Bloom Spring - Bloom

 "Under the giving snow blossoms a daring spring." 

                                                                                                                       Terri Guillemets

Flower Carpet in Brussels

We may have a bit further to go before spring flowers begin to pop their pretty heads up through the soil, but with spring officially arriving today we are one step closer. And if your green thumbs are itchy to get going, the Canada Blooms show in Toronto is the perfect place to gather inspiration.

Floral Fashion Parade

It was windy, cold and sunny on Sunday - perfect weather conditions to send everyone off to Canada Blooms. Richard and I hustled from the car to the Direct Energy building at the CNE to join the throngs of people who were, like us, happy to smell fresh soil {you have to be an avid gardener to appreciate that}.

The Canada Blooms Flower and Garden Festival teamed up with the National Home Show in Toronto {Direct Energy building at the Canadian National Exhibition} - the show runs through until March 23rd.  So if you world is lacking the sweet fragrance of garden soil or home reno dust - this is the place to be.

Mannequins sprouting floral carpets in bright shades of floral buds were part of the attraction.

Sweet cakes made with magnolia leaves, gerbera daisies, and carefully placed blooms had me dreaming of a tea party in the garden.

 Can you imagine these pretty floral cakes adorning your table?

There were garden vignettes landscaped to encourage backyard planning. One of my favourites was designed by Jodi M. Liptrot and built by Vaughan Landscaping. The blend of over-grouted stone and charcoal stained wood beams offered the perfect foundation for pretty foliage around the sleepy garden.  My pictures don't do this justice .......... it was so elegant. 

As we welcome spring today and hope for warmer weather, I can't help but know that we have things a lot brighter than the residents of Port au Choix, in north western Newfoundland.

The roof of the house {in the center of the pic}  is barely peeking out under the snow drifts.

The owners of this home were away most of the winter {it's easy to understand why} -  neighbours contacted and advised them that their house was in danger of being buried in snow. So they returned home and to no avail attempted to shovel off the roof managing to leave the house before the porch collapsed from the weight.

images: Janice Gould - Canadian Press

So - Welcome Spring !

........... maybe Mother Nature can give Newfoundland an extra sprinkling of warm air.

Treasure

There isn't anyone around who doesn't recognize these little guys, and if you are a Mom you have likely swept a few up in the past or had the pleasure of unexpectedly stepping on tiny Lego pieces.

Both of our son's have a box of their childhood Lego tucked away.  I wonder was it that they just couldn't possibly face the idea of parting with the little snap together blocks, or was there something in the back of their minds about future generations who might play with the colourful pieces.

On a recent visits to my Son's house my Granddaughter discovered that the reason her uncle had kept the container of Lego was a bit of both reasons.  The coveted container of Lego was brought out and Kya was introduced to the bright treasure.

I suggested that the box be emptied on a carpet rather than the wood floor. I still recall the crashing and swooshing sound as my son searched for specific pieces to create his masterpiece. At times I would wonder if he had broken something - but it was always just the Lego construction going on.

I sat back on the floor and watched as they discovered various bricks, gears and mini-figures together. For my Son it was a steady stream of reminiscing and recalling how they characters linked together. For my Granddaughter it was learning from a pro just how it's all done {which included learning to use the special tool to 'undo' the bricks that were stuck - bonus! }.

As always, at the end of day together my Granddaughter asks me, 'what was the best part today'. This one was easy. I watched my Son show his niece the fun of building and using her imagination to create a story with the characters. Uncle Dallas was a hero.
And seeing my granddaughter listen so carefully to the details and then amaze her uncle once again with her vivid imagination was priceless.

What can I say - the saved box of interlocking plastic toy bricks may have been treasure to my Son and Granddaughter, but the best part of the day was witnessing how time stood still while they played together.

Lego was developed in 1949 by Ole Kirk Christiansen from Denmark. The company name - LEGO, is from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means 'play well'.

There is no doubt that this particular box of Lego has been well played with and that there is much playing well yet to take place. Truly a treasure. 

Wearing Your Stripes

 

When I see brightly coloured stripes and polka-dots, I think spring. Ok, ok - like everyone right now, I am wishing praying that winter lets up and spring nudges in. But a recent television spot for Joe Fresh featuring a model skipping along in the cutest striped skirt and top, made me believe that cheerful weather is right around the corner. And I think we have all earned our stripes.

Today I'm inspired by spring stripes. 

Joe Fresh

Kate Spade

Joe Fresh

Kate Spade

Ulyana Sergeenko

Joe Fresh

Louboutin

............. playful stripes.............

Retro Nautical by Olympia Le-Tan