The Women who came before......

Paul came across this picture while compiling photos for the DVD in honour of our Mom.
The young girl in the front, Mary Ann, would be my Great Aunt. The woman behind her is my Great Grand mother, Hannah, on the right my Great Great Grandmother, Sarah and on the left, my Great x3 Grandmother Catherine.
The only one with a hint of a smile is Granny Jones. She was obviously a widow hence the black ensemble.

The other two women are pretty stern. It must have been impossible to relax strapped into those corsets. Sarah, on the right, was a miserable woman who decided my grand mother , also named Sarah was going to come and live with her. There was no discussion. Pack your bag you are going and that's all there was to it. My grandmother was still in school at the time. Her grandmother was a tyrant. Mam had no social life and everyone was surprised when the tall quiet town "Bobby" began to "walk her out." My Grand mother was 5 years older than my Grandfather. This is their wedding picture: I see my mother in her face. Mam had a stroke and passed away 4 months after my mother's 16Th birthday.

My wonderful quiet grandpa looked the same his whole life. He was the youngest of 4 boys, his three older brothers all became clergymen. Grandpa didn't speak until he was 7 yrs old. He had a speech impediment and a Welsh accent. I never had any trouble understanding him.
This is my Mom. My mother had all these baby gowns and when I was a little girl she cut them all up and made slips for me. Makes me cringe to think of it. But that was my practical Mother. These gowns were all hand made.
This is my Mom at 3 yrs, she looks like her mother. I miss her so much........sigh
Three more sleeps and we are off on the plane to Pacific Mexico. I want to get away so badly.
I am worn out.

Not for the squeamish.........

Went to the doctor today for a follow up. It is as bad as it looks. Take my word for it.
When it happened it hurt dreadfully, the sight of it now is justification for the pain. It is so swollen my toes tingle. I can't put weight on it yet the sole of my foot is swollen as well. The black mark is the location of my femoral pulse. They used a magic marker that won't wash off. My wrists are sore and my armpits are too from using the crutches.
I just wrapped it again because is continues to swell without the bandage.
edit: Saw the Dr. it is a level 2-3 sprain.

A whole world of hurt

Here we are a week later. My world has been turned upside down and given a thorough shaking. I never did like a roller coaster ride. Time to pick up the threads and knit my life back together. Instead of looking at gaping holes I have to think of them as lace. We met so many of her friends and I learned things about my Mother I hadn't known before.


It was true, when I think about it, our mother never said good bye when we were talking on the phone. We joked about how one minute she would be there and then "click" she was gone. Turns out she did it with every one. Phrases like "Well I won't keep you any longer ...click" and "That's all for now ...click" were common place.


Last Saturday morning she wasn't well and the nurse asked if she would like someone to be called, "Oh no," she said and then she just went to sleep.


She used to tell us, that when her time came, if she went in her sleep we were not to mourn her but be glad she did not suffer. I will agree with that but I will still mourn her passing. My little brother ( lol) has posted about Mom over here.


And now......In the what in the world could happen next scenario.......


Carl went to the doctor yesterday and he has bronchitis. Not severe but in time to nip this in the bud as we will be in Mexico 2 weeks from today. Last night he ran a hot bath and had just settled in when........I fell in the side hall at the top of the basement stairs. It is a wonder I didn't pitch right down the stairs. I caught the railing just in time.


Evan came running. I thought I had broken my ankle. Poor Carl had to get out of the tub get dressed and start the car. I couldn't seem to get up on my good foot I was terrified on loosing my balance and A. falling down the stairs and taking Evan with me or B. loosing my balance and standing on my shrieking ankle. The ambulance was called. Four hours later, 6 X-rays ( do you know how many bones are in the foot?) and I was home. The Doctor in emergency said to me, "I am sorry it's not broken." I know sounds funny but he explained it to me. A break heals in a given time a sprain lingers on and on and on... So I have crutches now. I will probably need a cane by the time we leave for Mexico. I will have to be careful not to go over on my ankle in the next couple of months. Oh and the old house slippers. The ones with no tread on the bottom. They are now in the rubbish.


Oh gentle readers I am not finished with my tale of woe. They sent me home with a vial of tablets for pain. It appears I do not tolerate codeine any more. I was up at 3 am with stomach pain and the dry heaves. Oh joy oh bliss.


I am sporting a dandy bruise on my right wrist and I have wrenched the thigh muscle on the same leg as the damaged ankle. Could be worse I could have wrenched the other leg then I would be well and truly scuppered.


Here are Gran's Brood. She was so proud of them all:
Back row: L to R: Corinne (mine), Amanda (Paul), Matt ( David), Michael & Evan & Julia (all mine) Front row: L to R: Doug (David) & Stephanie (Paul)

They kept us laughing.
As David put it, "We are now the senior generation." Sobering thought, eh?
Paul and Debbie, Susan with Carl, Ghislaine and David

My Mummy

Hannah Davies Cottrell

May 20, 1925 - Jan 2, 2010
".... her children rise up and call her blessed."

The First Day

No resolutions here!
Just wanted to get that out of the way right off the bat.
Goals...yes!
New Header to start the year. Explanation is as follows:



Last Spring I purchased a lot of fleece with the intention of spending my summer days off work spinning in the garden. Well summer didn't lend itself to tranquil days and the whole plan fell through. This year I would like to take up spinning again. It would be nice if Mother Nature would co operate.
Looking at this sweet little Irish Granny's face reminds me I better up my RRSP deposits.






IN grade 9 I read War and Peace and loved it! It was my first introduction to an epic novel. One of my teacher's said to me,"You can't possibly follow that book. I whipped out my biography page. Every time a new character appeared in the story I added them to my list. It would be nice to read that again.



I have always thought that Gardenias are the most beautiful flower. The fragrance is very heady and although the petals are thick and waxy they are still very delicate. This year I would like to remind myself to take a moment to smell the flowers.

...especially gardenias.



With respect to Queen Victoria's memory this is my symbol for the Queen Susan Shawl from the Ravelry Heirloom group. My yarn has been ordered. I am studying the pattern and I have begun a swatch to get my fingers used to the fineness of the wool. More about this in the coming year on the knitting blog.




This year I would like to finish one of my books and send it to a publisher. It is a murder mystery. I have been held upon the identity of the murderer. Everyone I thought of seemed so obvious. This morning it struck me. It all seemed to fall into place. Motive and opportunity. Now I just have to force myself to re read what I have written and decide if it is a good as I think or if it is, as I suspect, unmitigated drivel... Progress on this front will be found on the writing blog.

Between my life with my dear man, knitting, writing and working full time I forsee a very busy year.