Category Archives: Uncategorized

Spring Has Sprung. . . .

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It was the white Winter Rose (Hellebores) that caught my eye. I was on a mission to see what was Springing forth on such a warm day. AND there was plenty to catch my eye as gardeners busily cleared the winter debris off their grounds and scurried to the Garden Centre to find plants to pop into the ground.

I wanted to find unusual things that perhaps get missed on the day-to-day walks. Today was another treasure-trove. . . on my first Spring walk for 2024.

Someone had spruced up this trendy birdhouse for some lucky birds looking for their perfect Spring-time nest. . . .

I had almost missed this rocky frog, sitting peacefully atop his rocky perch and shaded slightly by the drooping leaves.

I never knew that magnolia buds were “furry”–so all winter long I was waiting for pussy willows. Boy, was I wrong!

These fat pink buds began to finally unfurl and will grow into those fat fabulous magnolias that are my favorites.

I knew Oak Bay was big on recycling and this free neighborhood library is an “original.”

Where else would you find a vintage radio converted to a free library?

I’m glad the clever person also loved his/her books. . . .

On my homeward walk back home, I sighted this pair of cheerful blue birds, destined to be placed somewhere in this large garden.

I hope the owners put them somewhere obvious as they are too cute to be hidden . . . .

Almost home and enjoying this first full day of Spring—-my mission was successful and my reward of a triple chocolate brownie almost in my grasp.

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

SEASONS COME AND SEASONS GO

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I was thinking the other day how the seasons are so different in making their entrances.

Spring is shy and coy. She is bashful and loving and filled with Life as her green shoots, young growth and tiny blossoms emerge petal by petal. Suddenly the toddler emerges as a beautiful young lady, dressed in her creams and pinks, mauves and blues, yellows and whites. Spring is filled with innocence and joy.

Summer is passionate and fiery. She is hot-blooded and enthused, eager to show the world what they are missing. She is Spring’s “older” sister, a contradiction of glamor, fun-loving and fully embraces all that Life has to offer. Summer is exuberant and playful.

Autumn is a settling of Summer’s wild abandonment. It was amusing and entertaining while it lasted, but now it’s time to get serious. Autumn is the season to slow down and seriously consider one’s choices. This is the time to contemplate and admire what has been accomplished; to enjoy the bounty. . . .

At last we come to Winter.

It’s interesting to note that Winter is considered the Old Man. Why is that? This season can be cranky and grumpy; difficult and complaining; bad-tempered and crabby. He shows his feelings by tossing snow-storms and rain-storms. But he can show his good side too with displays of winter-berries and holly. Best of all, Winter has a festive spirit as well.

Old Man Winter tends to slow down and hibernate–just like the senior season he is.

But we all know that eventually, shy and bashful Spring will emerge and make her entrance again, proving once more that seasons come and go in their own distinctive ways.

My Christmas Wish For You

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Despite the wars, unrest and turmoil abroad and within, I wish I had the power to demand Peace. 

A tiny tree, bare of leaves, but made beautiful in the Spirit of the Season.

I want to give the gift of Hope and to show that Joy does exist, even in the simplest of things.

This was a bare corner of a large building and some one there, who is very creative, made a “statement” using the empty planters, pots and plants who were comin g to a “resting” stage. . .

The gem and stone store showed its Holiday spirits by using gems as the window display. . . .

My favorite store, Gardenworks, never disappoints in seasonal displays.

So many enjoyable, unexpected, simple moments– and there for anyone to appreciate. I count my blessings every day that I have these moments. BUT I wish I could command that wars stop so others can hear and savor peace–not bombs and destruction

     “It’s Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.“  W.T.Ellis 

    “Christmas works like glue. It keeps us all sticking together.”–Rosie Thomas

    ”Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”—Charles M. Schulz

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER. MAY THE LOVE AND JOY OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON TAKE YOUR FOOTSTEPS TO FABULOUS ADVENTURES AND FUN TIMES IN 2024! 

GRANDMA’S TRIPLE CHOCOLATE DOODLES (Recipe for. . .)

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I never realized how many “doodlers” are out there, drooling over my Grandma’s “Triple Chocolate Doodles. ” My family has always called these “doodles” because it was a fun thing to request. And lots of chocolate makes it special. . . . Do let me know how these turn out for you! The reduced sugar is correct as the added chocolate chips and chunks are added sweetness.

Cream together 1 cup butter or margarine with 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Beat in 2 large eggs with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Stir in 2 heaping tablespoons of Fry’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, heaping cup of dark chocolate chips and 1 cup dark chocolate chunks. Gradually stir in 2 -1/2 cups flour (may be less or may be more–hate to say this but it must “feel” right. . .) Refrigerate the dough for 10-minutes.

Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto prepared sheets. Flatten very slightly with a fork if desire. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes. Cookies are slightly crisp at the edges and soft with melty chocolate inside. Allow to sit on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing to cool on the racks.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE DOODLES

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NOTE: Thank you to Anya and Lindsay requesting this from the Archives. Now I have to dig up the rough recipe and make some. . . .

When I was growing up, everyone in my family cooked or baked or did both equally well. We weren’t fancy cooks or bakers, just great comfort foods and family favorites. One of the most requested family faves was the ” Triple Chocolate Doodles” my Grandma invented. As I grew older, I realized it was actually a variation of the “Snickerdoodle”, a vanilla-flavored cookie dough, soft enough to drop from a teaspoon onto a cookie sheet. Snickerdoodles were good, but if your tummy had a craving for chocolate, then only this triple chocolate doodle filled the bill.

The problem was Grandma didn’t have a written recipe for this family favorite. It was made so often that the recipe was engraved on her brain. It wasn’t exactly a real recipe when Grandma demonstrated what she did. As her granddaughters avidly watched and made copious notes, Grandma would be saying, “Now a chunk of butter like this, a couple of large eggs, a dollop of vanilla, this much sugar, keep adding flour until the dough feels right. . . .” and as she was talking, my grandma would be beating the life out of the butter, sugar and eggs. Fry’s cocoa powder played a huge part in the recipe as well as lots of dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks. When the cookies were hot out of the oven and cooling on the racks, Grandma would add her finishing touch by drizzling melted dark chocolate over each doodle.

Every time Grandma made these, they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious and absolutely fail-proof. It didn’t matter if you asked what precise measure would make a “chunk” or how much exactly was a “dollop?” Or even how much was a “smidge?” After all, it had to be the same every time because scientifically, a more or less difference in the chunks, dollops and smidges would produce a less than perfect triple chocolate doodle. Right? At least that was my logical reasoning. And another thing, when does the dough feel right?

Well, I just figured out the secret of the family recipe. Precise amounts of ingredients doesn’t work. Throw logic out the window. Go with the chunks, dollops and smidges. Triple Chocolate Doodles are still a winner and absolutely fail-proof when you use Grandma’s recipe with her own special measurements made with lots of love and heaping amounts of chocolate. After all, anything with plenty of chocolate will be fail proof and perfect every time. Grandma had that right!

MEANDERING PATHS AND LANES

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I do enjoy the discovery of new paths and laneways. Oak Bay has so many that passing fellow walkers assures me there are many more. Often these laneways are an adventure to follow, just to see what familiar street or road it eventually merges with. And it can be an adventure what a walker discovers or encounters.

Today, I shot a young deer wearing small antlers. Unless you consider my cellphone as a weapon, this deer was not interested in me. He was happily nibbling his way through someone’s garden when I came within 4 feet of him. We eyed each other curiously and he decided this human was not dangerous. Still munching away, he watched as I got my cellphone to the camera feature and got it focused. That’s when he tossed his head back, flashed his antlers proudly and posed. I was so flustered, I had to refocus. When he saw how slow I was, I swear he heaved a sigh as he focused on his breakfast. I shot a couple of quick clicks hoping for one good photo. The one I kept is the one he seemed to say, “Finally!” as he watched me walk away.

Just walking to the supermarket brings a new discovery. I was returning from my errands, on a street close to the recreation center but on the opposite side I normally walk, when I saw this treasure–a very delightful and charming gnome home, partially hidden by the tall grass and leafy plants. Some caring and imaginative homeowner had taken the time to craft a charming home for the Little Folks on the boulevard outside his yard. The other side of the huge oak tree had an equally entertaining scene–an artfully crafted home for fairies. I know this because the tiny sign on its perfectly inserted front door reads “Fairies Live Here.”

Yesterday I decided to walk to Willows Beach. I had read of a local project to make a trail of painted rocks, lining the boulevard’s path leading to the sandy beach. Volunteers were encouraged to drop off their painted rocks to add to the rocky trail. It sounded like a colorful project and I wondered at the level of artistic talent. I wasn’t disappointed.

Following my feet, away from the water, I ventured down a neighboring street and discovered this attention-getting free library for kids. It is now among one of my favorite creatively crafted free libraries.

The end of a very hot Summer is coming to an end, signaling Autumn’s colorful and vibrant entrance. Berry pickers have enjoyed the bounty of wild blackberries that line some of the lanes and connectors. The oak leaves are falling and the fruit trees, especially the apples, are showing an early harvest. One generous homeowner had posted a sign encouraging people to pick what they needed, but leave some for others.

