….also known as Echinacea
New Flower (Aug. 1, 2014) – Pink Coneflower
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Category Archives: Toronto
The Summer is Half Over
…..so much I wanted to do and can’t seem to get to
I’ve been to the cottage three times and the last time it was down right cold. I haven’t been swimming once this summer. Hopefully August will be warmer.
I’m back in the city at the moment. I’ve come home to visit my aunt in the hospital, catch up on my emails, start on my ‘Summer Camp’ art projects and do a little more gardening. This morning I started my day by going for a walk with my husband and the dog. I actually ran for the first time in about a year when we got to the rugby pitch. I only ran 1k but it’s a start. In total I walked and ran 4.9k.
This weekend is the long weekend in Ontario (civic holiday) and I’m going to avoid the rush to get back to the cottage. I will probably head back up on Sunday when some people start returning to the city. I actually like spending time in the city on weekends. There’s always a lot to see and do. This is the big Caribbean festival in the city that attracts over a million visitors. I’ve never attended this event because I’ve always been at the cottage. Maybe this year I’ll change that.
I can’t believe I forgot the main reason for coming back to the city when I did. I just got a call from a good friend of mine, reminding me that we were suppose to meet at her house so that I could help her clean out years of stuff. In the next year or so she wants to sell her house and move to a smaller place. In the meantime she has to start parting with some of her accumulated treasures.
Well I’ve loaded up my car with some of A’s things that she’s willing to part with. Tomorrow morning I will drop them off at the Goodwill and next week I’ll come back to the city and help her get rid of more things. We also checked out a couple of antique places today that may be interested in some of her belongings. I’ve promised A that I would take photographs of some of her more interesting pieces and send them off to these stores to see if they’re interested in purchasing them.
I didn’t get over to see my aunt today. After tomorrow’s walk I have to drive my husband to our daughter’s place to pick up his bicycle (we were there for dinner tonight) and on my way back I’ll stop off at the hospital to visit with my aunt. Hopefully I can start on some of the art projects that I’ve missed. I’ve read about 100 emails today but I still have 110 to go. As for the gardening maybe I can pull a few weeds tomorrow.
Till tomorrow, cheers!
Waiting in line to get on the ferry to go back to the city.
Harvesting the Garden
….we’ve had a bumper crop of lettuce this year but today we picked beans, peas, zucchini and jalapeno peppers
As I was weeding the garden this morning I noticed that the purple beans and the sugar peas were ready to pick. Looking at the garden the night before I didn’t notice anything hanging from the pole vines but in the light of the morning sun they stood out like a sore thumb. 
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the zucchini and picked three the night before and one more this evening. The jalapeño peppers were also ripe for picking. 
Three of the four vegetables made it into our stir fry tonight (will save the jalapeño for another time) and to our surprise the purple beans turned a dark bright green. Everything was so fresh and delicious.
Fruits of my Labour
….overhanging branches of sour cherries netted me 5 jars of jam
Thanks to my neighbour’s sour cherry tree I was able to pick enough cherries that were hanging over onto to our side of the hedge to make jam. I’d never really noticed the tree before, probably because I would have been at the cottage when the cherries are ready to pick. This year I’ve been home more than normal because of a family situation.
I knew the cherries were ready to pick because the neighbourhood squirrel was feasting on them a couple of days ago.
I found an easy recipe in the cookbook, Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan.
Sour Cherry Jam
6 cups of pitted and crushed (I left mine whole) sour cherries, 3 cups of sugar and 1 packet of liquid pectin (3oz/85ml)
Combine the cherries and sugar in a large pot and boil for at least 20 minutes. Add the pectin and boil for another 5 minutes.
Ladle into hot, clean canning jars. Apply the lids and rings and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
The jam is a bit loose but it jells up more when it’s refrigerated. Delicious.
Thanks Nancy. Your jar is on its way.
New Flower of the Day, July 14 – White Astilbe
….white with a hint of pink
Share Your World – Week 27
….thanks Cee for more great questions this week for Share Your World
If you were the architect of one existing building, which building would you select?
