Some days were actually heavenly~
We did our first online curbside order and it went well.. so well we did it again.. again..wrong order the first time..lol.. but we were still there and the young man was so apologetic and handsome..honest mistake..2 Moniques;)
Strawberries were in the pick so I made a custard Creme pat /strawberry/Dorie Greenspan sweet shortbread crust tart.J's and mine lol..it's a small tart and mine is smaller.
Very good..Coming clean here.. the creme pat is pre-made.and bought.The rest home sweet home..my glaze is Bonne Maman strawberry jam melted.I am not fond of glazes in pouches.
And The View From Great Island's Strawberry Buttermilk cake is always a winner!Thanks Sue!
I made my fave treat when we can get lobster..lobster rolls..
and LCBO's sushi pizza made me want to make that too..
Both were really good.
Garden wise..I am not gung ho..I am grasping at straws ..and watching seeds grow and not grow.
My standard Korean Lilac died..it was to me the focal point of my front garden:(
We had a bad heat wave ..humid..it's too dry..things are dying.
I have put hostas in usual annual pots..
Time will tell if I get to a nursery.
My nice neighbour picked me up two ferns for the front porch..
Still not excited about everybody coming out now..
and so many no masks..
Oh well I am no authority by far.
Our Serviceberry bloomed beautifully..and then ..2 days later ..gone!
All the blooming trees could not stand the heat.
Shortest bloom time ever..
May is not made for 100F temps.
I took advantage a of a favorite tea company's free ship;)
And enjoyed every minute of Chris Petri's latest youtube tutorial~strike that..before last.
My posts used to be cohesive and coordinated and then I lost everything and post less..
So nothing is coordinated..I just post here and there with ideas..
No theme..just sharing what works etc..
Mostly Instagram posts..that I place here in more detail.
It's just such a different time..the blog gone missing..
Covid..
And now all this turmoil since I started this whole post..That just saddens me inside out.
But ..here I am.
I can't believe tomorrow is June !! now when I read your post I noticed. Junes is special for us, mis the twins birthday ! and mine too, is funny we are all in june except Gerardo is from April.
ReplyDeleteAnd what beautiful are yours pictures always and your draws !! really beautiful. I have ready a recipe maybe tomorrow I would finish ! Love and hugs for you Monique!
Well happy happy month of June to you!♥Happy Birthdays all around:)
DeleteI'm so glad you're still here.
ReplyDeleteI remember summers here that were so hot & so dry & so many things died. We've had a nice cool spring with too much rain really, so it's a jungle. I am always more discouraged about my garden in the heat.
I am so sorry about your lilac. My focal point tree, a redbud, is dieing as well. It looks fine to most people but I can see that for the last few years it has not looked as lush. It's only a matter of time before it's gone. Then all the ferns & hostas underneath it will need a new home.
I am staying home. I can forget about the world when I'm at home. We're so isolated here I rarely even see a neighbor.
I keep a quote book. I thought some of my favorites would encourage you.
Said by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
"But in this season it is well to reassert that the hope of mankind rests in faith. 'As man thinketh, so he is.' Nothing much happens unless you believe in it and believing there is hope for the world is a way to move toward it." - Gladys Taber
And one of my favorites by Mary Oliver.....
"I saw that worrying had come to nothing, and gave it up. And took my old body and went out into the morning and sang."
What a kind person you are to take the time to send me quotes.The last by a favorite Mary Oliver I must practice.I have always been a What If person..and unfortunately some what ifs happened:(
DeleteThank you so much.
It is sad to see trees die..I am not confident of 3 large evergreens grouped together at the front of our home.One was diagnosed w/ Witches' Broom and we tried to resolve it..I think the other two caught it..
Gladys Taber I hope you were and are still right..our word has to heal..
Have a good week jenny:)
Happy June! I am sorry you lost your lilac.
ReplyDeleteMe too..but looking around it's not even a drop in the bucket right?I've lost trees..lost lots of things..Jenny wrote a lovely Mary Oliver quote above♥S nice. 3 actually..
