She is so fabulous! I wish I had her ability to call people out on their BS. Nothing to do with today's post, just happen to be listening to her on the TV while I'm writing this. I'm at the stage now where I am getting rid of things I really like. This fluted vase is part of a small collection of green ceramic vases that are arranged on a shelf in the kitchen. My mom was supposed to come for a longish visit and maybe do a flea market table with me while she was here, but those plans fell through. I am still putting together a flea market box though. Perhaps I can convince a friend to rent a table with me. The swiss chard was the last harvest before we had snow and several days of -5 to -10 degrees. It's warmer now, but that was the end of many of the veggies.

Tags: garden, vase, December 2010

My friend gave me this a few years ago. It had been given to her, but she didn't like to look at it because it reminded her of her father-in-law’s face. I had this Green Man in my garden for those years, peeking out from a shrub. Then I met a woman who dances with a group of Morris dancers — and they have a Green Man in their group. Perfect! She would get the reference. So now this sculpture is in her garden, presiding over the veggies.

This is a large chunk of clay. Easily 75lbs. I can't even lift it. I thought I had a photo of it in its new home, but I can't find it. This guy has whales and birds and deer and other animals forming his beard and hair. Quite astonishing to look at closely and see all the fauna.


Straight from Wikipedia today:
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical). "The Green Man" is also a popular name for English public houses and various interpretations of the name appear on inn signs, which sometimes show a full figure rather than just the head.

The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or "renaissance," representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some[who?] speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.

Tags: garden, miscellaneous, November 2010

This product turned my husband's teeth brown. Yup. Google it. Doesn't happen to everyone, but it happened to him. Gone now, but the discolouration was disconcerting to say the least. The garden is brown now too. Much of it. Sodden and mucky. Rain and more rain. Just a few more months before it looks like this again.

Tags: personal products, November, garden

I forgot to take photos today of the demolition. I've had two raised beds in the back garden. Built 10 years ago. The boards were splitting, dirt was spilling out. They were knocked down today. Construction on new, higher beds has begun. Using reclaimed lumber. Here is a photo from the summer in which you can sort of see the raised beds. I will post photos of the new ones — and the new cold frame — once they are finished this weekend.

Tags: garden, November

The colour on these is so pretty. More vivid than this photo shows. I imagined vibrant green and turquoise succulent with their vivid yellow, orange and pink flower stems growing in these pots. I have lots of succulents, just never got around to planting them in these. Out you go. (I found this shot of succulents on the internet, if it's yours and you want it off my site, just let me know.)

Tags: kitchen, garden, November

This pot was passed on to me by a poet friend a couple of years ago. It has a very specific purpose. I don't cook asparagus often enough to warrant the room it takes up in my cupboard. Any of my pals out there want this? I won't take it out of the house right away. It is pretty and shiny. We raked leaves this weekend. I won't be blogging for the next week or so. I'll have to do a big clear out to catch up.

Tags: kitchen, October, garden

Today is about an acquisition. I finally had time to go camera shopping. After reading many reviews online and comparing cameras, I went and held the two I'd narrowed my choice down to — handled them, took pretend photos (no memory cards in the demo models) and spent an hour and a half trying them out and asking the salesperson lots of questions (thanks Lori, you were so helpful!). At some point all the research and testing has to come down to a decision. So I took out my credit card and bought a new camera. I always want to lie down and take a nap after I spend a lot of money. I do not feel exhilarated. I am pleased to have a good camera and look forward to taking pictures tomorrow and over the next few days (I have ten days to return it if I don't like it), but the actual act of committing to that much expense gives me more of an anxious feeling than a thrill. If the cult of consumerism depended on people like me it would be in trouble. Here is a photo of some extra garden pots I got rid of when we reorganized the shed. Fortunately my gardener took them all and will use them to put her starter plants in. She sells veggies and annuals to her clients. It's possible I will be getting some of these pots back, with yummy Sweet Baby Girl tomato plants in them. Hint, hint. They were my favourite tomatoes of this year.

Tags: garden, camera, October

Haven't gotten rid of jewellery in awhile. This is a brooch. A nice brooch. A gift from a friend, probably around 17 years ago. I used to wear it, but now I am wearing new bling. It doesn't take up much room, so I'll put it in the box to go out. If anyone wants it, they can have it. Here's a view of the shed. The garden grew like stink at the end of summer.

