Goodbye May.

A month of highs and lows, and everything

in between. So thankful for no fires this year!

~ Chy

Welcome May.

I love May. The garden starts to really bloom, we have our dd's birthday to celebrate, the school year is coming to an end, and the weather tends to be warm but not overly hot. We can sleep with all the windows open again and change out our flannel sheets for light weave soft cotton ones. And put all the sweaters in to storage and gather the Summer clothes we've missed! However, this year, we are surrounded by wildfires and unusually warm temperatures. Wait! Let me change that! Not warm but scorching hot. We keep hitting 30 C which is totally out of character. Usually at this time, we'll be around 18 to 20. Hardly any rain hit our region in April, so this is a huge worry. It's usually this hot in late July, not May! Hoping it all changes soon. We're not used to fires here and having survived a house fire, the thought of another experience is not something we wish to go thru again. We're well insured but we love our sweet cottage and beautiful location. Fingers crossed May soon becomes a rainy month and we can relax and enjoy it!

                     How is your May going so far?

                                     ~ Chy

Goodbye May.

~ Chy

The 1st of May.

A busy few days have kept me from blogging but I have kept up with everyone's adventures and lives. Know that if you're on my list of "Blogging Buddies" I read you each and every day. My daily and tiny little escape from the stressors of the World. I love my time away as I peek in to your lives.

On the weekends, we often have many chores and tasks to take care of. Between our festival, the radio station, yard work, upkeep on the cottage and relationships to nurture, it's always a busy time. This weekend, I worked on 4 grants, attended an event for our hospice where I was responsible for a Memorial Moment, some counselling clients, groceries, a trip to Costco, cleaning our little abode, laundry, plants to water inside and move to other locations for more growth, and plants to explore outside as our landscape changes from white to green. So excited to see our lavender plants are greening up but the rest are all still brown for now. Hopefully we finally get lilac blooms this year ~ fingers crossed! I'm so excited to see the trees have tiny buds too.

I often wonder if we'll have more time once we retire but then think of all the creative endeavors we've gotten involved in and I'm not quire sure that our hoped for retirement will be any quieter. But as long as we're fulfilled and having fun, that's all that matters. It will be different to not have counselling clients every day, or group work, or mentoring staff and volunteers. Not ready for this yet but down the road, the change will be so strange. I'm sure we'll be ready by then! It's fun to think about though .... a little dream.

As much as our love our sweet weekends, I do look forward to driving back to work on Mondays. Always a great energy day for me, I love the start of the week to get things sorted and underway. We're hosting a gathering at hospice on Thursday so I've kept that day open for being part of the sessions and helping out as best I can. Fun stuff!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Looking forward to reading your adventures!

~ Chy

May Snow.

We've enjoyed a lovely sunny and warm May long weekend. Today, the rain has arrived and has settled in until at least midnight tonight. After all our work in the garden over the last 3 days, we're thankful for a day to rest and play. 

Earlier in the week, we had a bit of a snowstorm. It took several days for the snow to melt and we did get way more out here than in town. Not the best thing for a lovely Spring but on the other hand, the fire ban was lifted and the forest fires that were raging have been calmed. We have rain today, then sun, then rain on Wednesday, then sun, then rain again on Friday and next weekend looks good. Hoping this year, we get a good mix of rain, then sun, then rain, then sun. Best way to keep the garden growing and the forest fires at bay. My next hope we would be a Summer without thunder storms. That would be the best all around.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Namaste my friends!

~ Chy

Budding May.

Happy May 1st! I'm getting so excited that our Earth, our landscape is starting to green up. But it's so dry that it's taking a bit for the buds to open. We need some really good rain. It did rain a bit here and there yesterday and even some the day before. But nothing that even Gary the Gnome was able to capture in his little measuring vessel. I can see rain in the forecast for next week. We'll see if it comes true. For now, the trees are budded and ready to go, and we are seeing life in the gardens. Small but there. I am so excited.

