Stuff on my camera

My birthday gift from Yvon. Beautiful books, especially the cemetery one. They make me want to drive across the country stopping at every country graveyard and gorgeous church. Ideally there is a choir singing in each one.


Lunch at "The Dish & The Runaway Spoon" which surprised us by offering many locally supplied ingredients. And was yummy. AND I walked around town with no coat on. What a great way to celebrate my birthday!



I wish I had a picture of the raspberry cake I ate over that weekend. The whipping cream and raspberries meshed together to become almost a very fresh raspberry icecream that soaked through the cake a bit and tasted like spring. Thanks for that too!

And this is another birthday gift. The first pussy willows of the year in a beautiful vase. Again, more spring.



It's deceiving though. These come from the camera this morning. Obviously it's not quite spring yet. Nor is it ever spring really in March here, but we do get glimpses of it that give us hope and gear me up for gardening season.

There will be no laundry hanging out here for a bit now. We need to jackhammer part of our basement floor away and fix a wee problem with our laundry and kitchen drain in the floor before laundry will be done.

Sometimes I do wish we lived in a newer home, but those neighbourhoods probably wouldn't allow some of the things that I am getting away with in my backyard (!), nor the veggies in my front yard and maybe not even my clothes line. We'll stay where we are.

Look - it's my first completed knitting project! It's warm and fluffy and looks nice, even though the cables are very, hmmm, let's say "wavy". I don't know why they aren't straight, but that's what makes my work original.

I used to hate "networking". When I actually worked in a business setting, it generally meant keeping in touch with people for the sole purpose of benefitting from the relationship later. It seemed to me like keeping a relationship alive for the point of profit. It sounds sort of heartless and greedy and I didn't want to expend energy doing that. Generally marketing people are good at it. I'm not.

Networking with regards to gardening though, seems much more win/win. I get some seeds and give some, I pick some produce and give some, or advice goes both ways. Yesterday I talked to an aquaintance about his gardening needs and mine and just caught up a bit on what's going on with each other. And this is the result of that networking:

To me it represents food for my family without resorting to Chilean grown peppers and Mexican squash, and space to try some squash, more potatoes, onions, scallions and maybe celery, cut flowers, and climbing beans for drying. To him it probably means a rental property that he will not have to maintain. He won't have to cut the grass or design anything in particular, or buy large amounts of sod and keep it watered. It's not a done deal yet, but I will cry if his renters don't want me to garden here. (Are you reading this? Please don't make me cry!)

It was appropriate that this potential land came to my attention on Seedy Sunday. I drove past it and then went to listen to speakers talk about SPIN gardening, including children in garden (for educational and health benefits), and Guerilla Gardening. I came home with enthusiasm again for the gardening season and some seeds in my purse.

Hopefully my week will include some home improvements and my hands in some soil (but not outside, obviously).