February 2011

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Being a bit of a Sunny Spite myself, I find that more and more, I'm thinking of spring. I'm enjoying our faux winter (not the snow or cold weather that we're used to), and I'm fine with waiting it out. Remember, I've only just begun to walk outside where the air can bring color to my cheeks and I can happily return home to hot chocolate and furry slippers. But my mind keeps drifting ..................
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So many bloggers are drifting into spring with me. So, when I was at the local grocery store this weekend, I had to buy these gorgeous little fellows. .
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Did you know that February is one of the most favorite months? Probably because it's the shortest month. But I just found out that February is chock-a-block full of great bizarre, crazy, silly, unknown holidays and observances (http://www.brownielocks.com/february.html). Such as:

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• American Heart Month (I'll be eating chocolate hearts to celebrate this)
  Avocado and Banana Month (No problem there; I love them both)
• International Boost Self-Esteem Month (Every day I will look in the mirror and remind myself of how much God loves me)
• International Hoof-Care Month (I shall give myself more pedicures)
• National Laugh-Friendly Month (Just an excuse to laugh more and louder)
• Spunky Old Broads Month (I'm fairly well practiced in this one, so coming up with something extra spunky to celebrate will take extra deep thought! Should I chase more old men? Drink more brandy while sitting on the curb in my purple dress and red hat? Take up farting in public? Hmmmm?).

Then there are the weekly observances, such as:

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• Children's Authors & Illustrators Week: 1-7 (I adore children's books, such as "Red is Best")
• Dump your Significant Jerk Week: 6-12 (Already did that 12 years ago!)
• International Flirting Week: 13-19 (Should I combine that with the chasing old men I mentioned above?)
• National Secondhand Wardrobe Week: 13-19 (A favorite observance I partake of 12 mon of the year)
• National Condom Week: 14-21 (Combine with chasing old men??)
• Texas Cowboy Poetry Week: 25-27 (Now we know what lonely cowboys do around the campfire at night -- contrary to Brokeback Mountain.)
  
  

There are so many more. But I've been too long-winded already. Still, I wouldn't feel right closing without telling you about this one daily observance. And I do this to warn you or encourage you -- your choice.

Yes, tomorrow - February 1st is:

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• Freedom Day
• Hula in the Coola Day
• Spunky Old Broads Day
• Working Naked Day

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Although these observances can ALL work together, I won't be partaking of the Working Naked Day. I hate having to repeatedly move dangly things off my keyboard while working; it just slows down my productivity!

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Pink Saturday Jan 29.11

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Pink Saturday has dawned bright and sunny and temperate (-1 deg celcius) for this end of January 2011. Ahhhhh! What a balm for the soul is sunshine on a winter's day! Look at how the sunlight plays on this pink tulip blossom and the beautiful textures it reveals.

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For those of you who have signed on for the Macro Linky Party at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures, (http://tracys-trinkets-treasures.blogspot.com/ ) you can stop reading now. That was it -- my beautiful tulip macro shot. But if you're interested in wonderful thrifting finds, you can keep reading. And if you want an introduction to the joys that February has to bring, check out my next post.

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Pink Thrifting? Well, here's the new-to-me brown 3/4 length coat I bought from Value Village at Xmas for $14.95 -- buttons all re-attached firmly, cleaned and brushed down, and sporting my pretty new pink broach from Frenchies for $3.50.

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Here's some gorgeous detail on the broach. It was such a good find!.

And I'll wear this thrift store scarf with it. I love the colors and the pattern..
It's a great day for a stroll through Mahone Bay and perhaps a stop at The Biscuit Eater for a latte (and boot shopping at The Trading Post?).
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And later, I may snuggle on the couch soaking in the warmth of the sunshine with this pink purchase:.

I'm also going to check out the other blogs that reference Pink Saturday - January 29, 2011. Fashion experts say that "pink" is the new black for this season!

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Hope your weekend finds you in the pink.

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I'm yelling TGIF. Soooooo glad it's the weekend.

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And today, I'm joining Janet and friends at Friday Fill-Ins. Here we go!

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1. Up and off to work until noon; then I meet my gal pals for lunch at The Wildwood Cafe -- my favorite place in town to eat.

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2. I have 3 sets of books to close! So, these days at work, my head is usually spinning from all those figures going around & around & around in my brain.
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3. Coats and scarves, mittens and boots: the smart choice for today.

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4. While cleaning & organizing lately, I came across a misplaced gift certificate for a nice back rub. Lucky me!

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5. I'm thinking about lunch -- which will include a foamy chai latte and some Mexican food.

6. This Sunday I'll be saying goodbye to my international students. So tonight will be a special family dinner with all their favorite foods: chicken, broccoli, and this ..........

