ABC Wednesday
August 3. 2011

The letter this week is the curly  C and first of all the many interpretations of Clementine!

A traditional rendition of the song 'O my darling Clementine' by Pete Seeger



But Clementine is not only a song, - behold the beautiful Mandarin Orange, - the Clementine.

wonderful to eat, - great in salads

There is a NASA  mission to the moon that mapped most of the lunar surface, named Clementine;

but also  known as the Deep Space Program Science Experiment.   This mission was launched from

Vandenberg Air Force Base on January 25th, 1994. Clementine tested a small spacecraft subsytems and 

sensors in deep space and returned a vast amount of scientific data from the Moon.. 

How many of you are old enough to have seen the 1946 movie 'My Darling Clementine'

starring Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell and Victor Mature, (sigh).

(I am, but unfortunately didn't ever see it)

and then, of course, there was the love of Churchill's life......... Clementine (Hosier) Churchill

He wrote to her.....

January 23, 1935

My darling Clemmie,
    In your letter from Madras you wrote some word vy dear to me, about my having enriched yr life. I cannot tell you what pleasure this gave me, because I always feel so overwhelmingly in yr debt, if there can be accounts in love. It was sweet of you to write this to me, and I hope and pray I shall be able to make you happy and secure during my remaining years, and cherish you my darling one as you

 deserve, and leave you in comfort when my race is run. What it has been to me to live all these years in yr heart and companionship no phrases can convey. Time passes swiftly, but it is not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together, amid the storms and stresses of so many eventful and to millions tragic and terrible years?... 

    Your loving husband, 

I am sure there must be a Band somewhere named 'The Clementines' - there usually is.

But  I wasn't able to find it.....

Do go over to ABC Wednesday to see what other classy C's are there.

ABC Wednesday
July 27th, 2011

Here is the letter B

B is for Banjo

And a wonderful banjo rendition of  ' All the World is Waiting for the Sunrise'  by Ken Aoki.   I love his smile, his happy enthusiasm and the marvelous attachment between performer and instrument.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.  It makes my eyes sparkle and my heart smiles too.



For more interesting B's visit here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her band of merry helpers.

Big celebration! 

 Although when I woke up I didn't think there was anything special about the day. 

 However, Teena from Toronto pointed out to me that it was my blogaversary, and when I went to investigate I found that yes, indeed it was!  I first dipped my toe into the literary waters on July 23rd, 2006 - what a long time ago that seems....

And what an interesting and heart warming experience it has been, to be part of Blogland wherein dwell such a variety of writers, with a myriad of mind opening views and ways of life and lovely entertaining postings that keep me enthusiastically surfing all the while time flies by.

A handful of writers who are also kind readers of my posts, have become familiar and are often in my thoughts. I enjoy the small insights into their lives, - rejoice when good things happen to them, and feel sympathy over inevitable sadness's.

Wonderful to have a spot where you can reminisce and comment and express your thoughts and longings, and I do thank all those of you who write of exotic places or everyday happenings; of your deepest feelings and your wisest words and your most entertaining imaginings.

Perfectly lovely!!!

Thank you all.....

Living like a minimalist, in spades.

I am gradually adjusting to this simple and sparse mode of living.

The pictures are still on the walls.

The books are still on the shelves.

But the drawers and the cupboards are bare as Mother Hubbard's, - I open a door to find something, but look!  Simplicity plus, - nothing but pure air.  Whatever I needed is packed in a box......amazingly we manage to make do, or go without.

We have a pen, two pencils, a large pad to make notes on and remind ourselves of what still needs to be done, and we are excruciatingly careful not to misplace any of them.

We make lists of what happens when, who will be on first, and where will the cat live while all chaos slowly becomes order.  I envision in my mind what will fit where in the new rooms, and try to remember just where the second bathroom fits into the scheme of things.  And what will I do without a pantry?

When it gets too much I go out into the garden and admire the lilies and the bee balm growing next to them, snip some sweet peas and rub the lavender between my fingertips, enveloping myself in its beautiful fragrance.

or gaze off into the hills and the heavens

The movers come on the 28th!

ABC Wednesday
Starting all over again on this wonderful adventure of matching up the letters of the alphabet with an object, a poem, a place, a painting or some whimsical thing that challenges your imagination.

A is for Anemone

picture by S. & J. Perkins

A lovely example of this early spring flower

the Anemone Nemorosa

or Wood Anemone

a beautiful member of the Ranunulacae family.

Alas, the plant contains poisonous chemicals that are toxic to animals, including humans,

 but it has also beenused as a medicine.

