Fabulous fallness

I have been totally savouring this fall.  The colours, the crispness in the air....those poor folks who don't get to experience the change of seasons in this way!  Walks take on a whole new appeal because you don't get overheated (who knew I would ever say those words!!!) and there is such gorgeous scenery to look at while you walk.


 A wander through the nature park near our house



Guess Miki thinks she isn't getting enough ruffage



Sistah sauntering slowly



Just a shadow of ourselves



A favorite fall tradition, a Halloween visit from all of the wee Stuarts.  OD on adorableness,,,and sugar!!

Enjoy this offering of fabulous fall foliage.  I am the queen of alliteration tonight ; - )

Things that make me smile - September edition


In the spirit of making sure that I celebrate all of life's little gifts and gems, here are a few things that made me smile in September:

LOVE me some muscle cars (as seen on our trip to the US)

 

We pulled into a gas station behind a van...fully outfitted with what looked like satellite on the roof and an air conditioner in the back window.  Some people just know how to live!!



Farm fresh eggs from Janet & Gary's chickens with fresh fruit for breakfast.  Superb!



My very first adaptation of a favorite recipe to a legal recipe that Dave can eat (recipe will be posted soon)



Scenes from the weekend...the looonng weekend!!

This is long past due but I have been having a real problem uploading photos on our desktop computer.  Something must be blocking the uploads for some reason.  So, I finally figured out that I should try to do it on a laptop until I can fix whatever is wrong.

We made our annual trip to the cottage for the Labour Day weekend in September.  Dave, Heather and I arrived on Friday and immediately entered 'chill' mode.  Gary had wireless installed at the cottage which could be a blessing or a curse.  We spent 'quality time' together in the upstairs den, all working/playing on separate laptops!!  Ahhh, technology!

We really spent the entire weekend doing nothing but napping, reading, playing on the computer and eating.  Well, Heath was a bit more industrious and did some work each morning at some inhumane hour that I refuse to acknowledge comes more than once a day.

Brian and Michelle are now busy with two little ones and only came down for the day on Monday.  Thankfully, it was sunny and the warmest day of the weekend.  Mom and Dad dropped in and so did Dave's Aunt Majorie and her husband, Roy.  We invited everyone to stay for supper and madly scrambled to clear out cupboards and fridge so everyone would have something to eat.  We called it our 'loaves and fishes' meal because there was enough food for everyone and even some leftovers for our cottage neighbor, Ivan.

Here are a few pics to chronicle our little break:



A quiet morning on the sun deck




Some Monday brunch options




Nolan had a ball with all of the new things to see and do




Our table full of guests



Things that make me smile - August edition

I may start a semi-regular habit of posting things that make me smile.  I can't say regular habit, because my blog posting is in no way in keeping with a schedule but we can all definitely celebrate anything that makes us smile : - )  These are things that made me smile so far this month:

Sticky buns from the bakery in Alma

I love muscle cars!

No words needed...

Look at those gorgeous eyes!

It is not very obvious but you know it is a good day when you have purple popsicle dripped on your big toe!!

I should have had my eyes closed because we were praying for supper but the cousin love happening right in front of me could not be ignored ♥

As a Maritimer, water is in our blood.  Too long away from it and we start to crave the salty air and swish of the waves!!!

Where has the summer gone?

You always hear people saying that time flies and I think that it flies faster the older you get.  We have been having an incredible summer - weatherwise and activity wise.  It seems that we have been on the go so much that I am looking around the house thinking that there are so many things that I haven't paid attention to lately.  Unimportant stuff like updating my finance spreadsheet, vaccuming, etc.  I've been spending time on very important things like attending family reunions, watching the Olympics, hiking in Fundy Park, taking tons of photos, editing said photos!  It seems like when summer hits, priorities definitely get upended but, in this country, summer doesn't last very long and you pack in as much sun and goodness as you can before it is just a memory.

I hit Fundy Park with Heather and a couple of her roommates for a hike.  Rachael had never been to Fundy in her entire life and was turning 21 the next day.  We hiked Laverty Falls and took her to the big rocky beach beside the swimming pool, got some sticky buns in Alma and visited the 10,000 Villages shop.

