It's beginning to look like Christmas!

It's been awhile since I last wrote!
We had a lovely time in Dartmouth - a quiet sort of vacation. John did help Martin out at the church for a couple of days with some electrical and then some plumbing work, and he helped Martin get some electrical stuff done in the house, too.
The baptism of Maria was special -check out Martin and Emily's blogspot for pictures and the video.
I had another gall bladder attack on that Sunday night, which put me out of commission for Monday, and I didn't really start feeling myself again until late Tuesday.
I do have a large gallstone and am now opting for gall bladder removal. I finally saw my doctor this week, who has to send the referral to the surgeon, who will then set up an appointment to see me so that we can set a date for surgery. I hope I can last until then. I most likely won't be getting anything done until the new year.
So now we are into December and trying to get ready for Christmas. The guys are attempting to finish off the upstairs room next door, so that we can have the Geertsema clan over on the 27th.
I'll have to pick out some paint chips tomorrow . . . .
And I finally started cleaning house so Christmas decorations can go up! I stayed home all day today to do this!! Christmas CD's on and snow outside . . . .
My parents are coming for the weekend, and that means clearing things so there's room for more people to move around in here!! Every time we speak with them, they ask when are Martin and Emily coming to Ontario? They arrive with the baby this weekend, and will be visiting Steve and Katrina on Sunday, so there's the opportunity for them to meet Maria.
The Sunday school program will be presented during the service Sunday morning, and that will be nice for them to take in, too.

a sleepless night

After such a great day with Naomi, I was quite ready for bed and fell asleep quickly. An hour later, though, I woke up and woke up every hour thereafter. I was in pain. It felt like a vice was around the bottom of my ribs. By 8am, John took me to the Brockville General. My suspicions were correct: I was having a gall-bladder attack. After a strong dose of pain killer, x-rays, etc., I was allowed to go home, but I'm to go for an ultrasound tomorrow to find out exactly what the problem is. I am on a strong pain killer for the next couple of days, and I have to watch what I eat. No fun.

hurricanes and fun

Another Saturday, another little girl. This time, Naomi came with her Dad and spent the day with Oma. After they left, Opa said it looked like a hurricane had come through!

We first played with the Brio train track, nibbled on fruit gel candies, had no room for lunch, coloured, drew on post-it notes and stuck them on the walls, played outside while it wasn't raining, played outside when it did start raining (in the sand pile!), had a bath (to wash off the sand!) in the container that usually holds the tracks, and in between, Naomi played with the house and barn and baskets with things upstairs. We ended the afternoon with watching the heffalump movie. I watched her watching more than I watched the movie. Her giggles and excitement over the antics of the characters were delightful! As you can see in the photo, her "friends" had to watch as well, and "kitty had never seen the movie before". What really warmed Oma's heart, though, was her comment while she sat in her "tub". At that moment, she was facing the shower wall and wasn't aware that I was in the room. Her words - "I always have lots of fun when I'm here." Naomi, Oma sure loves to be with you, too.

a different kind of day -

While John and Mark worked all day on getting the heat on at Dad and Mom's, I took it easy. Which is strange for me. Typically on a Saturday, I would be doing some laundry, some baking maybe, yardwork, maybe some housework, etc. - I don't usually have much sitting down time.
Today - I checked out several things on the net, managed to do a couple of loads of laundry, and did some knitting. I finished the afternoon with Shannon. She had come along with her Dad and spent most of the day with Grandma. They made a dollhouse out of a box and they baked some carrot muffins.This afternoon, she watched some of the Heffalump movie on our tv, played around with some of the toys here, and then we did some arts and crafts. And when that was done, we sang and danced to an old LP record of Kid's Praise with Psalty the song book. The song Heaven is a Wonderful Place especially makes the feet want to move! I find that I really enjoy the kitchen island -it's great for dancing around on our slidy floor!

a precious jewel

Maria is precious - no doubt about it! I feel so blessed to be the Oma of not one, not two, but three precious girls! Thank you, Martin and Emily for letting me spend the weekend with you! Here are my favourite photos of this past weekend:

time to breathe

I had almost forgotten what it is like to be at home. I left work early yesterday, frustrated due to the lack of a personal computer and not knowing exactly which direction to go with projects. As I ran a few errands, I realized that it has been ages since I've done the things at my leisure during daytime hours!
Today, I've been taking my time with getting ready to go away for the weekend. Yes - this Oma decided 2 weeks was long enough to stay away from Maria, and of course, Martin and Emily. I'm flying out this evening and will return Monday. :) :) :) :) :)

