Happiness

His big 40th BD was a blast! Relatives dropped by throughout the day and made his day! For the Wii U he got a new Super Mario games that is much like the original and it was a hit with cousins and friends.

Hubby got home from the hospital on the 8th just in tme for my BD! He was extremely weak and needed much care but his determination made him an excellent patient! As of today he's walking two blocks unassisted and has begun to go back to his favourite place, his office for a couple of hours daily now. But he is not well enough to drive so we assist porviding rides to physiotherapy and other places to keep him smiling.

Happiness is having us all back on track with some slight modifications. Time to blog remains limited but not impossible. 

STILL LIFE

It has been 18 days since hubby's accident and the good news is he's recovering very well now that he's over the internal bleeding in his brain.
And we are extremely glad for all your positive vibes and good wishes. THANK YOU!!!

Today Buddy and I are sharing this.

The kitchen staff at the resort we attended got into the act of standing very still and later moving as though they were in movie frames. It was all truly fascinating to Buddy who wishes to go back for more fun soon and I do understand his need. It's no fun watching one's parent struggle with an injury but Buddy is kind and gentle to his dad as he makes a speedy and quite remarkable come back:)

Does anyone of you know what name has been given to this type of art form? Ive seen it around in tourist area malls too.

RED ROSE

Here's the first rose to bloom on one of the two roses I planted in early June. Buddy chose it. We were very inspired by Betsy and George Adams' posts of all their gorgeous roses, so unique and so colourful. We wanted some too. It was so exciting to see it bloom for the first time.

We have more sad news. The Mr. fell on his head on June 18th and remains in ICU with brain trauma and is on a respirator. He is heavily sedated so we have no clue yet what his outcome will be. It seems we are experiencing too many very rough patches in our lives at this time.

Though this may sound repetitive, we miss you all a lot and hope to make time to send you our comments as soon as time we have a better moment. You are our online friends and we enjoy interacting with you a lot. Buddy always smiles when he finds his name and reads your messages. We wish that you stay well and that you remain patient with us. 

July is just around the corner! Time has been racing by. Half of 2013 is over and for us it's been tough!!!!

My Tough May

Flowers were a gift for me to bring some cheer.

 Here's how Buddy set up his new room and loves it.

 Sadly he had to have 4 teeth extracted so soup was in order for his soft diet along with pain meds and antibiotics but he braved the two weeks of agony like a trooper!

This month of May was both happy with our move and then a huge challenge as I fight my recurring cancer that seems to have decided to be in the lymph system now. Pain came but it's better. Weight loss was rapid. As I fight to gain control of that disease I have very little desire to blog although I miss you all very much! I think of you almost daily. 
Your emails and prayers help too. I can read then on my phone. Going to my laptop is just hard at the moment. Thanks for your visits and I pray you'll come along with me as I push forward to the next phase of my already tough life.
Let's hope this is just a hiccup.
For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with colon cancer on
June 4th, 2008 just two months after we lost our home to fire. I had surgery for that. I also had an eye surgery in May 2011 and am on the list again for my other eye to try to slow down and improve vision loss from macula degeneration.
On good days I smile and feel like a teenager fixing my new home but then come those dark days flooded with pains and listlessness. Buddy helps me smile. Hubby not so much. His worry is very visible:(

BOXES

Unpacking seems to take forever.

We are working as much as we can to get all things in their place.

Unfortunatley this work has taken a lot of time from our fun with blogging and reading your posts.

We are now trying to get back to your great posts.

Please will you visit us too?

MOVING PROGRESSES

As most of you know moving is a big task. There is nothing simple about taking one's stuff from one place to an other. Our first challenge after we got possession of the house was to find out why we had a gas leak in the kitchen around the fancy gas stove. We called our gas provider emergency number and waited. We brought garden chairs and a small side table so we could wait in comfort as we played on our phones but first we opened windows to air out some of the smell.

Buddy likes the new place. In the photo he's sitting in the library area.

The service person found the leak, capped the area and told us we had to get a different person for the repair job. So we booked that and he next day we returned to our same little spot to wait. After three hours the repair was done. Now we must get ready for our movers. Closets are waiting to be emptied!

We shall be in our place by the 15th. Let's hope the rest of the transfer will be smooth. 

MOVING

  
 Here you are seeing the new front door to the foyer of the home we are hoping to get. We are currently in negotiations. We have to vacate the current home by mid May. It was five years ago yesterday that a house fire ravaged our home. We moved into a smaller house as a temporary measure hoping to get back into the fixed up place but it was not to be. 
   Now we are attempting to move into a newer home more like the one we left behind. Buddy and I are excited. Hubby has given us lots of encouragement to find a new home and get us resettled. It has made us more active and less seated by our laptop and iPad. What an adventure we are having measuring and planning where things will go.

Here's the house we that burned.

Here's what happened to Buddy's room.

Here's what the new home looks like.

And here's a masculinely decorated room Buddy has selected as his. The walls are a pale blue denim. The lighting was very poor when I snapped the photo.

   We shall be quite busy so our posts may be even more sporadic than ever
but we shall be thinking of you and trying to stay in touch as much as we are able. May you continue to be patient with us.

