Monday Moanings - May 23, 2016

Victoria Day Weekend - The 2016 Edition

Lady Spring has delivered up a cracker of a three day weekend to celebrate the kick off of the summer season. It's been a weekend complete with blossoms and birdsong, sunshine and sizzle.

I'm still recuperating from surgery, so a weekend that ordinarily is crammed full of yardwork, had to be very laid back. I've been a spectator on the sidelines as my love rolled the electric lawnmower out of the shed for the first time this season and took for a spin around both the front and side yards. I confess to a moment of envy as I watched someone else do a job I so love to do. Ah well ... my hiatus won't last forever!

Yet another glorious blue sky sits above me with the promise of a another lazy summer-like day. This long weekend of revelry has seen me be more of an event planner than worker bee. I menu planned, wrote lists, and gently offered direction when required. Others fetched, carried and cooked. Though I did make the coleslaw and sat careful watch over the BBQ.

Queen Victoria painted by Andrew Melville in 1845 
(public Domain)

Though originally a holiday set aside to celebrate the birthday of the late great Queen Victoria (born May 24, 1819), this celebration has more popularly become known  as the May "TWO-FOUR" weekend, with an obvious reference to what is known as a case of beer in Ontario. I wonder how the Old gal feels about her party being supplanted by hops and malt? Amused? Or not...

Today is also the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth's birthday in Canada. It's celebrated in June in England, even though ER II was actually born on April 21st. Go figure!

Nevertheless, it's #90 for Elizabeth, so banish the moaning, break out the cake and candles along with the gardening equipment, burgers, beer and wine. Light up the sky with shooting stars and roman candles.

Happy Birthday Lilibet!

©2016 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - May 18, 2015

Victoria Day Weekend 2015

A 3 day stretch of bbq's, gardens, and fireworks as the folks in these parts celebrate not so much the late great grand queen, as the first long weekend of the summer season. Also known as the May TWO-FOUR weekend, which more and more seems to refer to a case of beer rather than a day in May. This is the weekend that garden centres, hardware stores and gas companies get really excited about as winter weary Ontarians dig out the planting gear and drive to the garden centre to buy bedding plants; haul out the lawn mower and drive to the hardware store to get parts to make it work; and/or drive up to the cottage then drive to the hardware store and garden centre to get parts and plants. Oh, and beer. There's got to be beer. The Two-Four, remember? Wine is also permissible, red is preferable.

And Mother Nature has delivered up a cracker of weekend. Saturday and Sunday offered up a taste of summertime with blues skies and warm temperatures. Perfect for burgers and beer. Oh and yes, yard work! The electric lawnmower has been rolled out of the shed for the first time this season and its whirling blade did a nice number on both the front and side yards. Two of the 40V lithium ion batteries were not quite up to the task but I'm happy to report that the other two picked up the slack and no trip to hardware store was required. I did head out to the garden centre where I bought two hanging baskets of begonias and two containers of geraniums. These all can be sheltered should frost make another appearance as it did this past Thursday morning.

Original artistry rendered  by Jack Frost, May 14, 2015.

Today, morning clouds have given way to more sunshine, but a shawl of humidity hangs in the air. Still it is comfortably warm and breezy. I'm going to harvest the rhubarb, make a rhubarb crisp for dessert tonight and get a few pies into the freezer.

Queen Victoria painted by Andrew Melville in 1845
(public Domain)

And just what would the old Queen think of all this? Gary Toffoli of the Royal Royal Heritage Trust, says that,

"In Victoria's time there was, I think, more a sense of communal celebrations...the idea of coming together and having giant picnics with hundreds of thousands of people,"

Well we have the celebration part down pat, so I'd like to think she would be pleased. And May 24 is also the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth's birthday in Canada (It's celebrated in June in England, even though ER II was actually born in April. Go figure!). So banish the moaning, break out the cake and candles along with the gardening equipment, burgers and beer. Light up the sky with shooting stars and roman candles.

Three cheers for Victoria and Elizabeth. 

                Hip Hip Hooray!

                Hip Hip Hooray!

                Hip Hip Hooray!

©2015 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - June 30, 2014

Where is everybody?

Is this really Monday, the top of a new week? That's what I'm wondering.

There's something quite odd about today. As I drove into town this morning I passed the GO train commuter parking lot. The twenty or so cars looked awfully lonely amidst such vast open space. Had  normal Monday moanings and groanings blossomed into a flu bug of epidemic proportions? Further along my route several signs blinked out warnings of delays due to roadwork. "Be prepared to STOP." was also prominent. I eased my foot back on the accelerator as the car crested a hill. Not a bulldozer or grader in sight, no flag gals or guys, not a single worker. All MIA!

