A FISHY STORY

I learned some interesting things about fishing last week, the most important being: when an avid fisherman asks if you want to go fishing be sure to ask for how long.  Make sure his answer is specific (as in minutes/hours).  Here are some other things I learned.

1.Apparently four hours on a boat is really a short time.

2. You haven't really nearly died lived until you've driven in a boat going 60 mph.

3. It takes two days to detangle your hair after riding in a boat going 60 mph.

4. Sitting in a boat for four hours in the hot sun will turn you into an animal. Lobster (sunburn) or raccoon (sunglass tan), take your pick.

5. When a fisherman refers to the bites he got he is most likely talking about mosquito/deerfly/horsefly bites not fish that have attempted to take the lure.

6. Casting near trees is not a good idea, right Nathan?

7. Four people fishing+ four hours= nothing, nada, zilch. (well a couple of little ones that were let go but we came home with nothing)

8. I don't get it.


I probably would have felt better about the whole ordeal experience if I had actually caught something. I was the only one that didn't even get a nibble on my line but maybe that is because I sat and did crosswords for most of the time.  Yeah, that must be it...that or Matt Fuller gave me a bum lure because he didn't want to be shown up by a newbie.

Proof that he actually does catch a fish from time to time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I was sitting here wondering what is so special about late September that would cause a population explosion in late June then I realized that the nights were probably getting a lot colder and there was obviously more than just snuggling up in a blanket going on.

Today some of my favourite people celebrate the day of their birth.

Happy Birthday Breanne, the girl who thought Scotland was in Nova Scotia.  True story.  This girl was Brittany's first friend when we moved north and they have remained close ever since.  We consider her part of our family.  She may not be blonde like us but she acts like it, that's why we love her so much.

Happy Birthday Heidi a.k.a Pocahontas who used to come and visit Brittany but we all knew you were here to see the brothers.  Admit it.  Daniel once pulled her hair in church and they've been great friends ever since. We hoped for some sort of merger with her and one of our boys but it was not meant to be. (probably a good thing)  We still consider her family.

Happy Birthday Claudia, our German exchange student.  We could not have asked for a better match for our family.  I cannot say enough good things about this girl.  She lived with us for a period of six weeks over ten years ago and has remained a part of our lives since.  We still receive postcards from her when she travels.  I bet she doesn't realize how much she is thought about and reminisced about in our family. We love her.

Happy Birthday Nathan, the baby of our family.   His sweet demeanor blesses our family.  I can't wait to see him as a dad (that's a hint by the way) because he is awesome with his nieces and nephews.  They all love him.  Everybody loves Nathan, there's just something special about him.  I wanted to share some funny stories about him (like the time he ate poop out of  the toilet) but since it's his birthday, I'll refrain.

How can you not love this face?

HAVE YOU HEARD?

For all my DIY friends out there (there's quite a few of you) have you heard of the coolest thing since Pinterest?   It's called Chip It and it is awesome.  It is a service offered by Sherwin Williams and it allows you to match paint colours with any photograph or picture you can find.  Check out how it works here...

You're welcome.

SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF....

A few weeks ago I came out of my bathroom in just my underwear after showering (I was the only one home).  I noticed that the brilliant sunshine that streamed through the window pre shower had dimmed somewhat so I walked to the window and looked up toward the sky to see if it was a random cloud that had covered the sun briefly or if a whole bank of clouds had obscured it.   I wasn't worried about cars passing by spotting me because the road is far enough away that they would have to be looking directly at our window to catch even a glimpse of bare skin before passing by and cars so rarely drive past anyway.  I checked out the sky and saw with dismay that it was well and truly overcast.  I looked down to see a Purolator truck parked in the driveway and the delivery man looking up at me. Our eyes met and I yelped and jumped back about three feet.  I was stuck.  There was no one home but me and he knew I was there so I had to swallow my pride, quickly get dressed and go down and answer the door.  I opened the door and with a sheepish grin greeted him.  Without saying a word he thrust out the electronic pad for me to sign.
"Oh, something I need to sign for." I said.
Still not a word from him.
"Hmmm I wonder what it is?" I said aloud mostly to myself.
"I wasn't expecting anything." I continued.
He was probably thinking "Obviously" but continued to remain silent and unsmiling.
At this point I was beginning to feel really awkward but the fact that he almost seemed angry about the whole situation made me want to laugh, which I did... silently...shoulders shaking as I signed my name...biting my bottom lip as he handed me the parcel... trying not to completely lose it as I wished him a pleasant day.  He did not utter a word.

This is the view as I come out of my bathroom.

There's the road. It would be difficult for anyone to see right into my bedroom.

