Good Morning!

This school year, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board deemed it necessary to kick my son off the bus. He didn`t do anything bad, they`re simply cutting down on the budget and many kids in the district have been told they are no longer eligible to ride to school. At first i thought this was awful, but i`ve discovered something since i`ve been walking him to and from school that has changed me.

I`ve discovered the joy of , `` Good morning.``

It`s wonderful, really. Our walk is not a terribly long one. It takes us 15 minutes to get to school and then i walk back home, another 15. On a typical morning i pass anywhere from three to ten people. Sometimes the good morning is initiated by the passers by, sometimes by myself. Either way, i find it refreshing and invigorating!

Some people will search out my eyes to make contact and call out to me, others, rushing by on their way to catch a bus or get to work keep their heads down but i counter that with an especially sing-songy, ``Goooood  MORRRNIIIING!!`` and a big cheesy grin and it reflects on their faces! I love it!  I love it when dog walkers say it to me. I love it when older gentlemen say it to me, sporting their straw hats and suspenders. I love it when teenagers try to act cool and avoid me but then smile as they walk away after i`ve sung it to them!

There`s no other time of day that a greeting or acknowledgement means so much. Afternoon ``Hi`s`and evening ``Hello`s`` just aren`t the same as a ``Good morning`` full of hope, promise and cheer. It`s the beginning of the day, after all. A fresh start, a clean slate.... why not make it good!

And why not, indeed!
Take the time tomorrow morning, and every morning to wish someone a good morning. It`ll make them feel good and it`ll make you feel good too!

Good morning, everyone!

Garden by the Numbers

 

 

  

         My garden has twenty-two different types of perennial flowers.

      It also has ten different herbs which i use almost daily.

These include four different types of mint and two different types of basil.

 We have two large maple trees on the front lawn, one Red maple and one Norway maple. There's also one Cedar tree.

 

There are five different shrubs, some small and just starting and some that have been here for years.

 

  One bee, in the center of the Cosmos.

 We had a vegetable garden for three years but the soil became depleted and we decided to convert the area into a play area for the kiddies to play in.

Did I Mention I Got Married?!

Did I? No, I didn't. That's not because I forgot or didn't want to, it's just because things have been so damn busy these past couple of months I've not been blogging.

This guy, Matthew David Plews, is my other half. Or a part of me that already is, however you want to say it, he's so familiar to me it's like he's me. Now, by saying that I don't mean that we're just alike because in so many ways we are complete opposites, but our energy is shared. When I think of us I think of the yin/yang symbol with each part distinct but intertwined with the other.

 

 

 

 

The wedding took place on Saturday, June 9, 2012 on a strange day. The weather was hot/cool/sunny/rainy. But that's us all over. HA HA! The wedding party was comprised of our children, Olivia, Haydn, Kieran and Melia and my granddaughters, Fate and Anja. The officiant was Greg McKibbon. They were beautiful, he was hillarious and a nice wedding it was. My brother Marc and his musical partner, Danny provided the music - Urban Gypsy style as they call it. Our first dance song was "You Mean Everything to Me" originally by Neil Sedaka. That song meant a lot to me as I used to listen to it as a little girl over and over on my parents' record player and dream of dancing to it at my wedding. Hmm.. I guess that wish came true!

 

As did my wish of finding Matt..... he's a good fit for me. We live a simple life, we garden, cook, watch NASCAR and hockey together and go to Friday night short track races when we can. We don't ask for much and we try our best to give what each other needs. It's a damn good life.  

 

 



 

Red Swiss Chard Pizza

Ok, I just invented this and after the first bite I knew I had to share the recipe. This time of year there is chard all around and I never know what to do with it. I had bought some gluten free pizza dough mix at the bulk store the other day though and thought it might be a good idea to combine these two things... and guess what? It was delicious! Here's the recipe.

This is the gorgeous red chard and onions before cooking!

As I mentioned, I used a gluten free pizza dough mix but you can use whatever you want for the crust; home made pizza dough, purchased raw dough, frozen dough or a pre-made crust, whatever works for you.

Next I finely chopped a bunch of red swiss chard that I got at the grocery store, I guess I ended up with about 6 cups but only used half for this recipe.

I then chopped one red onion and a few cloves of garlic - probably 3 - I don't remember cuz 1- I'm getting old and 2- I just "feel" recipes when I'm inventing them. So, sorry to all you anal retentives out there but tough - wing it!

So, in a frying pan i put some extra virgin olive oil and added the chard, onions, garlic and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper and some freshly ground dried red chilis. Do this to your taste, I added quite a bit of the chilis cuz we like things spicy around here. I cooked it all til the leaves were nice and wilted but the stems still had a bit of crunch to them.

Once your pizza crust is ready, depending on whether you had to pre-bake it a bit or not, just throw on some grated Havarti cheese, the chard mixture and then some more Havarti on top. If I had owned some feta I would have used that, but Havarti I had so Havarti it was!

Then I just baked it til it looked done, about 10 minutes.

 

 

The taste is spicy yet sweet with a bit of tang from the cheese. I can tell you it went over well at our house.... it was gone in a matter of minutes! Of course Kieran had to dip it in his ever-present Caesar

dipping sauce but he liked it and how often can you say your 8 year old boy loves swiss chard? lol

 

So yeah, please do try this out.. it's so easy and healthy and TASTY!

 

 

It's Not Over Til It's Over

It's billowy triangular shape quivers but slightly in the blue sea's horizontal link to the flaming orange sky.

Even as i watch it turn into a mere glint of silver i can't make myself believe that ship has sailed.