Blossoms and Thoughts on Friday

This has been a lovely spring break. One week away and one week at home. I confess to having made a fairly long list of things to do during this second week, but few of them have been accomplished. 

There's been a little gardening, some sewing, a lot of reading, and definitely more daydreaming than usual. Tim was gone for a couple of days and when he's not around I tend to stay up too late reading and then drag around the next day.

Wandering around one of the many gardens in our city was on the list. Government House, where the Lieutenant Governor lives has beautiful gardens open to the public. (The LG is an appointed position as the provincial representative of our Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.)

It was a glorious day, full of sunshine with wispy clouds in the distance, the chirp of birds, and lots of blossoms to admire. I wandered along the pathways, stopping to watch squirrels play peekaboo with me, and smiling at a few other walkers. 

Off to one side of the property the fence is broken by one wall of a wooden building adjoining the grounds. Although I wanted to take a good look into the windows, I thought better of it, but from a distance it looks to be a gardening shed. The gnarled tree just beginning to bloom, an apple variety, perhaps, certainly looks well there. 

I tried a new recipe one night. Chicken breast halves, sliced cross-ways not quite through, with alternating slices of mozzarella cheese and fresh tomatoes inserted, then pesto spooned and spread over top. I baked those at 375 for about 20 minutes, then added broccoli drizzled with olive oil and salt, along with the leftover tomato slices to the pan and continued baking for another 15-20 minutes. It was easy and very good. I based the recipe off of this one from Eating Well.  Theirs looks better than mine...

Here in my own garden the pear tree is in bloom. I've seen few pollinators around, though, so I hope they are there when I'm not looking. Daffodils nod happily in the sunshine. Muscari stand sturdy. Hyacinths, blue, pink, and white waft their sweetness in the air. Tulips are mere leaves as yet. Green leaves sprout all over the hydrangeas and lilacs. It's a riot of life out there. 

Today there's laundry to do and a little cleaning. A regular physio appointment at noon, and sadly, a memorial service for a church friend, then a birthday celebration for Tim with family. 

I took the picture of Tim and our three children and put it up on Facebook. A few people wondered about the photographer behind the photo, so I added my own face in there, too, as a bit of a joke. 

A couple of weeks ago our Vancouver family was over and we had dinner together. It was just before spring break began and Tim and I were leaving the next day, so I told everyone we would just order pizza and I'd make a salad. 

Well, I got to thinking about other options and ended up making Greek meatballs, rice, a big salad, and lots of roasted vegetables, along with a raspberry cheesecake for dessert. 

The change of menu plan did not come as a surprise to my children, who know me all too well. One couple said they had placed bets on whether or not the pizza would actually happen; another said they wondered how long I had held out, and so on. They teased me unmercifully. What can I say? I like to cook. Besides, there were things in the fridge that needed to be used up before we went away. 

So for tonight, there will DEFINITELY be pizza!