Thinking blooms..because the weather..

Coming up is unheard of..after Wednesday..In the fifties:) Oh my goodness if you know QC..this is unreal..

IYKYK lol.

 In reality my gardens need overhauling..many are dry..old.. decrepit..:(

So I am contemplating ..

I love them..but I know they need attention..

I look forward to my forget-me-nots and garlic shoots the first to thrive..

The apple blossoms..

The irises..

And everything thereafter...

 However I am thinking my seeds and flowers etc..for this coming season..

Like not to forget to buy..

Gomphrena and a plethora of things I forgot last year.

I'll plant:

A new kind of nasturtium and cross everything they bloom:)

Tip Top Pink Blush

Cosmos again:)

Zinnias...

Poppies

Strawflowers

Flanders Poppies..

Marigolds

Ill buy my tomato plants..

I usually start them indoors but I have been wronged by critters lol..

I've been painting..once my humble gardens start.. I have less time..

All the usual suspects:). ..Backs of people for IG and some Yupo and other paper experiments..

Some meals are on repeat here..like this one from A farmgirl'sdabble..

I often do not add rice..I just use a lot of cabbage:)

I like to switch up recipes sometimes.

I love the crunch of the cabbage I do not cook it until it turns to soup;)

Have a great week!

...February.. a leap year this year..

What is essential is invisible to the eye..

Artwork by Susan..
 

In my mother's china cabinet.

I never wanted to be away in February.We celebrate two birthdays and it's important to me to be together ..en famille.

I am lucky enough to have sweet friends who send the most thoughtful card and tokens..

One thing I wanted to share ..well two..

Was this beautiful painting Susan painted for me from a photo I took in St Paul De Vence..one of my fave places on earth..Look at that:) She is amazing.

She also started collecting wee teapots..

And sent me one..another love of mine..Van Gogh.In St-Rémy we stayed very close to the asylum where Van Gogh spent many many years..This teapot is extremely dear to me.

St-Rémy is all about Vincent.

A few memories from our day spent at The Mausoleum.

I adore Provence.

There's Valentine's day too..but we stay home and have eaten  the same meal for the past 50 yrs I think.. 2 fondues..cheese and beef..paper thin slices.. in a bouillon and then dipped in sauces.Most yrs I make the sauces..

But this year online at Euro Market I found 4 mini jars..of 4 classic fondues sauces..They were perfect enough for twice..

Euro Market is great..lots of true France products..available to us..Many of our stores carry authentic products..but this place carries so much more..like my fave vanilla sugar:)

I ordered online.. We are having quite a time with our bridge that joins my little end of the world(not so little) to Montreal.

A new bridge is underway but so late in the game.My daughter has to travel over it every day.:( Delays on end..lanes closed..

I swear governments are not governing.

So That cake ..above..look up look way up Jerome (The Friendly Giant)..was for Caroline's 47 th birthday which we celebrated Saturday en famille..Classic Carrot cake w/ cream cheese icing..

These cupcakes..KAF very vanilla cupcakes..

We can be a large group..:)

Out of the blue I turned 70..which was also Saturday.My eldest daughter does the honors of Caroline and my birthdays..It was lovely..So fun.I actually can have fun.:)They make me laugh like no one else.

Don't ever think cards are passé..I think they are sweet.

And Sweet is this cute thing too..

My eldest daughter put together 7 gifts for 7 decades(OY). all packed in a planter ..this is one..a set of 4 perched sponges for your sink.What can I say I appreciate cute.

My youngest daughter..the soon to be 47 yr old one..put together a package of Korean skin care.I cannot tell you how good they feel on the skin.So good .

You know..gifts are great..but I received notes of love and I got tears:) 

So that's a long post and I can't really apologize because it's my sort of journal here:)

...We had sunshine:)

 

 

It's been brisk and cold..but we did get a few sunshiney days.I made Paul Hollywood's New Year Cake albeit just the cake not the curd..decorations etc.I did not have mahlab and mastic..but did drape it with a nice glaze and vanilla sugar boost in the recipe.It is really good and a keeper.We are watching reruns of the GBBO:)

It is super icy here.. but we were spared the Maritimes huge storm.

Kids and adults are skating :) I still have mine..I am scared:(

Too scared.

I wanted to share a new little add-on to my watercolor addiction of tools and such.

See that reservoir? You press on the green dot..the small vessel empties and new water gets filled up.

For the way I paint..It is so good!

Amazons etc have them..Not sponsored.

It turned out to not be a gimmick:)

In Provence..I love the markets..every morning we went to a different one as we visited so many little towns.But we also shopped in a grocery store..and I favored certain items....That fig confit was good over cheese and baguette my every night dinner..

It seemed to always have a blue sky over it:)

The markets still my faves..But yogurts..milk etc..this was it.We had lunch every day in a resto..a square..etc..but dinner home..The roads are terribly narrow and dark so we stayed home..And it was not a punishment:)

I loved my market mornings..I will never ever forget them:)

Have a good weekend:)