That is a great photo Debbie. It is pouring of rain right now for the first day of December. I'm sure in other parts of the province it is snowing. I did most of my cards and got them in the mail yesterday. My shopping is done except for a few stocking stuffers. The days will really fly by now. Hope everyone has a good day.

Looks like Dryden to me!
Geo in NW Ontario
Drove by there many times in a variety of seasons!
I was a Keeewatin girl.

Looks like it, doesn't it? It isn't, though. Mills are such familiar sights around here that i almost didn't notice the stack in the background there! Great picture, Debbie - nice to look out at on a dreary December day! :)

Welcome, Geo! Are you still in Keewatin, or somewhere else in NWO now? What kind of gardening are you into? I've been to Keewatin several times - most recently to pick up new flooring at McDiarmid's. :)

Pretty scary that it's December already. I keep thinking that i haven't done much for Christmas yet - a little, but not much. I don't even have any Christmas cards yet, and the store here in town doesn't have any. I guess a trip to Dryden this weekend is in order. Of course, i *have* ordered some seeds for myself. Does that count?? LOL

Oh, and speaking of which - i got Veseys catalogues in the mail the other day. I've been drooling all over the rose catalogue. Am i becoming addicted to roses? Oh nooooooooo! ;)

I have a Book Fair going on at the school this week, so work is very busy at some times during the day and quite slack at others. Tomorrow evening is the Horticultural Society's Turkey Potluck - yum! :) I love turkey! I don't have to cook one this year because my sil wants to have Christmas dinner at her place. Hey, no problem! I've done it for several years now, so someone else can have all the hassle! Of course, having "just us" is fun too, but family gatherings are good too.

Nothing much else going on. Stay warm, everyone!

Marcia

No, I am no longer a Keewatin girl. We lived on Keewatin Beach Road. MoM also had a cottage on Rioux Bay. I think you pass the access road - McKenzie Road on the way to McDirmiads.
I live outside Thunder Bay now, close to Hymers.
What kind of gardening am I into? Mostly perrenials and just trying to keep all the gardens in order. Its hard when you work and there is only so many hours in a day!
Geo

You must have a country lot, then, eh, Geo? We have 10 acres here but only use a couple of them. If i keep going the way i am, though, i'm going to be expanding down to my son's next door (same piece of property). Actually, i have - planted a bunch of malvas and adenophoras in one spot where they could just take over. And he planted a few wildflowers in a bed he made around a tree. He was pretty ambitious in the spring, but then work and dirt-biking took over and he didn't bother with the yard too much over the summer. I think we'll make some foundation beds for him next year. He said he wanted a "guy garden", and i pictured shrubs and succulents with a lot of bark mulch. :)

Hello everyone! *waving*

Cold and snowy here. Hubs has been out shovelling a bit every day. Sure feels like winter now. *L* My plants will be nice and cozy with the snow on top of them.

I haven't brought any amaryllis up from the basement yet as I was late getting them to sleep so I guess I will have them blooming at Easter this year.

I will have to bake some more butter tarts and short bread cookies as hubs has eaten them. He's such a piggy... *L* Right now I'm making 3 zucchinis loaves so that will keep him happy for the next couple of days.

I haven't put up all the decoarations this year, but it looks nice and cheery here in the house. I have sent away all my cards and have all my gifts bought and almost all wrapped now. Am just trying to figure out how to wrap up a body pillow so son's g/f won't know what it s. *LOL*

crafty, hi there. Do u do any christmas baking? I usually do a cherry loaf but am not doing it this year. I'm sure son and hubs will miss it but I won't miss the work. *S* Do u have many birds at the feeders? I haven't seen any here for a week or two now. I sure wish they would come back.

Hi Geo, welcome. No, it's not Dryden, but if Dryden is as decorated as here it it very pretty. *S*

Marcia, I got the Vesey's catalogue too and was looking at all those beautiful roses! I am sooooo tempted to order a Morden Sunrise, but where the heck would I put it? I just did all the moving of the roses last year and cutting back on my gardens,,,,,those pics sure tamp me though!

