~~~IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!

As many of you know I have been in training to become a fitness instructor well,
my leader, Nancy the main trainer asked me this morning if I felt ready to do the class and I told her that I would do the 10min warm up and that I didn't feel ready to do the entire class. She agreed and the class began and then I handed it over to Nancy.
There was a new participant in the class and she found that she could not continue so she stood back and observed at which time Nancy went back to check her out at which time I jumped in and continued the class and then Nancy returned.

All was going nicely till Carol a regular slumped to the floor. I didn't see her go down however Nancy did and she was there to give her assistance. The ambulance was called and Carol was taken to the hospital.

While Nancy was attending to Carol......IT HAPPENED! I jumped in and completed the class without any notes....I just "winged" it and drew on my strengths and it seem to work out just fine.

I found that staying in my "comfort" zone was not where I needed to be and Nancy saw that. I was thrown into that zone where preparation meets opportunity which equals....SUCCESS! YEA! for me........

Come on let me hear you cheer for me! That's better now I know you are on board. If you are ever in my neighbour you are more than welcome to join my class.

Till next time.....

~~~Let me introduce you to my new bike....I don't have a name for it yet!I decided to get a cardio in so off I went on the bike to the Maitland trail.

I think I will have to invest in a pair of gloves that have the fingers filled in and now that the weather has changed to cool I could have used them instead of the ones with no fingers.

The trail out of the town was where I ventured first and since it was built by the railway the incline was steeper heading out however the rewards came on the way back to the bridge.
Wow was the wind ever strong while I took these pix first of the mouth of the river with the salt mine in the back ground and then looking up the river as well as the lagoon with the golf course in the back ground.

Now that I am home I will be ripping into more quilting. I needed more material so I picked some up this morning from the shop in town and came home and prepared the fabric and while it was drying I headed out on my bike. Good thing I did cuz the clouds have really moved in and maybe another thunder storm.

Oh did I mention that we had two dandy storms roll through here? One at 3Am and another
at 5Am. I do love storms even when the bed shakes!


Till next time...

~~~CAN YOU SMELL THAT ???..... well that is my multi veggie soup which I decided to throw together earlier this afternoon. I used chicken broth as the liquid and then added carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, mushrooms, black eyed peas and chunks of roasted chicken now doesn't the sound yummy? I thought I deserved some "comfort" food and I will have this with a slice of multi grain bread for supper.
To bad that I am not a drinker cuz if I were to imbibe I think I would choose a smooth, dry, red wine. 2004. Hey L'll Sis does that sound delicious to you?


My dear sweet neighbour A.M. popped over and gave me a "kick start" on my quilting project. Together we have designed a "lap" quilt using a Curling theme. It will be a hostess gift (can't visit without taking a gift or two) for the couple that I will be staying with in Edmonton in December. And they are avid curlers I know that they will be so surprised!

As you can see I was able to get a really good start on the cutting and now the real fun begins.....the sewing!
I had my sewing machine into see the doctor and it now has a clean bill of health and ready for action.
I am so glad that I have decided to use the sunroom for sewing because the floor is heated under the ceramic tiles and I tried the system out today by turning up the heat. OOOOOOOOOOOh it was so nice!

Till next time....

No this is not a "hot dog" but a Cornish Pastie and it was made in a Scottish bakery
Maybe that is why it has been crimped on the top and not along the sides.
The filling was waaaaaay to salty but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. I had it
for dinner with a lovely baby spinach and tomato salad...yummy!

I had popped down to visit #2 Son and his family for a very brief visit on Sat. and thought that
I'd drive through Preston. I spotted the bake shop and stopped in and picked up a few goodies
to share with the family ....and did they ever ever enjoy the treats.

Cousin Mike ....eat your heart out...LOL

While in the city I also picked up a book I had ordered and the new Harry Connick Jr. CD.
I also got a Sirius radio kit for the car and the house. I hope to have the radio installed in the car
sometime this coming week.....YEA, no more listening to advertising!

Till next time...

