Our front entry

Our front door opens into our kitchen and we painted the wood wainscotting to brighten it up.

Our new ceramic backsplash - today we grout and then put the plug covers back on. This is Gary's first attempt at doing ceramic tile.

Fall decor

Brenton has decorated our office entrace for fall.

The reason why I haven't been blogging much!

So here's the reason why I don't have much time to spend on our blog in the summer. I calculated that I washed about 588 sheets in July - that's 18.9 per day! And also about the same amount of pillow cases, bath towels, hand towels, face cloths, etc.! As you can imagine, I pray for sunny days! We're having a great summer - very busy, which is a good thing. We're even taking reservations for next summer already.

A different angle - notice our lovely gazebo up on our deck - it's screened in so that we can enjoy eating outside without being eaten alive by mosquitos! We have a smaller, unscreened gazebo at the pool for guest who want to get out of the sun.

My non-biplogical grandbabies come for a visit!

Aaron, baby Luca (3 months) and Mama Silvia came for a visit yesterday and a dip in the pool. We don't see too much of them in the summer as we are so busy but we sure look forward to a visit. After a little pool time we went in the house for a little play time while Silvia had an opportunity of a little swim alone. Can you tell I enjoy spending time with these cuties?

A great day for a dip.

The happy face ball is just out of Aaron's reach but he's enjoying the water anyway.

Aaron and I have a little dip - the water was about 85 - just about bath water temp.

Aaron floating in the turtle - this used to be Brenton's when he was a baby - I made a new fabric seat last summer and the turtle has been enjoyed by many kiddies since. Momma Silvia is looking on.

Pond up-date

Our pond is looking really great - just a little landscaping to finish up. Brenton has worked very hard on this - it's pretty much his project and we're really pleased with it. I think it will look really awesome next year when the plantings are more mature.

A pic for the super cute great nieces and nephews!

This little frog thinks the pond is great - especially the lily pads!

A pretty bloom on our Hybiscus tree.

Strawberry Jam anyone?

I managed to get some strawberry freezer jam made before we got too busy. Freezer jam is sooo easy to make - no more sweating over a hot stove like Mom used to do!

More baby ducks!

Jake & Daisy are the proud parents of 4 new baby chicks!

New baby ducks at the Mailman farm

I thought my cutest ever little great nieces and nephews might enjoy seeing these pics of baby ducks. If you look under Mama's chest you can see an egg that is just hatching!

I've been a poor blogger lately!!!

I know I've been kind of (very) slack on my blogging lately but we are into our busy season so most nights I have just enough energy to check out the family blogs before I hit the bed. Brenton's report card inspired me to get it on the blog - click on this pic to see his great marks! He passed grade 9 with Honors With Distinction. He sure puts Gary's and my report cards to shame when we were in grade 9! He and Gary are still working on the pond and it is looking great - hopefully we'll have some pics of that completed soon. Anyway, don't forget to check in on us now and again - I will try and get some pics up when I can.

The finished project!

Actually the next picture shows the project a little better. We're quite pleased with it - a major improvement over the old concrete. When we get the pond at the end finished, it will look even nicer! The lattice panel at the end of the concrete (seen in the next pic) will also be removed so that the pond will be seen while sitting at the cafe table.

Another view of the finished project

Concrete repair project.

So we had this cracked and ugly concrete deck around our office entrance and rather than dig it all up and replace it, we decided to try the new Home Hardware product called 'Flexrock' that you trowel on. The first step was to repair the big cracks and remove any loose concrete and then power wash it. Then we painted on this primer. The next photo shows the grout lines that we made since we decided to make it look like slate. The last photo shows the Flexrock that I have trowelled on. Then a sealer goes on top and, apparently, it is very durable - we'll see about that!

The next step - those lines will be the grout lines

Getting close to finished!

As you can see, it is taking shape here and we will show the finished results if it ever stops raining! We managed to get the second coat of sealer on and just about dried before the rain started last night. I guess this will be a good test to see how durable this stuff is!

Am I a cute kitty or what?

I had this mattress protector on the kitchen floor as I had to do some alterations on it. Callie took it as a invitation to curl up in it - not very helpful!

Or how about this, do I look cuter this way?

Still not helping, Callie!

