Drive Home

After a hectic week of work, I was finally able to complete my painting.

I call it Drive Home.
Oil on canvas
18 x 24"

I think it is complete. I might go in later and do some touch ups.
I usually take a break from a piece, then give it a good eyeballing to see if it feels right.

I started something else as well this afternoon.

It is a very rough draft. I am trying to plan and see how everything will work together.

We have had a lot of rain this past week so I have not had the opportunity to go and explore our garden as much as I would like.
I did however notices our Irises.


My Begonias are also doing amazing!


........and my Lemon Tree plant came back from the dead.


As a bonus to myself and my family, because they will be dining with me this evening, I am slow roasting a chicken using herbs from our very own garden!

This is pretty exciting for me. I love the smell that is coming out of my kitchen. I think the animals do as well because they are all gathered around the oven.

Now I am going to put up my feet with a large cup of coffee and enjoy the silence while I have the house to myself for a little longer.
Have a great day everyone!

Putting The Garden in Order

Yesterday was a bit windy, but otherwise a great day.
We decided it was time to put our plants and herbs in the containers.
I'm glad we waited because we suffered a severe frost warning the night before.
We planted a few tomatoes and a Thai Dragon pepper plant in the box to keep the spinach company.

I hope that spinach grows. I have plans!

I found most of the herbs that I use in my cooking.

Dill


Sage


Thyme


Rosemary


Chives


Oregano


Mint in its very own pot. It is quite a bossy little herb that likes to take over.


There is just something so satisfying about explaining you gathered those from your garden.
Now that we have the dehydrator, I can actually store these herbs for a while. I actually just finished using the remainder of last year's harvest in my roasted chicken a few Sundays ago.

I absolutely adore my patio to be surrounded by flowers. It provides a bit of privacy and colour.
Here are some of the flowers that will hopefully thrive.
I love how the pink and purple contrast with the blue of the container.

These little Johnny Jump Ups are my favourite because they remind me of Alice in Wonderland.




I was unsure the Begonias I started from seed would take, so I purchased a bright red one as an insurance.

The good news is I think they will make it. They just like to take their time. If you look carefully, they are there!




For a pop of colour along the fence, I purchased a Mandarin Lights Azalea bush.


After a long day of gardening, it was time to cause some mischief.


We also trimmed Napoleon's claws and he is not happy at all!

He has been giving me what for, for 12 hours now.
Eventually, he will calm down.
After all, breakfast is in 30 minutes.
Everyone settles down when the food hits the table.

I hope you all have a great week end!

Just Another Day

Except for the extreme heat and cold.
After I finish working a string of night shifts, I like to have a few hours nap so I can just chill with the family like other daywalkers.
As we were getting ready to go outside and enjoy the warm weather with our coffee, we spot this:





This happened in the little wooded area behind our house. It could have been set by anything from a shard of glass or a bolt of lightning.
I am just very relieved that the fire department arrived in a timely manner. This was all taken care of in 30 minutes.

And this is the reason why we all experienced extreme cold.

Jacob was pretty traumatized by the whole ordeal. The screams that emerged from that bathroom could be compared with any scream queen from the horror movies.
How bad can it be, thought I.
Pretty effin bad.
That was the fastest shower in history.
Jo did not fair much better.
He only washed the parts his underwear covered.

It was not all fire and ice.
There was also some wonderful growth in the gardens.


I wonder why this tulip has such a stunted stem?


Before the storm hit I was able to plant my spinach in the planter box that Hubs had built.

I only used half of the space saving some place for the tomatoes I am hoping to find this week end.

I have also enjoyed working in my special room!
My painting is progressing nicely.


I also put a protective clear coat on some buttons that were crafted for me by hubs.

When they have completely dried, they will be sewn onto a cardigan I had completed some time ago.

That is about all I can remember at this time.
I hope you are all well.
Enjoy the week!

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.