Wednesday, July 20, 2011

quotation...........

"What is the use of a house if you don't have a decent planet to put it on?"

   Henry David Thoreau

for the love of antiques......

On the weekend Jim and I took a Sunday drive to the Aberfoyle outdoor antique market. We had only been there once before but we knew it was a place that we would love to go again given our love for all things antique. Off we went on one of the hottest days of the year and we packed a picnic lunch to enjoy together. We were not disappointed with all that we saw and our eyes beheld a feast of all things old. These tiny shoes spoke to me in terms of who they may have been worn by and what their life story may have held. I couldn't resist taking this photo......
what small child wore these shoes?

It was so very, very hot out and we were looking for shade to stand in at every opportunity. Taking cold water breaks just to keep us from vanquishing in the heat. But on we forged determined to see all that we came to see. And we were not let down. Of course I saw so much that I loved, but I remained frugal in my purchases and only bought one item. That's pretty good for me!
lunch time :)

We made sure we wandered well and didn't miss any of the displays. There is just so much to see. We took time for our little picnic lunch and that was delightful! It gave us a chance to nourish ourselves and also cool off under the covered picnic area. I LOVE picnics! 
may I have a spoon please sir?
We managed to check out all the areas and even in the heat we were there for 4 hours! I think we would maybe love to go again on a cooler day maybe in the fall. There just might be a little something that might want to live out a part of its life story with me at our house.


jars for filling......


Our day was wonderful in many ways. A great time spent together, time amid so many lovely old things, a great picnic to enjoy and a summer memory on one of the hottest days of the year.

I look forward to our next visit........

my city garden........

I'm not a gardener. I know little about it. As a child I grew up with a garden and really took no interest in it. It was just something that my parents did. When I married I moved to the city and never wanted to go back to the country.....ever. Things change though.....and I've changed. Now, I would love to move back to the country, but until that happens I am a city living  'gardener' with a small vegetable patch. I guess I'm coming of age. I have to smile when I write that only because I'm not really sure what that means. I don't consider myself old, but sometimes my ability to embrace a good thing takes a while. Although I have to go easy on myself because I have not had a yard in the city that was able to have a vegetable garden and that was a choice I made. My yard is a perfect picture of beautiful and graceful landscaping and that in itself is very important to me. It is my 'zen' space that feeds my soul. But aahh...... a 'food' garden is a different thing. I have had a passion about good food and cooking for a long, long time and understand the need for us to take care of ourselves in terms of good nutrition. My body knows when it is given good food and performs better with it. My body can 'feel' good food not unlike it can 'feel' bad food. With my involvement in the Community Garden project I am now able to have a small plot of land and grow some of my own food. It is turning out to be more than I ever expected. I am smitten with every bit of it. The small amounts of food that I have already brought home to my table have delighted not only my palette, but also my soul. I tasted our romaine lettuce and it was nothing like the 'store' variety. Last week I brought home the first kohlrabi and to me it was like biting into butter, it was so very tender. I made tasty, tasty pesto last weekend and the color of it was the most divine thing I have seen lately. There is so much to taste and see and smell and experience!! I am truly enjoying the garden more than I would have ever thought. I knew it would be a beneficial experience, but it has turned out to be so much more. 

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

from garden to table..........


homemade is good...........



You bet!!...........salad caesar style straight from the garden! Oh...how delicious it was!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

again my garden............


the 'heart' of my garden.....
I know that I have written about my garden before, but it always bears another sharing here as the summer moves on. I sat out into the evening the other night and as the sky changed from day to night the light of the moon began to cascade over the garden and weave itself in between the clouds. I gazed at my trees and the leaves were at rest not unlike myself. The garden was quiet and it was so soothing to the soul. For me there is nothing like that feeling as I sit outside on a warm summer night and listen to the quiet. 'Listening to the quiet' will only make sense to those that have experienced that. If you have, you will know exactly what I mean. It's just so perfect after a day of being busy doing things that need doing and living life. All those things that need to be tended to and then taking the time to sit quietly whether it be alone or with someone else. It's a great way to let yourself become whole again. To let our bodies come to a stop and rest for a while......like a recharging of ourselves. It's why we sleep at night also....so that our body can rest and restore itself for a new day. Taking time to sit in the garden at night adds to that for me. It takes me to that place of quiet so that I can begin the restoration work even before I fall asleep. Our world and the lives we lead are too busy and full of activities that steal valuable energy from us and we must replace and renew it every day. This quiet time in the garden is one of the ways I can do that........I look forward to my next quiet time in the garden. Namaste...........

Friday, July 8, 2011

natural insect repellant recipe

I'm going to give this a try......the kids are going camping next week and will probably need some...

HERBAL INSECT REPELLANT

1/2 teaspoon citronella essential oil
1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil
1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil
4 ounces distilled witch hazel


Mix ingredients in a 4-ounce spray bottle. Shake well. Spray onto exposed skin, avoiding eyes and mucous membranes. Reapply every 2 hours, or as needed.

my first time pesto.....yum!

garlic scapes
I have only just this year been introduced to garlic scapes. I had never heard of them, let alone ever seen them before. I am pretty well versed in culinary terms, but this one had escaped me..excuse the play on words:). My first time using them I simply sauted them with asparagus, but I came across a pesto recipe that I really wanted to try! It is from one of my favorite websites, in fact the same one that I found the strawberry galette on. The recipe was simple.....garlic scapes, basil, parmesan, hazelnuts and olive oil with then salt to taste. I was making lunch for Bri and her friend and decided this might be a great thing to serve along with some homemade sausage and grilled ciabatta bread. So I went ahead and chopped the scapes, tore the basil and grated the parm.....add to that the olive oil and toasted hazelnuts and it was terrific!! I can't wait to try it with maybe walnuts or even the standard pine nuts. So another great new endeavor in my recipe collection! Oh how I do love to cook........and entertain with good food!