Sleeping toddler

Today is probably one of the last Tuesdays that I will have Aaron until the Fall. We are getting busier with guests and reservations and last minute stuff. Here Aaron is having a big nap in "Margaret's bed". No more playpen for him - our babies are growing up Michelle!

Margaret's laundromat!

Need any laundry done anyone? Last week I got my second large washer - now I have 2 washers and 1 dryer - all very water and energy efficient. Fewer buckets of water to haul for some people! Kerry, one of my cleaners, says that my laundry room looks like a laundromat! Apparently I can wash 16 pairs of jeans in each washer - hopefully I'll never have to try that one out.

The liner goes in!

Why do I always do this stuff backwards? This is picture 2 of the pond creation with the liner going in.

Gary & Brenton are building a goldfish pond!

Here is the start of our new pond beside the office entrance. This shot was taken last Sunday - when we actually had sun! We haven't seen the sun for 4 days now and the forecast is not too great either.

Cherry blossoms up close

Cherry blossoms in bloom!

Our cherry trees are in full bloom, and the apple trees are not far behind!

Lobster anyone?

This is Silvia's brother, Rudiga, from Germany. He came over to help Silvia while Manfred is in Germany for 2 weeks taking care of some business. This is Rudiga's first time to Canada and one of the things he wanted to do here was eat lobster and scallops. We invited them over for supper and Gary introduced Rudiga to the cooking and eating of lobster - which Rudiga totally enjoyed. Then Gary cooked up some large scallops and they were enjoyed as well. Monday was a beautiful summer day - perfect for cooking and eating lobsters on the deck!

The 50th Birthday celebrations continue!

To celebrate our 50th birthdays (Gary's on the 27th and mine on May 6th) we decided to have a combined birthday bash. Our friends surprised us with this HUGE birthday cake with 50 candles on it. Brenton and Karlea had the job of lighting all the candles - quite a job! We happened to be under the smoke detector in the livingroom and, of course, when we blew out ALL those candles, the smoke detector went off. We all had a great time and we received many corny birthday cards - maybe 50 won't be so bad after all, eh Frank?

Another shot of the birthday boy.

Pretty Nifty - Look Who's Fifty!

Well it's the BIG DAY - Gary turned 50 today. Brenton and I couldn't resist putting sign and balloons out by the road to make the announcement. Gary tells me that what goes around, comes around and be prepared - my big day is coming up soon too!

Luca comes home from the hospital

Luca and Mama got out of the hospital this afternoon - about 36 hours after his birth. They arrived at our house to pick Aaron up so we took advantage of the opportunity to take a picture for our blog, of course! As you can see, everyone is happy - especially Aaron and Papa Manfred! Silvia is doing really well - considering she had a c-section. I can't believe how tiny Luca is - he makes this infant car seat look huge. Gary and I are not dressed up just for Luca's homecoming - we are off to a fundraiser dinner for the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal.

Introducing . . . .Luca Paul Jonitz!

Luca was born around 3:55 a.m. this morning by C-section . He weighs just under 7 lbs (3114 grams, I think). He has a full head of dark hair and looks very different than Aaron as a newborn. Mama Silvia is, of course, sore but doing well otherwise. They are hoping to get out of the hospital tomorrow as the cost of a hospital room is around $1700 a day - as they are not Canadian citizens. You could get a very posh hotel room for much less! Aaron is spending tonight at our house again as Papa, Manfred, went back to the hospital to spend time with Silvia and Luca after a shower and short nap at home.

The 'non-biological grandma' and proud big brother Aaron.

Luca's coming!

The phone rang this morning at 8:00 a.m. and a sweet little voice said "Luca's coming!" Aaron's Mama, Silvia, had been up since 3:00 a.m. with contractions. They dropped Aaron off at about 9:30 a.m. to head to Kentville for the birth. We haven't heard anything yet - and its now 11:30 p.m. Silvia had a C-section with Aaron but she was hoping for a natural birth this time. I guess we won't hear anything until tomorrow now and Aaron is happy to be spending the night "at Margaret's house!" Silvia had a very long and difficult labour with Aaron and then a C-section - we were hoping things would go quicker this time. Hopefully we'll have news and pics soon. In the meantime, its off to bed for me - hopefully Aaron will sleep through tonight!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the newest baby bunnies at Upper Clements Cottages! They are too cute at this stage. Gary & Brenton managed to catch these 3 bunnies and we have them in a cage since something has been making our babies disappear lately - Pippin (our cat) swears it's not him and we're thinking maybe a weasel. I know these are more animal pictures, Jay, however, I thought my little great nieces and nephews would enjoy these pictures. The yellow bunny in the background is Aaron's - we're going to be seeing him later and giving him his Easter things.