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Happy Weekend everyone!

Thrifty Thursday Jan 27.11

My leg is healing so well; I've been walking without the aid of crutches or a cane for 3 weeks now; and although I'm pretty slow, the more I walk, the stronger my leg becomes.

So, I feel it's only part of my health regime to go thrifting. A little exercise; a little hand-eye coordination practice.

• I picked up this beautiful broach at Frenchies - $3.50 as you can see; and it looks beautiful on my new brown coat (which I've yet to show you).


• You know how I love a pretty glass; these 2 were $1 each. You can't see it, but there's lovely yellow swirl in the blue.


• A cute cotton gingham tea cloth for $1.00.


• And let's not leave the big box stores out of the thrifting equation. I visited my local WalMart on Friday (which I seldom do) and found this great addition for my bedroom. The glass covering the photo section had slipped out of place which is the only thing wrong with it and the only reason I could see for a reduction in price. The price? $5.00

Thanks Leigh at Bloggeritaville for hosting Thrifty Thursday each week. Now, let's all check out the other thrifty buys at

Tales from Bloggeritaville.

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Home-Stay Weekend

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My weekend?
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• Two batches of granola - a small batch of gingerbread granola and a gorgeous, so delicious large batch of regular granola with coconut, mixed chopped nuts, raisins & cranberries

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• Obliterating that huge basket of mending as well as taking up almost every pair of pants that I own..

Steady work like that needed the proper environment: a comfy couch to sit on, a bright light, entertainment, food at the ready and R 'n' R for the last hour or so before bedtime.
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What do I have to show for it on Sunday evening?

• Buttons on 3 coats and the mending of 3 blouses, 3 skirts, 1 sweater, 7 pr of pants & 2 pr of jeans
• One empty wine bottle
• One empty Chili Mac casserole dish & several slices of garlic toast
• A little less glorious granola
• 4 TV movies (ranging from "Eh eh!" to "Really good!"), several cooking shows and Project Runway
• One slight callus on pointer finger and many, many needle holes on middle finger (but thankfully, no blood stains)
• Pretty toenail polish
• A HUGE SATISFIED SMILE!

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A most glorious weekend. Simple and glorious! Nothing happened. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't entertain. I was simply ... at home.
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Thrifty Finds for Jan 20.11

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It's Thursday; so time to join Thrifty Thursday over at Tales From Bloggeritaville. What did I find this week?
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• Two pairs of gloves. A girl can never have too many pairs at this time of year.

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• Two new journals: one for my brother-in-law (the golfing nut) and one probably for me (a regular nut).

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• A beautiful shear, black beaded scarf; at $1.85, a much better price than the $20 one I looked at earlier in the week and just as pretty.
  
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• A small 8" dia glass pie plate for 50 cents; perfect for those little bits of pie dough that are left over. (And maybe I won't even share it! I mean, what's an 8" pie? Single serving, right?)

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• And, saving the best for last, these gorgeous red flats. If I have to give up my heels, then I wanna go in style. I found these Clark Artisan shoes in pristine condition; if I bought them new, they'd cost me in the vicinity of $60-$80. My price = $4.00 (and the dear old lady at The Daisy almost apologized for it!)

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I love it when the Thrifting Gods smile on me!

Rednesday around my Bedroom

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It's Wednesday which means that I'm joining Sue for Rednesday.

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Last weekend when I tidied my bedroom, I found this Christmas star. I certainly wasn't going to dig out the Xmas boxes to put it away; so it now decorates my bedroom lamp.

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I also found a beautiful pair of red flats last week. Red shoes make me feel like a little girl: "I like red because red is best!" (Did you ever read that children's book? Wonderful!).

And my last red item is a lovely home-made calendar sent to me by my pen-pal in Oregon; she took all the photos herself. Gorgeous!
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Sue hosts this party every week at It's A Very Cherry World, and it's always full of wonderful red treasures. Stop by and get a dose of "WOW" in your January winter day.

FOOD LOVE!

I love food!

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My Mom taught me to cook when I was about 13 yr old, so I've had lots of practice. I had a lover and a husband who was a cooking encourager and my biggest fan for 20 years. I love watching cooking shows on TV and learning about the chemistry of cooking as well as new recipes. And I love to read cookbooks: as I recite the list of ingredients (sometimes excitedly out loud), my brain automatically mixes the flavors together, and I begin to salivate just thinking of how they would taste.

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Just like food, people come in many different colors, shapes and sizes. (They also come in different smells ..... but let's not go there today!) Also, just like food, color, shape and size DO NOT dictate the worth or beauty of an individual!

