The Purples of June

It seems there's lots of purples in June, at least in my garden. The alliums are done now but they were spectacular this year, and I had fun with my camera the day they were loaded with droplets of rain...

Other purple blooms this month included lilacs, iris, chives, clematis, spiderwort, columbine, shooting-star, Jacob's ladder, cranesbill, bachelor's buttons and of course there are the lovely lupins...

I love all my purple blossoms, and I know you're not supposed to "play favourites" BUT the Bachelor Buttons are a favourite, for sure...

Although they're not in my garden, I had to include some lupins (just for you, Sara!)

Are you tired of all this purple? Are the soft greens and purples  making you drowsy? If so, here's a little jolt of orange to wake you up! LOL

Are you a purple lover? Do you have any purples in your garden?

Peace,
Linda

"All the other colors are just colors, but purple seems to have a soul - when you look at it, it's looking back at you." ~ Uniek Swain

On My Way

As you read this I will be on my way stateside... yes I'm off again to The Big Apple. I'll be gone from here for a few days but I do have several posts ready and scheduled to post, so do come back to visit... If you're a purple lover, be sure to drop by tomorrow! Comments might take a little longer to appear, as will my replies to you.
So.. New York here I come! As always what I'm most looking forward to are the Broadway shows we will see: Come From Away, Beautiful - The Carole King Story and Phantom of the Opera. I can't wait!



Peace,
Linda

♫♫ Come on along and listen to the lullaby of Broadway...  ♫♫

On My Bookshelf

Nadia Hashimi is an Afghan American pediatrician and author. She is best known for her debut novel, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, which I have had on my "want to read" list for quite a while, but once again, it was not available on a recent visit to the library. Instead I picked up her second book, When The Moon Is Low.  
Synopsis from the book jacket: "In Kabul, we meet Fereiba, a schoolteacher who puts her troubled childhood behind her when she finds love in an arranged marriage. But Fereiba's comfortable life implodes when the Taliban rises to power and her family becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime. Forced to flee with her three children, Fereiba has one hope for survival: to seek refuge with her sister's family in London.
Traveling with forged papers and depending on the kindness of strangers, Fereiba and the children begin a harrowing journey as refugees. In the shadowy world of the undocumented who live on the streets of Europe's cities, their fate takes a frightening turn when Fereiba's teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family.
Heartbroken, Fereiba has no choice but to continue on with only her daughter and baby- but mother and son will cross border after perilous border, risking their lives in hope of finding a place where they can be reunited."
Although this story and the characters are fictional, it is a realistic portrayal of what many refugees go through and certainly made me think twice about their plight. Their journey is not only a physical one, but an emotional one as well; this is a story of love and determination, which is no doubt true for most refugee families. The bonds between family members must be strong for them to endure so many hardships and setbacks, yet remain steadfast in their goal of reaching a better life. A good read!

Peace,
Linda

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." ~ James Bryce

Tulips on Tuesday

My tulips are finished blooming now, but I wanted to share a few photos with you. Most of the tulips I've planted over the years seem to have died out - previous clumps of 10 or 12 bulbs have only a few remaining stragglers here and there. Yet tulips my mother planted at least 30 years ago continue to bloom beautifully each year! They are mere feet away from mine (I now live right next door to where I grew up) so the weather, temps and conditions are virtually the same. The only difference is hers are directly in the ground, whereas mine are in contained beds, slightly raised - would that make a significant difference? WHY do some go on strongly year after year and others last only a few years then die out?? Like many other things these days, are they "just not making them like they used to?"

The new Canada 150 tulips I planted last fall did not disappoint, the blooms lasting almost three weeks!  I hope they will perform as well next year! The tulips shown here, which I still call "Mum's tulips" are a mixture of varieties, with a few parrot tulips  among others. They catch the light later in the day and I can't help but photograph them every year! Although the blooms last only a week or so, I get every bit as much enjoyment out of them as my mother did, and think of her every time I walk by them or see them from my studio window. I hope she can see them from heaven...

















Love that backlighting!

And lastly, because they surround this tulip bed, and because I love blue and believe every garden should have some blue in it, I can't leave out the sweet little forget-me-nots!   :)

Peace,
Linda

"A tulip doesn't strive to impress anyone. It doesn't struggle to be different than a rose. It doesn't  have to. It is different. And there's room in the garden for every flower." ~ Marianne Williamson

Log Cabin Runner

It's been a while since I've shown you any quilting projects. Here is a small "finish" that was completed recently. It measures 14.5"x 22.5"  so I don't know if you'd actually call it a runner... a small runner, I guess. It was quick and easy with only six blocks and one border.
I've always loved Log Cabin and I saw this on Pinterest somewhere a while back; of course I didn't pin it, and promptly forgot about it. Then I saw it again on Joanne's blog Thread Head. This time I took note! She actually did a tutorial for it, so if you'd like to make something similar you can find the tutorial here. I "did my own thing"  construction-wise, but ended up with pretty much the same end result. My blocks are the same size, 5" finished, with a 1" centre and 1/2" logs. The blocks are done totally from scraps and leftovers. I'm not much on appliqué, but decided to follow Joanne's suggestion of the appliqué flowers and leaves on the ends. I'm not totally happy with them, wish I hadn't spaced them quite so far apart, but they're on there now and I'm not taking them off to re-do! I tried adding some embroidery to the flower centres, but didn't like it. Then I tried beads, didn't care for that either. So for now they're staying the way they are. Who knows what I might come up with later, once I've pondered it a while.  :)  I do think I might embroider some veins on the leaves at least...

