If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Picnic time for teddy bears,
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And see them picnic on their holiday.
See them gaily dance about.
They love to play and shout.
And never have any cares.
At six o'clock their mommies and daddies
Will take them home to bed
Because they're tired little teddy bears.

If you go out in the woods today,
You'd better not go alone.
It's lovely out in the woods today,
But safer to stay at home.

So I think you know where I am heading with this little song......



Yes, Bruno my little friend, put in an appearance again this morning. Sunday morning, the little rascal destroyed the neighbors two composters. I am glad he demolished ours last year, so we don't have that worry of him visiting in our yard. And to think I really didn't want to have the wire fence put back up. Good thing or Bruno would have come in for coffee this morning!
Just in from our Monday morning run, Trish and I did the Ridgeview neighborhood this morning looking at all the pretty yards. It was only 6km but it felt like 20.....heartburn and running just don't mix. Have a great day!

Well I don't know what goes by faster, the weekends or the months? Can you believe it is the end of May already? I can't.....it just seems the other day April started. I have to admit I am sooooooooo looking forward to June 25Th, my last day of work till September. Yea!!!!! I have so many projects lined up and runs I want to do in the two months. I really don't think there is enough time but I can amaze even myself when I get on a roll.

I finished Kait and Tor's living room table and the jury is still out as to whether I am happy or not, with the paint. I'm sure I am the only one that notices these things but sometimes I just expect a little too much I guess. I'm thinking I need a paint sprayer, of course then I would need a place other than my garage to do the spraying, because "yooooooo" wouldn't that make a mess!

So here is the table, not pine any more that's for sure. I also got four chairs from a lady and sanded and painted them, as they have a table without any chairs. The price was right "Free" so I couldn't go wrong and besides which, they are better than anything I had when I first started out.



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So between painting and gardening and weeding, Trish and I got our run in on Saturday morning but unfortunately not knowing where we were going other than the general direction.......we didn't really run the Elsie Gunn Trail.....we ended up somewhere up above the river running along the power lines. But that's okay too because it was a good hard run as both us were feeling the burn today. I think this is a funny photo of Trish because she "hates" bridges!



Notice how she isn't looking over the edge, or standing to close to the guard rail!
Can't blame her. I really wanted to look over the edge and get a shot of the train come underneath the bridge but "yikes" no can do!



I have the urge to throw myself over when I get too close to the edge too. But I am okay running on the outside, I let her run on the inside. So other than going the wrong way we did clock over 11km so it's all good.

Today was spent painting and planting. The "Greens Keeper" mowed the lawns AGAIN, he just did them yesterday but they have been growing like mad because of the fertilizer, and so the first swipe doesn't really do it. Much nicer the second time. So that was our weekend. I need a rest so it's back to work tomorrow! Good night......sleep tight!

TGIF, bring on the weekend

For a short week, it was certainly a long one. Our weather has been very nice all week and after the girls and Tor left on Wednesday, I started putting the house back to normal. Yikes!
I primed the "ugly" table and it looked much better. Today I sprayed it "Heirloom White" and it looks sooooo nice. I will post a photo tomorrow when it is completely done. I'll have to see if I can find some baskets to go on the shelf. I also made some coasters for the table, I made them from dark grey slate tiles. Very simple, very easy.

But I wanted to put these photos up of the girls biking in Vietnam, I saw these and laughed so hard.



Jane's expression is priceless. It just seems so funny for her to be riding a bike. I can't even remember her ever riding a bike!

This one of Kait looks so natural. Just riding along on her bicycle through the streets of Hoi An. At least that's one city I know they were in, but it's probably not that one in particular. But they are such cute pictures, I couldn't help but share them.



Tomorrow Trish, Denise and I are going to run the Elsie Gunn Trail. I've been wanting to do that run ever since I started running. I must remember to bring my small camera, the view from the top is suppose to be awesome. I have many things planned for the weekend. And I bought more flowers! I know I'm bad!
Must get those in tomorrow.....soooo pretty....night!

Mmmmm...I wonder?

Well I am onto a new project. Kait and Tor bought a coffee table at a garage sale. Paint can transform anything from ugly to pretty in a matter of hours. Simply amazing! So far I have sanded the paint drips off the top and cleaned up some of the nicks, but they will add character, so I don't sand them out completely. But most of the varnish is off. I bought the really good primer by Kilz, it covers anything and is a perfect stain blocker, because you know what pine is like. Yuck!


