My Beautiful Balloon

Granted, her balloon is much nicer than the one I saw from my patio, but it must be fun peering down into everyone's back yards in the early morning.

TGIM or Catching Up After The Weekend

Our Monday is sort of like a Saturday.  It's a brief break after a busy weekend.  Can't afford to take much of a break though, as it's only five days until we are back at another farmers market.  It's a crazy time of year for  us.

Here's a couple of things that went to the market on Saturday.  A few weeks ago a man asked me if I had any men's aprons (ie aprons without flowers or feminine type designs on them).  I had a few, but he didn't find them suitable.  He came back the next week to look again.  Then it came up that if he could find suitable fabric, I could make some for him.  I've had lots of discussions like that with people, and rarely do they ever come back with fabric.  Imagine my surprise when this man came back to the market that same day with a bag of fabric.  He wanted five aprons.  Three of them looked like this.  Where that black band goes across the tractor, that's a pocket.  I hope the guys he's giving them to (his sons I think) aren't Massey Ferguson men:)

We sell potatoes in bags of two pounds.  This potato, (the photo doesn't do it justice) weighs 1 1/3 pounds.  So that potato and one half it's size in a bag looked a bit odd.  It was the only bag left at the end of Saturday's market, and the same thing on Sunday, but it did go finally near the end.

Yesterday I went to visit my mother after the White Rock market.

She's been moved to the palliative care floor as of last Thursday, which is in the older part of the hospital, and certainly is not as nice as where she has spent the last 10 weeks.  The physiotherapists on that floor had kind of written her off, saying that she had plateaued and was making no further improvement.  She was very upset to have been moved, and upset that she is no longer going to the morning and afternoon physiotherapy sessions.  A PT is supposed to be going to see her, but no one had been on Friday.  She has taken it upon herself to do what she can.  She found a set of parallel bars down in an alcove next to the elevator, and has been pulling herself out of the chair, holding onto a bar with her good arm, and walking sideways back and forth.  I got her to show me yesterday.  Then I got her to turn so that she was walking straight forward, as I wanted to see if she could do a decent walking motion.  Her right hand is on the far bar, and I've got my hand in her left armpit to help keep her balanced, as it would be much easier for her to fall this way.  You can hear me tell her to not do this by herself.  She has gone from needing two people to transfer her from the bed to the wheelchair, to doing it on her own.  She can get to the toilet herself (which is a huge boost to any one's dignity), and can do much of her own personal care.  Her left arm shows no signs of improvement, and maybe her left leg hasn't improved much, but her strength and ability to compensate has improved greatly.

It was a much better visit yesterday than the emotional one on Friday, but she is still saying how much she dislikes it there, and how she's going to get out.

Hopefully today I'll find out what is going to happen next.

Mmmm, Ice Cream!

Phlox and a Few Other Things

 The Phlox are blooming now.  They are one of my favourite flowers.  They look nice and smell nice and are great in the bouquets.  Here's a few of the different ones we have.

The white one is called 'David':)  

Kind of plain, but goes with everything.

A mutated Rudbeckia

And some gorgeous gladiolas, or is that gladioli? That just sounds wierd...

There are even a few raspberries left.  I don't ever remember still picking them this time of the year.  It's been one weird year.

Oh, in case you were wondering, I ate these two.

Minter Gardens

Yesterday afternoon we escaped from the farm and all the work staring us in the face, and headed out to Minter Gardens. This week and last week they had a half price evening (4-7pm) admission, and being the tight wad frugal person I am, that was right up my alley.  Unfortunately it was a cloudy, rather dull and cool day, so the pictures aren't great, but the gardens were lovely all the same.  It just could have done with being a bit warmer!


Taken from the Minter Gardens brochure.....


Centuries ago, a massive mountain slide wept over the fertile lands of the eastern Fraser Valley. The rock fall pushed north across the Fraser River and ended its westerly flow at the area which is now Minter Gardens. The unique land formations left the area unsuitable for crop farming, but early settlers found it ideal for raising cattle and other animals. Tall native specimen trees added to the charm of the location, and thousands of wild geraniums, columbine, roses and bleeding hearts added a finishing touch. It was this site that Brian and Faye Minter first saw on Christmas Day, 1977. The landscape was so unique, and the setting against 7,000 foot Mt. Cheam so picturesque, that a once-in-a-lifetime dream was born: to create one of the most beautiful gardens in the world! Their dream became reality in May of 1980.

Minter Gardens is ever evolving, and each season offers a dramatic view. Close to 100,000 tulips, imported from Holland, welcome visitors each spring. More than 1000 rhododendrons provide riotous colour amid huge cedar trees and rock wall terraces. Summer brings masses of annual colour adorning topiary features and beds, along with the traditional blooms of the Rose Garden, and the cool, quiet woodlands that surround gurgling brooks and water falls. The Gardens are at once a kaleidescope of colour, a place of serene beauty, and a gardener’s source of inspiration. To learn about everything it has to offer, visit Minter Gardens’ virtual home.

There is a lovely spot or two for a wedding, a kids garden, and loads of water features.  And....you can even take your dog! 

We didn't find that out until we got there, and I don't think we would have bothered anyway.  The dogs would have been frustrated.....


Look, look, at that lovely piece of grass....can you throw the ball, can you, can you?


How about that pond, huh, huh...?  We're hot and we need a swim...


Sometimes it's just nice to go somewhere without the dogs.
(Don't tell them I said that!)

Tasty Tuesday

Part of dinner, in a wok that was a gift at that wedding thirty years ago.

Thirty Years Ago Today.....

...on a scorching hot August afternoon....

Who is that skinny young woman, and that guy with hair that's not white?

As you can see, this picture just squeaked onto the end of the roll of film.  It's one of my favourites, maybe I should see about getting those numbers photoshopped out.