It is the hour! We challenge heaven above
Now, to deny our slight ephemeral breath
Joy, anguish, and that everlasting love
Which triumphs over death.


Alfred Noyes

Easter Blessings

Spring made a late but definite appearance today,
with the arrival overnight of The Rhubarb,
long awaited, keenly anticipated.



There will be days that make us swoon, and days that make us shiver, but I think this is Show Time.

Here are the daffodils that just a few days ago were only promising glory.



Already flirting with the Bees....



Good Friday, and I scurried around this morning trying to polish up a few spots around the house before it was time for the somber morning service.

The Ecumenical Church in the village is a combination of Anglican and United Church adherents, and it is suffering all the ailments which beset the mainline churches in this Post Christian era. In addition, although we have done our best to accept a combined service, the form of worship depends a lot upon the denomination of the Minister.

At present we have a new United Church Minister, and so the worship this morning veered wildly from the traditional Anglican observance of Good Friday. We have been involved in this arrangement for almost forty years, and I am no longer familiar with the modern traditional Anglican way, but I cast my mind back (away, way back) to the three hour Good Friday Service at St. Faith's in Edmonton, commencing at noon, and continuing with reflections on the Words from the Cross until three o'clock.

But it was a come and go affair. Come for the first Words, but if you had to leave someone else would soon slip in to take your place.

Today's service was less than an hour. It was solemn and reverent, - the words were different but the Gospel and Tenebrae told the same story.

The only time I raised my eyebrows was when the Minister referred to being "suffocated by tradition". I do believe that tradition in moderation is important to a stable society, a source of guidance, and mindfulness and strength.

And what are 'memes' but modern tradition in the making? Spreading ideas, planting seeds of change, creating new traditions in a random world.

Off to toast a home baked hot cross buns, made from my mother's traditional recipe! Currants, - no peel.....

ABC WEDNESDAY ROUND 4: L is for....


L for Lavender



HERE is a pretty site to find out about all the wonderful pleasures Lavender can bring you, - its fragrance, its use in cooking, in aromatherapy, in cosmetics, and just making you feel you're pampered and in heaven.

And while you're there listen to this lovely song, sung by Burl Ives. It will stir your imagination and send you to wander in days gone by amid the romance of your grandparent's era.



And here are some lyrics from days gone by that are slightly more risque than the modern version of 'Lavender's blue, dilly dilly"

Lavender's blue, diddle diddle
Lavender's green,
When I am king, diddle diddle
You shall be queen.

Lavender's green, diddle diddle
Lavender's blue,
You must love me, diddle diddle
'Cause I love you.

Down in the vale, diddle diddle
Where flowers grow,
And the birds sing, diddle diddle
All in a row.

A brisk young man, diddle diddle
Met with a maid,
And laid her down, diddle diddle
Under the shade.

There they did play, diddle diddle
And kiss and court.
All the fine day, diddle diddle
Making good sport.

I've heard them say, diddle diddle
Since I came hither
That you and I, diddle diddle
Might lie together.

Therefore be kind, diddle diddle
While here we lie,
And you will love, diddle diddle
My dog and I.

For you and I, diddle diddle
Now all are one,
And we will lie, diddle diddle
No more alone.

Lavender's blue, diddle diddle
Lavender's green,
Let me be king, diddle diddle
You be the queen.

Lavender's green, diddle diddle
Lavender's blue,
You must love me, diddle diddle
'Cause I love you.

Edward Rutherford, author of London, linked the song to the environs of London where in the 17th-century London lavender was cultivated for perfume.**

An enchanting fragrance.....

We had an early morning appointment today, - an hour's drive up and over the pass to Summerland for Charles to keep a seven o'clock date with the eye surgeon.

What better place to get new and improved sight than in Summer Land!

We topped the hill before descending into the Okanagan about 6.15, just as the sky was gathering in the morning light and the trees that rimmed the mountains were delicately silhouetted against the pale glow.



Making good time, - we passed Skaha Lake where a faint skim of ice disturbed the clarity of the water, and the reflection of the hills.



Down the By Pass and then we turned towards Summerland, following the winding road that skirts Okanagan Lake.



The bluffs that rise along the other side of the road remind me of friends from our newly married days, - artists who introduced me to the beauty and colour in these sculpted walls.



We turn towards the hill approaching the hospital site, and Giant's Head mountain is bathed in the morning sun. Unfortunately these pictures are all taken from a moving vehicle, and Giant's Head is a little out of focus, but look, there on the left hand side at the top is the Giant's head that surveys the southern part of the Okanagan Valley.



We arrive at the Hospital. Charles goes off with a kindly volunteer to have drops put into his eyes at ever increasing intervals, and then it is his turn to watch for the great light show that seems to accompany this type of cataract operation. In the meantime I am comfortable in the waiting room with a good book and interesting company.

No pictures on the way home, - I am driving and the patient is being tender with his blurry eye.

But when I get home the daffodils are out to greet me and the baby Daphne has small, beautifully fragrant pink flowers. The Delphinium were first past the post, and are a lovely mound of greenery, whilst the peony tips are just showing, pink and promising.



A long day, - we are off to bed....

BTW - in the 1930's when my grandmother had cataracts removed from her eyes she had to lie for weeks in a darkened room, with sandbags surrounding her head, to keep it still. Blessings surround us!

Music Monday

I think this is a really powerful and moving rendition of Il Silenzio, by the composer, Nini Rosso



The silence of the night, the silence of eternity, the Last Post - beautiful....