moments to take your breath away

Today was a totally enjoyable day-who wouldn't enjoy people admiring their 15 month old grandchild!
Naomi went to school today, so I took the opportunity to go out with Petra for the day.We went to Ottawa to visit with Mom and Dad. We ended up running a couple of errands with Dad and Petra was admired everywhere. And it blessed my heart to see her reach up to hold Dad's hand to walk with him. An elderly man and his 15 month old great-granddaughter. But those moments are so fleeting that they are gone before you can even think camera!
Her journey up the halls and into the dining room at River Park was priceless. Those elderly folks just love seeing little ones!
At lunch she got to sit in a big person's chair; there are no high chairs or boosters there. But it worked out quite well. She enjoyed her yogurt of course, had some of my grilled cheese and had both jello AND ice cream for dessert. Including some of mine, and a bite of Great Grandma's! And she didn't just steal the hearts of all the elderly, the servers fell in love with her too, and didn't mind the mess she made one bit! She left with chocolate chip cookies in her hands! And one of the servers gave her a good giggle-producing kind of cuddle.
It's days like this when you realise that time flies by all too quickly, and you've got to enjoy the moments as they come along. There's a quotation I read a long time ago which today reminds me of: life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.

another reason to give thanks!

What a surprise for Martin and Emily at three weeks early! Maria Jane is our newest blessing and is a healthy 6 lb 8oz.
After all those Geertsema boys, it's fun to be having girls!!

Giving Thanks

Well my bulbs are still not planted. Tomorrow's always another day.

We picked up my parents from Ottawa after church Sunday, and took the scenic route home to take in the fall colours.

This picture from the bridge at Rideau Ferry doesn't show a lot of fall colour, but that water sure reflects the blue sky! We found that a lot of trees are already bare, and that what is left is mostly bronzes. The maples are their usual glorious golds, but there isn't much of brilliant reds.


Today Dad and Mom went with us to Stevin and Katrina's, where we had a delicious Thanksginving dinner.


Petra had some yogurt for her lunch, but when she was done, she was wearing half of it!











Petra loves her little slide!














Since there were 6 adults around the dining table, plus Petra, Naomi decided that she would have her own table. She set the table with her handmade placemat, and decorated the table with 2 oranges and a pumpkin. And of course, she was the keeper of the butter, because there was no room for it at the big table!


I'm looking forward to the day when all of the little ones will enjoy having their "own" table, just like their daddies did when they were little!









Petra's feeding apple pie to Opa. There was ice cream, too, but that was one dessert she had to eat herself!




I enjoy these two little girls so much; what a blessing they are!

energy and energized?

I actually had time to do a bit of housework this past weekend. I dusted the wood surfaces downstairs, swept and damp-mopped the floor, and cleaned the kitchen windows!
And I made some pumpkin butter - yummy!
I guess I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm into week 3 of this cold -still somewhat congested, and the occasional tickle-kind of cough that doesn't want to clear.
John's work has slowed down, so looks like he'll be home this week. I just wish that I had the time and energy to help him more. The weather is supposed to fine and warm this week, so that's a bonus for doing the outside work. I do hope that the new spring bulbs will be able to be planted this weekend - mind you, there's a pine tree lying on the ground where I want to plant these bulbs.... Guess I better find the energy!

Can it get any busier?

Life has gone from busy to busier this past month. I've over-committed myself in my volunteer activities, and now I'm paying for it with a good cold and sore throat. Between involvement with Sunday school, church council, committee work, catering, working, and more - there isn't an awful lot of time being spent on my home and garden.
I sure will enjoy Wednesday's though - Wednesday will become MY day, with mornings on whatever and afternoons on scrapbooking at church with a few others. Hopefully, some books will actually get finished this year!
Another day that I'm enjoying is Monday's. That's the day I babysit the 2 little ones in Williamsburg. Yesterday, I had just Petra. Naomi is attending J-K every other Monday. Even though yesterday wasn't a good day for either us - we both have colds, and Petra spent most of the day sleeping - she had 3 naps - I did enjoy the opportunity to cuddle and rock with her when she needed it. Such is the life of Oma!

Blooms At Night

Our mystery flower bloomed this evening.

Although it may be a kind of evening primrose, I still have not been able to match it up to any pictures and names on the web. As you can see, it is a 4-petal flower atop a slender and leafless stem. The leaves are long and narrow, and form a rosette at ground level - much like a dandelion.

Whatever it is, it is fascinating to watch!!

Summer's Half Over Already!!

Where is the summer going?! Wasn't it just yesterday that we had the longest day?

