Happy New Years!

Have a safe and Happy New Years and may all your dreams and wishes come true!!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

 

Twas the Night

By L. Daniel Quinn

 

Twas the night before Christmas and poor Clement Moore

Had his poem being copied by many a bore

His "Night Before Christmas" is perfect in rhyme

His rhythm and cadence are wonderfully fine.

 

But then come the wise guys, with Internet cool

Who use Clement's rhyme as sort of a tool

They pick up the style from this poem of "that night"

And they hitch up their sled to whatever's their gripe.

 

Now I'm not even saying that there's something not right

By using Moore's poem to carry a fight.

I guess my complaint is not in their chore

But the number of times they steal from Clem Moore.

 

So I say to you all as I close down this gripe

"Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!"

Christmas is coming!

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day in Canada, November 11th. the day we remember all the fallen soldiers and pay tribute to them, including the ones that are still away from their families in order to “try” and keep world peace. I am an avid Facebook user and I posted the above picture on my Facebook and I was rather surprised at the reactions I got opposing my point of view. Most people including myself don’t decorate this early in the season, but there are some who do. This is only my opinion and is not meant to over-power anyone else’s thoughts but after I got the comments I did, I felt the need to say my piece, so here goes;

I will start at the beginning of the year…

1…New Year’s Eve/Day- January (Statutory/public paid holiday celebration)  …. People spend money on alcohol, party décor and food to celebrate a     new year. I have yet to see anyone having Valentines decorations adorning their homes for this celebration. We all say “Happy New Year”

2…Valentine’s Day- February….(Non-holiday non paid holiday celebration) People spend money on cards, flowers, candy, jewelry and fancy high priced restaurants. I have yet to see anyone decorate in the Irish style of St Patrick’s Day. We all say “Happy Valentine’s Day”

3… St Patrick’s Day- March…(Non-holiday non-paid celebration) no need to explain this because EVERYONE is Irish on this day and we all know what that means. I have yet to see anyone decorating eggs and having the Easter Bunny décor all set up. We all say “Happy St Paddy’s Day”

4… Easter Sunday- April…(Statutory/public paid holiday celebration).. Even those who are not religious celebrate this day for the children by having the Easter Bunny visit, yet I have never seen a Mother get flowers or candy to celebrate her special day. We all say “Happy Easter”

5… Mother’s Day- May…(Non-holiday non-paid celebration) Yes I am a Mother and I love having a special day dedicated to JUST ME, yet I have never seen any mother share her special day with the up-coming Father’s Day. We all say “Happy Mother’s Day”        

6… Father’s Day - June…(Non-holiday non-paid celebration) Yes every Father is like every Mother and they love having a day dedicated to JUST THEM. Yet I have not seen anyone decorate for this day getting ready for July 1^st Canada’s Birthday. We all say “Happy Father’s Day”

7… Canada Day- July… (Statutory/public paid holiday celebration) Canada’s birthday! We all celebrate this. It’s a very wonderful patriotic Canadian Holiday. We decorate in our countries colours and party all day and into the night. Yet I have never seen anyone decorate for the next holiday the following month. We all say “Happy Canada Day”

8…Civic Holiday- August… (Statutory/public paid holiday celebration) A holiday the government thought we deserved for who knows but various events are held to celebrate aspects of local culture, history and achievement. Many celebrations are low-key and are organized by community members It’s a holiday we all take with happiness since it’s a well-deserved holiday in our eyes. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a paid day off! There is usually no decorating for this one, but there are plenty of parties and get together to celebrate this day. Yet I have never seen anyone decorate or celebrate the next holiday the following month. Some do say “Happy Civic Holiday” although it’s really not the norm.

9… Labour Day- September…(Statutory/public paid holiday celebration) A holiday that originally gave workers the chance to campaign for better working conditions or pay but in most people’s eyes it’s the last long weekend ending the summer season. We all have a great time and enjoy this holiday to its fullest. Yet I have never seen anyone decorate or begin to celebrate the next 2 holidays the following month. We usually all do say “Happy Labour Day”.