I had recently purchased Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles and that's what I used to make the flowers. (This is a set of heat resistant plastic circle templates in fifteen different sizes from 7/16" to 2".) They worked well and with a shot of Best Press and a good pressing, I had perfectly smooth circles to appliqué in place. If you do a lot of appliqué circles, by hand OR machine, I would certainly recommend these!




After ditching around the perimeter of the blocks, I quilted it in straight diagonal lines spaced about 1/2" apart, using black thread on the dark areas and cream thread on the light areas.
I'm working on another small project now, also with Log Cabin blocks, in reds and white...  I hope to finish it before July 1st. Can you guess what it's for?

Piece!
Linda

Fabrics are a lot like chocolates. It's hard to pick just one.

Drenched and Dripping

When the rain finally slacked off yesterday, I went out with my camera to see what I could find of interest in the garden. Everything was sopping wet and weighed down with raindrops. We've had so much rain, I have plants budded now that normally don't bloom until late July or early August. There's more rain in the forecast for the coming week... I think we'll be growing fins soon...
Okay, ready for a stroll? Don't get your feet wet!

The alliums were so loaded with droplets.

Poppies will soon be in bloom.

I love the way the water droplets collect on the Lady's Mantle.

The poor rhododendron was so weighted down.

Things were a little drier today.   :)

Come back tomorrow to see a new small project I've recently finished.

Peace,

Linda

If it never rains, then we'll never grow. 

Making Progress

We've finally had a few days of sunshine and warmer temps, and the overnight temps are getting into the double digits. It seems to have been a long time coming! It's amazing what a sunshine-y day can do to one's mood and energy level.  :)  So between hubby and I, we have made good progress the last few days. The hubby has done a wonderful job of putting new cedar around one of my perennial beds. He originally built this bed on the east side of the house along the garage with pressure treated 4x4's but after 25 years(!) it was starting to look its age. It wasn't quite as straight as it used to be. (It didn't bother me but hubby likes things straight and square!) So this is what it looks like now with fresh new eastern cedar.










I got the bed around the company sign all planted with red geraniums - a tip of the hat to my mother who always had red geraniums. There's a bit of an "in family" joke there, but I won't bore you with it... They don't look like much yet, but a month from now when they've grown, they'll look great. I'll try to remember another photo then.
My vegetable garden is now all in except for the tomatoes and cucumbers which I'll plant next week once I'm sure the overnight temps are staying above 10°. Lettuce, carrots, peas, yellow beans and beets are in, and my glads are started in flats. Their row is ready and waiting once they grow a bit. Hubby says he's going to put in a row of corn this year too, we'll see. Mum never had any luck with corn - between the squirrels and the raccoons, they always seemed to "harvest" it just a day or two before she was ready to... Smart little devils, they are!

I did my herb planter yesterday- basil, dill, mint and parsley. I do love using fresh herbs that I can just go out and pick whenever I want... I picked up my pots and planters from Greys two days ago, they look wonderful as usual. I always ask that they be colourful, and nice and full. Once they grow a bit they'll be very showy.

So, things are lookin' up... With all the rain we've had, the grass and hostas are growing like crazy and the tree foliage is lush. My rhodo is just coming into bloom. Sigh.... I love June!




Peace,
Linda

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!!!!

We have had a cool wet soggy dreary spring. Our hours of sunshine seem very few and far between, fleeting even. I keep reminding myself that up above the clouds, the sun IS shining.... I hope this cool wet weather turns to sunshiney and warm SOON.....    And I promise I won't complain about the heat this summer, if it ever comes...

















The garden is growing quickly with all the rain, and the tulips are lasting well. The trees and lawn are so green and lush but some sun would be most welcome, just sayin'.


Anyone know how to encourage the sun to come and stay???













Peace,
Linda






"Sometimes when you think the storm is coming to rain on your parade, it's actually there to water your garden." ~ Rob Hill Sr.

"Getting to Know You"

What a wonderful time we have had getting to know our grandson Noah a little better. It is SO great to have them much closer to home. Noah and his Mommy were here just 2 days before we packed up and headed to their new home to UNpack, but we squeezed a lot into that two days!










Noah had his first "official" haircut
right in Grammie's kitchen.










                                                                                                   
He learned to ride a firetruck (loves the "siren"....)

Photo Credit: Mummy Laura

                                                  and Uncle Marks' horsey....

Photo Credit: Mummy Laura

and Great Uncle Leigh is already teaching him about the ride-on mower.

Photo Credit: Mummy Laura

Once we got to his new house on Friday, he was SUCH a  big help....



Supervising Grampie to make sure he fixed the clothesline properly...

                                                             




Checking the newly installed gate to make sure it's secure.....

"What did Mummy put in here? I'm sure I can re-organize it..."


Ah yes, life is never dull with a little one around... he makes life interesting! He will soon be walking, as he is already taking a few steps on his own. It won't be long now.





Peace,
Linda

A child has a special way of adding joy to every day.