DeleteI'm sorry your garden is struggling. We're not doing too badly here in the UK, some hot days but I'm managing to keep up with the watering. After a couple of busy garden tidying days I'm having a lazy day today :-) I hope you keep blogging.
ReplyDeleteLazy days in between are needed..Oh I am here not going anywhere..it's just different and such different times..must admit Covid gardening is the pits.No nursery shopping is leaving pots struggling to sprout seeds;)Just a yucky time all around..
DeleteThe news is ..well like the end of the world..
The end of the world we knew.
I honestly had no idea racism was still so vehement and strong.
It's disgusting.
:(
I am with you - I do so many more Instagram posts!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you constantly bake and stay so tiny! Everything always looks wonderful and mouthwatering!
Hahaha you are lovely and tiny and bubbly and energetic..
DeleteTruth be told..I'm a biter:)
I have a bite.
Period.
Desserts are what I love to make but not what I love to eat..
Having rejected bread till I was 50 ish..I am making up for it:)
Carbs..
Pasta..
salty..
But we do watch what we eat..and never ever eat after dinner..and we are done by 6.30.
For 100 yrs we have never snacked after dinner.;)
Thank you!
Your blog makes perfect sense M. It's all you and so genuine. It's good to see your garden waking up and stretching it's arms. Sorry about your tree dropping blooms so fast and the lilac biting the dust. I can't believe you've warmed up so fast. We haven't seen anything near that at all. Maybe one or two days knocking on 80's door.
ReplyDeleteAs if Covid wasn't bad enough now all this new nightmare. There's always something nasty going on this year.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts, photos and art work.
It's so awful..I see on IG black out Tuesday..
DeleteIn college..you had to pick your classes..one I loved was "Black American literature"
I was 17 ,French Canadian and it was one of my favorite classes..Sociology..we read Malcom X..apart from others..and I always felt in reading great African American literature the way I did in reading about The Jewish nation being persecuted.
Tears well up and you just can't understand it..It's all beyond me this hate and racism.
So much going on you are right.
The graphic images are frightening and make you wonder about the world.It makes you want to go and tell everyone off in their face.
Take care A:)
Great post, Monique. And that strawberry pie looks delicious. Have a nice June. Hugs
ReplyDeleteToi aussi Nina:)
DeleteYour strawberry tart is soooo teeeny - LOL. And that cake looks like so delicious too but your lobster roll really makes my mouth water. I love them! And, I love that sweet painting. I will check out Chris Petri! I went to my favorite garden center in the country again last week as I wanted a couple more pepper plants. Wandered around with my mask and gloves on outdoors :) They were almost cleaned out of everything already! I'm sure people are planting gardens more than ever now that we are stuck with social distancing. It's true that it seems like we are living in a bad dream. I want to wake up and COVID and brutality never happened. At night we get alerts on our phone about curfews and to stay indoors. If things weren't bad enough before. My attention span is so short lately, I find it hard to concentrate. I start looking and photos I've taken of the garden and then I wander off to do something else. Same thing here with so many people not wearing masks. I like to shop at Costco because they require them...or at least they did last time I was there. Cases still going up but there is much more testing now than there was before. Hispanic communities being hit hard here right now. We had that heat wave too and my LOVs were over in a heartbeat. Very hot here again today. I watered my plants early this morning and will stay indoors the rest of the day...and try to concentrate :)
ReplyDeleteI cannot read:( It was a blah day again today..I looked through recipe books..old ones..I'm old.
DeleteI ordered a pizzelle maker and it arrived yesterday.Enjoyed myself making some this morning..filled 2 layers w/ Nutella for the boys.
I am a sucker for gadgets.
This is quality and I am happy with it.
Just DIVERSIONS..
Caro and Fred will do Costco for us tonight.
I have no instant gratification in my gardens.I bet when I get there..a lot will be gone.
