As July nears the end..

July is almost toast..
it has been.
Dry and hot.

Farmers are struggling..

Gardens are struggling..it seems there is always something to complain about right?

My biggest complaint in July ..? Japanese Beetles..they come right after the rose chafers.
It's a wonder I garden.

Every day I squish handfuls of those disgusting things.
To salvage my flowers.

To walk about the gardens that make me exercise..make me practice gratitude for nature..make me appreciate miracles.
And now sometimes I get to see the cutest garden helpers.

Oli helped me for chores and he will come again tomorrow..
Max came and helped with the hedge..

It's one on one time..

My fave people.

One ay Noah was coming and so was Oli..  Oli had popped by a bit earlier..

this is the note he slipped his work at home mom as she was on a conference call:)

So I made amazing  muffins..here's the deal though that crunchy little topping is best DAY OF.
I got rave reviews here and from my neighbours.

You can find this GREAT GREAT recipe here.
KEEPER.

 100 bulbs ..my harvest this year..All clean..cured ..ready to do..bugs don't go near it..it's just so rewarding!!


If you have herbs..gather into bouquets garnis..dry and store in a Mason jar..pop into soups and stews all yr long♥
I used Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme..of course;)

Cute as buttons and fun to have on hand..
These require NO work.
And I am still loving learning ..w/ Chris Petri.You tube..Save your cans to make floral arrangements.

What a Covid Summer.
What a year.

On top of all this let's think of those who need medical attention on top of all this..
Let's just..
And how many are waiting to see a doctor?

And then we have this hero in our midst.
You may remember Laurent~Duvernay~Tardif
He played for Kansas City and they won the super bowl when all was well..
He's also a doctor.
He is opting out of this coming season and foregoing a 2.7 million salary to help here as a doctor.
There are angels in our midst.

I think he's one of them.
Take care.
I wish you well.....



PS I have watched a few Netflix series..and here are some..

Derek..not for everyone..in fact I found it too crude and stopped..and returned and well I really liked it.

Atypical..  lovely..

Love On The Spectrum.. genuine and good.

I already told you about AfterLife.

The thing about Ricky Gervais is that I never thought I liked him
Well..I do.

Well..another garlic harvest is done~Mid July.

Inside the sheshed

These are pics my cousin Louise sent me..her mom is Claire..the bows the bows the bows♥♥♥
The sailor tops;)

They lost Marie~Louise This is at my grandparents 25th Anniversary.

I know this is only of interest to me:)

But my blog disappeared w/ old pics..:(

We all know that story.

Elise was an angel..she cared for my grandmother who paralyzed.

She never married but took in a foster child for all his life.

I never knew this but Elise and Claire went to l" Ecole Des Beaux Arts here in Mtl..

And Louise and I surmised..and a memory came back to me...Elise and Claire must have met my mom at l'Ecole Des Beaux Arts because she was a student there..and introduced their brother William to her.

The rest is history.

These are 2 I sent her..
Great ~Grandfather..Grandfather..(I never knew either) and the 3 brothers..the 3 sisters were not in these pics..

Again..just because it was so nice to catch up w/ her and help fill in some spaces.. in her tree..


Thankfully I had a garlic harvest again this nasty Covid Year.
I thought Trump said it was just going to go away.
Ya..right..when .
My first political statement ever.

Wow..with the no nursery shopping per say..and the drought and all our wasps nests..it's a summer of discontent.
Burnt grass and weeping plants are not an artist's canavs in the gardens..
You know..the season we look forward to in Jan..Feb..March when you live in QC.

I had MAX ♥help me♥
I will never harvest my own garlic again.
The pleasure of his company you see:)

I know..far far far worse things..than not great summers..

One only has to look in our own families to find worse.



A cousin of mine..who I have not spoken to in 20 yrs..the last family funeral I attended..called..I loved it.
She is doing a genealogy search of her mom..my dad's sister..Claire above and William my dad.
She sent me pics I didn't have..
These are  two of them..the first two..
I am certain this is by the water at their home.

We talked about how how into some lives..some rain must fall.

She sent me newspaper clippings of my sister's tragic passing (I was not born)..
Pictures of my grandparents..I don't think I had ever seen my paternal grandmother before..
Anyway..a lovely experience.

I love growing garlic and now I love lettuce.

One day I guess I won't have a potager and perennial beds..

Life..is very ..well..very..uncertain.

When you are young..or unmarked ..things appear so different.

Let's end this on a creative note.

If you have Youtube..I encourage you to follow Chris Petri's tutorials..They are some of my very favorite..he is nice..giving..talented..generous with his knowledge..and I am usually ok with my outcomes..
Like I don't tear them up..which I do  a lot:)
These are 4x4..my choice of size to fit into the only frames I have left..
Clip frames.
Pre-Covid I should have stocked up on frames.
Even the $ stores here have great ones w/ mat ..4x6..5x7 etc..
Will I ever enter a store again?

That was miss miserable writing lol.;)

Take care..stay safe..
and why on earth did they open BARS before I could get into stores..
Bars.. drink at home:)
Help the world.
Wear a mask.
Numbers are soaring in certain parts of the world.
Come on..please.
Wow..pretty vocal I am.
Bonne semaine..s:)