Early Bird!

I am awake at a ridiculously early hour of 5.30am this morning and on a Saturday too! I should probably dispense with an alarm clock as I always wake up before it goes off. I have been a 'morning' person for as long as I can remember (take after my Grandad). Today promises to be a warm and sunny, so I want to make the most of every hour.
This week my hubby has been working in Weymouth, about a 2 hour drive south, helping on a building project. He came home yesterday feeling exhausted but enjoyed the lakeside cottage renovation. He is going back again during week days for the coming few weeks ahead. He has certainly left behind his corporate accountant image in England and is much more of a 'hands on' guy now, preferring manual labour to sitting at a computer all day processing numbers.
I have been holding the fort back home, tending to the veggies (heaven forbid they should die whilst Craig is away!) The strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber plants are all thriving, sadly the courgette plants do look a bit sick :( Also watering the newly planted grass and all the pansies and lobelie in pots and baskets. The bed of white and pink peonies will soon be in bloom (one of my favourite flowers), I look forward to having them displayed in a jug on the dining room table. Oh and the lilac bush is happy too :D
Amber had 3 friends come home with her on the school bus yesterday, so I had 4 'Giggling Gerties' to feed and keep an eye on. They were very happy as they had just found out that they will all be in the same class at school in September for grade 8, their final year at middle school, before going on to high school. They had lots of fun running up in the orchard, dancing barefoot in the empty barn and demolishing a huge dish of macaroni cheese and a bowl of salad, followed by walnut and maple ice cream.

The new lawnmower tractor arrives today! Believe it or not this is actually an 'exciting' prospect. Our old one came with the property and was a bit tired, sluggish and beige. We managed to get a good second hand price for it and have ordered a new model in fire engine red with a wider cutting width. As I will be doing most of the mowing this year I am looking forward to it's arrival and driving it up and down the field whilst listening to my i-pod sounds :D
I am a regular reader of Posy's blog. She mentioned a book called 'The Magic Apple Tree' by Susan Hill in one of her recent posts. My friend Keriann in New Zealand told me that it is also one of her favourite books. Curiosity led me to order a copy on e-bay and I have started reading it already. Yesterday I read aloud to Jemma as we sat under a Maple tree in the garden. So beautifully written, just hope it doesn't make me too homesick for England. So far much of it applies to the seasons here in Nova Scotia also. Saving this to 'draft' for a few hours...
It's now 8pm and the computer is free! My yard sale jaunt this morning was fruitfull, Jemma came along too. We found an old wooden desk for $3, in need of painting, a world globe (for the study), another chair for just $1, also in need of a coat of paint and some blue striped cotton ticking fabric. I am usually lucky when I have Jemma with me :)
Hazelx