Oh Canada, by torchlight.

 

By now you might have heard that we are hosting a little party called the Winter Olympics.  The world is coming to visit, and we have been practicing sneezing into our elbows for months now.  I think that we have it perfected.  After all, we are Canadians, and we don’t want to offend anyone.

One of the nicest ideas to celebrate the Olympics, beyond sneezing into our elbows, is the TORCH RELAY.  The Olympic flame has been flown in from Athens Greece, and is travelling across Canada, stopping in large cities, and small towns. Over 100 days, and over 1000 communities. Everyone who wants to, shall get a chance to see it go by. 

Passed from runners, to walkers, to dignitaries, and ordinary folk.  People come out to watch as it goes through, it is a journey of massive proportions.  And it has unified Canada, joining together a country in celebration. It makes your throat swell with pride to see the crowds on the nightly news. It passed through the tiny little town of Armstrong, and my parents got to see it at 2:14 pm, in the afternoon.

We have eagerly been waiting to find out the secret time that it will pass through White Rock. Only divulged a week before the actual event, it could be during any of the waking hours.  Our time?

6:30 AM.

Right, that is 6:30 am. 

Yes, 6:30 am, when the air is still freezing cold, and it is pitch dark outside. When most likely, the rain is falling, and I will be regretting leaving my warm bed, and trudging down a dark street. Wondering if I made the right decision, and should I just give it all up and go back home.

I am counting on the euphoria of the cheering crowd, of feeling my heart swell, in seeing the pride on the face of the chosen torch bearer, proudly running their designated 1000 meters.

Then I will know, that I have made the right decision. And that this is the chance of a lifetime.

Oh Canada, by torchlight. 

With Glowing Hearts.

We stand on guard for thee.

When pigs fly……

Gar loves to run early in the morning, for miles, and miles, way to far for me to even comprehend why it is so rewarding to him. 

He belongs to that elite class of long distance runners for whom getting out of a warm bed, and rushing out in the cold drizzly rain is not a punishment, but a joy.

I am never, ever, going to see this as anything other than cruel and unusual punishment.  Sorry, just can’t go there.

Like Gar says, “when pigs fly!”

Bootsie on the other hand thinks that it is perfectly legitimate for Gar to love to run so much.  Because when it rains, Gar’s sneakers get wet, and then he puts them in front of our little heater to dry. 

Bootsie thinks heat is wonderful, Gar thinks running is wonderful. 

I think it would be wonderful if pigs could fly. 

Kind of a symbiotic relationship isn’t it? Or maybe it is just that I am the dysfunctional one.

Living beautifully.

I first encountered April Cornell’s amazing linens, and clothing line years ago at the Vancouver gift show. My boss literally dragging me out of what had to be one of the most impressive booths there.  According to him we were there to buy for the garden centre, silly man.

Over the years I have always looked for shops that carried her product line.  The soft floral designs, and beautifully coordinated colors drawing me into bliss.  They are special stores with great taste that carry her product.

I became friends with a coworker who had a similar love of April Cornell tablecloths, in fact she has a beautiful antique cupboard brimming with many April Cornell linens, and placemats.

And when this friend gave me a gorgeous luncheon cloth to celebrate my first anniversary with my husband, that tablecloth became the cornerstone of special celebrations.

Used for anniversaries, and birthdays, and all special occasions, it truly is a favorite of mine. I have matching pink goblets, and antique dishes from my Mom to celebrate with.  And every year for my birthday, my friend makes sure to tuck in more pink flowering paper napkins with my gift so I don’t run out.

I wrote about this in April Cornell’s blog contest, and won my choice of tablecloths. And the choices were outstanding, each more beautiful than the other.  I feel so very lucky!  Thank you April Cornell.

Take a moment to visit April Cornell’s blog, it is a wonderfully creative, and interesting site.

I do so agree with her motto: Feel Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Be Beautiful.

I plan to.

~ Jen

Textures in Picasa.

