Pocketful of Memory Cards

I've driven past this house too many times to count over  the past seventeen years. It's on the picturesque Benvoulin Road that so often finds its on my blog. I love this house and the fantastical willow tree that grows beside it.   One of my many  childhood fantasies was to live in a house with a big willow tree. In that dream I would spend hot summer afternoons, perched high in it's shadows, day dreaming or reading a book, hidden away from the world.   One day a For Sale sign appeared on the side of the road but I knew the price would be well beyond my wildest dreams.  Sometime after the Sold sign appeared another one popped up - forest green with white letters spelling Brookedale Heritage Garden .   You can't see the market building from the road and I most often stop at Don-O-Ray vegetables, just across the street so up until last weekend, I was never motivated to pull in.  As we say in my family "It's cute, cause i...

Mother's Day fell during the time I spent in Whitby last month, so my daughter promised we would spend a day together when I got home, starting with a hike over Knox Mountain.  The weather has not been cooperating on her days off and so we have been spreading out our time together over the past two weeks and it's been a never ending celebration.  Today was the highlight.  Since the weather was iffy we decided against Knox, and headed to the Farmers' and Crafters' Market with umbrellas stashed in the car. The Wednesday market is pretty sparse compared to the Saturday morning one, but we managed to see some gorgeous pottery, sample some tasty treats and I purchased the cutest little photo album from a vivacious young woman named Emily (stay tuned for more about her and The Tangled Fox in a future post). As a mother's day treat, my daughter bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers from one of the vendors.  The peonies smell incredible and I was surprised to ...

Those of you in Kelowna know this is not a photo taken today.  It's been raining for a week now and I just felt like finding a photo that would cheer me up.  I took this one last year when I had my Artist's Date at Benvoulin church.  I pass by the church several times a week along the rural route I drive to avoid the very busy Gordon Road when I'm heading for the east side of the city.  I've stopped many times along the way to capture a photograph or two and I thought I'd remind you of the ones that appeared on my blog this past year.  And if it ever stops raining, I've noticed a couple new spots that have potential so you'll be seeing more I'm sure. Here are the links to the photos in the order they appear as I drive along Swamp and Benvoulin to Springfield. - early spring on Swamp Road -  Tomato King -  Father Pandosy Mission -  tomatoes from Don-O-Ray -  pumpkins !  and more pumpkins ! - horses and ponies at ...

The old truck that sits on the property of the now defunct Tomato King Farms/Market always catches my eye when I circle the Benvoulin/Casorso roundabout.  Today I took the time to stop and take a few photographs.

My Country Garden sunflowers in front of a future corn maze.

While having a turn out the other day, I came across this framed "essay" by the artist/writer known as  Sark . I think what she's saying is:  Spend quality time with your kids!   I wanted to run out of the house and whack it over the head of  give it to a woman who was walking down the street with her two elementary school aged kids yesterday morning.  One blonde headed cutie skipped along on either side of her whilte she sauntered between them, head down, texting and smiling to herself. (Parents ignoring their kids while on cell phones is a pet peeve of mine.)   Instead, since my kids are grown, I passed the picture onto a friend who was spending time with her pre-schoolers at the Farmer's Market  today.  There's so much that's happened in our lives since our kids were little and I've treasured so many things we've done together.  Though it doesn't seem like it was "only yesterday",  it does seem like the time was much t...

The cool wet spring delayed the opening of one of my favourite markets, but I'm pleased to say  Old Meadows Farm opened this week for sales of their fruits, berries and vegetables. They don't have a lot of stuff but they have good stuff, and a lot of it is organic. I was thrilled to find a couple of " eight-ball" zucchini this afternoon as I couldn't find them anywhere last year and we didn't think to plant them in this year's garden. They are rounder and heavier and more flavourful than regular zucchini.   I like to slice them about an inch thick, brush a little olive oil on them and grill them on the barbecue.  After you turn them over for side two, brush a little balsamic vinegar on the top and add a thin slice of provolone .  Mmm mmmm, looks like w're going to have to have one tonight!