More goodwill goodies...now where am I going to put them on my counter top??
My youngest son Kaedyn after a long fun filled day playing outside...check out that mischievious grin...little does he know it, it's bathtime!! lol
Some goodwill finds... and a curious kitty named Spyder Monster...don't ask about the name, lol
Rusty our new banty baby, not sure if it's a boy or a girl
Charlie our EE chicken and Martha our banty hen
My new crock from the weekend, didn't have one of those yet!
Finally got my plate rack done and up on the wall...had to do it myself, lol


Road Trip!
Well another week has whipped by! Last weekend on the spur of the moment we decide to go on a little road trip on Sunday so we loaded up the kids and off we went. We wound our way through many little towns within a 2 -3 hr radious from us. Many of which I had never heard of before...isn't that sad that we have lived out this way for 11 yrs and never travelled in that direction. Anyhow we started out on a whim and went through Port Perry( okay we've been there since we got married there, lol), and kept on going stopping at a few small and very cramped antique stores. Oh that was not fun with 4 kids who wanted to touch everything! Anyhow, we went through Blackwater, Sunderland, a few more towns that I cannot remember the names, than Beaverton where we wanted to stop near the beach but couldn't find a road that went there, lol, and than we drove back through Cannington and Lindsay ( been there many times!) and because it was nearing suppertime we decided to get a bucket of Mary Brown's Fried Chicken...yummy! Better than KFC and no gas for me, lol. So this weekend we decided to pack a cooler with lots of food( so we don't spend loads of money) and go for another drive...this time we are heading up to Burk's Falls, where my grandparents lived and although I was very young, I had many, many wonderful memories of there. Than we will tour around Huntsville ( there is a pioneer village there we'd like to take the kids to, and than Gravenhurst, and maybe Bracebridge( Santa's Village is there, I remember going there when I was a kid!). We want to do something fun for the kids since we haven't done anything yet this summer. And maybe scope out some campgrounds for next year and maybe, just maybe peek at some antique stores as well. It's a long weekend here and hubby has Monday off so we may even go somewhere on Sunday as well and the weather is supposed to be perfect! Oh and I almost forgot, a dear friend of mine was trying to get rid of some of her chickens because she had too many and I gleefully took some off her hands! So I have 6 more chickens, 1 bigger EE or Americauna, a 2 yr old banty hen and some little ones which I'm not sure what they are yet. Unfortunately that evening something got my handsome banty rooster Rocky...why oh why do I always lose a rooster right before I get more chickens? ... this happened last year when I brought home more birds too :(

So I wanted to stop by and say hello and hoping you all have a wonderful and safe weekend! I will take lots of pics of our road trip and post soon!

many hugs, Trish

Michele over at a Bushel and a Peck has reached her 75 follower goal and has a giveaway all ready so check out her blog to enter!

Brenda at The Rusty Thimble is having yet again, another wonderful giveaway! Go take a peek!!

TOO HOT!!!

Oh my, I think I'm melting! If any of you are having cooler temps and rain, please feel free to share!! Today was the worst...Toronto hit 48 degrees celsieus ( that's 118 degrees farenheit) with the humidity...ugh! Needless to say we have been staying indoors with 3 a/c 's going and I'm afraid to see my next hydro bill :( For some reason my 2 youngest kids kept wanting to go out and play and got mad when I said no. I can't imagine how our ancestors survived in this heat in this house before a/c was invented! The heat seems to get trapped upstairs where all the bedrooms are and with a tin roof, it's not pleasant!
So, summer day camp for Rhys has been going great! He loves it and has met some great friends, a few in wheelchairs and some with other disabilities but it makes no difference to him. He is so social and greets each of his buddies every morning with a big smile and endless questions, lol. I must say, of all weeks to have this day camp, it had to be the hottest, and our a/c in the van decided to quit! It has not been fun but we have been lugging water bottles for the trip back and forth like crazy. Today my wonderful father in law took us to the Go Train in Oshawa for Rhys's trip to Toronto, thank goodness cause it was 28 degrees at 8 in the morning and he had a/c in his car! Despite the nasty heat, Rhys had a fabulous time but he sure is pooped tonight. Only one more day of the camp and Rhys is going to surely miss it when it's over, he has learned alot. Hopefully he will be invited next summer to go to it again!
So anyways, with all the heat I haven't gotten much accomplished, my house looks kinda messy but I'm not in the mood to do too much housework, lol. On the weekend I did manage to go to 2 thrift stores and find a few things and on Sunday, my daughter Brynn joined me at an auction where I also picked up a few things. The good items were going too high so I spent a measely $16.75 but that's okay, my hubby was happy that I didn't fritter all his money away.
My oldest son Noah was helping with putting square bales of hay in the barn on the weekend and he learned what hard work is all about especially in the heat. It gave him some exercise as well and got him away from from the t.v. and he earned $35 and best of all he enjoyed helping out! Now my 15 year old daughter wants to make money but since she was not around she missed out on the opportunity, lol and she was not too happy! Maybe next time!
I am hoping to share some pics of my latest goodies maybe tomorrow if all goes well.

That's it for tonight! Hope you are all staying cool, it's going to be a hot night again here, it's still 29 degrees out!
Take care and many hugs, Trish

Michele over at A Bushel and a Peck is going to have a giveaway once she has 75 followers, she only needs 2 more to reach that goal, so head on over, join her great blog! :)

Tolen Treasures is having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate her 500 th post! So go visit her blog and help her celebrate!!

