I Wanted to Do Some Yoga Today ...

...but I didn't make it past samasthiti.

And Then There Were Peas

Our veggie garden adventure (sponsored by the Young Urban Farmers and their fearless/ slightly sodden leader Elaine) continues.

The first cold crop is up. This pea plant is a particularly handsome and jaunty fellow, n'est-ce pas?

Today, a load of triple mix arrives from Homeland Garden. Soon, Elaine will truck in seedlings for the back acreage. Okay, fine. The back footage.

Spring and Popsicles

The icecream truck is singing in our neighbourhood, and requests are flying for popsicles and snow cones. This is a ceramic tile I made and ornamented a few years ago. It reminds me of spring.

Trouble in VeggieGarden Paradise

It's amazing dandelions could grow in this space. Not only is the soil dense and hard, it's riddled with gravel. (Blogger pauses to wipe sweat off forehead with back of dirty hand.)

If you read an earlier post, you'll know I've joined forces with the Young Urban Farmers , an organization of energetic garden go-getters that promises "backyard vegetables without the work". Trouble is, you can't have vegetables without good soil and lots of it.

Current stresses in paradise:

1) Did we bite off more lawn than we can chew?

2) How much triple mix does our lifeless gray stratum need? How about costs in time? Cash? Blisters? (All are under review.)

3) A local gardener suggested using part of our space to grow green cover for rejuvenating the soil. He suggested hairy vetch.

Does hairy vetch look as nasty as it sounds?

Stay tuned.

What 9-Year-Old Birthday Partiers are Talking About

Hosting a t-shirt painting party for nine year olds is a definite domestic hazard, but at least I learned what the girls are talking, yelling and singing about. In summary:

1) Justin Bieber (A Canadian pop star, for those of you over fourteen.)

2) Anti-pink protests Pink is dead. Offensive. Insulting, even. My apologies to the poor kid who got stuck with the pink t-shirt.

3) Did I mention Justin Bieber? One girl insisted he was ugly. I suggested the judgement was in fact a veiled admission of her interest in his cuteness. She wasn't listening.

4)Advanced skipping techniques

5) We Are The World Because schoolkids in our area will soon be singing the Haiti tribute in unison, the girls suddenly broke out in swaying song. Michael Jackson would be proud. Maybe.

At least no t-shirts were damaged during the impromptu chorus.

6) Earth Rangers, the website.

7) Selena Gomez My pre-pubescent gang revered boy pop stars. A shift to equality is better, right?

and of course
8)a screaming rendition of Happy Birthday.

Will the girls be yelling and singing at next year's party, or will their tones hush? Will pink return, or are little-girly, childish hues gone forever? Don't even answer that one.

Dwarf Knitting Needles

I'm no knitting queen, but to prepare kids for Life, they need to know the basics: how to make change, hand signal on a bike and how to knit. So when my friend Kyra (9 years old) told me about kid-sized knitting needles, I ran out and bought a pair. You can't get them everywhere. The woman at my local yarn shop insisted they weren't available in Canada, but Romni Wools on Queen street in Toronto has the ones made by Susan Bates. My daughter loves her new needles. I like to think the shorter, chopstick length makes them less appealing for poking her brother.