Visiting Alexandra............

We usually go more often. This summer has been wicked hot and humid. So we have somewhat neglected things. The other day I know I saw her looking out of Tristen's eyes and so I went and got some new plants and went over to the graveyard. Tristen was excited. He jumped up and down "I am going to my 'udder mama's house" as he calls it. I am his "new mama nanny" He knows what is what even if he may not yet fully comprehend things.
Gerry and I went and got some Asters and Pansies and off we went.
This is little Alexandra

Here is Tristen

Its sort of sad seeing him sitting on his mothers grave but really, it's not a sad place for him. He enjoys going and I hope that stays that way.

These are the small Asters that I found and they go well on here


You can see the pansies in this one.

this is me and Tristen

I don't mean for this to be a morbid thing, or anything creepy. I was raised with the obligation or privilege to tend family graves with my Auntie Annie. I enjoyed the time we spent together and felt a connection with long gone relations that I never knew by doing this chore. I want Tristen to feel comfortable and not sad going to visit his mother. It serves another purpose too, so that he grows up understanding where his mother is and to encourage questions.
He plays, and ironically Alex is surrounded by children. Tristen goes to visit the ones under the apple trees that have large bunnies by them.

A very peaceful spot. It still doesn't seem possible that my lovely Alexandra lies there. She was so full of life, such a force of nature. Rest in Peace sweet girl and I hope you see your son playing here and know he is well cared for and well loved.

A peaceful place

I will keep doing posts on this so we can see Tristen grow and see things change.

Gwen Frostic..............

Gwen Frostic was born in Sandusky, Michigan. When she was 8 months old she suffered from an unknown illness which left her with lifelong symptoms similar to cerebral palsy. Despite physical difficulties Gwen showed an early interest and aptitude for art. She pursued her artistic talents in metal and plastic, while occasionally teaching, but with the war came a lack of metal to work with and she turned to linoleum block carving. She then turned her linoleum block carving into stationery goods and prints which led to her starting her own printing company, Presscraft Papers. In the early 1950s Frostic opened up a shop selling her prints, books, and other items in Frankfort and in 1960 she bought 40 acres of land in Benzonia with the intention of moving her and her shop. On April 26, 1964 her new shop was open for business and she lived there until her death in 2001.The shop is still open and we went there today. For me it was the first time since her death.

Those are facts about her, but anyone who has read her poems or been to this place know there was much more to her than that. She was a person I should have loved to know. Her love of nature and her poems speak to me. I know her spirit. This is the printing room. When its in action as it is most days, you can watch


Her lino cuts are simple. People love them though, people come from around the world to buy her things. There are letters pinned up from people who have enjoyed her work.

The house, building and now shop is made of local stone and timber and glass. The roof has grass growing on it. When Gwen was alive she had the back of the house as a bird sanctuary. Today its overgrown and sad. Its gone back to nature. She would like that.


The rooms are full of things from nature. The counter has this huge bowl from a tree, the footprint in the concrete of a Coyote or maybe Fox.

Here are Tristen and Reina sitting on the fireplace in the middle of the round room

I bought two books and some stickers this time. I have several of her books, I completely relate to her words. They have always wrapped everything in a pretty package and top it with a spruce leaf



Gwen will be appreciated for a long time to come. Those of us who remember her will always treasure her soul and her ability to share her inner most thoughts on life and nature. A perfect wisdom.

Let’s just wander here and there ~~
like leaves floating in the autumn air
and look at common little things ~~
stones on the beach ~~
flowers turning into berries…
From the winds we’ll catch a bit
of that wondrous feeling that comes ~
~~ not from seeing ~~
but from being part of nature…~Gwen Frostic


I am sharing this with I should be mopping the floor, Inspiration Monday

Confetti..............

Do you remember when you were little, how they would throw confetti at weddings?
I lived in a small village in England and I just loved it when there was a wedding on a Saturday afternoon. The High street would be full of coloured confetti (paper) and we would love to pick it up. It seemed magical somehow. There was an old man in the village back then, he swept the streets with a broom. Most of the people my age remember him. He had a limp (a wooden leg I think) and he would also dig graves. No matter............the confetti was swept up and no harm done. Times changed and the mechanical street sweepers came along and somehow or other the paper was no longer beautiful it was "a mess" and so it was done away with.
Wedding with confetti......so pretty, (picture from web)



After that rice became popular but they found it was not good for the wild life. So then they tried bird seed. Good luck with that when the seeds sprouted after the rain.
So here is an article from The Daily Express. What a wonderful idea. Freeze dried flower petals.

Farmer Charles Hudson started the company after chancing across soggy paper confetti littering the grass outside his local church a week after a wedding. Many churches ban the use of the stuff on their grounds just for that reason.
Arriving home, Mr Hudson came up with a novel solution. Some petals fell from the flower bouquet he was carrying for his wife, and he had a 'eureka' moment.

