nellyglass studioStained Glass Artist
Today was low key, as in… not too much travelling around except for a 5 -minute drive to the Cross Irons Mall in Calgary…but Oh My, you should see the Pro Bass Shops store at this mall… the stuffed animal displays are unbelievable! … most impressive was the pack of arctic wolves chasing the herd of caribou across the second floor of the store. No photos ☹️.
Today is an exciting day – we are going to Drumheller to see the Bad Lands and maybe a dinosaur or two. When Ryan was a little boy, he could name all the dinos and lecture for hours on each one.Two highlights for me were the Hoo Doos and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.
Sarah has to work tomorrow so after visiting Drumheller, we will take her to Red Deer and then head back to Calgary for the night.
We are off on an adventure to visit Alberta this summer. I have never been here before and it’s been 36 years for Monica since she worked the summer of ’77 in Jasper Park Lodge. Since Sarah lives in Red Deer and Monica’s brother Stuart and Janice live in Calgary, the time was right for a visit. Ryan is with us so this will truly be a family vacation.
We arrived in Calgary just after 11:00 PM Friday night. Sarah had arrived from Red Deer this afternoon and she and Stuart picked us up at the airport. Home to crash at Stuart’s and up next morning for a full breakfast. Then off to explore the downtown. My eyes were wide open. Calgary is a beautiful city. Very clean! Hard to believe it was underwater just a few weeks ago.
Later in the day, we all headed over Mike (Stuart’s son) and Tammy’s for a big family hoopla and BBQ. Great times.
What a weekend – not only did the weatherman get it all wrong and we had beautiful skies and 35 degrees – but Plan A turned into Plan B and Plan C and Plan D before it was all over.
Originally the plan was for Mon and me to go to Moncton Friday night with Lorna and Peter to see The Divorces play at Plan B on St. George Blvd. at 10:00. Well they didn’t start until 1:15 which meant we had alot of time to kill before. That worked out well because just before leaving Saint John, my cousin whom I had not seen for over 30 years, called to say he was in Petitcodiac and would love to see me. At that very same moment Lorna and Peter called with a crisis – power outage at the cottage! No shower, no hair dryer, no internet connection. CRISIS! So, they would go on to Sussex ahead of us to rent a room and get ready for the evening.
Which meant I had time to go to Petitcodiac to see my cousin, Perry Norris from Ontario (visiting at my Aunt Vesta’s house). 
I traveled 30 years back in time. Perry and I are only 4 months apart so we spent alot of time together as kids. It was great to see him. Bonus, cousin Sharon came over to Aunt Vesta’s also and that provided the perfect opportunity for a photo. She’s like an elf next to me. Our parents are siblings Delbert, Royce and Joyce. Uncle Royce was tall so maybe that’s where I got the gene.
Then, on to Moncton to see The Divorces. 
They are very good musicians. Country Music. ‘Nuf said. Lorna really enjoyed them – she is a groupie 🙂 and we enjoyed watching her in her glory. We got home to Saint John at 4:15 a.m. Slept until 10:00 the next morning. I haven’t done that for 30 years either.
Saturday was a lovely day at Haynes Lake for SeaFood Festival (oh, we eat so well at Haynes Lake!!!) and then Sunday I was off to Havelock to visit Dad for the day.
35 degrees in Havelock, not a cloud in the sky, air conditioning in Dad’s house still broken, Toyota Camry saves the day. Road Trip to St. Martins to see the Fundy Trail. Beautiful drive. Scenic views, fish burgers and onion rings, and Dad for company.
A perfect day. Topped off when I got home and Monica had Cobb salad ready for supper. Life is good and I am thankful.
Dad’s home air conditioning broke in 34 degree weather. So the survival plan was; spend the evening with Sis at Grand Lake and then the next afternoon with me in the car (with air conditioning) driving through the country.
Exploring to find a short cut through the woods from Harper Settlement to Portage Vale, we nearly got stuck a couple of times, bad roads, mud holes, branches scraping, muffler scraping – it was like off roading… repairs to torn splash guard later in the evening. All in all, a nice day.Great to spend it with Dad.
A little rain on the road to cool things down a bit and then home to BBQ chicken with chipolte mango sauce… mmmm delicious. 
…and, we have a new peony open today – the single pink one, Very lovely.
Happy Canada Day everyone. Foggy and calm here in Saint John but mild and a lovely morning to see the garden. Take a minute and step around with me to see Monica’s peonies. They are all in bud and ready to open, if we would just get a little sunshine 🙂
Monica and I went to Havelock today to visit Dad. The weather was foggy but we didn’t mind. We took a nice drive through Berwick to Bellisle and saw geese and foxes. Then to Mama George’s for dinner. For a little guy he can sure pack in the food…he destroyed a pizza and onion rigs (well, I helped with the rings) and then strawberry shortcake. After dinner we stopped for a visit with Leigh and Marlene at the cottage and then back home to Havelock. Mom’s roses are blooming and the sun came out just as we returned to the house. Great day with Dad. So nice to see him every chance we get.
Back in Saint John, Mon and I enjoyed a glass of wine and watch TV into the evening. The perfect end to the perfect day on our 29th anniversary…and the peonies are just starting to bloom in our garden.
Monica and I are very happy our friends from Ontario have arrived. Lots of photos being taken…some are forbidden for posting I have been warned. Music and lots of laughs in the Garage last night until midnight…too foggy and drizzly outside for the deck. But the lobster and lighthouse mini lights said Welcome to NB.
