Thursday, April 30, 2015

Catching Up

Well it's been quite some time since I've written a blog post! As I mentioned some time ago I wasn't sure how much time I could set aside for blogging as my situation has changed with my work. Obviously, there has been next to no time for blogging, and I quite miss the contact with all of you. But life is what it is and nothing is going to change for me anytime soon I'm afraid.

I finally got my income taxes filed away for my home business, which is always weighing on my mind come April! Now I can finally enjoy the beautiful weather that has taken its time in arriving here in southern Ontario. It's been a very long cold winter, and a very long, cold spring. Last week we had snow. SNOW!  It didn't last more than one day, but it was disappointing to see it covering everything when I got up that morning. Sheesh! There was some nasty hail last week too, and that pelted my husband's big wooden Muskoka chair a bit more. This chair have taken a beating from hail over the last few years. I store it in the garden shed over the winter, and only just brought it out two weeks ago, obviously just a bit too soon :[


Lots of little indents from damaging hail
But since Tuesday ... glorious weather at last!! The sun has been shining, the temperature has risen above 0C, and I even sat on the patio yesterday afternoon ... ahhhhhhh .... bliss! 

Out in the gardens, flowers and shrubs are putting forth a gallant effort to bloom despite the extended periods of cold this year. I went out this afternoon and snapped a few shots of what is showing at the moment.

My only hyacinth ... fairly sad looking I know.


The lenten rose tucked under my kitchen windows ... I didn't even realize it had bloomed until I was outside. I'm always happy to see it again as it was once a gift from me to my mother. She planted it along the edge of the wooded hill at her home. I brought it home with me after she passed away.



Another of Mom's plants is the Virginia bluebell. The squirrels moved it a couple of years ago, but I'm happy to see that it is still coming up regardless. I don't have any other flowers blooming, the rest of the garden part of this post is just green.


Bleeding hearts are one of the first flowers to come up from their long sleep. I get so many coming up that I have to rip out quite a few each year!



One of a couple of peonies. I haven't even been out to clear out the debris from winter yet. I like to leave a lot of stalks of flower heads out for the birds. This winter the little birds enjoyed the black-eyed Susan's right through the winter. The stalks don't look so pretty, but  most of them were covered in deep snow, and only the flower seed heads were visible above the white drifts.


My mossy stump (Amy!). Not looking so good after the winter, but I have hopes that it will recuperate with a bit of watering. The squirrels and birds seem to have dug in it while foraging for food through the winter.


The black currant bushes are looking good already!


My favourite lilac bush is budding up :)


And so are the lilacs from Mom's garden. I can't help but mention my mother when talking about my garden. She was such an avid gardener and loved her plants like little children. Picturing her in her gardens all through the spring, summer and fall is how I remember her best. Having her plants come back is a very sentimental thing for me. I'm glad most of them survived because I really don't have the skill and dedication to gardening that she did!



The iris have come back fairly well. I lost a few of these beauties last summer. I think ants ate the roots, but can't be sure. I want to move them out of this garden to the front where they are doing really well. This back garden becomes too shady for them later in the summer.



So that's most of what's happening out there in the gardens. Not too thrilling. I have to get out there and clean up the gardens soon! Hopefully the weather will hold till the weekend. A visit to my dad at the nursing home is overdue (missed last Saturday), so I'll be there on Saturday morning again. He could do with some outings in the spring air himself, but we have to scout out a good wheelchair for him (he had two ... both horrendous!). Always something to keep us busy :)

I've been working on some knitting in the evenings, and have got almost one side finished of another cable cushion cover. 


This one is in denim blue, with a fussy Celtic cable pattern in the centre. I have to keep track of every row I work on, and I can't knit on it if there is even the slightest distraction or I mess it up! But I really like that cable, and it's going to look great with my other knitted cable cushion I did a few months ago.



