Five on Friday: Little Things

 "I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things...I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind." (Leo Buscaglia)

We had snow again this week. So unusual. But since it comes so seldom and stays for so short a time, we might as well enjoy it. I know that I did. My hyacinths were almost ready for the compost heap, but I posed them on the snow for a chilly blue and white photo.

I try to read every day. I don't count reading on line. I like to sink into a book and lose myself, for even a little bit of time. Reading is as good as taking a nap for refreshment. 

I've read all of P.D. James' detective novels (I think). She died over two years ago, but in 1999, she published a "fragment of autobiography"; a diary she kept for one year. I found it fascinating. What broad experiences she had - a BBC Governor, a member of the House of Lords, time with the National Health Service, and work with the police. 

Some things are best written with pencils, freshly sharpened. I like writing lists with pencils, and planning things such as parties, gardens, designs, etc. Things that require organizing seem to suit pencils best. Writing letters or journal entries are done with pens. 

We have a very, very old pencil sharpener that sharpens pencils better than any of the electric or manual ones at school. I bring my pencils home and sharpen them here to take to work.

Do you prefer pens or pencils? Or do you like them both, for specific tasks?

This book arrived in the mail this week. It's my blog for 2016, in print. I've had fun looking it over and remembering the events. Really, it's a cross between a scrapbook and a diary of sorts. The margins are wide and I plan to add a few notes (in pen) alongside, for clarity. 

A cup of tea and some cookies are a little pick-me-up that's very enjoyable. This week I baked Peanut Butter Cookies. My mother is not a fan of peanut butter and we rarely had peanut butter cookies while growing up. But I like them, although I don't make them very often. 

These are a gluten-free variety, a good recipe to have for those with gluten intolerance (and they seem to be everywhere lately). The sprinkling of sea salt on them adds a wonderful bit of layered flavour. I think they would be good with a drizzle of chocolate, or some chocolate chips in them. 

 Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter (no added sugar)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sea salt, for sprinkling

Mix together the peanut butter and sugar, stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine well. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop the cookie dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool on rack - they will be soft, but firm when cool. 

Five little things that make me happy - how about you? What little things bring you delight?

Linking to Five on Friday, hosted by Amy of Love Made My Home (for a couple more weeks). 

Five on Friday: Summer delights

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. All exams and papers are marked, and grades calculated. All that's left is report card comments and some tidying up. Whew! Bring on summer!

One early summer delight is raspberries. They've ripened early this year and we've put 6 quarts into the freezer, eaten them by the handful, enjoyed them with yogurt and nuts for breakfast, and with ice cream for dessert. 

The last food lab the Grade Eight class completed was mini cheesecakes. It was a new-to-me recipe so I tried it out on the family a few weeks ago. Easy and yummy! The students used frozen strawberries for a sauce on their cheesecakes, but here at home, home-grown berries were in order.

Delight number two - my Bolero rose bush is showing off this year, producing bloom after bloom of intricately folded petals with a scent I just can't get enough of. Some days after work, before I start dinner, I go out to the garden and take a whiff. Heavenly!

Two years ago our across-the-back-fence neighbour, Doug, gave me some poppy seeds. They produced a few flowers last summer, but this summer the blooms are spectacular: layers and layers of delicate, fringed petals. The blooms don't last very long, especially with the wind we've had, but more seem to pop up without fail. That's delight number three.

Summer salads are delight number four. Tim was away in Ottawa for a week at the beginning of June and I cooked...nothing. The weather was warm and I ate salad after salad. I did buy a roasted deli chicken, but hardly needed it. 

The salad above has a southwestern vibe: corn, black beans, red peppers, tomatoes, and avocado, with a citrusy cumin dressing. 

This is the simplest salad ever: chunks of crisp sweet watermelon, salty feta cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lime juice, some pepper and fresh mint. I could eat this every day. 

Delight number five: Hydrangeas. I planted a lace-cap hydrangea a few years ago and it didn't do very well. I think it was overshadowed by the light and soil hogging buddleia nearby. The buddleia went bye-bye this spring, leaving space for the hydrangea to thrive.

Looking at these photos has me wondering about the science of a hydrangea. Which is the flower? Something to look up when I have more time.

Then followed that beautiful season...Summer...

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape

Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I'm linking with Amy's Five on Friday gathering. And I'd enjoy hearing about what delights you about summer just now. 

Crazy for Flowers

 Filling the house with flowers is one of summer's pleasures. I went a little crazy this morning. Phlox and coneflower mix with lemon balm and mint on the dining room table. 
 

My back garden is not manicured and perfect. Far from it - it's a little wild and full with some plants crowding others. I'm always cutting back.

Hydrangeas in a thrifted silver pitcher on the mantel. Can you find the visitor in this photo? Hint, she's on the left.
 

I've been thinking lately that I've moved away from the original focus of my blog - sharing my creative efforts using fabric, paper and thread. However, I was very surprised (and honoured) to see my blog included in Mersad Donko's list of 10 Wildlife Blogs You Need to Follow. Here's today's wildlife - a little lady bug. I carried the vase outside and let her loose. Check out Mersad's list - he has some wonderful blogs there.
 

Pink hydrangea and phlox on the piano. 
 

Sometimes vases and plant pots, especially the ceramic ones can weep a little. After numerous moldy spots, I finally realized that a small cork coaster set underneath the pot will prevent any more moisture that can ruin wood finishes.
 