All parts of the plant contain protanemonin which can cause severe skin and 

gastrointestinal irritation.

For more interesting A's visit here at Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday meme.

More on Moving

There are things in this house that have crept in unbeknown to anyone who resides here, - at least that is the story I hear.  Sometimes the memory is a little shaky and things that have come home in a pocket, or from yard sales, or things that were an attraction have ended up being mislaid and forgotten  anad are now turning up and  either dismaying or delighting us.

Such a one is this hand printed instruction on "How to be an Artist" - it immediately caught my eye at the Bargain Centre, but somehow ended up hidden behind a large desk calendar after I got it home,  and I have only just discovered it again.

It stirs me still, and I would like to share it with you, but now that Blogger has changed

I haven't been able to find the picture re-sizer

so here it is!

How to be an Artist

Stay loose.  Learn to watch snails.

Plant impossible gardens.  Invite

someone dangerous to tea.  Make

little signs that say Yes!  and post them

all over your house.  Make friends

with Freedom and uncertainty.  Look forward 

to dreams.  Cry during movies.  Swing

as high as you can on a swingset, 

by moonlight.  Cultivate moods.  Refuse

to 'be responsible'  Do it for love.

Take lots of naps.  Give money away.

Do it now.  The money will follow.

Believe in magic.  Laugh a lot..

Celebrate every gorgeous moment.

Take moonbaths.  Have wild

imaginings, transformative dreams,

and perfect calm.  Draw on the walls.

Read everyday.  Imagine yourself

magic.  Giggle with children.  Listen 

to old people.  Open up.  Dive in.  Be Free.

Bless yourself.  Drive away fear.

Play with everything.  Entertain

your inner child.  You are innocent.

Build a fort with blankets.  Get wet.

Hug trees.

Write love letters.

© SARK 90

There are lots of free spirits in Cawston, and I believe this appealing sign might

have originated there.

I will take it with us to our new home

 and practice being  wild and carefree and maybe wear purple and run my stick
against the railings....

Thank you to SARK

ABC Wednesday

Here we are at the end of the alphabet - again.

How could I choose anything else to represent Z except the Zinnia, one of my favourite flowers.

So varied and versatile in the garden - when you plant a bed of Zinnias you are in for the most pleasant surprises.

this painting by Jimmie Trotter 

more information here to view the painting in greeting card format

Rally round for another trip through the alphabet in this great meme started by Mrs. Nesbitt and maintained by Denise and all her helpers.

For more amaZing Zs visit here, at ABC Wednesday

Texture Tuesday
The Pink Edition

A June Peony texturized with Kim's Not Too Shabby

This journey to another dwelling is fraught with the most complex emotions.

It is also fraught with lists and time and notions which come and go, and although I hate to wish time away I sometimes think how nice it would be if we were coming to the end of September and were all nicely settled, enjoying the late summer roses and the vivid colours of the chrysanthemums.

This morning we investigated the boxes which had been tucked into the pantry when last we moved six years ago.  There was the silver, wrapped in saran when it was newly polished and still gleaming faintly, - and a box of recipes that I had saved in the early days of my marriage when my cooking was full of enthusiasm.  I refused to throw it away the last time we moved, but time passes and a lot of the inventiveness lives in my mind now - a little creativity comes more naturally and so the contents of the box went into the recycle bag, with hardly a regret.  I believe this to be healthy thinking....

Will anyone want the silver?  Much of it is that forties grape pattern that is such a devil to clean.

Do the young ones have fond memories of the things I thrust upon them, and will they hold them dear?

I must go now and make out a list for tomorrow, - there is that box of crazy quilt pieces to finger and sigh over and perhaps if I leave a little sample square someone will be inspired!

And all the bits and pieces in the bottom drawer of the sewing machine, - the braids and buttons and bias binding, and the satin ribbons and unfinished embroidery.

Did I mention how much nostalgia is involved in this whole business?????

Mirjana Gotovac

Busy, Busy, Busy

As we prepare to 'move to town'!

Here are a few shots of the lovely garden that awaits us.

Collage customized with Smilebox

Click, enlarge and enjoy the waltz.....

ABC Wednesday

Y is the letter of the week

Y is for YELLOW

Photo collage customized with Smilebox

Click for music and to enlarge
For more Ys visit here at ABC Wednesday with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and all her kind helpers.

Sunday, July 3rd,  2011

The first flush of roses is fading fast

and I spend much of my time in the garden

these days, deadheading and tending

to the last new buds.

Although these roses will bloom again

I will have moved away

and will be burying my face

in other fragrances.

But perhaps we will take the Abraham Darby with us

It is so beautiful.

