sweet blessings & occasions

"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music."
-Ronald Reagan

"I'm counting my blessings today instead of calories."
-Janet Logan

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. 
Every day you're alive is a special occasion."
-Ann Wells

Last night was a sweet occasion... when a couple friends popped by for a BBQ.
Friends are like blessings in anyone's life... and these two have certainly been exactly that to us...
We enjoyed yummy burgers on our deck with Robin and Vern...
I am constantly reminded what a blessing it is that my hubby is such a good cook!

My doggie, Shuffle is like a blessing in our daily lives.
Here she is enjoying the lovely evening
last night on our deck.

More blessings...
our grandkids Beau, Mariah & friend, Drew on the swings...
and our niece, Rowen  ... all popped by on Sunday for
a sweet little visit. 

Mariah and her little friend, Drew had lots of fun together here
both outside and inside.

the many SWEET faces of Beau outside on Sunday!

Beau having a fun little bounce on the Dora rider- roo ball.

Shuffle was very entertaining playing with the big rider-roo ball, too!

My nephew, Brad and his sweet wife Janelle popped by on
Saturday for a visit and look at our Montreal photos.
They are now off on their summer vacation and will also end up
in Montreal as well.
They shared a special occasion recently while celebrating
their 3rd Wedding  Anniversary on July 10th.

Mariah is always a SWEET BLESSING in our lives...
here she is posing in our kitchen on Monday!

More BEAU bonding...watching Bubble Guppies, making little parades,
rolling on the floor... playing with Shuffle...
so many blessings!

Always a sweet blessing and occasion when Beau has time for a snuggle with his
Grammie D!... this one was on Monday while watching his TV shows!

One of the SWEET BLESSINGS of summer...
CHERRIES!

Life is just a bowl of cherries and as seen here a chair of bowlies!
I love that I have so many polka dot bowls, too!

It is such a blessing to have such a SWEET friend as Ella...
here we are this morning, in
her backyard enjoying some cherries, berries, coffee and a sweet little visit!
Her flowers are beautiful...and I love the cute little napkin
and mug with a sweet saying on it!

As the mug caption says... when the going gets tough ... the tough go shopping!
I recently have shopped at the new
TARGET, BATH & BODY WORKS,THE FRUIT STAND & COSTCO
where I got the pretty flowers!
I can always SPOT the spots... even on the TARGET bags!

My friend, LINDA, bought me this AWSOME BEATLES POSTER
back from her recent trip to NYC on the left.
I bought some BEATLES souvenirs in Montreal recently...
and the bottom right are a stack of BEATLE cards and badge I still
have in my own collection of BEATLES stuff from
my growing up years!
The BEATLES have been SWEET BLESSINGS
to the music world for so many years...and still going strong!


I always find it a BLESSING to find time to write up a new blog and share more of my life with anyone who cares to stop by regardless of the OCCASION!

My life has been a mix of SWEET BLESSINGS and OCCASIONS lately. In fact I have really taken more notice of the things that mean a lot to me as of late. It doesn't have to be a SPECIAL OCCASION to be SPECIAL for me...
often the little things in day to day are the best.

Since my last blog post, we have had many visitors pop by ... some for visits, some for meals, some just because, but regardless of the reasons... it has all been sweet!

On the weekend... my nephew Brad and his wife, Janelle were here as well as our friends, Ross, Vern, Robin, and Jana, Nels, Mariah and Beau and their little friend, Drew.

We also had a visit from my sister-inlaw, Brenda, her husband, Mark, and their kids, Rowen and Maxwell, on Sunday which happened to be Mark's Birthday.


We have shared meals along the way. I have also been to the new TARGET and met my cousin Gwen for a STARBUCKS coffee. I met up with Jana and Mariah to stock up on some stuff at the new BATH & BODY WORKS.
We made a trip to the grocery store and 
to COSTCO this week, too!


I have been to a couple BODY VIVE classes at 
GOODLIFE GYM...and shared coffee time 
with my good friend ELLA.
I am ever grateful for the GOOD that has come my way from that gym!!!... So many BLESSINGS!


