Peony Garden

It is nearly the end of June and so I feel I must write about my favourite flower. Lilacs have a wonderful scent and roses are romantic but I believe there is no flower lovelier than the peony. Mid-June, when my flower beds are resplendent with peonies, is my favourite time of year. Although they don't flower for very long, I make the most of it by cutting masses of the flowers and placing them in every room in the house. My work cubicle is also a little cheerier at this time of year as there is always a bouquet of these beauties on the corner of my desk. I find it interesting that co-workers who don't normally notice flowers comment on my peonies. It seems that no one is immune to this flower's beauty and scent. 

There are several varieties of peonies and they flower at different times so over a period of about a month there is always a peony to be found in my garden. Unfortunately, it has been raining heavily in Ottawa today so I fear that I have enjoyed the last of them. 

I knew nothing of these flowers when we moved into our brand new home 15 years ago. We had a great big empty yard with no flower beds, no trees, nothing but lawn. Fortunately, my dad who is a very talented gardener helped us out by designing and planting several large flower beds. He also transplanted some of his own peony plants into our garden beds. This means that the peony plants in our garden are over 30 years old and they are as beautiful as ever. 

The first variety to bloom in our garden. I don't know its name but its deep burgundy colour and peppery scent are heavenly.

Once again, I don't know this variety's name but I call it the tutu peony as it reminds me of a ballerina's skirt.

In full bloom. Most people stake their peonies but I do not because I like how gracefully they fall towards the ground.

One of many bouquets that I keep around the house during peony season.

Until next year, lovely peony, I look forward to seeing you again.

Spreading their wings

This past weekend was an emotional one. Saturday morning, bright and early, our son Tristan left for the Yukon. He will be gone for three months to work at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse. Three months is a long time to be separated from your child, even when he happens to be a 6'1 nineteen year-old. 

This is the second summer that he leaves home to go North. I knew that he had had a wonderful experience last summer but it still surprised me a little when he announced that he had intentions of leaving again this year. Not only does he enjoy working with the kids as a summer camp counsellor but he also gets to spend time with his family members who live in Whitehorse. It really is a fantastic experience for a young man and I'm happy for him, but still, I do miss him (and not only because he's our resident techie and mower of lawns).

Before he left he helped his dad finish building the pergola. I've included a few pictures of the work in progress. The structure itself is done and I must say that I'm very proud of my men, it looks fantastic! Now we wait for the canvas cover to come back from the shop. 

Tristan, helping out his dad.

Here is the pergola without its canvas cover. (Daisy really wanted to be in the picture, she kept staring at me, waiting for me to take it.)

The same day that Tristan left was also my daughter Amélie's last dance recital with the dance studio she had been attending since the age of six. That's 11 years of memories and it was a very difficult thing for her to say goodbye to that part of her life. She has chosen to attend university away from home in September and so it is natural that she is mourning the things she has to leave behind. Still, she is a very tough cookie, so when she walked towards us sobbing after leaving the stage for the last time it was heartbreaking for her family to watch. Why oh why do children have to grow up so fast?

Watching Amélie dance so beautifully and confidently I kept hearing the lyrics to a song she introduced me to the other day, by Little Mix. The lyrics go something like this: 
"Mama told me not to waste my life, she said spread your wings my little butterfly". 

And that's exactly what my butterflies are doing.

Signs of Spring

Today was a perfect spring day. Here are a few signs that spring has finally appeared in our neck of the woods!

The crocuses are in full bloom.

The magnolias are flowering.

The tulips are finally starting to poke their heads out of the ground.

But the real sign that spring has sprung is that outdoor projects are in full swing. The gazebo that we put up last spring was a casualty of this year's long winter. Instead of buying a new one, my husband decided he'd attempt to build a pergola from his own plans. I have great faith in his abilities and I'm sure it will be wonderful once it's done, but for now, THIS is the state of our deck. Yikes!

I'll keep posting as progress is made. Hopefully by next weekend our backyard won't be quite such a disaster area.

Scenes from the weekend

Today is April 14 which means that Spring started a few weeks ago, right? Well, you wouldn't know it from the view outside my front window this morning.

Not exactly the Spring-like weather that we're used to seeing mid-April. That's why I decided to do a few things to help me feel a little better about this sad situation. 

I had a bunch of lemons which I placed in one of my favourite blue and white bowls.

And speaking of blue...

Take a look at my newest purchase. The bag's turquoise interior and daffodil yellow lining just make me happy. 

I painted my nails with Crazy for chic, the brightest pink I could find. 

We opened up the last bottle of wine from our trip to Italy and pretended to be sipping it from a sun-filled patio.

I read the May issue of Style at Home cover to cover and dreamt about gardening and outdoor entertaining. 

And the very best thing about this weekend are the tulips that my husband brought home for me. I love tulips and, if I can't see them growing out of the ground, the next best thing is admiring them inside my house!

Escape

I have not been a very consistent blogger lately. The long winter we've been having in Ottawa has left me feeling lethargic and uninspired...quite blah actually. But today the winter blahs are gone thanks to a one week escape to the sun. My husband and I started going away for one week holidays during winter a few years ago; sometimes with the kids, sometimes without. This year I felt the need for the getaway more than ever. The last few months have not been the easiest for me and I had been feeling quite frazzled and physically exhausted. The week away could not have come at a better time. 

