Rainy days of summer

Well, I hope this is not a sign of the summer to come...
5 days into the season and

 we have had rain and more rain for the last 3 days!

I took time to finish off planting some annuals

and rubbed my eyes in continued disbelief at my lilac bush!

I have never seen it quite so lovely!
So, here is my contribution to Mosaic Monday
with my rainy jungle .....

À tantôt

Calling all Readers!!

 Countdown begins Monday!!

I am waiting until Monday since it really would be cheating myself out of this long holiday weekend....

if I started now.

As of Monday, I am down to 4 days of work until summer holidays!

Can you tell that I am excited????

So, first up,

possibly catching up on sleep 

but quickly following that.....

will be some serious book reading.

Oh I cannot wait until I am here....

Always the easiest..... out the front door and on to the deck

this is where I start...

with the book ??????

and then I will quickly head here....

Okay, last year when I got here.....

Tadoussac...

well, I picked up  The Road by Cormack McCarthy...

What was I thinking???

I loved it, read it in 3 days 

but.... really.... not my idea of summer reading.

Hence, the call for help !!

Oh an of course I will need another one for here  .....

So..... I am looking for recommendations ....

your top 3 reads for this summer !!

Got any??

À tantôt

My Favourite Kitchen Spot!!

 Sarah over at Modern Country Style is having a kitchen party!!

And...

oh I do love a kitchen party!!

So, I am joining in..

The thing is..

she wants it to be in our favourite part of the kitchen!

That is a hard one for me but I will give it a good go...

favourite part?

Hmmmm......

definitely, here.....

I love to cook...
and this cook station is where it all happens...
small I know...
but it is all so practical...
you can see more if you like!!!
click on the image below and off you go....
you will see the terrible kitchen I lived with
for way too long....

À tantôt

Bonne Fête St-Jean!!!

Home for the celebration 

and then back to work!!

But....

this smell was more than welcoming last night...

I am just in time to see my 

lilacs in full bloom!

Ahhh.....the sweet smell of lilacs!!

À tantôt

CraaaaaaaZy days of JuNe !!!

You know how you make

plans? ....

well these days of June have been so

craaazzzy!!

So all plans out the window,

snapped a few images of the city...

Montréal

and unfortunately that is

all I can share...
and, of course, my iPhone 3 has its limitations...
but here goes...
a stroll on my way to dinner!

My love of old doors!!

Many of the old churches have turned into condominiums....

I love the effect of adding those 3 pots up there!!

The addition of green space tucked in next to the stairs makes
these streets even more stunning!

Gorgeous weather...
some lovely food and wine...
summer is finally here!

À tantôt

A HaPpy POsT

 I am jumping on the Mamarazzi 

happy train

over at Dandelion Wishes

I have one of those weeks in front of me....

you probably know the kind of week....

the type where you sometimes have to convince yourself

that this is all worth it???

the I love my job, I love my job...oh yes, I really dooooooo love my job!!!!???

So.....

I decided to start it with a good healthy dose of reflection

on what makes me happy 

right now

that is.....

  This makes me happy....

 Knowing that in another week I will be heading up

to Tadoussac to see my daughter....

walks on the beach, 

good food.....of course.....

and perhaps a glimpse of some of those lovely 

mammals that inhabit the water up there!!

You can visit if you like....

over here

 this makes me happy too....When I finish my week I will come home and pick lupins...
 for my table....
here is a shot from last year....
I adore lupins !!

and this also makes me happy....
  That while away from home...
I get to enjoy life in the city...
Montréal that is....

you can check that out here if you like......

and oh yes...
those amongst you that know me by now....
can guess this next one....
this makes me happy....
coming home and sitting out with family
and friends
and just chillin'
right here...
oh yah...this makes me happy...check it out!

 Ahhhh.....
now I am ready....

 

À tantôt

Il y aura....

Here it is again...

so give it a go....

promise...

I will help you out if necessary

 Il Y AURA 

UNE PLACE POUR

CHACUNE

DES LIBERTÉS

QUE VOUS 

VOUDREZ BIEN

VOUS ACCORDER

Okay...okay.....translation........
now remember languages do not always translate well or effectively...
but...
loose translation...

There will be
a place for
each of the liberties
that you
want to 
allow yourself

À tantôt

Working in Montréal

It has been very hard to blog these days....
work for one...
being in Montréal another
but fortunately I am hanging out these days ....
here...
In Montréal...

Can you figure out what that says and even means?

I will help you out if you like....

just ask or click here...

Montréal is certainly a city for cyclists...

The Bixi bike program originates from Montréal...

and is spreading to other large cities like Toronto, London England.....

Bixi bike posts are all over the downtown core...

You can sign up for 24hours, a few months or the year...

pick up a bike in one part of the city and drop it off in another!!

and the city has designed these fabulous bike paths...

with lighting...

so that cyclists have their own part of the road !!

Water is used here in the area

of Place des Arts..... 

colour coordinated....shooting up at different heights

at different timed intervals!

 here it is quite late at night...

a symphony of water and lights...

and we dined right next to this...

at the F-bar, very hip little Portuguese restaurant on the edge of the 

quartier des spectacles....

great food and not expensive!!

And you can be right there amongst the celebrations listening to music

that is originating from here...

 and this is just one of several sites where the music will be playing over the

the period of the FrancoFolies de Montréal

It is a great music festival in the heart of the city for enthusiasts

of french music!

 So, yah...I know...less time for bloggin over the next few weeks...
but the entertainment of the city
is certainly making the work thing...
a lot easier

À tantôt

mainly green mosaic

 It is Mosaic Monday at the Little Red House blogspot.

Shade Reality

Outdoor Projects:  Number One is the Deck

Well, somebody somewhere is trying to shake me up a bit...

change my routine.

Every year I go to the nursery and select two lovely

boston ferns to hang on either side of our doors on the deck.

The shade factor that dominates this outdoor space
eliminates any lovely flowering baskets

and

I rather like the effect of the green...

anyway....

this year they did not order any boston ferns

so

the asparagus fern was the next logical choice......
no big deal 

I realize that....

but you know how it is, when sometimes you have this plan

and 

of course it is so easy
that 

only one little glitch
throws you completely off track...

maybe that means my work stress level is too high right now???

so....  

given that they were still within my budget of twenty dollars

I made the leap.

And I am lovin' it!!
Now if the weather holds on maybe I can paint the muskoka chairs???

À tantôt
oh but hooking this up to
Design it Chic
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Growing Wild

Work, work and more work....

has kept me away from blogging but

I took a break recently to go out to my

wildly sprouting garden and

pick a few lovelies to

bring inside.....

 

These little forget-me-nots take over my garden in the spring but

I really don't mind...

none of my perenials are in bloom at this time of year

and these add a lovely hit of blue...

in a few weeks they will die....

I will pull them out

and my perenials will fill in....

so this is a weed that I can live with!!

À tantôt