I have also enjoyed some doggie walks some with friend, Heather and some on my own...
I am reminded of all the SWEET BLESSINGS 
along the way whether it is a special occasion or not.

Today's morning walk... the weather was sunshiny and perfect, while I enjoyed the SWEET smells of the flowers and trees along the way and the SWEET tunes playing in the shuffle of my iPod. I have often said this ... but the words in the songs often play the soundtrack to my life at that moment in time...SWEET!

This weekend we will look forward to our good friends, Lynne and Mike from Regina when they stop by on Saturday for
some good fun and bonding... we always have SWEET times when we get together.

Today is my sister-in-law, BEV's birthday. It is her FREEDOM 55 one... (I remember throwing myself a party for that one!!!... but I do like to celebrate when ever I get a chance!) I also recalled today is the date my brother, Brian was married 37 years ago...and although his marriage didn't last, I still have fond memories of that date when it took place. I noticed on my FACEBOOK today there were 5 of my FB friends with birthdays today... 
so lots of people  celebrating their 
SWEET OCCASIONS!


Another SWEET CELEBRATION this week was the highly anticipated birth of the ROYAL PRINCE GEORGE... 
to Kate and William... another SWEET BLESSING!


Yesterday I got around to cleaning out my fridge and pantry to make room for more stock... and believe me, it was a blessing, too...as there were many expired things and science projects in there!!! hehehe


It is all about turning the every day things
into a special occasion and realizing all the
SWEET BLESSINGS everywhere!


"Reflect on your present blessings,
of which every man has many."
-Charles Dickens


I do not need a SWEET OCCASION to write a poem...
so on that note here is my rhyme for today.

Everyday there is something special or sweet.
Something to enjoy or something yummy to eat.
Company coming by to share visits some days,
Occasions to celebrate in very sweet ways.
Family and friends are blessings, it's true,
It's sweet on occasions to share with them, too!
Snuggles and hugs are blessings as well,
It's all about the little things...
more than I can tell!

MONTREAL... & MORE!

"I feel like family in Quebec and Montreal, and by the way Montreal is my favourite city in the world!  It's the only place that combines good things about Europe and America, with none of the bad!"
- Holly Cole, Jazz Singer

"The love of family and admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege."
-Charles Kursalt

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never ever have enough."
- Oprah Winfrey

Here are a couple MORE pics of Mariah from our Montreal trip.
In a souvenir shop and beside the Nutcracker which stands
outside of the little Christmas store in
OLD MONTREAL.

MORE Old MONTREAL... a cute little restaurant
called Catherine's (I think!)
SPOT the cuteness!!!

A couple of Brian admiring the boats in the port by where Expo 67
took place... and MORE from Old Montreal.
I snapped many MORE when we were on our horse and carriage ride, too.

MORE pics of some of the restaurants we went to...
LANTERNE,  PUNJAB PALACE
TAQUERIA MEX,  POUTINEVILLE.
We went to many MORE places, too!

MORE yummy food...
spaghetti by Colin at his place,
a fortune cookie that said
"You will always have good luck in your personal affairs.",
The placemat at the famous Schwartz's, and
a delish menu for dessert at an Italian place
by Colin's called Piazetta. 

Mariah loved every minute she shared with Colin's girlfriend,
CARO!
We also caught a few parade like flamingoes in the street by Colin's
on route out for supper one day!

Cheese, crackers and grapes before a delicious
mac and cheese and grilled veggie supper at Colin's.
Colin was in this photo, too, but he prefers his face not show up on the internet,
 so I cut him out of this one!
This is his little deck looking down from the next floor up.
Note the skull in the background... which we brought to him on this trip, too!

On one of our shopping trips I bought Mariah a beautiful
SUNFLOWER and BABY'S BREATH... (she called it Baby's Breasts!)
... it was too hard for her to take
it home on the plane, so she wanted to give it to
Colin and Caro... with the cute little note she wrote them.

Last saturday I spent a day bonding with Beau after being away.
He was learning about money... dimes are sailboats and nickels are beavers!
He was so proud of his little gifts we brought him back...
and we made many more smurf parades and set ups once again...
these little toys get MORE play now than they did when our kids played with them!