I'm glad to hear that u don't have to cook the turkey this year. It always tastes better when some one else does the cooking. *G* U can just put your feet up and relax.

I didn't know that your son lived on your property but in a different house. How kewllll is that! A guy's garden could include some hostas too. *G*

Well time to go, here are a few pics of our decorations.

{{gwi:2100554}}

{{gwi:2100555}}

This is the diningroom
{{gwi:2100556}}

Take care
Debbie :-)

Debbie - that's just a FEW of your decorations?? LOL You've outdone me by far! I dug my December 1st box out last weekend, and put some stuff up, but i felt kind of blah about most of the decorations, for some reason. Today when we were in town, i looked at stuff i could make, and felt the same way. I'll have to think of something to do, but maybe once the floors are done - that's right, the boards are STILL in their boxes! Grrrrrr! - i'll feel more like decorating things. I think i'll start myself tomorrow, just in the dining room because there won't be any cutting involved there, and if i get it started, dh would probably get going on it.

Up until today, we had very little snow. The ground was covered, but it was just a couple of inches deep. That's changing now! We got home just as it started coming down, and we're supposed to get 10-15 cms. That'll be a good cosy blanket for all the flower beds. Dh told me that he was up in the living room in the middle of the night and he could see a buck deer nibbling my peonies in the front bed! My camera was right there, but he didn't notice it, and anyway, he wouldn't have known how to turn off the flash. Darn!

Debbie, Debbie - you definitely DO need Miss Morden Sunrise! Haven't *i* tempted you enough with all my pictures of her??? Let me try again!

{{gwi:2100557}}

Does that help at all? :> I really want a climber this year, and i believe that Henry Kelsey will do the trick. And i need a nice white one, so i'm torn between Blanc Double de Coubert and Morden Snowbeauty. And a couple of those Prairie Joys would be really nice too.... I'm going to have to figure out something to earn more money! LOL

Anyway, not much else going on. Everyone take care and stay warm!

Marcia

Hi all!

I haven't been on the computer as much since I started back to work but I have been reading every so often.
Things have finally reached some state of normality here. The basement is done!! Yay yay yay! No pictures up yet but furniture in and music equip set up.
The computer is down here now so I am not on it all the time as when it was in the dining room. Out of sight out of mind. Plus I broke the kids internet cable cord when putting it through a new hole in the wall and haven't gotten around to replacing it so they are on my computer all the time.

We got our first real dump of snow last night. Looks like christmas now. For the first time ever I am done shopping 2 weeks early - unheard of! It sure is fun shopping for a little one again. DD and GD are sleeping here Xmas eve so Christmas morning will be fun!!

I still have baking to do although I am not killing myself to get it done. Will try and convince the twins to do some of it for me when they are off on holidays. Keep forgetting to ask them when their holidays start....

The LCBO is not a bad place to work so I took their full time position offer. Been too long without benefits to turn them down!

Debbie your house must look very festive with all the decorations! We just got our tree last night and will be decorating today. We get a real tree so don't like to get it too early.

Marcia I think you've got me convinced to get the Morden Sunshine rose and I'm not even a big rose fan! I would really like a climbing rose if anything. I tried one a few yrs ago - can't remember the type but it didn't overwinter. Anyone now of a good hardy climber?

Well gd slept over last night and should be waking up any time now so I should get going.
Take care all!
Tina

Hi Buddies!

Sorry I haven't posted in ages....life seems busier the older I get!
Marcia is also right...the kids do get the 'puter most of the time.
Darn you *Marcia* looks like I'm going to try growing a rose bush ONE MORE TIME...that pic has me sold!

My gifts are all wrapped and got a few rounds of baking in the freezer as well.

