Grab a cup of tea!!

Because I post infrequently, I seem to gather and hoard information for when I do get around to posting, hence another lengthy one!! Sorry, but I do hope you have your tea with you to make it a little more pleasant!!

I dropped by Lynda's on Friday to stitch for a bit and to my surprise and extreme delight, there was a lovely, wrapped gift on the counter with my name on it...literally!
Imagine my surprise when I tore off the paper and found THIS waiting inside!!!!!

Only a tried and true blue friend would have her eye out for this baby!!! Who knew there even was such a thing as The Waltons game??? Not I! And here I thought I was their biggest fan!!!!
This little gem was in perfect condition, had all the pieces and everything!!!

Of course, we had to play it!!! We read the directions, but didn't really get it until the end! After all, it was made for those 7-14 and we were so over qualified that it took us a little while to get back to the thinking of that age!! As true friends, we just played nicely and finished at the same time, declaring us both winners!!!! Late that night I got hubby to play with me, by the rules, and I lost!!!! The only thing that would have been better is if there were little monopoly like figurines of the family! There are two special John Boy cards though!!

Needless to say, I was quite pleased!!!! (okay, very excited!!) Thanks Betty!!

If you've been watching the Olympics at all you know what amazing weather we've been having here. While I've tried to avoid working outside for a little bit longer, the pull of the great outdoors was just too strong!!

Hubby and I got all the raspberries culled, tied up and tied over. It looks so nice and the little buds are already starting to leaf out! If you look closely the cherry tree in the background is flowering too! It was at least 60 degrees out! Don't know how B kept his hat on...mine came off much earlier as I was too HOT!!! Just a long sleeve t-shirt for me!

Tyler mowed the lawn, as did all the neighbors! I got all the fruit trees pruned and some weeding done. I hate to start this so early, but it will get really out of hand if I don't! The rain is supposed to return tomorrow, but that will probably make things grow even faster!!! I did start some broccoli and cauliflower seeds in the house today. Time to plow the garden and get some cool crops in!!

Ashleigh came home for the weekend and we decided to venture up to Vancouver and see what it was all about!!! I'm so glad we did as I would have really regretted it!!! We took the Seabus from North Van over to the city and just walked around taking it all in!!! I'm so glad we did!

This is a view of Robson Street, where they do all of the broadcasting from. Lots of people, but not really too crowded and everyone is so friendly and cheerful!!

There is such excitement in the air and the Canadians are so proud of their city and country! Their cars, houses, bridges, storefronts...basically everything...is decked out with flags, banners, posters, etc.! It really is amazing to see!

Big screens all over, billboards of the athletes, shopping and jolly good fun!!

These guys were walking all over posing for pictures with anyone that wanted one! Of course, we did!!!! And they wanted Ashleigh in there with them! I didn't think of that, just asked if I could take their picture!! Ashleigh's wearing her Russian hat that she got while we were there!!

She took Russian last year and has always liked those Russian figure skaters!!! She got a really cute Canadian "Pook" hat too!

I've been looking all over for the Olympic "mitts" and my friends Perry and Linda got their mom to pick up a pair for me and bring them down!! Yea!!! Thanks guys!! Had to get a picture of them with the torch!!

Just that day they took out part of the fence so that people could get better pictures and it really helped. The fence is actually quite far from the flame and it's too bad that there wasn't a better set up for this. It's still amazing to see !

The sails along the waterfront are really pretty too! Vancouver is a gorgeous city and so navigable. No border waits, no traffic, easy parking and lots of fun!!! So glad we went!!

Are you done with your tea??? Just in time!!

Let the Games Begin!

The Olympics have begun and what an exciting feeling here in the Pacific Northwest! With Vancouver only 30 miles away I kind of feel like these are MY Olympics!!! I thought the opening ceremonies were beautiful ! I love the "flying boy" with his amber waves of grain. The young girl who sang the national anthem was incredible! I love Canada's national anthem and love to sing along when I hear it! Is that being disloyal to my dear America? I hope not!!! My favorite was the hallelujah song by K.D. Lang. What a haunting, beautiful song. I have this CD and love it. What a powerful voice! I ran upstairs to my son's room to see if I could see the fireworks over B.C. place, but no go! When the weather is clear we can see the lights of Cypress and Grouse Mountain's where some of the skiing events are taking place.

Lynden has set up flags from many nations at the entrance into town to welcome all of the Olympic visitors. They look so pretty lining both sides of the street. My camera couldn't capture the full effect and I had to quickly hop out of the car to get this shot!!!

Being only 3 miles from the border we are quite friendly with the Canadians! They are done often and love to visit the area and shop in our stores!!! Good neighbor's they are!! Some displays set up at the local grocery! Coke needs to come up with some more vibrant colors as the first 2 rings don't stand out very well!!

My first Olympic pin!! Would have had some nice mittens, but Miss Tami (http://theladyinthestonehouse.blogspot.com) forgot mine when she was in Whistler this week!!

My husband has been offered tickets, transportation, lodging, etc. by a great sponsor of these games, but has turned them down as he would rather watch from home ( insert gasp, wailing and gnashing of teeth)!!! I don't really want to deal with the hassle, but this is such an opportunity!!! We didn't even go watch the torch pass by, having done this in the 80's down in Seattle!

I will now be glued to the TV for the next 2 weeks, crying with joy for the winners and crying tears of sadness for those whose hopes are dashed. And let's not forget the Georgian athlete who's life was so tragically taken. My prayers go out to his family and teammates.

Enjoy these few weeks of amazing sportsmanship and think of me when you are watching the hills in Vancouver! I'm almost there!!