hearts content

bird joy

Kim gave me this window bird feeder and today the birds found the new seed source. It is such a treat to have wee birds feasting right at the window. I think this little guy(?) is a chickadee. It is hard to take pictures of them because whenever I move they fly off.

the chipmonks tweet a squirrel

The chipmonks, children of a twitter friend made this beautiful squirrel for me. Isn't she lovely? Those are some clever chipmonks.

birthday!

Thanks J for the roses, the brunch, the gifts and the beautiful day.

dinner at peter jones'

Sis and I went to Chelsea. We went to Peter Jones at Sloane Square. This is where my sister bought my Chris Mouse cutlery last Christmas. We looked all around and we felt happy and calm. Peter_Jones:my_sister::Tiffany:Holly_Golightly*

Sis bought some napkins and these holders. I bought her a cup called "Secret Garden."


















*The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling? ... Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

My Tiffany's was Williams Sonoma when I lived in Washington but the Toronto version has never done it for me. I have never found a Tiffany's here.

happy birthday ant

Kellie brought balloons.


Ant's friend Irene came to dinner.


We had a chocolate cake.


Ant loves purple. There was lots of purple at the party. Irene wore purple. Dad wore purple. Ant wore ORANGE!


In 1964, Ant took me to see Mary Poppins. She tells me that after the movie I would not leave the theatre and cried, "I want my very own Mary Poppins." I do not really remember the crying but I remember the feeling. Ant is a pretty good Mary Poppins for a girl to grow up with -- lots of treats and fun outings. And lots of love. I found this little music box that plays Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious for the party:

lettuce for lunch

lettuce for dinner

watering everything

The wonderful friend who gave us the gnome and the good advice is still giving. The latest is this fantastic hose nozzle.
















The Housemate said, "This is better than my shower."
















We may start bathing in the backyard. Like this lady.



















The attachment works well. It has a super-soaker setting that is perfect for cleaning out the super-stinky green bin. It has a light-rain setting that is just right for our delicate, new plants.
















The right tool makes life in the garden even sweeter. Ask Flora who got 2 new shovels for Christmas.

news from the garden

First the good news. The lettuce seeds are sprouting!
















And now the SUPER-DUPER news. A friend of one of the housemates brought us this gnome for our garden. He is beautiful and will guard our plants. Thank you very much excellent friend. A garden is not really a garden until it has a gnome.

The bad news is that someone dug up the cucumbers. The gnome-bearing friend told us how to make little fortresses to protect the plants. Not only a great gift but helpful advice ... an amazing friend indeed.

I retrieved these fortress materials out of the recycling bin. I confess - the ice cream container was mine and the salad container was not! I got the Kawartha Dairy Moose Track ice cream for my dad when he and my mum came for lunch. He did not eat any - it was the lunch with the walnut cake (the ice cream was backup in case the cake fell flat). I then meant to take the Moose Track - and the Raspberry Ripple I got for my mum - to their house. The Raspberry Ripple made it but the Moose Track did not. Sorry Dad.

The combination of guardian gnome and reused-container towers seems to be working.











I know that some people, once they start gardening, start categorizing animals. Suddenly there are good animals and bad animals.

*

















I hope I do not start to change the way I feel about animals because of my garden.

I used to live in an apartment with a balcony and the squirrels would dig up my flower boxes. They would bury things in amongst the herbs. Why, with acres of yards and parks all around, they had to choose my teeny tiny flower box I am not sure. But so it goes. Who can explain nature?

One day, I had a firm-but-fair chat with a squirrel representative about the matter. I told her that I would not put any more corn in the special squirrel corn chair if they did not stop wrecking my plants. The squirrel was very attentive and no squirrel ever dug up my herbs and flowers again.

Nobody believes that story.

I think it happened because one night I freed a squirrel from one of those "humane" traps at my parents' place. Never, never tell them! I was sleeping over and I could hear the scared little squirrel rattling around in the cage. The trap had been set because the squirrels were living in my parents' walls and the parents were trying to get the squirrels to move out - they eventually had more luck with the squirrels than with us :) I went down and used a broom handle to release the trap door. The squirrel scampered up onto the fence, looked at me for a long time and then ran off. And now the squirrels know I am their friend. I am the Scarlet Pimpernel of squirrels. I am the Mysterious Barky Steel.

Nobody believes that either.

And if you ask my parents about humane traps, they harumph dismissively, "Oh those things never work."

______________________________

Notes:

My special corn chair had a table like this. My Uncle Walter's friend made it. You can get them here. I wish I still had mine. When my friend Peter saw a squirrel dining at the Corn Café, he exclaimed, "They really are nature's little wonders, aren't they?" Now he owns a house with a garden and he throws rocks at the squirrels who try to frolic there. I know why. The squirrels play havoc with his plants. But he is not the Mysterious Barky Steel!

*A little internet joke: apparently You Tube is having a nervous breakdown about this guy called Alex Jones and is tagging videos that talk about him as invalid arguments.

#94 is home

My robot arrived today. She is magnificent. I love her already.
I thought she was going to be shiny but she is furry. She came with a certificate, a book, a sticker and a postcard. I am going watch the tape of Coronation Street with her right now.

I'll take some pics later but I wanted you to know.

nice mice breakfast

old tableware, new cutlery... mousie plus

home again

i came home sunday night and made some cinnamon nectar in my new cup and stirred it with my new mousie spoon.