Hydrangeas (can you tell that I love them) on the kitchen table.
 

Phlox, hydrangea and lemon balm on the table outside under the gazebo. This was definitely the year to get the gazebo - it's been hot and we enjoy sitting outside in the evening after the sun begins to slip behind the hills. The shade is welcome even late in the day.
 

And the kitchen windowsill. I like to keep herbs there, ready for clipping. Today it's lavender for decoration and mint for whatever. See that peach there? There are more of them ripening on the windowsill - BC peaches, earlier than I can ever remember. 

Any flowers in your house today? I'd love to see them.

Simple Pleasures

The days are so full as I adapt to these weeks of full-time teaching. My husband leaves the house around 7:30 and I'm out the door by 8 at the latest. Once at school I have no time to think about anything other than classes, students and lesson plans until I get home around 4:00, unless I stop to pick up groceries or run errands. I enjoy being there, but I'm realizing how much freedom I've given up. Five weeks until spring break. Then....? Perhaps the regular teacher will return, perhaps not. 

This is the way millions of women around the world live, and I know that I would get used to it. I don't feel particularly rushed, but I do feel like I have to lay aside, for the time being, some of the things I enjoy doing. As well, I've realized that I need some small delights along the way, so I've created a little list for myself.

* flowers - the current ones in the vase are looking terrible, but they'll be replaced soon (maybe by my husband???)

* he made a breakfast reservation for tomorrow morning at the Sea Glass Bistro - I can sleep in - and have a delicious breakfast with that wonderful man

* a few minutes with my feet up when I get home

* a cup of tea or hot chocolate to sip while indulging in the above

* leaving my sewing out so that I can stitch just a seam or two as time allows

* leafing through a magazine (February's British Country Living)

* a few minutes in the evening with my journal and a pen

What small delights are you enjoying these days?

This year is a light version of Valentine's Day. Cookies may or may not be baked. I purchased a couple of little treats for the grand sweeties and that's about it. It's lovely to see pink hearts and tea parties and romantic decor in blog land. I'm enjoying reading the posts but I'm not commenting as much. As I adjust to this temporary new schedule, that may or may not change.

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day whether you are alone or with friends or family - it's a day to celebrate all kinds of love.   

A Gift of Music

"Don't make plans for Saturday night," he said.

"What shall I wear?" replied I.

"I'm going to wear a suit and tie," said he.

So I gussied up in a wine-coloured dress, a velvet jacket, my pearls with the addition of a brooch (as suggested by Duchess), crystal earrings and a gold and silver bag. The poor picture above was taken in the late afternoon, so it doesn't show off my sartorial efforts too well.

We went out for a casual dinner, then to the Royal Theatre downtown to hear the Victoria Symphony's "Sentimental Christmas" concert.  Such a lovely surprise date planned by Tim.

The first half of the evening consisted of sentimental Christmas tunes from the 20th century - White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, etc. which were enjoyable and had the audience tapping their toes and/or swaying in their seats, especially during the numbers accompanied by the the vocal talent of the College of Performing Arts students. 

While I enjoyed the tunes, the music that has echoed in my mind and heart since then are three pieces - the haunting loveliness of Greensleeves (What Child is This?), the joyful precision of Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, and the forceful energy of Bizet's La Farandole (from the L'Arlésienne Suite.) Music is such a gift.

What are your favorite Christmas pieces? Popular, classical, carols?

 

Let Summer Linger

 Each summer is different, but this one particularly so. There's been a sense of waiting, of longing for resolution, of putting in the days like dull beads on a string. It's not been a gloomy summer, but one fraught with small dramas that make up extended family life. Those dramas can wear away at the soul, rubbing the shine off bright mornings and lingering light-filled evenings.
 

Last night I wandered through my garden and noticed the hydrangea continues to produce new blooms. Summer is not over yet and there are shining days ahead in which to feel the sun wrapping me in warmth, flowers in which to bury my nose, and walks along the water where the light glints in brilliant shards. 
 

The roses bloom again, smaller than in that first heady rush of June flowering, but sweetly scented still and lovely in the twilight that falls sooner than it did. There are blackberries to pick, dark condensations of honeyed sweetness, ripe red tomatoes to eat warm from the vine, and oval plums to let fall into a basket like purple jewels. I'm planning to let summer linger long. 

Small Summery Treats

"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats."

Iris Murdoch

These are busy days. The end of school approaches and I am called in to teach more frequently. You would think the opposite; but no, I've been working more in June than I did in April. Classes end this week, so the end is in sight. 

The garden burgeons with life. Beautiful flowers, like the peonies seen above. Weeds grow, too and need yanking. Vegetables like their weekly dose of fish fertilizer.In the house, cooking takes a little more thought and planning as Casey and his wife are staying with us while he recuperates from his accident. 

When I find myself feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks, Iris Murdoch's words come to mind, and I make it a point to find the small treats in each day. Here's a short list of my summer treats. I'd love it if you added yours in the comments sections. What little things bring you happiness?

* a walk around my garden - smelling the roses, admiring the herbs, encouraging the vegetables to grow

* a cuddle with one of my darling granddaughters

* an evening walk with my husband

* savoring a square of dark chocolate

* arranging flowers in a vase

* reading a chapter in a good book

* a glass of cold water with lemon and mint

* going to the ocean and feeling the sand between my toes

Joining with Mary for Mosaic Monday.