Posts filed under ‘Life’
Au revoir and arrivederci
We are off on a fabulous holiday starting today – a three week trip to tour the wine regions of Italy and France! I got a taste of the latter earlier this week when I tried a glass of this Clos des Mouches from Drouhin. Apparently I will be trying it again soon at a picnic in the vineyard when we’re in Beaune in a few weeks time.
A picnic in the vineyard…I can do that.
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Flowers from the garden
All winter long I’ve been buying cut flowers from the store. No longer. Now I just need scissors. My container garden is full of spring blooms: tulips are opening up, pale daffodils that came up late are just starting to fade away alongside the long, variegated leaves of the crocuses, which are quite beautiful all on their own even though the flowers are long gone. My hanging baskets are filled with a mix of primulas and the pink and orange ranunculus and purple periwinkles you see here. All are plentiful enough that I’ve filled a little vase with them.
For those of you who are counting, there are 25 flowers and leaves in this little vase, picked in honour of a sad but special day. Life is a strange place, and hard to deal with at times. Somehow everything feels a bit lighter with flowers brightening a space, especially when you’ve been outside carefully plucking them from your own garden. It’s easier to find a sense of meaning and calm when you’re surrounded by beauty. It’s a simple thing, maybe silly, but there’s a little voice in things like flowers from the garden that calls at you and pushes you to try to make the rest of your world just as right – whether it’s indoors, outdoors, or like these flowers on a windowsill, somewhere in between.
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Island time
We spent the Easter long weekend enjoying four days of beautiful weather in East Sooke. It was the first break I’ve had from work and school since January and it was so nice to be away from the routines of life for a few days. Early spring is an idyllic time to be on Vancouver Island, as you can see from the photos here. We did a whole lot of nothing while we were there …
… went for walks on quiet country roads
… sat on the deck and stared out at the ocean
… checked out the creatures on the beach
… puttered around the garden
… imagined apples growing on summer trees
… visited the Sooke Harbour House for Easter lunch (and remembered getting married there almost seven years ago!)
It was bliss. I can’t wait to go back.
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Time for a trip
It is past time for a trip. The last holiday I was on was in September, when we went to Washington and Oregon and enjoyed a week visiting Portland and Seattle, touring the Willamette Valley wine region and lounging seaside. That seems like a million years ago, especially as I watch friends and family heading to sunny climes for a break from winter and the routines of daily life. Hawaii, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, California…they all sound wonderful right now. The spring flowers are here, but it is still chilly and I am restless and ready for a change of scene.
I can’t complain too much; we will be on Vancouver Island in a couple of weeks and after that we’ll spend most of May in Italy and France, so I know my time for travel is coming. But it doesn’t stop me from feeling ready now!
Until then, here is a smattering of arm-chair travel photos in case you’re shivering along with me these days and longing for escape.
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First day of spring
Today is the first day of spring, the equinox. The sun crosses over the equator and, according to the smart folks at National Geographic, the day is slightly longer than the night everywhere on earth. What a hopeful thought. It snowed in Vancouver yesterday and I am still wearing my gloves and winter coat most days, but at least it is starting to look like spring.
I hope the temperature takes a cue from the flowers soon.
