Going on a 'Staycation'

(original tea image courtesy Pixabay. A little added photoshop artistry, me)

It's nearly the end of February, a time of year Henry and I begin to long for warm weather. He starts itching to get out his boat and fishing rod and I'm knee deep in seed catalogs and drooling over all those fabulous gardening boards on Pinterest.

We had hoped to take a trip down to the coast (B.C.'s west coast), lounge around in our favourite Bed and Breakfast, visit with my sisters, and go on a few adventures but . . . truck repairs, dentist visits and new glasses have put that out of reach for the time being.

What to do, what to do . . . 

Normally I would plan a lovely 'Staycation' at home that would include adventures here at home, working on a big project or lots of learning about some new project I'm hoping to do.

But this year???

This year I'm tired. There's been lots going on for months and, although my post shingles pain is mostly under control these days, I feel rather worn out.

 I have something totally different planned for this 'staycation' This year it's going to be all about resting and relaxing. Poor Henry's still going to have to go to work, so all his relaxing and resting will happen in the evenings. (not to worry though, he had a lovely golf holiday last fall)

Me???

I'm going to be madly getting stuff ready for the ultimate 'at home' retreat week. I'm cleaning and fluffing and staging lovely vignettes around the house. I'm going to bake all my favourite cookies, squares and cakes and pop them in the freezer so I'll (okay, we'll . . . I might share a few things . . .) have tasty treats all week with out any effort from me. Some of those cookies won't even see the inside of an oven. They'll just be yummy dough. If I'm really, really smart I'll put together a few things to make quick meals next week but, and I hate to say it, I'm pretty sure there will just be a whole lot of 'Help Yourself' suppers instead.

There will be piles of books beside the bed, movie marathons and . . . I may not even change out of my pj's!

I do have a few things booked that will get me dressed and out of the house, so I won't be a total hermit. For the most part though, I'm going to pretend I live in Regency England and not 'At Home' when people come to call. Or in this day and age, email, Facebook and text . . . ;D

Sigh, I can't wait. But now I'm off to wash the sheets and scrub the bathroom. There's nothing cozier than a bed with crisp, freshly washed bedding that's piled high with pillows and extra blankets. Add in a sparkling bathroom complete with fluffy towels and fresh flowers???

Bliss.

See you all in March!

Getting Ready for Company

Don't you love the way this bee is doing his job? He's got work to do and he does it! No halfhearted effort here . . . it's all or nothing!

That's how I need to do things today! My youngest sister is coming for a first ever visit this Thursday and I have a lot to do to get ready . . . Rooms to tidy, bathrooms to scrub, kitchens to dig out . . . (the kids had to break out the paper plates when they came over for dinner yesterday.)

There's the baking and the fluffing of the guest bedroom (or in my case the studio turned into a guest bedroom) and I may even satisfy my craving for fresh flowers with a trip to the floral wholesaler.

Then there are adventures to plan. Sabrina's never been to Edmonton so everything's fresh and new for her. The Duchess is a must do of course, and the Mall, but I can't quite decide where else to go, she isn't a gardener like me . . .

Duchess Bake Shop

All you Edmontonians . . . What are your favorite adventures in the city? Help me make a fabulous list!

Housewife Fail . . .

When you forget to thaw your meat the night before . . .

Sweet Surprises

Don't you love it when, out of the blue, something beautiful shows up?

Looking up in your rear view mirror as the sun sets with an orange glow that throws leafless trees in dark relief. Hoar frost that causes the world to shimmer magically on your chilly morning walk.

Late last fall  these delicate sweet peas were uncovered in the back garden by my friend Denise, when she was tidying it up for me. It was a challenging time, my shingles still hanging on, leaving me in a fair bit of pain, exhausted and unable to get much work done.

And then she brought me these . . .

Later, in my greenhouse, camera in hand, tears sprang into my eyes as I fluffed and faffed with these pretty little flowers. There are always sweet surprises, if you look for them . . .

They are personal surprises, bits of beauty that speak straight to your heart, reminding you that God isn't a distant, vague Father who cares about you in the abstract. He knows you intimately and goes out of his way to remind you of that. All we have to do is keep our eyes, and hearts, open to see it.

That's what these sweet peas were to me. A tiny bit of unexpected loveliness in a hard time. A reminder that, in the end, God triumphs over all.

Life without Friendship is like the Dawn without the Sun.

So begins a poem on friendship by Marsa

I don't know about you, but I've found that making time for friends is something that's the first to go when life gets busy.

And these days, when isn't life busy??

I have several wonderful friends, all of them the kind you can go for months without seeing and then pick up right where you left off.