Here are a couple of this summer's photos from Oma's point of view - - - - -

I'm so glad Petra loves baby dolls too! She got two dolls and a teddy for her birthday.

From my grandaughter's birthday on one day, to my mother's birthday the next day. And my daughter-in-law's birthday was the same week, too! In this photo are my aunts and two of my cousins with two of their children, with my parents and John, at my parents' home at Riverpark Place.

We starting to wonder whether we should make a swimming pool or - a mud spa - instead of a sunroom; we've had so much rain! Not only did the rain fall into this year's hole, but all the run-off from the hill ended up in the hole, too!

David and Stephanie are having their turn with home improvements, too. This ceiling went from ivory to white with this application of paint.

In the midst of the busy-ness, we've been marvelling at this awesome flower. It goes from being a tight bud into full bloom in a matter of minutes - sometimes only 30 seconds! - but it blooms only at night! But we can't identify it! Dad and Mom G. got it at a local plant sale where it was described as a "moon flower". But looking it up on the web, we've discovered that it is not really a moon flower.

There's no end in finding projects to do. Naomi and Petra enjoyed helping their Daddy while he repaired the patio steps.

There's always time for a game of Settlers when these kids gather!

Does Aunt Em need a little practice?

Mud baths and bubble baths - we've got it all!

A Busy Life . . .

When I last wrote, Michael had arrived home for a few days. Specifically, he came home to attend Karin and Braden's wedding, which was quite lovely, and the dinner and reception was a lot of fun.

He also spent a little bit of time on the tractor. It seems that one of the (fond ?) memories of our boys is about Dad's yearly hole. Well, here is this year's hole. Grandpa and Grandma G. are having their house raised and they are getting a new sunroom. There's a lot of mud with this hole, too. Living at the bottom of a hill means lots of water after a rain - and we've had some good down-pours!

In between days working for Kriska, holes in the yard, and taking my parents to the "farm", I've finally managed to clean up my back garden. The lavender and campanula glomerata (!) look lovely with the Stella D'Oro daylilies. I'll have to keep that colour scheme in mind when it comes time to redo that garden's wall.

Here are Tante Nettie, Tante Ans and my Mom while at the "farm" last week. Tante Nettie is visiting from Amsterdam for a few weeks. We'll have to plan something special for Mom's birthday in Ottawa next week!

And while life has been so busy, the inside of our home is a little neglected. On Monday morning, Petra gave me a hand with these shelves . . . .

So, yes, all in all, it's been very busy this last month or more. I've heard it said that life goes faster once you're over the hill - it certainly is true for me!

Coming and Going.....

We had an adventure today - Naomi and I went to the Ottawa Airport.

Naomi was very fashionably dressed in her ballerina dress over t-shirt and capris. (You know you're an Oma when . . .)

While at the airport, we went upstairs and downstairs, using the "elevator" stairs of course, watched where the baggage rolls down to be loaded on to the plane, saw a magazine with a cow on it, received a colouring book about the airport, watched the activity outside, saw a couple of planes just like the one Naomi flew in with Uncle Martin, saw a waterfall INSIDE the building, checked the arrivals sign board a few times, and then . . .

Uncle Michael arrived!!

Voila!

We flipped over the stones today, and I removed the leaves and veins from the grooves. They turned out quite well! I discovered the reason for working on sand: the plastic should be pulled up around the edges to round them and then the sand should be piled up against the edges to hold the cement in place. I also discovered that the cement should not be applied right to the edges because it will seep underneath. But for the first try at this, I'm impressed with our handiwork!

Birthday Fun!

Sunday was a busy but wonderful day. Both sets of parents, Stevin and Katrina and their girls, and Mark and Tanya and their crew, all joined us for the afternoon. We had baked potatoes and barbecued sausages and salad for lunch, and of course cake and ice cream made their appearance and disappearance as well!


Shannon and Naomi enjoyed dressing up, hiking down to the lake, and also provided us with background music . . . .



Petra found a new friend!




Devin and Brent kept busy with biking, hockey, eating and running around as they usually do, and Lisa waited a long time for her cup of afternoon tea!

I have been wanting to make rhubarb leaf stepping stones, and now that Stevin and Katrina have 2 huge rhubarb plants in their new garden, we'll be making several! On this sunny, Sunday afternoon, they surprised me with bringing the materials for the first three! This picture shows us putting on gloves in preparation for handling the cement.

All in all - a very satisfying sort of day!

The Colour of Spring is Joy

So how would you describe the colour of spring? I think I would say it's the colour of joy.

