Happy Halloween

It's time for Show and Tell Friday. If you would like to participate, drop over to Kelli's at There's No Place Like Home.

Guess what! I've been booed - twice. The first time by Peggy at Hidden Haven Homestead and the second time by Storyteller at Small Reflections. Thanks for the Halloween fun, Ladies. The rules say I'm supposed to pass this on, but as it's already Halloween, I'll just offer this to anyone who hasn't been booed yet.

In honor of trick or treating, I am going to show you a few postcards from my collection. I hope you enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed my display for Show & Tell this week.

I would like to present each of my friends and readers with a little Halloween treat. Please accept the Halloween button that I made below and you are also welcome to choose one of the postcards. Enjoy!

Be sure to take a few minutes to stop by and visit my friend, Pea at Pea's Corner. She is having a Halloween Bash and her parties are the BEST.

I hope you all have a great Halloween. Whether you are handing out treats at the door, taking your kids trick or treating or going to a costume party, stay alert and be safe. ~Blessings, Mary~

Thankful Thursday - Apartment Renovations are Done!

Today is Thankful Thursday. It is a day when we list the things we are thankful for. If you would like to participate, be sure to stop by Sting My Heart and pay Iris a visit. You can find all the information there.

This week I have many things to be thankful for, but the one thing that takes the top of the list, other than my loved ones and friends is this good news. THE APARTMENT IS DONE!!!


Remember when the photo above was taken just before the tenant moved out. It was quite a mess.

Now it looks like this. No, I didn't change the wallpaper. It was still in great condition and we were just plain tired of doing all the renovations. However, there was a large piece of carpet left over and hubby put it in the front hall. It also has a brand new coat of fresh paint.
This is what the entry way to the stairs looked like when the tenant moved out.

This is what it looked like last night when I took this photo. It is bright, clean and to us it looks wonderful.
This was the smallest bedroom after we'd taken the carpet up. What a mess.

But, as happens in all renovation projects, it got worse. This was all the lathe & plaster from the bathroom - we had to put it all in one room so the men could take it out.

Today it looks like this. The blue is a little darker than I wanted, but it's hard to tell color from paint chips. It is a big improvement over what it was. So clean looking with brand new carpet and paint.

This is the largest bedroom as it looks now - well, the ladder isn't there anymore, but the paint and carpet look wonderful. I can't find a before photo of this room. Maybe I didn't take one.

The bathroom as it looked when the tenant left. It was pretty bad and the reason we decided to do all the renovations. I wouldn't have gone in there to even use the facilities, so wouldn't expect tenants to either.

Of course the bathroom got worse before it got better. This is where the old tub once sat. What a job!

Today it looks like this. Tub, toilet, vanity and floor are all brand new. It has a fresh coat of paint, wallboard with a moisture barrier and new taps on both the sink and the tub. I want all of this for my part of the house. Wah!

Another look at the bathroom. The vanity with the tub glassed in and hubby and his helper did all this by themselves except for the plumbing. They were going to do that too, but found out there were no vents of any kind and the toilet pipe was cracked. It was an old cast iron one. So all new plumbing in this room.
Above is a before photo of the living room. That is the entertainment unit that now sits in my living room. It is solid wood and weighs a ton, but I love it.

The living room as it looks now toward the bay windows. Brand new paint and carpet makes it look so much better.

And another view... this one toward the kitchen. The difference is amazing.

The kitchen all white and clean with contrasting charcoal gray countertop. There's one thing we weren't successful at and that was getting the black and white floor tile back to the original color. The white has yellowed and no matter what I've tried, it won't come white. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.

Another view of the kitchen. I wish mine were this large. This kitchen is huge and the tenants loved it. As you can see, they are anxious to move in. Those bags beside the refrigerator are new small appliances that were gifts from M's parents. M is a very lovely lady and R is well mannered. They seem like a wonderful couple. I do hope that this all works out. Their references were good, but in my experience that means very little. I hope that my people sense kicked in on this one.

So now that you've had the tour, you can sit back and relax instead of anxiously waiting for me to post these photos. It took us five months to complete this, but it gives us a great feeling of accomplishment. Hubby did things I didn't know he knew how to do. I told him last night that it is my turn now. I really would love to have my kitchen renovated.

