My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: Sunday


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What with gathering oak leaves for the garden, continuing my course and making soaps, I’ve been kinda busy … but, oh so very happy.

Thursday, November 27, 2012

Looking through my dashboard, I found this blog that I’d started on Nov 15 but hadn’t posted .. so will share this now!

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Oh .. we are so very lucky here in Victoria!! There have been several days of sunshine, such a welcome from the overcast rainy days.  Although, I really don’t mind those kinds of days … those are the days when I can do the work inside the house.  The work that just doesn’t get done on sunny days .. when the garden calls out to me and I answer readily by going outside.

Or, perhaps it’s time to go on a shopping & exploring day with a good friend.  Or .. actually, I can pick any number of reasons to not do housework .. but, no worries, I always do my fair share of keeping our happy home nice and tidy!

I’ve been so busy lately, feel like I’m on whirling merry-go-round ..but enjoying the ride!

In addition to getting back into soap making, I’ve nearing the end of my landscaping course, normal housework duties and collecting oak leaves for the garden.  So far I think that I’ve collected nearly 30 bags and yesterday I went for more!    There is a lovely large property not far from our home .. with many oak trees and the generous owners of this place allow me to gather as many leaves as I want!  Yesterday found me dashing over there and madly filling as many bags as possible before dusk descended.  Those wonderful handy-hands (large plastic flat circles, with a zig-zag edging) allow me to scoop up  large amount of leaves at one time.  I posted pics last year and will take another today, to show what they look like.

I’d filled about 18 bags and finally accepted the fact that it was too dark to see the leaves clearly, so I stuffed 8 bags into my little car (now, I would have taken a picture of that but it was too dark) and have a collection of 10 more to go back and pick up.  Oh, lovely food for the garden this will be!

I took a few pics from my first sale effort in more than 20 years!  I had set up a table at a flea market on Sunday past … it wasn’t the right venue for my soaps, but it was a start!

I really enjoy talking with people and so I really enjoyed my  first foray into the selling arena.   Although it wasn’t a craft show .. it brought me back to the lovely world of selling things I made and also gave me the opportunity to listen to lovely conversations, feeling the happy energy of people shopping for things that interested them.

And I have made inquiries to join a few more craft sales in the city .. small ones .. more personal than huge organized ones.  Perhaps I’ll try for them next year.  For now though, I am quite content at rejoining my initial excitement at creating soaps … and look forward to playing around with the various combinations.  There is the creative energy that I’ve reconnected with.   So very much fun.

Well .. on with this day ….

🙂


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I decluttered with a vengeance and now I have lots of space! Plus, I decided to go to Cesar Milan show, yea!

October 31, 2012 … Happy Halloween …

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And .. no chocolate for me .. cause .. today .. is the day that my Ecological Landscaping Course begins.  Once again I’ll enter worlds of knowledge about gardening that will raise my awareness to a whole new level.  I’m quite looking forward to this.  I know that we will be learning how to graph out a landscape and that will be a challenge for me .. or .. will it?

Anyway, yesterday I found my “Inner Organizer/Declutter” energizer had taken over my being for the whole day.

I fought this at first.  Looking around my computer room, seeing stacks of books, papers and other things that just somehow accumulated bit by bit over the months.  You know, the things that are just placed on the desk “for a minute” or “till tomorrow” or some other such vague period of time in the future.  Relief at not having to focus on tidying up in the present time.

Things that are hastily stuffed into attractive storage boxes “just for now” and they slowly make a home for themselves on the shelves, gathering dust.

I played around with sorting at first.  Casually picked up a few pieces of paper for recycling.  Looked through some books.  Went to the kitchen.  Made tea.  Searched on the computer.

Debated about this upcoming Sunday .. suddenly there are two activities that tug at my heart and they are both happening in the same time frame.  What are the odds?  (I know, a Canadian band, as my DH tells me!).  http://oddsrock.com/

Cesar Milan will be appearing on Sunday!  I went to his show a few years ago, and stood in the rain for several hours beforehand, for the opportunity to meet him and I was fortunate enough for that.  And he autographed a photo that I have of my little Oreo, looking into a mirror up at me.  I’ll post that on one of my posts during the winter.

So, dilemma.  Go to the show .. or go to the fall Friends of the Library book sale.  This one is going to be a great one and will be held in a huge sports arena.

The only trouble is that they are both occurring in about the same time frame.  I play with the idea of rushing to the sale, wait for the doors to open at 1:15 or so, gather up about 10 bags of books, rush to the car, drive to the arena, try to find a parking space and then go to the Show.

Or ..I could relax, and not go to the book sale, leave early for downtown, find a parking spot, casually enter the arena and this time look at the items for sale.

I know that DH and D both tell me that I have enough books ..and looking around me (and thinking about the shelves of unread books in the basement) .. I do have to agree with them.  So I’ll read like crazy in the winter and then will have some empty shelves, ready for the January book sale!  Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions!

Anyway, after I came back from town, with my ticket, I realized that I must focus on the decluttering.  And you would have been proud of what I accomplished, starting out, bit by bit.  And I decided that I could take my time .. I had the balance of the morning, all afternoon and evening to focus on this task.

Mercilessly I went through boxes of Christmas cards from over 20 years ago .. shred .. shred .. shred.  Puzzle books from that era .. to be donated, along with quite a few books that were purchased, new, not read .. from years ago .. time for someone else to read them.  (I donate these to a literacy program).

Ended up with 2 huge bags of paper recycling and one of those gigantic Ikea blue bags with items to donate & recycle.

