tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21449648264664226072024-03-13T07:04:12.125-07:00Linda's Chatty BlogLinda's Chatty BlogLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.comBlogger256125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-4986175157710661882016-01-01T15:35:00.000-08:002016-01-01T20:54:14.653-08:00WELCOME 2016 AND THE AMERICAN GIRL OF THE YEAR, LEA CLARK!<br />
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I went downtown to the Vancouver location of American girl today to see the reveal of the new Girl of the Year, Lea Clark! It was a lot of fun seeing Lea and all her new things! She is a beautiful girl, with lots of long curly hair in a dark blonde or light brownish color with sun kissed highlights. She has hazel eyes and the Josefina mold. All in all she is a very pretty doll! What was disappointing was that they were NOT giving out any promos like the US stores....sigh....at the price point we pay in Canada, one would think a promo would be a given! I took lots of photos and there were a lot of people buying her when I was there! American Girl is supporting wildlife and $1.00 of each of Lea's pets sold up to $100,000.00 will be donated to the World Wildlife fund as well as a sizable donation of $50,000.00 that American Girl is donating to the fund in addition to the money collected from the sale of the stuffed toys. Lea's story consists of a trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil where she practices her photographer skills! Her wardrobe to date is very tropical like.<br />
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The Rainforest House, cute as can be with sting of shells, and a flocked parrot that is adorable, price point in Canada is $510.00 Canadian....gasp!<br />
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This is my favorite outfit in her collection, it is a romper style but they care calling it Rainforest dreams PJ's and priced at $32.00 Canadian<br />
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Here is Lea in her meet dress which is actually adorable and very pretty in person!<br />
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Like Grace last year, Lea also has a special set of earrings if you choose to have her ears pierced.<br />
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Lea's accessories which include the cute camera are priced at $42.00 C.<br />
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This tie dyed beach dress is only available as a bundle in the US. In Canada it comes as a separate outfit as I don't believe we have the bundle option. The outfit retails at $38.00 C.<br />
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The three toed sloth is just so cute in person! He retails at $29.00 Canadian<br />
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The sea turtle is $27.00 Canadian<br />
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The Margay cat retails at $29.00 Canadian<br />
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Lea's hike outfit and accessories, $46.00 for the outfit and $38.00 for the accessories Canadian<br />
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Lea, the doll and book retails at $164.00 Canadian<br />
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Her accessories retail at $42.00 Canadian<br />
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Lea's mix and match swimwear and Kayak, The kayak is $112.00 C.<br />
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This is Lea's fruit stand and it is adorable....even if the fruit is "clumped". It retails at $199.00 C.<br />
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This is Lea's Bahia outfit, it retails at $38.00 C.<br />
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Another view of the beach dress that is available as an outfit here in Canada with adorable sunglasses and flip flops and retails at $38.00 Canadian<br />
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Isn't she cute? The lighting in the store is not great, the outfit she is wearing is more green in person.<br />
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The back of Lea's hair. You can kind of see how it is sun kissed. A very pretty color. Lea's vinyl is a medium color giving her a suntanned look.<br />
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<span id="goog_1853942589"></span><span id="goog_1853942590"></span>This is another shot of the Rainforest house....you can see the parrot and the sloth is hanging onto the side. It is quite large and I was too short to get a full picture of it as there were a lot of people there. No, the doll did not come home with me....I received Maryellen a week ago for Christmas so Lea will have to wait until I save up....a lot! She is very pretty, though, and I saw a lot of them sold while I was there!<br />
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On an interesting note...Grace items are still being sold in the store...evidently they were told to move them out of the Girl of the Year area but that they could continue to sell to avoid sending them back! I was told this was the first time they have been advised to continue reselling a retired girl of the years things. Currently what is left is selling at approximately 20% off and they have more things in the back they will bring out if you ask....I saw a lady ask and they went to get what she was asking for!<br />
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I somehow forgot to take pictures but they also have available the new Valentines dress, I think but am not positive that it was $38.00 C. It is very cute and they also have the new Valentine's t-shirt which comes in an envelope and I believe was $16.00 and is a really pretty pink color!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-11020651080944662032015-08-04T16:49:00.002-07:002015-08-04T16:54:32.357-07:00Hawaiian Luau Bleuette StyleThe planets aligned and got me motivated to join a challenge on one of my Bleuette groups. Friday is the first anniversary of my Mom passing and I am feeling nostalgic as she so loved Hawaii. Many years ago a lady on the Bleuette Sewing Club named Judy F. kindly mailed me the makings for Hawaiian hula wear for my Bleuettes but alas life got in the way and the envelope got tucked away until yesterday when I decided to find it and the instructions and make my little Bleuettes their hula outfits in my Mom's memory.<br />
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My Mom never really had a doll of her very own growing up. She and her sister shared a porcelain doll for a brief time but her little sister dropped it and then it was gone sadly. Mom grew up during the depression and being one of 7 kids, there wasn't much and most of their play was outdoors making forts and building things and picking flowers and making garlands for their hair. They really didn't own toys she told me. I think perhaps that is why when I came along she loved to buy me dolls. She enjoyed my doll hobby pretty much to the end. I would take dolls and hand made doll clothes to show her at the care facility now and then as she still enjoyed seeing them.<br />
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And now, without further adieu, here are my Bleuettes Madeline and Bella having a luau and hopefully my Mom is smiling down and watching them.....first up is Bella doing the hula with the palm my Mom bought me for Mothers Day many, many years ago in the background. It was a tiny little frond in a gallon pot when it first came here....look at it now towering over the second floor deck!<br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-57643348983217974712015-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:002015-07-26T19:35:18.733-07:00COCA COLA SHARE!We went out earlier and ran into the Coke share truck where you can have cans of coke printed with your name on it! This is such a fun thing, especially for those with unusual names that you might never find on a coke can!<br />
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The Coke share truck set up, you type your name onto a computer screen and your can dispenses below, just like using a vending machine!<br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-22705928962105509632015-07-22T23:09:00.000-07:002015-07-22T23:13:15.165-07:00Happy Diamond Birthday Disneyland! Disneylands 60th birthday was July 17, 2015! I sure wish I had been there but it wasn't possible this year. I did follow the celebration on various websites and some very cool old photos were published! As they are in the public domain, I think it is OK to repost them! First is the 60th Birthday logo<br />
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Walt and his little Grandson.<br />
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<span id="goog_1618294825"></span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-68676224930162500772015-01-02T02:52:00.000-08:002015-01-02T21:12:51.273-08:00WELCOME 2015 AND AMERICAN GIRL OF THE YEAR GRACE THOMAS TO VANCOUVER!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The signage within the store welcoming Grace Thomas as The American Girl of the Year for 2015</div>
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Happy New Year! It is hard to believe 2015 is here already but I was so ready to say goodbye to 2014 that I am glad we have now turned the page on the calendar!<br />
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Today was the launch of the new 2015 Girl of the Year, Grace Thomas, at American Girl Stores so I decided to go downtown and see her in person at the large Chapter's Bookstore on Robson Street in their in store AG boutique! It was a fun outing!<br />
Here is part of the line up to enter the boutique when I arrived just a little after the store opened!<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/editor/static_files/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a>There were lots of very excited girls and dolls there to meet Grace! I soon met up with some other adult doll collectors and it was much more fun browsing with others than on my own!<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/editor/static_files/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a>This sweet lady is Lauren and she is a school teacher. She brought her doll Clementine along. Clementine is A Girl For All Time manufactured in the UK. Isn't she darling?<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/editor/static_files/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a>This lovely lady standing with Lauren is someone many might already know as she writes her own blog called Karen Mom of Three Craft Blog and she also writes and posts articles for The Doll Diaries website. Karen is holding Grace! Grace is much cuter in person than in pictures!<br />
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Here is Grace in her baking outfit with some of her baking supplies! I love this outfit and all of her baking things!</div>
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This is her Bistro set but only one chair...hmmm</div>
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I liked this sweater a lot but I wasn't crazy about the shorts and sweater look! The outfit is adorable though and I imagine the target aged girls are just going to love it!<br />
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Here are the new books!</div>
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This is Grace wearing her darling pink beret. They have named this the "Welcome Set" and it contains flowers, 1 set of macaroons, 1 gift box, 3 post cards, 1 bag with 2 cookies and the beret. I bet you have guessed by now that Grace has a French theme! And she enjoys French baking!</div>
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These are Grace's PJ's. I really like them! the print on the bottoms are a French print. Her dog BonBon has a very clever collar on, it has a bow and when you release the bow, it becomes the dog leash! You can see the little bow on the picture below! </div>