A poem by Mary Oliver about late summer roses

What happens

to the leaves after

they turn red and golden and fall

away?  What happens

to the singing birds

when they can't sing

 any longer?  What happens

to their quick wings?

Do you think there is any

personal heaven

for any of us?

Do you think anyone,

the other side of that darkness,

will call to us, meaning us?

Beyond the trees

the foxes keep teaching their children

to live in the valley.

So they never seem to vanish, they are always there

in the blossom of the light

that stands up every morning

in the dark sky.

And over one more set of hills,

along the sea,

the last roses have opened their factories of sweetness

and are giving it back to the world.

If I had another life

I would want to spend it all on some

unstinting happiness.

I would be a fox, or a tree

full of waving branches.

I wouldn't mind being a rose

in a field full of roses.

Fear has not yet occurred to them, nor ambition.

Reason they have not yet thought of.

Neither do they ask how long they must be roses, and then what.

Or any other foolish question.

Cookbooks

Tonight I peeked into the pantry and was slightly appalled at how the row of cook books has lengthened to take up a whole shelf...

I gathered them all together, removed them and piled them on the dining room table, washed the shelf and quickly replaced them with some of the other staples that had been elbowed out of the way to make room for dessert books, slow cooker recipes, a tome on how to cook British Beef and dozens of others that had seduced me somehow into giving them shelf space.

How does this happen????  I know I am not alone, - I know of people who hide cookbooks in drawers and out of the way places, and other ladies whose Achilles heel is found in fancy shoes.

I chose just nine from the great accumulation, - old favourites and certainly the old red Purity Flour recipe book that has been replaced twice since I started cooking,

 and even before that lived on my Mother's pantry shelf;  my version is held together with elastic bands!!

I saved an old church cookbook that contains dozens of tried and true recipes from tried and true friends and a couple of Canadian Living Christmas books that I will probably pass on to granddaughters.

I'm here to tell you that I'm feeling terribly virtuous these days as I look at the boxes of cast-offs that sit around waiting to slip into the Bargain Centre and begin a new life!!!

A River of Stones

A small stone for the 1st of July, - cool in my pocket and polished idly between my thumb and forefinger.

Turned upside down

and inside out -

the winds of change blow fresh

and promising.

ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is X

Xu Gu   1824-1896

A painting by the Chinese painter and poet Xu Gu (Hsu Ku)

during the Qing Dynasty (1844-1912)

Xu Gu was born in Xin'an in the Anjui province and later lived in

Guangling in the Jiangsu province. 

Xu was an army official, and then later a monk.

When painting he used the side of the brush in a fluent and

bold style.

In poetry he produced the work Poetry of Xugo monk. 

All this information was kindly given to me by Google!

For more original X's shuffle over to here ABC Wednesday

and see what all the participants have come up with for this

difficult letter.

.

[edit]

Texture Tuesday

Some photos using Kim's Golden Texture, - lovely and warm.

For more beautifully textured pictures go here to Texture Tuesday.

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Jess brought boxes today!   Moving boxes, - once more into the breach, dear friends, as we garner visions of the simple life and rid outselves of all the extraneous stuff to which we give storage room.

I have lovely visions of simple, spare rooms, - cupboards with nicely spaced contents, - perhaps even ribbons around the towels in the linen closet if I get really inspired by Martha Stewart, although that might be a little counterproductive if we are striving to live the simple life.

We are moving back to town.  Away, alas from our wonderful view of the valley, but closer to facilities, available for friends to drop in as they pass,  a pretty little garden with just a soupcon of all the plants that live in our hillside jungle, and for each thing we give up there is something splendid to take its place.

So I am being very ruthless, - except for treasures and things of historical or genealogical interest, if you are just taking up storage space out you go to find a new home.....  I am thinking of setting up a long table with things that have been precious to me and inviting children and grandchildren and even great grands to come and take their pick.  I know the really little ones are fascinated with music boxes or merry-go-rounds.

Same with books, - but oh, it is harder with books.  How does one pass on an old friend!  Will my bookcase be barren without Penmarric or Louis Bromfield's Malibar Farm?  Well, perhaps I can be a little more discriminate when it comes to books.

I opened two suitcases in the walk in closet today.  They came with us on our last move and have lain dormant since then, - one contained old, old, ancient music, and the other was full of cards we had received for anniversaries, birthdays, Mothers' day and Fathers' day and Christmas!!!!  You can imagine, - I knew I had a box of these cards, but the suitcase was a surprise!