10…Thanksgiving- October...(Statutory/public paid holiday celebration) A bit different from the American Thanksgiving, but we still give thanks for the bountiful harvest of the growing season. People decorate with the Thanksgiving theme of turkeys and cornucopia/horn of plenty. Alongside that comes the pumpkin and apple pies. Loved ones gather around the table to give thanks for all they have. Yet I have never seen the decorations for the next celebration adorning the homes even though it’s only a few short weeks from this holiday. We all say “Happy Thanksgiving”

11...Halloween- October…(non-paid non-holiday celebration) We all know this celebration and most everyone decorates and participates for this one. People spend money on candy treats to hand out to the Trick or Treaters and some go full out decorating their homes with themed lights, frightening decorations and cries of pain and fear coming from different sound effects. Most everyone loves this celebration. We all say “Happy Halloween” This is the time everyone starts the big count down until Christmas. The stores begin to set up all the Christmas displays, people start to get in the Christmas spirit. They begin to talk and set up their Christmas house decorations and the usual talk is “have you started your Christmas shopping yet?”

12… Remembrance Day ….November.. (non-paid non-holiday celebration except for Government workers) This day is to remember the sacrifice of those two hundred thousand plus Canadian Soldiers who fought and died for us, for their homes and families and friends, for a collection of traditions they cherished and a future they believed in; they fight and die for Canada. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousness; our future is their monument. In other words they fought for our rights to have and celebrate the above holiday celebrations in the ways we have been accustomed to. There are some celebrations for the Veteran’s and the Poppy is worn to honour these brave men and women, yet the upcoming Christmas season seems to take precedence over this single day for many people.  For some of us including myself this day is held in high respect. Some find nothing wrong with setting up their Christmas decorations but I for one feel that we should respect the Veterans and Soldiers who are still fighting the fight and let them have this day in honour of all they have done and given to us so we can have those many holiday celebrations without the hustle and bustle of the upcoming Christmas season. Once this single day is over then go and decorate, talk about Christmas, have all the parties you want, just respect what this day means to our Veterans.

On the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent

Happy Happy Happy!

Wow where has the time gone? It seems like only a few short weeks ago I could be found sitting out on the deck catching some warm sun and now that said deck is covered in leaves! Thanksgiving (for Canadians) and Halloween have passed and now the stores are filled with the sights and sounds of Christmas and our city’s annual Christmas Parade is in 3 weeks! We have escaped the early snowfalls that have occurred in Ontario so for that I am thankful. This year has certainly been filled with its fair share of highs and lows. Unfortunately it’s been filled with more lows with the passing of more than a few family members. I will be glad when 2013 makes its exit and a new year begins.

A long time ago I posted a blog about being a grandmother………………….to 2 very cute but slobbery English bull dogs. Yes I am the proud grandmother to Ava and Toot (a name well chosen). With great pleasure and lots of excitement I can now say that those slobbery, snorting bundles of joy will have to share their domain with a baby. Yes, around the date of May 3rd I am going to be a real Nana!!!!!! I have to give my daughter much credit for the way she informed me of my impending Nana-hood, she really does have a very creative mind. A few weeks ago she and her soon to be hubby came into town for a dinner get together. During the dinner she produced 3 pictures. The first one was of her, her soon to be hubby and the 2 grand-doggies. Her and hubby were holding a sign saying “and then there was 3”. I smiled that polite smile and said “ oh joy you are getting another dog.” Neither said anything as I looked at the second picture. In this picture they were both holding a sign near her belly and it said coming Mayish 2014. I looked at the picture for a minute and then up at both of them with a puzzled look. I’ll be honest, the thought did cross my mind that she was pregnant, but that vanished pretty quickly since this is the daughter that said she did not want kids, but I was also grappling with the thought that it does NOT take that long for puppies to be born. The third and final picture was the one that brought tears to my eyes. It was of her and hubby hugging with her holding baby booties! I’m never one to be left speechless but I found myself not being able to say anything for what seemed like forever. Of course once I found my voice again I did nothing but cry and congratulate them both. So yes dear Blogging friends in the early part of May 2014…I am going to be a Nana! (Can you tell I am happy?????  J)

A Great Long Weekend!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend, whether you are Canadian and celebrated Thanksgiving or American and was able to relax and enjoy your Columbus Day celebrations whatever they may have been. We had our Thanksgiving Dinner on the Sunday and since it was kind of damp with the odd fall shower it was the perfect day. Even though I’m not really one for turkey I have to admit it turned out perfect. My youngest daughter was in charge of bringing deserts and bless her heart she baked up a storm making personal Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie Tarts. The dinner table talk was filled with memories of past holiday experiences with lots of giggles and the odd tear of missing the loved ones that have passed.