Their foliage alone is handsome enough for many gardeners, but ligularias’ spires of blazing flowers are what really enchant
'It just struck me that real flower petals might make a wonderfully natural and biodegradable alternative to the ghastly stuff over the road,' Mr Hudson told the Daily Telegraph Magazine.

He switched some fields from cereal production, knowing that, if it came off, he would be the first to tap a daisy fresh market.
Now his flowers have been hurled as far away as the beaches of Martinique and graced the weddings of celebrities like Maddona and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Mr Hudson's flower fields are open to the public. The flowers will be in bloom at the end of June early July depending on the amount of sunshine and should last until the beginning of August.
What great idea, now weddings can be pretty again and traditional. see the original article in the Daily Mail

moving house.............

Well I got the guys, Gerry and Dan to move the play house for me. Here's the thing. Tristen always wants to be where I am. His play area was back in the shade area of the garden. He has been sticking pretty much to the garden path within sight of the deck. I will sit there to watch the birds. So he is always right within sight of me. I noticed this past week in particular he has played really nice on his own, but on this side of the garden. So...............I decided there was room to move his play house from the back to the side. Gerry didn't want to as it was a bit of a job, but was coaxed into it.

The area gives him a concrete base for his house instead of dirt and it gave us a chance to clean it out. The gate that opened onto the neighbours was never used. As its not a permanent structure we can move it again if we want to. I like it here.

I do think I will pad the corners on the house though because I can see myself hitting something on the edges. Anyway he is happy with the change. Now I can redesign the area at the back. The sand box is still there but I am not sure I want that either...........he digs in the bloomin garden so what to do? The sand is always gone. Spread all over the wood chips. As it is now I have two chairs there for who ever is watching Tristen, he always wants compamy.


But now, on its own the sand box is a bit of an eye sore.

What can I do with this? Hmmmm.
Well I did make his parking area for his bikes bigger. SO maybe if I put the sand box there it would be next to the garden he digs up..............nah..........that wont work. Next to the play house? The thing is, next year I may be able to get a climbing frame or something else back there. Or simply make it back into a seating area. Then of course he will want to play back there wont he. I am starting a rock garden to the side.

Well all I can say is its a work in progress and for one small boy it seems like a lot of bother haha.

cooling off in the woods

We went for a walk in the woods the other day. It was supposed to be cooler. Well it was but not cool enough for me.Fall is in the air, the leaves are just showing signs of changing. The yellow daisies and later flowers are out now. Funny how in Spring the flowers are yellow, daffodils, primroses etc, now again in Fall the Black eyed Susies and many others are yellow, a deeper yellow like Sunflowers. Anyway, we went to the playground but there were a few people there and Reina asked to go for a walk so off we went.


This pond is on one side and there are a couple more in the same area. This one has Water lily on it. Lots of turtle but they were shy

I wanted dragon fly but they didn't cooperate. So I got a water lily instead

A lovely reflection on this pond of the barn across the way

I can do without the heat but will miss summer walks in the woods and days on the beach. With Fall coming and back to school we must make the most of the last days of summer


I love taking pictures of the wildflowers. Seldom see wildlife because of those two rowdy young ones. Was the same when mine were kids.
This is not Queens Annes Lace.........I think of it as Cow Parsley, not sure of the correct name

A pretty close up

This is the weed/daisy thats in my garden


I mean, its not that we do a lot but I have to think the kids will remember the time we spent with them.

See the beauty in simple things, it all around us.



Close up of the wasp

The sky was beautiful and strange. Looked like a rasher of bacon





We were pooped,amazing that it was only in the 70s and should have been cool after the high temps this summer but.........too much for us. We left the park and managed to get away without going back to the playground by me tempting them with ice cream. We went to Moomers................yum!!!!

Lady (Retired)......

This is a poem I wrote a long time ago. My horse lived to be 41 years old. She has been gone now for about 5 years. Oh how I wish Tristen could have seen her. Reina got to enjoy her and she was the last of the granddaughters to get to know her.

Lady RetiredNo more trail rides for me
My time now is gonna be free.
Free to live my life for pleasure
I am now a Lady of leasure

Now I can be a lazy bum
I thought this day would never come
No more bit and no more bridle
All my days are gonna be idle

Mowing grass and eatin' hay
That's how I will spend my day
Til that special hour should come
and my grazin days are done

I'll enjoy my life I'll roll and play
Enjoying each and every day
I'm here for treats, lovin and pettin
I'm not dead yet so don't be forgettin

(Lady says "A carrot a day keeps the vet at bay")

Sharing with Inspire me Monday, create with Joy
Also with Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill

Poetry...who knew?.........

I have always enjoyed writing poems. I can't say I actually love poetry because a lot of it I just don't get.
Mum had a couple of poetry books so I suppose that means she may have enjoyed the odd one now and then, but I really never knew. Her books were Wordsworth and Shelly.
Now when I was in school I really loved "The Story of Hiawatha" I loved its cadence. I also loved the subject matter so it was always a favorite of mine. I found that I liked others of Longfellows works. Not that I was about to check that out by choice back in school days, but I did when I was older. Another poet that caught my fancy was William Blake. I loved "The Tiger", we had to learn that one.

