Seedlings...

I have them everywhere. I can't wait to plant them outside and have the house back to normal. Although my house is small it has three floors and running up and down with a water mister and water bottle is not so much fun.

I can't iron anything right now....too bad. Honestly I really miss ironing!!!

Sunny downstairs window.

Germinating seeds sitting on the heat ducts in the basement.

I have quite a few tomatoes, some flowers, cukes, and zucchini. My peppers and eggplant are not germinating very well so I may have to buy those. On the good side two of my luffa seeds started and are well on their way and I have tomatillos growing for the first time this year.

Anything new in your veggie garden this year?

Granville Island

I spent Saturday walking, drinking and eating at Granville Island. It's a beautiful place in the middle of the big city, Vancouver. Here you will find the public market, two theaters, the Emily Carr University, artisans, and  lots and I mean lots of food.

Feeling very much like a country bumpkin I had to take a picture of this $50.00 broom. In fact this store only sells brooms, all handmade, and all very expensive. There must be some very rich witches out there.

The pea ....

That fell off the plate...

I often feel like that...just a tad different than rest.

It was difficult as a child but now that I'm all growed up...

I love it.

Do you feel a little different than the rest?

Happy Easter

I'll be gone for a few days, the diner is closed until Tuesday.

Happy Easter everyone.

Vintage Thursday

Closed...Open

Once again I don't know the name of this indoor plant, but look at the flowers...

Flowers were closed about 2 weeks ago.

Flowers opened just a day ago.... 

Under the firs...

Spring has sprung under these tall firs.

Salmon berry

Moss, lots and lots of moss

Unfurling ferns

A sea of blue

These are growing all over the park and in some lawns...what are they?

Would it be foolish to plant some in my yard?

First greens

Is there anything like a fresh salad from the garden? These are the first greens harvested from my backyard grown in cold frames. I also added some violets and pansies for color. You will see two radishes, those to are from the backyard, not very big, but I could not resist.

Vintage Thursday

How to sprout a sprout

Love sprouts? I sure do. In addition to being very good for you I have discovered that they are also very easy to sprout. I chose organic red clover seeds as my first attempt at sprouting.

I used one tablespoon of organic red clover seeds.

I placed the seeds in a 1 litre mason jar, covered it with some white tulle and secured it with an elastic. Add tepid water and soak the seeds overnight at room temperature.

Drain and for 3 days you rinse the seeds four times a day. Fill the jar with tepid water and drain through the top, which in my case is tulle. Do not use anything that might rust, like metal, or mold like cotton.

Day 4 the seeds are just starting to sprout. Keep rinsing them.

Day 5 the shoots were longer and I placed them under my growing lights because the sun was nowhere to be found. This will turn the little leaves green.

When the leaves are green, which happens really fast, for me it was at the end of day 5, you can start eating them. I used mine in a cheese sandwich and I have some left to add to my salad tonight for dinner. I don't know how long they will last in the fridge but I think they are quite fragile and should be used within a day or two after the leaves have gone green.

Magpies

I am lucky, so so lucky to have some of the best customers in the world. I hate to admit it but I don't know these customers names which is a tragedy because look what they gave me.

P.U.S.H.

This post is about faith and a little about religion. I'm not preaching and I will likely not speak about it again but I thought this important. My mom is very religious and from when I was born to when I left home we went to church, every Sunday. I moved out and forgot about church. I had kids and church came back into my life. Kids grew up and I left the church, then went back ... but through it all I always had faith. As with many people life seldom turns out the way you want it to. My adult life was not easy ... please don't get me wrong, I have no regrets, I lived each moment the best way I knew how ... I won't bore you with details but I will tell you that for 30 years I prayed, every day for strength, for change, for guidance, for help, for serenity. Every day for 30 years I had faith...and then one day about a year ago that change came, all of a sudden it happened. My life changed, for the better. God heard me and He gave me peace. And I pray everyday that through His grace, my life will continue to be blessed. A few months ago my parish priest was talking about prayer and faith. He said when life is hard PUSH. Want to know what PUSH is?

Pray

Until

Something

Happens

I didn't know that for 30 years I was PUSHing but it worked for me, maybe it will work for you.

Margaret and Art's day off

Usually when our day off rolls around we are both busy with stuff around the house, a great day off is when we have stuff to do at the cabin. However we seldom take our day off as a true day off...well on Wednesday we had a true day off. Art and I headed off for unexplored areas of which there are many around Powell River. This time we decided to explore Haslam Lake which is also a protected water shed. Art drove to the very top. He tried to get some fishing done but knowing what I know I had a pork tenderloin waiting for us back home.

Vintage Thursday

Veggie Casserole

I finally finished a book I could not put down so all is back to normal...well my normal. Now don't go thinking it was a great literary novel...just a good old spy novel...

Anyway back to my real life ... which today is veggie casserole. Forget the hamburger helper... this is real.

Cut an assortment of veggies, whatever is in your fridge. If all you have are mushrooms well then this would be a mushroom casserole. I sauteed the veggies in about a teaspoon of butter and 2 tablespoons or so of water, you can use more butter, which will taste better but I have a cholesterol problem...

Cook some pasta according to the directions on the package, I cooked about two cups of bow tie pasta in lots of well salted water.

While the pasta is cooking and the veggies are cooking make a bachamel sauce...I know fancy right? Well it's really just a white sauce, which is substituted for condensed soup. Homemade without the can and it tastes much better.

I made the sauce by melting 2 tablespoons for butter, then I added two tablespoons of flour, over low heat, I cooked that for a few minutes, then added 2 cups of milk, some salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Stir constantly, bring to a boil, the sauce should be like gravy, if it resembles wallpaper paste add some more milk.

OK, so now you have your bachamel sauce, oh sorry I forgot I added about 2 oz of shredded cheddar to mine and some dried basil, you don't have to but I had it on hand. You have your cooked veggies and you have your cooked pasta, al dente and drained. Just put it all together and pour it all into a casserole dish, top with parmesean cheese or any type of cheese...I didn't use too much, again the cholesterol thing...

Bake at 350F until bubbly...

I made enough for 4, add some buns and a salad and you have a delicious and thrifty dinner, of course there are only two of us but I can't seem to cook for just two...

This is a simple basic casserole, want to make it tuna casserole? Add tuna. Chicken casserole? Add some cooked chicken. There are no rules so make it whatever you want it to be...

Sunset and Sunset Park

I know, I know... more sunset photos but I'm a sucker for sunsets. These pictures are taken from Sunset park, good name for a park as you will see, and it's just a few blocks from my house. Lucky me.

Sunset Park

Sunset through the trees

And the show begins...

Come on let's go, I've seen this show a million times...

The End!