Five on Friday

Je suis crevée. I'm tired. I'm glad that calls to teach have been steady, but work combined with a dodgy back is exhausting. Ah well, a long weekend is ahead, and I'm paying the second visit to my physiotherapist this evening. Things are looking up. 

1. Speaking of looking, a friend with whom I walk noted that I frequently take photos of details; single flowers or small vignettes, as opposed to grand vistas and larger scenes. Since then I've been watching myself. She's right. So I give you, above, a larger view of the old quarry, now a wonderland of plantings and pathways at Butchart Gardens.
  

2. And here I am, back to detail. I've been teaching Social Studies (history) recently. The students are preparing for a test covering the time period of the defeat of the French troops on the Plains of Abraham through the American Revolution and the War of 1812. We reviewed today and one question they struggle with deals with the roots of Canada's bi-culturalism. They have an excellent teacher and I stumble along trying to fill her shoes. However, in an attempt to get them to try to understand the importance of this material, I stressed that what happened in those crucial years plays a large part in the way we see Canada today. It's rewarding when at least one student has an "aha" moment and gets what I'm trying to convey. I love history, from the bird's-eye view to the small details of the way people lived and thought. As in photography, both have their place.
  

3. We've eaten outdoors three nights this week. It's been so lovely to sit in the shade and be warm, to listen to avian twittering, and to flick flies away from the table. Wait, no, that last isn't lovely, but it's true. Not too many flies, fortunately. 
A change in the weather is coming. Already the wind is picking up and it's chilly, not warm.
  

4.  My mother told me once that these little Bellis Daisies were favourites of her mother, the grandmother I never met. The grandmother who took her place loved pansies. Do certain flowers remind you of loved ones?  I like the way these are nestled into the rocks.
 

5. We've been enjoying rhubarb for about a month now. Rhubarb can be tart and I like the way the creamy topping on the top of this Rhubarb Cream Cheese Pie tempers the tartness. The whipped cream adds more creaminess. The recipe comes from a friend in Ecuador. When I spoke to another friend about it, she said, "I gave her that recipe." I like to acknowledge original sources when I can, even in recipes. So I think of it as Phyllis' recipe, not Gail's. Clicking on the link will take you to the recipe. How do you like rhubarb?

A long weekend. A small luxury. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit, cleaning this messy house, dinner with two of our children (and their families) and some boating. Do you have anything planned for the weekend?