Last sign of Winter

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting photos of my adventures outdoors, as part of the 30x30 Challenge. I will be scheduling some posts, but some might be done live after a fun experience outdoors. My blog is syndicated in the morning, so if you receive my blog through email, live posts won't get to your inbox until the next day. As always, thanks for reading.

On a walk yesterday I found the last remaining sign of winter - a small pile of snow out near the woods. This tiny remnant used to be part of the giant 'snow from the driveway' pile and it has almost shrunk down to nothing. A little more sunshine and it will be gone gone gone.

30x30 Nature Challenge 2015

It's May in Canada and for the past few years that has meant participating in the 30x30 nature challenge. Get outside for 30 minutes, for 30 days in May. I participated last year (and posted some photos) and this year I'm going to try and capture lots of sights while I'm out exploring (or just relaxing) in nature.

I feel like I'm ahead of the game, as the weather this past week has been amazing (and coat free!) and I've already been out every single day this week. Looking forward to even more outdoor time in May.

 #NatureIsCalling!!!

Vegetable Dip #FoodPicFriday

I bought mayo a few weeks ago and it was shrink wrapped with a package of vegetable soup mix. The mayo was already on sale ($2.99) and the soup mix is normally $1.50 or so, so it was a surprise deal. And also a welcome suggestion: make some dip! So I made the famous spinach dip, but left out the spinach. So this dip is just vegetable soup mix dip, which is really amazing. I have been serving it with vegetable sticks or rippled chips and this dip makes both things even better. YUM!

All you need for this dip:
1 container sour cream (500ml)
1 cup mayo
1 package vegetable soup mix

Mix all together and wait a few hours for the vegetables to hydrate and the flavours to sink in. Enjoy!

Girls and Routines

I have a large group of friends who are artists: actors, musicians, designers, writers, painters, and dancers. It makes for a lot of fun when we all get together. In our history together we've thrown theme parties for no reason (we got to dress up!), participated in a fashion show where we designed and modeled the clothes, and wrote and practiced choreographed routines to music that we preformed for the rest of our friends. We've had a lot of fun over the years.

So last week when the following viral video was going around, I could relate to the fun these women were having. This was another fun video to watch (and sing along with). Enjoy!

Happy 5 Year Bloggerversary!!!

Holy crap I have been Blogging for five years! My official anniversary was yesterday, having made my first post on April 12, 2010. WOW!

For my Bloggerversary I thought I would re-post my first post, as I still like it very much and I think it sets a nice tone for what I think my blog is about. Enjoy!

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A Lesson in Perseverance.  Originally posted on April 12, 2010.

About a year ago my parents moved from the family home they had lived in for over 32 years.  It was a two month process of organizing, sorting, and getting rid of all the junk that had accumulated over all those years of living in one spot. The easiest day during the whole process was moving day, though it was not without its hiccups.  My mother's Christmas Cactus, which had hung in the living room my entire life and had previously belonged to my Great Grandmother Reid, got jostled during the move and fell out of its pot, damaging it and exposing the roots. 

Stressed to the max by the move, my mother said: "Before I change my mind, I'm just letting you know that I am going to throw this out."  That wasn't what she wanted but in the heat of the moment she didn't see another option.  The Christmas Cactus was over sixty years old, and throwing it out would be a tremendous loss.  "John's good with plants" I told her.  "John will fix it."

So I brought the Christmas Cactus home with me and John re-potted it, gave it fresh soil and water, and nursed it back to health.  Over the past year it has shed some dead leaves, had ample new growth, and has made it's will to live quite clear to all of us.  At Christmas time, when it is supposed to bloom, it didn't, but we weren't too surprised.  "It had a pretty traumatic year" Mom agreed.  "Maybe next year."

This morning when I woke up, the Christmas Cactus was blooming!  It is almost mid April, so not quite on schedule, but it has been roughly a year since we started taking care of it.  I patted the Cactus and told it "Good for you!" and I called Mom to let her know the good news.

A Flower of our Christmas Cactus

I can't help but think about the life of this amazing plant.  Over its sixty years it has had at least three different care givers, lived in three separate residences, and as recently as a year ago, almost died.  Not even a year after it's near death experience and it is blooming again.  This plant is teaching me that despite the set backs and traumas we experience in life, we can always bloom again.  Even if it takes a little longer than we thought.