I had started with a wildlife shot, so I’ll end with this very cute and confident fawn who was following his mother and his twin into someone’s garden for their lunch buffet. AND this was on my walk home.

I wish you all a bountiful harvest with family, friends and those beautiful, unexpected moments in your daily lives.

JUST WALKING AND CAPTURING THE MOMENTS

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I seldom have any specific plans, just a vague direction where I decide to walk. Sometimes I have a yen to walk by the water, especially if I have a hankering for a warm croissant, a leisurely cup of excellent coffee and a superb sea view. Other times, I’ll feel adventurous and follow lanes or connectors to discover side streets that I didn’t realize would take me down another lane. The highlights of my jaunts would be finding stuff to photograph—often unexpected stuff.

One recent venture led me to a couple of streets that displayed some excellent utility pole art—art that only the area locals or adventurous walkers would delight in finding. According to one of the neighbors, their Community Centre had supplied the paints and the utility companies had encouraged the artwork lining the neighborhood. It was a fun walk, following the poles where one street melded into another, until I found myself temporarily “lost” in an unfamiliar area.

I eventually found myself on a familiar street, but being temporarily “lost” was worth the neighborhood art show. I heard from another neighbor that the paints were no longer supplied and the utility companies terminated the art project. However, the enterprising artists on the street ignored this and purchased their own paint to continue the pole art.

On other walks I have discovered the coincidence of a recurring theme—decorative gates or artsy fences or even bicycles—miniature, middling or normal —all recycled.

And yesterday, my walk kept encountering boats. This was unplanned and nowhere near water.

It seems no matter which direction I take , there will always be something for a walker to enjoy. And if you’re an adventurous urban walker, there’s an amazing amount of photographical treasures to be seen.

HAPPY WALKING EVERYONE!

LANDMARK PERSON OR DIRECTION PERSON

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I’m a “landmark” person. That means you tell me to turn right at the yellow house, continue until I see Caffe Henri, then turn left and stop at the house with the red Spanish tile roof. That’s a landmark person. That’s me.

A “direction” person will follow differently worded directions to reach the same destination. He/She will head north on Turcotte, turn east on Sumter, keep moving until he/she see Caffe Henri and turn north-west at Birch. That’s a direction person. He/She has a brain like a compass and know exactly where they’re going. Lots of people grasp directions. I don’t.

I think that’s probably why I enjoy my rambling walks because I start in no particular direction and each of my random routes are peppered with landmarks.

This tiny Zen nook, nestled in a corner of a garden, lets me know that I’m very close to a laneway. Oak Bay is known for its numerous laneways and connectors. Each one leads a walker onwards to new “adventures.”

This is a fun house to walk past because the fence along the driveway is filled with art.

But along another route, through a laneway, there is a house with a decorative post. It shows a cheerful “Welcome” on one side and a ‘Come Again” on the other.

This has got to be an early sign of Spring—-tiny crocuses tucked among the grass and rocks.

A tiny blue guitar, placed in a tree. Perhaps, a trendy bird-house for just the right fun-seeking birds. . . .?

There are numerous free neighborhood libraries, scattered all over Oak Bay. Some owners are quite creative making these accessible libraries visible and fun. The one below was an entertaining landmark to a neighborhood park, but someone—-not fond of books—vandalized this funky library and the new replacement is just not the same. . . .

When I see my favorite bike rack, marked with a miniature bicycle, I know I can stop for my cup of coffee and snack at “Serious Coffee.”

I do enjoy seeing all my landmarks on my rambling walks. There’s always something that makes the random routes amazing. I just hope urban development doesn’t destroy any of these . . . . .

MY 2021 NEW YEAR LAPTOP

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I have gained more white hairs than Santa has on his entire face and head since I got a new computer. I’m not exaggerating. My computer hates me.

My desktop died two Christmases ago and I got a laptop to replace it. This was my new start in a New Year. It would give me more space on my desk. I had visions of me tapping away in my neighborhood coffee bar, writing that great Canadian novel.

Scratch that lofty thought out the window. This laptop had its own agenda. Remember that diabolical doll called “Chuckie?” That’s my computer.

The first thing happened while I was typing merrily along and everything froze. I truly mean froze—nothing moved—neither cursor nor keys. I gently tapped on the enter key and then I tapped a bit harder, a few more times.

Well okay, maybe I tapped a tad too hard as Hubby shouted that he “heard that” from the next room. When nothing happened after all that pounding, I did what we all do in those uncertain techie times, I turned the computer off, waited 2 minutes and then turned it on again.

It worked. Perhaps, this was a glitch. You know, new tech toy, new operator.