During our little vacation I didn't do much other than lay out in the sun or the shade to read, eat delicious food, drink mojitos, take long walks on the beach and, surprisingly, run.  I say "surprisingly" because I have never been a very good or consistent runner, but for some reason, I enjoy running barefoot with the sound of the ocean cheering me on. After the second day, I started looking forward to our 4 o'clock runs on the beach. 

We went sailing twice. The water really is that clear and turquoise coloured.

The absolutely stunning infinity pool. 

We had a few of these burgers. I didn't think I would like egg on a burger, but they were quite delicious.

Last walk on the beach before returning home. 

Many hours were spent doing absolutely nothing under these cabanas.

After a week of this routine I'm feeling strong again and ready to face the real world. Bring it on world... but no more snow please, I've had just about enough of that!

In a New York State of Mind

Those of you who have older teenagers know how difficult it can be to spend time together as a family. Lately, I'd been feeling as though we had all been going in different directions and it was time to find a way to reconnect. The solution: a quick four day trip to one of my favourite cities in the world, New York City!  

We drove from Ottawa to Poughkeepsie, in New York state, and then boarded a commuter train all the way in to Grand Central Station. It was a comfortable and interesting 1 hour and 45 minute ride along the Hudson River. I highly recommend this manner of travel...much more civilized than driving into the city yourself. 

We arrived in the late afternoon with plans to settle in and then go to the pizza place which I had found earlier on Trip Advisor. 

We arrived at our hotel in Murray Hill and went up to our room, opened the door and found this:

We joked that rock stars had been there before us and had trashed the room. No, it was simply that the room was scheduled for a complete cleaning and the front desk had not been informed. It all worked out because we were then re-assigned to a gigantic suite up on the 36th floor. The views from the two large windows were simply stunning and we spent a fair bit of time looking out those windows at the magnificent city all around us.

View out to the East River.

After all the excitement we were all very hungry and headed out to find our restaurant. We walked for a long, long, long time as apparently I had underestimated the number of blocks to San Matteo Pizzeria. Luckily when we finally got there, there was one table for four available. Very lucky because as soon as we sat down people started coming in looking for a place to sit and they were turned away. I'm so sorry that I forgot to take pictures of the place. Everyone around us spoke Italian and the owners seemed to know all the patrons. There was soccer memorabilia hanging on the walls and the tv was turned to the soccer channel, of course. We felt like we were back in Italy! And the pizza, ah the pizza, was absolutely delizioso. We all had different pizzas and no one was disappointed.

The next morning we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We visit this museum every time we're in New York. In fact, Amélie always says that she wishes she could live inside the museum! The collections are stunning and there is always a cool new exhibit. This time it was Matisse.  Too bad we weren't allowed to take pictures. 

We also saw a few new things this time such as the Highline. Have you heard of this? The High Line is a public park built on a freight rail line above the streets of Manhattan. 

Walking down the Highline

Located on Manhattan's West Side, it runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. Even in February it was an interesting walk but I'd love to go back and explore in the spring and summer.

That same day we also visited the Chelsea Market. This is an enclosed urban food court and shopping mall. An interesting fact about this place is that Chelsea Market was built in the former National Biscuit Company factory complex where the Oreo cookie was invented and produced. It was a cool place to visit for lunch but the only problem was that we weren't the only tourists who had decided to visit at lunchtime. The place was packed!

Walking through Chelsea Market...desperately looking for a place to sit and eat.

On our last day we did a bit of shopping, walked some more, took the subway and just soaked in all the special New York City energy. But the best part of the trip was spending time with my (almost) grown-up kids and reconnecting with them. Mission accomplished.

Quiet

The view today from my comfy chair by the window.

It is snowing like crazy here today and it's a good thing that I had the day off because the last thing I want to do is go outside! I like these kinds of days as I feel like they give me permission for doing what I like best: snuggling in with a cup of tea and a good book. Aaahhh...paradise. For some reason I feel like sharing one of my very favourite books with you. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain is, in my opinion,  brilliant. You may have heard of it as Quiet is a New York Times Bestseller and the author is well-known for doing a Ted Talk on the subject. If you are an introvert yourself or if you have a spouse or a child who is, you MUST read this book. 

I did the test at the beginning of the book to find out if I was an introvert (even though I already knew the answer to that). Turns out I am introverted with an ability to be extroverted in key situations. In other words, even though I value and crave my alone time I am capable of appearing extroverted when the situation calls for it. At work, for example, or in social situations I don't have trouble making conversation with lots of people, it just means that at the end of a very social day I'm really quite tired and need to be by myself to recuperate. 

I only wish this book had been written years ago when my children were starting school. If this book had been available when they were younger I might have presented every one of their teachers with it at the start of the school year and kindly asked them to read it. That way I might not have had the same conversation with each of them during parent-teacher meetings from kindergarten to Grade 12. The conversation essentially goes like this: Your son/daughter is such a great kid. He/She is so polite, kind, listens well and is respectful towards the teacher and the other kids, BUT they don't participate enough in class. Really? Why did that matter so much to the teacher? The author explains that it is because teachers find it easier to teach what is called the extrovert ideal. Essentially, most teachers find it less work to teach the rowdier kid who lifts his hand to ask lots of questions (even the non-relevant ones) than the quiet, introverted child. Go figure.

Thanks in big part to this book I feel that there is a paradigm shift coming and the introverts of this world are starting to be valued for their gifts. After all, introverts are the thinkers and listeners of this world. I think Susan Cain says it best when she writes: "The next generation of quiet kids can and should be raised to know their own strength." Yay Susan!