I want to go and play with the mermaids

I am sitting here, at my computer, and imagining how nice it would be to write a post about my garden. But I'm distracted by the rivulet of sweat that is running down the side of my head. That and the tendrils of hair that are determined to stick to the back of my neck. I try and think cool thoughts, about the bitter winter we have just barely recovered from, the mounds of snow, the feeling of the cold wind as it dug under my pants leg while I shovel. The pinch of the snow harsh on my already cold fingers, I shiver, but it is not from the cold. Cool thoughts are not working, I am melting. Sadder than a discarded ice cream cone on a beach front sidewalk. This is record breaking heat, hot enough to fry a egg. I want to go play with the mermaids. This is heat that knows no boundaries, hot all day, even hotter at night, never cooling down, no respite from it anywhere. Cranky, sweaty, sticky, heat, humidity levels as high as if you stepped into a shower. To hot to work, to hot to photograph, no breeze, the air stilled, silent, but for the drone of fans. I long for the deep ocean water, chilling, cooling, blue. There is no breeze, for this sticky sea side city. Seagulls lazily stir the scorching air, as they circle above dive bombing those few hardy souls who dare to stick their heads outside. No longer able to cope, I grab the camera and go outside, I will contend with this heat, it will not win, it can not beat me. I am a mermaid, cool, green-blue, just sleek with sweat, and glistening from moisture that is not seawater. Standing in the garden, a euphoria takes over from the grip that the heat has had on me. There is joy in losing myself in the camera. Happiness in focusing and concentrating on something other than how to keep cool. And as I stand in the baking sun, there is a soft tickling at the back of my shirt. I turn to see who it might be. It is a breeze, a cool, beautiful breeze.

Wednesday Words

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. This is a partial verse from a email that I received, and I have always loved it. There was no accreditation so I am not sure who wrote it.

If you know, leave me a comment please.

During this intense heat wave that most of the world is going through, this makes a good motto right now. Actually, it might even be considered words to live by.

Time off Tuesdays

My patience is running out, feed me now!

Unexpected, and unwelcome

For the second morning in a row we have had a unexpected and unwelcome visitor. A early, 5:30 am, morning wake up call from the concierge of Hotel Raccoon. Gar bounced out of bed, threw open the curtains, and tapped on our ground floor condo windows. This of course has little effect on the raccoon who just looks at him as if to say, "what, did you not order this wake up call?" Meanwhile I, suffering from the bright unwelcome morning light flooding into the room groggily try to take in what is happening. And do my best not to throw a pillow at Gar.

The raccoon was quite at home, visiting our deck, rummaging through the potting bench as if that is where we keep the special treats.

The sudden appearance of another animal that is definitely dangerous to Bootsie had me scrambling out of bed this morning in a hurry. After undoing all the locks on the patio door, I stumbled out onto the deck, to confront the masked bandit. He merely looked at me and shuffled off down the main deck. I ran after him clapping my hands hoping to scare him away. Every time I retreated, he advanced. I even threw one of my gardening clogs at him, and when he tried to pick it up. I realized that I was outside, in the daylight, in nothing but my nightie. My "short, tiny, baby it's so hot out, nobody but the hubby ever sees me in this" nightie. Standing right in front of my neighbors condo, in full view of any early birds. And believe me White Rock is full of early birds. I am not sure who ran faster, me or the raccoon.

I'm in the Garden Archives

Thunderstorms and lightning last night, overhead lightning is much too close for my comfort. But it brought out the rain, and that was wonderful.

Came across these foxgloves on a summer walk last year, I love the deep pink, and I will have to check and see if they came up again this year.

Neighborhood delight

There is the cutest little cottage garden just down the road from me. I love to walk by and see what is blooming every week. The sage colored cottage, with deep magenta purple accents is very attractive.

The hollyhocks are high, the poppys are lush, and the bouquets are for sale. And the best part, the owner said to drop by anytime to photograph the flowers.

Technical Difficulties - Again

All is not well in Blogger land, again..... Most of the links on my page refuse to work, and I know how important it is to recognize those of you who are so kind to join in Wednesday Words. I apologize, on behalf of Blogger and myself, I have given it my all, but nothing seems to be changing. I am hoping for spontaneous changes, that one day I will just wake up and it will be all wonderful again. Until then, well I guess a good gin and tonic takes away the worries - I am just kidding. There were ongoing issues with the scheduled posts, and that finally seems to have righted itself. And there are a few other issues that keep popping up. The thought of moving to Type Pad, or Word press "do you hear that Blogger?" has crossed my mind many time, and I might still do it. There are some good reasons why I have stayed with Blogger during all these trials. And I would hate to move, but if things don't start looking better soon, I might be moving house soon. I would ask you to leave a comment, but apparently that is not working either. Amendment: Some people are able to comment today, and sometimes the comment words disappear. Many thanks to those of you who are commenting, at least I know I am reaching some readers. Jen

Wednesday Words - Forget-me-not.

