June 24th, 2022 Friday again,....... Lunch came, and was delicious except for the green beans, - green beans and I don't hasve a fondness for each other!! The house is responding nicely to Jan's clean-up, - I am so lucky to have this service. Not that the house gets untidy like it once did when there were six children at home, and I guess that in the past, when the children were growing up, housekeeping took second place to their needs. I am not sure that my mother-in-law would not put housecleaning up a notch or two, but I remember Marnie Bomford's advice that I don't place it first - family is most important, - and I think probably her words touched my heart and meant I would never be awarded a shining star for clean corners!!! Oh well..... I don't have the excuse of six children at home now, so it is lovely to have Jan to clean every week or two..... Spring stays spring-like - we haven't hit the hot weather yet and it's a pleasure to be outside. Mainly sitting on the blue bench - I get scolded if I pull weeds, so have to do that unobtrusively...... Thanksful that the flowering plants are mostly perennial and make a nice showing without too much effort. The main thing is to keep the cutch grass from growing tall and towering above the other greenery. Steve brought a great contraption yesterday, - one that helps you get into bed istead of standing on tiptoe and swinging the legs up after the rest of your body!!! I don't know when the bed learned to communicate, but it definitely calls to me as the evenings wear on, and this makes it much easier to respond, and enjoy music and a bit of Candy Crush before the eyes close - thankfully.... I am having good thoughts about winding a new towel warp and using up all the bits and pieces of various colours, but so far it is only "thoughts' and I haven't attached the cotton to start winding. Being 97 makes it easy to procrastinate, but when you are 97 time is of the essence and procrastination should be a thing of the past..... Still, I think how lovely it would be to use up all those cones with only a bit on them and I think the reslt would be quite cheerful in the kitchen. Well, the afternoon stretches out before me, - I think the house will soon be empty and I will be able to wind to my heart's content = or my shoulders complain.

June 9th, 2022 May went by without any acknowledgement from Daybyday, which is really too bad because it was such a lovely month...... The grass grew, the peonies started to bud and all the little red stubs in the side garden pushed their way up and opened into lovely new plants, all green and full of spring!!! I don't get out into the garden as much as I have in previous years, - too many watchful children around who think ladies in their nineties shouldn't be allowed to dig around in gardens and bend over into weed platches!!! Well, yes, - I understand all that, and I appreciate all the willing hands that take over these tasks, but oh, how I do miss those lovely early mornings when I was able to go out and see what the night had pushed through that wonderful dark rich soil!! But I am grateful for those years - my dear one and I were so lucky to have had a garden for almost all of the seventy seven years we were married, and both of us enthusiasts for green shoots..... Still, the rhubarb is growing tremendous over by the fence at the edge of the garden, and I don't dare make my waythrough all the greenery, even with a cane, and especially if there is no one else around....sigh - I guess it is inevitable to come to that for anyone who is lucky enough to explerience old age..... Anyway, I am so grateful for perennials that grow tall and shaggy and produce wonderful flowers no matter how neglectful one might be! At the moment the yellow Iris are putting on a wonderful show at the edge of the front fence, right in centre stage where I can see them at breakfast, or any other time of the day that I spend at the dining room table. And a few crocus lend colour to the flower bed.....in the hills the yellow bell rises to announce that spring is here.....

Out back the raspberries are starting to form little clusters and before long a handful will be delicious with a bowl of ice cream! In the meantime it makes my dreams, and I can gloat over the progress the berries make as they get rounder and fuller and pinker..... It is such as pleasure to sit out back where the meadow goes greener and taller and occasionally the deer come out of the grove of bushes that grow along the creek and I have such a good view of these lovely creatures..... This is an old picture, and I haven't seen this many together yet this year, but one or two are so great to watch........

I am looking forward to a drive in the hills where I might catch sight of spring flowers and hear a meadow lark sing!! When it rains, or the weather doesn't invite one to go outside, I spend time at the loom with the idea of creating a few thirsty kitchen towels out of the 8/2 cotton I have stashed away, - they will plrobably be rainbow hued as I have a great array of cones just about about one half or one quarter full. They make for a creative project......

