Today we had our annual family pot luck dinner. It was great to see some of our extended family again. I wish we would/could get together more often. We were missing 4 members this year.





Pictured from left to right starting at the top.. Brianna, me, Don, Chloe, Marshall, everyone sitting at the table, (Zachary, Jenn & Sarah together), Paige, Carolynn








Stacey, Ken, Terry, Pauline, Wendy, Megan, (Tena, Sean, Julia & Brendan together), Dad, Mom









Zachary, we are all at the table in the next 2 pictures, Sara with Tom, Chloe & Paige in their cute dresses, (Sarah & Brianna also had the same dresses), Brianna with Zachary, Megan & Sarah eating pie & ice cream, a cute pic of Brendan, Julia & mom Tena, & Zachary concentrating on eating his dinner.... I still can't believe he ate as much as he did!!

Merry Christmas!

Christine & Brianna slept over last night as usual for Christmas Eve. I got up just after 6 this morning & looked in to see if Brianna was awake. She looked up & I asked her if she wanted to sneak downstairs to see if Santa had been yet... of course she didn't say no! We quietly checked things out & if I hadn't stopped her, she would have looked at everything before anyone else was up. We went back upstairs to wake up Mommy & Grampa. I'm sure they would have loved having a couple more hours sleep, but Brianna was way too excited to let that happen... & so was I!










it didn't take her long to open all her presents










at left, Chris checks out the beautiful lavender set Brianna gave her.

Later on, Jenn & Carolynn & families arrived & so did mom & dad. It was loud, busy, & lots of fun having everyone there.

Picture on left is... Sarah, Paige, Chloe & Carolynn. On right is Tom










I love my new sweat shirt. Carolynn is enjoying the kids.




Mom examines her new sweater.

Zachary looks as if someone surprised him.









Left is Brianna, right is Chloe











Left is Dad & at right Don & Jenn.

The major announcement is that Mom & Dad have agreed to be put on the list for a nursing home. Unfortunately, there is a 1 - 2 year waiting list. I know Dad has been worried about what will happen to Mom if he has to be hospitalized. I told him I'd have to go stay with her at their place until a room came up for her. She would be taken in in what is called "crisis". The same would happen if she was admitted to hospital & it was deemed unsafe for her to return home. The biggest problem with that is you never know where she would end up... it could be almost anywhere in Ontario where there was a bed for her. She would stay there until a room in one of the 3 nursing homes she applied for became available. She has gone downhill both physically & mentally. To give you an idea how bad her memory is now, I had bought a present for her to give to one of the children at Christmas. I told her who it was for & that it was from her & Dad. Within the next half hour, she must have asked me at least 10 times who it was for. Each time I answer as if it was the first time she asked it. Poor Dad has to go through this every day.. all day. He doesn't like leaving her alone in case she has another fall. He was grocery shopping one time & came home to find her on the floor. The last few falls she has not seriously hurt herself, just some minor scrapes & bruises, but I know it's only a matter of time. Although, she doesn't get up as much any more.. .she just sits in her chair & stares into space or at the tv most of the time now. I'm not sure how much she's getting out of the tv programs though.

Tena & family are coming down for Boxing Day this year, although they won't be staying for dinner. Terry & family are also not staying for dinner. His girls have a party to go to. I guess going to a party is more important than spending time with your grandparents & other extended family members for more than a couple of hours a year! Do I sound a little angry? I am.. although disappointed is probably closer to it. This could be Mom's last Christmas & they blow it off as if it really doesn't matter. I know it's no fun being around a bunch of adults or children when you're a teenager, and a party sounds so much better, but why doesn't Terry say something like.. sorry you'll have to be late, this is more important or something like that... They've known for a year that we always get together for Boxing Day. Dad was really upset about it. As he says... the only reason they're coming is to get some presents. That's how he feels & I really don't blame him. They haven't seen much of Terry & family since they moved here 4 yrs ago. I don't think Kerri & Stacey have been down here since last Christmas. We just found out that Mike & Lisa are expecting another baby... Jan. 9th!!! Even Mom & Dad didn't know about that!

Oh well... I better sign off before I start getting more angry & saying things I might regret...

Nov. 30, Dec. 1 & Dec. 2 we had our musical drama/dessert theater at church. It was quite a "family" production since there were 4 of us who were part of it. Don was one of the actors & Chris Jenn & I were in the choir & with other singers. Most of the time the choir were behind the scenes but in one of the scenes we were a trio called the "Quackenbush sisters". Yes, I said sisters...not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment to me or an insult to them. Another scene we were the "Dropettes" singing in a commercial. That was the part I liked the best. We were on a revolving platform. The characters on stage were supposed to be changing radio stations (& we were part of the radio stations) so we went from a "bad choir" (they were hilarious) to a scene from a radio program, (which was on another revolving platform) to the commercial, to the bad choir, back to the commercial to a fellow singing in an opera. Although it was set around the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was a lot of humour throughout the production. We had a great time doing it... soooo much fun!!















Jenn in another trio Don as the love-struck postman










The Quackenbush sisters!! what a riot! At least we remembered what we were singing.












Here we are as the Dropettes, taking turns with the "bad choir". You can see them just behind us as we started turning again. We were laughing so much we almost couldn't sing.







Now we are on the other revolving platform for the finale.