And that's me sort of caught up. My daughter is home from university for the summer, and my son is home from high school thanks to the teachers' union forcing teachers out on strike!! How I hate this strike. It's been going on for the second week now, and it doesn't sound like the teachers are going to listen to the governments offers at all. I'm only thankful that my son is not in his graduating year. I can only imagine the anguish the graduating students are going through. Sadly I think it's the union leaders who are pushing this, I doubt the teachers themselves are enjoying walking the pavement all day long for reduced pay. Such a frustrating situation.

I hope everyone is doing well, and that this gorgeous weather is being felt by my blogging friends scattered around Ontario! I have to run now, so I hope this post is error free and makes some sense as I don't have time to proofread it! Thanks so much for stopping by to have a read, and hopefully I'll be able to visit most of you soon :)

Wendy


25 comments:

  1. Looking good in that garden Wendy!!!! I'm sorry the hail made marks on your husbands chair though the beauty of that chair is what I see not the marks! And I hope that the teachers come to some resolution with the government. I know about this all too well. You take care and soak in that sun! So happy to see your post today! Nicole xo

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  2. Oh so Good to catch up with you, Wendy. Your Spring blooms are growing nicely and I am glad to see that they all survived the Winter. Now that warm weather has finally arrived they will take off. I am always amazed on how incredibly fast things grow once the days lengthen and the sun shines warmly.
    I love bleeding hearts and I don't think I have ever seen one bloom in my region of Texas.
    Take care!
    xo
    Jemma

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  3. Hello Wendy, it is nice to have an update from you! Your garden is looking wonderful.. Maybe the snow will be over now? I do not think the reached should be allowed to strike, but what do I know.. I hope it quickly.. It will be nice to have your daughter home.. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week!

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  4. The garden looks great! Ours is slowly catching up with yours.

    RE the strike, I'm sure SOME teachers don't want to be out. But enough of them voted 'yes' to give the union the mandate to strike.

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  5. Hi Wendy! So glad to see some of your pretty garden and glad you are doing good! Take care.
    Julie xo

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  6. Is there any chair more comfortable than a Muskoka? I doubt it.
    It's wonderful to see everything coming back to life...especially after such a rotten winter.
    Jane x

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  7. So lovely catch up with you - and your mossy log! - Wendy. That is a wonderful chair, it looks as though you could sit there for hours and just relax. Your garden is wonderful, so much coming up already and getting ready to bloom. My bleeding heart returns each year, but doesn't spread, you obviously have exactly the perfect touch for it, so don't think that you are not a good gardener! You are a great one!!! Oh, I love your cushion cover too, the colour is so pretty and the cabling, my goodness!!! You are such a talented knitter Wendy!!! I hope that all will be well for both of your children! xx

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  8. Hi Wendy - Very nice post! We've had a pretty chilly spring here too...no blooms yet for us.

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  9. Glad you are well....
    When my Mom passed away, I was able to bring three of her Peony bushes to live here with me!
    They are still "growing" strong, after 16 years...
    Have a great weekend...
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  10. You are so good at knitting...that's a complicated pattern. But it sure will be pretty and I know you'll enjoy it. You have such a nice variety of flowers and must have something blooming all during the summer months. Enjoy the weekend ahead. Sweet hugs Diane

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  11. I'm glad to read again about you !! Well, I'm happy thaht warmness is coming to you ... this week is really cold here... but no snow or hail !!! Your knitting is beautiful , I love knitting cabled things !! I wish you a lovely weekend !

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  12. Hi Wendy,

    How wonderful to have so many sweet memories of your mother working in her garden, as well as actually having some of the flowers she nurtured in your own garden now. The hail really did leave its mark on your hubby's Muskoka chair! The lenten roses are so pretty; they're new to me. I will be walking on Canadian soil May 7th, and can't wait to finally see my beloved peonies and lilacs this spring, to breathe in the nostalgic scent of my childhood, while visiting the Oshawa Peony Festival - a dream, for me!!

