Mother Nature is confused

We have not had a real bad winter this year but this past month has been all over the board.  We had a real mixture of warm and cold days, snow and rain, wind and sun.  During the warm days, I noticed some green coming up in my gardens, especially my holly hocks.  But last night we had an ice storm.

When I woke up this morning, everything was covered in ice. Very pretty but dangerous.  I certainly would not want to venture outdoors as the decks, and pathways were a sheet of ice.  Thank goodness we do not have to go anywhere in the car today.

 In the field at the side and back of our house, the geese were all gathered together.  I guess they did not want to be flying in this ice storm either.

My biggest disappointment was when I saw my garden caked in ice.  I do hope that the plants will survive this  as there were a lot of green shoots coming up.

However, we are safe and warm inside and we do not have to travel anywhere today.  I do pray that anyone who has to travel will take extreme care and that they will arrive at their destination safely.

The floors are done

The floors are finally done and I am so glad.  I am not sure if I am going to keep the flooring in the attic though.  It looks like a carpet and I think it looks okay.    Now I have to start making curtains for all the windows.

My Order Came In From Grampa's Dollhouse

I love to get things in the mail!  Wether it  is an order or a swap, it is always exciting to open it up and go over your treasures.

 I fell in love with these dishes as soon as I saw them. I have always loved blue and I really like the pattern.

 This sink will fit in perfectly with my old style kitchen and I love the fact that it is yellowed as it makes it look older.   The roses will make some nice arrangements in the house as well.

This was all in a grab bag.  I had no idea what I was getting but I love grab bags as it is always a surprise.  The best surprise was the pots and pans and the little pair of scissors. I certainly have a use for them in my house.

Thanks for all the suggestions

 I finally managed to get two prints the same colour for the kitchen floor. I appreciate all the help and suggestions from everyone.

Although my print indicator on the printer showed that there was still lots of ink in the cartridge, I took the suggestion of taking the cartridge out and shaking it.  It spattered a few blue spots on my desk so it did look as if too much blue was coming out.  Then I tried printing again and it still was a blue colour.

So I replaced the cartridge with a new one. And this time it worked.

The cartridges that were in the printer were no name cartridges and I will never buy them again even if they are cheaper. I had trouble with the black cartridge when I first tried to load it as the printer kept giving me error messages. Then I had this problem with the colour cartridge. It goes to show that you get what you pay for.

 Then I went back to working on the hardwood floors.  I find it so much easier to glue the pieces on cardboard instead of trying to fit them into the room itself.  This way, I can put the second coat of stain on and it will help to hide all the white cardboard that is showing through.  Then I will sand it all down smooth and varnish it.  So much easier to work on a flat surface than to work in a tiny room.

Floor Problems

 I am working on the kitchen floor in the dollhouse and I found a tile sample on line that I thought would work.  So I did some work with it and came up with this template.  I printed it out on regular paper first to see if it would look good in the kitchen.  I looked great so I then proceeded to print it on gloss paper.

Here are the "four" prints that came out!!  The first one on the left is the original on regular paper and that is the one I wanted.  The colours are a bit off in the picture but you can get the general idea. The second one was purplely blue and that would look horrible.  So I thought maybe I should have set the printer for glossy paper and tried again.  This time it came out blue which still would not go in the kitchen. So I played around with the settings of the printer again. (I have no clue what it all means nor do I know what I am doing.) I set it for glossy paper, slightly muted saturation, warmer tone, and AdobeRGB colour space.

This time, I got the fourth from the left which was just what I wanted. Perfect.  But I needed two sheets for the floor, so I printed out a second one - keeping the same settings - and this time it turned out "green"  HELP!  What am I doing??????    I waited awhile and tried once again and it came out a light blue.  I need some help here.  

On Aging

A friend of mine posted the following article on aging, and I just had to post it here as it is so "me" and describes how I feel.  Thank you Maureen for letting me share it.

ON AGING

As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play, on the computer, until 4 AM, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50, 60 and 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And, I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But, broken hearts are what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

Final Celebration

I have been so blessed this year to have my 70th birthday celebrations last for almost two weeks. This has got to be the best birthday ever.


Today my son Jamie, his wife Leanne, and my grandchildren Kaitlin and Cameron came up for my birthday. My daughter Cheryl and her husband Kevin also joined us.

They also brought me flowers, a second birthday cake and a gift card. (I am going shipping again. Yeah!!)

My grandson Cameron.  He is always so happy and cheerful and is an up and coming hockey goalie.

My grandaughter Kaitlin is growing so fast and is turning into a beautiful young lady. She has a wonderful personality.

My flowers are so beautiful and really bring a touch of spring into the house.  I love flowers at any time of year but winter is usually so drear without them.