the year that was 2012

Ewan enjoying the snow in an antique sled.

This has been a busy and eventful year for us.

2011 ended with the passing of my mother-in-law and January 2012 started with the arrival of family from afar gathering for her memorial service.

Our daughter, her husband, and 18 month old son arrived the night after we had just returned from their home in Alberta where we had spent Christmas.  An extra special treat for us.

Winter was kind to us last year with fewer storms, less snow, and an early melt in March.

We had crocuses blooming in late February!

In April I got to visit our daughter for 10 days and enjoy time with her and her family.  It was special to spend time with her while she was pregnant.

Ewan and I had fun getting to know each other more.  He calls me Gaga because Grammie is such a difficult word to say.  :)  And Murray is KooKoo!  (*_*)  

Ewan and I playing in the warm spring sunshine.

Springtime weather was fabulous with lots of early blooms, sunshine and warm temperatures.

I did a lot of gardening and grew lots of flowers.

apple blossoms

Murray and I were able to do a few day trips and enjoy the beautiful summer weather and scenery here in New Brunswick.  It was sunny and hot all summer!

at the Gagetown Marina on the St. John River

baby Eli

On July 31, our daughter's birthday, Eli was born.

I had my ticket booked to fly out on Aug. 2 to meet our new grandson and to help our daughter and to play cars with sweet Ewan.

Grammie and her boys  :)

When I returned home from Alberta on Aug. 16, I had one day to prepare for the arrival of my sister, Margaret, for her 3 1/2 week visit.  She hadn't been home from BC for 25 years!  What a fun time we had visiting and touring around.

siblings

Me, John, Margaret and Pat all together for the first time in 25 years!

my baby sister Margaret, and me

Our fall weather was also very nice and I enjoyed the local scenery in the apple orchard.

And in the park.

In November I had the awesome privilege of going to New York City with our church choir and taking part in a Christmas musical presentation at Carnegie Hall.

The American Festival Choir in Carnegie Hall

I was quite taken with the bright lights of New York and hope to return some day and see much more of that amazing city.

The next thing I knew it was time for Christmas.

Now it is time to start a new year filled with 

new possibilities ~ 2013.

some of our calendars for 2013

Are you ready for the new year?

I leave you with a verse of scripture that I love.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord,  "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."  Jeremiah 29: 11 & 12

I think we all need to focus on what God's plans are for our future and not take any day for granted.

Thank you all for visiting my blog and for your kind words and comments this past year.  

I wish you all a very blessed year in 2013.

Happy New Year!!

All the best to you and yours,

Pamela

what else is there to talk about....

As you can see by the picture we are getting another snowstorm.

This is # 3.

The second in 4 days.

We were supposed to get 10 - 15 cm. with the storm tracking farther south and east however,

someone miscalculated and we have gotten a lot more snow than 'predicted'.

What were we doing out on these terrible roads on a Sunday morning?

We were going to church.  

Which was cancelled after we got there.

However, I did get some pretty photos of the roads and trees on the way to and fro.

Some roads were plowed.

Some were not!

heading in around the mountain

heading back home around the same mountain

on the road to home again

looking out our dining room window

Yes, what else is there to talk about.

The weather is the topic of discussion today in the Maritime provinces.....

blowing drifting snow, high winds, way more than we expected, about 30 cm (almost a foot!), on top of the 22 cm we got Thursday, churches all cancelled their services, no visiting family and friends today, cleaned the drive way 2 times already,  used my snowblower, only have a scoop, kids will love it, snowmobilers and skiers too, lots of snow, way too much snow, where will be put it all, and it's only the end of December, we have 3 more months of winter left....

These could be some of the conversations going on around the Maritimes today.

Yep.  We got lots of snow.

On a different topic....

We had company for dinner last night.

I made a pot of chilli and a friend made cornbread in her cast iron skillet.  Delish!

We had a lovely evening.

I am still enjoying the lights of Christmas for 2 more nights.  

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve.

We don't have any plans at this point.

Do you?

What will you be doing?

Sadly, tomorrow also marks the one year since my  mother-in-law passed away.  We really miss her even though we wouldn't wish her back.  Her dementia was such that she didn't know us during her last months.  But, we miss the past good times with her, especially at Christmas.  My how she loved Christmas!  And now we have New Year's Eve to remember her passing into heaven.  We know we will see her again one day.

Blessings,

Pamela

blizzard weather

This was our back door during the blizzard last night.  The wind was from the east and this door faces west so all the snow landed on the back of the house.   

It's interesting how different each storm is.

This one blew strong and the snow was shaped  into large drifts.  The wind howled and licked at the snow sending it into every crack between doors.

The house creaked and the large living room window groaned under the pressure.

I had candles lit just in case we lost power.

Frosty is still standing but surrounded by drifts of fresh white snow.

We got about 25 cm. of snow in some areas.

It's difficult to tell how much because of the drifting.

The wind blew whorls around things like the

maple tree.

More drifting in the side yard.

By late morning the sky was clearing some.

Murray had his work cut out for him.

The wind has shifted to the northwest this evening and is blowing the light snow around.

I'm glad we don't have to leave the house tonight.

We'll watch a movie ~ perhaps one of the old James Bond ones we bought yesterday with Sean Connery as Mr. Bond.  ;)

How was your day?

Did you get snow or rain or is it sunny?

Did you go shopping for after-Christmas sales?

