THRIVING THURSDAY

 

Today is a very special day in our thriving family.  Our oldest granddaughter is graduating from Grade 8 to day.  She is looking very grown-up with her updo and sea green dress. She has grown up way too fast.  Where is the little girl who came to our family in a very special way.  I remember her first Christmas when we hunted all over the city for a hoola hoop.  Apparently toy stores only stocked them for the summer and we were  looking in the winter.  We finally found an exclusive Toy store who went to their basement stock.  We also learned that hoops come in many sizes.

R also entertained us on a trip home to her parents as she planned a vacation for Grampy and I.  She included 5 star hotels and a special spa day for the girls. Poor Grampy couldn’t remember anything. Before we became Grammy and Grampy we were called Judy-lady and Fred-man.

It is our pleasure to watch R become a young lady.  We wish her well in her future endeavours and look forward to many more graduations.

I am sure our thriving family will have many more graduations and this is just the first.  Congratulations R. With love from Grammy and Grampy.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

Another park in Charleston – Caw Caw

Thanks again to D H for his expertise.

Come back on Sunday for Sunday in the City when we will show you the wildlife at Caw Caw.

TRAVEL TUESDAY

 

Has weather ever made you change your plans when you travel?  D H and I always go prepared for any circumstance.  When we travel in the winter we layer up.  Even in the summer it seems we need to be prepared for hot as well as cold and of course rain or snow.  It is always easier to dress warmer rather than trying to dress less for the extreme heat.

We are visiting our daughter in Charleston and our stay has been affected by tropical storm Beryl.  Even though it is not hurricane strength she has brought wind and rain.  We are afraid to attempt too many outdoor activities with the grandchildren just i case. The boys are especially active and are great climbers.  Yesterday we used old blankets to create a camping experience inside the house. The fall back of course is TV and computers.  L, our oldest grandson actually had 2 i pads on the go.

The fall back is a trip to the mall.  It can get a little expensive if you’re not careful.  The mall here does have a Train display which kept L occupied for quite a while.  What is about trains going round and round.  All of our grandchildren have a Thomas the train set.  Even I have one.

The best laid plans of mice and men however a back-up is always needed.  Don’t forget to have a plan C and D as well. Hope your travel plans work out well.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

 

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me
Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!
Grab the badge for your post if you like:

And now for this weeks Questions:

1. Finish this sentence - The thing I dislike most about shopping is....

rude customer service reps. I especially dislike getting my coins on top of the bills.  No one counts change backwards because the computer tells them what change is due.

2. What is your favourite flavour of j-ello?

My favourite is green (lime).  A tradition in house when someone gets sick we make a bowl of jello.

3. If you could trade places with anyone in the world for one day who would you be and why?

I would like to be Queen Elizabeth II.  The monarchy had a place in my grandmother’s heart and would love to kick Prince Charles in the butt.

4. Who changes the lightbulbs at your house?

I think I do.  I know I have to remember to put it on the grocery list.

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

My fifth question is:

What is the best way to discipline a child?

SUNDAYS IN THE CITY

 

Thanks to Unknown Mami for hosting again this week - check out where in the world everyone else is by clicking here:

We are visiting our daughter H and her family.  We took our grandsons to this wonderful waterfront park.  It was a naval base at one time and now being restored for community use.  The TV show “Army Wives” uses the space as well.

I’ve shown you mine now show me yours.

SATISFACTION SATURDAY

 

It is that time of the week where I share how satisfied I am with being retired and just being.

We had a satisfactory trip South to see our daughter and her family.  They are really glad to see us.  D H has taken over the cooking duties and and the grandchildren are fabulous.  We even managed to tire out both boys yesterday.  We gave H an afternoon nap as well.

We made the trip to celebrate R’s graduation from Grade 8 as well as to help celebrate H and W’s 14th wedding anniversary.  Please check out their blogs: acting balanced and touristic which you can connect from this blog.

The temperature is very warm.  We took the boys to a new park yesterday and saw lots of wonderful things. D H took some great pictures.

I hope your week has been as satisfactory.

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

 

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 24th: (Special thanks to Lindsay (@bloggerlinds) from A Dollop of my Life, Anna (@annacdaisy) from The Single Mommy Chronicles, Cate (@RndmCrftyGAGrl) from Random Crafy GA Girl, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie and Sandy (@PardonMyDust) from Pardon My Dust for their question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so come on over to my community or watch for my Thursday afternoon shout out for questions on Twitter and offer up your best question suggestions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)
1. Are you a napper?