This is a very special Wednesday Words for me today. This Muddy Boot Dreams card is a idea that took almost a year to germinate. The seed first showed up as a idea, but it was too late to get a good shot of the Forget-me-nots and I had to wait until this summer. Granted these are Chinese Forget-me-nots, but I don't think that anyone is worried about that. The sentiment reads "Memories, are the flowers in the garden of the mind". Forget-me-nots are the official flower of the Alzheimer's society, and the flower is a good representation. The disease robs victims of their memories, rendering their families virtual strangers. There are over 70,000 people in BC alone, living with this disease. My Mother in Law, Rose is one of them. She has fought this disease for over 11 years, and has not recognized us for over 10 years. It is a slow, nasty decline, a cure cannot come fast enough. I wanted to do something to help in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, and will donate a portion of the sale of these cards to the society. And I will be donating cards to the hospital gift shop, of Rose's care facility. Rose, you may have forgotten us, but we have not forgotten you.

Calling all Martha's

Calling all Martha's, those household perfectionist's, the perfect hostess's. I found this book at the library, and I am sure that some people will love it. That said, I made sure to send this photo to my sister, and tell her that we would expect this level of excellence when we visited her loo. She has yet to get back to me..... I would love to have your opinion, are you into Toilet Paper Origami? For those that are interested you can find it in your local library. Toilet Paper Origami, Linda Wright Lindiloo Ent. 2008

Sorry I can't make the photo any larger.

Kelowna Wildfires

Life they say, is not about what happens to you, it is about how you deal with it.

I agree, some of us deal with the good and the bad with relatively equal grace.

The residents of Kelowna, BC, are fighting wildfires that have consumed houses, and are showing such amazing grace, sadly under fire. To all the firefighters, and crews, rescue workers, and residents, we wish you the best of luck. And quick success in overcoming this terrible natural disaster. Our hearts are with you.

I'm in the Garden - archives

A slightly cloudy Sunday morning, which we are not minding, nice and cool, it is a good change. The seagulls are keening over the hill, someone should throw them some bread. Please..... This little white hydrangea is one tough plant, it blooms even after the hard winter we had that froze most of it's stems. And the hosta's are just coming into bloom.

Have a relaxing and wonderful Sunday.

If only this was real life.

I took some photos of my rusted up lantern, and my halfway there rusted up wind chimes. I really like the aged patina, it took a long time for that to happen. They hang outside in my garden, and I like to photograph them through the seasons. Winter with snow on them, summer glistening in the heat.

Somehow I missed a little piece of "bird offering" that was smack dab in the middle of it. And until I processed the shots I never saw it.

So I just used the retouch tool in Picassa to fix it up,and most of it is gone. If I had spent more time you could never know that there had been a bunch of ......"ahem" on it. Made me wish we could do this in real life that easily. Got too many bills this month? Just retouch them, bingo, all gone. The dishes are still in the sink from the other day? Retouch! If only this was real life, think of all the fun we could have.

And the weather is.....

And the weather is, sunny and delightful........

Watering the garden

I need to water the garden today, but I just can't make up my mind which watering can to use....

Wednesday Words

This Wednesday Word is for Carolynn, from A glowing ember And, for all of us who have dreams of what we would like in our future. May the journey to fulfillment be short, and the stay long and pleasant.

The links have won the battle, for now.....

I fought the good fight, but Blogger is having terrible problems with scheduled posts, they have been non existent for over two weeks,[BAD BLOGGER!, BAD!!] I am sure that you have noticed my posts popping up all over the place. Well I am not worried, there are worse things out there, trust me! I have also been having link problems, they don't work properly, or at all. So if you are a new participant in Wednesday Words, or you don't see your name on the side bar box with Wednesday Words, please drop me a comment. A nice one would be the best. And I will put your name in the box on my sidebar. If you are participating please just mention my blog name in your Wednesday Words post. Looking forward to seeing all of your posts, have a lovely day.

Lost in a few good books

Summer, it is all about relaxation, living life to the fullest, sitting on the beach, sipping something cool. Add some good reading to get lost in, accompanying your lemonade. I have always found it odd that that summer reading material was considered lightweight, does that mean that we slog through the heavy stuff in winter? Deep downpours, and intense tomes? I am a born a reader, probably got it from my Mom, passed on to me along with the blue eyed genes. She passed on those genes, and a healthy respect for using public libraries. Those amazing collections of books, to be discovered, borrowed, pored over, inspired by, and eventually returned, all for free. The only requirement, a library card. Although we do buy books, they tend to be something that we cherish, repeatedly opening up, and diving into. Visual treats, doled out sparingly. I depend on the flow of new books that my library purchases, and lists online each month. Being among the first to open the pages of a new book, is sublime pleasure. But lately it seemed that my stream of books that are interesting, absorbing, fulfilling, and worth spending my time with had run dry a little while ago. Kind of like the lawn that has gone dormant for the summer, my local library has hit a dry spot. I have read two amazing fiction books in the last week, both of them moving, evocative, heart breaking. The first is Still Alice, by Lisa Genova, a work of fiction, it depicts how a brilliant Harvard professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease lives her life true to herself, and how she and her family deal with this disastrous memory robbing disease. The second one has just been made into a movie, and you are probably very familiar with it's title. My sister's keeper, by Jodi Picolt, another work of fiction. But an amazing book, you will be tempted to see the movie first, don't. Read the book, it is well worth the wait. So, we come to the part where I am asking for your help, have you read anything worth sharing lately? Something that inspired you, made you think, made you wonder, did you get lost in a good book lately? Can you suggest anything that I can get lost in? I love fiction, mystery, suspense, and non fiction. Feel free to suggest anything. I'll be here, waiting with my bookmark.

