It's all a matter of perspective

This week I learned that the unavoidable has finally happened... my eyes are getting older and I need bifocals.... yuck!! I don't know why this depressed me so much but I was really feeling sorry for myself. Believer that I am that things happen for a reason, it seems like more than a coincidence that I would get a phone call at work from one of our patrons who is an amazing gardener tell us it would be a good time to come visit her garden. This lady amazes me with her energy and zest for life! She has turned her backyard into a paradise and she is almost twice my age! I always leave her house feeling so inspired.

During one discussion with her about ponds, I mentioned that I really wanted a pond in my yard but my husband didn't want to dig the hole. Her response has stayed with me..... "Don't think of it as digging a hole", she said "just put your wheelbarrow and shovelwhere you want your pond to be, and every time you walk by put a shovel full of dirt in the wheelbarrow. Before you know it, you'll have a pond!". I guess it's true what they say, you are only as old as you feel. We are not sure how old Elizabeth is but she is certainly young at heart. One shovel of dirt at a time she has created an oasis of colors and smells that delight your senses. After touring her backyard, when we turned the corner to the front of her house which is an expanse of grass she said, "If I was 50 again, I would start another garden here". I think of her now everytime I look at my little flower beds and see a few weeds poking out of the ground.... I don't think I will ever complain about weeding again.

Puppy 911

Life with a puppy is never dull! Lily is now almost 5 months old and entering what our vet refers to as her "teenage years". Just great! We finally made it through the teenage years with our two legged children and now we are back in the saddle again with a four legged teenager. The discovery of the day today was "hornets are not fun, and effect puppies worse than people". After a very scary emergency visit to the vet and some benedryl to stop the swelling, we have all lived to tell the tale. As I type my dear hubby is in the yard doing battle with a nest we discovered in our composter while Lily and I are laying low and nursing our stings. I tend to shy away from things that attack me, but Randy gets pissed and hunts them down (must be the testoterone). One little tip I learned today.... if a hornet follows you into the house, spraying it with Pam cooking spray will kill it! Makes you wonder if you should really be cooking your food in it.

Alberta Summer

I don't think I will ever get used to this weather. A "typical" July day goes something like this.... the sky is blue... no wait... those clouds are black..... wow the sky looks weird (check the weather channel for tornado warnings)...... insert downpour of rain here.... oh look a rainbow & the sun is shining.... but it is still raining.

Have I mentioned how much I miss the maritimes? Tornado warnings were literally something from the Wizard of Oz until I moved here. Oh well, life goes on...... with a wary eye on the horizon.

Yesterday was the first day of the Summer Reading Program at the library. 45 kids and still the stragglers are coming in with registrations. I went to work two hours early and still left with piles of stuff not done at the end of the day. I am planning on banking up some of these extra hours to take some much needed R&R with my dear husband at the end of the month.

New baby

This is one of the reasons I haven't been blogging of late, our new baby Lily. She is providing us with endless hours of affection, entertainment, and frustration all rolled up in one furry little ball. Since my youngest child is 20 years old, potty training was a distant memory for me. We have been cat people for the last 20 years and they were a whole lot easier to train.

This morning she woke me promptly at 6am, looked at me like I was an alien as held the door open for her at least 5 times, waited for me to make a cup of coffee and sit down, and then peed on the floor!!! She then proceeded to return to her kennel, curl up in a ball and fall fast asleep!

So, here I sit at 6:45, wide awake and trying to be quiet so I don't wake my dear hubby on his day off, LOL! Oh, well! As my grandmother used to say.......This too shall pass......

Today is Canada Day and we will be helping to serve the pancake break in the park in our little corner of the earth today. When I checked facebook this morning (no, of course I am not hooked on facebook), I noticed my friends in town all posting about losing a friend this weekend. Since we have lived here less than two years, there are a lot of people I don't know and this seems like one of them but in a town of just over 1500 people things like this tend to affect most everyone. My heart goes out to those who are hurting, I'm sure I will hear more as the day goes on.

I am also hoping to hear from my friend Kelly today. Her husband became ill while back in Canada on leave from Afghanistan and has been sent home for more tests. I know from my 20+ years as a military spouse that although we want our loved ones to come home from these tours, illness is not the way we want it to happen.

Weekend layouts

These are the layouts from my weekend crop. This was my first attempt at doing layouts without having pictures already. It was fun and so easy to do with my Imagine and Cherish books from CTMH!

Mother - Daughter Scrapfest

I just spent the weekend at a ladies retreat with my daughter, Amanda. We scrapped, ate & slept - then scrapped some more! It was a nice quiet weekend and we both got lots accomplished. Now, I have to unpack and put my craft room back together!

Turning back the clock

I have spent hours sorting through my photos to try and get them in some kind of order so I can scrap them. I wish there had been "scrapping" when my kids were little, maybe then I wouldn't be so far behind. This layout, finished tonight, is of my daughter, who will soon be 22 years old!

I love CTMH scrapbooking kits, paper packets and stickers, everything coordinates so nicely. This layout uses the Simple Pleasures Kit and Bamboo, Cocoa, Desert Sand and Twilight paper and inks.

My home coffee shop

Once upon a time we lived in the city and every morning I would go through the drive and pick up a latte to enjoy on my way to work..... life was good! Then one day I was offered a job in a small town and we sold our city house and moved to the country.... life was still good (and much more laid back and quieter) except for one thing........ My husband, who still worked just outside the city would call before he came home from work each day and the conversation would go something like this:

Hubby: Is there anything you would like me to pick up for you on the way home from work?
Me: Oh, yes please! Could you swing by the drive through and pick me up a latte?

This lasted for a few weeks when the conversations changed to this:

Hubby: Do you have any idea how much money you spend in lattes? Can't you just make coffee at home, we have a perfectly good coffeemaker.
Me: But it's not the same......(pout, pout, pout).....

This went on for some time until Starbucks had thier annual brew event and machines were 40% off. I became the proud owner of my very own machine and can make lattes, etc. to my hearts content and my husband never has to go through a drive-thru again! (Now I spend money on neat mugs and flavoured syrups)!

Snow day

The temperature dipped to -55 celcius with the windchill today and the roads were impassable in places. School buses weren't running and some schools were closed, so I took a "snow day". I spent most of the day making cards for a CTMH swap I am in. It's amazing how fast the day goes when you are being creative!

A little love

I finally managed to get back in the craft room today. January has been such a crazy month, it seems like the days are getting shorter, not longer. This is a card that I made for a sketch challenge, but also for a swap with a group of ladies in a technique class I attend once a month.

My new baby!

Tonight, after finally getting back on track following our Vegas vacation and the flu bug that followed, I got to play with my new baby. My Canon Rebel XTI which I am LOVING!!! This is the grain elevator at the edge of town. Growing up in the Maritimes, grain elevators were a foreign concept until we moved to Alberta. They are quickly becoming things of the past and this one was rescued and moved to it's current location when the railway pulled out of town.