Oops! The pictures didn’t post...

Tracey, your garden is beautiful! love those planters.

I love the way your garden has come together, Tracey! Soooooo beautiful!

Tracey, your garden looks amazing! It came together beautifully.

Your garden looks fantastic. I am totally impressed and know this took a lot of work. Well done. Been wondering how your Mum is doing? And daughter? You surely can be proud of everything you have done.

Hi Gls, wow Fundy Bay sounds incredible, that is a huge tidal difference! Thank you for the pics :) I am enjoying traveling with you!

I am very happy with the planters and getting the last garden planted up.

Hi Printesa, Depo, Ladma and Flo- thank you :) I am feeling the effort of yesterday’s work this morning haha but very contented. I love looking out at the garden.

Flo Mum is doing very well, I did try and get her to come to the wedding in Thursday, but she was not keen on the travel time and in hindsight it woukd have been a difficult venue for her to navigate. Instead we took her a glass of sparkling wine and recorded her toasting the bride and groom. I have bought a mindfulness coloring book and pens and pencils for Mum firvwhen she feels creative. A recent visit to an aged specialist has confirmed Mums symptoms are under the umbrella of dementia and the cause is Alzheimer’s disease- they have also found she has had a small stroke in the past. if Mum hadn’t already been in care the suggestion would be that we would need to start looking at arranging for her to be. I am very glad Mum was able to make that decision for herself, she really does love the home and nurses -most importantly she feels safe and well cared for. We visit every evening and have been taking up flowers from the garden- Mum greets us with surprise and delight every visit and doesn’t remember our previous visits. I’m happy as long as she is :)

ED is doing fine, she has now lost 50kg in weight and is at the gym 5days a week. She is hoping to hear from a potential part-tine job soon and we have our fingers crossed that her application to join a PGCE course is accepted then she will be able to teach here.

YD is in sporadic contact (when she gets internet service) and is organizing accommodation, and a part time job. Hopefully she will be able to tie up her loose ends and will be back soon :)

Wishing everyone a happy day

Thanks for the update. Just seems things are all working themselves out very nicely. Praying everyone is safe and as happy as life allows!

Yes, thank you for the update :) You are doing with your mom what I had just done with my mom for 6 1/2 years. The amazing thing was she never, ever complained. And she too loved her flowers. We made sure she always had a lovely bouquet. Several of my siblings also have nice gardens, and then during the winter, we just got her store bought bouquets. Those usually lasted 7-10 days too. Enjoy your new job!

Today OH & I met up with Licksch in Halifax. She and her neighbor picked us up at the ship and gave us a tour of the area, then we went to a Day Lilly garden, lunch and to Licksch ‘s home. It is as lovely as her pictures. :) I had my first lobster for lunch. Quite the experience! :)

Here are some of the daylillies...

Today we are in Sydney Nova Scotia, settled by the Scottish immigrants, and they say more Gaelic is spoken here than in Scotland.

Thought you would like to see a couple of daylily shots from my garden, Tracy. If you can grow daylilies I encourage you to do so. There’s so many options. The rose red single bloom is my recent acquisition.

Today we are in Quebec. Yesterday we toured in the pouring rain. We went to the falls, and a maple syrup farm. I love the architecture here. Tomorrow morning we fly to Newark New Jersey, then to Houston Texas to finally fly to Pensacola Florida to drive home one hour to Orange Beach Alabama. It will be a long day. ;)

Enjoy the area. It's a beautiful area.

Wow fabulous pics Gls what a wonder trip! Good luck for the days travel tomorrow :)

Licksch, the day lilies look fantastic! i will check them out!

It’s been a long week- but I have mastered the bus! I’ve been quite tired so haven’t gotten to the gym this week- I think I need to tweak my schedule- haha! Good news is ED got into the course she wanted at Queens University yay- I’m so proud of her. Because we haven’t lived here 3 years her fees at 4 x what we expected - so annoying but it is definitely something she wants to do!

