I Love My Backyard

As soon as I started to live on my own, I always dreamed of having some sort of garden getaway.
Nothing fancy.
Just a little place with a lot of nature to surround me.
Until very recently, this was not really possible.
I had lived in apartments where you share walls with unknown neighbours.
Now I am so happy with our home. We all have something that just makes us light up after long hours at work.
This is always a magical time of year.
Nature is starting to awaken.
There are green mysteries popping up in the least expected places.
I catch myself saying, I don't remember planting those there. I wonder what this will be.
There are a lot of hardcore garden types who meticulously plan every aspect of their outdoor living.
They have colour charts and areas mapped out with precision.
Their homes do look beautiful.
I am not one of those people.
I do a lot of container and pot gardens.
We have some very large trees that make it difficult for some of the plants to have the necessary amount sunlight.
Pots were my solution so I can move them easily towards the sun.
Sort of like my little sun seeker Napoleon.

Lately, Napoleon is proving to be quite the escape artist.
Every time the screen door opens out to the back deck, he runs like a zombie hoard is chasing him.
We are trying to train Jackie to catch Napoleon before he makes it out the door.
It is a work in progress.

I am trying Gladiolas for the first time.
So far, so good!


The Crocuses are making an appearance at the front of the house.

Who knew they came in so many colours?

I have no idea what these flowers are, but they are all over the front lawn.

I really like them.

My tulips are also sprouting up in odd places.
I love these flowers.
They are so common, in that you can purchase them everywhere, but they really are simple sophistication.



For some reason, that red tulip wanted to mingle with the daffodils.

Soon the backyard will smell of lilacs.


If you look past my lilac bush, you see reason 427 why I love my backyard!


We also had our resident Woodpecker pay a visit.


While all this activity is buzzing around, Jackie and I are quite content to sit back and do our thing.
I am working on a pair of mystery knit-a-long socks,

and Jackie is exploring the contents of her ball.


I hope you all have a wonderful long week end.
I'm off to binge watch Empire and complete a pair of socks.
Jackie and Rebel are just going to chill and listen to the sounds of my needles and occasional cuss words.

Life With Cookies

We are definitely experiencing Spring.
I get a bit nervous to say that because I live in Canada.
As the old adage goes: If you don't like the weather, wait a bit, it will change.
The ground and greenery are all still a bit damp and brown. As the days move on, this quickly changes.
I went for a drive with Jackie the other day and took a few pictures to try and find my next drawing or painting.
Quite a few images caught my eye.


Then Jackie had a brilliant idea!

We need to make cookies!

So we did that today!
Soft, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Cookies.

Full disclaimer.
I am a lazy cook and I like to enjoy my wine when I create things in the kitchen.
I do not really measure things. I just toss things in after eyeballing the quantity and hope for the best.
This is probably why I have such a difficult time making bread.

Anyway, this is what I attempted:
The oven is preheating at 350
In a bowl I added:
1 cup of melted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas
3 very generous large soup spoons of crunchy peanut butter. The kind that has the peanuts still in whole peanut form
1 teaspoon of salt

I then used my electric mixer and blended that concoction until everything was relatively smooth.

Then I added 2 cups of all purpose flour
3 cups of quick rise oats
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 teaspoon of salt

I mixed all of these together and then placed the bowl in the fridge while I did very important things.
By important I mean watch an episode of Daredevil while I cross stitched.

After it chilled for a bit, (well it was placed next to the bottle of wine. I don't judge), I used a spoon and an ice cream scoop and tried to make similar sized cookies of about an inch and a bit on the tray that I lined with parchment paper.
They were placed in the oven for about 8 minuets. It didn't take very long to get that nice brown top on the cookie.
The batch made 24 - 28 cookies. I cannot give you an exact number because I had to eat a few mistakes.
They came out great. They are soft in the middle. You can taste the peanut butter and banana.

I'm off to do more important things. ;P
I think you and I both know I'm just going to veg in front a tv show.
Have a good day everyone!

Spring?

After the seemingly long winter we have experienced: (I'm a little hesitant to say it. What the heck. I am in a gambling mood this morning),
Yeah!!! Spring!!!
Even the moon saw the sunrise this morning.


This was the first morning I saw Doves.


My tulips have started to make their shy appearance.

