Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Busy Days

And the wind upon its way whispered the boughs of May
And touched the nodding peony flowers to bid them waken
Siegfried Sassoon
 This particular peony is growing in my daughter's garden. Her peonies are in full flower. One of my bushes is the same, but there are more tightly curled buds on other bushes that I'm watching carefully. Peonies are such extravagant bloomers, opening slowly until all at once they show off their frilly layers. 



A few tulips still bloom, but most are looking rather bedraggled. I'm feeling a bit bedraggled myself lately - a combination of wanting to do more than I have time to do, the approaching last 6 weeks of school, not sleeping well, and a few odd events occurring.

I was informed of one odd event through my school e-mail one afternoon, asking the owner of a certain license plate number to contact the office. A student (one of my favourite students) had backed her vehicle into mine. She felt terrible. The damage is not serious, but I've taken the car in for estimates, delivered it to the shop, and am waiting to pick it up. The girl's parents chose to pay privately rather than through insurance, and that's complicated things a bit, too.
  

These days there isn't much time to be doing what I really long to do - work in my garden for long hours at a time or sew on a couple of projects I have. I'm fitting in bits of time here and there and the garden assures me that really, my efforts accomplish little, and it's quite happy to grow all on its own, as evidenced by the little figs forming. I planted a few vegetables and am waiting to put the more tender plants into the ground early next week. 


On Sunday, Mother's Day, we got together with the local families and grandkids for dinner. Mr. Four is sporting a painted Batman mask on his face - his mother does a great job of face painting. The girls' photos were taken on other days when they visited our place. I'm realizing how quickly these little ones grow and change and want to spend time with them now.


Tim's contribution to the dinner was to bring dessert. He offered to buy something, but I have been itching to try some new techniques, so I spent a happy Saturday morning puttering in the kitchen. Palmiers were first, easy because I used purchased puff pastry. Making my own puff pastry is a goal for another day. Earlier in the week I made shortbread mini tart shells and later filled them with orange curd and lemon curd. The chocolate brownies were from a favourite recipe, but the frosting is French Buttercream, made by adding a hot sugar syrup to egg yolks and then slowly beating in pieces of butter. I flavoured it with a strawberry puree. Oh how yummy it is! I picked rose petals from the no-name rose bush that is the first to bloom and sugared them for a decoration. Fussing in the kitchen made me happy, particularly because everything turned out reasonably well.

I'm feeling cheerier already, just for taking the time to write this post. Blogging is something that is falling off the radar, too, and I'm not posting, reading, or commenting nearly as much as I'd like to. Tis the season!

Time to do some stretching and head to bed. Things always look brighter in the morning.

22 comments:

  1. We've discovered and been surprised to see a few peony plants in our yard in the strangest locations. I'm excited to see what the blooms will be like. I'm glad you are feeling cheerier. Spring work in the yard and our little grandsons slow start has really affected my blogging.

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  2. Glad you had a moment to share your lovely photos, particularly of your grandchildren. Sorry that life is a little fraught but I guess that’s what makes you appreciate the good moments more. Roll on the holidays :) B x

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  3. A good nights sleep will hopefully help but if not not long know until you break for the holidays. Those cakes look delicious, so glad that you were able to spend quality time with those gorgeous Grandchildren.

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  4. Yes, things often do look better in the morning particularly after a good night’s rest. Seems as if there’s a lot going on with many bloggers if the lack of posts suggests anything. Your puttering in the kitchen looks amazing. My puttering in the kitchen has never equaled it. 😁

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  5. Nice puttering! Your french buttercream sounds wonderful!

    Peonies are my favorites!

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  6. The peonies are beautiful this year. I find that morning is my most productive time. but my mornings start at 5:00 am in the spring. Those are lovely photos of the grandchildren.

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  7. I love peonies. I need to plant some here! Your desserts look wonderful.

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  8. Both lovely..peonies and desserts!

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  9. I think we are all too busy in the Spring to spend as much time on the computer but it's still a wonderful place to share photos and stories! Love the peonies and yummy fancy desserts! Oh and the little ones! Have a good afternoon sweet friend!

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  10. Oh how nice that you enjoyed making pastry! Wow. I'm all about, what I need to do outside and in now that we are having some nice warm days! I am on the porch tonight and it is humid and lovely. The hummingbirds are just outside the screen enjoying long drinks from the feeder. Fezzik is at my side. Fireman is out cycling. I should get to my knitting very soon! Things are good

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  11. Hello! Your dessert selection is beautiful, and I'm sure just as delicious as it looks. The figs look very promising. Do you make fig jam? Some of my blogger friends have your blog on their lists so I though I'd come by for a visit. I'll be coming back! I hope the next six weeks till school ends pass by without any more odd events! Sara

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  12. The last weeks of a school year can drag on and one becomes torn between all that needs to be finished up and wanting nothing more than to enjoy time by spending it wisely. I have free time and yet am not doing a whole heck of a lot because I can't decide what it is I really want to do. Only major accidents are reported here and even then those involved can choose to handle their own repairs because insurance is useless and going through the court system takes forever. I had an accident a couple of years ago and was supposed to pay the equivalent of about $30 but had to wait for the file to be signed by a judge and to this day I've not heard or paid anything. :/ Crazy. Your desserts look great and like they took a lot of work. Have a good weekend.

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  13. Oh those dessert treats look wonderful!! I too am finding it hard to blog lately or visit blogs with being in my yard so much. But today it is raining so I am visiting over my coffee. Have a lovely weekend! :) Kit

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  14. Oh my, that dessert tray is gorgeous and I'm sure the treats tasted just as good as they look!

    Your photos are always lovely. The peonies are gorgeous!

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  15. You must be looking forward to the long weekend...time to do some things that will "fill your bucket!" The forecast is for some sun and rain so sunny time in the garden and rainy days for sewing...Enjoy Lorrie.

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  16. Sorry to hear about the fender bender. The brownies look amazing!

    My garden is slowly coming back to life. First flower to make an appearance: bleeding hearts. Have a good weekend, Lorrie!

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  17. Beautiful flowers. Those cakes look delicious! :)

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  18. I do like peonies, springtime is such a lovely season in the garden.
    You sound very busy, I hope things may quieten down a little for you.

    Lovely mosaic photographs of the grandchildren, and yes they grow so quickly don't they.

    Enjoy the rest of this month … I really don't know where the days go! They seem to zoom by!

    All the best Jan

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  19. Your dessert looks amazing! And I'm with you on feeling better after writing, especially when thoughts float in your mind and you can finally just put them down and they are solidified. =) Even so, I'm slowing down and in doint that, forget to read other posts too.
    You are a good writer! Do you teach writing skills at school?

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  20. I read this post earlier but didn't manage to comment at the time, for reasons that resonate with your own observation that there doesn't seem to be enough time. I must have been interrupted :-)

    I hope you continue to feel more peaceful about time. It's odd, isn't it, that just writing about the situation helps our mood. It helps me to complete a blog post and hit "Publish," I think partly because at least that is one (small) creative task truly complete. The garden, on the other hand, is a creative project that is always in process!

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  21. The sweets are just stunning! They look so very good. I think Your garden is ahead of us by a week or two. No figs appearing yet and the peonies just have buds that will open if we get some sun. The roses, however, are now in full bloom.

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Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

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