We went to the Patterson picnic last weekend and it is the first time that every single Patterson sibling and every single Patterson grandchild was present in quite a long time.  You know what that means?  Lots more photos : - )  We had a beautiful sunny day and got in some quality time with each other.  The kids are all growing up so fast and it may be the last time that every one of them will be there as life intrudes and responsibilities take over as you get out into the workforce.

We got together with a big group of friends and had a baseball game to celebrate New Brunswick Day and went to Trent & Rebecca's for a pot luck after.  Another beautiful summer day!!

We only have two weeks left before my cousin's wedding and then Vacation Bible School.  Hopefully, we will get a couple days at the cottage next week until our big cottage Labour Day weekend to close out the summer.

I'll let photos tell the story of my past week or so.

Photo overdose!!

We headed to the Island last weekend to attend the annual Cutcliffe Family Picnic.  We arrived early afternoon on Friday to help Clara do some fund raising for her trip to Vimy Ridge.  We stayed with Janet and Gary in Lois' cottage at Richard's Point and woke to a very warm and sunny picnic day.  We were very thankful for nice weather because last year it was freezing cold and rainy and not at all enjoyable to be out in the tent.

I asked the nieces and nephews if they could all get together so I could take some photos for Grandma and Grampa Patterson's Christmas calendar.  There was some grumbling but I had enough of the whining and told everyone that this is a major highlight of their grandparent's year when they get their calendar and it is the least they could do to 'suck it up and smile'.  I guess that got through and Kayla took over to organize everyone into some interesting formations.  I just kept taking pics as long as they would  keep posing.  I got a ton of photos but with that many kids, it was hard to get everyone looking presentable.  Until I get Photoshop, I can't swap heads on anyone : - )

Here are a few of the good ones:

I think the calendar has lots of options that Grandma and Grampa will enjoy!!

Cottage break

We had renters coming in last Saturday, so Dave & I took the opportunity to take a few days break at the cottage.  Just the process of driving to the cottage makes us relax and the gorgeous breeze and salty tang in the air just reinforces how thankful we are to have this little escape to go to.

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon.  Mom and Dad joined us Thurs afternoon and Heather arrived on Friday afternoon.  Other than a trip into Oxford for some fresh berries and a run into Amherst for a Frenchy's outing, we hung out at the shore and did very little.  Well, Mom can't stand to do nothing for very long so she made strawberry jam and then I found her scrubbing something or other upstairs.  She says cleaning makes her happy so who am I to stand in the way of her happiness : - )

I love my family.  They are just a wee bit crazy and they make me laugh!!  Here is a supper conversation:

Mom:  Ang, you know what you need to do is make Dave some bread with some of that smelt flour!
Me: (staring rather confused-like) Do you mean spelt flour??
Mom:  Smelt, spelt...whatever!!
Dad:  Well, that sounds kind of fishy to me?

The whole table broke out laughing and, in typical Swan style, there was lots of pounding on knees and tables until we could get our breath back.  These little incidents are what we call 'pulling a Mom'.

At one point in time on Friday night, I realized that there were five people in the cottage and I hadn't heard one sound in quite a long time.  Everyone was curled up here and there reading (or on the computer, in Dave's case).  Complete relaxation!!!




Beachin' It

We have been having some gorgeous weather lately and have been enjoying quite a bit of beach time.  We are saying that we have had nicer weather in May, June & July this year than the entire spring/summer last year and we are taking full advantage.

The boardwalk to Aboiteau Beach

Our beach buddies for the day

I love the 'vibrant' setting on my camera.  It makes the colours just pop!!

Marilyne was home for a visit so we got to spend some quality time with her.

Heath and Rach acting sparky

Happy Birthday to my dear Dad!!  He turns mumble mumble tomorrow but we celebrated a bit early!

Randomness

The title is a description of things around here lately.  Many things happening with many random snapshots to go with the activity.

We have fit in a few trips to the beach.  We feel so blessed to be 20 minutes away from fantastic beaches!



The most disgusting mustard dispenser ever @ SS Picnic



Dad's dishwashing outfit @ Gospel Supper.  Nothing says style like yellow rubber!



Liz (Macho Woman) sawing branches at the rental property



Fixing up the property to sell.  It is amazing what a difference a bit of paint can do!



I forgot my camera at the property one day and when I got it back, I found some random lurker pics had been taken.  One good trick deserves another so I am putting it on my blog for everyone to see : - )