
The garden is my playground
Fairytales still remain
To nurture nature with human nature
Miracle. All of it! That’s the sum total of my year.
There are miracles and miracles. It is regarded as a miracle if God does someone’s will. The best miracle is if someone does the will of God.
For two years, I nurtured the pineapple sage from sampling to maturity. It grew into a huge bush, mostly leaves. Pleading to the plant to please, please, please, flower for me; even just one flower. It did not. Maybe I placed it on the wrong side of the garden where it only receives 6 hours of full sun. I thought, next year, I have to give this plant a rest. On the first day of winter, I saw the most beautiful shade of red. It’s flowering despite low temperature and snow.
Oh, baby, baby. Our newest addition to our family, Sawyer, finally moved closer to home, from the east coast to the west coast at the beginning of this year. Needless to say, we are all ecstatic. I am proud to say I knitted this blanket that he is finally growing into. The pattern is called minted square. One square is completely different from the rest — an error – I found out when it’s all finished. That’s okay. Sawyer wouldn’t notice the difference.
The annual camping tradition was not canceled. Thank goodness our provincial park did not close our playground due to the virus. We were good abiding citizens and practiced social distancing during camping. The kids booked their own campsite side by side and we have one big site for communal all day cooking and eating. The pleasure of being simple in the woods, keeping voices low, not breaking the sound of silence, and kumbaya is the balm to these city slickers’ souls.
Just go with the flow, said the stone to the river and I’ll wait right here.
Apart from growing plants, painted rocks are additional ornaments to brighten the garden. Inspirational and spreading kind words written on the rocks such as joy, love, peace, live life pass it on, you rock, gratitude, etc. is becoming the norm. I must say I enjoy reading them.
During the pandemic, people are keener on having pets to keep them company. This senior cat got it made having a human servant to push her carriage around. I am happy for the cat yet feeling a tinge of jealousy at the same time. Jealous because I was thinking of those seniors in retirement, care, or nursing houses where their children cannot even visit them due to the restrictions.
Pay attention to what gives you joy. These gifts of joy are meant to help us during times of desolation.
On my birthday, as the celebrant, I pick where I want to go with my golden ladies. We are golden in terms of age. There are three of us. Trust me, I always take them where the wild things are. This time destination Garry Point. It’s a 75-acre waterfront part with an open and rolling landscape that provides spectacular vistas across the Salish Sea and beyond Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Snow geese are ubiquitous in this area. Needless to say, it was another day to remember with the golden girls as we make memories and not count years.
While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.
Two days after my birthday is another day to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, The Day of the Dead. No better way to spend it in the boneyard on a beautiful autumn day to rattle and wake the skeletons, bring food on the sacred ground to feed the hungry ghost, and blow kisses to the faithfully departed.
If you think long enough about what you see in a cat, you begin to suppose you will understand everything, but its eyes tell you there is nothing to understand; there is only life.
Back at the beginning of the year, I adopted a cat named Grace. I remember when she was a kitten. When I used to stay overnight at her home, I wake up with Grace beside me. She is so adorable, charming, and loving. Lucy loves her. How did she come into my life? Well, because my younger cousin died. She left behind three cats. I don’t know who took the others. With my cousin’s demise, Grace will always remind me of her.
What did I truly find out this year? I found out that 2020 made me live with little of what I have. I laugh at myself a lot. There’s not a hell lot I can do.
Ending 2020 with a high note, I watched the Death of 2020. This is the best monologue that I replayed over and over again.
With no cure for Covid in sight, life for millions has been reduced to a creepy and a seemingly an endless lockdowns.
I live on my own and after a while got so lonely. I developed multiple personalities on purpose, so I can keep myself company. But, then, of course, I had to try and keep two meters away from myself at all times. Don’t know if you’ve ever tried doing that, but it’s a bloody nightmare. So I started doing video calls to keep sociable. I did so many, I sometimes glitch in real life now. Like, I just freeze now and then.
Wicked as what the brits would say. I went to bed in stitches with a smile on my face.
At the Manor, there are 48 suites with two or one-bedrooms and bachelor suits. Most of the people who live here are immigrants from the Chez Republic, Bosnia, India, Ireland, Iran, Korea, Japan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Yugoslavia and other countries that I can’t think of.
I am one of them.
The Birdhouse took over by bees.
Now, we are citizens of Canada. We made The Manor our home.
“O Canada, our home and native land” is the first line of our National Anthem.
Front entrance rock garden.
The residents here are lovely, approachable and pleasant. We enjoy chatting from the balcony, window or entranceway as I potter around the garden. I must admit the garden is an icebreaker for many, even from passersby.
