Apple blossoms

My apple tree was in full bloom by last week.

There is nothing prettier than apple blossoms in the spring!

Unless it's tulips, daffodils, the flowers on my mayday tree, or crocuses.

And don't forget about pulsatilla and glory in the snow.

Lilacs. . .

Or bleeding hearts. . .

Who am I kidding?

I love them all!

My apple tree is very pretty though!

My daughter Holly thinks the back garden has a bit of an Asian feel at the moment and I think she's right.

It always fills me with wonder to watch a garden change from one week to the next.

As you can see, I still haven't had time to plant anything yet. These are all the plants I either started from seed, or grew from the cuttings my sister Tamara and her husband brought when they were visiting earlier in the year.

I've also got bunch of perennials I started, visiting over at my friend Ev's house.

She was kind enough to take them in when I began running out of room.

I promise I'll be by to get them soon Ev!

In the mean time, while I wait for a few spare moments to work in the garden, I'll enjoy the changes happening out front.

Here is just one of about eighty alliums I planted two years ago in the fall.

I love gardening. . .

My son the star!

Morgan was one of the leads in his school play tonight.

He did an awesome job.

He played a bully who convinced all his neighbours that the new family who had moved in had to go. (the dad had spent time in prison)

He was a very convincing mean, nasty man.

When he slapped his 'daughter' across her face the entire theater gasped.

His voice ( and anger) projected to the back of the theater.

Everyone involved did an amazing job.

And Sarah. . . (the girl in the red skirt)

He really did think you were going to move your head as he slapped you. . . (yikes!)



Morgan and his very best friend Brad. . . the good guy and the bad guy. ( the good guy is wearing the red tie)

Well done everyone!
See you at grad on Friday. . .

A new project

The trellises in my front garden were falling apart.

Henry said he would make me some new ones.

I thought he would make three nice little trellises.

But Henry doesn't think that way.

If he's going to do something, he might as well do something interesting.

Maybe even something big.

Otherwise, why bother? ( He's making me a small gazebo!)

Hmmm. . .

For a couple with very little in common, it's amazing to realize how much we are the same!

Morgan is bravery personified! ( what ever you do dad, don't let that axe slip!)

Sigh. . .

There's just something about a strong man. . .

Whew!!!

Morgan's safe for another whack.

Time for a break.

I'll keep you posted on my little gazebo's progress.

Quiet Sundays

Cleaning the pond

Jada loves it when it time to clean the pond!

Jesse . . .

Not so much.

All it took was a punch in the nose

I know I have been very remiss in keeping up with my plan to post everyday.

Things have been crazy around here since I've been back and I've been rather blue about life in general.

I'm pretty sure my hormones ( that pesky menopausal thing!) are acting up again as my hair is once again falling out (thankfully it mostly grows back).

Yesterday was a good day for feeling sorry for myself as, while trying to switch the pipes from one rain barrel to another I managed to punch myself in the nose.

Hard.

So hard that my first thought was, "It better not be broken! Morgan's grad is next week! No it's not broken, whew! But it's bleeding , and red and swollen! Ack!! What if it's black and blue next week?! How do I fix that!"

Well I'm here to tell you that the swelling has gone down quite a bit.

So has the redness.

I should be fine for my son's grad.

And I must be missing my blogging more than I realized because my third thought was . . .

Wow! How dumb was that?! I have so got to blog about this!"

Flying first class. Conclusion.

You may have heard that there is more room when you fly first class.


That is why Tamara choose it, with the idea that if we were able to have a good sleep while we were traveling, we would be ready for work the morning after our arrival.




How's this for room?!




Comfy Tam?


We definitely had too fiddle with the controls for a while before we were able to get to sleep.



But look what our first course for dinner looked like.




Isn't the food pretty?


That's it for my little series on first class.

It sure was fun and they really know how to pamper you. Thanks Tamara for the experience!

Quiet Sundays

Am I coming or going?