What makes my heart skip a beat! Well, so many things so, but today I will say it's seeing my 10 yr old son Rhys with a rare genetic disorder called Hurlers Syndrome, continue to flourish and embrace life with all that he has. This week, we came across pictures of his 4th birthday party in which we had the pleasure of having his amazing and generous Bone Marrow Donor here to celebrate that special occasion. If it were not for this incredible, unselfish individual, we would most likely not have our precious son with us today. And because this past Tuesday was Rhys's annual bone marrow transplant checkup at The Hospital For Sick Children in which he got the thumbs up that everything is still going great and how amazed the doctors are with him after everything he has been through, I find it fitting that this be my "what makes my heart skip a beat" post as an entry over at Old Lady Morgan's blog for her wonderful giveaway!
Many hugs, Trish

Help Cyndy at The Crafty Stitchers celebrate her birthday!! Pop on over to enter to win this cute giveaway!

Been so busy!...

Hoping you all have had a wonderful weekend! Life around the Boyd Homestead has been hectic to say the least... School has been out for almost 2 weeks now and keeping 5 kids occupied has been a bit challenging since my husband works fulltime during the week and quite often on the weekends and with gas prices so high I can't take them really anywhere, lol. First week off we were looking forward to sleeping in but no, my eldest daughter had summer school which meant waking the kids up and being out of the house by 7:15 am to drop her off in the next town 15 mins away for the bus pickup. Lets just say the kids were not thrilled! ( I wasn't either!) and spending more than $80 worth of gas for both morning and afternoon pickups left my wallet empty :( Than on Tuesday, my son Rhys had a 3 hr assessment at Grandview Childrens Center in Oshawa so that he could get braces for his ankles because his feet turn outwards and he needs them straightened out. We met with the peadtrician there who was wonderful and has worked with children with Hurlers( at least 5 in the Durham area which is cool because Hurlers is so rare), and than he met with OT and PT and they were all so very outgoing and encouraging! And best of all, Rhys got invited to go to day camp there for a week to learn life skills and fun stuff and they were all booked up but they squeezed him in! He was so thrilled when he found out that they wanted him to go that he was shouting " I got in!!" to everyone he saw :) There is also a trip to Toronto on the last day going on the GO Train which he ever so looking forward to. It's hard for us to loosen up and give him some independence since we have had to look out for him every step of his last 10 yrs and it's going to be a tough one for me dropping him off first day of camp and probably a few tears will be shed by me but seeing him so happy and looking forward to this will balance it all out! It's not easy having a child with a disability and learning problems and having to worry every minute of the day but this will be a new beginning and challenge for Rhys and his zest for life and meeting new people and learning new things will great for him!
I wish I had pics to share this time but honestly I don't think you want to see fried grass and plants that have no flowers on them thanks to my wonderful free range chickens who have eaten almost every single petal of all my plants :( It's been so hot here and no rain that the grass is brown and crispy. I did make a makeshift barrier for my gardens with netting and sticks and whatever I could find to keep the silly birds from digging in my flower beds and trust me it looks horrible! I'm trying to find something that they won't eat :P Even my digitalis plant which is suppose to be poisonous had all the beautiful flowers chewed off. So if anybody knows of plants that will deter chickens and ducks, please let me know before my birds end up in the stew pot!
So, tomorrow is a slow day around here( I hope!), than Tuesday Rhys goes up to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto for his yearly Bone Marrow Transplant checkup and echocardiogram( oh that outta be fun!), and he wants us all to go, lol. I don't know...taking 4 kids up there in a truck in rush hour traffic for the 1 1/2 hr trip there does not sound fun especially when we have to leave around 6 am. But... it would be nice for his docs to see his siblings( 2 of which they have never met and one that they got to really know back in Rhys's transplant days. I myself am a little hestitant to go because as much as I know how wonderful that hospital is, I have spent way too much time there in the past including the 2003 SARS breakout when I was 9 months pregnant with Brynn and being made to wear those horrible thick masks etc. Can't forget spending over a year off and on there during transplant time and VP shunt replacements( a 1 month stay there too) in 2007. I dread walking through those front doors because so many memories good and bad keep flooding back and knowing that so many of our wonderful friends that we met back in 2002 lost a child while we were there. Maybe I should just be brave like Rhys and suck it up and go...if he can go back how many times a year to be poked and prodded, I guess I can go too :) Than on Wednesday I take him back to Grandview for physio at 1 pm and he wants me to go at 11 am, lol, can you tell he's going to love this place!
So this weekend was good, warm but nice and got to sit out by the chimnea for a fire and drinks :) Went by some nice looking yardsales that hubby wouldn't stop for ( and they were ones that actually looked worthwhile but instead he stops for the ones that weren't so great...I guess he didn't want me spending money, lol.
Oh well, I wanted to post before we get any storms which are due tomorrow. Hopefully I can post again before the week is over with some pics!
Have a wonderful week everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Many hugs and blessings, Trish

Deb over at Paxton Valley FolkArt is having a 1rst Blogaversary giveaway! So stop by her wonderful blog to enter! :)

Hi everyone! Here's another great giveaway and it's a surprise one! Visit BitterSweeatAndPrim's blog to enter!

Brenda over at The Rusty Thimble is having a cute giveaway! Just click on her name to find your way to her blog to enter!

Another awesome Christmas in July giveaway! Just click on one of the buttons on my sidebar to enter! Enjoy :)