Seasons Greetings,

Here we are again. This time coffee has been on my mind. I'm looking forward to a cup of steamy, rich tasting coffee surrounded by the garden. Dirty hands, dirty knees and a big mug to sink into.

My Mother has a big garden, back in the wilds of Canada. It's way more than she can look after herself but as we grew up and moved away it just kept growing in spite of her. A couple of years ago she joined a local gardening group for peony growers.

I always had a few patches of that garden. My favourites are the early spring wildflowers and perennials. Tulips, violas and trilliums are right up there in the top ten. Trilliums are the flower of Ontario. No one down here in the midwest, US, has heard of them. I searched online and found they just don't grow this far south. For a Canadian gardener that's a nice switch. Usually the flowers/ plants we want to grow only grow farther south and if they survive up here at all they are tender perennials.

Back to the whole coffee thing. I'm not sure what it is about coffee really. I remember the first time I ever tried it. I tasted from my Mom's cup. It was so bitter and strong. I wondered how anyone would find pleasure in drinking that stuff. I think coffee drinking is an addiction, like smoking you develop the addiction through peer pressure. Forever after that you comb the environment for that good cup of coffee. For me its something smooth and rich, like French Vanilla. I used to get Mocha from the Second Cup in Toronto but they couldn't get the beans any more so I was out of luck. Now my favourite coffee shop is Timothy's or Williams if I can find one.

Tonight I'm going to be brewing some new kind which is smooth, but not that perfect blend of rich and smooth, they called it caramel in the store. My Mother thinks flavoured beans are a sickness, she's a purist.

Seasons Greetings,

It's always some season and greetings work year round, just like gardeners and home owners. Whether you live in a mansion on the ocean or a squishy little apartment in the middle of a city this newsletter is for you.

Right now on my balcony I have a chrysanthemum which is growing amazingly fast due to all the rain we've been having here. There have been weather and flood warnings almost every day lately. Today looks perfect though. The sky is blue with just streaks of clouds.

Well, now what? That's just what I was thinking. Let's see what you're thinking. Feedback makes the world go round!

This was the first Home and Garden newsletter which I wrote for the BackWash site.

Home and Garden - Outdoors and Inside, for the workers and the dreamers.

Seasons Greetings,

It's always some season and greetings work year round, just like gardeners and home owners. Whether you live in a mansion on the ocean or a squishy little apartment in the middle of a city this newsletter is for you.

Right now on my balcony I have a chrysanthemum which is growing amazingly fast due to all the rain we've been having here. There have been weather and flood warnings almost every day lately. Today looks perfect though. The sky is blue with just streaks of clouds.

Well, now what? That's just what I was thinking. Let's see what you're thinking. Feedback makes the world go round!

Write about your ideal, best day. How would it start? What would you do and who would be with you? What season would it be, summer, spring, autumn or winter? Maybe you would swim and skate on the same day, skating at an indoor rink in the summer. Would you have a pack of friends over and eat birthday cake, play video games and ride horses outside? Finally, as the day is fading and the sky begins to get dark, how would your perfect day end?

Here is my perfect day, or some ideas for it. I would wake up and the sun would be pouring in my window. The wallpaper would glow in the sunshine, but it would still be really early in the morning, about 5:00 or 6:00. I would get up and wear my favourite clothes, probably jeans and a denim shirt to match. I wouldn't need to do all the boring stuff like brushing my hair and teeth, that would just be done automatically.

When I go downstairs my whole family are home, even my Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles who have died. We would have a great big breakfast, cooking and cleaned up by robot servants so that none of us would have to stop talking to pour more coffee or juice or get seconds on pancakes. The breakfast would be bacon and eggs, buttermilk pancakes, toast, homefries, and omelets. Served with coffee, tea and fresh orange juice. It would be like a weekend day so the big weekend newspapers would be there. Each of us could take a section and read a bit and chat about what we read.

When the robots cleared away all the mess from the table we would all play euchre, a card game my Grandma always used to love. The robots would keep everyone served with coffee and snacks while we played. Finally, it would be time to get outside and away from the kitchen. Everyone would go for a walk in the woods. We used to have a deep ravine behind our house when I was a kid. You could see all kinds of birds and small animals who lived in the ravine. It was a lot of fun to walk down there and see different rocks, animal holes, rotting trees, plants, wildflowers, mould and fungus on rocks and trees, sticks and the water at the bottom of the ravine too. My brother and I built kind of a fort too. There was a path at the end of our street which went through the ravine. That is where we would all walk, it would be easier for the older folks and still plenty to see.

We would come back from the walk and it would be time for most of the family to go home. Everyone would say good bye, wave and honk horns and then they would be gone. So, I would get in my car and drive over to the big bookstore to browse around the magazines and books. I really like the bookstore. Not many people that I know enjoy it as much as I do. I can spend hours in there.

But, on my perfect day I would have so much to do that I would only spend an hour there, just have a fancy coffee and skim some magazines. Check the shelves for books about writing, computers and other topics that interest me. Then I would hop in the car and go to the train station. I'd take the brand new super train and go to the west coast of Canada in just an hour. (It would have to be a super train cause the trip really takes a few days). On the coast I would finally get out to Victoria in British Columbia and see the lakes and mountains in the Okanogan. Then, I would take the super train again and go to Ottawa, Ontario and be just in time for the tulip festival. After that I would get the train back to Toronto and spend the rest of the day walking and window shopping in downtown Toronto. There is another big bookstore there too. But I'd like to wander around the Eatons Centre mostly.

When the sky became dusky I'd have a look at what movies were on downtown. If something good was coming on in the next few minutes I'd buy a ticket. If there was nothing appealing I'd pick up a coffee at The Second Cup and pick a hotel to stay at overnight downtown. For a late night dinner I could order pizza up to the hotel room or choose something else along the way. I might go to the Swiss Chalet or a fancy place where I could get a club sandwich and fries. I really like staying in a hotel, you can leave the TV on all night and watch a bit of some show or other until you fall back to sleep again. Also, hotels always have nice beds, with good mattresses. The last things I would do for my perfect day would be ordering a special coffee and dessert tray to be delivered by room service and giving myself a night of pampering with a deep conditioner for my hair and a long, hot shower.

I hope your perfect days are as good as my own.

It's a lovely day here today. The weather is clear and a little breezy. Just the right kind of day for a picnic outside. Bring a kite too, its also great kite flying weather.

Put together a picnic the easy way. Bring bread, cold cuts, cheese and mustard and make your sandwiches outside. That way there is less mess in the kitchen. Don't forget something to drink, juice is nice on picnics. If you have snacky foods like chips or peanuts grab them too.

Spread an old blanket out on the grass. Make sure the grass is free of things to stick you, like thistles or your Mom's garden! Sit on the blanket and have your feast. Chat, sing goofy songs, or play games. Enjoy the day and being outside.

When you're done, tidy up. Its pretty easy to tidy up a picnic. After you take the games, garbage and leftovers inside you just pick up your blanket and give it a shake. The birds and bugs will be happy to eat up all your crumbs.

Too bad you can't have a picnic outside every day.