Steve and Kailee will go get a tree this weekend...they're out shopping at the moment. Steve & I are taking the kids to Disney World in Feb. I also got him (us...lol) tickets to the Nascar Daytona 500 for his 40th BDay in Jan.He thinks we're only going to be in Orlando for 9 nites...but we will be staying an additional 3 nites right on Daytona Beach closer to the raceway. We figured we only have one yr. left to drag Mitch on a family trip to Disney. We always said we would take them...but never happened......so this is the year! We also have the priviledge of taking one of Mitch's friends with us (his parents are paying all of his expenses)so now he seems a little more pumped on going now.What nice parents!

We got about 10" of snow the past week and now it's getting lower below zero, so I'm relieved all the beds have snow coverage now.

*Debbie* glad to hear hubs is feeling better! Your decorations are beautiful!

I cut down on decorations this year...donating a few things I'm tired of to the Salvation Army.

Glad to hear from you again too *nanatina*
You will have a blast with the kids on Christmas Eve & morning!

My kids don't believe in Santa anymore...so it's not as much fun as it used to be....but I still believe in him....so the rest of the house has to go along with it ...lol!

Auntie Rudy, her red nose and her BF are coming for Christmas this year. Party time!

Anyhoo.....just thought I'd check in and post finally!

Best Wishes for the holidays everyone!

Talk to ya'll later, Gale

Hi everyone!

We are under a winter storm watch here. Suppose to get 20cm of snow and at 7pm Saturday night we were at -25c with a windchill of -40; now we are at -32C with a windchill of -47C!! Youch!We are also under a extreme cold advisory! Da do u think? LOL

Got a email from my niece last night and she had to take my sister to the hospital. She had a heart attack. Pat had a stroke a few years ago too and has been living with my niece for the past few years. Apparently she had been getting chest pains, but didn't tell Jenny about it until it got very bad. She is in ICU but they won't do tests until Monday to find out how much and where the damage is. So prayers would be appreciated. I had to call mom and carefully tell her about Pat being in hospital, but I think she took it pretty good. Mom has high blood pressure and heart condition, it runs in the family so I was a bit worried. Pat's blood pressure was up over 200 and is still high, but it has come down a bit, hopefully the docs will adjust her meds to bring it down. Pat is doing better and wasn't on oxygen Saturday. her spirits are good!

I have been busy baking baking baking. Made over 30 more butter tarts the other day,,,,tonight I made about 7 dozen of mocha chocolate cookies with walnuts in them....sooooooo good. I'm going to wrap some of them up and put them under the tree for son and g/f,,,,just another gift for them to open up.

Son is suppose to come over tomorrow to help hubs shovel out the driveway, I asked him yesterday before we got the storm, so I timed that well. *LOL* He is also going to filet a nice big Lake Trout for dinner. He did one a week ago and it was sooooooo good. I can hardly wait! I have 5 more of them in the freezer too. *L* I don't think he will be able to shovel the driveway if it stays this cold,,,,too darn dangerous, but I'm hoping it will warm up!

Marcia, yep just a few decorations LOL
Here is another one of our livingroom. {{gwi:2100558}}

Here are a couple of Kris Kringles that son and hubs have bought me over the years

{{gwi:2100559}}

And stockings we bought when son was about 3 years old.

{{gwi:2100560}}

Marcia, have u gotten the floors done? I know that would make u feel so much better if they were done.

It was too bad hubs didn't take a pic of that deer,,,wow that sounds so kewl! Do u get deer damage in your garden?

That pic u showed of that rose,,,is realllyyy tempting me,,,but I don't have a place for it,,,well not really. And mine seem to get so big! But it sure is tempting, I even told hubs about it, your pic tempted me so much. You can be a very baaaddd person ya know? *LOL*

Hi there Tina..... *waving* Glad to see u again! Also glad to hear your basement is finished, u must be so happy! sounds like u will have a great time Christmas too with a little one around! So much excitement for her!