Tags: brooch, jewellery, September, garden

I got married in these shoes. In 1988. To my first husband. They were very comfortable to stand in for a whole day. I clipped a white fabric flower on the top of each shoe to fancy it up for the wedding. I can still get them on, but they are too snug. Some sentimental value remains because they remind me of a wonderful time, but it is time to let go. The tomato with the extra appendage is from the garden and was part of my dinner tonight. Delicious. Fried me up some okra too. Wish I could grow that here.

Tags: shoes, garden, September

Today there was an article in the paper about preserving food, highlighting how popular canning is becoming again. It mentioned that old Mason jars were getting harder to find at thrift stores. Perhaps that’s why this box of jars disappeared from the curb while other items were left behind. I thought I had gotten rid of all of my jars (April 26), but turned out there were more hiding in the shed that was torn down. I don’t think I will ever have enough produce in my garden to get into canning, and for now I’m not inclined to buy large quantities from the market. I dehydrate apples from our trees and we make and freeze lots of pesto from our basil, but the rest of the veggies are eaten as fast as they mature. Our regular stir fry now contains bright yellow patty pan squash along with the kale. The mushrooms and garlic are from the store. Unfortunately our garlic crop was very small this year and we’ve already eaten all of it.

Tags: kitchen, August, garden

I know I didn’t post yesterday. Was busy finishing the removal of stuff from two sheds, phoning with the builders of the new shed, and trying to get some work done. Today a three-person crew came to demolish the sheds and take as much as possible to the big wood chipper at the dump, and the rest, well, I’ll have to ask forgiveness for generating some trash. Ever since Christmas Day, when the roof of the big shed collapsed under the weight of uncharacteristically heavy snowfall, there has been a tarp over the big shed and it has not been safe. Having to take everything out, starting with some stuff that was ruined after getting wet in the collapse, has been a good exercise for me. I’ve always kept odd pieces of wood and metal and tiles and windows and screens and pots and containers and so on. After storing these sorts of things for 10 years and not ever using them, it was time for them to go. Some things went earlier and have shown up in previous posts. There will be more posts to come. Here are before and after photos of the shed. A pair of rubber boots went to one of the guys tearing things down. The new shed is being built at the end of next week. We tore down two sheds but are only rebuilding one, and at a smaller size than the larger one we used to have. I think we’ll do fine with less space. It will be dry and rat proof. Yippee!

Tags: garden, August, shed, shoes

I just came back from a trip to Germany. There are lots of shoe stores in Germany with beautiful, stylish, comfortable shoes. I returned with two new pairs. So I have to get rid of some old ones I haven’t been wearing. This is another pair from my mother — she was getting rid of them and instead of letting her follow through, I took them, thinking I might one day wear them. I must have been having a skinny feet day at the time, because they certainly don’t fit comfortably now. Oh, the spreading toes of middle age....

Tags: shoes, August, garden

I recently took a long plane trip. Took out my travel pack of inflatable pillow, airplane slippers and sleep mask. Duly blew up the pillow in flight, but it didn’t hold air. These days most plane seats have adjustable headrests that bend sideways to support your head. This type of pillow isn’t really needed anymore. I am not going to try and find the leak and patch it. I think it is more that the seams aren’t completely sealed anymore. The blackberries are freshly picked from the neighbour’s patch. Ate a bowl of them for breakfast.

Tags: travel, miscellaneous, August, garden

My cats loved, loved, loved this drinking bowl/fountain. But it ran on electricity 24 hrs a day and the filter needed regular replacement and it seemed whenever I went to the pet store there were no filters in stock. The worst feature of this CatIt product though was that it became very slimy very quickly and had to be completely dismantled and carefully washed. Taking it apart was not easy. Whoever designed it made it really tough to keep clean. So as much as the cats, in particular Mika, enjoyed drinking the moving water as it burbled over the top dome, it is now being recycled. I can’t recommend this product. The fig was part of my breakfast this morning. Fresh picked from our tree. Yum.

