On the First Day of Spring

On the first day of Spring, we took the Christmas tree down. I kid you not. As you may recall, it was the idea of the brilliant Mr. Peck who suggested we remove the ornaments and just leave the lit tree in place. And so we did. Honestly, I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the short, dark days of winter without it. First thing in the morning I would plug it in, leaving it on all day long until bedtime. Now, however, it has gone with Bruce to the office where we hope someone will take it home and make it their own next Christmas.

Long days, with seemingly every one of them something new to discover. Because we moved here in late summer, I had no idea what the trees would look like in the Spring. That's a good thing for a curious sort like myself, wondering what the little buds will turn into. Last week sometime I saw a bush type plant with some strawberry colored flowers. That particular one was scantily laden, however, this one, seen on my way to buy groceries, was lush with flowers. I'll show you the close up first just because I like the photo which reminds me of a Liberty of London print. My sewing friends will understand.

The full picture...

In my last post I showed you some flowering magnolias which I'd been thrilled to find. Ha ha...turns out there are flowering Magnolias all over the place, but not knowing what the tree, nor the buds, looked like, I thought I'd had a real find. Not so fast Gail. I'd seen trees with this kind of buds on them, not knowing what they would become.

And now that I know, I found this whole stand of them a block from the house along the seawall and I cannot wait to see them all in bloom. I bet you can't either.

Over in Chinatown Monday, I walked down an alleyway and am I ever thrilled that I did because look what I came across.

Holy Cow the blooms were huge! I once saw a flowering Magnolia tree like this in Orlando, but as most of you know, our trees are huge, mostly evergreen, with glossy leaves and huge white fragrant blooms. These flowers, while not quite as large as the ones I'm familiar with, were pretty darn big. Gorgeous, too.

Then there is the nearby David Lam Park where there are loads of planted Cherry trees which are looking quite promising.

Whereas the last post focused on flowers, it seems as if this one is leaning towards a tree focus and why not? They are budding like mad everywhere I turn.

Not that I know what to expect mind you. After months of mostly grey, the colors of Spring are so very welcome. While we are on the subject of trees, I learned from Gary last week that the Herons had returned to their nests in Stanley Park, which I had to see for myself. There are scads and scads of them sitting on their nests or finding new material to add to the existing ones.

Oops, it seems as if I have segued onto birds which will surprise exactly no one. The beauty of bare trees is seeing where the nests are, not that I'll probably remember, but then again, maybe I will.

On numerous occasions I've mentioned how giant the seagulls are around here and that goes for the crows as well. Watching this crow eating a dropped apple was pretty fascinating stuff.  Those giant feet!

I have discovered that there are lots of people who walk in Stanley Park daily and some of those folks leave birdseed on the bridge for both the little birds,

 and the hungry black squirrels.

While we are on the subject of eating, let's head to the kitchen, shall we? For nearly six months of the time we've lived here, the smoke alarms did not work. In fact, the previous tenant had broken them, on purpose according to the maintenance guy. Well, now I know why. Seriously, I cannot cook a darn thing on the stove without the stupid alarm, make that two of them, going off full tilt. I open the sliding glass door whatever the weather, as well as fan the alarm with a kitchen towel, hoping the blaring noise is not being heard outside of our walls. A girl can dream can't she? Finally, while making fried chicken with predictable results, a solution came to me.

Although there is a vented hood above the stove top, it really only covers the back burners which take too long to get hot for my liking. Who knew, when we bought the fans last summer to stay cool while the AC wasn't working, that they would come in handy for something else.

That said, I have sure learned to love a gas stove. I used it the other day for blistering poblano peppers and it worked like a charm. Pretty cool, huh? Or hot, your choice. 😀

One more kitchen related item that has proven challenging for me is how butter is sold. I was making a corn casserole and needed a measurement of butter that I just could not figure out. Sold in one pound blocks, it is a constant struggle. Although there are measurements, such as they are, on the paper, who keeps that once you are ready to use the butter?

Buying it in sticks, as I'm accustomed to, is not only nearly twice as expensive, but relatively hard to find. Whenever I struggle with something as simple as this I worry about our friends who are planning to move to Spain which, I need not remind you is no Canada.

Something else that has me worried is their need for healthcare. Not just the financials, but actually having things done when you don't know the language, nor the customs. It must have been sometime last year when a red (!) blotch appeared on the bridge of my nose. By no means was it huge, but it was certainly quite noticeable. Being someone who rarely looks in the mirror, it was easy to forget that everyone who actually looked at me face to face would probably see little else. So, while I thought about it when I went to the doctor here, I put it off until last week. Put what off? Laser, that's what. The first time I visited back in August I saw that they do spider vein removal, face stuff as welll as a myriad of other procedures. I figured my problem would fit in some category or other. Stopping by on my way home from Urban Fare (city life bonanza!), she ushered me right in, took one look and said it was a broken capillary that would most likely benefit from laser treatments. Probably three. Could I come the following afternoon? No, but I can come Friday afternoon, and so I did, waiting for her in this room.

Never having had anything like this before I had no idea of what to expect, however, she explained it would feel like a shock. Not that I've felt any for as long as I can remember, but okay, I'm ready. After about fifteen zaps, I can tell you that although it is not completely horrible, it sure didn't feel great. Especially, or I should say, particularly, because it is on the bone. There is definitely some improvement, however, time will tell. I have to wait a month for the next session during which time I will not be quite so clueless and probably more nervous! I will keep you posted.

I am definitely clueless as to what these buds will turn into. Here's the big picture,

and here's the little picture.

Pretty cute, aren't they? As was this pretty yellow plant covered in little flowers that look like ruffled party skirts.

Believe it or not, Tuesday, I stayed home sewing throughout the entire day. Finally broke down and bought a cutting mat at Dress Sew during their February sale in order to make a quilt for an unknown recipient. Still will be unknown as I am gifting it to the church for their homeless ministry this morning. May it keep someone in need warm.

Well, I've made it through winter in no small part due to the warm light from the Christmas tree. Now, dear ones, I am reaping the rewards.

yours truly,

Gail