April 27th, 2022 Wednesday This morning I thought I would wait (impatiently) until the sun warmed up the garden and then I would go and poke around a bit!! But the sun was traitorous, and hid behind one of the many clouds that came to cover the blue sky, - and it was so promising while I had my breakfast. Ah well, there is tomorrow, and I hear my loom clapping its treadles together as it anticipates an afternoon of weaving. I am anxious to put some seed in the ground. The sweetpeas, and some sunflower seed to cover the backfence and give some privacy while one lounges around with some iced tea, or a favourable substitutue|! What comes to mind is a cool gin for a five o'clock refresher! However, I need the pleasant offer of a ride to the garden shop before I can go and buy so many of the things that my heart desires!!!! The blue china tub that sits at the side of the front verandah, and all the pots on the backyard patio are waiting for me and my wallet to go to Don and Anna's garden shop!!!! Youngest son is a good prospect, - and willing........ Maybe tomorrow...... or the next day... (I'm sure that youngest son will read this....) In the meantime I think I will make a cup of tea and take it in to sit beside the loom while I weave a bit.....

April 26h, 2022 While having afternoon tea and listening to Leon Redbone and his rendition of old songs and new songs in his lovely languid way I reached behind me and took from the 'library' shelf a book of poems by Ogden Nash, - a book that was one of my contributions to our newly married library collection (it was rather sparse). However, knowing that the book came from my shelves before we were married in 1945 will give you some idea of how long I have cherished Ogden Nash ...how much this book represents pleasant times as well as olden times. And in the book I opened it to these words about the month of May, that is about to spring upon us... Do you hanker for April showers, Or a rarified day in June? Give me a grade A May day, And please deliver it soon. I am weary of branches naked, Creaking like lovelorn cats; The earth underfoot half baked, And the sun overhead ersatz Send me a balmy zephy To play me a rigadoon, And I'll gulp of my grade A May Day Till my hiccups hammer the moon. Leon Redbone and Ogden Nash - those two names will probably be enough to indicate my less than serious reading and listening habits....

April 25th, 2022 This is a special day for me - an anniversary. Seventy-nine years ago that I met my husband, - my beloved. It was an Easter Sunday, and after attending to my Sunday School class, my friend Norma and I had gathered together frying pans and pork chops and niblets to enhance a hike by the North Saskachewan river. Ah, little did I know that my whole life would be enhanced by the lovely airman we met that day! At the time Charles had been posted to the ITS training station, located on the University grounds. He had decided this Easter Sunday that he would stroll along the banks of the river, little knowing that a lifetime of commitment awaited him..... What a lovely day!!!! I was entranced, and looked forward to the date we made to 'go to the movies' the following Friday..... In a few weeks he moved on with his training as an RCAF pilot, being stationed in southern Alberta, - but it wasn't far enough away that he wasn't able to spend leaves in Edmonton and correspond on a daily basis. My letters to him bore the initials MAMRLH - which translated meant 'my airman's mail, rush like hell'. Shortly after Christmas that year he was posted overseas for training on heavy bombers and I have a box of blue airmails that bring back wonderful memories of a newly found and permanent love....we were married eleven days after he landed back in Canada in May of 1945. It is almost ten years since death parted us from this earthly life together. but I look around and find his pictures surrounding my desk in four different places, - his lovely, quirky smile. It fills my heart.....

April 12th - Tuesday Lovely day, - wonderful invitation from blue sky and sunshine - 'come and join us' I know that if I slip out the back door and around the corner of the house I will find a beautiful clutch of daffodils in bloom, - they were ready to pop a few days ago. Everything else is growing like mad and one never knows what might have pushed their little green stubs through the earth since the last time you looked. I feel erxtremely lucky that I have reached the age of ninety seven and still have a back garden and a shady spot where I can go out and enjoy the greenery - the leaves coming out on the trees along the creek bed and the occasional deer that pops out to enjoy the meadow. I don't do a lot of travelling these days so it is particularly lovely that I live in such a nice spot, and the occasional drive through the valley is something to be treasured.... I plan a morning outdoors. Bruce, the dog, will welcome that too - would love to take the cat with me as well, but she is too agile about climbing fences and jumping down the lane!!!! The leaves on the tree outside my window are getting larger and greener every day, and the bloom on the neighbour's apricot tree make me yearn for a trip down the valley soon, when the apples will be in bloom as well. Did I say that before? Well,. if I did I'm not surprised, - it is a thought that is often with me. I will let you know if this yearning materializes.....

