my two new degus

My vet played on my sorrow. She called me to tell me she knew how much I was missing all my little pets. She also mentioned that someone had dropped of a pair of degus at the front door of her office. She knew I loved pocket pets and wanted to give me first dibs on them. I didn't really want them but I went and had a look . . . and fell in love.

They are to male degus and I named them Rosencratz and Gildenstern or Rosie and Gildie for short. I've had to do a lot of research because I knew nothing about degus. What I did find out that is very important is that they should be kept in pairs or better. Lone degus develop behavioural issues. They can become less tame and even vicious without a companion. Keep two male or two females to keep from having unwanted pets.

I put two wheels in their home because they didn't want to share it. Two degus going in two different directions in one wheel makes for a lot of squeeking! Once in a while one will be on the outside of the wheel and the other inside and that works out fairly well. But the second wheel has solved all our problems.

Notice how I attach the wheel to the top of the cage. This allows for more room on the floor and keeps the wheel very stable while they run.

We are also in the process of getting another dog. A friend is bording dogs for her friend whose marriage ended. She cannot keep her dogs so they are splitting them up. We have decided on getting the pittieX. I will have her next week.

"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Good-bye Q-Tip

Q-Tip died in my arms last night at 4:00 am. He was not quite four years old and I was told he was a year when I got him. Of all my pocket pets, I loved him the most. He used to sit on the desk with me while I typed. Good-bye little piggy. Thanks for being a part of my life.

Goodbye Dr. Livingstone

Last night when we went to feed him is supper, Paul and I found our little gerbil Dr. Livingstone has passed away. I am heartbroken yet again for another loss. Tiny as he was, he provided great entertainment for me as he was housed in a 20 gallon low boy aquarium on my computer desk.

Paul and Alex found him outside one evening three years ago, walking down the edge of someone's driveway. They caught him and brought him home to me, knowing I would love him and also that he wouldn't have survived a cold Canadian winter. Or worse, ended up as some cat's dinner.

Gerbils are amazing pets. We bought play sand for him and gave him shredded paper. He made the rest of his bedding himself with toilet paper rolls, paper cup holders and whatever else we tossed in his home.

He is already sadly missed.

Thank you Dr. Livingstone, my little explorer, for the three years of companionship you gave to me.

4 Here or 2 Go Cafe

It's been a while since I posted on my blog. Paul, Alex and I have been very busy getting his cafe up and running. It's called Alex's 4 Here or 2 Go Cafe. I am pleased to say that the town of Colborne has been very supportive for him.

In time, Paul is going to work for Alex and give up his job at Home Depot. He has a terrible shift and doesn't like the commute. The cafe is within walking distance. It will be nice in winter knowing that both my guys aren't having to travel the highway in bad weather.

The Cafe serves soups, salads and sandwiches as well as baked goods, ice cream and other sweets. I am so very proud of Alex and the job he's doing!

Goodbye Sweet Dexter

Today I am sad. Q-Tip is being treated for an absess in his foot. I thought it wasn't healing and the vet suggested perhaps it was a mass and surgery would be the best option. She also told me the guinea pigs don't do well coming out of surgery and we might lose him while he was under. Feeling like I was trapped between a rock and a hard place, I opted for the surgery. I cuddled Q-Tip last night and gave him some extra love.

I took Q-Tip to the vet and went home to await a call which I believed would be bad news. When I got home, I noticed Dexter's breathing was very laboured. I called the vet and the reciptionist said to bring him in when I came to get Q-Tip as the vet saw noticed improvement in his foot and decided not to operate.

Michelle checked Dex over and told me he had pneumonia. She gave him a shot to try and releave his congestion and put him on meds. She also told me the GP's get this virus and usually pass within the next couple of months never really coming off the meds totally. I was happy to try anything but was sent him with my sickly Dexter knowing the next twenty-four hours were going to tell if he survived. He didn't. He passed about an hour after seeing the vet.