Sunday we had a family supper here... we barbequed up veggies like Colin does!
We also had some of our smoked beef from  Schwartz's in Montreal.
Our friend Vern, also joined for supper but he is not showing in the photos here...
love the pic of brother, Brian, Beau and Shuffle!

LOOK who had another Birthday!

We got Shuffle in September of 2008...and the breeder said she was born in July,
and although we were not given an exact date...
we like to celebrate her on July 15th each year!
TAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUFFLE!

Mariah and Beau popped by on monday night...
Mariah bought a cute pair of Hello Kitty glasses with some of her left over spending money
from Montreal... and Beau looks cute in his PEDERSON REUNION shirt from
that event last summer... (he has finally grown into it!)

A couple of pics from yesterday's annual 2nd Ave. Sidewalk Sale...
taking place yesterday, today and tomorrow...
these two pics are in front of Jana's store
SWANK SHOE LOUNGE.
With the owners... Jana and Melissa here too!

My father-in-law, Greg, in his back yard yesterday,
proudly showing off his lovely flowers.



Well here I am writing one MORE blog!
For anyone joining in for the first time... thanks for stopping by... this has been a great way and place for me to share my family fun, photos and events as of late.

For those of you who stopped by the previous blog post... I mentioned I had many MORE photos to share from our recent MONTREAL trip and the above are only a handful MORE of what I have! I wish Colin would allow his face on the internet... but he recently shared with me, that he prefers not  to be, so I am trying to respect his wishes. 
Many of my photos are good ones including him!

Although I am truly a home body... reviewing these pics this morning has made me kind of miss our recent trip to Montreal... it was a special family bond this year, with Jana and Mariah joining in too! Luckily I did take lots of photos to remind us of all the fun we had. Sometimes less is MORE... but when it comes to me taking photos...
MORE is MORE!!! wink wink!

Beau was so adorable when I babysat him last Saturday. 
His daddy, Nels, had gone to the lake with one of his buddy's to help with some construction work there. Mariah got invited to a friend's house for that day while their mommy, Jana, was at work. I love when I can spend one on one time with my darling grandkids. Beau was so pleased with the little gifts we brought him back... and in addition I gave him a little batman wallet... so ofcourse he needed money for that!
I was teaching him the difference between dimes, which have sailboats on them... and nickels which have beavers!
He was quite intrigued with that... taking the money out and putting it back into the little change wallet over and over.
He loves our little collections of things such as the smurfs...
And I am happy to see they are coming back into the lime light once again...
with anew new SMURF MOVIE coming out even!


We got our "BOSTON TERRIER- PUG" cross, puppy, SHUFFLE in September of 2008.
She was born in July of that year making her now FIVE!
The breeder didn't share the exact date in July she was born, so we like to Celebrate her on the 15th...
I put on a party hat and had a mini photo shoot that day.
Last night she was so excited about the walk we took together with my neighbour, Heather and her doggie,
Sadie. It was such a beautiful night out, and we met up with so many other doggies in the park.


I have had a hard time getting back into my gym groove this week... but did go to 2 BODY VIVE classes this past week at Goodlife gym with my friend,Ella.
She also had me over for a nice coffee visit yesterday, too.
I enjoy the times I can spend with her...
we have lots in common!

Yesterday I attended a funeral for a former dancer's mom. Today is the funeral of our friend, Ian Buckwald,
who was killed tragically this week, too.
So many constant reminders to  live life to the fullest,
and cherish every moment.

Yesterday was the start of the annual 2nd Ave. sidewalk sale downtown. Brian and I went to it for a brief outing, and Jana said sales were going well for her store...
SWANK SHOE LOUNGE.

We were invited to a lovely ham and scalloped potato supper last night at my inlaws. It was very tasty... my father-in-law, Greg is a very good cook! (I know where my hubby and son get that talent from)... Greg also proudly showed me his beautiful flowers in his back yard.
He is such a sweet and proud man.
We always enjoy times we can share with 
Blanche and Greg,
I am so lucky to have the best in-laws, ever!

