First 'official' day of Spring in Canada!!

It's true Spring is here! At least according to the radio station this morning as I was drinking my early morning cup of tea. Of course this date does not have anything to do with the weather and I don't think we will see a daffodil or even a crocus for a few weeks yet in Nova Scotia, though I will keep my eyes peeled and shall try to have my camera at the ready :)

Archie is perky though and so keen to get outside and investigate as the patches of grass gradually get bigger as the snow melts away.

Here comes the green grass!!

It is now light when we have breakfast and the girls are enjoying a few days off school on March break.

Jemma is, as of yesterday, properly registered at St Mary's University and will be studying for a Science Degree as well as introductory Japanese, a huge passion of hers for quite a few years now. She is so excited at the prospect of living in the City, being independent and going to Uni.

For the past couple of weeks I have been a little pre-occupied with my own health. Born with a rare genetic liver condition 'Glycogen Storage Disease' Back in the 60's and 70's not much was known about the disease and after being diagnosed at 18 months old the Doctors at that time could offer no help or treatment and my Mum was told that I wasn't likely to make it past 10 years old! I was monitored up to the age of 11 when we moved to Norway. Since then I never managed to find a Doctor who was interested and coped with the symptoms by myself by carefully watching my diet. Just a few weeks ago I had a slightly worrying routine blood test and decided to 'google' GSD out of curiosity and was amazed to find a number of people on line with this rare condition. I have joined GSDlife as well as a group on facebook, for people with type 3. I have been intrigued and uplifted by the stories I have read and the support available. Babies are now being treated 'properly' with cornstarch and there is on going research being done to help the younger generation. This is such wonderful news and something that I just had to mention this week. There is still no cure, but hopefully in time there will be.

Not only is it Spring but I also have a Saturday off work tomorrow so am taking the girls on a long overdue visit to the Mall. We may have a nice bit of girly time checking out the new Spring fashions. It will be nice to see some pretty pastel shades in the stores again in anticipation of those milder days to come.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)

Hazel x

Flurries in February

The last couple of weeks haven't been very news worthy, so I didn't update my blog last weekend as there wasn't very much to report really. The snow flurries are still hanging in there, with the occasional wild storm keeping the kids home from school and the buses off the roads for safety. Most of us still make our way into work, for me that means greeting the few and far between customers with a friendly smile, some chit chat and offer of a hot cup of tea or coffee on the house :) Just one more week before the Wheaton's cafe re-opens and things get busy again.

St. Valentines day came and went and Craig surprised me with a bottle of my favourite perfume 'Angel', secretly bought on his business trip to Atlanta, he was going to wait until my birthday, but decided it was more appropriate for the 14th instead, very observent of him to notice that there was just a smidgen remaining in my current bottle! We joined our friends Greg and Tina for a lovely lunch while Jemma and Amber spent the afternoon with their boyfriends' and were each presented with dinner, flowers and chocolates. The girls were walking on air when they came home and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the evening :)

Earlier this week Jemma booked a tour of St Mary's University in Halifax, which is likely to be the University she will attend later this year. It was an in-service day at high school so Amber and Takuto came along too. Takuto is hoping to be accepted at St.Mary's as an International student.

Takuto puts a protective arm around Jemma

I liked that all the buildings on campus are linked by walkways, so there is no need to actually go outside during the winter months except to the gymnasium. We all followed the guide as he almost sprinted through each department, up and down stairs, it was quite exhausting! We ended the tour by having a quick peek at the rooms in residence. 'Compact' is the word that springs to mind, with barely enough space to swing a cat (not that you would want to), but I guess that's all a student needs, a place to sleep and study away from the hustle and bustle of hectic student life. I got ever so slightly choked up at the thought of my little Jem moving into her own place in the big City, but she will soon be 18 and it's time to let loose those apron strings a bit. On exiting the University the predicted snow storm had hit hard and fast with a good 20cm's of snow now covering the ground. It was a very slow and careful drive home on the yet to be ploughed highway. The journey home took almost twice as long as usual but we made it safely and got the fire going in time for dinner.

Hazel x