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!