Sharon!!!!!!

These are the trees!!! I think they are Birch! They grow FAST have narrow silver trunks and shimmery small leaves that look gorgeous in the breeze. In groups they look lovely! You could have teeny ones or big ones - and Lloyd is getting a tree mover in the Spring so can dig up whatever size you want if you decide these are what you want! I took three pictures - an individual tree (top) a row of them (middle) and a group of them (bottom). Hope that helps you show Terry what they look like. But don't worry if they are no good. Spring is definitely the best time to plant trees as it gives them the whole Summer to get their roots nice and strong before the frost. The good thing about these Birch is that they grow fast - these grow several feet a year. But if you wanted mature trees we could dig those up and move them too - not like we have a shortage of them ;)

Todays lunch!

Thank you Sharon!!! Yummy scones baked by Sharon with FAR too much butter and yummy raspberry jam :) And we ran out yesterday so I made Lloyd drive me to the garage last night to get some more :) JUST for these scones :) Yes I shared ol - Laurie came home for lunch today as he has finished school for Summer and is only in for exams now so he was home for lunch today....so he thanks you too :) Oh and Sam had some too :)

YUM :)

Chris T's war

After yesterday I think Charlie gets all she deserves ;)

Picnic with friends...

Yesterday we had some wonderful friends come and join us for a picnic lunch and to play outside. We had so much fun - the weather stayed perfect - not too hot and not too windy and the rain stayed away so it was ideal! Now if only Charlie had stayed away it would have been perfect but that fat piggy could smell all the great food and just wouldn't leave us alone - she even managed to push her way through three heavy wooden boards to get out of the workshop!

Anyway, I think the children had great fun and I know I had a great time with some wonderful company, so thank you Charlynn, Sharon and Val (alphabetical order and not in favourite order lol) for coming over and spending a few hours with us! And thank you Sharon for the treats your brought the children - and for the magazines and scones you brought for me! The scones were delicious and I sat in bed until 10am this morning reading People magazine :) Wow I can't believe how skinny and horrible that girl from third rock looks - she was so pretty before but now she looks so thin and ill! She seems to think she looks great! She had real character before!!!! She needs you to bake her some scones!!!!

Val I smudged out your little guys face - so I hope these pics are ok......It breaks my heart to do it but at least it means I can have you in my pictures! Wish I could blog your little guy though! To me he's your little guy ;) He sure liked Charlynn ;) I had great fun yesterday - the bee swarm kind of tok over yesterday but I did have a great time the rest of the time too :) I hope the children enjoyed themselves :)

Oh by the way the second picture of you 'Moms' I picked because its a funny one of all of you :) lol!

7days - day 6 - Bug eyed!!

Here is my portrait for day 6 of the 7 days portrait project that I'm taking part in!! I called it 'Bug Eyed'!! Sharon brought these fabby shades over for Sam yesterday and I couldn't resist wearing them for todays portrait! I couldn't wear them for yesterdays as it was a themed day (water) but today was a general day so I could! Cool huh?

You can check out all the other great pictures in the project at:
www.flickr.com/groups/sevendays

Bee Blog updates

Just to let you know my Bee Blog has been updated with some exciting updates from yesterday.....and although I've had a busy few days with lots of fun things happening for me and the children - Abigails concert, Sams last day at preschool, Abigail and Laurence ice skating, Good friends over for a picnic here yesterday - meeting up with Sharon for the first time in FOUR years :)

Well, sorry guys but the bee thing has just kind of kept me busy ever since and I haven't had much time to think about anything else ever since. As soon as the bees are properly settled in their new hive out by the vegetable garden I can think straight and focus properly and get caught up again and update you all with all the rest of the news and pictures and updates :) But for now head over to the bee blog for the latest info ;)

Although I will do my 7days piccy later ;)

Rolling eyes smiley anyone?????

Too funny! Lloyds results!

96 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

How do you rate as a 1930's Wife?

71 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

7days - day 5 - water!

Day 5 of the 7days self portrait project and today I risked life and limb by posing midst a thunderstorm!!! Yes I could have been struck by lightning but art must come first! I may look like a drowned rat but what does that matter so long as I get my picture????? So set the tripod, timer and camera up on the porch...run to the rock in time for the camera to go off.....get the picture and run back.....

