Spring

Spring has sprung...dandelions are decorating the lawn, the trees have green leaves now, our garden was in the ground early and my perennials are green and bushy.  A few iris have bloomed but they were dwarfs this year due to the extremely dry conditions. Our lilacs have yet to bloom and may not because of a heavy frost we had two weeks ago and there is not enough moisture to coax the garden seeds out of the ground.  Some farmers have already ploughed up the spring seeded crops and replanted in the hopes of harvesting them this fall. We need rain!  

Twenty years ago we planted spruce seedlings that were just 6 inches above the soil and I asked the farmer and our son ( both well over 6 feet tall) to pose in  front of them to show how much the trees have grown. My petunias were a Mother's day gift from my son and the lupins will be blooming before too long.  Otherwise all the perennials are waiting for rain.

My daughter was recently in Palm Springs and loves vintage shops so bought a vintage hand rolled scarf for my Mother's day gift.  It appears to be brand new and I imagine it may have rested for many years in a scarf drawer.  She also gave me a lovely new necklace from Astoria, Washington. I snapped a picture of it resting on a beautiful dresser scarf she brought back for me from Bangalore, India.  I really treasure the special things she has given me over the years.

A few weeks ago there was an evacuation of people who lived about an hour north of here because  a forest fire threatened their homes and community.  I belong to a group that makes and donates quilts to people in need and though we don't meet through the summer we had stockpiled about 60 quilts to be given away through the summer. I went with the president of our group to get these quilts and she donated 64 quilts to one of the evacuation centers.  Luckily the fire was contained and no one lost their homes. We decided to have a 4 day quilting blitz last week and we were pleased to look at the stacks of quilts we had created at the end of the blitz.  Co-operation, fun, and friendship are in evidence every day as we quilt and one day we were surprised by one quilter's brother and sister in law who arrived to make us delicious soup and biscuits for lunch. Our group will be celebrating 10 years of quilt making in the fall.  We think it's time to invite our community to our quilting party.  

Hope that the sun is shining in your part of the world and that gentle rains fall to coax your growing things in this season if new growth. Sunshine Always, Sheila

Memories on Mother's Day

Yesterday my memories were circling back in time.  Motherhood has been such a wonderful gift to me.  Our children are grown but so much a part of our lives.  We are lucky to live close by.

I opened up two photo albums and have captured just a few memories to share with you here. I was remembering my mother. She pursued her dream of becoming a registered nurse and then stayed home to raise four children.  I think of the days when she became a homemaker, perhaps wishing that it was possible to return to nursing.  She did this once my sister got to junior high school.  Twenty five years after graduating she went to her 25th nursing reunion.

I was also thinking back to 50 years ago when I graduated from high school.  

It hardly seems possible that so many years have passed by. 

I graduated from a girl's school and tradition was that we rented a dance club and hired a live band for our graduation dance.  Our parents were invited.  Did my mother take the picture of Dad and I dancing?  I think she wore a blue lace dress but wish that I had that picture.

  Many of us made our own dresses, if shoes didn't match they could be dyed to match. 

Some of us attended the Royal Military College Balls so our dresses, long gloves and necklaces borrowed from our mothers could be worn again.  

On Sunday our graduation took place in The Royal Theatre. My little sister was chosen to be one of the flower girls and she held a pillow which held the grad pins that were presented to us. Our teachers presented us each with a bouquet of yellow roses.  

I'm looking forward to seeing many of my high school friends when we "girls" gather on the grounds of St Ann's this summer to remember the time when we were young and carefree, 50 years ago. 

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day ! I'm linking to Judith's Lavender Cottage here.

Looking Back to Green

Just a couple of months ago we were on holidays in Arizona and we witnessed a springtime beauty like we've never experienced before.  The desert was all dressed up for spring in gorgeous shades of green.  I'd like to share some of my photos from our trip.

We visited the Grand Canyon and the two days we spent there were wonderfully warm, a sharp contrast to our last year's experience of an afternoon spent in awe of the majesty of such natural splendour.  The winds were strong and we experienced snow and sleet, freezing as we walked to the view points.  This year the weather was wonderfully warm and we spent hours looking at natures paintings.   We enjoyed the experience of being able to drive our rental vehicle along the canyon and being able to stop and explore at the viewpoints. 

We have wonderful memories of exploring Nevada and Arizona in February. 

I will share some of the other highlights of our winter getaway next time.  

Have a wonderful week wherever you are ! 

I'm linking this to Judith's Lavender Cottage Mosaic Monday 

An Early Spring !

We can't believe our luck here in northern Alberta.  It seems amazing to have been working for the past few days in the yard raking, cleaning the flower beds and pruning the shrubs.  We are weeks ahead of the game and in just a few hours the temperature is predicted to be 17 Celsius! Tiny green leaves are poking out of the perennial beds but the grass is for the most part brown.  We need a good soaking rain to green things up.  In the meantime I am thankful to see the pictures of flowers my sister has sent from Vancouver Island.  She has been to the nursery and her deck is covered in colourful blooms.

Although we took a two hour drive to the city, last week I was disappointed not to find flats of pansies at Costco.  I've really had luck planting them early in the past.  Our local nurseries generally have bedding plants for sale in about mid May so we will have to wait awhile.  But anticipation is in the air and Spring is definitely coming.  The frogs are croaking in the pond, our favourite pair of Canada Geese has been stopping by for the past few days just to honk hello and eat some spilled grain.

At sunrise I looked out to see a moose laying down behind our house and soaking up the sun.  He rested for about an hour before standing up and giving himself a shake as he loped with giant steps into the forest. The farmer reported there were two big moose in our canal as he drove by yesterday.

  

  

Here are some views of the way things will be in our corner of the world before too long.  

I am linking this post to Mosaic Monday at Judith's Lavender Cottage.
If you have time  do stop by to see some interesting blogs.
Happy Spring wherever you are!