For the last few weeks I couldn't really tell you!
Whew!
What is it about spring that has the To Do list getting longer and longer and the hours of the day getting shorter and shorter? ( at least that's what it seems like to me!)
My 'extra' job has been keeping my very busy as have all the 'unexpected' things that always seem to pop up when you are the busiest. ( like the phone call I got just after I had returned home from my morning bus run.)
" Hello, this is the school. Jesse has to be here this morning for the provincial achievement tests."
"Yes I know, isn't he there?"
"No."
" What time does the test start?"
"Right now."
He slept in.
Again.
" Oh man!"
Of course I had brought my bus home rather than my vehicle, so I would gain a few precious minutes to (hopefully) spend in my garden.
Now what?!
Thankfully a good friend was visiting another friend and neighbour so I ran over there (literally!), picked up her vehicle and raced home to pick up Jesse.
Was he ready?
Standing at the end of the driveway?
Champing at the bit to get to school?
Well. . .
He's fifteen.
Sigh. . .

An empty greenhouse

I bought this portable greenhouse about four years ago with a nice sturdy cover that had a door and back window with zippers and the four side windows closed with Velcro.

I loved it!

There is nothing like going into a greenhouse (even a small one) on a cool spring day and breathing in that intoxicating smell of green growing things.

My poor cover succumbed to the elements last year though, so Handy Henry covered it with regular plastic this year. (Actual greenhouse plastic being both hard to find and rather expensive!)

Unfortunately it does not do quite the same job and I've had to move everything back inside because the temperatures just drop down a little too low at night.

This week's forecast is looking good however, so I'll be making multiple trips to put everything back.

Hopefully I'll also find some time to do it. This is the season where the to do list is way longer than the hours of the day!

Things are still coming along in the garden, and no Tamara I didn't just plant them for the blog!

Here's a peek. . .

Quiet Sundays

Flying first class. Part two

If you have to wait 5 or 6 hours for a connecting flight, this comfy lounge is the place to do it!

Also found in this lounge. . .

Complimentary drinks ,( coffee, tea, juice or pop) snacks, and something light to eat, depending on what meal it might be. (breakfast was toast, cereal, and fruit)

A good book ( thanks for the recommendations!) and a bright sunny window made it a very pleasant wait.

Flying first class. Part one

Have you ever wondered just what was so great about flying first class?

Well wonder no more!

This is the first post in a short series on the wonders of first class flight.

We start the flight with champagne.

Or orange juice if, like me, you are too young for alcohol.

To be continued. . .

Look what's been happenning in my garden while I was away!

Well, as you can see, things are finally happening in the garden!

I believe I can safely say that spring is here.

I couldn't safely say that it won't snow again, but. . . the forecast for the next two weeks looks good, so. . . I'm going with that!

I know that I told you my China story would continue yesterday but. . .

I have a bad case of jet lag.

My poor body is only just starting to figure out what day and time it is!

I barely slept at all Sunday night and last night I didn't fall asleep until 12:30 am. Not great when you have to get up at 5:30 am!

And now it's gardening weather!

That said, and considering how long it takes me to post with a lot of pictures, I will make no promises on when I will post the rest of my China story.

I can't even promise I'll post everyday for the next little while.( I also have a small part time gardening job for the next month or so!)

I'll post as often as I can and share the rest of my trip with you as soon as I can.

I'll leave you with one last picture of spring (for real!) in my garden.

Happy Birthday

I woke up yesterday, jumped in the shower and had the sudden realization that it was my birthday!

The days had begun to blend together.

The previous day had been nonstop go,go, go, in the fabric market ( sorry Ev, but I have never seen so much ugly, cheap fabric in my life! Perhaps we were in a low end market?), to the extent that by lunch time I was feeling totally overwhelmed.(The unbelievable number of people everywhere didn't help much either!)

While sitting down to lunch in a restaurant at the university,our host Daisy asked if I was alright and I almost burst into tears!

How embarrassing!

I tried to hold it together while we looked at the menu and tried to find something that didn't contain heads or heavy spice.

Fried rice and Portuguese tarts were ordered and once my stomach was full ( the tarts were delicious, so I had two) I was feeling much better.

After a trip to the bathroom and finding the luxury of a western toilet I was back to my old self and ready to go. We explored to university grounds, did some personal shopping ( found a lovely suit and a cute bag) and headed back to the hotel for any early night.

After a good night's sleep I woke up yesterday ready for a new day.

My birthday!

But that story is going to have to wait until I get home.

We are leaving tomorrow morning, so check in on Monday.

If I haven't succumbed to jet lag I'll continue the story!

Have a great weekend.