I wasn’t until I retired.  I started napping in the middle of the day however I am on a better sleep pattern so now I only sleep when D H is driving the car.

2. What was your favourite subject in school? Most hated?

My favourite subject was history and my most hated was trigonometry.

3. Did you have the something old new borrowed and blue at your wedding? What were they?

I did however it was almost 40 years ago so my recall is poor.

4. What one thing are you determined to do this summer

I am determined to have a fabulous cruise and do a lot of ballroom dancing while on the ship. I also want to have a great trip and not gain any weight.

5. Ice cream or Popsicles?

Ice cream. This is a picture of the ice cream server on my last cruise.

THRIVING THURSDAY

 

We are on the road, half way to see the other grandchildren.  Apparently they used the extra day to prepare for our visit.  Even E our youngest grandson wanted to help.  When his mother turned on the dryer he would turn it off.  He helped Daddy as well who swept up the floor so E could jump in the pile of dirt.  We are so glad to see them.

One of the ways we have found to communicate is through Skype.  I am able to keep in touch with my mother in the retirement home as well as with H and her family.  The video allows us to see each other so we know when we are feeling good or not.  It is a great way to interact with the grandchildren as well.  They can see us as well as hear us.  It is a fabulous way to watch them grow. The best part is that there are no long distance charges or costs associated with using it.

We are thriving and using the internet to keep in touch while we travel. Hope your day goes as well as ours.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

The gardens of the historic house called “The Ashbridge’s House”.  It was the first settlement east of the Don River and is the basis for our beach as well as our schools in the area.

D H really likes gnarly trees as well.

TRAVEL TUESDAY

 

The best laid plans of mice and men.  D H and I were supposed to leave for our daughter H’s this morning however our tire picked up up a nail and the tire store was closed for the long weekend.  We rushed over this morning to get it fixed. We also scored a compressor to carry in the car for future problems.  Let’s hope we don’t get any.

By delaying our trip by one day we were also around to help our daughter-in-law M.  We babysat Sunday night while she played soccer.  Just as well as she had a career ending injury. She broke her right arm.  We were on hand to help with the children at least for Monday.

The advantage of being retired gives us the flexibility to change our plans. I know H was a little disappointed that we will arrive a day late however I am sure if we give her a night away so they can a good night sleep it will make up for shorter vacation.

Today we will get the house ready by cutting the grass and putting out the garbage. Then we will pack because all of the laundry is done. 

We are looking forward to trip away although we are going from hot to hotter. I hope everyone has a good day and may all of your plans work out.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

 

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me
Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!
Grab the badge for your post if you like:

And now for this weeks Questions:

1. Finish this sentence - The last book I read and enjoyed was....

Can’t buy me love by Molly Flanders. I met this wonderful Canadian author on one of our city walks.  She actually lives around the corner from us.  Her husband worked with D H when they built my son M’s house.  They played rugby together.  The book was amazing.  Her character development was great.  I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in one day.  I have another one by Molly to read as well.

2. Do you have special Victoria Day (Canadian) or Memorial Day (US) traditions?  If you don't live in Canada or the US, what is the next holiday that you are celebrating where you are?

We no longer have any traditions although when the children were younger they walked to the beach to watch the fireworks.

3. If you could invent something to make your life simpler, what would it be?

I would like a washing machine with a built in dryer so I just put the dirty clothes in and take them out clean and dry.  It would eliminate the step in between.

4. What is your favorite recent blog post?

My favourite blog post is acting balanced although touristic follows a close second.

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

Who do you call on in a family emergency?

SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Thanks to Unknown Mami for hosting again this week - check out where in the world everyone else is by clicking here:

Another walk in the park.

 

I’ve shown you mine now show me yours.

SATISFACTION SATURDAY

 

In anticipation of our upcoming travels this summer D H and I went through our closets.  We were making a list of clothes we will require for our cruise. We also tried on clothes to see what still fit.  We are now going to make a donation to Good Will.  We each had a full bag.  The bad news is we do not need much in the line of new clothes and our closets are not empty.

This is the first long weekend of the summer and the weather is going to be fabulous. We are not going to a cottage so we will not need our patience for the long drive.  We can sit on our veranda and listen to the birds and read our books. We will also pack for our trip to Charleston for R’s graduation from Grade 8.  In the States this a big deal since many students never graduate from high school.  We expect that R will have many more.

E and F have returned home from visiting their other grandparents as they sold their house and will move in the summer to their new home.  We will visit with them tomorrow. Phone calls just don’t have the same appeal.

