February 2016


The month of February began with the hope of love in the air and in the kitchen too.



Tulips began to appear in stores and our home has never been without a fresh flower in February since.


On Valentine's Day, I was given roses the exact color of my bridal bouquet.  


All the grandkids took home Valentines to share with their family members. 


As soon as Valentine's Day was over the family custom of thinking on Paska began and I pondered the lack of freezer space for the coveted loaves that needed space.

I asked my beloved if I could have a wee space in his shop and he found me a spot near an outlet and I ordered up a freezer that is now affectionately referred to the Paska Freezer.
It looks like this today but during the month, it held more and then less and today will get another deposit.  

The family knows this freezer is for them.  It will hold Zweiback, brown buns and brown bread and for a time before Easter... it will hold Paska.



This precious little girlie was down with a virus and missed two weeks of school. On a day near the end of her feeling so lousy, she spent one day with us and I coaxed her to eat by making a few of her favourite things.  


We had some amazing spring-like days!


The magnolia buds are ready to burst.


Bunches of daffodils popped open their buds.


The pots of primroses and daffodils and succulents brightened the doorway.



Flower beds made the path to the door more welcoming.



The Lenten Roses opened up.






When I inspected what the garden was doing I discovered the hope of Strawberry Shortcake in days to come.


I love having fresh chives in the garden again. 


There is enough sorrel to make a pot of soup!


When I checked on the rhubarb I noticed that my beloved had been there already to give it some encouragement from the chickens.




Pansies are waking up!


I love this perennial in my pots.  It fills in the spaces and spills over to create a cascade of delicate leaves.  


February is also the month my birthday.

My beloved asked what I would like to do and I chose to go snowshoeing at Manning Park.


It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining as we walked across the lakes.  

They don't recommend ever going across the lakes but we saw plenty of tracks that went before us and decided to follow behind. 


A day of snow is probably not a novelty for most of my readers but for those of us that live on the wet coast and feel cheated out of proper snow over Christmas... it's wonderful to be able to drive an hour and get our fill.


We brought along firewood to create a warm space for our picnic lunch but found it so mild outside in the sunshine that we found a spot on the lake bank and set ourselves up.

Those seat protectors that we bought for car seats came in real handy to become instant chairs.


It was wonderful.


We could have sat there all afternoon. 


The birds soon found us and sang for their supper.


The picnic?  

A bit of this and that.


A bottle of wine, some crackers and a few different kinds of cheese, a sliced baguette and some cold cuts.  Hummus and popped wheat thins for some crunch!

Don't you love those kinds of lunches?



It was hard not to wince! 


After lunch, we continued on our way across streams ...


on to sure ground...


under the rainbow bridge and onto the next lake. 


He left a message for those that came after us.










As the afternoon wore on, we followed our crooked  tracks back to the beginning.

I was mighty happy to take those snow shoes back off and enjoy a cup of tea before heading home.


I was given so many beautiful flowers for my birthday!





There was not a room in the house that wasn't graced with blooms chosen and delivered with love.




To finish off the month...
they guys went to go see the monster trucks....




while the girls enjoyed an evening of our own.


And if I didn't already have enough beautiful flowers...
there was this bouquet to take home from the annual Pastors Appreciation Dinner that we served at.

And that was February!

I wish you all a wonderful month of March!  

all for now.
with love,


Comments

  1. A beautiful month filled with lots of love and beauty! Perfect for a birthday month!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now that was most cheery! Sun and snow, food and flowers both indoors and out. Glad that some company FINALLY made a Paska freezer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh a Paska freezer! Seems needed for your family. We shall have Paska this year! There. I have declared it so. We may enjoy an early spring this year, but we'll never beat you! All those garden happenings have bowled me over. Gorgeous flowers inside and outside. Enjoyed seeing your romp in the snow. We never even were able to use the luge this year. Just not enough snow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The flowers, both inside and out and special dates or lunches are just beautiful and I'm glad you were blessed by so much love in this month of love and your birthday. You already know this, but I love your Paska freezer idea. I hope it's "family only" that will be doing the stealing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful photos Lovella. The ones of your snowshoeing adventure are so beautiful. We haven't had any snow here for snowshoeing since the middle of January! Happy March to you! Spring has definitely arrived there. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. February is your month for sure - even your name says it!!! You two are so much fun - what a great winter snowshoeing adventure - the car seat chairs are just brilliant! So nice to get a glimpse of your growing grandchildren - oh my. We must be at least a month or even two behind with your Spring even tho February was unseasonably mild here as well. March is marching in with a roaring lion here tonight so we're hoping that it goes out like a lamb this year. Happy March to you and yours Lovella!

    ReplyDelete
  7. February always looks good through your lens! Smiling at Jill's comment about the 'paska freezer'. I'm wondering if GE could use that for a marketing ploy. From sunshine to snow...to birds and blooms and birthday celebrations...it was a very good month.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. How beautiful!!! And a happy belated Birthday to you!!! Your spring is way ahead of ours. No flowers or buds or blooms or green grass here. But I have the promise that it's coming. We have not had a harsh winter, but its still winter nonetheless. Thanks for sharing pictures of your trip and your picnic. It looks beautiful!! Blessings to you and yours . . . now off to Google "Paska!"

    ReplyDelete
  10. It was so nice to see a post from you, Lovella. As ever, your photographs are beautiful - worth clicking on your blog just to look at them, and then there are the words....a treat on a weekday morning before work. It looks like you were royally celebrated on your birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You had blooms full of February fun! Your welcoming walk way to walking through the snow. Picnics and meals out. And...your blooms will continue to grow and soon you'll be picking arrangements for the house from your garden. A lovely February for the birthday girl.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your yard must be so beautiful right now. I can't believe your strawberries are actually in bud! What a lovely month it's been for you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amazed at how far ahead your spring plants are! Thankfully this has been a mild winter here on the east coast, and we have warm spring temperatures coming up this week. But I am so ready to see those spring plants blooming! Your lenten roses are particularly lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am so happy that I visited you here! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, and it provided a perfect way to relax for a few minutes on this lovely Saturday afternoon. You share so many interesting happening here, and I smile when I think of how different our lives are. Snowshoeing for your birthday...how special! Not to mention, your pictures are exceptional, and bring me smiles along the way. I too, could have sat there in the snow and soaked up the afternoon sun.

    You are an amazing gardener too! So encouraging and inspiring to me! Thanks for sharing your month of February, in such detailed fashion.

    Happy Easter to you and your family!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you!