Did you take down your Christmas tree and trimmings yet?

this afternoon about 5:00

As you can see we are still enjoying our tree and trimmings for a few more days.

I hope you have a great weekend.  It's still the holidays and people are still visiting so stay safe while out and about.

Blessings,

Pamela

after Christmas

Me with my feet up waiting for Christmas Day.

Christmas Day has come and gone for another year.

We had a beautiful day it was!  It was sunny and cold and the roads were bare for travelling.

We enjoyed a Skype visit with our daughter and son-in-law who are visiting in Australia for Christmas.  They went from -27 deg. Celsius to +27 deg. Celsius in one day!  They are 12 hours ahead of us and it's tomorrow there now.  :)

Our son and his girlfriend came up for breakfast and to open gifts.  At noon Murray's sister and brother-in-law and their dog came for Christmas dinner.  We had a wonderful time.

We went to my niece's home in Sussex for my side of the family's Boxing Day gathering.

Thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day again for travelling as we all came quite a distance.

There were 22 of us there but you will notice I'm not in any of the pictures as I took them.  And if you count correctly you will see one other is missing.  My brother arrived quite late and I forgot to take his picture!

Even though our daughter and her family are so far away this year, I must say it was a very enjoyable Christmas with our family.

Today we went to town for the Boxing Day sales.

The stores and mall were packed with people and the parking lots and streets were crazy!  

(Or maybe we were crazy!)

We had fun though.

And found some bargains too.  :)

We are having another snowstorm here tonight.

A blizzard actually.

It's snowing and blowing with about 25 - 30 cm of snow expected by the time it's all over.  

I'm thankful for our cozy house and that we don't have to be out in the weather on the roads.

Tomorrow we'll be shovelling out again and I suppose I might take some more pictures.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed time with family and friends.

Are you still enjoying celebrating the holidays?

Blessings to you,

Pamela

Christmas Wishes for You

The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.  Luke 2:11 (NLT)

It is my heartfelt wish that you will have a blessed Christmas with your family and friends and will experience the joy, love and hope that Christ gives.

Merry Christmas!

I also want to thank you all for following my blogging journey and visiting me so often.  I have made some wonderful friends on here and that keeps me going.  I have some new followers that I'd like to welcome.  Thank You All!

I will be taking a wee little break to enjoy the family and Christmas festivities so I'll

see you in a few days.

Blessings to you and yours ~ from our house to yours.

Pamela

snowman love

Look who dropped by to say "HI".

Saturday was quite mild after some rain showers the night before which made the snow perfect for making a snowman.  

Murray and I rolled and packed and rolled some more until we made a good sized snowman.

We had bought a cute light kit to make Frosty's facial features and buttons but I wondered what to use for a hat.  He had too large a head for a knit hat or a ball cap.

I remembered the old apple basket in the garage so stuck it on his head.  I stuck a piece of fir in his 'cap' and got some ribbon for his scarf and fallen branches for his arms.  

The temperatures have dropped below freezing and will stay that way until after Christmas so there is no chance of Frosty melting.

I wouldn't want his teeth to fall out!!

Talk about snowman love!

Eli trying to smile and Ewan being shy.  Love these boys so much.

These are our two grandsons, Eli who is almost 5 months and Ewan who is just over 2 years.

They are wearing their snowman tee shirts that Grammie and Grampie (that would be us) sent them for Christmas.  They got to wear them early as they are away to a much hotter clime 'down under' for Christmas this year.  Lucky them.

Aren't they adorable little snowmen?

Frosty at night.

I thought I'd share this post with you today.

If you won't be around tomorrow I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas.

Warmest wishes to you!

Blessings,

Pamela

a country whites weekend # 1 linky party

china hutch

It's Country Whites Weekend # 1, a linky party being hosted by Dru at The Country Farm Home.

She invited me to join in with some whites around my house.

Our china cabinet has a white theme going on again this Christmas.  I like white with a touch of colour here.

Our china cabinet is one of the first places I decorate for Christmas.

The top is decorated with vintage finds and white twinkle lights in a white berry garland.

I love the wire candle rings that hold the vintage balls.  I'm glad my mother saved them all.

The top shelf holds my antique teapot, biscuit jar and serving plate.  I added some fresh pine and pine cones along with the old books and the glass centrepiece from the 50's.

This is a close up of a vintage glass ball, part of a vignette on the middle shelf.  This is a white candle, wreath and pedestal plate.

This antique cutlery caddy gets centre spot on the main shelf of the cabinet.  

This vignette is on the small white cottage table in the corner by the window.  The cabinet in the background is a vintage bathroom cabinet with an assortment of antique nicknacks.  The silver deer and sparkly tree are vintage.  I bought the white Father Christmas at Wheaton's gift store last week.  

The plate is Johnson Bros. "Twas the Night Before Christmas" which I bought on sale last year.

I would love to have the whole set!

On the bookshelf is part of my Christmas village of Putz houses.  Lots of white here.

Vintage houses, trees, reindeer etc.  Love it!

If you were to look out our door this week you would see a winter wonderland of white snow

all around us.

I hope you will join Dru for this very first 

Country Whites Weekend #1

Thank you for hosting Dru.  

While you're visiting Dru take a look at some of her beautiful decorating around her farm home.  I love it and I think you will too.

Wishing all who visit a wonderful weekend and a 

blessed Christmas.

Blessings,

Pamela