Winter Plants

I almost killed this African violet when I over watered it during the Christmas holidays. I guess I was a bit distracted with other stuff.  To try to get it back on track, I let it dry out, and then only gave it a very light watering for a few weeks with a dilute 10-52-10 fertilizer.  Slowly, it put out some healthy green leaves, and now it is blooming.

A dear friend gave me the pretty porcelain dish, and I thought the pink polka dot plant would look nice in it.  I set the plant in a plastic baggy with holes cut in the bottom corners, and then squeezed it into the pot.  I'm hoping that will provide enough drainage if I am careful about the watering. The plant will outgrow this location in a few months, but then I can find a new home for it elsewhere.

Trending

 The media tells me that knitting is the new stress reliever.  With all my knitting projects, I should be very, very calm :)

Colouring is also popular. My daughter gave me a couple of Dover colouring books, and this morning
I got out my pencils and had fun colouring the Baltimore orioles.
I remember Dover sticker books that I occasionally received as a child.  I used to love the large square stickers that had pictures of birds, or animals, or flowers on them. The books always had lots of interesting information to go along with the stickers.  So here I am after all these years, enjoying Dover books again.

More Ice

 I thought the ice would melt off the trees yesterday, but a cold front went through, and so, this morning was still shiny.

Most of the tree trunks had ice on them . That's a bit unusual.

The shadows were very strong in the morning sun contrasting beautifully with the sparkly trees.

 The hemlock was weighed down, looking like some kind of forest monster .

Quite dazzling.
Tomorrow, the ice will definitely all be gone as the temperature rises to near zero.

Icy Branches

 After the snow yesterday, we got some freezing rain.  This morning the trees were sparkling in the sunshine.

The lilac looks lovely with the branches bent down and shimmering.

Not Moving

The truck that our son drove is parked in our driveway.  It is not moving, not because we are having a snowstorm (drivers drive in all kinds of nasty weather), but because our son has a new, fun job that happens in an office.

No more wondering if he is going to get attacked on his way to the truck stop restaurant which has the necessary bathroom.

 No more standing out in the freezing cold while he puts 1,000 gallons of gas in the gas tank.

No more emergency repairs to an old truck at the side of the road.  Although the challenge of tackling the problems could be interesting.

No more driving through the night. No more extra strong coffee to fight off the 3 am torpidity.

No more sleeping in the sleeper bunk with the noise and vibration of a running truck which is necessary to keep  the cab warm.

It was quite the journey.
He drove from end of Canada to the other, all down the eastern side of the US, and up to a mining town in Northern Quebec. Hundreds of thousands of miles.
He is happy to have daily showers, a handy bathroom, a bed that doesn't move, good food, safety and a decent paycheck.
Be glad that there are people willing to put their lives on the line so we can all get the stuff we need.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does no envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
NIV

Enjoy

I hope you enjoy these videos of Kelli Trottier, a very accomplished fiddler, dancer and singer.
She is a local woman who has travelled around the world playing her music, much of which is original.  She has a wonderful warm, friendly personality, and it's always a pleasure to hear her perform.
She has recorded a number of CDs and if you want to hear snippets of her latest one visit her website (www.kellitrottier.com).

Forgiveness

God shows his deep tender love
For everyone
By offering his embrace of forgiveness
While we still
Spit in his face.

Vikings

 Here are a few photos from the Viking exhibit at the Museum of History.  This is a stone which depicts the life story starting with people in a Viking ship that has a large sail aloft. Further up is a battle scene, a funeral scene and finally crows over the dead person.

 Perhaps the Vikings would have looked like this fellow.  The Vikings, although renown for their raids, were primarily farmers.  Around 800 AD, they deforested Iceland using up the wood for houses, barns, ship and fuel.

They used coloured beads a lot in their jewelry, and the metal work is quite detailed.

 They liked to keep their treasures locked up, and this is a great collection of keys.

I was struck by how much this textile looks like South American cloth.  What a strange collection of animals! The black one at the top looks like a llama, but the Vikings had cows, sheep, deer and pigs.

The replica ship I saw in short video had a big horizontal sail like the one above which is made up of small panels.  The ship moved very quickly through the water, but I was surprised how close to the water the gunwales were in spite of the high curved front of the boat.

 A very odd relief with what look like, at first glance, octopi. I'm not sure what they are supposed to be.  The other stone has runic writing on it.

The original snakes-and-ladders game?
The exhibit didn't include anything about the Vikings landing in Newfoundland in 1000AD, but I think they were focusing on the 800s.