Discovering an Unfinished Quilt

I haven't been digging around in my bins of quilting fabric all summer.

But recently, while looking for dark blue and red fabric for a new scrap quilt, I came across this unfinished piece...

A large piece made of scraps... Maybe I should work on that, too...

(That's the risk of digging into my fabrics... More inspiration waiting for time and opportunity!)

Currently in Bloom

There aren't a lot of flowers in bloom in my garden in late summer...

So I especially enjoy those that are there: like these late hosta flowers...

And the Windflowers which have had a growth spurt this year! A really large mound is currently blooming in the front garden bed.

Changing Times

My sons are in their thirties now. (So in my eyes, they're not that old!)

Recently one of them told me how.times have changed since he was a kid.

I recently saw this boy, about 10, taking the garbage out to the curb, he told me.

I remember doing the same thing at his age. I also remember that if you asked me to do it while I was watching TV, I'd wait till the next commercial.

But this kid had the black garbage bag in one hand and his cell phone in another. He had earphones in his ears.

He didn't need to wait till the commercial! He could watch the program on his device WHILE he was taking out the garbage.

(Or he could simply have paused the TV until he got back.)

Wow! Kids have it a lot easier these days then we had it!

Flowers Fade

Now, the end of summer, I spend most of my gardening time trimming back flowers that have bloomed - so that those that remain are seen more clearly. Cutting back dead flowers makes me aware of those that have bloomed and died, for another year.

Soon I will be dividing and transplanting the large ones. But right now, I'm mourning their quick demise. I wish they had bloomed longer!

This time of year (and of life!) reminds me how true it is that...

"All mortals are grass, they last no longer than a wild flower of the field... The grass may whither, the flower fade, but the word of our God will endure forever." 

Cute Cafe in Carp

A week ago Terry and I went to the Carp Farmers Market, my favorite market, about half an hour from home.

The food stand where I regularly ordered omelette on a croissant is no longer there. It shut down.

So we decided to stop at a nearby eating spot - Alice's Village Cafe.

It appeared to be popular with families - we noticed a number of babies there with parents and grandparents.

We enjoyed our breakfast - and will be back, I'm sure!

Anniversary!

Seventy-two years ago today, my parents were married.

Two of my mother's brothers were groomsmen. Her older brother on the left (Erhardt Guhl) would have been 29. Her younger brother on the right (Ted Bartz) was still a teenager.

The flower girl was my father's niece, Eleanor Missel.

I have no idea who the bridesmaids were. The one on the right was a childhood friend and a neighbor, I think.

(It's a good idea to write names on the backs of photos - even wedding ones!)

Following the Edmonton wedding, my parents took the train to Banff for their honeymoon. A week later, they returned home to Hay Lakes in time for the first day of school. My mother was one of the town's two teachers back in September, 1944.

Beechwood Cemetery

There are a number of large cemeteries in the city. I often drive by them, but I don't enter them very often...

Last week I did have occasion to visit the Beechwood Cemetery - near where Terry and I once lived.

It is the resting place of many in the government and the military who die, which may be why one of my former colleagues was buried there: Her husband is a retired military officer.

I drove around later, as I had never been in this extensive grounds.

Some grave sites appeared to be very old.

I was surprised to see a Chinese section...

Not sure what the history of that part is, but it was lovely.

I've heard of people who like to take quiet cemetery walks. Maybe I'll have to do that sometime, to get a sense of this large, historic site.

Another Baby Towel...

I became a grandmother this spring...

So it's not surprising that some of my friends are becoming first-time grandmothers as well!

A good reason to make another baby bath towel!

They're not that hard to make - and they are always useful.

This one was made, not knowing whether the baby would be a girl or a boy...

(It was a boy!)

The Power of Pinterest

I've been blogging since 2009, the year after I retired. Over the years, I've written more than 2,600 blog posts - and in them, posted two to three times as many pictures.

The Blogger app I use counts the number of "hits" each blog post receives. On a daily basis, about a dozen people read my blog.

But google searches also lead people to my blog, years after a post is published. For many years, my most read post was on indoor trees - what to do when they get too big. Originally posted in February 2011, it now has about 2000 hits.

Recently another post, published two years later (in February 2013) surpassed it, thanks to Pinterest, an online catalog of photos. A picture of one of my quilts, circulating on "Pinterest," now leads 500 people to my blog every week! I had no idea that Pinterest was such a powerful blogging tool!

Living Without a Stove

A week or so ago, Terry and I got rid of our kitchen stove the day before a new one was scheduled to be delivered.

Make sure you check to see that it isn't damaged before they bring it into the house, I told him when he went out to greet the delivery men - not that I expected the stove to be damaged!

He was gone a long time. I looked out to see him talking at the back of the truck, so I went out to see what the hold up was.

The stove is damaged, I was told. It has a dent on the side - so the drawer on the bottom won't open. You don't have to accept the delivery...

So we didn't.

Only later did we discover that a new stove would take two to three weeks to arrive!

Moral of the story: Don't get rid of an old stove until a new one has arrived - and it works!!

(On the positive side, we do have a microwave - and it's perfect weather for barbecuing outside!)

Hello, Little Bird!

I bought this glass window ornament at a Christmas craft sale last winter.

What to do with it?! For months it sat on a shelf. But recently I put it up in my sitting area.

I don't want to block the view into my back yard - but in the bottom corner of the window, it's not in the way. It a gentle reminder to check out the birds - not just the flowers.

If the suction cup comes loose, as they sometimes do, it's so low that it hopefully won't break!

