having a grand time

Rocky Mountains from Calgary Airport on my layover.

I arrived safe and sound at my destination in

northern Alberta last week to sunshine and warm 

temperatures and big hugs from my family.  

We have had walks and lots of playtime in the yard.

Jennifer and Ewan out for a walk on a hot afternoon.

At the playground.  Ewan loves the slides. 

Matthew and Ewan sliding.   Wheeeeeeeee!

Bedtime singing time ~ "Out came the sun and dried up all the rain"

This morning we awoke to this:

Maybe there will be more green grass in a few days. :)

The sweetest smile is a chocolate chip cookie smile.

We met one of these on the highway in the city

this morning.

This is a brand new dump bed for one of the dump trucks at a mine site.  It is huge!

So, you can see I'm having a grand time with my family.

It's fun to see Ewan walking and running and chattering

all over the house and yard.  

He calls me Gaga, his version of Grammie.

Gaga also means cookie and all gone.

That's okay with me.  It makes me smile.  :-)

Just call me Lady Gaga!

I love baby talk.

Aren't they a sweet family?  I sure think so. :)

I've been checking around on a few blogs when I can

and I see spring is in full bloom for the most part.

I have also seen some snow covered blooms on a few blogs.

Just poor man's fertilizer.  Good thing perennials are hardy.

In a week's time I'll be winging my way back home.

Perhaps I'll have a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye

as I think of the many blessings of this visit with my family.

But, I know I'll be returning in late July to meet our new

grand baby and help out where I can.

Someone just 'woke up' from his nap.

He didn't sleep at all.  He talked and played in his crib...

for an hour and a half.

Could be an interesting afternoon.   :)

See you soon my friends.

Blessings,

Pamela

westward ho!

daphne in bloom in my neighbour's yard

Things are just starting to bloom here in New Brunswick.

I've even seen hints that the forsythia about ready to burst forth.

an old weeping willow tree with new growth

The maples are budding and the poplars have thousands

of fuzzy seed pods hanging on them.

The season of allergies is about to begin.  Achoo!!

we had our first rainbow of the season last week

this view will be green soon and I will have no view

I am headed out west to Alberta on Thursday to visit our daughter,

son-in-law and grandson for almost 2 weeks!

I am excited and a bit anxious as this is the first time

I will be flying alone.  I've considered travelling with assistance.

Ha! 

{prayers appreciated}

an old cedar rail fence entangled with trees and brush

Ewan is now almost 19 months and a really busy little boy.

We have 2 bedrooms to paint ~ Ewan's new big boy room

and the nursery for baby-to-be.

There are flower beds to clean out, walks to be taken, perhaps

a swim at the indoor pool and a trip to the playground.

Phew!  Just talking about it tires me out!

{I really need to get out more!}

old junk tossed along the fence

always wondered what the bottom thing was

something off of farm machinery maybe

decorative art?

possibly

It'll be a busy and fun time with Jennifer.  I will enjoy helping

her out and playing with Ewan.

I will be tuckered out with so much activity.

And I won't be on the computer writing and reading blogs!!

Hey, I might even lose some weight!

Wouldn't that be great?

{that would be a definite plus!}

Speaking of losing weight.  Hubby will be fending for himself

for two weeks.   :-)

daffodils inside and out

I have the feeling the daffodils won't be blooming where I'm going.

The weather in northern Alberta has been up and down (much

like ours) but also cooler.  The long range looks to be in the

mid-teen's celsius (60's F) so it might be quite nice.

I will be missing Vee's note card party on Wednesday as I won't

have time to post and visit around.

Although, some of the above photos would work I guess.

I hope you might visit Vee for her Note Card Party Wednesday.

Her button is on my sidebar.

Hopefully, when I return these trees might have tiny green

leaves on them and the grass will be green and the

forsythia will be blooming and it will be warm.

I will try to visit you when I can while I'm away but

my time will be limited.  It seems as soon as a laptop is opened

Ewan is right there to see what's going on.  lol

{he loves playing with buttons}

standing in his daddy's boots  :-)

Oh how that dear little face makes me smile!

Take care my dear blog friends!

I'll not be posting for a while but will 'see' you all soon.

Blessings to you,

Pamela

Friday's Fences

I have never joined this meme before.

It's called Friday's Fences

and is hosted by Life According to Jan And Jer.

I chose some fences from Kings Landing Historical Settlement

when we visited in March for Sugar Bush Weekend.

I hope you enjoyed these beautiful rural fences.

The cedar rail fence above, sometimes called snake rail, is the most

common in New Brunswick.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

Blessings,

Pamela

Fort Edmonton Park

We took a step back in time at Fort Edmonton Park in

July 2009.  When you get through the entrance you can hop on an old train that takes you to the Fort.  From there you go by foot

through the rest of the park and step back in time from

1846 to 1929.

The Fort.

I'll just let you scroll down through the pictures as there are

a lot of them.  It was a cool summer day and it drizzled a lot.

I didn't notice the raindrops in the round barn photos of my

last post until I looked at it closely.  :)

Living quarters in the fort.  Notice the traditional Hudson's Bay blanket on the top bunk

and the red with black bands on the bottom bunk.

Inside the fort.

A street scene from the 1890's.

Another street scene from the 1920's with a street car.

As you walked through the streets you could visit any of the

homes or businesses and see how life was in that particular era.

A peak behind some buildings.  The round barn is in the middle and the white building

on the right is a church.

Wouldn't you love to have a soda at this drug store?

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at Fort Edmonton Park.

If you are ever in the Edmonton, Alberta area it is a must see.

