The Wonderful World of Wine.

I'm happy to report that I have not given up drinking wine. I'm sure many of you thought I had and quite frankly, I have not given you any reason to think differently. As luck would have it I've tasted more varieties of wine in the last couple of weeks than I've had for a couple of months (I was getting stuck in a Pinot rut). Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures or copied down any labels and so I don't have any new information. I've already slapped my hand so you don't have to do it and I feel just awful that I've let you down (okay, not really, some of it's been good wine and I just can't feel bad about that). I did purchase a couple of bottles today and I promise to drink them all and let you know how it goes (not all tonight - oh, but then I may, we shall see). In case you'd like to drink along and pretend we're on a wine tour together the bottles are listed below. I've even gotten a little adventurous and purchased a tetra pack thing (it's not a bottle so what is it?). Until next time, have a wonderful evening.

1. Virgin vines - 2006 Chardonnay

2. Beringer - 2008 Pinot Grigio

3. Banrock Station - 2007 Chardonnay

4. Bandit - 2007 Pinot Grigio (The Tetra Pack) - I've already had a glass of this and for the money, it's not so bad. Really, it's totally drinkable and you don't have to wash it down with cheese or chocolate - if you want to then that's your option you just don't have to.

Ah, the Weekend...

What do you have planned for the weekend? Maybe a sit down dinner with some friends? Be sure to wear your good ruffled blouse (sorry Jen - it's a gorgeous dress!). Don't the boys look like their mine? Nope, their not - that's my husband in the brown suit and his little brother sitting next to him - their cousins, Jen and Jeff are across the table.

We have nothing planned (oh, surprise considering this is usually what we do on the weekend) and quite frankly, it seems to work out for us. My husband cuts the grass (we have an electric mower and a large lawn so this takes a whole day), the kids play (like they usually do - bicker, bicker, bicker) and I tend to go around and cut the edging with scissors (yes, scissors, we don't have an edger and I can't get at my little mounds with one anyway). I know this all sounds so romantic and you're all insanely jealous!

Hope you have a good one even if you too break out the scissors. Sing a little diddy while you do it and it will be amazing how fast the time flies.

Icons

Good-bye to Ed McMahon, David Carradine, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. And Thank You for your entertainment.

Rising from the depths...

...of a deep and dark pit of the blackest, foulest, stinkiest mud to ever be found on Earth.

Then staggering across the falling steps of the highest mountains...

...and down the seemingly quiet and innocent path.

Lurking across The Oasis, It searches out for a speckless little being to envelope and hide for an hour or even a day or repeatedly for the entire summer! It is a monster so frightening you'll shudder at the sight of it - perhaps you will even giggle repeatedly not knowing what other response to use!

The Mud Monster cometh! WATCH OUT! It could appear in your yard at any moment and most likely when you least expect it. The mud will wrap itself around your sparkling clean child and turn it into something so scary, so heinous that only a water hose and a bottle of liquid soap will be able to restore him/her to the being he/she once was. Be on the look out - it is said that the Mud Monster will be in the area until at least October!

Not quite a Secret Garden.

The picture at the right is my patio area. We've nicknamed it "The Oasis"... Can you see why? It's like a little spot of tranquility in the middle of the city. It is positively my favourite place to be right now. From my swivel rocking chair (life is sooo darn tough) I can see my neighbour C.'s garden and all the other neighbourhood gardens (no fences here) - flowers of assorted colours and a multitude of greens.

There is nothing at all exciting about this Cedar. It has seen better days. They poor thing is slowly dying and I'm trying my best to keep it alive. I water it everyday and try to keep the sun off of it but I'm afraid it may not make it. Do trees go to Heaven too?

This is a picture of the front garden. I've neglected it a bit (yes, I know, clover is a weed - but I like clover so for the most part, it's staying!) and haven't planted anything too exciting - a Hosta, Lavender and a few flowers of unknown existence.

This is the vegetable garden - weeks later. My potatoes are in bloom (*sigh*). The tomatoes have been thinned and who knows, I might just get one or two off the plants yet. I'm happy to report that I've already had a salad from the lettuce and I've got a surprise pumpkin growing from out of nowhere. Isn't nature funny?

Beans in the herb garden! The Basil is in front and it's growing and growing and growing! I dream of Pesto and Gnocchi and yummy summer salads...

These day lilies are blooming beside my house. Scads of them everywhere. I didn't plant them but luckily, I get to enjoy them. I separated some of the plants so they should be popping up everywhere next year (even in K's yard!).

The picture to the left is what's at the end of the patio. I put all my grass in a pile and created the little water feature. Then a Coleus and some miniature Dahlias to even it out. I've also thrown some seeds down here and there and so things are starting to come out of the ground but unfortunately, I can't remember what I put where...

Not as funny.

But incredibly interesting all the same: http://little-people.blogspot.com/

This is one of those things were you think, "Darn it, that's a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?" Thankfully, someone did. Can you imagine walking down the street, stopping just to ponder something and noticing a snail going by carrying 2 little people. Well worth the chuckle I say.

Enjoy.

Hee Hee Hoo Hoo HA!

If you enjoyed the tales of Henson Van S. and The Bright Orange Tiger then you are absolutely, unmistakably going to LOVE http://mymilktoof.blogspot.com/! This is such a great blog - for you, your kids, your neighbours kids, your husband, your wife, your parents and generally anyone you know. I just happened upon it (one of the other blogs I read had listed it) and I think the concept is so imaginative. Read it. Enjoy. Have a great Sunday.

What do you do if your shoe falls off in the middle of a cow field?