Everyone comes out for a final bow.

SURPRISE!! SURPRISE!!

Today Tom & I went shopping & then out to lunch. Since our church production is being held next weekend (Nov. 30, Dec. 1 & 3) & my b-day is right in the middle of it, Tom took me out to lunch today at one of my fav. places, Kelsey's!! Of course it was delicious as usual. After placing our order, he gave me my present.... new rings to replace my worn out ones. What a surprise!!


When we were almost finished, Tom got a call on his cell-phone... now who has his number? He said someone at the church needed some keys to get in...uh oh.. my suspicions are aroused... but no... not likely.

When we got to the church, there were a lot of cars there of course... production rehearsals/tech stuff should have been there, so why would anyone need Tom's keys?

You guessed it... as we went around the back to park, I saw Dad's car... & knew I was in for a treat. It was great fun & I saw some people I hadn't seen for a while. Great to see everyone there. Thanks to all for making this a memorable day.

I'd post some pictures, but since I didn't know about the party I didn't have my camera on me & I don't have any pictures yet.





My new rings... aren't they beautiful?








Each of the grandchildren brought out a small bouquet of my favourite flowers, carnations (especially the red ones)

Here are all five bouquets together.. what a lovely sight!










Tom got me these lovely red roses.

This past weekend we helped Christine move again. She & Brianna are moving from a townhouse, which is not in a nice area & has not been kept up into an apartment which is in a smaller building & has been well taken care of. As with a lot of older buildings, there are some things that are worn out but still usable. They will be just down the street from Jenn & family. Brianna will be going to the same school as Zachary & Sarah, so she will at least know 2 people!!

During this time we are still keeping up with our rehearsals for the church play.

Another fall. This time she fell against the door in the bedroom & scraped up her back. For some reason she had her dessert on her walker & it went flying. Cherry ice cream & raspberries all over an off white carpet! Tom & I got her back onto the bed & after checking that the scrape wasn't too bad, I helped her get to her walker so she could go back in the living room. Poor dad .. he was so upset about it all. Tom stayed in the living room with them while I cleaned up the carpet as best as I could. I don't know what to do. I can't make them go into a nursing home but I honestly think they need to seriously consider it.

Well, she did it again. Mom had another fall. Dad called to ask if I could go help get her up again. Tom & I went over & got her onto her bed. I checked her out as she said her back was sore... like a scrape & sure enough she has a bit of a scrape. Could have been a lot worse. While we were there, Tom installed another safety bar in the bathroom & I cleaned up the kitchen a bit (it needed it). While we were there, Dad had some chest pains & had to use his nitro. I asked him how long he's been having those pains & he said 2 weeks.. nice of him to let me know! Fortunately he & Mom have a doctor's appointment on Monday.

Well, she did it again. Mom had another fall . Dad called to ask if I could go help get her up again. Tom & I went over & got her onto her chair. Could have been a lot worse. While we were there, Tom installed another safety bar in the bathroom.

Happy Birthday Carolynn & Christine!











Carolynn, Christine, Jennifer, Paige, Chloe & I went to
Tucker's Market Place to
celebrate their birthdays. We had a good time..
especially watching Paige & Chloe eating their ice cream sundaes.

Mom had another fall on Sept. 4. Dad called me about midnight to say the ambulance was just leaving to take her to the hospital. Mom ended up getting 6 staples in the back of her head.

Because of prior commitments, I wasn't able to get over there to see them until the 7th. I pulled in just as Dad was coming out to get more groceries out of his car. He said that Mom has had 3 other falls since the 7th. She is very concerned that we are going to put her in a nursing home & she is adamant that she's not going, although she does agree that she & Dad need more help than we can provide.

On the 31st of Aug. Chris & I took Brianna to Niagara Falls. We had taken her 3 yrs ago when she was 4. When we got to the butterfly conservatory, Brianna fell asleep in the stroller & never did get to see the butterflies. That was the first place she wanted to see this time & she wasn't disappointed... there were thousands of butterflies.


Entering the building, Brianna spots a beautiful blue butterfly on the wall.









one of the many feeding stations & a butterfly on my shoulder... I didn't know it was there.









Brianna was thrilled when this butterfly walked up her arm & onto her finger.













No visit to the Falls would be complete without a trip on the Maid of the Mist. Here we are waiting to board the boat... lovely rainwear!



As we pull away from the dock, Brianna is very excited...




then we pass the American Falls.









We are nearing the Horseshoe Falls









Now this is pretty close, but we get closer still.
It doesn't matter how many times I've been on this trip, it is still a fantastic sight!









And a visit behind the falls is also a must!















It gets pretty damp around here!










We watched the Maid of the Mist make her way up to the Horseshoe Falls.









Then we made our way through the tunnels to get right behind part of the falls... it was noisy & WET. You can no longer get really close for safety reasons, but it is still a spectacular sight to see & hear the water thundering down.





As we were leaving, we spied this awesome rainbow. Chris got closer to the edge to take the 2nd shot. It looks like the rainbow goes into the river. Great shot!



We all had a cherry slushie while waiting for the bus, then we couldn't take it on the bus!! so we sat & finished them. Clowning around showing our red tongues... what a weird look on my face! lol



I'm not sure what Brianna's thoughts were about that.

It was a really fun day