Keep up todate in the life of me

I will try in this blog to catch everyone up on the life of the McGraw's

I travelled to B.C. on May 24-June 7 and spent time with my sisters. We had a wonderful time at Pt. Roberts, Wa. as well as in Marg's home in Surrey. One thing the pictures tell me is that my diet is long overdue.

My garden this year has been very good. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears and the flowers are beautiful. Some kind of fungus attacked my cucumbers but we did get a fair number harvested first. Cucumbers, zuchinni, and squash plants were hardest hit, but my green beans are slowly dying. I'm not sure if it is a natural death or the fungus that got them. if memory serves me right they usually start turning brown and dying around this time. As I get older I depend less on my memeory as it usually lets me down.

I have gone on a couple of outings with the Red Hats this year so far that have been really fun. A 3 day 2 night trip to Shipshawana, Indiana that is an annual thing was, as always, the best. Shopping, shopping and more shopping. We also did a lunch and theater trip to Petrolia. We saw a play called : "Seasons" It was very good.

My friend Joni and I went to a concert in Lansing, Michigan and listened to a folk singer, Barb Barton who is very good. Her cd, that I purchased has been enjoyed by Don and I often since I got it. http://www.barbbarton.com/catalog/index.php

A good weekend was had by all of us. On the way back to Canada Joni and I stopped at Exit 133, not sure what highway , at a Tanger Outlet and shopped, and then at Exit 145 at the Cracker Barrel for dinner and then home before dark.


One big event of this summer was my Granddaughter Angela getting her driver's licence, granddaughter Nicole turning 18 and earlier in the spring only Grandson Zachary becoming a teenager. Hard to believe he is 13 already.



We attended baseball games with Rachel playing, and took her to her practise when Sue and Dennis were in Toronto.







My girls and boy are growing up. they are now Nicole (18) Angela (17) Victoria (15) Amanda (15 in Nov) Zachary (13) and Rachel (10). Hard to get a picture of them altogher but 4 at once is good too. L to R is Victoria, Rachel, Amanda and Nicole.





Zachary and Angela are below. Angela doesn't wear glasses all the time but this picture was the closest at hand.


Don is keeping busy this summer making a bit of furniture, doing alot of the gardening and a visit to Tim Horton's occasionally. Right now he has a cold sore in his eye and went to the doctor yesterday. It is very uncomfortable and he does not take being sick well. My sister in law, Doreen , from Kitchener is here with us. I went to Kitchener on Friday and stayed with her. We had a wonderful Saturday at the Market in Kitchener and she came back with me Sat. night. I always enjoy her visists.
I will try not to leave so many months inbetween the blogs. Hi to all my friends and family that read this.

I am in Beautiful Brtish Columbia on vacation at the moment. I flew out of Windsor on May 24, and I will be here until June 7. Don is keeping the home fires burning and the grass cut. After being in florida for over 4 months he was not quite ready to head out again, but with my gypsy blood I am always more than ready to travel. It's in my genes.

As I am using my sister's computer I can't add any pictures into this blog but feel free to go to my flickr site and check out a few. http://www.flickr.com/photos/72938403@N00/

So far I have had a few days in Point Roberts, Washington, We went to Northwood Casino one day for lunch and to help the Indian Band out with a donation. Marg and I took the bus, skytrain and seabus out to N. Vancouver to Longsdale Quay yesterday and had a nice lunch by the water and window shopped. Today was a quiet day of reading/tv. That is waht vacation is all about, right?

Thurs. is a Ladies Tea and fashion show and hopefully on Fri. a trip up the coast to Molly's Reach for unch (remember The Beachcombers").

I will have a full update when I return home next week.

Update on my life

It's a Florida Lifestyle! I am sad to say it is time to put a drop sheet over my palm tree, cover the furniture and set off bug bombs. I head back home next Friday (April 17/09) and leave my home away from home for the next 7 months.

Don has been home for awhile already as he flew back March 26. Allergies were at an all time high this spring and it was very difficult for him the last few weeks. Puffers, antihistimines, etc did not help too much, so he was glad to head back to the cold northern regions of this great continent. He has been keeping busy and has ripped up the broadloom from the master bedroom of our home and put down wood floors. When I get back I will pick out paint and trim to do a complete makeover.