Oh Tracey, I am so happy for ED! Yes the fees are a bite, but it is better than waiting another couple of years. When does the course begin? It is nice that you can take the bus rather than your car too. :)

they require 3 years? that is crazy..In the states, it depends from state to state. In Oregon, after 90 days I was considered in-state. Here, you need to live for one year to be considered in-state

Thank you Gls :) the course starts in September- we are checking out every financial option -she definitely want to accept the place there are only 30 spots and usually the selectors need you to apply a year before- so EDs application was very late and they interviewed her shortly after she applied and she got her offer. We are trying to get an exception of the 3 year residency- but they appear to be very firm on that one.

Hi Printesa- I definitely like the States residency option!

Well we got up at 4 a.m. this morning to go to the Quebec airport. As we arrived at 5:30 the sign started flashing our flight was canceled! United Airlines people didn’t arrive until 6:15 to deal with us. Grrrrr! I called the hotel we just left to rebook. We paid $144for last night and they wanted $225 for tonight. I said no thanks. Then I went to hotel.com where I normally go to book lodging. I booked it for $160. :)) As we walked back into the hotel the receptionist saw us & smiled. We told her our flight was canceled and we need to stay. She laughed and said at least you are back for breakfast!

gls, did they tell you why it was cancelled? There is no bad weather these days

Printesa, supposedly it was a storm last night in Newark and they canceled that flight that was to make the return flight this morning. Grrrrr...I hope it doesn’t rain here tomorrow morning. We have spent 2 nights here because of booking problems. Several cruisers booked the bus to Montreal to catch flights. Now we know why. Live and learn. This is a very small airport for the number of flights. The facility itself is large & nice. Just low volume. :(

hmm..strange..they didn't say anything on tv about that..There is no rain for a couple of days so there should not be any delays anymore

Quebec airport is small..never used it, but I know it's small. The Mtl one is large..been there several times (lived for a year in Mtl). I hope you at least enjoyed some of the time there.

Hmm... depending on your financial situation she might want to just take a few courses in the program while you wait for your residency, rather than enrol for a full-time degree program and come out with a big debt load. Depends on whether or not she needs to borrow money.

Also it depends on how difficult it is to get into the program.

You’ve been there a year and a half, right? So she would just have a year and a half to wait. It might be worth it financially.

Here are a couple more daylilies from my garden to brighten up your day. I love going out each morning and seeing what has opened up.

Beautiful blooms Licksch, I definitely would be checking each day!

As for the course -it’s been tough thinking through this. ED has negotiated a discount and the university are hunting for scholarships for her. Hopefully we will get good news about some extra funding.

There are some very funny rules here. The course is 1 Year- and only 30 places- if she defers her offer - the offer remains at the international rate because that was what she was accepted on. If she reapplies she will still be about 100 days short as they take the years as at Sept. so she would have to wait another year.

Although it might be painful on my pocket it will also get her the qualification she needs so she can start working Sept 2020. ED is looking for part time work to help towards the cost as she also doesn’t qualify for any loans but is adamant she will paid me back- I know she will as well.

There have been so many changes and nearly every changes had been a positive and happy one- so we might just have to bite the bullet here and go with it :)

Yes Tracey, if you can help her now, the sooner she can work full time the faster she can pay back. :) Wishing her well. :)

Thank you Gls :)

I am happy it’s Friday- it’s been a long week one way or another. I’m hitting the ground running at work and have been meeting the board members, chief execs and others during the week trying to remember theirs names and organizations has been an effort :)

the bus ride then walk into Belfast has been great I’m getting so much better at knowing where I am and how to get to where I want to go. I give myself half an hour investigating time before I go to work. Yesterday I stopped at the Belfast City Hall - spending time in he gardens was so beautiful- they have a memorial to the sinking of the Titanic

I was surprised it was open early so I have a quick look inside

I am planning on coming back and exploring more it is fabulous inside!

