Shrove Tuesday!

In honour of Shrove Tuesday, I will be stuffing my body with at least 2 pancakes and living dangerously, a slice of ham.  Can't wait!  As a child, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with Pancakes for supper.  Always a lovely treat. 

I got to wondering, what "Shrove" meant, and I found a link.   I knew of course, being the good Lutheran that I am, that Shrove Tuesday always preceeded Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten period.   If you scroll down the page at the link below,d you'll find out the meaning of Shrove and lots of other interesting facts!

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html

So in honour of the day I present to you, the following.

What says Pancake Day any better than the fixins and beads to toss?

Getting ready to stuff this pinata to the brim for Mardi Gras fun for the Sunday School children's enjoyment and sugar high!

Here's hoping you get your fill of all the day has to offer, in a good way of course.

Happy Tuesday.

Dude, Are you Sure you Don't Want Help?

We just stepped out our door and here were two young neighbour boys delivering the local newpaper. 

 With that, one young man pulls out a huge stack of papers. . .

 While the other young man kept saying, it's too many. . .

Oh man, after about 10 steps they were already slipping . . .

He kept repeating, even after his friend repeatedly asked him, "Dude, are you sure you Don't Want Help?"; "no, I'm okay!"

I think he must have made it because there was no evidence of a paper spill anywhere along that walkway or street over!  Ah, the confidence of youth.  Amazing.

Sure hope you had yourself an amazing day.

Happy Monday!

Beads and Rocks and Bears, Oh My!

Today after church My Beloved and I took 5 of the 6-Pack to a Rock and Gem Show in Maple Ridge.  Sadly Caroline was under the weather so she didn't come along. There was so much to see, and touch, oh yes, lots and lots of touching and putting back.  The variety and shapes and colours of the gems were amazing. Robin's egg blue, silvery discs, black magnetic rocks, quartz crystals, so cool. Each one more intriging and beautiful than the last.   

The kids each got a glass bead made to their colour specifications.  Each a little work of art unto itself.  Here are some pictures of our adventure today. 

 The Bears!

The kids loved the smoothness of these carved bears.

The glass "beads" made by the two volunteers shown below.  (These aren't really beads as they don't have a hole in the middle but they most definitely are made of glass!)  The children's did have one and when they had cooled down, you you could take it to the craft table and string it.

These two sure have the skills to pay the bills.  I loved all of the beautiful glass rods in a spectacular array of colour.

Watching intently as someone's bead was being made. 

It was a terrific afternoon, and a fun thing to do with kids, young and old!  If this piques your interest, check out more, at the following link:

http://www.mrlclub.com/gemshow.html

I wonder what intrigued you today?

Happy Sunday.

9 Years

Today I remember my Dad.  It has been 9 long years since he died and today it feels as raw and sad and empty as it was that fateful morning as I sat vigil at his bedside in the hospital in 2003. 

My Dad and his brothers and sister and Mom.  My Dad is the sweet young lad in the dark sweater, back left!  The amazing thing is that when we all visited Winnipeg together, that house was still there.

 This is my all time favourite of Dad and I at Stanley Park.

This was a common and recurring theme at my parent's home on the Fraser Highway.  Packing in as many of their Grandchildren as they had, for a sleepover.  This was pre-Amy and Bryan.  Our nephew Bobby was living back in Orillia or he would have been there too!  Just look at the happiness on my Dad's face.

One of the last pictures of my dad out in his garden.  He had a green thumb and could grow those Lillies like no one's business!  His garden always looked so beautiful.

Our family was well and truly blessed and even though I knew that it wouldn't always remain the same, I miss him terribly.  He was our "crazy glue", the one that though his gentle ways, held our family together.  I thank God in heaven above for giving us this beautiful man.

An Early Spring is in da house!

Our thermometer has risen to 10 degrees Celsius today and it feels like Spring could really be on its' way.  We are bracing ourselves for a big wind later on this afternoon and lots and lots of rain so it was a delightful to go out for our walk today. 

I've been keeping my eye on a garden.  Each and every Spring the snowdrops in this lady's yard put on quite a show. Today I took a picture.

 (Pictures never do justice I'm afraid.)

The buds opened just today.

 Then there's our snowdrops by the front door.

The crocuses broke out today too!

Even if this is a false sense of Spring's arrival, I'll take it and enjoy it when it's offered up.  The days are getting longer, the gophers are making their mounds, it's all good.  Wishing you a good day too! 

Happy Friday!

Seeing Red, Final Day

It is simply amazing how many red objects one finds when trodding along on walks or spies on a counter or in a cupboard. 

Even yesterday I saw something, which I've now forgotten, and thought, that'd be good, but no wait, it's over.   I can't seem to help myself.  So in an effort to put an end to it, here are some that just didn't make the cut!

Very blurry, sorry.  It turns out that  my lens was wide open and bleached everything away.  Didn't like finding this "rifle"? casing in the parking lot at the movie house!

This red pen shall not be writing any Valentine's

For my VFD S-I-L!

There was a lot of gravel in this front yard puncutated with red pots of every size.

Spied the objects above, and below in my closet.

A shiny wreath of pink and red and mauve hearts.

A very fancy tool My Beloved uses to tighten up, or lock up without overturning, something on his Bicycle.

This too is for S-I-L!

 Is the bucket half full or half empty?

 Our Granddaughter Abby's little red chairs!

 Is your disc outta wack?  A chiropractor's sign along 88th.

The remains of a Remembrance Day Poppy.

Here's hoping that the next sign of red in your life and mine, will be tulips, or an awesome shade of nailpolish, or ... ?

Happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday