Summer Soon

My daughter  stayed with me this week while at her placement in the final lap  of her two year journey to her master's degree. My luxury of time has let us return for a brief moment to to our relationship of the past. Making her breakfast, getting her up in the morning, driving her to work (not school at this point!) and tucking her in at night. All so nostalgic and comfortable. I really admire her determination and accomplishments in addition to her enthusiasm for our garden. She assisted in the defence against the rabbits. No signs of entry so far.  I read the other day that a good way to keep rabbits out of a garden is to discover where their warren is and plant them a little garden of their own nearby. How sweet!

Kale, greens, two spears of asparagus and garlic scapes  are the harvest for today. The strawberries are very tart and best eaten just picked warm from the sun. 

Nature

The main focus this weekend is the garden. After enjoying the leeks, the rabbits were feasting on most other things as well. That called for a trip to TSC and a few hours of digging trenches to add wire to the fence. Many flowers are in their full glory: the exotic allium, the purple nine-bark flowering for the first time in 4 years, the peonies continue, the flowering bush in the yard behind us and the Marguerite daisies. 

Bala by the Falls

A reunion with one of my travel pals on the lovely Muskoka town of Bala. Great to get out of Toronto to see some of the glorious Ontario lakes. We spent the afternoon with the Muskoka Grandmothers to Grandmothers Chapter who were fundraising to tackle the daunting task of supporting those trying to turn the tide of Aids in Africa. " The Stephen Lewis Foundation launched the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign in March 2006, in response to the emerging crisis faced by African grandmothers as they struggled to care for millions of children orphaned by AIDS. The Campaign aims to raise awareness, build solidarity and mobilize support in Canada for Africa’s grandmothers." I felt 

 honoured to witness the efforts of this  group of energetic women from all walks of life. Making jewellery from the discontinued Canadian pennies is one of their creative ideas. 

Peonies

Always a thrill when the peonies open their lush petals to the world each June. Their companions, the ants, have been crawling eagerly  over the buds for days. The first strawberry turned red in the garden today. Another marker of the impending summer. Now we must continue the competition with the rabbits for the beets and beans (they have moved on from the leeks) and keep the birds   from getting the red strawberries before we do. Somehow the electric fence was not a deterrent. Man against nature!! Ventured into town to meet a friend for a long relaxing lunch. What a true luxury. I don't miss the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto but the restaurants are fabulous. 

The Mystery of Hockey Revealed

I must confess that to this point in my life I have not been a true Canuck and followed our national passion of ice hockey. Watching it on television has reminded me of water bugs darting over the surface of the water with their patterns full of direction and purpose for them, but looking random and chaotic to me. Very hard to stay focused on a game like that. After attending a ball hockey game at the fabulous new rink in the old Maple Leaf Gardens night, my life as I knew it will never be the same. It makes a huge difference seeing the entire rink and all the players on it rather than having the game reinterpreted by television camera men. RBC then explained the hockey rules of face offs and icing which were much clearer after Seeing a live game. This  reinforces the benefits to me of experiencing people, places and events live rather than through the eyes of others. 

Thirteen Days

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at home since  my return from my  European  tour however it remains a bit odd to be without the external structure and scheduling that has been part of my world of work. A luxury of time but like a child in a toy store with a bag full of money, I hardly know what to choose first. I realize that it has been only 13 "working" days thus far so I try  to follow my heart's desire on spending these riches of time rather than force a choice. 

What  has emerged is the sorting out of my arts and crafts studio room to create a space for the  projects that excite  me. Organizing displays of all the things I have collected over 50 years and washing and ironing the vintage linens that have been hidden in a box has been both peaceful and exciting. I also had fun  exploring Pinterest today and started to collect ideas for the projects  such as making  jewellery from buttons. 

Three days in June

Three birthday parties in three days. Three chocolate cakes and three celebratory songs. One birthday haircut.Friends  and family and smiles and reminiscences. The rituals of marking the passage of time make us pause to enjoy each other.