Had my aging brain farted, blowing me into Monday when it really was still only Sunday? The traffic volume supported that theory and for a moment or three I wondered just how successful, or embarrassing, this trip into town was going to be. Undaunted I moved ahead (actually what really happened was that there was no convenient place to turn around, so I kept on going). I was rewarded for my perseverance - all the stores were open and not only was parking easy, shopping and checkout were a breeze. No bumping into other carts, no jockeying for position at the checkout and no waiting! I was into town and back home in record time, little more than an hour.

But, where is everybody? Wimbledon playing tennis with the best? Brazil for the World Cup? The cottage, having snagged a four day weekend from a generous employer? Or taking day to prepare for Canada Day celebrations tomorrow? Count me in for that one!

The trip into town behind me, I can say that I've got a couple of nice thick Alberta Beef steaks for the BBQ, Ontario corn on the cob and potatoes from Prince Edward Island. There's fresh pastry made with Saskatchewan wheat and butter from Quebec in the fridge. Tomorrow that pastry will encase rhubarb from my garden combined with local Ontario strawberries for a grand pie to be topped with whipped cream. There will be Creemore Pilsner and Ontario wine in Canada colours - 2 red: Kew Vineyards 2011 Pinot Noir & Vineland Estates 2010 Cabernet Franc, 1 white: Tawse Winery 2010 Riesling.



Canada - 147 years young tomorrow. My Canada is my home with four wonderful seasons, each one offering its share of glorious days along with a few clunkers;

with awesome landscapes of mountains, lakes, forests and prairies;

with architecture in cityscapes that incorporate the old and the new along with green space too;

with so many diverse cultures to enrich and inspire each one of us to be who we were born to be.

But don't just take my word for it, have a look at how other Canadians describe this land: Canada Day 2014: My Canada is...

Happy Birthday Canada!

fotolia.com

©2014 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - May 19, 2014

It's Victoria Day!

A day for bbq's, gardens, and fireworks as the folks in these parts celebrate not the late great grand queen, but rather the first long weekend of the summer season. Also known as the May TWO-FOUR weekend, which more and more seems to refer to a case of beer rather than a May day. This is the weekend that garden centres, hardware stores and gas companies get really excited about as winter weary Ontarians dig out the planting gear and drive to the garden centre to buy bedding plants; haul out the lawn mower and drive to the hardware store to get parts to make it work; and/or drive up to the cottage then drive to the hardware store and garden centre to get parts and plants. Oh, and beer. There's got to be beer. The Two-Four, remember?

Well of course Mother Nature did not cooperate, at least not until today - just might crack the 20C mark today! But Saturday began with frost, and through Sunday it remained cool and showery. I did get the lawns cut, no parts required, and I even paid a visit to the garden centre where I bought two hanging baskets. I can bring them inside if it gets too cool.

The bedding plants will have to wait until the frost danger is truly past which in my neck of the woods is June 1st. And I'll be ready!

I'm just back from a hike in the forest with my love and our resident canine Sophie. The forest today was filled with bird song, sunshine, trilliums galore and other folks out for a hack on horseback, or just strolling the woods on foot, smiles all around.

We even spotted a scarlet tanager.

Tis a grand day, as befits that grand old lady for whom the day is named.

Happy Victoria Day!

©2014 April Hoeller

Thursday Thermals - June 6, 2013

My idea of the perfect summer day includes sunshine and temps between 20 and 23C. It's all of 12 outside my door and a very wet 12 at that, so something warm and fuzzy would truly be appreciated.

And here he is:

This is Schwartz, our intrepid travelling companion. He's logged a lot of miles in my backpack and in the more casual fanny pack. Make no mistake this bear is not just a cute fuzzy face!  He has a job to do, two in fact. First up he is the scale prop for our photos - with him in the picture, perspective comes into clearer focus. He never protests being pulled out of an overstuffed fanny pack to sit up happily in any location, even the high ones.

Job Two is that of Bon Vivant, the bear of good cheer, always ready to lead the way to the pub or cafe. He has no particular favourite. He's happy with a pint of the local brew, red or white wine, espresso, macchiato, or latte. In the last month while touring the Italy and the Adriatic, he developed a taste for grappa, limoncello and slivovitz, though not all at the same time!
And here are the pictures to prove it:

Cheers!