WREATHMAKER

Tomorrow we will celebrate my Mom’s 90th birthday, with an afternoon tea party. I decided to make these strawberry treats, as Mom made them for special occasions when we were growing up…so sweet, and how we kids loved them! They are a mixture of jello powder, sweetened condensed milk and coconut. Now I’m going to bake shortbread cookies, another memory of Mom’s baking. Yesterday we treated Mom to a massage and manicure at a Spa. She loved it! Because of her love of orchids, we had this pretty corsage made up.

Today I attended a fund raising event at Indian Life Ministries.   The featured music and speaker was  Rainsong .What a treat! Terry and Darlene, as well as being very talented, are very warm and lovely people. The sound of the flute was very beautiful and haunting. Here are a couple photos from their website . I worked on a part time basis at Indian Life for many years, and met many wonderful Native American people.

I’m liking these pewter-look  pheasants! I am using them in small wreaths and birch cones, in preparation for a craft sale. They add just a touch of glitz, but fit in with berries and pine.

  Thanks to Cindy of Oakview Cottage , who recently awarded this award to me: I am to say 7 things about myself. Since I don’t usually write much about personal things,   I’ll do my best to fill you in…… so here are 7 things you may not know about me… 1. I have been married to my dear husband for 52 years! ( yes, he robbed the cradle!!). We met at the wedding of his brother and my cousin. My cousin, who is now my sister in law, and I, confuse people by telling them that “our husbands are brothers and our Mothers were sisters”.  (Are YOU confused yet??) 2. I started Grade One when I was still 4 years old, in a country school where my Dad taught. It was allowed in those days.  We had moved and the idea was that I would meet some new friends and when I got bored with school, I would just drop out until I was 6, but I loved it, so kept on going… 3. We like permanentcy (new word!). Besides being married to the same person all these years, we have only mov...

Today I was outside pulling up the soggy, slimy, frozen annuals from the garden.   There were a few fall asters bravely showing their lovely purple colour, so they now are showing off in my kitchen, along  with coloured kale. I am sad to think that this will be the last bouquet from the garden for this season. I have resolved to purchase flowers periodically during the next few months to brighten our surroundings. Since there is the promise of spring, I did plant some tulips and crocuses, so hopefully while I look out at a  drab landscape, they will be preparing to bring joy in a few months!

We had our Thanksgiving dinner at our house tonight, so I’m sharing a few photos    

  This is a weekend for Thanksgiving in Canada, and my thanks centers around the following verses from the Bible: I Chronicles 29: 12 Wealth and honor come from you;        you are the ruler of all things.        In your hands are strength and power        to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,        and praise your glorious name.

***Any of the photos can be enlarged by clicking on them*** This week we took a little trip to one of our favorite places-- Minnesota. We camped near Minneapolis at Baker Lake Park. I picked some lovely colorful maple leaves I tried out a method to preserve them , and rather like the result. This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada We are planning a family dinner, so I have to change from vacation mode to chief cook.

Today was a day of celebration for our family. Our dear son and his lovely wife celebrated their 25th anniversary. Many friends and family dropped by their home  for a casual time of laughter, good wishes, and great food.  I took this shot of the table before it was loaded down with desserts, etc.   This was the view out their dining room window…it was a nice fall day, and flowers are still blooming (they weren’t hit by frost like ours were!) As we look back on  25 years, we are so thankful for God’s blessing on that home, and that their desire is to follow Him.

It’s flower flaunting time at Tootsies again, so why not visit her blog, and find out how it is to be gardening in Zone 3. We also live in zone 3, so our challenges are similar. Since it froze here during the week, I had to cheat to put up flower photos today. On Monday, I went out to the garden and picked lots of flowers…one last chance for dahlia bouquets, and I was so happy I did. On Wednesday I dug up the tubers and now will store them for the winter. There are still a few mums in bloom, as well as the lime hydrangea and a few roses. The first bouquet contains coleus, dahlias, Endless Summer hydrangea, pink mums, and Victoria salvia.     The bouquet below consists of dahlias, coleus, and variegated Artemisia.