A friend of mine from home has flown down to stay with me and drive back with me acting as navigator. We are using every day to it's fullest doing the pool, the beach, the stores, the flea market as well as bingos and casinos. What a life!

This week the packing has to be done full steam ahead. I have already done some sorting, throwning out and give aways. It happens every year that I shop too much and now with a small car instead of a van I just cannot bring it all back with me.

this was what a packed van looked like in past years, now my little Dodge Avenger has to hold it all (LOL).

We will manage I am sure and what doesn't fit stays here. I am looking forward to going home, but I will miss it here. I'll write again after I get back to Canada.

Winter in Florida 2008-9

Myself, Ellen and Arlene on a sightseeing boat trip up in Tarpon Springs. We arrived in Florida this year Mid Novemeber and the weather was perfect. We always have a good time together

Christmas in Florida is the only way to go. Turkey can be roasted outdoors under the carport so as not to heat up the house. Flowers are outdoors as well.

The picture to the right is of me in the center with my

friend Arlene's granddaughters at Sand Key beach

My sister Marg from Surrey B.C. visited again in February and we attended the Palatka Bluegrass festival . It was wonderful anyone wanting information should go to

http://www.aandabluegrass.com/Festivals/PalatkaBluegrassFestival.html

The music was great, weather co-operated

and we had a good time together

The food was good too.

Today is March 1, 2009 and it is National Pig Day. We had Breakfast at SkyWay JAck's in St. Petersburg and here is a picture of Don with Miss Piggy.

If you want to see more pictures of Pig Day and my time in Florida see my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/72938403@N00/

This past summer was great. We enjoyed our kids, grandkids, many barbeques and lots of company. We made a trip to the East coast spending some time in the Eastern states as well as in Quebec. Don's family is all well, and we managed to see all of them that are still down East. A stop in Kitchener on the way home proved productive as we were able to bring Don's sister to our place to visit for a few days.

Now the visiting is done, and we are busy getting the yard and garden ready for winter. Bushes and trees are cut back, leaves piled around rose bushes, and garden dug up for next year. Work, work, work!

Fall is here, the leaves have changed color and are falling faster than they can be mulched up with the mower. Before you know it, this scene will be covered in white. But, the good news is I'll be in Florida so I don't care.

There was snow a couple of weeks ago in Saskatchewan, and snow earlier this week in Northern Ontario. That is getting too close for comfort. As much as I love our Canadian Seasons and the changes that our foliage undergoes, I would much prefer just Spring, Summer and Fall. Winter is a 5 letter word to me. I guess growing up in Saskatchewan where -40 was the norm for so much of the winter has something to do with that feeling. I do have 2 siblings that decided to stay in that fridgid provience and be tough, but whimp that I am I decided that Florida is the only place to be during the months that have Snow in them.

CATCH UP TIME

It has been a long time since I posted anything. Needless to say it has been a very busy summer. We had a few grandchildren stay with us at the beginning of the summer. Don's 72nd birthday in July called for a big dinner and 5 out of 7 of the kids attended a big barbecue along with spouses and children for a dinner for 16..

My garden this year may have been small, but it was very productive. We have been eating cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and okra. Herbs include parsley, thyme, basil, and chives. We are enjoying the fruits of our labour.

Don's sister Doreen from Kitchener visited towards the end of June and again just last week. We always enjoy her visits. We took the first two weeks of September for a vacation . We travelled through New York, Main and up into New Brunswick for a visit with Don's siblings.

Some pictures of our vacation were posted on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/72938403@N00/ My camera was left in Kingston so I'll post more later.

A couple of days were spent in Rimouski, Quebec reuniting Don with a friend he hadn't seen in 53 years. It was a touching reunion. We then spent a couple of days in Cornwall, Ont and visited friends from Florida and had a grand tour of the countryside including Moose Creek and St. Albert where we visited a cheese factory. I ate Poutine for the first time. A couple of casinos were visited over in the U.S. across from Cornwall and we played dice for hours with them. We spent one night with Don's niece in Amherstview just outside of Kingston, Ont. Her husband will be shipping out to Afghanistan early in November for 6 months. We learned how to make beer can chicken. It is excellent!

Lots to do when we got home as Doreen was with us and lots of catching up to do. Everything is now back to normal, Don keeps busy in his garage and I am back working at the local Food Bank and meals on wheels kitchen. Bingo on Wednesdays is the biggest game in town.