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The pastry cart is really lovely! Lots of very nice french pastries, french bread and all sorts of neat accessories! It was speculated to be plastic however some folks who bought it say only the wheels are and most of it is made from metal. It is hard to tell in our store as it is behind glass so you cannot touch it to see what it is made out of! </div>
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There is a very large piece of the collection that will not be coming to Vancouver as they just don't have the space to display it in our little boutique store. It is a bakery and looks very lovely on American Girl's website! It is a shame they couldn't find a corner to put it in so we can just look...lolol</div>
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Here is the actual Bakery that is not available here! As you might notice, they are displaying it in stores that do carry it with the Pastry cart and Bistro set</div>
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These are more shots of the pastry cart which is available in Canada for $180.00</div>
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The pink dress is very pretty but also very similar to the dress recently released for the Beforever Samantha. I already own that dress so probably will not get this one even though I love pink!<br />
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This mixer is really fun! It really runs using batteries to power it! I saw someone online who had a daughter that brought it home and was mixing real house flour in it! It was working well! This set is very pricey in Vancouver! With our low valued Canadian dollar all the items in our boutique store are priced much higher than the US stores. <br />
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I really love Grace's travel coat, it is very well made. The top is lined, the buttons down the front are real buttons and there is a tiny piece of velcro at the waist. The lining is pink! Beside Grace is her suitcase all ready to travel to France, it is adorable too! Almost all of this collection is totally adorable! I think American Girl has picked a winning theme this year as the target aged girls in the store were enthralled with the collection!<br />
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The next lady to arrive was Deena. Many of you will know her from her utube channel BeenaAndDeena! She has quite a following on Utube and many of her little fans were waiting for her arrival! She brought her Caroline along! Tomorrow she is going down to the Seattle store to check out their launch and will be posting on her channel for everyone to see so check out her utube channel as she will probably get to see that bakery in person and review it!<br />
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Here is a group shot of Lauren, Deena, Karen and myself!</div>
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Now this is not Grace but shortly after we got into the store Karen took us over to see a new very lovely item that has come into stock! It is a red American Girl T-shirt...why is that a big deal you ask? Because except for when the store opened, we don't get store exclusives in our tiny store but due to popular demand, they have brought in a red t-shirt with Canada written on it and it has a Maple Leaf on it! Very fitting! And they have also brought in blue jeans with the AG logos on them to go with it! Modeling the shirt in this picture is #61 with red hair and green eyes and previously not carried in Canada! She is displayed in the new doll and pet carrier!<br />
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These are Grace's official accessories. There is a girl sized purse available to match Grace's and it is a very generous size and I imagine a lot of girls are going to just love it!<br />
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Here are the price signs in the store, the lower priced one was on display when we first when in the store but was incorrect and replaced later on with the correct price chart.<br />
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And this below is MY Grace, yes she came home with me. I received money and gift cards for Christmas rather than gifts from my family in anticipation of this release. I really wanted to buy the doll from the first ever launch on New Years Day of a Girl of the Year in Vancouver! As I was there on launch day, I received her limited edition apron that they only give out to store visitors for a couple of days when she is first released! And of course I had to buy the Canada T-shirt as well! I love store exclusives!<br />
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I really enjoyed my visit to American Girl today! Thanks Karen, Lauren, and Deena for hanging out with me, I think we all had a lovely time! And thanks to Nikki for doing such a nice job of piercing Grace's ears! </div>
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For more coverage of Grace's launches across Canada and the USA head over to the Doll diaries webpage!</div>
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Here is the link for Karen's blog: http://karenmomofthreescraft.blogspot.ca/</div>
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Here is the link for Doll Diaries: http://dolldiaries.com/welcoming-grace-to-vancouver/</div>
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Here is the link for Deena's utube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BeenaandDeena</div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-47055495592961031132014-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:002014-09-07T20:19:09.172-07:00Mabel Florence Crocker April 4, 1926 - August 7, 2014This is the saddest blog post I have ever written. As many of my friends are aware, I lost my beautiful and beloved Mom one month ago today on August 7, 2014. It was not unexpected but it also wasn't expected right at that moment either and it came as a terrible shock. As most can imagine, the last month has been very difficult on so many levels. My Mom was so much more than "Mom" to me. She was my best friend, travel companion and buddy for most of my adult life and her loss to me is huge. She had been failing in recent months, we knew this, and her quality of life had gone steadily down to a place she would never have wanted to be but she was always such a fighter. She fought her way back from many strokes and medical issues and somehow in the back of my mind I thought she would fight her way back from this latest round...but alas she was too tired and couldn't. She fought a very good fight and proved everyone wrong when medical staff told us that the most she had was 3 months following the last of many strokes she had in October of 2012. She was tenacious and never liked to be told what to do so she set out to prove them wrong and did! RIP sweet my Mom, I love you and will miss you always....<br />
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This is one of the last pictures I took of Mom. <br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>God's Garden Must Be
Beautiful</b><br /><br />God looked around the garden, and found an empty space. He
looked down upon the earth, and saw your tired face. He put his arms around you,
and lifted you to rest. God's garden must be beautiful for he only takes the
best. He knew that you were weary, and he knew you were in pain. He knew that
you would never be well on earth again. He saw the roads were getting rough, and
the hills were hard to climb. So he closed your weary eyelids, and whispered
peace be thine.</span></div>
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My Mom and Dad in 1945</div>
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My Mom, me and my baby brother in 1958</div>
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Mom and great granddaughter Dakotah</div>
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Mom and Great Grandson Jaime and Great Granddaughter Dakotah</div>
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GaGa and Dakotah at Queens Park Hospital following one of her strokes</div>
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GaGa, Dakotah and Jaime going to Spaghetti Factory in October 2011</div>
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Mom and Great Grandson Kalani in January of 2010 </div>
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Mom and Great Grandson Teo in February 2012 </div>
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Mom with her dearly loved Grandsons Ben and James at one of all of our favorite places, Disneyland.</div>
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Mom in 2010 enjoying one of her favorite outings for fish and chips at Coney Island in White Rock before her strokes began</div>
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Mom and Emily, Emily died in May of 2011, they adored one another</div>
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Mom's favorite thing in the world was lemon meringue pie, this was 2011<br />
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More lemon meringue pie, in 2012 this time</div>
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Mom and Granddaughter Ana at the Spaghetti Factory</div>
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Mom in August of 2012</div>
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Mom and my brother Larry at Christmas 2012</div>
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Mom and I Halloween 2013</div>
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Christmas of 2013, Mom and Santa</div>
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Mom at Christmas 2013<br />
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Mom and Great Granddaughter Dakotah, Canada Day tea 2014</div>
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Mom and Great Grandson Jaime and Granddaughter Analecia, May 2014</div>
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One of my favorite photos of Mom and Ana was on their shared birthday in 2010</div>
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Mom in Spring 2014 </div>
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Mom and Ana </div>
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Walking outside at Queen's Park</div>
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November 2012</div>
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Summer 2012</div>
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2013</div>
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My Mom was not a collector of dolls however she enjoyed mine and bought me a lot of dolls when I was growing up!</div>
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Here she is with a travelling Chatty that she got such a kick out of. <br />
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Last year a friend sent me a darling outfit and Mom loved it! It is pink!<br />
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Summer 2013</div>
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Summer 2013</div>
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Spring 2014, she had a fall and broke her arm but was still smiling:)<br />
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Mother's Day 2014. She loved roses!<br />
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Mom and Ana's shared birthday 2014. <br />
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No matter how tough things got and believe me they got tough many times in the last 3 and a half years, she never stopped smiling. If you brought out the camera she would smile, I will always remember that.....<br />
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A few short days prior to her death, she was still smiling:)</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>God Saw You </b><br />God saw
you getting tired, and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around you and
whispered "Come to ME". With tearful eyes we watched you, and watched you slip away.