POOP.
Zen Shorts - great book. Pick it up at your local library today! Like now...

Undoubtedly, you will get poop between your toes. Do you get mad? Frustrated or just giggle? How you handle a situation that does not at all sound appealing can tell a lot about who you are as a person and/or where you are in your life.


This evening I read a book called Zen Shorts to E. I read it to S. last night - two different reads. With E. it's more about the pictures and little stories and knock knock jokes that he makes up while we're reading. With S. it's talking about life and again, how we handle situations that aren't always pleasant (I want to say shitty here but I might be stepping over some sort of line...). It's hard to talk about this with my children - perhaps because looking in the mirror you don't always like what you see (sorry to keep going with the metaphors but it's just that kind of book).

I've had a few incidences in the last couple of weeks where things have happened and I haven't really known how to handle them. I'm an act first, think later kind of gal - emotional, overbearing, forthright but wobbly... I bounce ideas of friends. I mull them over with them hoping to receive some sort of feedback that will make the decision process easier for me. After reading the Zen Shorts book, possibly even before and maybe I was living a teeny, tiny bit in denial, I've decided it's not fair for me to do this to my friends. This isn't their burdens to bear. They are mine and I need to either accept them or let them go. Neither is easy.

I want to thank all my friends that have let me use them for sounding boards over the years- some as early as today. I'm going to try my best to stop this now for it's not good for me to carry it around (it all gets a little heavy) and it's not fair for me to expect you to carry it either (you probably have your own). So, I'll take a deep sigh, Thank God for allowing me to live another day and ask him for the strength to move on. (Wow, Holy religious week Robin!).

BBQ, Ice Cream and Fairy Flies.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/firefly.html

Today was S.'s last day of school. He's officially graduated to Grade 2. It was a relatively uneventful year (thank goodness) aside from the occasional "friendship mishap" and his grades never slipped. Quite the contrary, because his teacher was patient, encouraging and incredibly understanding, it seemed as though his grades and his willingness to learn increased! This was a great sigh of relief to me - to have a child that loves his teacher and the academic subjects he's being taught.

The last day of school has always been a big deal for me - I suppose it would be to any child... At our house we try to nonchalantly make a big deal out of things. I'm really not a big fan of a large crowds so it's usually just a family affair - and today was no exception. When S. got home from school we decided to have some down time (ie. I needed a nap!). Then it was time for dinner = BBQ! - outside! Again, just the family (there's 4 of us in case you didn't know). But a big dinner with all the fixings. Then more playing... phew... after which E. inadvertently took a toy to the eye, which causes crying, which causes lying down, which, when you're little, causes sleep...

And now, it's just two grown-ups and one second grader... what to do? Slip out to the local ice cream shop for a sundae of course! Then, sit around eating together, talking together and watching the sun go down - and the fairy flies come out (also known as fireflies and/or lightening bugs). We've decided to call them fairy flies because they showed up first in the neighbours yard where we're sure the fairies live (Enid Blyton is well loved by me). Such a special place and one where explorers roam free and Bright Orange Tigers could *pop* up at any moment.

My husband and I watched as S. chased fairy flies, cursed the bunnies running through the garden and marvelled as a deer bounced through our yard not even a 100 feet from us. I have to admit it's one of those times I wish I could remember forever. I'm not sure where the time goes or how it is that I forget these moments but luckily for me my life seems to be filled with them.

Thanks be to God (sorry to get all religious but sometimes the moment just calls for it).

And so the Adventures begin...

Once upon a land, not so far from where you are now, there was a lonely and quiet forest. The forest just sat and waited for someone to come. It was a peaceful forest where nothing seemed to happen and no one seemed to venture. Until one day...

... Ye ol' Famous Explorer Henson Van S. wandered into the forest. He was on a great quest to capture the rogue Bright Orange Tiger. He had followed the Tiger for many a day and now was spent yet surprisingly cheerful. His clothes showed hardly any wear except for on the knees where The Famous Explorer Henson Van S. rested and bowed down to the candy Gods to show his appreciation for being kept safe. Little did The Famous Explorer Henson Van S. know...

The Bright Orange Tiger lie waiting for The Famous Explorer Henson Van S. Waiting patiently for the chance to spring up and gobble The Famous Explorer Henson Van S. in one gigantic gulp! He was a skillful and prepared Bright Orange Tiger. He wore his rubber boots even on sunny days just in case those Candy Gods surprised him with a rain shower - they too were crafty! The Bright Orange Tiger also felt that the rubber boots allowed him to run faster, just in case...

... he had to run super fast after Famous Explorers like Henson Van S.!

What a difference a day can make.

As of Saturday night I only had 2 flower/vegetable beds in the backyard and 5 new trees. A day later and I've added one more flower bed and 2 new trees. I've also planted an assortment of odds and ends in the burm at the end of the vegetable garden (and now it looks less like a burm and more like a natural transition into the yard), a few Hostas and a couple of different Coleus'. In five years time my backyard is going to look awesome. Five years, maybe ten but I'm hoping for five... But next Spring I will have Purple Iris' and daffodils and maybe even some lilacs in bloom. The pain in my back/legs/arms will all be worth it then.

Another special thank you goes out to my neighbour Ms. C for her help and assistance on getting my garden started. Her garden is truly lovely and if one day it's on the garden tour I'll let you know!

*pictures of my new additions later... sorry... feeling a bit exhausted - I wonder why? The pictures above are the new coleus' that I've planted - the red is Merlin's Magic and the brown is Sedona - both are better looking in person!