RamblingNana's Blog
RamblingNana's September 2007 Entries
Last Post 28 days, 10 hours Ago
Sep 18, 2007 | 1:21 PM PST
Tags: travel , fly , plane
We're off!!!
Bye for now! When you read this we will be high in the sky somewhere, flying toward Rome.
We are off on our BIG adventure. We wont be back for 36 days. We are so excited. We are going to places we have never been. We will see Turkey, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Monaco, Croatia, Netherlands Antilles, Grand Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
Can you imagine how excited we are?!! What an adventure it is going to be.
We know we want to go somewhere and actually stay there for awhile and really visit the area. This cruise will give us just a taste of what these faraway places are like and we will undoubtedly find a spot that we will want to return to one day and spend some time getting to know the area in detail.
We've taken quite a few cruises and we always enjoy them immensely. One of our favourites is Alaska. That is a marvellous cruise and we highly recommend it for you and your families.
We did the Panama Canal in April this year. It was 19 days and we loved it. It was over in the blink of an eye.
I learned so much on that trip. Before I left I read "The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914" by David McCullough. It is a fabulous book that was suggested to me as a "must read" and I encourage you to read it before you take this cruise, should you ever have the opportunity to go there. It will truly enhance your adventure. What a fascinating story of construction that was. I had no idea what a saga it had been.
So bye for now. Your gardens will all be tucked away for the Winter by the time we return. My baskets will be all sad looking and messy. My friend is staying here and because the baskets are still so lovely looking - well - I haven't the heart to take them down. Hopefully she will remember to water them every so often ... though I know she's never watered a plant in her life! ;-)
You'll recognize me when I return. I'll be the little round lady who waddles off the ship. Oh the FOOD!!!! It's soooooo good!
Later!
RN
Sep 15, 2007 | 10:20 PM PST
Tags: view , lake , boat , boats , country , moving , move
My son made the announcement tonight that he is putting his home and 20 acres on the market and they are moving up country.
I almost fainted.
What about my grandbabies??!!
They have apparently discussed it and they have decided they want to move up to an area in BC that is on a lake and about four hours from here. They are concerned about the quality of life their children will have in the area they are now living in, and they feel there is less crime and greater opportunity for the kind of lifestyle they want to have, further inland. They are both keen on the outdoors. They have boats and they will be able to use them up there.
I've vacationed in the area they are hoping to move to and it really is very lovely - at least in the Summer. I'm not so sure about the Winter.
So much for my Nana role huh? So much for my gardener's paradise. Whatever will I do?
Both of us Nanas are down here on the coast. Apparently we are the only reason that they feel bad about this plan. Both of us will be very sad to not be able to drive for 30 minutes and see our grandbabies. Sad. Sad. Sad.- ;-(
Whose garden will I weed? How will I show my face on GG? I'll have nothing to talk about! I'll have to find a new forum where I can talk about ... I dunno ... vacuuming or dusting or the weather. :-(
No more playing in the garden with my little pal. :-(
All those treasured moments - finished.;-(
I think I'm gonna cry!
Oh well, they are young and they should spread their wings and do what makes them happy. I did. I'm sure we will go back and forth ... and we'll have that lovely new guest room in our new place and they will come to visit. My d.i.l. says she is going to insist that their new home has a full suite in the basement so that us Nanas can come to visit for a week or so, and feel that they can have a little privacy if we want it.
They seem pretty excited about this idea. I hope their place sells fast. It's pretty gloomy out there when Winter sets in. It's much more appealing when the sun is shining and the flowers are in bloom. What a lovely piece of farmland it is. Sniffle.
This is just a tiny view out back.
Sep 13, 2007 | 5:14 PM PST
Tags: weather , Black Prince Tomato , tomatoes , miniature tomatoes , tomato blossoms
It's happened! A miracle! Look!
I just went out to my balcony to sweep up the petals from the impatiens - and lo and behold - TOMATOES! RED tomatoes!!! I'm sooooooooooo pleased!
I could not believe my eyes. I'd given up hope. Thought those little guys would be green until Christmas. Remember how I was fretting and fretting in the early Summer that there was absolutely no sign of anything but lovely green leaves. Then suddenly I discovered wee tiny blossoms ... just a few. I watched them for a long time and nothing seemed to be happening with them. Someone on the forum suggested I tickle them. So, tickle I did. I think I tickled them every day for a week! I guess it worked huh?
I just ate some and they are very tasty. Mmmmm.
