Favs...

 Sharing two recent favorite pics....one of natural beauty and one of nephewly beauty... or handsomeness...sorry Nate... Aunt Dell should be more respectful of the proper wording of things. 

Mucking around

 So when i went to visit Rach and the boys, i neglected to post the pictures of the boys busy at play.  They were kitted out with splash pants, jackets and boots and were unleashed on the poor unsuspecting backyard.  As you can see by the scattered toys, they enjoy being outside immensely and are learning to play well out there - now that they can be contained within the fence.  They lasted outside about an hour, allowing Rach and I to enjoy a game or two of Dominion.  But we looked outside at one point, and thanks to the recent rains, the wheelbarrow was full of water and the sandbox was right close by... an unbelievable opportunity for these two little fellows... 

 They sure got wet and mucky out there... stirring up the brew in the barrow with shovels that are guaranteed to create some good head bruises due to long handles being wielded in crazy manners.  The more sand you add to the mix, the tastier it gets!

 They enjoyed stirring it up and then the brainstorm hit... if you put the shovel in the water and fling it up, you get to spray everything in your path with sandwater...it's a grand idea...until you get some in your face because you weren't too careful where you aimed.  I was really surprised that they lasted as long as they did out there without wailing and gnashing of small teeth because i watched them fling some pretty good shovelfuls in their own and their brother's faces...

Check out the arc of the water flying through the air!

Finally, there was an end to the festivities... "Mom, i need a doekie!"  I'm not so sure a doekie will fix your problem, Pete, since your boots are layered in clods of mud, you have mud and sand all over your hands, arms, legs, face, etc... but sure, we'll wipe your hands if it makes you happy!

Tuesday April 26

So this is how the morning started, after some cloudy periods and some pretty peasoupy fog - so thick in fact that i had a hard time seeing Nona's house across the road.  And then, i in my infinite wisdom, decided after conversing with Rachel that it would be a good day for a trip to St Catharines.  Hmmm... maybe not the smartest idea since two minutes before i was going to head out to the car, the heavens let loose with a mighty deluge of rain which instantly saturated any unfortunate soul who happened to be out and about - this was the view from the inside of the car after a harried mad dash to escape the onslaught of water.  Amazing how much water can fall in such a short time!  But it also didn't last long either, by the time i hit the bottom of the Kenilworth Access, things had let up significantly and i only had to worry about not splashing the unfortunate pedestrians with the puddles which accumulated in the gutters (i guess they would probably have already been pretty wet so it wouldn't have mattered so much, but there's such a thing as adding insult to injury right?)

 By the time i hit Jordan, the weather had cleared up enough to allow the sun to start poking through and warming up the day.  Peter almost immediately asked for "a long walk" and so being a good accomodating Aunt, i obliged my dear fellow and we took Nate along with us for good measure.  We took the long way around the block to entice him to keep walking with the firestation as the lure!  It works wonders "Peter, do you see the firestation yet?"  "No, Aunt Dell.  Where is it?"  "Just a little bit further yet..."  Mindgames you can play with three-year-olds.

 Nate was all bundled up, but bad Aunt Dell let him travel for a block with his hat twisted over one eye - not having paid enough attention to what happens when he turns his head and twists the hat with it - i guess i should be more attentive eh?  No wonder that lady gave me a half smile as she drove by!

 Then finally we reached the firestation, just minutes before the firetruck pulled into the driveway returning from a call.  They were eager to use the good weather break to hose off their dirty truck. They even offered Peter a chance to spray the truck and help them wash it... but he suddenly became extremely introverted and other than a high five for the fireman, he wouldn't do anything - not touch the hoses, not sit in the cab, not anything except be extremely quiet - leaving Aunt Dell to converse with the extremely nice firemen...

 He did follow the one fireman inside to look at the boat ("it looked like a banana, Aunt Dell" since it was bright yellow) but that's about as brave as he got...

 All ready for the next job - just jump into the boots and pull up the straps of the overalls and you are ready to go!  Be a great way to get dressed in the morning - maybe i should see if they have a spare pair of boots and overalls!

Amazing...

Amazing how when you wake up in the morning after a hard night's sleep, that the little house elves have neglected their work once again and have failed to present you with a clean counter with which to greet the new day!  I'm going to have to talk to the labour union about garnishing their wages until they start picking up the slack here... maybe they are tired of living under the basement stairs with the centipedes and spiders, but i can't imagine why they wouldn't like that at all.  Silly little creatures.  So Monday morning rolled around, and i had to show them how it was done again - i'm getting too good at this job. 

The mess left by someone on the weekend... silly person!

And dishes are done with the proper tools - a dish brush and a dish pan... most handy and cleanly!

The view out my window..

Isn't the sky amazing???  My front window unfortunately has a lot of wires crossing it, but the way the sun was peeking through the menacing clouds on Saturday morning was pretty neat!  Glad i caught it!