Textures have been fascinating bloggers, and photographers for some time now.  The ability to change a photo, age it, or add texture, and colors is tempting.  But until lately I had not dipped my toes into the water.  Thanks to Cindy, at Rosehaven cottage, and to Carolynn from a Glowing Ember for their help in figuring this out.

I noticed that textures I had downloaded from Shadowhouse Creations were showing up in Picasa as photos.  So I decided to play with them to see if I could use them in Picasa. 

You can, just not to the extent that it is possible with Photoshop.

All I needed to do, was select a my photo, and pick one of the textures as the second photo.  Then I clicked on collage, and choose multiple exposure.

Picasa melds the two together, and creates a new textured photo, simple, and fast.   Although it is limited, you can create some interesting images with it. 

It might be worth giving it a try if you are a Picasa user. And once you try it in Picasa, you are definitely going to want to try it in Photoshop.

It is too much fun!

 

 

If we had no winter.

 

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet

Is is a need, or a want?

In the deep dark days of winter, some of us feel a stirring, a need. A yearning, that has surpassed the ladder of want, and fallen right into a large pot of need.

I am not talking about chocolate, although I am sure that some of us feel the same way about it.  But a feeling that touches your very being, deep inside of you.  The requirement to feel, smell, and touch something that grows. 

Specifically flowers. 

It could be as simple as a small potted daffodil, or a bunch of cut carnations, but there is a good percentage of our population that counts flowers as one of life’s most necessary elements.

It may seem silly to be writing about such a trivial thing, when there are so many bad things happening in the world right now. 

But on some level, I think that the flowers give us hope, renew our spirit, and make us realize how incredibly grateful we should be. 

And maybe grateful, and aware people can do a little more, for those that have so much less than we do.

Phishing? Let’s hope they get skunked.

This is totally off course, but you probably will thank me if you don’t know about it.  And if you do know about it, then maybe you can pass it on to your other friends who might not know.

We are all aware of phishing scams, ways to part you and your money.  The latest which has been on the news involves a complicated key stroke virus that records your passwords, and breaks into your email contact list, then sending out requests to everyone while posing as you.

I know from experience because I received two of them recently,  one so convincing I had to reread it to be sure it really wasn’t from Google.

Asking for my passwords, date of birth, and much more personal info, declaring that selected email accounts were to be purged.  The only way I could stop mine from being deleted would be to pass the info on to them.

Right, I’ll be sure to do that, as soon as my purchase of some rock solid swampland in Florida goes through.

The other, and I do think that they are connected somehow, was supposedly from a friend of mine, who found herself in a unfortunate situation abroad and required money wired to her immediately. Of course it read that the person would pay me back.  Ah ha.

Not going to happen to me, you say?  You won’t fall for it?  Well quite a few people around here have.  Let’s not give them any more reason to continue on with this.

 So if you get one of these emails be fully aware, and let anyone else that you think might be susceptible to falling for them know about it.  Who knows, these nasty people’s phishing trip might just end up getting skunked.

Morning glories and sunshine

Since rediscovering seeds again last year, and remembering how easy peasy they are to grow, I was wondering how I could have forget this?  I did grow sweet peas, beans, and sugar snap peas from seed every year, but I kind of neglected the flower portion of the garden.

Instead choosing to spend my hard earned bucks on Cambridge blue lobelia, and white impatiens, along with the occasional, really colorful annual to supplement my perennials, and my other plants.

Today I bought a handful of seeds, and there is so much sunshine in the sunflowers faces, I can see them blooming in my mind already.

This is the year that I am going to change a few things up, instead of the sweet peas taking centre stage beside the garden gate, and under the arch, there will be giant bright yellow sunshine colored sunflowers.  And in my mind, there will be stunning sky blue morning glories twining their way up the stems, and around the arch. Can you imagine, the first thing I will see in the morning when I open the curtains is their sunny faces.

I can hardly wait to smell the fragrance of the sweet peas as they are nestled into their new location near the brick wall dividing the condos.

We have also bought some dwarf bush beans, because there is nothing better than quickly steamed green beans right off of the bush, on a summer’s night. 