There are some birthdays in the family coming up...
My brother-in-law, Mark, has one on the 21st, 
and my sister-in-law, Bev, celebrates on the 24th...
so I will wish them Birthday wishes in advance.


On that note... here is my rhyme of the day!

We just love to go to MONTREAL each year.
To visit our son and share things so dear.
The food is great and the sights are, too,
In MONTREAL, there is so much to do.
Fun to go away, to get out and rome,
But also feels great to return back home.
There is just so much in my life I adore,
Like family, friends, my doggie...
and MORE!

FAMILY =FUN + FOOD+ PHOTOS!

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there."
-Barbara Bush

"It's the game of life. Do I win or lose? One day they are gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my time to leave."
-Tupac Shakur

"Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul."
-Dorothy Day

"A good snapshot keeps a moment from slipping away."
Eudora Welty

LIFE is a JOURNEY... ENJOY the RIDE!
Here we are a week ago in Old Montrealenjoying our FAMILY FUN and little ride with our horse, PRINCESS, and our buggy driver, JUDY!
Enjoy the journey of our little MONTREAL vacation filled with
FAMILY, FUN, FOOD...and ofcourse many PHOTOS!

While in Montreal from July 3rd- 12th inclusive
we stayed at this old brownstone bed and breakfast
HOTEL AMBROSE
on Stanley and Sherbrooke.
I made it to some of the Montreal JAZZ FESTIVAL for many free concerts.
We had many wonderful meals out... the first was at a restaurant called LANTERN, which served delicious and beautifully displayed Asian food.
We frequented our favourite little salad bar, MANGIA, daily for yummy healthy salads.

JULY 5th...We enjoyed some MANGO FLOWERS at the jazz Festival...
We enjoyed all our time spent with Colin (who has requested his face not show up on the internet!)... and his girlfriend, CARO and her darling cat, FILOU at their great home.
We enjoyed East Indian food that day at PUNJAB PALACE.

JULY 6th...We met Colin and Caro  for the BEATLES EXHIBIT in
OLD MONTREAL, followed by a delicious meal at PAPILLON restaurant. 

JULY 6th... Colin picked up Jana and Mariah at the airport
so they could join the FAMILY FUN!
They didn't waste any time before going shopping,
while I took in more jazz festivities...
followed by a delicious mac and cheese dinner at
Colin and Caro's... and a game of YATZE...
or YUM as the French call it!

JULY 7th... Here are Jana, Mariah, Brian and I in our hotel
breakfast room... we did a small tour of OLD MONTREAL
complete with horse and buggy ride.
Later we met Colin and Caro at a tasty
 Mexican Restaurant called
TAQUERIA MEX on St. Laurent St.

JULY 7th... Jana, Mariah and I went to a fabulous TAP SHOW
at the Historic RIALTO THEATRE called RHYTHM LIVES.
There were several TAP numbers all performed to LIVE JAZZ MUSIC...
(Right up my alley!)
Mariah even got an autograph from one of the oldest performers in the show,
a fellow named BOB FITCH, who was not only a tapper, but a singer and magician.
He was so cute with Mariah, making the pen disappear after!
ARTHUR DUNCAN famous tapper from the Lawrence Welk show
also performed and for 80 years old, that guy can sure still tap!

JULY7/8th... After the Tap show... we got some bedtime snacks
... and the next day was all about shopping for us girls while Brian rested up!
He met us downtown for a CHINESE LUNCH where Mariah learned how to eat
with chopsticks!
Mariah got some new clothes and perfume and had fun shopping!!!

JULY 8th... We went to Colin and Caro's again and
we walked to a restaurant close by called POUTINVILLE,
to introduce Mariah to POUTINE!
We played more YATZE again before another
METRO RIDE
back to our hotel.

JULY 9th... GIRL  & GUY BONDING...
us girls went shopping again...and coffering... lunching
and out for a day of fun...
While Brian spent the day with Colin who took the day off
to bond with his dad!
Mariah took the pics of her and me at Starbucks!!!... (she is such a cutie!)