In other news, I'm thankful that the Nor' easter missed us. An hour drive west of here had 4 to 6 inches of snow and other parts of Ontario got the same. We got a fine dusting that was gone early this morning. When I came out of the grocery store this afternoon, a few flakes were falling but it didn't amount to anything. I am so thankful. It's way too early to start getting snow. The winter is long enough without shoveling from October. LOL

Take care, stay warm and safe and enjoy the weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~

A Bit of This and That

There's not much happening in my corner of the world lately. I'm busy trying to meet writing deadlines and once again this month I have made it. Whew! That is a load off my mind for sure. The last week of every month is stressful when it comes to the deadline crunch. I'm always relieved when I make it.

Aunt May isn't doing very well. Mom stopped for a visit today and Aunt May told her that she was so sick on Sunday that she didn't think she would make it until Monday. That is unusual for Aunt May. She says very little about the pain or how she is feeling. She has always been frail and has learned to accept what comes. She is an inspiration! Please keep her in your prayers.

I haven't seen the boys this week, so there's no news there except Jordan called me in a panic this morning because he had forgotten to take his money for ice skating and the form that had to be handed in. Skating is on Wednesday and he needed the necessary items fast. Mom wasn't answering the phone. Could I try and get her. I said I would try and I did get her and she rushed to the school with the money and filled out a form. Jordan needs to realize that he is responsible for getting these forms turned in. He tends to procrastinate and it gets him into some real predicaments. He is a boy who is always learning the hard way. LOL

I took some photos of the renovated apartment tonight and will try to post them in the next day or two. You won't believe the difference and we are so glad all the work is done except for a bit of cleaning up. It's been a long haul since June 1st when we started this project, but the difference is unbelieveable.

I'm wondering if I will wake up to a white world in the morning. There's a Nor' Easter blowing in and the six 0' clock news said we would get about 4 inches of snow overnight. I just talked to Mom and she told me that the forecast has changed and the snow is going all around us, especially to the north. I hope that we don't get snow this early. I'm not ready for it yet but there is a nasty wind blowing so who knows?

Take care and if you are in the area where the Nor' easter is blowing, stay warm and be careful on the slick roads. ~Blessings, Mary~

Shanawdithit: The Last of her People

October is Women's History Month in Canada and in honor of women everywhere, I would like to tell you about a woman who was probably the last member of the Beothuck Indians, also known as the Vanishing Tribe.

The Beothuck Indians inhabited Newfoundland for hundreds of years. In the early 1700’s, white people settled along the coastal areas of the island and forced the Natives inland. No longer able to collect food along the shores, the Beothuck began to starve. Tuberculosis, brought to the island by the settlers killed many of the Natives.

By 1823, search parties couldn’t find any signs of these Indians. Later that year, three starving Beothuck women were captured. One of these was a woman in her twenties. Her name was Shanawdithit. The other two women were her mother and sister. They died shortly after being captured. Shanawdithit's father drowned, trying to escape.

For five years, Shanawdithit lived with a white family and answered to the English name, Nancy. She worked as their servant. Thought she was energetic and intelligent, Shanawdithit had spells of weakness, which could have been caused by stress and it is suspected she suffered from pulmonary consumption, which is what her mother and sister died of.

Shanawdithit had a great talent for drawing and was described as being gentle and especially good with children. Though given the option, Shanawdithit would not return to her people. She feared she would not be forgiven for having stayed so long with the white settlers.

In 1927, W.E. Cormack took a party of men into Newfoundland’s interior to search for the Beothuck. His expedition failed. Upon his return, he realized that Shanawdithit might be the one of the last surviving Beothuck.

Cormack had Shanawdithit brought to him and she told him what she knew of her people. She made a series of sketches that depicted early encounters between the Beothuck and the white man. Other drawings showed clothing, canoes, food, utensils and chief’s emblems. She also sketched pictures of the Red Indian “devil” and a dancing woman. Her translation of these pictures was never fully understood.

Cormack took notes of what Shanawdithit told him. Some were later published, but many disappeared. The lost notes told irreplaceable knowledge about the Beothuck people. Many people feel these papers still exist and have unsuccessfully tried to trace them.

Shanawdithit contacted tuberculosis in 1929 and died in St. John’s, Newfoundland while under the care of Dr. A Carson. No Beothuck Indian was ever seen after this date. It is possible that a few survivors left Newfoundland to live with other natives in Labrador but this is not certain.

When Shanawdithit died, the Beothuck Indian tribe died with her. As far as can be determined, when she passed, the Beothuck Indians vanished forever.

What a shame that this Native American tribe was completely wiped out. However, Shanawdithit left a legacy with her drawings which can be seen HERE. Her obituary can be read Here.

I wish everyone a great week. It is cold and rainy here and they are calling for snow in areas north of Toronto. I'm hoping it stays north of Toronto for the time being. I am just not ready for it yet. ~Blessings, Mary~