This little room feels so much better and I’ve accomplished much, but there is still more to go and I’ve reached the energy level where I will be culling things that aren’t necessary any more.  What a freeing feeling!

Anyway, I’ve posted more photos of our little shopping trip on Monday, that lovely sunny day when D & I wandered around our famous old Chinatown shopping district, the Fisgard Street neighbourhood.  It’s been years since I’ve done that and it was quite a fun experience.

There are still more photos to post and I’ll try to post them tomorrow.

Anyway … on with this lovely rainy Halloween day ..

🙂


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I drew the winning ticket! However, it wasn’t for me!

Monday, August 13, 2012

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We went to a car event on the weekend .. many hundreds of classic and stock cars of all kinds.  I took lots of photos, only to find out later that I’d accidentally smudged some sunscreen on the lens … so although I love the photos, they all have that slightly blurry effect!  Sigh.

As we were parking, dh pointed out the Martin Mars water bomber that was flying overhead, so I scrambled to take a picture and was able to take a quick one!  What a magnificent plane this is!  Wonderful to see it flying .. just for fun!

Several times on that day, Sunday, we found ourselves stuck in a long line of traffic … so during the first wait, I looked outside the car window and rested my eyes on the calming greenery of a little wooded area .. it helped me avoid the “argh” feelings of being stuck in traffic.  And eventually … traffic inched along and soon all resumed speed.

Beautiful weekend.   Lots of lovely skies.   Many birds sighted.  People in a holiday mood.

At the end of our day at the car event, we were on our way out and gave in to the volunteers selling 50/50 tickets and bought ourselves a strip of them.  We waited around to see if we would be the lucky winners.  The volunteers were busy tearing up the perforated tickets and mixing them up very well.  One of them called over to me and asked me to draw the winning ticket!  So, facing away from the large ticket container, I swirled my hand around through the tickets .. which one shall I choose?  Finally I plucked one up and handed it over to the gentleman in charge.

Woe, it wasn’t one of our numbers.  However, the money is going to a very good cause, so we are happy about that.

As we left the area, we could hear the announcer telling everyone the lucky number!  And I felt happy that somehow I was able to be a part of the connection in the outcome of the lucky winner!

It was wonderful being away and doing something very different from our everyday lives … on a sunny Sunday!

Today I spent some happy time in the garden . .visiting with my good friend D.  We spent hours and hours talking about creative things.   Good energy.

I happily showed her the changes in my garden since her last visit.  She has grown vegetables for years and so I ask question after question.   And get the answers that I add to my growing veggie gardening information bank.  I’ve really only started growing veggies last year .. so every year I get a little better.  Still haven’t tackled the whole tomato pruning thing yet.  Lots to learn yet.

Here it is, nearly mid-August .. we’ve really only had full hot summer since the beginning of July.  I feel as if I “should” be farther along in my gardening than I am.

There are half-finished projects here and there.  I have been successful in some things and have cleared away hundreds of gardening pots to give away. And washed (in the same water, so as not to waste) plastic bags that once held soil or manure.  Dried them in the sun and they are ready to take to the recycler.

Slowly, slowly, the hundreds of chores that I have listed in my mental “to do” list are getting done, a few at a time.

Recently, I’ve devoted many hours .. a whole day even .. to completing little jobs.  Like, one section of the front yard .. weeding, pruning, mulching.  Another involved one side garden .. that I am so happy with.  There are more to do.   And although I know that gardening will never be finished …I am truly enjoying the journey!

And tomorrow, I plan to get up real early and start again.

It is so tempting to just run outside in the morning, but, there are litters to be cleaned, floors to be swept, little daily household chores.  Better to be done with them first thing in the morning and then I don’t have to think about them till the next day.

It’s been a day!  Another great one, of course!

🙂


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Mother Nature has been taking care of watering the gardens .. thank you very much.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

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Saturday .. what a day .. windy, blustery … rainy  .. and then the sun did come out, later on in the day.  A sweet promise of what will  happen on Sunday.

So I really wanted to play outside, but decided to save that treat for another day.

Looked outside at the trees, branches waving away in the winds … glad that we planted so many  here .. years ago.  Knowing that the birds have many places to take cover in rough weather.   Places to nest … unseen by human eyes.  I respect their privacy.  Although I would love to see their little homes . .I leave them be.

Happy that Mother Nature is watering the gardens thoroughly . .no worries about dry soil for the plants.   Oh, this will be good for everything, the berries, the garlic .. the fruit trees.  And the grass .. another opportunity for me to use my newest garden tool .. the push mower.

And I must empty the Rubbermaid containers .. that are full of seaweed.    So they can begin to enrich the plants with their mineral laden goodness.

So I didn’t take any pics on Saturday and am posting some of sunnier days:   Including some pics when my pal D & I visited the beaches of Sooke.  Slowed down when we saw a young deer standing, transfixed, by the side of the road.

Then, later, we’d been busy gathering seaweed and were surprised to see deer prints, freshly made.   It had been around our area and hadn’t made a sound!

Visited the beautiful Point No Point for the most delicious chicken soup, homemade bread and tea.  Drank delicious water, untainted by chlorine ..  Looked out the windows at the magnificent ocean vista.  Priceless.  What a lovely place .. it’s been years since I’ve been here and I vow to return again.

Wandered the magnificent property.  Walked the lovely red bridge .. a truly beautiful place to be.

Glad I took pics .. lovely memories of nature.

Well . on with this new day.  Some gardening, you say?  Of course!  At Dakota Cafe!

Laters!

A.M.