I have John Cabot survive for me here. I mistakely gave it to my neighbour and didn't keep a piece of it for myself this summer when I was moving roses around. I thought I had an extra plant for myself, but it wasn't the right one. *sigh* It is a nice red rose and it survived ok for me here so should do ok for you.

Hi Gale, good to see u again! Uh oh your gonna try that Morden Sunrise too? U have to watch out for that Marcia girl, she is one tricky lady. *LOL*

The trip to Disney Land sounds wonderful and then to get you errr him tickets to the race is great! I know how much u enjoy those races. *S* And Aunty Rudy is coming for Christmas too! How great! You will have a blast! I can see her nose glowing from here. *LOL*

Take care everyone and keep warm!
Debbie :-)

Morning Everyone,

Thought I would stop in and Wish You a Very Merry Christmas and All the Best in 2005.

Take Care, stay warm and safe
Janet

Merry Christmas Everyone! All the best in the New Year!

Carol`

Wishing you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

My sister had her angioplasty Thursday and came home on Friday,,,,so that is the best Christmas Present Ever! She is doing and feeling great!

Hi Janet *waving* Welcome Carol *waving*

Take care everyone!
Debbie :-)

Debbie

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Janet, good to hear from you again, and Tina and Gale too. Hope you all have a great Christmas!

Debbie - good news re: your sister!

Quiet time here this morning - we did the Christmas thing last night because we were able to have the little grandguy over. Pizza and presents - lots of fun! Oh, and re: presents - next summer, i'll have sweetpeas or something climbing a downspout trellis! :) My daughter also gave me a kit for making plant markers out of cement (she didn't give me the cement, though - i was so disappointed! LOL). I think i'll make the markers for my roses. The box the downspout trellis came in was perfect for a little grandguy to hide in, too!

This afternoon, we go to dh's brother's for Christmas dinner - i don't have to cook this year! Woo hoo!

Sorry - phone - must run! Take care, all!

Marcia

Hi everyone! Its been ages since I've talked to some of you. Its good to hear from Tina again! I'm glad you've got a job you like. I hear that the LCBO is a good place to work with good benefits. Hope it works out for you.

I am working as Registrar at a small private college (CTS Cdn Career College) here in Barrie. They are also in Sudbury and North Bay. Its a new job, but I also need the benefits and can't wait for them to kick in next month. Winter really hit hard here last week. We got 30 cm in one day and -30 temps the day before. Rediculous this early in the year - for Barrie, anyway!

Those Christmas decorations look great! We didn't even bother with a tree this year. First time, ever, without one - didn't miss it. We're just both way too busy for that and since we don't have little kids anymore, (youngest is 19) there's no point. We had Christmas dinner at out place with the inlaws and no a decoration in sight!

Oh well, its all over now, back to the grind! Spring is just around the corner!!!

Hi Sheryl_Ontario and everyone else. I know how you feel about Christmas decorations. I haven't been quite in the mood this year either for decorating but my husband insists on keeping up with tradition. Our house is small and there's not much room once we put up the tree. Today, I went to the Dollar Store and bought some 50 cent decorations for next year. I'm the secretary for the Psychology Department at Laurentian University. For the past five years, I've been putting up a Christmas decoration on each of my faculty's office door (about 21 of them). It cheers them up as well as the students that walk by and puts them in the Christmas mood.

My New Year's resolutions are to quite smoking and lose tons of weight (again). Both of them are a major problem with me, especially the weight. I just can't seem to lose it (because I love my carbohydrates). I'm seriously considering going on the Low Carb Diet. But this time, I'm preparing myself. I've bought a book on the subject. Usually I just decide to go on a particular diet without doing any research. I went shopping today for clothes and I find that everything is for skinny people. It's so discouraging. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm opened to them.

I am so looking forward to the spring. I truly hate being stuck in the house all the time (except when I'm working). I'll even volunteer to clean the driveway just to get some fresh air.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year.

Hi I have started a January thread,,,,see ya over there!

Debbie :-)