Although we love you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped
beating, hard working hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He
only takes the best.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Years ago as her arthritis worsened and mobility became a problem Mom found TV, she enjoyed all the award shows, never missed an episode of Entertainment tonight and became hooked on CNN news. She loved the Grammy Awards, the Country Music awards and General Hospital...oh my she loved General Hospital!! She taped the episodes if she wasn't going to be home to watch them! She often would talk to me about the people on there like they were "real" and I guess to her they were. As her dementia became worse she lost interest in her shows. In the afternoons following General Hospital she would have a nap in her chair with this piece of a white cotton sheet over her eyes....the family joked about Mom and her white cloth moments... She loved to travel in her younger years. She once went on a South Pacific cruise for 27 days all by herself! She loved Hawaii and visited their frequently and had many friends that would all go at the same time from all over the country and each year they would meet up under "the tree" on Wakiki beach. Before the dementia overtook her, she enjoyed all aspects of her life. In later years she would bomb around town in her red electric scooter, she loved that scooter and it afforded her lots of trips out she wouldn't have been able to do on foot. </span><br />
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<b>Walk In Sunshine</b><br />
<br />
May you always walk in
sunshine<br />
And God’s Love around you flow,<br />
For the happiness you gave
us,<br />
No one will ever know.<br />
<br />
It broke our hearts to lose you, <br />
But
you did not go alone, <br />
A part of us went with you, <br />
The day God called you
home. <br />
<br />
A million times we needed you, <br />
A million times we
cried, <br />
If love could have only saved you, <br />
<br />
You never would have
died. </div>
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RIP My Sweet Mom!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Crocker (nee Jacura) , Mabel Florence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">April 4, 1926 – August 7, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Passed peacefully after a long illness in <st1:placename w:st="on">Queens</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype> in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">New
Westminster</st1:city></st1:place>. Survived by daughter Linda (Fil)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Son Larry . Also
survived by grandsons Ben, James, (Nicci) Kevin and granddaughter Analecia,
great grandchildren Dakotah, Jaime, Kalani and Teo. Brother John (Pat) and many
nieces and nephews. Predeceased by husband Claude, her mother Celia (Labreque)
and father Peter, sisters <st1:city w:st="on">Pearl</st1:city>, Loraine,
Stella, and brothers Cappy (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Lawrence</st1:city></st1:place>)
and Albert. Mom loved her family more than anything and was extremely devoted
to us. She enjoyed her time in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:state>
for many years and made frequent visits there until illness sidelined her. She
also had a special fondness for <st1:place w:st="on">Disneyland</st1:place> and
made many trips there over the years on family vacations with her
grandchildren. Mom was a fighter, she fought her illness and limitations right
up until the end. After the strokes started, and her prognosis was poor, she
survived and fought her way back much to the amazement of many. We will miss
her spirit and her spunk! She will always be in our hearts and will be dearly
missed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Our family wishes to thank the staff of 2 west at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Queens</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place>, Dr. Nick Petropolis, Dr. Doritt
Klarke, Karen, Anne and all the nurses, caregivers and staff who tried to make her last few
years more comfortable. There will be no public service per her wishes, and donations
can be made in her name to the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation. </span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-85677886116342699862014-09-06T22:43:00.000-07:002014-09-06T23:04:14.058-07:00American Girl and Our GenerationAfter a very trying month, a couple of nice things happened this week. On August 28, 2014 American girl revamped their historical line and premiered their new line titled "Beforever" and they brought one of their very popular archived historicals, Samantha Parkington out of the archives! Samantha was the first American Girl I owned so I was very intrigued by the new line and bringing her back! The information has been available for quite some time through fan websites and I had an Amazon Gift card from a contest win stored in my Amazon account so I went hunting to see if the mini dolls were there and sure enough they were available for preorder so I ordered Samantha in her new outfit and also Kit Kittredge who was revamped and now has a bit shorter hair and a new meet outfit also. Both of my new mini dolls arrived this week. I had already heard they were not like the former mini dolls as the new ones are all vinyl! I actually think it is quite nice as their clothes look nicer on them. I don't think I would like the 18 inch girls to change to all vinyl but the mini dolls seem to look quite nice in this new format. I am just in love with Samantha's new dress and can't wait to get it for my Samantha! I also heard an interesting rumor that 4 of the historical dolls including Samantha will be coming to the Vancouver and Toronto boutique stores very soon. I have not been able to confirm this yet although someone has told me a release date so keeping my fingers crossed on that! Here are the new mini dolls, they are quite cute...Kit has an awful lot of freckles and looks a bit funny around the month but her new "look" may grow on me. I do love her new meet outfit though!<br />
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Yesterday I had some things I needed to take care of in the US so my husband kindly volunteered to take me on a field trip. It was a gorgeous summer day for a little road trip! Border lineups were very light and we got across much quicker than we expected to. After I took care of the things I went for we carried on to Bellingham. We are having beautiful warm weather in these parts and this was the temperature on Meridian in Bellingham yesterday afternoon!<br />
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I had an opportunity to do a little shopping and came home with a couple of really nice finds! Our Generation has come out with a mini doll and had 5 or 6 different hair and eye combinations of them. They look to be a tiny bit taller than the American girl ones and their eyes are glass and not painted. I Had a hard time choosing which one to bring home but eventually ended up with Mini Sienna. I don't like her vest so will be removing that as soon as I take her out of the box but I liked her face and eye and hair combination best of all the dolls they had in stock. </div>
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The Our Generation Line in the US has so much more than ours in Canada and there were so many really nice things. They even sell shoes in packages that are not at all like the ones that come packaged in the dress sets available here. As I was going through the many boxes of accessories they had available, I came across an item i have seen pictured online for quite some time and really wanted to buy but was reluctant to pay Ebay prices and shipping on. My surprise find was the Plaid to Meet You set which consists of a doll sized red laptop computer, a stylus, and an adorable red plaid and black faux leather laptop bag decorated with an adorable black Scottie Dog. I am just in love with this darling doll accessory! </div>
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Here is my Jess doll and she loves her new laptop! </div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-87241830774480870362014-05-10T19:07:00.000-07:002014-05-10T19:07:12.766-07:00HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2014I took my Mom roses today for Mother's Day. In recent years I have found the roses don't seem to smell...the roses today had a beautiful scent! It was a pleasant surprise! Happy Mother's Day Mom!<br />
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When I was done visiting, I went for a walk behind Queen's Park Care Center to look at the beautiful gardens! It is so pretty back there! Mom used to go for walks out there a lot when she first was admitted there but is no longer able to go for walks out there alone. When our weather gets a bit nicer I can take her out there though. She used to have a nice acquaintance with the ducks and the squirrels that reside in the garden...except she would pet the squirrels and one scratched her one day and the nurses were quite concerned for her safety out in the yard. There is a duck pond and so many beautiful plants. Here is a sampling of the gardens behind the facility!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-41733007148351013152014-04-29T15:13:00.001-07:002014-04-29T15:13:36.625-07:00AMERICAN GIRL VANCOUVER!!!Today I had the distinct thrill and pleasure of being one of the first people to shop at American Girl Vancouver! The new store will have a grand opening on May 3 and 4th. I had some inside information that there was a "soft" opening today so I ventured downtown on the Skytrain by myself. My son had told me some hints of how not to get lost. Those who know me know I have NO sense of direction at all. I was very pleased with myself to go directly to the store and not get lost once! I was there in time to see the first ever doll sold in American Girl Vancouver. She is a #23 and her new little mommy took a long time deciding which one to pick! It was a lot of fun watching her pick out her new doll. No, I didn't know her but just enjoyed watching! <br />
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The store is VERY small but they say they are waiting to see how the two new locations are received in Canada before going further. I have been to both LA and Seattle a few times and both are much, much larger. Of the three people the supervisor had talked to, 2 of us lamented the fact that the historicals are not present. She said they are keeping track of how many ask for future reference so if you go down, make sure you let them know you would like to see the historicals if indeed you would! There are no store exclusives for Vancouver. None have been ordered (YET) I was told. Again, I was told they are waiting to see how the stores are received. However, if you go down this weekend for the official Grand Opening, one of the handouts is going to be a T-shirt with American Girl Vancouver on it. Also mention you would like to see store exclusives to the employees, preferably a supervisor, as from what I gathered from several employees, they are tracking the feedback so they know the areas to improve upon. <br />
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At the counter of the hair salon you will see the owner of the first doll sold in Vancouver. Below you will see the doll she bought, she took her promptly to the salon to have her hair done! They also do ear piercing in this store but no design your own t-shirt or Bistro or cafe unfortunately. <br />