The rectangle shaped community garden plot will have giant yellow sunflowers acting as bookends to more sugar snap peas.  I will show you photos when they bloom.  Because of the bugs, and the wire worms we are unable to grow any root veggies in those beds.

Rounding off the outside of the deck will be giant pots of those gorgeous double click Cosmo's that I saved the seeds from last year, smothered in the glaucous blue foliage, and tender tiny white double blossoms of the baby’s breath.  Both of these lovelies need little water, and bloom all summer long.  

 I am ready for spring,  planning this garden in my mind, working through it’s challenges, and looking ahead.  Have you started your spring planning yet? Did you buy seeds yet?  Are you going to?

Jen

 

 

The first spring….

This will be the first spring in over 18 years that I am not working at a garden centre.  The first spring that I won’t be bringing home armfuls of new and exciting plant material even before it makes it to the retail areas. The first spring that I won’t anxiously watch the weather forecasts hoping for a succession of sunny weekends.

It is making me kind of nostalgic, and somewhat sad, but this is my choice.  Too many years of back breaking work,  sun, rain, mostly rain, are taking a toll, I wanted to get out while still young.

All around White Rock, people recognize me “don’t I know you from……,”  yes you do. 

They also ask if I miss the nursery, and the answer is no, I still garden, and I have my growing photography business which is a passion of mine.

Gardeners are part of a community, some are fair weather gardeners, we only saw them in the busy spring months.  Others supported us year round, coming in during November rainstorms that shook the huge glass doors, and crashed the roof.  They were there to support us when we won gardening competitions, and there when the green house collapsed due to 2 feet of snow pack.

They are all part of a larger garden community that is passionate  about plants, and supportive of small garden centers.

And I hope that where ever you garden, you have the chance to be part of that community also.

  

Snow drops and Silhouettes

As promised, here are the snow drops that are blooming in the park nearby my house.  The secret spot that I always start checking in January to find them blooming.  I am wondering if they could be the first to bloom in Canada.  

Let me know if yours are blooming already, and if you are still seeing snow, I am sorry.  

No really, truly, I am.  Honestly.

Just wait until we move up to the Okanagan, and you will be the ones laughing at me then.  One day...

Live vicariously through these brave little bulbs that were enjoying our Florida like weather all last week.  This week is much cooler, and they are shivering.

Many of our bulbs are showing green, at least 6 inches of it. So it was good to see the sun today, the bare branches of the trees silhouetted against the blue sky.

I got up early and caught the sunrise, there was a marine fog out, my favorite for photography.  Everything looks mysterious and ethereal in this fog.  And the beach was packed, well, busy enough that I regretted not brushing my hair before rushing out the door. I am sure that the seagulls were all talking about it.

You will find the beach shots on my other blog.

A sibilant surf.

Happy Sunday!  

Do you have a blog?

One of the first questions I ask when I meet people who have started a small business is “do you have a blog.”

It’s fun to encourage my favorite stores to start their own blogs, and interesting to see what they come up with to represent their store’s personality.

You could ask your favorite store if they have a blog, and if they don’t, encourage them to start one.

I have decided to start another blog, a way to encourage myself to get out there all year round and take more shots of the ocean. This is a photo blog, with very few words. Have a look if you like, it is called.

“A Sibilant Surf”. You can find the link here.

The title refers to the sound that the ocean surf makes as it hits the dry seaweed on the beach. The sound of salt water meeting dry rocks. It whispers to me.

I hope that it speaks to you also.

Peaceful, easy feeling….

 

Well not actually peaceful, when you realize that you slept in, and forgot to post something, anything, and it has been over 2 days.  Blame it on Bootsis.

Good news, as soon as I get them downloaded, I have photos of the first snowdrops blooming in BC I am sure.  Took them on Sunday, and by now they should be even more up.  Can you believe this weather?   And to those of you covered under a rare coating of the white stuff, or those who are experiencing this balmy breeze, I pose the same question, can you believe this weather?

Jen

Special garden friends bloom in my mind….

