May Two-Four

Mummy Linda came for a visit from Lacombe, Alberta. There was frolicking with kitties...

There was a spa day at Le Nordik...

There was a wonderful overnight jaunt to the Wakefield Inn...

More glorious food than you could shake a stick at...

And gardening. Finally.

There were also giggles with friends, visits with stepchildren and so much more. It was a wonderful visit and I miss you already, mummy.

Sunday Outing in the Park

A couple of years ago I made a promise to myself to get out more and explore. Ottawa and area is huge and diverse and I've only seen the smallest fraction of what it has to offer. Strangely, though, the Plan Fairy didn't come and hand me a schedule of events, so I never did do much. After some time spent thinking this over, I began to realize that if anything was to happen, I needed to make it happen. Accordingly, I informed my husband that we were going to go hiking in Gatineau Park on the weekend. (Four years in the NCR and I've never been there. That's flippin' shameful.)

My stepdaughters were with us that weekend, and they were less than impressed when my husband shared my big plans with them. Nonplussed, I went to the store the evening before and bought the makings of deli bun-wiches and a box of Pop-Tarts. (I love 'em but I only eat one every half a year or so on Special Occasions. Everyone in the house loves them, too, and was completely freaked out that I love them too and bought them. Also surprising is the fact that all four of us adore strawberry... I think this is the only thing that all four of us agree on.) We made our sandwiches after breakfast on Sunday, packed a couple of backpacks with munchies and thermoses of hot tea, and set out for our big adventure.

The park wasn't as green as I thought it might be, and was a little disappointed at first, but careful attention revealed signs of spring everywhere.

We also had the pleasure of watching a lovely red-headed woodpecker rat-a-tat-tat on a tree for a spell...

We were searching for the Waterfall Trail, but due in part to The World's Worst Trail Map (that we actually paid $5 for at the visitor's center) and the complete lack of signage in the area we were at, we didn't find a waterfall at all. However, we did run across the ruins in the Mackenzie King estate... which were really just as picturesque.

We walked for hours, poked around the woods, admired flowers and kidded around. We sat on a toppled birch tree and ate when we were hungry, enjoying our lunch and its treats, and the hot tea warmed our cold fingers. We got lost a little, thanks again to the utterly useless map, but found our way to the car eventually, tired, wind-burnt and happy. The girls talked eagerly of future trips camping and canoeing, and my husband and I smiled at each other, remembering the surly attitude with which they greeted our trip. The day was a total success.

First In, Last Out

I took my last picture of poppies on 4 Dec. The next day a killing frost took them out.

This morning, I took these photos:

Within the week, I will again have poppies in my garden. Rebirth!

Have a fabulous long weekend.

In Sheep's Clothing

This one's for all my fellow fiberphiles.

This is a simply beautiful bride photo, no? Check out that dress.

Wait a minute. Notice a certain resemblance between the dress and the bride's companion?

You're right. Glory of glory, a wedding dress made of fleece.

Click on the picture to admire other lovely photos of it (and her) and read the story behind her amazing gown and how her and her husband met. No matter what's wrong in your world, you'll feel a little better after you read it, I swear.

When The Stars Fall

I had heard on CBC radio that there was to be a meteor shower last night. Despite my good intentions to remember and perhaps drive out to the country to watch it, I didn't remember until it was late and I was performing my nightly ritual of checking that all the doors and windows were locked for the night before I went to bed. Not sure if it was even clear enough to see anything, I cupped my hands against the cool glass of the back yard's sliding door and peered out.

I was immediately rewarded with the blaze of a shooting star across the sky. Excited that it was still going on and conditions were clear, I raced around downstairs, finishing my "security" rounds, turning off lights and grabbing a blanket from the couch. I eased out of the screen door, careful not to let a very disappointed Ginger-cat squirt out into the night air with me.

The grass was cool and dew-wet. I wrapped myself in the blanket, more for protection from the whining mosquitoes than anything, and lay back on the grass, looking expectantly up. For long moments, there was a good deal of nothing in the sky, and annoyed by the mosquitoes pestering my face, I almost went inside immediately.

Then I laughed at myself. Here I am, positioned to watch one of the great natural wonders of the universe, and I want it delivered to me like a Fox news soundbite... condensed into 30 seconds or less, thank-you-very-much, so that I can return to my self-obsessed life as regularly scheduled. The guest on CBC said that the light from these meteors burning reaches us 43 minutes after they have already expired in the atmosphere... the least I can do is grant these celestial travellers more than a minute of my time. I laid back in the grass, now a little more stoic about the insects and dampness. I breathed in the cooling air, redolent of smells from my garden; there a touch of wet garlic; here a waft of cilantro.

I was soon rewarded with a magical streak of light that travelled directly above me. More time passed, and then another graced my vision. Time slowed, the mosquitoes seemed to disappear, and I existed simply to watch the night sky; the thrill of witnessing the meteors had me in a spell. I made deals with myself that I'll wait until I see one more, and then I'll go in... but that one more was always so incredible it kept me there for just one more again.

Finally, after witnessing 8 or 9 meteors, I saw one so bright and glorious that I involuntarily sucked in my breath in awe as it raced across the sky. A shiver went down my spine, tears came to my eyes, and I knew that it was the one I had been waiting to see. Slowly, reluctantly, but concious of the lateness of the hour and my upcoming exam in the morning, I got to my feet and went inside. As I closed the patio door, I saw one last shooting star streak the sky, as if a wave goodbye. Though I peered out windows intently as I readied myself for bed, I saw no more.