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The floor staff in this new store are perfect! I enjoyed talking to them all. As there was not really anyone there except me and a couple of folks who wandered in, so there was lots of time to chat with the employees. They are young, bubbly, excited, enthusiastic and perfect representatives of the American Girl line in my opinion! There are friendly and eager to share what they have recently learned about the line of toys and their history. The supervisors are keeping a watchful eye and they also are very friendly and very interested to hear opinions on the line and any suggestions for going forward. It was a pleasure to meet them all and share opinions! <br />
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Isabelle is the girl of the year for 2014 and she is everywhere! I was very surprised to see how absolutely gorgeous she is in person! Photos do not do her justice. She is a really beautiful doll in person. My Jess who had come along to the store with me got in a photo with Isabelle below!<br />
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Isn't her cat Tutu cute? </div>
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The crazy doll lady....actually they were quite pleased to have an adult collector come in. </div>
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This is the Bitty area</div>
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The Bitty's! Lots and lots of Bitty's. Not all of their collection is here though. I was told that space issues are preventing everything from coming. <br />
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Jess had to sneak into this photo too!</div>
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Adorable beach set!</div>
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Don't worry about them running out..l have it on good authority that there is an incredible amount of stock in the back room...mountains of it, I was told!<br />
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So many cute scenes!</div>
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The bedroom set, they carry retainer braces set but I did not see any of the hair pieces. I saw the brush, the pick and one set of hair accessories but not the braided hairbands or any of that stuff. <br />
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This pink dress had to come home with me...it is pink!</div>
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I love the breakfast set!</div>
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This birthday set is really nice!</div>
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Coconut is so cute!</div>
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Isabelle's dress form</div>
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This is Isabelle's sewing studio, the sewing machine is just DARLING! And so is the dress form!<br />
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Jess and I had such a good time, Thanks American Girl!</div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-84544086052821692212014-02-09T22:17:00.001-08:002014-02-09T22:45:49.612-08:002014 Winter OlympicsThe 2014 Winter Olympics started on Friday in Sochi, Russia! As I watched the opening ceremonies on TV I couldn't help but remember 2010 when Vancouver hosted, our city hummed with an electric buzz from start to finish. I watched the residents of Russia celebrate being the host city, and the feelings came rushing back and I could feel their excitement! As of today Canada has earned 4 medals, 1 bronze, 2 silver and 1 gold! Go Canada! I think my most favorite part of the opening ceremonies was the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and the fireworks display! I thought they did a fabulous job with that performance!<br />
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-40747524431885039962014-01-03T23:50:00.000-08:002014-01-04T00:03:48.938-08:00American Girl IsabelleMerry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season and now I am hoping we are straight on to spring! It is no secret I am not a fan of the winter season and by now I am craving warm sunshine and flowers! <br />
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American Girl Isabelle Mini Doll:<br />
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American Girl dolls by the Mattel toy company have a special doll they call the "girl of the year" each year and for 2014 her name is Isabelle and she is a ballet dancer! A few months back she was available in her "mini" version for preorder on Amazon Canada (they didn't show a photo, you had to order by name only because the reveal each year is a big "event" for American girl both online at midnight central time January 1st and in their retail stores on the day of January 1st). As I had a gift card balance just sitting on Amazon begging to be used, I ordered her! It sounds as though all those who were fortunate to go to her unveiling in the stores had a wonderful time! Little girls in the target age group (8+) were given gift bags with a special Isabelle Tshirt and a sheet of paper dolls and there was also a craft station where they could color the outfits for the paper doll. Today at my house, "mini" Isabelle arrived and her 6 inch self has captivated me! I really wasn't expecting to like her much as they have used the classic face mold which has been used to death and hazel eyes yet again but I found that I really do love her! In her mini version her eyes really do look hazel colored, a lot of the pictures I have seen of the 18 inch doll online have her eyes looking more green rather than hazel but mini has hazel eyes. She also has the shocking pink under hair. The full size version has a hair piece that attaches with clips to add the bright pink hair but mini Isabelle has her pink hair rooted in with her lovely blonde hair. It is very cute! <br />
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She is wearing a coral colored T-shirt with a ballerina on it, silver metallic Capri type pants and shiny gold sparkly sling back shoes! I have viewed the 18 inch Isabelle and her collection online at the American Girl website and all the ballet outfits are really darling! They have done something a little different this time around and made most of the outfits mix and match rather than full outfits...we will see how this goes as I can see where they might add up to be more costly being packaged separately but on the plus side you can buy what you like and not take home the things you don't.... I have a feeling the target age group of American Girl's audience are just going to love this doll and all of her wardrobe! She will be around until December 31, 2014 or until she is sold out. I can't wait until the Vancouver store opens in the spring so I can go and see Isabelle and all her things in person!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-606057919155108252013-10-19T02:09:00.000-07:002013-10-19T02:12:49.313-07:00Thanksgiving Weekend - ROAD TRIP!!!After a very warm summer with many high temperatures that broke records for here, autumn is upon us! I was fortunate to be included on a fall road trip with my friends The Houben's. We set off early Friday morning of our long weekend for Thanksgiving for a awesome road trip to the grand daddy of all dollshows, the Crossroads doll show in Puyallup, Washington! I hadn't been to this show for many years and was very excited to be included! <br />
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We crossed over the Douglas border crossing at the Peace Arch and surprisingly didn't have too long a wait considering it was a holiday weekend!<br />
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We stopped a few times along the way but our first "big" stop was the American Girl store in Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington. <br />
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This was my second trip to the store. It is not a place I can get to on my own and I was very happy to be included in this trip so I could go back. I haven't been to the store in two years.<br />
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Molly and Emily are being archived from the American Girl collection this year. Molly was one of the original American Girl dolls when the company was owned by Pleasant Rowland prior to Mattel buying the company from her for a reported $700 million dollars in 1998. Pleasant Rowland founded the company in 1986 and it was known as the Pleasant Company. As of 2008, it is second in U.S. sales only to those of the Barbie doll!<br />
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This is Julie and Ivy with their very cute Volkswagen car that makes all kinds of realistic sounds!<br />
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The store is getting ready for Christmas and had several areas of wrapped packages that are all ready to just place under the tree!<br />
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This doll is the American girl of the year, Saige. She will be retired and unavailable as soon as her stock sells out or December 31, whichever occurs first!<br />
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These are the new faces of "Bitty Baby", the line was recently revamped and the price of these little cuties bounced way up!<br />
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More Christmas packages! The outfit shown on the dolls above is inside them!<br />
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Every year the company puts out holiday dresses and these are this years editions!<br />
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This is a darling Christmas baking set with a cute gingerbread house!<br />
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Of course girls need pets and here are a few available at the store and already wrapped for holiday gifting!<br />
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Here I am browsing the store...the outfits on the dolls are some of the latest editions to the line.<br />
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Mixed between the Christmas displays were a couple of Halloween displays, Aren't these outfits adorable?<br />
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Loretta went to the store to buy Caroline. It is much better to pick out your doll in person so you can see that the eyes align and that they have nice hair. This is the Caroline Loretta picked out, she is so cute!<br />
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We decided to eat in the bistro restaurant for our lunch. Having ate at the LA American girl a few times, we thought this would be as good...alas it didn't compare to LA. The food was only so so and rather sparse for the cost. <br />
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Robert was much smarter than us, he ordered from a menu and received "real" food that he said was good!<br />
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This is the lunch Loretta and I shared. It looks bigger in the picture than it actually was...lol...we were NOT impressed...<br />
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Our traditional photo outside the store before hitting the road and the incredible traffic heading to Tacoma. <br />
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The Seattle Space needle in the distance.<br />
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As we got closer to Tacoma, Robert got off the freeway to check which exit we would need to get to the hotel. There was so much traffic, he couldn't chance a mistake. Well, we ended up in the City of Fife and found this incredible antique store and of course had to browse a bit before they closed! It was huge, we didn't have a chance to see most of it as there was just so much to see!<br />
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Loretta loves buttons so this was the perfect booth for her to explore!<br />