The Purolator delivery guy had a much better view from down here.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I called my grandkids (the older ones) yesterday to ask them some questions about their dad and grandpa.  I caught them outside playing with their dad so only William was a willing participant.  Maia said hello and then went off to play.  Lilah kept me on the phone for ten minutes saying hello about every three minutes but then nothing else.

William is five and a half now and is becoming quite aware of the things going on around him so his answers were more informative and correct than cute and funny.  He did not totally disappoint.  He was right when he told me that daddy's favourite food was pizza and cheese and that grandpa's was spicy stuff but I did have to chuckle when he told me that daddy's favourite thing to do for himself was lie around. He gave the same answer for grandpa.  Quite frankly it is very rarely that I see either one of them do this.  He guessed his daddy's age within a year but was a little off on grandpa's putting him at 109 years old.  He thought I was 33.  I love that boy.

William told me that his dad's favourite thing to do with him is play games with him.  He went into great detail about the kind of games they would play and as he was relating his experiences I could feel the great love he had for his dad.  I'm proud of my son for being that kind of father to his children.

The final question I asked William was "If daddy could be anything in this world, what would he be?"

"Superman" was his reply. With all his Dad has on his plate right now he is a superman. He thought grandpa would be a fireman.  Considering grandpa can't light a fire without a half gallon of gasoline this might be a good job for him. 

So to all you dads out there, have a Happy Father's Day.  

PATCHWORK WALL

This is a little different from my regular posts but I have had a number of questions asked about how I went about doing the patchwork wall in Ava's room so I thought I would answer everything right here. If you are not interested in doing this ever, stay tuned for my next post where I will share my Purolator  story (it's a good one).

So back to the wall... this is what it looked like before I started.

Before I did anything, I measured the wall to figure out how many 12 inch squares of paper I would need then I went to Michaels and found a 180 page ( I only needed 88) pad of coordinating scrapbook paper on sale for $15.00.  This was not card stock, just regular weight paper.  Then it was a trip to Home Depot to purchase a container of wallpaper paste and a paintbrush (to apply the paste).

Once home, Brittany and I went through the pad of paper and picked out the paper we liked best and laid them out on the floor in a design that we were happy with (no two of the same colour or pattern adjacent to another).

I marked a plumb line 12 inches out from the corner of  the wall so that I would be sure to apply the squares straight. I pasted each piece of paper and applied one square at a time. I was sure to brush out any air bubbles as I went along. In total it took less than three hours to complete an eight by ten and a half foot wall.  

Things I learned as I went along.

• 12x12 paper is not completely square.  Use the rough edge (where it's torn out of the pad) of the top of the paper to know which way is up. (some patterns were hard to tell otherwise)
• once pasted the paper is prone to tear so be gentle with it.
• wait until the paper is dry before trimming (refer to the the above comment)

Here's a picture of the wall at almost the halfway mark.  

And here it is completed.

It looks better in real life but even in a photograph, it's still pretty cute.  

I chose not to seal it for two reasons. 1. I wasn't sure how the paper would react to the sealer. 2. It is on a wall that has no light switch etc. on it and it is behind the bed so it won't get touched much.  I think it would be easy enough to just paste another piece over any dirty patch.  I have enough paper left over for any such damage.

INTRODUCING... & A SUNDAY SMILE

The waiting game is over.  Ammon Benjamin made his way into the world on his actual due date weighing a whopping nine pounds thirteen ounces.  He's a handsome little guy with lots of hair and is already a good sleeper at night.  We're all pretty proud of him.

Ammon 

I have a couple of funny stories to share in the next week or two when I'm not quite so busy with my Nona duties.  In the meantime enjoy this little Sunday Smile.

SUNDAY SMILE

The waiting game has begun.  I am at Brittany's in anticipation of the arrival of baby number 2 who is due on Tuesday.  I brought my camera so I can get lots of pictures of the new little guy.  I was thinking of taking some maternity shots beforehand but I just can't decide on the right pose.

I'm not an artist so this one's out.

Ben doesn't own suspenders so this one won't work either.

I'd try this one if I had mad photoshop skills. We don't have to time to wait for Ben to buff up at the gym.

This is more like Ben's physique but Brittany doesn't have an ass like that. (I meant that in the donkey sense)

This would work so much better if they had painted her belly to look like a basketball.  Again, I am not an artist so this one's out.

I am confused...is the bunny reference in regards to her ability to reproduce like a rabbit or in the I'm a Playboy Bunny sexy way?

Oh if only I could find some spanish moss growing in Southern Ontario.  I bet Brittany would go for this one.