Where Did My Cone Flower Go?!

Sometimes weeding my garden, I accidentally "lose" a plant. That must have happened to the pink cone flower that used to bloom in our front garden bed.

When I noticed it was missing, I wondered if I should buy another. I don't have a lot of flowers that bloom in late summer.

I was surprised to see that they come in a variety of colors - from white to pink... and even orange!!

I've never noticed this hybrid color before...

I couldn't resist! Now this potted pink cone flower is sitting on the back deck - while I wonder where to plant it.

(The instructions say "full sun" - but I want to plant it where I can easily see its cheery color.)

It's the first plant I've bought this year.

That's the beauty of perennials: They return year after year. So when I plant them, I feel as if I'm adding a permanent "sculpture" to my garden landscape.

Greek Fest 2016

Terry and I were present for the opening night of Greek Fest 2016.

The event spans two weekends, continuing for 10 days.

I can't come more than twice, I told Terry.

Why? I thought you liked Greek food.

I do, but I can't resist the dessert corner. 

(My favorite? Greek custard pie!)

I'm sure we'll be back - once or twice more!

Forgotten Flowers

I tend to notice flowers planted in the front yard, ignoring those planted in the back or beside our house.

Two of my "neglected" flowers are this two-tone lily, which seems to be thriving - though neglected. I don't remember it ever having so many blooms.

Also this solitary rose which I noticed recently. I had given up on the three rose bushes I had planted beside the house. All three were potted plants given to my mother.

I don't know what happened to the other two.

(Perhaps, if I did some weeding our there, I'll find them, too!)

Awaiting a New Stove

This is the second stove we've owned in the thirty-plus years we've lived in this house. The burners and the oven heating elements still work - though a number of other key elements don't (the oven light, the convection fan, and one of the outlets).

To repair (for the third time)? Or to replace?

When it appeared that the burnt out oven light had been "welded" in by the heat and we'd need to replace more than the bulb, I suggested we replace the stove.

I feel bad about it - so much of it still works... But for how long?

In my parents' day, it would have been moved into the basement until it totally stopped working... There it would have gotten occasional use - if a meal were being prepared for an exceptionally large group of people, for instance...

But we rarely have large groups over...

So we (reluctantly) called a scrap metal dealer to haul it away...

Now we're waiting for a new stove to be delivered. (And for a few days, I don't mind not being able to cook!)

Watching Arm Wrestling

I have vivid memories of arm wrestling with my brother when we were young. For me, it is something kids do at the coffee table in the living room.

But it's obviously more than a children's pastime. It's now a sport even adults participate in.

My older son (who loves wrestling of any kind) noticed the arm-wrestling competition going on at the Brockville "Rib Fest." So it wasn't surprising that he wanted to stop and watch.

I discovered that there are rules... (Elbows must stay on the red pads.)

There are referees.

There was even a camera crew recording every move!

We missed the children's competition, but we did catch the women' and some of the men's.

 (With no referees watching, these men are just practicing.)

It appears that, to win, you have to be both strong and fast!

The teams have interesting names, like the "High Hookers,"

Some of the wrestlers look in really good shape.

Yet it looks so easy, it makes even someone like me want to jump in and try!

Brockville Rib Fest

Another summer festival that has become a family tradition is the "Rib Fest" in Brockville, a town an hour away on the St. Lawrence River.

A lovely spot to visit...

... and fun for the whole family!

The whole community gets behind this fund-raiser for the Boys and Girls Club.

We enjoy the ribs - as well as the barbecued corn and the blooming onions.

A fun way to celebrate the birthday of our older son.

A Children's Prayer

In one of my mother's books I came across this bookmark with this lovely children's prayer:

Thank you, God, for feet to run,
Thank  you for my play and fun;
For eyes to see, for hand to lift,
For food to eat, and every gift
That makes me strong and wish to sing, "Thank You, God, for everything."

As I read it, it reminded me that nobody is too old to be thankful for mobility, strength, food and joy!

Even my 97-year-old mother, blind and wheel-chair-bound, is thankful for (in her words) "continued good health."

Antique Cars in Merrickville

Walking around Merrickville, during the Canal Fest, we came across some antique cars..

It occurred to me - as I looked at them - that my father would have known how to repair them!

In fact, he probably learned his skills as a mechanic fixing cars like these!

They are all Fords - my father's favorite make of car...

It also occurred to me - as I looked at the leather "trunk" attached to the back bumper, that this is why we call the back storage area a trunk!

(In England, on the other hand, a car "trunk" is called a "boot" - and the "hood," up front, is called a "bonnet"!)

I remember reading that early cars frightened horses on the road, so a law was suggested - that flagmen be required to walk in front of motorized vehicles! 

When were stickers invented?! I know they were around in the 1960's? But in the 1920's? I'm not sure that they had stickers back then. Though many no doubt wanted to "repeal prohibition"!

Canal Fest in Merrickville

Last weekend we headed to Merrickville for their annual Canal Fest. The last time I was here was in spring - on my canal cruise!

There were free canoe rides up the river to observe this natural bird habitat. We didn't go this time. We've been several times over the years. My cruise satisfied my thirst for water travel this year! Instead we watched boats going up and down through the canal locks!

Again there was music in the park - provided by Big Band Ottawa...

Also a display of lamas - and lama yarn - from a nearby farm...

We wandered around the market area, checking out honey products...but we didn't end up buying anything...

(I did wonder if that dome was a real bee hive!)

A lovely day in a beautiful old town!