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We saw lots and lots of antique and vintage dolls. This display of black dolls was gorgeous!<br />
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This little Shirley Temple was very cute also!</div>
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I took this picture for my friend Betty as she collects these vintage Santa's. I have a couple of very old ones also!<br />
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Another sign in the store. Lots to look at here!</div>
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We checked into the Comfort Inn in Tacoma, I had room 307 on the third floor and was quite comfortable as my room had all the comforts of home with a fridge, microwave, table and chairs, couch and bed. I made tea in the microwave the first night because I hadn't figured out where the hot water was in the lobby at that point. <br />
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This is the lobby and each morning there is a complimentary breakfast with lots of choices!</div>
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We didn't stay at the hotel long, though. After checking in we were soon off to The Black Angus restaurant. There used to be one in Bellingham and it closed so on our last trip down I was delighted to discover there was one not too far from our hotel. Robert and Loretta remembered it and we went there again this trip. It didn't disappoint, it was very good!<br />
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And here we are at the Puyallup Fairgrounds and the Crossroads doll show! We went in for the early bird entry....<br />
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This is Valnora, we know her from the bleuette Sewing Club on Yahoo and she recognized Loretta from the photos she has posted of herself in the past!<br />
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For some reason there were Shirley Temples everywhere at this show, many more than we usually see. Every size and type I think was represented at this show.<br />
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The antiques....they are so pretty to look at!</div>
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We visited Patti, (Pattikins) at her booth and viewed her lovely kits that you can purchase and sew for bleuette. Isn't this pretty? She said she cannot get the silk velvet she used for this kit as easily anymore and only has a couple of these kits left.<br />
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Another Bleuette kit above at Patti's booth and below is an embroidery machine design a lady working in the booth was busy applying to aprons and tote bags. <br />
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A bit of a view of the room...a small bit, the area is very large and half the room is to the right of where we are standing...we were there from opening to closing and I am not sure we saw everything there was to see!<br />
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More Bleuette and family!</div>
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I was so surprised to run across this booth as all the dolls were made by the maker of Madeline, Lois McCall. I loved the bleuette Gold on the left hand side. Although I said no more bleuettes, if I had had the money she would have come home with me, but alas She was rather expensive and so she remained there.</div>
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This is who I bought at the doll show. She is a retired girl of the year named Jess. I think she is darling! </div>
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After the doll show we ate dinner at Elmer's restaurant and Loretta and I had our Thanksgiving turkey, it was very good!<br />
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They had lovely fall harvest displays at the entrance to the restaurant.<br />
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Do I look tired? I was....but that didn't keep me out of the indoor pool that night...however I did forget to take a picture of it....<br />
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As we headed back north, somehow the car pulled into the Alderwood mall again...you didn't really think we would drive past the AG store and not stop again, right? <br />
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The autumn leaves all over were just fabulous!</div>
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Jess came to pose with the girl of the year, Saige for a photo.</div>
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And she just had to try out that car....</div>
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And she wanted to sit on this horse at the entrance to the mall but I figured i would break my neck getting her up there so just the horse in this shot....</div>
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Robert, our oh so patient driver, and Loretta at the Alderwood mall. </div>
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Hmm...just had to take another traditional shot outside the store...and no, those bags are an illusion...</div>
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On the way back we had a pit stop at a rest area and Robert wanted to have a bit of a rest so Loretta and I went for a lovely walk in the sunshine and what did we find?? A man selling cookies for charity set up at a counter at the rest stop...and his cookies were delicious!</div>
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These were taken on our little ramble around the rest stop...lololol</div>
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Home again, this is waiting in line to cross over the border. Again the line up wasn't too bad...but I heard on the radio later that day it was incredible! Good timing! We couldn't have picked a better weekend weather wise, it was lovely all weekend for us!<br />
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The flowers in Peace Arch Park. Their gardens are always so beautiful! Thank you Loretta for inviting me and thank you Robert for driving us and being so kind and patient and giving up your weekend for us! Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-70888318103052725022013-05-22T16:28:00.001-07:002013-05-22T17:24:07.970-07:00The City of New Westminster's 143rd Annual May Day celebrationAfter our lovely weather earlier this month, it was with great sadness that we watched the torrential rains come back just in time for May Day. In our city May Day has been a tradition for 143 years, my sons both participated all through their school years, from Royal Dancer to playing in the band for the ceremonies later in high school and everything in between! Today my granddaughter danced the folk dances in May Day as she is now in third grade. My friend Loretta and I were glad to see that although the skies were grey and threatening, it wasn't pouring so we went to Queens Park to watch May Day.. (If you click on the photos they will enlarge)<br />
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The May Day Programs are colored by several of the local elementary school and handed out on May Day. All of the children in the city in elementary and middle school arrive at the park either on buses or on foot if their school is nearby. The high school band students also attend and provide the music for the event. <br />
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This is the march into the stadium of the 2013 May Queen Suite and the retiring 2012 May Queen Suite. <br />
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Here the May Queen Suite is joined by the Royal Dancers. The Royal Dancers are the first grade class of the school that wins the draw to have the May Queen. When my youngest son was in first grade, their school won the draw for May Queen and he was a Royal Dancer...their school which is the same school my grandkids now attend, has never won the draw since then!<br />
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The is the Mayor of New Westminster giving the address of welcome and introducing the outgoing May Day Suite. </div>
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These are the photos of the field where the fourth grade children from all the schools in the city dance around the May Poles. Loretta counted 23 poles and there still wasn't enough, half way through the schools with larger populations traded out spots with the first sets of children. <br />
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My grandaughter Dakotah waiting for their turn to dance. Third grade dances folk dances. <br />
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Mackenzie and Summer led the third graders from our school onto the field to folk dance. </div>
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After May Day Loretta and I went to IHOP for lunch, it was a lovely end to the day and it didn't rain!!!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-68271101801664772242013-02-20T14:26:00.001-08:002013-02-20T15:16:57.800-08:00LAND OF OZ VALENTINE GIVEAWAY<br />
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Picture by Connie Zink</div>
Connie Zink at the Land Of Oz dolls recently had a Facebook giveaway for one of her fabulous handmade Bleuette friends doll! The doll featured in this giveaway was Cherie Limoge, and she stole my heart from the first pictures Connie posted! You gained entries into the draw by liking and sharing and commenting on her posts and photos of Cherie on Facebook, on Connie's blog <span lang="EN"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.landofozdolls.blogspot.com"><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN">www.landofozdolls.blogspot.com</span></span></span></u></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>and in her guest book on her website, <a href="http://www.landofozdolls2.com/page/page/5751144.htm">http://www.landofozdolls2.com/page/page/5751144.htm</a><br />
Isn't she just darling? Well I enter Connie's generous drawings for fabulous prizes whenever she has them and so do thousands of others! I never in a million years expected to win! With this giveaway, Cherie and her fabulous photos Connie posted kept drawing me back, and I shared and liked a lot! The draw was set to be drawn on Valentine's Day. I was browsing Facebook at the end of the day and noticed Connie's post earlier in the day that said that the draw was four hours away and I looked at the clock and thought to myself "she is drawing the name now!" A few seconds later a friend posted on Facebook that she knew Linda Pepa and it came to my email...I wondered why she had posted that so went to the post and it was Connie posting that I had WON beautiful Cherie!!! Oh my, my heart just about stopped and I couldn't believe that this gorgeous doll was coming to live with me!! I figured she would take forever to arrive but imagine my surprise when I opened the door this morning and the box from Connie was sitting on the doorstep! She mailed her priority and she came lightening fast! Thank you Canada Post!! LOLOL For once a package wasn't held forever in customs! I took a few photos of Cherie's arrival to share.<br />
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Emma Grace is so excited, she is wondering what can possibly be in this big box!</div>
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She is having a tough time getting this big bubble wrapped surprise out!</div>
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Almost out!</div>
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It's a new sister!</div>
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She is just beautiful!</div>
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Can you see her smiling? She is happy to be out of the box and into the warm house!</div>
