Vegetables

I've spent all winter dreaming of a huge vegetable garden.

There is no space for a huge garden, but oh how I've longed for one!

I've searched the real estate listings for hobby farms in easy commuting distance in our price range. . .

Ha ha ha ha he he he ho ho ho!!!

I've wandered the neighbourhood scoping out empty lots, trying to figure out how I could contact the owners and make a deal which would have them accepting produce or fresh bread in exchange for space to garden. . .

I began to despair of finding anything that would allow my dream to flourish.

In the end however, I decided to take a leap of faith and plant as though the land would be there when I needed it.

These are my leeks. I believe there are over 200 in this tray.

And every last one of them has a place to grow. . .

I not only have one new garden space, I have just been offered a second!

And they came to us!! (Ev and I of course. . .)

Stay tuned for details!

Dreams do come true!

Spring Madness

I've been out in the garden most of the day.
The sun is shining, small bulbs are blooming, large bulbs are poking out and the plants that need to be moved need to be moved now, before the leaves really start budding out.
So I started moving things.
When I got to the peony, (yes I know it should be moved in the fall!) I made an unwelcome discovery.
Some of the ground was still rather frozen.
Heating that soil with a blow dryer crossed my mind. . .
Yes indeed. . .
Spring madness has begun!

One Of Those Days

Today is one of those days.
You know the kind.
The ones where no matter how fast you run you just can't catch up.
I drove to school this morning and had some time to kill before I had to do a field trip.
I ran over to the nearest Safeway and picked up a few things (more on that in another post!)
I got back to school, loaded up the kids, dropped them off at the museum and headed home.
I threw my turkey carcass in a stock pot, chopped up some veggies and added them to the pot along with a few spices.
Once that boiled I put the leash on Jada and we headed out the door for a quick walk.
I got back, gave her breakfast and headed back to the museum.
Dropped the kids off at school and came home with just enough time for a quick lunch and the chance to finish off the stock before I had to leave again.
Jesse has drama after school which means as soon as I park my bus I will hop in the truck and head back to school. Unfortunately, drama's over at five and I don't get back with the bus until after five. Last week it took me 45 minutes to get back to school because of traffic!
Yikes!!
It's also catechism tonight and I have to pack up my Easter flowers while he's there.
Seriously, it is really one of those days!
And yet. . . amidst all that chaos I was blessed with a tiny adventure.
Which somehow brought joy to most of my day.
More on that another day. . .
I've got to get back to school!!

Shopping

I hate to shop.

I love beautiful clothes but I hate to shop for them.

Which, all things considered, is a little odd.

My mom LOVES shopping!

My sister Lisa not only loves to shop, she can also spot a bargain both at home and abroad.

My sister Tamara shops for business. (And pleasure!)

Not me.

My wardrobe was in serious need of help.

So I called in professional help!

Holly came shopping with me. Not only does she have a great sense of style she is also a manager at a clothing store.

Which makes her a professional.

We hit the mall and didn't leave until I had every thing I needed.

I am now well stocked in underwear, have two pretty tops for everyday (or dressy), one beautiful blouse (which I discovered was silk once I got home), a rose printed scarf, and a new pair of shoes!

It took four hours ( four hours that flew by because we had so much fun!) and I shouldn't have to shop again for a few years!

Bonus.

Thank you Holly!!

Quiet Sundays

A Gift

Ev's sister came up to visit her last weekend and their mom sent along organic wheat and potatoes for Ev and a little gift for me!

I met Ev's mom a while back when she was visiting and she remarked that from reading my blog, she thought I was a big sturdy woman!

Which, quite frankly, in my mind I am!

Look what she sent me!

Not only do I love china, this tea cup is one of my all time favorite patterns!

Thank you Ev's mom!!

Dear Lisa. . .

Dear Lisa,

Do you remember when, not so long ago, you came for a visit?

Do you remember how astonished and amazed you were when you went down the stairs and kept exclaiming that you had never, ever seen it as clean as that?

Which was true because it had never been that clean!

Even the laundry room was immaculate.

Please tell me that you remember how lovely it was. . .

Because that's all it is now. . .

A distant memory . . .

Jesse is painting his room and put everything in the hallway, someone put clothes out to bring to Goodwill and the laundry room, well. . .

Sigh.

I think that the day you were over is probably the last time it will ever look that clean.

Ah well, on the bright side, my plant shelves are filled to bursting which means spring is here and soon I'll have an excellent excuse, I mean reason, for not having a clean house. . .

Gardening season!

Whoo Hoo!