It will take you at least 2 hours to walk through depending on

what you want to see.  You can stay all day!  Wear comfortable

shoes and dress for the weather.

Blessings,

Pamela

a round barn for Barn Charm

While visiting in Edmonton, Alberta in 2009, we toured

Fort Edmonton Park.

It is a wonderfully recreated step back in time starting at a Fort with a

Hudson's Bay Trading Post and travelling through several decades

up to the 1940's I think.

I love this round barn.  I don't know the age of it or where

it was originally.

I am linking to  Barn Charm.

Come on over and visit some other beautiful barns!

Have a great day!

Blessings,

Pamela

snow geese?

  We had the warnings of a snowfall coming

overnight Saturday and into Easter Sunday,

but the snow just kept coming.  Heavy wet snow!

About 15 cm. of it!

Out came the boots this morning.

Murray had to clean the car off and we travelled

snow laden roads to church.  By the time we came

home at 12:30 the snowfall had doubled and the roads

were really sloppy with heavy slush.

I've been trying to remember to take my camera with

me in the car to get photos of the hundreds of geese that

stop over along the river.  Today, I remembered!

Snow Geese???

No, just Canada geese.  Hundreds of them.

I took these from the car with the window down.

Can you see how hard it is snowing?

The geese really stand out against the snowy fields.

We had a wonderful weekend with our Easter drama

which was on Friday and Sunday evenings.

On Saturday we got a lot of chores done around the house

inside and out.  I raked part of the lawn and removed the

leaf mulch from 2 flower beds.  I knew we were going to get

some snow so I left some leaves around the perennials to

protect them.  It's wonderful to see the new growth hiding

under the leaves.  All together I got 5 large green bags of debris.

My back couldn't take any more raking and bending so I

had to stop.

Thankfully the snow won't last long as we are to get rain

showers and milder temperatures for the next few days.

The snow will be gone and the grass will really start to green up.

Our son, Mark, came for Easter dinner on Saturday. 

We had ham, red skinned potatoes, asparagus, tossed salad

and for dessert we had strawberries and home made cookies.

Do you remember me saying I wasn't going to make cookies

until Easter?  Well, I made a batch last week and froze them

to have for Easter weekend.  Now, I have to behave myself. :)

What did you get accomplished this Easter weekend?

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Blessings,

Pamela

too good not to share

I just had to share this photo of

our sweet grandson 'reading' during his lunch recently.

Can you see the peas and carrots on his tray?

Ewan is now 18 months old and a busy little boy.

He is going to be a 'big brother' around the end of July!!

That is exciting news to share isn't it?

I have a little story to share with you too.

When we were visiting our daughter and family in Fort McMurray

for Christmas Murray realized he'd lost his engineering ring.

{when we were at the airport ready to head back home}

I mentioned it to Jennifer and asked if she'd look around the

house and perhaps in the yard after the snow melts.

These rings are worn by Canadian Professional Engineers on the

right pinky finger.  If lost there is a cost to replace them.

Murray put off getting another one and I'd kind of forgotten

about it.

Jennifer called last night to say she found the ring frozen in the

ice on their driveway as she was chopping the ice!!  She thought

it was a key ring then remembered that her dad's ring was lost.

After she dug it out she knew it was the lost ring.

What exciting news! 

Here is more exciting news.

We are celebrating the death, burial and resurrection

of Jesus Christ this Easter weekend.

John 3:16 says:  "For God so loved the world {you and me}

 that he gave his one and only Son {Jesus}, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

That is exciting news that is too good not to share!

I pray you will take time this weekend to remember the

real reason why we have an Easter holiday.

It's not all about the bunnies, chickens, spring, new clothes

 and ham dinner.

It's about the One who gave his life on the cross of calvary because of our sins and to give us eternal life.

Share the good news!

God bless you!

Pamela

an Easter tea

I am just showing you a simple afternoon tea break today

as I'm quite busy.  I usually have my tea while I'm checking

in on some of my favorite blogs and not quite this fancy. :)

The weather is mild enough that I can get out in the yard

and start raking the tree debris on the lawn so I will

be trying to get some of that done this week.

I picked up this magazine recently and it has

so many beautiful photos of teatimes for every season

and wonderful recipes for tea sandwiches and sweets!

I know I am going to enjoy looking at it a lot.

The daffodils were cut from the garden when they were

closed up so tight they were just green stems.

After 2 days on the kitchen windowsill they started opening

up and their sunshiney colour brightens my day.

My teacup of choice today is by Paragon.  I don't know

the pattern but it has several numbers on the bottom.

I have poured a cup of  Chai Spice tea.

These two little Easter chicks stopped by to see what all the

fuss is about.  They are quite vintagey aren't they?

Daffodil inspectors.

I found these sweetly embroidered napkins at a thrift store.

There were only 3 of them but they were too cute to leave behind.

When I see daffodils I am reminded of this old poem

by William Wordsworth ~ The Daffodils.

This is the first verse of four.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils

Beside the lake beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."

I found this poem in an old copy of

The New Brunswick Reader - Fourth Book

published in Saint John, NB in 1900.

I am linking with the following memes today and

hope you will drop by and visit a few of them too.

Tea Time Tuesday

A Return to Lovliness

This week will be very busy for Murray and I as our church

is performing a musical drama for Easter on Good Friday

evening and Easter Sunday Evening.

There won't be time for tea parties but I hope to have a ham

dinner on Saturday or Monday.

Are you doing anything special for Easter weekend?

I hope to be back with another post before the week is over.

In case you don't get back to visit I wish each

one of you a very blessed Easter!

Blessings to you,

Pamela