My Uncle Harold who shared my love of Bluebells, also shared my love of writing poems. Just simple little poems. He sent me many of his own and I quite enjoyed them. I have written poems since I was quite young, rhyme comes easy. It's the subject matter that's difficult. I now have my blogs to write on and have put several of them out there. It was only recently, meeting another blogger who wrote poems that I learned that there are many types of poems. Well I never........I did not know that. She had written a poem and I didn't understand why it was a poem, because it did not rhyme. Well it did, just not in the way I knew. She was kind enough to explain and I have since read up on a few things. I must try some of them myself.
I have done Haiku and really don't get it. I cant see the point to it. Still its a "lesson" to be written in 5-7-5 form. I mean, what kind of poem is it that you have to count syllables? To limit yourself like that and come up with something barely making sense?


This is one I wrote myself. I guess its just a rhyme, simple and on subject.

Golden fish in garden pond
hides beneath the lily frond
Flash of yellow, amber and gold,
Jumps the surface feeling bold.
Makes a splash but quickly hides
To the bottom he gracefully glides
He plays among the water flowers
plays hide and seek for many hours.
Ever watchful shy and sleek
careful to avoid the Heron's beak.
Coon and fox and many more
Seek him out with deadly paw.
Still he swims with spirit and ease
Lives his life just as he please
Has no fear of what life brings
just for this day his heart sings.
For Golden fish life's full of fun
Morning up to setting sun.

Anyway...........I will be learning about all the other kinds of poems. Cinquain, Ballad (yes I get that one) Quatrain, Sonnet,Ode,Epic, those are all ones I am familiar with but there are so many more that I have no clue. So I will educate myself. I will not be writing any Epics I will tell you that right now.
I don't like not knowing something. So I will read each and every one Acrostic? Clerihew? oh ahah.......we will find out what they are along with the long list of others i know nothing about. Wish me luck. I will print any examples I come up with that may be worth a read. Dont hold ya breath

New challenges........

Every day brings new challenges. New emotions, new questions........maybe new answers? In any case life is never dull. I leave it all to the Lord because I certainly cant handle things myself.
God does not promise to take away our burdens, or stop bad things from happening. What He does promise is to help us to get through things. We have Him to lean on. It would certainly help if we asked HIS advice first.
Sometimes it's harder to watch those you love go through troubles. Again, all I can do is give it to God. I have learned that I can't make decisions for others. I may think I see what they should or should not do but in fact I can not know how they feel. I can not walk in their shoes, they have different feelings and different emotions, different goals and a different road to walk. All I can do is hold them up to the Lord and ask that He intervene and guide them.
One thing people should learn is that if they ask for advice of anyone, and it is given to them. It is still their choice if they should or should not take the advice. All it is really is .......is something for them to consider, to think about. Thats all.


I do believe that trials and tribulations make us stronger. I think there are lessons in life that we have to learn to deal with, and it always seems that unless we learn the lesson we have to go through similar situations over and over until we do learn the lesson. That has been my experience. I learn things quicker these days. Holding on to hurt and anger is a weakness, an indulgence we can not afford. That I have learned. We must forgive each other. We must be the better person. We must be the one to put forth the effort. Christ told us to forgive not once but each and every time.


We can not do this in and of ourselves. We have to ask God to help us, that is the Holy Spirits job. we may not forget the hurt but we can learn from it and it no longer has power over us.
I must admit I have had my share of woes, but when I look at some situations in the world I know my life has been good so far. Sometimes bad things bring out the best in people, sometimes the worst...... but that is a choice we make. We are intelligent animals not driven by feelings and emotions alone. We can choose to do the right thing even when its the most difficult, it is what forms character and sets us apart as human beings. Sometimes when you see the courage of people in really really bad situations when they give their life rather than loose their honour or do the wrong thing just to save their life. That is someone who has God in their heart.


None of that is easy, I don't pretend it is. Sometimes I must put on blinders and focus only on God. I am not a religious person. I am a Christian. I believe that through God all things are possible if it's His will. That's the hard part, when the answer is NO. When God shuts a door and I really wanted to go through THAT door. However, I now know life is short, not forever and there are greater things to come and so I can say that I truly don't care. I can shrug and say
"whatever" or in religious lingo "God's will be done" ..............



I am not an overly emotional person. I often feel guilty that I don't show God how much I love Him. I don't show my kids or husband or family how much they mean to me in words or hugs. It's not me. In fact I am not sure I know how. I am not sure what love is. Tristen has helped me with that and Cooper. Its easier to love them because they are so young and well, I am more mellow now. I should clarify that, I am emotional but I am very good at hiding it. Its that old British stiff upper lip thingie.



And your neighbour and your enemies...........love is what its all about in the end.

Sharing with Motivate me Monday Adorned from Above