When you work in a small garden centre many of the people passing through the doors become special gardening friends, and some become life long friends.  We have seen relationships bloom, babies born, and mature into  young gardeners.

And sadly we have lost many of our older favorite’s as they age and leave us.

I have one person who stands out, away from the rest, fond memories of a great customer, and a even greater friend.

He was definitely the most crotchety, and grumpy customer I had ever dealt with in all my years at garden centers.  Upset with us because we did not have a ready supply of Aloe Vera 4 inch pots available immediately after reopening in the spring. And he declared that the 6 inch pots were much to expensive compared to the local Big Box.

Determined to charm him, and impress my new boss, I wheedled my way into his good graces, by explaining marketing ploys, and how a small independent could give him much better customer service, and choice, if only he would be patient until the plants were ready for sale.

We embarked on a friendship that only lasted a few years, but brought me much joy, and I hope that it did to him also.  A prairie farmer, he had relocated to BC, to grow older.  After he lost his wife, he kind of lost his way, old age, and pain taking him further from family, and friends.

He became a regular visitor to the garden centre, and my day was good every time I saw him. He would stand, leaning on his cane, and we would look at the plants in the retail greenhouse, and discuss life, until my boss’s glances told me it was time to return to work.  Those were some of my best days.

My day dimmed terribly, when a close friend of his came to tell me that he had passed away over winter break.  My friend had made sure to have someone come and tell me gently, but it didn’t help ease the loss. 

There are some beautiful flowers in my garden of memories, one for each special gardener who shared parts of their lives with us.

They bloom perfectly in my mind. 

Forever.

Jen

More than just a garden centre

Thanks to Teza's garden. There were references in a post that he wrote the other day that made me realize how much the small local garden centers contribute to the community.

And just to clarify, this post was written in Blogger, both old and new editor. In preview it looks wonderful, and as you can see, there is no paragraph spacing at all. And nothing that I can do will fix it. So the next posts should all be written in Windows Live Writer, and look much better.

Where do you buy your perennials, bedding plants, shrubs and trees? Do you think about where your gardening dollars go? Do you shop the big box stores with their limited varieties, and cheaper prices? Or do you support you local independent grower, garden center?

Maybe you can get it cheaper at the big box store, but there is a vast difference in quality that many gardeners are not aware of. If you don't purchase your plant material from the big box in the first few days you risk getting a plant that is neglected, dried out, and deteriorating. It may simply never recover. Money wasted. There are limits to the varieties they will stock, most likely only the best sellers. They are there for the quick sale, with information, and support is either non existent, or not always correct. Try out your local garden center, besides hiring knowledgeable and passionate plant people, they might be more willing to bring in special varieties that you can't get at the big box. They can suggest companion plants, or something for problem areas, maybe a rare, and unusual plant that will inspire you. Your local garden center is a community of like minded gardeners who care deeply about the quality, and source of their plant material. They are not there to make a quick buck, and then move onto the next seasons big seller. They know, and appreciate their customers, and realize that it is important for them to return again, and again. The big box stores tend to care little if you are dissatisfied. Show your support by shopping with your gardening dollars at your local nursery. And watch them grow.

A whole new world…..

 

Many thanks!

Many thanks to everyone who helped me out.

 Tessa, Teza, and Jean and everyone else who helped with this Blogger problem.

All I can say, is if you are having any problems with your blogging platform.

 

 HEAR THAT BLOGGER?

Give this a try.

This is written on Windows Live Writer.

Just a note, the next post is written, after 10 tries, on the old Blogger Platform so expect the usual font problems that we have been encountering all last week.

 

 

A very grateful, Jen.

In search of spring

I am just going to bypass winter completely, especially after we heard that we were warmer here yesterday, than they were in Florida.

Year round strawberry crop, here we come. I know, keep dreaming.

And I plan to.

Zen, and the art of beaching alone

Living near the beach is wonderful, the tang of salt air, the whisper of the gulls as they swoop down the street.  But it also makes it a great place for many other people to visit.  Finding your Zen on a crowded promenade is difficult. 

