Time to Play "Fact or Fiction"...

 Fact or Fiction Number One- We slept in a barn in Quebec. 

Answer-True. 

Here is our Carriage House...

...made into a funky B and B...

....with two levels and a bed upstairs. We could have brought a couple of you along!

It was complete with somewhat grotesque huge paintings...

It was kind of like being watched!

We also got a huge breakfast along with our stay. We like B and B's a lot.

Fact Number Two-A cannonball was shot into this tree around the time of the Revolutionary War.

Answer-No One Knows.

Some people think that but the tree may have just grown up around the cannonball.

Fact or Fiction Number Three...This man played "O Canada" on the rims of wine (water-filled) glasses. 

Answer-Fiction.

He played "Ave Maria" on wine glasses, complete with harmony. It was amazing. 

I remember playing "wine glasses" in college. Anyone else?

Fact or Fiction Number Three-This beautiful archway leads to another shopping area in Old Quebec.

Answer-Naaaaw. It is just an example of trompe l'oeil, something painted on a wall or other object and made to look real. 

Besides I think Lynn Stevens does a better job! check her out some time. 

Next we will be on to Montreal.

Jud and Suz Celebrate...

On a rainy night in Quebec, Jud and I braved the elements to celebrate our thirty-eigth anniversary. No worry. The restaurant was just across the street!

Jud was looking very handsome in his coral sweater, one of my favorites...

...and I had just enough sequins on my top to feel fancy!

We had a long, leisurely evening, talking, laughing and eating, eating, eating. This is not the menu. This is our dinner. Well, I ordered this one, he ordered something more reasonable and then we shared. Have you even had a nine course dinner? The servings were small...but what delights!

  

We even had a dessert after the dessert on a decorated plate! There is a French word for this course. I promptly forgot it.

When the lights were low in the beautiful restaurant...

...we persuaded a waiter to take one more picture...

...took out our umbrellas, and sauntered back home to our little bed and breakfast. Very much in love, after all these years...and very, very full!

A Night On The Town...

 On another perfectly beautiful evening, we set off to have a lovely dinner...

...at a cute restaurant that specialized in rabbit dishes...

...and lots of pepper (that's a pepper mill!)

We stayed so long that the sun set...

...so the twinkling lights...

...guided our way back home. 

Suz and Jud Hit Quebec...

On our first glorious day, we saunter down the streets of Quebec, the buildings just as they were in 

the 1600's...

...and are greeted by Champlain, the founder of Quebec.

Of course, I have to stop at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.  I love Catholic churches. They are each so unique.

For example, look at this Station of the Cross. Each is in a similar frame. I think I must have been  Catholic in another life. I came out with about fifteen holy medals to use in my jewelry.

Hanging from the roof of the church, there is a model of a sailing ship!

 Jud tries his hand at shooting a cannon...

...and we take the Funicular, a glass cable car, down the mountain to Lower Town.

Tired, but happy, we finish the day at our B and B. 

More fun tomorrow!

A Little Artsy-Craftsy...

Before I left for Quebec, I sent off some ephemera and other goodies to my pal in France. First, I mushed around some green and yellow acrylic paint, then edged the envelopes with some diluted burnt umber. Then I stenciled some yellow paint through sequin waste and stamped some flowers with foam rubber stamps. More gem medium, then some collage pictures and some daisy stamps. More gel medium and some doodling with white and black pens and I was done. Here is the front....

...and here is the back. I always wonder what the postman thinks when he sees these envelopes. Perhaps...who is this woman and is she a little nuts???

Tomorrow...Quebec!!!

Teacup Tuesday...Closer and Closer

The isn't "THE" teacup but I do love this one. i found it on the second day of an estate sale for three dollars. Now, I thought that was a steal but what do I know? (I do know that it is beautiful!) I got another one which you will see at another time for $2.50. My gut says that I am the only one in Minneapolis/St Paul that loves teacups and they are out there just waiting for me (Ha!). 

Here is my "beauty" on the family room table. Precious, no?

Here is my little beauty close up. It is the most lovely shade of blue. Slightly more green than a robin's egg. So lovely and in perfect condition.

The brand is Aynsley. I think I remember Nana telling me that was a really fine cup ;-) 

We are off to Montreal and Old Quebec this week for our thirty-eighth anniversary. Who knows what wonderful cups will be waiting for me there? Maybe it will be my "special" cup. I know one thing...I will recognize it the moment I see it!!!

Linking to Teacup Tuesday and Tea Tuesday.

Pink Saturday...