~~~WOW!!!! HOW DO I SAY ....THANK YOU TO DEAR PEN PAL?????

It worked....the instructions were great and now Y'all will be able to read my posts with out using a magnifying glass!

Till next time...

~~~ALL IS WELL IN MY WORLD!

Other than I am struggling with a few things and the primary issue is this "small" script on this blog. I have done something which seems to have "locked" me into the same size script and Google has not been of any help so far but I will keep trying.

I am back at quilting and this one is a real adventure in patience. Drawing on knowledge acquired from my past projects is really helping. This will take a while but I will keep you posted and maybe some pix too.

Of course there is always the workouts and I do enjoy them so much. They are what is keeping going and maintaining such good health in spite of all my recent stress!

Till next time....

~~~ ANOTHER BIRTHDAY TO CELEBRATE......

Dear niece, the "city girl...gone Country" turns 42 years today!

Enjoy your day Dee!....Much love from Auntie Mary....XXXOOO


Till next time....

~~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR "PEN PAL"
Sometimes people come into one's life when least expected and fill that life with such joy!

Thank you for listening to all my ranting, raving, giggling and loud laughing. I have appreciated your insight on many different issues along with your sense of humor and encouragement.
Today is the beginning of the rest of your life so enjoy it to the fullest!

Till next time....

~~~If you look closely you will see the last of the apples on the tree at the front yard.
I have already raked up 4 huge wheelbarrows full and still more to come....this was a
a bumper year!

I transplanted these two plants from the back flower bed
where they were being crowded out of space to grow. Thanks to my friend Eleanor who really knows her flowers told me the name of the flower on the left is Phlox and the other plant is a hydrangea which L'll Sis gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago.

This beauty is an ornamental grass which was sprawling all over the place
so I "girdled" it up with some binder twine and now it looks much tidier. Through out the winter the plums
on top open and close when the plant needs moisture and I can tell when it will rain or snow....that is so cool.

~~~THE FIRST DAY OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND......

several of the retired teachers were luncheoning at Crossroads in Elmira....
This is turning into a tradition where former colleagues visit for lunch and to celebrate....NO MORE FIRST DAYS! YEA!!!

L'll sis and I headed down to north Waterloo to McPhails so I could drop off my new bike for a tune up and then we were off to Elmira.

We had a" YAKING" good time and it was wonderful to so many new faces from the past joining us for lunch.

Crossroads is a lovely restaurant which is operated by the Mennonites and the food is fantastic. They also have a gift shop that everyone enjoys poking around in. Some even made purchases!

Today I am back to puttering around inside and out and of course there will be a "workout"which includes a half hour cardio and at noon a good hour class of free weights.
I will try to get the grass cut in the late afternoon after the due drys up.

Till next time....

~~~~A THOUSAND THANK YOU 'S TO MY WONDERFUL "PEN PAL"!

That nasty "worm" is gone and that is because of the skills and talent of my Pen Pal...aka PP.
He had to do a fair bit of cleaning up and now things are really working beautifully and I am delighted

We had a fun filled weekend with lots of interesting things occurring such as misplaced cell phones....that were found successfully.

Several bike rides with a guided tour of the Town for PP, coffee in the park and lunch one day in Bayfield.

I must admit there is nothing like the feel of the wind my hair while riding in a sports car with the top down....no, nothing like it!!!!! and I didn't have to do the driving.
Driving that little beauty of a car, BMW Z three is a passion of Pen Pal and he has the skills to really make it move.

"Thank you" again PP for everything!

I hope y'all enjoy the pix I posted...just scroll down and enjoy!


Till next time...

A dream come true to see the renovated library and that beautiful statue of
"The young Victoria"
Mary at the "Tea Party" with the suffragettes!

Mary and the "Spider"

View of the Library which is at the back of the Parliament Buildings