                                                               

 

Thanksgiving Day Monday this year was greeted by wonderful sunny and warm temperatures. Mother Nature must have been in a good mood for a change making it a good day to take a walk through Apps Mill. We used to take the kids there every year on Thanksgiving Day and since it had been more than a few years since I have been there I had a wonderful time. The colours were amazing and the smell of autumn leaves filled the air. I guess I wasn’t the only one who decided to walk the trails since the parking lot was full and the sounds of children and dogs could be heard. We took our time going through the trails and even did some off trail walking which wasn’t the best idea I ever had. I had forgotten how damn hard it is to get burrs out of clothing not to mention getting them off of Bentley!

 

 
 

 

I did have a near mishap that put many onlookers in stitches as they watched my youngest daughter cry out and save me from a fate worse than…well…humiliation??? My daughter is one that loves to take pictures and so she decided that having me posed sitting on a very low rickety bridge would make for an excellent shot. I’m not one to have my picture taken but it was such a gorgeous day and I was in a wonderful mood so I figured what the heck, I’ll do it. I ever so carefully stepped onto the low bridge to make sure it would hold me. Last thing I wanted to have happen was me plopping my ass down on that old weather beaten piece of wood and have it collapse on me. It seemed strong enough and I even bounced on it a few times just to be certain and all was ok. The bridge was very low and me being well…it’s hard to gracefully sit down on a few planks of wood that is maybe 12 inches from the running water going under it, that I thought of a good idea. I stepped back off the bridge and gingerly stepped down on a log that seemed firmly embedded into the creek bed and then all hell broke loose! It seemed the log was NOT firmly embedded and as soon as my weight went on it…the damn thing moved and then rolled causing me to lose my balance. Have you ever had that dreaded feeling like “O.M.G. I’m going down and it isn’t going to be pretty? Well I did and it wasn’t pretty. Yes my ass landed with a hard thump onto the wood, but then gravity decided my weight should be more distributed causing me to lie back as I landed and that in turn lead to my one hand grabbing at anything it could find to stop this impending doom. It turns out that gravity won. I was semi laying/sitting on these low planks of wood with my one hand submerged in the cold creek while my legs went upwards at a 90 degree angle and began flailing helplessly making my ass rock back and forth threating to send me ass over tea-kettle into the creek. We all know what tunnel vision is but I had tunnel hearing. I could hear low slow motion laughter and then a long pronounced MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM coming from my daughter. Her words were distorted but I heard her call out “grab my hand!” I never seen my life flash before me, but everything seemed to be going in slow motion as I struggled to lift my hand out of the creek while balancing on my tail bone with my feet in the air. It seemed like hours when in fact it was less than 30 seconds as my daughter rescued me from ending up laying in the creek with my feet in the air. There were more than a few chuckles as I gracefully sat back up and then “crawled” across the bridge to get to the other side. I cleared my throat stood up and faced everyone. I smiled and said, “Damn that was close” and turned and walked down the trail. An older gentleman off to the side smiled and winked at me and then said as he held out his hand carved walking stick “maybe I should make one for you?”  I politely smiled and replied “walk calmly and carry a big stick?” He laughed as I winked at him and continued on down the trail. There will definitely be NO MORE picture posing for me!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian Blogger Friends

 

 

We Canadians celebrate our Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October. The tradition of Thanksgiving started here even before the Pilgrims started in Plymouth. During the earlier times, the Canadian farmers used to fill a curved goat's horn, known as the Horn of Plenty or Cornucopia with fruits and grain to thanks for their bountiful harvest.

In 1578, an English navigator named Martin Frobisher held a feast to give thanks for surviving his long journey. He was settled in Newfoundland and as the other settlers arrived they continued this tradition. Around 1750, the American settlers in Canada, continued to celebrate the day in Nova Scotia. Simultaneously, the French settlers started arriving in Canada with their explorer Samuel de Champlain and held a grand feast of Thanksgiving where the settlers even invited the Indians. The citizens of Halifax, also held a special day for Thanksgiving after the sever years of war ended in 1763.

The Canadian Parliament declared 6^th November in 1879 as the Thanksgiving Day and a national holiday. With time the date changed to the third Monday in October but ultimately in 1957 on January 31^st the parliament proclaimed second Monday in October will be held as the Thanksgiving Day.