Maggie Has Gone On Vacation

GOD'S COUNTRY



















TWO MINUTES FROM MY HOME

I'm going on holiday tomorrow folks, I guess you know where from my pictures.
I'm very excited, as I've been housebound for the past couple of months. Rosey is going also which is even more wonderful. I'll "talk" to you all later when I get back.
In the meantime, be good to yourself, and I will be thinking of you all while I'm away.

Love Maggie.

What's Your Opinion??

Mr. Gay Europe 2008
Posted: 07/11/08 4:09PM

"Mr. Gay Europe" is a beauty contest with participants from twenty nations competing for the title of the most attractive gay man of the continent. Find out who wore home the crown.

And the Winner is.........

Spain's Antonio Pedro Almijez
















I don't know about you but I've seen a lot cuter guys than him.
He must have a hot body that we haven't been privy too!!!

¿Cuál es la creteria para este concurso?

Lemuel Got Me Thinking

To some it is The Lakeview House, but to me it is my grandparents house where I had some of most wonderful memories. When I was so cold from toboganning or ice skating, or just cold from the walk to school. My grandmother would take off our wet clothes and hang them on the stove oven to dry out. This was when she would bake us molasses cookies, help her dye her hair to a magnificent blue. Roll her makings(cigarettes) for her at the tender age of eight. Watch as she put on her make-up by her bed.(that was when rouge came in a bottle). I'll never forget the time when I wanted pierced earings. I walked around all day with clothes pins on my ears to numb them and then when my mom went to put a needle in my ear, I fainted.

Then my nana brought out the cure for all evils...... Pearl Brandy. She also gave me that when I got the measles. They(my grandparents) had a fireplace in their bedroom, and I don't know how old I was (VERY young) and one night when I sleeping over, I found her walking around with her housecoat on fire. I was young but knew I had to put it out. I wrapped her in a blanket from the bed.
When my father, grandmother and grandfather all died in the same year, it was too much for my mother and she sold the old house! We were kids and had no say.











Here is what became of it.....

Description of Property:

Located in Big Pond, Nova Scotia, "Lakeview House" is a two-and-one-half storey, three bay façade, Gothic Revival style building. It was built in 1882, as a residence and inn. It is located on East Bay Highway beside the entrance to the Loch Lomond Road overlooking the Bras d' Or Lake in the village of Big Pond. Both the building and surrounding property are included in the municipal designation.

Heritage Value:

The heritage value of Lakeview House, as recognised in its municipal designation, is in its age; Gothic Revival style; and its associations with merchant, Allan Morrison.The house was built in 1882 by prominent Big Pond merchant Allan Morrison, who lived there with his family and operated it as an inn. It also served as a state coach stop, where passengers were picked up and dropped off, and where drivers could change their horse teams. The house is a good example of the Gothic Revival style in Cape Breton and one of the older buildings in Big Pond. Lakeview House retains its many of its original Gothic Revival elements including, a gable roof with central cross gable dormer with pointed window and hood cornice. The house also retains many original interior elements, inlcuding decorative elements, doors and floors. Source: CBRM Heritage Property Files: H 2.

Character Defining Elements:

Character-defining elements of Lakeview House include:- two-and-one half stories;- symmetrical design;- three bay facade;- all elements of the Gothic Revival style including, gable roof with central cross gable dormer with pointed window and hood cornice molding and surrounding trim, central doorway, two-over-two double hung windows with hood cornice molding and surrounding trim; - shingle cladding;- central low slope roof entrance porch with lower paneling and four-over-four windows;- location on the East Bay Highway, beside the Loch Lomond Road overlooking the Bras d' Or Lake;- rubble stone foundation.Character-defining elements original to the interior of Lakeview House include:- basic structure and layout of center hall plan;- plaster walls;- plaster crown moldings;- central varnished staircase rising two stories;- doors and trim;- hardwood and softwood floors;- slate fireplace mantle.

I miss it very much!!

MAGGIE'S MEME

This is going to be a postive meme that I made up because I think everyone needs to realize what's important in their life.

The Meme is........name five things that you love in your life and why. Here goes........

1. My Daughter Natalie.
I love her more than life itself. I never wanted to have another child because I would have to share that love. Sounds weird? That love is reciprocated ten times over.
Unconditional love, there's nothing like it in this world.

2. My Family.
My family is reserved but when the chips are down, they are there for me. I have always been the wild child, but if ever I needed them, they were there. I am an independent person but with my past surgery I have had to ask for help. They were there for me night and day.

3. Rosey.
This little girl has gotten me through a difficult period in my life. My surgery, the trauma I went through before I had it, and the recovery. To hear her quiet?? snoring in the night, gives me peace that I am not alone. (To those who don't know , Rosey is my darling pug).