Last week Tuesday, I took my parents into Ottawa to look and marvel at the blooming city. The daffodils were done, the lilacs were just beginning to open up, the cherry trees were just coming into their peak, the apple trees were at their best and so were the tulips.

We stopped in at the Arboretum, and then the Gardens at the Experimental Farm. It's amazing how many shades of green there are! Spring certainly makes up for the lack of colour in winter. Although, if you really look, there are many shades of grey in winter!

I have seen magnolia bushes and trees in bloom in Georgia, and I think they are quite beautiful. I would really like to try growing one in my yard.

This is my favourite photo of the day. I would like THIS variety of magnolia in my garden!

This past holiday Monday, Mom G., Grace and I visited an English style country garden a couple of concessions over from here. Talk about a riot of colour! Smatterings of different tulips and daffodils mixed in with many other spring-blooming plants! This garden also had a couple of magnolia bushes, as well as a magnolia tree. This means that magnolias are definitely in my plans!

season of . . . . .

It's a beautiful sunny day out there, today! We have spring again: tulips and forget-me-nots and grape hyacinths and dandelions and lilacs are all showing off their beauty.
With the advent of a new season, our family is now in an advent season too. This Oma will have a new little one to cuddle in November! Martin and Emily are expecting!
Along with getting ready for a new baby, there will be a lot of changes going on in our family: Martin and Emily have possession of their new house and are planning an extensive renovation in order to "flip that house"; Stevin and Katrina are moving this week and will do renovations, as well, in order to "flip that house"; David and Stephanie are moving at the end of the month into her parents' basement in order to save up a couple of months for their move sometime this summer: but Michael is still out in Alberta - although Laura is moving to Calgary in June!
As one of my friends stated: I certainly have nomadic kids!

springtime

One of my favourite things to do is gardening. Last fall, I started making a new one - David and Steph were here on Labour Day weekend, and they were enlisted! Now I am anxiously waiting for the transplants to come up. I'm happy to say that I see most! Anything else will be a surprise!

The soil is loose enough to work in, and I've done some adjusting along the property line. Our neighbours are moving, so it's a good thing to pull in now rather than adjust afterwards! I also have put Martin and Emily's birdbath into a place visible from the kitchen window - it sure looks nice there. I'll either have to move my birdbath or buy another one when they claim their's for their new house!

One of the new bulbs I planted last fall were these "scilla" - otherwise known as English Bluebells. They are a very pretty blue colour, and although there are only 6 of them this year, they present a bright note of cheer.

sweet spring

I had hoped to make regular posts, but time has simply flown by! Easter came and went, and houses were bought and sold....Never a dull moment!

John and I tapped a few maple trees a week and a bit ago, for the first time in several years! There's nothing like the smell of syrup as it bubbles in the pan. So far, I have bottled 13 pint jars of really nice clear, light amber syrup. The flow has really slowed down with the coming of higher temperatures, indicating the end of syrup making with darker syrup, but the colour of the last bottling is still light amber. So sweet!

Oma's Pleasures

~Naomi's chattering as she plays with the Fisher-Price house and family
~Petra's baby babbling and her smile of recognition when she saw us again
~at the end of the day, after everyone's left: finding a sleeping "baby" (doll) in the laundry basket

Time

As I watch the list of other blogspots grow, I think it's about time to add mine! I'm not sure what I will write about, but life is always full and every day is ALWAYS a new Adventure!

for instance: Stevin and Katrina and the girls decided to spend the night here last night, while on the way to Finch to go househunting. I knew that they would likely stop in Sunday on their way home, so was going to do a gradual housecleaning before then. It's amazing how little housework I actually do, now that I am usually alone!

Well, John called at about 3pm to say that he had just spoken with Stevin who was just then going down the 400 through The Marsh, and would be arriving around 7pm. Talk about going into fast motion! I quickly got myself into town for a few groceries and then did a very quick tidying before they arrived about 8pm.

The two little ones are so much fun, and I look forward to having them live closer by; I thoroughly enjoy being an Oma! They each have their own special dishes and cups, Naomi feels free to find the toys and knows where to find her favourite books. Stevin, Katrina and Petra usually have our room, while we sleep on the warm floor downstairs. Naomi enjoys taking the "bed apart" in the morning!

She puts all the bedding into a pile and then usually lies on the airmattress to help remove the air.

This morning Petra found a new way to play with water: Katrina used the spray bottle to wet Naomi's hair to brush into pigtails. Petra picked up the bottle and of course put the nozzle into her mouth. She was surprised with the first spray I put into her mouth, but then looked for more!