It always seems to work this way for me. When I'm so busy watching out of one thing, something else quietly slips out the back door. Dexter would have been lost without Q-Tip because he cried everytime I took Q out of the cage. Q-Tip doesn't seem to be grieving too much because Dex used to pick on him a bit. I on the other hand, am grieving deeply.

There has been so much loss in my life these past nine month. The size or genus of a creature has little bearing on how much I mourn. I miss my little Dex who gave me so much in the three short years I had of his four year life.

Goodbye Dexter, my sweetie boy.

Together for eternity

Today I interned my mother in with my father who has been waiting for her since July 21, 1986. I waited this long because I wanted to bring them together on their anniversary. It was a quiet little service with a immediate family in attendence. David Dean, a lone piper, played Amazing Grace at the graveside as my husband Paul offered her commital. She rests with my father, Harry Adolph Lemire and across from my brother, Harvey Joseph Rene Lemire, at Thornton Road Cemetery in Oshawa ON.

Special thanks to my Aunt Sally for hosting a luncheon at her house after the service. Thank to cousins, Sherry, Valerie, Susie, Heather and Aunt Barb for their contributions to the day.

Finishing up some UFO's

My mother died on January 2, 2008. In her wake she left several broken hearts and a closet full of unfinished projects. I know she had every intention of finishing them, just as I do mine. The idea of getting rid of them feels like discarding out hours of her life. I find myself clinging to what's left of her but I also know that I can't keep everything she ever started and didn't finish. So I'm going through some of the things deciding what to finish what to pack up and send out into the world and what to discard completely.

Finished is better than perfect

~Anonymous

Most of her Cross Stitch I'm going to get rid of. I've got tons of plastic canvas and plastic canvas patterns that I'm going to get rid of as well. I don't do plastic canvas myself.

One of the things I've decided to finish is an Afghan. There was just one more row to complete it. I've finished the blocks now I just have to sew them onto the afghan.

Clearing out my mother's UFOs has given me a lot to think about regarding my own. I have two sons and a step daughter.  None of them are going to want to finish my projects. Most of them were lovingly started with the intention of being finished. Some of them found their way to the finish line but most are still in boxes. I read once on the Internet about a way to make yourself finish those unfinished projects. You are allowed to start a new project only if you finish and old one first and then you must also finish the new project that you're starting. Before you can start another new project again, you must finish an old one. I've been trying this and it is working fairly well.

Robins at Elena House

We have a pair of robins nesting on our front porch. They are such devoted parents. They never seem to tire of their commitment and who work together

I finally got to see the babies. There are four of them. Mother and Father take turns bringing back mouths full of chewed worms, white grubs the occassional beetle. The babies pop up their fuzzy little heads and cry, "Me, me, me, me!!!! I cannot use my front door at the moment but it's worth it, having a front row seat to one of nature's vignettes.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops — at all...

~ E. Dickinson

Apple Blossom Tyme Festival

What a fun time we had this weekend here in Colborne at Apple Blossom Tyme Festival . For such a small community, the event is quite large.

There were pie eating contests, baby contests, an art and quilt show one of the churches in which I displayed nine quilts. There was an antique show at the curling centre and an antique car show downtown. Magic Doug entertained children on centre stage.

There were dog contests for the longest tail, longest ears, pet owner look alike and bobbing for wieners.

There were several performers including a Kobbler Jay, a fabulous juggler who walked around on stilts for most of the day. He was delightful and is especially wonderful with children.


I tackled one of my fears this weekend. It was the fear of the Ferris Wheel. I actually when on it which Alex. So I admit it was only a three story wheel but from the top it looked pretty high to me. I promised myself that I would tackle some of my fears for a New Years resolution and I'm proud to say that I'm still at it.

F.E.A.R.

False

Expectations

Appearing

Real

The street was filled with venders. One of which was a henna artist and Paul, Alex and I all got henna tattos. Mine is a pretty little design on my forearm, Paul's is a celtic knot on the inside of his forearm and Alex got a big spider draped across his hand. These tatoos should last for about 4 weeks if properly cared for.

