Harvest 2010

I came home from work one day to find a box full of lavender that had been cut from the front garden. This is from one of my oldest lavender plants; I am pretty sure that she is over five years old. She has nicely spread to cover the edge of the path and just a few feet away, among the coral coloured rocks, her babies (many babies) are growing taller and bushier patiently awaiting the day when they will be moved to their new home in the back garden.
This does not look like very much lavender but I do appreciate the fact that someone took it upon themselves to harvest these sweet smelling bundles. It does not take much to make one happy.

How could I forget about Afghanistan?

I had forgotten about our conversation in April until yesterday when I phoned her and asked her how she was doing. In her always cheerful voice she replied that she had just been talking to Afghanistan. How could I have forgotten that her son had been deployed to fight that awful war? She tells me that it is 35 degrees Celsius and with full battle gear it is not pleasant at all. As soon as I put the phone down I hung my head and cried.
The Canadian government says that this war will end up costing us 18.1 billion dollars which is roughly $1500 per household. Some famillies will end up paying a lot more dearly.

My husband has a new love

She's tall and lanky, she's beautiful and smells good. She's a touchy-feely kind of gal and she is certainly not shy. He spends a lot of time with her, indulging her every whim, making special drinks for her, and adorning her with only the silkiest of ribbons. First thing in the morning and the last thing at night, she is topmost in his mind. Any way you slice it, this looks like trouble. Or maybe not.

Double fleamarket

Whenever I purchase something it is with the thought that I can refurbish, repurpose, and reuse said item. But that is not what always happens. Sometimes these items sit in the garage or basement, taking up precious room and reminding me of money spent on something that I am not putting to good use. So last weekend I did back to back fleamarkets. The first one was an indoor affair held at the Seniors Centre across the bridge. It was slow but I managed to find new homes for quite a bit of my stuff.

On Sunday, in blistering heat, I scattered what was left of my stuff in the parking lot at the mall and I was glad that I did. I sold both the gate-leg table and a curio cabinet plus a few other things but enough to make it a worthwhile day. And look, no sunburn, thanks to my trusty umbrella.

The Italian way

I can still remember the oppressive heat of mid afternoon as we lingered at the lunch table; overhead the grapevines crisscrossing from one side to the other doing their best to block the Italian sun from our tender Canadian skin. Wonderfully sated we had no problem retiring to cool rooms for the afternoon pisolino (nap). We are awakened by the sound of lively conversations and the tinkling of glasses; the lemonade is cool and refreshing made from lemons that just a few hours ago were hanging from a tree by the kitchen door. My Nonna is lovingly folding her husbands shirts, each one buttoned, smoothed, and then placed on a woven rush seated chair. I am asked to sit on the chair in order to 'press' the shirts.
The heat here is tolerable, our grapevines produce no grapes, and we do not have a lemon tree. But in the age old tradition of my grandmother, today, while enjoying the lavender garden I 'pressed' Valodya's shirts and in doing so I relived a heartfelt memory.

Especially for TG

Finally finished one of the two t-shirt quilts I am making for TG. Had started off using a queen size flannel sheet as the backing but it was just too big and hard to handle as all the work of pinning and basting had to be done on the living room floor. So I managed to find two more twin size cotton blankets almost the same ones I used for Maura's quilts.
On TG's quilt I have gotten a bit more creative. On some of the really wide twill tape I embroidered hearts and other designs with my Janome. Also added a square of TG's favourite pjs and a patch from her hometown. The great thing about these quilts is I can add on patches here and there as I come across clothes or other memorable keepsakes that I can sew onto the quilt.
It's a warm blanket, a scrapbook, and an heirloom all rolled into one. I sure hope TG likes what I've done with her t-shirts.

My garden

Around town

This was a great store - furniture/coffee shop. I'm hoping to duplicate the above frame; the top part is a mini blackboard and the rest is chicken wire with clothes pegs hanging from twine. What a great idea for a message board.
We toured an artists studio and even though the art was breathtakingly beautiful, what caught my eye was the old quilt that one of the artists' mother-in-law had made for her years ago.
At the craft fair what I would have liked to buy was not for sale. Isn't this chair awesome?
This was a blanket covering one of the tables at the craft fair.




My pictures of some of the squares from the quilt to celebrate Rupert's 100th birthday do not do justice to the intricate details and fine workwomanship that went into this amazing piece of artwork. My favourite squares - the Pagoda (they used to make the best chow mein buns ever) and the square depicting the women working in the fishplant. That one brings to mind many great memories.