My BD Road Trip - May 23rd-26th

May 23rd

It's a road trip day (Ive my ROAD TRIP teeshirt on) with Sylvia and Edna heading to Dauphin. First stop is KickAss Country Store for fabric satisfaction. And Wayne is always stocked of my kind of fabric!!! He came close to smoke damage and maybe losing his shop because the grocery/everything store next to him burnt down because of amunition danger inside.

And now at The Barn in Kellwood for a homemade lunch!!! 

And supper was scrumptious! Cheeky me asked for it too a few weeks ago!!! Florence made ceasar salad and baked potatoes with fixings and Wayne, after rushing home from work, BBQd steaks for us! Yummy!!!

May 24th

What an amazingly beautiful day for another road trip!!! First off to Ethelbert and my brother Jim walked us around the yard and even spooked us with his plans for a garter snake rock den! They have various types of chickens, a few head of cattle and a spring calf too. But the beautiful chorus of various birdsongs was lovely: Orioles, evening grossbeaks, finches, robins, woodpeckers and tonnes of purple Martens, those were around, who knows what was in nearby bushes! Lovely!!!

Birds feeding area!

Evening Grossbeak

Purple Martens

Chickens hiding spot.

Beauty

Shiny Bantam

Butterfly or insect house 

Going to be the root cellar and on right near the trees a garter snake den.

Spring calf 

Then onto Swan River to visit Sylvia's friend Linda and enjoyed an awesome homemade lunch of beet leaf wrapped rice in cream sauce, cutlets, salad and scrumptious vienetarta and lime bean/poppyseed pastry blossom!

We then went to check out The Empty Bobbin and found it just LOVELY and shopped happily!

The Empty Bobbin

I loved this display and bought two pices plus other stuff.

Town mascott?

Then a long 2 hour drive back to Dauphin and a lighter supper at Smitty's. We're resting with feet up before tomorrow's family gathering!

May 25th - My Day!

Well another year has ended and a new one with many hopefully wonderful adventures begins! So most of the family I invited from Dauphin area showed up for my 70th birthday supper here at the Super 8. Awesome!!! I had ordered in KFC chicken, fries and gravy and Boston Pizza pizzas and garden salad with citrus dressing! And Florence made the ceasar salad and instead of cake (I had a fake one) I got green grapes! Everyone enjoyed their meals and visit with family members. 

Town mascott?

Bruce (Karen MIA), Darren n Tracy, Marlene, Elsie, Sylvia

Steff n Dave, Erlene n Ray, Denise (John MIA)

Left to Right:  Laura n Brian. Florence n Wayne, Doreen (Jim MIA), Edna, me

Order in age:  Sylvia, Elsie, Erlene, Marlene, me, Florence.

Missing are Margaret third eldest and Jim second youngest.

Not sure what was going on here!

Some of my cards with my fake BD cake! 

And a lovely sunset from Dauphin to say goodnight.

Yesterday's 

Today's 

May 26th

Thank you very, very much for all the many, cards, texts, emails, phone calls and personal hugs this weekend!!! You all made for an awesome celebration!!!

This morning once packed, checked out, we headed through Riding Mountain National Park for Brandon. Sylvia saw the first black bear, not us, then we all saw two more and finally I spotted one in the distance and got a picture - from inside the car. 

We saw deer but they were too skittish and many Canada Geese and ducks in the lakes or slows near the roads. I saw a beaver on the side of the road, not sure if alive though.

Once in Brandon, Edna's friend Vivienne met us for lunch at Lady of the Lake, lovely place. 

Friends!!!

Vivienne's soup!

Then we stopped into Mama Bears and Fabriculous before heading back home. 

We did stop at Nick's Inn at Headingley for a home made supper! 

Then into Pat n Randy's to drop off the extra Coke not drank and saw his lovely Calla Lily! 

Beautiful! 

Talk about bushed!!!

There were many cards, messages, emails and phone calls! Thank you everyone for helping to make my day/weekend special!!!!! 🥰

Well finally my BD road trip has come to an end! I'm now home and feet up!

Catchup - May 8th-21st

May 8th

I'm a Happy Camper that's for sure - hotel style!!!  My flights and train are all paid for.  My excursions were paid by Leanne and Rob so we're on the same ones etc, I'll square up when we meet up in Calgary.  AND my hotels are booked/confirmed with payment when there.  Glad I've my savings!  Now my excitement is starting!  