Those who fear life are already three parts dead.

~Bertrand Russell

49 and loving it.

I love it when I read about someone embracing their age and looking forward to each new decade. I used to play my birthdays down. That was partly because I lost my brother due to illness when he was just twenty-nine. I felt guilty about getting older when he couldn’t. Now that I am in the middle of my life, I embrace my age. Canada and the United States are very concerned with body image. It is actually a sad thing that women judge their value on how they look rather than instead of what’s inside. What a great feeling to be able to leave all that feminine insecurity behind and wrap my arms around life. Let someone else worry about the size of their @ss. I’m too busy looking forward to notice what’s behind me.

This is my before picture. I'm letting my grey hair come in.

The worse that will happen is that I won't like it and I'll go back to colouring it again. If I do go back to colouring I will use Henna dye. It isn't permanent and doesn't have side effects. It coats each hair strand rather than penetrating it. If you stop using it, it will eventually wash out completely

The best thing is that I will love not having to bother with it anymore and spend more time just feeling great than wondering how to part my hair so my roots won't show. If more women would accept their going grey, the more acceptable it would become. Look at how beautiful Helen Mirren was when featured in More magazine or Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. There is beauty in every age and once we realize it, we will be able to face each day putting our best face forward.

If you decide to go grey, don't let your whole appearance follow. The absence of hair colour requires the presence of colour in other areas to keep you from looking washed out. Check out these tips for looking grey and gorgeous!

As I was going down the stair,

I met a man who wasn't there.

He wasn't there again today.

Oh how I wish he'd stay away.

guinea pigs

How wonderful to finally have fair weather. The guinea pigs are really enjoying it. After being cooped up all winter eating dried hay the fresh air, sweet grass and sunshine are just the thing! I put my piggies in a tent to guard them against birds etc. It also keeps the bugs off of them.

This is Q-Tip in his spring sweater. He's a skinny pig (hairless) so he needs a sweater to keep warm. Also he has to be protected from sunburn.


Dexter is never fair from Q-Tip. Here he is chillin' out enjoying the day.

If all the beasts were gone,

men would die from a great loneliness of spirit,

for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.

All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.

~Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe

Both my piggies are rescues. Q-Tip lived the first year of his life in a cage so small he could barely turn around. Just twice as long as he was. Dexter's cage was even smaller. Now they enjoy 6'x2' cage and are a pair of spoiled boys.

Lots of people talk to animals....

Not very many listen, though....

That's the problem.

~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

get rid of musty basement smell

Paul and I went to a century home seminar by Chris Cooper of Edifice Magazine, last fall and were taught a good trick with Borax regarding musty basement smells. First off, open your basement windows to let the air circulate. That's what the windows are for. Now take a 2 kg box of Borax and mix with 2 gallons boiling water. Put in a 2 gallon sprayer and spray the wood and masonry in the basement. Let it dry. Borax has sodium in it and mold and mildew will be killed immediately. Every time your basement gets damp, it will reactivate the borax and kill of any chances of mildew coming back.

Anyone interested in preserving their heritage home or keeping their newer home in good repair should check out one of his seminars.

at the lake

We often spend time down at Lake Ontario. Many people don't realize just how big the Great Lakes are. Ontario is not the biggest but it is huge nevertheless.

I used to have trouble remembering the names of the lakes when I was a child but my kids learned a trick in school to help them remember.

Just remember HOMES. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

This is Paul and Alex wandering out on the boat launch. I was standing on the shore taking pictures and getting soaked as the waves broke. I love spending time at the lake. We try to go down there a couple times a week. It's just a few minutes from our house. Whenever I'm upset about something that's where Paul takes me. I can lose hours just watching the water.

What a cold day it was at the lake. When the water is angry, it shows as two different colours. Further out it is a deep blue or sometime grey but closer to shore where it's more shallow, it shows lighter. I guess it's because of the rocks and sand.