Even in gale force winds the promenade can be crowded with walkers.  As we heavily bundled walkers pass, we greet each other and the wind whips our clothing, while covering us from head to toe with sea spray.

By the time you have nodded to 20 or so people who are as equally determined to find their own space, the novelty of the wind runs sour.

So that's why anytime the tide is out is a great time for me.  The lure of all that unblemished sand just waiting to mold my footprints, and the sea birds are much easier to greet.  

 Here, on the actual beach, past the railway tracks that mirror the surf, I can find the quiet that I love.

Keeping my eyes down, helps in the sea glass hunt, and when I wish to gaze meditatively I can do so across a great expanse of water.

Unfriendly?  No.  Just needing some down time, some Zen in my life. A refill, time with the wind, the tide, the surf, and myself.

And there are times when I like my company better than those sharp elbowed power walking, energizer bunnies on the promenade. 

Garden Inventory

Garden - check
Gardening clogs - check
Plants - check
Pruners, and gloves - check
Soil mix - check

Spring - well, it is coming eventually, so - check.

There hasn't been much said about my garden lately.  Certainly I don't have beautiful stands of red, and yellow Siberian dogwood branches gracefully reaching for the clouds.  And tasteful tussles of sweetly fragranced Hamamelis, witch hazel unfurling it's crinkled blooms.

Nor do I have sweet box, Sarcococca  to scent my deck.  It's glossy black berries, and creamy blooms such a harbinger of the coming spring. Almost overpowering with its fragrance when massed in plantings.  It is enough to stop you in your tracks, and nose into the air, ask, what is that delicious scent?

When you patio garden you do miss out on some things, but many of the joys of gardening are still there.  And so much closer to you than the gardens that spread themselves through much larger properties.

But I can do my garden inventory from my bedroom windows, without ever taking a step outside.  Making notes on what flourished, and what didn't.  This is a good thing, because they don't call it the wet coast for nothing.

I still haven't taken down my faded pots of last summers annuals.  So there they are on full display for each chickadee that comes by. Those brown twigs were the beautiful coral shade of snapdragon, and that rustling brown ball, was a stunning soft pink hydrangea.

We are slightly protected from full view, so the temptation to just forget it all, and ignore it is easy.  Especially since late last summer I more or less just gave it all up. Too hot, too much watering, and too much going on in my non gardening life. The plants however just carried on, stiff upper lip, and fading leaves.

And here they are still, stiff upper branches, faded brown leaves, and muddy soil.  

Hoping for spring.  

And a visit from that garden inventory taker.

On a side note:  Does anyone else have this problem with the text size changing when you post in the new editor of blogger?  Everything looks wonderful in my preview, and now this, teeny tiny text above, and huge spaces.

I choose Verdana, normal, and the text above is what we are reading.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I will be publishing all comments later tonight.

Thanks, Jen

The last day of the old year

~The last day of the old year was one of those bright, cold, dazzling winter days, which bombarded us with their brilliancy, and command our admiration but never our love.~

-Lucy Maud Montgomery

Almost the last day of the old year, and brilliant winter sunshine, crisp and cold air.  

We could see our breath as Gar and I walked Crescent Park early that morning.  We had been given a gift that Christmas week, a treasured gift of unusually beautiful weather.

Hoar frost, and foggy clouds of mist emanated from the ground, as the sunlight pierced the forest floor. There was very little noise from the trees, the birds were silent, and only one squirrel dared to show itself as it darted up a tree.

The frozen drops of rain started to fall from the branches onto our heads, sparkling like a drift of glitter on a perfect Christmas card.  

And we knew that this was the parting gift of an old year.

 

January - One kind word

Today, I am publishing the January photo from the calendars I have had printed as family gifts. Each year I find something that inspires me to go in a different direction, this year it was added text, and quotations.

They are fun, and a little bit of work to make, but so worth it. I would recommend having your photos picked out, and edited before embarking on the project, it makes it much easier.

There are so many online programs that make it possible to customize this completely. Right down to the color of the font on your front page.

And since we are only at the start of the month, go ahead a make one for yourself. You won't regret it.