We are looking forward to seeing our grandsons L and E.  I also think their parents H and W will be looking for some babysitting.  They have both had a very trying May.  Unfortunately W’s parents were unable to make their spring jaunt down to see them.  They are also going to motor in their new Minivan and stay in Canada for about 5 weeks.  We will see lots of them.

It has been a satisfactory week all round and we look forward to more pleasure next week.  Have a good one yourselves.

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

 

It's time to hook up with Mama M. once again and play along with:

Unfortunately Mama M had some issues and was not able to host 5 Question Friday this week. I am sad since I love this feature.  I even get some comments once in a while from some of you.

Please come back next week and in the mean time have a wonderful day.

THRIVING THURSDAY

 

A midweek check-up to make sure we are still retired and not tired.  I have to say this has been a busy week.  It all started on Sunday with our road trip to see my mother for Mother’s Day.  The good news is lunch was served buffet style and I ate so much I didn’t need dinner and popcorn snack doesn’t count.

Monday was my retiree meeting with my friend R in the west end of the city.  Pizza was on the menu for lunch.  It was great catching up with R and her family.  As well as seeing the other retirees that I have worked with.  We have one more meeting in June and then a break for the summer.

Tuesday was our retiree meeting with the Scarborough bunch.  Lunch was a buffet at the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant.  Again we did not need dinner although we had a sandwich. This was the last meeting until September/

Wednesday was another retiree meeting with Bell Pensioners Group.  This meeting included lunch.  It takes a more financial view of retirement and protects our rights as pensioners. Again wonderful information and met lots of former Bell employees.

As you can see there has been a trend this week.  Lots of lunches.  D H and I will really have to step up our walking or I will never fit into my close for our cruise which is only 62 days away.

This has been another busy week but we are thriving and definitely not missing work. Hope your week is as busy.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

Today is all about the birds.  How many can you identify?

 

 

 

 

 

For identification purposes click on the picture to get a sharper image. Link up with http://www.actingbalanced.com and http://www.waynewsmith.com/ for more Wordless Wednesday pictures.

TRAVEL TUESDAY

 

I have some question for my readers.  When you consider travelling do you think of long trips or short ones?  How do you travel: by car or bus or boat or train or plane?  Do you plan or are they spontaneous?

 

This weekend D H and I drove with our daughter C for 5 hours to see my mother for Mother’s Day.  D H and I took turn driving and the other napped.  Fortunately there were service centres along the way where we could stop for bathroom breaks and change drivers. We had a wonderful lunch and a great visit with my mother and father.  Mother was pleased with her gifts.

It was good day to travel and we started early.  We had to set the alarm to get up.  This may sound strange however one of the perks of being retired is that the alarm clock is turned off. C was ready for pick-up and she came set with her Ipod and Kindle. We were sorry her husband P worked late and was unable to join us.

After spending the lunch time and the afternoon catching up Mom we drove back home.  So we drove for 5 hours up, spent about 4 hours with my parents and drove home again.

So whether it is a long or short day trip we are always on the go.

I don’t have any pictures to show as D H forgot to take his camera.

MEET ME ON MONDAY

 

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me
Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!
Grab the badge for your post if you like:

 

And now for this weeks Questions:

1. Finish this sentence - The best thing about this past weekend was...

celebrating Mother’s Day with my mother and my daughter C.  We had a beautiful on Mother’s Day brunch and shared pictures and stories about the family.  We gave my mother a scrapbooking kit and she hopes to fill it with our past.

2. When company drops by unexpectedly what do you serve?

Tea and coffee are always available however since I am on a diet and sweets have taken a back seat we will serve cheese and crackers.

3. How old were you when you got your first cell phone?

Do I really have to give my age?  I will tell you that my first cell phone was purchased in 1989 for $8.  It was strictly a car phone and came in a bag.  It weighed about 2 pounds and was strictly for emergencies. I don’t think anyone ever called me on it.  Even now my cell phone is strictly for calling – no texting or games.  I am also going to be upgrading it for our trip this summer.

4. Where do you blog?

I blog from home unless we are travelling. I also read blogs from my followers as well.

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

My 5th question this week is...

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Now, please link up and tell your friends to join us!

SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Thanks to Unknown Mami for hosting again this week - check out where in the world everyone else is by clicking here:

This week we walked the Beach boardwalk and Dh took these pictures:

 

 

It is also Mother’s Day and I would like to wish all of the mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers a very HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.

This our 4 generation picture. My mother is in the print dress, I am in the green dress, my grandmother is in the pink dress and my daughter is the youngest in the light green dress. We are all named Anne.