What an impossible question! There are so many wonderful buildings out there in the world that I’m sure my choice will probably offend a variety of people for a variety of reasons. I’ve decided to limit my choice to buildings in the city I know best and that would be Toronto. I am a huge fan of the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). It was recently renovated and the architect is Frank Gehry. I love that Gehry built the addition around the old building and preserved the best features of the original gallery. My favourite features of the new addition are the Galleria Italia and the Baroque Stairs.
http://www.ago.net/frank-gehry-redesigned-ago
What is one of your favorite quotes?
My favourite quote is ‘Live, love, laugh, learn’. There are many variations of these four words and I love them all.
What color do you feel most comfortable wearing?
I am most comfortable in reds and royal blues. The OA at our school says that I can wear all colours well but that is not true. I just know what colours suit me and I tend to stick to those colours.
What is something you learned in the last week?
In the last week I learned about the mystery plants that were gifted to me and how to play the chord Dm on the ukulele.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful to the temporary caretaker who helped me with my dilemma in the library. He made a few phone calls and saved me a lot of work. Hopefully when I return at the end of the summer I’ll have a new floor in the library a new caretaker who’ll be as considerate as this one was.
In the coming week I’m looking forward to returning to the cottage and hopefully seeing Germany in the finals of the World Cup on Sunday.
Mystery Plant #3
….this is the last plant I need identified
Thanks to Maggie Wilson I now know the name of my mystery plant #2. It’s a Spiderwort or Tradescantia. http://home.howstuffworks.com/spiderwort.htm
Photo courtesy of : http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-315.jpg
My last mystery plant has lovely burgundy leaves. I’ve seen this before but the name escapes me. Any ideas?
Ignore the green weeds around this plant.
Mystery Box
…..this year a parent from my school gifted me a box of plants
The problem is I don’t know what I’ve planted in my garden. The only plant that I’m familiar with is the succulent. I’m hoping if I post some photos of my newly acquired treasures some of my followers will be able to enlighten me as to what I have.
This is the box that the plants came in.
The plant on top is the one I’m most curious about. I’ve planted it an area with partial in the morning and full sunlight in the afternoon.
Any ideas as to what I have? I’ll post photos of the others when they become a little more established in my garden.
Flower of the Day 2014 – July 1 – Pink Geranium
…..a flower I plant year after year
Share Your World 2014 – Week 26
….now we are truly at the half way mark into the year
Is your refrigerator, organized or a mess inside?
It depends on the day. Of course after I clean it, it’s organized and I try to keep it that way. My husband, however, does a lot of the shopping and he doesn’t always check to see what’s already in there. Consequently we have doubles and even triples of condiments and vegetables. Even if he does check he often doesn’t see what’s near the back of the fridge. So some days it looks a tad messy in there.
If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be?
If I could be famous, I’d like to be a famous artist, preferably while I’m alive.
An earlier attempt at collage.
What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
I’d love to have my own art show. I was suppose to have a show at a community arts centre several years ago but because of politics, the group that I was working with was kicked out of the time slot that we had booked to make way for a more established group of artists who were also on the board of directors. The experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I haven’t booked another show since.
Where do you eat breakfast?
I try to eat my breakfast at the kitchen table. If I’m running late I’ll take my breakfast with me or stop at the local Tim Horton’s and pick up some oatmeal. Once I get to school I sit down in the staffroom to quietly enjoy my meal before my classes begin. Now that the weather is nice I sometimes eat my breakfast out on the deck both at home and at the cottage.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful that school is out and I can now focus on my fitness and weight goals once more. Even though I have to go back in this week to tidy up some more and pack away more books I’ll be able to do it without having children around to supervise.
I’m looking forward to spending time up at the cottage. I haven’t opened up yet and finding someone to go with me this weekend was impossible (too much going on in the city). I’m also looking forward to having my hair cut and my feet pampered before I go.
For more posts about Share Your World check out Cee’s blog at: http://ceenphotography.com/2014/06/30/share-your-world-2014-week-26/
