celebrating Canada Day

Sunday, July 1, is Canada Day.

It is 145 years since Confederation when the leaders

of the time led our country to be a nation.

While under British rule our flag was the Union Jack.

After Confederation it was the Red Ensign.

In 1965  Canada adopted the Maple Leaf as it's flag.

A flag that is easily distinguished and well known all

over the world.

I have had this flag for years but never had a small pole

or a front porch to hang it from.

I decided to hang it from our beautiful maple tree.

I even bought some smaller ones to stick in some spots on the

front deck.

I think Canadians are becoming more patriotic the past few

years. 

This week on the front deck.  Notice how large the hosta is this year compared to my header photo.

We will most likely go to the city to take in the festivities.

Canada Day 2009

And of course stay for these...

And enjoy some of this.

HAPPY CANADA DAY

 to all my Canadian Blogger friends.

I hope you have a fun and safe weekend.

Blessings,

Pamela

before we paint

It's Thursday evening and I'm sitting and watching tv.

I look at the coffee table and think it needs a change.

I got out my rubbermaid container of faux flowers.

{I have 4 containers under the bed 2 for winter/Christmas,

1 for fall and 1 for spring/summer}

Where do you hide your faux flowers?  :)

I want to find new slips for the solid pillows that came with the sofa.

The glass dragonfly has a magnet on it.

I thought since the daisies are in bloom in the wild I'd get

out my silk ones {actually they aren't really silk, they're

faux silk ie. polyester - you can't get much more faux than that}. 

 I put them in my vintage enamel pitcher that usually sits

 on the washing machine.

It is stamped "Sweden" on the bottom.  Love it!

Last week I decided to do something different with the wall

above the sofa. 

I had a single antique stitchery there for almost a year plus

a platter hanging on each side of it.  It looked too empty

and I wanted to move these frames over from another wall.

I replaced the photos in the frames with some favorites

and hung them.

What do you think?

You can see the full look in the first photo.

The sofa is really a soft green but in the evening backlight it looks beige or grey.

I like the change.

However....

Now that I have the living room all decorated for summer

I have to take everything down and put most things away.

Why?

Because the painters are coming next week!

What a job that will be.  I mean, the taking down and packing

of everything. 

And I may even get the brown stained built in book case

painted white.   And I have tons of books to pack and move!

Now I'm really starting to panic.

But, it will be worth it.

I'll post some new photos when the painting is done and

everything is put back to rights.

This weekend is the Canada Day holiday long weekend.

July 1st is the holiday and Monday is a government holiday.

I think we're actually going to have some fairly nice weather

with sunshine, hot temperatures and a chance of thunder storms.

After having almost 90 mm of rain this week I hope the

thunder storms don't materialize!

Thanks for all your visits and comments.

Welcome to my new followers too!

I'll be back tomorrow with a special post for Canada Day.

Blessings,

Pamela

a bush, a bug, a bird, and a butterfly

The first blossom on my new Endless Summer Hydrangea

has appeared and it's blue!

I'm so excited.

There are about 7 blooms forming on this tiny shrub so far.

It's only about 2 feet tall.

They start out pale blue and cream.

So dainty.

~ ~ ~

Now for some ugly....well, it's kind of pretty.

What is this bug?? 

            This critter is on the Jackmanii Climatis and I think

he may be making the black spots on the leaves.

There were a couple on this leaf.  I squished them.

Can anyone identify this bug and tell me how to get rid of it?

Or if I should get rid of it?

I did spray some insecticidal soap on these affected leaves

but I inadvertenly purchased soap for indoor plants.

Will that matter?

I would appreciate you advice so much.

I've never had a problem with this climatis in the 30 years

we've had it.

I actually found one of these bugs in the kitchen that may

have come in on the strawberries I purchased.  I'm not sure.

~ ~ ~

I don't think I posted this photo that I took on June 9th.

This little bird stopped by for a brief visit.

It's a male Myrtle Warbler.

Sorry for the blurred photo.  I took this through the window.

I guess these birds are making their way farther north just like

the cardinals and blue birds.  He's the size of a chickadee or sparrow.  Isn't he cute?

~ ~ ~

We have a lot of butterflies around this year.

Does anyone else notice that?

Swallowtail Butterfly

Lantan pink sunrise is one of my favorite annuals.

Well, the wells should be good and full after about 80 mm

(8 inches) of rain this week.   I'm guessing we need all this water

because of the hot dry summer that was predicted for eastern

Canada.  I shouldn't complain because parts of the US are

tinder dry and experiencing terrible wildfires and I expect this

will happen in parts of Canada as the summer goes on.

