New Year's Eve

It is the last day of 2010! Who knew when the year started what adventures we would all have . I never thought that my daughter and her husband would have moved to Vancouver Island, nor that our grandson would receive a trip to Disney Land through the Wish Foundation. I never thought that my daughter would have found such a great job in Carnduff nor that her daughter would be accepted to sing at the TV Miracle Marathon in Regina. I surely would not have expected my youngest granddaughter to have art lessons from the PEI Artist in Residence nor that her little brother would now be playing hockey.
The big milestone in our lives this year was that my husband turned 80 and going strong.
I hope that 2011 has as many great events for my family and friends as this past year has delivered.
Here's a toast to you all for a fabulous 2011 darlings.
Cheers from Donna

It's a Real Maritime Winter Storm

Watch her blow boys! Oh my goodness. We are really getting dumped on. The prairie folk are having a great time watching the Islanders get stuck in the drifts.It is really crazy weather here, folks. It snows hard and then rains hard. Nothing dull about it for sure.
The airport is shut down and so Colleen's mom is sitting here as her flight was supposed to have taken off today. At this time, her next available flight will be on January 5! Hmmm, we should leave on the 6th. I imagine it will calm down by then. I think our children will be glad to see us depart as we are surely having lots of together time indoors.
Little Jake is such a sweetie! He has given his grandpa his precious bed so my coughing won't wake Jim up. The kids are so thoughtful. We are enjoying every moment with them.
There is no other news here today. Just snow, snow, snow!
Cheers from Donna

It Does Snow in PEI!

I woke up this morning to snow. Imagine that! This is NOT the dry snow of the prairies but the wet, saturated stuff that weighs a ton. Dave used his snow scoop that attaches to the front of his John Deere riding tractor to clear the driveway so they could go shopping.By the time they came home, the rain was pouring down. Hmm, should they be wearing toques or rain hats.
Kylie stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa. She said it was great to have a Monday in her pj's. She dug out some of her new art supplies and happily spent the afternoon being creative. She is so polite and such a honey.
Jake and Dave spent the afternoon putting the Lego Bionical together. What an intricate model it is. Jake could probably have done it alone but it was time well spent with dad.
We have been enjoying the visit with Colleen's mom who will be flying back to Calgary tomorrow. I hope her luggage flies with her.
I will soon figure out how to add pictures to my blog but am not there yet.
Have a great evening everyone.
Cheers fron Donna

Boxing Day Special

The Henderson clan had a very relaxing day today. We enjoyed the down time and watched the kids build their lego. By that I mean Kylie, Jake and Dave were sprawled on the floor building the Harry Potter  kit we gave Kylie. Jake  can hardly wait to do his Bionical one. It was fun observing the interaction. Jake is very logical and carefully reads the direction books; Kylie is the creative one who wants to let her imagine take over. They are a very close family who enjoy being together.
This has been a fun holiday in spite of our cold-flu bugs.
Both Ann and Jean called this afternoon. It is nice to know that Dave has cousins who live in the Maritimes. If the weather is ok Ann will pop over from Sackville for a visit.
Dave has gone to his moonlight job and everone else is tucked into bed so I, too, shall head upstairs.We send everyone our love and hope you all have great moments to remember .
Cheers from Donna

A Christmas Day to Remember

I have lots of memories to share but for today I will just give everyone our love and hope that your memories are as cherished as ours will be.
We are so fortunate that we live in a  country where freedom is a given, health needs are mostly free and education is available. The greatest blessing of all is that we live in peace.
Merry Christmas everyone. If you  are travelling, tomorrow, may the road home be safe and uneventful.
Cheers from Donna

Christmas Eve, Really!

Here we are, the gifts are wrapped, the wonderful fondue is over and the kids are snuggled down. Jake is asleep but Kylie is itching to join the rest of us. She is wide eyed and very excited!The fondue has become a tradition for our Maritime family.
 It is quite a treat, as Jim and I are the "oldsters" now and can sit back as the others scurry around preparing for the celebrations.
Colleen's mom arrived this afternoon and is going strong. Not bad for a gal who had very few hours sleep the last 24 hours.
Jake said that this was his perfect Christmas as his Grandpa and Grandma and his Grammy are here too. I am heading back to bed after I finish my hot lemon and honey.I do believe that the cold is breaking now and tomorrow will be better
Jim and I are sending our best wishes for a Very Merry Chirstmas to you all.
Good Night

It's a Real Nor'Easter Boys!

