Fall-ing

 Is it "fall-ing" where you are?

I always forget how much I love this time of year!

Near perfect warm days

Evening Golden hours

Long shadows

Cool, open the windows, nights

"Sweater Weather"

No need for air conditioning nor for heating - perfection!

There were some end of Summer shanigans ...

Times spent in the park...

Some new decor - mirror finally...

Some sour dough baking and gifting ...

And suddenly it was "back to school" for these two cuties ...

My September calendar has exploded with meetings, some theatre,

coffee times with friends, sleep overs, a quick bus trip North, and summer

guests from Kentucky.

More details to follow on all these upcoming events as they unfold.

One cannot say I am not keeping busy - perhaps too much so?

Stay well my dear readers ...

Till next time ...  stop to enjoy these wonderfilled last days of our summer.

Waning Summer Feels

 After Day Camp Activities and Shenanigans ...

We tried some recipes from this Betty Crocker cookbook.

"Nammie's Cooking School"

A fun time and some of the meals were good but others were "Comme Ci, Comme Ca"

according to Noa - smile!

The zucchini fritters were a complete fail and Kraft Dinner Mac 'n Cheese is much favoured

over homemade!

Some preserving and baking going on ...

Pickled coloured beets, Mom's Sweet Dills, Peaches, Sourdough

Some sitting on the back porch and watching the 

Hummingbirds and Orioles

much to my pleasure!!!

These birds absolutely thrill me!

Thanks to dear friends for the awesome Oriole Feeder.

I truly am blessed.

Can you hear the rustling Poplar Tree leaves in the background?

A sure sign that summer is waning!?

Walks in the park never disappoint!

Doing my best to keep a sunny disposition after a life changing loss.

Miss him every moment!

Till next time ... how are you filling these last days of summer. Make them last ...

Smack-Dab!

 How is your summer going?

It's been hot and wet over here,

unlike hot and dry in some areas.

The unstoppable devastating fires in Alberta are sobering and tragic!

July is at it's end and I have not much to share.

It went by so very fast even though I really tried to slow things down.

I'll let these few snaps tell the rest of the story:

Saskatoon Berry picking with dear friends

There may be some jams and pies in my future?

Swan Lake - in my back yard!

Come with me on my walk ... beautiful Stratford

July kittens, swims, bird watching, and picnics on the deck!

The best of days!

Lavender Farm outing with a friend

And now she's NINE!!!

Family gathering at the "home" farm

Binding some love into this quilt for a beloved 

sister's granddaughter.

Ice-cream on the blue bench. A fun outing!

We are smack-dab in the middle of summer right now.

Looking forward to August with lots of Grammie time to come.

Let's have a "slow" August and make this summer last.

Till next time ... pausing to breath and to enjoy these summer days. What a privilege this is ...

Summer 2024

 Happy First Day of Summer!

It has arrived with a sizzle!

Super hot and humid with severe thunderstorms...

My porch cushions have been rained on twice now

for the first time ever.

Strong South-West winds drenched my back porch

twice now - have the winds changed??

There have been many beautiful rainbows posted on social media.

I have yet to capture one.

My little "snipping" herb garden has exploded!

From this ...

...  to THIS

and yes, the bunnies needed to be kept at bay.

There are some other "little" things growing exponentially around here as well:

A big 40th birthday was celebrated this month!

Patrick and his twin sister Kira, who arrived from Calgary, had a "barn" party!

So fun.

A siblings gathering at my sister Evelyn's "Lake House" was a highlight.

She prepared a beautiful luncheon and in spite of the cool rainy day,

we enjoyed being together immensely.

She even sent us home with a coffee cake - mom's recipe.

What a treat!

A third wedding anniversary without him was spent on a

Russlaender Bus Tour in the Niagara region 

with The Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario.

As we toured through beautiful Niagara-On-The-Lake, I suddenly

realized that we had been there 10 years ago, celebrating our 41st on this very day!

Sweet memories ...

There is another quilt on the go ....

hot, rainy and humid days are perfect sewing days.

This one has me nervous - sure hope I can actually accomplish 

it in time for a special anniversary!?

Time will tell.

The hot tub has been dialed down a bit and is where I'll be 

some of the time during this heat wave.

Also, anticipating some awesome theatre shows coming up.

How is your summer shaping up?

Till next time ... stay well, cool, hydrated and enjoy these summer days!

                                               Go Oilers, Go!!!!

May Daze

 May brought lots of sunshine and flowers ...

quilts, swim days, concerts, theatre, coffee on the deck, convertible ride,

Relief Sale, and bull frog watching!

I'll let the pictures tell the story here.

First batch of Rhubarb Muffins.

Keeping out the "wiley wabbits"!

The Good Lovelies came to our area and a lovely evening concert was enjoyed!

Rhubarb for Rhulief - we sold over $1,000 of fresh rhubarb at the Relief Sale!

My first ever quilt donation to the Relief Sale - sold for $325

Three girls in a Mustang!

Wendy and Peter Pan with the fam jam.

Till next time ... hope your May Daze were wonderful. Here comes June!

Where the Orioles Sing

 It's apple blossom season at the farm

and true to every year, the orioles return to play in the blossoms.

These beautiful elusive birds can be heard singing but hard to catch on camera.

Their song was once referred to as a Robin that's had singing lessons!

I agree!

"Waterlogue edit"

This time of year at the farm is so pretty and I am privileged to spend some time there.

Besides the Rhubarb that is growing so fast,

The ferns are unfurling and the white bleeding heart 

is as beautiful as ever.

What a week it's been!

A very rare witness to Aurora Borealis sighting here in SW Ontario

and I captured some of the colour right from my front porch in the city!!!

Did you see this too?

So amazing ...

Since my last post of another celestial event (the total eclipse)

my sweet Sully finished another trip around the sun.

He's SIX!!!

Yup - he love's hot wheels!!!

The Leis Fam Jam got together for dinner and an ear-splitting

Eric Clapton tribute concert.

It was a fabulous concert, however, I now appreciate my unplugged

CD version even more.

I am old!

A bit of quilting happened too.

So thankful for sister time creating a quilt for another one

of her granddaughters who will be heading off to university this Fall!

Hope I'll still be able to help when her youngest grandchildren 

are ready to head off to college - they are still toddlers - eek!

Maybe we should start now?

Mother's Day was delightful spent with family at the farm.

Rhubarb Pie was baked (of course) and a bowl of my mom's potato salad recipe

was added to the table.

Patrick served a mouth watering meal of smoked chicken sliders with

all the fixings!!

Till next time ....... stopping to listen for the oriole's song and keeping my eyes looking up!