We have curbside again tomorrow and jacques said:"Let's get 2 more lobsters':)
He was never as much of a fan as I..
No he seems to be..
we change don't we?
I think about the fact that we always pull out the same 2 placemats for our dinner when..well how many do I have?
How many things were just not necessary?What was I thinking right?A gadget is different:) I can bake a nd share.
Repairman came for our great Bosch dishwasher..no hope 18 yrs..
All the small mundane things as we watch people march and riot and feel disheartened.
What is happening? It seems with Mr Obama life was far better.♥
WE can feel it here..
Covid is such another sad story.
A few changes coming..they want 10,000 people to take a paid caretaker's class..they will be assured a full time job.
I hope they fill the positions.3 months training and paid.
Come one come all:)
For yrs our CHSLDs were neglected..things are about to change..but what was the price?:(
I feel as you do..about everything♥
I have so many things I bought that I barely use. All the plates, table linens, etc. taking up space in closets and drawers. We have a Bosch dishwasher too! Ours is 13 years old. Had it serviced once in 2014. Fingers crossed it doesn't die. We've had to replace a lawn tractor and power washer in the last month. I know what you mean about everything too ♥ Some behaviors and actions are just so disheartening. Everyone needs a big dose of good news for a change.
DeleteWe love the silence of the Bosch!What were we thinking with the dishes etc?
DeleteIt was something we did :)
My problem w/ the Bosch is we had it covered like our cabinets..now none will fit the panel..not sure stainless or white ..everything else is white so I guess white..but it will stick out like a sore thumb..
Big problems right? No..
We absolutely do need such good news..
It's a mess for our Littles.
That day you lost your blog...I remember so well...and your blogger friends helped you rebuild...💙
ReplyDeleteWhat a day we just had...I am ready to drive off a cliff...I have NO patience anymore...
Cant concentrate on one thing at a time...except when I am lost in my crochet...thank God for that!!!
We went to Costco...said youo cant get in without a mask...of course we had masks...saw MANY people without!!! Why were they allowed in???
I could not hold my tongue...We went there, as the hearing aid dept finally opened up...I needed new wires and earplugs, otherwise I would never have gone...then at the cash, 2 women were trying their best to "upsell" us to a more expensive membership!!!! WTH?!?
Then we spent so much money...we couldnt tap our Costco Mastercard, and we both forgot our PINS!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!
ANyway...safe at home...all scrubbed up...rotiserrie chicken for dinner...😊
Thanks for listening....
Love all your pics....nobody...but NOBODY takes pics like you...your very own unique style...and I love it!!!💛
Enj0y your evening...and your LOBSTER!!!
Cheers!
Linda :o)
If you follow Ernie on IG Jazzymoms friend you will see that at times I cannot hold my tongue either.I wrote on her latest post what I did in Rome;)
DeleteFair is fair right?
Apparently our Costco is handing out masks..Caro will tell me ..she brings hers though..
The pin number sorry but with so many cards..it's a given right?
So how did you get through?
Now is not the time to UPSELL..
Stores are closing left right and center.
Sail..Reitmans..Aldo..
The stores like Walmart and Costco and Amazon and I guess Dollar stores are ok..
what's going to happen?
Grocery stores are ok too I think.
I will ALWAYS listen.
Lol I just told you the same thing in a different way about your pics..:)
Soon to arrive ..lol or not;)
Have a good night!x
I forgot to mention the Hollyhocks!!! I hope they grow for you...I have only one left at the cottage, after the Hurricane...and she was planted in a pot, so I guess that is what saved her...
DeleteWe used our debit...which we never use 😳
Quite a thunder lightning storm overnite...my gardens need it!!
Enjoy your day...💛
Murky cool damp misty mess here after 3 days of so cold.No wonder my seeds are stunted.:(Hollyhocks are still standing..little terrariums off;)
DeleteI think everyone is jumbled these days...so it doesnt matter.But whay a beautiful jumble here!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the last watercolor. I will look him/it up but with my slash n' burn ways I could never do that.
