting while she leaves to eat.......

a glass of wine good friends and being with the people you love and care about is how we brought the New Year in....here's hoping we all have a super 2011......

this is kinda a unique plant I rec'd this Christmas...it is called a snow fern...quite dainty and takes a lot of water but is very pretty.......

lurking outside our front window under cover of night are these 2 deer...they are coming to our bird feeder...not eating anything from it just making a mess scattering the seeds....they are quite brave as my being outside our dogs barking and us watching them did little more than get them to raise their heads....

here are my Maizey bird's eggs.....I am hoping that after 28-31 days of her sitting on them we may have a baby bird or 2....this pair of birds I have have reared 7 babies over the past 3 years..it is quite novel having them laying eggs and to watch them and their behaviour.......

this week has been quite the introduction to the New Year...besides all the activity of our birds and the deer ....we have managed to get most of the decorations down.....I have finished a knitting project and started another ...I am challenging making thrum mittens...for those of you who watch hockey the Junior Gold game was quite one for the books as we watched Russia snatch gold away in the third period........the weather has been quite nice one day and very cold the next...we have actually had smatterings of sunshine....it becomes quite depressing when we go days without the sunshine.....my health has been reasonably GOOD...I have very achy legs which do not fancy to weight bear and arms that are not to co-operative...but life goes on.....week 1 of this new year has been GOOD with it's ups and downs......Be GOOD to each other as we begin another week.......

waiting for the new year.....

today, December 28,2010 is our annual bird count ....this is my list of what I saw at our feeder....once a year I partcipate in this bird count....today there was not as many birds as there usually but it was quite windy out.....the numbers show the kind of bird how many and for what hours I observed.......

along with the annual bird count this is the time of year when I bring out the calendars I have collected for the new year......

..this is one we received from my sister in law from England.......

these are just 2 of many traditions we have at our house as we count down the final days of the old year waiting for the new........

Grandma nearly got run over.....

this is a photo of just off our back deck....the paths and tracks were made by deer visitors....

another angle taken off the deck......this was taken Boxing Day morning....last evening when I was walking over to our neighbours for Christmas dinner I had a doe jump right about 10-15 feet in front of me ....taken a back a bit as I was trying to get my wits about me lo and behold not 10 feet from me to my right were 3 more deer coming out of our back yard....that was about 5:30 p.m. so next a.m. I went out to check tracks and this was what I saw.....

they are quite brave as there were also tracks right up on the back deck by the door as were there tracks in the breezeway not 3 feet from the front window of the house......you just never know who will come for a visit......

they are quite brave as they had even visited the suet feeder which sits right in the breezeway...their tracks were right up on the deck at the back door as well....

and so it goes......

I made 2 ice lanterns for my windows this year.......

this is the mess that the deer are making at our big bird feeder this year....they seem to be coming in to town a bit earlier than usual........

this is the other of my ice lanterns.....these lanterns are as easy as making ice cubes to make and add quite a nice touch when they are burning....one simply fills the mold with water freezes it and unmold them....when the mold is ready drop a small votive (candle) in the centre ...light the candle and you have it.....simple decorative festive idea......

Christmas Eve

as 2010 fast comes to an end it is a time of reflection....on what was and what will be...I was quite captivated by the way the Christmas tree lights reflected in the front window......
and got to reflecting on my life...how it is how it will be and what I can and cannot do about it.....

this is an interesting piece of wood... the chickadees seem to be quite fascinated by it so I put it up for them to play around on.......(they seem to like it even better when stuffed with peanut butter)....

the beauty of a wind blown field....the best of our praire winters...what the wind can do if allowed......delightful to photograph on a sunny day but would not be to welcome on a cold windy evening if one were out in it....the irony of GOOD and BAD....

a shot of Mother Natures decorating....notice she uses icicles and snow to pretty up this cedar outside my daughter's kitchen window .......quite artistic isn't she?

My blog is behind and will be until the New Year arrives and life slows down.....a blog is an interesting pastime but when life gets busy my motto is "seize the moment" and my energies are spent on daily living.....with this I would like to wish each a very Merry Christmas and may your new year be blessed with many many GOOD Days!!!!!

...Wed Dec 15- Fri Dec17..

sharing and spending time with family and friends is my favorite way to celebrate the holiday season....

this week on Thursday we shared a meal with our friends and family...tho' the food wine and sweets help make the evening the best part is the conversation and laughter...we are blessed to have wonderful neighbors to share our time and gifts with.......sometimes the hardest part is just finding a time to be able to all get together to enjoy each other's company
Both Lyle and I enjoyed this evening very much.....

the table was set awaiting our guests...it is such a delight to bring out all the Christmas dishes and decorations.........

a sampling of supper to be.......baked salmon trimmings of potatoes and veggies and for dessert sweets and cream puffs.......

the biggest treat of this week was when I went and had my nails done and had a hand massage..a treat since all the holiday preparations are pretty much done.....in our small town we are very fortunate to be able to just go downtown and be treated to all the pleasures of the city...my nail specialist has just expanded her business opened up her own shop right on main street...Congrats! to her for continued success........

This has been a very GOOD week especially with nothing much left to do but enjoy what follows and I continue to be symptom free....my biggest wish and prayer is that all my dear MS friends remain symptom free and are able to take part in all the activities of this holiday season....I send you all peace calm and health.....

With the weekend upon us I plan on nothing more than my needle, chillaxing knitting and listening to lots of Christmas music......my GOOD plan for the upcoming days........