Many arguments can be made on what The Most Wonderful time of the year is. It is possible as I sit here 4 days before the New Year that well, most of my times & days gone by last year
were pretty damn wonderful.
Aside from a little too much rain in the spring we did manage to get the crops in and then thanks to the rain we recieved after that they turned out pretty good!
His got planted and I was able to get my garden of veggies in too.
My 'planter' is a little more hands on.
As in hands on a shovel and then planting with my hands.
As in hands on a shovel and then planting with my hands.
Hello Blue Skies!! The blooms bloomed the grass got greener & it was a beautiful time of year around here!
Things that were planted grew & even those seeds that were let's say 'scatted' about provided some wonderful fruit and a couple delicious pies
It was 'just yesterday' in my own head that I was 9 months pregnant climbing up a tree picking mulberries when Rick came home & was perplexed as to my where abouts in my 'state' with my Mustang still in the driveway. Mystery solved when I came back across the field with a couple
full baskets of berries:)
Somehow my 'just yesterday' turned into 13 years ago and poof just like that
my baby boy is a teenager!
We couldn't be prouder!
Jack's birthday marks the end of a school year & the start of summer.
Every year we're fortunate enough to be able to take a wonderful trip up North to the cottage.
Thank goodness we get that week of Northern air because after that
it's time to come home & take off the wheat.
Known to us as Heat Week. It Never fails that it always lands on the hottest time of the year. This
year was no different. 90 degrees plus all week!
These two are thrilled to get started!
THE HELP.
While they were used to those long, hot days I thought no better time then now to turn them into blueberry pickers. This was my first trip to Klassen's.
What a wonderful experience! Endless rows of grape sized berries.
They too had a great season from the spring/summer rains which in turn allowed me to
make some great pies & jams.
There was plenty of play as well as work this summer too. Don't feel too sorry for my child labourers just yet. There were ball games, concerts & fairs along the way ( they were at most of them with me) and another great trip up to the cottage with their friends.
Every year I sound like a broken record telling them how much quicker
each summer goes by but truly it does!
Harvest time is upon us before we've got the sand out of our toes.
I'm taking my veggies out of my garden before the combine is fired up again for the beans.
Years ago when I started my garden I thought what a wonderful thing for the kids & I to do together. Surely they'll love helping plant, water, pick & watch all these delicious veggies grow. How excited they would be over choosing whatever vegetable
they wanted to have for dinner & picking it themselves.
I don't want to say that I might have 'over-envisioned' BUT I DID.
I kept hearing 'It's hot, the bugs are bad, I don't have shoes on, they're too picky, I don't even like tomatoes why do you grow so many?
My personal favourite though was 'I already picked those yesterday'.
So while I was in my glory having a wonderful time picking, scuffling, weeding and replanting,
they for the most part really weren't.
Sure they'd entertain my need to educate them on the fun of my garden if I found a praying mantis or a pretty butterfly and if there happened to be a rabbits nest with some babies in it
they'd keep me company for a good hour.
Jack would even come help me slay those nasty green tomato worms which I was very thankful for but other than those few tricks I had up my sleeve
I was not experiencing the full picture of my vision.
For me though, every day that something else was ready to be picked or I was able rototill up that nice damp soil I was thrilled.
How wonderful! The 'veggies' of my labour.
Eventually they'll come around right?
With our summer days now long gone the kids back in school, Autumn is in full swing upon us. Which brings me to my next favourite pie, A P P L E :) It was kind of a round about way of getting there but picking pumpkins, gourds & apples oh my is as good as life gets!
The kids know this too because the only apples they eat all year in their lunches are the ones they've picked themselves. The red delicious that I pay $2 ea for in December is just the show & tell apple that will travel to school & back everyday only to be thrown out on Friday.
I should say something to them about the starving children in Africa but I don't.
Rick stays incredibly busy for the months of September & October. We don't see much of him other than making him a sandwich or going to pick up a part for something. I learned quickly after we were married that you don't ask how things are going until they've got them done.
It's a wonderful thing to see that combine out in the field plugging away and the wagons being filled so unless he calls me I am a firm believer in ' No news is Good News'.
When November rolls around the crops are off & the work is done, for now. The kids & I enjoy the tranquility of 'Daddy's away hunting week' or in this year's case 'hunting month'.
(Okay maybe I enjoy it a little more than the kids.)
The other thing about November rolling around is that it's Moira's bday Month!
Not only was I faced with my son becoming a teenager this year but I also had the reality of my baby girl entering double digits. On November 29th she turned TEN.
She is happy, funny, witty, sporty & responsible to the max! She shines!
Jack's away hockey tournament in Belleville landed just before her birthday so she was able to capitalize on pre celebrations before the day of her birth. As an added bonus the town of Belleville had a 'Moira' river, street & various business' that included her name. Who knew she would gain celebrity status for the weekend!
Trying to play catch up on the last six months wasn't easy but looking back at the last half of the year has really made me realize I need to find a way to slow down time for next year.
Here we are with December basically behind us.
We were able to fit in another great trip to Chicago with Ben & Sasha.
A Camo Christmas with Rick's whole family the weekend after.
and somehow be ready for another Wonderful (almost the whole) family on Christmas Day.
Looking forward to my little sister coming home on NYE but missing my
other sister & her family for the holidays.
So, it would seem The Most wonderful time of the year for me is all year.
It's the time spent doing the things I enjoy with the people I love.
Cheesy as it is that's the best I can sum it up.
Wishing you & yours many Wonderful days in the year ahead.
Happy 2014!
