WREATHMAKER

Today was the annual Winnipeg “Doors Open”, a day when the public can see museums, historic buildings, etc., free of charge  with guided tours. Although it threatened rain, we did get to see one old building which we have wanted to visit; The Old house Revival Company, situated in a historic warehouse, sells architectural items and other antiques. I loved this old iron fence, which also included a gate. We have a caboose heater like this, in much better shape, (used to heat the last coach of a train), but right now it is sitting in our basement collecting dust. I didn’t photograph the lovely old stained glass windows, or the gentleman working on site to restore them. I couldn’t come away empty-handed, but I didn’t overdo it either. I bought a tiny reamer to add to my very small collection. It would be ideal to extract juice from key limes, I think. I have shown it with a regular small reamer and some lemons for comparison. The other items I bought will wait for another...

In our city newspaper today, we read about James Ehnes…the title is “From Brandon Prodigy to Global Superstar” (Brandon is a Manitoba city). James has become a world-renowned violinist and conductor.  Since the concert tonight was sold out “to the rafters”, the rehearsal was opened to those who wanted to attend, and we went. What a great concert, including “The Four Seasons” by Vivaldi. It was fun to see the musicians in casual clothes… flip-flops and all. Usually we see them at the concert hall in much more formal attire. The rehearsal was held in an old church with wonderful acoustics and great stained glass windows. There were some re-runs and pauses, as after all, it WAS a rehearsal, but that just added to the fun.  I think in the future, I’d like to see more rehearsals! Below: David and Jonathon: stained glass window

Today is the day gardeners are flaunting their flowers over at Tootsies . Here in Winnipeg, we may experience frost until early June, so most tender plants are not planted yet. So, the lovely lime coleus and blue ageratum are still in their flats. Petunias and other hardier annuals are fairly safe to put out now. This weekend (Victoria Day), the first long weekend of the summer, is very busy at garden centers and home improvement stores, In the garden, our peony-flowered tulips are still blooming, and I am very pleased with these bulbs. They seem to have a longer blooming period than most tulips. We are building a new fence, so the back yard is a total mess right now. Therefore, I'll just show a photo of the tulips in a bouquet. ( I fiddled with it a bit in Picasa )   Now head over to Tootsies' and see what others are doing.

While most of blog land has been posting spring flowers for weeks, in Winnipeg, ours are just beginning to bloom . Double yellow tulips, a bright spot in the garden A nice patch of vivid violas signal spring Pulmonaria , or lungwort , produces both blue and pink flowers on one stem                                                                       Pink tulips   A rose I received as a Mother's Day gift Today's little bouquet I'm joining Tootsie today for flower Friday.

Every Mother's Day we give each of the ladies at our church a small gift.   We have given chocolates, soap, journals, etc., and this year it will be a small plant.  Since our climate does not allow for outdoor planting until late May or early June, greenhouse plants are not in bloom yet. I have chosen a variety of colors of impatiens. They will advance quickly, and can be planted out in the garden or used as a house plant. As I was transplanting and wrapping those dozens of plants, I was thinking that it seems a little humorous that we would give our Moms a plant named impatiens!! Most Moms I know have had to develop lots of Patience when bringing up kids, so for today, we'll rename the plant, okay? May you all enjoy a lovely day, remembering your Moms, or enjoying being with her. Our family of 4 generations is getting together for dinner, and I am happy my 90 year old, active Mom will be with us. That's Mom, in the photo above, with our granddaughter.

At noon, after church, we headed out along the Red River to the “Half Moon” with our daughter and her family. The decor is very 50’s, and so is the food…good old fashioned foot-long hotdogs, fries, and hamburgers. Although it is not the sort of food we eat often, about once every summer, we enjoy a meal there. On warm summer evenings those folks who have classic and antique cars gather in the parking lot to admire each others’ shiny vehicles. Here in Canada we like our fries with vinegar, as well as ketchup!! I am joining Mary's mosaic Monday today.