This was my garden last year, I should say my Spring Garden. I was totally taken my surprise at the lovely salmon (shame I can't find a more floral hue to speak of) tulips. I just put them in the soil after a planter I had bought had gone its merry way. I had forgotten all about them. I also ...

Last winter I was counting down to Spring, desperate for warmer weather. It had been a nasty one, we had all been ill throughout and it was a trying time in general. As always I waited for the robins, and they finally showed up in mid-March. This year, they arrived in mid-February! American Robin For once I was not waiting ...

I, like most people I know, got sucked into the whole Facebook and social media business. I connected with people I thought were gone for good from my life. It was great, for a while. Last week I had a brief tryst with fate and while laid up in bed in pain, scratching myself and drowning in diuretics I realized ...

It so happens I have another cake story. Not all that funny this time just a lot of pain. I didn't know piping was equivalent to lifting weights. When I set out to do this I thought to myself, "how hard can it be to squeeze some sugar and butter out of a plastic bag on to a cake?". Apparently ...

Since one of my goals this year is to put me first, I made it to my doctor's office today for a scheduled physical. We did the usual chatting and she took swaps and smears and whatever else she needed and then got talking to me about a recent blood test. It seems my body is attacking itself! I find ...

I have never been more glad to see the rear end of a year. 2011 has been challenging in so many ways and at so many levels. But, it is over and I am kind of glad for Facebook where friends and family have been posting very many happy thoughts and wishes for a better year. Here's hoping it is ...

I love Blue, just all shades of blue. Since I am pressed for time to play with words, I figured I would share with you some recent pictures of this handsome bird. This is the most I have seen of these fellas in the autumn. A feeder is a great way to meet them while they are in transit. Sadly they have sent my smaller visitors flying. Blue jays are very territorial.

I have been obsessed with the malaria parasite for nearly a decade now. Not like a scientist in a laboratory would be, but it my own way. I kept up with the research, kept thinking it through, drawing my own diagrams and often wondering what I would do if I were the parasite. I have lots of respect for this ...

I have put my garden to bed for another six months. I planted all of my bulbs, raked the leaves and mulched every bed. I like to tidy things up in the Fall so when my little surprises start to show in the Spring I can enjoy them without the rotting foliage all around. There's plenty to do in the ...

My very own in mid-Spring, 2011 Anyone who knows me and has been reading this blog will know that I love flowers. Much to my delight I recently discovered that my thumb is more green than black. Although this Summer was not so great for my garden, in general it fared well. I even had some luck with the ...

I've lost count of how often I've been told that I always have a choice. It does help to remind myself of that when I have to come to terms with a lousy situation I find myself in. Then again there are times when I feel 'choice' is one of my major issues these days. I am not philosophizing about ...

I figured I would bake the Hubby a cake, not that he cares much for a cake on his birthdays, but the Offspring's entire idea of a birthday is a cake. So much so that when I asked him to wish his father a happy birthday he rushed off, jumped on the bed, said, "happy birthday Appa, come lets get ...

It has been many many many moons since I was born on this day. I am very fond of my place of birth. I would have none of the small town makeshift hospitals. So I caused enough trouble to have my parents drive me to a more sophisticated city. They had almost given up on me, but lo and behold, ...

I am in the middle of writing a bloody long paper, the longest I have ever written in my relatively short life. It is all to do with grad school, that's a story for another time. Anyways, I am feeling terribly challenged and it has taken a toll on me and my family. So basically, working under a lot of ...

I just saw a link to this awesome book title Go the Fuck to Sleep. I don't know of another book that echoes my sentiments right now. Every parent should have a copy and I am not sure if there is an exception to this rule.

Last Autumn, Fall, whatever you want to call it was a difficult one. When I set out prepping my flower beds for the winter I found my price lily bulbs had been eaten by squirrels. The dratted animals had burrowed under the soil and eaten the bulbs while the foliage was still standing. I never thought that they could do ...

I met this beauty a few years ago. She was behind a house we were inspecting to buy. I really didn't like the house, but Hubby was sold. I knew there was no convincing him otherwise. This Tree, she drew me in the way only a few other trees have in my lifetime. She's a Pear Tree. I didn't know ...