Wow! That looks amazing. You have been on my mind so was happy to see your beautiful day lilies. So pretty. I sure feel your stress with everything you have going on. This too shall pass as my Mom used to tell me. I also have been thinking about Marco! anyone hear from him? Wondering if they moved? Hoping he is ok. I really miss his genius talent, ideas and artistic approach to everything he does. Praying he is safe. Enjoy your day. Look forward to more daylilies as they pop open their little faves!

That is beautiful Tracey! When we were in Halifax, Licksch and her neighbor drove us pass a cemetery that had 120 victims of the Titanic. We didn’t realize/know that they had been able to retrieve some of the victims bodies.

That certainly is a lot of red tape as far as your daughter goes. I think you are right, if you can manage it financially you will just have to squeeze by. At least you’re working and it’s a relatively short course. Aka not a four year degree program. Good luck with the scholarship and extra funding applications!

Also great that she was accepted... and once your family gets residential status the competition may be tougher. I don’t know if the international status helps, but It might.

The titanic museum looks amazing; is that a replica of the grand staircase?

It’s continuing to be sunny, fairly warm, and no rain in the forecast. Maybe at the end of next week… I am hopeful. I’ve been working on adding some more gardens outside here… Just what I need LOL.

Hi Tracey! Has your daughter heard back from the school that she is excepted and can begin?

Hello Tracey, I don't comment,... but I read here and there...you haven't been on much recently, I hope everything is okay. Best wishes to you and your family.

Hi Gls- thank you for asking - I’m sorry we have been absolutely manically busy- it was a big yes ED got into Queens University and started her course this week - she is finding it exciting and challenging and I love to see her so excited with so many plans and idea. She is also teaching an after school science programme which is brilliant as well

Ok looking back I see a number of my posts aren’t there any more?!?!

Hi Zaz, thank you for asking -yes we are all good- it’s been crazy busy in my house! :)

Well I’m in Glasgow today- I’ve been at a conference and am waiting at the airport gate looking forward to getting home to Belfast - all work unfortunately so no fab photos sorry :)

Good to hear from you! Safe travels and I'll bet you will be so glad to be home and in your own bed!

Hi Tracey, You're welcome... good to hear everyone is well. I'm sure all the busy is exciting things happening... enjoy!

Hi Tracey! I am glad everything is working out ok for ED! And that she gets to teach too! I hope your flight home was good too :) I Understand that you and your family are quite busy now.

Thank you guys :) I flew home on a very small plane and really enjoyed it but not as much as getting back to my own bed!

I am finding work keeps me very busy- so much to learn and so much to try and achieve. Disappointingly I am not getting the time I used to have to play on Houzz :)

I will be taking a break for a while to focus on work.

Thank you all for being such great houzz buddies I wish health and happiness and of course lots of amazing design adventures. I have enjoyed you company on my adventure xx

Will miss you Tracey and think of you often! Best wishes to you and your family.

Tracey, best of luck to both you and ED in your new adventures.

You are now well settled, with the job, new house and new life! We were happy to be a cheering section for you… Check back in sometime if you get a chance. We will be wishing you the very best.

Thanks for letting us share your adventure, Tracey! Best of luck with the new job. Well wishes for your girls and Mum.

I (we) have appreciated you sharing your journey with us and wish you the best of luck in the future. Please know we want happiness and continued success for you and your loved ones in the future. I have been a lurker on your site from the very beginning and have always appreciated what you added to this forum.

I hope you keep amazing yourself and all you cross paths with! But do stop in every once in a while yo update us and share the development of your home and garden. Best to you and all your loved ones!!

Yes, wising you all nothing but the best! :)

Hi Tracey... just wondering how you are doing in the middle of the pandemic and hoping everybody is OK… You and your family and your mom! I’m sure your gardens are looking good… Take care.

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