More Sights of Summer

I was going out of the house this morning, and as is my ritual, I stopped briefly at the sweet peas at the front of the house for a sniff and to bask in the glory of their riot of colour. As I passed, I saw a bejeweled beauty I knew I had to capture, at the risk of being late for school. (These are amazing, if I do say so myself... clickify to view large. Large is always better.)

Other pretty things...

Like XUP commented a while ago... this summer (and I use the term loosely) may be crappy weather-wise but you can't prove it by the flowers.

The Week That Was

I found out today that I should be receiving my first LTD payment next week. Even better, and I don't know why I didn't see this coming, it's retroactive from April. *huge sigh of relief*

I had two mid-terms this week. The first, in computer architecture, was two hours of joy... like sitting down on a Sunday and working through the crossword puzzle. It was all on ASCII encoding/decoding, packed decimal format, floating point number format, and some LMC encoding as well... a thoroughly amusing exam and one I know I scored well above 90% on.

Today's Java exam, by the same prof no less, was an exercise in humility. There were an uncomfortable number of questions I simply had to take an educated guess on... it was a brutally difficult exam, despite the fact that it was largely multiple choice. I think I'll be lucky to score 70% on that one.

Though I have assignments due and another midterm next week, I am giving myself the night off. I shall make tea and putter in the sewing room, concluding the evening with a soak in the tub and a glass of wine. I deserve it after this week!

I leave you with random beauty. These orange mini-roses and carnations made my heart glad to look upon them; I'm glad they're frozen in time.

38 Things I Love

In celebration of my... *coughcough* 29th birthday, I present a list of simple things that make me happy.

1. When the perfect song for the moment comes up on random play on my MP3 player.
2. Warm, sunny days.
3. Shoes that look great yet I could still walk all day in them.
4. Snuggles from my cat Mina, who could easily be mistaken for a total bitch otherwise.
5. When the government calls and says, hey, we've made a mistake and actually owe you thousands of dollars. (this happened this week.)
6. Gnocchi with basil pesto, chopped tomatoes, roasted pine-nuts and gobs of feta.
7. Green tea, brewed so strongly that it seems to strip the first couple of layers off my throat.
8. Floaty clothing in strong colours. (You oughta see me today.)
9. The colour orange makes me supremely happy.
10. Friends who rock at buying gifts for you, and know what you'd love, even if you don't.
11. Sitting in the back garden with a drink and chatting with friends.
12. Eating fresh herbs straight from the garden.
13. The smell of sweet peas wafting through the house on a hot summer day.
14. Foot-rubs from my husband as we watch TV together.
15. Brushing my kitties and making them fall over in ecstasy.
16. Hugs. I need more huggy friends.
17. Being perfectly on time for the bus in the morning.
18. President's Choice caramels with sea salt. I am a junkie.
19. Chocolate gelato eaten straight from the container.
20. Working so hard to understand a problem in school, and then finally figuring it out.
21. Total physical exhaustion following a work out.
22. Also, hurting like crazy the day after a work-out... but hurting in the way that tells you the workout was effective and that one day, your abs will rock.
23. Raspberry vodka.
    
24. The perfect dance, where neither of us needs to work too hard to think about what needs to happen; our bodies just take over and we go along for the ride.
25. Random connections with strangers; I wish I was brave enough to make more of them.
26. Friends who will go (sometimes thousands of kilometers) out of their way to spend time with you. This also happened this week. Thank you, Neal.
27. Friends who are so close that you realize they're more like family. Again, thank you, Neal. That's why I hugged your son. If you are family, so is he. Hope he wasn't all weirded out by it.
    
28. Time alone, to eat cereal and toast for supper for a week and not bother to get dressed if I don't have to.
29. Totally not looking my age.
30. Fresh pineapple juice.
    
31. Spending hours in the sewing room, losing myself in the zen of creating beauty.
32. Giving *the perfect gift* to someone, especially if I've made it.
33. Lavender linen spray on crisp, fresh sheets.
34. When I get let off of kitchen duty by my husband to let me do homework. That, friends, is love in action. :)
35. Having a maid. There are far more important things to do with my life then to make sure my shelves are free of dust.
36. Being in a state of anticipation. For example, being very hungry but able to smell the food as it is being prepared, or turning a package over and over in your hands before you open it. The anticipation of an event is (almost) always better than the event itself... I enjoy dwelling there.
37. When men look admiringly after me as I walk by, and women who are strangers to me smile and tell me I'm foxy. That was this week, too.
38. Finishing an exam and knowing in my core that I aced it.

I hope your day is full of the things that *you* love... I'm off to bake a Citrus Poppyseed Cake from the Rebar cookbook.

Poetry Sunday

Spring

To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

I was never much for poetry , until I heard a program on CBC Radio One's Ideas on Millay. I fell in love instantly, and am given to reading Vincent out loud while in the tub, luxuriating in the sensuality of her imagery and the hot scented water. Hubby perhaps thinks I'm insane, but I need to speak her poetry out loud to capture the nuances.

I've lately been turned on to Yeats, too, by an episode of House, strangely enough. A young boy reads this poem out loud to his mother... it, too, captured my imagination.

Do you like poetry? Who is your favourite poet?

Can You Hear Them?

This morning I saw the first "V" of geese winging their way home against the cold white sky. I ran to throw open a window, rapt and holding my breath, listening for their faint honking. As I heard it, my heart leapt within me, and I knew I had survived another winter.

At Least My Houseplants Think it's Spring