The wind blows and blows and blows! Today, we have rain that turned into sleet; this was just to add some variety to the mix. We don't have any snow though; imagine that,  December 23 and still no Christmas snow.  The adults are smiling but the kids are sad.
I am still feeling ill. I spent the day sleeping, drinking hot lemon and honey and feeling very sorry for myself.
Jake and Kylie had their Santa pictures done. They were dressed in their finery.  Jake, of course,wore his Christmas tie.
I have officially been accepted now. Kylie's cat jumped up onto the sofa as I was lying there. She even let me stroke her Just now, she condescended to let Jim say hello to her .She is very timid.  We never even saw her for the first several days!
Colleen's mother is flying in on the red eye. She should land here 10 am tomorrow. I wonder where her luggage will touch down. I know that there are some very special gifts en route.
It is time to take some more honey and lemon and head for bed.
Cheers from Donna

The bug caught me!

This has not been a great day for me. I have been steadily feeling worse as the day wore on. Now, I feel really crummy and am going to bed soon. Hopefully I can sleep this illness away.
Kylie and Jake didn't go to school today. It was the last one before the Christmas break and the weather was so nasty this morning that Mom gave them a day off.

 The neighbour came over for tea. She said that the winds were about the same strength as they were for Hurricane Juan No wonder there was so much damage done to the Island. I don't even want to see the shores where the dunes have been eroded away and the wonderful grasses torn out. It is really rather sad. Many trees have been uprooted and lots of roofs damaged. But --- there is NO SNOW!

I heard a wonderful story.  The neighbour's husband received a phone call today from a young man. This fellow said "I am your son!" The man had a relationship with a lass when they were 18. After their courtship ended, they went on with their lives. Today was the first that the fellow knew he had fathered a child from that relationship. So, today he has a son, daughter in law and grandchildren - whamo - all in one fell swoop. He was so overcome that there were many joyous tears. Apparently after a quick look on facebook, the relationship was very obvious as he looks so very much like his newly minted father!
It will be a special Christmas for that family.

Jake told me last night he was glad that he was the youngest as that meant he could go to bed early, relax in his comfy bed and get a great sleep! I am going to follow his example and go there now.
Cheers from Donna

Rambling On

It is December 21, 2010. The gale winds were over 100km/hr today. The bridge is closed again -The Confederation Bridge. This is the only way off the island by land. The ferries aren't running either. It is kind of a funny feeling to know the only way off would be by air! Colleen and I went out to do some serious Christmas shopping. We went to the mall, no nostalgia this day. It was find, buy and blow to the next store! I seriously thought the door would break off the van. I am listening to the wind and rain as I write this.Wind - hmmm, I do believe the word gale says it all! It is wild out there. I wonder how many roofs will be topless tomorrow.
The good news is that the grass is still green and the temp is chilly, not cold!
Oh dear, the lights went out and are now flickering. It is time to say so long for today.
Cheers from Donna

Donna`s Ramblings

I decided that if my daughter could blog, then by gosh, so can I.
I am sitting at my daughter in law`s dining room table in Charlottetown, PEI. I love this little province - the wonderful old city with the quaint homes and shops; the fresh air, the rolling hills and the winding country lanes. Lucy Maud Montgomery really set the feel of this land when she wrote her Anne books.
I have been here twice before but this is our first winter visit. We toured the coloured lights in the area One display was computerized to dance in time to the music of an FM station. Such fun!
My son came home for dinner and told us that the bridge will be closed to high vehicles soon as there are gale winds in the offing. In fact, I think I hear them starting now.
Jim and I left Brandon on Wedesday, December 15 during a blizzard. The shuttle bus driver was good but even so we had some scary moments. The flights were all delayed and we finally landed after 1 am Thurday, Atlantic time. We watched the carousel go round and round but our luggage didn`t appear. Over to the Air Canada booth we trotted with about 12 other people who wanted to meet their luggage too. No luck, after many phone calls and many promises that our bags were on the next flight, we got the least important one on Friday. It had a lovely ride here though by taxi, as did the next one (Jim`s) later that day. My bag arrived in style early Saturday evening. All was good as I am now reunited with my precious belongings. I wonder what tomorrow shall bring. I will look forward to the new day with a smile.
Cheers from Donna