Todays themed day was water.....hence the rain ;)

You can read more about the 7days project and check out the rest of todays water-filled images at: www.flickr.com/groups/sevendays

7days - day 4!!!

Nose in a book!

This is my Day 4 picture for the 7days self portrait project I am taking part in! You can read more about it at and see all the other pictures in the project at: www.flickr.com/groups/sevendays

New readers..

Just a reminder that I will be returning to a private blog this coming weekend. I will send an invite to all my regular readers - so anyone who had access before I became public will again be sent an invite to read the blog. Don't feel you have to accept though.

Anyone who is new to my blog this week and would like to continue to read my blog after it becomes private this weekend will need to contact me and ask me for an invite to the blog. You can do this by contacting me via the details in my profile or by leaving your email address and info in a comment here.

Thanks :)

Also please feel free to leave comments and let me know you're reading :)

7days

This is todays self portrait picture and I chose it because it reflects how workmen (and I've met a LOT of them lately....sigh....) have a habit of talking to my chest rather than to ME ggggrrrrrr

This picture is part of a 7 day self portrait project I am taking part in. You can read more about the project and check out the other pictures from other photographers taking part at: www.flickr.com/groups/sevendays

New growth...

All our various fir trees are doing really great this year! They all have so much new growth this year! LOTS of new cones and buds and branches and 'bits' on them!!! We've never seen these pink things before!!! All the different trees on our land have various new things growing on them! I thought this one in particular was really interesting!

No wonder we've finally attracted a squirrel!!!

Fathers Day..and other stuff

I hope you all had a lovely Fathers Day yesterday...we did. Chris made Lloyd coffee and brought it up to us in bed and the children all brought the cards and gifts up to the bed and we sat around on the bed and watched Lloyd open them all...

Sam made Lloyd the pen holder above at preschool but it was rather plain so when we got it home I helped him decorate it with all the lovely stickers :) and we got the special pencils from Home Depot to fill it with as we thought it was ideal for his workshop! Lloyd also had some dvd's and what he REALLY wanted - a cordless reciprocating saw!!!

We phoned our Dads over in England to say hello and wish them Happy Fathers Day!

Lloyd and I went to Greenlands Garden Centre for coffee for a while and did a little shopping there - Lloyd wanted a climbing vine to grow over his workshop - he bought a type of Ivy that grows in Zone 3 and will grow to 50' and changes to a lovely shade of red in the Fall...I forget the name....

After that we came home and spent the rest of the day pottering about outside......

Today our garbage is collected - as part of the new Green team recycling project thingy that our County is running...it's the very first day. No more normal garbage collection. Normal waste will only be collected every two weeks and you can only put out the one black bin and the lid must close on it. You can put out as much recycling as you like.

Every week in between you put out organic waste (composting) as well as your recycling. Organic waste is pretty much everything so actually very little goes into your normal garbage can anyway.

Now we have a system in place it works very well. They provided us with the necessary garbage cans - we already had blue recycling bins for plastics and paper so now we just need to buy blue bags regularly and I plan to buy composting bags regularly because I don't want the green bins to get smelly - although we have a composting bin and we feed Charlie food waste quite often, we still will have some smelly food waste and organic waste for the green bin and I don't want it smelly, so I want composting bags. Tissues and coffee filters etc go in there...meat and dairy products and oils etc - so some things that don't normally go in the compost box can still go in the organics bin.

But one thing I am not sure about are fabric softener sheets like Bounce sheets - drier lint can go in but what about fabric softener sheets??????? I have tried phoning up but the line is busy and they say to leave your number but our phone is about to be cut off as the trenchers arrive at lunchtime (FINALLY!!!!) and will cut through our phone line today......so there is no point...so I am not sure what to do with fabric softener sheets.....which bin?????? Maybe thats a question for LP.....

Ok have to go - Abigail has her last drama class of the year - her concert is tomorrow night :)

The trenchers foreman was here this morning :) They arrive in one hour and will start trenching at noon :) our contractors foreman will be here at 11:30am to oversee the trenching :)

We will have a hole this week :) they are starting our renovations TODAY :) AT LAST...no more delays from the weather or anything TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!! :)

Eyebrow pencil????

Susie weeded the strawberry bed for me yesterday and thought it funny to to add sdome dirt to her eye lids and eyebrows......funny girl..... ;)