Monday, June 27, 2016

End of June ...

Greetings blog friends ....


I've been neglecting my blog as I have been outside 
enjoying the beautiful summer that we've been having
since the middle of May.   Hot and sunny and little in 
the way of rain ... though we do need it desperately.   The
garden is parched and watering with the garden hose is
a poor substitute for actual rain from the sky.

I do stitch while I'm out on the deck, so long as the
wind isn't blowing up a gale that threatens to sweep
my threads off to somewhere over the rainbow.   I've
been concentrating on Pretty Little Toronto and making
fairly good progress on it.    So, top left is Casa Loma,
the middle part is St James Cathedral,  next to that is the
slim column which is the base of the C.N. Tower  (40
years old this week) but it needs the restaurant/observation
platform to be stitched on top, and to the right of the C.N.
tower is the St. Lawrence Market.   Oh, and a wee bit
of Toronto's city hall just over top of that.

I'm getting the itch to stitch a new project .... we'll see
if I stand firm with my current WIP or if I'll succumb
to temptation and start rummaging in my stash cup-
board.   Stay tuned .... 

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Road trip.    A day spent visiting friends up near Lake
Simcoe which is an hour and a half drive from here 
and a glorious day it was.   Phil and I went up early 
so that we could spend time on the beach and have a 
picnic lunch before heading to the home of our
friends.


We found a park near the water,   parked our car in the 
lot there (and paid half a years salary for the privilege)
then found a nice tree and spread our picnic blanket in it's
shade.   It was a hot day, the shade was welcome.   We 
ate our sandwiches and then I left Phil snoozing on the
blanket and wandered along the lakeshore until I found
a quiet place and a nice rock out in the water where I 
could sit and dangle my feet in the water.  It was bliss!


Clear, cool water over a pebble and stone surface.
I sat there for over half an hour, watching the boaters
going by,  a muskrat or mink fishing in the water,  and
ignored the hopeful seagull that settled nearby in hopes
that I might have food to share.


I love being by the water.   It's restful and stimulating
at the same time.   Watching the waves is both mesmerizing
and hypnotic. 

I found it so very hard to tear myself away when it came
time for us to pack up our gear and head to our friend's
home.


Close by our friend's home was a quilting store and this
beauty was hanging out front on display.   Isn't it 
gorgeous?

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Our front garden is looking pretty good even though it
gets the full sun all afternoon without any shade or
respite from the unrelenting heat.   The Peonies made
a nice display during the short time that they were at
their peak ... and then they dropped all their petals in
the garden and made a horrible mess.   Oh well.   That's
gardening for you.


One of my favourite flowers is Lantana.   These pretty,
colourful flowers last quite awhile and they come in
such wonderful, bright colours.  These are in one of the
pots on our deck.

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Yesterday was the Georgetown Horticultural Society's
garden tour.   So Phil and I headed out and visited all
but one of the private gardens that were open for a few
hours to visitors to raise money for the Society.


Some of the gardens were in town and some were properties
in the country.   I guess that we spent about three hours 
wandering through each place and we got some great ideas
and tips for our own modest garden.


Unfortunately it was a terribly hot day and even
with a bottle of water to hydrate ourselves (which
soon became hot enough to make ourselves a cup
of tea with, unfortunately)  and hats on our heads to 
keep the sun off it was often very uncomfortable and 
draining as we walked.


Out in the countryside the temperature was a bit
lower and there was a breeze to help cool us off.


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I've been reading .... lots!!!   As a matter of
fact I've been devouring books like there's no
tomorrow.    

The Imposter Bride takes place in Montreal in
the 1950's with flashbacks to the second world
war.   


The Raven Boys saga is Young Adult fantasy with a 
touch of ... um .... I don't want to say horror because
that is too strong a term I think .... but they are a bit
dark.   Loved them.


These two books are by one of the most popular
Young Adult authors around.   But they are
definitely not Young Adult stories because the
characters are quite ... er ... sexually active.


Book one was good but book two was fabulous!!!
I could not put it down!!!

Perhaps it's obvious that these are also 
fantasy stories .... and there will be another
in this series ... and the wait is going to be
agony!!


And finally, for those of you who might be like me and
adore a good vampire romance novel or two ... you know
who you are .... this series I bought on Kindle and could
not put down until I had read all four of them.   Great
stories,  lots of interesting history and a new take on the
vampire genre.   

I don't go into plot synopsis when I list my reads because
I figure you guys can easily check that out if you're 
interested.   Just know that for me I love a story with
strong characters ... which includes the secondary characters
.... a really good myth building or history relating tale ... and
snappy, crisp and lively banter in the dialogue is a definite plus.

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Rupert wanted to join us whenever we headed out on one
of our adventures but sadly we could not oblige him.

Thanks for stopping by.   Hope your summer is a 
good one so far.

Happy stitching,  happy gardening and happy reading!