March 31st, 2022 Time to say 'goodbye' - thanks to March and the days that carry us forth into Spring -how delightful anticipation is!!! As I look back on my life what a great part "anticipation" has played Probably the greatest bit of anticipation that made such a difference in my life was the anticipation of the War being over, and my love returning to 'walk the aisle' with me! But then there is also the anticipation of children arriving - sweet babies to keep you up nights and later to add so much love to your family life.... Right now I look out my window where the teasels once hung and discover that in these last days of March they have fallen to the ground and left in their place those lovely leaf buds of spring. There is one lone daffodil outside the front fence - I haven't been out yet today to look for dandelions but I know that the peony buds have sent up ever growing swards of greenery and by the 24th of May the garden will be awash with those lovely adventuresome blossoms. The grass grows greener and longer and the lawn is dotted with violets. My daughter's lawn is not dotted with violets, but covered and perfumed with those lovely spring flowers. I trust that the lawn mower will grant them some time to bloom before it is time to trim the grass. I see out my window a small house-hunting sparrow inspecting the nest that nestles in the crook of the newly budded tree that is shedding all its tensils and preparing a safe and shaded spot to bring up the young.... Well, to get back to the business of 'anticipation' - right now I am anticipating a sunny afternoon and an hour or so with a book and a glass of coolness. Of course it is March, and one cannot rely on the weather staying the same, and it is quite likely that by the time I am ready to relax in the springtime sun all the clouds will have gathered and the sun will be having an after lunch nap.... Here's to April and all it's lovely delights....including the nice lunch youngest son fetched up in the kitchen!!!

March 26th - a beautiful Saturday morning. Callie the Cat has put her front paws on the bottom of the screen door and looks appreciatively (and probably longingly) at the coming of spring. I look out my computer room window and see that the teasels are getting longer and fatter, and on the branches there are very small and promising leaf buds. Why am in here at the computer when I should be out on the verandah, soaking up sunshine and sipping coffee!!!!!!! Well, there is time for that before lunch, if I keep this little post sweet and short..... As we come to the end of March I await with great pleasure all the wonderful surprises that April has. There is the promise that in a short while the lilac tree will be in bloom, and the honeysuckle, both of which make sitting out in the backyard garden such a delight. The older I get the more precious Springtime is, and I don't let it pass without being aware and welcoming. I am off to swish the dust off the porch furniture, and I will answer the call to sit in the sunshine and watch the buds and green leaves as the trees and little garden bushes hear spring calling too......

March 23rd.... A lovely spring day! Absolutely - just so glorious and inviting. My daughter-in-lw is here, creating order out of chaos in my frigidaire and besides being grateful for that I was also grateful to have someone in the house who would notice if I didn't get back after the stroll I longed to take in the garden.... So I did. Take the stroll, and so excited to see buds on the daffodils and the hellebore in bloom, That little bush in the corner of the front garden (whose name I have forgotten, but it will come to me, - most people who garden have one and someone will be able to tell me what kind of a bush those lovely early spring flowers bloom on.) Anyway, it is in bloom! And the leaves are beginning to unfurl, - the teasels are fat and sassy, blowing in the cool spring breeze. All's right with the world, and morning's now at seven (when I get up and begin to enjoy the day...) First thing this morning the valley was covered in clouds, except for one little patch of blue, - as my Grandma Clark would say, - enough to make a sailor a pair of pants. This afternoon we could accommodate the whole fleet with blue pants, it is that generous ...... I have been winding warp, and taken refuge at the computer in response to complaints from the shoulders and back now that I am again inside. Doors and windows open though..... I keep telling myself that winding a warp doesn't have to be done all at once, in the space of sixty minutes and it is quite likely that it will be first on my agenda tomorrow! It has taken some time for me to learn the lesson of pacing oneself, but being ninety-seven helps to make recognition of what's possible and what is better to be put off until tomorrow..... Time for tea, - or a cold drink Youngest son has fed the drinks shelf with a new bottle of Apricot Brandy but it is a five o-clock drink (I think) Better to put the kettle on and get out a plate of cookies for tea....

