Been Gone Too Long!

The Nova Scotia flag flies proudly in the Robson backyard, it snowed almost everyday we were there.

The last couple of months have flown by. We had a trip west to see our Calgary grandchildren (and their parents!). It seemed to take two weeks to get ready, then another two weeks to decompress when we got back plus I came home with my winter cold which took the wind out of my sails for a while.

Marcus and his BMW!

We usually go west later in the spring once the golf season has started and it usually coincides with the Heritage Park Quilt Show but this year we went for Molly's March Break which meant we had a whole week with Molly everyday. Great fun and adventures to Monkeyshines (the children's bookstore), Ikea, a few quilt stores and a wonderful trip to Lake Louise.

Andrew and Molly at Lake Louise

Peter went skiing three times with Molly at Nakiska, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. Molly has been doing the Nancy Greene Ski program for a couple of years now and is a pro on the black diamond runs - pretty impressive!

Pretty impressive for an 8 year old!

Molly loved the "cupcake" house at Lake Louise! There was a lot of snow in the mountains.

We went to a Calgary Flames NHL game (they won!) but sadly they didn't make the playoffs. Marcus is a going concern at 2 1/2! Constant chatter and on the move! Give him a hockey stick or a car and he is happy! And like Molly he loves his books!

Life in my quilt world has been busy too. My local Guild just hosted their 14th Extraordinary Quilter weekend with Ana Buzzalino from Calgary. She was a wonderful teacher and brought a huge pile of quilts to share with us at our Dessert Party. You can read about it here.

The after floors are done and before paint shot! I'll be back soon with more house renos and quilt stuff!

A Busy Month - Our Annual Christmas Tree Adventure

After 17 years in our old house, it has been fun getting ready for Christmas in our new house. Finding where to put our Christmas treasures has been a bit of a challenge, a fun challenge though! The mantle in our den with holly from our garden.

We are so lucky to live in Lunenburg County, known as (the highway signs declare it so!) "The Christmas Tree Capital of North America". Our trees end up in homes from Florida to California and across Canada too. We have been going to the same tree farm for over 30 years to chose and cut our tree. We have had warm, sunny days, we've had pouring rain and we've had snowy days. This year there was not only snow on the ground but it was bitterly cold, about -20 with the wind chill. It sure made for a quick decision! From the time we left home to when we got back it took an hour Now it helps that we live 10 minutes from the tree farm!

We drove up over the hill, Mike had warned us that the bigger trees had been well picked over but we soon saw just the one, a good 10' tall and not too far off the road. Luckily, just as Peter cut it, along came Mike with his pickup truck and he drove it back to where the baler was.

The problem with the very cold temperature was that when the tree is baled, the branches can break and we didn't want that but there was no way we could drive it home not being baled. So we kept our fingers crossed as it slowly went through the baler, it worked, no branches were broken.

Peter cut a couple of feet off the tree and we were good to go. Up it went, perfect height in our bay window with just enough room for our angel!

Peter does a great job decorating the tree, it is something he has gradually taken on over the years. This tree had to be decorated on all sides since it is in the window.

Good thing we have kept all our ornaments that we have collected over the years. They all bring back such wonderful memories.

An ornament from way back in the 60's! Who knew someone could turn this into a commercial success (known now as "Elf on a Shelf"!). My Mom gave me this when I started skiing! It has always been on our tree, not on a shelf!

Our grandsons have given it their stamp of approval and they have found the pickle. it was quite a hunt this year!

From our home to yours, wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

On the Move

After 17 wonderful years in our Fox Point house by the ocean we have decided to make the move to the wonderful town of Mahone Bay. All being well we will be happily moved in by the end of the month. There is lots to do, packing, sorting, throwing out. Why do we let ourselves accumulate so much stuff?

We will definitely miss this view, taken from our verandah, the sunrise we have enjoyed so often. If you look carefully mid right side you can see a lobster boat doing his circle, checking the traps.

This is where we are moving to in Mahone Bay, a lovely traditional 145 year old South Shore house with a double "Lunenburg bump". 

The entrance to the secret garden room!

We are going to be the caretakers of a wonderful garden! So much more to learn, so exciting to discover what is there. I can finally plant some tulips but I'll have to check and see if there are deer in the neighbourhood first. There is a secret garden room, statuary, cement urns - surprises everywhere. It is a much more manageable space that our 1.3 acres here!

It will be fun to document what we do, the paint colours we chose, the fun we have, the challenges of a kitchen with 7 doors!