Today is going to be a tough work day. Typically I have our kids grief program on Saturday mornings and counselling in the afternoon. But I worked yesterday at hospice, and today i was just going to do the kids program in the morning and take the afternoon off. We now have a resident who will die this afternoon so once the kids program is done, I'll drive in to the big city and be at hospice for the family and the staff as this loved one transitions from life to death. A sad day but for this resident and his family, the ending they hoped for. Once everything is done there, I'll come home and do some notes, and then close my book for a few days. 

We bought the wood to make the decking for our shed, and we're hoping to get that sorted tomorrow with the final decision of where it will sit and then getting that spot ready for the build. I'm not working out on the treadmill today as my legs are very achy but I am going to stretch this morning before my shower and then do my weights later today. It's a blue sky day at the moment, so I'm sure a bit of time in the sun on the deck will occur as well. 

Hold your loved ones tight. Give them some extra love today. Life is short. Embrace it all right to the very last breath.

Namaste my blogging buddies.

~ Chy

Hello May ....

I love to greet each new month on my blog. I spend

time looking for the perfect photo that says "Hello"

or "Welcome" and usually it's full of flowers. This

merry month of May especially needed something

sweet while we're all locked up inside. And I found

this one and thought "how perfect" until I realized

there was a flaw in my plan. Do you see the bits of

tape around the wreath. I was almost going to ditch

this one but then decided that it was indeed a new

reflection of life at the moment. Pretty flowers and

leaves to gaze at and dream. And tiny pieces of

tape to hold them all in place. Today is the start of

Week 8 and the beginning of May. The middle of

Spring and the middle of us being home, safe and

sound, healthy and whole. We are busy with many

new plans and time to fulfill them all. Enjoy May!

~ Chy

Goodbye May ....

It was a lovely and full month. But

really,  May went way too fast!

~ Chy

Welcome May.

Hoping, with fingers crossed and wishes

sent that our snow has ended, the sun will

shine, flowers will bloom and our Earth

will be green again! Please, May, please!!

~ Chy

Welcome May.

Today, this first day of May, was cold, super windy, rainy, cloudy and finally at the end, sunny. I wonder if this is what we'll have the rest of the month. At least the snow is gone and the trees are starting to fill in. Oldest dd and I both had the day off so we dropped kids at school this morning and headed to the charity shop to do a little treasure hunting for our Antique Booth. We found some amazing Mikasa dishes that after making the decision that I would sell them, then tonight changed my mind and will swap them out for another set that I've had in storage since we moved in and have never used. I'll take pictures later and I'm sure you'll agree with my change of heart. Not only were they such a good price, but the shop had a sale today, so they were marked down even further. Sometimes I think they are not sure what to price items at. Another item I bought were 2 Bunnykins baby bowls. These often sell for between $30 and $40 each at the Antique Mall and on eBay. I paid a tiny $1 each, so this will be a lovely profit. I have a set of a cup, bowl and plate that were mine as a child and I saved them for our kids. So there isn't a need to keep these two. Perfect condition too! A good buy amongst all the other treasures we put in the basket. I'll post pictures of everything in another post. Too tired to download pictures tonight. So happy with my purchases. I chose well and hope they sell.

We headed to Costco after and picked up a few items for the preschool, then we went out to the garden centre. I was so excited when we pulled up to see it was finally open. So even though it was cold and rainy, we picked up 4 shrubs ~ 2 Potentilla's (yellow blooms) and 2 Spirea's (pink blooms). I am so excited to be planting again this year. Our first year, we had to really make the ground ready for gardening and plan out the different zones. Last year, we worked on the pathways and grading and did some planting. This year, we're going all out and hope that by the end of summer, we'll have a lovely landscape to enjoy. Fingers crossed the weather brings us a warm and sunny Spring and Summer, with adequate rain, and no storms! No firestorms, no floods. Here's hoping.

After Costco, we decided to drive by 2 properties that are for sale for future building. What? You may ask, do you mean by "future building" .... down the road, we may build again and 2 pieces of land were recently listed, so we drove by to see what they are look. Both are very close to town, and both are fully treed. Both are possibilities but I'm not yet sure if the time is right to consider another piece of land to build on in a few years. Lots to think about. Loving this house so much but living so close to town is also appealing. We're not far out but after our recent not so great Winter, it's tempting!