March 15th, 2022 A long time since I have even visited this site, let alone posted the doings here in the Similkameen.... However, today is sunny and promising (spring WILL come eventually) the teasels on the tree outside my window are getting longer and fatter, and the sun is glinting on them so they hang like little candles. There used to be a nest in the crook of the branches, but it seems to have been abandoned, and somewhat disheveled, and is awaiting the return of the Nesters to the valley. It shouldn't be long - I await the first dandelion with great anticipation!!! This business of growing old (antiqued) sports the eagle eye of family members, and I don't get to go out alone and prod the garden as much as I would like to. However, I did see that the hellabores are healthy and about two inches above ground, - I will watch them carefully.... In the meantime, before gardening begins in earnest, I have been winding warps and taking stock of what I have that I could transform into lovely kitchen towels, or placemats. Or even a scarf or two... As I tread my way past the mid nineties I treasure my energies and try to control my ambition to weave anything that requires too much Hoopla (of which I am in short supply some days...) I was taking stock (cherishing dreams) this morning (or at least trying to tidy up) and was a little amazed at the number of weavings that I had tucked away for when presents are the order of the day... I knew that Hope Chest my parents gave me when I was eighteen would come in handy even in its elderly days! I seem to have a nice little supply of dish towels, but what I awakened to this morning was thoughts of making a collapsible scarf using some lovely garden green wool and whatever silk I have on hand. I have a lot of thoughts like this lately, and they don't always result in an actual object, but this one just might!! The warping board hangs invitingly at one end of the hallway, out of the way of any traffic that uses the front door (and that, being the one closest to the street, is the one that sees the most visitors). As long as I sit here at the computer I won't get much accomplished at the loom or the warping board, but I did want to say "Hello". I hope Spring is filling everyone's hearts and gardens....

February 22, 2022 What a lot of twos!!!! A day of some regard, and a Tuesday besides..... It is not a day that I planned to get a lot accomplished, and so I don't feel terribly guilty about getting practically nothing done this morning, and here it is almost 11.30 I have just come from the piano where I have been indulging in memories of my mother while I played her favourite tune, "The Rosary". A lot of flats in that piece but I set my mind to playing the black keys and have such good memories to go along with it..... This piano that I play is very old, - over one hundred years, - but it is in tune, and has a sweet tone. It was my mother's piano and the one I practiced on and played when I was growing up. I discovered when I met my husband that he had been blessed with piano lessons as well, and as the years passed by and we got married, and had my family piano in the house, we used occasionally to play duets, or he would improvise with a lovely bass. Good memories - as a matter of fact good memories all around, as I think of the dear people associated with my piano playing, - my mother, who was sweetly adamant about the daily hour of practice...... And my piano teacher, who was patient and kind - and also adamant about the daily hour of practice.... It was a gloomy day to start with, but I see that the clouds have parted and the sun is shining, - the clouds are white, and light, and it seems quite inviting out there on the front porch. However, when I remember the date, and the propensity February has for hiding its chilliness beneath a summery looking sky I give up any thoughts of lunch on the verandah and will go and make myself an in-door sandwich. This is short, but youngest son has just come in, and it is getting close to lunch time so I will save anything of great interest for another time, and who knows what of great interest may happen between now and then!!!!!