April 21

Here's a shot of my front window - slightly rearranged and decorated in a bit more simple style - i spent part of the morning poking around to find the ingredients for the idea that i had in my head - inspired slightly by the wonderful window displays you see in Holland... i love hydrangeas and black pots... and it's simple but elegant... fun times - maybe i'll quit my day job and go into the plant/planter business!

April 19... Beach day...

Whilst most sane people were likely inside with their winter wooly socks and thick sweaters on... huddling around the heat registers to stay warm on this blustery day... one particularly strange individual decided that it would be a lovely time for a stroll down the beach... to see what had possibly washed up in the surf on this windy windy day.  Definitely not beach weather yet though - i really should have had my winter parka on to be sure!!!  And alas, no pirate treasure maps washed up either... I'll just share a few pics of my time battling the elements.

Wow, those waves were huge!

Proof that i was there...and waved to Timothy across the pond... he claims he waved back...hmmm... didn't see it but i suppose i'll have to take his word for it!

This was all dry when we were here a few weeks ago.... now all covered in waves!

The waves pounding in on the shore... the gulls were loving the wind currents!

That was a particularly great wave!!!

Yes, Lake Ontario apparently has some drainage/slanting issues..

Eeeeewwwweeeyyyy... a dead carp - a big sucker - i stuck my boot toe in there to give a size comparison

Check out the nasty teeth on this fellow...i have no idea what it is... any clues anyone???  Maybe it's the mini-LochNess monster swum over from Scotland...

Bootprints in the sand...

This little rock had such a melancholy expression on his face... i had to take a picture of him to make him feel better!

My favorite picture of the day... saved it for last!

Spring???? April 18

 Is it really spring???  My pansies think so... they are oh so cheerful...

 My poor daffodils on the other hand are knocking their poor little knees together as they suffer under yet another crazy spring snow shower...

The tulips are a little frosty as well!!!  My front garden is a bit disorganized this year since all the bulbs got dug up last year and i couldn't identify tulips vs daffodils, so they just got planted where they fell!  Makes for interesting combinations!

Whew...

Now that i've caught my breath and my balance, i can give you a little update on the last exciting five minutes in this household... i've lived in fear of doing something stupid in my house for a while and because i work odd hours and shifts and no one really truly knows where i am going to be at a given time in the day, if i would flip down the stairs, break my hip and give myself a concussion, it would be entirely conceivable that i would languish at the bottom of the stairs for days, slowly getting dehydrated cause i couldn't reach the tap to get a drink and eventually be run over by the centipedes who probably run rampantly around my basement when i'm not there to watch... Wow, what an exciting scenario!  I've never actually known what i could do to prevent such a thing from happening, behalve letting someone know my schedule approximately and what i'm up to for the day which sounds much too much like a need to report all actions which would destroy spontaneity!  Maybe i'll have to resort to getting Lifeline (a device you wear on your wrist or around your neck - mostly for seniors who need some help if there's an emergency)... might be safer!
For those of you who have known me for a while, you know that i'm prone to accidents and being a klutzy -somewhat like my father - banging my toes on the corners of walls, running into doorposts, etc... Well, i must say that now that i'm back inside safely, this morning's was a doozy!  Didn't know you could hit so many places in one fall!  I was venturing outside on this lovely fresh day to throw my duvet outside so it would be deliciously freshly springy when i went to bed tonight and somehow, whilst searching for a good place to hang it up, i must have tripped or slipped on my not so tight sock and flipped down the bottom few steps onto the patio... i knew as i was falling that this wouldn't be cool!  Aach, as i'm writing, i'm thinking, stop being such a wimp Danielle...
I managed to fall on and skin my knee pretty good, hit my hand on the cement patio, hit my back on the deck post and lightly hit my head on the wall - must have been quite a show to watch from the ground - if there's a repeat performance, i recommend getting front row seats... but it might be one of those once in a lifetime events!!!! 
I was going to post a picture of my knee, but alas, it needs a bit of attention in other departments so no luck there... but suffice it to say, I"M ALRIGHT...i'm just impressed with my performance.... should probably have stood up at the end and given a little bow and a "tadaa!" 
Stay safe!!!

Thursday April 14 - Birthday boy!!!

Yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of the birthday of my dear nephew Aaron!   Although he is now 2, he insisted and with great consistency that he was "fhree" (hard to exactly spell that in 2 year old speak!).  And he would giggle if you even suggested something different.  And to be honest, it does feel as if he has been a part of our family for a lot longer than that!  Dear little boy with his red curls that turn heads wherever he goes, his little grin, his big hugs and his great sense of humor!  He is a lot of fun to be around and makes me smile an awful lot!  We spent yesterday morning with Rachel and her boys and some friends from church at an indoor play place in St Catharines called Cheeky Monkeys - the kids had a blast climbing all over everything and racing down slides and up ladders... even Aunt Lauren and I got in there and did some sliding down the scary black hole slide and nearly getting stuck in spaces meant for 2 and 3 year olds... not 23 and 33 year olds... hey, no one kicked us off so we had fun!

