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 .... 

*****************************************************

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?

**************************************************

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.

**************************************************

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.

**********************************************

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.

****************************************************

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!