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I am an apple! My mother is an apple; my paternal grandmother an apple; and I have an apple child. I love apples! Apples are wonderful, versatile fruit grown all over the world with hundreds of varieties. I like to think of myself as a "Golden Delicious" .

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• Golden Delicious: A medium to large cultivar, slightly crisp on the outside with sweet soft centre. [Mature varieties are sweeter than the immature.] Easily bruised and prone to shrivelling.

.Yup! Sounds a lot like me!

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I also have a slender, beautiful banana child and an hourglass shaped firm yet still green pear child! I love my fruit equally and celebrate their uniquiness!

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Think about it, ladies! We are a yummy, suculent fruit cup; a virtual cornucopia of flavors, delight and goodness! We need to celebrate .................. with a song!

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Someone may have said this before, but it bears repeating:

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Food! It's a good thing!

Doggie Sings the Blues

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For all you dog lovers out there, here's a sweet video of doggie love and loneliness. Tucker definitely misses his master or mistress, poor little mite!


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All of you dog lovers immediately ran to give their doggie some love and speak reassuring words of love in their ears, didn't you.
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And for those of you who don't speak doggie, I do! Here's a literal translation of Tucker's blues song:
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Where are you Master?

Why you gone so long?

I ain't got no kibble;

I ain't got no bone.

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My bladder's a bustin',

so you better get huslin';

and move it Master;

come on home!

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Arf, arf!

(Thank you.)

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Winter comes (finally) to the South Shore

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Jan 12th and our first winter storm hits the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Gini and I played in the snow.
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Jan 13th was a day off school for the girls, but I still had to work. After a dinner of delicious, tummy-warming, hot 'n' spicy African Peanut Soup, Gini and Carolina played outside. Notice how without adult supervision, they made a naughty snow-woman!

Oh my! Those little international girls!

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I stayed inside watching Coronation Street and making Mexican "Abuelita" hot chocolate: dense, heavy, hockey-puck shaped and cinnamon & sugar infused blocks of chocolate that you pop in a pan of milk and slowly melt and heat. So delicious! Gini does a great impression of Abuelita (Granny).

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Happy and rosy-cheeked girls were grateful for the treat. And they were completely tuckered-out so they'll sleep well tonight ..... and unlike their behavior since Xmas holidays, hopefully they'll go to bed at a decent hour!
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Oh my! Those little international students!

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They've become so much fun!

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Is honesty REALLY the best policy?

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Are you guys familiar with Facebook? This is the profile page -- just basic info to be filled out. (And this example is not mine, it's from the Net; I could only wish to have been born in 1985 -- 2 yr before the birth of my eldest daughter.) .

Anyway, I'm on Facebook; I get to keep in touch with my kiddies (with the added bonus of being able to spy on them). And I have a profile page which I filled it out in the appropriate way; you know, with my correct birthdate (minus the year, of course) as well as:

• interested in = men;
• looking for = friendship; and of course,
• sex = female (They all need to know what sex you are.)

Still, ya know -- you can call me warped, but whenever I have to fill out a page like this, I feel like telling the truth. REALLY telling the truth. .

Like this:

• interested in 8 hr of sleep a night and healthy bowel movements
• looking for my lost youth and a guy with money, low expectations and bad eyesight
• sex YES! PLEASE; at least once more before I die
  
  

So there you have it! Doris the Great is not always chic and high-class (like you've been used to for the past 2 years). Sometimes I'm just base and honest and a little trailer-trashy. .

Now, gotta go check my Facebook messages. Maybe somebody new "friended" me!!!!

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Just say NO to New Year's Resolutions

I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I don't know about you, but I find it really difficult to wake up on January 1st and suddenly become a different person from the one I was the night before. Besides guys; we're just getting over Christmas. Isn't it enough that we've just had to say goodbye to family members and/or dear friends for another year then jump right into an all out un-decorating/de-cluttering frenzy while at the same time trying to come off a ginormous sugar-high or a week-long hangover? That's a lot of pressure to put on ourselves, people!
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It's not that I don't need to change -- and pronto! Sure -- just like some others of you out there, I ate several kilos of chocolate, a vat or two of wine, and I didn't always tell the kids about the chips 'n' dip. And yes, I also have a little evil twin that sits on my shoulder and calls me things like "Mme Porkchop", "Lard Arse" and "Greedy Guts".

But give it all up! -- just like that! --- the moment I crawl out of bed on Jan 1st!

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Can't do it! Won't do it! I tried in the past, and after 56 years of personal experience I can honestly tell you that it doesn't work for me. The only cold turkey that I have anything to do with these days is that presently sitting on my abs and thighs!

