Waiting

The Bachelors Buttons are starting to pop up here and there.

I lovingly prettied up the deck during our four-day false spring. My work was undone by a little rain, a little snow and a lot of high winds.

That's okay--next warm day, I'll start again.

Here's the first primrose to show her pretty face, snow or no snow.

A Glitch On The Way To Spring

A funny thing happened on the way to our early spring--winter wasn't done.

South central Ontario isn't what you would ever describe as a virtual hot bed; nope, we stoically slog our way through the seasons, most of which seem to be on the chilly side.

We did have those few balmy days recently that made our hearts pitter patter--an early spring, we thought.

But then an icy blast hit us from somewhere and now we patiently wait once more for garden weather.

It's okay--the seedling that were  started indoors are thriving, although I do have a desire for an uncluttered surface.

Patience.

The New Vine Enticement

When it's too cool to plant  anything, my mind turns to what can be done while the frost lingers.

I put in a call to  #1 son (there are five) and he amiably began building an A-frame to encourage future climbing veggie traffic to head upstairs.

It's looking a little raw but we're not done yet

Here we are, ebony- stained to match the raised beds. If the weather doesn't warm up soon, I'll have to dream up another garden diversion.

Indoor Seed Planting

I planted the pepper seeds in pots today. The seeds had been gathered over the winter, still wrapped in the paper towels they had been dried in, with  big X's marked on the paper--as though that would reveal to me months later what color they are or what degree of hot.

Life is full of surprises.
 I planted several to each pot--may the strongest seed win.I couldn't find the Popsicle stick markers so I resorted to clothes pins.

When it was time to place them in a sunny window, It became abundantly clear that I had run out of counter space in the kitchen for this project and I turned to Plan B,  devised on the spot.

Years ago I had scrounged a couple of tall florists pillars from a back alley, tossed in the trash.
I cut one to a shorter height  than the other to make my plants look more interesting on them.

Today it didn't seem such a great idea because I wanted to sling a make-shift plank across them to make a seedling shelf, and it wouldn't work very well if the shelf hung down nine inches on one side.

It turns out that a gallon pant can just about takes up the slack so here is the shelf, placed in front of the window to catch any sun coming this way.

Doll gets a good view of the paint can.

This is what's left in the kitchen. Trust me, it's a lot more orderly.

Next time the temperature reaches slightly warm, the geraniums are going out into the planters and I'll have room to start more seeds..

Carpet Cleaning Day

First thing yesterday morning before I had time to reconsider, I shoved the furniture out of the living room to get at the carpet; the poor thing was in desperate need of a shampoo.

This is the view from the kitchen. A motivating factor was that Saturday night family dinners would come to a halt until order was restored.

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Ta da! This was the first job  I intended to tackle last winter. but then it was a mild winter and since I wasn't snowed in, there was no need to rush the job.

Now it's out of my mind until next winter.

A view of Hiroshima

My granddaughter Elise is in Hiroshima as an exchange student. She is undaunted by the fact that she knows no one and her Japanese is a tad short of basic.

This is her temporary home . She lives with a dentist, his wife and three children

the kitchen

Another view of the kitchen

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This is the Japanese version of a toilet flusher.   No Japanese required to understand the basic uses

Already she loves her new sisters and brother.

Elise got herself lost the first time she travelled on the subway. She wandered around looking for a landmark and finally located a pay phone  to call her temporary mother, who drove over the two- stations- past- her- stop to rescue her.

She'll  cherish these memories all her life

Spring

This time of year has its own miracles; the peach tree is slowly coming unfurled after waiting out the premature hot spell last month

The Flowering Almond is still tightly wrapped but ready for the next warm spell--the one that might be the real precursor of summer.

Today I Skyped my granddaughter in Hiroshima. She`s there as an exchange student and here she is with her temporary brother and sisters.

When I was a kid my world was in a small neighborhood in a still-small city where we our outside contact was by radio   and today I communicated on line with my grand kid way over in another part of the world.

Truly a time of miracles