Lunch with Mom in the Garden

My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.

Michael Jordan, American professional basketball player and entrepreneur

As kids, it was a family tradition to go for a drive on Mother's Day to enjoy the sight of orchards blooming in pink and white. We took that drive today to the Good Earth Winery in Beamsville for a Mother's Day lunch in Nicolette's cottage garden.

The nip in the Spring air succumbed to the warming (and spicy) asparagus soup that seemed to shout, "It's Spring! Dig in and celebrate!"

Rhubarb is Spring favourite and the Good Earth's cheesecake creation with stewed rhubarb provided the perfect finish to our garden lunch of Arctic char and lemongrass marinated chicken. And I should mention that the whole meal was accompanied by "2012 Betty's Blend", the winery's new release named in honour of Nicolette's mom.

Cheers to Mom!

Making a Joyful Noise unto the Lord

Touch us, O God, through your gift of melody,
through the sounds and senses of song,
through the wordless wonder which fills our souls with heaven,
through the spirit which teaches our feet to dance
and causes our hearts to overflow.
Holy Singer of our life songs, may we be absorbed in the mystery and holiness of music,
so that, in this moment of oneness,
our lives will be bonded to each other and to you. Amen.

Music Sunday Prayer, Melrose United Church

Multiple gifts of music filled our sanctuary with adoration today, thanks to the hard work of the Music Director and Youth Chorus Co-director who orchestrated the voices of adults and children with bells, flute, cello, saxaphone, bagpipes, piano and organ. Incredible and moving.

Forest Delight

Anyone who tries to possess a flower will have to watch its beauty fading. But if you simply look at a flower in the field, you'll keep it forever.

That is what the forest taught me. That you will never be mine, and that is why I will never lose you.

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author in Brida (1990)

I took the day off and wandered a path through the woods with the Time Traveller. What a wonderful surprise to find our path lined with trilliums. I have never seen the forest floor so covered in blossoms.

The white trillium is our provincial flower and so from a young age we are made aware of the specialness of this forest beauty. It takes six or more years for a plant to produce a flower which blooms for a short time in early May; so we were very lucky to be walking in the woods at just the right time.

While the white trilliums turned their faces towards the sunlight, the spectacular red trillium preferred to look towards the shadows. Bold colour but reserved personality.

A few other spring beauties along the path were unfamiliar. We were blessed with a warm and bright spring day that was made all the more special with the gift of this unexpected beauty.

Rejoicing in Sunlight

Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.

Henri Frédéric Amiel, Swiss philosopher and poet (1821-1881)

Looking down my spirit leapt up as I realized that I was seeing sunlight on the station's platform. I've seen snow and I've seen rain. Today I finally saw the sun. Nor was I alone in celebrating: three sailboats danced on the lake, as did the ball players on the diamonds, as my train whizzed by. May everyone celebrate seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Quilts in the Gardens

Within our sitting room a table stood,
Made by my father out of cherry wood,
On which thru summer day and winter night
A basket rested full of patches bright;
And from those scraps of variegated shades
My mother planned the many quilts she made,
From muslin and cretonne by some deft spell
Forming the flowers she loved so well;
The crimson tulip and the wild rose, too,
Were fashioned, each in its own shape and hue;
The drooping lily bent its modest head,
The pink carnations' perfume seemed to shed.

Mom and I enjoyed the Halton Quilters' Guild biennial show held at the Royal Botanical Gardens. One of my favourite quilts in the show was the lovely "In Full Bloom" created by Lisa Caron in honour of her parents 50th wedding anniversary. Pictured here is but one panel of a joyful creation.

In addition to the new creations, collector Gerald Fagan exhibited a dozen or so antique quilts including one from Atwood, Ontario, and created in 1895. I thought the quotation suited both flowers and quilts: "which maketh joy abound and comforteth the weary."

Oft from the brass-bound chest her quilts I take,
And from their folds the scented herb leaves shake;
Then on her own great, square four-post bed
The cunning labor of her hands I spread;
With lingering caress I softly touch
The beauty, oddly quaint, she prized so much,
While memory brings back the homely room
Where those bright blocks of flowers flamed in bloom.

Now for long years her patient toil is o'er;
Her quilt hands create her dreams no more;
Beneath a quilt of pinks and lilies too--
The prototypes from which her patterns grew--
She rests in peace. There, while she calmly sleeps, God's mystic coverlet above her creeps.

This be my faith: That some day I shall see
Life's complex pattern growing plain to me;
That somewhere I shall clearly understand
The great design worked by the Master's hand;
And that somehow love's thread may reunite
Our broken lives into a fabric bright,
And in celestial arabesques restore
The ties that bind us here on earth no more.

"My Mother's Quilts" by Carrie O'Neal preserved in The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America (1935)

Walk of Discovery

All walking is discovery. On foot we take the time to see things whole.

Hal Borland, American journalist and author (1900-1978)

At lunchtime the Sun was shining -- for once -- and my spirit was itching to escape from the hermetically sealed office tower. A colleague pointed me in the direction of a park and I ventured out against a brisk easterly wind to find the place where she sits in the summer to watch people with their dogs. My mind pictured a little green lawn surrounded by a few benches and many office towers. So imagine my surprise, and delight, to find a wide swath of natural forest just a few blocks away from the office.

What a wonderful discovery to find a walking trail lined with "Spring Beauties" and chirping birds!

Taking a closer look at what I think are Siberian Squill, I inhaled their lovely light perfume and the beauty of Spring. My little lunchtime walk refreshed my spirit. Weather permitting, I plan to venture further and discover more along these paths of discovery.

Spring Dawn

In spring it is the dawn that is most beautiful. As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are dyed a faint red and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them. 

Sei Shōnagon, Japanese author and lady-in-waiting to Empress Teishi (c. 966-1017)

Hello. Yes I am still here. A major event at work is now successfully put to bed and so I raise my head to enjoy the view of a Spring dawn during the morning commute and am able to share it with you just before resting it upon night's pillow. Thank you for biding with me.