Goldfinches and Olives

Decided to publish my favourite things again.  I've been keeping a journal and now I feel it's time to share some happiness.  We are all shut in due to coronavirus advisories. 

Plants:  Let's give a shoutout to chives!  One of the first plants to emerge in the garden come spring.  Delicate, fresh, a delight in eggs and sour cream.  Their lilac-coloured blooms are attractive.

Birds:  We are seeing a lot of activity from goldfinches at the backyard feeder!  This one appears to be a male undergoing spring molt.  I love the shiny new yellow poking out among the drab feathers.

Books:  Hawaii by James Michener is a long, engrossing, fictionalized history of Hawaii from its geological beginnings to the 1950s when the novel was published.   My buddy "Hawaii Bob" loaned me a bagful of Hawaii-themed resources, including an illustrated atlas.  With this kind of novel I like to explore the sidetracks, like finding out about taro and poi, and learning that Robert Louis Stevenson loved Hawaii and other Pacific islands.

Baking:  The other day I made sage and olive bread which smelled, looked and tasted wonderful!   I have a feeling it will make a wonderful sandwich at lunch today!  We already ate one of the 3 loaves as an accompaniments to dinner, and it pairs wonderfully with wine, of course.  Can't wait to make this one again.

People:  My wonderful sister MM just invited me to an online bingo.  Mom passed away in 2016, and since bingo was her favourite pastime, it's a lovely way to keep her in our thoughts during this difficult times.

Maybe the End?

It might be the end of this blog, or just a long break.  I enjoyed writing this, and it's fun to go back and look what I've written, and feel the happiness again!

I'm starting a new blog today, reflections on reading the book "How People Learn".

I may return to this one in the winter.  Bye for now.

Canada Blooms, Toronto

I spent St. Patrick's Day at the Canada Blooms show at the Exhibition!  Wonderful displays and ideas for gardening.  I took pictures of my favourite displays.

Green Tea

Lately I'm spending more time outdoors in the beautiful weather, and not posting as often!


Play:  Harper Regan.  I'm starting to get out to see more plays.  On Wednesday I saw "Harper Regan" by Simon Stephens at the Bluma Appel Theatre, about a 41-year-old woman who suddenly has some life changes which are sparked by her father's illness.  It was unsettling enough to provide opportunities for deep conversation and reflection about women's roles, not a bad choice for the week following International Women's Day.

Food:  Green tea.  It's a drink I enjoy in the afternoon, while reading and writing.

Everyday Things:  Names that match occupations.  I found a book called In the Stacks:  Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians, edited by Michael Cart.  I love collecting these names.

Ravens and Libraries

It's been a busy week, with warmer temperatures overall, into the positive integers for the first time since the end of January.  Daylight savings time began on the weekend, so the days seem longer and more summer-like.

Birds:  Ravens.  On the weekend, I was hiking and saw some ravens.  The only other time I've ever seen a raven was in Alaska, years ago.  We see a lot of crows around here, but rarely ravens, so this was a wonderful sighting!  We followed them to their nest, and watched two industriously building.

Activity:  Baking.  When making treats for my niece's bridal shower, I realized that I enjoy the problem-solving aspect to baking as much as anything.  I was figuring out how to turn a cheesecake recipe into mini-cheesecakes, tinkering with the baking times and the quantities.  After some trial and error (and sampling), I was really happy with the product!

Plants:  Kalanchoe.  These are the flowers often seen in supermarket arrangements.  They are sturdy an long-lasting.  I bought a red Valentine arrangement at the Superstore for $1 and it's still going strong on the counter.  I'll try to get it to bloom again once the flowers fade.

Place:  Toronto Reference Library.  Every so often I like to spend a few hours there. The first thing I notice is the quiet.  I like to spend some time delving into books on a specific topic, and grabbing a coffee downstairs at Balzac's.

Activity:  Writing this blog.  It's a good reminder to appreciate what's around me!

Art and Tulips

We're reaching the point in the winter, during this particularly long cold snap, when we are absolutely longing for spring!  A trip into the city to see some art at the AGO is restorative.

Plant: Tulips.  Last fall I bought several packages of tulips on sale, and stored them in the fridge all winter.  Yesterday I planted them into two flowerpots to see if they will grow.  Tulips are one of my favourite parts of spring, with their wide variety of colour and soft sweet scent.  It always amazes me how after a bitterly cold winter, they arise in the spring.

Plant:  Silver Lady Fern.  It's a fast-growing fern that looks somewhat prehistoric, with its long, bright-green fronds.  I've been adding more plants to my collection at home after reading about how they improve indoor air quality.

Places:  Art Gallery of Ontario.  A great place to have a membership, for both long and short visits.  Lately I've been choosing one painting at a time to study at length, for about 20 minutes or so.  So far, I've studied two:  "Interior of a Forest" by Cezanne, and "La Plage a Trouville" by Boudin.  With this last one, I asked a lot of questions, and found myself wondering about the subjects.  Did they know they were being painted?  Which people did Boudin decide to include?

Places:  Roncesvalles Street.  Cafes, shops, interesting people.  We went into St. Vincent de Paul church to have a look around, and listened to an organist practice some Bach.   What a treat.

People:  My buddy Bluebird who always says yes to jaunts and adventures, and who loves sweets and treats as much as I do.

Tea and Sunshine

A busy weekend with events and nature.  I volunteered at the Hoot and Howl event on Saturday night, where recordings of owl and coyote sounds were made in an effort to get them to respond.  No luck, but a wonderful presentation by TRCA teacher Alex, along with goodies and fellowship made the night a success!

Activity:  Yoga.  I've been practising yoga regularly for a few years now at the Balanced Life studio in Ajax.  I really like how strong and flexible I'm becoming and how my mind is calmer and more peaceful.

Everyday Things:  Sunshine.  It amazing how good a sunny day feels after a stretch of bitterly cold wintry weather.  To see the icy cover of our driveway slowly melt into puddles is such a lift!

Plant:  The Peace Lily.  It's one of my favourite indoor plants with its long, glossy dark green leaves and graceful steps with white flowers.  It's great at purifying the air, and one advantage to caring for a peace lily is that it gets a bit droopy when dry, thus sending out a notice when it needs water.

Food:  Tea.  I received a lovely collection of tea samples from my sweetheart and I've been making a cup of tea a day.  It's soothing and invigorating at the same time.

People:  Speaking of my S/O, I'm grateful every day that we are part of each other's lives.