Life is a banquet and today mine served up garlic scape pesto!


how beautiful is that!!



Buon appetito!!


Thursday, July 7, 2011

the '60' lesson.............

I sat quietly several days ago and my mind was simply wandering in many directions and to many places. It then came to stop at a place that for some reason was all about aging. I found myself reflecting on the fact that I was in several years going to be 60 years old. Heaven knows I'm well aware of my age, but this thought process on that particular day felt different. Sixty that day sounded old....simple as that. I felt myself somewhat shiver with the realization that this was going to happen and it wasn't going to be good. How can I stop this? What do I do about this? Are there any choices?? Yikes....I needed to get a handle on this quick or else I felt that there was no point in wanting to even be one day older. Don't get me wrong I wasn't going to get depressed about this, but it also wasn't making me smile with joy. I was secretly hoping that there was maybe another road I could take to avoid this whole thing. Don't we come to the proverbial 'fork' in the road lots of times in our life. Well this time I think I should maybe take the other road. Hmmmm......

So I had to really take a good look at where I'm at in my 55 years here on this planet. Life for me has not been easy, but I obviously chose alot of what happened and the rest came to me for other reasons. I could decide to veer from my current life path but my life right now is good. I have been working on myself for many years and can say that I like who I have become. Others might differ in opinion and that's ok too :). I smile and laugh more than I frown or cry, so I think thats a pretty good thing. What became clear to me is that I need to look at each day carefully and create a day for myself that I can look back on and smile about or at least know that I did my best. I know that some days will be tougher than others, but they can still be dealt with in a way that will be satisfying in the end. I know this isn't rocket science, but I don't think we focus on this much. I think we walk, run or stumble through life without thinking about it too much. Only when something happens do we stop and wonder what's going on as if we are not even connected to it. I need to take ownership for each day and write my own history as beautifully as I can. So here I go on another step in my journey making sure that I take each day and live it well. It kinda sounds like 'living in the moment' doesn't it? Yes, well that's part of it. I guess for me it was just driven home in a big way when the number 60 showed up in my mind. So, that thought process has now become a gift and I am grateful. I won't say 'no thanks, you shouldn't have', because in fact yes it needed to be given to me and I did need to accept it or it would have shown up somehow or somewhere else in my life. Learning the lesson was the easy part. Now I have to apply what I already know and live it........and I think I can do that. I am the author of my own life story.....and each day is a page in my book of life.

Namaste......



"The mind that is wise mourns less for what age takes away; than what it leaves behind"
~
William Wordsworth

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

my daisies.......

I love my daisies as they show themselves off over the river rocks....

community gardening........

our lovely tomatoes

romaine ready for the salad bowl

teeny tiny peppers coming along :)

I had to watch Brody for a bit this morning and since they don't live far from the Community
Garden site I thought we could walk over and see how all of our plants were growing. Brody loves going for a walk so off we went. The garden plots are all coming along great and harvesting of some vegetables is ready to go. I picked some more swiss chard, basil, arugula and onions and will use these for our dinner tonight. I love the whole thing about 'from garden to table' and can now appreciate so much more what my parents had a garden for. This little garden plot has done so much for me in terms of my own growth. So......as the garden grows, I grow also. It is creating connection for me. Connection to the earth, the plants, to community with others, my daughter who I share my plot with and also a further connection to my grandson who often comes with me when I go there. I believed for a long time that the community gardens would be such a huge benefit in so many ways for so many people and that was where my passion was focused. I was focused on how others would benefit. I love giving people an opportunity to learn and this was a perfect project for just that. I believe it is certainly providing all of those things to all the gardeners and yet its impact for me is the bonus in all of this. I have learned so much already in the short time that we have been gardening together. I look forward to all that is yet to come.

As I said before........as my garden grows, I grow also.......and this is a good thing.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

quotation........

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease ~ Buddha

Monday, July 4, 2011

something she said...........

Home is a refuge not only from the world,
but a refuge from my worries,
my terrible concerns.
I like beautiful things around me.
I like it to be beautiful because it delights my eyes and my soul is lifted up.


Maya Angelou, December 17, 2010

Friday, July 1, 2011

strawberry galette.....so yummy!

all set to go in the oven .....

I came across this quick and easy recipe on a favorite website. Since our local strawberries are almost finished I thought I would pick up a last quart and make this galette. The instructions were no fuss and before I knew it I had my strawberries all wrapped up and ready to go into the oven. It was a hit for sure and I know I will be making this again as the summer progresses and the fruit season moves along. I love it when a good recipe comes along!

another afternoon visitor.....

 taking a summer afternoon break



We have several cats that roam through our yard and sometimes stay for a while. This pretty cat wandered into the yard today as we all sat outside celebrating Canada Day. The cat strolled around the yard for a spell and then settled onto the bench at the back of the yard. I think she can sense the good energy that is a part of the garden. It seems to be as welcoming to her as it is for all of us.