The gulls certainly aren't camera shy. In fact, I think they like to be the centre of attention. We didn't bring any snacks for them that day but I think they were glad to be sitting on the rocks staying warm in the sun.

We explored the forest around the shore a bit and found a piece of birch with a fabulous bit of fungus growing on the side. It looks like a little fairy perch.

During our drive home, we all marveled at how green the fields look. What a difference between the water at the lake and in this stream. I think this will be a future picnic spot.

waxwings are back

The cedar waxwings are back looking for a bite to eat. I love that they show up in a gang.




We didn't have them at our other house and they are an exciting addition to my birdwatching. We also have such guests are bluejays, cardinals, juncos, rosebreasted grosbeaks, doves, chickadees, robins and more. We've had a hawk visit the garden a couple of time for dinner but that's not the kind of birdwatching I want to do. Still, hawks must eat and we supply quite a buffet.

The crocuses are done now but it was nice to see them after such a long winter. We now have tulips. They came up as the daffodils were ending. Of course the tulips are mostly yellow but there are a couple of pink ones and a few red behind the garage. The red ones were just about to put on a lovely show and a cutworm showed up and pulled the curtain on them.








There are a few orangy-red and brown ones in the garden. I've never planted tulips so I am glad they are here already to start this garden off for me. It is such a sad and underworked garden but I have great hopes for it!

My mother's birthday

Today would have been my mother's seventy-seventh birthday. Needless to say I am missing her today.

I used to wonder who set up the time frame of one year's mourning? It always seemed like a stupid idea to put a time on sorrow. I still get sad thinking of my brother or dad and they've been gone now for 23 and 22 years. Who says on year is appropriate for being sad? But since my mom died in January, I have come to a better understanding of the "one year's mourning" period.

Since she died, I have had to celebrate my first birthday without her, my first trip to the Buttermilk cafe without her, my first Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day, Easter, the first day of spring, etc. And today, her first missed birthday.

Everytime I pass a florist shop or card aisle I am reminded that this will be the my first Mother's Day without her. I still have to get through my first day of summer without her, my first blooming onion without her, my first Christmas, Halloween, Labour Day, Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, New Years Eve and worse yet to come, the first anniversary of her passing. She will not be here to share my excitement of my first guests at and Bed and Breakfast I have named for her. She will not see the Shasta Daisies I am planting for her. She won't see my first exhibit at the art gallery. She would have been so proud.

It is just four months since she died and I have missed sharing so much with her. I suppose one year is an appropriate time frame in which to mourn. I'm sure that even after that year there will still be many first's without my mom.

Oh how I miss for her. I miss her praise, her unconditional love, the sound of her voice, her unsolicited advice, her friendship, her encouragement and the smell of her hugs.

take care of your photos

Our basement got flooded this spring. With all the snow we've had, the bad grading on the house and the old stone foundation, we ended up with a small lake in the basement. It's pretty much dried up now but for a while there was a steady stream of water. Excuse the pun.

One evening just before bed, I went back to the basement to check on something. I can't even remember what that something was because when I got to the basement, a box of photos has spilled over onto the wet floor. They must have just fallen because Paul and I were able to save about seventy percent of them. Some of the water damaged photos were beyond our skills

I know the basement is the worst place to keep the photos. I was planning on scanning them and putting them all to disc. Just one of those lessons I guess.

Pink for Spring

I found this sweet little bird's nest at our local florist which is located right inside the Downey Pharmacy here in Colborne . I go in every few days to talk to Cheryl and see what new piece of greenery she has in stock. I didn't plan to buy anything ornamental but this little nest just sung to me of spring and I knew it would look charming on the sideboard along with some candies and a pair of vintage gloves.

I buy candy at the Bulk Barn and it lasts for a very long time. My favourite ones are the green mint and Paul likes the pink. I must admit the green go down faster than anything else.