Happy Easter!

How's this for an Easter basket?

Our happy little swinger! We are still on baby alert - Aaron's new little brother, Luca, was due on April 12th but has decided he's not ready to make his appearance yet. We stay close to the phone waiting for the call and, as Aaron says, "When Mama has the baby, Aaron goes to Margaret's house!" We are anxiously awaiting our 2nd non-biological grandchild and still waiting to see if Frank will grant me any points for non-biological grandchildren - he can afford to be generous - he's way ahead of me!

Aaron feeding 'Willow'. There are actually two goats here but 'Clementine' is hiding behind Willow.

A great day to play outside!

Well, Tuesday was 'Aaron day' and since it was such a nice spring day, we spent alot of time outdoors feeding the ducks, bunnies and goats, blowing bubbles, playing in the sandbox and swinging. As you can see, Aaron has no fear of the ducks. The white bunny in the cage is 'Lucy' who is a 1/2 Lop which means one ear is up and one kind of hangs down. We have breeded her with a full Lop in the hopes of having some baby Lops. 'Cadbury' is an all white bunny on the other half of Lucy's cage and obviously didn't want her picture taken so she hid in her house.

Happy Birthday Jason!

Yesterday (April 8th) was Jason's 25th birthday - Happy Birthday again Jay! Thinking about his birthday got me looking through some photos of him and reminiscing about when he was younger and I came upon this pic of his 9th birthday - probably one of his favorites because we left for Florida on his birthday. Quite a birthday present! Anyway, as Jason turns 25 I look ahead about a month and oh, what do I see - me turning the big 50 - yuck! This is the year Gary (April 27) and I turn 50 - or as Gary says, we'll be 100 years old together! So we'll be 50, Jason is 25, and Brenton is 15 - all nice, easy numbers for us oldies to remember! Anyway, again Jay - Happy Birthday and hope you got your icecream cake!

All dressed up!

On Saturday Gary's brother Eddie got married in a very small, intimate wedding so we took advantage of being 'dressed up' to take a few pics. The lucky bride & groom are off to the Dominican for their honeymoon! Oh well, we are enjoying very sunny spring weather here - snow is all gone (hopefully not to return until next winter!)

Aaron watching Thomas the Train

We haven't updated our blog lately - we have been busy; however, we're thinking that no one really wants to see pics of us cleaning toilets and making beds in the cottages and Brenton gets cranky if we try taking cute pictures of him and Jason says we take far too many pictures of our animals ! So, we tried to take a pic of Annapolis from across the water yesterday (a beautiful spring day!) but the 'low battery' monster reared its ugly head - why don't these things hold a charge?? Anyway, here is a pic of our non-biological grandchild Aaron watching his favorite show 'Thomas the Train'. Yesterday was our regular Tuesday visit day. Glad to see Gord & Debbie are coming aboard the blog thing too! Don't forget to check out Jason's blog as he starts his life in Alberta - moving from Calgary to Edmonton this weekend.

Why isn't this bunny afraid of me???

I think Callie is wishing Kita were here - he'd know how to get this bunny to show some respect, and maybe a little fear! As it is, the bunny sniffs Callie's nose and then continues on with the business of eating grass.

Time to clean out my"IN" basket!

It must be time to do some office work - my "IN" basket seems to be full. Callie has decided that this is a great place to snooze while I'm working in the office.

Our 'non-biological' grandbaby is back!

Aaron is back and cuter than ever. We had him last Thursday for the afternoon and he was eager to play us a little tune on the electric piano. He just returned from 2 months in Germany and his English is a little rusty - it's so cute - he tells us these big stories in German and, when we look puzzled, he repeats the story more slowly and using facial expressions hoping we'll understand it then. I'm sure his English will come back quickly and he seems to understand everything we say to him in English. He'll be over again tommorrow for a little more English 101 and, of course, lots of hugs and kisses.