February 17th, 2022 I write while the sun shines, and beckons me to take my mid afternoon coffee out to the porch where the thermometer leans towards twenty above, but experience tells me that at this stage of the game in the afternoon I will just get settled on the porch and the sun will slide gently, but with some malice, behind the mountains to the south..... So I will enjoy the blue sky as it comes through the window. and look forward to my daughter's regular Thursday afternoon visit when we will settle the ways of the world as they affect us - or at least discuss them! I feel so terribly lucky that I have this to look forward to, - her visits and the comings and going of our younger son, who also inhabits the house during the night. I know that there are some who, when they reach this ancient age, don't have the pleasure and the privilege of family close by. I have been tidying closets, and have just come across a bit of embroidery (complete with silk skeins and even a needle already threaded). I can imagine it got abandoned at some point in the past when something more intriquing dwelt in my mind. It suggests a couple of evenings spent finishing the work and perhaps even finding a frame that will enable this little "unfinished" to hang around in a way that says "completed" instead of "when did you think you might take this sad little bit of linen in hand to finish, or hang, or give away...." It is a study in thistles, - better to be hung on the wall then to grow in the garden! Besides, I just found all my embroidery needles all shouting "hurrah" at the thought of being put to use!!! It is amazing, - as I am sure you will all agree - what you find when you take it upon yourself to clean out a drawer or two... And here comes my daughter - time to take the wine and the apricot brandy down from the cupboard. We don't mix them, - she is a wino, while I have a fondness for brandy!!! Although I don't partake on a regular basis!!!! There is curling on the television - all those lovely men throwing rocks around!

Friday, February 11th, 2022 I seldon write the date not being addicted to writing cheques, - of course there is always the notes I scribble in my diary, but usually they go forward from the last recording and only contain the day that follows. However I am quite concious that today is the day before the anniversary of my dear one's birth day (now gone from this earth almost ten years ago, but still very much alive in my memory, day by day and before I go to sleep at night) It is a warm and sunny day, - a real treat in February. The front door is open, and the sun shines in on the floor, and through the windows, too. I am so tempted to go down the stairs and through the back door, to amble up the lawn at the side of the house to see if anything is poking through the earth (or the snow) to welcome the sunshine and stir the magic that makes things grow! However, I am also very conscious of the sweet concern that those who stop by to see how I am doing these days have. I look over this sentence, and think that it expresses my concern, but very clumsily, grammatically speaking!! Oh well, I think I am past the point where things must be grammatically correct as long as they still express my thoughts reasonably well.... Still, it is a great temptation to wander along the border and see if anything is conscious of the coming of spring. I know that the Hellebore will be awake and responding to the sunshine...I find it hard to resist, - there are no windows at the back of the house that I can peer out of, but there is the walker that makes things quite safe and secure....I think I need one of those submarine things, pointing towards the earth, that I could survey with - or a lot more patience!! On facebook today one of my friends posted a picture of pussy willows, in bloom!! It is truly a great temptation..... I must ask #4 son if he will bring the porch chair and table out of the garden shed so I can enjoy lunch in the sunshine, - or a cup of tea, or coffe, or a bit of brandy!!!! The sky is blue, blue, blue - I look at the tendrils on the tree outside my window but there is not yet any signs of apring time swelling. It reminds me that the rest of February and the beginning of March still stand between her permanent arrival. There are always little signs to tempt one into thinking that now it is time to say goodby to winter....however that's not really for realists, as I do try to be. There are still books piled up for winter time reading, - I am re-reading "The Language of God" (Francis Collins) - well, aren't I always re-reading that particular book, and I may have mentioned this before. I find in Collins' book C.S. Lewis' Version of the Garden of Eden - For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself. He gave it hands whose thumb could be applied to each of the fingers, and jaws and teeth and throat capable of articulation, and a brain sufficiently complex to execute all of the material motions whereby rational thought is incarnated.....then in the fullness of time God caused to descend upon this organism both on its psychology and physiology, a new kind of consciousness which could say "I and Me" and which could look upon itself as an object, which knew God, which could make judgements of truth, beauty and goodness..and could perceive time flowing past" - a mystery, and a challenge! No matter how long we live we have so little time.....good to spend it delighting in the daffodils, the tulips and the sweet peas!!!!! .

