May Flowers

In our South Carolina home I look forward to May because my gardenia bushes bloom, profusely, during the month of May.  I cut the flowers every couple of days and bring them inside so I can enjoy their fragrance all around me.  Not so in Canada.  Not a single sign of a gardenia to be found here by the lake.  However, in the woods and along the shore some hardy daffodils have been planted. Thirty years ago my now 91 year old mother was in the hospital after emergency surgery.  I stayed at her house in Montreal and most days walked to the hospital bringing fresh daffodils from her garden to cheer her up.  I, therefore, look forward to the blooming of the daffodils.  They are without much doubt the happiest flowers and I really hadn’t thought that much about it until this year.  We have been down south for many years now and I had forgotten about them.  Down there the daffodils appear in late February or early March and I am not quite ready for them at that time.  However, I am definitely ready for the gardenias!

Homemade Pizza by Libby

After a lovely weekend in Vermont we picked up our granddaughter Libby and headed back to Canada.  Libby, as mentioned in many past articles, is becoming quite a cook and she asked if she could make her own homemade pizza for us for dinner.  We agreed but she had to ride her bike to the village to get the ingredients while I walked.   Even though pizza is not something that we include in our regular diet regime I was interested to see what she did.  She doesn’t make the dough from scratch but we found some of the ready made dough in the freezer at our local grocery store.  She absolutely refused to let me be in the kitchen and when she refuses you don’t argue with her.  She wanted tomato sauce, Italian sausage, fresh basil and mozarella cheese.  We were able to find some tomato sauce that was pure tomatoes, no additives at all, as Libby herself has come to the conclusion that store bought spaghetti or pizza sauce causes her stomach to ache.  Thus we found the purest we could find.  The basil plant provided fresh basil although it took a beating coming home in my backpack, I think it got too cold.  The end result was a delicious pizza that we all enjoyed.  Absolutely love the fresh basil.  Reminds me of my favorite summer Caprese Salad.

Our fun school vacation trip was to Montreal to see Cirque du Soleil’s new show Luzia.  Five years ago John and I took Jack to see Cirque du Soleil on his vacation and it was a wonderful experience.  This visit was just as terrific.  Nothing like the wide-eyed shining eyes of a 10 year old experiencing her first visit to a Cirque du Soleil show.  Loved the music and the acts and screwed up our faces over the amazing human pretzel – fascinating but also grotesque.

Winding Down the Travel

The month of May has only two trips scheduled.  One a quick overnight to Quebec City for the ordination of our friend Bruce Myers as the Bishop Co-Adjutor of the Diocese of Quebec and then one more for kid-sitting while their mother travels.  My guess is there will be a few others for concerts or closing school events but as far as we can see we should be settled for a bit.  The weather is much better with many more days of blue sky and sunshine.  I am hoping to get myself back into a better routine of walking and eating healthier foods.  I don’t weigh myself often, actually I don’t have to because I always know how much I weigh without having to but I did anyway and I was right within 4/10 of a pound.  Ugh.  Anyway, summer is coming and that means plenty of fresh vegetables and lighter meals. Fewer restaurants will help too and maybe a little less wine!!!

For inspiration, why not try this trick during the coming week if you are trying to get more veggies into yourself and your family.  Good luck.

Have a great week.  Rest up, stop and smell the flowers if there are any blooming your way and I hope you wake up each morning happy and greet the day with enthusiasm and child-like joy!