Tulips are funny creatures. I do mean creatures. They always seem to show up in a place of their choosing. I could have sworn I had planted those inside the confines of the garden. Maybe fairies replanted them, or squirrels. I like to think fairies though.

Yesterday really was beautiful.
We have no complaints.
Well, maybe Napoleon.
He is not thrilled with his captivity.


Jackie however, had a wonderful time.

We get to play now right?


All of my pots are ready for my herbs and flowers.
I have had my herb list ready since October.
This year I would to try and grow spinach.


With the warmer days, I do not seem to require as much sleep. I am able to take more time to work on my projects.
I have done a lot of cross stitching while binge watching Supernatural.

Because I am working with large chunks of colour, even the back looks good.


I put in a lot of pleasant hours on my painting.

It is just so fantastic to sit in my workshop with the window open and my music playing. I have been waiting since Jo finished my little room to experience this.

According the weather report for our area, the days are only going to get progressively warmer.
I think we will just sit here and enjoy the adventure.


Enjoy the start of the week everyone. :)

How You Tease Us Mother Nature

It was a beautiful day yesterday. The sort that motivates you to get outside and do something.
That is just what Jackie and I did!
We went for a lovely walk and smelled each and every blade of grass, rock, twig, suspicious looking paper and clump of snow. Jackie, not me. I just waited patiently for her to do her investigation because as it was Sunday, we were in no hurry.

When we arrived home, we decided to start planting a few items.
First on the list is, what I believe is an oak seed.

I think it would be a nice thought to say that we knew that tree when it was just a thought.

Jackie helped Hubs with a bit of gardening.

I like the idea of my little garden in pots because we can then move them to sun as needed. This is especially helpful because our neighbours have some rather large trees.

I finished the project I was test knitting while binge watching How To Get Away With Murder. Wow! I did not anticipate that ending at all!

Now I am able to concentrate fully on my other little projects.

This is only the first layer. It will look completely different when it is finished.

Progress on my Bad Fairy Princess Stole


Since we woke up to a bit of snow this morning, we are having a lazy morning.
Well, most of us.
Napoleon has been very busy destructive.

Every since Napoleon was a kitten, he has had this compulsion to chew wires. I was so thrilled when I discovered that entertainment systems like Playstation made wireless controllers.

Jackie has also been in a destructive mood and amputated her dolls limbs.

I ended up sharing the bed with that foot last night.

I'm off to put the laundry in the dryer so I will have clothes to wear to work tonight.
Have a good day everyone!

Equinox?

According to Time and Date.com, March Equinox will arrive tonight at 18h45.
This is exciting.
Except for one detail.
Did someone tell Mother Nature?
Is she still traipsing around the world on holidays?

It reminds of the film Dogma, where God has a thing for Skee-ball.

I've been busy test knitting a pattern for someone that I am really enjoying.
The artist has incorporated the Fish Lips Kiss heel by the Sox Therapist.
This really is an interesting way to look at how the heels of socks are constructed. The instructions were also simple to understand.
.
I wish I could show more of the project but I am pretty sure the designer would not be happy.

When I go on these knitting binges, I always have company.

Napoleon takes his supervisory role very seriously.

What is this on your computer? This does not look instructional!

Reno and Jackie fell asleep playing a rather breath taking game of hide and seek.

I'd move, but someone's nails are stuck in my fur.

Rebel is almost 20 now, just likes to chill and watch from a distance.

It is hard working babysitting these sharp toothed children.

I am off to finish my project and watch the last few remaining episodes of How to Get Away with Murder.
Have a good day everyone.
Happy Spring Equinox!

Happy Belated Pi Day

To celebrate such a coincidental occasion, I made pie with the last of the berries we picked during the summer.
This one is all strawberry with my rendition of stars, planets and a moon:

This is a blueberry, strawberry mix that we devoured that night:

I cheated with the pie crust and bought it previously made. The pie crust I make does not come out as a crust so much as a means to protect from shell fire and rapid animals.

I've also been knitting a fair bit.
I volunteered to test a pair of socks which I am thoroughly enjoying.
I'll show the back,


I've also made some progress on my sweater:


Not too shabby for a week end eh?

I hope you all have a good start to this week. Temperatures are bound to get a bit higher. We might even see some of that elusive grass that has been MIA since Halloween.

Have a good day!