Grandsons!

Like everyone else with grandchildren, I never get tired of talking or bragging about them, but this story is my best yet. On Mother's Day, a couple of weeks ago, we had invited our daughter and grandson over for dinner, as her hubby was away. Corson, who is amost 3 1/2, loves to visit Nanny and Papa. He always has to look for the new bears and toys I have made and the enjoys peeking into my curio cabinet, but from the time he was a very small baby, he has always had a strange fascination with a Tibetan singing bowl I have on display. My sister brought it back from Tibet for my mum, and she put a moss nest, with a feather bird in it - I believe it was part of a dismantled Christmas ornament at one time. It has become a bit of a joke, if the bowl is missing from the cabinet, you KNOW Corson is in the house, and he will carry it with him and have a conversation with the bird.

They arrived for dinner early, and we were thinking of things to do to keep Corson occupied. He spotted a Winnie the Pooh suitcase, that my niece left for him and he was quite happy wheeling it around. Suddenly, it was a bit too quiet, and when I asked Corson what he was doing in the livingroom, he answered "nuffing" and before I could respond, he went out the front door. My daughter scooted to catch him and he replied he was going "downtown" to buy a drink - amazing, since he's three and has no money LOL! We are only a couple of blocks from downtown, so my daughter decided it was actually a good idea and off they went, with Corson wheeling his new suitcase. Well, 5 minutes later, my daughter came in the door whispering to me "not to laugh". They had gone about a block, and Corson had stopped, raised his finger and said "sshhhhh". He opened the suitcase and with arms wide open said "TADA!" My daughter was horrified to see that Corson had absconded with my Tibetan bowl, complete with the bird and nest!

She quickly marched him back to our house, to have him tell me what he had done and apologize. When his mum said, "Corson, do you have something to tell Nanny?", he immediately responded very innocently with, "Nanny, I take your bird for a walk"! Honestly, I burst out laughing - how are you supposed to keep a straight face, after that? I did explain that the bowl was very special because it had belonged to my mum, and that someday, he would have it for his very own, which seemed to make things all better. Grandsons! Everyone should have at least one - could you resist this face!

Sneaky Melanie - I've been tagged!

It's 2:00 a.m and I was just relaxing and reading a few of my favourite blogs before going to bed. I really need to update my blog, and I just noticed another comment had been left, so of course, nosey me had to have a peek. My friend Melanie of Bear Treasures enticed me to check out her blog, and now ZAP, I'm it! I have to reveal 7 new things about myself, before I can move on and being the obsessive/compulsive person that I am, I won't be able to sleep until I'm done LOL! Sooooo, here they are:

1. I think being a grandparent is the absolute best thing in the world. There is something about an "I wuv you Nanny", or a sloppy kiss with a face full of chocolate that melts my heart.

2. I'm experimenting with some altered art and digital pictures and it's really addictive.

3. I swore I wouldn't have much of a garden at our new house because I had trouble maintaining all of our garden beds at our previous house, but once I saw the "open" signs on the nurseries, I caved pretty fast. No, the garden won't be as big, but I'm putting as much as I can into my small space! I love the English cottage type garden.

4. I'm a sucker for kittens and cats, as if that's a big surprise (right Shantell!) I can't imagine living without one.

5. Reading is one of my favourite pleasures, even though I don't have as much time to indulge anymore. I do, however, find it difficult to pass any interesting magazine without purchasing it, and I can't part with any of them - just ask the people that moved us LOL!

6. I love the fact that teddy bears have connected me to so many wonderful people all over the world. Who would guess that a child's toy from days gone by, could have so much impact in today's world.

7. I enjoy antiquing, partially because I yearn for more simplicity in my life. Holding an antique or browsing the shops is my refuge from the techno age that seems to surround us these days. I look at all the things our three year grandson has already been exposed to in technology, and sometimes I wish I could turn the clock back 50 years.

Well, there - all finished and off to bed! Oh, and by the way, if you are reading this post - TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring is finally here

Spring has finally arrived in Ontario, and I've really looked forward to antiquing and browsing the local plant nurseries. Last weekend there was a Maple festival in a nearby town. It was really fun - the main street was blocked off, with lots of live entertainment and activities for the kids. All of the stores had sales and I managed to find something I've been wanting for ages - a small antique writers desk. It is so nice to stumble across the "perfect" item. Needless to say, it is firmly planted in our living room, and I am delighted! Now all I need is a small chair to go with it, but I'm sure I'll have fun looking!

I've also been anxiously waiting to see which of our spring flowers survived being transplanted from a different growing zone . We re-located last fall and I brought several plants from our garden with us, among them a few white and burgundy trilliums, which are some of my favourite flowers. I thought it would take a few years for them to really establish themseves, as they can take up to ten years to flower, so imagine how excited I was when I saw familiar greenery in my back garden with flowers. Yes, both kind of trilliums are blooming, and with abundance, I might add. Yippee!

My next surprise came Sunday morning, on Mother's day. I was looking out of the kitchen window and noticed tall, pointed spikes in my garden. I was thrilled to see three Jack-in-the-Pulpits poking up from the soil, since I wasn't sure they would take being transplanted. The final treat was a tiny group of wild purple violets, that I had also brought with us. They were one of my mum's favourite flowers, and it was as if she was wishing me "Happy Mother's Day". It really was a highlight in my day.

Where does the time go

Do you remember when we were children and time seemed to drift by slowly and holidays seemed to take "forever" to get here? I'd like to know when that changed because now there aren't nearly enough hours in the day to do everything, especially this time of year, when the weather is so absolutely lovely outside.

I finally got another bear finished and Jack made his debut on Ebay last night. This one is one of the antique style bears that I love so much. The mohair is hand-dyed and it helps to give Jack that patchy, worn look. I spent hours distressing him and I'm really pleased with his final "look". Jack needed something to wear, so I gave him a simple Sailor collar and after I spend time aging and distressing the fabric, it was perfect. I think he's pretty cute.