Could it be possible? Has my blog come home?
Evert post should have a photo. I will add one.💜
I seem to be having a problem trying to add a photo. So I will have to study this a bit further. I really want to see if I can publish this.
My Creative Passions
Could it be possible? Has my blog come home?
Evert post should have a photo. I will add one.💜
I seem to be having a problem trying to add a photo. So I will have to study this a bit further. I really want to see if I can publish this.
I have been able to do a bit of sewing. Not much, but at least it's something.
July has arrived and the new colour for the rainbow challenge is blue. I can do that. I have lots of blues.
But before I play with my favourite colour, I want to show you my framed nine patch flimsy. I found these blocks in an unmarked box when I was looking for something else. I have no idea when I started them. And I don't remember what I was going to make. There were 15 blocks altogether. Each block will measure 10 inches finished. I decided on a four by four layout. That would give me a 40in by 40in quilt. Big enough for a baby or perhaps a wheelchair quilt. So that meant I had to make 1 more block. And since it was June and the colour of the month was purple I made a purple one.
And here is the whole quilt top. I hope to take it from a flimsy to a completed quilt soon. Next week I have an appointment with the eye specialist. He will decide if eye glasses of some kind will benefit me. I hope so. It has been a long time since I was able to see anything either up close or in the distance.
Don't get me wrong. I am proud to be Canadian. I love this country. As an immigrant I am glad to be able to live here. There are lots of other places in the world that are much worse.
At the moment there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not to celebrate Canada Day. It is felt that celebrations should be called of in a gesture of reconciliation and solidarity with indigenous communities. Native peoples have had to deal with a lot of grief. /It has been a hard time for them. I agree that it doesn't seem fair to celebrate when so many are hurting.
Yesterday 182 more unmarked graves were discovered at the site of a former residential school in Cranbrook, B.C. More are expected to be found. We have become a country divided each time another unmarked grave is found. People are reeling from this news. Not just indigenous people, but others as well. I know I am.
Indigenous people have a lot of healing to do. But we all have to share the blame and help them heal. That is if they trust us enough to let us help. And we have to heal ourselves. We have to acknowledge history, but we also have to move forward. History cannot repeat itself.
In order to support both Canada and Native people, I have decided to make some orange rail fence blocks today, to join the blocks I made earlier in red. Red for Canada. Orange to honour Indigenous People.
This is a story about a caterpillar and a ladybug.
While out in my garden, digging up some dill plants to share with a friend, I noticed something tiny crawling on one of the plants. Imagine my surprise when I spotted it! It was tiny caterpillar, a pale lime green with black. yellow and white markings. My first response was to kill it. I had no idea what it was. So I googled it. And now I am glad I let it live,
Turns out it is the larval stage of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. How exciting! The tiny caterpillar was very pretty and the adult swallowtail will be absolutely beautiful. I began to question my need for dill when it would be so much more enjoyable to raise some butterflies. I seldom use dill in anything I cook anyway.
The Black Swallowtail female lays tiny yellow eggs on dill, fennel or parsley plants. She attaches them to the stems and the underside of leaves..
I wrote this post almost a month ago. At that time it was mainly a rant about my revulsion at the news of the Indigenous children whose remains were found at a residential school in British Colombia. Today it is about celebrating.
Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. This day has been celebrated since 1996. It is a day to recognize and celebrate the cultures and contributions of Indigenous Peoples from all across Canada. This is the first year that I have been aware of it. Is this because of all the talk about the residential schools and other problems like the lack of clean drinking water? 2021 focuses on celebrating resilience through reconciliation. Whatever that means. I am hopeful that the observation of this day will bring about positive changes for all Native People.
I have always been interested in Indigenous people. I live close to an Indigenous community. It is less than a mile away. The last school I worked at was adjacent to it. I listened to their drumming. I watched as they entered the sweat lodge for healing ceremonies. I smelled the scent of burning sweetgrass. I always found their way of life fascinating.
A few years ago, when I was hosting a teacher from the Japanese Kamajo school, we had an opportunity to attend the Grand River Champion of Champions Powwow. It was a special event. A wonderful chance to watch members of Six Nations in costumes, dancing and drumming. To feel their power, their love of beauty and their creative lives. It inspired me.
Another wonderful, inspirational event was a trip to Petroglyphs Park. When we were there the first time we were allowed to clamber over the rock and observe the carvings up close. It was a fantastic experience for my kids who were quite young at the time.
This is such a pretty plant. It doesn't seem possible that it could be an invasive weed. It is in the morning glory family. The small white or pale pink flowers (about 1 inch across) are cup-shaped and resemble its larger, more colourful cousin.
It is a perennial and is spread by roots, rhizomes and seeds. It can strangle a lawn or garden in no time. The roots and rhizomes create a tight mat that prevents anything else from growing there. It also wraps itself around everything it comes in contact with.
There is no way to get rid of this plant without using some kind of herbicide. I hate using this poison in my garden, But my home-made solution of household ingredients is not going to work. So far the bindweed is growing at the side of my house, but I'm afraid if I don't get rid of it I could have it coming up everywhere. The herbicide has to be taken up by the roots and rhizomes in order to be effective. In this case I will use something like Roundup. The spray has to be applied at just the right time - early in the season when the flowers first appear. That's between June and July. So guess what I'm going to be doing this afternoon.