Then, the laptop got quite creative. It began to switch bits and pieces of my writing in an egg-scrambley way. I had cleverly killed one of my characters by having his ex-wife push him into a vat of rising bread dough. (He was the baker and owner of a fancy bakery). Well, Chuckie had switched pieces of written bits around when I checked my progress. It was the baker who was attacked by a vat of rising bread dough that was somehow dumped on his ex-wife. Mind you, this was kind of creative too, but it wasn’t what I intended.

Today was the ultimate attack. Microsoft had another update—a 4-minute one. So I left the computer to “shut off and restart” when it was done. As usual, extra bits were added to improve on things I never use but are all part of the Window 11 package.

The scenic view on my screen was spectacular. But, there was no access box for me to sign in. In fact, there was nowhere and nothing for me to access—just a big screen with a big picture. I hauled out the manual I had downloaded and printed out when I got my laptop. There was nothing that even remotely resembled my problem.

Hubby came to my rescue. “Hold your finger on the power/turn-off button for 30 seconds. Then turn the computer on again.”

It was a miracle. It worked.

At least the computer behaved. I was able to sign in and check my email. However, when I tried to reply, the keys didn’t type. The keys weren’t locked, they just didn’t type.

Back to the darn manual. It wasn’t any help at all. I couldn’t even tap out a “help” to Microsoft.

Finally, in exasperation as well as desperation—I turned everything off and unplugged the power cord, the printer and the internet. Then, I plugged everything back and turned Chuckie back on.

Holy macadoodle, it worked. I suppose after 4 hours of hasseling me, Chuckie called it a day. I know I’m exhausted but keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the computer continues doing what it should be doing, being a normal laptop tomorrow.

I’m going to call it a day too by baking a pan of Dark Chocolate Brownies and melting my Godiva dark chocolate bar on top—after all, chocolate makes everything so much better. . . .

ARE WE GETTING OLDER OR ARE WE GETTING WISER?

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I’m not sure if it’s the dreary weather of fog, ice, rain and broody gray skies, but lately little things have caught my attention.

Tracy Ewens, in her blog, “From the Laundry Room,” (https://fromthelaundryroom.com/2022/11/20/air-dry-2/) mentioned how little things have captured her attention—things taken for granted or barely noticed before but now examined with a critical eye.

I, too, have noticed this phenomena. Hubby did point out that we are getting older, but I made it clear that one of us was and it wasn’t me.

My theory is that retiring from the work world gave us an opportunity to slow down our insane rushing here and there. Every day is a weekend so there was plenty of time to enjoy all the mundane, ordinary stuff we had missed when working. This was our time to enjoy our morning coffees and leisurely breakfasts. Our time to relax and plan a day filled with all the things we had put aside for this new chapter of our lives.

I had planned on reading through my stack of books set aside for when I had time; fun lunches with friends; side trips around the Island and over to the Mainland. I would spend more time on my needlecrafts and photography AND write the great Canadian novel!

Hah–that was 10 years ago. So much for great plans.

No one had ever mentioned how the days would slide quickly away. Suddenly, it was the end of another week and you’re asking yourself, “What did we do?”

The other day I was doing my weekly grocery shopping and darn if an energetic senior didn’t pop out from another aisle and almost slammed me to the ground. I moved but my cart didn’t. He looked 99 but had the moves of a 70 year old. My scream of alarm didn’t slow him down at all. His mission was getting to the cashier before any lineup formed. Visions of me possibly lying unconscious in the soup aisle with grocery cart wheels rolling down my body didn’t elicit any guilt or remorse.

It made me realize how our lives can end in a nano-second. One small incident could change a life forever. I was not going to end my life in the soup aisle.

Are we getting older or are we just getting wiser? I like to think we are getting wiser. My list remains the same except my stack of books-to-be-read continues changing. I don’t grocery shop as early as I use to—-that’s the dangerous hour for maniac seniors whose mission is to charge through the store to beat the non-existing rush. I have definitely slowed down to see all the things I missed before. I love photographing all the bits and pieces I see on my walks as people have a playfulness that shows in their gardens or nooks or fences or in tiny corners where walkers like me, wander by and really notice whatever it is.

I want to reassure my friend Tracy, “From the Laundry Room,” that we are both very fortunate in finally having the time to appreciate all the little things and small special moments in our day-to-day life. It’s wonderful to do what we want when we want most of the times. Let’s embrace our freedom from clocks and schedules with laughter and joy; a bag of Cheetos and a good movie; a new coffee bar and a chocolate dessert and the list keeps growing.

Now, if I could only find time to write my great Canadian novel. . . .