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So, I gave up making New Year's Resolutions many, many years ago. Actually, it wasn't that I "gave up" making them as much as I realized that change for the better is something that I can try at any time. And because I'm an expert on falling off the wagon, I know it's okay for me to "try, try again"! God is patient with us, people; we should do the same for us.

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Today I came across a post which just reinforces these feelings. I was reading fellow blogger Tish Jett at A Femme d'Un Certain Age and here's what her post said:

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Psychoanalyst Valérie Blanco is against New Year's resolution lists. She believes it puts too much pressure on us and sets us up for failure and disappointment -- and we all know the results of those feelings. She suggests instead, a list of, not the promises to myself "I should do," but rather "what I would like to do; what would make me happy."

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If you won't listen to me, people, for goodness sake, listen to the expert. We need a happy list; a set of good-for-you goals! And we need to be kind to ourselves, give ourselves time to achieve them and forgive ourselves if we fall.

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When I think about what makes me happy, chocolate and red wine are on the list. But because over-indulgence doesn't make me happy, moderation and temperance are in brackets. Exercise makes me happy because it gives me energy and takes away my aches and pains. Organization and letting-in-all-go must be balanced; and showing the people I care about that I love them makes me happy.

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I've found the perfect poster. This pretty well encompasses all of my happy goals:

Organization at Last!

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My Saturday was spent in taking down the tree and undecorating downstairs. Today, I tackled my bedroom which had been used as the drop-off for everything that had been removed to make room for Christmas. And, of course, because of my foot, very little cleaning had been done over the past 2 months. Eek! Most of the room looked like this ..... and much worse.

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How wonderful it is to be able to take on a job like this again. I love cleaning and organizing! Really! And I shall sleep better tonight knowing that I've restored order and cleanliness to my special sanctuary. It once again smells like lavender and L'Air de Temps (and one corner smells remarkably like chocolate!). Later tonight, I'll light some candles and recline on my comfy bed to watch "Downton Abbey" on Masterpiece Theatre, one of my favorite Sunday night pastimes.

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But first, this tired body and achey, no- longer-breakie foot will soak here for a long time.

I adore a long soak and a glass of bubbly. (In this case, ginger ale.). Let us sing the praises of a good bath....

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The Soup
Posted By:marianne

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Sing hey! for the bath at close of day

That washes the weary mud away!

A loon is he that will not sing:

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

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O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,

and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;

but better than rain or rippling streams

is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

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Goodbye to my Dear Auntie

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This is a photo taken this past summer of my favorite Auntie, my Mom's baby sister Mable, who never married. I was so happy to see her again; and she was always happy to see me. I was the "weird" one in the family who liked to hug; she grew to love that about me. She passed away this morning at the age of 68 of cancer.

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I have wonderful childhood memories of weekends spent with my Nanny Beck. Coming from a household with 5 children, it was a place of quiet and happiness for me. There were French mints under the bed pillow, books in the bookshelf (and time for me to read them), black currant bushes to be picked in the back yard (25 cents a pint!), and long talks with my Nanny while we cooked or cleaned together. At 5:30 pm, my Aunt Mable would come home from working at Woolworths. She seemed to be surrounded by an air of feminine mystique -- the kind that this gangly, buck-toothed 10 yr old aspired to be. She was all Jackie Kennedy Channel-style suits, handbags and gloves, pretty back-combed hair always in place, wafts of perfume and tidy kitten-heeled shoes. Sometimes while she was at work, I would go into forbidden territory -- her bedroom. I'd touch the pink quilted comforter & put my nose to the pillow shams; I could smell her dusting powder. I'd try on her selection of heels behind the door or poke through her jewellry box with the fur Poodle broach and pearls. I know she must have noticed that I was there, but she never said anything.

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She nursed both my grandparents through ill health and death. And I'm glad to say that she then lived most contentedly in the pretty dollhouse that was once the family home. We had become very good friends over the past 6-8 years: there was music and laughter whenever I visited; and during our long-distance telephone conversations, she confided things in me that she told few people. I knew her to be a woman of love, compassion, forgiveness and deep faith. She will be greatly missed.

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I'm a woman of little financial means; so I can't fly to NL to be there on Saturday for the funeral. But I'll be thinking of her as she's laid to rest next to my dear Nanny. And I'll be thinking of my Mom as she mourns her last sister and her best friend.

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For tonight, I'll continue to think on her and our times together. And in her honor, I'll do something that I know would bring a smile to her face. I'll sit over a glass of wine and eat "Beaver Poop" (chocolate nut toffee), a gift that just arrived today from my penpal in Oregon. I can hear her laughing at the Beaver poop as she says "Oh Sandra!"

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