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Thank you so much Connie for such a wonderful prize, I am just thrilled to have won and have beautiful Cherie come and live with me! I will close this post with another photo of Connie Zinks as she takes much better photos than I do and please stop by and visit her shop and see all the other beauties she has and watch for her next contest coming soon for Easter and maybe you too could win a beautiful doll by Connie Zink and Land of Oz dolls! Here is her website link again so you can go and have a look, <a href="http://www.landofozdolls2.com/page/page/5737046.htm">http://www.landofozdolls2.com/page/page/5737046.htm</a></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-17034173728949548282013-01-25T16:07:00.001-08:002013-01-25T16:07:40.160-08:00A IS FOR ANNABELLE CONTEST WIN!<strong></strong><br />
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<strong>In December I participated in a challenge on the Bleuette Sewing Group on Yahoo. The challenge for December was called A is for Annabelle and was to be based on the popular and ever so cute A is for Annabelle book by Tasha Tudor. It is an alphabet book but totally based on a doll's alphabet and Grandmothers antique doll and all the things that are in grandmother's doll's trunk. The illustrations are darling. </strong><br />
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I was totally shocked when our wonderful hostess for the challenge emailed me and told me I had won the grand prize! The grand prize was a gorgeous heirloom quality doll quilt made from reduced size blocks of all the letters in Annabelle's alphabet! The backing for the quilt is made from Tasha Tudor fabric and Annick Phillips made this wonderful prize and even signed the back!! We are just tickled pink to have won such a wonderful treasure! <br />
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Here are the girls receiving their wonderful surprise!</div>
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Here is Emmy tucked into bed for a nap with her new quilt!</div>
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The front and back of this lovely quilt! The back of the quilt is made from Tasha Tudor fabric! </div>
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Thanks so much Annick for such a wonderful contest and such a generous prize! I will remember this forever!</div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-76361315218930082322012-12-21T23:55:00.000-08:002012-12-21T23:55:06.607-08:00I WON!I enter a lot of contests. Usually I enter and then forget I even entered but a week or so ago I had a voice message left on my phone telling me I won a contest! I recently entered a contest for a book by Mike McCardell. Mike McCardell works for Global TV which is my favorite TV channel for local news. He is a reporter who does human interest pieces at the end of the news. He does stories on everyday regular folks who have caught his interest for one reason or another and they are always entertaining. His latest book is titled "Unlikely Love Stories" and proceeds will go to Variety Club, The Children's Charity. Thanks Global for a great prize, I can't wait to start reading it! Mike McCardell's blog is here <a href="http://www.globaltvbc.com/pages/blogs.aspx?blogid=357">http://www.globaltvbc.com/pages/blogs.aspx?blogid=357</a> if you would like to find out more about him or Global TV!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-4402289847993020592012-12-08T22:36:00.001-08:002012-12-09T00:42:51.798-08:00Our Christmas Movie Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today Loretta, Leona and I went downtown to see Anna Karenina, it was a different sort of movie but the sets were like those in a play, quite interesting to see on the big screen and the clothing the actresses wore was lovely. The scenery was lovely also. It was one of those movies that left me wanting to know more...I thought a lot of details were left out and now I want to figure some of it out so will have to do some research on it. <br />
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This is a matching game located underground somewhere....on the way to the skytrain (transit) we each had a try at it, I think Leona was the most intent on mastering it...lol...it was fun but we highly doubt anyone actually did it in the 22 seconds displayed on the "to beat" screen!!<br />
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I cannot get the pictures to line up right but we had dinner at Fat Burger and Loretta gave me a very lovely birthday gift, it is an American Girl sweater that I had greatly admired and you can only get it as a purchase with purchase in the store and I haven't been near a store for more than a year, so when she went to the store last weekend she got one for me for my birthday, I am thrilled to bits and love it! PS...thanks to Robert for taking Loretta back so we could each have one! Very sweet of him!<br />
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-11503091752189181192012-11-11T15:17:00.002-08:002012-11-11T15:17:44.811-08:00In Flanders Fields...lest we forget....<u><span style="color: #0066cc;">GreatWar 1914-1918</span></u><br />
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In Flanders Fields</h1>
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<img src="images/somme-battlefield-poppy-650.jpg" alt="Poppy photographed on the First World War battlefield of the Somme near the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing." title="Poppy photographed on the First World War battlefield of the Somme near the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing." />
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<img alt="Flanders Poppy on the First World War battlefields." src="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/images/poppies/combined-poppies-800.jpg" title="Flanders Poppy on the First World War battlefields." /></div>
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by John McCrae, May 1915</div>
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In Flanders fields the poppies blow<br /> Between the crosses, row on row,<br /> That mark our place; and in the sky<br /> The larks, still bravely singing, fly<br /> Scarce heard amid the guns below.</div>
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We are the Dead. Short days ago<br /> We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,<br /> Loved and were loved, and now we lie<br /> In Flanders fields.</div>
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Take up our quarrel with the foe:<br /> To you from failing hands we throw<br /> The torch; be yours to hold it high.<br /> If ye break faith with us who die<br /> We shall not sleep, though poppies grow<br /> In Flanders fields.</div>
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Inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”</h2>
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<table><caption>Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery. <sup>(1)</sup></caption><tbody>
<tr><td><img alt="Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (source: A Crown of Life)" class="photo" src="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/people/images/alexis-helmer-250.jpg" /></td></tr>
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During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2<sup>nd</sup> May, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and artillery commander <b>Major John McCrae.</b><br />
As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.<br />
For the story behind the inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”, see our page at: <br />
<a class="button" href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields-inspiration.htm">Inspiration for In Flanders Fields </a><h2>
Related Topics</h2>
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The Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy</h3>
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<table><caption> One of the first material poppies sold in aid of The Haig Fund . </caption><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm"><img alt="Haig Fund Poppy" class="photo" src="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/images/poppies/haig-fund-poppy-250.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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Also known as “The Poppy Lady” find out how this poem inspired the American teacher, Moina Belle Michael, to write a poem in response to “In Flanders Fields”. Discover how she and Frenchwoman Madame Anna Guérin, known as “The French Poppy Lady”, encouraged people to use the red Flanders poppy as a way of remembering those who had suffered in war, and how the Flanders Poppy became the symbol of remembrance that we know so well today:<br />
<a class="button" href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm">The Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy</a> <br />
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Essex Farm Advanced Dressing Station, Ypres</h3>
Find out more about the battlefield location where the poem is believed to have been composed on the evening of 2<sup>nd</sup> May 1915.<br />
<a class="button" href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/remains-bunkers-essex-farm-ads.htm">Essex Farm Advanced Dressing Station, Ypres Salient</a><br />
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<img alt="" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=thegreat19141-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1873376863" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></h2>
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Inspiration for The Poppy Umbrella</h2>
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<table><caption> Lieutenant Colonel Graham Parker, OBE, founder of The Poppy Umbrella in Ypres on 11<sup>th</sup> November 2008. </caption><tbody>
<tr><td><img alt="Lieutenant Colonel Graham Parker, OBE, founder of The Poppy Umbrella in Ypres on 11 November 2008." class="photo" src="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/umbrella/images/poppy-umbrella-ypres.jpg" /></td></tr>
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On 11<sup>th</sup> November 1995 Lieutenant Colonel Graham Parker, OBE was in Ypres (Ieper) to take part in the annual Armistice Day ceremonies. As he led The Poppy Parade to the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, there was a heavy rainstorm and the crowds lining the route began putting up umbrellas.<br />
The Armistice Day service at the Menin Gate Memorial that year was commemorating the 70th anniversary of the battles of 1915 in the Ypres Salient. Graham's thoughts turned to images of poppies growing among the graves as portrayed in the “<strong>In Flanders Fields</strong>” poem. The images of poppies on the old Flanders battlefields and the umbrellas on a wet November day in Ypres were Graham's inspiration for the Poppy Umbrella is not only a practical and imaginative way to help us “Remember” all through the year, but also helps to raise funds for ex-Service charities and good causes.<br />
<a class="button" href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/umbrella/poppy-umbrella.htm">The Poppy Umbrella</a><div class="acknowledgement">
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From the website: <a href="http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm">http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm</a></h3>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-82032346615764835042012-10-30T19:54:00.003-07:002012-10-30T19:54:42.614-07:00HAPPY HALLOWEEN!<div style="text-align: center;">