P.S. We are most appreciative of your kind comments. Buddy especially loves it when he gets a mention from you. Thanks for that.

Chopsticks

March is here already and we are still surrounded by mountains of snow. Buddy and I decided we'd have a fun lunch to end February. We just had to get out of the house. We wanted to see if we could find anything green. We ate at Pickle Barrel. Here's Buddy eating stir fry with chopsticks.

We didn't find much green.

But we did get help with the snow shovelling. Look at the huge pile that a sidewalk plough put right behind our car. It was the very heavy type of snow, not good for us to move but daughter came from downtown to get us cleared so we could move again.

Her Perch

High up from the floor Ellie spends hours scanning what's moving. We have no clue what she has discovered in our family room but she is clearly amused.

Any idea what is keeping her staring? 
How about guessing where else she likes to stretch out. 

Red Hearts

 To get into the month of February and into the spirit of heart month we added some colour in our kitchen eating area. The cinnamon hearts were the best! We are still eating a few each day and feel pleased with our idea to eat these all month long, a few at a time.
And we are ignoring the snow that is once again tumbling down outside for we are cosy and happy inside. 
Hope you are happy too!

Still Piling Up Higher

The snow just keeps on falling and the screen door no longer slides open. This is our greatest snowfall since 2007.

Windows open inwards so we can still get some fresh air but we will likely stay near the cosy fireplace.

And from the patio door near to it we'll watch this all unfold. See the soft and fluffy snow on our BBQ? No outdoor cooking tonight!! LOL

It's heart month so we'll be sure not to shovel too hard. And this is no weather to test my new wheels. I requested daughter to please come with the old SUV AWD and lend a hand. Thankfully she did and so did her friend who spent many hours digging us and our elderly neighbour out.  

Wheels Turning

February has arrived. It's been a tough January with health issues but the wheels of life keep turning and we are mending. 
We are getting a new set of wheels for our future trips to shops and doctor visits. How are your wheels doing?

Colours Captivate

This summer while vising my auntie in Hannover I could not help notice some of the lovely art pieces she had collected over time. This plate caught my fancy.

It seems that the colour scheme and the arrangement of shapes really called out to me.

Any idea where it may have come from? She travelled a fair bit in her youth.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

To all of you may the new year be full of many good things that include good health and happiness.

Fourth Advent

May all of you have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are wishing you all the very best of the season.
Buddy decorated this tree proudly. He hopes you like his work.
As you can see Ellie is taking ownership of Buddy's tree. 
And the snow has finally made a brief entrance in our area.
Here's hoping you are all well and ready for any upcoming the festivities. Have a great time.

P.S. The gingerbread house was built today. We were delayed but we got it done.

From Advent to Advent

On Sunday December 2 the three of us took flight. We wanted to have the repeat experience of our delightful earlier holiday. Once we entered this lobby the fun began. Staff right away recognized us and came shaking hands and hugging us. Buddy was so happy that they still knew him by name!

Since it's the season for giving we brought lots of goodies including fancy chocolates, colouring sets and a water paint set. We gave extra tips too. Still we were most happy because what we got was priceless, lots of heartfelt affection.

With limited means staff was getting ready for the upcoming holiday by adding decorations to make it special for their guests. They work so hard at that.
And they made us feel super welcome with many gestures of gratitude.

A week passes very fast when there are many fun things to do. Buddy never missed the evening shows. We were happy to see they had a different venue this time but that just makes for more work for the entertainment team. They also included Buddy into their routines. 

A most spectacular show was the Water Ballet in the shallow area of the pool after a poolside BBQ buffet dinner.

Sunday December 9th we were given a very special lunch because they really want Buddy to come again. Once again it was time to head back that home eve.

Advent to Advent in Cayo Coco was so delightful. My feeling is Buddy and I will go again. We feel like we have found a second home where mutual affection makes all the difference. 
The next two advents will be spent doing stuff for our friends and family near and far but from our home.

KITS and ADVENT

The gingerbread house will be ready by Sunday just in time for the first Advent. Do you do anything special each Sunday leading up to Christmas?

ROSEY

May those of you who celebrate THANKSGIVING on November 22 have a safe and very special day where ever you are. All the best is wished to you.

At the Royal

Each fall the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair comes to our city and we make an effort to go. We enjoy seeing the animals and the various displays. This year my attention was captivated by this.

As soon as I saw the letters on that machine memories flooded into my heart!
"Look Buddy remember this?"
"Oh it's like ours," he said ginning. 
We turned to get a better view.

We had owned an old red Cockshutt model 40 (1950) when we owned a farm, our home away from the hectic city life from 1988 to 2005. 
Even Buddy had turns at the wheel on the back field trails.
I miss that part of our lives. My dream was to retire to the farm but hubby could not bare to leave his well established practice. 
Now we enjoy all things farm at the Royal.

Perplexed

 At the pond we saw lots of familiar bird types but recently we came upon on pair of fowl that has us perplexed. Any idea what these lovely creatures are known as?

They have red on their heads and a white ring around their neck. The body is mostly black with some white spots at the wings. They were very patient as many stopped to photo graph them. I was impressed. If only I had taken my Rebel with me that day.