Sunday, January 23rd, 2022. A mild but dreary looking day, - the clouds leave only the mountain ankles green and inviting, - the rest of the mountain across the valley is covered in mist. Well, it has been that way for some time, - days, - almost weeks.... Every once in a while the sun shines through and says "don't despair, - spring is coming...." and I wait patiently for blue skies and sunshine and the opportunity to wander a bit around the garden..... In the meantime - well, in the meantime I read, and weave and once in a while I dust and rearrange cupboards (but not often). I write this using paragraphs, but time has taught me that once I send it to be printed it will turn up in one long paragraph, - and I don't kow why this is so or what I can do about it! Computers are strange beings, with a mind of their own, and if you are going to continue blogging I guess you just have to accept that..... It is the lower half of Sunday morning, - I await my daughter, coming for coffee and a chat. After I will seek out the Anglican Church Service from Penticton. Luckily you can attend in either your jammies or anything else you wear around the house, comfortably...... It is nice to be able to go to church without getting all dressed up, but I do miss the after service coffee and chat (as I think I have said before). There is always the phone to keep in touch in these pandemic days. A most satisfying and enjoyable call from an old friend, yesterday, with lots of news and so much pleasure in hearing her familiar voice. And it is lovely to have family so close, .... another son lives just a block away, down the road, and the youngest eats there and sleeps here. Great arrangement and comforting to have him in the house at night and good for him go have a room to call his own. I don't think we had this in mind when we had so many children, but the outcome of so many small ones around when we were young is a great pleasure and comfort now I am old and my dearest has gone on to whatever awaits us when this life is over. That's a subject for conjecture......and secretive to those who experience it, because I have yet to hear of anyone coming back to tell what awaits, - that's where faith rears her lovely head, I guess...

Thursday, January 20th, 2022 In olden times I would have taken 'pen in hand', (in really olden times I would have sharpened the quill) - but currently I am right up to date so I will start tapping the keyboard and bring 'Daybyday" up to date as well...... Well, what's to say about the weather, except winter clings to January and last night there was a fresh snowfall, although it contained a lot of moisture and today's above zero thermometer reading is fast turning it into puddles.... Still, it hasn't reached the stage where I feel that I have "family permission" to go out and poke around the beds and see what is as anxious as I am for spring to come. Rather than getting fresh air and spending my time looking for little red stubs pushing through the earth I am feeding my need to create by spending time at the loom and using up all the bobbins I have wound, so I can wind more and cut off a scarf, or a towel, or whatever comes from the loom. So far I am in the middle of a woollen scarf, and I am having misgivings about it being a little scratchy, - I even thought I might line it with silk - all sorts of thoughts pass through my head when I am throwing the shuttle!!! We have a saying in the family that gives us comfort whatever happens - "Praise What Comes" - this will apply to whatever the loom creates, - scratchy or not.... The weather is mild today, but the sun shineth not!! Spring is still a long way off, and her habit of dawdling along the way must always be taken into account whenever a spring-like day pops up in January or February. Be not fooled!! Even here in southern British Columbia where warm weather encourages the garden and the gardener, even here March can be fickle and the odd spring-like day is not to be taken seriously..... Mornings these days find me at the loom, but afternoons are for an easy chair and entertaining book. I am re-reading Chris Arthur's Irish Nocturnes - I have got to the chapter entitle Ne Obliviscaris - probably not something one in their nineties should absorb (when so many of our near and dear have gone forward from this life), and still remain cheerful and optomistic. It is a great essay, - as are all his writings "full of information, fact and personal observation" I have had lunch - kindly prepared by youngest son, and now it is time to maybe open the door to the front verandah and get a little fresh air before I settle down with "the book". I would like to go down the stairs and open the back door, leading to the garden, and have a little stroll around, a little digging here and there, - but this (sigh, sigh) is not allowed, and probably with good reason. There are things you cannot do when you are still a young 'un, and things that are frowned upon, verily, by children, when you get old and responsibility is passed from you to them.....I think I have already referred to this, in so many words..... So I will send these few lines to the Publisher that lives up in the corner of my screen and go and put my feet up and improve my mind!!!