October has been an awful month around here with my dear Mom having had 4 more strokes, and each one leaves her more debilitated, she is stable for the moment so I thought I would quickly put up a Halloween post. Between crisis's I managed to attend a lovely Chatty Tea at my friend Loretta's (AKA Martha Stewart of the North). We had a lovely afternoon and once again she outdid herself with lovely decor, goodies and friendship. </div>
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The table was so beautifully set!</div>
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Loretta's Bleuettes, Zoe, Yvette Marie and Robinette were on hand and all dressed up for the occasion!</div>
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My Chatty's joined Loretta's Chatty and her darling American Girl on the side table.</div>
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Every picture has a story and this one is good, this is Leona, she has a darling hat on her head, blow up the picture big and you will see it better, attached to the hat is a cute tiny little doll, Leona thought Loretta had picked it up at the local dollar store...little did she know it is a hand made doll for Loretta's doll house that is very valuable....Leona was glad she hadn't sewn or stapled her onto the hat!</div>
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This is us at the table but alas, I don't have a picture of the hostess as she took this one...she later managed to program her camera to take a photo of all of us but I don't know how to do that on my camera so no picture of the one who did all the work...sigh<br />
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This is Loretta's Mom Susie, she is holding her very own childhood doll that now lives at Loretta's house...how neat is this? The doll looks brand new...</div>
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The Chatty on the left is Loretta's childhood doll Catherine that she received for Christmas when she was just 4 years old! The other two girls are my girls and one was from Ebay and the other I found on Craig's list recently. I bought both from their original owners, so the pigtail is Chatty Barb and the blonde on the right is Chatty Heather in honor of their original little mama's</div>
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And here is Robert, once again he arrived home to no dinner as we got carried away and time marched on much too quickly! He is relaxing with our tea party "Queen" Kelsie...Kelsie has her Halloween collar decoration on and is not terribly impressed by it...lol<br />
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Bella's New Apron:<br />
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This is my little Ruby Red Galleria resin Bleuette that I have named Bella. Today I made her a little apron for Halloween from an LSDS pattern at the Bleu Door pattern portal. This pattern is 1912, #33 and was quite simple to make. My concentration levels are not so good these days so simple and easy is about all I can handle. I was happy to finally be able to take a little time and sew something, I find I have missed it. </div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-58938717743351632262012-09-26T23:59:00.001-07:002012-09-26T23:59:19.190-07:00Getting Ready for Halloween!I see I have been very bad about blogging recently, that darned life keeps getting in the way, it is not that I have nothing to say but I just don't seem to get it said lately. Today I met Loretta at the mall and we browsed the stores and had fun looking at all kinds of neat Halloween stuff, from chocolate to aprons! We hope to get together more often in the future at the mall, we always seem to have a lot to talk about and the time goes by so quickly! <br />
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This display reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, I wish I had a big enough house to do displays like this...or maybe on second thought I don't, I don't need anything else to dust! I will just trek to the stores to look!<br />
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Darling aprons with cute sayings on them, I don't wear aprons but might just make an exception for one of these cute ones!<br />
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Very whimsical, not sure if they are witches or pumpkins or a combination of both but they sure are cute!<br />
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I am quite sure the picture below is of me....or not, she is smiling and that isn't me of late!<br />
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However...chocolate tends to make one smile...especially chocolate that looks like eyeballs, feeling quite ghoulish tonight I think:) The brown chocolate things are like peanut butter cups....Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory style...decadent.....don't ask how I know this....<br />
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Rocky Mountain makes the cutest candy apples and their front window is always a joy to browse to see what new concoctions they have come up with, and today was no exception! Click on the pictures and I think they will supersize and you can see them better!<br />
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Gobble, Gobble, it is getting close to turkey time in Canada as our Thanksgiving is October 8th this year....Rocky Mountain has designed some perfect chocolate treats to celebrate the occasion!<br />
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Ahhh....the last picture is the scariest of all....3 witches...boo!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-24819572692875478992012-07-01T17:20:00.001-07:002012-07-01T17:44:12.257-07:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA - 145 YEARS!<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy Birthday to Canada! I went to Burnaby Village Museum to celebrate Canada Day and had a lovely time! The museum has free admission all summer!</div>
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This is one of the several cakes that was served at 2:30 to the first 1500 people in the VERY long line that snaked everywhere!</div>
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One of the groups entertaining, this was a singing group and they were very nice to listen to!</div>
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Lunch time, num, bbq'd hotdogs and hamburgers were available to purchase and our hot dog was delicious!</div>
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Look very carefully...someone is standing on the fence!</div>
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Oh my, standing on a roof, what a view!</div>
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There was a parade and after all the people who participated gathered and there was a speech</div>
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Out front of the museum</div>
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The wind was blowing so hard the flag became her dress!</div>
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A very neat looking car in the parking lot</div>
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We started with the fabulous cake and we will end with another shot! Happy Canada Day Everyone!</div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-1097555622954637612012-06-04T21:58:00.000-07:002012-06-05T00:59:13.217-07:00A ROYAL TEA IN HONOR OF QUEEN ELIZABETH'S DIAMOND JUBILEEOur friend Isabelle invited Loretta and I to a Royal tea today in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. As we live in Canada, we are a commonwealth country so we like to celebrate occasions that are celebrated in Britain! Isabelle really knows how to throw a British style tea, she and her hubby phoned to order and then drove to the British tea shop in Chilliwack, BC and bought real, authentic British tea things including Devon-shire creme for the scones, and cheese tarts and sausage rolls. Loretta made a sponge cake from scratch and put it together once we got there layering fruit and whipped creme and sprinkling on icing sugar on the top then added a darling stand up cake decorating set she had ordered from the UK. It turned out wonderful! I took Scottish shortbread and Isabelle had made a delicious square and she had cookies as well...there was sooo much food!!<br />
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Isabelle has enough memorabilia to open a British museum, everywhere we looked she had more treasures out on display! She has books and magazines and spoon collections and plate collections and wonderful china, we ate on and had tea in 1939 Royal Albert china called “Loyalty” by Royal Albert, and which was made to commemorate the visit of their
Majesties, King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth in 1939.<br />
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Thanks Isabelle for being such a fabulous hostess! I had a wonderful time! I took my little Bleuette named Madeline along in her new "Royal" dress with sparkly pink crowns scattered over it, Loretta took her little resin Bleuette Robinette along with her new "Royal" dress on and they were happy to meet Isabelle's little Ada Matilda who was wearing a dress straight from England that Isabelle had a member of our Bleuette group make for her!<br />
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Some of Isabelle's collection of magazines and books on Royalty</div>
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Baby Diana, William and Kate and Baby William, a Royal spoon collection on the wall behind!</div>
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Isabelle's china she has collected through the years commemorating various Royal milestones. </div>
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Princess Diana plate collection (if you look really carefully or bring the picture up large, you will see Isabelle's Dionne Quintuplets on the first shelf behind the glass)</div>
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Whoops, Ada Matilda borrowed Princess Diana's crown for the occasion! But here is Princess Diana and her famous ring!</div>
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The train on this dress goes on for several feet! It is huge!</div>
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Baby Diana</div>
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Baby William</div>
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Assembling the sponge cake!</div>
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punching out the pieces for the cake decorating set!</div>
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TaaDaa! Loretta's Masterpiece!</div>
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The tea table, num</div>
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Isabelle, our gracious hostess!</div>
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The 1939 Royal Albert china!</div>
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Loretta, Isabelle and I</div>
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The Bleuettes clambering for a piece of cake! Loretta made the darling little British shopping bags so the girls can go shopping for treasures together!</div>
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Isabelle's Antiques, aren't they gorgeous? The one below is stunning, I loved her gorgeous face! Look at her fox stole around her neck! I remember my Gramma having a coat with something similar on it!<br />
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The doll room!</div>
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Isabelle's sweet little Bambino in her darling bed!</div>
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Isabelle gave us each this lovely paper doll set and the Bleuette's received a silver tea pot that was used to place seating cards!</div>