I did buy a neat little succulent called String of Beans. There are also String of Pearls, Buttons and Bananas. I've always wanted the pearls ( beads) but the beans are close and they were in stock.

the last of the snow

The snow seems to stay longer at the lake. Paul and I drove down to Wicklow Beach and watched ducks diving for their dinner. With ice and snow still on the shore, it's hard to imagine how these poor little creatures don't freeze their beaks! None-the-less, they seemed to be enjoying themselves and we had fun just watching them surfing the waves.




Further up the road there were two big yellow cows having their dinner. One cow was very busy with the salt lick but when I talked to her she took the time to acknowledge me.

leaf melting on ice

Spring will not be denied. We never got around to raking all the leaves in the garden last fall and piles some up around the roses to protect them. Natured decided to press through anyway and force a daffodil up through the leaves that were left around the rose bushes.






On the side of the driveway, snow and ice continue to melt. A leaf was on the ice and because of it's dark colour, it melted the ice quicker.

It's amazing how nature works and how much there is to see if only we will look.

Beaded Eggs

Fair thee well Winter months and welcome Spring! Easter weekend, spring and a full moon, this weekend has it all. I got my beaded eggs out for my window display.

The gold egg has a silver bead band in the middle. This egg was made back when silver was used in the making of beads which is why this egg now appears to have a blackish band around the middle. The silver has tarnished. These three eggs are resting on a bed of dried freesia from a bouquet Paul gave me. I haven't made any of these in some years but I have lots of requests for them.

They are very easy to make.

First I blow out an egg and then seal the hole with a bit of tissue and glue.

In order to start with an even line, I put an elastic band around the egg and use a pencil to draw a starting line.

After removing the elastic, I use a toothpick to apply white glue and a pin to attach the beads.

I never have a design in mind, the shape of the beads and egg help to determine that.

These are tedious to make but most of mine were done while watching television. Or rather, listening to television. The first egg I ever beaded got broken when I had one of my Irish temper tantrums and threw it at Paul. When it broke, it was like fine china hitting a cement floor. So ended my days of egg tossing. I missed him and lost one of my beautiful eggs. Perhaps it may have been more satisfying if I'd have hit my mark LOL.

Baxter, my Granddog

This is Baxter, my granddog. Alex got him from the Toronto Humane Society. For a Christening gift Paul and I are paying for his obedience training. His pointer tendencies lead him to believe that my rat, gerbil, chinchillas and guinea pigs should all be hunted. My dog Brady is a border collie X. He can be trusted with all the animals. All he wants to do is herd them. Not BAXTER!

Don't be fooled by this sweet little face.

This is Bax having lunch on Alex's finger

Baxter's nose.

window rabbits and a guilty cat

These cute bunnies came from an antique shop in Brighton, a little town just ten minutes east of Colborne. It's an excellect shop because they mix old with new. These bunnies are sold separately but they look like such a nice pair that I bought both. They are in my Easter window display. I need to sew a lace curtain for behind the window because I'm not fond of the wall paper the previous owners had in the kitchen. It's a navy blue plaid and while it's nice enough paper, it's not kitcheny enough for me. I've got so much to do in the house and the kitchen is on the bottom of the list.







Paul's cat Jasmine decided to join us for dinner the other day. Sadly for her, I don't dine with my pets so she had to make a hasty exit from the table but not before I got a picture of her eyeing the last chick'n nugget in the pan. Both Paul and I are Flexitarians so I doubt she would have eaten it even if it were offered.

After scolding one's cat one looks into its face

and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word.

And has filed it for reference.

~Charlotte Gray

At Lotsa Stuff, Leslie the proprietess had this chicken pulling a wagon of chicks. I loved it so much and when I was tidying the other day, I found a bag on the dining table and they were in it.

I love Paul so much. He never makes a show of gift giving. Something could sit there for days and he wouldn't say a word. I on the other hand hate keeping secrets and would do something famboyant in order to get the recipient of the gift to notice it sitting there.

Nippon - Weeding out

When we moved into this house last summer, my mother and I combined some of our collections. In the china cabinet, my mother's Nippon collections share space with my Sadler teapots. I'm only keeping a few choice pieces of Nippon. Some of it I plan to pass on at a yard sale this comming August.


