South of the Border...

Today I packed a carry on bag for a trip because we are heading south of the border 

to visit with friends who are officially snowbirds.  

The warm dry air, sunshine, desert landscapes 

and the vistas of the Grand Canyon 

seem to be calling us back.  

We are flying to Las Vegas 

and then renting a car for the rest of our vacation. 

Maps, picnics, and the open road are all part of the adventure.

After a visit with friends in Laughlin and a few days spent at the Grand Canyon, 

we will be driving to Mesa, Arizona to spend time with friends 

and to celebrate "Canada Day" with the Canadian snowbirds.   

I'll leave you with some photos taken last March at the Red Rock Canyon

which is very close to Las Vegas.

  

Hope the month of February is a good one for you...

Happy Valentine's Day to all my blogging friends 

- enjoy the sunshine wherever you are!

I am linking with Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday.
Thank you Judith for inviting us to Mosaic Monday.
I'm looking forward to seeing other bloggers wonderful collages. 

Time for Tea

The month of January is half over and although most days have been sunny, the grey skies and cold weather often make the short days seem so long. A restorative cup of afternoon tea is a lovely thing to have to add a little warmth to a cold afternoon.  One of my favourite gifts was opened on Christmas Eve.

Our daughter decided it was time I had a small teapot to use for the specialty teas she had chosen for me.

I have visited some lovely blogs and notice that when they take pictures of tea time, they have lovely scones or baking to compliment their tea time photos but as you might guess there is little left in the larder, so I sliced a small Panettone just for the photo. Like so many of you, I've looked forward to watching Season Five of Downton Abbey.  Last Sunday I was all set to watch episode two when the phone rang.  Luckily I already knew that on Friday afternoons, the latest episode is replayed.  So this afternoon I will have a cup of tea as I visit Downton Abbey on my tv.  I should have waited until the tea was steeped before pouring the tea and taking the picture. I should know better as I do have experience as a tea waitress at The Empress Hotel.  It's time for tea and a trip back in time.
Til next time then...Sunshine Always! Sheila

New Beginnings

On the last day of the year I would like to share some of the photos that I like best.  I have always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon and last March we spent an afternoon there.  We hope to visit again during our spring trip to Nevada and Arizona in 2015.  Do you have any suggestions of where to stay at the South Rim?  we would love to spend a night or two in the park.

We really enjoyed our week in Las Vegas with three other couples.
 We visited the Hoover Dam.

 We rented a twelve passenger van so hat lots of room for the road trips we took to the nearby attractions.  Driving to see the Red Rock Canyon was so interesting and we enjoyed an outdoor picnic there.

The bright lights of Las Vegas had us feeling like country mice.  

It was all so overwhelming but a lot of fun too.  

I enjoyed a trip back to my hometown last summer and it was wonderful to be with friends and family.  

Beautiful weather, familiar streets and experiences always combine to make for a wonderful getaway.  As soon as the snow has disappeared in late April or early May, life on the farm is great and we enjoy the peace and quiet of country living.  Hope that the coming year will be filled with all the things that make you smile.  Sunshine Always - Sheila

Season's Greetings !

Hello from the farm...
The year has passed by and it's time to return to blogging.  I won't make any promises but I have been thinking of all my blogging friends and do hope to get back to communicating with such an interesting and amazing group of people.  Til then I will leave you with a few glimpses of our views through our windows.

Happy Christmas to all of you and best wishes to you and yours for the coming  year!