summer's here

Today is the Victoria Day holiday and what a busy long weekend it has been. My husband took Friday off work and we've been working hard in the garden for three days in a row. Three gorgeous sunny days, the... [Continue Reading...]

outside, inside

looking at spring, outside the patio door
inside the solarium, waiting to summer outside

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snow in April

We were shocked last night to receive hail and dry pellets of snow, then wet snow for about four or five hours. A few stunning flashes of lightning highlit the whiteness into a ghostlike eery world. Then it all... [Continue Reading...]

urban wildlife

        I had some excitement at the home front this afternoon. I was in the kitchen about to prepare some vegetables when I spotted some kind of bushy furry creature crawling along the garage roof. I couldn't believe my... [Continue Reading...]

end of March

    I was going to repeat the old cliché about March coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion (or vice-versa). The last two or three weeks have been unusually cold here, with locally variable and sometimes... [Continue Reading...]

special long weekend

    Yesterday came the spring equinox Last night the full Lenten moon, (did you keep me awake, Moon?) Today son-in-law J's birthday, a make-your-own-pizza party! and cake! Sunday is Easter, so early this year An egg hunt for the... [Continue Reading...]

and more snow

        snowing all night, snowing this morning schools and colleges closed, commuting chaos garden under heavy white blanket, tree branches weighed down silence punctuated with soft thuds, scrape of shovel glad I can stay home today, like the happy... [Continue Reading...]

ice and snow

a weekend of snow, rain, ice and snow again
so beautiful and bright
and more snow coming tonight!

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winter sun and frost

We have had several days of sunshine at long last. As often happens here when the cloud cover is gone, it gets quite cold. At night it's been as cold as -5C (23F) so there's frost on the skylights in... [Continue Reading...]

lingering lazy days

My, have I been lazy this past week, not even blogging! The preparations and the holidays themselves seem to have tired me out a bit. I'm enjoying these quiet days to replenish body and soul. It's now Twelfth Night,... [Continue Reading...]

old year, new year

    On this last day of 2007, I feel some sadness in saying goodbye to another year. Changing the annual calendars is such an adrupt marker of the passage of time and of aging, inducing a twinge of melancholy... [Continue Reading...]

Boxing Day walk

Reminisces...
two lovely days with dear friends
hours of chatting, eating, laughing
long walks in our neighbourhood

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Happy Boxing Day

Christmas Day was almost a white one when it started to snow in the afternoon as we headed over to one daughter's place for a nice meal and play with the granddaughters. The snowfall was beautiful to watch....

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winter story 2007

    Our granddaughter Lael's annual Winter Story has become her family's traditional Christmas greeting to all their family and friends. As always, Lael (now 7 years) does the delightful drawings and tells the story. Her father creates them into... [Continue Reading...]

good tidings

The countdown is quickening,
the house is decorated and clean (almost),
the baking nearly done
except for the plum tarts
(the filling is made, the dough is chilling)...

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Looking back: Jule favourites

Deep in the archives of three years ago is this favourite Christmas season post of mine and reposted here almost fully: My favourite things about Christmas are the things that appeal to the romantic and the child in me.... [Continue Reading...]

a stimulating weekend

On Friday, November 16th, our youngest grand-daugther had her second birthday. November 16th is a significant date for me and as this blog is kind of a diary as well, I enjoyed looking up past posts on this date.... [Continue Reading...]