We will keep the letters that Charles and I wrote back and forth during the war, for sentimental reasons.  And pictures.  But gone are the extra dinner plates and gravy boats and the remnants of a half a dozen sets of cutlery and the white gloves from bygone days!   And at least some of the pretty china tea cups.

And I haven't mentioned yet the travel trailer that is full of weaving supplies  - cottons and silks and linens and wool and heddles and shuttles and ball winders and umbrella swifts, books and magazines and looms and spinning wheels and spindles.   We gather so much in a lifetime....sometimes Charles and I remark on the time when there was just us, his uniforms, my trousseau clothes, some wedding presents and a great deal of love and determination.

Wish me luck as I dive into this desperate task, so that I don't linger too long in memories.

And while you're at it, remember Charles in your prayers, - you ought to see the accumulation of tool treasures in the garage and workshop!!!!!! 

 I am thankful for family that will help us for the next few weeks...  You hear me family????  Come for a keepsake and a hug.....

The Class of '42

On Wednesday the local remnants of the Class of '42 of Penticton High School  (and their spouses, plus a driver and a guest speaker) gathered for lunch, friendship and wonderful memories at The Linden Gardens in Kaledan, a small community about 13 miles south of Penticton.

It was a day of great priority in our house.  The times we meet grow fewer and farther apart, - it has something to do with the ratio of age and energy, and means of travel.  The occasion that brought us together this day was to say farewell to a dear classmate of Charles' and his lovely long time wife who are moving to be closer to family at the Coast.

Rene and Reg were married just four months after we were, - we ran into them at a Saturday night dance at the romantic Incola Hotel in Penticton, and neither Rene nor I have ever forgotten our first meeting.  Our paths diverged.  Reg was an engineer and they traveled the world to all sorts of exotic places, while we stayed home and farmed and became involved in local matters, - Charles most especially in the formation of Colleges in British Columbia.

In 1982 the Class of '42 held a 40 year reunion, a three day celebration with classmates coming from all across Canada, and for the next  twenty-five years they held an annual week-end full of catch-ups and memories and laughter and some poignancy.

I diverse from Wednesday, and our delightful lunch at The Frog City Cafe which is part of the Linden Gardens.

Up an inviting shady lane and we arrived at Frog City

We gathered early for drinks (magnificent lemonade and a beer or two). pictures and chatter.  After ordering lunch those of us who felt particularly energetic and whose knees had not yet seized up from sitting too long went off for a wander in the Gardens.  I went with my camera.

Lunch was interesting and when we had finished we gathered to hear a long time English teacher from Pen High entertain us with some salty tales of the staff and administration and a few stories from the book he is writing for the schools 100th Anniversary next year.

A nice nostalgic trip home, - lots of news and conversation about what had happened since we last met, - how 'so and so' was managing, and how well 'you know who' was aging, etc. etc.   We are all so ancient in body, but so young at heart.

After happy hour and a bit of supper I wandered a bit in our own garden.  There was a lovely gentle sunset and in the dusk I admired the roses, - the Abraham Darby and the climbers and the Praire Princess, and was just a little giddy with the fragrance of the evening scented stalk.

There is nought better to be with noble souls of company: 

 There is nought dearer than to wend with good friends faithful to the end. 

 This is the love whose fruit is sweet:  

Therefore to abide within is meet.

Mahabharata (B.C. 400)

A most satisfying and endearing day....

ABC Wednesday

The Wonderful Letter this week is W
And W stands for Margaret Ritchie's Welsh Cakes

Margaret was a dear friend, a nurse of Welsh extraction, and her favourite tea-time treat was a plate of Welsh cakes, - perhaps with a little cheese, a little jelly....


She shared her recipe, as well as her nursing skills in a community that had no doctor and where she might be called at all hours of the day or night for help.  Our children loved her, and for me she was the dearest of friends.  I look back on tea-time visits with her with fond memories.


I make Margaret's Welsh cakes for children and grandchildren who love their grand buttery flavour and scone like texture.


Here is her recipe.....


2 cups of sifted flour
1/2 to 2/3 cups of granulated sugar
3 tsps of baking powder
a pinch of salt..


mix these dry ingredients and sift again.


Cut in 1/2 cup of butter to a course meal.


Add 1 1/4 cups of currants softened in water and patted dry


Stir in 2 beaten eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla with a fork, making a soft dough.


Knead 10 to 12 times and roll out 1/3 inch thick.


Cut with cookie cutter and fry in electric fry pan (ungreased) at 340 to 360 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes each side.


Serve buttered with jelly, jam or cream cheese.


Delicious!  I am off to make some right now for a bedtime snack!


For more of the Ways of the letter W click here and enjoy a visit at ABC Wednesday.