So I will get on this more tomorrow but for now I am done. Way too much going on here the last few days and I am tuckered right out. Water running tomorrow. But for now it is lights out for this chick. Talk soon, have a great evening!

Before you know it...Monday

I saw this look on "Life in the Fun Lane blog" and I asked Holly what bush she used in her planters and she said they were Boxwood. So to jazz it up a bit with some color, I had to add some pinks and purples. Boxwood won't survive over the winter in the pot, so in the fall I will have to transfer it to a flower bed to sleep.





I really wish it would warm up a few more degrees so that I'm not running back and forth with plants, one minute it's warm and then the next night it is below freezing. Last night it really wasn't that cold but for some reason two of the cucumber plants fell over dead. I know it isn't from the cold because the other plants in the greenhouse were fine. Plus the heater was on. These are very finicky plants I really don't think they are worth the money that hubby pays for them. I think from now on we'll go with the $1.49 version. This weekend was "very" busy! Jane has been home since last Wednesday and her friend was here till Friday, not that they are any trouble, just more people than we are used too. Then on Sunday, Kait, Tor and Ayla came, so it's been pretty much a "food fest", and I am really not into cooking these days. Good thing they are easy to please, salads, and what ever there is to BBQ...tonight was a pasta feast.





My hubby has been very busy all weekend working on a project he started last week..our retaining wall of sorts was rotting away and the "bush" was starting to move into the yard, so he got one of those bush whacking tools and took out three truck loads of brush and trees, I like trees but I'm not one to be crowded out by them. I mean really... there is no shortage in this area. The yard is so much prettier and cleaner now. I'm happy.





Kait wanted to get some plants for their new place, so I had told her when she came up we would get some plants and pot them up. So this morning we went to Mr. Knapps and got a few flowers and tomato plants and then to Hunnifords for basil and basket fillers.





Tomorrow it is back to work and to the pool for some water running. Trish and I ran this morning and it was quite nice, just an easy run through town. Yesterday we did a 10k along the river trails, a first for us in a long while but everything felt good. But to be on the safe side, my slave driver is making me go water running tomorrow. We want to have a good summer to take us into the fall and some races. But no commitments yet....talk soon.....

What a week....

How time flies when you're having fun...not...I have been home from work all week with what started out as a cold and developed into much more. And to top things up, I do believe that I am suffering from allergies for the first time in my life....now if that isn't adding insult to injury! I feel sorry for anyone who suffers that closing off of the air passage...but I think I am on the mend finally. I am feeling a little house bound so I hope to be able to get out tomorrow and pick up a few groceries, the fridge is starting to look very empty. I am also needing a few craft items. I had an idea one day so I gave it a try and phffff it worked! Gotta love that!



I think they turned out quite nice. Kait is happy with them since they are for her and Tor in their new place.
I had this really outdated lamp hiding down in the basement.



When we first got this lamp it was very "in". It was pink and had a pink shade, Yes very "80"s well it went the way of the Doe-doe bird when we moved to town in 2003 and I decided to paint it cream and changed the shade to a Martha Stewart cream fabric shade. So now.....it is totally different and on a totally different level of decor.



Then of course I wasn't quite satisfied with the ribbon as I don't care how good you are, it is very hard to put ribbon around a lamp shade. So I came up with solution I had seen on another blogsite, and it did help with the look.


And it is now back in the present.


Well Kait likes it so that's the main thing, and she is going with the beachy theme so shells and, whites, blues are part of the decor. I hope this week I can finally get out and find the fabric to make the headboard and look around for a coffee table to refinish in white.
Number one daughter arrived home from her Southeast Asia travels, so I am happy my children are all back on Canadian Soil. Thailand was not the place to be with all the political unrest. Now back to reality! That's gonna hurt!
We've had a lot of rain, so I hope the pollen has settled down, my legs are starting itch! I think will try for a run on Monday...something slow.....time for tea...goodnight.

Picking the Theme

After much ado about what color should I do this summer in the flower beds, I decided to just give up trying and go all pink. Trish and I discussed this on our Wednesday run and since we aren't neighbors I decided one color is just fine. She is doing all pink too. I know it's not very imaginative but I have other colors going on with perennials, pinks, purples, yellow, white so instead of trying to matchey match, pink all over is what it's going to be. It's just pretty! It has been so nice all week, and the plants have really taken off and the lawn is filling in very nicely. My lawn boy takes a lot of pride in his yard, so it doesn't take much for him to get on board with the flower beds and gardens. I spent a few hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday, edging flower beds and pulling a few weeds, and paid dearly for it afterwards. Gardening-back-bending, not a good thing for "moi". Still have a few edges to finish but another day.