My AEROPLAN points are going to climb fast for my next trip east!!!  Excited for that too!!!

May 11th

This is Edna's Mother's Day dessert at her son and daughter-in-law's BBQ supper Friday, that I was invited to. Yummy!!!

Then Saturday Edna and Norma and I went the MCC spring quilt and craft sale where I saw my pink quilt donation tied and on sale. Then to Stella's for lunch! Lovely! Sylvia was out with her daughter's.

Ohhhh WOW I've finally completed my April Hexies PFAS postcard, some 11 days late. 😐 I hope she likes it and feels worth the wait!  

See I have this mini puzzle of "The Great Wave, the best-known work by Japanese artist Katsushika Hakusai. It was created around 1831 as part of a series of woodblock prints, and between 5,000-8,000 prints of the original piece were made."

That was my inspiration for the hand stitched hexies image of that scene. Then I machine stitched the wave lines and end of the wave water drops which I then added tiny seed beads and finally machine stitch the wave tops. I think I did not bad!!!

Machine stitched wave lines and water circles.

Tiny beads added as water droplets.

May 12th

Well I escaped my apartment as it was warming up noonish and I didn't want to haul out my AC unit as yet.  So I came for lunch at Folios and afterwards settled upstairs in the Common or Study area of the CMU on Grant Ave in the comfy chairs and tatted in tolerable AC.  I've been here before and loved the environment, conducive to my handwork.  There was a very young couple sitting like 6 feet away and neither projected their voices.  After she took the pictures I complimented them on their quiet conversation that I barely heard the odd word or so!

As for my tatted Pineapple Doily,  well I'm just about halfway through Row 9 and have 10 and 11 to do before the last one is posted Saturday, doubt I'll catch up that fast!   Now taking a break with feet up, on my bag, and sipping my water.

Thank you Sylvia for accompanying me to Club Regent for supper, fun and shopping on 3X Appreciation night. So I started out with $100 from my Holiday savings plus they gave me $10 for my BD month to play with. Well I cashed out with $251.20, an excited heart rate and some smiles. The best part was the last $10, I was down to 30 cents so bet it to win a spin, I did and played a few more spins. Then down to 25 cents, so repeated again and this time played and forced that dang blue/green fish to finally burst and at the end of the free spins cashed out at $38.50 on those cents!!!

Basically all the same size at the start.

These two carried on steady for a very long time!

Finally the yellow burst out for a nice cash out!

Blue/green still being stubborn.

But finally it burst at my end of play!

One of her lucky plays.

Close to the end for her too!

May 14th

Interesting!!!!

May 16th

🥰 Thank you Pat for organizing a Friday family pizza party, which turned into an early birthday celebration! It was awesome and I totally enjoyed it! Thank you everyone, for your company and gifts!

Astro was the only one to enjoy dessert!

It's hanging up!

May 17th

So after ACQ sewing day, I sorted (except for the Batiks) out my scrappies into project bags and prepped some HSTs. Then watched the last game for the Jets, sadly for all of us!!!  

Tomorrow I think I'll just do some simple sewing, will see.

May 19th

I'm fighting off a slight cold and working on my tiny 1.5 inch gifted squares for future charity quilts. This is like the least mind boggling sewing my scattered brain can do today.

Then just now Sylvia sent a picture of her finished Canada quilt with her only panel and some left over fabrics she bought from me. Beautiful!

May 21st

Okay here's another post I've lost before it was uploaded! This new phone is taking some getting used to!

This day started not so great. I hate pain, what a sissy!!! While at physio, my hip was poked to loosen the very tight muscles this nearly brought me to tears. Even with heat afterwards I was still in pain when I left, but I know it'll be better later on! I think that cortisone shot will be happening before my vacation.  

After a few errands I met up with Nancy from Oakville at the Sanctuary Cafe for yummy coffees, before she returns home. Then we walked towards Hy's/Baileys to show me the Sal's restaurant in a nifty older building, open 7am-2pm only (I didn't know of this one). I'm not sure how far we actually walked as my new phone did not record it like the older phone did, but needed to sit a few times! SHEESH!!!!!!!!!