Monday, January 17th, 2022 A dreary day, - the clouds envolope the mountain that rises across the valley. Move along, move along, - nothing much to see here except a little of the sturdy green ankles that indicate something towers above them.... Somewhere up above the January sun shines brightly, but well hidden from valley dwellers, - a trip to Penticton might take one over the top where the sun speaks of spring coming. Or am I being overly confident, - sometimes even the Pass is hidden by mist and clouds and to be truthful January is not known for its sunny days.... I understand that the early early, early spring bulbs are showing some sign of life, pushing their little scarlet stubs through the earth, but snow still clings to the hills and along the sides of the roads. In order not to upset the dear and caring wardens I have not ventured outside where I could evaluate the situation properly!!!! Mothers in their nineties are confined t0 kitchen duty, or loom work, or reading. Reading is good!!! I have a little stack of half a dozen books to inveigle me into spending time in the easy chair, underneath the lamplight..... Occasionally I press the button that raises the feet and settle back to read, - but then there is always the danger of falling asleep!!! I am in the midst of Clare Hunter's "Threads of Life" (a Sunday Times bestseller.) "An eloquent blend of history and memoir" as it says on the back cover of the book.... I was expecially interested to read in it about the Bayeux Tapestry. I spent time studying this magnificent piece while in France - but not as much as I would have liked to, as I was in the company of others. This book, in describing the tapestry and remarking on its history, was not terribly kind as to the quality of the embroidery work involved, but I didn't figure that I had the qualifications to make any judgement!!!!

January 12th (Wednesday - I had to go to the calendar to see how far into January we had progressed but here we are, on the 12th.) All the early January birthdays are over and we await the ones that pop up in the last two weeks of the month - so many of them. It makes one wonder just what goes on in March and April!!! I have been so remiss in paying attention to the computer, - busy at the loom, and today I gave serious thought to taking up the baking of my own bread.....serious thought, I say. I haven't yet put thought into action, but the idea pleases and intriques me. Maybe tomorrow, - perhaps the sun might shine and I could put the silvery tin bowl full of dough in the sunshine to rise. This is being hopeful, - the sun hasn't shone for any length of time recently, and January is being quite dull and grey, with only a little skiff of snow to brighten up the world. However we have had a few birthdays (mine included) and a few dinners out and celebrations to pass the time until the February thaws and the March winds bring spring, - oh spring! Glorious spring!! I used to love winter when I was young - spent so much time skating, and occasionally toboganning. But now???? Oh now, the sun doesn't shine here like it does on the prairies and the days are inclined to be somewhat gloomy (if mild). And I am much older!!!! That is a factor which one must take into consideration, - I'm sure young people these days enjoy winter as much as I did many years ago. Well, now you know how it is!!! The knees get old and don't know how to manage icy spots that the feet keep getting them into, and one is so happy to have the arm of a child whose hand you used to hold and lead around. I thought about that the other night when I was out for dinner at No. 3 son's, and when it was time to leave I was happy to have the support of my two youngest sons as we glided over the icy spots. All this, of course, makes indoor living the norm, and luckily I am able to find many things that induce pleasure. Lots of books to read and a nice sturdy warp on the loom that inspires all sorts of things to shuttle away at.... I keep thinking of putting a nice linen warp on and weaving a colorful krogback rug for each of the families (you will note that I have forgotten how to spell krogback properly and am using the modern method as spelling it the way it sounds - or maybe you don't know that word and I can get away with my version of spelling it!!!) Oh, when I read this over and consider how many families that would entail, I am not so sure that I have the time available to venture taking this on. Well, if I do, I will let you know!!!

Up-date, at last..... When I was out for dinner last night, in celebration of our youngest son's sixty-third birthday, I was reminded that I have been very neglectful in keeping this blog up to date, - in recording life daily, - or even weekly. So I must make yet another resolution to pay attention to each day as it passes, and write about how precious it is at this advanced age of 97!!! Well, breakfast awaits, so I will just publish this little reminder and see how well I respond to it!!!!