    So sorry to hear about the teachers' strike; hope things get resolved soon. Have been through many of these here in Greece, and felt so awful for my daughter.

    Happy weekend!

    Poppy

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  13. It's wonderful to see the green popping up in the gardens isn't it? I like that cable pattern in the pillow cover you are knitting. It looks very challenging but then, any knitting is challenging for this non-knitter. :) Have a great day!

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  14. good morning, so good to see you post-I understand how life can be. Glad spring is finally arriving for you too.
    I am hoping last night was the last of our cold evenings as temperatures begin to warm up this weekend for us. Hope to planting my veggie garden soon
    Have a good weekend

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  15. Your garden is looking good, my lilac is on the verge of blossoming too.

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  16. Spring really is here, isn't it? Buds, flowers, birds... Your cabling is gorgeous! I love doing stuff like this but I find in the evenings I don't have the concentration to follow an intricate pattern. Maybe in the summer when I am not so tired after teaching kindergarten all day!

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  17. It is always a delight to read your posts, Wendy! Your garden is looking great already. Your photos of the lenten rose is so lovely. I wonder if it will grow here. The Celtic cable looks gorgeous in the denim blue colour. I found an app called Knitting Bag for my phone, it has been very helpful with keeping count. Hope the strike end soon so your son can go back to school. Enjoy the wonderful weather with your kids.

    -Soma

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  18. It is nice to see the garden coming back to life after a long winter. Could teach us a little lesson about resilience and patience, I suppose :-) And even nicer to have these fond memories of your mother.
    Amalia
    xo

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  19. Hi Wendy, lovely to catch up on your news. It's lovely you've got so many beautiful plants from your ma's garden. She's probably giving you a helping hand nurturing them along. I'm in awe of your knitting- it looks horrendously complicated! But great when it's done :o) Take care, CT x

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  20. It's nice to see a blog post from you again, Wendy. Life seems to be getting in the way of blogging for many of us lately. I'm glad winter seems to have finally ended, but nasty that it came back with that snow last week. I love how your plants bring back memories of your mom. And I love that cable on your pillow cushion cover. I think it is the same cable I knit in a sweater some time ago. I know what you mean about needing 100% focus to keep from making a mistake. :-)

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  21. Hi Wendy, life is pretty hectic here too at the moment so know where you are coming from it gets harder to pop around and say hi to everyone. It's always nice to see your plants wake up after their winter sleep. It's still freezing here so not much has been done in my garden either. I love those lentin roses they are very pretty and your cushion is going to be lovely. Have a great weekend. :) xx

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  22. Nice to catch up with you Wendy, I can't believe the damage the hail did to the muskoka chair! At least we didn't have it after the plants bloomed, I recall one year when the hostas were torn up.
    I just had knee surgery on Thursday to repair a torn meniscus and will be happy to be able to walk without a limp and garden easier again.
    It's nice you have plants that were your mother's and I hope they continue to bring you happy memories of her.

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  23. Hi Wendy, How wonderful it is to have flowers from your mother's garden. Precious memories. Your garden is looking good and it'll only get better from now on as spring continues. Take care and have a lovely Mother's Day!

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  24. Hi Wendy - so good to see all the beautiful flowers coming up after your loooong winter! It must make you so happy to go outside and see the sweet reminders of your dear Mom. It's so wonderful that you were able to rescue some of her flowers and shrubs to have those sweet memories of her in the garden. I love your Mr.'s big chair - I have wanted Adirondack chairs forever and this one is very special, of course. Too bad about the strike - I hope your son doesn't have to go to school through the summer. Teacher's can never be paid what they are worth! :) Enjoy your beautiful spring weather and Happy Mother's Day! xo Karen

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  25. Glad to see your post (two actually) pop up in my reader, Wendy!
    That is certainly a beautiful chair - did your husband build it? Here is the US the same design is called an Adirondack chair, but the general association is the same, I think...summer in the woods, by a lake?

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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