Have You Ever Wondered What 100 Looked Like?

Well wonder no more!



I give you our good friend Nicole and Henry on the night we went out to celebrate their 50Th birthdays!

Which of course make the both of them the face of 100!

We have been friends with Nicole and her husband Lorne since I was pregnant with Morgan and she was pregnant with her son Graham.

That was back in the day when we all lived in a housing co-op, a time filled with many fond memories.

Back then we went on annual camping trips with our kids along with several other families who lived in the co-op.

It always rained, I always froze to death and every morning I woke up with rocks digging into my backside as my air mattress had deflated overnight yet again!

Good times! (So good we've decided to go again this year, for old times sake. Although, since we are all a little older with creakier bones, we've decided to rent cabins instead of tenting!)

It's been 21 years since we first met and I pray the Lord grants us many many more.

Happy birthday you two!

Jada Really Loves Her Bunny

New Hair

Holly loves beautiful things.

She especially loves beautiful hair.

If she has her hair cut or coloured and it turns out badly it is a truly painful experience for her.

And believe me she has had more than her share of badly done hair cuts! (Not surprising really if you also love to experiment!)

Not this time though. . .

This time she was thrilled!

Easter Sunday

Last week an older lady from church phoned me.

It turns out she's the one who puts flowers up front in church for special occasions, like a vase of pretty flowers, poinsettias at Christmas, or Easter lilies for Easter. My friend Loretta had mentioned to her that she was pretty sure Easter lilies trigger my asthma (which they do!)

We chatted for awhile and she mentioned that she wasn't sure how she was going to get the flowers to church for Easter as she would be on holidays.

She is a lovely lady (who's voice always makes me think of auntie Jenny and so brings back fond memories!) and I told her I would be happy to get the flowers to church if she needed help.

A few days later she phoned me back to say she would really appreciate it if I could help out but told me I could do the flowers in my own way. She had already purchased a bunch of pussy willows but the rest was up to me.

I was intrigued at the idea of using my gift with flowers as a way to give thanks for the amazing
Gift God gave us when he sent his Son.

I thought about it for a few days. I knew I wanted something that spoke of Spring and rebirth. I also wanted something that would last for more than one day. Of course in the back of my mind I also knew that it couldn't be so unusual it might make some uncomfortable. (We aren't too good with change are we?)

Cut flowers were out.

A visit to Wellingtons, some more pussy willows, a stop at another garden center and Rona, plus a good rummage around the house for extra supplies and this is what I came up with:


I had a plan. I was a little nervous about my plan but I truly wanted to serve Him joyfully in this matter so I loaded everything up and off I went.

The pussy willows were first. They looked great just in the vase on their own (actually that's my flour jar!) but I wanted to get that feeling of spring, so I covered the table with sheet moss. I also 'planted' a pansy in the moss.

I knew most people wouldn't be able to see it, but there is a man in our church, a fellow gardener (much,much beyond me, he's the Principle for Horticulture for our city) who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He sits right up front and had his first round of both chemo and radiation this week. I hoped that, somehow, if he was feeling well enough to make it to church, the sight of this little flower might give him a little lift.

I was very happy to see that he did make it to church on Friday morning! (although of course I don't know if he even noticed that tiny flower! smile)

My next challenge was to figure out how to put the rest of my things together.

This is what I came up with:

I was quite happy with how things turned out.

I must admit though, when I saw how high up the cherry blossoms went I was rather nervous that the minister had found them too distracting!!

I thought I had better ask, and when I did, he assured me that it was no problem.

Whew!!

I would do this again in a heartbeat!

Happy Easter to all!

God Delights In Me

We had our Good Friday sermon this morning and Rev. Aasman talked about how we needed to meditate on the reason Jesus went to the cross. That so often we think a bit about our sins and then quickly move on to the joy of his Resurrection. To really know who Jesus is and what he did for us we need to understand that the road to the cross was littered with our sins and he picked up every last one of them and carried them to the cross that we might have everlasting life.

Then he talked about something that brought me to tears.

He told us that God sent his Son to save us because he delights in us.

Actually, what he said was that God delights in ME !

Somehow I had never thought of it like that.

I know God loves me of course, but I mean. . . let's face it. I KNOW exactly who I am and how often I fail.

I start out each day praying that I will live that day in joyful service to Him and ten minutes later I'm cranking about the dirty dishes the kids left in the sink and the lousy weather outside!

Yet God delights in ME!

It brings me to tears. . .

(my apologies to Rev Aasman if I haven't gotten it exactly the way he said it!)