Tags: cats, household, August, garden

We used this a few times after we bought it. Have misplaced the bottom of the sunbrella stand though, the part that sticks into the lawn to raise the shade high enough to sit under. The main issue is we don’t get much sunshine in our yard, and don’t do much sitting around. There are always weeds to pull and plants to trim. If I do sit for a few minutes, I usually don’t mind a few rays. This has been stored in the shed and has a few rat nibbles in the fabric.

Tags: garden, August

I had no idea when we moved into this place that gardens with trees and shrubs and bushes generate so many piles of prunings and clippings. Here are some recent trimmings. Thank goodness I have a gardener to help me with keeping the enthusiastic plants under control. She has a truck to take everything away to a proper garden waste recycling facility. This is a small pile!

Tags: garden, July

I have stored my food in glass containers as much as possible for years. So plastic ones like this don’t get used very often. These went out in the last load to Big Brothers Big Sisters. The garden shot is is the area outside my office. I get to watch birds splash in the bath when I want a view other than my computer screen.

Tags: kitchen, July, garden

Gave this office clock (IKEA) to my gardening helper. Lunch yesterday was first pickings from the fava bean crop, stir fried with garlic and green onions from my garden and purple sage from my neighbour’s herb patch. Yummy. Still holding vigil for my sweet little 16-year-old cat. Will discuss options with the vet tomorrow.

Tags: office, July, garden

Happy Canada Day! I tried to get some work done, but I took a walk, played tennis, helped clean out the shed, had a long visit with Lucy and her mom and have been watching Wimbledon in between (recorded). At the moment I’m watching Haas close out his match against Djokovic. I’ve enjoyed watching Haas throughout the tournament. Ah well, there is still this evening to get some work done. Usually a stat holiday is the best time to catch up on projects. None of my clients phone or email me. In honour of Wimbledon, and because when I started taking tennis lessons I had to upgrade my racket, I am posting the ancient wooden one I used to hit a ball against the school wall with. It has gone to one of the teenage boys who live next door to Lucy’s mom. The fava beans are almost ready to pick and saute in some olive oil with fresh green onions (also from the garden), a bit of garlic, and a sprinkle of hot chilies.

Tags: sports, July, garden

This rubber plant is huge. At least 5 feet from side to side. I adopted it not too long ago when I helped someone move. She had the plant for sale on craigslist, but no one wanted it, so I tried to find a place for it. Tried being the operative word. It is such a healthy, pretty plant. I moved some furniture around in the living room to accommodate it, but it was always in the way. Once the weather warmed up I was able to put it outside on the deck. I started to ask around to see if anyone I knew would give it a new home. It is now with someone who appreciates it as much as I did, but who actually has a space for it. The other shot is of my red leaf lettuce patch, with some kale in the foreground and iceland poppies in the background.

Tags: plants, June, garden

A very dear friend gave me this necklace a few years ago, but it is too short to go around my neck. I can’t even wear it as a choker, besides which, the style doesn’t suit being a choker. So much as I adore my friend, I am going to give this necklace up. I have other gifts to gaze upon and think fondly of her. And now I have a photo of the necklace if I want a reminder. This is one of the paths in our garden. The plant in the lower right is an epimedium. I much prefer its proper name to one of its common names, horny goat weed.

Tags: jewellery, garden, May

I was at a dinner party last night. The host had a vase of pussy willows by his fireplace and one of the guests commented she’d love to have some. I knew I had some at home that I was willing to part with, so today when she came over I gave her these ones. (I still have another bouquet of them, for when I start painting again and need examples.)

The bulletin board from two days ago disappeared from the front yard the day I put it out for the taking. Phew!

Tags: garden, February

I also took down a bat house yesterday. It has been up for years too, also never inhabited. The bats don’t seem to want to raise their babies in my yard. This will join the swallow nest box at my friend’s place in the country.

Tags: garden, February

Several years ago I put up a bird house for swallows at the top of a tall pole in my backyard. I know swallows require a long open approach to a nest box, which I couldn’t offer, but I held out a wee bit of hope. I have had success with other nest boxes, but never with this one. I risked life and limb at the top of a rickety ladder yesterday, unscrewing it from the pole. Off it goes to a friend who lives in the countryside with open fields on two sides of her place. I look forward to visiting when the swallows are zipping back and forth to the box with bugs to feed their babies. (The thing hanging on the right side of the shed is a mason bee house. I’m hoping to attract more of them this year.)

Tags: garden, February