December 21at, 2021 Ribbons and bows, - ribbons and bow.... I have been knee deep in ribbons and bows this morning, but it is time to leave them for a little lunch, Too early for a small glass of sherry but a little lunch time respite would be nice! I am gradually contributing to the 'filling of the bags' but there does seem to be an awful lot of them. Part of the pleasure of having a large family. There are all sorts of books stacked beside me, awaiting Christmas wrapping, and the scarves I wove this fall are disappearing into Christmas boxes to spend the rest of their lives around others' necks. It was great fun making them, and great to have family to give them to!! The sun is shining today, - lots of blue sky. A change from the mild but dreary days that mid-December has brought us. I was up in the night and lingered to look at the high moon of this winter solstice. We have had snow, and will welcome a white Christmas, but I know that underneath the snow the little scarlet stubs of the spring bulbs will soon be pushing their way through the frozen earth.... I think the cookie making is a done-for-job this year, and there is a lovely big tin of shortbread available for cookie snatchers who pass through the kitchen. No pudding this year, but it was never a favourite really, and just got made for tradition's sake - my grandmother's recipe, passed through to me from my mother..... I have fond memories of Christmas at Grandmas, but they don't include the pudding or the six year old's sulking when she didn't get the "dime" Grandma hid amongst the fruit and raisins..... I find myself confined to home, - not only because it is a recommended thing to do but also because the icy paths are not favourable once you get past ninety - or maybe even eighty. Oh dear, - time is always with us, and I watch the fancy ice skaters with great pleasure, but also with memories that make me sigh when I recall the community skating rink on Alberta Avenue (still there) and the many happy hours we spent twirling around on the ice.... Well, that stack of Christmas presents isn't going to get any smaller unless I move them from the unwrapped pile to their proper place in a Christmas bag, duly signed and recorded.... As the afternoon wears on the possibility of raiding the sherry cupboard grows sweeter, so I must get on with it!!! I hope you are all enjoying these days of activity that lead to a happy Christmas, - I guess that only a housewife and mother knows the joys of preparation!!!! When I open the fridge door it does my heart good to see the little jars of lemon curd waiting patiently to turn into tart filling. And the candied cherries, dancing to decorate the shortbread - unless you are really traditional and prefer your shortbread just nicely pricked with a fork..... I hear the sherry, calling from the cupboard. Plaintively. I just know it wants to be part of the preparation!!!!!

Friday, December 17th, 2021 It has been a while since I posted here - have been busy with Christmas cards, Christmas presents, and dressing the house up to celebrate the season. Time to stop a minute and answer the phone (my daughter, who brings me news of the day each evening) It is very icy here - we had snow, a bit of melting, another bout with cold and the ice came back to hopefully make everyone careful how they walk, or shuffle. I don't venture out myself, - it is enough to keep upright and mobile in the house. Eenings, and I am attracted by good TV programs, or a lovely read. I have been reading Robert Macfarlane (still) but new books that I purchased to give away as Christmas gifts. The one I bought for a son (I do not mention which one of the four!)is called "The Wild Places" and I quote the front cover....."An eloquent and compulsively readable reminder that, though we're laying waste the world, nature still holds sway over much of the earth's surface" Macfarlane questions whether they are any truly wild places left, but he goes on to describe journeys through some of the remarkable and amazing landscapes he walks through. I have to hurry and finish this book before I wrap it, - I shall take it to bed with me tonight!!! I also purchased a little book to go with it, called "Holloway" by Robert Macfarlane, Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards. He describes the holloway thusly, - "the holloway is absence; a wood-way worn away by buried feet......a hollow way. a sunken path. A route that centuries of foot-fall, hoof-hit, wheel-roll and rain-run have harrowed deep down into bedrock" It reminds me of a path we used to take to get to school, through tall trees and bushes. Christmas comes closer and closer..... I still have a card table laden with books and scarves and mittens, awaiting either a careful and creative wrapping or a stuffing into a Christmas bag, if I don't get on with things while there is still time before the final countdown! I find mornings when I can be most creative and 'with it' - but I will lay out the wrapping paper, the tape and the holiday ribbon before I go to bed tonight, so it will catch my eye, my fancy and my will to get on with things! I looked contemplatively at the rest of the shortbread dough that I had wrapped up and saved for another session with the oven, and probably will squeeze that into the morning agenda, too! In the meantime, I shall take my tablet and a couple of soda crackers (my dear one would have viewed frightfully the idea of taking soca crackers to bed - and it is true that I would sooner have him grumbling than any cracker crumbs!!) However, one must praise what comes to make life bearable!!!