I only got a few shots inside since my silly little camera intermittently decides to work and not work - maybe time for a new one but i'm too cheap - i'll wait til it dies altogether.  You get the idea of the size of the place though and the fun stuff that was there!!!

Aaron looks a little eerie here... that's what i get for no flash and kids moving... but i thought i'd better post a pic of the birthday boy having fun!  He loved the slide!

And in the afternoon, Oma and Opa came over and we trooped out to the good old favourite Mussche stomping grounds of Swiss Chalet... i think we might have given the new waitress a bit of a run for her money since after dinner the natives were getting restless and the antics started... blowing straw papers all over the place, drinking from four straws stuck together, feeding 6 month old babies icecream (not that he minded - it certainly seemed to be better received than green beans!!!)

Please Mum,can i have some...more???

This is serious business, eating icecream...

"I have one more point to add to my birthday list... just listen up, while i try  to ignore my Dad who is looking pretty funny behind me!"

Oma is teaching Peter important life skills, started off with straw wrapper blowing, then progressed to drinking out of multiple straws - we sure seemed to be getting our fair share of interested looks from the surrounding patrons!

Wednesday April 13

I know, i know, missed a few days again... you'd think with having the exam off the table and more free time that i'd be doing better - but to be fair, i was working a day shift on Tuesday - no pics at work and a half day on Wednesday - so i guess an odd pic from Wednesday night will have to do. We are currently orientating our medical team and had our second meeting.  We decided to play a game with them which turned out to be kinda fun and educational at the same time (great!) - they split up in teams and had to label body parts in creole...not even necessarily knowing too well what the words were - made for some good laughs and made me look awfully silly - i will only put the picture of myself on here since i'm the one blogging here - Andrew was also covered in stickers but i'll spare him the embarrassment!  

Flicker

I came out to my kitchen this morning, and this handsome fellow was flitting around in my maple tree.  I was pretty impressed by him - you can't see it on the pic but he's got nice red feathers on his wings and was bigger than a robin - i must say that the last few weeks, i've seen a huge increase in the number of little feathered friends, much to my delight!

Payment for past actions

No interesting pictures for Sunday... sorry, but just this one... because it struck me as it lay on my newly cleaned counter and tried to make itself conspicuous enough for me to do something about it.  Talk about the past coming behind you and creeping up on you and giving you a whack on the head... Apparently, at the beginning of March, i had a superbly blissful day of schussing down the slopes with Melissa and her kids... and took the 407 to get to Barrie... well, the time has come to pay the piper... the bill came in and it's none too cheerful... i think i'd better think it out again...

April 9

Ohhh... sun, how i love your warmth and the joy you bring to the day.  I love that your warmth beckons the flowers to end their winter sleep and open their colourful little heads.  I love that the green is gradually, oh so slowly, becoming green.  I love that the sparrows have returned to make new families in my bird houses.

I love that i'm eavesdropping on my neighbours who are counting hawks in the sky, cleaning out their eavestroughs and generally bantering back and forth not really caring that i'm listening.  I love that my skin is now a nice pink colour where the rays have tinged it.  I love my dear parents who whilst i was toiling away at my exam, took it upon themselves to invade my domicile and clean up my messes which had in my lazy ignorance been hanging around all week... aaah, yes, i love them very much!

 My porch sans Christmas tree and plus bright little flowers...

 My kitchen counter, sans mess and plus roses!!!!!!

 My bathroom, sans clutter and plus much cleanness!!

My sink, sans dishes and plus much much sparklingness! 

April 8

This chaos strewn so haphazardly around my coffee table is the end product of about 6 months of studying for the Ontario Nurses Association Oncology Certification Exam.  A conglomeration of facts and figures all to do with oncology treatment, diagnosis, and everything in between.  All that knowledge crammed into my head.  And April 9 being the fateful day of examination.  Well, i'm happy to report that the deed is done, the pencils are dull, the eraser is still smoking and the exam is handed in... never to be seen again.  Hopefully in 6-8 weeks i'll get a little envelope telling me if i've passed or failed but until then, i'm glad this weight is off my shoulders and that i can enjoy the day!!!

April 7

Not too much to report from this week... i've been stuck with my nose in the books most of the week... but here's a few pics from my day nonetheless.  I'm afraid i'm lagging WAAAAYYYY behind when it comes to pics of the day but this will have to do.   I'm not going to make this time that i've missed up - it will have to be a gap in time - suffice it to say that there were things to take pictures of, the owner of the camera simply wasn't motivated enough or inspired enough to actually pick it up and do something about it... slacker eh?  Anyhow, the sun and trees were pretty accomodating today and made everything look so nice!