JULY 9th...More shopping fun followed by a visit
with Colin and Caro again. Mariah idolized CARO and her cat FILOU,
and it was a mutual admiration!!!

JULY 9th... After our fun filled bonding day... we headed to a PIZZA place in colin's neighbourhood called...PIAZZETTA.
Mariah ate her first ever Bruschetta and had her own pizza, too... (we all did)
My GREEK VEGGIE pizza is featured in photo here... YUM!!!
We did a little photo shoot after... but had to cut Colin out of the pic...
got so many good ones of him this night!
JULY 10th... Jana and Mariah flew back home and Brian and I had a low key day
and a delicious spaghetti supper made by Colin.

JULY 11th... Brian and I made our traditional trip to the famous
SCHWARTZ'S for smoked beef sandwiches with red pepper and dill!
THIS is just SO DELICIOUS... worth the wait in line!

JULY 11th... This was our final night in Montreal which we spent
at JARDIN NELSON in Old Montreal noted for it's yummy food, and live JAZZ MUSIC.
We just had appies and dessert there and headed back
to pack for our trip home the next day.
Colin was practicing with his punk Rock band  this night so had said his farewell
the previous night... it was a bit of a tearful send off!!! wink wink!

The clowns in Old Montreal were so cute on our final night.
We enjoyed a day with just Beau yesterday, while Mariah
went to a friends... the above pic was when Jana dropped off Beau... and the one with Brian and the kids was taken just this morning
when the kids stopped by for a bit!


This last couple of weeks has been a whirlwind of FAMILY, FUN, FOOD and PHOTOS... in fact I have taken a grand total of over 500 between my iphone and my camera since we traveled to Montreal on the 3rd.
(I am a bit over the top... but I figure you can never go back and capture the memories again... so having lots of photos never hurts!!!)  It is only a problem when I am trying to select them for my blog!!!
COLIN prefers to not have his face appear on the internet, so that is why he does not show up in any of the pics... but I got several awesome pics of him this trip... happy to report!


I kind of outlined the trip somewhat under all the above photos...and this only gives a slight taste of the
FAMILY FUN
we shared. I feel blessed always to have such a loving family, and it is always so good to have time to bond together as a unit.

I am a real home body, though... so although we love our annual trips to Montreal... I am always very excited to rerun home again. I was so grateful that my neighbour Heather looked after our mail, papers, and plants...and my brother looked after mowing our lawn while we were gone. Shuffle was pooped out after 9 days of playing at the
Doggie Day Care... and was so happy for our return as well.


We spent a day of bonding with Beau by himself yesterday. He is always lots of smiles and laughs and brightens our days up so much. My sister-in-law Bev popped by for a visit yesterday, too.

Today we joined our good friends, Brenda and her husband , Vern along with our other friend named Vern as well...
for a good breakfast at Grainfields.
Vern Findlay just recently lost his mother on July 1st, after losing his dad just this past February.

We will be joined by family tonight for supper... Jana and the kids will come along with my brother Brian and our good friend Vern, too.
So I am guessing the
FAMILY, FUN, FOOD and PHOTOS
will continue then!

Anyone considering a trip to Montreal in the future...
I highly recommend it... it is one of
CANADA'S TREASURES!


Thanks to COLIN and CARO for being such gracious hosts to us while we visited Montreal... they are the perfect couple for each other. It makes us so pleased to see just how happy the two of them are together.

On that note...
here is my rhyme of the day...


It's nice to get away... in fact it's a lot of FUN!
We just returned from a little trip,
that was a special one.
It's so nice to spend time with family
and just bond...
Doing the kinds of things of which
we are all so fond.
One of those very things would have to be
to eat...
We had some food there that
just couldn't be beat!
I captured every detail, every moment,
and thing,
To help remember the memories
that this trip did bring.
PHOTOS are the way to keep
the memories around,
And we had so many to please us
and astound!
From dining out to shopping
and simply hanging out,
Many things to brings us smiles for years to come,
no doubt!
FAMILY is the root of where all the FUN
did start...
And all the things we did while there,
came right from the heart.
Until we may return again,
the memories live on...
They will DANCE on in our hearts,
and never will be gone!