Bloom where you are planted.
One of the tenants took up photography and had a field day taking macro shots of all the flowers in the garden. The end product was framed and gifted to our lovely manager of the building.
When I cut flowers from my hard-earned gardening, these go to the manager as well.
Our Doors.
From single to couple to third-generation residency, I’ve witnessed them. Most of these people love to have their family around living in the same roof. It’s good to see a couple having a child or two and be able to bring a surviving parent to add the responsibility of taking care of their children.
Of course, I get to play with the children when they were younger in the garden.
The Blue Room
Kindness plays a big important role in living in this community. If you are unkind, who else will help you but your neighbour?
I must admit I find myself special because the manager allowed me to paint my suite when I had one of my episodes on mental breakdown. The activity kept my focus away from living in my head.
The end result was brilliant.
Pistachio green paint in the living room, kitchen and hallway. A hint of a rose colour for the bathroom. Skyblue for my bedroom to calm me down.
Oh, these little things, I am grateful.
So friends… Every day do something that can’t compute. (Live off the grid.) Love the Lord. (Love Yourself.) Love the World. (Love all things great … Continue reading
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Look Miss Pretty, me and my GG (gorgeous grandma) are beautiful colourful flowers, said baby Jimmy as I took photos of them under the Holy Garden. And what colour are you as a boy? I asked. Blue, I am blue. Blue … Continue reading
In order to make room in the garden, I have to give away these
to plant these.
Between the cats and me, there’s just no room for me in the living room
or the bedroom.
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~ e.e. cummings”
How much nature do you need? For me, I need it!
When I am not working, I spend most of my time in nature. Being in nature makes me happier, healthier and peaceful. Nature can be just our backyard. One can spend the entire weekend gardening getting my hands dirty. And that’s exactly what I did this past long weekend.
David Suzuki suggests that we take the nature challenge by going outside to:
And much more.
More than likely, I will be spending more time outside and it will take me away from WordPress. So my friends, if you don’t hear from me, I’m in the garden.
I must have been a Buddhist in my previous life. For the life of me, I cannot harm any insect as I gain consciousness that they are sentient beings, too, just like me. For one, they are the best gardener. They toil the earth and that’s all they do. A single act that causes the garden to flourish. So, when I see an earthworm that lost its way, I make sure that I move it to the earth and grassy spot where it can burrow itself into the ground.
Needless to say, I had my lunch for supper.
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This is more like it, Monet Garden in Giverny. When it comes to Art, I am totally clueless. Can’t differentiate what is a brush stroke from sun stroke. As far as I’m concerned they both end in stroke. It was … Continue reading
The year is drawing to a close. What would you put in a 2012 time capsule?
Aaah…. Panic, aaah! Not enough time; that’s only 21 days from now. I need more time and notice. Can we change that to the year 2013, please, Mr. Michelle, please? OK, fine.
Let me see what I can gather in my treasure chest and a gold mine of ideas. Think, thank, thonk. Thonk, it is.
What I can see in my kitchen is a clear plastic bottle of pop, that’s good enough for a time capsule. In the pantry are dry goods; too big for the pop bottle. How about catching a genie and imprison it in the bottle. Be serious, now, thonk! Oh, a bag. What’s in this bag? Checking, more bags within the bags, checking the bags within the bags, more bags. Gosh, I am such a pack rat. But look what’s in the bags; small plastic bags of seeds. YES, seeds. They will fit in the capsule. Oh, this is so exciting.
Opsey, no name on the seeds. Well, that would be part of the fun.
These seeds came from my garden, collected them from the community gardens, from friends and families, from travels while on the pilgrim. They are seeds of flowers, vegetables, and trees. They are small things that will fit in the bottle, and I will leave instructions on what to do with them by following just six simple steps.
The time capsule will be sealed with a kiss, a prayer and a hope that it will be found by someone who will plant the seeds and eventually create a garden, just like mine. A garden that will attract little creatures like hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies. A garden where one can only be, to pray, be thankful and be grateful to Our God, whomever you may conceive Him to be.
Once this is done, I will go the beach of English Bay, throw the time capsule in the waters, watch the waves carry the capsules into open waters and whisper Bon Voyage.
One Minute Meditation
The disciple asked for a word of wisdom.
Said the Master, “Go sit within your cell and your cell will teach you wisdom.”
“But I have no cell. I am no monk.”
“Of course you have a cell. Look within.” – Anthony de Mello, SJ
MORSEL: Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment, and you will amass the
wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by the desire for
the fruits of action are miserable, for they are always anxious about
the results of what they do. –Bhagavad Gita 2:49-50