Memories of Beautiful Cars

Do you remember the first car you ever owned. Did you have to save for it, or did your parents buy it for you.

When I started my first job, Dad took me back and forth to work. When this was no longer feasible, he bought me a Ford station wagon for $300 and allowed me to drive it under the condition that I make a payment each pay day. His reasoning for this is that it would help me learn about credit...and it did. It was red and white and I hated it, but was nevertheless thankful to have my own car.

When my first husband and I got married, our first car was a Buick LeSabre...gray. It looked much like the one above, but didn't have red seats. That was a good car and we drove it for about four years.Our next car was a Mercury Monterey. My friend, Marg, had a yellow one and we both liked the way it drove and the style. When the Buick gave up, we purchased a black one. That was a good car and lasted us many years.
Years later, I owned a Ford Galaxie 500 XL. It was beige in color and it was also stylish. The one shown here is a four-door. Mine was a two-door.

Those were the days when cars were made to last and had a little style about them. The only new car I've ever owned was a 1992 Mercury Topaz. It was the same color as the car above and it had gray upholstery and seats. It was also a good car and we drove it for eleven years. However, it didn't have the style of the cars of my youth.

Enjoy your weekend. It's cool and rainy here today and I'm hoping for some fairer weather tomorrow.

Dakota is Growing

Yes, Dakota is growing, as all puppies do. I'm quite pleased with his progress. The mouthing (biting) is pretty much under control. He hasn't had an accident in the house for about ten days and he listens fairly well. He still jumps up and scratches though. We're working on this. He got me on the hand today and I have scratches on my forearms as well. He's a hyper little thing, but he's calming downThis afternoon Dakota wanted to be outside. Our grass is getting long. It's been a while since it was mowed and with all the rain we've been having, it's growing fast. Our lawn has a lot of clover in it and today Dakota just wanted to lie and sit in that grass. It's soft and cool...very enjoyable for a puppy.

When we got Dakota on February 3rd, he weighed 5 lbs. Today I'm guessing he's fairly close to 30 lbs. Though the SPCA* told us he was born in December, I'm thinking that he was actually born in January. In March, he weighed 9.5 lbs. when we had him to the vet and that is right in line with a two month old Shepherd. At night when he's sleeping, he sucks his tongue...a sign that he is suckling and was weaned waaay too soon.

He stands to just below my knee cap now...approximately 17 inches. Have you ever tried to measure a rambunctious puppy? It's a difficult chore.

I'll keep working with him and he will become calmer, I'm hoping. Being the owner of a dog is very much like tending to small children. You have to have eyes in the back of your head, be able to decipher noises from other parts of the house and keep a constant eye on them to keep them safe.

This weekend is the Victoria Day holiday here, so Monday is a statutory holiday. The holiday goes back to the time when Canada was a British Colony and Britain was ruled by Queen Victoria. Her birthday was celebrated on the 24th of May. Today, it is celebrated on the Monday before the 24th.

Have a great weekend. It is usually cold and rainy here on this long weekend and this year will be no exception.

Making Do = Delicious Roast Turkey

Earlier this week I was in the grocery store and saw Butter*ball turkeys on sale. A 6 lb. turkey was $12 and that was a good deal, so I bought one. I knew our oven wasn't working but thought this bird would fit into the crockpot. I was mistaken.

Since it was a fresh turkey, I really didn't want to freeze it. I tried to figure out what I was going to do. Hubby and I put our heads together and decided that we would BBQ it.

Now our BBQ has no spit and is electric. We figured why not use it like an oven and put the turkey in a roasting dish and roast it. We cleaned it, washed it and placed it in the roaster only to realize the lid wouldn't fit. That was fine. I just covered it with aluminum foil.

It took us a while to get the BBQ heated to the right temperature. Then we put the roaster right on the rack. Of course we added water. 2.5 hours later, it was done to perfection. It did take more water than it would have if we'd cooked it in the oven, but we kept a close watch on it and ended up with a delicious meal.

Just goes to prove, where there's a will, there's a way. Hope you had a great day.

In the Park

Today I decided to visit the park near the Grand River. It is very pretty but isn't at its full potential yet. The city plants all kinds of flowers here in the spring and all summer, it is beautiful.On my way there, I passed this corner. The lilacs are just coming into bloom and they were so pretty.

A great place to relax. A nice view, a cool breeze on a hot day and lots of shade. A perfect place to spend a couple of hours just relaxing and people watching, or even reading a good book.

The tulips are in bloom between the road and the river bank. That willow tree is in the park, but getting close to the bank of the river.

On the west side of the road, this non-bearing crabapple tree is in bloom. I love the pink blossoms.
A closer look at the willow tree that is near the river bank. Willows are my favorite tree. When I was young, I used to sit beneath a large one on the creek bank. The branches touched the ground and gave me a tranquil place to sit and dream.
Another willow. Look at that trunk. It's very gnarled, which gives it a lot of character. This one is near the road.

There were people in the park with their dogs and several with their young children. One grandmother was pushing a stroller and would stop every so often to make sure her grandchild was covered with a blanket, as the breeze was cool.

A beautiful day to visit the park. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you had a terrific day as well.

Mother's Day Flowers

I always look forward to getting flowers for Mother's Day. That is about the earliest we can put flowers out here. Even then we sometimes have to bring them indoors because the weatherman predicts frost and that's what I had to do last night.

A pretty yellow Chyrsanthemum graces the porch railing. This was a gift from Michelle, Barry, Brandon and Jordan. It is very pretty and looks nice near the yellow violas that I planted last week. My little fairy is sitting there watching over them until I get my garden ready. Then she will be placed in the garden to keep watch over all the plants.

I love these plants and try to find some every spring. This year no one seemed to have any, but on Monday I was to a small town not far from here and Foo*d Basics had lots of them. They are huge and very healthy. This one will hang from the porch for the entire summer.

The other one is sitting in the stump that graces the lawn. I'm just testing it out here. I'm wondering if it will get too much sun. If it does okay, I will cut the hanger off and leave it there. This is the largest of the two plants, but they are both beautiful and I was really happy to find them.

Wishing you all a wonderful week. Remember to take time to stop and smell the roses.

Fairies for Mother's Day

Hubby knows how much I like fairies. While looking for petunias for my mother, he saw this pair of fairies and bought them for me for Mother's Day.

They will look lovely in my garden once I get it designed and planted. These girls will be accompanied by the other garden fairies I have.

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend. It was quiet here, but that was nice, as it was also hubby's birthday.

Have a wonderful week.