We stopped at the preschool to drop off the items we bought and to visit with my staff. Our little eggs hatched last week so we also had to check in on the chicks (so cute and fluffy) and check my voice mails. 

Then we drove home in the wind and the rain, brought our purchases in and settled in for a cozy afternoon. I made a big pot of soup, dd brought up fresh sandwiches and we watched a few HGTV shows. I had a nap then headed out for my appointment while she went to get the kids.

I woke up with a nasty chest cold yesterday and ended up at the doctor this afternoon. Caught it early and hopefully it won't turn in to bronchitis or pneumonia. Dh, dd and our little guy went off to lacrosse tonight (they won again) so I had a long, hot soak in the tub while I watched "Little People, Big World" and read my Art Journaling magazine. Closed my eyes for awhile for a tiny nap.

Family came home, I hopped out of the tub and now we're getting ready to head to bed. A busy day but a productive one as well as a relaxing day off, doing things I love to do, in a place I love to live in, with people I love to work with and with people I love to be with. It's all good. 

Hope you had an amazing day too! Tomorrow will be even better I'm sure. Even the sun is supposed to be out.

X Chy

Happy May Day.

 

Spring officially starts in March each year but with our mild winter, then "Sprinter" in April, we've had a bit of a delay to the beginning of our true Spring weather. Thankfully, things are quickly turning around. The snow is now gone, the buds are starting to appear and there is mud everywhere! I think over the next few days, with very warm winter predicated (temps between 14 degrees C and 22 degrees C), everything should dry up. No rain at all this week. I see some weeds starting to sprout in the garden and my first yard clean up will be to pick those first. Not my favorite job outside but I love what it looks like once the pesky weeds are gone. And then fresh dirt to plant.

Our landscape artist is visiting this afternoon with our final design and I'm really excited to see what she has in mind for our little country home. We asked for zones for a small playground for our grand babies, a gardening zone for our raised garden boxes, the fire pit zone so it's far enough from the house and trees to be safe, a zone for my dream English garden, and a central for our Gazebo to be erected and enjoyed. I have a vision in my head and am thankful that my dh shares this vision. Now to see it on paper and start the process of putting it in to place. We're thinking it will likely take 3 to 5 years before we really feel like it's all in place. But that's okay because as much as we've been able to set aside for this big project, I really don't want to let go of those funds all in one chunk.

After dropping my daughter off at school this morning, I did a bit of shopping, then headed home to do some tidying before the landscaper arrives. I've done 2 loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher and put the breakfast dishes in, cleaned the small main floor bathroom, dusted, swept and washed the floors. I can't vacuum as my oldest dd worked a shift last night at the hospital, so she's sleeping today. Waking her up would not be a good thing! Now I'm ready for our guest and taking some time to flip through my notes and look for ideas of plants and trees we could plant that won't be eaten by the deer that love to visit our land. I want to live in harmony vs. keeping animals away but I also want to have a lovely landscape to enjoy and work on. I'll share pictures as we go. 

I hope you have a wonderful first day of May and that your gardening dreams and plans are working out well. I'm off to read some inspiring blogs and go for a little walk in the warm sun before our guest arrives. 

Drizzly May.

After several months of very dry and hot

weather, the skies opened up in mid May

and we have now had more rain in one

month than ever. A record in fact.

How did your May shape up?

Lots of rain or hot and dry?

The First Day of May.

April Showers ....

.... did not quite bring May flowers.

We've had a very dry April, with a

few brush fires close to town & lots

of dust every where. We need rain!

Yesterday started out sunny but we

were promised a good rain shower.

All we did get was dark skies, lots of

strong winds & a few spits of rain.

Getting worried that although our 

world is beginning to turn green,

without the rain we usually have in

April, it could be a long, dry summer.

If you have rain in your region, 

feel free to share!! Thank you.