New Snowblower Dec 20, 2012

First Snowstorm of the 2012 -2013  Winter Season

           I don't know about where you live, but here in southern New Brunswick in Canada, in Winter, we get snow.  Sometimes we get a little snow, sometimes we get a lot of snow. But one thing is certain, some of it is bound to be the heavy wet snow we call 'heart attack snow'. That's the stuff that has layers of snow with heavy water layden layers of snow, under it.

Zazu, playing in the snow before the snowblowing begins.

           My husband had a heart attack, several years ago and I'm getting 'up there' in age, too. We are at an age where we have to be a little more aware and careful about what we tackle. Last year we decided after shoveling that 'heart attack snow', that it would be our last year to do so.                  

           So this year we broke down, after over 40 years of this shoveling and purchased a brand new snow blower.

           Today was trial day for my husband to use the new machine. After he's comfortable with it, he says he'll teach me how to operate it, too. No sexism in this family.

First pass up the ramp from the garage.

Finishing up the ramp before heading to do the walkway from the house to the garage.

The finished job.

I think it shall work quite nicely and once we get a pattern down, it will become cleaner and easier to complete. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with the snowblower. 

How do you deal with snow?

Wordless Wednesday - Dec 12,2012

Wordless Wednesday Nov 21, 2012

Our Pets - We've had them for more than 40 years. Zazu is our last and she's an old girl now, at 16 & 1/2 years. 

Zazu in her prime!

Wordless Wednesday - Nov 14, 2012

The plants I rescued, as they waited on the side of the road for the garbage truck.

They're doing nicely now, on the bench in front of our  window.

Display and Sale at the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery Nov 5th - Dec 20th, 2012

We are thrilled to be having our framed photography displayed along with so many other talented artists.This display and sale is at the Andrew and Laurel McCain Art Gallery in Florenceville-Bristol, NB.

This is a link to their site:
https://www.facebook.com/McCainArtGallery

Here is the poster for the event:

Wordless Wednesday- October 24, 2012

                        Never Outgrow the Fun!!!

     Some of the girls at Halloween through the years.

Kerry & Krista 1976

Kerry & Krista 1977

Kerry, Krista & Kimberley 1979

Kerry, Krista, Kimberley & Karen 1983

Kerry, Krista, Kimberley & Karen...oh and strange pumpkin head person 1985

Kerry & Kimberley 2012

Wordless Wednesday October 17, 2012

                       An Autumn morning from my house.

 Pine and Maple trees, from my office window.

Home made Autumn wreath 

Pumpkins waiting to be claimed.

Two different types of Maple trees.

Autumn across the fields. (See the deer?)

                                                                    

On Being A Grandma - Little Things Mean A Lot!

                       Little Things Mean A Lot

Some days the news is very large and good, some days the news is large and not so good, some days little thing aggravate and grate on our nerves.

But on some days 'little things mean a lot'. That's how it's been for the past several days.

Bella, on a mission!

Thanksgiving Dinner tables all set, at Kimberley's 

Barrett, with his Dad's hockey stick

Bob, Krista, Bella & 'moi'.

Logan, being calm and happy!

1. Brandon (19) won out over 200 people for a job that was only awarded to 2 people.

2. Brooke (6), his sister, won an award from her school principal for befriending a fellow student who was alone in the playground at recess.

3. Cole (3) told his parents he had to pee, then with his Dad, went into the bathroom and did just that, keeping his pull-ups dry.

4. Blake (16) and Logan (8) overcame their anxieties about loud noises, even though their little cousins were scampering around like little squirrels, laughing and squealing, therefore, all went well at our Thanksgiving dinner.

5. Bella (2) ran into my arms at the airport, when we recently went out to visit  with her parents and her.

6.  Barrett (3) was using his Dad’s hockey stick to play ball hockey in his basement with his cousin, who had a little plastic hockey stick, and no one was injured.

7. Kim and Danny, Kerry and Karen took over the preparation and hosting of  Thanksgiving dinner for me, when I was sick with a bad cold, allowing me to better enjoy the day.

8. Krista being generous, and flying us out, to visit with them in Ft MacMurray.

Wordless Wednesday- October 10, 2010

Just one, of the huge tires on the 797 trucks, which transport the sands, at the oil  sands, outside of Fort MacMurray, Alberta. A portion of the underside of the truck can be seen above the tire.

Big and small at the Oil Sands Discovery Center.

Wordless Wednesday Sept 19, 2012

I often live vicariously through my children and family. I love to see photos of the places they visit. These two were taken, recently, in San Antonio, Texas

 Near the Weston Riverwalk, San Antonio 

Remembering the Alamo.

Photos by K. Stanley

Wordless Wednesday, Sept 12, 2012

What Do You Do with Your Garden Flowers?


Well maybe just  a few words. Through out the years, I have been lucky enough  to have inherited my mother's and grandmother's green thumbs. So, as a result, I usually have lots of  flowers to make into lovely bouquets. I love to have fresh arrangements all Summer and through much of the Spring.

One of the later bouquets of flowers from our gardens.