It has been so hot here yet suddenly its raining cats n dogs. The weather is jumbled too.
Here too..hot as H..for 3 days and then the past 4 days Murky damp cool grey and ugly..
DeleteI like Chris;)
Here is his link
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/-JOVjeENu28
I like what you did so much better - freer, looser. More whimsical too.
That sweet little paintbox of his costs 300£ btw. Hand-made and brass.
Wow..pricey:) I like his personality..simplicity:)♥
DeleteI'm so grateful you post and I don't care if your posts are cohesive or run willy nilly because they are always beautiful and filled with love and heart and art and food and when I finish I feel as though I am deeply satisfied and like I've been given a gift. Just saying!
ReplyDeleteLove the painting you did. I might have to check his tutorials out. And oh, that tart. So were these strawberries you grew? Mine are turning into berries but still small and green. They will need another two or three weeks before they are red and plump and juicy and sweet! My dill is good. I bought a rosemary plant and geraniums from the curbside pick-up but everything else that isn't in the ground is seeds. They're coming along but it feels like it will be a long while before I see anything concrete. I do have enough lettuce for a salad for one, so that's good!
My lilies of the valley are finished. I'll miss them, they are a favorite. Yours look so beautiful!
Please jumble away with your wonderful posts. With all the terrible things going on here, I need all the beauty and joy I can get.
I am loving posts that take me away too!Loving learning ..watching seeing.No not my berries..Inhave tried to no avail.Seems I can only grow tomatoes ..garlic some herbs and wb all zucchini😊He has many many tutorials and I do believe you would like him a lot.These days are so troubling sometimes I just can’t stand it..and then a couple of weeks ago I was made aware of a feed on IG A sweet family 3 littles..the youngest the most beautiful child you laid eyes on.Her mom took her to the doctor in April..and now she’s gone.Inoperable rare brain tumor.I cry when I read her posts and think..nothing compares.
DeleteSo you keep posting too because We all need normalcy and some joy k?
Dearest Monique,
ReplyDeleteStealing some moments in-between the writing of my chapters for the manuscript. Will start chapter 9... Feels good and hoping in a week to be FREE again!
Oh, your French paper doilies are again showing your French connection, call it LOVE. I too am very much French inclined in a number of things.
Hugs,
Mariette
Kudos!! That was an affair of the heart and you are there!!!
DeleteYour food is always so delicious looking and I displayed beautifully as well as your paintings. Happy gardening.
ReplyDeleteI think..like you..:) I like working on cute food and things..a creative outlet from these awful times..I tend to maybe fuss more..I can't read..can't concentrate! Thank you!
DeleteSometimes Monique, it is all we can do to get through each day. For me doing things I have always done on each day of the week helps. I am a creature of routine. Mind you with present challenges, some of the things I have always done are not done, but that's life. It ebbs and flows and is constantly changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I have to believe that in the long run, most changes will have been for the better. I love watching all of your posts come up on IG. They are always so beautiful. I love reading your posts on here. Similar, but also different if that makes sense. Please keep up the blog. It is a ray of sunshine, and oh how we need that in these turbulent times. xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh I plan to..I may have worded this post in a way that led to think I may stop..I meant it's hard to post ..when the world seems to be falling apart with sickness ..death..protests..violence..racism.
DeleteIt seems weird to keep posting about mundane things:(
But for me to keep going I need to keep busy..like you I am sure..
so that's what I meant:)
I don't know how you keep up 2 blogs every single day.
Kudos!!
Have a good weekend Marie:)
Mmmmmmm.that strawberry 🍓 pie looks delicious 🍀 happy June...happy weekend love Ria 💕🍀💕
ReplyDeleteTake. areRia.. the world is having a hard time of it.I hope you are staying optimistic🙏🙏
DeleteI appreciate all of your posts! I am sorry to hear about your lilac... :(
ReplyDelete