Adventures & Vacations!

"Adventures are to be adventurous."
-Benjamin Disrael

"we live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to adventures that we can have if only we seek them with eyes open."
-Jawaharlal Nehru

"Laughter is an instant vacation."
-Milton Berle

Here we are ... CHEERS to ADVENTURES!

The CAPTAIN of the boat... steering us to a little Blackstrap adventure on
CANADA DAY!

Celebrating CANADA DAY  with many ADVENTURES
and a mini VACATION to Blackstrap for a boat ride
and family picnic!

Canada Day ADVENTURES at Black strap...
a picnic on the beach...
Mariah's little friend joined us for the family fun!

The TUBING ADVENTURE proved more fun for the girls than it did for BEAU...
he was a bit scared!

We enjoy all ADVENTURES we share with this happy little family!

Tuesday was spent with many ADVENTURES when I babysat my
adorable two munchkins!

One of the many ADVENTURES included a
SMURF POOL PARTY on our deck!

My brother Brian stopped by to visit during our day of many ADVENTURES!

Many of last week's ADVENTURES revolved around our JAZZ FESTIVAL...
here I am with my good buddy, Ella and my cousin, Gwen on Saturday.

My grandkids got invited to play with my neighbour's grandkids
in their little paddling pool... they enjoyed the fun ADVENTURES
and lots of splashes and giggles!

My doggie, Shuffle, was very patriotic and co-operative
for a little photo shoot ADVENTURE on Canada Day... and even though she
looks like she was frowning... she loved all the attention she was getting!!!

This bison skull head has been on a few ADVENTURES...
We brought it home from the Lemmerick family farm, a few weeks ago and have
been working on cleaning it up and packing it up to bring to Colin in Montreal.
We managed to bring it with us yesterday and it arrived safe and sound
here in MONTREAL... and so did we!
Colin was pleasantly surprised when we showed up with it in hand , too!!!


Well... what can I say????
LIFE really is an ADVENTURE!
Brian and I traveled to Montreal yesterday but due to the fact he is off to a slower start than I am...I decided to do up a quick blog today from the laptop computer.

Our life has been like a whirlwind of ADVENTURES this past while... and many of them have revolved around hanging out with the grandkids... and lots of jazzin it up, too!

Canada Day was filled with PRIDE and JOY... when we took a mini VACATION and had some fun ADVENTURES at Black strap with the family.

The following day was full of ADVENTURES all day when the grandkids spent the day with us. Lots of on going fun and many sticky fingers later... I was pooped!

Yesterday we spent the morning getting ready for our little annual VACATION to MONTREAL. Thanks to my sister in law, Brenda and her daughter, Rowen for driving us to the airport... luckily they had room for our luggage as well as the huge boxed up Bison head... which we lucked out and were able to ship for an additional 20.00... so we were happy with that... and so was Colin when he picked us up at the airport last night here in Montreal. We had to take the skull out of the box in order to fit it in Colin's car, though!

Today we did a quick little scoot down to check on tickets for the Jazz festival... but looks like some of the things I wanted to see are sold out. We will enjoy the free stages along the way, though. I am unable to add new photos taken today to my blog... but might be able to post to my FB page.

Colin is at work today and we hope to do an East Indian dinner with him and his girlfriend, Caro for supper later.
Jana and Mariah are flying to Montreal to join in some of the family fun this saturday, too.

Today I am thinking of my relatives and friends in USA as they celebrate their Independance Day this fine 4th of July.
I am also thinking of my sweet Auntie Mary who is celebrating her 93rd birthday today as well.
Next week, my brother, Bob and his wife, Arleen celebrate 41 years of wedded bliss on the 8th.

Thanks to my neighbour, Heather for looking after our house, mail and plants while we are gone...and my brother, Brian who will be mowing our lawns, too.

We hope this will be a fun filled little
ADVENTUROUS VACATION... and one that will hold very fond and special memories from start to finish.


Life is an ADVENTURE that is really true...
It is filled with twists and turns with all we choose to do.
I like to try to fill it with things that I like best,
And try to hang with the ones I love
and people who have zest!