Colborne hosts an event called Trash 'N Treasures. Because of the move we didn't participate last year but will this summer. I plan to have an old fashioned lemonade stand set up as well. Perhaps offer a few baked goods but that will depend on if my son has his bakery up and running by then. I don't want to cut into his business.

There's a certain slant of light

There's a certain slant of light,

On winter afternoons,

That oppresses, like the weight

Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;

We can find no scar,

But internal difference

Where the meanings are.

None may teach it anything,

'Tis the seal, despair,

-An imperial affliction

Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,

Shadows hold their breath;

When it goes, 'tis like the distance

On the look of death.

~Emily Dickinson

At first glance this seemingly depressing peom by Dickinson manages to capture that feeling in all of us that comes to the surface once in a while. Some call it cabin fever, others SAD. Paul and I were on one of our winter drives which we take often. I do get cabin fever and need a change in scenery from time to time. My cabin fever is not however restricted to winter. I believe in getting out of the house. Besides what could be better than arriving back to your beautiful home all refreshed and inspired? The sun was shining so beautifully on the snow this day creating a spectactular sight. That's one of the things I love about late winter. In early winter the sky is usually grey and the landscape shadowless and without expression. This picture is taken from a hill that looks over Lake Ontario just outside Castleton. The day started sunny but by the time we got home, the clouds had taken over the sky and the snow was again without shadows. Spring is just around the corner and Dickinson's poem reminds us of the coming death of winter through the heat of the sun shining on the snow.

Lotsa Stuff

There is a sweet little shop here in Colborne ON., called Lotsastuff. I wander down every few days to see what's new. Mostly I browse but I have also bought some lovely treasures there as well. These birds just sang to me of the coming spring and as much as I dearly love winter, it has been a hard and sorrowful season this year and I need to hear my birds singing again.

I have a window in my kitchen that looks into the sunroom. There are shelves in the window and I am having a great time dressing the window for seasons and holidays. Upon entering the sunroom, it is one's first impression of the house and what can be found inside. One of my teacups suffered a tiny chip in the rim making it no longer safe to use so I put a tiny little hippopotomus figurine in it that my aunt gave me from a job lot she bought at the auction.

She bid on salt and pepper shakers and anything that didn't fit the bill, she gave to me. I also gleened this tiny kitten and it sits in what I believe is a sugar bowl. The bowl has been in my mother's cupboard since I can remember. I decided it needed to come out into the open where it can be admired. If anyone has any information about this dish, I'd love to hear from you.

I am looking for some beaded eggs I made to go into the display as well but they are lost at the moment from the move.

Winter is more than half over

We're being soaked with rain at the moment but that's not going to last for long. I actually prefer snow because it's dry and cold rather than wet and cold. Here are a few pictures I took in my backyard during the last big snowfall.



The screenroom was becoming less like a screen and more like a wall.



This is a picture of one of my favourite things about winter. Nature's balancing act. This twig is about the size of a pencil lead yet it can balance a fair amount of snow even in the blowing wind.



There is a huge old pine out in the yard. It served as a sort of umbrella while I was playing fetch with Brady. This picture was taken with me leaning against the trunk and looking straight up.



Check out the grin on Brady's face. This dog is not happy unless he's herding or fetching.



Here is a picture of the yard. It's so pretty. The barn in the background is not ours but belongs to our neighbour. That twisty looking bush to the left is a very old lilac. I imagine a nice reading bench parked right under it in the spring.

recipes worth trying

Some friends and I share recipes for a group cookbook. Some of us send in recipes in a "scrapbook" format. Although I can not share their recipes on my blog, I can certainly share mine. If you notice "hugs tato" on any of my posts it's because that's how I'm known to this particular group.

If you click on the image it should open large enough to read or print out if that is your pleasure. Please feel free to copy any of these pages but please don't publish them without my permission.


Let me know how you like any of the recipes you try from my blog.