4. My New Apartment
I LOVE IT!!!! It's downtown, cosy and gorgeous. I live on the eight floor and have a fantastic view. I also mingle with the other tenants on the elevator or walking their dogs. This is very good for me as my tendency to be a recluse was not healthy for me and my depression.

5. My New Hip
OMG, this has given me a new lease on life. I can walk normally and without pain (although I still use one crutch for now). No one and I mean NO ONE can know what this is like unless they have gone through it themselves.


No one has to do this meme but I would dearly like to know what my blog friends love in their life.

E-BAY

E-bay can be what you make out of it. You get good/bad sellers and good/bad buyers.
I have always had a good experience with my shopping, maybe because I check out the seller's rep or maybe I've just been lucky.

After my surgery, I wanted to buy the surgeons a token of my appreciation. Nothing big just a thank you gift. I had my first post-op appointment yesterday and it went very well. I can go with a cane or one crutch now. I chose the crutch because the cane has so many bad memories for me.
One doctor said that the x-ray taken that day was a text book picture. Meaning that the implant was exactly how it was supposed to be. AKA I was in good shape!

The gift that I decided to give them was scrub hats. (What do you give a surgeon?)

I went on e-bay and found a site that had personalized scrub hats. I chose ones that I thought would fit each ones personality or hobbies. ( I checked with their secretaries )

Here is the final e-mail communication between the e-bay seller and myself...............

(Me)
Hi Vicki,
I received your hats yesterday just when I got home from my check-up with the orthopedic surgeon. Isn't that always the way. It gives me another chance to see him and his partners-in-crime again, so that's a good thing. They were wonderful to me and I love them for what they did for me......help me walk again!!

Anyhow, the real reason I'm writing is to thank you so much for the quick delivery and the hats. They are FANTASTIC!!! The workmanship and the stitching is beautiful.

I'm going to comment on E-bay but I just wanted you to know personnally how pleased I am. So pleased that I thnk I'm going to have to marry a surgeon.

Warm Regards,
Maggie

PS I kept the pug hat for myself of course.


(This was her response to me)
Maggie, I love you and don't even know you! What a nice way to start my day today! It was a pleasure doing business with you! Please let know if your surgeon enjoys his hats.
Take care, Hovi

Her e-mail started my day off in a great mood also.

I really don't know where I'm going with this except to say, be nice to people and they will be nice to you. Win win situation!! :-)

''EXTRA! Extra! Read all about it!''

Remember that cry from those old movies in which scrappy urban newsboys held up papers with screaming headlines?

Well, have I got news for you............

I'm gonna be a Grandma.........My Baby is having a Baby!!!!!!!

She called me yesterday morning at 5:00 a.m. her time. The stick was POSTIVE!

I have been waiting for this day. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want her to be a pregnant teenager.

She was so sweet, she said that I will be a beautiful, young grandmother and that people will think that the baby is mine. I'm so excited that I want to yell it out to the whole world, but I'm settling for telling everyone I know.

Also, guess when the baby is due? February 26, which is my mom's birthday!
How cool is that?

That's all for now, but you know there will be more over the next few months!!

Onward & Upward, It's All Uphill From Hereon In....

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted!
I also believe I WAS a whiner when I did.

I also remember that after my lengthy hiatus, I promised that I would only post about positive things. I broke that promise almost immediately for which I'm truly sorry.

While I was wallowing in self pity about being bored, that is not necessarily true. I have so much to be grateful for, that I should kiss the ground I am able to walk on, thanks to my surgery. I just have to have one more surgery on my right hip but that will be in a year or so.
They still have no idea why or how my hips got so damaged at such an early age. It usually happens to athletes but I can't claim that I'm afraid.

Since I have last talked to you, I have gone out to dinner with two wonderful people that I admire tremendously. I also went out to lunch yesterday with a great gal. And I have a number of invitations from others that I am looking forward to keeping.

I never accepted invitations in the past when I was well. Don't ask me why, I don't know for sure. Or do I? Actually, I think I do. I didn't want to get close to people or have the responsibility of keeping one. [ dinner date] Does that make sense to anyone?
None of these invitations are with straight men, that will happen in time I hope. If for no other reason than putting my toes in the water to test the temperature. :-)

I live in a great apartment on the eight floor which has a fantastic view. Downtown is my backyard. Even on crutches I can go and do some light shopping and just enjoy being alive on a beautiful day.
Talk about shopping!! I was out today and had a bag in each hand while still manoeuvring on my crutches when this man came up to me and asked me if I could spare some change.
I said, "Are you for real"?
You had to see me to understand why I responded like I did.
I had a hard time walking with my parcels, nevermind go digging for change.

On that note I wish you all a great weekend and happiness galore,
Maggie

PS One very important thing I neglected to mention was how wonderful My Rosey is.
She has been a Godsend for me. The unconditional love and devotion I get from her, has a healing power that doesn't come in a bottle. I owe a lot of my recovery to her.