We've had such marvellous weather out here lately. Unbelieveable. I think they call this Indian Summer. It's just wonderful. Hope its like this at your place too!
Cheers!
RN
Sep 8, 2007 | 11:48 PM PST
Tags: grandson , cute , kids , grandmother , park , photos , grandchildren , golf
Well, here it is 10:35 PM on Saturday night. I'm sittin' here all alone. Husband has gathered together his golf clubs and his buddy and they've headed up to Whistler to enjoy what will likely be their last chance to get away for a "guy's golfing weekend." I've got my fingers and toes crossed that the gorgeous weather we're having now will hold out for them. They've been trying to organize something for ages.
All of a sudden I've got time on my hands ... thus this missive. It's too late to vacuum and too early to make bacon and eggs - so I'm just kickin' back - chllin' out with a martini I made all by myself (that's a first!) in a nice quiet apartment. It's lovely. If this blog entry suddenly stops mid-sentence, you'll know I got the martini measurements all wrong!
My little 2 year old grandson just left. He was here for two nights while his Mama and Papa and the new baby took a trip up to the Okanagan to visit with friends. We had such a good time. He is so darn cute. I love spending time with him. He's not the least bit worried about having to sleep in his playpen. Takes it all in stride. We have fun going to the park and just hangin' out together. He's such a funny little soul to be around. Makes me laugh.
I've just been fooling around with my photos. Took a few yesterday. Got some cute ones. Tell me: Why do I make the assumption that anyone is even remotely interested in looking at my incessant photographs of my grandchildren? I seem to have this compulsion to post them across the universe. I am positively infatuated with all these little kids my kids are producing! I love that saying: "If I knew how absolutely great it is to be a grandmother, I'd have skipped motherhood altogether!" I mean it! REALLY!!! I swear I'm a much better grandmother than I was a mother. I have all the time in the world for my grandchildren. I love playing with them. I love spoiling them.
My grandson and I ate our lunch buffet style in the living room today . . . we had slices of ham and apples dipped in fresh lime juice, and cream of broccoli soup and baby boiled potatoes ... and we dipped everything in Dijon mustard ... ever so slightly ... AND I HAVE A WHITE WOOL ORIENTAL CARPET UNDER MY COFFEE TABLE ... AND I DIDN'T CARE!!!. Nope, it just doesn't matter anymore.
Okay, so I had total control of the mustard AND a Tupperware container under his chin . . . but, can you see me doing that with MY kids?!!! I don't think so!
Ah, it's fun. If you look at the photo of my little pal with my glasses on, you may notice that he's sitting on the kitchen counter. Yep, that's where we have breakfast. We do omlettes and chop fruit together. We both wear glasses. Yep, we get up late, watch cartoons and "do breakfast" - then we head for the park. Of course I'm probably not doing his Mama a favour with my slack parenting style. She may be less than amused when her son starts demanding to sit on the counter while she prepares the meals.
Oh well, never mind, she'll understand in about ... 30 years.
If you enjoy my photos (and why wouldn't you? ;-)) ... I've added an album of my hobbies. I've had letters from a couple of ladies who mentioned that they had hobbies other than gardening that they really enjoyed, and I thought - hey! Me too! So I've made an album of photos that show some of my "stuff." It has really jogged my memory. I've lost my enthusiasm for crafts, and when I look at the projects I can remember I've done . . . they delight me all over again.
Hope you're having a great weekend.
Cheers,
RN
Sep 2, 2007 | 3:16 PM PST
Tags: children , brother , baby , new , love , buddy , gardening , child
There are some children you just can't help falling in love with. This wee chap is my gardening buddy. He is THE most precious child. I took this photo the day the "new" baby brother was born. I just love it!
Sep 2, 2007 | 2:28 PM PST
Tags: photobucket , blog , browse , direct link , how
This is how I do it:
I have a free account with Photobucket - When I want to insert a photo on my blog I open Photobucket. If the photo I want has already been uploaded to photobucket I scroll to that photo and left click on the direct link option and then right click on it and copy it.
If the photo is somewhere else, I hit Browse, find it, and upload it.
Then I return to my blog entry and position the cursor where I want the picture or animation to go.
Then click on the little icon up above where you see the mountain with the sun over it.
Another window will open on your screen. You will then right click where it says Image URL and paste your picture info there.
Click on Preview and you will see your photo.
Click OK and there you have it!
Now you can grab those little corner gizmos and reduce your picture size to where you want it.
I thought I'd share this photo of me wearing my new blouse. Whaddya think?