This year,  as the sunflowers were beginning to go to seed I made a decision for me.  I thought I'd  do something a  little different. I usually leave the heads on my front deck for the birds. But, since it has been such a fruitful Summer, I figured the birds wouldn't miss  few sunflower seeds, just for this year. I decided to take all the larger heads of Sunflowers and break them open and spread them around the ground where they had been planted all Summer, to see if any of them would germinate and come back next year.
I did this just between two heavy rains we had, so I am hoping that  some of them come back next year. I had one large sunflower that came back from last year. This is how I got the idea.

Sunflowers growing and getting taller.

A large head like this one yields hundreds of seeds.



So...what do you do with your flower gardens?

Wordless Wednesday August 29, 2012

Multitasking...kind of...

Taking down our old and dying flowering crabapple tree....

...leads to lots of crabapple boiling and draining...

...while getting ready for a couple of weekend craft shows, while leaving laundry and housework to wait for another day.

Wordless Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Playing with clouds in PicMonkey

Original RAW photo of clouds.

 

After a few edits in PicMonkey, just for fun.

Wordless Wednesday, Aug 8, 2012

By the Bay in Tracadie, NS

We spend a couple of days being treated like royalty, by our new cousins.

Wordless Wednesday July 25, 2012

A glimpse of little ones having fun at the beach.

The Global Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Global Giveaway Hop! 

 This is a hop hosted by Simply Stacy,where you can enter to win some fantastic prizes.

After you are done entering my giveaway you'll want to check out everyone else's.
Don't forget to check out our great host.

Simply Stacie

Enter to win -

A trio of stunning 5x7 prints, courtesy of
 Oak Lawn Images

My husband Bob and I, operate a home based business called Oak Lawn Images.  We sell individually crafted greeting cards and prints.  The  works of art in my portfolio are all images, taken by myself, of the scenic New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island areas and have been distributed world wide.

 My prize, is this enchanting collection of a Canadian winter. It will be won by a very lucky reader of 

Oak Lawn Images.

Roger's Road in Winter Splendor

 Winter Meadow

Winter Fence Line

BUY IT-

To view the complete Oak Lawn Images collection or to order your own photos or greeting cards,  select here, at Oak Lawn Images or Oak Lawn Images Facebook site. and follow the 'photos' section to order.

WIN IT - 
Using the Rafflecopter form below, simply follow the instructions, complete the mandatory entry,  plus any or all of the optional entries for your chance to win this amazing prize!  Good luck!

(If you are new to Rafflecopter, click here for a 45 sec. tutorial on how to enter.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Please note Global Giveaway Hop bloggers, are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

Wordless Wednesday - July 4, 2012

I was surprised to have my youngest granddaughter, Isabella (2nd from left) all the way from Fort MacMurray, Alberta, join in on my birthday celebrations this year. Five, of our seven grandchildren, were able to be with us.

A surprises for my birthday.

Unusual find, in my backyard!!

I've been doing some garden expansions the past few years, combining smaller gardens into larger ones and as the shrubs and trees grow larger, expanding the gardens around them. I do this mostly, to make my husband's job easier. He uses the lawn tractor and often gets hit in the face by growing trees and shrubs.

Last year I came across this little piece of pottery, while expanding one of the gardens. We know from stories and from seeing the several rock piles throughout the property,  that other people lived here many years ago. We    built, 39 years ago and before that it was pasture land.

Last year I came across this tiny piece of china. It had

 definitive markings on it, with the lions head and the unicorn in the blue and what appears to be a crown in the middle. I could find little about this small piece. I'm hoping to find another like it to  make a set of unique earrings for myself.

This is the front side of the hoe.

Today, I found this, when expanding another garden. This garden is located around a large rock that was used as a containment spot for other displaced rocks. It has become my rock garden. 

My quick research tells me it is called  an 'Antebellum Blacksmith Made Plantation Hoe'.

Antebellum, meaning after the War of 1812 and before the Revolutionary War. That puts it between 1815 - 1861, probably made in the U. S. A.

But it was found here in Canada, in southern New Brunswick, near the banks of Darling's Lake, leading to the Hammond River, then to the Kennebcasis River and on to the Saint John River.  In older times, I've been told, people traveled the rivers rather than the roads.

This is the backside of the hoe.

At first I thought it was a split stone and was going to to toss it in the wagon to go to the yard waste pile, until I saw the handle, opening. I am very anxious to learn more about this piece of gardening tool; when it may have been left and how long it has been in the ground.

 I also would like to know how to preserve it, now that in exposed to the air. I have cleaned the excess dirt from it with soap and water and a soft brush. I have it in a freezer bag and out of the sun and away from the  air.
If anyone can identify this or has any suggestions as to how I should proceed from here, I am open for suggestions.

Wordless Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I have a few new flowers in bloom this year for the first time. I'd like to share these with you. But, I need help to identify a couple of new ones I found.

Purple Columbine (face on)

Pretty Blue Bells

Purple Columbine  (planted 2 years ago, first flowering)

 ...and this pretty little gem, too.