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The Royal commemorative tea tin I took to Isabelle for hosting and hoping she didn't already own it!<br />
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Isabelle has this darling bear on her door step to welcome you to her home, we later found out her hubby Walt is the craftsman who is making these darling greeters and he has quite a little home business going as people love the Bears!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-58234491756906662082012-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:002012-05-09T17:18:18.042-07:00MOM'S NEW HOME<span style="color: blue;">Last week I moved my Mom into a care home. She is transitioning well I think. There are lots of things for her to do and although she still complains she is bored, I think mostly it is a memory issue as she is participating in all kids of activities. Today I went to the Mother's Day tea. They encourage family members to take part in all these functions if they can. Next week there is a dinner social! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">A man named George Ellenton was the entertainer at today's tea and he imitates Frank Sinatra and does a very nice job of it, the patients all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the staff members were going around and encouraging them to get up and dance!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">This photo was at Happy Hour last Thursday, the home has Hilary on piano and vocals and another fellow with a guitar who also sings. They serve soft drinks and chips and candy and cheezies and pass out hand held instruments and the patients all sing along. Mom really enjoyed it!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: blue;">This is Mom's room. She has her own room and we went a bought a comfortable chair and TV and telephone so she has many of the comforts of home. Not quite the same but more choices than at the hospital she came from.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; color: cyan;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">When I arrived today, loaded down with bags and bundles of food as usual, I went to Mom's room and put everything away. (Since her stroke she is always hungry and goes through massive amounts of food in addition to all that is available to her there)I had also taken her roses for Mother's Day so got them into water and then went to hunt for her. I couldn't find her anywhere! I ran into Hilary the music coordinator who was also looking for her and the hunt began...we searched all over the second floor and no one had seen her...hmmm....as she hasn't mastered the key codes to get off the floor yet, we couldn't figure out where she could have gone....someone suggested we check the first floor just in case.....and look who we found...immersed in a game of Bingo with the other patients in the main floor games room....hmmm....I never would have guessed that one...I asked her if she wanted to go to the tea for Mother's Day or stay and play bingo and she decided to go to the tea. One of the many, many volunteers came and said she had brought her down to play and would play her card and if she won anything, would have it put on her account...I guess they have small cash prizes. She also said she would come and get her on Saturday to play again.... Yeah...this means she is doing activities and that is such a good thing for my peace of mind. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">This is a nonprofit society care home and they care for their patients using the Eden Alternative approach which addresses the three "plagues" of long term care, loneliness, helplessness and boredom. Each principal they use is developed to de-institutionalize care homes and to encourage a healthy human community for the elders living in long term care facilities. From what I have seen so far, their approach is very kind, supportive and caring and between the staff and the many volunteers, they are striving to make the lives of the elderly happy and give them a good quality of life in their later years.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> The Mother's Day Tea...that orange stuff was very "orange"....not quite sure what it was, a mousse of some kind I think. Then they had chocolate covered strawberries and of course tea!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> Behind the balloons is the entertainer George Ellenton, he did a fabulous job and he also had a great sense of humor...not sure if all the patients got his jokes but the family members in attendance did.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> This sweetheart of a lady is Marivic and she is wonderful. She gets the patients up and moving and she is full of bubbling energy. She always has a smile for them all and everyone loves her.She is also very encouraging to family members, she listens well and welcomes hints that help her to get the patient involved and active. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Mom enjoyed her dance! I hung out with her a little longer then left as they were getting ready to have their dinner in the dining room</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">! </span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-17872604993992187472012-04-15T00:37:00.000-07:002012-04-15T00:37:24.965-07:00SPRING HAS SPRUNG....I hope!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKtjrd6P7EE/T4p5gmamdSI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/wDUWF0UIZmQ/s1600/chatty+in+the+garden+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKtjrd6P7EE/T4p5gmamdSI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/wDUWF0UIZmQ/s320/chatty+in+the+garden+012.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: blue;">We seem to have had the winter that just never quits or ends once again this year. It wasn't especially cold or snowy just rain, wet and darned chilly and damp most of the time. Lately though ,the sun has been coming out now and then and this last few days have even brought a few warm days...well...for us warmish.... Today before my weekly trip to take my Mom from the hospital out on a outing I took one of my Chatty Cathy's out in the yard as my daffodils are in full bloom and my purple azalea's are as well and you just never know when the rain will come pouring down and wash all the blossoms away! I just love the purple azaleas. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">Many, many years ago hubby was building a stone fortress around a prominent home and the landscapers working on the property were busy pulling out and cutting down all of the foliage so the stone walls could go up. They threw all the rhododendron and azaleas on the pile to go to recycling so hubby asked if he could take them. They were in pretty sad shape at that point having been dug up by the backhoe and sitting on a rubbish pile for days. Anyways, he brought them home and for lack of a better place at the time, planted them in the middle of the backyard. We didn't know if they would live or not but they did and now they are big and strong and have the prettiest flowers every spring!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d8xElSVAkhs/T4p5vdMojKI/AAAAAAAAC2g/-IbWNsDNqgI/s1600/chatty+in+the+garden+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d8xElSVAkhs/T4p5vdMojKI/AAAAAAAAC2g/-IbWNsDNqgI/s320/chatty+in+the+garden+008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eDz7QafKNms/T4p6AGbXMnI/AAAAAAAAC2o/eZ5SA0HF2Ko/s1600/chatty+in+the+garden+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eDz7QafKNms/T4p6AGbXMnI/AAAAAAAAC2o/eZ5SA0HF2Ko/s320/chatty+in+the+garden+011.JPG" width="240" /></a></div></span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2144964826466422607.post-39417310391641575112012-04-01T02:14:00.000-07:002012-04-01T02:14:14.387-07:00APRIL BIRTHDAY'S MOM AND ANA!We were invited to Ana's third birthday party today. She will turn 3 on April 4 and my Mom, her Gramma will turn 86 on the same day. It was a fun party and Mom enjoyed being invited and getting out of the hospital to go there. Ana's birthday had a darling Hello Kitty theme!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ptmkBo3KqIY/T3fLItrgGUI/AAAAAAAAC1A/bzPeBWvJa0M/s1600/Ana%2527s%2Bbirthday%2B036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ptmkBo3KqIY/T3fLItrgGUI/AAAAAAAAC1A/bzPeBWvJa0M/s320/Ana%2527s%2Bbirthday%2B036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uBY3GHgp2A/T3gXaet3VVI/AAAAAAAAC1I/r7Olmj3b_RU/s1600/Ana's+birthday+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uBY3GHgp2A/T3gXaet3VVI/AAAAAAAAC1I/r7Olmj3b_RU/s320/Ana's+birthday+020.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The birthday girls!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-brvnsvuzrzI/T3gXn1NBjsI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/syJSfMR5XCA/s1600/Ana's+birthday+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-brvnsvuzrzI/T3gXn1NBjsI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/syJSfMR5XCA/s320/Ana's+birthday+023.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> Ana wanted Gramma to wear a party hat like hers and Gramma was a good sport and wore one too!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qn9w2sJDGo/T3gX0QQMZfI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/0DewXgZrwJc/s1600/Ana's+birthday+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3qn9w2sJDGo/T3gX0QQMZfI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/0DewXgZrwJc/s320/Ana's+birthday+028.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My Little Pony was a hit!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3-voKgVEuDg/T3gYBmqzdDI/AAAAAAAAC1g/DmErhSBAObo/s1600/Ana's+birthday+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3-voKgVEuDg/T3gYBmqzdDI/AAAAAAAAC1g/DmErhSBAObo/s320/Ana's+birthday+041.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Hello Kitty Cake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c481qkZ_QL8/T3gYkPUHoWI/AAAAAAAAC14/FnOjywJjJuQ/s1600/Ana's+birthday+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c481qkZ_QL8/T3gYkPUHoWI/AAAAAAAAC14/FnOjywJjJuQ/s320/Ana's+birthday+046.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ana's birthday bear, she liked the "Today's Your birthday" song it played much better than the traditional singing of Happy Birthday to You...LOL..and the red flashing Happy Birthday sign was another of her favorite things. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtg2x5bSDfk/T3gYuXZU_FI/AAAAAAAAC2A/vLQWscGuSBA/s1600/Ana's+birthday+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtg2x5bSDfk/T3gYuXZU_FI/AAAAAAAAC2A/vLQWscGuSBA/s320/Ana's+birthday+050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Gramma and Ana trying to get one of her presents out of the packaging...so much packaging on kids stuff these days. Ana is a girly girl and always has the cutest little outfits on!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbhjsx9g7e0/T3gZQAA6RaI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/AKOWL9DyMWI/s1600/Ana's+birthday+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbhjsx9g7e0/T3gZQAA6RaI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/AKOWL9DyMWI/s320/Ana's+birthday+027.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3jrprIgZ1M/T3gYYkgJifI/AAAAAAAAC1w/T7d2sKtRK1o/s1600/Ana's+birthday+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3jrprIgZ1M/T3gYYkgJifI/AAAAAAAAC1w/T7d2sKtRK1o/s320/Ana's+birthday+049.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Even better than eating the cake is making mud pie out of the left over remnants of it! It was a delicious ice cream cake!</div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15281913239082529727noreply@blogger.com0