It's a precious gift.

However . . . there's nothing better than regularly spending time with the people you love , so a couple of months ago I made a commitment to myself to visit with a friend at least once a week. And the visit has to be a face to face visit. Virtual visits don't count here. (I'm not knocking a virtual visit mind you, that's the only way I get to hang out with my sisters most of the year.)

So far I'm doing quite well. I missed this week but it was a week filled with new people, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so that was nice too.

I'm still hard at work on my Photo Artistry course and as a way to practice some of my Photoshop skills, I tried out a tutorial on making a beautiful thank you card.

I made mine for all my dear friends.

Life wouldn't be the same without you . . .

Relearning an Old Lesson. For the Umpteenth Time.

Things have been pretty busy around my house for the past several months. I'm starting to hate the word busy. I use it like it's a good thing. A good thing that I have no control over . . .

The truth is, I have plenty of control over how many things I say yes too. I also have control over how I choose to manage the things I say yes to as well.

I've been given the opportunity to do some really amazing things this year and I feel beyond blessed by them.

But . . .

Managing those wonderful things doesn't always go the way it should. More often than I care to admit, I allow myself to plunge into a project so wholeheartedly that everything else fades around me and I end up with things like this happening in my home:

My brain starts running faster and faster until I've totally lost my sense of perspective.

I was reading through my blog today, gathering a little info for something I'm working on and I came to this post . . . (click on link to check it out) It was a good wake up call.

Now if I could just figure out how to make this lesson stick!  

Sigh . . .

In the mean time . . . this young man is getting married in three weeks! Whoo Hoo!

Bridal Shower on Monday night. Time to get baking!

Enjoy your weekend.

Learning Photoshop. Now Naomi's a Baby Fairy.

 Henry and I had a argument last week. It doesn't happen all that often but, when it does, well, I'm not a yeller or a fighter. I clamp my lips tightly lest I say something I'd regret. Sometimes that means going for a long walk and arguing with him in my head for an hour before I come back.

Then we talk about things and most days that's all it takes to put things to rights.

I hate getting mad though, so I'll often read a good book, or watch an uplifting/beautiful movie afterwards to make myself feel better.

What I really love to do though, is make something pretty.

I've been wanting to take the plunge and make an art piece with my photography that involved fairy wings.

 And that's what I did!

I started with this picture that I took of Naomi and her mom Elizabeth earlier this year.

Then I gathered up my courage, opened up Photoshop, watched a few tutorials on YouTube and made this:

It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with how my first try turned out. And with a baby this cute how could it not turn out pretty??

So, what do you do when you have a disagreement?

I'm not the Only One getting Older . . .

 

Our sweet Jada is going to be 10 this fall.

Her muzzle has begun to grey, she loves to sleep in, and she no longer rips the stuffing out of her furry friends.

She comes when I call, doesn't take bites out of my potted plants as she races by, and loves, loves, loves a good snuggle and a scratch behind the ears.

She is a joy to have around.

Some days though, I miss the puppy years . . . I just came across this post which I wrote in my first year of blogging. Eight years ago!

Check out what Jada was up to back then . . .  Carnage !!!

Goodbye Garden Party

Nine years ago I started a business I'd been dreaming of for most of my married life.

A few months ago I said good bye to that business and, because I like to go all out no matter what I do, I threw a goodbye party in the garden where it all began.

 I thought it might be bittersweet. Hard to let go. Painful even.

It has been none of those things.

The best part of my business has always been my garden and I haven't lost that. If anything, my garden has become more precious to me, as it is once again a place of refuge, rather than  a portfolio of my style and skills.

Which is a good thing, because the crop of weeds I had growing didn't say a whole lot about my style and skills . . .

As a matter of fact, my next door neighbor, while commiserating with me on my inability to get ahead of those nasty opportunists, confided that she occasionally fantasied about getting out her rototiller!

Thankfully, my sweet husband okayed getting in some outside help, and Shyanne powered through both the front and back gardens in a two day long weeding marathon.

Which means the rototiller can stay where it belongs . . . next door! Whew . . .

Flowering has already started to slow down so I had every gardener's lament on my lips as the guests arrived "You should have seen it last week!"

Along with, "Have a glass of wine and something to eat!" of course . . .

I am so thankful for everyone who came and celebrated the end of an old dream and the beginning of a new one.

I had the loveliest time with all of you. My only regret is that I couldn't snuggle down into the sofa in the gazebo and have a long, leisurely visit with each and every one of you.

Perhaps what's needed are a string of intimate, one on one parties . . .

There's still  a little wine left.