And this is a memento of the night that we saw "Rigoletto," an Italian opera, with Croatian subtitles! That was mind-boggling! To explain a little, we were in Croatia visiting our exchange student son, and were treated to the opera. It was actually a wonderful experience. We also learned how to say "bat" in Croatian, making us bilingual in the world of bat-speak In case you wish to know, in Croatia, a bat is a sheeshmeesh. We now can speak "bat" in three language. Mercielago is bat-speak in Spanish. We cannot spell it in any of the three, except English. You are welcome to help us. 

P.S. It was an outdoor performance. We saw several sheeshmeesh swooping over the stage.

I am sharing my blessings for Pink Saturday. My biggest blessing is another day with my beloved Jud, who has pancreatic cancer. I could name so many blessings that have gone with this journey, most of them involving the incredible love and care of friends and the faith to continue though another day. Our daughter has been a huge blessing, with her very loving nature. This week Jud and I are going to Canada to celebrate our thirty-eighth anniversary. I thank God for the extra time to enjoy our love.

Nana's China...

Nana Carol left me her Haviland China. I was thrilled. Let it be known that my bright, elegant Nana had a was a snob, and proud of it. It was a sign of her fine taste and, after all, she was the daughter of a former Governor of South Dakota! The beautiful painted tea set was inherited from Nana Helen. That's a topic for another day! 

Nana had a secret.

Notice that the two cups are different.

That's because most of the cups are Haviland...

...but the rest had to be filled in with Noritake. Nana was very embarrassed about this. I am imagining that she spent every tea party praying that no one would turn over the cups!

Don't tell. 

Nana would be horrified!


Linked to Tea Tuesday athttp://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/ and Teacup Tuesday at http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/.

I Like You...

This has gotta be one of the cutest stores in the Twin Cities. All local indie designed products, After a great breakfast, Jud and I took his sister, Jan over for a quick shop before she left town. I had to practically twist her arm off to get her a belated birthday present but she finally let me buy her a mosaic switch plate. 

I am blessed with the greatest sister-in-laws. Here's Jan and I posing under a new giant stuffy. So cute!

Jud and Jan are ten years apart and have become closer and closer over the years. One of the gifts of Jud's cancer has been having Jan visit us a couple of times. She is so easy to have around and always is looking for something to do...walk the dogs, sweep the roof (!), work in the garden... 

Jan is truly a sister to me. 

We both love her dearly. 

What Cancer Cannot Do...

This is my dear husband, Jud, who climbed Little Devil's Tower, in the the Black Hills last week.

Several days later, he climbed to the top of this cliff...

...then took a long hike along beautiful Sand Creek just over the Wyoming border. 

Most of you know that Jud was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer last November. Throughout our marriage, I have been the wimpy one! I could count the times Jud has been sick on one hand. We were shocked at his diagnosis. Jud has been active, social, and involved in a million activities. Even now, he  can still wear me out! 

Jud had a Pet Scan yesterday and we got the results today. We knew from the last Scan that the cancer had spread to his liver, resulting in five lesions. Today three of those were gone.  The not good news was that another tumor appeared. Pancreatic Cancer is tricky, in that it can mutate and create genetically new types of tumors. In essence, there isn't one Pancreatic Cancer but several kinds in one person. At this point, cancer researchers and oncologists do not have a way of knowing exactly how to treat these mutations. 

Jud has been through a new type of radiation and many types of chemotherapy in this nine months. His doctor's decision was to keep him on the current one for two more months. If it is still not working, Jud will be trying one of two experimental treatments, one that attempts to interfere with this DNA change at the Mayo Clinic or a new cancer vaccine at John's Hopkins.

We still hold on to Hope. This is a bracelet that our family and friends wear in support of Jud. The other bracelet is for our friend, Iver, who has had Multiple Myeloma for five years. We hold him in Hope, as well. 

I googled this quote that I have seen on many a blanket and tee-shirt over the last several years. I must admit, I have found it a little "schmaltzy" in years past. Today it spoke to me...

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.

This is my dear Jud and I, going to a Park Nicollet Hospital benefit a month before his diagnosis. We have a very special relationship. This month, we celebrate our thirty-eighth year of marriage and will spend our anniversary in Quebec City and Montreal, places we have wanted to visit for a long, long time. Jud is a very special person. He keeps plugging away each day, doing whatever he can to be helpful, being kind and loving to all his friends and family and rarely complaining about his lot. No, he's not a saint, but he is honestly one very fine person. 

Cancer has not crippled our love. It has not corroded our faith. It has not shattered our hope. If anything, it has made us stronger. 

Cancer is so limited.