How is the summer weather where you live?

I am linking with Kathy's blog "A Delightsome Life" for:

Home and Garden Thursday

Blessings,

Pamela

up the hill ~ University of New Brunswick

A summer view of the UNB campus 'up the hill' from the St. John River.

Fredericton, NB is a university town.

The city is sprawled across a hill and down to the

St. John River on both sides of the river.

The University of New Brunswick is 'up the hill'.

Also, St. Thomas University shares their campus just

above UNB's.

These photos are of the Old Arts Building taken June 17, 2012.

I took a lot of photos that day so will share the rest

another time.

Above is a plaque on the Old Arts Building at UNB.

UNB started out as King's College which was established in 1785.  In 1859, the Legislature

of New Brunswick passed an act transforming it into

The University of New Brunswick.

This building is probably the most photographed one on the campus and perhaps the city. 

My grandfather and father both graduated from UNB as did

my brother and sister.  My hubby graduated from here too and

our daughter attended here.

The above plaque reads:

"The Arts Building stands today as the oldest university

building in use in Canada.  Built to house King's College,

precursor of the University of New Brunswick, it was designed by

J.E. Wollford and constructed at a cost of approximately

$13,000.00.  This expense was shared by both the British and

colonial governments.  Lieutenant Governor Sir Howard Douglas

opened the building on 1 January 1829 and classes commenced

the following December.  The origianl two-storey structure, built

of local stone, was renovated in 1876, at which time the third

floor and mansard roof were added."

This is the other side of the building.  It looks down the hill

over the city and the St. John River.

It has a lovely portico on this side.

I don't know if this is the front or back of the building.

A peek at the Old Arts Building through the many beautiful

trees on the lawns below. 

The path is very steep.  One would have to be or, would

soon be, in very good shape walking around this campus

to classes. 

The many brick buildings are scattered over a large area.

The flags of New Brunswick, Canada and UNB

flying in front of the Old Arts Building.

University of New Brunswick is a beautiful campus

with many fine old and new buildings.

There is also a campus in Saint John, NB.

To learn more about UNB and what it has to offer

go to   www.unb.ca.

I hope to go back this summer during the week when the

office is open at the Old Arts Building.

I remember visiting there years ago and seeing an old bench

in the lobby.  Students had carved their names and initials

in the wood over the years and I took a photo of what I  believe

is my father's initials.  I am anxious to find this again and take

a better photo as I can't find the one I took.

I'll share more photos soon.  I hope you enjoyed this little tour

of The Old Arts Building. 

Blessings,

Pamela

on it's last legs

Sagging roof and propped up with poles, this barn is on

it's last legs.

a drive through door.

This barn is across from the greenhouse I shop at and I was

told that this barn will be torn down this year.

Do you see the light colour at the edge of the hill next to the

smaller barn?  A new barn is being built.  It looks small.

This barn has been a landmark on the landscape for a long time.

I will miss it.

I am linking with Barn Charm # 91.

Blessings,

Pamela

pink roses and old lace

It's Pink Saturday at Beverly's blog

"How Sweet the Sound".

I picked a wild pink rose this morning and as I chose a tiny

pitcher to put it in I thought I'd take a few pictures of my

sweet little china cups with pink flowers on them.

This tiny bisque doll is about 3 inches tall and I keep her in

this tiny cup so she won't get lost or broken.

She has beautiful blue eyes, rosey red lips and very pink

cheeks.  And no hair!  Poor Dolly.

As you can see Dolly is wearing a vintage lace dress.

She has posable arms too.

Dolly has the number 250 on her back.

I wonder where she was made and how old she is.

I am guessing she might be 100 by now.

Underneath these cups is a dresser scarf.

It is cotton and has embroidered pink roses on each end.

I use it on my dining room table right now.

This little cup is marked "Welmar"and "Germany".

It has different pink flowers around it and some embossing.

Very dainty and pretty.

This cup has no markings on the bottom.

I like it's sweet handle and pretty hand painted rosebud.

I have a beautiful bouquet of  soft pink Alstroemaria

on the table too.

I gave myself a fresh manicure with this pretty barely there

pink polish called "Mademoiselle".

I think it works with the pink theme for today don't you?

Wishing you a happy Pink Saturday.

If you like pink anything please drop by

 Beverly's  ~ How Sweet the Sound

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have

a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Pamela