On the Weekend – Page 12 – Just An East Coast Girl

Blossoms

The last couple days my newsfeed has been filled with posts of beautiful pink and white blossoms from around the world. It’s Spring, my favourite season and it’s peak time for cherry blossoms around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Washington, DC to many parts of China & Japan. Such beautiful images makes my heart long for these places…especially China where I could walk amongst beautiful trees all filled with blossoms.

Last year we were in DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival. That was April last year. This year it is a little early because of the mild winter we’ve had. Oh how I miss it. I wish we had places here in Nova Scotia that were full of cherry trees. I guess I’ll just have to wait for our crab apple trees to blossom…usually in May.

Here are a few images of my favourite trees.

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Ahh… so pretty.

Today is Easter Monday and still a holiday for some. We are heading to my parents for dinner with some of the family. These days there is ALWAYS some one working. It’s hard to get everyone together.

Screen Shot 2016-03-28 at 7.27.42 PM Have a great week friends!

Time out for coffee

Some days are nice just to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. And even better if you can enjoy it over great conversation and lots of laughs with dear friends. Wanda & Curt are home from Indiana for a little visit. Actually they were home for a really exciting reason…they are grandparents now!! We are so happy for them. Their grandson is a little doll.

They head back to Indiana next week, so it was nice to get together and catch up.

Oh girlfriend, thanks for the great chit chat…sure will be nice when you’re back!

Woke up to WHITE

Well, the signs and forecasts were correct!

This morning when we woke up it was white…and snowing! Ugh….

it’s so pretty though, almost like a first snow, and we really haven’t had too much this year BUT it is March 5 and I really like the “no snow kinda days” we have been having lately. Well…the snow came back! And there’s LOTS. About 15 centimetres down and still snowing and blowing at 8:30am.

ENJOY your snowing weekend on the East Coast!

It’s Super Bowl Time 🏈

It’s that time of year…Super Bowl Sunday!

superbowl-www.bestseatsfast.com_ The Denver Broncos meet The Carolina Panthers.

Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem!

Got my jersey on ( ok so sadly Cowboys aren’t playing, but it’s all I got lol) ✓

Got some eats ✓

Let’s Go Broncos!!! 🏈

Great commercials ✓ Love the commercials.

My 2016 favourite…The Honda truck with the Goats

An AWESOME half time show ✓ Cold Play…Bruno Mars…and Beyonce

And the winner of Super Bowl 50 is…The Denver Broncos!!!! 24-10

It’s sure been a busy day! Goodnight all.

A little puzzling…

Not puzzling as in confused.

Puzzling as in it’s the time of year when it’s snowy and blowing outside, and it’s Christmas vacay, and it’s time to stay cozy inside and do puzzles…LOTS OF PUZZLES.

This one posed a bit of a challenge. So many small pieces and too close to Christmas Day when I needed the extra table for Christmas Dinner.But it got done!

It’s David’s thing to do and the kids and Mom & Dad will join in sometimes. He’s all stocked up with puzzles, so we should be good for the next few months…

especially when it’s a blizzard like yesterday’s snow outside!!!

Get Your storm chips ready!

Get those shovel’s ready! It’s time to dig out the snowblower and shovels because today Eastern Canada is expected to get the first major snow storm of the season!

And as Frankie Mac Donald would say…get your storm chips ready!

At 10am this morning it started.

And 5 minutes later…

And then this afternoon…snow, ice pellets, rain, ice pellets, snow…

And then rain and ice pellets.

In Bridgewater, I think we faired pretty well. Not a major one after all, just very pretty.

Just hanging out in the kitchen

Today seemed like a good day just to be hanging out in the kitchen. It’s Saturday and it’s the first Saturday in December which means that Christmas Daddies is on television. ( Normally it’s on the first Sunday but this year is the first year for the new day Saturday) I REALLY enjoy watching this telethon. BUT, to be honest sitting all day…during the daytime in front of the TV doesn’t thrill me so I had an idea…

I can just hang out in my kitchen all day with the TV on and I can do my Christmas baking. Why not? It’s PERFECT!

And to start, well before I started Christmas baking…a new baked treat for Abby girl.

She was thrilled and VERY polite when I gave her the whole plate. One at a time was fine with her, no need to devour them all at one.

And then it was on to the really fun stuff. Cranberry Bliss Bars, Peppermint Bark, Almond Bark, Pecan Bark, Peppermint Patties and Peanut Butter balls. And poor David is not here to sample…he’s off exploring Charleston, SC today before he heads home on Monday.

Poor David…he’s missing out… haha

And…6 hours or so later…my table looks like The Land of Sweets…Who doesn’t love tasty treats at Christmas. These are the special ones, reserved only for Christmas time.

And the plus to all day baking in my kitchen, I saw the whole Christmas Daddies program with the grand total of over $410,000. pledged to go to make Christmas special for children in the Maritimes!!!

Folklore from days of old…it’s a childhood fantasy land

Father Christmas often appears as a large man, often around seventy years old. He is dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur, often girdled with a wide black belt, a matching hat or hood, often long and floppy in nature, and dark boots. Often he carries a large brown sack filled with toys on his back. It has been said that the red suit only appeared after the Coca Cola company started an advertising campaign depicting a red suited Father Christmas in the 1930s.

The Father Christmas Festival in Mahone Bay is this weekend and next, and I love all the different Father Christmas figurines.

David having a little chat with Norman the Gnome
It has become a somewhat new tradition for me to visit Mahone Bay for this festival and…pick up my new Amos pewter ornament. Living away makes you really appreciate local and what your community and neighbouring communities offer. I love Amos pewter things and have decided a few years ago to collect these special ornaments.

Each year the Amos Pewter company create a new collector ornament. This year is the Winter Blossom. Each has a lovely inscription about the ornament …” There is a beauty in the cycle of the changing seasons. We wonder at the uniqueness of each softly falling snowflake, joining with others to blanket the earthen a magical whiteness. As the days become longer and warmer, each melting snowflake helps to foster new life that grows, transforms and ultimately fills summer with bursts of blossoms and butterflies. Change is the hope for newness and transformation. Nourish your dreams you embrace the changes in life’s seasons.”

For the last few years at the festival the image of Father Christmas has changed. This year’s 2015 “signature” Father Christmas is Della Robia. He has a gentle face and an Old World European look.

And a new feature this year… The Nutcracker Fantasy. It was my favourite. The creativity and the detail. I am AMAZED that every year there is something new that tops the year before. I could spend hours wandering around here…

And David’s favourite…

Mahone Bay is definitely ready for Christmas and after this weekend with all the specials my mood is very festive, It really is a wonderful time of the year!

Who doesn’t love a parade complete with fireworks

The town of Bridgewater kicks off the Christmas season with it’s annual parade and fireworks! I just love this tradition…even on a cool rainy evening.

Such a wonderful evening. Thank you Town of Bridgewater for an awesome event!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…with Pirates!

Have you ever tasted roasted chestnuts? They are good. Not as good as one would think listening to the famous song…”chestnuts roasting on an open fire jack frost nipping at your nose, yule tide carols being sung by a choir…” I love that song and this time of year! It’s about a month til Christmas now and it is when all kinds of wonderful, special things happen around town.

Tonight…in Lunenburg, NS, the lighting of the fishing vessels down on the waterfront. Hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, a few of the shops open later, Christmas music playing, carollers singing …and PIRATES!!! I didn’t expect pirates! We enjoyed a nice dinner ( our favourite apps at our favourite place) ahh…it’s a great start to the weekend!