Category Archives: Garden

What’s happening in your garden?

Happy Spring! Flowers in bloom

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Spring is suddenly here! Look at the wisteria on my balcony railing. The leaves appeared in one week, and the flowers followed three days later. How great is that?

All at once, everything is in bloom – wisteria, lupines, Japanese tree peonies, rhodos, rose geraniums, azaleas, camellias and sweet william. Luckily I also plant dahlias, because with the overwhelming activity right now, in a month there wouldn’t be anything left to bloom in my garden.

My new book, Dead Wrong, a contemporary romantic suspense, is ready for release but I’m wrestling with what the cover should look like. And we are going travelling for the next while. So I’ve decided to leave those issues all behind and head out with the freedom to see some exciting and wonderful sights and worry about everything else when we get home. Happy Spring!

 

Visit to Maui – so beautiful

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I have taken a break from writing and we are spending time in beautiful Maui. I love it here.

The special things about Maui—

  • Soft balmy air
  • Soft warm salty ocean
  • Doves cooing outside my window
  • Tiny lizards darting all over as I walk along
  • The beautiful palms rustling in the wind
  • Banks of flowers of all kinds and colours

Meanwhile back home, the weather has continued to look like late winter so I don’t miss it at all.

All has not been great here. I broke a crown on a back tooth on the plane on the way here. Found a great dentist who managed to file down the rough parts that were scraping the inside of my cheek and the side of my tongue. So now I’m much more comfortable.

We joined a gym and planned to work out every other day while here, plus a swim every day. We’ve done the swim, but I wrecked my lower back at the gym after the 3rd visit and had to find a chiropractor. Two visits later, I am starting to feel better and only using the ice pack twice a day! ?

Oh, well. It’s beautiful here, the people we meet are friendly and so helpful. We’ll certainly come back.

 

 

Beware the Ides of March, upheaval all around

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The Ides of March were a position on the Roman calendar that occurred around the 15th of the month. This was the time the Romans held religious observances and was seen as the deadline for settling  debts between them.

That was also the day Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, changing the course of history.

Does March signify a time of change or upheaval for you?

I’ve decided to wake every morning with a feeling of joy and anticipation for the day. That’s my upheaval for the month!

Makes me feel great, no matter what is going to occur during the day. I figure I’m taking back some control, not letting someone else’s mood or feelings determine my good nature.

So from the Ides of March onward, I wish you joy. Watch for the release of Magic Rising!

 

 

Cat in the Garden, Spring is here!

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Beautiful day today, the sun is shining and it’s warm outside. There was frost this morning, yet by 9 am it was 5 degrees, and now closer to 8, so I went outside to prune my non-productive fruit trees.

I have two – a pear, and a crabapple. The crabapple has consistently given me a good crop of fruit, and I make applesauce, apple butter, apple jelly most years.

The pear not so much – last year was the first year in 12 seasons that we got any fruit, probably because I pruned it within an inch of its life.

There was a cat in my garden—a beautiful animal, all black, brown and grey stripes, with a tag around its neck, so it has a home. They do like to roam. I also saw the first alligator lizard of the season. Still waiting to hear the chorus frogs, they are late. Spring is here! Time to get busy on the next book.

SYLVIE’S READER TEAM

Are you an avid reader? Would you like to be a member of my Reader Team? You would get advance copies of each book before it is released, with a chance to be first to leave a review. There’s still room!

Email me at the address below with the topic—Reader Team. Please specify Contemporary Romantic Suspense or Sci fi/ Fantasy (Some prefer both ?) Many thanks! sylviegraysonauthor@gmail.com

Inundated With Tomatoes

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Fall is here at last. The tomatoes went crazy in my garden this year. They grew so tall they pulled the tomato cages over. I had to stake them up with thick bamboo stakes and use string to tie them on. Then the fruit came—baskets of ripe tomatoes. Right beside the tomatoes were two cucumber vines that kept spitting out large prickly cukes. What to do with all that food?

I gave a bunch away, but looked for recipes to use it. This is a gazpacho soup which used both a ton of tomatoes and a bunch of cucumber. Perfect!

I loved it. My husband said he wasn’t used to this kind of food, and although it was very good, it left him wondering what was for dinner!

Recipe –

Large prickly cucumber, peeled and sliced

Tomatoes in equal amount to the cuke

2 cloves garlic

¾ c. red onion

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Parsley leaves, handful

Oregano leaves, handful

Put through blender till smooth and season to taste with salt, pepper, Worchestershire sauce, bruschetta spices. Slice an avocado and add to soup, cool in refrigerator. Serve with crusty bread, toasted, and topped with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

What do you do with  your tomatoes?