How Sweet it Was & Happy Mother's Day.

What a night.

What a start to a wonderful weekend. 
James Taylor and his all-star band,  There is no one like the Master of Music.
He never disappoints, I absolutely adore his music.  Heart-wrenching songs from Fire & Rain to Circle of Life.
You are quickly transported back to your younger days listening to Carolina in my Mind and up on your feet for How Sweet It Is.

He surprised us with songs from his new CD, Before this World, starting with Today, today, today. Another winner.
It was a fabulous night.

Mother's Day is always an emotional day for those who have lost their mom.
My mother passed away from cancer on Aug. 31, 1997.

                                         My mom and I coming home from the hospital.

When thoughts go back 
As they often do
I treasure the memories
that I have of you.

"Happy Mother's Day in heaven, mom."

"And Happy Mother's Day to everyone."

I'm just back from a lovely brunch with family and feel very blessed today.
Oh, and Audrey found a spider somewhere so I got that, too.

                                     "I expect I'll never hear the end of this."

                                                       "You're welcome."

I hope you enjoyed YOUR day, all you moms out there. xo

hugs, Deb

Morning walk-about.

Each morning brings little surprises as I walk around the property.

First thing, I open up the door to the funny little greenhouse and let in the fresh morning air. It can get very hot in there; too hot for some of the flowers.
Some begonias have been potted up and now sit in shady/partial sun areas around and along the path to the back of the property. This path is covered in years of fallen maple leaves and will stay that way as I love the look. I have always envisioned a flowery path, passing by the old out-house and leading to the stone wall. And now, little by little,  I can bring that vision to life.

Over 100 years old.

Forsythia

The feeders are filled and the water topped up in the bird bath that sits amongst the perennials.
I am waiting anxiously to see the colour appear as each plant comes back to life. I know I won't remember the name of each plant, as something ran off with the name sticks, but I'll figure it out with the help of friends and google. lol

As I filled the platform feeder at the old well,  I was accompanied by Simon who had just woke up and popped out of his hole to check the day's weather. He was given a handful of seeds and some apple to start his morning. It's so good to see him doing well. :)

Annie is in her glory with her fresh cat grass and a mouse-house full of sun-puddles.
She's quite the little guard dog.

Audrey shows no interest yet but I know her curiosity will get the best of her and she will eventually chow down.
When the lazy butt finally makes an appearance.

Here it is the weekend again.
I'm hoping the sun settles in as we have a very exciting and busy few days.
I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day however you celebrate.
I live on the edge waiting to see what Audrey has in store for me. :-b

hugs, Deb

All's good in the greenhouse

Simon

& his buddy

They have a lot of fun together.

Red

All keeping me company at the funny

little greenhouse.

Zucchini

true leaves

Peppers

Seed leaves

Annie & Audrey will be happy to see their cat grass tomorrow. 

=^..^= =^..^=

The tomatoes and cucumbers are coming along, too. Today I potted up leafy lettuce and added three pots of oregano to my herb shelf.

I'm also growing sunflowers for the birdies.

I've been showing off cats that I cared for through my cat-sitting service that I provided for the area that we have recently moved from.

So

Let's look back a bit...

Meet Toot...Toot....Tootsie

Isn't she adorable. She is the playful half of Tootsie & Marvin, who you will meet next time.
Tootsie is a maniac with her fabric wand but her favorite thing to do is hunt 'in her head' the birds that feed just outside her sun-room window.
The last time I cared for her and Marvin was only days before I had to pass over my cat-sitting business to a wonderful lady in the area. One of the saddest days of my life.
I'll always miss them and hope they are enjoying their time with their new cat-sitter.

hugs, Deb

Mad for Morning Glories.

How I wish for Morning Glories to grow like this at the mouse-house someday.

This photo was taken some years back on the property of one of my cat-sitting clients. I look a little younger here :-b and dear old Kane was not so old here, either. My client had a green thumb, a love of flowers and a beautiful country home. Her kitties were named Molly, Buddy & Presley.
They were three gorgeous felines, a joy to care for and I miss them very much.

Here are my morning glories planted along the fence last summer.

 

Spectacular, right!

This was the first time growing them for me and I loved them. These annual climbers are on my list of 'fence flowers' this year, too.

The sun is out this morning after two full days of rain. It will be fun to see how the perennials are doing after a good drink. 
The lilac bushes are full of buds. We have two at the drive-way entrance and one along the fence. Can't wait to smell those blossoms.   

Must go...someone is going to start throwing dishes around if I don't pass out the stinky goodness.

 

"ok...what do I throw first?"

"Hey...where's the hired help around here?"

Wishing you a sunny day,
hugs, Deb

Rainy Sunday

It was a dark and rainy Sunday.
Family members met up at one of our local restaurants for a yummy breakfast with the intent to come back here to plan the future veggie garden. It was a no-go; too darn wet.
So instead, a quick walk about the property and off they went, pumpkin loaf in hand, until next time.

The funny little greenhouse read +6C early this morning under dark sky and heavy clouds.
It's a wet start to one of my favorite months but I know that farmers need it and that's a good thing.
I look forward to our local out-door markets opening soon. I'll be lined up for the blueberry scones and freshly baked oat bread.

Summer 2015

I got my 'early' birthday present  from my sister.

lol

She saw this and thought of her tea-drinking, cat-lovin' sister. :)

It now holds begonias that will be placed in a shady area as they do not tolerate hot sun very well.

For now they will thrive in the funny little greenhouse.

A recipe.

If you would like a quick and easy cookie recipe

this is my all-time favorite one.

You can prepare these in one large bowl.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I always add pecan or walnut pieces at the end.

This recipe can be found in the 

Canadian Mennonite Cookbook

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup  brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup chocolate chips

I add 1/4 cup of pecans or walnuts

Mix above in one large bowl. Drop by teaspoonfuls on parchment-lined cookie trays. Bake 350 for 10 min.

2 1/2 dozen.

Enjoy!

My little chickadee came by for a snack.

=^..^=

I've been showing off cats that I cared for through my cat-sitting service that I provided for the area that we have recently moved from.

So

Let's look back a bit...

Meet Caesar

I know...

Isn't he a lovely boy.

The last time I cat-sat this handsome fella I brought my knitting along.

Any excuse to stay longer. :)

He loved nothing more than to sit by my side and watch that I didn't slip a stitch.

We spent many wonderful hours together as he was a playful, loving cat.  

 I miss this guy so very much.

hugs, Deb

Around and about the mouse-house.

I learned something new this weekend. Mushroom compost smells awful. Awful, I tell ya.
So I hope it performs miracles around here to make up for the putrid smell.

The forecast is rain all day today. My seedlings are tucked safely away in the funny little greenhouse where the radio plays classical music most of the day. The retired-guy gets a laugh out of that. :-)
Even on cool, wet days it is fun to spend time out there.
Annie will be happy to have her cat grass this week. Cat grass does benefit an indoor-only cat that has a tendency to have hairballs.

Zucchini & Peppers

My pansies are kept in the greenhouse at night as something finds them very tasty.

I expect it's our resident bunnies.

I always have company.

A young Pileated Woodpecker.

and the ever-present

turkeys

It's an afternoon of movies

& (if you are a cat)

play-time with a feather wand.

I wish you all a Happy May.

hugs, Deb