If you couldn't make it, here's a virtual party. I wish I had more shots of the actual party, but, I was so busy enjoying it, I forgot to document it . . .

The sign of a successful party rather than a neglectful photographer???

Ahem . . .

Enjoy the party.

 

It's time for a change of pace . . .

There's been a lot of photography stuff going on lately and I thought it was time for a change of pace.

It's been ages since I've posted about baking and I figured today was the perfect day to remedy that. (aside from the 27C temps.)

When I know I want to get baking done on a hot summer's day, I make sure I get up early and open all the doors and windows to cool things off before I get started.

It's been busy around here and there have been a few too many spontaneous trips to the grocery store for goodies, so the other day I was determined to do a little baking.

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law years ago and it's one of my favorites. I get three loaves at a time, they stay nicely moist for a few days and, as with most homemade goodies, they satisfy you for a lot longer than a couple of cookies out of a box.

So. . . without further ado, I give you Cinnamon Loaf . . .  (a big thank you to Idelle Peters for the lovely ('recipe card'!)

And, if,  like me,  you like to see how a recipe's supposed to come together you can check these out . . .

Ta Da!!!

Enjoy!

Saying Good Bye to Growing Wisdom

I'm nearly at the end of my Extreme Home Purge and I've come across some interesting things in the process.

One thing that I discovered, was just how long I have been working on growing a gardening business. Before I started Growing Wisdom, I had started Le Petite Jardin. (with a whole lot of help from my friend Ev.) 

That was in 2003! Over 10 years ago!

I shut that down after a few years, when I realized that I wasn't able to manage getting a business off the ground while mothering teenagers, and driving a school bus and volunteering.

I never quite let the idea go mind you, just let it simmer until a better time presented itself.

I've always wanted to make a living by utilizing my creativity. In the early days, when my kids were small, I had hopes of writing for a living, then, as they got older and my interest in gardening grew, I thought gardening might be the better way (have you ever seen the statistics when it comes to making any money writing??) and began working towards making that happen. I took courses and got my Master gardeners diploma in 2001. I read everything I could get my hands on, attended garden club meetings and visited gardens where ever I could. I even visited a beautiful garden in Victoria while on a 3 day cruise with my sister Lisa. And, because I'm a bit of a rebel, it wasn't Butchart Gardens, but rather, a much smaller garden with a wonderful story and a beautiful design . . . The Abkhazi Garden was such a treat, and one I got to by catching a city bus and crossing my fingers that I'd find my way back to the boat before it sailed that evening.

I ate, slept and breathed gardening.

In the end though, I discovered that as much as I enjoyed sharing my love of gardening and making cool things to enhance other peoples gardens, I didn't love the business part that had to happen to actually make a living from it. I looked at my own garden as a portfolio rather than a retreat from the worries and cares of daily life.

And there have been plenty of worries and cares over the last few years. . .

Pair that with the ever growing Big Box competition in the gardening market, and  . . . well. . . things just weren't fun anymore!

I also wasn't making a living with my business and I needed to.

It is very odd how, for years you think you have so much time to plan for retirement, and then, one day, while blithely making plans, you're caught up short in the realization that you are 49. 49! Your husband is 54 . . . !

People, that means if he wants to retire at a traditional 65 there's only (gulp) 11 years to go!

How did that happen??!

So, the time has come to say good bye to Growing Wisdom, and to gardening for profit in any form. It was the oddest thing, but when I made the final, irrevocable decision to shut the doors I just felt . . . relieved. I had thrown everything I had into it, learned a lot, had great times, met lots of interesting people and grew as a person. Rather than feeling as though I failed, I felt empowered with the knowledge that I was making the very best choice for me and for my family.

Life has changed a lot for me in the last few years. What's important to me has changed as well.

Henry and I are entering a new chapter as a couple as our kids grow older, leave home, get married and seek out adventures of their own.

What I do going forward is going to reflect those changes and will be a melding of old and new interests and skills.

But that's a conversation for another day. . .

Today is all about saying good bye to a dream that has brought me great joy and leaves me with beautiful memories and skills that have allowed me to plant an oasis I can step into from my back door.

Dreams shouldn't be laid to rest without something special to mark the occasion however, and I am holding a Garden Open House, complete with wine and cheese, for anyone (family, friends, blog readers, garden enthusiasts . . . you . . .)  who'd like to help me mark the occasion.

Say Goodbye to Growing Wisdom Open House: Wednesday, July 23, 7-9 pm.

 RSVP to rosa_veldkamp@hotmail.com by July 21 (so I'll know how many bottles of wine I'll need ;D )

I'd love it if you could join me.