So between working and visiting the flower shops all week it hasn't left me much time to do anything else. I have a few projects on the go at the moment but they aren't ready for the big reveal. Trish and I can 3 days this week and spent two days at the pool. This morning even at 7:30 it was way to warm for what I was wearing, note to self, make sure you have shorts and short sleeves available for the days ahead. There will be no running for the next 4 days, Trish is going away on a course and I am too sick to be going to the pool. I thought at first it was allergies but no it is a full blown head cold not a pretty sight....

This is the life I want.....



Nice isn't it, just lay around, someone feeds you, gives you a cuddle now and then. Yes, I am coming back a cat!

So far I have picked up quite a few pink geraniums, pink and white impatiens's, white pansies, a pink Astilbe, and a few veggies, and herbs.



Well that's it for me today, I am done and ready for bed. Hopefully I am feeling better tomorrow.....night all.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the moms out there. I have talked to two of the three. But unfortunately, I was out running this morning and missed Daniel's call, as he was first on deck this morning and they probably go in alphabetical order so it will be a while before he might get a chance to call back. Darn it anyways.....



But Jane called from Thailand from the Bamboo Bar, quite loud and some competition was going on, some sort of Thai fighting... she will be home in Canada in a week, I don't think she really wants to come back but oh well back to reality and saving up to go again. Kait is back in Kamloops and they are looking for a place to live and may have found something this morning, this will be her first day back to work too. I am sure it will be very busy there today!

I talked to my mom and she will have a quiet day, go for a walk and take it easy. that I would like to see!
I ran with Susan this morning because Trish is out in Ft.St.James doing a relay to Vanderhoof. Susan ran from our house across town and then Larry drove us back. Nice to have a destination and then not worry about how to get back or have to run it back.
Well I hope everyone has a really nice day and you are pampered and the sun is shining!

And there it was Thursday

So I have been trying to finish up little projects that I have had on my mind for a while but life seems to get in the way. I finally thought of something for my mom for Mother's Day and her birthday. No small feat let me tell you. So I made her a new wreath, I don't remember the last time but it's been a while I know that, and then something else for spring. That's all I can say because sometimes she remembers to read my blog. I have also wanted to make these cute pin cushions I saw somewhere? So I made them last night while watching the end of the silly Canucks.



I have also been knitting again, using up wool and came up with this cute little boy sweater but I'm not sure about the opening, and it may have to be changed but you'll get the general idea.



Trish and I are running in the morning, and I am kind of excited to be able to run downtown, I know, what's the big deal? Well, I guess you would have to be there. So here's a look........and then I am off to listen to Bruce Cockburn for a few hours.
Enjoy your evening!

Spring Plantings

I made the trip out to Van Rhoodes this morning, and had all my planters potted up, is that really what I mean to say...oh well that's what I did. The crowd was just arriving as I was finishing up. Every year this greenhouse business has one weekend before Mother's Day when they have a special on plantings. It's a very good idea and I know it's was less expensive than doing it myself.



And they always, always look fantastic! Coming home is the best part, the car smelled of plants and dirt. If you have ever lived on a farm or in the country, you can understand the feeling is gives you. I miss living in the country. I don't miss the driving, but I do miss the air and the smell of dirt. Weird.... I know. But there are just some things in life that bring a peace within. And that's one of the things that does it for me.

But of course it is way too cold to leave anything outside this time of year. There is still a chance of frost, althou I think we are pretty safe for the next few weeks until the full moon. So in the meantime I have put them in the greenhouse for safe keeping. I "may" have to put a heater in there if it turns cold but I hope not. They were loving the heat in there this afternoon!



I quite like this creation. I glued two pots together for a Christmas display and thought I liked the effect, so I am leaving it this way. It will look quite nice on the front porch.



So that took care of my morning and then this afternoon Kait and I went shopping, looking for accessories for her job, you have "no idea" how hard it was to find Royal Blue accessories......someone needs to do some research before they decide what the dress code and accessories are going to be for the season. But we did find a few things and embellished a few others.
Well that was my day just waiting to hear from Trish and decide whether we are running in the morning. Have a good evening, time for tea.....