A Leap to the End of June

When IS the right time to do something fantastic? --Chris Hadfield

Apparently, it is the last weekend of June. I'd like to talk to the person in charge of time right now because I'm pretty sure we're at LEAST two weeks fast right now. Wasn't it just the end of May? Was I not just putting away my winter clothes? Am I supposed to be shaving my legs now?

The garden seems to be right on time, even if I am not. The strawberries are giving us a lovely yield each day, a very useful and convenient cupful of strawberries for our yogurt or cereal:

And my flowers are certainly doing a good job of surprising me. Apparently, I have white roses. I had no idea they were there. I guess they didn't bloom last year. Either that, or they are so shocked that it is nearly July that they're drained of belief:

But the hydrangeas which I over-pruned a couple of autumns ago are so heavy with blooms that I had to prop them up today to keep them from falling over:

Our blueberry shrubs are also leading up to quite a crop this year. I've never seen so many berries on a branch before. If the birds go for them, there's gonna be a fight, lemme tell ya:

Meanwhile, I seem to wax and wane with energy from full throttle to put-put-putting along. When the energy is high, I experiment in the kitchen and on the barbecue with interesting meals. I made a tart (or more accurately, a galette, if you're keeping score) on the barbecue today. I grilled the veggies and then put them on some puffed pastry on a sheet pan along with some Dijon to keep it interesting. I topped it with some smoked salmon when it was done. I forgot to put some oil on the foil before I put the pastry on top, but the pastry gods forgave me and allowed me to peel it off without losing too much stuff:

And the crochet square blanket continues. I've given up on looking at the colour wheel for inspiration and just started whacking colours together that I think look nice next to each other:

I'm a little discouraged right now because I was looking at the stack of squares on the table today and thought, "Surely I have enough for at least half a blanket." But it turns out that I barely have enough for a large pillowcase. There's gotta be a way to speed this up:

But I think the crochet speed is not actually the problem here:

In truth, I think I'm napping more these days because I've started working with a coach and getting my fitness levels back up and I've built myself back up to a 30-minute run. I started back when I got back from Winnipeg after my father passed. Work was closed and I was feeling a bit lost, so I figured, "If not now, when?" It's been a good process, a way to re-learn how to do things at a kinder, more sustainable pace. It feels good to be running without pain after a couple of years of stopping and starting. It's amazing what you can do when you sleep enough and stretch enough and eat enough good stuff.

Speaking of good stuff, I have another experiment going on the barbecue right now that I should go an check on. I hope you are all well and looking after each other. Be kind to yourself and others.