I'm in the garden - Archives from May

These are photos from May, remember May? Warm temperatures, mid spring, lots of promise? These are from Floweriscous's garden, and the dark purple Columbine is called Nora Barlow. I bought one this spring, and I am still waiting for it to produce some flowers, maybe? Maybe not? Maybe I need to wait until next May? Who knows, but in the meanwhile, I can enjoy these photos from my archives.

Country Fair

They held a country fair in the parking lot of the White Rock hospital a little while ago. Everyone was welcome. Residents in the elder care facility, hospital patients, families, children, friends...... There was sun, a petting zoo, a old fashioned dress up photo booth, live music, and of course ice cream, and cotton candy. Everyone had a blast, the music was great, the weather was perfect, and I had cotton candy! Did I mention that I had cotton candy? Oh I love cotton candy. We wheeled my MIL, Rose out in the sunshine, and took her around to all the booths, said hello to all the staff, the animals, saw all the sights. The look on the faces of all the older folks, wheeling their spouses in the wheelchairs, the staff as they giggled and threw balls at the dump tank, the children cooing as they held ducklings.

There is something so touching about seeing a elderly husband frail in his own right, pushing his wife's wheelchair into the shade, as they share a ice cream cone.

The look of the great grandchildren, as they show "Great Grandpapa" the new lambs, and the horses. The awe of touching real wool, right at the source. The staff and administration did a great job, and I really hope that they plan on doing this again. The smiles on the faces made every bit of effort worthwhile.

Petunias and Power washing

There are, or there should be few phrases in a gardeners world that truly strike fear into their hearts. Infestation of aphids might be one, that and early blight would be another. But being told, "we are just going to do a little power washing around the building" should strike terror into the strongest of gardeners hearts. There is nothing like a little power washing, it is all or nothing, everything swept away, vines broken, flowers beheaded, soil dumped. And when Council mentioned that they were planning on doing a little power washing around the building, I was worried. It's the peak of summer, I have the nicest pink petunias, and my hosta's did I mention that my hosta's are really, really, nice this year? I was sure they wanted to power wash them, of course they said they wanted to power wash the building, but I knew that it would end up being my hosta's that were power washed. After many negotiations, "break anything and......," we came to a compromise. Gar would be the one who cleaned around our area. He did a great job, and never broke anything. Now the building is nice and clean. And did I mention that my hosta's are really nice this year?

Blog-cation

Thank you to all that participated in my "oh no, it is not a meme" Wednesday Words. The links, yes the links, well, I am throwing my hands up in the air today, and taking a blog-cation. I think that I really need it today. Back tomorrow, hopefully things will be back to normal, There is a box on my sidebar, and if you are participating in Wednesday Words, I will put your name in it.....it may be the best way for me right now. And if someone could please put a good word in to Blogger, mention that I would love to have scheduled posts back........

I am on a creative streak right now, working out new ideas for the card line.

You could probably find me at the beach. There is a seagull that is calling my name. Jen, jen, jen, jen, jen, jen

Wednesday Words

If you would like to participate in Wednesday Words, please leave a link to your post in the comments box. I will be posting a box on the sidebar with all the participants, please drop by and visit them.

Wednesday Words coming tomorrow

I am working on getting Mr Linky, up and running. If you would like to join Wednesday Words, then look for him tonight. I hope, I think......I wish?.......

Construction Zone

I am stuck right in the middle of a screaming loud construction zone, with giant dump trucks beeping as they back up to unload tons gritty of gravel, whistles blowing, traffic being directed, and horns honking, it's awful, it's loud, and it's all contained in my head. It's nothing more than a summer flu. Invading your head and throat like it a housing developer, taking over and setting up a massive construction zone, with dump trucks, jackhammers, and giant earth movers rattling up and down. I can't be sick, I don't have the time. There are too many things that need to be done. I am missing work, and my life. To stop all these thoughts, I am relaxing in the garden, listening to the bird's chirps taking over the sound of the dump trucks, the crows cawing sends shivers down my legs, but the gentle tweet of the little birds, the subtle clucks, and coo's stop the noise of the jackhammers. A seagull keens in the distance, and the sun warms my shivers. The idyllic scent of the "king of the blues" sweet peas wafts over from the planter on the deck. A bee buzzes in the double cosmo's it's weight bending the stem so slightly. The little birds, chirp contentedly, eating from the bird feeder that Gar put up. Bootsie wanders by asking to be fed, for the third time today. I tell him that I am too achy to get up right now, and he leaves with a disgusted flick of his tail. We both know that he will be back in a little while, and then he will be fed. Meanwhile I sit here, enjoying the moment, knowing that time is never wasted when it is spent in the garden, the bee's buzzing, the birds happily chirping, and I no longer hear any construction noise.