We are off to Havelock today to visit Dad. Looking forward to seeing him. Will have photos to show later. Meanwhile, the fun begins with the camera as I play with the new lamp (the artist is driven to expolre 🙂 Here is a short montage of close ups. The glass textures and color patters are better up close. Enjoy.
Happy Anniversary to the most beautiful Peony of all, my wife Monica. They always bloom around your birthday/anniversary and you always bloom for me. Happy 29th Babe. Here’s to 29 more.
I worked most of the morning on finishing the grinding for the last 2 panels of the Peony Lamp. All done and now ready for foiling. 
I finished just before Maneau and Jake arrived for a visit to celebrate Jake’s birthday. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon on the deck with a pitchure of Sangria and nibblies. Then off to Taste of Egypt for dinner.
Great food. Lots of fun and laughs.
After we came home to watch the Black Hawks trounce the Bruins! Since I was the only Black Hawks fan in the room, I had to Hi-5 myself. 
Visiting Ron last night and enjoyed the walk in the woods to see the lady slippers blooming. We came across a patch with dozens of them…white and pink. The light rain softened the forest sounds and the slippers loved it. So did the trout lilies. Very nice to see them.
Uncle Bill’s 90th birthday reception in Havelock was a resounding success, despite the rain. He looks wonderful for 90. The rest of us should be so lucky. There must have been nearly 200 people there to wish him well. It was so wonderful to see all my cousins and many of the towns folk who came to see him. Some people I had not seen in 40 years! Uncle Lee, Aunt Vesta, Tom Burgess and Mort Mills sang some great old tunes on stage and we also sang Happy Birthday to Dad on this, his 87th birthday. After the reception, the family (30 or more) went to the Ridge Restaurant for Roast Beef dinner. Cousin Sharon baked a little chocolate cake for Dad. Was it ever special to watch him blow the candle out.
This was a happy day. I am forever grateful that I have such a great family. And, as we took Dad home for the evening, we noticed Mom’s rose is starting to bloom by the side of the house.
Hard Rain. Lots of it. Must remember to take extra umbrellas to Havelock today for Uncle Bill’s 90th birthday (born 1923) reception at the Community Hall and Dad’s 87th birthday actually on today June 8th. He is 87 years old today (Born 1926). Sis and I can’t wait to see all the Family. Many photos will be taken today.
I’m planning to do a little stained glass work this morning but in the meantime, just fooling around with the camera in the bathroom. Come on a little tour with me and let’s step into the seaside.
Really had a great time cutting up fallen trees at Dad’s. Thankfully, no accidents! Monica worked right along beside me like a trooper. We were very sore at the end of the day but it wasn’t until next day that we really felt the achy muscles.
Went to Moncton and picked up some green opal glass with a glitter sparkle for the background color of the Peony shade. Monica returned a couple of pillows (living room) and we took dad to McDonalds for fish burgers (I had a double – ever good!). The lamp shade is started (cutting and grinding) and the first row of border is in position as I write this. I will work away some more and get the second row pinned on before quitting for the day.
Tonight (Monday – Victoria Day) I’m going back to Havelock to take Dad to Masonic Lodge in Moncton. Looking forward to that too.
My first chainsaw and I am psyched… going to Dad’s house tomorrow to do some yard work. A few old spruce trees fell down over the winter and they’ve got my name on them. Can’t wait … so long as my next post is not from the hospital.
Great Weekend:
Nice to have Ryan and Sarah home for the trip to Havelock to meet with John, Delberta, Liz and Ellen where we picked up Dad and went to the Havelock Greenhill Cemetery for Mom’s Internment Service. Then off to the ridge restaurant for a family lunch. Lots of laughs and memories around the table. Made the rounds to the cemeteries to visit all Mothers and then a peaceful drive home. The rain held off perfectly.
Home for cocktails and movies. Watched Game of Thrones with Ryan while Sarah went out (shopping). To bed early and up early to start breakfast. Sarah and Ryan gave Monica a beautiful set of deck chair cushions. Then we all had a great family breakfast after which, the kids did the dishes and then Ryan and I hung Monica’s new family room curtains.
Mon and I went out on an errand run at noon to get her quilt binding pick-up, Walmart for the lounge cushion to match the chairs, Costco for steaks, Sobeys for lobster and NBLC for Chardonnay and Cab-Merlot. Sounds like a party in the planning.
Rainy afternoon watching movies and then a big Surf-n-Turf supper with all of us raising a glass to Monica on this special day.
This is how Kings eat… Shrimp-stuffed Sole. I love it when she had the day off.
We have had a beautiful spring stretch of weather making a day’s fishing trip an extremely enjoyable event. Ron and I went to Perley Brook but I didn’t get a photo of the big one that got away! There were some blackflies but they weren’t biting. Neither were the fish, much. Too bright and sunny!
We stopped at Westfield Falls on the way. This is a stunning local attraction that has gained popularity by hikers and tour groups.
Sarah is home visiting us from Red Deer, Alberta. Thursday was her 25th birthday and we celebrated with Maneau and Jake at Splash Restaurant in Saint John. Had a wonderful evening with excellent food and lots of laughs. It is great to have her home.
The last project isn’t really out of my mind yet and I’m already looking to the next project. This one will be an 18″ lamp with peonies for Monica, her favorite flower. I’d like to have it done for her birthday at the end of June but I don’t know. We’ll see.
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